Tekna

Tekna is a Beastformer from the Generation 1 continuity family.

This old dog knows some new tricks.

The elderly Tekna (テクナ Tekuna) was among the Beastformers enslaved by the Decepticons to construct Scorponok's colossal Transtector. As his name suggests, he is particularly talented in the field of engineering, and his work on the Transtector allowed him access to many of its secrets, including its infamous weak spot.

Fiction

The Headmasters cartoon

Voice actor: Masaharu Satō (Japanese), Rik Thomas (English, Omni Productions dub)

After the successful completion of Scorponok's Transtector, Galvatron had Tekna imprisoned in an inhospitable penal colony on the planet Daros, in order to prevent the knowledge the Beastformer had gained about the construction of the giant robot from falling into the wrong hands. Quite logically, this wasn't enough assurance for Scorponok, and when the Decepticons visited Daros during their interplanetary energy-gathering raids, he instructed Weirdwolf, Mindwipe, and Skullcruncher to find and kill Tekna as a more permanent solution to his problem.

Play dead, boy! Oh, wait.

The three Decepticon Headmasters attacked the penal colony, willfully slaughtering all the prisoners in their quest for Tekna, but the crafty Beastformer was able to avoid detection, and he sent out an SOS signal that was quickly picked up by the Autobots, who were hot on the Decepticons' heels and headed for Daros anyway. Taking refuge in the South-North Caves, Tekna was soon located by Autobot Headmasters Chromedome and Brainstorm, and he was about to tell them of the critical weak spot on Scorponok's Transtector when he was suddenly shot from behind with a laser blast by Weirdwolf. Fatally wounded by the shot, Tekna was carried back to Battleship Maximus by Highbrow while Chromedome took on the Decepticons.

Wow, and we thought he just had mange!

Alas, there was nothing the Autobots could do for Tekna, but he managed to cling to life until the Autobots successfully forced the Decepticons off of Daros. Gathering at his bedside, the Autobots begged Tekna to tell them the secret of Scorponok's weak spot, but the Beastformer was too weak to speak and mustered all his strength simply to raise his right arm. Beneath the fur of his forearm, the Autobots discovered a strip of microfilm Tekna had hidden there, containing the data on Scorponok's weakness. Mere seconds after the microfilm was removed, Tekna died, leaving the Autobots struggling to decode his heavily encrypted data. Find MegaZarak's Weak Spot!!

Tekna's death was not in vain, however; after much work by Highbrow, the unlikely trio of Chromedome, Wheelie, and Daniel Witwicky managed to decrypt the Beastformer's information and discovered Scorponok's weak spot, tipping the scales of a critical battle at the last moment. I Risk My Life for Earth

Notes

Foreign names

• English: Tegrala (Omni Productions dub)
• Italian: Tecno