PREDACON: Sandstorm

FUNCTION: Guerrilla leader

  FIRST APPEARANCE: “Schism" (Botcon fanfic)

"When destiny cries my name, I must answer.."

PROFILE:  Although a Predacon in name, Sandstorm is more like the Maximal ideal- courageous, loyal, optimistic and friendly, but with the usual Predacon cunning & warrior pride. He demands nothing less than total loyalty from the Predacon rebels under his command and unlike previous 'Con leaders, he GETS it, except in a few cases, such as with Widow. However, he has the ability to avoid any possible coups, assassinations and Shokaract infiltration. His quick decisions and fair judgements inspire respect from Predacon and Maximal alike, and his military training (he was once an army general) gives him a good head for strategy and troop motivation. He is focused on overthrowing Shokaract and prays to Primus that they do so.

ABILITIES: His beast mode, a scorpion, can withstand hot and rocky climates, and has a hard shell for defence. it can travel at steady speeds of 10 KPH for up to 6 hours, and move at 30 KPH in short bursts. His tail contains cybervenom, which can disable Transformers and other computerised machines in seconds. In robot mode, he has incredible stamina and agility, and is armed with twin shock-concussion missiles which launch from his claws & an electric blast from his tail which can take out any foe in short range and cause medium damage in the long range. In both beast and robot modes, Sandstorm is accompanied by a Cyberbee with advanced AI, which he calls "Bumble", and which is Roller to his Optimus. He also has some skill in Metallikato (banned no more!).

WEAKNESSES: Sandstorm, while in his element in hot climates, is sluggish in colder ones and his joints can freeze up. His electric blasts are not very strong and his tail is brittle, and easily shot off. He has emotional ties with his troops, limiting his ability to make risky and hard decisions, and any deaths are felt sorely by him.

PREDACON: Widow

FUNCTION: Guerrilla activist

  FIRST APPEARANCE: "Aspects of Rebellion"

"Never waste an opportunity."

PROFILE: She has low rank but high ambition & cunning, and makes no secret of her contempt of Sandstorm and her desire to be heading the rebels. She views him as overly sentimental and his tactics as weak; she herself plans risky tactics which she has sometimes carried out, often to great success. She is arrogant but also, oddly, just as charismatic as Sandstorm himself, and has quite a large following of Predacons who want to see her in a higher rank (or even leading). She hates Shokaract and fights bravely against him, but thinks that he never will be overthrown unless smarter leaders (read: her) command the rebellion.  

ABILITIES: She has uncanny intelligence and strategising, but also good guerrilla skills; she is great at ambushes and can use nearly all types of firearms, usually a large bazooka. In spider mode, she can climb walls and spin webs for use in capturing, incapacitating and also for holding together badly damaged Predacons until they can be properly repaired. It robot mode she moves with incredible speed and has sensors on her back, making it impossible to sneak up on her.

WEAKNESSES:  Her sensors, while useful, can be easily knocked out when her back is shot. She is also low in rank, which hinders her plan of dominance- which, of course, is Sandstorm's intention. She also refuses to use assassination or other such tactics to take over; she knows Sandstorm is needed as a fighter. 

PREDACON: Jaguar

FUNCTION: Doctor

  FIRST APPEARANCE: "Aspects of Rebellion"

"In every uprising, you need someone to fix the wounded."

PROFILE: He was an Autobot medic when Shokaract attacked and had him slagged; he was luckily rebuilt into a Transmetal jaguar by Predacon rebel scientists. (He renamed himself Jaguar- nobody ever said he was imaginative). He works for Sandstorm as a medic, and he is very good at his job; he's sociable and humorous, and is able to keep his patients amused while he operates. He doesn't see much combat but does zoom into battlefields to salvage the wounded and bring them back to base; he is scared every time he does this, and would prefer to stay in base. 

ABILITIES: Jaguar is an incredible medic, and is able to repair a Transformer with the most meagre of materials. He has sensors that can track a Transformer from 50 kilometres away, which allows him to find his patients. He has metal wings and jet-boosters in "vehicle" mode, which allows him to fly at MACH 1.

WEAKNESSES: He can't perform well under stress, which causes him to make mistakes when healing critical cases. He was also rebuilt with limited materials, and so he is extremely weak & brittle; one shot could blow him to pieces. This keeps him out of combat, but also makes every salvage run he does a huge risk.

PREDACON: Cohrada

FUNCTION: Sniper

  FIRST APPEARANCE: "Aspects of Rebellion"

"YOU can charge in, make a heroic speech and get slagged; I'll sneak around and do cowardly attacks, thank you."

PROFILE: He was a soldier under Sandstorm's command, and is very loyal to him. He is an assassin and sniper, which many find amazing due to his brash humour and constant chatter outside of battle. He's very laidback and also rather cautious; he was nearly killed once and has no desire to be again. In combat, however, he is a silent menace, slaying enemy soldiers with ease. He hates Cataclysm with a passion, after the Herald slaughtered a rebel group which included Cohrada's friend Hienrad. 

ABILITIES: In both beast and robot mode, he can move surprisingly fast in short bursts. In beast mode he also spits acid, which can melt through doors and standard armour; he contains incredible sensors: infra-red, Spark-tracking, radar, seismic. He has built-in sonic dampeners, allowing him to move silently, and common enemy soldiers believe him to be a vengeful phantom. In robot mode, he is moderately successful at Metallikato and his left hand turns into a gun which fires laser bolts at a rate of 2 a second; his aim is superb.

WEAKNESSES: His humour and chatter annoys many a rebel, and he is NOT very popular with Widow (the feeling is mutual). Cohrada is weak in low temperatures; they screw up his fuel circulation. High temperatures he can handle, and it increases his speed, but if they're too high for too long, his fuel pumps will burn out. He is slightly unsteady on his legs, and they are easily damaged by enemy fire.

PREDACON: Archadis

FUNCTION: Aerial assault

  FIRST APPEARANCE: "Aspects of Rebellion"

"Who am I?"

PROFILE: Archadis' memories were badly hit by Shokaract's memory-damaging Nanobots; he does not remember any part of his past before his life as a rebel, and desperately wants to remember it. He is a silent and brooding figure, who keeps himself away from the other Predacons. It is when he flies, however, that he experiences joy and he will often sneak out to fly around Cybertron. He is one of the few aerial warriors Sandstorm's rebels have and so he realises how diligent he has to be in battle; sometimes victory depends on his strafing runs. He believes Widow should have higher rank.

ABILITIES: As a Transmetal, Archadis can withstand more punishment and extreme climate/weather conditions than the others. He can fly at speeds of 400 KPH and in beast mode he can fire explosives from his underbelly, ranging from grenades to sensor-scrambling "static bombs". He has incredible sight and can potentially see anything within 100 kilometres; he can fly above skyscrapers, look down and see the Transformers below him PERFECTLY. In robot mode, he can use his wings as blades in combat; they can cause ragged wounds to most Transformers. He also fires lasers from his eyes which can be used with surgical precision.

WEAKNESSES: He is more suited to flight than walking; he can only waddle in beast mode and has an ungainly, jerking walk in robot mode. His wing-blades can be damaged, which cripples his flight in beast mode. His gothic personality means he has few friends among the others, as has his loyalty to Widow, and it is possible he would betray the Predacons just to regain his memories. His habit of flying around in daylight has often made him an easy target. 

PREDACON: Dead End

FUNCTION: Demolitions

  FIRST APPEARANCE: Aspects of Rebellion

"Destruction is an art."

PROFILE: He's a model soldier with a love of pyrotechnics and loyalty to Sandstorm. Cool and diligent, he views joint operations as others distracting the enemy while he blows things up. He gets on well with the other troops, even though his true feelings towards them are hidden.

ABILITIES: He is the smallest Predacon, which makes him harder to spot in battle. His ammonite form allows him to move through water, oil or any other type of liquid, and his "tentacles" are used for close-up combat in beast mode. His shell is incredibly dense and can protect him from anything up to, and including, cluster bombs; he has this same protection in robot mode, making him the most durable of Predacons. He knows a lot about demolition and bomb-making, and can carry off bombing raids all by himself. His favourite device is the Spiral Bomb, a bomb of his own invention which launches from his shell, spins erratically to avoid being shot down and latches onto the target before exploding. He emits a radar signal that can detect any movement within a 200 kilometre radius and it can also allow him to move in pitch darkness.

WEAKNESSES: Despite his high endurance, he is physically weak and can be easily trashed in close quarters combat. His radar is the only type of sensor he has, and it can be jammed by the enemy; while it can reach a 200 kilometre radius, this drains his internal power. While he can use his bombs, his personal firepower is much lower than his fellow rebels.

MAXIMAL: Apelinq

FUNCTION: Squadron Commander

  FIRST APPEARANCE: "The Return of Primal Prime" (aborted)

"All we can do is fight for what we believe in, for we are no-one's slaves."

Apelinq was once a scientist of a Maximal facility on a planet in the far corner of the galaxy, specialising in computer xenoscience. Then he returned to Cybertron to find it dominated by a ruler of such evil and horror that merely speaking his name will make some quake in fright. Apelinq was one of the first to say `Fight against Shokaract and his Order' and was one of the few survivors of the First Rebellion.

He led a powerful Maximal rebel group, which made contact with a powerful warrior called Primal Prime, who was believed to be the reincarnation of Optimus Prime. However, it was a cruel deception by Shokaract, and Apelinq's trust of Prime lead to the death of most of his rebels. 

History and motto are based on the writing's of TMUK fanfiction writer manmiles. 

PROFILE: Apelinq, originally developing ways of combining Cybertronian computer tech with alien systems, now uses his impressive intellect to help overthrow Shokaract and his Heralds. He is a scholarly rebel, occasionally lapsing into techno-babble in times of stress. He leads rebels into battle himself, but also works on inventions to help out the rebel effort; he developed the communication system used by the guerrillas and the static bombs, to name but a few. He would much rather be in the lab than the battlefield, but knows that his strength is needed as much as his mind.

ABILITIES: In robot mode, he wields dual impact maces, capable of shattering most vanadium-reinforced armour, and can fire small rapid-fire rockets for long-ranged gunfights. His mind is incredible; he possesses the same IQ as the legendary Perceptor and Wheeljack. It is this intellect that contributes to his greatest ability; computer wizardry. He is an accomplished hacker, able to interface directly with systems up to, and including, Transformer's minds. Working with alien/Cybertronian hybrid technology, he has developed a way of downloading objects in cyberspace into reality; this allows him to use his virtual digiboard, used for travelling through cyberspace, as a high-velocity transport in beast mode. The limits of this ability are unknown. 

WEAKNESSES: If his internal power falls below 50%, his digiboard will cease to function in reality. His targeting systems are average and his rockets can miss the intended target quite easily. He lacks any sensors beyond visual, which limits his effectiveness in sneak attacks.

PREDACON: Shokaract

FUNCTION: Universal Overlord

  FIRST APPEARANCE: “Covenant" (cameo)

"The universe exists to serve me."

PROFILE:  Not since the days of the Dark God, Unicron, has the universe felt such a presence of evil. Nobody knows how he was created, but it is guessed that he encountered the ghost of Unicron somehow. Fashioning a housing for this Dark Essence, Shokaract called it his Decepticon Matrix of Conquest. Serving as a mockery of the Autobot Matrix of Leadership, the vessel that destroyed Unicron in 2005, the mere mention of this Matrix of Conquest would install fear into the Spark of every Transformer for centuries to come. Shokaract's goal is frighteningly simple - the subjugation of the entire universe. His only opposition are the many alien lifeforms who, interestingly, don't want to be conquered; a few war-battered & weak Cyberworlds; and the many resistance groups in his territory.

ABILITIES: Shokaract can transform into a giant Transmetal crab and then into a tank. He fires powerful energy blasts capable of demolishing buildings; he is incredibly strong; and with his faux Matrix, he can create Transformer life. In fact, half the Transformers in his territory are new ones created by the Matrix of Conquest, and he also used it to damage all memories of Cybertron's past in his territory. He is an incredible strategist and a master planner; coupled with his sheer power and ability to create Transformer life, and he is the Omega Supreme to Megatron's Wheelie.

WEAKNESSES:  You're joking, right?

PREDACON: Antagony

FUNCTION: Chemical warfare

FIRST APPEARANCE: "Hidden Repaints chapter 3: Visitations"

"Prepare for Armageddon."

Antagony was created by Shokaract and swiftly rose in the ranks to become Herald Maximo, greatest of Shokaract's generals. However, she found herself threatened by the ambitious Cataclysm and the two of them were embroiled in a vicious rivalry. She managed to strike a blow at him through his fission-brother, the Cub, who was being trained for Herald Decado status; to become a Herald, you had to kill a rebel general/figurehead, and she made it so the Cub had to kill the mysterious Veteran; a battle the Cub would lose. She was then sent through time to the time of the Beast Wars, to locate and stop a chronal anomaly that threatened the Dark Essence; she foolishly involved herself in a Maximal/Predacon battle, and ended up captured by Megatron.

PROFILE: Antagony is utterly loyal to Shokaract; her very LIFE is forfeit when compared to his aims. She rules great armies through fear and betrays a perverse pleasure in hacking apart her enemies. She's a sadist, dominatrix and murderer, once wiping out an entire planet, from animals to the very BACTERIA, with poisonous chemicals because it simply was no use to Shokaract. Many other Heralds fear her, and rightly so, and they go out of their way NOT to be a threat to her; for though she is loyal, the one thing she won't abide is another becoming Herald Maximo. She will resort to the most depraved methods to maintain her power, all in the name of Shokaract.

ABILITIES: In both ant and robot forms, she will literally tear apart the enemy with her mandibles & claws. Her hard exoskeleton allows her to survive attacks which would kill/cripple another; she once survived the shockwave of an exploding sun! She is a master of poisons and chemicals, which is a great bonus to her forces. Her prowess in battle is further enhanced by the ability to project limited-duration hard light holograms, which serve to confuse her opponents. Antagony's primary weapon fires bolts of corrosive acid which instantly begins to dissolve Maximal armour upon impact.

WEAKNESSES: Physically, she has no real weakness. However, she has an irrational fear of losing power and this can drive her to pointless, wasteful acts; her private war with Cataclysm has wasted a lot of her resources. Her devotion to Shokaract prevents her from ever surrendering or stopping an attack, even if it is logical to do so.

PREDACON: Cataclysm

FUNCTION:

  FIRST APPEARANCE: "Paradox" (Botcon fanfic)

"Succeed or die."

Cataclysm had been a lowly soldier at one point, but his drive & ambition allowed him to eventually reach Herald Decado status. But he didn't want to wait any longer to become Herald Vingt or Herald Centuro, and so he infiltrated the primary resistance force on Cybertron; he happily killed several hundred of Shokaract's troops to avoid suspicion, and then orchestrated a large rebel attack on the Capital; he then betrayed them to Shokaract, and 16, 000 rebels were slaughtered. The resistance still hasn't fully recovered. After this, he was promoted directly to Herald Centuro, but he has his sights set on Herald Millennia, and then Herald Maximo. He has resorted to any means to do this, including sabotaging other Herald's to make them look bad. His most serious attempt was when Antagony & her forces were battling the Horns empire; Cataclysm fired a shielded torpedo, carrying a forty-thousand megaton yield nuclear-fission warhead, which destroyed the Horns sun and wiped them out; Antagony BARELY survived. Cataclysm was promoted to Herald Millennia for this, as Shokaract though it was a joint operation between the two. 

PROFILE: Cataclysm is the quintessential opportunist. Rising through the ranks of Shokaract's army, he rapidly became the overlord's preferred assassin, next to Antagony. Jealous of the attention Cataclysm received due to his unorthodox methods, Antagony is his mortal enemy. Rumoured to be related to the Maximal rebel, Windrazor, Cataclysm goes to great lengths to distance himself from his past. He continues to wage wars on behalf of Shokaract and has conquered more star systems single-handedly than most legions of his master's forces. He appears loyal to Shokaract, but he is really loyal to his own ambitions; if he thought Shokaract could be overthrown, he would do it. Shokaract knows this and values such evil highly.

ABILITIES: Cataclysm is a brilliant and ruthless taciturn, and a terror throughout the free universe. He's a true actor, able to disguise his emotions and intents from all. His beast mode is that of a Tyroxian jungle predator and gives him incredible strength, stamina, speed and infra-red sensors. He unleashes machine-gun fire from his beast head in robot mode, and his electro-whip can stun his enemies, leaving them unconscious for megacycles.

WEAKNESSES: Nobody knows his physical weakness, as he keep them well-hidden. However, he has two emotional ones: his Fission-brother, the Cub, whom he has groomed for Herald status; and a fear of time travel. His sabotaging of the other Heralds has made him many enemies and few allies, which could cause a great problem if they ever decided to "deal" with him. 

???: The Veteran

FUNCTION: Legend

  FIRST APPEARANCE: "Last Days of Optimus Prime

"You guys are fighting AGAIN?!"

PROFILE: He was originally the Dinobot known as Swoop, before he decided to adapt to the changing Cybertron. He now stands aloof from the problems of the planet, flying where he pleases, knowing full-well he can't be shot down.

ABILITIES: He can fly at MACH 1, but this is not his primary power. His primary power is his incredible adaptive abilities; his form is constantly changing to match situations, weather and time, thanks to his entire form being made from Nanobots, with his mind controlling them all. 

WEAKNESSES: His melancholy personality can lead to him being caught off-guard. 

???: The Storyteller

FUNCTION: Storyteller

  FIRST APPEARANCE: "The Storyteller", by Martin McVay

"To forget the past is to forsake the future."

At the conclusion of the 2030 Nanobot War, the Fahl offered those Autobots who had fought in it safe passage through the K'Tor Cluster wormhole to their home galaxy. Prior to this, any Transformer who entered was killed in
a matter of minutes along with his Creation Matrix life-force nanobots, though a number of Nebulans had relocated there in the year 2000. Red Alert and Mirage accepted the offer and found themselves on the other side of the
wormhole network, alone on board the Autobot shuttle that the Nebulans had departed in thirty years earlier. (Though Haywire and Peacemaker had made contact with them during the Nanobot War, there was now no sign of them.) The Fahl galaxy was twice the diameter of the Milky Way, further into the future and a place where time moved at a much slower rate. As one year passed in this galaxy, many decades would pass back on Cybertron.
Unidentified short-lived spatial rifts were common. The two Autobots proceeded to explore the nearby nebula and came under attack from hostile Traders' Guild pirates. They were saved in the end by mysterious silver ships piloted by carpets of sentient mushroom-like beings, and emerged from the dust cloud into the heavily populated star cluster of the Assembly. They set a course following the many and varied exotic space vessels heading for the core systems, when one of the spatial rifts opened before them and swallowed the shuttle whole. Both Mirage and Red Alert found
themselves on their own in different fantasy realms. As Transformers lacked imagination and fictional literature these dream worlds drew heavily from their knowledge of human culture, and featured gnomes, wizards, dragons and
the like. Eventually both found their way back to the shuttle and the star cluster, but before they could discuss their experiences they were sucked back into the fantasy dimension. The two robots were subjected to this treatment numerous times before finally reaching their intended destination, and each time they found their way back to reality they emerged with a souvenir - a dark blue crystal sphere by means of which dream worlds could be entered and exited. Upon disembarking, the Autobots learnt that they were the envy of the cluster. Many travelled years to get here in the hopes of entering the Destiny Realm (the world of the imagination) and failed to be chosen - Red Alert and Mirage had been sucked in over a dozen times in a single journey! Apparently one cannot get there by force of will. The more one wants it, the less likely one is to get it and vice versa. The two Autobots' adventures in the Fahl galaxy over the following years were many and varied, but at some point they were purged of all links to the Creation Matrix and the nanobots. When they eventually returned to the Milky Way Galaxy, both possessed holographic powers exceeding those Mirage had previously enjoyed, and Mirage was now a qualified Storyteller -
something that means far more than the usual definition. Armed with his new abilities, a few dozen blue crystal spheres, an uncannily complete knowledge of Transformer history and hidden allies in the form of the residents of
Circuit Sanctuary, a stronghold which the entire Transformer race has been programmed not to notice, Mirage embraced his new occupation and has become a legend among Cybertron's downtrodden citizens and an unwelcome irritation that the Heralds of Shokaract realise they must learn to live with or else go crazy.

PROFILE: Mysterious and charismatic, the Storyteller travels across Cybertron and uses amazing holographic powers to tell the populace about the history Shokaract made them forget. His mission is to teach, and none can stop him.

ABILITIES: He can transform into an old Earth car and displays phenomenal holographic power & historical knowledge. Many believe he has magical powers, but this is likely to be an urban myth.

WEAKNESSES: ???