In the main control room, now thoroughly secured by the robot dog's infiltration, Garfield finally released his temporal hold.
Time resumed its normal flow.
To the organic supervisors and the droid workforce, nothing whatsoever had occurred.
Garfield settled before the primary console and began his research in earnest.
He scrolled through galactic news, political dispatches, and Jedi intelligence summaries.
When he finally pieced together the current historical moment, a small smile crossed his feline features.
Perfect timing.
The Trade Federation had blockaded Naboo.
Behind this political maneuvering stood the familiar puppet master, Palpatine, the Sith Lord whose schemes would span decades.
Garfield found himself mildly exasperated by the whole situation.
The Galactic Republic, for all its flaws, offered its citizens a perfectly comfortable existence.
Food, shelter, entertainment… everything a being could want.
If Garfield were in Palpatine's position, he'd simply find a quiet corner of the galaxy, live as a recluse, and occasionally nudge member worlds toward peaceful resolution of their disputes.
But no. Palpatine had to reach for emperorship.
Had to drown himself in dark side corruption until he became something barely recognizable as sentient.
The dark side really does a number on organic psychology, Garfield reflected.
Look what it did to Pangu, once merely eccentric, twisted into that monstrous form.
He scanned further.
Key intelligence crossed his display… the Jedi Council had dispatched Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi to investigate the Naboo situation.
Now that's an interesting development.
Garfield considered his options. Meeting this master-apprentice pair could prove... educational.
And potentially entertaining.
There was, however, a practical complication.
This era featured faster-than-light travel as standard technology. Any respectable vessel could cross the galaxy in days.
His Transformers, impressive as they were, lacked this capability. They couldn't outrun light, let alone exceed it.
A lost cat indeed.
Garfield accessed the factory inventory manifests.
A few keystrokes later, he located what he needed, a hyperdrive engine, standard fighter class, currently in storage.
"Retrieve this," he instructed the robot dog, pointing at the display. "Have it transported here immediately."
The hyperdrive arrived within the hour. Garfield summoned Terradive.
"Analyze this. Determine if it can be integrated."
Terradive approached the device, extending sensor probes.
He connected to local networks, cross-referencing specifications, scanning materials, running simulations.
The process took considerable time, Star Wars technology, while superficially similar to Cybertronian engineering, operated on fundamentally different principles.
Finally, Terradive straightened. "Master, analysis complete. Integration is theoretically possible."
"However, I lack the capacity to perform the modification alone. I require assistance and specific additional materials to form a new frame configuration."
Garfield understood immediately. Cooperative processing.
Multiple Transformers working in parallel to handle the complex calculations and energy distribution.
He released the others from his subspace.
The five warriors surrounded the hyperdrive unit. Energy connections flickered to life between their frames.
Sparks flew… for a long moment, the room blazed with raw mechanical power.
When the light faded, Terradive stood transformed.
His frame had expanded… more substantial than before.
His silhouette now suggested something between his original Seeker form and an X-wing fighter, though distinct from both.
The hyperdrive had integrated seamlessly into his chassis.
Garfield circled him, examining the results. "How do you feel?"
Terradive flexed his wings, tested his systems. "Master... this is beyond anything I anticipated."
"The increase in capability is not merely incremental. It's as though I've received new life."
Impressive.
Garfield gestured toward the other four. "Can they undergo similar modifications?"
Terradive shook his head regretfully. "They lack the necessary development. Mass-produced frames cannot evolve to this level as I have."
"Within a defined airspace, they remain formidable combatants. But interstellar capability requires more advanced architecture."
Garfield scratched his chin thoughtfully. So the mass-produced models had limits.
No hyperdrive for them, then.
"But weapons integration?"
Terradive nodded immediately. "That is well within their capacity."
"Excellent." Garfield turned to the robot dog. "Begin weapons procurement. Identify suitable systems from inventory and prepare them for installation."
"As you command, Master."