Armada/Energon/Cybertron-3

[Long Haul]

When developing DZ-3 characters, it helps to have an idea of what their original universe is like. As with regular Deadzone, these characters are all being pulled from realities that have certain set groups of characteristics, although the one thing that will be common to all the -3 realities is that they are AAEDAG (Autobots Are Evil, Decepticons Are Good) universes (or MAEPAG, or AAEPAG, or MAEVAG). Specific details can vary from universe to universe, though. Perhaps the Decepticons are a group of noble but desperate rebels in one reality, an established democracy in another, and a benevolent Empire in the third? Meanwhile, the Autobots might be the stereotypical Evil Empire in one place, a group of violent malcontents in a second reality, and a corrupt state run on profit at the expense of others elsewhere.

We don't really need too much detail. Just enough to get a springboard for the characters that come from them. After all, these are universes that we're never going to actually see. It's just a way to bounce around ideas while getting a feel for our alternates, and to have fun in the discussion besides.

The usual cliché when it comes to a "reverse-universe" type plot, based on my personal experiences of watching way too much television in the '80's and reading way too many comic books, is that the "reverse-universe" is always a much darker reflection of the original in order to leave the viewer or reader with a feeling of, "Boy, wouldn't it be suck if that were the normal fiction reality? Aren't you glad we write the series the way we do instead?" Often, interactions with the normal universe inspire changes in the better in the reverse universe, either by giving the beleaguered heroes of the reverse universe (the counterparts of the normal universe villains) a greater glimmer of hope, or by somehow inspiring the normal universe's evil counterparts to become better people. You know what, though? There's no reason we need to follow the cliche. Especially when we've got so many different realities to work with. Sure, I imagine some will be darker. Maybe some, however, will be brighter. Like normal Deadzone, we're looking at a mismatch here, but maybe, just maybe, while looking into the mirror, our normal characters can find something to inspire them rather than it always be the other way around. We've got a lot of stuff to play with, a lot of areas to explore.

As with normal Deadzone, there are only going to be set reality "groups" that get pulled from, and within that set, the only thing that changes is the pull-point for the various characters. Thus, all DZ-3s who come from G1 Cartoon-3 are going to come from pretty similar home realities, all the ones from the G1 Marvel-3 have similar homes, and so forth. The exact nature of each -3 home reality is being left up for discussion by the individual players who run characters in those realities and who are also participating in the DZ-3 plot itself.

This thread is for the discussion of what the Armada/Energon/Cybertron-3 universe is like, to be determined by those who run characters in from the normal A/E/C universe and who wish to participate in the plot in some way (even if it's just by running their normal characters).

Current characters from the A/E/C universe are: Demolishor, Shortround, Swerve, and Cannonball

(Suggestion: this reality totally needs to allow for the noble Royal Decepticon Navy captain, Cannonball, and upstanding Mounty Swerve in an otherwise corrupt force. Totally.)

[Starfighter]

"Boy, wouldn't it be suck if that were the normal fiction reality? Aren't you glad we write the series the way we do instead?"

Marvel Comics "What If" writers, please take note of this entire post.

Oddly enough, Demolishor straddles the line well enough during the beginning of Energon that an alignment swap would make him more of a stereotype in either direction.

[Swerve]

I like the idea of a benevolent Decepticon Empire in the UT. They got trounced by the Autobots in Armada, tried to make/made their comeback in Energon, and went through fortifying their re-establishment in Cybertron. Or that's how I see it, at least. Anyone else have any ideas?

The Autobots were a well-meaning bunch, a republic or something of the like, but they were misguided in fighting the Empire and became overconfident with their victory and the subsequent galactic power. What started as a defence force set up to protect first Earth and Cybertron, then the other three Transformer worlds as they were found and recovered, became irrevocably corrupt, the enforcing arm of an underhanded government, often sent to extract tithes from the various planetary leaders. Those who chafed under this rule often collaborated with and harboured Decepticon agents who came to their worlds.

Again, hey, just my idea. Any input from the other UTers around here? (All three of ya.)

[Grimlock]

Hmm...on the Armada end, kinda flip the show - Autobots want the Mini-Cons for power, Decepticons want to help them, and for a twist, the Mini-Cons are evil, wanting to help the Autobots in conquering. Faced up against the Autobots AND the Mini-Cons, and wanting to make them nice again, the Decepticons have no choice but to make a militarial move - Thus is born the Decepticlone Army (From the Armada game).

Dunno what to do with Energon. Maybe just a power struggle with the Decepticons trying to get Unicron alive again as a measure of keeping the Autobots in check.

Cybertron, the Autobot Rebels are fed up with lack of a victory so far. They decide to try and invoke the Power of Primus so that he may smite their enemies, and need the Planet Keys for this. Maybe Cannonball could be someone who investigates illegal warping, as the 'Cons could have put a restriction on it, to keep the Autobots from moving around too much.

Kinda tired, so apologies if it don't make no sense.

[Swerve]

Re: Armada - Dunno about making the Mini-Cons outright evil. Unless there's some kind of reprogramming going on like in the comics to explain why there are/were Mini-Cons helping the Decepticons, which doesn't smack of the most kosher approach to gaining their aid. I think I like the idea of bringing in the concept of the Decepticlone army, though – countering the Autobots' Mini-Con-supplemented power with numbers. If we still want to go with the way it ended and Energon began, maybe even that wasn't enough to stand against the combined might of the Mini-Cons and the Autobots, forcing the Decepticons to agree to a truce that was more of a humiliating surrender.

As for Energon… Alpha Quintesson was the one originally out to resurrect Unicron, not the Decepticons, wasn't he? Maybe the Decepticons allied with him in their efforts to regain power, borrowing the Terrorcon hordes to amass resources. That way, they fought back to some semblance of their former might, enough to stake their own claims on some territory and form the beginnings of the naval fleet that will come later. The Autobots continue to hold sway over Earth through a mix of lies and intimidation.

By the time Cybertron rolls around, the danger of the Unicron Singularity has brought Megatron to evacuate his forces from Cybertron for their own safety. His navy patrols the galaxy and polices warp travel as a way to limit the Autobots' ability to expand. The Autobots rebel against the attempts to corral them on Earth, but can't get much done until the legendary Vector Prime, guardian of space-time, in his mission to save their homeworld is duped by the Autobots after they interrupt his meeting with Starscream. After that, it's a race between the factions for the Cyber Planet Keys, with the Decepticons seeking to stop the Autobots from waking Primus and possibly further endangering their world and the Autobots questing for the Keys' power so they can call on Primus to give them the final victory over the Decepticons they so crave.

Does it work? Not work? Should I shut up?

[Cannonball-3]

Cannonball-3 is an old sea dog, a living legend of the Decepticon Royal Navy. He's fought and won countless battles, known for his skilled ability in improvisational tactics, courage-inspiring speeches, and just plain dumb luck. It's a bit odd that he's lived so long, but like his counterpart, Cannonballs train replacements and pass it off to the general public as a simple overhaul. He differs from his counterpart in appearance, however. The black paint and day-glow pirate markings are gone, replaced with a bright white and dark blue. His optics and siren lights are a lighter shade of blue, and his eyepatch is on the opposite side. He's rough and tumble in combat, but a rather kindly fellow outside of duty. He's also known to engage in some high-grade assisted downtime with some of his officers, and keeps a well-stocked private cabinet in his quarters.

[Swerve]

Swerve-3 is an upstanding sort of mechanoid; genial, kind, always courteous and polite. He's generous with his time and with himself. Honest to a fault – one might even call it a compulsion of sorts. Overall, he's the kind of person who seems just too good to be true.

Luckily, this isn't the case despite the corrupted world from which he comes. Swerve-3 is a law officer from Velocitron – basically a traffic cop – who retired from racing to join law enforcement. He simply does not discuss why he made that change, though it happened before the Autobots came. He often waxes melancholic if he stops to think about his homeworld, but speaks fondly of it all the same.

Although he is as polite as polite can be, a trait he shares with his counterpart is his temper. Very few, if any, of the Autobots are aware of the flaws in his core processors that cause them to run so much hotter than normal, but that excessive heat is the root cause of the anger he constantly struggles to keep under control. Facets of it leak through in his impulsive nature, but most of it he sublimates with his good manners. In fact, the angrier he feels, the more polite and clipped his speech becomes as he knuckles down harder on his self-control. He hasn't snapped in several hundred years and would like to keep it that way for many more centuries.

Aside from his lack of an omnipresent frown and tendency toward mild smiles instead, Swerve-3 looks no different from Swerve.

[Shortround]

Shortround-3 is violent. That's the simplest way to describe him. Armed with a plasma rifle and his two missiles, he runs into fights, laughing maniacally and using his quick speed to dash in between Autobots before they have a chance to respond, filling the air and ground with enough plasma and explosions to disorientate his opponents.

Its because of his violent nature that he was made a cargo carrier in the first place, in the hope that keeping him away from the battlefield would stop his rather Autobot-like tendencies from showing up. Despite this, he is loyal to the Decepticon cause, he just likes blowing stuff up. And, hey, he can still destroy any Autobots attempting to intercept any cargo he's carrying.

Outside of battle, Shortround and Shortround-3 look no different, however in battle its easy to tell who is who. Shortround-3 would be the crazy one firing at everything that moves.

[Makeshift]

While I mainly thought this up in reference to the Dreamwave timeline, there's no reason I can see why this couldn't apply to cartoon-verse Armada as well. Anyway, here goes.

Cybertron was originally inhabited by three classes. The aristocratic ruling class, known as Autobots; the tough-built warrior class called Decepticons; and the smaller-working class called Mini-cons. The Autobots, from their pristine stronghold in Cyber City, ruled with distant airs from on high, enforcing peace by edict of sending their enforcers out to quell any disturbances; the Decepticons, largely acting as the strong arm of the law, kept the borders safe; and the Mini-cons, so small as to be under the notice of the others, went about their jobs quietly.

The peace was not to last, however, as a noble general by the name of Megatron, no longer willing to watch his warriors fight and kill and die for Autobots who no longer even bothered to watch in person, took up arms against his former masters. The First Civil War raged for centuries, but the outcome was never in question; Megatron, in anger and haste, had not adequately prepared for a protracted war, and was forced to flee with his remaining warriors. But the true cost of the war broke him when he discovered it; the Mini-cons, too small to put up a fight, had nearly been annihilated in the crossfire. Less than 200 of the small race survived.

The Autobots, not ready to get off their skidplates and maintain their own world, gathered up the remaining Mini-cons and forced them through a long, agonizing process, stripping away their free will and leaving them just enough intelligence to perform their duties without question. Now little more than drones, the Mini-cons were turned loose and put to work, running the world's systems as slaves.

Megatron, enraged at this treatment, began preparing for a new uprising. But this time, he was prepared. Along with his closest followers, he began capturing the near-mindless Mini-cons and trying to restore their minds. The process was imperfect, but progress was made.

Unfortunately, this also prompted the Autobots to react. Their leader, Optimus Prime, descended from his high seat to deal his personal judgement; if the Autobots could not have the Mini-cons, then no one would. The remaining Mini-cons, aside from a few that Megatron managed to secret away, were loaded onto a starship and launched into space.

Horrified, the Decepticons assaulted Cyber City itself, demanding the transponder codes for the ship so that it could be recalled, but Prime, in a gesture of ultimate spite, erased the codes and fled with his inner council. And so the Second Civil War began.