NAME: Sludge
ALLEGIANCE: Maximal
FUNCTION: Heavy Artillery / Security
ALTERNATE MODE: ApatosaurusHEIGHT:Robot Mode - 32 feet tall / 9.75 meters
Beast Mode - 18 feet / 5.49 meters at hips + 37 feet / 11.28 meters long
QUOTE: "Me Sludge no like Predacons. Me Sludge stomp them!"APPEARANCESTRENGTH: 10
INTELLIGENCE: 4
SPEED: 2
ENDURANCE: 10
RANK: 3
COURAGE: 9
FIREPOWER: 10
SKILL: 5
BIO:Easily one of the largest Maximal aboard the Zeta colony expedition, Sludge was kept safely stored in stasis until enough resources had been gathered to sustain the former Dinobot. Like his team-mates, Sludge had been sentenced to protect one of the various exploration missions. It tore the Apatosaurus apart inside to be separated from his fellow Dinobots, but the High Council had deemed it a necessary measure - from very early on, the Council had split the Dinobots up, wary of Grimlock’s hold on the others.
The High Council made a huge decision. Each Dinobot was downgraded into Maximal shells, then stored upon an exploration vessel. Once the colony was stabilized, the Dinobot would emerge, as a guardian. It was an easy manner to manipulate the weak-minded Sludge to accept special programming along with added weapons. He would die for the sake of the colony and obey its leaders as he had done under Grimlock. But, another function was added to Sludge’s agenda - he was an enforcer; Colonies were corruptible masses, most beyond the Council’s arm of influence. If the colony ever got out of hand, Sludge would provide the muscle to bring order from chaos.
Sludge is notably the dumbest of the Dinobots, but, also, one of the friendlier ones. Meek to his commander's orders, and child-like shyness that's almost painful to watch, Sludge is the last ’bot to suspect of being a brutal warrior. His shyness was born from everyone’s fear of his monstrous strength and size. When people shied away from him, he learned shying away lessoned others fear. When he can, he’ll sneak off to be alone, away from crowds and small step-on-able things. He’d much rather be frolicking in the water, creating tidal waves than anything else. For some reason, his beast mode has always felt more comfortable than his robot mode; maybe it’s because transforming into robot mode usually meant it was time to fight.
There is an extreme flip side to this gentle giant. When Sludge gets caught in the heat of the battle, he transforms in a different way. All reasonable thought is replaced with white-hot bloodlust and it's a bloodbath from then on. He'll fight without reason or mercy, until every last foe is cut down.
WEAPONS/ABILITIES:Back in the day, Sludge was the second strongest of the Dinobots, able to shatter reinforced steel with one blow, and even though he's downgraded, he's still able to tear down the toughest warriors with ease. Tank-grade armour makes his hide near impenetrable, protecting him from all but the best attacks.
Both in beast and robot mode, two powerful Vulcan cannons rests on his back, ready to incinerate foes at a moment’s notice, and thanks to his general size in beast mode, he can allow a passenger to mount these cannons and use them as a turret. In robot mode, the barrels rest aiming upward, but can easily slide up over his shoulders and aim directly in front of him.
Teeth, tail, and general brute strength are quite effective in beast mode. His tail is agile and whip-like, capable of becoming a third 'hand' to snare and launch enemies. In his legs, powerful pile-driver like mechanisms allow Sludge to create small earthquakes and open up fissures.
His incredible size allowed Sludge room to install his own personal rectifier coil, giving him double the robot mode time than other Cybertronians. Added to that is a signal dampener, enabling him a small measure of stealth - although how hard it is to miss a 21 foot tall Dinobot is hard to comprehend.
Of course, he was outfitted with his old favourites. A long energo-sword splices armour like soft cheese, glowing as hot as the molten core of a volcano when it’s powered up. And without any fuel cells, the energo-sword still makes a nice butchering tool. For the cowards who won't battle hand-to-hand, Sludge has a super-sized ion rifle and good aim. Not to sniper standard of course, but Sludge doesn't have a problem firing off a few rounds before making his mark. As if his old weaponry weren’t enough, the Council outfitted him with a flamethrower accessible in both modes, an assortment of missiles stored in his chest compartment, small-scale explosives, and a controllable current running through his outer shell.
Missiles were a disputed subject, but in the end, Sludge was armed with heat-seeker, magnetized, and ballistic varieties. The explosives are mainly for crowd control, filled with tear gas or smoke, though Sludge does carry regular explosives as well. The electric current in his armour can be used defensively or offensively. Some times, it can be routed to one limb, in order to deliver an extremely powerful shock to an opponent; others, it can be a low powered zap, to clear through rowdy protests.
One last weapon was added to Sludge’s arsenal. The Council thought it gave Sludge a poetic, albeit ironic, edge. His flame-thrower can be disconnected from its store of napalm, and draw from a separate source. He can spit a slightly corrosive agent, which gums up the gears or limbs of his target. Just like his namesake.
WEAKNESSES:Obviously, his CPU power is his biggest weakness. He's slow mentally and physically; he has a difficult time following a polysyllable conversation as well as avoiding hostile fire. But then again, who needs to dodge when you’re thirty-two feet tall?
This post has been edited by Slipstream on Jan 14 2012, 04:32 AM
'The Big Guy', Sludge - Zeta Colony giant-size Enforcer
