Gray Death
by Wavelength
Disclaimer: All Transformers concepts used in this fanfic are the property of HasKen, Marvel, and Sunbow. It takes a corporate mind to come up with some of this off-the-wall stuff, and then they leave the rest of us to explain it away.
The floor was littered with robots in various states of traumatic disassembly, and most of the inhabitants were offline. Near the door, a military-grade laser cannon on a tripod bore mute testimony to the cause of their dysfunction.
A red robot stood amidst the wreckage of its fellows.
"Unit 462, step forward." The scientist turned his active face toward his visitor. "Come to check on me? You're just in time. Unit 461 nearly produced the desired result."
He gestured with a spare tentacle at a laser-scarred pale robot on the floor. Its left shoulder was destroyed and the arm lay some distance away.
The industrial inspector inclined his body, saying, "Then I take it your paint additive will be ready to be added to our regular production soon, Testerata?"
"Unit 461 was dark green when its lasercore functioned. As you can see, almost all the piezoelectric pigment responded to the loss of power. It's almost back to its base metal color. I altered the pigment additive in this next one's paint, and I believe all the pigment should become clear when it goes offline."
"It had better. We only authorized 500 units for these experiments, and you go through them at an alarming rate." He hovered nearer, picking up and flinging scrap metal as he went to meet Testerata.
The first Quintesson ran a scanner over 462. "It is functioning perfectly." He shifted his attention, once again spinning his ring of faces. "What does it matter? It does not cost much to smelt my used units down and send the metal back to the beginning of the assembly line. Just think of the profit to be made when I perfect the process."
Backing up from the red unit, he asked, waving in the inspector's general direction with the one tentacle not occupied by holding his scanners, "Care to try it? The laser is a very good model."
"I know. We provided it," his superior grumbled. Nonetheless, he did deign to come behind the cannon and line the sights up on the automaton.
Testerata prattled on, "Our clients will like this feature. They won't waste energy and material on unsalvageables, and cheap, low-intelligence droids can be used to sort units for repair or recycling after battle. Concerning how much you charge for the 'death-shift' feature, that is your concern. As long as I get my cut."
The inspector fired, cutting down his target and tearing its lower torso in half. It landed on the floor leaking energon, but remained bright red.
"What is wrong with it!?" he screamed, whirling to his death mask. Meanwhile, unnoticed by the slave-masters, the expendable robot moved its arms feebly, as it lacked the programming to protest vocally.
"It is not offline yet. Watch."
The robot's arm motion stopped and the light in its optics went out. Testerata watched his delicate scanner units intently. "The CPU still functions, but it looks 'dead'. On a battlefield, it would be salvageable." He too switched to the death mask. "Shoot it again. Half intensity."
The Quintesson inspector adjusted his aim downward and complied, lowering the beam's power. This blast caused far less visible damage, but the robot's red paint abruptly turned clear, leaving the light armor's natural color apparent.
Looking up from his scanners, Testerata reported calmly, "Its lasercore has ceased function. The experiment is a success."
His supervisor's face spun to something less imposing, and he said, "Congratulations, Scientist Testerata. You have just changed the face of the Quintesson military hardware line forever."
THE END
by Wavelength
Disclaimer: All Transformers concepts used in this fanfic are the property of HasKen, Marvel, and Sunbow. It takes a corporate mind to come up with some of this off-the-wall stuff, and then they leave the rest of us to explain it away.
The floor was littered with robots in various states of traumatic disassembly, and most of the inhabitants were offline. Near the door, a military-grade laser cannon on a tripod bore mute testimony to the cause of their dysfunction.
A red robot stood amidst the wreckage of its fellows.
"Unit 462, step forward." The scientist turned his active face toward his visitor. "Come to check on me? You're just in time. Unit 461 nearly produced the desired result."
He gestured with a spare tentacle at a laser-scarred pale robot on the floor. Its left shoulder was destroyed and the arm lay some distance away.
The industrial inspector inclined his body, saying, "Then I take it your paint additive will be ready to be added to our regular production soon, Testerata?"
"Unit 461 was dark green when its lasercore functioned. As you can see, almost all the piezoelectric pigment responded to the loss of power. It's almost back to its base metal color. I altered the pigment additive in this next one's paint, and I believe all the pigment should become clear when it goes offline."
"It had better. We only authorized 500 units for these experiments, and you go through them at an alarming rate." He hovered nearer, picking up and flinging scrap metal as he went to meet Testerata.
The first Quintesson ran a scanner over 462. "It is functioning perfectly." He shifted his attention, once again spinning his ring of faces. "What does it matter? It does not cost much to smelt my used units down and send the metal back to the beginning of the assembly line. Just think of the profit to be made when I perfect the process."
Backing up from the red unit, he asked, waving in the inspector's general direction with the one tentacle not occupied by holding his scanners, "Care to try it? The laser is a very good model."
"I know. We provided it," his superior grumbled. Nonetheless, he did deign to come behind the cannon and line the sights up on the automaton.
Testerata prattled on, "Our clients will like this feature. They won't waste energy and material on unsalvageables, and cheap, low-intelligence droids can be used to sort units for repair or recycling after battle. Concerning how much you charge for the 'death-shift' feature, that is your concern. As long as I get my cut."
The inspector fired, cutting down his target and tearing its lower torso in half. It landed on the floor leaking energon, but remained bright red.
"What is wrong with it!?" he screamed, whirling to his death mask. Meanwhile, unnoticed by the slave-masters, the expendable robot moved its arms feebly, as it lacked the programming to protest vocally.
"It is not offline yet. Watch."
The robot's arm motion stopped and the light in its optics went out. Testerata watched his delicate scanner units intently. "The CPU still functions, but it looks 'dead'. On a battlefield, it would be salvageable." He too switched to the death mask. "Shoot it again. Half intensity."
The Quintesson inspector adjusted his aim downward and complied, lowering the beam's power. This blast caused far less visible damage, but the robot's red paint abruptly turned clear, leaving the light armor's natural color apparent.
Looking up from his scanners, Testerata reported calmly, "Its lasercore has ceased function. The experiment is a success."
His supervisor's face spun to something less imposing, and he said, "Congratulations, Scientist Testerata. You have just changed the face of the Quintesson military hardware line forever."
THE END