Looks like my v2 Team may get another heavy revision before v2 comes out, so I'll just go ahead and show off the handful of bios I did get done, while they still apply:
Caelus
Original Function: Maximal Air Cavalry Commander
Current Function: General of the United Animatros Colonies
Primary Weapon: Energo Sword
Transformation: Deinonychus
"… You win a war by making the other poor son of a fuzor die for his country, or by destroying his economy. Actually, if you could just avoid war altogether…"
Bio: Born after the Great War in Cybertron’s third Golden Age, Caelus satisfied himself with a good life at home with his sparkmate Kalihex, avidly studying anything he became interested in, from science to history to psychology. He was aspiring to become a great writer or artist. He was drafted during the Animatros War, a terrible conflict between the Maximals and the Quintessons fought on a muddy, jungle planet.
Lacking any natural skill in combat, but proficient in low speed aviation, he initially adopted a cybertronian helicopter alt-mode with which he could provide support to troops doing the real fighting. After a few years in the war, and being forced to enter the fray many times, his experience made up for his lack of aptitude and he began intentionally assuming a more offensive role.
He joined the Air-Cav soon after its formation, at the urging of his superior officer, Ancient Serpent 6, and with his experience and extensive knowledge of history and psychology, quickly gravitated toward a leadership role. As an Air-Cav commander, he remained on the battlefield with his troopers, doing his absolute best to keep them going. Though he was by no means a better warrior than many of his troops, his charisma and upbeat attitude was invaluable to the morale of his unit, and his proficiency in airmobile tactics, unorthodox thinking, creativity, and well chosen supporting officers kept the unit moving in the right direction.
By the time the war finally ended, Caelus, like many others, had grown fond of the colorful little planet, and decided to stay there for a while, his sparkmate joining him there to help repair the planet’s ravaged and fragile post-war infrastructure. They decided to take advantage of the most recent Maximal upgrade – an internal genetic scanner and bio reactor – and assumed alternate modes based on the local life forms, as many of the Maximal Colonists had when they arrived a century earlier, and the Autobots and Decepticons who had originally settled on the planet millennia before.
For the next two hundred years they watched from afar as politics devolved into a nightmare back on their home-planet. Conflict brewed once again between the Maximals and the Predacons, as the Maximals increasingly limited the freedom of the Predacons, and the Predacons lashed out recklessly in spite. Confusion, corruption, and incompetence swelled on both sides until a bold maneuver by a Predacon patriot initiated a political avalanche. The Maximal High Council exacted retribution in the form of embargoes, unnecessary inspections, censures, and other forms of general harassment. Any unity that existed between the two sides dissolved, and once again it appeared if war was on the horizon.
And then the colonies began to rebel. On Animatros it was a Quintesson-sponsored Predacon army that launched a military coup and toppled the government. The Maximals on the planet, including Caelus and Kalihex, scattered. They appealed to the High Council for help, but the spreading chaos already had their military power stretched to the max, and a precarious political position tied them down, forcing them to send a mere handful of troops as “advisors”.
With the help of these allies, Caelus rallied a small resistance group which harassed the Predacons with incessant guerrilla attacks. They’re frequent hit-and-run attacks on shoreline Quintesson fortifications garnered them something of a reputation as “pirates”.
But now the stakes have been raised. Word has come back that the Decepticons have returned to Cybertron, and intend to rebuild their empire. Leaving his resistance force in the capable hands of Cruellock, a native Predacon he’d befriended before the coup, Caelus has taken a small unit to investigate the situation on Cybertron…
Strengths: Caelus’ alternate-mode is only moderate in size, but it’s armored scales and tough hide are still capable of stopping lightweight attacks and his agility in beast mode is far beyond any he's ever had before, making him deadly with his Tungsten-alloy talons and teeth. He can fire a stream of jellied-thermite from his mouth in beast mode, melting most metals like hot-water hitting ice.
In robot mode he is able to utilize back mounted jet thrusters for flight. Though he can only fly in robot mode, he remains a skilled low-speed aviator, made all the more formidable by his sleek new frame. He wields a Gatling Gun and an Energo Sword given to him by Cruellock, who trained him extensively in its use. He has also been seen wading into combat wielding Battle Blades or an Energon Cutlass. Most importantly though, Caelus combines his broad general knowledge and amazing creativity to keep enemy commanders in a constant state of surprise and confusion.
Weaknesses: Caelus is not physically powerful or exceptionally skilled in combat. Internal fuel supply for built in flamethrower is relatively small. Inability to fly in beast-mode can live him grounded at inopportune moments. In spite of his apparent optimism and bravery, Caelus often suffers bouts of severe depression. He mourns the loss of every soldier deeply and is terribly afraid that one day he might not come home to his wife. The numerous times that she has been in peril have pushed him near the breaking point, leaving his unit when not engaged in combat to fly to her rescue.
At times a darker side to his personality may appear, especially if those he cares for are endangered. Normally calm and collected, once his temper is unleashed he becomes an oilthirsty walking weapon, using his claws on anything in his path.
Kalihex
Original Function: Chemical Engineer
Current Function: Representative of the Maximal Colony of Hue to the United Animatros Colonial Assembly.
Primary Weapon: Minicon Sniper Rifle
Transformation: Animatros Thunderbird
"I'm a lover, not a fighter. Mostly."
Bio: Initially educated at the University of Motohex – Resca (UMR) in the field of Chemical Engineering shortly after her protoformation, Kalihex went on to get her doctorate at the University of Nova Cronum – Boreas (UNCB). This background made her invaluable during Cybertron’s post war reconstruction; in an era where most of their elders only knew how to fight, members of Kalihex’s generation were building and repairing.
As a Chemical Engineer, Kalihex found herself largely responsible for helping to mend the Energon-supply infrastructure of the planet. She consulted with mining engineers working on the off-world extraction processes, designed the storage systems that transports would use to bring raw energon back to Cybertron, and, most importantly, designed a new generation of energon refineries on Cybertron to process it. She continued to work on the refineries afterward, making adjustments and adding new technology to improve efficiency and reduce pollution. She was briefly approached by the Maximal High Council which wanted to industrialize the creation of Maximal protoforms, but she refused to help on the grounds that the new ‘binary reproductive method’ introduced by the reformatting was causing the population to swell quickly enough.
When the war against the Quintessons on Animatros began though, she quickly found her talents placed under the council’s control anyway. She was initially assigned to work on designing munitions factories to arm the rapidly growing fleet. When that was done, she was transferred to a more shadowy area of the High Council’s R&D department, where she helped design a revolutionary new fuel cell for a new generation of Maximals.
When the war ended, she expected to be released from her duties and allowed to return to the maintenance of Cybertron’s Chemical infrastructure. Instead, the High Council tasked her department with designing a means to mass-produce the protoform she had helped design. She refused and quit, leaving the planet to find work on Animatros, which was struggling to rebuild itself. There she reunited with her sparkmate Caelus, who had been drafted to fight on the green planet.
Though she made a valuable contribution to Animatros’ recovery as a Chemical Engineer, she increasingly found herself participating in the nascent planetary government, which was attempting to unite the multiple Maximal and Predacon colonies for defensive purposes. After heavily supporting the creation of a small university in the colony of Hue, Kalihex was elected as the colony’s representative to the United Animatros Colonial Assembly.
When the Quintessons returned, Dropshock gave Kalihex a crash course in combat and paired her with the Minicon Longshot. Together, the two of them distinguished themselves as a deadly sniper team. On one occasion, she scored a headshot on a Quintesson Judge – unfortunately that still left him with four heads, but he was seriously impaired by the damage nonetheless. Countless Magistrate’s fell to her bullets, their large heads ridiculously easy targets, and they learned to fear the ‘Invisible Finger of Kali’. During this time, she continued to be vital to the planet’s political survival.
After the initial invasion had been repulsed, she aided Cruellock in fortifying the planet against further attacks by designing small ammunition plants to be constructed in each colony. When word came from Cybertron that all was well, Kalihex was chosen by the UACA to be their planetary representative, and so joined her husband on the ACS Drake.
Strengths: Aside from being an excellent Chemical Engineer, Kalihex also possesses an innate understanding of governmental systems and processes, making her a gifted politician – so long as not much politicking is actually involved. With the aid of her Minicon partner Longshot, she is a deadly sniper in combat, using her flight abilities to reach excellent vantage points and, on occasion, to snipe from the sky itself. She transforms into an Animatros Thunderbird, a large bird-of-prey named for its attraction to violent storms that would ground other birds. In beast mode, she has a razor sharp beak and talons, though she seldom uses them in combat. More importantly, her beast mode gives her an excellent sight-range, allowing her to pinpoint objects the size of a Sharkticon’s head from three miles away. This amazing ability is retained in robot mode. Kalihex is also a skilled musician, and has had internal sound-systems installed to allow her to play music in combat when she has no other instrument. One of the most dramatic accounts of her fighting described a winged warrior hovering in the storm clouds above a battlefield raining down precision death and playing Holst’s “Mars, god of War”, amid the lightning and thunder.
Weaknesses: Kalihex is physically lightweight and fragile, and has a lower air-speed than one would expect given her predatory alternate form. Though trained by the Maximal super-soldier Dropshock, she’s still really only good at sniping. Unfortunately, she is also not particularly stealthy, impairing her abilities as a sniper. Kalihex ‘loves government and hates politics’, avoiding the deception and maneuvering that is commonly involved in it. Fortunately, she lives on Animatros, a rugged planet where duplicity and deception aren’t appreciated outside of combat.
Cruellock
Original Function: Predacon Theta Company Commander
Current Function: General of the United Animatros Colonies
Primary Weapon: Energo Sword
Transformation: Large Transmetal Dragon
"Blood shed together is stronger than blood born together."
Bio: Cruellock, like many Predacons, joined the Maximals’ battle for Animatros in order to satisfy his inborn lust for battle, gain prestige, and most of all, feel that he had a reason for functioning. On arrival, he had himself reconfigured with an alternate mode based on a his favorite indigenous species of the planet – the powerful Shadow Dragon – which he quickly learned to use to great to advantage. He began as a grunt in a Predacon mercenary unit and clawed his way to the top by virtue of survival. As the war became more demanding, he eventually found himself commanding mixed units of Predacons and Maximals. It was at this point that he was given his name, a dark twist on the Autobot hero Grimlock.
The Maximals were awed by Cruellock’s bravery, selflessness, and amazing skill in both combat and strategy, but were also terrified by his brutality, ruthlessness, and mercilessness. Because of this, he became both loved and feared by his troops, who, nearer to the end of the war, with waning sympathy for the barely intelligent Sharkticons, took pride in their commander’s reputation. Some even proudly referred to him as Cruellock the Terrible or Cruellock the Eviscerator.
He also gained the friendship and respect of many of the inexperienced Maximal commanders, who relied on his Predacon aptitude for violence when forming plans and training their troops. Cruellock became fast friends with the Maximal air-cavalry commander Caelus, whom he fought alongside frequently in the latter third of the war. Cruellock became a mentor to Caelus, training him in the art of survival and warfare, and Caelus in turn became teacher to Cruellock, instructing him in Cybertronian history, a subject he had become intensely interested in.
When the war ended, the lack of other legitimate conflicts to join led Cruellock to stay on Animatros, where he hunted down stray Gatorcons and Sharkticons, and aided the colonists in preparing a proper defense for their planet. By the time the Quintessons attacked again, he and Caelus were the highest ranked members in the colonial military, together responsible for all of the colonies’ defenses and troops. By trading strategic and tactical command back and forth at opportune moments to take advantage of their differing skills, they managed to confuse the Quints and repulse them with minimal losses.
When Maximal ships began drifting into Animatros’ space for shelter, it was Cruellock who sent scouts to contact sympathetic space-faring Predacons and offer to give them shelter as well. From there, his commanding presence and reputation allowed him to convince the Predacon independents to join the Maximal fleet for the common good. He was also able to obtain a particularly nice ship, the ACS Drake, for his best friend, who was chosen to subcommand Animatros’s forces when they operated with the rag-tag fleet. Cruellock, being the more aggressive fighter was actually chosen for the command first, but having no taste for ship-to-ship combat, declined.
While Caelus participated in off planet raids, Cruellock continued to fortify Animatros and train the already exceptionally rugged colonists to be superior combatants. With a Predacon cooperating so closely with the largely Maximal Animatros High Council, racial distinctions virtually evaporated, and the colonists began to think of themselves primarily as Animatrans. Thankfully for Cruellock, Animatros was not completely safe though – the veteran commander still had the pleasure of slaughtering many Quintesson incursions. According to battlefield record, Cruellock was even personally responsible for killing four judges and twenty-one magistrates in battle, later attaching the judges’ heads to satellites, which he posted in orbit around the planet to intimidate future invaders.
When the call at last came from Cybertron telling everyone that the planet was safe to return to, Cruellock stayed behind without hesitation, preferring to continue facing the challenges of the outer-fringe rather than play tourist. For what it mattered, he sent Predacon representation in the form of his friend Tidalblade.
But then an unexpected and upsetting call came. A final distress call from the ACS Drake alerting Animatros that all was not well on Cybertron after all. Now Cruellock faced a terrible decision – stay and continue to help defend his planet from the Quintessons, or take a task force and save his friends. Deciding that the best defense was a good offense, Cruellock decided to ‘get his feet wet’ and led a small portion of the fleet on a hit-and-run rampage across seven Quintesson-held systems, crippling their extended military infrastructure by destroying factories, freeing slaves, and raiding energon depots, before finally emerging at the edge of the Cybertron system. What he saw warmed his spark – Decepticon warships surrounded Cybertron.
Decepticons, he thought, now there’s an army worth conquering.
Strengths: Cruellock’s mindset is perhaps one of his greatest strengths. His drive, and willingness, to win at all costs makes him a great complement to his more restrained, cautious co-commander, Caelus. Additionally, due to his passion for warfare, Cruellock’s morale never falters in battle, making him an excellent bot to have by your side when things seem hopeless. Cruellock demonstrates an excellent balance of strength, endurance, agility, and firepower in both modes, but most of all he’s exceptionally skilled in close-combat, wielding his Energo-Sword like a disciple of Metallikato. He’s no slouch with his Nitro-Napalm Flamethrower or his adamantium-laced claws and teeth either. Besides being well suited for close-combat, his alternate mode's dark scales also impart some degree of stealth when fighting in the shadowy jungles of Animatros. Experience and careful study has made him a master of conventional strategy and tactics, or at least as near to a master as one is likely to find among the Maximal and Predacon generation.
Weaknesses: Cruellock’s aggression and one-dimensional approach to strategy and tactics can make him predictable to enemy commanders, though it should be noted that he is completely aware of this shortcoming. Similarly, eccentric or outside-the-box thinking by enemy commanders can throw him off and lead him into potentially disastrous traps. Physically, Cruellock lacks any long-range weaponry, his longest reach being with his flamethrower, which projects 25m at best. Though Cruellock can fly in both modes, he his neither fast nor agile in the air, and therefore typically only uses the ability to move across the battlefield quickly in short ‘bounces’.
yessssssssssss dead onez are fiendz 
Comments/critiques appreciated 
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