Time, like the glittering snow below him, was frozen. He saw himself, as if someone else, watching the first moments of his new life on this planet unfold. The first words he heard were that of the stasis pod's computer system.
"DNA scan and replication complete. You may emerge." The hatch of the pod hissed open, and the occupant slowly arose from his long sleep. Standing erect, the Maximal surveyed the surroundings before leaping out of the pod into the soft, snow covered ground below him.
"Who, who am I?" He looked down at his arms, stretching both of them out fully into his field of vision. "Flesh?" he said outloud, clenching his hands into fists.
"What am I?" As if anticipating the inquiry, the Maximal's on-line computer answered.
"You are Maximal unit: Ti Garion, of Cybertron."
"But, but Maximals are not ... organic. What has happened to me?" Again, the computer faithfully answered to the best of it's ability.
"Unit: Ti Garion's protoform was stored in stasis pod on Maximal ship: Axalon. Predacon attack resulted in jetison of all stasis pods under Captain's order."
A sharp pain, cascading from the Maximal's head to his chest, interrupted the computer's story.
"What is happening ... to ... me?"
"Energon overload. Unit: Ti Garion must transform to beast mode." The Maximal cocked his head to the right.
"Beast mode?" he stated inquisitively. Internal systems acknowledged the activation code. Ti Garion transformed.
"By the Matrix! What have I become?" "Unit: Ti Garion has adapted to survive on potentially hostile planet. New code name requested."
"A new name, eh? In time, but I have other priorities. Are there any other," he searched for the right word, "Maximals on this planet?"
"Unknown. Unable to detect Maximal signatures within this unit's scanning range."
A small, adventureous grin formed on the Maximal's animal face. "Then I'll have to do this the hard way." Raising his head to the strong wind, the Maximal sniffed the air for a few nano- clicks.
Turning around, using the senses of the new form he had acquired, Ti Garion began the journey into the his new life.