The Probe

As a probe from Cybertron approaches the planet the Maximals desperately try to make contact with it, but Megatron has other plans.

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Summary

From Cybertron, numerous probes are launched, programmed to search through time for the missing Axalon. One pod floats through the tears in space created by Megatron and approaches the planet the Beast Wars are on.

On the planet's surface, Cheetor challenges his fellows to a race home. Rattrap does a commendable job in keeping up with the cheetah, but Primal wins the race using his flight mode. Primal and Dinobot scold Cheetor for letting his own guard down. Once inside, the four Maximals meet with Rhinox, who is trying to use the ship's scanners to detect something in space. Rattrap maximizes and pulls up a visual, revealing that the orbital object is a temporal probe. Rhinox makes an attempt to make contact with the probe, but the probe moves out of range before communication can be established. However there's one more chance to get the probe's attention, by duplicating the Axalon's transwarp signal by the time the probe make it's return journey. Most of the Maximals are happy, except for Dinobot.

The next morning, the Maximals begin construction of the signal array they'll use to contact the probe. Although they're in Predacon territory, they have Tigatron protecting them. Tigatron detects tipsy Waspinator and blasts the insect away easily. But by shooting down Waspinator, Tigatron has made himself a target of Tarantulas's evil machine that Tarantulas built. Eventually, the device fires a laser beam that hits Tigatron, trapping him in his beast mode. Without his blaster, Tigatron is ensnared in an energon web. Cheetor arrives to aid Tigatron, but quickly finds himself in the same situation.

At the construction site, Dinobot admits that he imagines that upon returning to Cybertron, he'll be persecuted as a Predacon, but Primal assured Dinobot that this won't happen. Scorponok, spying on the Maximals, films some footage of the device and sends it to Megatron. Once the device is complete, he begins an attack upon it, but is quickly blasted before the array can be damaged. All the array needs is a transwarp component to be delivered form the Axalon by Rhinox.

The two cats have been caged inside the Predacon base, where Megatron reviews footage of the Maximals constructing their signal array. Cheetor accidentally lets slip that the array is being made to contact a probe. The Predacons rush out of the room, leaving the captives unsupervised. Tigatron begins to swing his suspended cage. Cheetor copies this behavior, and the two cages contact either other, knocking their bottoms off. Tigatron lands on his feet and catches Cheetor, saving him from a lava bath. They head for the Precadon's restoration chambers to escape the transformation lock.

Terrorsaur attacks the array, and the three Maximals scare the flier off. Dinobot comments that Terrorsaur always was a coward, but then Megatron (who says Terrorsaur is a coward but makes a great diversion) and the two spiders engage the Maximals from a closer range, with Tarantulas's evil device to assist them. Dinobot is locked into his Beast Mode and is defeated with several kicks from Blackarachnia. Rattrap uses his rifle to blast Blackarachnia over the edge of I swear to god in this show every third location is by the edge of a giant cliff. With her out of the picture, Rattrap talks to Dinobot, who is experiencing Transformational Dysfunction, only for Rattrap to also be blasted by Tarantulas's evil device. The two Maximals are blasted by Megatron.

Optimus Primal fights against Taranulas, and blasts a shot right through Tarantulas's chest. Then Primal is locked into his beast mode like the others. Primal would be killed by Megatron, were it not for the timely arrival of Rhinox, whom sending Megatron flying with a mighty punch. With the Predacons defeated, Rhinox activates the array, and just needs to enter in the code that would allow the array to mimic the Axalon's transwarp signal and contact the probe. But at the important moment, Tarantulas's evil device strikes Rhinox, and without fingers to use in his Beast Mode, the array is useless. With all the present Maximals incapacitated, there is nobody to stop Megatron from destroying the array.

Megatron prepares to finish off Optimus and Rhinox, but Cheetor and Tigatron arrive and destroy Tarantulus's device and scare off Megatron, but the damage has been done, and Megarton boasts that the war will continue until he wins. And now the Maximals may never be rescued.

Stats

Writers: Craig Miller and Marv Wolfman
Original Air Date: October 15, 1996

Major Characters (in order of appearance): Cheetor Rattrap Dinobot Optimus Primal Rhinox Waspinator Tarantulas Scorponok Terrorsaur Megatron Blackarachnia Terrorsaur

Notes

• Dinobot's hesitation towards the idea of being rescued is a concept revisited in Victory (Beast Wars episode)
• On the DVD release of Season 1, this episode appears out of order, coming after "Double Jeopardy". This is particularly noticeable in the presence of the Sentinel defense system before its introductory episode.

From Teletraan I: The Transformers Wiki, a Wikia wiki.