Starquest
Starquest was an early treatment for a Challenge of the GoBots film with significant differences to the released GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords.
Synopsis[edit | edit source]
The Last Engineer, whose real name is revealed to be Jad, unveils a major research breakthrough to Leader-1, Scooter and the Guardians on GoBotron. He has located the centre of the universe, a place of constant genesis and huge power he names the Starforge. He suggests that the Starforge would give the Guardians enough power to both conclusively deal with the Renegades and complete the rebuilding of GoBotron. Helping the Last Engineer in his work is the internationally famous astrophysicist Doctor Amanda Martin, who soon catches the eye of Matt Hunter. Together the Last Engineer and Doctor Martin have inputted all the data from their research into the Guardians' main research computer in order to track the ever-moving Starforge, but both Scooter and Professor Von Joy believe it will never be possible to harvest its' power.
Before the discussion can do any further a huge Renegade fleet attacks, led by Roguestar and supported by an armada of Zods, Cy-Kill having found out about the Starforge through his network of spies. The Renegade Psions[1] lead the attack but onboard Roguestar with Doctor Go, Doctor Braxis complains bitterly that the attack could damage the vital data. Despite this outburst, Braxis is a lot calmer and more stable than when he last got involved with the GoBots. With the Guardians caught unprepared Cy-Kill is able to swoop in with his MoBots[2] and steals the computer's RAM banks, though Scooter is able to get the Last Engineer and Doctor Martin to safety. With the computer banks in their possession, the Renegades retreat, leaving GoBotolis[3] The Guardians realise they need to recover the information on the Starforge before Cy-Kill can use it but the devastation to the Guardians, including severe injuries to Zeemon and Heat Seeker, pose a major problem in itself.
Leader-1 ultimately decided to oversee repairs personally, instead sending Turbo, Scooter, the Last Engineer, Matt and Doctor Martin to follow the Renegade fleet in Command Center 1. They are able to work out roughly where the Starforge will be thanks to computer back-ups, while A.J. Foster and Nick Burns insist on joining the expedition too. Meanwhile on Roguestar Cy-Kill's plans hit a bump when Braxis and Doctor Go are unable to decipher the data in the computer banks. Fitor arrives from a spying mission to reveal the Command Center's mission and Cy-Kill realises that capturing it will solve his problems. He orders the Renegades to prepare to capture their quarry.
The Command Center emerges from hyperspace and immediately receives an SOS. Despite wondering if it's a Renegade trap they decide to follow it, unaware that they are being stalked by the cloaked Roguestar. The Command Center crew finds a battered, drifting ship packed with alien refugees fleeing from Kartan, Darklord of the Invisible Empire of Imperion, who has enslaved thousands of planets and - the aliens warn - will soon turn his attention to GoBotron and Earth. The Guardian team agrees that this makes finding the Starforge even more imperative. However, before the Renegades can attack the unsuspecting Command Center a trio of Imperion cruisers appear and easily disable the Guardian ship, which is then boarded by the Imperion fleet commander Zarg and his shock-troopers. Thanks to Turbo, Scooter has time to send a distress call to GoBotron and UNECOM before the Guardians are knocked out and placed in restraining bolts. Intrigued, Cy-Kill follows the huge Imperion ships in the cloaked Roguestar - despite Braxis' protests.
When Scooter's message reaches GoBotron, Leader-1 decides rescuing the captives is the now of maximum importance and puts together a team of Guardians, including the Secret Riders[4] and takes a Command Center out to free the prisoners. On the bridge of Roguestar, Crasher and Cop-Tur are surprised by the erratic progress of the Imperion ships, which then suddenly disappear from their scanners; second later the ship begins to shake and Braxis realises it is being dragged towards a black hole. The Imperion cruisers seemingly come out the other side of the black hole and near Kartan's homeworld. Meanwhile Roguestar is able to move clear of the black hole and Cy-Kill orders scans to be made to find out where the Imperion ships have gone. Leader-1's team are also having a fraught time, with a shower of meteors hammering their Command Center and forcing them to land on a rocky planet. The Guardians survive a rough planet and prepare to start repairs - only for some of the rocks to reveal themselves to be Rock People. Initially the Guardians are wary but the Rock Leader[5] is friendly as the Command Center has crushed his enemies, the evil Gorg and his followers, who were enforcers for the vicious Rak[6]. The Rock People tell them more of Kartan and Imperion, for whom Rak works. They help the Guardians repair the Command Center but just as it is ready to take off Imperion ships attack their village. The power of the GoBots helps drive off the Imperion raid and even take some prisoners. Under Brainstorming these captives reveal that the Imperion home system is made invisible by manipulation of magnetic currents kept working by gigantic moon-sized generators. Any ship that does not approach in exactly the right fashion will be dragged into the black hole and destroyed. The Guardians set off, wishing the Rock People good luck in their battle against Rak.
Onboard Roguestar, Braxis and Doctor Go have deduced the correct path through to the Imperion homeworld. Fitor is send ahead on a Thruster to check their workings and seems to make it before his signal is abruptly cut off; he flies back chased by a squad of Imperion fighters. Cy-Kill brings Roguestar in to help and its' weaponry matches the Imperion craft. Cy-Kill requests a truce and to be taken to the Darklord. Kartan agrees to meet with the Renegades - though he secretly is more interested in Roguestar than an alliance. Behind them, it takes all of Leader-1's skill to get the Command Center past the black hole. Kartan meanwhile is introduced to the captive Guardians and their friends - who he sentences to slavery on Fireworld, and they are shipped out on a freighter with other unfortunates as Cy-Kill, Crasher and Cop-Tur arrive to treat with Kartan. Leader-1 devises a plan that involves himself, Path Finder and Tork heading down to the largest of the Imperion planets while the Command Center takes refuge on a barren moon, and hoping to exchange the prisoners they have for their friends. The group are surrounded as soon as they arrive in Kartan's Great Fortress but Leader-1 tries to reason with the Imperion leader. However, Cy-Kill has already talked Kartan around to his side. A fight breaks out; Tork is injured but the Command Center is able to rescue the trio of Guardians before they can be captured and also sent to Fireworld.
Impatient and frustrated, Cy-Kill demands the prisoners taken earlier, telling Kartan of the Starforge. He offers to retrieve them from Fireworld in exchange for a share of the power; Cy-Kill agrees, though he tells Crasher and Cop-Tur he will not be honouring the deal. Back on the Command Center, Leader-1 is able to deduce the location of Fireworld and the Guardians set off to rescue their friends. On Fireworld the slaves are made to haul massive crystals in oppressive heat, and the humans are already wilting - as is, obviously, Scooter. Cy-Kill has guessed that the Guardians will likely attempt a rescue, with the Renegades and the Imperions plan a trap, with numerous fighters boarding Roguestar. Cy-Kill assures Crasher and Cop-Tur is that it's all part of his plan to bring Kartan under his control - just as Kartan tells his advisor this is all part of his plan to seize control of the Renegade cruiser. The Guardians arrive on Fireworld and free their friends but seconds later the Renegade and Imperion fleet arrives, with the Last Engineer, Doctor Martin, Matt, A.J. and Nick soon being captured once again. Unable to use their full firepower and risk hurting their friends, the Guardians fight bravely against huge odds before Kartan decides to withdraw his troops as he has what he wants. Nevertheless the Renegades are enough to begin to overwhelm the outnumbered, outgunned Guardians - until the sudden arrival of a fleet of Rock People Meteor ships. They help drive the Renegades into a retreat.
The Guardians and their Rock People allies decide to head to Starforge in order to ambush Cy-Kill and Kartan when they do the same. Braxis has already devised a course while in the cells Matt, A.J. and Nick plot an escape while the Last Engineer and Doctor Martin are being Brainstormed. The Command Center and the Meteors reach the Starforge, where Leader-1 orders Power Suits to be deployed in order to channel the huge energies. Meanwhile Braxis has no idea how to do the same, and Cy-Kill tries to get the information from his captives. They both warn him he would find the power impossible to control but he ignores them - just as the Renegades find the Command Center and attack. Kartan, however, keeps his Imperion troops from joining the battle. Matt, A.J. and Nick are able to escape and evade the guards on Roguestar, and try to rescue the Last Engineer and Doctor Martin - their attempts meaning the Renegades are too busy to notice Imperion Shocktroops taking up positions around the ship. Meanwhile the Rock People buy the Guardians time to don their Power Suits and form Courageous. The Power Warrior, along with the Secret Riders and the Rock People, buy Scooter and Professor Von Joy enough time to link the Command Center up to the Starforge, surrounding the ship with an invulnerable force-field. At the same time the humans onboard the Roguestar are able to sabotage the Renegade ship's weaponry, while the Imperions make their move and try to seize the vessel. With chaos around him Cy-Kill decides the only way out is to link himself up to the Starforge and leaves the ship. The Renegades surrender to the Imperions, while Braxis hides.
All watch as Cy-Kill plunges into the Starforge before Kartan turns the weapons of Roguestar on Courageous, which is blown into the Starforge as well - but not before knocking the Command Center out of the beam protecting it. The Guardian ship is then caught in a tractor beam and drawn towards Roguestar. Fitor meanwhile organises a Renegade counter-attack, ordering the troops that were fighting the Guardians to return to their Thrusters and activate their stealth devices. Happy with what he has, Kartan decides the Starforge can wait and heads home. As a result, he misses Courageous returning from the Starforge, crackling with energy. Meanwhile the Last Engineer and the humans are still loose and find Braxis, who shows them how to detach the ship's bridge as an escape pod. Before the Imperions can recapture them Courageous arrives and makes short work of their cruisers. While Courageous engages the rest of the Imperion fleet Matt pilots the escape pod back onboard Roguestar, soon locating and freeing the captured Guardians and Rock People. The Power Warrior is then able to extent the Starforge energy to protect their escape.
The fleet of cloaked Thrusters then arrives, with Fitor ordering the Renegades to direct their attacks against the Imperion generators. Unable to work Roguestar without its' bridge, Kartan abandons the Renegade ship to coordinate this latest battle. However, it is all a ruse - once the ship is empty of Imperion troops the Renegades double back to Roguestar, easily retaking it. Courageous takes over attacking the generators while Roguestar (despite Cop-Tur's concerns over the loss of Cy-Kill), the Command Centers and the Rock People prepare to escape the system. As Kartan directs all his forces to stop Courageous the slaves on Fireworld overpower the guards and are also able to escape, and as the last ship leaves Courageous destroys the final generator. The entire Imperium system begins to disintegrate and the Power Warrior only escapes through accessing transpace, thanks to the Starforge. The Guardians separate and rejoin their comrades, while the Rock People head back to their home planet, where they are confident of defeating Rak now he no longer has Imperion support.
Scooter ponders whether the Starforge could tell good from evil, and that was why it gave power to Courageous while destroying Cy-Kill. Braxis meanwhile throws himself on the Guardians' mercy, and is told he will be charged for his crimes on Earth, while Matt and Doctor Martin discuss their future - something which makes A.J. think she hears wedding bells. As the Command Center heads for home, the Renegades search the area around the Imperion but just as Fitor is about to call off the search Cy-Kill rematerialises onboard Roguestar. Finally, as the Guardians and their friends arrive over GoBotron, Leader-1 speculates that no-one is yet ready for the awesome power of the Starforge.
Cast List[edit | edit source]
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Guardians | Renegades | Humans | Rock People | Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Notes[edit | edit source]
- No writer is credited for the 41-page treatment, which is dated 27 July, 1985.
- The treatment requires more knowledge of the cartoon than the produced movie, including the Last Engineer and Doctor Braxis; the desire to make the film more accessible to a wider audience might have been a factor in the change.
- It also has a much smaller role for the Rock Lords, even allowing for the range clearly being in a nascent stage of development and thus having few names to mention.
- However, there are also a couple of similarities despite the massive changes - Cy-Kill's smash-and-grab raid for the computer data and some hostages sounds very similar to the raid that captures Solitaire, Small Foot, Nick and A.J. in Battle of the Rock Lords, as does Cy-Kill trying to take possession of a powerful energy source he can't handle.
- Jad, though.
Footnotes[edit | edit source]
- ↑ What the treatment calls the Dread Launchers, and presumably a working name for the group
- ↑ Monster GoBots, most likely
- ↑ Spelled "Gobotalis" in the treatment, likely a typo.
- ↑ The treatment says "The Secret Riders and other appropriate new characters." Path Finder is named as one of those taken along later on, as is - unusually - Professor Von Joy.
- ↑ "NAME TBA" in the treatment, but obviously it's Boulder
- ↑ Presumably a working name for Magmar
