The Transatron was a fist-sized purple crystal capable of opening pathways between dimensions. It was used by the Interstellar Revenue Decimation Service to store and access its files in Dimension 238 and to transfer funds between accounts. However it was stolen by P'Pau'D'P'Pau and brought to the SkyCity in order to steal all of said funds and make himself the richest man in the Universe. The Federation League of Planets, meanwhile, sought to erase several expensive business lunches from the IRDS records and enlisted petty thief Jack T. Ladd to steal the crystal, telling him it was a doomsday weapon capable of destroying entire star systems.
Ladd obtained the crystal and tricked P'Pau'D'P'Pau into transfering his tax debt to crime boss Git Savage who had previously betrayed him. The Transatron was shattered in two by a stray bullet from Ladd's bungling ally Narm N'Palm, releasing vast amounts of energy which obliterated the SkyCity.