Issue #9

• Writer - Simon Furman
• Penciler - Guido Guidi
• Inker - Elaine To
• Colorist - Shaun Cutis
• Colorist - Alan Wang
• Colorist - David Cheung
• Lettering - Dreamer Design

Summary

  In the aftermath of the disappearance of the mysterious obelisk (see last issue), the Autobots and the Decepticons head back to their bases and plan their next moves. Both sides deduced that the Minicons have been taken to the Moon; Megatron summons Thrust from Cybertron, then invites him to join the Decepticons' hunt for the Minicons. Optimus Prime, on the other hand, does not have any equipment to fly to the Moon, and is reluctant to use the Space Bridge to Cybertron because the Decepticons will trace it to the Autobots' Cybertronian base.

  At the Moon, the Earthen Minicons are imprisoned in an underground base. They are soon greeted by Dualor, the leader of the Minicon Moon Base, who releases Leader-1, Sparkplug, and Runway for a tour of the facilities. Dualor explains that the Minicons who were stranded on the moon thousands of years ago (see issue 3) have spent the time building a sublunarian fortress and defense system. Their aim is to simply be left alone, to avoid both sides in the Autobot-Decepticon war, and they removed the Minicons from Earth to avoid escalating the conflict there.

  Predictably enough, the Decepticons soon attack the Minicons' Moon Base, but are held back by the defenses. Only Demolisher has been left on Earth to guard the Decepticon base there, and he's unaware that Hotshot, Red Alert, and Laserbeak are spying on him. From Autobase, Optimus Prime gives the go-ahead for them to disable Demolisher and take the base.

  Back on the Moon, the Decepticons have finally fallen back into a temporary retreat. While the other lunar Minicons celebrate the victory, Drillbit wonders if the Autobots will arrive soon. Dualor is not worried, though, for he holds a trump card -- Rad, strapped to the inside of a satellite mine!