Chapter One
About one thousand Earth years ago (six million Cybertron years), on the planet Cybertron, working class sentient robots rebelled against the automation of their jobs and the ensuing disdain for their existence by the elitist Autobot Senate.
A simple mining robot, designation Megatron, led the uprising and subsequently became a very successful competitor in the underground gladiatorial fights born from the frustration and boredom of the out-of-work automatons. Megatron eventually became caption of the champion team. A femme, designation Firebird, dominated her division of the fights, drawing the attention of Megatron and his team, who supported her and eventually brought her into his fold. Together, they crushed the competition and won the admiration of their fans. However, the Autobots were determined to quell the activities of the illegal fight clubs and to arrest those responsible, and Megatron was at the top of that list.
It was then that a communications specialist, designation Soundwave, secretly plotting his own takeover of the Autobot Senate, contacted Megatron and his warriors, and supplied them with munitions and support. Thus, the Decepticon faction was born and a Cybertronian civil war erupted.
About six hundred Earth years later, and the civil war still raging, the Autobots, led by Optimus Prime, attempt an escape from Cybertron aboard their ship, the "Ark." The Decepticons consisting of Megatron, Soundwave and his cassettes, Reflector, Starscream and the Seekers (including the Coneheads), Firebird and the Triple-changers, having learned of the Autobots' plan, pursued them in their ship, the "Nemesis." Unbeknownst to the Decepticon crew, three stowaways were also aboard. The Decepticons, eager to discover the destination of the fleeing Autobots and thwart their plans, trapped the Ark in a tractor beam and attached a boarding tube to it.
"Firebird, I leave you in command of the Nemesis," Megatron said as he, Soundwave and cassettes, Reflector, Starscream, Skywarp and Thundercracker prepared to board the Ark. "Once we board, keep the Autobot ship in your sight."
"Yes, Lord Megatron. And good luck, sir" Firebird replied and sat in the commander's chair, the chair Starscream so desperately wanted to sit in, but was never given the opportunity. Firebird smugly grinned at Starscream, who responded with a rude Cybertronian gesture.
"Careful, Screamer," she coolly warned him and aimed a null-ray rifle at him. She didn't intend to use it on him, however. She harbored mixed feelings toward the air commander, one of them being attraction. She hoped to someday bond with him, but she knew deep down that it was probably unlikely. Starscream's huge ego and narcissism would prevent that from happening, and for this, Firebird also hated him.
Starscream snorted in contempt.
"You wouldn't dare," he retorted as the group began boarding the Ark. Firebird lowered her weapon and sneered at him, watching him leave the Nemesis.
"Starscream is immature. I wouldn't worry about him," Octane commented. He secretly had feelings for Firebird and wanted to distract her from Starscream. His train of thought was interrupted by a jolt of movement.
"Firebird! We're losing power!" Ramjet announced.
"Steady! We can't lose sight of that ship," Firebird replied. "Engage the thrusters."
"It's no use!" Dirge exclaimed. "We have no use of the controls!"
"Scrap!" Firebird had a determined look on her face and was trying to come up with a plan. Suddenly, an alarm sounded, alerting the crew to the deployment of an escape pod.
"Who the slag is in that pod?" Blitzwing asked, looking around and seeing all were accounted for.
"That's not important now," Firebird said. "We're probably going to crash."
"The Autobot ship certainly is," Astrotrain said, pointing at the screen, which showed the Ark spiraling out of control towards Earth.
"With our leader aboard," Thrust lamented. "We're finished…"
The Nemesis fell under control of Earth's gravitational pull and tumbled out of control, crash-landing in a remote jungle somewhere in South America. Firebird and crew were off-lined in the impact, and remained so for hundreds of years.
Meanwhile, the escape pod carrying the three stowaways, landed somewhere in southern Asia. Shrapnel, Bombshell and Kickback assumed insect-like alt modes and lived essentially undetected for centuries.
The Ark, carrying the Autobots and the Decepticon marauders, crashed into a dormant volcano in the Pacific Northwest of North America where they, too, lay in stasis for hundreds of years.