Transformers Regenerated: Spacewarp's Log - Entry 5

TARGETMASTERS

  I suppose if anything good has come from my hanging out with Krok’s little gang, it’s that it brought my attention to a certain type of Mini-Con that I and maybe even Foldspace would have otherwise missed.

I overheard Misfire talking to Fulcrum about being part of something called the Targetmaster Program. See, early on in the war, Thunderwing had captured a bunch of Mini-Cons on Styx with plans to turn them into weapons to be used against the Autobots. The first batch he made were freed by the Autobots, but they weren’t the only ones that had been subjected to it.

After Thunderwing’s defeat, the buck was passed to Scorponok who, being the opportunistic ‘bot he was, dedicated a lot of resources to perfecting and advancing the program and keeping it out of the Autobots’ sight. Misfire, being under his command at this time, was among those who received a Targetmaster “partner” in the form of a Mini-Con named Aimless; meanwhile, his buddies Slugslinger and Triggerhappy were given Caliburst and Blowpipe, respectively. 

When these Targetmasters proved to be successful following an engagement with the Autobots, Scorponok decided to take things a step further and introduce the “Double Targetmasters”—two Mini-Con guns that could combine and enhance their firepower. This is where Spinister of all ‘bots comes in; for whatever Primus-forsaken reason, he was trusted with this kind of weapon and given a pair of Mini-Cons: Singe and Hairsplitter. He wasn’t the only one at least; Quake got Tiptop and Heater, and Needlenose got Sunbeam and Zigzag.

Things didn’t get too far, though, when a pair of unassigned Mini-Cons—Nightstick and Fracas—broke free and made their way to the Autobots, coming into contact with two agents from the Secret Service (I want to say their names are Artfire and Stepper. Or Artfire and Ricochet. Or maybe even Ricochet and Stepper. Heck, I don’t even know which one was which). They exposed Scorponok’s whole scheme and his long-time rival Fortress swooped in with his crew to stop him. Some of the Mini-Cons from Styx had stayed with the Autobots, so Fortress already had three Targetmasters of his own to counter Misfire and the other two. When Spinister and the Double Targetmasters came out, Fortress sent the twins Cloudraker and Fastlane in to sneak into Scorponok’s base and free the rest of the Mini-Cons he had in captivity. Scorpy knew he couldn’t afford having any of the functional Targetmaster captured so that the Autobots could figure out how he made them (and make some for themselves), so he called for a retreat.

After all that, the rescued Mini-Cons were given a choice of joining the Autobots or relocating to Prion. A lot of them actually ended up signing up with the Autobots which, I mean, whatever, I guess. I think the organics from Earth have a term for that; Stock Helm Syndrome or something like that.

Speaking of Earth, that makes me think of another story I have to share… but I’ll save that for another entry.

As for the Decepticon Targetmasters, beats me as to what they’re up to. Misfire got separated from Aimless after the incident that earned him his name, and Hairsplitter and Singe bailed on Spinister when he nearly got them killed during a battle with the Wreckers. The rest is anyone’s guess, although I think Nightstick and Fracas ended up leaving the Autobots, and there are rumors Nightstick is now hanging out with the Star Seekers. If we ever run into those pirates, I’ll try and confirm… provided the others don’t accidentally kill him.