Post by Rodimus Prime on Nov 20, 2007 20:59:54 GMT -5
OOC: It is assumed this is recorded as soon as Rodimus has been here long enough to learn the roster and hear about some of the Decepticons they have to deal with.
Rodimus's file is an image recording of him sitting on a box in what is still storage, leaning against the wall the back is set against and looking, and all, fairly casual. There's also a text file attached which consists of the same information transcribed, for those who don't want to listen through it. At different points during the recording, an inset window appears to demonstrate a picture of what he's talking about, although they're of the low-resolution quality typical of images taken by someone who doesn't have specialized sensors. The Autobot chosen to represent Autobot Targetmasters is Crosshairs.
"This information applies mostly to my own universe, and to Xaaron's, as they're offshoots of each other. Some of it's likely to apply to some of the other, more closely related realities, and if anyone has information on similar groups from their own home universes to add to the file, please do so.
"The earliest Special Teams were just that: close-knit groups of Autobots or Decepticons who worked together almost constantly and often, though not always, shared a theme as far as alternate mode, paint job, special abilities, or choice of weapon goes. Groups like this include the Dinobots, who, in my universe, are a lot older than they are in Grimlock's and were working together as a team for long before they were Dinobots, and the Insecticons.
"Within the first year of the Ark crew's reawakening on Earth we saw a new kind of Special Team: the combiners, also known as the gestalts. The first of these were the Constructicons, designed by Shockwave, who forced Optimus Prime to use the Matrix's energies to give them true life. This is another difference between our realities and the Perceptor Reality: our Dinobots are much older, but our Constructicons are much younger, and were Decepticons from their creation. Other teams followed, including the Aerialbots, the Stunticons, the Protectobots, the Combaticons, the Predacons, and so forth.
"There are other Transformer subgroups that not teams so much as groups of Transformers who share a certain kind of technology. You may or may not see them working together, and often there are both Autobots and Decepticons who use the same technology. Obviously, those shouldn't be working together.
"The first of these types that I knew about were the Master-partner pairings. These are humanoid organics, usually Nebulan, although a Human could also be adapted, who are re-engineered with many joints replaced and other alternations made, and given suits so that they could actually transform as well. Headmaster partners become the head of a Transformer, and provide additional processing abilities and in-combat tactical analysis. They also exert such a strong measure of control over the unit as a whole that the Transformer's ability to function without them is severely limited or cut off entirely, and often there is a measure of merging of the personalities.
"Targetmaster partners transform into a Transformer's weapon, and assist them in aiming and firing, plus they're a gun that can refuse to fire if your opponent grabs it from you, and even run back to you if it has a chance. A Targetmaster doesn't actually have to look where they're firing much of the time; their Nebulan covers that for them, freeing them to concentrate on other matters in battle.
"And finally, there are Powermasters. Their partners transform into engines, and alleviate or completely eliminate their dependency on outside fuel sources. In my reality, Optimus Prime himself was a Powermaster before the untimely death of his partner, Hi-Q.
"In all cases, the Transformer is mentally bonded, or binary bonded, with their partner, and while the Headmaster configuration bond the closest and are most likely to show personality merging, the rest of u- the others still tend to become quite close to their partners, and can, to an extent, feel what the other is experiencing. Losing a binary bond partner can be very traumatic," and here, there is a note to his voice that suggests he is speaking from personal experience, "and leaves the surviving partner feeling... incomplete. So much so that Transformers occasionally elect to take a new partner, even knowing that the odds of them outliving their organic bond-made and thus suffer the loss once more are high."
"The Decepticons have Nebulan partners as well. In fact, I'm told that at least two of them, Spinister and Needlenose, have been drawn here. Now, I realize that the concept of endangering an organic humanoid will be a little difficult for some of you, but understand this: every Nebulan who has allied themselves with the Decepticons has done so out of their own free will. And just as I respect and honor the contributions and sacrifices made b-" and here he cuts off, lowers the lids on his optics, and looks away from the camera and instead towards the ceiling for just a moment. He recovers quickly, however, and continues. "Just as I respect and honor the contributions and sacrifices made by our own Nebulan allies the same way I would those made by any Autobot, so I view those who have voluntarily and irrevocably given themselves over to the Decepticon cause as being, for all intents and purposes, Decepticons themselves. For the record, a Nebulan Headmaster was a very strong contender for leadership of the Decepticons in my reality, and it's my understanding that he even succeeded as leader for a time in Xaaron's.
"Now, I'm not saying go out of your way to attack the Nebulans. What I am saying is not to get foolish when dealing with Needlenose or Spinister just because you know they're working with organics. They are both extremely dangerous, not to be taken lightly. Should you encounter one of those two, I expect you to respond as you would to any other Decepticon, and keep alert to the fact that their partners sometimes actively participate in combat, separate from the Transformer they're bonded with." Were Rodimus at the first big battle, he could point out that it was Needlenose who blasted Omega Supreme, and Spinister who nearly turned Nightbeat into a pile of molten slag, but he wasn't. Perhaps someone else will make mention?
"Another subgroup are the Pretenders. These are Transformers with a separate, organic outer shell. When they are in their shell, they can pass as organic creatures, even to advanced sensor systems. When they are separated from their shells, they can control them remotely and even use them as a separate, second body, although damage taken to the shell causes painful feedback in the Transformer. A number of the Autobot Pretender shells are humanoid. While these are of limited effectiveness on Earth, there are a number of planets containing humanoid life with a scale closer to our own, and the shells' usefulness increases in such environments. A few of the other shells represent other organic races we've encountered.1
"The last subgroup I'm going to cover here are the Micromasters. These are just Transformers, scaled small for greater energy efficiency. Holi is a Micromaster, although he's a bit... different than the ones we had back home. Those were built with full adult personalities, and their small bodies contained a surprising amount of strength and firepower. Should you encounter a Decepticon Micromaster, do not fall into the trap of underestimating it just because it's small.
"That's all I've got for now, although it's no more than a basic overview on the subject. I'm sure I'll be adding more of these soon enough." Rodimus triggers something sitting next to him, and the recording cuts off.
1 That's my explanation for folks like Longtooth, and I'm sticking with it! Well, unless I have to change it.
Rodimus's file is an image recording of him sitting on a box in what is still storage, leaning against the wall the back is set against and looking, and all, fairly casual. There's also a text file attached which consists of the same information transcribed, for those who don't want to listen through it. At different points during the recording, an inset window appears to demonstrate a picture of what he's talking about, although they're of the low-resolution quality typical of images taken by someone who doesn't have specialized sensors. The Autobot chosen to represent Autobot Targetmasters is Crosshairs.
"This information applies mostly to my own universe, and to Xaaron's, as they're offshoots of each other. Some of it's likely to apply to some of the other, more closely related realities, and if anyone has information on similar groups from their own home universes to add to the file, please do so.
"The earliest Special Teams were just that: close-knit groups of Autobots or Decepticons who worked together almost constantly and often, though not always, shared a theme as far as alternate mode, paint job, special abilities, or choice of weapon goes. Groups like this include the Dinobots, who, in my universe, are a lot older than they are in Grimlock's and were working together as a team for long before they were Dinobots, and the Insecticons.
"Within the first year of the Ark crew's reawakening on Earth we saw a new kind of Special Team: the combiners, also known as the gestalts. The first of these were the Constructicons, designed by Shockwave, who forced Optimus Prime to use the Matrix's energies to give them true life. This is another difference between our realities and the Perceptor Reality: our Dinobots are much older, but our Constructicons are much younger, and were Decepticons from their creation. Other teams followed, including the Aerialbots, the Stunticons, the Protectobots, the Combaticons, the Predacons, and so forth.
"There are other Transformer subgroups that not teams so much as groups of Transformers who share a certain kind of technology. You may or may not see them working together, and often there are both Autobots and Decepticons who use the same technology. Obviously, those shouldn't be working together.
"The first of these types that I knew about were the Master-partner pairings. These are humanoid organics, usually Nebulan, although a Human could also be adapted, who are re-engineered with many joints replaced and other alternations made, and given suits so that they could actually transform as well. Headmaster partners become the head of a Transformer, and provide additional processing abilities and in-combat tactical analysis. They also exert such a strong measure of control over the unit as a whole that the Transformer's ability to function without them is severely limited or cut off entirely, and often there is a measure of merging of the personalities.
"Targetmaster partners transform into a Transformer's weapon, and assist them in aiming and firing, plus they're a gun that can refuse to fire if your opponent grabs it from you, and even run back to you if it has a chance. A Targetmaster doesn't actually have to look where they're firing much of the time; their Nebulan covers that for them, freeing them to concentrate on other matters in battle.
"And finally, there are Powermasters. Their partners transform into engines, and alleviate or completely eliminate their dependency on outside fuel sources. In my reality, Optimus Prime himself was a Powermaster before the untimely death of his partner, Hi-Q.
"In all cases, the Transformer is mentally bonded, or binary bonded, with their partner, and while the Headmaster configuration bond the closest and are most likely to show personality merging, the rest of u- the others still tend to become quite close to their partners, and can, to an extent, feel what the other is experiencing. Losing a binary bond partner can be very traumatic," and here, there is a note to his voice that suggests he is speaking from personal experience, "and leaves the surviving partner feeling... incomplete. So much so that Transformers occasionally elect to take a new partner, even knowing that the odds of them outliving their organic bond-made and thus suffer the loss once more are high."
"The Decepticons have Nebulan partners as well. In fact, I'm told that at least two of them, Spinister and Needlenose, have been drawn here. Now, I realize that the concept of endangering an organic humanoid will be a little difficult for some of you, but understand this: every Nebulan who has allied themselves with the Decepticons has done so out of their own free will. And just as I respect and honor the contributions and sacrifices made b-" and here he cuts off, lowers the lids on his optics, and looks away from the camera and instead towards the ceiling for just a moment. He recovers quickly, however, and continues. "Just as I respect and honor the contributions and sacrifices made by our own Nebulan allies the same way I would those made by any Autobot, so I view those who have voluntarily and irrevocably given themselves over to the Decepticon cause as being, for all intents and purposes, Decepticons themselves. For the record, a Nebulan Headmaster was a very strong contender for leadership of the Decepticons in my reality, and it's my understanding that he even succeeded as leader for a time in Xaaron's.
"Now, I'm not saying go out of your way to attack the Nebulans. What I am saying is not to get foolish when dealing with Needlenose or Spinister just because you know they're working with organics. They are both extremely dangerous, not to be taken lightly. Should you encounter one of those two, I expect you to respond as you would to any other Decepticon, and keep alert to the fact that their partners sometimes actively participate in combat, separate from the Transformer they're bonded with." Were Rodimus at the first big battle, he could point out that it was Needlenose who blasted Omega Supreme, and Spinister who nearly turned Nightbeat into a pile of molten slag, but he wasn't. Perhaps someone else will make mention?
"Another subgroup are the Pretenders. These are Transformers with a separate, organic outer shell. When they are in their shell, they can pass as organic creatures, even to advanced sensor systems. When they are separated from their shells, they can control them remotely and even use them as a separate, second body, although damage taken to the shell causes painful feedback in the Transformer. A number of the Autobot Pretender shells are humanoid. While these are of limited effectiveness on Earth, there are a number of planets containing humanoid life with a scale closer to our own, and the shells' usefulness increases in such environments. A few of the other shells represent other organic races we've encountered.1
"The last subgroup I'm going to cover here are the Micromasters. These are just Transformers, scaled small for greater energy efficiency. Holi is a Micromaster, although he's a bit... different than the ones we had back home. Those were built with full adult personalities, and their small bodies contained a surprising amount of strength and firepower. Should you encounter a Decepticon Micromaster, do not fall into the trap of underestimating it just because it's small.
"That's all I've got for now, although it's no more than a basic overview on the subject. I'm sure I'll be adding more of these soon enough." Rodimus triggers something sitting next to him, and the recording cuts off.
1 That's my explanation for folks like Longtooth, and I'm sticking with it! Well, unless I have to change it.