Axalon (BW)

"Axalon" redirects here. For the Autobot ship from Armada, see Axalon (Armada).

The Axalon is a spaceship from the Beast Wars portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

I don't care, I'm still free. You can't take the sky from me.

The Axalon is a Maximal exploration vessel whose mission was to explore and survey uninhabited worlds, seeding them with stasis pods so that those Transformers within could adopt the appearance of local lifeforms and conduct research undisturbed. However, she was called upon to intercept and pursue a stolen Predacon starship, and was subsequently never heard from again by her superiors.

Fiction

Animated continuity

Beast Wars

It's just like the Titanic... FROM SPACE.

When Megatron's band of Predacon criminals stole the Golden Disk and escaped in their stolen ship, the Darksyde, the Maximal science vessel Axalon was the only ship close enough with the Transwarp engines needed to pursue him.

Chicken, Maximal style

Her crew at the start of the Beast Wars appears to have been newly assembled and the captain, Optimus Primal, was new to command. However, the Axalon itself had already been in service for at least a while. The Dinobot Airraptor once served aboard her before the Beast Wars as interplanetary surveyor and navigator.

This isn't crashing, it's falling... sans style

The Axalon engaged the Darksyde in battle as soon as both starships came out of transwarp, chasing the Predacon ship to a primitive world that would later be revealed as Earth. Outgunned by the Darksyde, the Axalon's engines were severely damaged and she was slowly dragged towards the surface by the planet's gravitational pull. Realizing their ship would not survive, their cargo of stasis pods were launched into safe orbit from the rear docking bay. Despite this grim setback, Optimus Primal was not willing to allow their enemies to escape, and so he ordered the forward plasma cannon to be fired at the Darksyde, a well-targeted shot that crippled the Predacon warship. Soon afterward, both ships crash-landed. Beast Wars (Part 1)

Just a few dents, it's still good, it's still good!

After crashing on Earth the Axalon became the Maximals' base of operations. Still flight worthy, the Axalon took her last trip into the air when the Maximals were able to salvage parts from the Darksyde when they mistakenly thought the Predacons had destroyed themselves in an energon explosion. The trip was brief and the crash, caused by Megatron, ensured that the Axalon would never fly again.

After Megatron's attempt to alter history, she was further destroyed by Predacon forces, as Rampage and some of Tarantulas's spider drones pulled her off the cliff that she was straddling. The ship's forward quarter, including the command center, split off and fell first, landing on dry land. The remainder, including her drives and primary computer center, fell afterward and sank into the lake. The remains of the command center were salvaged to help fortify the Ark against Predacon attack. Optimal Situation Rattrap would later undertake a dangerous mission below the lake's surface to salvage the Sentinel shield control module; a simultaneous underwater battle between Rampage and Depth Charge sent the ship's remains plummeting even further into the lake's depths.

It would appear the Maximals left the remains of the Axalon behind when they returned to Cybertron. Nemesis Part 2

In both "Primeval Dawn" and in Dreamwave's comic book series, we see abandoned segments of the Maximal encampment.

Known Specifications

File:Axalon plasmacannon.jpg

Up close, this looks both cool... and really gross.

As the Axalon was a science vessel, she is scantily armed and even then primarily for defensive purposes. However, her main forward plasma cannons have enough power to cripple Predacon ships (such as the Darksyde) with several well-targeted shots. The Axalon also has a turret on either side of her hull just behind the bridge. There are also at least one turret mounted under her near the nose. She is later equipped with a powerful defense shield and defensive program Sentinel.

She has a large Stasis Hold where stasis pods are stored. In addition she has a holding room for prisoners (interesting considering she is not a war ship).

The ship's computer core is located towards the stern of the ship, which houses, among other things, the Sentinel defense program.

It is unknown exactly how many crew quarters the Axalon has, however the captain's quarters is located on the port side of the ship. This room protrudes outward from the hull. It has a large expanse of glass which gives the captain the nicest view of the surroundings of any known part of the ship.

Her rear docking bay can launch stasis pods in the event of an emergency.

Toys

Beast Wars 10th Anniversary

• Optimus Primal (2006)

A small-scale toy of the Axalon was included.

Notes

I don't know if it just has way bigger chairs inside or what.

• Another starship of the Axalon's class was used by Ironhide's team in the Timelines story Descent into Evil.

• Another very similar starship, possibly Axalon-class or meant to evoke it, was used in the Robots in Disguise continuity by an Autobot who would eventually be reprogrammed into Scourge The Decepticons.

• The Axalon's main plasma cannons were used twice in the series: during the battle with the Darksyde (the guns that dealt the crippling blow to the Predacon ship) and once more during "Call of the Wild" as backup when the topside autogun was destroyed.

• According to Transformers: Defiance, it seems that Jetfire's cybertronian form has a more-than passing resemblance to the Axalon.

• In a running gag, the glass of the ship's CR chamber is shattered multiple times over the course of the series, usually by the Maximals on most occasions.