Editing Lost Light

{{featured}}
{{disambig2|the starship|the comic series named after it|The Transformers: Lost Light}}
:''The ''Lost Light'' is a starship from the [[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW portion]] of the [[Generation 1 continuity family]].''
[[File:Mtmte28-cover-lost-light.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|The name is in ''no way'' an indication that tragic events, melancholy proceedings, momentously wrong decisions, and sorrowful beings will be found aboard it. Not at all.]]

Originally an experimental vessel built on a pre-war Cybertron, the '''''Lost Light''''' is now the starship utilized by [[Hot Rod (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rodimus]] and about 230 other assorted [[Transformer]]s on a quest to find the mythical [[Knights of Cybertron]].

Though apparently unremarkable by Transformer standards, the ship is quite large—described by [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]] as 15 miles in length, and 10 miles wide, and large enough for an entire extra chamber to be attached to it in secret without anybody onboard noticing. It contains numerous habitation suites for its crew, various offices and workshops for those who require them, a bar redubbed "[[Swerve's]]" after the ship's launch, and a large [[oil]] reservoir where introspective bots sometimes go to ponder. The ship's hangars carry at least half a dozen shuttlecraft, including the ''[[Leading Light]]'', ''[[O Fortuna]]'' and [[Rodpod]]. Rodimus upgraded the ''Lost Light''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s armament with a batch of proton missile launchers after a visit to [[Hedonia]].

The ''Lost Light'' is a "hop ship" which utilizes insanely advanced [[quantum generator|quantum engines]] to travel almost instantaneously across vast distances, though those distances can be limited by the amount of power available to the ship. (You don't want to be standing next to these engines when they activate, as they break the laws of physics in ways that can be very unhealthy.) On top, the ship carries a group of "fuel quills", essential to its operation. Deep within its bowels are the ship's fuel furnaces, powered or at least partly dependent upon nucleon rods, and manned by the [[Pyrobot]]s.

The ship was known by its [[Lost Light's former owners|previous owners]] as the '''''Unitrex-1'''''.

==Fiction==
===IDW Generation 1 continuity===
{{ongoing}}
The ''Unitrex-1'' was constructed in the city of [[Unitrex]] five million years ago, the first ship outfitted with new experimental generator on board. A crew had been selected for the vessel, including the [[Duobot]]s, but before it could launch, it was infiltrated by two very unexpected visitors: a time-travelling [[Hot Rod (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rodimus]] and [[Cyclonus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Cyclonus]], who had come from five million years in the future and wound up stranded when their [[time case|time machine]] ran out of power. Seeking to recharge the device, Rodimus used [[Perceptor (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Perceptor]]'s knowledge of future quantum science to upgrade the ''Unitrex-1''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s generator so that it could perform the task, in the process retroactively creating the very first quantum generator. As he worked, Cyclonus fought off the ship's sole guard, blasting him with a [[Sparkeater Gun]] and locking him in one of the ship's chambers. Once the time case was fully charged with quantum energy, a reaction between the case and generator caused the unmanned ''U1'' to quantum jump away through time and space, its fate unknown to anyone. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 3: Predestination: An Expert's Guide|Predestination: An Expert's Guide}} {{storylink|No Guns, No Swords, No Briefcases}}

[[File:Mtmte-01-liarsatod-p19-panel345-boom.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|"Farewell, my friend. Though we die, at least our enemies are taken with us. Well, [[Overlord (Masterforce)|one of them]], anyway."]]

The ''Unitrex-1'' was eventually discovered drifting near [[Vela Pulsar]] by a group of [[Mortilus]]-worshipping [[NAIL]]s who had left Cybertron during the war. {{storylink|Twenty Plus One}} Finding the guard, who had mutated into a ravenous [[Sparkeater (creature)|Sparkeater]], they kept it alive and docile using [[turbofox]] meals. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 3: The Chaos of Warm Things|The Chaos of Warm Things}} The NAILs subsequently returned to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] following the end of the war, where the present-day incarnation of Rodimus was in search of a ship he could use in his quest to find the Knights of Cybertron, having been denied use of [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]]. [[Drift (G1)|Drift]] crossed paths with the U1's owners during the [[Festival of Lost Light]], and purchased the vessel from them for one billion [[Shanix]], renaming it the ''Lost Light'' after the festival, {{storylink|Twenty Plus One}} and gifting it to Rodimus. {{storylink|...And the Damage Done: Dark Cybertron Finale|...And the Damage Done}}

Rodimus successfully convinced around 200 Transformers to join him on his quest, which involved following a map that had been discovered within the [[Matrix of Leadership]]. [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]] was appointed second-in-command, with Drift as third; [[Ratchet (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ratchet]] joined as chief medical officer, [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] and [[Brainstorm (G1)|Brainstorm]] as science officers, and [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] as security director, vetting the crewmembers. Rodimus, Drift, and Brainstorm conspired with [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]] to smuggle the captive Decepticon [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] aboard the ship for study and interrogation, {{storylink|Remembrance Day}} but this was not the only "addition" Prowl ensured to the ship: he ordered his agent [[Ore]] to plant a tracker on the vessel's quantum engine, but unfortunately for everyone aboard, Ore tried to do so just as the ship was taking off. The quantum generator activated and Ore became "mashed into it," causing an explosion that preemptively warped the ship across the universe. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It|How to Say Goodbye and Mean It}} {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 2: Hangers On|Hangers On}}

The accident appeared to teleport the ''Lost Light'' to a random point in space, but in truth, the ship's fate was far more complicated. The malfunction of the quantum engines had narrowed its choice of destination not to a single point in space, but to ''two'' points: the location to which the ''Lost Light'' had ''intended'' to warp, and a random one. The ship responded to this impossibility by teleporting to ''both'' points—creating two identical duplicates of itself, and everyone and everything on board. {{storylink|slaughterhouse Part 2: The Road Not Taken|The Road Not Taken}}

====On-course ''Lost Light''====
[[File:Mtmte32-p1-lost-light-shattered.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Look close! You can count the number of decks the ship has, as well as seeing the hexagonal corridor tubes running through the ship. Those hexagon-shaped passageways actually show up in interior scenes elsewhere in the series, because Milne is ''just that good''.]]

The ''Lost Light'' that arrived at its intended destination was temporarily crippled by the explosion of one of its rear thrusters. In addition to causing the loss of [[Rung (G1)|Rung]], this blast freed the Sparkeater trapped in the bowels of the ship; Rodimus used the "brightest spark" aboard—[[Animus]]—as bait, luring the beast to its death by mashing into one of the quantum engines. Unfortunately, Rodimus miscalculated and met the same fate. His dead body was interred in a coffin made from parts of the ship's engine case, and Ultra Magnus succeeded him as captain. Now no longer feeling beholden to Rodimus, Drift confessed to Magnus about Overlord's presence on the ship. Unfortunately, Magnus was not the only person to whom this information was revealed: unbeknownst to the crew, Brainstorm was a Decepticon sleeper agent, who informed the [[Decepticon Justice Division]] that Overlord was aboard the ''Lost Light'' and invited them to come and get rid of him. The DJD caught up to the ''Lost Light'' near [[Ofsted XVII]], and though they had initially promised to leave everyone else on the ship alive to maintain Brainstorm's cover, the discovery that Drift—a former Decepticon and high-ranking target of theirs—was aboard set off their murderous instincts, and they began slaughtering their way through the crew. They murdered the whole crew and Overlord, with only Rewind escaping their rampage, and the ship was let to float derelict in space. {{storylink|slaughterhouse Part 2: The Road Not Taken|The Road Not Taken}} {{storylink|The Permanent Revolution}}

Seventeen months later, a massive battle occurred around the derelict ''Lost Light'' between the [[Black Block Consortia]] and the [[Galactic Council]] over the quantum engines. The ''Lost Light'' was ripped to pieces by the fighting, its quantum foam left drifting through space among its shattered chunks, while the coffin containing Rodimus's body broke free and drifted off into space. {{storylink|The Permanent Revolution}} {{storylink|Births, Deaths, and Interventions}}
{{-}}

====Off-course ''Lost Light''====
[[File:MTMTE2 Lost Light.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|left|'''''Silence.''''' ''For over <s>four</s> six milllion years, nothing disturbed the crypt-like atmosphere within that dormant structure.'']]

The version of the ''Lost Light'' sent off-course by the explosion at launch appeared over an unknown planet. The explosion of the rear thruster cause a tear in the hull through which forty Autobots were blown, so Rodimus ordered the ''Lost Light'' to be set down on the planet's surface so the lost Autobots could be recovered. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It|How to Say Goodbye and Mean It}} While repairs and rescues were being carried out, the ship's crew were joined by the amnesiac [[Skids (G1)|Skids]]. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 2: Hangers On|Hangers On}}

[[File:Mtmte-03-lost-light-quantumjump.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|''The Autobots labored to purchase a craft to propel them into the void... a craft dubbed -- the '''Lost Light.''' '']]

No sooner was the ''Lost Light'' airborne again than it had to conted with the threat of the Sparkeater, released from the bowels of the ship by the explosion at launch. Rodimus used the "brightest spark" aboard—Rung—as bait, luring the beast to its death by mashing into one of the quantum engines. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 3: The Chaos of Warm Things|The Chaos of Warm Things}} During the chaos, Skids helped [[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]] find the ship's bar, which Swerve decided to take ownership of. The soon-to-be-christened "[[Swerve's]]" became the go-to destination for crewmembers looking to drink and relax. {{storylink|Life After the Big Bang}}

The crew of the ''Lost Light'' continued to grow with the arrival of staff and patients from the Autobot medical facility [[Delphi]], including [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]], and [[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]], who was tapped to become the next chief medical officer following Ratchet's supposedly-impending retirement. {{storylink|How Ratchet Got His Hands Back}} Soon after their arrival, the ship was damaged when it was unexpectedly struck by a piece of space debris that turned out to be the severed thumb of the [[Titan (IDW)|Titan]] [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]]. The thumb was brought aboard, but this only drew the attention of [[Lockdown (G1)|Lockdown]]'s [[Titan Hunter]]s, who boarded the ship while the entire crew was accidentally frozen in place by one of Brainstorm's inventions. Only quick thinking by Trailbreaker (still active due to his forcefield's protection) kept the Decepticons from making off with the Metroplex fragment. {{storylink|The Reluctant Specialist}} 

[[File:MtMtEAnn2012-The Benign Intervention.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|"Yes, even by our Autobot standards, the '''''Benign Intervention''''' is '''very''' large..."]]

The ''Lost Light'' finally reached its first major destination, the planet of [[Theophany]], where the crew expected to find the [[Circle of Light]]. Instead, however, all that remained was the razed and deserted ruins of the Circle's Crystal City. The [[Galactic Council]]'s enforcement ship, ''[[The Benign Intervention]]'', also appeared on the scene, giving the Autobots one hour to explore the planet's surface. Rodimus's exploration team discovered a slumbering Titan beneath Crystal City... but Chromedome's attempts to hack into the behemoth's mind caused it to reactivate and fire a blast of energy into space, damaging the ''Benign Intervention'' and incurring the full wrath of its troops. The ''Lost Light'' was contained in an [[incineration shell]] and was seconds away from total annihilation when Rodimus's team freed the Titan, who in turn teleported the ''Lost Light'' and her crew away from Theophany. Theorizing that the Decepticons were behind the destruction of Crystal City, Rodimus decided to take the ''Lost Light'' near the [[Argon Nebulae]], where Decepticon activity had been reported. {{storylink|Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations|You, Me, and Other Revelations}}

The Decepticon group that the crew engaged turned out not to be linked to the disappearance of the Circle of Light. Several members of the crew were injured fighting the group—including Rewind, whose misfortune was leveraged by Drift to convince Chromedome to help with the Overlord project. {{storylink|Before & After}} The days that followed were relatively peaceful, and included a trip to [[Hedonia]] for some shore leave {{storylink|Cybertronian Homesick Blues}} and a visit from the legendary Autobot [[Thunder Clash|Thunderclash]], who was ''also'' looking for the Knights of Cybertron, {{storylink|Little Victories}} but it was not to last. During one of Chromedome's [[mnemosurgery|mnemosurgical]] incursions into Overlord's mind, the Decepticon escaped his cell {{storylink|Remembrance Day}} and went on a killing spree through the ship that left multiple dead and Ultra Magnus critically injured. Rewind sacrificed himself to ensure that Overlord was safely jettisoned into space. {{storylink|Under Cold Blue Stars}} Drift volunteered to take the fall for Rodimus, allowing himself to be banished for bringing Overlord on board. {{storylink|The Gloaming}}

[[File:Mtmte17-p11-lost-light-luna-one.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1]]
When the comatose Ultra Magnus somehow departed the ''Lost Light'' aboard a shuttle, Rodimus had the ''Lost Light'' pursue him. The chase led them to an most unexpected destination: Cybertron's long-lost moon, [[Moonbase One|Luna 1]], where Magnus's superior officer, the unhinged [[Tyrest (G1)|Chief Justice Tyrest]], arrested the entire crew with the help of his army of [[Legislator]] robots. {{storylink|Remain in Light 1 of 5: The Fecund Moon|The Fecund Moon}} {{storylink|Remain in Light 2 of 5: House of Ambus|House of Ambus}} The ship was liberated when Tailgate shut down all the Legislators by repealing the code of law that controlled them, though the it was left in thoroughly trashed condition; stopping Tyrest's schemes also resulted in the destruction of Rodimus's crucial Matrix-map.

Eager to put the depressing detour behind them, the crew of the ''Lost Light'' soon departed from Luna 1, leaving behind Red Alert and Fortress Maximus to keep watch over the rogue moon. Having lost their guide, the next plan was to find and join forces with Thunder Clash. {{storylink|Remain in Light 5 of 5: This Calamitous Life|This Calamitous Life}} {{storylink|The Sound of Breaking Glass}} An effort to get the Circle of Light survivors to join the quest did little except persuade them to go find Thunder Clash themselves. {{storylink|Little Victories}} Some time later, Rodimus's guilt over the Overlord incident got the better of him, and he came clean to the crew about his role in the fiasco. Invoking the [[Crisis Act]], he had the ship's crew vote on his leadership. Though the majority favored him remaining in command, a large minority voted against him. {{storylink|Burning Bright: Dark Cybertron Chapter 8|Burning Bright}} 

[[File:Rid23-p23-lost-light-underwater.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|You can hem and haw about "off-model designs" and "inconsistent art", or you can bask in the glory of "artistic interpretation". Your choice.]]

The ''Lost Light'' next answered a distress call from none other than Orion Pax, the once and former [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Optimus Prime]] himself, rescuing his ship the ''[[Skyroller]]'' from the gravity well of the planet [[Gorlam Prime]] as it collapsed into a portal to the [[Dead Universe]]. Learning that the Dead Universe was also menacing Cybertron, {{storylink|Dark Dawn: Dark Cybertron Chapter 1|Dark Dawn}} Pax and a small team ventured through the portal to investigate, while the ''Lost Light'' was charged with taking up Pax's mission in his absence: hunting down the mad scientist [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]]. Before they could really get underway on their new mission, however, they were ''literally'' pulled off course by Metroplex's thumb, which began levitating and pushing against the ship's bulkhead. {{storylink|Winners & Losers: Dark Cybertron Chapter 3|Winners & Losers}} The ''Lost Light'' followed the pull of the thumb to the ocean world of [[Hydrophena]], where they discovered Metroplex himself, heavily wounded and under attack from the alien robot [[Ammonite]]s. {{storylink|Into the Abyss: Dark Cybertron Chapter 4|Into the Abyss}} The crew used a portion of their ship's quantum engines to recharge the damaged Titan, and, thus revitalized, Metroplex teleported himself and the ''Lost Light'' back to Cybertron, {{storylink|Burning Bright: Dark Cybertron Chapter 8|Burning Bright}} just in time to defeat the undead [[Necrotitan]] with which [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Shockwave]] was menacing the planet. {{storylink|Finis Temporis: Dark Cybertron Chapter 9|Finis Temporis}} 


[[File:Rid27-p6-lost-light-amonites.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|"That... '''thing''' you wouldn't have me put down sealed itself inside the main engine room... and started tearing stuff apart!"]]

As the combatants basked in this victory, the ''Lost Light'' served as both a medical center and as a place of relaxation, as Transformers from both factions found their way to Swerve's for drink and recuperation. This downtime was short-lived, however, as Shockwave's final endgame revealed itself with the arrival of seventy billion Ammonites and the incipient collapse of space-time. {{storylink|The Becoming: Dark Cybertron Chapter 10|The Becoming}} Amid swarming masses of foes, the ''Lost Light'' frantically lifted off, but soon set down again to discharge Megatron, Bumblebee, and a small team, with the intent of taking the fight to Shockwave. {{storylink|Black Planet: Dark Cybertron Chapter 11|Black Planet}} After dropping off the strike team, the ship took to the air once again, its weapons picking off some 10,000 Ammonites as the battle raged. The Ammonite army were subsequently destroyed thanks to the efforts of the strike team, and the ship's crew used the ''Lost Light'' as a battering ram to smash [[Monstructor (G1)|Monstructor]]—the last combatant still standing—into his component Transformers. Finally, the ship swooped down in time to rescue the strike team from the collapsing singularity that resulted from the successful derailment of Shockwave's plans. {{storylink|...And the Damage Done: Dark Cybertron Finale|...And the Damage Done}}

In the wake of the great battle, [[Atomizer]] oversaw having the ship's name painted on the sides, while Perceptor and the crew restored the ship to full function. The ship's departure was stalled, however, by the trial of Megatron. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|Towards Peace}} The ''Lost Light'' was used to transport many Transformers to Luna 2 for the trial. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 2: Words Hang in the Air|Words Hang in the Air}}

[[File:Mtmte30-p23-lost-light-disintegrates.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|"'''Fact:''' the ''Lost Light'' is by far the best trans-stellar transporter on Cybertron, making it the optimum choice, regardless of its condition."]]
Six months after the defeat of Shockwave's plans, the ''Lost Light'' finally departed Cybertron once more. A number of new faces had joined the crew... including its new co-captain, [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]]! {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|Towards Peace}} Among other changes, Swerve assigned the reprogrammed Legislator "[[Ten]]" as his new bouncer, Whirl was appointed as "Entertainments Officer", bringing on a large cache of Earth movies, and Bluestreak became the latest bartender at Swerve's. 

As the ship headed towards its next destination, it encountered a coffin floating in space. Megatron had it brought aboard; right about then, things began to disappear—a batch of nucleon rods, one of Swerve's Engex vats, bits of signs, doors, bulkheads, even whole crew members. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 2: Words Hang in the Air|Words Hang in the Air}} Rodimus was shocked when Megatron showed him the contents of the coffin: it was his own deceased body! His shock was soon compounded as the ''Lost Light'' itself began to disintegrate, more and more pieces vanishing into thin air. The crew evacuated aboard the ship's shuttles, as the ''Lost Light'' disappeared completely. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 3: Predestination: A Beginner's Guide|Predestination: A Beginner's Guide}} Soon, all of her original crew would vanish as well, leaving only those who had joined after the return trip to Cybertron. {{storylink|Twenty Plus One}}

Those few remaining soon discovered the grisly remains of the quantum duplicate ''Lost Light'', with Rewind as the only survivor among the murdered crew. Eventually, Nautica worked out what had happened, explaining how the two versions of the ship split during the original quantum jump. Once she directed Megatron and Rewind to deactivate the duplicate ship's quantum drums, the intact ''Lost Light'' and its vanished crew were restored to existence, while the shattered duplicate and its slaughtered inhabitants—with the exception of Rewind and Brainstorm's briefcase—ceased to be. 

Celebration aplenty could be found on the restored ship... until Brainstorm arrived in Swerve's, opened his mysterious briefcase, and knocked everybody out. {{storylink|slaughterhouse Part 2: The Road Not Taken|The Road Not Taken}} Well, everyone but Rung and Ultra Magnus, since Brainstorm had been spiking the engex, which they didn't drink. After disabling Magnus, Brainstorm used his briefcase to escape through time, since as it turned out his briefcase was in fact one of ''many'', all part of a single time machine connected remotely to the ''Lost Light'''s engines. Naturally, Rodimus gave the command to give chase him down, using their own command case, the one Nightbeat found on the duplicate ship. {{storylink|The Custom-Made Now - An Elegant Chaos Prologue}} Armed with whatever Whirl could steal from Brainstorm's lab, and a "time phone" to keep in touch with the ship, they set off. The strain of carrying around two different time-travelers quickly began to drain the ship's engines. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 1: All Our Parlous Yesterdays}}

[[Rung (G1)|Rung]] had brought a model of the ''Lost Light'' with him during the Autobots' trip through time, {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 2: Stet|Stet}} and was casually putting it together during another stop in their journey at roughly four million years ago. He was observed by the local timeframe's [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]] and [[Quark]] {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 1: Post Hoc|Post Hoc}} as well as Brainstorm, who—realizing he'd been followed back in time—promptly fled the scene. After another engaging another jump to Maccadam's, the day Megatron was arrested, Perceptor noticed that the ship had become the only temporally active evet in the entire universe, with less than an hour left before the total collapse of the timeline. Then, when Brainstorm made one last jump, Megatron realized where he'd really been going—to kill Megatron. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 2: Stet|Stet}} However, it turned out Brainstorm couldn't bring himself to actually kill Megatron. Then Rewind took the shot instead, justifying the pre-emptive murder on the grounds that the reality it would create while awful for Cybertronians, was better for everyone else. And then Whirl implanted a Point One Percenter spark in Megatron's body, restoring the timeline. It was then that Tailgate came up with a plan to use the "time phone" to contact Cybertron in their past and try and change the future. It didn't work. 

With enough juice left for one last teleport, Rodimus and Cyclonus were teleported to somewhere under Unitrex, to find an experimental set of engines. With ''some'' help from Perceptor, Rodimus upgraded the engines so as to use them to fuel the trip home, accidentally causing the origin of the ''Lost Light'' itself. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 3: Predestination: An Expert's Guide|Predestination: An Expert's Guide}}

A few days after this excitement, the ship set down on Scarvix to recharge, and Mirage opened his own bar, "Visages", which quickly caught on (that it turned out Swerve had been watering down his drinks ''may'' have played some part in this). Meanwhile, for his being a double agent, Brainstorm was summoned up before the [[Lost Light Internal Legal Affairs Committee|L.L.I.L.A.C.]] (Lost Light Internal Legal Affairs Committee), the first such instance on the ship's journey. Ratchet discovered Ten had made a makeshift quarters for himself in one of the boiler rooms (no. 10, natch), and after a short reign as the favored place for post-war relaxation, "Visages"'s popularity crumbled when Megatron began an impromptu poetry session, causing all the bar's patrons to flee back to Swerve's. {{storylink|Our Steps Will Always Rhyme}}

Some time after, the crew received a joyous announcement from Rodimus: They'd actually accomplished something, in that they'd found Thunderclash, and he was dying! In a move prompted by unshakable grief, and most definitely not petty glee, Rodimus told the entire crew they'd been invited to Thunderclash's "pre-wake". Six hours later, near-all of the crew attended the wake, the only ones left out being the co-captains, as they "took stock". Afterward, a few crewmembers declared their intention to stick around for the actual funeral, while Rodimus went shopping at the nearest starhub. {{storylink|The Sensuous Frame}} As it transpired, Thunderclash's ship was suffering from a nasty case of [[personality tick]]s. Luckily, [[Skater]], [[Flex]], and [[Borer]] managed to summon Rodimus and Megatron, ridding the ''Vis Vitalis'' of them. Unfortunately the encounter destroyed Thunderclash's map to Cyberutopia, but with Thunderclash healed thanks to the ticks, he was able to leave his ship. Later, the crew held an "Earth Dance" party, and the ''Lost Light'' gained a new crewmember in [[Velocity (G1)|Velocity]], one of Nautica's sorority friends. {{storylink|The Frail Gaze}}

Shortly after the dance party, as First Aid prepared to temporarily leave the ship, having been summoned by Optimus Prime for important reasons, the ''Lost Light'' found itself being chased by a planet. In their careful investigations, the bridge crew found only one signal coming from it: a catchy tune advertising Swerve's. Further analysis showed it was made of holomatter, and being projected by Swerve himself, even as the little guy lay unconscious and dying in the medibay. A few phone calls later, and Rodimus rustled up several 'bots to project themselves onto the planet, find Swerve and figure out what was ailing him. Fortunately, they did, and the projected peril was soon no more. {{storylink|The One Where They Go to Earth}}

Then it turned out the reason for Swerve's ailment was an infection, caused by a bullet shot at him by the enigmatic Agent 113, as the agent's means of transmitting data to his fellow Autobots. Examining what was left of the data the crew found a message to the homeworld of the mysterious [[Censere|Necrobot]]. Spurred by a heartfelt argument by Rewind, and his own desire not to find the Knights of Cybertron ''too soon'', Megatron allowed a detour. Meanwhile, Rodimus discovered the doodles on his desk had in fact been his way of transcribing his own map to Cyberutopia. {{storylink|The Not Knowing}}

Elsewhere, Getaway and Atomizer had been planning. With the help of Whirl, they had been trying to either get Megatron killed or thrown of the ship, and thanks to Getaway carefully working his magic over Tailgate, the little 'bot had been tricked into provoking Megatron, unaware Megatron's reaction would cost him his life. Thanks to some last minute second-thoughts from Whirl, though, Cyclonus became aware Tailgate's life was in danger. Cyclonus prevented Megatron from attacking Tailgate, but set off the already very twitchy security forces, who attacked him. This set off an unusual surge of energy from Tailgate, which washed the entire ship in a brilliant burst of light. {{storylink|The Lopsided Triangle}} The only immediately apparent side-effect of which was that it woke Thunderclash from his coma.

Wondering what was going on, Rodimus had Chromedome examine Tailgate's memories, leading to Getaway and Atomizer being imprisoned. Overjoyed to have Thunderclash up and about, the crew celebrated. Meanwhile, [[Froid]] appeared in a shuttle carrying the infamous serial killer [[Sunder (G1)|Sunder]]. {{storylink|Speak, Memory: Part 1}} Thanks to Froid, Sunder was set loose, and went on a rampage, using his mnemosurgery skills to make crewmembers involuntarily turn themselves inside out. Acting quickly, Megatron had the entire crew hide in their rooms, while he, Rodimus, and Thunderclash chased after Sunder (at least until Rodimus ran on ahead and met the guy). The chase ended with Sunder running into the shuttle bay and combining with the corpse of his brother, Sceptre. Fortunately, Sunder's rampage was ended when Tailgate suddenly displayed Outlier powers, and crushed the killer with the Rodpod. {{storylink|Speak, Memory! (Part 2)}}

Around December 24th of that year, the ship entered Mauler territory, and the entire crew had to hide in specially prepared [[Biometric Envelopment Devic|B.E.D.]]s, to prevent the Maulers detecting them. Fortunately, they didn't. {{storylink|Silent Light}}

Months passed, and the ''Lost Light''ers began doing heroic deeds, saving organics from problems. Then, after a skirmish on [[Miliarium]], several crewmembers were subject to a psychic attack. Tracing the attack's origin, they set off in the Rodpod to find who was responsible. Eventually arriving at [[Necroworld|the Necrobot's stomping grounds]], they were attacked by Decepticons. The attack had been part of a trap. It turned out the majority of the crew weren't happy with Megatron being around and in charge, or with the 'bots who'd been "supporting" him, so they lured them off the ship, and let Getaway out. The Special Ops bot merrily filled the stranded Rodimus in on the details, before cutting off all contact, not just with Rodimus and the others, but absolutely everyone.

Three weeks later, Optimus Prime, seeing the recorded last wills and testament of the stranded crewmembers, demanded Jetfire get in contact with the ship, only for the scientist to point out they either weren't responding or couldn't. And either way, it was too late. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light: (1) How Bright Their Frail Deeds|How Bright Their Frail Deeds}}

Even later on [[Moonbase One|Luna 1]], [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]] and [[Fortress Maximus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Fortress Maximus]] discussed the message sent out by the stranded crewmembers and how any attempt the two had made to contact them or the ''Lost Light'' had failed. {{storylink|Ten to Midnight}} [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] had set up a scanner for information on the ''Lost Light'' but when it buzzed, the group on Luna 1 just dismissed it as gibberish. {{storylink|Last Light}}

Under Getaway's command, the ship actually began making progress towards finding Cyberutopia with a schedule to adhere to and rules as well as ceasing all the side-quests to help out aliens. The [[Protectobot (G1)|Protectobots]] eventually caught up with the ''Lost Light'' where Getaway explained the radio silence was to avoid the [[Black Block Consortia]]. The Protectobots eventually worked out the truth behind what had happened to Rodimus and attempted to escape the ship and tell Optimus Prime but were captured by Getaway's loyalists and placed in a memory loop. {{storylink|The Plotters' Club (Part 1): Full Circle|Full Circle}}

==Crew==
===Initial Crew===
Its crew at launch included:
{{collist|3|
*[[Ammo]]
*[[Animus]]
*[[Aquabat]]
*[[Aquafend]]
*[[Aquastar]]
*[[Atomizer]]
*[[Blades (G1)|Blades]]
*[[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]]
*[[Bob (IDW)|Bob]]
*[[Borer]]
*[[Boss (G1)|Boss]]
*[[Brainstorm (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Brainstorm]]
*[[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]]
*[[Chromedome (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Chromedome]]
*[[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]]
*[[Crosscut (Autobot)|Crosscut]]
*[[Crosshairs (G1)|Crosshairs]]
*[[Cyclonus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Cyclonus]]
*[[Deftwing]]
*[[Dipstick]]
*[[Doubletap]]
*[[Drift (G1)|Drift]] ("Former Third-in-Command")
*[[Fervor]]
*[[Fizzle]]
*[[Flex]]
*[[Gears (G1)|Gears]]
*[[Grapple (G1)|Grapple]]
*[[Highbrow (G1)|Highbrow]]
*[[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]]
*[[Hound (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Hound]]
*[[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]]
*[[Hyperion (G1)|Hyperion]]
*[[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]]
*[[Jackpot (G1)|Jackpot]]
*[[Kindle]]
*[[Lancet]]
*[[Landmine (G1)|Landmine]]
*[[Lockstock]]
*[[Mainframe (G1)|Mainframe]]
*[[Ore]]
*[[Perceptor (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Perceptor]]
*[[Pincher (G1)|Pincher]]
*[[Pipes (G1)|Pipes]]
*[[Pointblank]]
*[[Polaris]]
*[[Powerflash]]
*[[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]]
*[[Rad (G1)|Rad]]
*[[Ratchet (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ratchet]] ("Former Chief Medical Officer")
*[[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] (''Former Director of Security'')
*[[Rewind (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rewind]]
*[[Hot Rod (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rodimus]] (Co-Captain, former Captain)
*[[Rollout (G1)|Rollout]]
*[[Rung (G1)|Rung]]
*[[Shock (G1)|Shock]]
*[[Siren (G1)|Siren]]
*[[Skater]]
*[[Slapdash (G1)|Slapdash]]
*[[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]]
*[[Spoke]]
*[[Sprocket (G1)|Sprocket]]
*[[Steeljaw (G1)|Steeljaw]]
*[[Strafe (G1)|Strafe]]
*[[Sunstreaker (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Sunstreaker]]
*[[Sureshot (G1)|Sureshot]]
*[[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]]
*[[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]]
*[[Toaster]]<ref>[http://forum.idwpublishing.com/viewtopic.php?p=309015#309015 The James Roberts Q&A, IDW forums]</ref>
*[[Toxin]]
*[[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker/Trailcutter]]
*[[Tripodeca]]
*[[Turbine]]
*[[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus/Minimus Ambus]] ''(Second-in-Command)''
*[[Waverider]]
*[[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]]
*[[Xaaron]]
}}

===Additions after launch===
Joining the crew after their journey was underway:
{{collist|3|
*[[Ambulon]]
*[[Dogfight (G1)|Dogfight]]
*[[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]]
*[[Fortress Maximus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Fortress Maximus]]
*[[Getaway]]
*[[Skids (G1)|Skids]]
}}

===Additions after return to Cybertron===
Joining the crew after [[Dark Cybertron (IDW)|their return to Cybertron]] or after their subsequent second departure:
{{collist|3|
*[[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]]
*[[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]]
*[[Doublecross]]
*[[Groove (G1)|Groove]]
*[[Grotusque]]
*[[Hosehead (G1)|Hosehead]]
*[[Hot Spot (G1)|Hot Spot]]<ref>[https://twitter.com/jroberts332/status/461576635947708417 All of the Protectobots were confirmed to be on the Lost Light by James Roberts via his Twitter account]</ref>
*[[Joyride (G1)|Joyride]]
*[[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] (Co-Captain)
*[[Mirage (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Mirage]]
*[[Nautica (G1)|Nautica]]
*[[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]]
*[[Ravage (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ravage]]
*[[Repugnus (G1)|Repugnus]]
*[[Riptide (G1)|Riptide]]
*[[Sky High (Pretender)|Sky High]]
*[[Slamdance (G1)|Slamdance]]
*[[Streetwise (G1)|Streetwise]]
*[[Thunder Clash|Thunderclash]]
*[[Velocity (G1)|Velocity]]
}}

==Games==
===''Transformers Legends''===
The ''Lost Light'' was exploring a distant planet when it came under attack by mysterious forces. [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]] and [[Windblade (G1)|Windblade]] went to investigate and faced off against the [[Ammonite]]s along with a group of Decepticons from another starship. {{storylink|Into the Abyss}}

==Notes==
*According to Roberts in an online interview, [[Fireflight (G1)|Fireflight]] intended to join the crew of the ''Lost Light'' but was talked out of it at the last minute by "someone with a vested interest".<ref>http://www.craveonline.com/comics/interviews/182693-james-roberts-and-the-transformers-renaissance</ref>
*At least one member of the ''Lost Light'' crew was the result of artist error. In [[The Gloaming|issue #16]], a misdrawn Chromedome was transformed into the unofficial [[Unofficial conventions|TFCon]] fan-character "[[Toxin]]" by colorist [[Josh Burcham]] via an edit to the character's lineart and colors. Additionally, a scripted appearance for Generation 1 Landmine in ''[[The Reluctant Specialist|Spotlight: Trailcutter]]'' was drawn instead as [[Landmine (Energon)|''Energon'' Landmine]], although this wiki currently treats this as an appearance for the G1 character.
*A panel in [[Liars, A to D Part 2: Hangers On|issue #2]] of ''More Than Meets the Eye'' makes clear that the bridge is located at the front tip of the ship, in the huge band of windows. An observation deck is located there as well.
*Speaking of huge, the 10x15 mile dimensions of the ship given in "Into the Abyss" don't jibe with almost any of the artwork. While the ship is clearly ''big'', the given size would make characters invisible alongside it, but they are commonly visible next to it throughout the ''Dark Cybertron'' event. When set down on a planetary surface, the ship's upper reaches, presumably 5 or more miles up, should fade off into the stratosphere. Its huge size certainly would not lend itself to the shuttle-like tasks that it undertakes in ''Dark Cybertron'', either. 

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Autobot starships]]
[[Category:IDW Generation 1 starships]]