Transformers Beyond: Legendarium [Currently Being Edited]

Chapter X: The Age of Rust (Post-Golden Age)

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TRANSFORMERS BEYOND

LEGENDARIUM

Chapter X

The Age of Rust (Post-Golden Age)

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The Age of Rust was a period of Cybertronian history marked with by social and societal atrophy, as a demoralized Cybertron sought to recover from the failure of the Golden Age.

Approx. 65 million stellar cycles ago:

At a loss how to stop the Rust Plague as it spreads closer to the core sectors of the Great Cybertronian Empire, Guardian Prime makes a controversial decision as he orders Cybertron and its inner colonies to enter a self-imposed quarantine, destroying many Space Bridges and mining all space lane approaches so to effectively isolate them from the Empire's infected mid and outer territories. As a result, hundreds of thousands of colonies, such as Junkion, Eukaris, Novatron, Devisiun, Prion, Paradron, Omnitron, Gigantion, Aquatron, Mons Prima, Nijita, Biosfera, Vinsi'vallok, Floron III, Dromedon, Goo 8739-B, Ettacron, Halcyon, Chaldron, Strontero, Izona, Jormungandr, Kambryar, Alpha IX, Comb, Rynn Prime, Quawzmi Prime, Ithuga, and many more, permanently lose with their homeworld, the inner colonies, and each other, with their fates following the Rust Plague left unknown. Only 14 colony worlds--Arduria, Velocitron, Caminus, Lithone, Carcer, Neutronia, Regulon IV, Combatron, Archon, Animatros, Probat, Lucifer, Cryadorr, and the Salvvatan System--remain in contact with Cybertron. With all of the Bridges shut down, the Space Bridge Network in orbit around Cybertron was left to crumble in the skies, however, only one was still believed to be operational, but it was eventually forgotten about by the Science Guild under the fear of accidentally bringing the Rust Plague to the planet.

Approx. 64 million stellar cycles ago:

With the loss of a large majority of the colony worlds, Cybertron almost instantly fell into chaos and panic. Without an continuous supply of Energon from the colonies, the planet's resources greatly diminished as the Cyber Planet Keys on the remaining colony worlds drew their power from the Well of All Sparks on Cybertron. Soon, the AllSpark was dying as the Cybertronians didn't have enough energy to replenish it and the holy relic was left to wither away within the planet's core, slipping into urban legend.

With the AllSpark largely forgotten about, lost beneath the planet's surface, and without a supply of energy regularly being harvested for it, Cybertron's energy levels were depleted to a dangerously low. The planet had already been overpopulated before the Rust Plague, only able to keep up with demand thanks to Energon shipped in from the colonies, but the remaining Cybertronian colonies didn't have enough energy for everyone in the Empire. Eventually, the planet's energy level dipped so low as to put it in immediate, mortal danger. This all resulted in the "Great Energon Famine," a famine that lasted for over 12 million years. Hundreds of millions of Cybertronians throughout Cybertron and the colonies dropped to the ground dead without a near-constant supply of Energon to keep them functional. The crime rate rose exponentially as those in power held on to large supplies of Energon at the expense of the common masses. In order to prevent the famine from escalating ever further, Guardian Prime is forced to place a restriction on Energon ratios of the average citizens and the number of forgings that were allowed. Many Cybertronian citizens were kept underfueled in order to save Energon for everyone and most new Cybertronians were constructed cold at synthesized hatcheries, as very few newborns were forged from hot spots over the eons due to the planet's low resources. It was a time of misery.