Thirteen Timeline

Throughout the history of Cybertron, the Thirteen have had unseen influence over the flow of events.

Millions of years ago
"Near the beginning of the universe," an entity known as Primacron comes into existence and begins to create. Among the beings to which he gives life are the first mechanoids known as "Primitives," one of which he takes as his assistant in his continuing experiments. His creations steadily grow bigger and more complex until eventually he creates the planet-sized transforming robot called Unicron.

Primacron intends for Unicron to consume all life in the universe, leaving it a blank slate for him to do with as he wishes, but Unicron rebels. Seriously injuring Primacron, Unicron sets out into the universe on his own, and Primacron's assistant escapes to a world near the centre of the galaxy.

Soon after, members of the Thirteen arrive from the future to try to destroy Unicron before he can ravage the galaxy. They fail. Vector Prime disappears and Quintus Prime is left to recreate the Quintessons after Unicron destroys them to prevent the Thirteen from ever being created.

Primus

 * OOC Note: Primus's nature is almost entirely unknown... most religious-minded Cybertronians consider Primus a God, and the science-minded types consider him a myth. The truth is something else entirely.

Long ago, approximately 25 MYBP (million years before present), in the past of the Quintesson merchant empire, an odd thing happened. Someone truly 'good' was somehow born among them. He was a brilliant scientist, but his desire to use his technology to benefit all instead of to sell to the highest bidder, was cause for the Quintessons to see him as a criminal. The Quint, known as Primus, took a ship and exiled himself, landing far later on the planet of Cybertron.

After reaching this planetoid, he took out the supplies he had taken with him on his ship, to continue his research. He found the asteroid to be rich in resources; when he needed more, he went out in his ship and gathered what he needed. During this time, he built a supercomputer, Vector Sigma, as well as robotic creations. He programmed Vector Sigma as his greatest achievement. He gave it enough sentience to be able to create advanced programmed robots, with personality core 'souls', as living and evolving as any soul of an organic being, and with just as much desire for freedom as any living being.

Primus had his initial creations work to improve the conditions on the planetoid. They built, since it was what they were made to do, building layer upon layer of metallic surface, until the planet expanded in size from the continued add-ons, some materials becoming lost in the lower layers, as the robots kept on building, trying to better the planet. To some, it became almost a game, to see who could build the most spectacular structures, others always trying to best them.

This state of activity continued for 6 million years, the planet becoming bigger and more complex in the process. Guardian robots were built as the high-level protectors of the creations, and all was well. Until Unicron came...

The Age of the Thirteen
Primus detected the presence of Unicron, uncomfortably close to Cybertron. To try and protect Cybertron, Primus creates the Thirteen, each given a unique role, nature, and artifact of power to aid the struggle. In order of their creation, they are Prima, Vector Prime, Alpha Trion, Solus Prime, Alchemist Prime, Luminous, Quintus Prime, Amalgamous Prime, Liege Maximo, Megatronus, Minimus Prime, Oynx Prime, and the Thirteenth Prime.

The Expulsion of Unicron
The newly created Primes begin training and strategizing for the upcoming conflict. Solus Prime, the artificer of the Thirteen, creates many weapons and icons of power for them to use. At the urging of Megatronus, she creates a great weapon to fight Unicron, although Solus herself worries that this power could corrupt them. The Thirteen vote seven to six to keep the Requiem Blaster and not destroy it.

Ultimately, the Primes defeat Unicron, and the Chaos Bringer's inert form drifts off into space.

His fossilized blood, spilled in this conflict, becomes known as Dark Energon. Although the Primes stand triumphant, Unicron's influences has tainted all of them with a touch of darkness.

Then, six million years after... the other Quintessons came.

Age of Wrath
The Quintessons landed down and were greeted by the Cybertronians as friends, since they looked just like Primus. They took this to their advantage, using the naiveté of the Cybertronians, asking them where to find Primus. The robots gladly told them, and the Quintessons had no trouble capturing Primus, while their covert ops specialists reprogrammed most of the guardians to obey only them.

After all this occurred, the Quintesson Empire locked its stranglehold down onto the planetoid, and to the robots. They looked over all of Primus's technology, and when he would not show them how to duplicate Vector Sigma or the robot creations, they put him on trial for his resistance to their way of doing things. This trial was, of course, a mockery of any known justice, merely a show for the Cybertronians of the might of the Quintesson Empire. Primus was about to be executed for his 'crimes' against the Empire, when five highly advanced unknown robotic constructs broke into the trial and took him, vanishing after. These constructs, known only thereafter as "The Five," are still a mystery to present day, it is unknown who they were, or where Primus was taken.

But he was gone, and the Quints enslaved his creations as they would have anyways upon his end, ruling with the dark guardians, with an iron hand.

12 million years ago
The alien Quintessons establish themselves on the metallic planet of Cybertron. (thumbnail)

Seeking to create a race of slaves to serve them, the Quintessons use their technology to create bio-mechanical beasts known as Trans-Organics. The designs are a failure, and it is decided to mass-produce robots for slaves instead.

Luminous is captured by the Quintessons and studied for her secrets. When they are finished with her, they bury her beneath Cybertron in case she is ever needed again. She goes to the ground swearing and promising that Primus would come for her.

Forging their bodies in the fires of the Plasma Energy Chamber and imbuing them with intelligence using the mega-computer Vector Sigma, the Quintessons create two classes of robot: consumer goods and military hardware. With these robot creations performing all their labour for them, Quintesson culture grows progressively more decadent. Violent gladiatorial matches are even staged amongst the robots, with the losers smelted and their raw materials used to create new robots.

With the help of the Thirteen, the consumer goods robots come into possession of the mysterious Matrix of Leadership. It is passed from robot to robot through the years. Known holders during this time include Primon, Prima and Prime Nova.

Eventually, the consumer goods robots develop true sentience and rise up in rebellion against their Quintesson creators. This is the beginning of the First Cybertronian War.

11 million years ago
A rebel cell of consumer goods robots led by A-3, including Beta, turn the Quintesson slave brand into a symbol of freedom when they assault the Quintessons' Hive City.

Megatronus wishes to use the Requiem Blaster to simply annihilate the Quintessons’ entire existence, but A-3 refuses, preferring to let the nascent Transformer life determine its own future, and giving the Quintessons a chance to retreat or surrender. Megatronus, angered by A-3’s refusal, withdraws, refusing to help at all.

Although they meet resistance in the form of the Quintessons' gigantic Dark Guardian robots, A-3 activates the Coder Remote device he has placed within his slave brand, deactivating the Dark Guardians and allowing the robots to take the city.

From this victory, the Quintesson line of dominoes begin to fall, until the aliens are eventually defeated, and forced to flee the planet.

Peace settles on Cybertron for a time, with the robots building their own society, during which time, the Matrix is held by Guardian Prime.

9 million years ago
The violent military hardware robots seek conquest. They are led by Megatronus, who is bored with the peace and as he sees it, the stagnation of Cybertron’s culture. He wishes to use the Requiem Blaster to conquer other worlds and bring Cybertron’s advanced society to their shores.

Deciding giving Megatronus such a weapon was a mistake, the Thirteen voted again, this time to take the weapon from Megatronus and destroy it. Solus approached him first, attempting to reason with him and get him to surrender the weapon peacefully. When Megatronus refused, the other members of the Thirteen rushed him, trying to wrestle the weapon away from him. In the ensuing struggle, the weapon went off and Solus Prime was seemingly disintegrated.

Officially Megatronus was blamed for the death, since he technically pulled the trigger. Absolving themselves, the Thirteen told Solus’ followers the Megatronus killed Solus in a rage. However, Megatronus blames the Thirteen for Solus’ death, and his hatred for the rest of them has grown ever since. His claims about the stories surrounding Solus’s death -- “You are being deceived!” -- formed gave name to his movement: The original Decepticons.

In his grief, Megatronus allowed the Requiem Blaster to be taken from him. It was placed on a ship which was lost in deep space. However, Megatronus’s followers followed it, tracing the ship to the planet Echauphus. A battle for the weapon ensured, and during the battle the weapon was fired, killing everyone aboard the ship and destroying the planet Echauphus. The gravity of the weapon drew debris to the nearest section of separated crust. Eons later the collected detritus would be called Junkion, containing the blaster within it as its gravitational core.

After the death of Solus Prime, the Thirteen separated and disappeared aside from A-3, who retired to his lab and for a time withdrew from the affairs of giants and common folk alike.

This conflict began the Second Cybertronian War when the Decepticons turn their aggression against the consumer goods, now called the Autobots, at the time led by Zeta Prime. A series of conflicts ensue, with both sides claiming victory at different points in time.

Ultimately, never having been designed for combat, the Autobots realise the futility of attempting to match the Decepticons' strength and firepower, and, under the leadership of Sentinel Prime, they instead turn to stealth, reconstructing their bodies so that they can transform into vehicles and machinery. With this new skill, the Autobots are ultimately able to win the war, and they rule the planet for many centuries.

With the peace policed by the Guardian Robots, reprogrammed version of the Quintesson's Dark Guardians, energy becomes plentiful and the planet shines with a healthy golden glow, denoting this period as the Golden Age of Cybertron.

Eventually, however, the Decepticons also develop transformation, and they couple the technology with robot mode flight powers to renew their aims for conquest. Thus it is that Megatron is born.

Assembling a small group of like-minded individuals, including Shockwave and Soundwave, and increasing his ranks by using his Robo-Smasher to reprogram Autobots, Megatron stages an attack on the outer cities and kills Sentinel Prime, who entrusts the Matrix to the aged A-3, now known as Alpha Trion.

For whatever reason, Megatron's actions are not made full public knowledge, and the Decepticons' impressive flight powers make them objects of hero worship for the young Autobot dock worker, Orion Pax. However, Orion learns the folly of his ways when he is attacked by Megatron as part of an evil plan by the Decepticon to steal the energy in Orion's warehouses. Both Orion and his girlfriend Ariel are fatally wounded by Megatron, but are rescued by the time-displaced Aerialbots and brought to Alpha Trion. The pair are the first subjects for Alpha Trion's new method of reconstructing Autobots into truly battle-hardy configuration, becoming Optimus Prime and Elita One. Given the Matrix by Alpha Trion, Optimus became Autobot leader for the newly-begun Third Cybertronian War. War Dawn

Around this time, "shortly before" the war truly reignites, the scientists Starscream and Skyfire depart Cybertron to explore the prehistoric planet Earth. Skyfire is swept up in a polar windstorm and separated from Starscream. After failing to locate his friend, Starscream returns to Cybertron, eventually abandoning his scientific pursuits, enrolling in the Cybertron War Academy and joining Megatron's Decepticons.

4 million years ago
After five million years of war, Cybertron's energy is drastically drained, necessitating an Autobot expedition to alien planets in search of new source of power. Optimus Prime and his best and brightest board a mighty spacecraft, but their plan is discovered by Megatron. A Decepticon assault on the Ark's launch bay leaves Prime and his crew believing Elita One and her team have been destroyed.

The Autobots proceed to blast off, but they are followed and ambushed by the Decepticons aboard their own space cruiser. The ships are caught in the gravity of the nearby planet Earth and crash so violently that all the Transformers are knocked offline.

1984
A volcanic eruption reactivates Teletraan I, the internal computer of the Ark. The Autobots and the Decepticons awaken, and, now outfitted with new alternate modes that enable them to hide amongst the vehicles and machinery of Earth, restart the Great War.

Megatron travels to the center of Cybertron and uses Vector Sigma to create the Stunticons. Optimus Prime and Alpha Trion, who have followed Megatron, also use Vector Sigma to create the Aerialbots, albeit at the cost of Alpha Trion merging with the computer.

2017
Megatronus was freed from his interdimensional prison by cult leader Rartorata, with the help of Snaptrap's Seacons. He then had Snaptrap take him to the Disco Star, where he killed Big-Time and stole Evil, Inc.'s stash of dark energon. He seeks the Oracle of Primus to tell him where he can find the Requiem Blaster. He also intends to oversee a vast ritual that will reawaken Unicron within Cybertron.