Transformers Classified: Switching Gears

This article is about the movie-era book. For the 1985 cartoon episode, see Changing Gears.

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Transformers Classified: Switching Gears
Publisher	Little, Brown and Company
First published	October 31, 2011
Writers	Ryder Windham Jason Fry
Continuity	Movie continuity
ISBN	ISBN 0316186333 ISBN 9780316186339
Page count	224

Hurlyburly in Hurley's Crossing in the early hours are in the offing!
A chase be had!
Prize treasure, revenge, new-found friends and forms we be adopting.

Synopsis

Three Decepticons, Tracer, Bombshock, and Dropshot undertake an attack on the Nevada Test and Training Range, easily dealing with the squad of F-22s scrambled to stop them. They're watched from afar by Simon Clay AKA "Stealth One", who talks with Dropshot through the mission by walkie-talkie. They're also observed by a young family who got lost in their SUV, and who record the fight on their cell phones. Optimus Prime and Ironhide soon arrive by plane and make the three Decepticons dead by stabbing them and shooting them in the face. Not far away, Clay reports the disappointing outcome to Stealth Leader.

In Hurley's Crossing, Kevin and Gilbert have a science project to do, however they're hampered by the fact that Gilbert's sister is having a raucous birthday party thrown for her by her rich boyfriend Douglas Porter. They're further distracted when a news report about giant robots appears on the news. Back at the NEST Forward Strike Base at Edwards Air Force Base, Bumblebee and Ratchet also see the news report and are soon told that a couple of meteors, likely Cybertronians in transition forms, are approaching Earth.

Kevin's viewing of the news report is interrupted by Douglas changing the channel. Douglas is one of the people who've bought into the cover-up, but Kevin knows they exist because his parents died during the Mission City battle, and their differing viewpoints bring the two into conflict. Kevin starts cycling home, but halfway there sees a meteor streak across the sky and hit the ground not far away. Though a NEST team with Bumblebee and Ratchet is even now heading toward Hurley's Crossing in a helicopter, Kevin reaches the crash site first. He encounters a giant robot, Gears, who saves his life when he's nearly run down by Simon Clay's van, and the boy realizes Gears is one of the good guys.

While he's taking a call from his brother, Duane, Kevin's phone suddenly goes dead as another meteor streaks across the sky. The new arrival is the Decepticon Reverb, who immediately fights Gears and loses. Gears can't finish off the unconscious Decepticon, so he resumes his mission with Kevin coming along for the ride. Gears is heading for the Hawthorne Army Depot, which happens to be where Duane works. Kevin manages to convince Gears to take him along as a native guide.

The NEST team arrives at Hurley's Crossing and finds Reverb. While they're securing the Decepticon for transport and interrogation, he recovers enough to spin a story about being a defector, in pursuit of another Decepticon who intends to destroy the army depot. As there's a communication's blackout over the area, Ratchet decides to play along and try to find this other Decepticon.

While Kevin and Gears talk their way through a road block near Hawthorne, and Bumblebee expresses his doubts to Ratchet, Optimus and Ironhide take part in a meeting of generals in Nevada. Though the generals are reluctant to include the Autobots, Optimus talks them around, and they nail down the target of the two recently landed Transformers as Hawthorne Army Depot.

Gears and Kevin near the army depot, and Gears again unsuccessfully attempts to ditch his human friend. They're attacked by remote-controlled tanks, which Gears manages to outwit. Soon they reach the place they're looking for—an ancient munitions stronghold established there during the war against The Fallen, which Gears intends to protect against Reverb. Inside, they find a multitude of alien weapons, but before long, the NEST helicopter carrying Reverb, Bumblebee and Ratchet arrives. While Reverb chases Gears into the cave, Kevin fills in the two Autobots on what's happening. A convoy of army trucks also arrives carrying, among others, Duane.

Reverb gets the better of Gears, and loads up with ancient Cybertronian tech, including a personal force field and the metal cylinder he was originally sent to find. Sufficiently prepared, he goes out and attacks Ratchet and Bumblebee. During the fight, he uses the cylinder on five humans soldiers, including Duane, who appear to blink out of existence. While the Autobots continue to vainly fight Reverb, Kevin goes to help Gears. Even the addition of some attack helicopters is not enough, and soon Reverb is about to kill Ratchet, when Optimus and Ironhide arrive. With his enhancements, Reverb is still a match for them and Kevin comes up with a desperate plan. With the help of a hologram of Tailgate, a friend of Gears whom Reverb had once killed, they lure Reverb back into the cave, where Gears manages to get off a lucky shot, wrecking Reverb's energy shield. Reverb attacks the battered Autobot, but now that the shield is down, Optimus is able to defeat Reverb and NEST takes him prisoner.

Optimus examines the cylinder Reverb used on the army men, and says it will have transported them elsewhere, with luck to a habitable alien world. He further convinces General Marcus that Kevin should join NEST. Elsewhere, Stealth Leader takes a call from Simon Clay reporting the failure of the mission at Hawthorne, however Stealth Leader, who is better known as Douglas Porter, says they have enough information to go ahead with Project Nightbridge.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots	Decepticons	Humans
Optimus Prime (6) Ironhide (7) Bumblebee (12) Ratchet (13) Gears (15) Tailgate (21)	Tracer (1) Bombshock (2) Dropshot (3) Reverb (16)	Simon Clay (4) Cody (5) Douglas Porter (8) Kevin Bowman (9) Gilbert Poole (10) Charlene Poole (11) Duane Bowman (12) Marcus (17) Barnes (18) Wichenstein (19) Camden (20)

Quotes

"Remember how we did it at the Battle of Polyhex?"
"Which Battle of Polyhex?"
"The second one."

—Ironhide and Optimus Prime

Notes

• Gears scanned a rusty derelict SUV, but on the cover with Bumblebee, he is very shiny.
• Despite taking place after Revenge of the Fallen, only Autobots from the first film appear alongside Gears. No mention is made of Sideswipe, Mudflap, Skids or any of the human NEST characters from the films.
• Bombshock, Tracer, and Dropshot being a group together is a callback to their Generation 1 namesakes being members of the Military Patrol.
  • Speaking of Bombshock, his design is based off his Power Core Combiners toy.

External links

• Product page on LB Kids