Equal Measures
Template:Episodenav Writers: Greg Johnson
Dinobot manipulates both Maximals and Predacons around a teleporter that Cheetor has unintentionally developed between both bases.
Minor characters (in order of appearance): Characters
Original air date: September 23, 1996
Summary
Primal watches a bolt of lightning shatter a mountain, revealing a cache of Energon. Because of the hazardous conditions, he radios to his team to abort their current operation. But back at the Axalon, Rattrap and Rhinox fail to receive the communication. Cheetor attempts to help Dinobot finish one of the bombs intended for the mission, but drops the bomb. Luckily, the Primal catches the bomb as he returns to the Maximal bridge. Primal explains that the mission is canceled, but Cheetor claims he would be able to set-up the bombs before the storm hits.
Primal and Dinobot get into an argument over the methods to be used against the Predacons. Dinobot makes it clear he wants to win whatever the cost, while Primal would rather avoid lethal force. The two both accuse the other of having clouded judgement, and Dinobot walks off.
In Cheetor's quarters, Dinobot meets with the catbot and endorses the mission being continued regardless of the danger from the weather and the Energon. To manipulate Cheetor, Dinobot mentions how Cheetor is regarded as a child by Primal. Dinobot suggests Cheetor carry out the mission on his own - pointing out that Cheetor is the only Maximal able to do such. Unaware that he's being fooled into being a potential weapon, Cheetor leaves the Axalon.
In the field, he plants survey apparatuses quickly. After a few of the units are installed, a bolt of lightning causes the cat to accidentally plant one of the posts over a deposit of Energon. He tries to remove the device and correct his mistake, but in the middle of struggle he finds himself suddenly teleported - onto a control panel in the Predacon base!
Terrorsaur welcomes Cheetor and attacks the Maximal, but Cheetor grabs a hover-platform and tries to escape. After being knocked off the platform, Cheetor lunges at Terrorsaur and pushes the Predacon onto the control panel the Maximal arrived on, causing Terrorsaur to vanish. Scorponok and Waspinator arrive and chase Cheetor around the Predacon base, Cheetor evades the goons by running into the ventilation shafts.
Terrorsaur discovers himself in the Maximal base, and meets Dinobot. Dinobot determines that Cheetor's reckless operation has made a transporter direct from one Transformer base to the other. The two form an alliance to rule both sides, and seal their pact with awesome electrical respect knuckles. But soon as Dinobot understands how the machine works, he flushes his new ally out of the Maximal base.
Once Terrorsaur is disposed of, Dinobot explains to Primal that Cheetor has been transported to the Predacon base - where he was likely killed. Angry, Primal is easily convinced by Dinobot to use the teleporter to destroy the Predacon's base.
Cheetor continues to run through the Predacon base, avoiding fire from Waspinator. He sneaks away from the two long enough to determine that both bases sit on a common underground Energon stream - meaning destroying on base in an explosion could lead to the same fate for the other base. Cheetor is discovered as soon as he outputs this data to a disk.
Primal and Dinobot prepare to destroy the Predacon base - with a timer on the bomb to give the Predacons time to evacuate. The bomb arrives in the Predacon base as soon as Cheetor sends the disk to the Axalon - indicating that Primal might have made a huge mistake. Cheetor and the Predacons find the bomb, but only Cheetor has a chance of disarming it. To save his own life, Megatron allows Cheetor to remove the bomb's anchors. With only seconds, Cheetor frees the bomb, so that it can be carrier upwards where it only harms Terrorsaur (and who cares about him?)
With the threat of the bomb gone, Cheetor teleports back to the Maximal base. Along the way, each of the survey devices he planted is destroyed, ensuring the teleported won't be functional again.
Afterwards, Rhinox and Rattrap congratulate Cheetor's prevention of the Maximal base from being destroyed by their own explosive. But Primal commands Cheetor to take more care to obey direct orders. Cheetor says he will (except when he doesn't) and scampers off - leaving Rhinox and Rattrap to have a jolly laugh.
Quotes
Cheetor: Cheetor! Maximi- did that already.
Scorponok: He's gone into the vents! You better report this to Megatron.
Wapinator: Me?! You're second-in-command!
Scorponok: So make it an order!
Terrorsaur: Hey! What are you doing? We're partners!
Dinobot: In case you haven't noticed, Needle Nose... I am not a team player.
Notes
Technical/Animation glitches
- Glitch
Continuity errors
- A major plot point is that due to a Energon vein running beneath both ships, the destruction of either Predacon or Maximal bases would destroy the other. This is never mentioned again and frequently contradicted due to the repeated explosions at both.
By season 2 most of the earth's energon has been stabilised, explaining later explosions.
Transformers references
- Terrorsaur states "Welcome to the dark side." - although scripts reveal this was only meant as him being dramatic, the name Darksyde was officially made the name of the ship in the videogame Transformers Beast Wars: Transmetals and had it's unique spelling defined at Botcon 2006
- However, at no point has anybody interpreted Dinobot's line as suggesting the Maximal base be called "Enemy Arms"
