#rust sea

[Two things: One, the top right is old Hasbro concept art of Arcee, but I feel it lines up with Cameo better. Second of all, I imagine Cameo transforming into a Suzuki Hayabusa on Earth.]

Cameo never knew her parents, or any extended family. Instead, her memories consist of surviving in a small port city of the Rust Sea, where every day was a battle for survival.

Not only did rust storms from the Sea cause continual strife for herself and others, but struggles with fellow urchins for food, shanix, and other basic necessities made Cameo realize how weak she was compared to most of them. For this, she became an ardent speedster on foot and in v-mode, and excelled in evasion and stealthiness from a young age.

Despite this, she couldn't help but linger at some of the friendlier markets to hear tales of the glories of the old Crystal City. Its lost treasures, weapons, and discoveries of yesteryear always captivated her imagination, and when she could actually procure records of the City's legends, Cameo found comfort and inspiration from them.

When she was the equivalent of ten, Cameo was saved by a former street fighter who had found her running for her life from some other urchins. After it was over, the mech decided to take her in and teach her a Cybertronian style of martial arts not unlike Earth's capoeira.

For the next few thousand years, Cameo learned this style of arts, and trained herself in the use of the mech's old rifle and guns. Both of these helped her confidence, though her instinct to keep her distance and naturally hesitant personality kept many from discerning her new talents.

She was the Cybertronian age of sixteen when the War broke out, and the Rust Sea's settlements came under attack as the Decepticons made their first strikes. Her teacher, who had been the only family she'd ever known, was a casualty, which only sealed her suspicion that the Autobots were the true preservers of life in the wake of Sentinel's death and the public knowledge of his usurpation of the previous Prime's position.

Cameo left the Rust Sea and joined the Autobots, her talent for sniping and unorthodox close combat skills earning her a place under level-headed Pyra Magna's unit when her training was complete. However, given Pyra's personal team - polar opposite twins Stormclash and Skyburst, the hyperactive adrenaline junkie Rust Dust, the eccentric, teleporting boy-crazy Jumpstream and quiet yet bold Dustup - she chose to post Cameo on smaller units with less zany individuals, or on the occasional solo ops.

Millennia later, word spread that a relic of the Primes was in the Rust Sea, spurring Pyra to choose Cameo as her "Renegades'" guide to the territory. Cameo was privately thrilled to explore the wastes of the ancient Crystal City, but was unprepared to discover that Cyclonus and his latest "Combiner" team were waiting.

The details of the event were locked under deep encryption and secrecy when Pyra took her team and Cameo to a meeting with Optimus, Elita One, Ironhide, Prowl and Ultra Magnus, but one rumor that has circulated is held as the general truth: that the Enigma of Combination was the Decepticons' target, and that it resulted in the birth of a new Combiner - Victorion.

Cameo was mildly depressed to part with the "Rust Renegades" following their duty to guard a top secret cargo on their final destination to Optimus' planned location for escaping into the Milky Way, but she still took in stride and with a tight smile. For this, Optimus felt assigning her to one of Ultra Magnus' subdivisions was the best choice for her.

A few centuries later, the Exodus had to be orchestrated, and Cameo's name was attached to an Arclight, which continues to be spoken of in whispers on the galactic scene...

the Rust Sea is not actually a body of liquid like the Mithric Sea and the Sea of Ages, it's a broader, flatter endorheic basin that contains some permanent pockets of liquid, while the rest of the area floods and dries according to season and weather patterns. i mention it here too. think like a saltpan, or a seasonal wetland like the Okavango Delta.

geographically, it’s the result of Cybertron’s blocky, relatively freefloating landmasses separated by the Sonic Canyons closing the distance between one another and squishing together, enough to prevent liquid from just draining away into strata but instead collecting on the surface. the majority of the central and western Rust Sea is actually the exposed surface of a low-lying landmass, like this:

the majority of the liquid in the Rust Sea is acidic water, and since water is not a common resource on Cybertron like it is on Earth, this area is a major cause of weather patterns for the entire planet! not only is it a drainage basin and acid rain generator, it’s also the place where Devastator Winds start, fearsome not only for their sheer power and speed but also for the fine flakes of sharp metal and rust they carry. like a sandstorm, it can seriously score a person’s plating, and if you’ve got rust embedded under your paint and up in your vents, you’re at serious risk of fatal rust infections.

Pyra Magna - the Torso

Pyra Magna was born into a life of public service thanks to her fire truck alt-mode. After serving as a first responder well into her early young adult life, Pyra felt called to the life of the Elite Guardsmen, and left her city of Old Kalis for her new life away from her older brother Inferno.

After a few centuries, Pyra graduated and went on to become a veteran member of the Elite Guard. The Elite and Honor Guards had a longstanding rivalry of sorts, due to the Honor's focus on protecting one city while the Elites served Cybertron as a whole. Despite partaking in the prejudice, Pyra both kept it subtle and non-confrontational, and didn't let it stop her from developing a friendship with Perceptor.

Because of this, Pyra became aware of the movement Orion Pax and his friends were making, while occasional meetings with (and additional aid from) Perceptor made her suspicions of Sentinel Prime increase. Her discreet meetings with Perceptor and their "rebellious friends" became more infrequent as Pyra was given five female recruits with "discipline issues" to train: Jumpstream, Dustup, the twins Stormclash and Skyburst, and Rust Dust.

Although renowned for her serious manner and tough approach to threats, Pyra Magna is not without a Spark - and dealing with such drastically different minded individuals reminded her of her brother's own mood swinging. Soon, Pyra had made Elite Guardsmen out of the five younger femmes, though this, coupled with rumors of who she associated with in her downtime, prompted some of her superiors in both Guards to nickname her and her proteges "the Renegades".

Once the Great War began, Pyra proved herself an Autobot not just by joining Optimus' fledgling force, but by coming up with effective strategies on the battlefield as the War began. This, in addition to her status as a successful tactician, spurred Optimus to elevate her to a higher rank among his officers, with her five Renegades remaining under her leadership as she oversaw many operations during the War on Cybertron.

Pyra Magna became a name spoken of in as high regard as the likes of Prowl and Ultra Magnus, a fact that she and the unorthodox-yet-effective elder brother of the Prime traded dry remarks over. An escapade in the Rust Sea prompted the moniker of the Renegades to be dubbed the "Rust Renegades", something Pyra and the others took some pride in before leaving for the Milky Way with their cargo in tow.

They arrived on prehistoric Earth and had to go into stasis until the the late 1800s, whereupon Pyra and her team found themselves in Japan. She later scanned a Morita Sanda Factory model firetruck that sports an 86 meter long ladder with a platform. This vehicle suits her well, and helps her remain undercover even with her unusual color scheme. In spite of the Renegades all having adjusted to each other, Pyra Magna still drinks about six cups of energant to deal with their antics.

Jumpstream - the Left Arm

Jumpstream hails from Altihex and its upper echelons - specifically the racing branch. A speedy 'Bot by nature, Jumpstream suffers from an ever present need to push herself to her limits, as well as a need for attention in some way, shape, or form. Whether this desire for the spotlight is out of a need to keep herself improving or just a liking for attention, even Jumpstream isn't fully certain of.

Although a frequent participant and occasional winner of the Iacon 500, Jumpstream felt her vocation turning after abandoning her latest race in order to save a youngling. Media coverage boosting her image notwithstanding, the young racer felt she should turn her focus on public service. Although life as a first responder would be doable, Jumpstream sought the Elite Guard for the challenges it proposed - in addition to its greater number of good looking mechs and dealings with the press.

While capable of throwing herself into her interests, Jumpstream is also easily bored. To satisfy her boredom, Jumpstream entertained herself between classes with teleporting around the Academy and its grounds to pull elaborate pranks that often landed her in trouble. Sometimes she was fast enough to avoid such problems, but this eventually put Jumpstream under Pyra Magna's tutelage.

Despite the initial apprehensions she and the others felt, Jumpstream found that Pyra was fair and understanding to their difficulties with the Elite Guard's legendary demands. More than the others, Jumpstream came to be particularly close to their superior and teacher.

When the War broke out, Jumpstream and her fellow Renegades readily lined up behind Pyra Magna to give their all for the Autobot cause. Jumpstream, perhaps out of regret for her previous flippant lifestyle or the shock of the Decepticons' brutality, is the Renegade most willing to die for the Autobots if need be. Unlike others, she does not turn this into a means of dying herself. Rather, Jumpstream, all while her flirty, eccentric personality remains intact, simply pushes herself to her greatest limits as she attempts to help tip the War in the Autobots' favor.

Jumpstream has a particular love for Japan upon their awakening, though unlike Dustup she embraced the country's sense of humor and has a unhealthy knowledge of its fiction index. She later chose a Honda NSX Concept for her alt-mode, and relishes in using it on the untended racetracks, much to Pyra's quiet annoyance.

Dustup - the Right Arm

Dustup made a living as a courier and street racer in Tyger Pax, these two lives often leaving her a living contradiction. One moment, she was a shy, stammering girl making a normal living in Functionist society. The next, she was a gung-ho driver living for the thrill of the race or anything her cohorts got her into. Dustup seemed to be living on the edge of both her own sanity and the law to all who knew her.

This changed when one adventure she and her friends were on resulted in the death of one of her closest friends from her work as a courier. Fear was burned away by rage, and before any of them knew it, Dustup had killed at least two of the villains before the others turned tail and ran.

Scarred, Dustup tried to separate herself from her dual lives until, realizing she was just running from her fears, she ran toward them and joined the Elite Guard. This was to both banish or otherwise come to terms with her past as well as to gain a degree of self-control in case she ever suffered a bout of blackout inducing fury again.

Although committing herself to her studies, Dustup still struggled with the intense sense of discipline required of the Elite Guard. This, in addition to her moments of aggression during training simulations where lives were at stake, made Dustup suspect in the optics of the teachers. This was not helped by being roommates with the boy crazy prankster that is Jumpstream, and whether by an impulse of mischief or simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time, was seen at the scene of the ex-racer's latest escapade and landed her in with the soon-to-be Renegades under Pyra Magna.

Dustup found herself falling into old, familiar habits of mood swinging between introversion and extroversion, although for a time she was still frightened of her hidden temper. When she approached Pyra about this, the senior Elite Guardsman taught Dustup to conquer this fear by pushing her into simulations where she faced similar circumstances. By the time the Renegades' graduation came, Dustup had finally put the past behind her.

Like Jumpstream, Dustup was more than a little rattled by the War's viciousness. However, she powered through it, her boldness of character becoming her more recognized trait even as she remained the most quiet of her teammates off duty.

Upon absorbing the culture of Japan, especially during its rapid industrialization, Dustup gravitated toward the land's sense of warrior honor and restraint, using this to further control her temper - though, to her later chagrin and Stormclash's amusement, she still struggles with violent outbursts. Dustup eventually chose a Mazda RX-Vision Concept with a rotary engine for her alt-mode.

Stormclash - the Left Leg

Having survived in the political deathtraps of Kaon when her father died during a riot, Stormclash takes it upon herself to be her little sister's protector to an insane degree. Entering the flying corps of Kaon, Stormclash excelled in the sisters' shared combat classes, her ferocity and near bloodlust earning her many suspensions until Skyburst got them to enlist in the Elite Guard.

Although Skyburst's intention was to dial back her elder twin's violent streak, all it seemed to do was give her more ideas on exerting violent force upon others. This caused Stormclash and Skyburst to both be viewed as mavericks in the Academy, and after one too many brawls with certain cadets, Stormclash landed herself and her twin under Pyra Magna's scrutinizing gaze.

While receptive to Pyra's training methods, Stormclash and her superior continued to butt heads for a while over the latter's approach to battle. Eventually, they came to an understanding that Stormclash's attitude was born out of a genuine desire to protect her sister as well as to never be as vulnerable as she was when their father died. For this, Pyra helped her channel her violent nature into a protective streak for all Cybertronians, though they both acknowledge Skyburst's well-being comes first.

When the War broke out, Stormclash came under repeated scrutiny for her violence on the field. Pyra insisted that it was necessary at times, and at others she herself had words with the elder twin to keep her from fully embracing her vengeful fighting style. This in time allowed Stormclash to manage a balance between "needed aggression" and "all out war" until they left Cybertron with their cargo.

Stormclash treats the Japanese culture with an air of indifference, however Skyburst has noted her interest in the country's martial arts. Additionally, Stormclash found some respectable individuals from the history of the country, of which she privately browses in her downtime. She turns into a twin turboshaft Mitsubishi H-60 helicopter from the Japanese Self-Defense Forces.

Skyburst - the Right Leg

The death of their father, while increasing Stormclash's violent streak, had the inverse effect of making Skyburst intensely pacifistic. Although the younger Kaonite twin recognizes the need for combat, she prefers to use it as a last resort. This is a recurring debate between the two, which led them to Kaon's flying corps and then to the Elite Guard Academy.

To her dismay, Stormclash only became more aggressive upon their signing up to the Elite Guard. Despite her best efforts, Skyburst always wound up both in argument with her elder sister, and became a target for an apparent lack of discipline with how often she was seen in a fight with Stormclash. No matter how hard she attempted to explain her sister's behavior, or that she was involved only to protect Stormclash, Skyburst unfortunately found herself among a group of "renegades" sent to be disciplined by Pyra Magna.

To say that Skyburst was overjoyed by Pyra's understanding training for each of them would be an understatement. The younger twin became almost as loyal to Pyra as Jumpstream, however she would always choose Stormclash over her superior - even over her new friends, should the situation be that dire and Skyburst's fear that great.

During the War on Cybertron, Skyburst took it upon herself to act as her twin's conscience whenever her violent tendencies got Stormclash in trouble with her superiors for her actions. When being her conscience seemed to be a waste of air, the younger twin would ask pointedly what the difference between a Decepticon and Stormclash was. This usually resulted in the two not speaking for cycles, but it would serve the purpose of Stormclash reining in her aggression - even if that only lasted a few decades.

Skyburst has a constantly shifting interest in Japanese culture. She finds their fiction and theater equally as fascinating as their martial prowess, though she'll often get distracted by the occasional historical or linguistic excursion associated with the country when not observing anything else of Japanese culture. Skyburst scanned the same helicopter as Stormclash.

Rust Dust - the Chestplate

Rust Dust is a born and bred Iaconian. An eager courier, something seems to have left the Two-Wheeler in a perpetual state of hyperactivity and hyper-awareness. Not only did Rust Dust find thrills racing or fighting others in the red light district of Tagan Heights between jobs, but she was able to discern that some followed her or others and was able to save their lives - when the shadows she saw weren't revealed to be merely a trick of her optics.

Eventually, Rust Dust felt that her hyper-awareness either needed to be tamed or given a use and, realizing how bored she was by the routine of her courier position, signed up for the Elite Guard. However, like a few other undertakings she took in the past, Rust Dust did not think through the strictness of the Elite Guard, and soon found herself feeling very bored with life in the Academy. To rectify this, she took to dragging some of the more tense cadets aside after hours for a race, a brawl, or some other risky endeavor to stimulate her needs, or to just cause harmless mayhem.

This easily distracted nature of hers, coupled with her hyperactivity that caused her to race through courses and then around the grounds to satisfy her need for speed, landed Rust Dust among five other femmes to be "whipped into shape" by Pyra Magna. Although initially fearing the worst from a relatively famous superior Guardsman, Rust Dust was relieved to find that Pyra accommodated to her needs with a unique, yet unorthodox, approach to training. Rust Dust found herself now flying through the courses of the Academy all while her itch for stimulation was continually scratched - although she resented their group's title of "the Renegades" for some time.

Her previous occupation as a courier was useful when the War began and her fellow Elite Guard cadets, now graduated, were put directly under Pyra Magna's leadership. Rust Dust became a scout, infiltrator, and jack of all trades for certain missions as the occasion demanded. Although her hyper-awareness never went away, it rarely turned out that she was jumping at shadows these days. Her dogged determination, however, and resolve to finish whatever mission they undertake, continues to inspire her fellow Renegades to give the mission their all, no matter the odds.

Rust Dust feels rather confined in Japan, but eagerly partakes in drag races with the occasional human on the empty roads she finds - when she hasn't joined Jumpstream for street racing activities outside of empty racetracks. Unlike the others, she finds the local myths most fascinating about Japan, and wonders if the legends about dragons and foxes are myths after all. Rust Dust scanned, and adores, her latest vehicle mode of a XRS900 Yamaha Motorsport motorcycle shortly before reuniting with Optimus and the others.

Victorion - the Last Combiner

Victorion was formed when Cyclonus, his Mercenaries, and the Renegades battled over the Enigma of Combination. The Enigma was knocked close to the Renegades and, sensing their personal sense of unity, gifted them with the ability to combine into a new Combiner.

Now born, Victorion, with the aid of Cameo's sniping abilities, quickly got to work with her newfound power. The Enigma gave her an intuition of her skillset, although for a short time, the more experienced Combiner Galvatronus gained the upper hand. With Cameo's deadly aim and Pyra's subconscious guidance, however, Victorion was able to push back Galvatronus before using her mystically bestowed control of gravity to separate the false Combiner and send his components scattering.

However, as a result of her divine birth, Victorion is independent-minded, and felt almost insulted at her subordinate Cameo insisting she revert to her components. Disregarding her for a moment, she instead began her trek out of the Rust Sea with Cameo forced to drive after her. A "freak" storm nearly made Victorion lose the Enigma, and she was forced to follow Cameo's lead to an old structure that protected them both from the worst of the storm.

Eventually, Victorion relented to Cameo's superior knowledge and dispersed into her components. Pyra took it upon herself to maintain custody of the Enigma within her own chest, and the seven femmes had long, private discussions about this change they underwent on their return to base.

Optimus and his officers listened intently to the recounting of events from Pyra, the others' take of events matching up with few disagreements. Prowl himself noted that the blackouts of some memories - such as Dustup recalling a right hook at Galvatronus, yet she does not remember as the twins do Victorion slamming a foot on Galvatronus' chest before launching off and kicking him in the chin - are a result of a newly formed Combiner that matches up with the engineered Combiner Superion and his Aerialbots' blank stretches of memory.

Victorion's mental stability, a rarity among Combiners, is the result of Pyra Magna's military strictness. Her dry sense of humor, however, is inherited from Jumpstream, as well as her trademark audacious grin. Victorion received a dormant sense of righteous fury from Dustup, which at times fuels her strikes. Stormclash gifts the female Combiner her superior fighting skills, while Skyburst tempers her combative nature with a good deal of mercy. And Rust Dust allows Victorion the ability to get up from any battle, won or lost, with a smile and a challenge issued in Japanese. Although able to utilize either palm in battle, Victorion favors her left servo for her electrically charged sword.