Transformers: The Covenant of Primus

Transformers: The Covenant of Primus
Publisher	Becker & Mayer
First published	December 10, 2013
Written by	Justina Robson
Illustrated by	Ken Christiansen Casey Coller Livio Ramondelli Emiliano Santalucia
Continuity	Aligned continuity family
ISBN	ISBN 1477805990 ISBN 978-1477805992
Page count	176
Price	$99 USD

Transformers: The Covenant of Primus is a hardcover book presenting the Covenant of Primus as written by Alpha Trion, with 60 new lavish illustrations. The book itself is contained inside an Autobrand-shaped casing, that plays the transformation noise when opened. The book was exclusive to the Amazon publishing group 47North.

Content

Forward

Alpha Trion admits he does not know the origin of Primus or what happened before his own creation. There are pages for this "before time" (a great many, he later states) in the Covenant but he cannot read their symbols. Then he states that THIS volume will be an editing/arrangement of Covenant intended for a human audience, to help them learn about their galactic neighbors. To forward this purpose he has "translated" terms, concepts and customs at times into forms easier for humans to relate to.

Chapter 1 : The Thirteen Primes

Alpha Trion recalls the moment of his creation and then that of Solus Prime and the others following him, each appearing from nothing "ex nihlo" in repeating explosions of lighting and tremor. Immediately after their creation they feel Primus fade away into hypersleep. He leaves them with a last vision of how he and Unicron became a divided duality from a single original being and fell into eternal conflict and battle too evenly matched to ever end.

Primus sought to change that eternal stalemate by removing himself from the equation and substituting beings of much greater variety and unique varied potential to change the future: a group of Thirteen each with creative new approaches to the problem of Unicron. These Thirteen were formed to incorporate facets of both Primus and Unicron's natures, increasing the options for new direction far beyond the equally matched duality of the original combatants.

Alpha Trion then gives a brief several paragraph portrait of each Prime in the order of their creation: Prima, Vector Prime, Alpha Trion, Solus Prime (including a brief digression on the nature of Gender in Transformers), Micronus Prime, Alchemist Prime, Nexus Prime, Onyx Prime, Amalgamous Prime, Quintus Prime, Liege Maximo, Megatronus, and "The Thirteenth Prime."

Chapter 2: The Expulsion of Unicron

The newborn Primes quickly settle down to learn their own abilities, to train and to strategize for the coming conflict with Unicron. They split into three natural teams: Warriors (Prima, Vector, Megatronus, Onyx and Amalgamous), Strategists (Trion, Quintus, Maximo, and Micronus), and "Free Agents" capable of direct battle or more subtle/varied attacks (Alchemist, Solus, Nexus, and Optimus/Thirteen). Many strategies were discussed and abandoned.

Personality conflicts simmered between some of the Thirteen (between the very Primus-like Prima and strongly Unicron-influenced Megatronus particularly) but their unified purpose bound them together. It was in this period that Megatronus requested the construction of the Requiem Blaster from Solus, and though she was hesitant to make such a thing she decided that she trusted him and would do as he asked. The faith she put in him and the fine speech she made proclaiming it touched the often shunned Megatronus deeply and bound him to her in absolute loyalty and unswerving love, softening his hard edges, though inflating his great pride.

Training continued and friendships formed. Eventually they settled on a plan to battle and distract Unicron as a cover to opening a path for Optimus to be inserted in close proximity to Unicron's core. Once there his uniquely Primus-like spark would react with Unicron's and both would be knocked into involuntary shutdown. The Primes would then retrieve and (hopefully) revive him.

When the time of battle came it proved far more hellish and terrible than they had imagined in all their training. Unicron assaulted them with defenses far beyond their expectaitions and, worse, the mere aura of his presence crushed all their hopes and dreams nearly drowning their sparks in despair and darkness. Only the comforting words "All are One" sent by Optimus to reassure each and rekindle their hope let them continue fighting, eventually succeeding in their goal. Unicron was vanquished, knocked into unconciousness, hopefully forever. This was not without cost.There were many grave injuries. But worse each of them had been tainted with a touch of darkness by their closeness to Unicron. It was a contamination that festered silently as they tried to ignore it or pretend it would fade and it would likely play a part in the tragedies that were to come.

Errors

External link

• Transformers: The Covenant of Primus at Amazon.com