Power Station Alpha
From Transformers Wiki
| This article is about the Earth power supply station. For the Cybertronian power supply station, seePower Platform Alpha. |
The first tangible result of aUnited Statesgovernment-funded project,Power Station Alphais the prototype for a revolutionary new kind of solar/nuclear power station that is designed to solve the nation's energy shortages. The station is mobile, due to its ability to convert into an aircraft. The ambitious mind behind this visionary project is SenatorBarbara Larkin,who fought a hard battle to get the project approved. Or at least, so goes the official version. Power Station Alpha'srealstory contains a lot moreCobraand if ever it could've solved energy shortages, it would've beenCybertron's underDecepticonrule.
Fiction
Marvel Comics continuity
One way or another, Barbara Larkin came in contact withCobraand made a deal with them. She would have a new type of power station designed and built. Though the power station would inherently not be a good idea because of the destructive potential it would have if it would make its way into the wrong hands, the project would get money to Larkin's home state and generate a good number of jobs. Cobra's task then was to steal and destroy the power station, covering Larkin's tracks. What Cobra would get out of this is unknown, but because the power station had always been intended to be destroyed, the architects, in league with Larkin, had not taken proper fail-safes or substantial precautions in the design, leaving Power Station Alpha with considerable weaknesses.Ashes, Ashes...
Power Station Alpha was built insideFort Lewis.The project caught the attention of theWashingtonpopulation, concerned individuals of which started a protest against what they believed to beanother nuclear disaster.At some stage,G.I. Joewas called in to regulate Fort Lewis's security as long as Alpha would be housed there. A day before the first test launch,Hawkescorted Barbara Larkin and three congressmen to Fort Lewis, past a large group of protesters. While Hawk and one congressman expressed their belief in Power Station Alpha, the two other congressmen remained convinced that the harm Alpha could do outweighed its potential benefits.
Meanwhile, atAutobot HeadquartersinOregon,Optimus Primesent outBumblebeeto keep an eye on Alpha. In theAutobots' opinion, the power station was the most sophisticated constructhumanityhad come up with to date, and they feared that theDecepticonswould try to steal it. Back in Washington, theDreadnoksRipper,Torch,andBuzzerwere getting bored with waiting amidst the protestors for orders to steal Power Station Alpha, so they decided to do the job on their own. Because they didn't know about or expect G.I. Joe's presence at Fort Lewis, they failed miserably and had to make a run for it. These events were monitored by bothCobra CommanderonCobra IslandandMegatronat thetropical island base.Cobra Commander was furious because now the Joes knew of Cobra's interest in the power station, which would make stealing it a lot harder, andSerpentorwas likely to make use of this failure to usurp Cobra Commander's leadership position. Megatron, in contrast, now was convinced Power Station Alpha was a worthwhile object to try to obtain. He orderedBombshellto create a specialcerebro-shellthat would work on Alpha's main computer and sent him andDirgeto implant it.
Bumblebee arrived at the end of the day, leaving him a full night to admire the beauty of Alpha. When the power station was rolled out for launch the next day, everything was running smoothly until the Decepticons arrived. To get Bumblebee out of the way, Bombshell cerebro-shelleda young boy among the protestersand got him to walk into Alpha's path. Bumblebee blew his cover to save the child from being crushed. As the Joes worried about the damage they might cause to Power Station Alpha if they fought the robot, Larkin insisted that it would be better to destroy the power station than to let it fall into the wrong hands. So, the Joes shot Bumblebee to pieces and then had to deal withSuperionwhen he came looking for his comrade.Blood on the Tracks
Alpha was brought to safety deeper inside the base while the Joes dealt with the robots. With Megatron growing loonier by the minutesince the death of Optimus Prime,Shockwavetook over in stealing the power station. Remote-controlling it through the cerebro-shell implanted earlier, Shockwave flew Alpha their island base's way. Cobra took notice of this, soDoctor Mindbenderdonned his electronic helmet and hijacked the cerebro-shell to get the power station to come to Cobra Island instead. For good measure,Serpentor,now leader of Cobra, sent out a fleet of aircraft to escort Power Station Alpha, which turned out necessary since G.I. Joe had sent out a number of their aircraft to get the power station back. Coincidentally, the two fleets clashed near a cruise ship, which the Cobra pilots threatened to destroy if they weren't allowed to leave. At Fort Lewis, Larkin again urged G.I. Joe to destroy Alpha, but Hawk believed they shouldn't waste taxpayer money like that. Plus, destroying it would cause the people on the cruise ship to be exposed to the radioactive plutonium fallout. The Cobra fleet reached their island without further interruption, but when they got there, they were approached by Dirge and Bombshell, who wanted the power station back. Doctor Mindbender instead offered an alliance. The two Decepticons left to inform Shockwave of this proposal, unaware Doctor Mindbender had planted a listening device on Dirge. This way, Cobra learned that the Decepticons intended to modify Power Station Alpha so that it would turnEarthinto a giant energy source that would repower the Decepticons and Cybertron.Power StruggleAlpha would then be placed between Earth and Cybertron, collecting the former planet's free energy and beaming it through to Cybertron.
Feigning ignorance, Cobra brought Power Station Alpha to the Decepticon base, where the two parties switched out Doctor Mindbender and Dirge as ambassadors-everybody-knew-were-spies. Shockwave followed this up by manipulating Cobra in attacking Autobot Headquarters. The one outcome Shockwave didn't expect was for Cobra to team up with the Autobots and G.I. Joe in order to save Earth. As the three parties prepared a counter strategy, Doctor Mindbender kept them up to date about Alpha's adjustments and the eventual launch of the power station.Ashes, Ashes...
Alpha's activities caused a series of bigearthquakes.The three parties agreed that Alpha was to be their target, but whereas the Joes and Cobra wanted to destroy it, the Autobots knew it was a possibility that among the upgrades the power station has received from the Decepticons (which included a new drill mode) could be sentience or even sapience. Therefore, they could not allow it to be simply destroyed, not to mention that if it was sentient or sapient, approaching it would be a lot harder. After some observations, Hawk, Serpentor andBlasterbelieved that Power Station Alpha at best only had limited sentience and wouldn't respond to being approached. They sent outScarlett,theBaronessandGoldbugto place explosives with automatic detonators to the power station's exterior. Doctor Mindbender would then use his electronic helmet to command Alpha into orbit, allowing everyone time to decide what to do with the thing. Cobra, of course, didn't keep to the deal. The Baroness set the timers while placing the explosives, ensuring the power station's destruction as soon as it would reach orbit. Though Earth and Cybertron were both saved and the Joes had nothing to do with the destruction, the Autobots were left disgusted with the humans and wondered if they could still be trusted....All Fall Down!
