Unreliable Narratives

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"Unreliable Narratives"
Original presentation	10:00am June 30, 2013 (BotCon)
Written by	Greg Sepelak and Trent Troop with Graham Weaver
Continuity	Aligned continuity family

Kup tells Hot Shot a story. And then another one.

Synopsis

In the middle of a pitched battle in the Rigel system, Kup has just finished telling Hot Shot one of his trademark war stories, much to the younger Autobot's chagrin. The elder of the two Wreckers notices that their Decepticon opponents are not standard Vehicons, but instead sport experimental Enemy-class drone bodies. Kup was in fact present when that design was first tested, and, despite his companion's protests, he decides to tell that tale...

It is the midst of the war for Cybertron. Ultra Magnus has just taken over the Wreckers, Megatron is fueled by Dark Energon, and boxy shapes and glowing stripes are in fashion. The war isn't going so well for the Autobots, so new Wrecker Kup decides to try and bring Wheeljack, who had left after a falling out with Ultra Magnus, back into the team. He finds the warrior engineer just outside Alfes Station, sitting on a pile of dead Decepticons, and the pair exchange tough guy banter until Wheeljack finally opens up. He has been scavenging the wreckage of newly minted Decepticon heavy troops, and has found that they're clad in nanocrystal lattice armor created in his old laboratory in Ankmor. Kup expresses surprise that the surly loner Wheeljack is a scientist, but nevertheless agrees to join him in a strike on the Decepticon science installation that has set up shop there.

The duo sneak their way in through a chemical run-off pipe and a tangle of vent-tunnels, and, from a hidden vantage point, find that the operation is being run by the notorious Decepticon scientist Shockwave. With him is Thundercracker, who is not best pleased about their squalid workspace, and Rumble and Frenzy, who are strapped down for some experiment. Conveniently for the eavesdroppers, Rumble has Shockwave reiterate the goal of said experiment – the scientist plans to extract the sparks of the diminutive Decepticons and place them in laser core containment chambers, a permanent process which will allow them to be easily swapped into new bodies. Rumble and Frenzy aren't happy with this plan, especially once Shockwave explains the less-than-certain chances of success, but some death threats soon have them raring to participate.

Shockwave has grand plans for his laser core process, envisioning a future where injured Decepticons can quickly and easily have their sparks moved into new bodies, overwhelming the Autobots with unending troops. Thundercracker throws the switch, and the laboratory is filled with light and smoke. As the room clears, Rumble and Frenzy are in their new bodies... but they can't agree as to whether Shockwave has gotten their colors the right way around!

As the Decepticons bicker, the Wreckers burst down into the room, and Wheeljack demands that Shockwave leave his laboratory. Just like Kup, however, the Decepticon finds it hard to believe that the destructive Wrecker is a scientist. The two sides exchange threats, and Thundercracker releases Rumble and Frenzy as backup. Wheeljack, luckily, has a plan – he lined the entire lab with unstable energon and detonation charges years ago, which he now threatens to set off. With guns and missiles now off limits thanks to the explosives, the room descends into a chaotic melee. Eventually, Shockwave disarms Wheeljack and orders Rumble and Frenzy to shoot the two Autobots, but they grab the duo's abandoned data disc bodies, wagering that the Decepticons will be unwilling to "shoot themselves". Rumble and Frenzy charge Kup and Wheeljack, but get bludgeoned with their old bodies, which the Autobots then throw out the window into the waste canals. The pair flee to retrieve their bodies, leaving the Wreckers with an even fight. Wheeljack manages to convince Shockwave that he's just crazy enough that the explosives could be real, and the Decepticon makes the logical decision to call a retreat. Once they've fled, the surly Wrecker admits to Kup that he was bluffing after all!

In the present, Kup explains how the pair brought Shockwave's abandoned data to Autobot Command, and while Optimus Prime declined to pursue the laser core process, it nevertheless helped improve regular spark transplants, getting many Autobots back on their feet. Hot Shot realizes that their assailants have stopped shooting, and Kup reveals that this was his plan all along: hunker down, wait for them to run out of ammo, and escape whilst they resupply. Just as Hot Shot expresses his gratitude that the story is over, his partner reveals that it isn't quite finished...

Shockwave, Thundercracker, Rumble, and Frenzy have convened with Soundwave in Kaon, where the spymaster has demanded that his two minions are returned to their original bodies. Shockwave agrees, and reveals that not only was he able to download full records for the laser core process before retreating, but that he retrieved a scrap of Wheeljack's armor. He plans to extract the Wrecker's CNA and use it to clone new bodies to house laser cores, and requests access to Dead End and Wildrider, critically injured at Skyquake Pre-Memorial Hospital, as test subjects.

Back in the present, Hot Shot wonders how Kup can tell the story of events he wasn't present for. The elder Wrecker's answer?

"Shut up!"

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots	Decepticons
Kup (1) Hot Shot (2) Wheeljack (4)	Enemy-class drones (3) Shockwave (5) Thundercracker (6) Rumble (7) Frenzy (8) Soundwave (9)

Notes

• The cast:
  • James Horan: Wheeljack, Thundercracker
  • David Sobolov: Shockwave
  • Jason Jansen: Hot Shot
  • Wally Burr: Kup
  • Greg Sepelak: Rumble, Frenzy
• Characters mentioned but not seen include: Optimus Prime, Vehicons, Ultra Magnus, Megatron, Starscream, Bulkhead, Primus, Dead End, Wildrider, and Skyquake.

Continuity notes

• The framing story takes place in the modern day era of the Prime cartoon, while Kup's tale takes place more-or-less between War for Cybertron and Fall of Cybertron.
• Ultra Magnus taking command of the Wreckers was mentioned in Prime episode "Project Predacon" (contrasting the Exodus novel, which presented him as one of the founding members of the team). Ultra Magnus joining was the reason why Wheeljack left, as stated here. Bulkhead has already left and joined Team Prime at this point, as noted in the story.
• Megatron's acquisition of Dark Energon was the focus of much of War For Cybertron and Exodus.
• Shockwave mentions other planned CNA projects, such as cloning prehistoric beasts (the Predacons, as seen in season 3 of Prime) and refashioning Cybertronian warriors into alien monsters (the Dinobots, as seen in Fall of Cybertron.)

Transformers references

• The term "war for Cybertron" is consistently capitalized throughout the script, turning it into a title-drop joke for the War for Cybertron game.
• The Rigel system has had multiple mentions in Transformers history; Rigel III was the homeworld of Rorza, the Rocket-cycle Racer from Rigel III, mentioned in issue #44 of the original Marvel The Transformers series, while Rigel 6 was mentioned in issue #27. Rigel IV and Rigel VII, meanwhile, were mentioned in issue #7 and the short prose story in issue #13 of More than Meets the Eye, respectively.
• Kup mentions Regulon Four as being a place where he and the others all died (don't ask how); Regulon 4 was a planet originally established in one of the original The Transformers cartoon Kup's stories in "The Rebirth, Part 2".
• Kup quotes his Generation 1 counterpart's line about appreciating experience from The Transformers: The Movie. Hot Shot mocks him for doing so, due to the never-ending abundance of movie quotes in just about any piece of Transformers media.
• Hot Shot bemoans being in constant jams, in reference to his Armada counterpart and the jaAm meme associated with him.
• Hot Shot notes that Optimus Prime is unlikely to "put [them] on his shoulder and fly [them] away", in reference to Tommy Kennedy's interaction with Optimus in "Season 5" of the original The Transformers cartoon, Hot Shot being voiced by Jason Jansen, who, of course, played Tommy Kennedy.
• The Enemy-class drones are named after Enemy, a character who began life in the early years of the Transformers toyline as two pieces of merchandise (a radio with a transforming figure on it and a voice changer), and who shared a body with Generation 1 Rumble and Frenzy. They are intended to a repurposing of the Hasbro Prime Rumble toy.
• The visual disparity between the two Cybertron games and the Prime cartoon is the subject of a few light-hearted jabs; Kup remembers how during the war on Cybertron, everyone was boxier and had a lower poly-count, with glowing panels and huge boots.
• Another target for light-hearted jabs is the depiction of Wheeljack as a scientist, seen in the Exiles novel, and his depiction in the Prime cartoon.
• Ankmor was mentioned in the previous Timelines stories "The New World" and "Wreckers: Finale Part II".
• Thundercracker expresses disdain for Rumble and Frenzy's ground-based alternate modes, calling back to Generation 1 Thundercracker's dislike of non-flying Transformers.
• Guinea pig-o-trons, originally mentioned in "The Autobot Run", are brought up.
• Laser cores were mentioned in "Divide and Conquer" and the previously discussed "The Autobot Run". The idea that it holds the spark originated from the bio for the Beast Machines Beast Rider Mechatron.
• Shockwave claims that no one dies twice, to which Kup in the modern day ignores the obvious Prime jokes. We're sure you know why.
• Kup compares the flash in the laboratory to an "Insecticon in an electro-barrier".
• Rumble and Frenzy's new bodies are their Prime / Arms Micron Deluxe toys. Their confusion as to colors references the fact that the two toylines used opposite schemes, with Hasbro following FIRRIB and Takara FIBRIR. Kup even jokes about this, saying that they never found out which one was red at the end of the story.
• The story repeatedly makes light of Prime Shockwave's predilection for the word 'logic'.
• Hot Shot corrects the use of 'firepower' to 'fireblast', the trademark-friendly alternative used on modern Tech Specs. Kup and Shockwave ignore this.
• Kup lost his original head on Nebulos, the planet traditionally associated with Headmaster technology. His replacement head is a reference to his Prime toy which, as a redeco of Ironhide, has a head resembling that Autobot, rather than Kup.
• Rumble or Frenzy mentions sticking an octopus on his larger body, in reference to the Dago Micron that was included with their Arms Micron releases.
• The term "data disk" for Rumble and Frenzy's previous bodies originated from their Generations toys.
• Dead End and Wildrider's toys are, of course, redecoes of Prime Wheeljack, hence their involvement in a project cloning him.
• "Skyquake Pre-Memorial Hospital" refers to Prime Skyquake, who does indeed die years later on Earth in the Prime episode "Masters & Students".

Real-world references

• The Alfes Station is named for Japanese fan Alphes2010, who runs a toy review blog.
• Wheeljack paraphrases the "layers" line from DreamWorks film Shrek.
• Kup mentions a Battle of the Euclidean Flats, referencing the geometrical concept of Euclidean space.
• Shockwave notes that all his clone specimens will be female to prevent breeding, in reference to Jurassic Park.

Trivia

• When discussing whether Rescue Bots Academy Hot Shot should be considered the same character "archetype" as Prime Hot Shot, "Unreliable Narratives" writer Greg Sepelak joked that "Unreliable Narratives" Hot Shot was "RBA Hot Shot all grown up".

Errors

• Shockwave refers to Thundercracker as Slipstream on one occasion. Either he's bad with names, or the script was originally written with an additional female voice actor in mind.

External links

• "Unreliable Narratives" live recording on YouTube
• Post by Greg Sepelak elaborating on the script reading's continuity-patching