Other Voices, Part 1

Template:Episodenav Writers: Larry DiTillio and Bob Forward

The plans of both Megatron and the mysterious aliens are coming to a head as one of the two moons transforms.

Characters (in order of appearance): Rhinox, Optimus Primal, Tarantulas, Blackarachnia, Megatron, Waspinator, Airazor, Rattrap, Scorponok, Terrorsaur, Inferno, Dinobot,

Original Air Date: March 31, 1997

Summary

In a flash of light, a power anomaly emerges from a wormhole above the planet and descends to the surface. The aliens have arrived.

Rhinox detects the arrival and alerts Optimus, who hopes the truce is still holding. He flies off to meet Airazor and Rattrap at the landing site.

Tarantulas is programming his stolen Transwarp cell, when Blackarachnia pays him another visit. She tells him she can get them inside the Maximal base to steal a stasis pod. Megatron monitors the entire discussion between the two spiders and sends Waspinator to the location the aliens are anticipated to arrive at.

Rattrap and Airazor reach the site, which is a large circular plaza of stone, pulsing with energy and containing a stable energon crystal. When Airazor tries to scan it, it zaps her, blasts Rattrap away, and engulfs the entire site inside an organic dome-like structure with Airazor inside

Airazor awakens inside the "nutty alien bungalow", where a garbled alien voice speaks to her. She assures the aliens she means them no harm -- but they have no such compunctions, and painfully scan her until she converts to beast mode. After the scan ends, they are left with one word of information: "Cybertron."

Outside, Waspinator arrives to "secure the area", but Rattrap drives him off with a vigorous bout of fisticuffs.

Primal arrives, surveys the situation. Rattrap's efforts to cut through the dome structure are ineffective. Megatron arrives with Terrorsaur and Scorponok, the latter of whom fires a "toxic sting" that eats through the structure. Primal and Rattrap venture inside; Rattrap drags the semi-conscious Airazor out, while Primal stays to confront the aliens. A series of whip-like metal tentacles ensnare him and lift him up into an agonizing scanning grid.

Tarantulas and Blackarachnia have made their way to the Maximal base, where Blackarachnia activates a device that creates a small opening in the shields. The spider move in, unaware that they are being followed by Inferno, who notes that they're up to no good and develops his own entry by digging a tunnel below ground.

Rattrap pulls Airazor out thorough Scorponok's opening just before it self-seals, to find himself facing Predacon guns -- the truce is over.

Primal's scan ends, and to address him, the aliens take the form of a "figure of authority" -- the head of Unicron. The aliens tell him that the Transformers have contaminated their experiment, which will be "sterilized". Primal pleads for a chance to fix the damage, and for the lives of the planet's native creatures, but the aliens are dismissive, citing greater dangers unknown to Primal. The conversation ends with the aliens activating a "termination sequence".

The alien construct begins to pulse with building energy. The distraction proves enough for Rattrap and Airazor to overpower the Predacons. With renewed urgency, Primal breaks his bonds and flies right through the dome; the Maximals beat a hasty retreat -- as the dome bursts open, spewing a directed geyser of energy into the sky. The energy activates hidden systems on the second moon, burning away its earthen surface to reveal an endless grid of weapon-like emplacements that being powering up. The moon itself begins to change its shape, and the alien energies cause the orbiting stasis pods to tumble out of orbit.

Rhinox observes all this at the Maximal base, taking measures to track what's happening even as the sensors begin to fritz out. Thus engaged, he doesn't see the spiders coming up behind him till it's too late. Dinobot is likewise gunned down in short order. Staring at Rhinox's displays, Blackarachnia wonders what they're looking at, to which Tarantulas replies: "The beginning... of the end."

Quotes

Optimus arrives at the alien site after Rattrap has brutalized Waspinator.
Optimus: I swear, I can't take you anywhere!
Rattrap: Hey, e-heh, just keeping the peace.

Airazor: We can't leave Optimus in there.
Rattrap: Hey, ours it not to reason why, but to blow dis joint before we die!

Alien-Unicron: It is too late. You and your enemies have already contaminated the project. The harm has been done. That which does not become part of the one - shall become void.
Optimus: No - wait! We can fix whatever damage's been done.
Alien-Unicron: We are not interested, the experiment will be sterilized.

Notes

• This is the first of several episodes centered on the aliens, all with "Other V*"-styled titles: Other Voices, Other Visits, Other Victories.
• Bob Forward has said this was originally meant to be a 4-parter but the plans were changed at the last minute - "Apparently anything more than a two-parter is too hard to schedule".
• After Waspinator is defeated by Rattrap, he has exactly the voice you'd expect from someone who's been kicked in the nards.
• "Scan complete, this is the specimen we analyzed before." - The Vok previously analyzed Optimus in Chain of Command
• The Vok's Unicron hologram is solely a visual reference, and is not meant to suggest any connection between the aliens and Unicron.
• The Unicron hologram's statement "That which does not become part of the one - shall become void" may be a reference to Unicron's quote from Transformers Universe: "That which does not become a part of me shall become one with the great void". It might also be a twisted reference to a certain Autobot mantra, which wouldn't be the first or last time someone missed the point of the saying. [1]
• This is perhaps the only episode of the series without an appearance from Cheetor.
  
  
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