The Energon Pub

HMW: Frontline Vol.1 Issue 3
Reporting from Hell's Front Line


This is Kamjiin, HMW: Frontline's War Correspondant, reporting to you from the front lines of the Great War. Welcome to our Invasion Special. For our powerful first interview, we took the time to sit down with one of the commanders closest to the mill of madness, Odinn of the Cult of Aesir. This interview was most timely. I hope all you veterans take note, and remember what it was to be a grunt.

Kamjiin: First let me say thank you for taking the time for this interview, Odinn.
Odinn: It doesn't bother me, I do this only to let others acknowledge and know me, for the time will come when Cybertron feels my mark upon them.

Kamjiin: Being a new recruit, you're closest to the action on the front. For all of us vets who may have forgotten, tell us what it's like out there?
Odinn: I'll not be smart unlike some cocky swines and say 'fun'. War is never supposed to be fun, it's a serious matter that needs to be dealt with, with severity and swift judgement.

War, war never changes. The veterans of either faction need not worry, the action down here is just as frantic as they're now used to, moreso, in fact. Leadership is everything. A mistake at our level can be fatal in the heat of battle, whereas more experienced leaders are skilled enough to defeat stronger and bigger enemies. It's the same down here as it is up there, but we don't have the comfort of experience, and every move we make is critical to either success, or failure.

Kamjiin: These days it seems as though the rivalry between Megatron and Starscream is more heated than the rivalry between Megatron and Optimus Prime. What are your thoughts on this matter?
Odinn: Personally, such trivial matters do not amuse me, they amuse my crew, useless half-wits, They'd argue over who, out of Primus and Unicron, would win in a fight, buffoons. Still, us leaders learn a lot from the failings of Megatron, we learn and adapt from them, so that we may rule Cybertron with much more ruthless efficiency than him.

Kamjiin: Do you ever regret not joining the Autobots? They made you, after all.
Odinn: The Autobots meerly created us as superweapons, in the hope of winning the war for them. The Decepticons rescued us from their blind beliefs, freedom is a disease that prevents dominion, and as such must be erradicated. But to see how far the project would have gone, a small part wants me to see what the Autobots had in store for us, but I would never side with them.

Kamjiin: I realize you haven't been on the lines long, but have you had the opportunity to develop any rivalries with enemy operatives?
Odinn: A few.

I know very little of the initial attack, my memory banks were new at the time and can't recall that moment when we rebelled. My true rivalries lie in the Bots that created us, and I will soon find out who they are in time. But on the field of battle, I have encountered two teams in my wake that I demand destruction of, but I'll keep them to myself, I alone want the satisfaction of their destruction in my hands!

Kamjiin: The Great War, having dragged on for so long has eaten away at the logistical base on both sides. Is there any truth to the rumors that new recruits are sent into the field bare-handed during major engagements? If so, what tactical adjustments does a commander make to circumvent this obstacle?
Odinn: Ha! Guess you've heard about that then.

Unfortunately, yes. Sacrifices have to be made in the heat of battle, but not without sufficient compensation, that must taken into account. Bare-knuckle fighting was, and for some of us, myself included, the way to go. Minicons are another substitute, but not without careful planning, we cannot rely solely on minicons at our state due to cost mostly, that and I want to see some real metal on my fighters after a mission!

Kamjiin: How many engagements have you participated in against the Quintessons?
Odinn: In short, too many to count.

Quintesson trophies are greatly appreciated among the lower levels, the death of a judge is highly ranked, even among the best of us! I always sent my weaker men into their missions, they learnt a lot from these missions and took away a lot of experience in the process. Failure, however, was still followed by punishment, I never loosened up on my disipline, not even for Quints.

Kamjiin: Is it difficult working with the Autobots during those firefights?
Odinn: I advise my men not to concentrate on the Bot next to him unless they saw a Decepticon symbol upon them. None of us, me especially, want to work with the Autobots, and hope that there are more Decepticons in the fight than Bots. But there aid, however pitiful, is necessary if we want, or more accurately, wanted to win these missions, we only had to grin and bear it...and keep a shot in our weapons spare for them at the end of the match.

Kamjiin: What's the best way to deal with a Sharkticon? Any weak points or tactical deficiencies our readers should be aware of?
Odinn: At our level, Sharticons are only ever accompainied by a judge. If you want to survive, only ever target the judge, the second you lay a scratch on that Sharkicon, he'll repair him in an instant. Once the judge's heads have been severed, then the body dies with it, a Sharticon is no stronger than any other Bot, and on is own, is mearly raw metal in our hands!

Kamjiin: To be quite frank, the Quints have been kicking our collective tailgates in engagement both planetwide and in near-space. If your vocal processors could be heard by our leaders, what would you say we should do to reverse this?
Odinn: Diplomacy, at this stage, would never work. That's for the Bots and Maximls who think that way, diplomacy would have never worked, full stop, so even thinking about it is a waste of your precious processor's power.

We follow our leaders, if our leaders dive into the Quintesson threat head on, then we would blindly follow. If you rally the full strength of the Decepticons against those slime-balls, from the strongest of us to the weakest, then nothing will stand in our way!

Of course, sending the Bots in first would always be a smart idea.

Kamjiin: According to Decepticon Intelligence Reports, the Cult of Vanir was led by Ve until your arrival. The report was buried quite deep in the archives, but here it is none the less. ::waves datatracks:: Is there much ill will between the two of you? After all, you did steal his team and bend it to your own will. Even renamed it. I'd be very angry were I him.
Odinn: Deceit? with Ve? Hmmm.

I've always expected him to be 'slightly' annoyed at my leadership capabilities. The project was always expected of being full of spies, and it wouldn't suprise me if Ve was the perpentrator behind our defection. Of course, the Hollow One, one of the past engineers of the project, and our commander in the shadows, might have very well plotted the whole thing from the start, and meerly tricked Ve into his plan.

Predicted, I reckon half of the project, myself included, are original models, Some of my crew, however, might very well be part of Ve's old gang. This doesn't bother me however, and our relationship is meerly neutral, nowhere near as heated up as Megatron's and Starscream's.

But if he, or any ohter of his 'little gang' ever so tried to get one over me, then they would suffer unimaginable pain at my hands, I assure them of that!

I wish to say no more. Young recruits are being crushed in the field, it is time for me to lend them a helping hand...and smack them senseless for their insolence!

Kamjiin: Thank you once again, for joining us.


For our second interview, we had a once in a lifetime opportunity to speak with The Judge!

Kamjiin: First let me say what an honor it is to have your august personage grant this interview. I'd also like to add that there are three combiners just beyond that door, I have two Gatling Guns and I'm powerlinked to more minicons than I can count.
Judge: Thank you. You may think you came to this interview heavily armed but you should have seen the heat Oprah was packing last time I did one of these on Earth.

Kamjiin: Was life on your planet originally organic and became technological, or was it built that way in homage to organic life?
Judge: Ah the good old days of home. Life back home is very much like Cybertron. Other than the sky, landscape, atmosphere, inhabitants, food sources, orbit and composition, that is.
Unfortunately our homeworld is long gone and your question is bringing up painful memories so instead of wounding my inner child we shall move on!

Kamjiin: Why would a member of the First Thirteen, side with your Quintesson invasion force?
Judge: The Fallen really likes our Energon Margaritas. Oh, there is also that whole 'desire to dominate the universe' thing.

Kamjiin: It has been eons since you showed even the remotest interest in Cybertron. Why choose this moment in time to show your face(s)?
Judge: You fight each other more than even the humans do! Misery, war and destruction is what your world is about to encounter yet again. We just decided now is a good time to put you out of your misery.

Kamjiin: If you, somehow, do manage to retake Cybertron; what exactly do you plan to do with it?
Judge: Tear down your homes and build Super Wal-Marts, Home Depots and Best Buys. It works on Earth.

Kamjiin: What exactly are you searching for in Cybertrons core? Perhaps we can give it to you and bring an end to this conflict.
Judge: Unconditional surrender of your core??? Thank you! We accept! We'll be landing soon

Kamjiin: Thank you, once again for your time. Slaggin' intergalactic Bob Hope wannabe.


Let's get some perspective on what things look like in the field right now:

Anonymous Autobot 32: "Everywhere I go to hide, that blasted Decepticon shows up! It's like he's stalking me! It's just not fair!".

Anonymous Decepticon 14: "Can't talk just now. We've had an Autobot incursion in our base. We're not yet sure how many. Depthstalker, smoke 'em out. "

At the Wrong Convention by Grimsqueaker



In other news today: The reputed breakaway factions calling themselves the Maximals and Predacons have launced massive PR and recruiting campaigns and are swelling their ranks daily. We asked representatives from each faction for a comment.

Mogwai Prime: "With the war escalating, we have kicked our recruiting in to high gear. The Maximal Defense Force is growing bigger and faster than we ever expected. Recruits are coming in from all over Cybertron. We believe with careful planning and strategy we will be able to drive the invaders from Cybertron and restore order and peace. I've seen recruiting ads from the Predacons and the Decepticons but they don't seem very inspiring. Unfortunately for them they are trying to recruit from our home world. The Maximals of Cybertron will never stand for their invasion."

Venomous Prime: "Decepticons? Autobots? An arrogant bunch aren’t they? Too stubborn to change with the times and help conserve our limited resources. The Maximals are semi-respectable at best. When the smoke clears, this is a creature feature and the Predacons will be standing triumphant over the smoldering carcasses of Maximals and the rusted sheet metal that call themselves Autobots and Decepticons."

Evolution Prime: "The Maxi-whats and Preda-whos? They will be no concern to us. While they betray their nature and Cybertronian background, the Decepticons pose the biggest threat still. We will take care of them as soon as the Decepticons are vanquished. Anyway, who would want to be taking the form of roadkill on the streets of Iacon."

We asked the Decepticons for a comment, but they were too busy stomping the crud out of the above faction members to respond by press time.

Do your part to help prevent further factionalism on Cybertron! Visit your nearest Decepticon Army Recruiting Office and learn more TODAY!


Today in sports, we caught up with sprokitz after a grueling match against Snapcase. We asked him how it felt to still be the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of Cybertron?

sprokitz: It feels really good, seeing all the long hard hours and sleepless nights paying off. It doesn't make up for my Phillies getting swept in the playoffs , but it's a start.


According to the newsscrolls in the archives, the Decepticons are currently winning in the pits. We asked the Autobots for a comment.

Kamjiin: What exactly are you doing?
Blaster: I'm in the Serpent Shrine. My paladin's about to hit level 70. I'm jumping around and spamming Consecrate to clear out the trash. Check out my leet skillz, I pwn! Go away...we're about to fight Tidewalker.


Letters to the Editor

Dear Frontline,
Observation: I found your comic, Shock Blasted by Grimsqueaker completely illogical and without merit. The same can be said of the sum and total of his work, which may be viewed and disdained here.

Name witheld by request

We personally find Grimsqueakers art immensely entertaining.


Classifieds

"Ever wanted to push yourself to the limits, but never found anything that could? Ever wanted to be a Spec Ops Soldier? Can you work with a team isolated from the rest of the world and come out victorious?

Then the Maximal Defense Force wants you!!! Come travel to some of the most exotic lands Cybertron has to offer and while you're there slag some Cons with your fellow Maximals. Crawl through swamps, Climb mountains and push yourself to the limit as you help eradicate the Con infestation. The Maximal Defense Force Spec Ops Division is looking for bots like you!
Go Maximal and Release The Beast Within!!!

Join the Maximal Defense Force!!! "

Today we'd like to close with this public service message:

"Bumblebee here. Have any of you ever been bullied? If so you know how it feels. Why do people do it? Is it because they think it's cool to pick on someone half their size? So they can score an easy win in the pits? Anyway you slice it, bullying is wrong! Take a second to put yourself in the other guy's shoes. So now you know, and...knowing...is...Kamjiin!? What are you doing with those Gatling Guns? No...wait...don't..."

Thank you for choosing HWM: Frontline. We hope you enjoyed our second issue. Please join us for our next exciting issue. I'm Kamjiin, your Frontline War Correspondant, dedicated to reporting Honest and Accurate stories from the front lines of the Great War.

Staff: Kamjiin- Correspondant/ Editor, MamaKitty- Proofreader, Grimsqueaker- Photographer
Contributors: Hollow One, Omega Sentinel, Mogwai Prime, Psychout, Caelus, sprokitz, Mkall, Evolution Prime, Original Sin

Back issues available here: #1, #2

In the Next Issue of HMW: Frontline, we sit down for a round-robin discussion with the leaders of Predacons and the Maximals...