Editing Prime's Directive, Part Three

{{disambig2|the IDW issue|the Dreamwave issue|Prime Directive issue 3}}

{{Comicstory
|seriesissue=''[[Star Trek vs. Transformers]]'' #3
|prev=Prime's Directive, Part Two
|next=Prime's Directive, Part Four
|image=STvsTF3-cvrB.jpg
|title="Prime's Directive, Part Three"
|caption=
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[December 5]], [[2018]]
|coverdate=November 2018
|written by=[[John Barber]] and [[Mike Johnson]]
|art by=[[Jack Lawrence]]
|colors by=[[Josh Burcham]]
|letters by=[[Christa Miesner]]
|editor=[[Chase Marotz]] and [[David Mariotte]]
|continuity=''[[Star Trek vs. Transformers]]''
}}

'''Titans clash as Kirk makes an unusual new friend, and the battle for Cygnus Seven takes a surprising new direction.''' 

==Synopsis==
With the other Autobots trapped underground and [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] badly wounded, [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] and [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] join their fellow [[Decepticon]]s as they lay waste to [[Cygnus Seven]], gleefully watching as the inhabitants of the local mining colony flee in terror. Though [[Scotty]] and [[Spock]] return fire with their [[Phaser (weapon)|phasers]], their weapons aren't able to penetrate the Decepticons' armor. Despite his wounds, Optimus insists on protecting the organics; over [[Doctor McCoy]]'s protests, Prime uses his body to shield one group of miners from [[Airachnid (G1)|Airachnid]]'s blasts, and although they do their best to evacuate the [[Federation]] miners targeted by the Decepticons, it's clear that their desperate rearguard action can't hold out forever.

Deep beneath the local [[dilithium]] mine, inside [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]]'s body, [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] finishes his adjustments to the [[Titan (group)|Titan]]'s inner workings, so that [[James Kirk|Captain Kirk]] can interface with the gigantic Autobot. [[Windblade (G1)|Windblade]] has misgivings of her own about the plan, unsure if the human can handle the mental strain of merging with Fortress Maximus's consciousness, but [[Sulu]] reassures her—if ''anyone'' can handle it, it's Kirk. Ratchet obliges and activates the device.

Merged with the Titan's mind, Kirk struggles to handle the overwhelming mental merge, glimpsing fragmented memories of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] and the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]] in between flashes of his ''own'' youth. Ratchet and the other Autobots watch as Kirk's memories focus on an object closer to the present day: the starship ''[[USS Enterprise|Enterprise]],'' a ship that Kirk knows back-to-front. As a disoriented Kirk returns to reality, [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] commends the captain's bravery, while Ratchet explains the next step of his plan: using the ''Enterprise'' schematics obtained from Kirk's brain, he can get to work on bringing Fortress Maximus back online and into fighting shape.

[[File:STvsTF3-FortressTiberious.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|But he doesn't have a shirt to rip!]]

On the surface of the planet, Starscream gloats as he takes stock of his victory. As McCoy and the other members of the ''Enterprise'' weigh up their options, the blusterous [[Seeker (body-type)|Seeker]] demands that Prime face him or be destroyed. The Autobot leader, unwilling to see any more organic lives caught in the crossfire of the war, offers to sacrifice himself so that the organics can make their escape. Though McCoy protests this course of action, Spock has ''already'' weighed up their options and chosen the most logical course of action; as the others watch, he calmly walks in front of Starscream to announce their surrender, much to the amusement of [[Klingon]] commander [[Kuri]] as he beams in, ever-eager to assert the dominance of the [[Klingon Empire]] over the Federation. Spock tells the villains that they'll surrender so long as the Federation miners can safely leave, a statement echoed by Prime as he struggles to his feet to stand alongside the half-[[Vulcan]]. Starscream is unmoved; after all, what does he stand to gain by ''not'' killing Prime on the spot? Before anyone can come up with an answer, however, the ground shakes and a mighty starship bursts through the ground: Fortress Maximus, transformed into a copy of the ''Enterprise''! The other Autobots and their new allies burst through the hole created by their passage to join the battle, but they're not the ''only'' group with a surprise weapon, as Kuri's [[Warbird (Star Trek)|Warbird]] transforms to reveal itself as the monstrous [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]], contemptuously blasting the Autobots aside with his fiery breath!

Inside Fortress Maximus—his interior reshaped into a Cybertronian-sized copy of the ''Enterprise''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s bridge—Ratchet coaches Kirk as the captain uses a special headset to take control of the living ship, blasting Trypticon with a volley of phaser fire as the other Autobots swing into action. Sulu and Windblade dogfight with [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] and [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]], [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] and [[M'Ress]] trip up Soundwave, and [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] helps keep Airachnid off [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]]'s back. Frustrated by their setback, Kuri and Starscream trade barbs, but their bickering is cut short when Arcee knocks the Seeker commander to the ground and orders the miners to get to the ''Enterprise''. 

As Scott and Spock wonder how the captain could be piloting the ship ''alone'', however, villainous reinforcements arrive in the shape of [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] and a group of Klingons, with the Decepticon leader taking the opportunity to shoot Optimus in the back! The Klingons promptly point their weapons at the Federation miners, only for Kirk to swoop in and beam them and Arcee to safety. As he does so, Ratchet encourages Kirk to pull off the ship's final trick. Kirk strains to concentrate, and as he does so Fortress Maximus begins to [[Transformation|transform]] around him. As Trypticon watches in astonishment, their two minds merge as the Titan assumes his new robot mode, declaring himself the mighty Fortress Tiberius!

{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] (5)
* [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (10)
* [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] (11)
* [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] (13)
* [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] (14)
* [[Windblade (G1)|Windblade]] (16)
* [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus/Fortress Tiberius]] (19)

|c2=
* [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] (1)
* [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] (2)
* [[Airachnid (G1)|Airachnid]] (3)
* [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] (4)
* [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] (17)
* [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] (20)
* [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] (21)
* [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] (22)

|h3=[[Federation]]|c3=
* [[Doctor McCoy]] (6)
* [[Scotty]] (7)
* [[Spock]] (8)
* [[James Kirk]] (9)
* [[M'Ress]] (12)
* [[Sulu]] (15)

|h4=[[Klingon]]s|c4=
* [[Kuri]] (18)
}} 

==Quotes==
"Away with ye, ye wicked contraption!"
:—'''Scotty''' takes on '''Airachnid'''


"It appears to resemble an overly-large '''metal''' version of the extinct Earth creature ''Tyrannosaurus rex''. Though, I admit this seems a '''highly illogical''' form for a Cybertronian to take."
:—'''Spock''' has yet to meet Grimlock...


"The '''captain—'''operating a ''Constitution''-class starship '''alone? Impossible.''' At a minimum, '''twenty-three''' crew members would be required to—" <br> "'''Ach!''' With the right modifications I could do it with '''five,''' maybe '''four''' in a pinch."
:—'''Spock''' and '''Scotty'''


"You don't see '''that''' every day." <br>
"Well, maybe '''you''' don't..."
:—'''M'Ress''' and '''Bumblebee''' regard Fortress Tiberius

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
* Optimus Prime describes Trypticon as the "very thing that ended our mission to find [[energon]]," referencing the backstory from [[Prime's Directive, Part Two|the previous issue]]. Similarly, Starscream notes that the humans "would not hesitate to put an end to [him]," a presumable allusion to the events of [[World War III]] and the [[Eugenics Wars]].

===Transformers references===
* The concept behind "Fortress Tiberius" seems loosely inspired by the [[binary bonding]] technology alluded to in various ancillary media, which depicted [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmasters]] and their ilk as existing in a quasi-symbiotic relationship, a process by which memories and emotions could unconsciously "bleed" from one partner into the other. This concept was first explored in [[The Man in the Machine!|issue #51]] of the [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|Marvel comic]], and taken to its logical extreme in the ''[[Beast Wars: Uprising]]'' story "[[Head Games]]." All this said, [[Cerebros (G1)|Cerebros]] is nowhere to be found in this comic, and Fort Max's head doesn't look like it's formed from Kirk...
* While merged with Fortress Maximus, Kirk catches a glimpse of an unidentified Cybertronian city, based off [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]]'s appearance in the original [[The Transformers (cartoon)|''The Transformers'' cartoon]] during  the planet's [[Golden Age]].

===Star Trek references===
* Kirk's memories include his childhood, growing up on a farm in [[memoryalpha:Riverside|Riverside]], [[Iowa]], and another scene of him as a young man attending [[memoryalpha:Starfleet Academy|Starfleet Academy]] in [[San Francisco]].
* Kuri derogatorily refers to his Federation captives as "[[memoryalpha:Targ|targs]]", a Klingon animal somewhat like a wild boar that is often kept as a pet.
* Scotty's claim that ''Constitution''-class vessels could be crewed by about five people given the right modifications is exactly what would happen in ''[[memoryalpha:Star Trek III: The Search for Spock|Star Trek III: The Search for Spock]]''.
* McCoy drops his catchphrase once again, claiming "I'm a doctor, not a magnet!"
* Fortress Maximus's new moniker is based off Kirk's own middle name, "Tiberius." But see "Errors," below...

===Errors===
* In the final panel of the comic, "Fortress Tiberius" is misspelled with an extra "o."

===Other notes===
* Years ago, the [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (novel)|''Dark of the Moon'' novelization]] had [[Wheelie (ROTF)|Wheelie]] joke about a theoretical ''Star Trek'' episode where the ''Enterprise'' was revealed as a Transformer. As if ''that'' could ever happen...
* Originally solicited for November, this issue arrives late, landing in the first full week of December. 
* Backmatter includes an exclusive interview with ''Star Trek'' authors Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelley. 

===Covers (3)===
* '''Cover A:''' The crew of the ''Enterprise'' encounter Soundwave and the [[Decepticon Mini-Cassette]]s, by [[Philip Murphy]]
* '''Cover B:''' Kirk, Spock, and [[Uhura]] flee Megatron, by [[Gavin Fullerton]]
* '''Retailer incentive cover:''' Women of the Federation and Cybertron: Windblade, Arcee, Uhura, M'Ress, and Nurse Chapel; by [[Megan Levens]] and [[Charlie Kirchoff]]
<gallery>
File:STvsTF3-cvrA.jpg|Buzzsaw eject.  Target: Kirk's wig.
File:STvsTF3-cvrB.jpg|Kirk, your acting is bad comedy!
File:STvsTF3-cvrRI.jpg|It's Ladies Night!
</gallery>

===Advertisements===
* [[Prime's Directive, Part Four|''Star Trek vs. Transformers'' #4]]
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* ''Atomic Robo'' comic
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* ''{{gb|Go-Bots}}'' comic series (back cover)

==External links==
*[https://www.flickeringmyth.com/2018/12/preview-of-star-trek-vs-transformers-3/ Preview]
*[[memoryalpha:Star Trek vs. Transformers, Issue 3|Issue article]] at Memory Alpha
*[[wikia:memory-beta:Star Trek vs. Transformers, Issue 3|Issue article]] at Memory Beta, the non-canon ''Star Trek'' wiki

[[Category:Star Trek vs. Transformers issues]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prime's Directive, Part 3}}