Ashes to Ashes: A Transformers Story

Disclaimer: I am not associated with Hasbro in any way, shape or form. I do not own the Transformers Generation One cartoon characters. If any person or place mentioned in this fan fiction exists, it is purely coincidental, save for a fiction version of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, along with cities and highways in Oregon, and Washington State.

Chapter One: Chernobyl of America

LOCATION: HANFORD NUCLEAR RESERVATION, EASTERN OREGON, NEAR COLUMBIA RIVER, 136 MILES FROM AUTOBOT CITY. 1:47PM PACIFIC TIME…Date: November 10th, 2001.

          "Alright, lets bring reactors one, two, three, and four online. Keep reactor 5 in converter building 29, offline until we get the problems hammered out. Perform initial start up checklist," said Jeff Hewlett, Manager and Owner of the newly constructed Hanford Nuclear Plant.

          It was time to start up the 4 brand new N22 Mark 17 liquid gas, water intercooler fission reactors; over 2.5 billion dollars in all. It was a new plan, from Congress, to fix the energy problems that Washington has been experiencing lately. Hydroelectric just couldn't cut it anymore, due to pollution and stranger weather patterns.

          "Okay…lets go through checklist, control rods status?" Jeff asked one of his engineers in the main control room located atop a tower in the center of all four, reactor complexes.

          "Control rods raised half way and ready. It's green on the board." Replied the engineer.

          "Intercooler?" Jeff asked.

          "Check," was the response.

          Calm and collected, efficiency like an engine. It had to be, if these reactors were to melt down. They would melt through the rock, into the groundwater and aquifers, shooting back up and releasing a monumental radioactive cloud.

          "Cooling systems, water pumps, water flow, blockage?"

          "Green, green, green, and negative…so far so good."

          "Sensors, gauges, computers, board, venting, and the fuel rods."

          "Check, check, check, check, check, and full. We're ready to go sir."

          It was time.

          "Whew…" sighed Jeff as he put his hand on the manual override four-lever bar that told the computer what to do incase of system failure. This time, it was used for startup incase of hiding computer bugs.

          The four L.E.D. light-bar gauges above the levels on the inverted section of the control panel blinked red on the bottom, and then another red light blinked above, pretty soon three yellows, and finally, the four green lights. There was now a full light bar for each reactor. This indicated the reactors are now at full power.

Jeff rolled backwards onto his office chair and looked at his three-monitor workstation computer on a table. Readings were clear, even after a complete board reset and a systems restart. It was holding steady at 1500 degrees Celsius, producing around 1,050 Megawatts each, 4,200 Megawatts in all.

          After bringing the substation online, and charging the capacitors, he released the energy into the Pacific Northwest power grid. It was indeed a bright day for the Pacific Northwest; the power crisis was officially over. Rates went down on electrical bills, and costly conservation ordinances were rescinded.

          But public relations was another story, environmentalists screamed, the EPA started scheduling harsh inspections almost at the same time the activation of the new plant was confirmed.

Jeff stayed in the control room for the remaining eight hours of his shift, watching his precious babies, his reactors. Planning his strategy for the monumentally unsafe and sketchy Russian second hand fifth reactor they had purchased. Jeff himself had almost spent seven months repairing, upgrading, and retrofitting the design. It was a reactor purchased from Chernobyl after it was shut down, permanently. Reactor #4 was retrofitted to be a fuel enrichment reactor. Number five in the grand total of reactors on-site at Hanford.

          Even with all the redundancies installed, the fixed parts…it was still a horribly unsafe design. It wouldn't take very long at all for it to go critical, maybe three hours, four maximum. The control rods could not be lowered quickly into the reactor if it was at high temperatures, because it was made with graphite lining around the inside of the containment area in the center of the reactor and it would catch fire and meltdown like the other did. While with all the safeties on the others. With no coolant and the control rods scrammed, it would at least take a day maybe 11 hours. Which was plenty of time for a possible repair or recovery, plenty of time even, for a staff and city evacuation for surrounding areas.

          Jeff thought to himself, he needed this Russian reactor; it was to be used for converting U-235 into U-238, along with high-energy reactor fuel, and Plutonium 239 along with weapons grade Plutonium 331. It was his quota, and what he could sell to the Air Force to cover his overshot construction costs, which almost drove him bankrupt and got him close to defaulting on his commercial business 2.25 billion dollar loan. This facility indeed had a price tag on it, and Jeff would keep this facility at all costs, nothing would make him shut it down, not the EPA, not any punk-ass fucking environmentalist would make him shut it down, and if he was only 136 miles from Autobot City, let Optimus Prime cry and bitch about it, he didn't care.

          Reactor Five's startup would occur tomorrow, at 10:30 in the morning. Jeff got out of his office chair, relieved by a co-worker, collected his bag, and went off to his temporary R.V. in the lot so he could remain onsite for the first month or so of operation, what he did not notice however…was the old school little blue, cassette player boom box that somehow managed to find it's own way into his bag…

          Soundwave has infiltrated the Hanford plant, what will the Decepticons do about this? Will they raid Hanford and steal its energy? Take it over completely for a base not far at all from Autobot City? Or, cause it to meltdown, which would poison the surrounding areas and possibly irradiate over 5 million human lives in the surrounding area. Stay tuned for the next chapter: Decepticons don't glow in the dark