Before I begin, I would like to welcome any readers to my world of Starlight. It's a story that for several years was on the assembly line, and it is the conglomerate of ideas spawning from different sources. This is my addiction, my project.
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Date Published: 11/15/2010
Last Revision Date: 11/25/2012
Revision note (11/25/2012): Added Scientific notes.
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Disclaimer: Transformers is the intellectual property of Hasbro and the author has no claim to any associated ideas or characters mentions in this fanfiction. All ideas used from other Fanfiction authors are used with their consent and the author has no claim to them in any way or form.
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Enjoy book one of the Star-Series: Starlight.
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Starlight Prologue:
Earthbound
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o.0.O.0.o
Space is as mysterious as it is vast. Its size alone is too much for a single mind to comprehend. Sure, scientist could numerically determine its size, but knowing a number is far different than being able to comprehend what it means. Yet one wouldn't have to know its size to understand that the chance of meeting another form of intelligent life was small, and the chances that one would meet another of the same race after leaving their place of origin was so infinitesimally small that it would be easier to label it impossible. Yet on the edge of a galaxy, near a small yellow star, two beings were soaring who had just had such an encounter.
Both were similar in build and programming when compared with the diversity found in their species. They were both metal, and they both could change into three different forms… and despite the inability for sound to travel in a vacuum, both were communicating with each other.
{Astrotrain, the Autobot's trajectory seems to be in a collision course with the organic planet.} The wave of information traveled in a direct path to reverberate throughout the metal plates of a royal purple carrier, the sensors there sent the waves into the processor, and the processor translated it into an understandable language.
The shuttle seemed to shudder for a moment, before responding to his companion. {Yes, I know Blitzwing. Do you still want to track him? We've already captured his companion.}
{He could lead us to the Autobots.}
{Fine, but how will we find him once he lands? He is 4 joors ahead of us.} Questioned the carrier.
{We land where he lands. He shouldn't be able to travel far with that thing on his back. At most all we will need to track him is our short-ranged sensors.} Responded the khaki and purple colored jet.
{Alright.} The alternating of radio waves gave way to a brief pause, both beings swept away into their own thoughts.
It had been about an orn ago when the two had quite literally run into two Autobots traveling around an asteroid. Both were lean and had similar build, but one had an item attached to his back through connected cables. Both sides were not expecting such an encounter, as it had been so long since they had spotted anyone. There was a brief pause as each side regarded the other in confusion, before the bots pulled their acts together and their blasters out.
Each side fired a couple shots, testing the reflexes of their enemies. The Decepticons managed to drive the two Autobots into the gravity field of the asteroid where they crashed. Both Decepticons had flown above the Autobots, taking advantage of their ground limitations. Yet they were both shocked into momentary inaction when they found out that one of the Autobots could fly as well. He was obviously not a flyer; the mech's flying at best could only be called clumsy, but nevertheless there was some kind of contraption on his back that enabled him to fly short distances, and most alarmingly, onto the back of Astrotrain.
The other thankfully did not seem to possess this skill as he did not follow his comrade. It would be this that decided the fate of the rest of the battle.
Blitzwing managed to shoot the flying one off Astrotrain's back while dodging shots from the one on the ground. The shot seemed to have luckily hit the jet pack the Autobot was undoubtedly using, and the Autobot couldn't soften his fall. The two Decepticons let out an onslaught of plasma onto the two, more shots hitting the fallen one then the other. The injuries the fallen one obtained were severe on the body, but it was nothing a Decepticon medic couldn't fix… if he was needed for information. If not, then the bot would be handed over to Hook who had several experiments as of late that he wanted to test. Given the rumors on the nature of Hook's experiments, the Decepticons knew torture to be the better option.
The two Decepticon flyers approached the one they had shut down, Astrotrain pulling out stasis cuffs while Blitzwing continued to fire on the other Autobot.
The captured Autobot called out to his companion, telling him to flee. The other Autobot hesitated for a moment then fled as soon as he saw what condition his companion was in. Astrotrain sneered, it was unusual that an Autobot would abandon his comrade, but not unheard of. The mech was a coward, and though they were interested in what he carried, it didn't matter. They had their prize.
With an Autobot in possession, they had traveled to the Nemisis. It was stationed inside the solar system, hidden on one of the moons orbiting around the sixth planet in the star's orbit. Starscream, acting as commander now that Megatron had undisputedly died, accepted the prisoner. Apparently there was still need of Autobot intel. The lucky slagger would be spared from Hook's experiments.
Choosing their next course of action, they had left the craft to travel after the other Autobot. There was no doubt in their minds that the Autobot was heading towards the organic planet to hide amongst the natives. If he had tried to escape through space, he wouldn't have a chance.
It really was pathetic how most Autobots were grounded. When one dominated the skies, one dominated space. It was very unlikely that a bot without strong propulsion systems could win a battle in space where the only things you had to push off of were your enemies and space debris. The Decepticons were destined to win from the start of the war while the Autobots could only continue to lose ground.
Sad really.
o.0.O.0.o
Currently the mech being pursued was slowly readjusting the plates on his form, gathering the excess metal on his frontal curve. He sent a signal to the form he was attached to, manually instructing the form to protect itself the same way he was protecting himself. The planet he was heading towards had a thick atmosphere, and even he was informed enough to know of the friction created upon re-entry.
The planet he had decided to land on was organic, filled with life. It was fortunate that the dominant species had created metallic land vehicles that the primitive race could travel in, otherwise landing there would have been about as useful as landing on a deserted planet.
He had learned through accessing the network that seemed to surround the planet what language the natives spoke. It amazed him to review through all the information the beings that called themselves 'humans' had. Many of the things displayed on their information network seemed useless. The being sighed as he wondered how long he would be marooned on the planet.
As he passed through the thermosphere, he felt his 'pod' form collide with an object as he was entering the outer edges of the planet, knocking it out of its original path. He wondered briefly if that object was important to the organics on this planet. No matter, it wasn't worth bothering himself over.
Soon the traveler and his package passed through the mesosphere, the first flames began to lick upon the two forms, heating the metal until it was a glowing red. The heat seemed to be intent on melting the plating off the two, but the alloys that they were created out of was much stronger than that found on the planet below, and would not bend for the slight heat. The fire soon disappeared, its mission unsuccessful.
The two forms crashed through the gasses that surrounded the planet, the liquid that formed what the creatures called 'clouds' accompanied by the wind swiftly cooled the two crafts, their metal hardening with the cold. The clouds he sifted through left a liquid residue on his person.
As the mech passed through the cumulonimbus layer, an object beeped onto his sensors, right in his path. The mech could only spew profanities as he and the jet liner (though he didn't know the word for the craft) collided with each other in midair.
The impact dented several of the mech's plating together, shaking his framework. The object that he had been attached to was brutally ripped away, a few cords that the mech used to attach the other object to him severed, rippling in the wind. Suddenly, his connection to the communications network disappeared, taking all his knowledge on his current location with it.
Two projectiles flew separate ways, one heading straight for the ground, the other heading further down south. The third, a craft that knew none of what had happened, flew and crashed into the waters below. Thankfully most of the humans had survived the crash, but they unanimously swore off flying ever again.
As for the mech and his package, they landed many miles away from each other.
It would be awhile before the two met again.
o.0.O.0.o
Scientific Notes:
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Radio Waves vs. Sound Waves in a Vacuum
Astronautics: Starscream
Cycle 98/ Vorn 2289
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Dear Councilors,
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It is necessary when concerning space travel that there are several methods available to complete an assigned task, and if possible for a single device to be have multiple uses. To relay messages mechs usually prefer to speak audibly for their unique vocal patterns are not carried over when using their comm. link. However, because sound consists of vibrations, sound cannot travel in a vacuum.
Sound is, in essence, a subtle vibration of matter that travels through different mediums, acting as a compression wave propagated from its center. While sound can travel through all types of matter, it oscillates best through solids. In space, there is no matter to oscillate, and thus sound is nonexistent.
Though Cybertron is not an organic world, it contains a faint atmosphere. It enables us to speak to each other without the need for comm. links, which, while useful in their own regard, can take up processing space needed for other tasks.
Comm. links are the most often used communications system in space as they are run using radio waves. Radio waves are a form of electromagnetic waves and as such are formed differently when compared to sound waves. While sound waves are composed of the oscillation of matter, radio waves are independent, composed of magnetic and electric fields. Like all other electromagnetic waves radio waves travel at the speed of light and only slow when striking an electrically conductive object. This greatly escalates the usefulness of Comm. links in space.
However, due to the need of many Cybertronians to communicate using sound, I propose that we add a small atmosphere inside all future spaceships. This will not only give Cybertronians a way of communication when their Comm. links are indisposed, it will also give others a way to de-stress when traveling for long periods of time. At the faint possibility that one of our explorers comes across an organic world, it will also give them the opportunity to quickly adapt their ships to sustain organic life forms without having to completely reformat their crafts, as those ships will already be capable of sustaining an atmosphere.
I believe that such a change, while costly, is the best way to continue forward for future endeavors in the exploration of space.
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Starscream,
Student of Aeronautics, Astronautics, and Theoretical Astrobiology
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Dear Starscream,
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Your proposition has been reviewed and denied.
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Therium Steel,
Lead Councilor
o.0.O.0.o
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And, cut!
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First off, this story could not be made without the use of several ideas. First I would like to thank-
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Ray of Starlight- For her story 'Twin Times the Fun' which inspired me to write a Sideswipe roadtrip fic.
A Midnight Dreary- For her story 'Til All Are One' and her ideas that will be appearing in later books.
Nidia Ceylon- For her story 'Shattered' which was the whole inspiration for book two and for the use of her ideas in later books.
And last, but certainly not least I would like to thank-
Faecat- For agreeing to be my Beta and for her wonderful story, 'Science and Fiction', which I believe revolutionized the Transformers fandom.
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Thank you all, for without you, I wouldn't have been able to come up with such a fic, let alone post it.
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Now, this is one book of many to come. There will be four total, but in between these I will post side stories that will be focusing on specific characters only, to give their stories more light. I will announce when I have posted them in these author notes. Another thing that I will post along with these stories is the story base I have written up. Each chapter will be a single book, and it will show the characters in that particular book and what their status is. It will be continually updated along with the story, and it will not post characters that haven't show up yet (thus the updates). I plan to post the beginnings of the next book as soon as I post the end of the previous book, so you shouldn't have to continually check my pages.
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Anyways, I believe I have said all I wanted to. My thanks to anyone who has read this far, I really appreciate it!
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With much love
-Silvera
