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BATTLE OF THE HYBRIDS!

On the distant planet of Nebulos, groups

of Heroic Autobots and Evil Decepticons
have settled, binary bonding their
powerful bodies with the native Nebulans
to create a dramatic new race of hybrid
robots. Each can transform for action at
lightning speed. Now the terrible battle
between Good and Evil continues on
Nebulos ...

Targetmaster HOT ROD and his Nebulan

companion, Professor Sparks, suspect
that a group of Decepticons, led by the
fearsome SKULLCRUNCHER, have a
cunning plan to form an invincible
Decepticon army on Nebulos. With your
help, will HOT ROD be in time to thwart
their evil scheme?
Also published by Young Corgi Books
Adventure Game Books
THE TRANSFORMERS™: DINOBOT WAR
THE TRANSFORMERS™: PERIL FROM THE STARS
THE TRANSFORMERS™: ISLAND OF FEAR
THE TRANSFORMERS™: HIGHWAY CLASH
THE TRANSFORMERS™: SWAMP OF THE SCORPION

Full colour Story Book:

THE TRANSFORMERS™: BATTLE BENEATH THE ICE

All written by Dave Morris

THE

DESHIT OF DANGER
Dave Morris
Illustrated by Bob Harvey

YOUNG CORGI BOOKS

THE TRANSFORMERS™:
DESERT OF DANGER
A YOUNG CORGI BOOK 0 552 52502 2
First publication in Great Britain
PRINTING HISTORY
Young Corgi edition published 1987
© 1987 Hasbro Inc. All rights reserved.
© 1987 text and illustrations Transworld Publishers Ltd.
Conditions of sale
1. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not,
by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or
otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other
than that in which it is published and without a similar
condition including this condition being imposed on the
subsequent purchaser.
2. This book is sold subject to the Standard Conditions of
Sale of Net Books and may not be re-sold in the UK below the
net price fixed by the publishers for the book.
This book is set in 12 /13 pt Chelten ham Book
by Colset Private Limited, Singapore.
Young Corgj Books are published by Transworld Publishers
Ltd., 6f-63 Uxbridge ftoad, Ealing, London W5 5SA, in
Australia by Transworld Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.,
15-23 Helles Avenue, Moorebank, NSW 2170, and in
New Zealand by Transworld Publishers (N.Z.) Ltd., Cnr.
Moselle and Waipareira Avenues, Henderson, Auckland.
Made and printed in Great Britain by
The Guernsey Press Co. Ltd., Guernsey, Channel Islands.
This is an adventure story, but it is not like most other
adventure stories - there is one big difference.
You are the main character.
In this story, you are a starship co-pilot and there are
some incredible adventures in store for you on the
planet Nebulos. What happens in the story depends on
your decisions. The final outcome - whether HOT
ROD and Sparks will win the day or whether the Evil
Decepticons will triurpph - is in your hands.
Do not read the pdges of this book in numerical
order, as you would an ordinary adventure story. You
should start at page 1, of course, but where you go
from there will depend on what you choose to do.
Now, fasten your seatbelt and fire your retro-rockets
- you are about to land on the fabulous planet Nebulos!

NOW TURN-TfJfAGE 1 ...

■W ♦

—:

«*
* .r
As co-pilot of an interstellar cargo ship, you are used to
visiting far-flung corners of the galaxy. But you have
never been as far from Earth as you are now - for your
latest haul has taken you beyond the galaxy’s rim, to
the solitary star system of the planet Nebulos.
While Harry, the pilot, guides the ship expertly
towards the spaceport, you turn to look back at the
galaxy. It appears as a great silver cloud filling half the
night sky. It is so far away that none of the stars is
visible as more than a tiny dot of light.
The sight is so breathtaking that you barely notice
the jolt as the ship touches down. Harry flicks the
switches on the control panel in front of him, then pats
you on the shoulder as he gets up. ‘Daydreamin’,
youngster?’ he says with a laugh. ‘You had plenty o’
time for that before we landed. Now, I gotta get our
flight papers filed with Traffic Control here. You get
yourself back to the cargo bay and see to makin’ a few
deliveries, huh?’
You make your way astern to check the ship’s cargo.
Opening the bay doors, you pause and look out across
the spaceport. This mining town is the only settlement
on the planet’s equatorial continent, which is otherwise
entirely covered in greenish-white desert sands. Harry
has told you that the miners who live and work here
have a nickname for the desert: ‘Dust Bowl’. Feeling
the hot dry air that stings your nose and eyes, you can
see what they mean.

Turn to page 7
Outside on the pavement, Sparks gives a sigh of relief.
‘I didn’t think much of that place, HOT ROD,’ he says. ‘I
don’t know what it is that you like about nightclubs.’
They’re not all as bad as that, Prof.,’ laughs HOT
ROD. ‘And not all nightclub owners are bad-tempered
bozos like that Monzo character. Let’s go someplace
else.’ He changes back into his car-form.

Is there anything you want to mention about the cellar

of the club? If so, turn to page 24
If not, turn to page 31

2
You are horrified and saddened by the news of Harry’s
death. After the policebots have gone, you sit alone in
the cockpit of the ship. You would like to return to
Earth, but you cannot pilot the ship on your own. Then
you realize you must get help from your only friends on
Nebulos: HOT ROD and Sparks. Perhaps they can
help you to find out if Harry really has been
murdered - and, if so, to bring his killers to justice.
You manage to hitch a ride to Sparks’ laboratory just
outside the city. The door is locked and there is no sign
of your two friends. You try to think where they might
have gone. You have heard of the abandoned mines
south of the city - perhaps Sparks is collecting samples
of ore from there. Alternatively, they might have gone
back to the Wolf at the Door nightclub. Or maybe they
just went for a stroll in the desert.

If you look for them at the abandoned mines, turn to

page 18
If you decide to try the nightclub, turn to page 25
If you go out into the desert looking for them, turn to
page 10

3
 Sparks thinks he has figured out what the Decepticons
are up to. ‘Here on Nebulos, the Autobots and
Decepticons came to an agreement so that the struggle
between them wouldn’t turn into an all-out war.
Neither side wants Nebulos to be devastated the
way Cybertron was. The agreement is that no
reinforcements are brought onto the planet by either
side. The only Transformers on Nebulos are supposed
to be the ones teamed with Nebulan companions.’
HOT ROD sees what he’s getting at. ‘Obviously the
Decepts are trying to bring in extra forces without our
knowledge,’ he says. ‘They’re reinforcing their
strength here with Attack Squad robots sent from
Cybertron when the Decepticons were still in charge
there. They could build up a whole reserve army by
flying them in from deep space in these metal
cylinders, and us Autobots wouldn’t be any the
wiser
‘That’s right,’ says a chilling electronic voice. ‘The
first you’d know of our plans would be the day we
wiped you out!’
You turn. Two sinister robots have crept into Sparks’
laboratory while you were talking. They are thickset
warriors with polished steel armour and lasers built
into their forearms - two of the ASRs!

Turn to page 11

4 . ♦

4
Sparks touches the fire button. The missile emits a
plume of white-hot flame and then roars off its
launching-base directly at MINDWIPE. MINDWIPE
gives a momentary screech of alarm when he sees he
cannot get out of the way in time. Luckily for him,
however, SKULLCRUNCHER is ready to act. The
powerful metal tail of the reptilian Decepticon lashes
up to intercept the missile before it strikes the terrified
MINDWIPE. He is careful not to hit the missile’s
nosecone, which would cause it to detonate. Instead his
blow lands on the tail fins, deflecting the missile in mid¬
air so that now it is heading straight at you\
You jump back an instant before it hits. The window
is smashed, scattering jagged fragments of glass
everywhere, but Sparks shields you with his metal
body. Then he begins to transform into his rifle mode.
‘We’d better shoot MINDWIPE down before we’re all
hypnotised,’ he says.
You understand his plan. As MINDWIPE descends to
concentrate his hypnotic gaze through the hole in the
wall, you try to lift Sparks. He is very heavy - no
trouble for someone with HOT ROD’S hydraulic
strength, but HOT ROD is busy stunning the two ASRs
with a hail of punches. You must do the job yourself.
With a final heave, you manage to point him at
MINDWIPE and press the trigger. There is a crack like
lightning and MINDWIPE is thrown back by a jolting
blast of electricity. From the way he falls, you guess
that Sparks’ power has put him out of the fight.

to page 12

5
 HOT ROD and Sparks emerge from the laboratory
just a split-second before WEIRDWOLF is ready to
gulp you up. He immediately forgets all about you as he
turns to face his deadly adversaries, the Autobots. You
give a sigh of relief and scramble back out of the way of
the battle.
‘Puny Autobots!’ growls WEIRDWOLF. ‘Tear you to
scrap metal I will.’
Sparks changes back to rifle mode and HOT ROD
lifts him to point - not at WEIRDWOLF but at
Monzo, who is sitting in the command module on
WEIRDWOLF’s back.
‘WEIRDWOLF could probably take a direct hit at
this range,’ says HOT ROD coolly. ‘But how about you,
Monzo? Feeling lucky?’
Monzo flinches. He knows that a close-range blast
from Sparks could do him serious damage. After a
moment he throws open the module hatch and puts his
hands up. He could order WEIRDWOLF forward even
now, but he is not courageous enough to win the battle
at the cost of his own metal skin.
WEIRDWOLF emits a piercing howl. He hates the
taste of defeat, but he will take no action if Monzo
orders him not to. While HOT ROD keeps them
covered, you run inside the lab and put out a radio call
to HOT ROD’s fellow Targetmasters. Less than fifteen
minutes pass before KUP, BLURR and the others are
roaring down the road to give you a hand with your
Decepticon captives.

Turn to page 13

6
You can see Harry walking across the tarmac towards
the Traffic Control complex. Beyond him stretches the
city, which looks like a mass of steel and glass tubes. As
night falls it is beginning to shine with hundreds of
glittering neon lights. The miners work hard here by
day, extracting the ore that lies in rich deposits under
the sand. Now they are streaming back to the city in
hover-cars, ready to relax in the bars and nightclubs.
Harry glances back and sees you standing at the
open doors. ‘Hey!’ he yells back. ‘What’ve I told you
about daydreamin’? Come on, mate, hop to it.’
You grin and wave, then turn your attention to the
stacked crates in the hold. One particularly large box
contains a vehicle: an Earth-type sports car, sleek and
brightly decorated with fiery paintwork. A smaller
package is labelled as containing computer discs for a
‘Professor Sparks’. The crate nearest to you holds
bottles Of Sirian brandy to be delivered to the Wolf at
the Door nightclub.

If you start by delivering the computer discs to Professor

Sparks, turn to page 42
If you’d rather begin by unloading the sports car, turn to
page 36
If you decide to deliver the brandy first, turn to page 15

7
 The next morning you are woken by three black-
armoured Nebulans. The triangular symbol painted on
their chests tells you that they are Police. One of them
opens a wallet and shows you Harry’s ID card. ‘Is this
the pilot of this ship?’ he wants to know.
‘Yes,’ you say. You have a feeling of dread in the pit
of your stomach. Has something happened to Harry?
The Nebulan hands you Harry’s jacket and wallet.
‘These were found in the desert this morning, close to
where a meteor fell,’ he says. ‘Someone was murdered
in pretty much the same area last week. We’re afraid
that’s probably what happened to your friend - but
until we find his body, we can’t be certain.’
You slump into the co-pilot’s seat, stunned with
shock. Once the police have gone, your thoughts turn
to HOT ROD and Sparks. They are the only people you
know on Nebulos now. You decide to make your way
out to the Professor’s laboratory and see if the two of
them can help you find Harry’s killer.
You hitch a ride with some Nebulan traders, who
drop you off at Sparks’ laboratory on the outskirts of
the city. However, when you knock on the door there
is no reply. Possibly they’ve gone into the desert to
carry out some scientific experiments. Rather than
wait here, you decide to go looking for them. You are
impatient to do something about Harry’s murder.

If you take the hover jeep parked outside the laboratory,

turn to page 19
If you prefer to walk, turn to page 26

8
You edge forward into the darkness away from the
stairwell. The cellar is even larger than you
guessed - it goes right back into a much bigger room.
You peer into the distance but you cannot see a thing in
the darkness.
Your feet brush against a tarpaulin. It seems to have
been thrown over something next to a stack of
boxes - as though somebody tried to hide something
in a hurry. You pick it up, and give out a gasp of horror.
The gleam of white you saw was a pile of gnawed
human bones!
You don’t want to stay down here a moment longer
than you have to. After hurriedly replacing the tar¬
paulin, you run up the stairs. Even the deafening music
is a welcome contrast to the shock you’ve just had.
HOT ROD sees you and calls you over to the table
where he and Sparks are already enjoying a drink of
high-grade oil. ‘We think this stuff is delicious,’ he says,
‘but I don’t imagine you’d enjoy it! How about a glass of
cola?’
‘What’s that?’ you shout back. ‘I can hardly hear you
over the noise of this music.’

Turn to page 70

9
You walk across the desert. It is about an hour past
noon now, and the heat is just like an oven. There is a
light wind which flings sand into your face, stinging
your eyes, but which does nothing to cool you. You can
see no sign of HOT ROD and Sparks, and the sand is
getting into your clothes and shoes. Hot and irritable,
you give up the search. They must be elsewhere, you
decide.

If you go and see if they are at the nightclub, turn to

page 25
If you investigate the abandoned mines, turn to page 18

10
A glance out of the window tells you that the
laboratory is surrounded. SKULLCRUNCHER, the
fierce Decepticon Headmaster is there: a metal
monster like a giant alligator. Monzo is guiding
WEIRDWOLF around to the back to prevent you
escaping that way. In the sky above, a giant metallic
bat flits slowly towards the laboratory. Watching it,
you feel a strange dizziness caused by its glowing eyes.
‘That’s MINDWIPE,’ says Sparks. ‘Up to his hypnotic
tricks as usual. Well, I’ll settle his hash with a ground-to-
air missile.’ He flicks a switch and a missile rises up
from a concealed silo by the side of the road. You are
impressed to see that his laboratory is protected by a
number of hidden weapons.

If Sparks has told you about the parabolic reflector on

the top of his laboratory, turn to page 68
If not, turn to page 5
After knocking down the two ASRs, HOT ROD forgot
all about them as he watched Sparks deal with
MINDW1PE, but suddenly one of them leaps up from
the floor and smashes into his back. ‘Haven’t you ever
heard of playing possum?’ he snarls as he tears at HOT
ROD’s armour. At the same time, the other ASR
activates a jet-pack on his back and rises into the air. He
is trying to get a clear shot at HOT ROD with his ruby
lasers.
You glance outside. SKULLCRUNCHER is stalking
closer, occasionally pausing to chew up rocks or pieces
of machinery in his maddened battle-frenzy.

If you help HO T ROD against the ASRs, turn to page 20

If you run outside to confront SKULLCRUNCHER,
turn to page 27
‘What will happen to SKULLCRUNCHER and the
others?’ you ask HOT ROD when he has taken you
back to the spaceport.
He shrugs. ‘We’ll have to hand the Decepticons back
to their side,’ he says. ‘They’re covered by the terms of
the truce which prevents all-out robot war here. The
ASRs, on the other hand, have no right to be here on
Nebulos. They’ll be melted down to slag!’
‘It should be a while before the Decepticons try to
pull a trick like that again,’ you say as you open the
spaceship door.
Suddenly you jump bolt upright as though you’ve
seen a ghost. Maybe you have seen a ghost - Harry is
sitting in the pilot’s seat!

Turn to page 72

13
 Sparks agrees, and HOT ROD reluctantly goes along
with the two of you. On the way back to the spaceport,
Sparks outlines their plans for the next day: ‘We’ll run
the facts through my computers and see what they
come up with. In the afternoon, we can come round to
your ship to fill you in on the latest developments.’
They drop you off at the ship and you watch HOT
ROD’S shiny red-and-gold paintwork glint in the
moonlight as they speed off across the tarmac.
Entering the ship, you discover that Harry is not back
yet. Odd - but perhaps he has got involved in an all-
night card game or something. You are so exhausted
that you give no more thought to it. You are asleep the
moment you lie down on your bunk.
The next morning you are woken by three black-
armoured Nebulans. The triangular symbol painted on
their chests tells you that they are Police. One of them
opens a wallet and shows you Harry’s ID card. ‘Is this
the pilot of this ship?’ he wants to know.
‘Yes,’ you say. You have a feeling of dread in the pit
of your stomach. Has something happened to Harry?
The Nebulan hands you Harry’s jacket and wallet.
‘These were found in the desert this morning, close to
where a meteor fell,’ he says. ‘Someone was murdered
in pretty much the same area last week. We’re afraid
that’s probably what happened to your friend - but
until we find his body, we can’t be certain.’
You slump into the co-pilot’s seat, stunned with
shock. Surely it cannot be true - Harry cannot be dead!
After the police have left, you gather a few
belongings and hitch a ride to Sparks’ laboratory just
outside town. HOT ROD and Sparks listen sadly as you
tell them what has happened. ‘If any harm has really
come to your friend,’ says Sparks, ‘then we can be sure
it’s the Decepticons who are to blame. Let me tell you
what we’ve found out...’
Turn to page 4

14
The crate of brandy is quite heavy, but thanks to
futuristic science there is no need for an old-fashioned
forklift truck. You take an anti-gravity pod from the
ship’s locker. Once you have fixed this small
hemisphere to the side of the crate, you have only to
press the button and, hey presto: the crate rises into the
air! You are able to guide the weightless crate along
with one finger. Walking through the city streets
towards the nightclub, you are glad you weren’t born
centuries ago, in the era before interstellar travel.
Unloading boxes off a ship in those days must have
been much more like hard work.
You reach the nightclub. In the dusk, the harsh blue
neon sign above the door looks uninviting. It shows a
fierce wolf with slavering jaws.
Pushing open the door, you call out, ‘Is anyone here?’
No reply - the place is deserted. You edge the crate
through the doorway and start to make your way
towards the cellar steps, intending to leave your
delivery there.
Suddenly a bulky blue-grey Nebulan steps straight
out of the shadows to block your way. ‘We’re closed,’
he growls in a gruff mechanical voice. ‘Beat it.’
‘B-but I’ve got this crate of brandy for you,’ you
manage to stammer.
‘Brandy?’ He peers at the label. ‘Oh yeah - brandy.
Haw! Haw!’
You cannot see what he finds so funny. You are not
all that anxious to find out, either. You detach the anti¬
gravity pod from the crate and slip it into your pocket,
but the Nebulan lifts the crate in his huge metal arms as
though it were still weightless. He steps back and
glances towards the cellar steps. You have a feeling
there’s something down there that he doesn’t want you
to see. He stares down at you again, saying, ‘Okay, you
little sprat, you’ve made your delivery. Now shove off!’

If you leave and go back to the ship, turn to page 23

If you try to dodge past the Nebulan and sneak a look
into the cellar, turn to page 29

15
 He is only too happy to answer your questions.
Pointing to a giant dish-shaped mirror on the roof of the
building, he says, ‘That’s a parabolic reflector. My
experiments involve reflecting the light from a laser
that I have mounted on a satellite in orbit. By observing
the phase shift, we ...’
HOT ROD interrupts impatiently: ‘Oh, this stuff
makes my circuits switch off. Can’t we go into town or
something?’

If you go along with HOT ROD’s suggestion, turn to

page 30
If you still want to hear about Sparks ’ experiments, turn
to page 35
If you’d like to ask about the Autobots and Decepticons,
turn to page 22

16
The dank cellar makes you uneasy. Feeling a chill run
down your spine, you hurry up the stairs to find your
friends. The floor of the nightclub is jammed with
dozens of burly Nebulan miners, though, and you
cannot see HOT ROD and Sparks at first. Pushing your
way between the miners, who are all too drunk on fine
oil to notice you, you search among the tables. At last
you catch sight of them at a table near the door.
‘We thought you’d got lost!’ says HOT ROD, pointing
to a chair.
‘Pardon?’ you reply, cupping your ear. Deafening
electronic music is blaring out from speakers all around
the walls, drowning out any conversation.
Sparks nods when he sees the music bothers you. ‘A
bit too noisy, eh?’ he says.

Turn to page 70

17
 Your hunch seems to have paid off, because you
discover deep footprints in the sand leading into the
abandoned mineshaft. They could only have been
made by a large robot.
The entrance to the mine is dark and forbidding.
‘HOT ROD .. .’ you shout, ‘are you in there?’ But you
do not get even an echo in answer.

If you think you should go into the mine, turn to

page 32
If you want to take a look around outside first, turn to
page 46

18
You climb into the driving seat of the jeep. The controls
are not all that different from a spaceship’s. After a few
moments you have managed to get the jeep started and
you are gliding slowly above the pale green sand
dunes.
In the glove compartment you find a map showing
where two meteors fell. The city and the location of
Sparks’ laboratory are also clearly marked, along with
two circles in red ink. Beside these someone has
written: Murder victims found here. Both circles are
near to where the meteors came down, and you guess
that Sparks discovered some connection between the
meteors and the killings.
The map also shows the site of an abandoned mine,
and Sparks has written Decept HQ? next to this. It is not
much to go on, but it is a start. You decide to head-for
the mines and see if HOT ROD and Sparks are there.
The ride to the mines is quite enjoyable, and it almost
makes you forget about Harry’s disappearance. Sight¬
ing the mine entrance from the top of a dune, you
switch off the ignition and let the jeep settle down onto
the sand.

If you decide to walk down to the mine from here, turn

to page 34
If you take the hoverjeep right down to the mine
entrance, turn to page 62

19
 That was a serious mistake. You will only get in the
way, while HOT ROD is powerful enough to take care
of the two smaller robots on his own. He deals with the
one grappling him by flipping him over his head with a
judo throw, and then delivers a powerful punch for
good measure.
The other ASR has landed high up on top of a
computer panel. HOT ROD steps forward to seize the
panel and topple him from his perch. But the ASR fires
his backpack jets again, sweeping out into the middle
of the room. ‘Human prey!’ he says as he catches sight
of you. ‘I won’t have any trouble charring you to a pile
of cinders.’
His ruby lasers glare sullenly as they focus on you.
You are rooted to the spot. HOT ROD is running
towards you, intending to throw his own armoured
body in the way, but you can see that he will be too late.
The ASR’s lasers erupt into blinding red light. For you,
this is

THE END

20
HOT ROD screeches to a halt outside the Wolf at the
Door nightclub. The street is quiet but you can hear a
muffled throb of music from inside the club. A blue
neon sign flashes on and off above the door. It shows a
wolf with fierce eyes and slavering jaws.
You wait on the pavement with Sparks while HOT
ROD resumes his robot form. ‘It 1-looks very .. .
exciting, doesn’t it?’ stammers Sparks. You can tell he is
nervous. After your previous visit, you’re nervous too.
On the other hand, nothing intimidates HOT ROD.
After a brief glance at the entrance, he strides past the
hulking doorman and selects a table. You and Sparks
follow him inside and sit down. The club is packed with
Nebulan miners - mostly grizzled old characters
whose paintwork is scuffed after years of hard living.
They are drinking high grade oil and chatting to the
elegant android bar staff. You don’t know how
anybody could have a chat in this place - the
electronic music is so loud that you can barely hear
yourself think.
‘It’s very noisy in here, isn’t it?’ you shout to your two
friends. ‘Is this supposed to be Nebulan pop music?’

Turn to page 70

21
‘Well,’ says Sparks cautiously, ‘a lot of that is classified
information . .
‘Oh, there’s no harm in telling our human friend,’
says HOT ROD. He turns to you. ‘All Transformers
originally came from the planet Cybertron, our home
planet, which has been devastated by the war between
Autobots and Decepticons. Some Transformers found
their way to Earth in a spaceship called the Ark. That
happened millions of years ago, long before / was
matrixed. Another group travelled on through the
cosmos until they eventually found this planet,
Nebulos. To cement the alliance with the Nebulans,
each Transformer entered into a binary bonding with
a Nebulan. The Prof, and I are a team, you see:
he provides the strategy and firepower, I provide the
class
‘And the speeches,’ says Sparks. Come along, HOT
ROD, let’s forget the history lesson for now. I think our
young friend might like to see the sights of Nebulos.’
‘Action!’ whoops HOT ROD. ‘Now you’re talkin’,
Prof. Let’s hit the road!’

Turn to page 30

22
Breathing a sigh of relief to be out of the sinister
nightclub, you hurry back to the ship. As you climb the
ramp into the cargo bay, though, you are startled to see
another robot searching among the crates. This one is
painted in vivid hues of red and gold, and is even bigger
than the bullying owner of the Wolf at the Door club.
You can only hope that he has a more agreeable nature
as well.
It seems that he does. ‘Hi,’ he says, ‘I’m HOT ROD.
You must be the pilot.’
‘Co-pilot,’ you tell him. ‘Urn - are you looking for
something?’
‘Yep, and this is it,’ he says, picking up the package of
computer discs you noticed earlier. ‘The Prof’ll be
going spare waiting for these. He’s doing some kind of
vital research and he can’t get on without some new
computer software.’
You remember that there was also a sports car
addressed to Professor Sparks, but when you tell HOT
ROD about this he only laughs and points at a large
splintered crate. ‘That sports car was me,’ he explains.
‘I’m an Autobot, you see, and we can change our shape
to appear as seemingly ordinary vehicles. I had to go to
Earth to fetch the discs for the Prof. A berth on an
interstellar liner doesn’t come cheap, so I transformed
myself into a car and sent myself by freight post!’
The two of you have a good laugh over this. ‘I’d
better not tell Harry,’ you say, chuckling. ‘He’d
probably try to charge you the difference ...’
‘He’d have to wait a while for his money. The
computer discs cost quite a bit, so the Prof, and I are flat
broke. Talking of the Prof. - how about coming along
with me to see him? I guarantee you’ll enjoy the ride.’
9

If you want to go with HOT ROD, turn to page 56

If you explain that you have other deliveries to make,
turn to page 49

23
You tell them you think there’s something suspicious
going on in the nightclub’s cellar. ‘Not only that,’ you
say. ‘It just occurred to me - if they don’t serve
humans, what did Monzo want with a crateful of
brandy?’
‘Hmm,’ says HOT ROD, resuming his robot-form
again. ‘Maybe you’re right. I don’t think we’d better let
this pass without investigating.’
Sparks agrees. Turning to you, he says, ‘We’ll wait
around here for a while, then you can creep back in
and hide behind the bar when everyone leaves at
closing time. After they’ve locked up for the night, you
can unlock the door and let HOT ROD and me in. We
can check out the cellar at our leisure with the place
deserted - that way there’s less chance of getting
caught.’

It sounds as though what they’re planning will

take most of the night. If you want to tag along, turn
to page 44
If not, turn to page 31

24
By now you are absolutely convinced that the club is a
front for some sort of underhand activity. Not wishing
to bump into the unpleasant owner, Monzo, you sneak
around the back way and make your way in without
being noticed. An android is polishing glasses, but the
place is otherwise deserted. You tiptoe past the android
and descend the steps that lead to the cellar.
Peeking out from behind a stack of crates, you see
that HOT ROD and Sparks are indeed here. They have
been caught by the Decepticons! You can see them
lying on the floor, apparently unconscious, as Monzo
disconnects an uninsulated cable from them.
‘You can shut off the machine, Vorath,’ he calls to
another robot standing nearby. ‘I’ve drained most of
the juice out of these two do-gooders. They’re
powerless now.’
‘Excellent,’ chortles Vorath. ‘It is indeed a pleasure to
know that my old enemy, Sparks, will soon be
destroyed. He has been a thorn in my side ever since I
was expelled from the Ministry of Science.’
‘We can deal with them later,’ says Monzo as he coils
up the power cable. ‘For the time being, I suggest we go
to the mines and see if the ASRs have re-energized yet.’
You make sure they have gone before emerging
from hiding to check on your friends. There seems to
be a weak glimmer of light from their eyes, but the evil
Monzo has drained off all their power, leaving them
unable to move or speak.
What can you do? Should you switch on the power
supply and then plug the metal cable back into your
friends?

If you think you should do that, turn to page 39

' If not, turn to page 53

25
 The heat of the desert is choking. After half-an-hour
you are ready to give up the search, but a wind whips
up clouds of pale green sand and you can no longer see
the laboratory. With your eyes stinging, you stumble
blindly through the haze of heat. Sweat soaks your
clothes. You begin to shout for help - if HOT ROD is
nearby, he might hear you and come to your rescue.
A metallic shape looms against the sandstorm. But it
is not HOT ROD. The giant robot reaches out and
seizes you in a claw-like grip. Ignoring your struggles, it
carries you through the clouds of sand to an abandoned
mineshaft. Putting you down, it shoves you ahead of it
until you come to a rock-hewn chamber. HOT ROD
and his friend Sparks are here - tied up with lengths of
strong steel cable!
‘Here’s a human to keep you company,’ sneers the
giant robot who captured you.
HOT ROD gives a moan of despair. He is horrified
that, by looking for him, you ran straight into the arms
of the Evil Decepticons. Now the three of you are
doomed, and this is

THE END

&

26
You are not sure if there is anything you can do against
SKULLCRUNCHER, but you try to formulate a plan as
you run outside. Meanwhile, HOT ROD lifts Sparks
and the two of them send bolt after bolt of sizzling elec¬
trical power into the dazed ASRs.
‘You might as well give up,’ you shout to
SKULLCRUNCHER, trying to make your voice sound
brave. ‘MINDWIPE’s down, and your two robot
stooges are next.’
He lumbers closer, jaws wide. As his eye-lenses focus
on a hoverjeep parked nearby, he gives a growl of
sinister delight and begins to grind his teeth. He is
obviously thinking of crunching it up. Of all the
Decepticons, SKULLCRUNCHER takes the most joy
in mindless destruction.

If you jump into the hoverjeep and start it up, turn to

page 33
If you drop something into the jeep, turn to page 41
 It’s HOT ROD, sitting with a smaller robot whom he
introduces as Professor Sparks. ‘Why not join us?’ he
yells over the constant electronic din.
Sparks pushes back a chair for you. When he notices
you are bothered by the noise of the music, he nods in
agreement. ‘I don’t blame you,’ he shouts. ‘Most of
these miners are half deaf from the continual noise of
drilling in the mineshafts where they work. They like
their music as loud as possible - otherwise they can’t
hear it!’

Turn to page 70
‘Hey!’ snarls the Nebulan as you step past him.
‘Whaddya think you’re doing, kid?’
‘Don’t worry,’ you tell him. ‘I’m just going to go down
ahead of you to switch on the light. You wouldn’t want
to trip over in the dark and break all those bottles of
brandy, would you?’ You start to go down the steps
before he can stop you. The cellar is cold and unlit. Not
a very inviting prospect. You can just make out a shrill
whining at the upper limit of your hearing, and it sets
your teeth on edge. Nervously, you stop half-way down
the steps.
Then a deep voice booms up out of the darkness:
‘Monzo, is that you?’
‘No,’ calls back Monzo, who has put down the crate of
brandy and caught up with you. ‘It’s a snooping human
brat.’
His small eyes light up as he catches you by the
sleeve. Saying nothing, he grins evilly and reaches for
your throat. For a moment it looks like the end - then
the door to the nightclub swings open and half a dozen
rowdy Nebulans saunter in. ‘Hey, are you open?’ they
demand. ‘What about some service around here? Five
cans of premium oil, and be quick about it.’
Monzo glares at them and grunts. He realizes he
cannot do anything to you with these witnesses. After
giving you a threatening stare, he shoves you roughly
away. ‘Push off and don’t come back,’ he growls.
/

Turn*t«4iage 23
>• , . V* ^ *•

29
 You and Sparks settle back to enjoy the ride as HOT
ROD drives you back into town. The stars of the galaxy
are crystal-clear in the dry desert air. As you turn to
look at the moon you spot a brief flare of light out of the
corner of your eye. ‘Shooting star!’ you cry, pointing to
where it fell.
‘That’s the second unusually bright meteor this
week,’ says Sparks. ‘Normally they burn up in the
upper atmosphere, but it looks to me as though that
one made it down to the ground. Perhaps we should
detour and investigate? It’s probably come down a
couple of miles off the road.’
‘No way,’ says HOT ROD. ‘We’re going into town. I
know you, Prof. - if we go over and check out that
meteor, you’ll fritter the night away on a bunch of tests
and experiments. It’ll keep till tomorrow.’
‘Yes, that it will,’ agrees Sparks. He settles back in his
seat. ‘Let’s be daring and visit one of these nightclubs
you’re so fond of, then.’

Have you delivered the consignment of Sirian brandy?

If so, turn to page 43
If you haven’t yet delivered the brandy, turn to page 50

30
You point out to HOT ROD and Sparks that, being a
mere human, you do not have their limitless stamina.
‘You can go on partying all night if you like,’ you tell
them, ‘but I need to get some sleep!’
Sparks seems quite pleased at the excuse this gives
him to get out of visiting any more nightclubs. ‘Quite
right,’ he says, ‘and we need a recharge, too. I think
it’s time for us all to call it a night, don’t you, HOT
ROD?’
They take you back to your spaceship and tell you
that they’ll do some further investigating before
picking you up tomorrow afternoon. ‘Pleasant dreams,’
calls back HOT ROD as they speed away across the
tarmac.
It is odd that Harry is not back at the ship yet.
Perhaps he has got involved in an all-night card game
or something. You are so exhausted that you are asleep
the moment you lie down on your bunk. You have a
restless night, though. Your dreams are full of images
of the fearsome WEIRDWOLF.
The next morning you are woken by three black-
armoured Nebulans. The triangular symbol painted on
their chest tells you that they are Police. One of them
opens a wallet and shows you Harry’s ID card. ‘Is this
the pilot of this ship?’ he wants to know.
‘Yes,’ you say. You have a feeling of dread in the pit
of your stomach. Has something happened to Harry?
The Nebulan hands you Harry’s jacket and wallet.
‘These were found in the desert this morning, close to
where a meteor fell,’ he says. ‘Someone was murdered
in pretty much the same area last week. We’re afraid
that’s probably what happened to your friend - but
until we find his body, we can’t be certain.
You slump into the co-pilot’s seat, stunned with
shock. Surely it cannot be true - Harry cannot be dead!

Turn to page 3

31
 You thought at first that it would be cool inside the
mineshaft, out of the sun’s burning rays. In fact it is
stiflingly hot and, soaked in sweat as you are, you are
soon grimy with the fine rock dust in the air of the shaft.
The deeper you go, the less light filters in from outside.
Soon you can barely see your own feet in the darkness.
You have to feel ahead of you carefully before taking
each step in order to avoid the vertical chutes that drop
down every so often from the hard stone floor. When
the mines were in use there would have been lifts to
carry miners up and down these chutes. Now, with the
lifts long since removed, they are just lethal pitfalls for
the unwary.
Suddenly you hear something from down a side
passage. Whirling round, you are blinded by the glare
of an arc lamp. A tall robot form stands silhouetted
against it.
‘HOT ROD . . .?’ you start to say.
‘Wrong guess,’ says an eerie voice as the robot raises
its gun. ‘Dead wrong.’
There is a dull subsonic boom that makes every bone
in your body shake. It is as though you have been
clubbed over the head. Unable to stay conscious, you
slump to the ground. The last thing you see before
blacking out is a robot calling imperiously to two
companions. ‘Attack Squad! Put this human where it
can do us no further harm . ..’

Turn to page 40

32
Luckily the keys are still in the ignition. Sparks must be
the trusting sort. You start the jeep and it rises on a
cushion of air. SKULLCRUNCHER grunts in derision.
‘Do you expect to escape from me in that?’ he sneers.
In fact you have just the opposite idea. You twist the
steering-column until you are heading straight for him,
then wedge your foot down on the accelerator. The
jeep gathers speed, but SKULLCRUNCHER stands his
ground. He may be evil, but no-one could accuse him of
cowardice . . .
A split-second before the impact, you throw the
hover-drive full on and leap to safety. The sand is soft
enough to give you a light fall, and you turn to see what
happens. SKULLCRUNCHER’s mouth is wide open.
He snaps up the hoverjeep in mid-air and tries to
swallow it whole. But he reckoned without the jeep’s
momentum. The chunks of scrap metal fly down his
throat at more than a hundred miles an hour, sending
him flying back across the sand as though punched by
ULTRA MAGNUS himself!

Turn to page 48

33
 On the off-chance that someone unfriendly might be
around, you decide to leave the jeep some distance
from the mine. The noise of its engine would alert
anybody inside that you had arrived. Approaching on
foot, you have no trouble clearing a few planks from
the entrance and making your way down the main
tunnel. The beams holding up the roof show signs
of recent repair. You think Professor Sparks was
right - someone is using these abandoned mines as
an HQ.
As your eyes adjust to the gloom, you see two figures
lying on the ground down a side tunnel. They are
pinned down by the weight of dozens of heavy
boulders, but seem to be unhurt. You approach
cautiously until you see that one of them is HOT ROD.
That means that the other must be his Nebulan friend,
Professor Sparks.
‘What happened to you?’ you ask HOT ROD.
He is surprised to see you. ‘Ssssh! The Decepticons
could be just down the next tunnel,’ he says. ‘We came
here to spy on them, but we ran into MINDWIPE. His
blaster caused the tunnel to cave in on us - and you
can see the results.’
‘We can’t get free, youngster,’ puts in Sparks. ‘These
rocks are too heavy to shift. You’d better get away
before the Decepticons find you - we’re doomed
anyway, but you mustn’t jeopardize yourself for our
sake.’
Whatever he says, you know you cannot leave them
here to die!

If you start lifting the rocks off them, turn to page 55

If you try something else, turn to page 63

34
Sparks takes one of the computer discs that you
brought from Earth. ‘This software allows me to tilt and
rotate the reflector,’ he says enthusiastically. To
demonstrate, he boots the disc and then flicks a bank of
switches. An image of the desert outside appears on a
screen, and when Sparks touches another switch a grid
appears superimposed over the picture. He points to a
spherical dial. ‘By turning this you can now alter the
facing of the mirror. Want to try it out?’
You swivel the dial. A moment later you hear the
grinding of machinery from above as hydraulic pistons
begin to move the reflector. A patch of bright light
appears on the screen and edges along the ground.
‘What’s that light?’ asks HOT ROD, interested in
spite of his earlier boredom.
‘Moonlight reflected from the dish on the roof,’
replies Sparks. ‘Note that because of the shape of the
dish, it keeps the light quite focused. I could
demonstrate this mathematically .. .’
HOT ROD stifles a yawn. ‘I’ll bet you could,
Prof. - but not to us lesser mortals, okay? Come on,
you’ve been cooped up in this lab of yours for weeks.
What say we cruise into town and hit a nightclub?’
Sparks is obviously nervous at the prospect of doing
anything adventurous, but HOT ROD manages to
persuade him. He finds a cloth and gives his rather
grubby chassis a polish, then says, ‘Okay, let’s go!’

Turn to page 30

35
One of the planks on the side of the crate has come
loose in transit. As you try to refasten it, you notice a
light flashing on and off inside. At first you try to
restrain your curiosity, but it is no use. You pull a
couple more planks loose so you can squeeze inside to
investigate. You find that the flashing light is set in the
car’s dashboard, just above a button marked with a
spark-symbol.
You really should resist the urge to press it. Once
again, though, your curiosity gets the better of you.
The button clicks and suddenly the whole car begins to
shake. You are out of the crate again within seconds,
watching dumbfounded as the crate splinters into
matchwood. A red-and-gold robot steps from the
wreckage and waves cheerfully to you.
‘Hi,’ he says. ‘I’m HOT ROD. Thanks for the wake-up
call - I guess I must’ve dozed off after the first dozen
parsecs or so. We’ve arrived on Nebulos, then? Great.’
You try to answer, but you are so astonished that you
can only make a gurgling sound as you open and close
your mouth. ‘W-wow!’ you finally manage to stammer.
‘Where did you come from?’
‘Hey,’ says HOT ROD proudly, ‘I was the sports car.

36
I’m one of the Heroic Autobots, you see, and we have
the ability to change into various earthly vehicles and
weapons. Now, there should be a parcel for the Prof,
around here someplace . . .’
‘Urn, excuse me,’ you say as he begins to look around
the cargo bay, ‘but why did you decide to travel all the
way to Nebulos in a crate?’
HOT ROD picks up the package of computer discs
addressed to Professor Sparks. ‘Lack of funds, pal, lack
of funds. You know what it costs to travel on an
interstellar passenger liner? No, neither do I - and I
don’t want to find out! I figured if I turned into my
automobile-form I could get myself shipped to Nebulos.
And freight is much cheaper. Makes sense, yeah?’
‘For an Autobot, sure,’ you reply, nodding.
HOT ROD makes for the bay doors. ‘Well, I’d better
get these discs over to the Prof. - he’s probably pacing
up and down his lab waiting for me right now. Do you
want to come along for the ride?’

If you want to go with HOT ROD, turn to page 56

If you explain that you have other deliveries to make,
turn to page 49

37
 As you advance cautiously across the room, Sparks
points to a second metal cylinder standing beside the
door.
HOT ROD notices a glass screen set into the top of
each cylinder and peers inside. ‘What can you see?’ you
ask him, startled by the sound of your own voice as it
echoes along the hall.
‘There’s a robot inside each of them,’ he says. ‘They
look like Attack Squad robots - robotic infantry used
by the Decepticons in the war on Cybertron. But
they’re floating in some weird chemical - and they
seem to be deactivated.’
Sparks has taken a look at the other cylinder. ‘You’re
right,’ he says. ‘These two are ASRs. But they seem to
be an advanced model - equipped with lasers and
atomic power batteries.’
‘Wow!’ gasps HOT ROD. ‘An army of these dudes
doesn’t bear thinking about. What’s going on, Prof?’
‘My guess is that these two are in suspended
animation,’ says Sparks. ‘As for putting the pieces of
the puzzle together - I don’t have enough to go on just
yet. I need more facts.’

If you suggest opening one of the cylinders, turn to

page 66
If you think it is worthwhile having a look at the brandy
you delivered here earlier, turn to page 60
If you think it is time you left, turn to page 14

38
You hurriedly reverse the power flow and then take
hold of the cable, intending to recharge your friends.
You should have thought more carefully before acting.
You forgot that a robot like Monzo could easily handle
a live power cable without insulation - but for you it is
certain death. Thousands of volts crackle through you
in a second, bringing your part in the adventure to an
abrupt

END

39
«
 Hours pass before you finally wake up. Pitch darkness
surrounds you and the air is dry and stale. You get to
your feet feeling dizzy but otherwise none the worse
for wear. It is a reasonable guess that the Decepticons
stunned you with a sonic blast and then left you here to
die. Feeling around in the darkness, you discover that
they have put you into a narrow crevice in the rock
wall and then piled boulders up across the entrance.
You are trapped!
Just as you are beginning to panic, clanging metal
footsteps echo through the mine. Someone is
approaching. It could just be the Decepticons,
returning to finish you off, but in that case you have
nothing to lose by shouting for help. You start
bellowing at the top of your lungs.
‘Calm down and keep quiet!’ hisses a voice from the
other side of the pile of boulders. ‘I’ll have you out of
there in no time.’ As he begins to lift the boulders away,
you see HOT ROD’S friendly face smiling at you in the
gloom.
‘The Decepticons are here,’ you tell him as you
scramble free.
‘I know. We’d better get away before they come
back.’
You make your way along a tunnel, but the
Decepticons carried you some distance after knocking
you out. You have completely lost your bearings. A few
minutes’ walking brings you to a fork in the passage.
You are alarmed to see HOT ROD scratching his head
in bewilderment. ‘Bad news,’ he says. ‘I’m lost.’

If you think the way out is to the right, turn to page 54

If you suggest going left, turn to page 47

40
You quickly search in your pockets for the anti-gravity
pod. You twist the dial and drop it into the jeep as
SKULLCRUNCHER lumbers forward. Moments later
you are running for your life.
SKULLCRUNCHER pauses by the jeep, but he still
has his eyes on you. He hasn’t noticed that the jeep is
rising off the ground as the pod makes it weightless.
Then his head bobs down to devour the jeep in a series
of short gulps.
‘Go on, slowcoach,’ you yell at him. ‘Bet you can’t
catch me!’
He gives a synthesized roar of anger. You see his
powerful legs tense as he gets ready to pounce on you.
‘You puny flesh-thing!’ he rages. ‘I will crush you
like - yipeV
The leap takes him right over you and up into the air,
where he remains floating like a misshapen bubble.
The anti-gravity pod is now working to make
SKULLCRUNCHER himself weightless. Baffled and
alarmed, he begins to bluster threats. You only laugh.
‘You should chew your food more carefully before
swallowing, SKULLCRUNCHER,’ you tell him. ‘But
anytime you want to get down, just spit out the jeep
and the anti-gravity pod.’
He knows he cannot do that - without the anti¬
gravity pod inside his belly, he’d plummet to the
ground like a stone. He is stuck until the Autobots
choose to come and get him.

41
As you pick up the box of discs, you happen to glance at
the crate containing the sports car. The label on the
side shows that it too is addressed to Professor Sparks.
Odd, you think - what would a quiet academic type
want with a snazzy sports car? You begin to wonder
about this, then you remember that Harry is always
telling you not to let yourself daydream. You had
better concentrate on getting these items delivered.

If you decide to deliver the car and discs, turn to

page 36
If you decide to deliver the brandy first after all, turn to
page 15
‘Well, we ought to steer clear of the Wolf at the Door
club,’ you tell them. ‘The owner’s a nasty piece of work.
Probably a gangster or something, I shouldn’t wonder.’
Sparks is nervous. ‘A gangster!’ he says. ‘Oh dear,
we’d better not go there. I’ll tell you what - why don’t
we go to a lecture at the Science Museum instead?’
‘Because this is a mining town and there aren’t any
museums,’ says HOT ROD. ‘Now, what’s this about the
Wolf at the Door, pal? What makes you think the
owner’s up to no good?’
You tell them about your visit to the nightclub and
your encounter with its bullying owner. As you reach
the outskirts of the city, HOT ROD comes to a snap
decision. He swerves around a corner and heads
towards the Wolf at the Door club. ‘It all sounds a bit
fishy to me,’ he says. ‘Like it or not, Prof., we have to
investigate.’

Turn to page 21
The first part of Sparks’ plan goes smoothly. When it
comes to closing time, the android bar staff are so busy
getting the drunken Nebulans to leave that they do not
notice you duck down behind the bar. Once you are
sure that everyone has gone, you peek up from behind
the bar and then creep over to the door. HOT ROD and
Sparks are waiting outside. You unbolt the door and
they dodge quickly inside. ‘I hope we weren’t spotted,’
says Sparks nervously. ‘Technically what we’re doing
amounts to breaking and entering .. .’
‘Now don’t overstate the case, Prof.,’ says HOT ROD.
‘We haven’t done any breaking, have we?’
You are just as nervous as Sparks, but with HOT
ROD leading the way you descend into the cellar. At
the bottom of the steps you see an archway leading
through to a much bigger room. Lights are on in there,
and the three of you quickly slide into the shadows.
You peer cautiously into the room. To your
amazement, you see a giant robot wolf that has just
entered through a large sliding door in the opposite
wall. It has a metal cylinder in its jaws.
‘That’s WEIRDWOLF,’ whispers Sparks. ‘He’s one of
the Decepticons. A particularly nasty piece of work,
even for that band of evil rogues.’
A hatch flips open in WEIRDWOLF’s back and you
see the nightclub owner, Monzo, clamber out. He is

44
greeted by a Nebulan whom he addresses as Vorath.
‘Did you have any trouble getting it?’ asks Vorath as
Monzo climbs down to the floor. WEIRDWOLF just
watches them with a look of dull savagery in his eyes.
Monzo shrugs and glances up at the steel cylinder.
‘Not much. It was an easy task for WEIRDWOLF to
sniff it out. Had to kill a space pilot who was taking a
walk out in the desert, though. He must’ve seen where
the cylinder fell.’
‘I expect WEIRDWOLF enjoyed that,’ says Vorath
drily.
WEIRDWOLF puts the cylinder gently down on the
floor beside them. ‘Tore him to bits I did,’ he growls.
‘None on us can spy. Snoopers and spies - all will die.’
Vorath gives him a look of contempt and then turns
back to Monzo. ‘I think we should go and check our
tracking apparatus at the abandoned mines,’ he says.
‘Maybe the pilot you met had a chance to tamper with it
before you killed him.’
Monzo nods. ‘Good idea. Come on,’ WOLF.’ You wait
as the three villains leave by way of the sliding door.

If you want to take a closer look at the strange metal

cylinder, turn to page 38
If you think it is time to leave, turn to page 52

45
After another glance at the footprints outside, you see
that they were made by two different robots. From the
spacing you deduce that they were made by two four-
footed robots. Certainly not Sparks and HOT ROD . . .
It looks as if one of the robots had a tail, as there is a
deep track running between the marks of its feet. That
one seems to have stayed in the mine, but you notice
that the other set of prints returns the way it came.
Since you know the tracks were not made by your
friends, it is logical to assume they were made by their
arch-foes, the Evil Decepticons. Feeling quite proud of
yourself for your detective work, you decide it is
unwise to enter the mine on your own. Perhaps you
should find out whether HOT ROD has paid another
visit to Monzo’s sinister nightclub.

Turn to page 25

46
You have gone only a few metres down the passage
when a massive steel door suddenly drops down
behind you. At the same time, lights flash on and a siren
begins to sound. You have triggered an alarm!
A bulky purple-and-black shape blocks the tunnel up
ahead. ‘MINDWIPE,’ says HOT ROD, stepping in front
of you. He is bravely determined to protect you, but
without Sparks it is a one-sided battle. MINDWIPE
raises his viper pistol and a jet of pungent liquid spurts
all over HOT ROD’s chest. It seeps into the young
Autobot’s circuitry within seconds, and he collapses in
a paralysed heap.
Ignoring HOT ROD’s groans, MINDWIPE strides
forward. His viper pistol will not affect you, but that
knowledge gives you no comfort. Each of his cobalt-
steel hands has the power to crush rock, and as you see
him bearing down on you there can be no doubt that
this is

THE END

47
 There is a heavy tread on the sand nearby. It is
WEIRDWOLF, loping back to the front of the
laboratory now that he sees what has become of his
comrades.
‘Hah!’ he snarls. ‘How me you stop, little human?
Show you tricks I will. Swallow little human whole I
will!’
You are in no doubt that he could do it. His grinning
jaws slaver with oil as he approaches you. Glancing
into the laboratory, you see that HOT ROD and Sparks
are on the verge of defeating the two ASR robots. But
will they be in time to rescue you from WEIRDWOLF?

If you turn and run, turn to page 69

If you stand your ground and wait for HOT ROD and
Sparks to help, turn to page 6

48
You are tempted by HOT ROD’s offer, but you decide
that you had better not wander off. You have various
chores to attend to, and Harry would only get annoyed
if he came back to find you missing. ‘Thanks,’ you say,
‘but I can’t really come along just at the moment.
Maybe tomorrow?’
‘Sure,’ says HOT ROD, ‘drop by anytime. The Prof.’s
lab is just outside town on the west road. You can’t
miss it.’
You watch him step down from the bay and swiftly
change shape to become the streamlined sports car
again. With the computer discs stowed safely on his
passenger seat, HOT ROD shifts into top gear and
screeches away across the hot tarmac. ‘See you
tomorrow, then!’ he calls back. You laugh as several
spaceport engineers stare agog at the driverless talking
car that has just whizzed past them.

If you haven't yet delivered the consignment of Sirian

brandy to the nightclub, turn to page 64
If you have already delivered the brandy, you may as
well head for your bunk now and get some sleep. Turn
to page 8
 You have an idea. ‘I’ve got a crate of brandy to deliver
at the Wolf at the Door club,’ you tell the others. ‘Why
don’t we go by way of the spaceport and then I can pick
it up? We can kill two birds with one stone.’
It takes only a few minutes to reach the spaceport at
HOT ROD’s top speed. This time everyone assumes
that Sparks is driving the car, so you get no odd looks
from passers-by. Once you are aboard the ship, you go
to fetch an anti-gravity pod. These small devices make
cargo weightless so that it is easier to unload.
‘You won’t need that,’ says HOT ROD. He lifts the
large crate of brandy as though it already weighs
nothing. You slip the anti-gravity pod into your pocket.
Back on the tarmac, HOT ROD decides to show off.
He tosses the crate into the air, then transforms into his
car-shape and speeds around so quickly that he
overtakes it before it comes down. The crate sails
through his open window and lands softly on the back
seat.
‘Nice trick,’ says Sparks, clapping. ‘Good job it landed
on the seat, though. I don’t think the shipping company
had that kind of treatment in mind when they labelled
it Fragile - handle with carel'
The nightclub is only a few blocks from the space¬
port, and you are there in no time. HOT ROD offers to
carry the crate down to the cellar, but this time you fix
the antigravity disc to it. ‘My turn to show off,’ you say
to him as you balance the now weightless crate on one
finger. ‘Why don’t you two find us somewhere to sit? It
looks pretty packed in there.’
You go down the cellar steps. It is dark, and you
cannot see any sign of a light switch. You put the crate
down in the stairwell. As you put the anti-gravity pod
back in your pocket, you happen to notice something
out of the corner of your eye. Something gleaming
white . . .

If you want to take a closer look, turn to page 9

If you go straight upstairs to re-join HOT ROD and
Sparks, turn to page 17
 Sparks agrees with you. The longer we stay here, the
greater our chance of getting caught,’ he says.
HOT ROD reluctantly goes along with the two of
you. You get the impression that he’d rather stay and
fight it out with the Decepticons when they return.
They take you back to your spaceship and tell you that
they’ll do some further investigating before picking
you up tomorrow afternoon.
‘Pleasant dreams,’ calls HOT ROD as they speed
away across the tarmac.
It is odd that Harry is not back at the ship yet.
Perhaps he has got involved in an all-night card game
or something. You are so exhausted that you are asleep
the moment you lie down on your bunk. You have a
restless night, though. Your dreams are full of images
of the fearsome WEIRD WOLF.
The next morning you are woken by three black-
armoured Nebulans. The triangular symbol painted on
their chests tells you that they are Police. One of them
opens a wallet and shows you Harry’s ID card. ‘Is this
the pilot of this ship?’ he wants to know.
‘Yes,’ you say. You have a feeling of dread in the pit
of your stomach. Has something happened to Harry?
The Nebulan hands you Harry’s jacket and wallet.
‘These were found in the desert this morning, close to
where a meteor fell,’ he says. ‘Someone was murdered
in pretty much the same area last week. We’re afraid
that’s probably what happened to your friend - but
until we find his body, we can’t be certain.’
You slump into the co-pilot’s seat, stunned with
shock. Surely it cannot be true - Harry cannot be dead!

Turn to page 3

52
You realize the danger of an uninsulated power cable.
It was easy for Monzo to handle the cable with
electricity running through it, but if you were to
attempt such a thing you would be instantly burnt to a
crisp! You must plug the cable in first, and only then is it
safe to switch on the power supply. As you do this, you
must decide which of your friends to recharge first.

If you plug the cable into HOT ROD, turn to page 67

If you plug the cable into Sparks first, turn to page 61

53
 After a few minutes, you catch sight of a faint trace of
moonlight ahead, and a warm gust of wind blows
across your face. You have reached the mine entrance.
It is not a moment too soon. A heavy crunch of
footsteps booms up out of the mine behind you, and
you hear a menacing robot voice raised in alarm: The
human has escaped! An Autobot has penetrated our
defences! Catch them - quickly!’
HOT ROD has no intention of waiting around to be
captured. He rapidly shifts to his car mode and tells you
to jump in. You go skidding off across the hot desert
sand just seconds before the Decepticons pour out of
the mine. A photon blast strikes the ground right
behind you, fusing the sand into molten glass, but HOT
ROD is an expert at evasive action. His speed and zig¬
zagging tactics mean that your enemies cannot draw a
bead on you.
‘How did you know I was in the mine?’ you ask as
HOT ROD steers towards Sparks’ laboratory.
‘I didn’t. It was just luck that I stumbled across
you - I’d actually gone there to do a bit of spying.’
Sparks is waiting for you outside the lab. ‘We must
hurry inside and prepare our defences,’ he says as soon
as HOT ROD has filled him in. ‘The Decepticons will be
in hot pursuit, we can be sure of that.’
Sparks secures the doors while HOT ROD tells you
what they’ve found out. It seems that Monzo’s
nightclub is just a front for the Decepticons’ nefarious
plans. ‘We found two strange metal cylinders in the
cellar there,’ says HOT ROD. ‘And each cylinder
contained an Attack Squad robot in what the Prof, calls
suspended animation. Asleep, in other words.
Individually, ASR robots aren’t too powerful - but for
all we know the Decepts might be intending to smuggle
hundreds of them on to Nebulos!’

Turn to page 4

54
It takes all your strength to lift even the smallest rocks
off them. ‘Maybe I can find a plank,’ you say. ‘If I can
use it as a lever, I should have you out from under these
boulders in next to no time.’
‘No time left have you,’ grates a rumbling voice. You
spin round. The passage is blocked by a giant robot
wolf that has bent its head to stare at you.
‘WEIRDWOLF!’ gasps Sparks. ‘Run! Never mind us.
Get away from here as quick as you can!’
But there is nowhere to run. WEIRDWOLF’s jaws
gape in an evil leer. You see the gleam of his tungsten-
steel fangs, and you know at once that you are about to
meet your

END
 HOTROD descends the ramp and waits on the tarmac
while you close the spaceship doors. ‘It wouldn’t do to
have someone rip off all our cargo,’ you say to him.
He nods. ‘For sure. But there isn’t much theft on
Nebulos, in fact. The only criminal types around here
are the Decepticons and their Nebulan hench¬
men - and the kind of crimes they get up to aren’t theft,
but something much more sinister.’
After HOT ROD has changed back into his sports car
form, you pick up the box of computer discs and
clamber into the passenger seat. ‘You’d better fasten
your seat belt,’ he yells over the roar of his revving
engine, ‘they don’t call me HOT ROD for nothing!’
A moment later he shows you what he means, by
whizzing across the landing field towards the
spaceport gate at more than a hundred miles an hour.
The acceleration is so fast that you feel like you’ve left
your stomach about twenty metres behind! Gripping
the dashboard, you enjoy the cool wind whipping past
your face from the open window - a refreshing change
from the baking heat rising off the tarmac. And as HOT
ROD beeps his horn at a group of spacefarers who are
walking towards the arrivals lounge, you both laugh at
the startled expression on their faces. ‘You’d think
they’d never seen a car driving itself before,’ says HOT
ROD.

Turn to page 58

56
You step forward into the darkness away from the
stairwell. The cellar is even larger than you
guessed - it goes right back into another, larger room.
You peer into the distance, unable to see anything in
the darkness but imagining all sorts of creepy things.
There is a tarpaulin by your feet. It seems to have
been thrown over something behind a stack of boxes.
You pick it up, and give out a gasp of horror. The gleam
of white you saw was a pile of gnawed human bones!
You don’t want to stay down here a moment longer
than you have to. After hurriedly replacing the
tarpaulin, you run up the stairs. Even the deafening
music is a welcome contrast to the shock you’ve just
had. As you make for the door, someone calls to you
from one of the tables: ‘Hi there!’

Turn to page 28

57
You head west out of the city, and the paved roads and
tall buildings soon give way to a dirt track fringed with
unearthly cacti. The greenish-white desert sand
stretches off as far as you can see. After a few minutes,
a low dome-shaped building comes into view. ‘That’s
the Prof.’s lab,’ says HOT ROD, screeching to a halt
beside it.
A robot about your own height emerges from the
building, and HOT ROD introduces him as Sparks. ‘The
Prof.’s the top boffin on Nebulos,’ he says, slapping the
smaller robot on the back. ‘Plus which, he transforms
into the niftiest electrostatic discharger rifle this side of
Andromeda.’
Professor Sparks chuckles. ‘My young friend
exaggerates at times. I’m really quite an ordinary
electrostatic discharger rifle . . .’

58
 ‘Don’t let this false modesty fool you,’ HOT ROD
pretends to whisper behind his hand. ‘His atomic
batteries pack enough volts to stun a dozen
Deceptions!’
Even though it is now an hour after sunset, the dry air
is still as hot as an oven. Sparks notices you wipe your
brow, and suggests going inside - his lab is fully air-
conditioned. ‘The nights are hot here,’ he explains as
the three of you step into the cool of the building.
‘Unlike deserts on Earth, where I’m told it can get
rather cold once the sun goes down. That’s because
Earth sand doesn’t trap the daytime heat - but Nebulan
sand has a more fluid make-up with a high heat
capacity. In fact.. .’
‘Hey, Prof.,’ groans HOT ROD, covering his ears.
You aren’t gonna give us one of your science lectures,
are you?’

If you ask Sparks to explain his scientific work, turn to

page 16
If you ask about the conflict between Autobots and
Decepticons, turn to page 22
If you decide that neither of these subjects is any of your
business, turn to page 30

59
 ‘Why, this isn’t brandy!’ exclaims Sparks as he exam¬
ines one of the bottles. ‘It’s a catalytic stimulant. ..’
‘In plain language, please, Prof.,’ says HOT ROD.
Sparks points to the steel cylinders. ‘Those ASR
robots are in a kind of deep sleep. They must have been
sent from Cybertron centuries ago. Once this chemical
is added to the liquid they’re floating in, they’ll wake
up!’
‘In that case,’ you begin to say, ‘maybe we should...’
You don’t get time to complete your suggestion.
Hearing a sound, HOT ROD catches hold of your arm
and propels you into the shadows. You take cover in
the nick of time - the sliding door is opening. As you
watch from your hiding-place, Monzo steps back into
the room.
‘We could easily handle him,’ whispers HOT ROD.
You think that it would be better to leave now. ‘If we
captured Monzo it would just alert the other
Decepticons that someone’s on to them,’ you point out.

Turn to page 14

60
You have made a wise choice. Sparks is much smaller
than HOT ROD, and it only takes a minute for his
energy to be restored.
‘Quick,’ you say as he gets to his feet. ‘Monzo might
return at any moment. We have to connect the cable to
HOT ROD.’
‘I have a better idea,’ says Sparks. He transforms
himself into his other mode: a powerful electrostatic
rifle. Carefully directing the rifle at HOT ROD’S empty
power pack, you press the trigger. There is a crackling
sound and a blinding flash of light as a white-hot spark
leaps from the rifle.
As your vision clears, HOT ROD is already getting to
his feet. ‘Wow,’ he says. ‘You sure pack a lot of juice,
Prof. After that recharge I feel ready to take on the
whole Decepticon army single-handed!’
‘You may get your wish if we don’t hurry,’ says
Sparks as he changes back to his robot form. ‘We’d
better return to my laboratory and plan our next
action.’
‘Okay,’ replies HOT ROD, ‘but before we go I want to
leave something to show those Decepts we mean busi¬
ness.’ With these words he raises his metal fists and
shatters the energy-draining machine into scrap metal.
Once he is sure Monzo will never be able to use it for his
evil purposes again, he joins you outside the club and
the three of you race back to Sparks’ laboratory.
Back at the laboratory, Sparks runs the data he’s
collected through his computer. While waiting for the
results, he tells you what he and HOT ROD found out
before they were captured. It seems that special robot
fighters from an Attack Squad division have been
arriving on Nebulos in mysterious steel cylinders.

Turn to page 4

61
 You start up the jeep and steer it down towards the
mine entrance. Suddenly a gigantic robot, alerted by
the noise of the jeep’s engine, emerges from the mine
and points its rifle at you. You hear a deep rumbling
noise building up in the air, and your teeth rattle in
your skull. The jeep pitches forward as though struck
by an invisible hand, throwing you out onto the sand.
Before you have a chance to run, the robot has levelled
his sonic rifle at you. The shock wave causes you to
black out instantly.
You are dimly aware of being picked up and carried
somewhere. You feel hard metal fingers around you.
The blazing heat of the sun disappears as you are taken
into the darkness of the mine. You try to open your
eyes and look around, but the throbbing in your head is
too much for you. You fall unconscious again . ..

Turn to page 40

62
HOT ROD thinks you have no chance of shifting the
boulders, but he does not know about the anti-gravity
pod in your pocket. This little device is useful for more
than just unloading crates from your spaceship. Fixing
it to each rock in turn, you are soon able to float them
off your friends. With a flexing of his metal muscles,
HOT ROD shrugs off the last few rocks and helps
Sparks to his feet.
Pausing only to put the anti-gravity pod back in your
pocket, the three of you hasten to the mine entrance
and speed away towards Sparks’ lab.
‘We’ve found that the Decepticons are up to no good
as usual,’ says Sparks as HOT ROD’S tyres eat up the
miles. They’ve got two Attack Squad robots in metal
cylinders in the basement of the Wolf at the Door
nightclub. And the owner of the nightclub is none other
than Monzo, WEIRDWOLF’s Nebulan trainer!’
HOT ROD screeches to a halt outside the laboratory
and begins to change back to robot mode almost before
you and Sparks have got out. ‘We’d better hurry and
prepare the lab’s defences,’ he says. ‘It won’t take the
Decepts long to notice we’ve escaped.’
 The crate of brandy is quite heavy so you take an anti¬
gravity pod from the ship’s locker. Once you have fixed
this small hemisphere to the side of the crate, you have
only to press the button and the crate rises into the air!
You are able to guide the weightless crate along with
one finger. Walking through the city streets towards
the nightclub, you are glad you weren’t born centuries
ago, in the era before interstellar travel. Unloading
boxes off a ship in those days must have been much
more like hard work.
You reach the nightclub. In the darkness it seems
sinister and threatening. A blue neon sign showing a
hungry wolf flashes on and off above the entrance. You
can hear the muffled beat of loud electronic music
echoing from inside.
Still guiding the weightless crate, you push open the
door and go inside. The place is packed with dozens of
sour-faced old Nebulan miners, getting roaring drunk
on high-grade oil. Elegant androids edge warily among
them, handing out spark plugs and cans of oil.
‘Is the owner here?’ you call out to one of the
androids, but the music is too loud for you to make
yourself heard. When it sees you have a crate of brandy
to deliver, it points to a flight of steps leading down to
the cellar.
The rowdy miners take no notice of you as you
squeeze past them, and it takes you several minutes to
get across the room to the cellar. As you go down into
the cellar, you breathe a sigh of relief to be away from
the bustle and deafening music. The cellar is large and
unlit. You put the crate down near the bottom of the
stairs and remove the anti-gravity pod, making sure to
switch it off before slipping it into your pocket. Just as
you are about to go back upstairs, though, you notice
something white gleaming in the shadows.
If you decide to investigate, turn to page 57
If you go straight back upstairs, turn to page 65
64
The darkened cellar gives you the creeps, and you are
not anxious to remain here a moment longer than you
have to. Putting the mysterious gleam out of your
mind, you hurry up the stairs. Fighting your way
through the crowd of bulky Nebulan miners, you make
for the door. Then a robot gets up and waves to you.
‘Hi!’ he calls.

Turn to page 28
‘Good idea,’ says HOT ROD. Here’s some kind of hatch
on the side. I’ll see if I can force it open.’
Sparks is busy looking at some of the Deceptions’
electronic devices, so he does not notice what HOT
ROD is doing at first. When he does notice, he is too
late to do anything about it. ‘HOT ROD, stop!’ he
shouts in alarm. ‘The liquid in those cylinders is more
than a hundred degrees below zero!’
HOT ROD realizes the danger, but he has already
loosened the hatch. Freezing liquid spurts out, boiling
into poisonous vapour as it rises to room temperature.
You and HOT ROD are instantly soaked by the deathly
cold liquid. Maybe his metal armour will protect him,
but you have no such luck. For you, this is

THE END

66
HOT ROD is the larger of the two - but this only means
that it takes longer to re-energize his power packs.
Minutes drag by before he is even able to speak.
Weakly raising himself up on one elbow, he manages
to groan: ‘Just give me a couple more minutes
recharging, and I should be able to stand . ..’
‘Never that chance will you get!’ booms a terrifying
voice. You whirl, horrified to see that Monzo has
returned without you noticing. He is now riding on the
back of the Decepticon monster, WEIRDWOLF. Even
as you watch, the two transform and combine into the
shape of a tall robotic warrior.
HOT ROD is still too weak to fight. He gives a moan
of defiant rage as the robot warrior raises a pistol. A
thermal sword glows dully in its other hand. You are
staring right down the barrel of the gun.
‘Lights out,’ says Monzo’s voice - for he has become
the warrior’s head. The pistol emits a flare of deadly
photons. You are vaporized in a split-second.

THE END

67
 You suggest that Sparks uses the reflector instead. ‘If
you tilt it to point at MINDWIPE,’ you point out, ‘it’ll
shine his hypnotic power straight back at him.’
The ASRs are also impressed by your idea. They rush
forward to stop Sparks from carrying it out, but HOT
ROD is too fast for them. As Sparks works the controls
to swivel the reflector, his young Autobot friend takes
hold of both of them and swings them against the wall!
They each give a satisfying grunt of pain and fall
stunned.
Watching through the window, you see MINDWIPE
startled by his own reflection. He stares at it,
bewildered, and then succumbs to his own hypnosis.
HOT ROD gives a cheer as the great bat drifts slowly
down to the ground and falls face-down in a sand dune.
‘Way to go, Prof!’ he whoops delightedly.
SKULLCRUNCHER leaps forward onto Sparks’
sand buggy, which is parked outside. He grinds it in his
tungsten-steel jaws and begins to laugh horribly. ‘You
poor fools!’ he snarls. MINDWIPE may be out for the
count, but you still have me and WEIRDWOLF to
reckon with. Prepare to die!’

Turn to page 12

68
You cannot outdistance WEIRDWOLF. Each of his
long strides covers five of yours. You can feel his hot
breath on the back of your neck. It is not really breath,
of course, as a robot does not need to breathe. You
guess that it must be the combusted waste-gases given
off from his internal engines.
A metal flank moves past and blocks your path.
WEIRDWOLF has overtaken his prey. You glance
back to see Sparks and HOT ROD emerging from the
laboratory. They are too far away to save you now.
WEIRDWOLF’s gaping mouth descends. Now you will
never know whether the valiant Autobots can beat
him . . .
WEIRDWOLF’s jaws clamp shut.

THE END

69
A tall blue-grey Nebulan lumbers over to your table. ‘If
you don’t like the music,’ he growls, ‘why don’t you just
buzz off?’
‘N-now see here,’ protests Sparks, but HOT ROD
interrupts him.
‘What’s it to you, buddy?’ says HOT ROD angrily,
getting to his feet. ‘We’re having a private conversation
and a private drink.’
‘Not here, you’re not,’ snarls the blue-grey Nebulan.
‘I’m Monzo and I run this club. We don’t serve humans.
If you want to hang around with your human friend
here, you can do it elsewhere - but not in my club.’
HOT ROD is not pleased. He looks in a mood to
argue, but Sparks puts a hand on his arm. ‘Cool down,
my proud young friend,’ he says. ‘There are plenty of
other places in town. If this loudmouthed clod
says we’re not welcome, let’s just take our custom
elsewhere.’
‘Lucky that your boffin pal has got some smarts,
sonny,’ Monzo calls after HOT ROD as the three of you
leave. ‘I’d have been happy to put you on the
scrapheap!’

Turn to page 2

70
Harry looks very bleary-eyed and he is nursing an
aching head. When you ask him where he’s been, he
winces. ‘Not so loud, please, mate. Oh boy, do I have
the grand-daddy of all headaches! I spent a couple of
days with my old drinking partner Bob Traven - he
lives in a shack by the hills south of here. But when Bob
and I get together with a bottle of that old Betelgeux
whiskey . .
He groans and slumps back in his chair. Then he
spots his jacket. ‘Hey - you’ve got my jacket back. And
my wallet. They must’ve dropped off the back of the
hovercar I took out to Bob’s place. I thought I’d lost ’em
for good.’
‘The police brought them back,’ says HOT ROD.
‘They put two and two together and came up with five!’
‘I thought you were dead, Harry,’ you tell him.
He moans and searches in his pocket for an aspirin.
‘After all those glasses of whiskey, I almost wish I was,
pal. I almost wish I was.’
‘Why don’t you sit back while I plot our course home,’
you say. ‘And on the way back to Earth I can tell you
about all the adventures I’ve had here alongside HOT
ROD and Sparks!’

THE END
 THE TRANSFORMERS™

SWAMP OF THE SCORPION

by Dave Morris

On the distant planet of Nebulos, groups of Heroic Autobots

and Evil Decepticons have settled, binary bonding their
powerful bodies with the native Nebulans to create
dramatic new hybrid robots. Each can transform for action
at lightning speed. Now the terrible battle between Good
and Evil continues on Nebulos ...

You are the hero of this book - suddenly you are thrust into
the deadly struggle.

SKULLCRUNCHER and SNAPDRAGON, two of the devious

Headmaster Horrorcons, are plotting to seize the rich oil
deposits from beneath the great southern swamp lands of
Nebulos. Aided by Lord Zarak, leader of the Nebulan colla¬
borators, the Evil Decepticons have a deadly ally hidden in
the depths of the jungle - the ultimate super warrior robot,
SCORPONOK. Brave HIGHBROW, the Headmaster
Autobot, needs your help to stop them. If you fail, the
whole planet could face destruction ...

0 552 525014
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 BATTLE OF THE
HYBRIDS!
On the distant planet of Nebulos, groups of Heroic
Autobots and Evil Decepticons have settled, binary
bonding their powerful bodies with the native
Nebulans to create a dramatic new race of hybrid
robots. Each can transform for action at lightning
speed. Now the terrible battle between Good and
Evil continues on Nebulos ...

You are the hero of this book-suddenly you are

thrust into the deadly struggle.

Targetmaster HOT ROD and his Nebulan

companion, Professor Sparks, suspect that a group
of Decepticons, led by the fearsome
SKULLCRUNCHER, have a cunning plan to form an
invincible Deception army which could wipe out the
Autobots on Nebulos forever! With your help, will
HOT ROD be in time to thwart their evil scheme?

If you collect Transformers™,

this book is foryou!