Mercenary (Transformers)

Mercenaries are a subspecies or faction of Cybertronians from the planet Cybertron. "There are no factions out here."

- Doubledealer

Anatomy
Mercenaries share a similar biology to other Cybertronians, even sharing body-types with Autobots and Decepticons.

Powers and abilities
Mercenaries share many of the same abilities as other Cybertronians.

Weaknesses
Mercenaries share many of the same weaknesses as other Cybertronians.

Culture and society
Mercenaries are dangerous yet skilled operatives whose only allegiance is to whichever side they find most beneficial at any given time. They are regarded as one of the few unforeseen dangers ahead of the Autobots and Decepticons in their civil war.

Mercenaries are quite vengeful those clients that double-cross them, such as when the crew of the Fool's Fortune retaliated against Deseeus for refusing to pay Doubledealer. They are also intolerant of failure, such as when Trypticon fired Soundblaster's team after they were defeated by the Dinobots.

Unlike other Cybertronian factions, Mercenaries do not have a single leader. Instead, they are comprised of several teams, or crews if they own a spaceship. These units are led by elite individuals including Soundblaster, Doubledealer, and Trypticon. While its membership generally includes Cybertronians, other species such as the Thraals can join the Mercenaries.

Primax Cluster
During the final days of the Great War, a unit of Mercenaries led by Soundblaster, a faulty clone of Soundwave, traded Energon among the neutral population with Bumblebee being a frequent visitor. Needing raw Energon to launch the Ark, Bumblebee led Autobots Arcee and Cog to Soundblaster's base, only to be cornered as they located their target.

Before Soundblaster and his Dome Guards could execute them, Shockwave's anti-Alpha Trion Protocol virus wreaked havoc on the base's systems, giving the Autobots a chance to escape. After the Ark had left Cybertron, Teletraan I detected the Fool's Fortune, a ship operated by a unit of Mercenaries led by Doubledealer.

While taking control of the Ark, Doubledealer and his subordinates got the Autobots to stand down when Bumblebee, who had now joined the Autobots, attacked Bug Bite. Coneheads Thrust and Dirge piloted the Fool's Fortune to Chaar, where they rendezvous with Doubledealer and their teammates aboard the Ark. Their payment for the mission was denied when their client, a Quintesson Judge known as Deseeus, suddenly mutilated most of its faces and turned on Doubledealer. Hoping for a chance at revenge, Doubledealer's unit helped the Autobots escape and battled the Quintesson's forces. They were then tasked by Megatron to follow the Ark.

Catching up with the Fool's Fortune, Deseeus took control of Doubledealer's mind in hopes of wiping out the Autobots and Decepticons alike. Though Ramjet, Dirge, and Thrust were able to escape the Quintesson, Bug Bite and Exhaust willingly (and begrudgingly) sided with their client-turned-boss.

Having been knocked out of the Ark when the ship took damage, Cog took the opportunity to offline Bug Bite and Exhaustbefore battling Deseeus. The Quintesson was able to mortally wound Cog thanks to an opportunity caused by the Fool's Fortune taking damage from the Nemesis. Once Deseeus fled the Fool's Fortune, the ship exploded with both Doubledealer and Cog getting killed and debris knocking the Ark' and the Nemesis towards Earth.

Tyran Universe
Mercenaries were among the Cybertronians hunted and killed by the Terrorcons before arriving on Earth, with their leader Scourge collecting their insignias as trophies.

Cyberverse Universe
A team of Mercenaries led by former Decepticon Soundblaster traveled the universe, looking for planets to plunder while under the employ of the massive Trypticon. They would use their time blaster to freeze the inhabitants in place, allowing them to ransack all their valuables unopposed. Once their looting was complete, they would ultimately obliterate the planet in their wake. Among the countless planets destroyed by the Mercenaries was a Cybertronian colony inhabited by Dinobots, who pursued them in hopes of avenging their colony.

Sometime after an alternate version of Megatron known as Megatron X has been vanquished, Soundblaster set his sights on plundering Cybertron to exact revenge on his rival Soundwave. Though they succeeded in time-blasting the planet and began looting the place, they found themselves confronted by Grimlock, who was off-world during the blast, and the Dinobots. Ultimately, the group were overcome by the combiner Volcanicus, prompting Trypticon to take action.

Berating Soundblaster for his failure, he promptly fired his entire team before attacking Dinobots after they rejected his offer of joining him. Soundblaster's team made a hasty retreat, with Soundblaster and Nightbird witnessing Trypticon being defeated by Volcanicus. Even though Soundblaster's team fled Cybertron aboard their ship, Trypticon recovered to attack the Dinobots once more. Luckily, they were able to defeat him using the time blaster that Soundblaster lost.

Soundblaster's Mini-Cassette partner Buzzsaw, who had been left behind after accidentally being immobilized, would stay on Cybertron alongside fellow Mini-Cassette Laserbeak. The immobilized Trypticon would later become the centerpiece of the newly opened shopping center called Trypticon Plaza.

Alternate history
In a dystopian future where Cybertron was ruled by Exarchon, the Mercenaries included Thraals as part of its membership, as they would sell off rebel Cybertronians.