"The
Longreach Project: Prologue," Written
by Raptor_7_7_7
Several years have passed since
the awaking of the Transformers on Earth in 1984. The Autobots
and Deceptions fought valiantly against each other, both factions
with different goals. The Autobots wanted to defend Earth,
and make sure that the Decepticons would not rape the small
world of its precious resources and enslave or destroy the
Human race that is dominant upon it. However, neither side
would have the upper hand for long. Whenever the malevolent
Megatron, leader of the evil Decepticons had come close to
conquest, the Autobots and their heroic leader Optimus Prime
would thwart their plans. The Autobot leader Optimus Prime
knew the Autobots had to do something to swing the balance
of power their way, for only the Autobots' victory would ensure
the safety of the planet Earth. A Decepticon victory would
ensure its ruin...
It is now 1993, a new decade has
come, marking nine years of dreaded war between the Autobots
and Decepticons. Still neither side have been able to claim
victory and the balance of power is still within a neutral
stance, forcing both sides to take up drastic measures if
one side is ever to win the war. One such Decepticon intends
to do such a thing, but for his own glory, not for his personally
hated leader Megatron…
Despite the inclusion of the Aerialbots
to the Autobots cause in late 1985, the Decepticons still
had a strong advantage in the air with the six Seeker jets.
Dirge, Ramjet and Thrust were the lower ranked Seekers, signifying
this by having their cone-piece from jet mode be on their
heads in robot mode. Thundercracker and Skywarp were the lieutenants
to their leader, and are much more experienced then the “cone-head”
Seekers. However, none of these five Seekers could compare
with the powerful and highly treacherous Starscream, Air Commander
and leader of the Seekers.
Word had reached the Autobots of
Starscream's treacherous plot – one that could spell
doom for the Autobots and their Human allies. Starscream planned
to create a new body for himself – one made of unique
mixtures of metals and alloys making it so that he would be
almost indestructible. Knowing the severity of this, the Autobots
put together a strike team: Ultra Magnus, Wheeljack, Kup,
and Optimus Prime.
Using the information they gathered,
the Autobots discovered where the lab was in which Starscream
planned to create the super-body, and immediately they headed
towards the hidden complex.
The Autobots broke through the hidden
entrance, seemingly very easily. However, upon entrance, Starscream’s
automatic defences immediately blasted at them. They struggled
to find cover in the narrow corridor at the entrance, forcing
them to charge and fire blindly until the weapons were destroyed
in the area. After what seemed like hours, the Autobots managed
to destroy the defences, hoping at the same time that there
was no alarm system that could alert Starscream.
Pressing further into the complex,
the Autobots found themselves in a small hangar. In the middle
of a hangar rested a deadly and very powerful jet –
a type of jet that had plagued the Autobots for many years.
This one however was devoid of markings, a grey shell. Ultra
Magnus transformed into his carrier mode, and they placed
the powerful jet on the high level of his trailer. With the
automatic defences fortunately down, they began to find their
way back to the surface.
But where were the Autobots
to go? They could return to the Ark and complete the jet and
bring themselves a new ally, but Starscream would know what
they intended to do and would no doubt convince Megatron to
attack. Knowing this had to be kept secret, the Autobots established
a smaller base, far away from the Ark where hopefully no one,
neither Decepticon or Autobot brethren, would find them.
And so the Autobots radioed
Jetfire to provide them with transport to the continent of
Australia, a land that that had yet to be scarred by the battles
between the Autobots and Decepticons.
THE
RECONSTRUCTION:
Upon the heated landmass of the practically uninhabited centre
deserts, the small group of Autobots consisting of Autobot
Commander Optimus Prime, Second-in-command Ultra Magnus, the
mechanical engineer Wheeljack, the seasoned warrior Kup and
the powerful, giant Air Guardian Jetfire, were the only ones
who knew about their secret plan – a plan that may win
the war and injure the Decepticons in a way that they potentially
may never recover from. The Autobots were going to create
their own Seeker – one with more power then any of the
Decepticons Seekers and also that of the Autobots’ Jetfire.
The Autobots these past days had
been busy with the modifications to the already formidable
Seeker shell stolen from Starscream’s lab. Already they
had begun to fashion him in a way matching that of a traditional
Autobot warrior. They had repainted the predominantly grey
shell into a hard, reflective white, with stripes of blue
on the wingtips and chest plate for robot mode. Black was
painted onto the engines and also painted on the parts that
would become its knees and feet in robot mode.
But a new paint job was not all
they had done to the lifeless jet – they had also equipped
it with first part of weapons – standard Seeker jet
weaponry. They also had named him “Longreach”
after the area where an Australian aeroplane company had been
founded and was also the area where they had begun work on
him.
Eventually the five Autobots gathered
around, and Optimus Prime took out of his chest the Matrix.
The Autobot Leader held the mystical Autobot device above
the face of what would become the super-powerful Autobot Seeker,
and each Autobot held on to the Matrix, each going to infuse
a portion of their traits into what would become the next
great Autobot.
Optimus Prime invoked his courage
and the value he had for all life.
Ultra Magnus placed in his spirit
and nobility.
Wheeljack incorporated his technical
knowledge and creativity.
Kup infused his wisdom and life-long
experience.
And finally, Jetfire put within
his soaring comrade his power and strength.
And with this, the Matrix glowed
intensely, as it absorbed the copies of the traits of each
warrior’s personality, and with a spectacular and mesmerising
twin beam of light, shot into the eyes of Longreach. His optical
sensors lit up an intense red glare due to the fact that he
was designed to be a Decepticon (though not all red-eyed Autobots
were designed to be Decepticons). The red glare from his optical
sensors intensified, going straight up and spreading wider
and wider into a cone shape for several metres. Suddenly,
the intense glare died down swiftly revealing two flat-surfaced
red eyes.
Longreach stood up.
‘State your name and function,’
Optimus Prime ordered.
Longreach turned to Optimus Prime.
‘Longreach – Autobot Aerial Shock Trooper.’
Over the several months that followed,
further upgrades were made to the new Autobot Seeker. The
predominant upgrade was generally related the maximum speed
and acceleration, and Jetfire became directly involved in
this field of construction.
Utilising the advanced
Cybertronian rocketry and booster technology derived from
Jetfire’s personal design Longreach gradually became
similar to Jetfire in many power characteristics. Using the
powerful rocket boosters replicated and modified by Wheeljack
from Jetfire under each wing, Longreach gained the ability
to travel at incredible speeds, almost exceeding Jetfire with
the modifications and his lighter weight. To stabilise Longreach,
additional rudders fashioned from the unique upgrades of Thrust
were added to the vertical fins about the present ones.
Even with these grand upgrades,
they continued further using the stolen technology from Starscream’s
hidden laboratory. They utilised Skywarp’s powerful
teleportation modules granting the Autobot Seeker the ability
to shift its position from one location to another in both
jet and robotic modes.
Finally, the Autobots neared
the end of the construction of Longreach...
TO BE CONTINUED!
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