Great War

## Background

The **Third Cybertronian Civil War**, more commonly known as the **Great War** was a conflict between the Autobots and Decepticons.

## History

After kilo-cycles of military buildup, recruitment, and accumulation, all that war needs is one single spark to ignite it into an undying inferno. And with the failed assassination attempt on Sentinel Prime and the New Senate, the **Third Cybertronian Civil War** (forever known in Cybertronian history as the **Great War**) begins.

### Approx. 9.0 million years ago

Megatron holds Declaration Day at the abandoned Nova Point Mine at his home city Tarn, declaring open warfare on the Autobots. The Decepticons secure the control of their territory as they route the small force of Autobots who had been stationed alongside the Badlands' borders to monitor their acitivity. The New Senate is riven by indecision and conflict at this turn of events, preventing them from coming to a reasonable response as the Decepticons begin to their expansion.

With Kaon, Tarn, Vos, Helex, and Tesarus already under their control, the Decepticons begin to annex to the remaining city-states within the Badlands, with several of them willingly defect to Megatron's cause, such as Kolkular, Blaster City, and Slaughter City. Those that do not bend the knee find themselves devastated by the swelling ranks of the Decepticon armies.

Many Titans are killed during the Great War's opening salvo: destroyed in pre-emptive strikes to prevent their strength being utilized by the enemy. This leads to the destruction of all known Titans on Cybertron and the subspecies becoming exceedingly rare. They were among the war's first casualties.

### Approx. 8.9 million years ago

The final generation of Cybertronians created by the AllSpark suddenly emerge from the Well of All Sparks in an unusual burst of activity, most of whom join the ranks of the Autobots, after which the Well falls largely silent. Only a handful of new sparks will emerge in the eons between this mass emergence and the loss of the AllSpark. Among the final generation of Transformers who join the Autobots is a young scout from Iacon designated B-127, who later goes by the name **Bumblebee**.

Following his creation, Bumblebee enrolls in the Autobot Academy and, with the help of his fellow cadets including energon farmer Bulkhead, makes a name for himself as he uncovers a Decepticon spy named Wheel Rampager in their midst. This leads to him and his friends gain the attention of Orion Pax, who allows them to join his personal military squadron codenamed "Team Pax".

Peptex, Carpessa, and Tetrahex fall to the Decepticons, securing their control of all major population centers south of the Sonic Canyons in the southwestern quadrant.

The Wreckers, led by a veteran of the Combatron Wars named Crest, swear their allegiance to the Autobots.

*Battle for the Yuss Straits:* The Great War's first major battle occurs when an Decepticon attack battalion led by Megatron and Gelgastorm themselves attack the Maxilla, seven fortresses around the city-state of Yuss (consisting of Fort Scyk, Fort Zreb, Fort Xern, Fort Wenx, Fort Briv, Fort Myvh, and Fort Qalt), in the hopes of gaining control of the Yuss Naval Batteries, although they have some trouble destroying the gate. Thanks to a bombing run led by Starscream and the Seekers that destroys the gate, the Decepticons easily storm in and take control of all seven forts, absolutely annihilating the garrison stationed there. General Orion Pax didn't participate in the battle as he was busy organizing his existing forces and converting neutral bots. He would learn from his old friend Dion after the fall of the Maxilla that he would have to learn to not mourn every soldier.

*Siege of the Hydrax Plateau:* Both sides fight control for the Hydrax Plateau as it holds the planet's primary spaceport, making it a key importance in the war effort as each faction gives it their all. Magnum participates in the battle, his Elite Guard forces holding back Decepticon advances from the east, while Orion Pax held off the southern advance in his first true battle. During the battle, Orion takes his first Decepticon kill in the Great War: a former manual worker named Drixco. Despite the Autobots seemingly having the upper hand in the battle's initial stages, they have limited support as Hydrax is surrounded by the hazardous Sea of Rust. Eventually, they are forced to retreat and ultimately, the Decepticons won.

*The Software Wars:* The Decepticons make several attempts to infiltrate Polyhex, attempting to gain control over the datanet network control hub, but they're repeatedly repelled by the Autobot Defense Forces and the militia forces of the city's local governor, Grand General Straxus of the Polyhex Division of the Cybertronian Defense Forces.

### Approx. 8.8 million years ago

Altihex sides with the Autobots against its fellow ex-Destron States Kaon, Tarn, and Vos, allowing the Autobots to gain control of the supply lines between Iacon, Kalis, and the Sonic Canyons.

Disobeying the orders of the Decepticon High Council and Megatron himself, the insane Decepticon warlord Megadeath triggers a series of neutron bombs in Stanix to cleanse the city and its satellite states of Autobot sympathizers and Neutralists, turning the entire region into the depopulated and storm-ravaged "Acid Wastes" and dies in the process.

In response to Megadeath's actions at Stanix, Megatron constitutes a squad of Decepticon assassins led by Damus, now going by the name **Tarn**, to enforce loyalty among his generals and troops and to hunt down rebels, rogues and turncoats on his behalf. The rest of the squad's membership consists of Crucible (**Helex**), the tracker of the group, communications officer Amp (**Kaon**), Scissorsaw (**Tesarus**), heavy weapons and artillery for the group, and scout Forestock (**Vos**), taking their names from the First Five Cities to be annexed under the Decepticon banner. He names the organization the Decepticon Justice Division.

Under Megatron's and Gelgastorm's orders, Soundwave succeeds in infiltrating the planetary datanets and brings them crashing down, destroying planet-wide communications and hampering the Autobot war effort. For many Cybertronians, this day becomes known as the **Solar Cycle Silence Fell** as for the first time in many of their lives the buzz of information that had been a constant presence on their internal com systems for millions of years goes quiet.

### Approx. 8.7 million years ago

The Decepticons assault Polyhex with inside help from the treacherous Grand General Straxus. Sentinel Prime leads a detachment of the Elite Guard to attempt to prevent them securing the crucial city-state, but is forced to retreat after being defeated in one-on-one battle against Megatron himself. Sentinel was shaken during the battle as he not only witnessed soldiers who fought alongside him for many years die, but also the deaths of countless civilians who wanted no part in the war.

In return for helping them, Straxus was given a seat in the Decepticon High Council and named Lord High Governor of Polyhex by Megatron. Governor Straxus is also given command of Galvatron's old fortress Darkmount, quickly establishing himself as a military force to be reckoned with as he dumps all of his Autobot and Neutralist prisoners into his fortress's smelting pool.

With the assistance of Alpha Trion, the Autobot Science Guild are able to unlock the secrets of the Enigma of Combination, finally allowing them to create their own combiners. The first Autobots to have their combiner genes unlocked with the Enigma are the Aerialbots, a group of newly-born Autobots with flight-capable alt-modes who were created to negate the Decepticons's air dominance. Consisting of Silverbolt, Air Raid, Fireflight, Skydive, Slingshot, Alpha Bravo, Powerglide, Barrel Roll, and Breakaway, the Aerialbots combine to form the mighty warrior Superion.

Tired of all of these senseless defeats and pyrrhic victories, Sentinel Prime plots with Orion Pax to launch an attack on Kaon in a brazen attempt to put Megatron, Gelgastorm, and the Decepticon High Council out of action and end the Great War. The Autobot strike team that participated in the assault consisted of Sentinel Prime, Orion Pax, Ariel, Dion, Magnum, Sentinel Major, Ginrai, Jazz, Ironhide, Chromia, Hound, and Warpath. At first, the Autobots seemed to gained the upper hand in the Siege of Kaon, but they were quickly overwhelmed by endless hordes of Decepticons and Vehicons. Megatron and Gelgastorm have Sentinel's and Orion's team captured for public execution, but the Autobots were rescued by the Aerialbots in the last minute.

Impressed by the Aerialbots's valor in fighting, Sentinel Prime commissions Project Aerialbot, which sees several ground-based Autobots being upgraded with aerial alt-modes.

The Decepticons develop a new combiner to fight alongside Bruticus Maximus and Devastator, giving the Stunticons, a group of street gangsters consisting of Motormaster, Drag Strip, Dead End, Breakdown, Wildrider, and Offroad, the ability to merge into Menasor.

### Approx. 8.6 million years ago

*Battle of Kalis:* The Autobots finally gain their first major victory in the Great War, which was all the more a relief, as the city's subsurface fusion reactor would power the city throughout the Decepticon siege. This was due in part to the Aerialbots's assistance in their combined form of Superion, which allowed them to defeat Menasor.

*The Devastation of Crystal City:* When the Crystal City refuses to swear allegiance to the Decepticons, Megatron sends the Constructicons in their combined form of Devastator to smash into the city and destroy every trace of its once dazzling beauty. The Autobots are unable to send aid as they focus on protecting Kalis around this time. The first city built on Cybertron, the original planetary capital, and former home of the Thirteen Primes is almost immediately destroyed. Alpha Trion laments the loss of his old home, but he calls its destruction the most beautiful thing he has ever seen as the city collapses in a rainbow of lights. Many Neutralists, including a majority of Omega Sentinels, are destroyed during the devastation. A handful of civilians and scientists are able to escape the carnage through the city's underground tunnel system.

Following Crystal City's destruction, the remaining Omega Sentinels led by Omega Supreme continue to hold their neutral stance as they quietly retreat into seclusion at the remote Grav-Haraan Glacier in the planet's south pole.

Sentinel Prime uses the Omega Sentinels's protoform schematics to create his own unit of loyal Omega Sentinels to stamp out any threat to the Autobot city-states, but they are used sparingly due to them requiring large amounts of energy to function, which was an issue since energon was in short supply around this time.