Prologue, Part 1: Bridge Between Worlds
Space… To some, it is a lifeless void. To others, a sea of infinite possibilities. Many have gazed upon it, pondered on its mysteries. Many have made the bold move to sail across the stars. Some in search of new homes, others in search of secret knowledge and treasure. One group happens to be in search of the latter, while the other… well. They're more interested in the first party themselves.
Striding down the hallways was an Autobot in red-and-white paint. He was between the size of a Minicon and a regular-sized Cybertronian (though it was difficult to tell if he was a member of either camp). Blue opics gleamed from behind his mouthguard, while his cone-shaped head possessed a small antenna. Small white pylons rested on his shoulders while fin-like structures rose past them.
Walking beside him was an orange-and-white Bulk of average size. Two blades rose above his blue shoulders, likely belonging to some type of rotor. His face was covered by an orange mouthguard and a blue visor. The two Mechs were the Aerialbots Powerglide and Alpha Bravo respectively. And the ship that they were on was called the Arclight.
Alpha Barvo was the first to speak. "So you're an Aerialbot too," He said. "How did find yourself here?"
"Heard this crew was in need of an extra flyer," The smaller bot replied. "A friend of mine knew the captain and recommended me to him. A deca-cycle later and- poof. Here I am. So, what's your story, if you don't mind me asking?"
The taller bot laughed. "The Protectobots here were looking for some new oil. I signed up just as word reached my station."
Powerglide's faceplate glanced down at the floor with an "oh" being muttered. The younger flyer's optics projected a concerned look in them.
"They didn't brief you in, did they?" Said the red one.
The orange one shook his head. "Just arrived here a couple of solar cycles ago. Haven't bumped into the commander yet. Or the rest of his team, now that I think about. Where are they?"
"Mourning," replied the smaller Mech. "They lost their flyboy Graze an orbital cycle ago."
"Oh," Said AB gloomingly.
"Excuse me, gentlemechs," Said a new voice. The two flyers turned to see a white-and-red Bulk with a shoulder-mounted missile launcher.
"Red Alert," Greeted Powerglide.
The larger bot smiled and glanced at Alpha Bravo. It insintaly did a 180 spin. "This is the new recruit?"
"I am," confirmed the rookie. "Is something wrong?"
Before he could protest, the older bot pulled out a small device from a holster on his hip and fired it at Alpha. Frozen in place, he was unable to protest as the security officer retracted his hands and summoned several more tools. He ran laps around the bot as he scanned him with each one, blinding him with every hit. When his vision returned, he found himself on his servos and knees. He was free to rise as Red Alert compiled all of his work into a data-con.
"Verification complete," He said. "X-rays confirm that he is not a Shifter."
The Aerialbot shook his head to remove any further glitches from his Heads-Up-Display. "Was that really necessary?" He growled.
"Oh absolutely," replied the wheeled bot. "We cannot ignore the possibility of Decepticon saboteurs walking amongst us."
Powerglide rolled his optics. "Was there a reason you came to me besides harassing our recruits?"
"Why yes," He replied. "The captain wants to see you in his office."
Powerglide raised an optic rim. "Me and the kid?"
"No," The head of security replied in a deadpan manner. "Just you. This does not involve the 'kid'."
The smallest one sighed. "You know where the recreational hall is?"
The younger Autobot projected a holographic map from his arm. "Don't work. I ain't walking in the dark. Wait for you there?"
Powerglide nodded. "Sure. See ya la-"
"Not without an escort, young mech!" Retorted Red Alert. He glanced around the hall frantically until his gaze fell upon a black-and-red bot with a blue visor.
"You there!" He shouted as he walked towards him.
The Autobot winced as the words stabbed their way into his audio receptors. "Primus, pal! What is it no-"
Red Alert grabbed him by the arm and pushed him towards Alpha Bravo. He nearly crashed into the poor lad.
"Accompany this 'recruit' to the recreational hall. Do not let him out of your sight," He commanded.
He grabbed Powerglide by the same limb and dragged him along despite his protests. Alpha Bravo just stared at the two bots as they departed.
"Please tell me he's the only crazy one on this ship," He said.
The ebony bot chuckled. "Don't worry," He replied. "It's just him." He shook his servo with the Aerialbot's. "Name's Trailbreaker."
"Alpha Bravo," Said the cadet. "There an Energon bar near the hall? Or a gym? Could go for some rounds of Cube."
Trailbreaker grinned. "And a lot more, kiddo," He said. "Come on, there's some bots I wanna introduce you to."
While the copter-bot and his new friend were chatting away, Red Alert led Powerglide to the captain's quarters. The flyer broke his arm free from the officer's iron grip.
"Now will you tell what's going on?" Said Powerglide.
Red Alert peered into an opening beside the door. A bright blue light scanned his optics, beeping afterwards. The door slide open for them.
"Perhaps it would be better if the captain showed you," Said Red Alert.
Both bots entered the room. It was a simple design, white in color and possessing minimal furniture. All they could see was a recharge slab, a round table, some chairs, and a terminal. Sitting at the table was a bot in black-and-white paint. A red crest-resembling horns- was sculpted onto his cranium. A golden visor studied the datapad before him.
Prowl glanced up from his logs as the two stepped in. He rose to his feet and placed his hands behind his back.
"Powerglide," The captain greeted formally.
The Aerialbot saluted him. "Captain."
Prowl pressed a button on the table. The ceiling above opened to reveal a holographic projector. The lights went out, swiftly replaced by a faint cyan glow. Red Alert shivered at the change in lighting.
"We received a transmission from Cosmos a few mega cycles ago," Said Prowl.
Powerglide raised an optic rim. "From Ultra Magnus?" He asked. "Has he finally found Prime?"
His commander shook his head. "No," He replied. "It's from one of our agents."
A holographic keyboard appeared before him and he typed something into it. A silhouette- blurred in blue and yellow- was facing the trio. A distorted voice emerged from it.
"This is C-111," the figure began. "And I have grave news. The Decepticons have discovered an ancient relic of our people's past and are attempting to restore it. If functional, it can put the war effort in their favor. "
A series of clanks could be heard in the background.
"Scrap," He cursed, seemingly typing away on his arm. "Sending package now. Till all are-"
The recording ended abruptly. Prowl typed in more sequences and brought up another image. This one left the crimson bot speechless. Before them was the schematics to a donut-shaped object. More images of it popped up, revealing it to possess a rock-like exterior and glowing veins. Photos of a nearby space station popped up around the blueprints as well. He recognized the device from before the war.
"A Space Bridge?" Breathed Powerglide.
Prowl nodded grimmly. "It appears that some were spared from the collapse of the original network," He said. "I thought they were all destroyed near the end of the Golden Age, but obviously that's not the case."
Red Alert stepped. "If there are any more intact and the Decpeticons manage to reconnect them, they could swarm the entire galaxy."
Powerglide slammed a fist into his palm. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go kick some aft!"
"Absolutely not!" Blurted out the security officer.
Prowl nodded in agreement as he typed into the keypad. The schematics were replaced with an image of a starship and manifest of its crew.
The Leviathan: Switchblade, Thrust, Barricade, Offroad, Swindle, Flamewar, Bludgeon, Incinerator, Demolisher, Turmoil
The list ran on and on, totalling to about several hundred- if not a thousand- names. Powerglide's arms became limp at the sight of the list. "You're kidding me…"
Red Alert shook his head. "You think I'm the paranoid one? Take a gander at this!"
The image and list flickered to reveal several windows of video footage. Hordes of Vehicons patrolling a space station, Seekers flying around the vessel. Destroyers were dotted across the surrounding area, all in tank-mode. Powerglide gulped at the sight.
"Please tell me you have a plan," he said.
Prowl smirked. "That's why you're here," He said. "Now listen carefully…"
Meanwhile at Research Station N0V5-212
A number of Vehicons- purple cannon fodder with crimson visors- were patrolling the space station's communications chamber. One of them was busy trying to rewire a terminal after it burned out. Beside him was a mint-colored Seeker, monitoring the computer the trooper was fixing. Another 'of his kind stepped into the room, bearing a cone (or squid, depending on who you ask) shaped head. His paintjob was a dark gray and muted lime green.
"Sky commander!" Saluted the first Seeker.
The officer- Thrust- chuckled. "At ease, Bitstream," He said. "General Switchblade wants a status report."
"Relays are as shoddy as ever," Said Bitstream, tapping the terminal with his knuckle. "But the upgrades are coming along smoothly."
"And the Bridge?"
"Fully operational. However…"
Thrust raised an optic rim. "What is it?"
Bitstream walked to another computer and typed away at it's panel. A series of code ran across the screen before a star map appear on it.
"This Space Bridge appears to be isolated from the original network. No mentions of any of Cybertron or its old colonies anywhere. The only locations it does show is ours…"
He pointed at a blank part of the map. "And that."
Thrust brought his face closer to the screen, than glanced out one of windows. "The local dark nebula?" He said in confusion.
Bitstream nodded. "Interesting," muttered his commander. "Can we connect it to other Space Bridges?"
The seeker shrugged. "I can do the programming, but I don't think that alone's enough. Might need to tinker with its guts too."
Thrust sighed. His superiors were not going to like this. "I'll see if Switchblade can call in some additional servant-class, but don't expect any miracles."
Thrust departed the chamber and flew out of the center in vehicle mode. Seconds after his exit, however, something rolled into the corner of the room. Bitstream notices this and goes to investigate it. Before he got close, it released a static-charged cloud of gas. All of the 'Cons present had their cirects scrambled and fell into stasis lock.
Through the mists emerged a figure in dark blue armor. Crawling under one of the terminals, he opened a panel up and rewired the rader. It blinked up for a minute, playing a feedback loop he programmed into it. Closing it back up, he grabbed his gadget and snuck back out the door. Don't want to leave any evidence behind.
Counterpunch let out a sigh of relief. The afflicted 'Cons won't be remembering this any time soon. Now all he had to do was wait for the infiltration team. He spent the next few mega cycles scouting the research site, taking note of every soldier and defense mechanism in place. To pass the time, he also decide to jumpscare any servant-class Vehicon he encountered. He (or at least the Counterpunch portion of his psyche) always did enjoy the sounds they made when startled.
A flicker caught the corner of his optics. His HUD was detecting a lone isotome in one of the local asteroids' craters. Sticking to the darkness of space, Counterpunch leapt onto one and slipped in. This was his private bunker for his Autobot identity. Totally soundproof.
Something clanked and rolled in the corner. He summoned his blaster and slowly walked towards the source of the disturbance. To his relief, it was just his tower of empty energon canisters collapsing.
Something invisible collided into his chestplate. The spy fell onto his aft and found himself staring at the barrel of another blaster. Before him was a sleek blue-and-white bot with blades attach to his forearms. He instantly recognized him as Mirage. The cloaker lowered his weapon.
"You could've left a notepad or something," Joked Counterpunch as he converted to his Autobot persona.
Mirage grinned sheepishly. "Couldn't find a damn pen." He retorted playfully.
"You the only one here?" Asked the spy.
Seven more shapes blurred into existence, evidently using cloak fields as well. Two of them were between the size of a Minicon and Bulk, possessing kibble for a plane and hovercycle. Another appeared to turn into a blue buggy-like vehicle. He spotted two Minicons- one humanoid and one birdlike- standing beside a Bulk in tan, red, and white. A femme in cyan paint also stood with them. These were Powerglide, Groove, Beachcomber, Rewind, Sunder, Chromedome, and Moonracer respectively.
"Moonracer, stay here and use your scopes. EMP rounds only," Commanded Mirage. "Beachcomber, watch her back. Sunder and Powerglide, see if you can cut the engines on the Leviathan. Punch, just do what you do best. Rewind, Groove, you're with me. We'll handle the Destroyers."
"What about me?" Chromedome inquired with his arms crossed. "Just sit here and let my engine freeze?"
Their spy -Punch- gave him a data-con. "This'll enable you to access the shis's cameras. Just insert the codes into my terminal over there and watch everyone else's backs."
Mirage grinned as the yellow-visored bot took at sit at Punch's computer. "Remember; comlinks only. We've only got one shot at this. If things to the Pits now, there won't be a tomorrow for anyone present."
Mirage held his arm up in the air for few seconds before bringing it down. "Roll Out!" He yelled.
Thrust had entered the main bridge of the Leviathan by this point. Up head of him was his commanding officer Switchblade. His superior was a blue-and-gold bot with ruby-red optics, with wings resembling that of a predatory bird behind his back. Beside him was another bot, clad in tan armor with purple highlights and violet visor. They were sitting around a large table, carved in the shape of the Decepticon insignia.
"'Sup squidhead," Waved the tan-bot.
Thrust let out an annoyed growl. "Hello Swindle," said Thrust.
The captain turned to Thrust. "We were just talking about you. I trust Bitstream's research is going smoothly." He said.
"It certainly has bore some fruit," Thrust said. "But it also came across some snags."
Switchblade's optics narrowed. "Give me the bad news," He said.
"The space bridge doesn't appear to have any connection to the original network. We would have to manually program it to connect with others. We did find another one, however."
The other flyer smiled. "Oh?" He said. "And where might it be?"
Thrust simply pointed out the main window to the bridge. Both of the other bots seem perplexed.
"The dark nebula?" Switchblade asked.
Thrusted nodded. There was a pause amongst the three 'Cons. Swindle broke the silence after a minute.
"If I were a betting bot," He began. "I'd wager that other bridge leads to something valuable. Weapons, Energon, treasure. A dark nebula would make the perfect hiding for staching all your loot."
"Or perhaps serve as a cloak for someone," Thrust added.
"Like Prime?" Switchblade said.
Thrust grinned under his mouthguard. "My thoughts exactly."
Switchblade rose from his seat and made his way to the ship's main computer.
"If there's chance that Prime is hiding in that cloud, Megatron needs to know," He said as he typed on a holographic keypad.
Yet as those words left his mouth, static came into view. He typed the sequence again and received the same result. A different command was inputted and still nothing. Switchblade gave up and tapped into his comlink.
"Bitstream, what's your status?"
Static…
"Bitstream?"
An uneasy silence hung in the air. Swindle exchanged a nervous glance with Thrust. Before anyone could speak, something appeared in their front window. It was another vessel, clad in copper and salmon-color plating. It lacked the dark paint and spikes their own ships were known for. Switchblade growled as he realized who was manning the other ship.
Slamming a fist into a red button, the alarm sounded off. Thrust converted his arms into flamethrowers while Swindle's hand retracted to make way for a X18 Scrapmaker. Switchblade ejected a rifle from his built-in backpack and caught it with his spare hand. His other one grabbed a microphone and brought it to his vocalizer.
"All warriors, man your battlestations! Servant-class must grab arms and join the battle. This not a drill! Repeat, this is not a drill!"
The Destroyers had turned their attention to the Arclight, unloading their cannons onto the enemy ship. The ship's shields held and it returned fire. While the tanks shrugged the enemy fire off, their audio receptors were clouded with gunfire and explosions. A certain Minicon explioted this to slip on them and attach a detpak under each one. By the time they noticed something amist, they became flaming piles of scrap.
Rewind let out a short laugh as the behemoths fell. His joy turned to horror when the giants began shifting to robot mode. He let out a nervous chuckle and wave as one of them aimed his minigun at him. Before he could fire, something pierced his cranium. The Destroyer fell to his knees and nearly crushed the Minicon under him. He turned his head towards the asteroid housing Punch's bunker.
"You can thank me later," chimed Moonracer's voice in his coms.
The remaining Destroyers ejected floating probes from their backs, soaking in the Overshields they generated. Rewind scrambled to cover as one opened fire on him. He poked his head out and firsted his blaster at one of the drones. It exploded into shrapnel and he ducked back under the rubble. He heard shots go off past his barrier, but they didn't sound like a Scrapmaker.
He was overjoyed by the sight of Mirage dancing around a Destroyer, cloaking and taunting the giant at every turn. With his overshields down, Rewind used the opportunity to climb onto his back and plant another bomb on him. A shot from him detonated, blowing the Destroyer's back wide open and exposing his inner mechanisms. Both bots blasted them to oblivion, extinshing his Spark.
Dropships from the invading spacecraft were deployed around the Space Bridge. Among the Autobots swarming the site were a sargent and one of his cadets. A hardened ancient bot in worn green paint took a quick off of a Cy-gar before dropping from his. A younger bot- crimson with fiery flames painted on his chassis- followed suit. The elder -Kup- converted his right arm into a Scatter Blaster. He charged forth towards a squad of Vehicons and opened fire, gunning down two of them.
An explosive-laced arrow zoomed past him and into another 'Con, blowing his head to pieces. Another landed at the feet of two more, knocking them off balance and giving Kup an opening to finish them off. The younger bot -Rodimus- sped past him and ducked under blaster fire. He headbutted one of the mooks before impaling him with one of his arrows, letting detonate in his chest. The sparkless chassis fell to the ground.
Both bots converted to vehicle mode and rammed past the rest of them, running over any other tropper unfortunate enough to be on their sights. At least, until a green 'Con in tank mode sent them flying with his cannons. The impact forced the duo out of their alt-modes and they scrambled for cover as mortar fire rained down on them. The con laughed as he demolished their hiding spots one by one.
"Come on out and fight, Autobums!" Taunted Brawl.
His response was Rodimus firing an arrow in the middle of the field. Smoke coated the whole ground, blinding the Combaticon for a time. He resolved to use his thermal scanners when his radar picked up something. That object turned out to be a small black-and-white hovorcraft. The bot flew over his head and converted to Protoform-mode. The blue-visored Autobot kicked off his missile launcher and pulled his cannons upwards.
"Starting a party with firecrackers?" Groove laughed. "Shame on you."
With a snarl the larger bot converted to robot-form and plucked the pacifist from his back. He was about to blow his head off when a rocket-arrow collided with his shoulder. Free from his grip, the small one converted back to vehicle mode and sped off. Kup charged and rammed into him with his own set of wheels. The tank-bot was sent spiral off the station and into the void towards the Leviathan.
"We even?" Rodimus chirped. Kup elbowed him while the Protectobot chuckled.
"Main console's up ahead." Groove said. "Race y'all there."
Before the sargent could protect, his pupil convert into alt-mode and speed after him. Groaning, he reluctantly joined in on the chase. Groove made use of his Cyber-Ninja skills to evade Vehicons rather than resort to force (or at least the lethal variant). His competitors had no such qualms and blasted them at sight. He almost ran headfirst into a squad of Seekers when he beat them to the finish line. Soon as he resumed his humanoid form, he found himself surrounded. And hovering above them was Thrust.
The air marchiel emitted a "tsk"ing sound from his vocal processor. "Did you really that I would leave this section unguarded?" Thrust gloated.
Groove held his servos up. "For a minute, I actually did," He admitted as he got onto his knees.
Then he smiled. Thrust was about to ask about that look when rammed straight into his faceplate. Kup converted into robot-mode and pounded away at the tactician. Rodimus followed suit and delivered a kick to a Vehicon's abdomen. Groove made a mad dash for the main computer, but Thrust repelled the elder-bot and bolted after the smaller one.
Groove narrowly dodged a grab-attack from the air marshal and fired away with his blasters. The stun rounds had little effect on him and he responded by activating his flamethrowers. The Auobot danced around the flames and resorted to martial arts. His prefered choice- Diffusion- focused on non-lethal attacks and misdirection. In some cases, he feigned one type of punch and went for another. In others he slide under the larger 'Con and unleashed a volley of kicks.
With each hit Thrust's patience dimmed and flickered. At last his breaking point was reached and his wings began spinning rapidly. Groove was caught in the makeshift tornado and flung into the main terminal screen. Thrust used the boosters in his feet to quickly close the gap and slammed his fist into the Protectobot. He wrapped his fingers around the poor bot's head and repeatedly slammed him against the screen of the console until it broke. The Seeker converted his free hand into a flamethrower and brought it to Groove's battered face.
"Do you have any last words before I send you to the Allspark?" Inquired Thrust.
A golden optic gleamed through his broken visor as he grinned. "Ya; you should've stuck with your teammates."
Thrust raised an optic rim before before spinning around. Rodimus-having finished off the last of his Vehicons- fired a rocket-arrow at him. He instinctively activated his weapon to detonate the explosive before it hit him. The resulting blast was stronger than he anticipated and he was flung onto the computer. The arm possessing the flamethrower found its way into the exposed circuitry behind the screen and ignited it. An alarm blurred and coated the room in a blood-red light as the flames consumed the console.
"WARNING: MAIN CONTROLS UNDER CRITICAL CONDITION," Said an electronic voice. "SPACE BRIDGE MALFUNCTIONING. PROBABILITY OF SELF-DESTRUCTION; EIGHTY-SEVEN POINT NINETE-"
At that moment, the entire control center erupted into flames. An explosion sent all of its occupants spiraling into the void. Thrust had the advantage of being a Seeker and fly off to his ship without a problem. His enemies on the other hand were flying at dangerous speeds towards some asteroids. Before anyone would met a grizzly destruction, however, something magnetically grabbed them. Groove found himself attach to the underside of an Aerialbot. The thing that puzzled him was the blades folded down neatly at the top.
He grinned as he put two and two together. "Ah, the newbie finally joined the party," Spoke the Protectobot via comlink.
"Heard that you and the others were in need of some privacy," Replied Alpha Bavo. "Is now a bad time?"
Groove let out a laugh. He twisted his head around to see Powerglide carrying Kup and a sky-blue bot- the cyclopan Whirl, no doubt- spiriting Rodimus away. Something peculiar caught everyone's optic, though. The Space Bridge's veins turned from a calm light blue to an unsettling red. A portal of the same color began swirling within it.
"Uh… are they supposed to look like that?" Chimed Rodimus.
His answer came in the form of a blistering call from Prowl. "Fall back!" He shouted. "Everybot return to the Arclight - NOW!"
The three flyers compiled and returned with their friends to the ship. The dropships rounded up as many bots as possible and followed suit. Rodimus noticed the Vehicons and other 'Cons making their way to the Leviathan as well. Once they had entered the docking bay, the three flybots dropped their passengers and transformed to Protoform mode. The six of them ran towards the main bridge at breakneck speeds and joined the audience. Everyone was staring at the portal while Prowl and other bots attempted to bring the engines online.
A crimson wave of energy pulsed from the gateway collided with everything in its path. The remains of the research station, the two spaceships, and even the nearby asteroids were being drawn towards. The engines kicked in at that moment, but it was not enough to break free of the gravitational force. The Leviathan seemed to be in the same predicament.
"Reroute all power to rear thrusters!" Commanded Prowl.
"We are," Said one Autotropper. "But it ain't doing jack-slag!"
Though his visor hid his optics, his mouth and twitching fingers were more than enough evidence to indicate his emotions right now. He jaws hung with terror as the Space Bridge began fizzling with the strange energy.
"Everybody take cover!" He said as the ships were pulled in.
The crimson lightning jolted from the Space Bridge to the Leviathan. It quickly bounced off the vessel and encased the Arclight as well. The lights and systems shorted out and plunged the Autobots into darkness. The only thing providing illumination were the stars and their swirling doom.
Once all had been consumed by the portal, a chain of explosions erupted all around the mechanical gate. What was once a monument to Cybertronian society was reduced to a burnt out husk. Far from its grasp spied a green, red, and yellow saucer. The orbital spy- Cosmos- could barely process what just happened. He opened a channel in the hopes of denying his fears.
"Cosmos to Prowl," He said. "Do you read me?"
Bzzztt….
"Prowl, report."
Bzzzttttzzzzztttt…..
"Prowl… Kup… Powerglide… Whirl?"
The next line was broadcasted across all channels. It came in the shadow of a whimper when reality sunk in.
"Anybody…?"
Authors Notes
Well, that's certainly one way to start the day (ooh rhyme!). For those of you wondering, this fanfic is set in the Aligned Continuity (or at least based heavily off of it). That includes stuff like the War For/Fall of Cybertron games by High Moon Studios and the Transformers Prime cartoon. Certain characters have been remodeled into being expies of other counterparts, or are imported from other continuities. The appearances for some may also differ from this continuity's designs for them.
Thrust here is based off of his Armada incarnation.
Whirl (or at least his current Cybertronian form) is based more off of his IDW counterpart rather than his Fall of Cybertron toy. Main reason is 'cus Ruination ain't gonna show up in this fanfic. There ain't enough bots left to form him by this point in time.
While Kup uses his WFC face (featured in the Nintendo DS versions of the game), his future-self will basically basically use the design of his Generations toy rather than the Prime one (which was meant more for Ironhide than for him anyway).
Rewind (and by extension Eject)... hmm. I'm debating on whether to use his Tablet/tank modes from Titans Return, or just have him use the latter mode from Timelines. All I can say that he isn't gonna use his "data-disk" mode from the Fall of Cybertron toyline. And that's just for his Cybertronian chassis.
Chromedome I personally imagine as using his Timeline figure's body (by the time he reaches Remnant anyway), since it was a retool of TF:P Wheeljack's. But I can also imagine his current Cybertron body as being akin to his RID comics appearance.
Bitstream would basically be a recolor of the standard WFC Seekers, nothing special.
Alpha Barvo's cybertronian form is basically a redeco of FOC Vortex with his Combiner Wars colorscheme.
(Counter)punch is up in the air. He does have his G1 colorshceme, but that's about it. I'll leave the rest to your own imaginations.
There were a number of scrapped concepts for this prologue. First was that Megatron (via hologram) would have been present with Switchblade's meeting. I couldn't come up with any convincing dialogue with him, though, and ultimately removed him from the scene.
There also were musings on having Grimm tentacles emerging from the Space Bridge and dragging everything into the portal. This was shot down when I remembered that Grimm were supposed to destroy the handiwork of living beings (And also the question as to where the hell they came from). The only shred of this idea surviving was the crimson energy from the malfunctioning bridge.
And now for a sneak peek of the next chapter.
Next time on Transformers: Vestiges!
The Arclight and Leviathan spiral out of the other Space Bridge, lights flickering within their windows. We hear Rodimus's voice.
Rodimus: Wha… where are we?
The next scene shifts to the Autobots rising back onto their feet, than switching over to them gazing at the new world's broken moon. Kups voice is head next as it transitions into another scene
Kup: Nevermind the change in scenery. Worry about them.
Vehicons flood into the Arclight's halls and open fire on everyone. The next scene shows Thrust making a triumphant pose before a large monitor. His voice pops up in this scene and the next one.
Thrust: The Autobot ship is crippled! Now is the time to finish them off!
Vehicon flyers and Seekers bombard the Arclight as it flies through the moon's debris field. We then see Chromedome carrying an injured Rewind down a damaged hall, ducking under blaster-fire. Prowl is driving down another hall at max speed, trying to outrun an explosion. His voice plays over the final cut.
Prowl: ...initiate Protocol R.I.D…
That very scene is wreckage and escape pods descending towards the planet.