Transformers Exploration/Environmentalism AU
I don't have any art or fic for this concept because it's too much for me, but I thought it might be cool to share some of my concepts for an AU I've had in my head for a couple years now, one that explores characters who are a little on the obscure side. I never really talked in-depth about it because I'm unsure if I'm actually capable of creating this, but maybe it will inspire others! As the premise, I'd basically have a starship piloted by scientists on a survey mission traveling to an alien world full of organic life to study it, and the heroes of the story would be:
Nautica: The team leader, mechanic, and pilot all in one. She isn't from Cybertron, but from Caminus.
Glyph: an alien linguistics and sociology expert, on-board in case they meet other life forms on the mission.
Lifeline: a medic from Paradron. She has a cold and fearless attitude, but is also a staunch pacifist... despite everyone thinking she looks like a famous Autobot warrior.
Quickslinger: a veteran and the muscle/bodyguard. Often clashes with Lifeline.
But then their vessel gets shot down and it turns out the planet they are exploring is under siege by Decepticons trying to exploit its life to turn it into fuel and create a new colony! It turns out the Decepticon Empress of Destruction, Esmeral, and her loyal SIC, Lyzack, were Decepticon civilians who had been holed up in a floating fortress for ages and felt abandoned by the warriors in their ranks. Eventually, they had decided to convert their home into a battleship, one they would use to travel around to specialize in terraforming new homes for the Decepticons by force.
The heroes then find Beast Era characters like Botanica, a scientist who explored this planet long ago and who was captured by the Decepticons, who took advantage of her more sessile form and ability to generate electricity, and Rage, an egotistical jellyfish transformer who's foolishly cut a deal with the Decepticon oppressors lol
I think the story would mainly focus on environmentalism and the limits of pacifism... and I'd probably reveal that Nautica was secretly a former spy who went by a slightly different name, who used to infiltrate the ranks of the Decepticons and report their actions back to the Autobots, and that she had been desperate to try and leave that life behind before circumstances forced her hand.
