Planet G

Anthony and his friend Mike crash land on a mysterious planet while Botimus and the crew deal with an invasion of another kind..

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Synopsis

While enjoying a brief vacation on Tockmak 3, Anthony and his close allies—Mike Quartz, Botimus Prime, Boaty, Flier, and Speedy—are interrupted by a distress call from Planet G. The message forces an immediate recall to Fortress Misslemax, despite the ship being midway through a poorly managed systems upgrade overseen by Anthony’s human associate Alan, whose negligence has left the fortress in a fragile state.

Upon arrival at Planet G, Anthony attempts a surface investigation in his Shortstop body alongside Mike. Their shuttlecraft abruptly loses power after entering a mysterious energy cloud surrounding the planet and crashes into the wilderness below. Analysis from Fortress Misslemax reveals the cloud drains mechanical energy, preventing immediate rescue. Stranded with damaged equipment, Anthony and Mike must trek toward civilization through Planet G’s hostile terrain, evading aggressive wildlife including predatory bears, Wompars, and sentient plant life that attempts to strangle them.

Meanwhile, Scan extracts a sample of the energy cloud aboard Fortress Misslemax, inadvertently causing it to evolve into a living organism—revealed to be a transportation conduit for ancient Earth dinosaurs. One specimen rapidly matures into a Tyrannosaurus-like creature and breaches containment, rampaging through the already compromised fortress. As multiple dinosaurs emerge, Botimus Prime leads a desperate defense with the help of the Protectors and the ultra-fast Zapbot Vision, who is equipped with a specially tuned weapon capable of disabling the creatures.

On Planet G’s surface, Anthony and Mike are caught in an acid rainstorm and pushed to the brink of collapse. Drawing on sheer willpower, Anthony carries Mike to safety inside a remote research outpost, where both are hospitalized. Before rescue can be completed, a surviving dinosaur attacks the facility, nearly killing Anthony. At the last moment, Slipstream penetrates the energy cloud using a newly developed shield, destroying the creature and evacuating the pair.

Back aboard Fortress Misslemax, Botimus Prime faces a profound moral decision: allowing Slipstream’s passage may exterminate the microbial lifeform responsible for the dinosaurs’ transport. Choosing to save his Master, Botimus authorizes the maneuver. In the aftermath, it is discovered the damage to the ecosystem is less severe than feared; the microbial cloud settles onto Planet G, enabling controlled dinosaur evolution under scientific supervision.

With Fortress Misslemax fully repaired, the Zapbots assist Planet G in establishing containment fields and research zones, turning the crisis into a breakthrough for paleontological study. Anthony later destroys a final hidden dinosaur aboard Fortress Misslemax using the Matrix of Leadership, an act that briefly places him into a coma and triggers a mysterious dream hinting at future events.

Recovered and reflective, Anthony and Mike Quartz resume their interrupted vacation, while an unseen threat begins to stir at the edge of the universe.

Epilogue

In deep space, dark figures silently overtake an alien vessel, foreshadowing the next major conflict in the Zapbots saga.

Featured characters

Zapbots	Humans	Enemies	Planets
Boaty Botimus Prime Carry-On Click Dodge Duplaflex - mentioned Earnon Experiment Flier Fortress Misslemax Hot Shot Omega Dupreme - mentioned Pick-Up Pliers Protectors Burn Rubber Copter Double Shot Phiston Repairs Roberta Rup Scan Shortstop Slide Slipstream Soar Speedy Superrobot Terrain Tiny Ultra Attack Vision	Alan F. Bill T. aka 'Billy' Jeremy D. — mentioned David D. Matt R. aka 'Rogish' Mike B. aka 'Mikey' Mike Quartz Unnamed General Unnamed Doctors Unnamed Scientists	Alive vines Bear Lots of Dinosaurs, mostly T-Rex's Wompar	Earth Planet G Tockmak 3 Tockmak 5

Quotes

"I think this new upgrade to Misslemax was done by a bunch of humans! Half the doors won’t open, the warp drive is off line, and guess who’s job it is to fix it?"

Pliers submitting his personal log.

Notes

Versions

• First Version: 1989?
• Second Version: 1996?
• Third Version: 2021

Production notes

• Holy crap we have a plethora of Zapbots in this story. Never realized it till now.
• In the original writing of this story, Matt E. still existed and the story was based around him. In 1997 when I rewrote it, I changed it to my straight friend Mike B. aka 'Mikey'. Rereading it in 2020 it didn't quite have the same impact unless there was a romantic involvement with the character so it was adapted to include Mike Quartz (once again no offense to Mikey).
• This is the first appearance of Vision, Slipstream, and the Protectors Copter, Burn Rubber, Phiston and Double Shot.
• Third pass to provide extra details and upgrades happened in 2021.

Other trivia

• This story borrows heavily from Star Trek V as this was one of my favorite movies at the time.