Transformers: The Veiled Threat
From Transformers Wiki
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| Transformers: The Veiled Threat | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | Del Rey Books | ||||||||||||
| First published | April 28, 2009 | ||||||||||||
| Writer | Alan Dean Foster | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | Movie continuity | ||||||||||||
| ISBN | ISBN 0345515927 ISBN 978-0345515926 | ||||||||||||
| Page count | 281 | ||||||||||||
NEST forces mobilize to counter isolated Decepticon activity around the globe.
Contents |
Synopsis
Present-day, Megatron lies dead, at the bottom of the sea. Cut to the Gulf of Aden where pirates attack a freighter which just so happens to be ferrying Epps, Lennox, Ironhide, Ratchet, and other NEST (Networked Elements: Supporters and Transformers) members to their base on Diego Garcia. Ironhide soon transforms to robot mode and scares the pirates off. Arriving at Diego Garcia, the boys meet up with cybernetics expert Kaminari Ishihara, who has been swimming in the lagoon, with the newly arrived Autobot veteran Longarm serving as lifeguard. Everyone enters a briefing where a sighting of Starscream in Zambia is discussed and a plan is hatched with Optimus Prime to confront him.
Meanwhile, we find that Agent Simmons is now, with the disbanding of Sector Seven, working in his mother’s deli in New York City. He’s also tinkering with Frenzy’s disembodied head in his basement. In Africa, we learn that Starscream is not only in the area, he’s gaining control over local rebel groups by using his internal synthesizers to create gold coins. He is also accompanied by three other Decepticons, Dropkick, Macerator, and Payload. They soon attack a local dam construction site, making short work of the security forces, and proceed to steal mass quantities of explosives.
The NEST team soon arrives in Africa with Prime, Ironhide, and Ratchet as well as new arrivals Salvage and Beachbreak, who transforms into a commando jet ski. The Autobots soon engage Dropkick, Macerator, and Payload in battle in the Zambezi River. This is all part of Starscream’s brilliant plan, however, as the Autobots soon discover that the current is pushing them towards Victoria Falls. Everyone but Prime and Macerator gets out in time, the dueling pair going over the side. Starscream swoops in to save Macerator while Prime dangles helplessly. Eventually the NEST team manages to haul Prime up using Beachbreak’s tow-cable, but the celebration is short lived as Starscream swoops in and knocks the diminutive Beachbreak off the falls and to his death.
The Autobots and their human allies soon realize that Starscream may try and destroy a series of dams along the Zambezi and head off after the fleeing Decepticons. At one of the dams, the ground-based Decepticons attack. Payload heads to the valley floor to try and crack the dam with repeated blasts while Dropkick and Macerator fend off the arriving Autobots.
After a short scuffle, Prime manages to knock Macerator over the side of the dam before dispatching his dangling foe with his built-in sword. Ratchet takes repeated hits from Payload while trying to melt the fissures in the cracking dam back together. Both Ratchet and the dam are ultimately saved when the humans enter the dam and open the flood gates, knocking Payload downriver and out of the book. A damaged Dropkick escapes and everyone returns to Diego Garcia.
Again, we cut back to Simmons in his basement, experimenting on Frenzy and brooding that that punk kid Sam Witwicky has a hot girlfriend and is going to Princeton. Frenzy tries to subvert the building’s electrical system, and after a little chaos, Simmons decides he needs to move the Decepticon head to a space beneath his mother’s deli.
Back at NEST headquarters, two more Decepticon presences are detected and a pair of teams is readied to head out and take care of them. Epps and Russian scientist Petr Andronov accompany Longarm and impetuous young motorcycle Knockout to Peru to find Decepticons that have been detected in the deep jungles. On a steep mountain pass, the party is attacked by Decepticons Ruination and Blademaster. Despite inexperienced and risky behavior by Knockout, both are severely damaged and driven off.
Simultaneously, Lennox, Ishihara, Prime, Ironhide, and Salvage arrive in the Western Australian Outback and begin searching for Decepticons. Lennox soon realizes that the ‘Cons are attacking sites with energy reserves, oil and coal in Peru and uranium in Australia. The team decides that there is a second group of Decepticons not under Starscream’s command, harvesting massive amounts of energy in an attempt to revive Megatron.
Arriving at a uranium mining site, the NEST team discovers a trio of construction vehicles which, naturally, turn out to be Decepticons. The leader, Kickback, confirms the team's suspicions on attempting to revive Megatron, but also mention that there is an ancient power on the rise. Kickback takes Prime on and is quickly run through with the Autobot leader’s sword. The other two, Tread and Trample, are quickly killed through the combined efforts of the rest of the team.
Back at Diego Garcia, a small crab Decepticon infiltrates the base and hacks into the NEST computers before sneaking back into the sea and an unknown accomplice. Despite the break-in, the NEST team continues their usual business: discussing different ways the Decepticons could draw massive quantities of power to revive Megatron.
In Italy, Starscream enters into a deal with an Italian criminal named Bruno Carrera to help destroy Optimus Prime in exchange for dominion over Europe when the Decepticons triumph. A plan is hatched and Swindle and Deadend begin ripping through the streets of Rome, causing general chaos and trying to draw the Autobots out. After an extended chase where Knockout proves he has what it takes and more, Starscream challenges Prime to single combat inside the Coliseum.
Prime and the Autobots enter the ancient structure, and Prime promptly falls through a trap door to a subway tunnel extension and into a strong set of restraints arranged by Carrera. Starscream then proceeds to attack the remaining Autobots while a helpless Prime is confronted by a vengeful Barricade. Before the Decepticon can dispatch Prime, the humans attack Barricade and Prime manages to work himself free. He easily hands Barricade his skid plate and returns to the surface where Starscream has fled.
On his way to whatever scheme he has cooked up next, Starscream takes the time to visit Carrera at this villa, where he pays him back for his "failure". Finally, Epps and Lennox are relaxing on the beach back at Diego Garcia when Knockout approaches and informs them that something significant is happening, mentioning how he is unfamiliar with the term "shanghaied".
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans | NEST |
|---|---|---|---|
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Quotes
"You see? Provide this element in insignificant quantities and the organics further prove their degenerate nature."
"Even arthropod organics behave more sensibly. They fight only for territory and food. Not tiny bits of metal."
- —Starscream and Macerator discuss the humans' reaction to gold.
Lennox: This is not a vacation jaunt, Dr. Ishihara. That extended free fall you just took was unwarranted.
Kaminari: Why, Captain, how thoughtful of you to be concerned for little me.
Lennox: Got nothing to do with the kind of concern you're talking about. You've here because of your skills and I'd be disappointed to lose them.
Kaminari: Ah. So if I were to die your regret would be wholly professional?
Optimus: If it would not constitute too much of an imposition, might I remind both of you that we are here to look for Decepticons whose signal has been lost and who may be moving farther away from this location with every minute that you both stand here jockeying for individual social dominance?
- —Optimus Prime rather impolitely asks Captain Lennox and Kaminari Ishihara to shut up and roll out.
"Surely you remember me also, Prime? You once called me a fool for following Megatron. But the universe is vast, and compared to some ancient powers, even Megatron is subservient. That power grows again, and against it none shall stand. We have here the means to revive our fallen leader, and when he sits again in power, he will remember those who were loyal to him, even in death. He will be pleased when I bring him your head."
- —Kickback could teach Galvatron how to be subtle in hint dropping.
"I've maintained this multiple missile launcher in excellent working condition, don't you think? [fires] And this cannon—it's a personal favorite of mine. [fires] Then there is the two-thousand-round-per-minute minigun. I invite you to listen to its music."
- —Ironhide gives Tread a hands-on demonstration of some of his weapons.
Errors
- On page 38, "exists" is misspelled "exsits".
Notes
- The Veiled Threat was originally entitled Transformers: Infiltration. There has been no stated reason for the change, but it is speculated that it was done to avoid confusion with IDW Publishing's similarly titled Infiltration comic book series.[1]
- According to author Alan Dean Foster's blog, he took pains to make sure this book did not clash with IDW Publishing's The Reign of Starscream comic, though he later reported that he had been asked to make significant revisions.[1] In the end, though, the only conflict with IDW continuity was Dead End, who had been killed in NEST's first mission in Alliance, were now racing through yet another city in a later mission in The Veiled Threat (Swindle was also killed in that story, but he is a drone after all).
- In a later update on May 2009, Foster said no part of the Somali pirate scene at the start was written by him, and that while much of the book was by him, on the whole it was a corporate product, with the final end product being out of his hands.
- Longarm, Salvage, and Knockout are present among the Autobot forces leading directly into the events in Shanghai, China, but are not featured in any of the accounts of events associated with Revenge of the Fallen.
- Starscream's plan in Zambia seems a little dubious. He intended to catch all three of the Decepticons after they plunge over Victoria Falls with the Autobots, but given he only just manages Macerator, that's more than a little optimistic. Of course, this is Starscream, and it may just be that, as Ratchet says, he didn't care whether his part of the plan succeeded or not.
- Despite the fact that the book's cover features The Fallen, he doesn't appear in it.
