#critias gateway

[askvectorprime]

Dear Vector Prime, I have the most important question:

Who can you ship with???

Dear Freight Friend,

In one universe where Megatron’s forces successfully overran Iacon and forced the Autobots off-world, I was forced to scan a new disguise so that I could slip past the orbital blockade and rendezvous with my allies—a humble cargo freighter! To make my escape, I registered myself with one of the many Mini-Con merchant consortiums who’d willingly allied with the Decepticon regime; even in times of war, dozens of short-range freighters and cargo tugs flitted back and forth between Cybertron and her moons every day, and not even the most paranoid Decepticon guard would pay any attention to one more vessel making a cargo run to Luna 1.

My new alternate form took some getting used to—my sublight engines were built for power, not speed, and I had to remember not to use my Critias Gateway, lest I give away my disguise! Fortunately, our great escape went off perfectly: Safeguard and Scorpia posed as my “crew”, and the bored Decepticon guards waved us through each checkpoint—even the most paranoid Decepticon guard wouldn’t suspect a grimy, battered old scow making a routine propex delivery to Helpful City. Once we berthed at the local spaceport, Safeguard made contact with a network of Mini-Con informants, who helped expedite our passage through Cybertronian space until I could safely shed my disguise and rendezvous with the Ark.

Alas, my memory circuits aren’t what I used to be, and I can’t remember which consortium I specifically shipped with. Swindle's Solutions? Erm…. Freeboot Express, perhaps?

[askvectorprime]

Yo Vector, ever fought any big battles in a desert setting?

Dear Desert Dweller,

Barren worlds are very common across the galaxy, and I’ve survived countless skirmishes in such locales—but one in particular comes to mind for the sheer scale of the war being fought. While stranded in a distant corner of the multiverse, I briefly set down on a remote desert world to refuel. No sooner had I landed, however, before I found myself under attack from an army of hovering tanks, who transformed into Cybertronian-sized mecha! I soon realized that these were merely non-sentient mechanoids; instead, they were piloted by much smaller robots with unusual elongated heads and skeletal bodies.

As my energon supplies ran low, it looked like the end—fortunately, however, I was rescued by a pair of humans, who piloted their own transforming exo-suits into battle! These ones, however, transformed from sleek, triangular starfighters into enormous facsimiles of their inner pilots, wielding massive lightsabers that made short work of my attackers. Working together, we were able to repel the invaders and strike a decisive victory. While energon did not seem to exist in this universe, I was able to find a suitable alternative—a particularly pungent fuel the locals called “rhydonium”—and before long I had repaired my Critias Gate and escaped that particular dimension.

Despite having lived much of his life in the desert, one of my rescuers found sand to be a constant annoyance—and I was inclined to agree with him, as I had to spend several cycles flushing errant silicate particles out of my gears!

[askvectorprime]

Dear Vector Prime

Did any of your equipment ever break before and if so how did you repair them ?

Dear Technical Taskmaster,

In my youth, I could always rely on Solus Prime to repair cracked armor, mend shields, and resharpen blades until they looked as though they had come fresh out of her forge. Nowadays, I’ve learned how to keep Rhisling and my Critias Gateway in good working order, although after all this time I cannot make my hands effortlessly dance over their intricate mechanisms the way my sister did.