The Death-Bringing Space Insects!!



The Decepticons unleash a swarm of metal-eating insects on the unsuspecting Autobots.


 * English/Malay dub name:  "The Assassin Bugs"
 * Also known as: "The Death-Bringing Space Bug"

Synopsis


On a forbidding jungle planet somewhere in the dark reaches of the cosmos, Hellbat is on a mission. As he nervously steps into a dark cave, a small, green insect plops down onto his shoulder, and the horrified Decepticon runs screaming from the cavern, realizing that he has found what he's looking for.



Some time later, Hellbat returns to the Thunder Arrow on Earth with specimens of the insects, and the Decepticons breed the little monsters in their science lab. Drillhorn, Goryu and Kakuryu (who loves insects) bring a specimen jar of the insects into Deathsaurus's throne room, where Leozack is explaining the situation to the Emperor of Destruction. The insects are known as "Dorya", which Hellbat (who is all too happy to point out his own involvement) heard about while visiting Planet X. When Deathsaurus asks why he should care, Leozack demonstrates the power of the creatures by having Kakuryu let the insects out of the jar. The beasties lunge at the hapless Dinoforcer... and begin to devour his metallic body! Drillhorn quickly saves him by rounding the Dorya back up, and Goryu escorts Kakuryu to the infirmary while a slack-jawed Deathsaurus begins scheming immediately.

At the Shuttle Base, Victory Leo is helping Jean train in the Illumina II by having him ram a slab of rock, but when Leo plays Sally to Jean's Charlie Brown and whips the rock away, Holi busts a gut laughing at the upended Jean. The miffied Jean decides to ram Holi instead, and for his pain, Holi douses him with a blast of coolant.



Flying over Italy, Star Saber reports to Blacker in the Shuttle Base that the monolith known as "Egg Rock" has been destroyed overnight. Knowing that oil is said to flow beneath the rock, the Autobots suspect Decepticon involvement, and Star Saber heads in to investigate. Venturing into the crater left by the destruction of Egg Rock, Star Saber is suddenly surrounded by four huge pylons, which flare into life and surround the crater with a debilitating energy barrier that brings the Supreme Commander to his knees almost immediately. The cackling forms of Deathsaurus and the Breastforce appear atop the pylons, and Deathsaurus sneers that he has a present for Star Saber. At this command, Leozack releases the Dorya into the crater, and they begin swarming over Star Saber, burrowing into his joints and eating him from the inside out.

Unable to make contact with Star Saber, the Autobots at the Shuttle Base prepare to go to his aid. Jean talks Blacker into allow him and Holi to go along, and they board Galaxy Shuttle with the Brainmasters while Victory Leo flies alongside. Although the Autobots arrive quickly, the Breastforce keep them at bay by firing from turrets on the pylons, blasting the Brainmasters and Victory Leo with the damaging energies of the barrier shield. When Victory Leo is hit, Jean rushes in aboard the Illumina II, taking several hits from the barrier ray, and forcing Victory Leo to withdraw and scoop him up.



Retreating to cover, the Autobots discover that the Illumina II has not been affected by the barrier ray because it is not made of super-robot lifeform metal. Realizing that this means the Illumina II will be able to get through the barrier imprisoning Star Saber, the Autobots spring into action again, with the Brainmasters drawing the Breastforce's fire while Victory Leo gets Jean up to the barrier. The Illumina II easily leaps through the barrier shield, and Victory Leo is able to follow through the gap that it creates, but the feral Autobot is promptly set upon by the Dorya. The Brainmasters also get a taste of the bugs' bite when Hellbat sends his Breast Animal to rain canisters of the creatures down on them. Jean, however, is ignored by the insects, and Star Saber deduces that the Dorya detect their prey based on the heat they emit. Victory Leo wastes no time in blasting the Dorya with a "Freezer Beam" from his fingertips, which renders them dormant and stop them in their tracks. Jean leaps back through the barrier, but Star Saber and Victory Leo are unable to move fast enough to follow him out through the gap he creates, and so Jean rams the nearest pylon with the Illumina II. Fending off Breastforce attacks with the Illumina II's smokescreen, Jean succeeds in toppling the tower and deactivating the barrier shield, freeing Star Saber and Victory Leo, who immediately combine into Victory Saber and make short work of Leozack, Drillhorn and Deathsaurus. Holi zaps the last of the Dorya with his coolant spray, and the Brainmasters chase the Breastforce off, except for Hellbat, who is so distracted by all the fighting that he spills Dorya over himself, and flees squealing in horror.

After the battle, the Autobots all commend Jean on his courage, and Laster dubs him a true Autobot warrior.

Stats
Written by:  Toyohiro Ando

Original airdate: 14th November 1989

Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Animation and/or technical glitches

 * When he punches Hellbat, Leozack is colored like Drillhorn.

Transformers references

 * Hellbat's hatred of the wilderness was established back in "Mach and Tackle".
 * The Illumina II was introduced in "Jean - Defend the Campus!!", where it previously displayed its smokescreen-creating abilities.