Starriors (1984 series) #4

In the aftermath of the devastating battle, Hotshot and the surviving Protectors regroup near the smoldering plain. Crank reassembles and restores the scattered Sawtooth, who pledges to fight alongside the Protectors against Slaughter. The group then debates the fate of Motormouth, the spy: a vote ends in a tie, broken by Sawtooth himself, who casts the deciding vote to abandon the traitor. Motormouth is left paralyzed on the field. The Protectors — now joined by a Destructor — march toward the Battlestation.

The Destructor army reaches the Citadel of Dreams first. Slaughter orders Deadeye to destroy the Battlestation, unaware that Stinger has mined the surrounding terrain with traps. When Auntie Tank publicly defects and rallies other wavering Destructors to the Protectors' cause, Slaughter orders her destroyed. Auntie Tank triggers Stinger's trap, sending Deadeye and half the Destructor forces plunging into a pit. Stinger bluffs that more traps remain — buying time until the Protectors arrive.

The final battle erupts as Protectors and defecting Destructors charge the remaining enemy forces under Sawtooth's leadership. Cricket is destroyed in the fighting. Tinker throws his body in front of a demolisher blast aimed at Nipper and is destroyed. Gouge kills Crank's small flower — the symbol of Crank's hope for the future — and is cut down by Cut-Up in a blind rage. Deadeye climbs free of the pit and resumes his demolisher assault. Meanwhile, Stinger exits the Battlestation to face Slaughter directly but is overpowered. Thinktank uses his bulk as a shield to stop Slaughter's vibro-chisel long enough for Hotshot to enter the Battlestation.

Inside, Hotshot encounters the Battlestation's artificial intelligence. Although Protectors are not programmed for war, Hotshot argues that all Starriors are warriors now — and the Battlestation, evaluating the odds outside, yields. The Laser-Ram launches. From inside its targeting system, Hotshot directs its fire: Deadeye is destroyed, the remaining Destructors are routed, and Slaughter flees.

Hours later, the Battlestation uses its advanced restoration technology to repair all who can be saved. Tinker is restored and reunites with Nipper. When Hotshot declares it is time to go find Man, the Battlestation reports that its memory of Man's location was wiped by Slaughter — there is a blank space where that memory should be. Hotshot reasons that the blank space itself marks where Man is hidden. Nipper feels powerful vibes confirming it. They pull up the floor of the bottom level and discover a vast vault lined with caskets. Opening it trips a mechanism: a tube lowers from the ceiling, a casket opens, and Man — bearded and disoriented — sits up. Hotshot welcomes him to the future.

In the aftermath of the victory, Crank addresses the assembled Starriors — both humans and robots — planting a flower as a symbol of unity between their peoples, declaring that the Forbidden Desert is forbidden no longer. The crowd cheers, and a bearded man quietly affirms that Crank meant every word. But the celebration is tempered: Slaughter escaped, and will return with all the Destructors next time. The man acknowledges that Hotshot and the Protectors won a battle that day — but wonders aloud whether they will be worth the war sure to follow. As the sun sets, he tells Hotshot that the Starriors saved his people out of a debt owed, but Hotshot rejects the framing: the debt has been repaid ten times over, and there is no more to be said of debts. What matters now is the bond between their peoples. The Beginning.