- Name: Hot Rod
- Faction: Autobot
- Species: Transformer
- Function: CAVALIER
- Division: Infantry
- Sub-Group:
- Type: FC
“ | My actions speak louder than words. | ” |
HOT ROD is the all-American boy Autobot. Not too sweet, not too sharp, not too snotty... basically a typical adolescent who has dreams of doing great things and being as heroic and important as Optimus Prime and other famous and revered Autobots. He tends to follow rules until they bug him - and he sometimes learns, to his regret, that disobeying wasn't exactly smart. He often acts without thinking in an effort to do the right thing, which gets himself and his friends in trouble. But he's not afraid when trouble does arrive, and is a brave and honorable fighter and friend. In robot or automotive mode, Hot Rod is sometimes hot headed, but always a well-meaning, admirable lad and popular with all who know him. In vehicle mode he can reach speeds of up to 210 mph, and in robot mode carries two photon lasers, one on each arm, that temporarily electromagnetize an enemy robot's circuits.
History[]
Canonical/Pre-MUX/Theme History:[]
During the lost years when Optimus Prime and Megatron were lost to Cybertron, Hot Rod was a member of an Autobot resistance cell, reporting directly to Ultra Magnus.
MUX History:[]
Is this all there is?!!
This character article is a stub and is missing information. You can help Transformers Universe MUX by expanding it. |
In 2022, Alpha Trion promoted Hot Rod to corporal without consulting the other members of Autobot Command.
OOC Notes[]
The movie isn't canon, so for all intents and purposes, Hot Rod will always just be Hot Rod.
Logs / Posts[]
2013[]
- October 10 - Shattered Glass Finale - Emperor Prime and his band of Shattered Glass Autobots make an assault through the last remaining portal linking their world and the main one.
2020[]
Jun 21 - Rust Sea Shuttle[]
A team was in the Rust Sea attempting salvage of a crashed shuttle designate 'Overseer-3'. Said shuttle had no survivors, had been there awhile. Probably Decepticon in origin. A third of the cargo was intact. Salvage team was lead by Grotusque and included my amazing self, Dredge, Salvage, and a couple others. As soon as salvage operation commenced, a Decepticon group lead by Deathsaurus engaged. Blast Off was spotted. While Dredge and Salvage evacuated, Grotusque and myself engaged Deathsaurus and him. They were given the chance to retreat but decided to attack and we defended ourselves. We came out the better for it.
< Insert command note: No, no you did not >
With the team evacuated, it was decided that given the danger of the Rust Sea and even when Deathsaurus and Blast Off had to retreat more Cons would come and interrupt the extraction again < Command note: No way in slag would that have happened >. Entering to the shuttle, under my genius tactical planning and the expert coordination of Grotusque, the shuttle was primed and detonated around Deathsaurus. This provided cover for the team to escape while denying the Decepticons a potentially viable asset. Grotusque was heavily damaged but picked up by search and rescue lead by Starlock.
Addendum: I have a video of Deathsaurus with his head on fire and a giant hole in his aft. It has been uploaded to the general files and set to music for enjoyment. (A video of Deathsaurus with his head on fire in the Rust Sea doing a 'stop, drop and roll' accompanied by 'Yakkety Sax' accompanies the report.
June 25 - "Diplomatic Dents"[]
Dust Devil returns to Valvolux and his ambassadorial duties by getting into a match in the Arena.
Jun 26 - Valvolux Arena Spar[]
Dust Devil and my amazing self went to Valvolux to help engender some good relations. While there, we accepted a challenge between two of the Dominicons offering to test our skills against theirs. In a two on two with Delusion and Discretion. With our -teamwork- and showing off how awesome we were, the match was going in our favor but we decided that we could have a bit more fun and just took them out for a round of energon. So we've managed to be -spectacular- and soon the release of DeeZee, The Dance Edition will be showcased to Cybertron.
Jun 28 - Rust Sea Patrol[]
Myself and Dust Devil were engaged in a patrol in Autobot territory in the Rust Sea when we came on a Con that had been dirt napping. He was chasing us and Soundwave showed up to recover his gangly aft. Soundwave 'offered' us the chance to depart our -own- territory. Dust Devil did a distraction and we disengaged while Soundwave probably recovered the Tanker. Patrol withdrew.
Jul 04 - Rust Sea Skirmish[]
A small Decepticon patrol base along the edge of the Rust Sea had us doing a drive-by. Nothing big, real old. Me and Sit-Com were a recon team heading to check it out. We ran into Mixmaster who was already there, then got hit by Motormaster. Sit-Com saved the day. Motormaster retreated, and Mixmaster did with heavy damage. The site's ours pending the Cons sending out another team. Sit-Com and I were taken back to medical and are in no shape to look into the place further.
< Coordinates appended to map >
Jul 04 - Destrons[]
Deathsaurus went on the public Cybertron broadband to plea for help with resources, particularly communication. Not sure exactly for what but it may be worth following up on to gather intel or see if we can use it to drive a wedge between them and the Cons. Jazz agreed with the intent, forwarding to command for consideration.
Jul 08 - Destron Intelligence[]
To: Head of Intelligence
Subject: Destron Files
This is a summary of known intelligence on the Destrons from unclassified information and general scuttlebutt. The Destrons are an off-planet mercenary group that are considered a Decepticon offshoot that is primarily independent. They are currently under an extended 'contract' with the Decepticons and occupying Polyhex. They are engaged in at least passive hostilities with the Decepticons according to unofficial information that may be more severe. There have been a few statements that they are in a case of civil war, though this has not been confirmed.
The Destrons have been on planet roughly a year, during which they have made public statements of recovering a 'fortress' which has the remainder of their forces. They at least consider themselves strongly honorable akin to the human notion of 'Samurai' though not quite the same. The leader of the Destron contingent is Deathsaurus, the 'Emperor'. The active field leader of their operations is considered Leozak, the leader of the Beastforce. He is considered highly honorable to the point of rigidity and is extremely displeased with those who break their word or act dishonorably, by the Destron definition of it.
They have an extreme hatred (or at least Deathsaurus does) of Star Saber (current Space Force XO). He can possibly be approached for further information though the Destrons have attempted numerous times to kill him and have referred to us as 'sheltering' him. He may have useful intelligence on them though there is also the possibility he is extremely antagonistic to Deathsaurus. Suggest review of profile first before approach.
Starlock, liason to New Harmonex, is known to be on good terms with the Destrons and has been attempting to establish trade relations wiht them. She is unofficially known to have better contacts with them and has approached them 'off the books', so to speak and is probably a better source of up to date information on them and to act as a go between if necessary.
-- This is known intelligence of an unclassified nature and unofficial statements. It's contents are broad and possibly inaccurate so is to be treated as premature pending confirmation by external sources.
Jul 11 - Tygun Span Patrol[]
Was on a patrol along the Tygun Span, connecting Iacon to Nova Cronum. While there I had Blast Off spot me and he did a couple of attack runs. At this point I, uh.. Told him that his insults were being banal and juvenile and I struck a nerve. He transformed and came down to the ground and.. I ran the Tracks subroutine and after a bit he left. Only moderate damage here and I think he's going to have a bit more therapy.. Also add to his profile notes that he does not respond well to anything which impugns or makes him question his personal sense of elitism. He bricks pretty quick on that. Tracks.. Up there in the Allspark, hope you're laughing at someone down here that's not remotely in your league.
Jul 23 - Addendum: Dark Nebula[]
To: Command From: Hot Rod
Subj: Supplementary to Dark Nebula AAR, Twidget Report
Upon getting a distress call from Deathsaurus requesting aid in.. Liberating his brethren from the Dark Nebula; Dust Devil, Twidget, Typhoon and I went to assist on the shuttle Valiant. There, we ran into a large melee with.. Dire Wraiths, in very large numbers. They were working in a heavy phalanx style formation based around a superheavy capital ship using smaller ships as raiders and pickets. The priority of the Dire Wraiths was engaging the.. Destron Fortress and attempting to board it and assimilate those aboard. The Acadia escaped along with Deathsaurus, the Warworld that the Destrons deployed from in the first place, and ourselves. During this melee the Destrons deployed as noted the unknown heavy weapons of the fortress and the Warworld. They also showcased Deathsaurus having weaponry at least on scale with Megatron and Shockwave that was inflicting critical damage on the Dire Wraith capital ship in a single hit. The Destrons also deployed an unknown combiner team to the field.
The fight ended with us fleeing the gravitic anomaly of the Dark Nebula and coming back to realspace. But.. I'm not sure if the situation now on Cybertron is better or worse.
Private Addendum, Personal Log: Did we make the situation worse on Cybertron? Now there's a lot more Destrons fortified up in wherever they settle down in with two heavy capital ships, one with a superweapon of an unknown nature, Deathsaurus showing he has weaponry on scale with Megatron or any of the other Con heavy hitters.. And a new combiner. Are they going to lick their wounds then as soon as they can fix up the superweapons on their ships and go on another rampage? If they do.. Primus forgive me.
Jul 29 - Crystal City Combiners[]
To: High Command Rank 8+
Subject: Crystal City Melee With Bruticus
Upon hearing gunfire over at one of the bars in Crystal City I was passing through I poked my head in to see the Combaticons starting a melee with Onslaught going on about some sort of 'trap' while shooting at another Decepticon (Identity Unknown) and being engaged with a neutral from Alithex (Khamsin). Chromedome was present at the bar and stayed behind and went for cover.
Upon seeing the Combaticons maneuvering out to the remains of Crystal City, called for backup and the Protectobots arrived. A general melee started and escalated with both teams merging. This is when things got extremely.. Unusual. Bruticus went like he was having a system reboot and said 'Bruticus having Existential Crisis' and stopped attacking until Defensor formed, then went to attack Defensor.
Starlock (present, not in general area) stated that we should disengage and that she was actively seeking to remove the reprogramming that Megatron had inflicted upon the Combaticons. At this point Banshee, Trypticon's City Speaker, came out of hiding and 'engaged' while stating that she was working with Starlock on removing the override programs that Megatron had put on the Combaticons. And saying for us to lure Bruticus away from the city and have him chase Defensor to let him get confused and power down. Defensor lured Bruticus away and the Combaticons disengaged.
Affixing Radio Transmissions and TIghtbeam for Archive:
Banshee looks to Hot Rod, blinking as he does the opposite of what she asked, and instead starts asking intelligent questions. She nods softly, lowering her pistols slightly. She looks over at Starlock. "You should trust her more." She says softly. "She... has liberated zem. Freed zem from Megatron's slave-collar. Let them choose zeir own path. Fight for zer truth of zer Decepticon Reich, if zey vant... or go free. Zer point is... like Trypticon... zey are now free to choose."
She looks up at what's going on. "Get Defensor to lead him out of zer city. Run him around... tire him out. I'll haff Trypticon follow him, unt zen sneak zem off to Deathsaurus." She flinches as Defensor tries the lovfe approach. "Right now, Bruticus is thinking in primary colours, ja? Zat von't vork. All he knows is - he hates Defensor. He von't be able to think more zan zat right now."
While at the same time... <<One Autobot talks to zer wrong Neutral unt ve're all dead.>> She tightbeams back, with a scoff <<And zen zere whole cycle continues until Cybertron tires of our endless wars and snuffs our species out just so it can recover. Ve barely trust each other, vhy vould ve trust Autobots? I only trust Starlock because of vot happened at Calyhex... zere are some sings you cannot go through together vithout developing an... understanding.>>
So given that Trypticon's City Speaker is willing to take things to seemingly undermine Megatron and involve Trypticon seems at least willing to cooperate.. I would -urge- command to speak with Starlock on this at thier discretion as soon as possible. Present were myself, Dust Devil, and the Protectobots. Report sent in, high encryption for review by command. Awaiting further orders.
Hot Rod, Cavalier
Aug 04 - Blast Off Goes Down the Hole[]
Nightstalker and myself had gone to Nova Cronum while on a courier mission. There we encountered the Combaticon Blast Off, who took pot shots at us while Nightstalker evacuated the area in case the fight escalated. After the area was evacuated, Blast Off was talked down from further conflict by the two of us and then went to disengage. While doing so he transformed to fly and.. Lost control somehow. He impacted the city-state ground at near full power and left a moderate amount of damage. No one was injured other than Blast Off.
While he was in a state of panic medic Starlock talked him out of it and Blast Off.. Agreed to be escorted out of the city accompanied by myself and Nightstalker. Then he fell down a giant hole that appeared out of nowhere in the ground. That somehow feels appropriate.
- August 7 - "Wild Cybertron Petrorillas Episode" - Wild Cybertron - "Petrorilla Episode": Backblast, Hot Rod, and Dust Devil journey to watch one of Backblast's Petrorilla groups, the Copperback Clade that resides in the Ibex foothills of the Manganese Mountains.
Aug 10 - Manganese Mountains[]
To: Division Chiefs (8+)
Subject: Manganese Mountains Report Addendum
Message: Cyclonus after he ran me down was asking a large number of questions on the Nova Cronum ambush of the Combaticons and what was involved. While he was doing so I gave up the association of Medic Sergeant Starlock. This is noted so that steps can be taken to ensure her safety as if Cyclonus himself is pursuing this, it is a high priority for the Decepticons.
August 16 - "No Longer Armless"[]
Hot Rod gets his limbs back!
Aug 17 - Manganese Mountains Patrol[]
Subject: Combat Patrol
Availability: Public Military Record
Incident Summation: A patrol lead by Ironhide consisting of myself and Dawnfire was going through the Manganese Mountains when we ran into Valour and Skywarp. While we were engaging them Esmeral, the 'Empress' of the Destrons showed up and joined the melee. She inflicted substantial damage to myself and Ironhide. When Deathsaurus showed up, Ironhide called a retreat. All personnel escaped to rally point for fallback with varying degrees of damage.
Addendum (Access Rank 6+). Esmeral was fully joining a Decepticon patrol attacking us, and Deathsaurus joined a short time later. Whatever sort of 'outs' the Destrons were presumed to be with the Decepticons seems to be not substantial, or at the very least they're very willing if not eager to join in combat together.
August 22 - "Frozen Find"[]
Joes uncover a frozen mostly dead Cybertronian in Alaska and ask for help. A random assortment of helpers arrive.
Aug 24 - Crystal City Scan[]
To: Operations (General Release)
Intel Confirm: Shockwave
A recon team was sent out to Crystal City on the basis of reports that Shockwave had a presence there. Dust Devil, myself, Patchwork, and Doublecross ran through the area. While doing so we ran into Cyclonus and Swindle. We skirmished until Shockwave came around and announced himself and told us to leave for disrupting his 'experiments'.. Can confirm that he has set himself up in the area, and given his lack of flight observed and statement he probably has a facility of some sort. After being given the option to leave along with him disintegrating a few buildings, the offer was taken. Team evacuated with moderate damage.
Aug 28 - Manganese Patrol[]
Subj: Manganese Mountain Patrol
Message: Ran into Drillhorn (DD-134) while on patrol in Manganese Mountains (Southern End). He ambushed me from underneath pile of rocks. We fought, he deployed some kind of attached drone assault unit (tag for 'Hornbeast' as image file attached). We skirmished and he withdrew. Patrol continued
August 31 - "All Sorts of Problems"[]
The Medical Center is starting to fill up again.
Sep 06 - Patrol[]
General Report: Manganese Mountain Patrol
While on patrol zone through the Manganese Mountains engaged a Decepticon heavy assault unit called Steel Breaker. He was about to fall over a cliff when agreed to cease fire to help him up. Did so and then a short time later he opened fire. Due to systems damage, disengaged.
Personality note: Decepticon has Junkion level obsession with Earth sport called 'Wrestling'.
Sep 12 - Crystal City Sightseeing[]
To: General Reports
Subject: Crystal City Patrol
Msg: Given the noted presence of Shockwave at Crystal City a patrol was sent lead by Sludge consisting of him, Moonracer, and I in case we ran into Decepticon heavy units. On patrol we were engaged by Razorclaw and an unknown Decepticon aerial unit.
During said melee Moonracer fell into a pit and Sludge drove off Razorclaw and the other Decepticon. Moonracer was retrieved and patrol disengaged.
Sep 29 - Ionic Valley[]
To: General Accessibility
Subj: Salvage Operation
Msg: A salvage operation done with myself and engineer Twidget to the High Ridge of the Ionic Valley was interrupted by an ambush of the Sweep Commander, Scourge. Scourge was fought off and retreated, and the salvage operation was aborted to return to Iacon.
Nov 17 - Combaticons[]
To: Division and Command (Rank 7+)
Subj: The Combaticons
Message: In Valvolux Arena the Combaticons were observed stating they wanted to 'undo what was done to them', that 'Intel and command know' and that 'Vortex knows someone who can help'. I presume they are seeking a way to undo the alterations that were done to them or to remedy they issue. They may be going to Valvolux for aid or to get into contact with someone.
Also Brawl has gotten far, far smarter and seems to have some sort of agenda to his plans. He hates what's been done to him. Suggest a priority update for the members of the them.
- December 21 - "Con Chatter" - Something bad happens in Ky-Alexia.
Dec 21 - Research[]
The Decepticons were in a panic over something called 'The Dark Spark' being used by the Seacons over on broadband frequencies during a distress call. Dust Devil and Starlock may have knowledge of a prophecy related over to it that they can hopefully get something more useful from. Until then, request if Glyph is available she have a look for archives on anything related to the topic. Not sure what exactly is going on, but it's best for us to be ahead of the curve.
Dec 27 - Ibex Repairs[]
Dizzy worked at removing damaged buildings and using brought in supplies to help reconstitute fortifications and defenses areas damaged in the fighting in the Ibex area.
- December 29 - "Spacebridge Refugee" - A lab, a plan, a surge: Surprise, an Autobot.
- December 29 - "Arguments Over Drinks" - Autobots and Decepticons mingle at The Rollout Bar.
Dec 30 - Solstice[]
To: Command (Rank 6+)
Subj: Solstice
Msg: A distress call was put out by an unknown Autobot (identifying as 'Solstice') that she was in one of Shockwave's laboratories on he general communication frequencies before going silent. Shockwave's last known location was at Crystal City, which he had seized for himself and fortified. Wrecker Starlock and myself engaged in a quick recon to see if Shockwave could be lured out.
Shockwave came out to greet us and threw out the unconscious body of Solstice and then saying we had five minutes to depart and initiated a countdown. Starlock performed emergency repairs on Solstice and then lifted off for Iacon. At the time heavy sounds began emanating from the area, like a horde of Sharkticons. Addendum on Crystal City Defenses, high probability that Shockwave has a large number of Sharkticons on servo.
Solstice was taken to Iacon Medical and came back online. She seemed highly disoriented and had a quick discussion in presence of Jazz, Wrecker Starlock, and myself. She.. Kept on caling me Rodimus. And then she said 'again' when I called myself Hot Rod. Upon being given the date, she said it was 'before she'd come online' and went to stasis lock.
I presume she remains in medbay for monitoring and debriefing. Now.. Why do I feel so creeped out by being called something else by someone I've never met?
2021[]
Jan 25 - Supply Run[]
Supplies for the buildup of infrastructure of Ibex defenses were brought in, including comm stations and other support networks. Jetfire brought in heavy cargo flying in of forty cargo containers, and distribution began under instruction of Jetfire and Ironhide. Initial work began but primarily supplies have been distributed for future efforts.
Jan 26 - Kalis Overpass Patrol[]
Hot Rod's face comes onto the screen, the Cavalier somewhere between 'chipper' and 'meh' from his facial expressions.
"During a patrol of the Kalis Overpass Solstice and I ran over into Cyclonus and Blast Off. Blast Off took some potshots at me while Cyclonus tried to play 'catch' with Solstice. Blast Off took moderate damage and we disengaged. Patrol was aborted, team came back to Iacon for repairs."
Random click of hand on console. Hot Rod looking away, "So really why -with- her? I mean seriously. I really have to question the sanity of a reality that says -any- version of me is.. Like, I'm the last person -ever- that.. Wait, is this still on!?" Panicked button pushing ensues until the console shuts down.
Feb 16 - North Pole Rendezvous[]
To: General Personnel
Subj: North Pole Parley With Fortress Maximus and Deathsaurus
Msg: Fortress Maximus, with the assistance of Dust Devil, arranged a parley with Deathsaurus at the North Pole, attempting to negotiate with Deathsaurus that he had previously challenged. Dust Devil and myself accompanied to help Fortress Maximus who was in his link at the time and all components merged.
Upon arriving there we disarmed ourselves, after Fortress Maximus and Dust Devil explained to Deathsaurus what they wanted to discuss and Deathsaurus agreed. The two negotiated and there was some back and forth, with Deathsaurus stating that while he was under contract and obliged to follow it, that he would not seek out Fortress Maximus in combat if possible, and Fortress Maximus agreed. I guess this means they're going to try to stay away from one another? Maximus did fairly well in negotiating.
Then things got, err.. Weird. Deathsaurus and Fortress Maximus picked up something -weird- on scanners and we all went on alert. After a bit Ghost came out of nowhere. She looked like she was.. Dizzy and sorta like a human that was nauseous? I guess that's really not the way to put it. Really, really disoriented and not quite stumbling. I'd guess she had some level of minor coordination problems and was trying not to show them. She definitely was not focused or coherent in my opinion but trying not to show it.
Fortress Maximus offered to take her to the medbay and there was a -little- kerfuffle over it before he was talked down. Deathsaurus would take her back to wherever she was going to vanish to. That's -real- creepy and I really hope someone can figure out how she does it. We then disengaged to head back to duty stations and someone has to talk to Fortress Maximus on multi-tasking and metaphors.
Feb 26 - Meeting with Banshee[]
To: High Command and Intel
Subj: Banshee (Trypticon Cityspeaker)
Msg: (Maximum Encryption, to High Command Staff Only)
I had an encounter with Banshee at the Rollout today that began with a discussion of the probability of Trypticon's coming presence at Ibex. Banshee stated that she would obey Megatron's orders if it came to that, and expressed that she did not wish to see another incident like Harmonex but if given orders she would do so as would Trypticon.
The talk then turned over as we went to one of the secure booths present at the Rollout. She.. Indirectly stated that she felt that Megatron could be controlled so much as his attention might be distracted or oriented at any given time by an outside threat or a manageable circumstance. She stated at least as far as I could gather hypothetically was that there were those who were willing to -act- against Megatron if he went too far or acted in ways they found too dangerous. I do not know the veracity of these statements in the slightest or any way to quantify them. I do not pretend to be fluent with Banshee to any degree. However, she did act significantly when it came time to aiding and abetting those working to free the Combaticons from the reprogramming efforts that had been put into them. She has further mentioned on occasion Operation Valkyrie, an action over the second world war of an internal effort by members of the German Army to attempt to perform a coup against Hitler.
If Megatron takes direct action against Trypticon, she seems willing to take all actions to prevent it. She implied that Trypticon would as well and she would allow outside assistance int he matter and that the group would fight to the end. I do not know the veracity of her claims or whether Trypticon would in fact go along with them (addendum; approach Windblade on this).
She stated that she felt if we withdrew from Ibex at some point within a year or two Megatron's attentions would be distracted and that it could be retaken, though I believe that she is speaking of her personal opinion. She seems extremely wary of MEgatron and his actions, and stated she had acted at least once in the past against him to some degree and failed. If an alternative is presented, she seems at least willing to consider it.
This is passed along to high command and intelligence for pursuit and evaluation as to how, if anything to act. It could very well be a trap or mere musing, and has too many unknowns for me to comment on. Memory file appended.
Passed along to High Command for evaluation and judgement.
Feb 27 - Camp Zero[]
Myself and Dust Devil worked on putting up prefabricated residential units in Camp Zero. We mostly focused on getting the prefab modular shells up to use as shelter. The next wave of installation wil l be the internal systems of them.
Feb 28 - Scrapyards Patrol[]
To: General Personnel
Subj: Scrapyards Patrol
Msg: Myself and Solstice were doing a large sweep of the Scrapyards areas of Cybertron. While on patrol we ran into Blast Off and Blockade and a suspected defense emplacement. Solstice did a quick drive by the suspected emplacement but we were engaged by Blockade. We disengaged with some more exchanges of fire and Solstice covered me on the way out. Neither Decepticon took more than minor damage in the exchange. Patrol returned to base.
- 03/03 - "A Place For Me" - Crosswise comes to New Harmonex and is given an offer by Starlock.
Mar 03 - Nova Cronum Clearing[]
To: General Personnel
Subj: Road to Nova Cronum
Msg: Backblast lead a team of myself and Dawnfire along one of the mined areas of Nova Cronum. Dawnfire and I would tag and locate mines while Backblast would disarm them. A few of the Con radioactive mines were picked up and the cores taken relatively intact and stable. They could be used for energy production and conversion to energon cubes or perhaps given over to Encore. This section of the roadway at least has been swept and we're relatively certain it's been cleared. Team returned to Iacon for decontamination and with disarmed cores.
Mar 04 - Protihex[]
Myself and Starlock worked at installation of a defense tower in Protihex under the supervision of Ultra Magnus. Tower read as operational.
Mar 04 - Camp Zero[]
To: General Personnel
Msg: Dizzy lead a construction crew working on Camp Zero making prefabricated shelters for civilians and refugees. Cerebros assisted with the construction of several shelters which should hopefully be sufficient to handle any newcomers.
Mar 09 - Sector 18 Patrol[]
To: General Personnel
Subj: Sector 18 Patrol
Msg: A small unit patrol along Sector 18 ran into Cyclonus and scattered. I got isolated from the rest of the patrol by Cyclonus while trying to disengage and Drift was on his way from Rodion and responded to help. We tangled with Cyclonus a bit until Scourge showed up and got out. The rest of the patrol unit had fallen back to rally point and retruend to base. We know that the Cons are definitely aware we're looking along the way to Tyrest..
- April 2 - "'Til All Are Two" - Hot Rod encounters the road not taken.
Apr 02 - Retrieval[]
To: Mission Debrief
Subj: Package Retrieval in Sludge Swamps
Msg: Retrieved a small item that had been left however long ago in one of the collapsed citadels along the Sludge Swamps. While in there ran into a Decepticon rotor-femme (Tag: Arachnae) and a group of drones she was taking out for a walk. Some unpleasantries were exchanged, and we agreed to disengage. Package was retrieved and passed along. And I'm going to detox and have my memory files of the smell deleted.
Wake me when I'm up again.
Extraneous Addendum: Subject Hot Rod was sighted going to quarters and when next duty shift was triggered did not respond to alerts. Absence noted.
May 01 - Slaughter City Defenses[]
To: Intel
Subj: Slaughter City
Msg: At authorization, a convoy arrived in Slaughter City with equipment for use in laying mines, traps, and layered defenses against intrusion which were given to specialist Backblast who was work at reinforcing the area against attack.
Jun 25 - Badlands Beatings[]
To: General Personnel
Subj: Badlands Patrol
Msg: Was with a patrol out of Slaughter City around the Badlands, in the Kaon region. Along with Imager out of Slaughter City and joined by Solstice. One Star Trek based discussion later, we were set on by a Sweep hunting party that ambushed us. Avarice, Scourge, and Blitzkrieg who I guess was an honorary one. They jumped us and we gunned them back. Hit Avarice pretty bad and Blitzkrieg jumped ship, Scourge used some bad lines about 'next time' and the Cons fell back. We did some quick field repairs then went back to Slaughter City in case there were more of them out there.
Aug 09 - Manganese Mountains[]
Was on patrol in the Manganese Mountains. Ran into Scourge detailing the area. He knocked me off the side of the mountain and then withdrew. Returning to Iacon for repairs. And.. Gotta say he was really hands off this time. He bit mine!
Sep 20 - Pious Pools[]
To: General Memo
Subj: Pious Pools Incident
Msg: Energon contamination was reported by Trailbreaker over in the Pious Pools so a maintenance team was dispatched, consisting of Imager, myself, Dust Devil, and Tonka. Energon was discovered spilling out over into the oil baths having an extremely cold temperature (relative) to the area. Upon checking of the pipelines pumping in oil nothing was found amiss.
A physical sweep of the pools discovered an.. Individual within the bottom of them that was considered the primary source of said temperature variation. They were suffering from extreme energon deprivation and brought to medical for treatment and analysis.
- October 07 - "Release the Spectre" - Ghost is freed from Iacon.
Oct 27 - Median Fog[]
To: General Personnel
Subj: Energy Fog
Msg: The Moonbases were reporting some weird energy.. Fogs coming up along the planet around Median and the Nova Cronum Observatory. It was thick and no one could see through it. They were sending back data to Earth for the Weatherbots to look over. I went along from my route to investigate it.
I went into the.. Fog.. And it was dense. It was thick. I felt like when I was going through it it was encompassing me. Sort of like it was ethereal. Like the void. It was creepy. I couldn't tell if I was up or down, or walking forwards. It lessened after a bit and moved on away from Median. Currently en route to where the city used to be to see if I can pick up anything on where it was coming up. Personal sensor data and systems report forwarded to Iacon for relay.
- October 30 - "Is This The Real Life" - Something odd happens to a handful of scattered cybertronians. But was it really a dream?
Nov 05 - Dreams[]
Personal Log; shared with Kup, Ratchet
- It was like it was a dream. I know, Hot Rod has a split gasket, Hot Rod has a screw loose, Hot Rod needs his head whacked to get them back in place. But it was.. I looked at my reports, I just wandered out there. I /know/ what happened. But I don't know if it's real. The way my spark jumps.. It just is too out there. But.. If just me, then why were..
- It started with rage. Terror. Hate. Just being caught up in what was like the Pit itself. Like I was just nothing. A failure. I remember that most of all. That's.. Almost all of what it was. How helpless, useless, pathetic.. I don't know, am I? Am I really that worthless like everyone says I am? Compared to what all those other me's out there in the multiverse? I.. I'm a nobody. A waste of energon that'.. Never mind. Not now.
- There were armies. Legions. Stars being devoured, consumed for power and matter. Armies.. Endless ones. Like the stars were blanketed with them. Seeing things through the optics of someone fighting while the ground beneath them was mined, the planet cored, the stars devoured. Endless leginos. I've never felt so inconsequential before. Not when Unicron, not when the Fallen.. Not when we heard that Megatron was back and no one knew Prime survived.
- It was just seeing all those legions, knowing that there was no hope, no point of fighting. You'd just soak up a bullet and be gone. We were the ones at the end of it, like ants. Charging in in fear. It.. It was someone else's dream. Not mine. There were.. Others. Goth and Blast Off. I don't know either of them really at all. But they were there.
- We were all caught up in that nightmare together, we all knew it was someone else's. Then we were.. In it but aware.
- It was.. A factory. I mean not.. There were dozens, hundreds of humanoid robots. They were all identical. Mass forged. All the same make and model. They.. Looked like they could transform. But they might have all been drones as far as I could tell. They were in an industrial.. Disposal complex. Everything was laid out perfectly, uniform, efficient. For disposal.
- I.. I'm babblin to myself. But it was being taken along by whomever it was to be disposed of. I was on a few raids at the smelting pits.. This was another thing entirely. It was like someone had built from the diode up a place to efficiently exterminate and manufacture.. To take apart anyone going in. Purpose built. Goth, me, and Blast Off then.. Then they started chatting at us. The empire was legion, uh, lots.. They were going on in words I couldn't understand, Goth could if we were in the dream.
- Then we were hit with.. Emotin. Hunger. Like I was being rended apart from the inside. Then the legions attacked. Hub Centurinos they called themselves. Blast Off an Goth fought them off. Then we sort of woke up.
- Addendum: I don't know. I read my own reports. I wandered up from Median like normal. I don't even remember but I logged it. I woke up there, where I.. Wandered. I was fine after. Nothing just some weird. Went to the medbay, nothing wrong beyond, as the medic on duty put it 'being Hot Rod'. I don't know. I don't know. Was it something? Was it.. I don't know. I have to talk to Kup, Kup or Ratchet. I'm not crazy, I.. Maybe I am. But where did that come from?
November 12 - Remote Desert Region[]
To: General Personnel
Subj: Tectonic Upheavals
Msg: Another series of tectonic and seismic shifts were reported by Iacon and Nova Point Station close to the Tagan Heights along the Desert. Imager, Dust Devil, Hot Rod went to investigate. Along the way team was caught up in desert upheaval and seismic collapse when sand collapsed underneath them. High energy activity messed with sensors and radios. Team separated. Imager MIA, Dust Devil returning to base to gather assistance, Hot Rod remaining behind to continue search for Imager.
Nov 16 - Personal Log[]
Internal Log; Hot Rod
- I'm seeing things and feeling them now. Out here. I had a sensation that while I was wandering around I was important. I was on a quest. That I was being refueled, purified, given a purpose. It passed. A quick systems check of my energon levels and operational status confirmed nothing had happened. I remain searching for Imager. Something is out here, and if I had to guess something that's sentient to a degree. I didn't pass any sort of energy signature that registered to my sensors that could have caused that and internal diagnostics didn't flag anything. So something is definitely up. Keeping on sweeping for Imager. I have to find her. She's an Autobot. We don't abandon our own. Long range radio is still down. Hoping if I can get close enough to her I can track her transponder. And hope first thing she doesn't do is kill me when she finds what happened to her vio-ello.
Nov 17 - Desert Sweep[]
Subj: Search Update
Ctnd: Maintaining a sweep along the region where Imager went missing, Dust Devil, Starlock, Jetfire, Red Alert, and Backblast joined. Tracking another minor energy reading in the area lead to an unknown Cybertronian that was buried and was dug up. Continuing the search pattern while the unknown Cybertronian that was tended to (and seemingly in a rough physical state) a small helm was found matching coloration of Imager's bodyframe. Further analysis confirmed it was part of her exoframe, along with small bite marks indicative of a small scavenger. Continuing patrol, focusing along roughly mapped areas of the energy transit.
- Dec 14 - "Rattled about the Rat" - Hot Rod updates Jazz with what he's found about Rattrap in Vos. Namely nothing. And is told to investigate further.
Dec 23 - Rattrap[]
To: Jazz (Intel Head)
Subj: Rattrap
Msg: Encountered while in Vos three members of Decepticon raider/pirate group Devilcons (ID tags of Demonhead, Deathclaw, Deep Blue appended). They were talking of eating Micromasters while we were in a casino that Valour left me at. After a back and forth discussion Deathclaw mentioned something about 'a rat mech'. He didn't elaborate much beyond he'd fought an Autobot. Big mouth, never stopped talking. He'd been talking about gutting turborats. I don't have much more specific to go on, whether Rattrap is alive, what his state is, or anything else that happened. But I can at least give the hook that the Devilcons had something on it, at least according to htemselves.
Appended - Personal Message, Encrypted
- December 28 - "Ibex B Cup" - Kup challenges all takers on a race in Ibex on the 'B' track. Which is a hazardous living condition all on its own.
2022[]
Jan 02 - Driller[]
To: Operations
Subj: Driller
Msg: While running a patrol with Metallic Midnight in the Altihex Desert, the ground started shaking, and then a Driller came out of it. It appeared to be roughly thirty five to fourty meters long. Myself and Metallic Midnight reported it in and went evasive. Shortly thereafter the Driller went.. Mostly still and we turned around to observe. At that point a Decepticon (file tag; Arachnae) came out of it (it appeared to have been modified to carry a passenger). She was putting some drones through a.. Training with it? Like it was domesticated? I really don't know.
I asked Metallic Midnight to put up one of her drones to scan it. It then went after it and heavily damaged her drone. We both went to withdraw at that point and then the Driller went to chase us. I opened fire on it as I took it to be hostile. Arachnae joined in (stating later she was going to protect it). There was a small skirmish and we engaged the Driller and Arachnae, myself taking moderate damage. Arachnae called on the Driller to stand down, telling us that she was merely training it and treating it as a pet, and we were the ones who had started it and violated the truce by engaging Cybertronian mecha-fauna. I don't have her exact verbiage on file, I took a couple of chainblades to the torso and had some glitches.
Metallic Midnight (I think, don't take my statement at face value without confirming with her) agreed that Arachnae seemed to have no hostile intentions. Add to file however that she's 'got' a Driller and has modified it somehow, and is giving it some level of training or conditioning.
Jan 22 - Demonicon Ambush[]
To: Operations
Subj: Demonicon Ambush
Msg: Wsa on patrol in the Metal Plains when I was ambushed by Deathclaw, one of the Demonicons (a raiding group operating under Decepticon flag). Deathclaw attacked me and kept on going on as to how he would gut, eat, and torture me to death. We stalemated in the fight, and he went to iwthdraw as Dust Devil and Solstice arrived to give backup.
Addendum: I think this might have been related to me winning big during my time in Vos. He's aslo a big monologuer. SOmeone giving him lessons
Jan 26 - Stanix[]
To: Operations/Command
Subj: Stanix Bombardment
Msg: An announcement came that Stanix (former Decepticon territory) was under bombardment from orbit by the Decepticon Warp Gate by telemetry. Went to render assistance of my own initiative and shanghaied Wrecker Starlock to come along. Upon arrival found only minor damage inflicted to an area on a cliff-side away from the city. No damage nor fatalities were reported when we met Thunderwatch (city commander). He said there were no signs of followup attack or bombardment. Wrecker Starlock discussed things further with the City Commander and some theories were made as to the attacker/their intent. I do not feel like there is evidence personally on any of them to say any way beyond presumptions. A large number of theories could be offered on it, but with no actual support to them and I do not feel qualified to do so.
- February 08 - "Unwelcome Guests" - Someone crashes the Cybertron peace meeting.
- Feb 8 - "In Peace We Trust" - The Peace Accords meeting doesn't end peacefully.
Feb 08 - Megatron[]
To: Operations/Intel/Command
Subj: Megatron?
Upon engaging Ramjet in combat he had a number of upgrades done to him as well as an altered faction symbol that appeared to still be a Decepticon one. He spoke of fighting for something called the Cybertronian Empire, whatever that is. Thrust.. He doesn't want fighting and he helped me escape from Ramjet. Thrust is willing to pass along things and wants peace. Agreed to meet him in Maccadam's sometime to talk.
- April 26 - "The Civil War Gets Hot" - Primus Pilus Megatron attacks Stanix directly.
Apr 27 - Live from Stanix[]
To: General Personnel
Subj: Fall of Stanix
Msg: -The screen is all glitchy, indicative of heavy damage and chaos-
Primus Pilus got bored and finally went on the attack. He targeted Stanix. Thunderwatch asked for aid and Valour and some of the Decepticons came. Primus Pilus was attacking the city, along with Floodlight and other Decepticons. This indicates that Valour is for now loyal to Starscream and that the cons are showing they're not one big happy family. We came in a skirmish unit and Dust Devil, Drift and I ran some interference while civilians evacuated. We're... Not in great shape. We bought as much time as we could. Currently en route to fallback position to try and hold a rally point to help keep the civilians safe.
- May 15th - "Spark Transfer" - Optimus Prime is rushed into emergency surgery.
- May 23 - "I am Veritas Prime" - Veritas runs into a pair of Autobots, then Elita One, then one of Pilus' Predators. A day in the life of a newly minted Prime. Also, don't threaten The Rollout Bar.
May 28 - Banshee[]
To: Intelligence Department and Command (Rank 8+)
Subj: Banshee and Trypticon
Msg: Banshee has indicated that for now Trypticon will continue to stay neutral and assess things as they go forwards and has made no commitment to thinks or allegiances. She says if we can find evidence on the attack on Ultrix and who did it will strongly sway him. If we can confirm that the lovely freaks that rebuilt Megatron did it and get it to Banshee and Trypticon it will very likely bring them to act against Megatron or whatever he calls himself. She makes no promises, however, just thinks that it might... I respectfully urge as much effort as we can be put into this, and we get the information to her as we get it.
She also confirmed that most of the Decepticons seem to be accepting that Primus Pilus is the real Megatron and has no major competitors. I don't think that Starscream is going to last much longer. And emotionally it's very likely that Vos will be the next thing that Megatron goes after, particularly if most Decepticons are united behind him.
- June 21 - "Operation: Danger! - 160 Hours till Sunrise" - Blizzard has discovered an atmospheric event that will undoubtedly destroy the colony of Simfur and all the beastformers within it. A call for aid goes out to the Autobots, to help the desperate situation.
- June 30 - "Primes and Plans at the Pools" - Veritas requests permission to visit Iacon with the intent to check on the Pious Pools. Someone else is there and a lively discussion erupts.
Jul 24 - Tesaras Patrol[]
Did a quick sweep near tesaras on patrol. While there ran into Scourge on overwatch. He engaged me and inflicted a lot of damage on me before I disengaged. He was still on overlook duty in the area when I got away. Not sure if he has any other Sweeps with him, but it looks like some of the Cons are paying more attention there.
Jul 27 - My Fellow Autobots[]
My fellow Autobots, I know now is a hard time. The Decepticons will be coming at us with everything they have. Fighting for the Liege Maximo and his forces whom will inevitably attack us again. It's hard to hold the line when it seems like no matter what happens another thing comes to darken the sky.
But it's always darkest before the dawn. The night is always the harshest before the sun rises up. Cybertron has gone through the war. Through the quiet. It now undergoes a rebirth. The planet is filling with life, revitalizing itself. Energon has brought us out of a long slumber and given us our home back. We had peace. It lasted. Enough to remind us that in the midst of the war that we can talk things over and resolve them. That we're not condemned to eternal warfare.
Autobots, now is not the time to lose hope. WE fight for a revitalized Cybertron. We fight for our home. We fight for freedom. We light a beacon against the darkness. We are never alone. We have one another. We all add some from our sparks. Our friends. Our comrades. We're all Autobots. We're all Cybertronians. Whatever this crisis is we'll see it off. And the one after. And the one after. We were forged to keep the galaxy safe from evil and charged by Primus and guided to protect it. We're not going to let one more lunatic stop us from that now, are we? We're Autobots. And whenever it's the hardest.. We remember we can roll out.
We stick together, have one another's backs, and no matter what, we'll see it through. Because nothing's going to stand in our way. Not tonight, nor tomorrow, nor ever. Until the day all are one.
Sep 28 - Tyrest[]
Myself, Dust Devil, and Sludge took in a supply run to Tyrest including parts to fix the generators and to equip the medical facilities. Sludge worked at clearing out debris from the barracks to hopefully let them be brought to long term functionality. Basic repairs and clearing are ongoing.
Sep 29 - Nova Cronun[]
To: General Orders
Subj: Nova Cronun Convoy
Msg: I was driving along with a caravan takings supplies to Nova Cronun when we were hit by ambush from Nightbird. She drove away the drivers and engaged me. I think she might have been having a bit of fun. She tore me up but took her time. She didn't do it like Scourge or Cyclonus did, so go me.
She blew up the supply trucks after she stabbed me onto one of the trucks. When I hit her her armor was doing weird things and just.. Repairing itself as I hit it a couple times. Pretty sure that's not in her tech specs.
She left some weapons stuck in me that might be some use to analysis if anyone wants to look at her blades. I'm taking the long way back to Iacon.
- November 15 - "Ride the Wyrm" - Something stirs beneath the Altihex sands, distressing a convoy.
Dec 04 - Kalis Konvoy[]
A group intercepted a small Con convoy carrying supplies to Kalis. Few of us went to keep the escorts busy while the others tried to nab some crates. Got into a fight with the wananbeSweep that has an Axe for an arm and a chain for a leg. Cons hit us with reinforcements from Kalis and most of the supplies got through. We managed to nab a few of the crates and bug out (an inventory reveals some seized construction supplies, energon, and general logistics items for use around the base, and an estimated twenty percent of the convoy cargo taken). Most of it got through but we did enough to remind them we're still here.
Dec 31 - Banshee[]
To: Command (Rank 8+)
Subj: Banshee
Msg: Banshee will be going to Earth to help however she can. She will not be bringing Trypticon. Please pass along she is to be considered a friendly and given support and not considered or treated hostile.
Dec 31 - Engine Information[]
To: Operations and Science
Subj: Ultrix
Msg: We were shared data on the Ultrix attackers to hopefully help compare to the current things in Sol. IF the engine patterns match, it should help confirm things as well as more refined sensor scans to help better locate them.
2023[]
- January 1 - "Solar Flare Space Strife" - Solar flares are causing widespread communication blackouts on Earth. A combined group of beings from both Earth and Cybertron work together to defend the planet from unknown assailants suspected to be in liege with Liege Maximo.
Jan 01 - North Pole[]
I'm not sure how comprehensive this report is. With comms on the fritz and sensor data limited. Earth-side, a group of us were able to track down a signal that a group of.. Cybertronian Offshoots were after. A data pod. With comm nets down, we went to engage and intercept. Myself, Dust Devil, Kitt, and the Decepticon Banshee who came to Earth to lend her aid went to engage their ground force. While there a member of Cobra, Bloody Bones and his.. Pirate ship helped us. Spike and Buster Witwicky were there with an explorer of the region. We were able to engage and hold off the Offshoots in a melee.
For now, Spike and Buster have agreed to come with us with Skyfire. Banshee is welcome to stay with us for repairs and has agreed to lend her aid, and at her discretion can be released to Decepticon territory or personnel. Skyfire came in for retrieval and noted that the object was some sort of a data pod he ejected before he crash-landed. Whatever it was, it was what those offshoots were after and put in all the effort. I have no idea what went up space-side. Comms are very limited. I think we won. Maybe? Hopefully, they can get back in touch soon. And as for what Spike and Buster were doing out here.. That's their call. Item is in custody for analysis by Skyfire. In the North Pole there are a few destroyed enemy troopers that should be picked up and analysed and.. Evaluated for possible threats. They may have something useful, morbid as it is to say we should take them apart.
Feb 06 - Scourge[]
Was doing a patrol along Retoris towards the Kalis Overpass when was ambushed by Scourge. He beat me up pretty badly. Guess that he might be based out of Kalis for now.. OR the Sweeps are doing more patrols from there. Reporting from medbay.
Mar 05 - To the Lightning Strike Coalition[]
A holo tagged message from Hot Rod is sent by cube to Grimlock based out of Slaughter City.
The message fritzes online when read, showing a hologram of Hot Rod from the head up. "Hello, Grimlock, leader of the.. Second Generation Autobots, the Lightning Strike Coalition, and.. Your friends and allies. This is Hot Rod. I know we don't always see optic to optic, but I consider you a friend, along with the rest of the Dinobots. I know that you've gone to form your own faction as you feel that you have a better way to lead and to fight, and to forge your own destiny given the absence of the Matrix, and with everything going on. I'm speaking here personally, from the processor, not speaking for anyone else. This is just my plea. No matter our differences, we're all Autobots." The hologram pauses for a moment, and then goes on. "And we all face dangers now. With your strength we fought off Unicron, we fought off the Fallen, we've fought off all of the Decepticons. We need your strength more than ever. At the end of the cycle, we're all Autobots. WE operate differently, but we all fight together. Please, we need your strength. We don't have to fight alongside one another, but we have to fight. We can have our disagreements and differences. Maybe your way is better than what we have now. Maybe you're right. But we have to work together against the coming darkness. Among Autobots.. We have different badges, but we fight to save Cybertron from evil. From the Decepticons and whatever else there is out there. I'm pleading to you Grimlock, to to our comrades, to our friends.. Fight with us. Not alongside us.. But with us. I'm speaking only for myself. But we're all Autobots. WE want the same thing at the end of the cycle, even when we arrive at it by different ways. Take care." There is no 'till all are one' here. Just a shutting off of the holo as it flickers, read or not. Taken to fuel pump or not. Discarded or contemplated. Just a plea.
Mar 19 - Reply to Grimlock[]
A reply is sent a short time later. It takes a few days to go along the message network to arrive. It shows a holo of Hot Rod, "Thanks Grimlock, I appreciate that. It's good to know that no matter what we always have your strength at our side. And our enemies here are the Decepticons and the Liege Maximo. No matter our positions on anything else we both agree on that and we'll do anything to stop them."
There's a pause in the holo as if it's a real time communication as Hot Rod laughs, "Kup always tells me to talk less too. But he always says I should do less after that and think before I roll out. I think I like your way more. But I'll just keep on talking and acting without thinking. As much as I should anyways. Kick some Con aft for me. I owe you."
The holo flickers off.
Mar 24 - Singularity Sweep[]
To: Command and Infantry
Subj: Singularity and Megatron
Msg: Based upon chatter over IRC, it sounded like Singularity had gone active again, or at least some individual portraying themselves as her. Redirected self on patrol to the Vos/Tarn border accopmanied by Doublecross and backed up by Dust Devil. There, we came upon MEgatron repeatedly blasting into the location of Singularity's demise with heavy fusion blasts. Nos cans picked up active power utilizations of her, and Megatron took care of anything that was left. A quick skirmish with a -very- angry (moreso than usual) Megatron ensued, until he seemed to lose interest in things uon which point the patrol fell back.
- March 29 - "Strong Lesson" - Megatron goes to free Nightbird from Autobot captivity, Hot Rod and Chromia try to stop him and fail. Such heroic nonsense...
Players[]
- Hot Rod was played by Darksabrz during the Timewarp TP.
- The end of the Shattered Glass TP, Hot Rod was temped by Double0snake.
- For The Spirit of Freedom TP, Hot Rod was temped by SpikeWitwicky.
- In 2016, Hot Rod was played by CounterMatt.
- From 2020 - 2023, Hot Rod was played by Wedgekree.
- Hot Rod is now once again Available.
References[]
This page uses content from Transformers Wiki. The original article was at Hot Rod (G1). The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Transformers Universe MUX, the text of Transformers Wiki is available under the Creative Commons License. |
Shattered Glass[]
In the Shattered Glass universe, Hot Rod is evil, and calls himself Rodimus.
What If? Universes[]
Bot World[]
When Unicron attacked Cybertron in 2005, Optimus Prime was able to defeat the Chaos God using the Matrix, cementing the Autobots' feeling of invulnerability. Without a leader, Cyclonus and the Sweeps settled on Chaar, where they eke out a meager existence while plotting their revenge on the Destroyer of Unicron.
Decepticon World[]
When Unicron attacked Cybertron in 2005, Megatron forced Autobot prisoner Hot Rod, to open the Matrix that Megatron had ripped out of Optimus Prime's chest. Once Unicron was destroyed, Megatron killed this "Last Autobot," believing then that he had extinguished the final spark of the Autobots forever.
Megatron, fearing word would escape that Hot Rod was solely responsible for destroying Unicron (and not Megatron), Megatron ordered Hot Rod's remains be desposited in a remote, desolate, and uknown area of Cybertron. The Decepticon leader then threatened any Decepticon who had witnessed Hot Rod's acts or disposed of Hot Rod's remains. If word got out that it was Hot Rod and not Megatron who destroyed Unicron, Megatron would see to it that all Decepticons who had witnessed the events would be executed. Needless to say, the widely-held myth that Megatron destroyed Unicron was almost universally believed by all Decepticons.
Bumblebee, hidden underground with all the other surviving Autobots during the battle to save Cybertron from Unicron, quickly pieced together what happened thanks to a little intuition and his memories of Hot Rod telling Bumblebee that he had dreams that the former Primes were directing him while he was destroying a "giant planet-eating monster."
Though Hot Rod commanded no Autobots during the brief time he possessed The Matrix, Bumblebee ordered Perceptor to record in the annals of Autobot History that Hot Rod be given the title of Autobot Commander for his all-too-brief rule and was also acknowledged to be the first "official" successor to Optimus Prime.
The location of Hot Rod's mortal remains continues to be unknown...