Dread Pirates (also known as simply the Dread Pirate Crew) are a subspecies of Cybertronians from unnamed planet.
Biology[]
Anatomy[]
Dread Pirates share a similar biology to other Cybertronians, particularly Vehicon troopers. As they were based on the blueprints of Decepticons Pounce and Wingspan, they share a similar color scheme to their genetic donors.
Powers and abilities[]
Dread Pirates share many of the same abilities as other Cybertronians.
Weaknesses[]
Dread Pirates share many of the same weaknesses as other Cybertronians.
Culture and society[]
Dread Pirates form the backbone of Cannonball's crew of Star Seekers aboard the Tidal Wave. They may not be the sharpest cutlasses in the block, but they at least get the pillaging and plundering done.
History[]
At an unknown point in Cybertronian history, the blueprints for the Decepticon clones Pounce and Wingspan were copied and mass-produced. These air and ground-based body-types were sold on the black market as made-to-order mercenaries. Often used as cannon fodder, Captain Cannonball instead made these buccaneers individuals, giving them unique names and jobs aboard the Tidal Wave. Collectively known as the Dread Pirate Crew, these clones make up the backbone of the Star Seekers.
During the sheer monotony of the Tidal Wave's passage through the Demon's Maw Expanse, Stormcharge and Turbolift took to hunting vapor-rats for target practice. Much to Tornado's dismay, Rolling Thunder and Thunderclap tend to enjoy revving their engines for short-range racing up and down the corridors. The Thunder twins also ended up named their converting weapons "Pillage" and "Plunder".
Cutback became employed as one of the Chairman's escort guards whereas Lockpick became one of Brimstone's gunners. Despite their different jobs, the duo secretly maintains a black market among the crew, purportedly without Cannonball's knowledge. Cutback's entrepreneurial spirit and Lockpick's internal transwarp generator make them a superlative partnership. Tornado tested their skills by asking then to procure a Fluorescing Sky Seer from the fourth moon of Deberia.
Although the Dread Pirates were successful in the acquisition, Tornado came to regret his purchase...especially once Cannonball found the Sky Seer. All parties denied any knowledge of the animal, and luckily the captain took a shine to it. Cutback and Lockpick were prepared to cut Tornado off from the black market for engineering such a close call, but Tornado offered to pay three times their normal fee if they could locate a Lukythian Warp Star for him.
Skyduster was an ace pilot and had the ability to create atmospheric disturbances thanks to a special gas released from his sky-ship mode. He was teamed with Tornado during a sabotage mission to Ventax II.
Cruising through time and space, the Dread Pirate Crew joined Cannonball in raiding the tecno-organic Cybertron of its Energon. While attempting to convert Unicron's head into an Energon siphon, they were opposed by Alpha Trizer and the Cybertronian Knights.
After escaping the Knights, the Star Seekers began a quest to find Starscream's immortal spark. Unfortunately, they found it. Following a map to a planetoid awash in gravitational anomalies, Cannonball sacrificed a good number of his Wingspan-type pirates to create a counter-gravitational pulse long enough to reach the planetoid.
Thunderclap and Neurotoxin were part of the landing party who found the deathlike body of a Quintesson in the caverns below. Only after bringing the Quintesson back to the Tidal Wave did they realize Starscream's spark lay within the creature. The devious Decepticon hopped from body to body until making a deal with Flamewar to seize control from Cannonball.
Once Starscream used Cannonball's body as his own, Flamewar abandoned the captain's spark on the planetoid, along with a few loyal members of the Dread Pirate Crew. The remainder stayed aboard the Tidal Wave, as Flamewar began plotting her future as the new Captain Cannonball.
Gallery[]
