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Recent Events
Summary of Chapter #1:
The Argos, a Maximal exploratory ship, was dispatched on a mission of colonization under the
command of Captain Kodiak, a veteran member of the Maximal military. En route to its destination, the Argos was attacked by
an elite Predacon attack cruiser, commanded by the curiously passive mantid, Mandate; both ships were subsequently swallowed
by a strange space/time anomaly and ejected in a distant, unknown region of space, where they crashed upon a small planetoid
located somewhere within a vast nebula.
Though small, the planetoid possesses a breatheable atmosphere and is rich in
organic life. Its gravity does not fit its size, however, and is far stronger than a body of this mass should generate. There
are deposits of energon and other minerals, as well as other secrets which neither Maximal nor Predacon have yet discovered...
With casualties on both sides, the commanders attempted to assess the damage to their ships and to try and gather
reinforcements from the Argos stasis pods, ejected during the battle due to a computer malfunction. This was not enough for
the Predacons, however, a small group of whom staged a preliminary hit-and-run ambush against the Argos. Before they retreated,
the Predacons injured a number of Maximals, including Kodiak, and also successfully captured a young ensign, Jason, for interrogation.
Summary of Chapter #2:
Following Jason's abduction by the Predacons, Kodiak and the Maximals staged an assault
on the Kismet in order to rescue their young comrade. At the same time, Predacon Commander Mandate successfully infiltrated
the Argos, stealing a sizeable store of data from the main computer while the ship's defenders attempted to deal with a two-pronged
assault by Apex and the uncannily fortunate Flare. Elsewhere on the Rock, Maximal First Officer Ravena and the bounty hunter
Solo ran afoul of a Predacon ambush, in which the twisted Swarm made his venomous entry.
All three battles were cut short
by the appearance of a massive fireball, which collided with the Rock near the site of the aerial battle and threw the nearby
Cybertronians into stasis -all except for the damage-prone Qwerty, who somehow withstood the energy surge, only to encounter
a malevolent, fire-enshrouded entity which emerged from the impact crater, pulverized the unfortunate Predacon, and then vanished
with no further trace.
Acting on orders from Mandate, the Predacon Science Officer Pariah sabotaged the systems of the
Kismet to facilitate the escape of the Maximal prisoner. With their friend out of Predacon hands, the Maximals made a hasty
withdrawl from the battlefield and returned to base to repair their injuries; shortly afterwards, the absent Mandate returned
to the Kismet with the rest of his crew, including the salvaged remnants of the three disabled fliers. At about this time,
Kodiak received a pre-recorded message from his Predacon counterpart, proposing a meeting in neutral ground to discuss the
future of the two lost crews.
Despite some reservations, Kodiak agreed, taking along his political aide Jasper, the blind
fighter Braille, and the recently returned Solo; Mandate left the Kismet shortly thereafter, accompanied by Commissar Malady
and the two-headed Qwerty Dvorak. The two commanders left behind orders that their respective crews were to continue the effort
to fortify their ships and explore the still largely unknown planetoid, but to avoid any conflict with the enemy...
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