Sunstreaker, without a doubt, absolutely loathed this planet that they all found themselves stranded on. True he hadn't seen most of it, just the miles and miles of grating, irritating reddish-brown filth that surrounded their ship. It was unsteady, always shifting whenever he stepped, when they all stepped, and it got everywhere. He could feel the itch beginning under his plating as the granules snuck under it each time he lifted or moved something...and the one time he tripped because the blasted stuff always moved. Not even fluffing his plating out was helping, and it was starting to get hot too.

So in the short, Sunstreaker was not a happy mech, in fact he was in a downright foul mood. And he foresaw more of this pit-spawned stuff in his future, his paint and finish would be ruined.

Mouth setting itself in a pout, a quick glance of red-violet optics to the side gave him all the information he needed to know about his twin's state. Not that he would've needed to look, considering he could feel his twin's mood. Sideswipe...well he seemed to be a little more cheerful. Sunstreaker wasn't inclined to wonder why, he was too moody and pissed to wonder why his twin was so Primus damned happy. He just attributed it to Sideswipe being his usual irritating self.

His observations were only strengthened when a familiar brush of amusement resounded through the bond he shared with his twin. Huffing in irritation he doubled down on tearing off one of the damaged panels to get to the circuitry behind it. Another, stronger surge of amusement from his twin had him grinding his denta together, baring them in a frustrated snarl accompanied by a rumble beginning in his chest. Sharper than normal digits manage to pry away the panel, given strength born purely out of irritation.

A quiet snicker is almost enough to send him spinning around, retort ready on his lips. Sunstreaker barely restrains himself at the last moment, simply sending his disgruntlement down the bond with a warning to back off.

Plating rippling from irritation, both emotional and physical, he doesn't notice, at first the strange silence from his twin's side of the bond.

It isn't until an apologetic brush against his EM field pierces the haze of annoyance, that he finally notices his twin's silence. Glancing up, he meets his twin's optics. They were hesitant and unsure, thinly disguised fear trying to hide itself away in them.

So maybe his twin wasn't so...carefree after all.

And just maybe he was a bit of an aft.

Turning back to what he was doing, Sunstreaker sent back his own apology, full of his regret and all the things he couldn't say. He never was the type to admit something out loud. Fortunately for him, Sideswipe knew, he always did.

The feel of his twin moving into his personal space and coming to rest beside him, lifted a tension he hadn't really known he was carrying. It was...soothing to say the least. Enough so that he allowed himself a rare moment; he allowed himself to lean on his twin like when they were sparklings. The feeling of Sideswipe doing the same was a comfort that he had forgotten he missed.

And that's how Optimus found them. Taking comfort in simply being.

He hated to break it up, especially when they needed it but there was nothing to be done about their ship now and they had to get moving. They had to see if they could find things to repair their ship with.

Venting deeply, Optimus cleared his vocalizer. The twin frontliners looked up at him, optics clear and alert; ready for orders.

"There's nothing we can do for the ship now. It needs repairs and parts we don't have. We need to see if this planet has anything to offer. In the way of parts at least. Anything we can salvage and make work."

Optimus didn't have to expand upon what it would mean if they couldn't make it work. If they couldn't find what they needed, at least to repair their long range communicator. The shared glance between them hinted that they were very much aware of their reality. Optimus desperately hoped that they'd find something.

And he did have hope. It was a tentative hope, one built on the feel of this planet because of how many radio waves it was throwing off. It was noisy. And generally where there was noise, there was life. Perhaps they could and would help.

Emotional moment gone, the twins were completely upright and ready to go, Sideswipe more eager to get moving than Sunstreaker. Both back to haughty arrogance and cockiness. Springing forward a bit, Sideswipe propped his hands behind his helm and grinned at Optimus.

"Well what're we waiting for? Let's move! I wanna see the rest of this place!"

Sideswipe could almost feel his twin rolling his optics at him, but disregarded the fear Sunny disguised with anger. There really wasn't any point staying at the ship any longer, like Optimus said, they needed to move.

And besides, the ship was pretty well hidden, with the way it had impacted the reddish pillar and embedded itself at its base. The tons of debris that had fallen on it really helped with its camouflage. All they had to do was remember where it was at, and that shouldn't be hard considering how loud this planet was.

If this planet had any created satellites then accessing them would prove to be very advantageous in marking the location of their ship. But that was a big if and potentially dangerous. Either way Sideswipe knew they had to leave the ship.

He knew Optimus and Sunny knew too.

So that's why he sprinted past Optimus and transformed mid-stride, kicking up enough of the sand to form a slow settling cloud. Revving his engine jauntily, he couldn't help laughing at his brother's face.

"C'mon! Let's get going already!"

"Sideswipe you are so dead."

The sound of another high powered engine snarling, and the klik-klik-klik of transformation launched Sideswipe into a flurry of movement. Whipping around, he sped away in a random direction, Sunstreaker tearing off behind him, giving chase.

"Sides when I get my hands on you..."

"Gotta catch me first Sunshine!"

Jeering laughter echoed in the empty expanse as Sideswipe put on more speed to try and keep just ahead of his brother. A feat that was complicated by the fact that his brother was just as fast, and knew him well. But Sides knew Sunny just as well. So the moment that his brother sped around him, pulled ahead, then transformed leaping at him, Sideswipe reacted similarly.

Transforming, both collided in mid-air and were sent tumbling in the sand, plumes of it kicking up until they rolled to a stop. Stunned for just a moment, it wasn't long until they were both rolling around in the sand again, Sideswipe laughing manically as Sunstreaker tried shove a handful of sand at his face.

Neither realized they'd left Optimus far behind them.

And neither noticed the growing rumble of a heavy duty engine until they both were hauled up by their collars and faced with a very stern looking Optimus.

Releasing them once he'd hauled them up, Optimus pressed his mouth together until it formed a thin line. He was not happy that they both rushed off, with no thought of where they were going, or what they could encounter. And both were far faster than he would ever be, they'd covered far more ground than they realized. The dust trail they'd left behind in their wake was the only marker of their passing.

Watching Sunstreaker tense to go after his brother again when he smirked, Optimus stepped between them, a hand at their chests. Frowning fully now, Optimus looked at each of them and rumbled, "Enough. That's enough. We can't afford to get separated. We need to stay together, all of us. Separate we have little way of keeping in contact if we drift out of communication range."

He could tell his words didn't have much of an impact; that much was obvious in the way Sunstreaker kept his attention fixated entirely on his brother. Shaking his helm, Optimus grabbed them both by the plating on their chests and shook them gently. It was enough to break their concentration. And cause them to squawk in outrage.

Sunstreaker yelped out an indignant,"Optimus!" Not hesitating to try and twist away out of Optimus' grip; he let him watching in veiled amusement as the gold mech stumbled.

Sideswipe on the other hand simply pouted and grabbed at the hand gripping him letting out a whine, "C'mon stop, we get it! Let go."

The temptation to roll his optics was finally too much, there was only so long he could resist. So with blue optics rolling, Optimus released the red and black mech. Watching them both closely for a moment for any sign they were about to take off again, he was satisfied that they wouldn't launch back into another brawl.

Taking a few steps forward, he transformed and began to slowly pull off, heading in the direction that the twins had inadvertently chosen for them. He wouldn't leave them, not after he'd finished scolding them for going off on their own like they did, he was simply encouraging them to follow, albeit more slowly.

And it worked!

It didn't take long before the growl of their engines trailed behind him, both sulking and pouting to themselves. He was just grateful they were all together and not fighting, he'd take their sulking over that any day.

Now he could focus on searching for a sign of life.

And a search it was.

For about two cycles there was nothing but barren red-brown terrain as far as they could see. It was occasionally broken by odd scraggly looking plants and the dust thrown up by their passing. By then they'd all gathered that the planet they were on was very much an organic one. Not that it was too surprising, considering organics were more abundant than mechanical lifeforms.

A glinting sparkle in the distance is what alerts Optimus that they may be close to civilization, that and the exponential increase in radio waves. They all can feel the air around them buzzing slightly and it's enough to make their plating flare a little. There was definitely life here; whether that life was friendly or not...well that was an unknown.

Slowly rolling to a stop, miles away from the glinting that Optimus knew deep down must be buildings, he contemplated the waning sunlight. It seemed to be growing darker, and he felt maybe that was better for them, less of a chance of being seen before they were ready. Maybe anyway.

And now that they were closer, they could attempt to access some communication channels...carefully. Optimus would be the one to, he couldn't let either of his companions, not in good conscience. Idling, he settled himself and began to tentatively reach out and make a connection. The first rush of information was staggering and he was unprepared for the sheer amount of noise these little organics make. Images, text, videos, multiple mediums of information transfer rushed into his mind.

These organics, humans is what they called themselves...they were eerily similar to Cybertronians and they were very, very small by the standards of the galaxy. And they had no knowledge of aliens, only suspicions and curiosity. It wouldn't be safe for he or the twins to reveal themselves. Not now, not when this young species was riddled through with xenophobia toward their own peoples.

They wouldn't accept Optimus, Sideswipe, and Sunstreaker, not the majority anyway.

This...this was a complicated situation they found themselves in. More so than before, than they had realized.

They'd have to make the repairs to their ship in secret, they'd have to live in secret.

One thought echoed around in Optimus' mind once he cut the connection, they'd have to live as robots in disguise.

And wasn't that ironic.