Well... so much for taking a break from the Primus-forsaken story. I can never seem to stay away from it at all! Um, yes, I'm back onto this story because of my muse. It just wouldn't shut up, especially with the song I was listening to that is perfect for the story's theme! I hope you enjoy my super-long chapter (le gasp, another one?). :D
The silver mech skated back and forth nervously in the Recreation Room. Arcee sat down on a chair, drinking a cube of energon as she watched Sideswipe pace around in front of her. Just like Sideswipe, she was nervous. Not just for what was going on in the Briefing Room, but she was worried about Hot Rod. The young mech hadn't exactly left on good terms, no thanks to him and Optimus arguing about the whole 'Chosen One' business. However, Arcee was worried about him because she was getting a sense of feeling that his leaving had been caused by someone – a set up – she believed. She hadn't seen Cloudburst in a while, and her suspicion only grew worse.
She hoped that Bumblebee's meeting with the other officers would sort out whatever problem that was going on. Sideswipe had forced her away when Optimus required the yellow mech to come with him to the meeting at once. And now, here she was with Sideswipe, drinking energon and her mind drifted entirely on her worry for Hot Rod.
Even though Sideswipe was an officer because he was a sword combat instructor, he rarely went to meetings because he never was quite compatible with talking. He seemed to want to avoid the others as best as possible and keep his thoughts focused on other things.
It was the arrival of Springer that caused her worry to flicker onto him instead as the dark green mech walked in, looking depressed about something. Sighing, since she couldn't pass up a friendly chat with her ex, she smiled and waved him over. When his optics lay upon her, he looked a bit saddened, but the moment she called him over, the sadness seemed to disappear and be replaced with a neutral expression.
"Hello, Springer," Arcee greeted when he came on over and stood in front of her. She tried her best to also keep a neutral look on her facial features, but she was slowly failing, knowing that Springer could read her like an open book. She sighed and said, "Would you like to sit with me?"
At first Springer didn't seem like he wanted to until he looked around for a moment, as though he was looking for someone, until he nodded and sat down on the opposite side of Arcee. "Where's your friend?" he asked. "Usually he's not too far from you as far as rumour s go."
Arcee closed her optics for a moment and shook her head. "He's gone," she answered sombrely.
Springer frowned suspiciously. "What do you mean gone? Where did he go?"
When she refused to say anymore, as tears threatened to fall from her optics, Sideswipe seemed to sense her distress and moved to sit down beside her in an attempt to comfort her, but Arcee pushed him away. She covered her face with both her hands, sobbing her distress. She missed Hot Rod so badly that it hurt to think about what had become of him.
She hadn't become aware of someone wrapping their arms around her until she looked up and found herself gazing into Springer's concerned optics. "Arcee, talk to me," he begged. "You know I'm here for you if you want to talk."
She only shook her head no, not wanting to say anything that might piss off Springer. Instead, she stood up to her full height and she then turned to head towards the open door. She thought she heard Springer attempt to follow, but the voice of Sideswipe seemed cause him to stop and let her go. The distress of losing Hot Rod so soon, before she truly had a chance to get to know him, was really affecting her. She wanted to scream at the top of her processor and blame Optimus for putting the pressure on her friend, but she couldn't bring herself around to do anything for Hot Rod. He had made his choice in leaving, and there was nothing she could do to help him ease his pain.
Arcee had just made it to the door when the appearance of Bumblebee caused her to stop in her tracks, her breath caught in her throat.
Bumblebee gently took hold of her shoulders and indicated that she should sit down and listen to what he had to say about the meeting. She nodded and wiped away her tears before making her way back to the table with Bumblebee following close behind her.
She sat down back in her chair, and Springer attempted to put a comforting arm around her, but she gently pushed it aside. She didn't want his comfort at the moment. She just wanted to see Hot Rod again, that was all. He always had his ways of making her feel better. Yet, he just had to go and leave her behind with nothing but her grieving and anger. She was angry at Hot Rod, and more importantly, she was angry at herself for not being able to stop him when she had the chance. Why did he have to go and do that to her?
"Arcee," Sideswipe's voice gently called, forcing her from out of her thoughts, "Bee's just getting ready to tell us of what had happened in the meeting. Are you sure you want to hear it?"
The byzantine femme just shrugged, not saying anything in response to Sideswipe's question.
"It would be best to tell you all what we had discussed," Bumblebee answered softly. "Even if you don't want to hear it, it is probably for the best."
Sideswipe made a motion for his head, indicating that he was listening, along with Springer and Arcee, despite the young femme not really wanting to hear what had happened. She knew that it was important that she listened or else she would miss all the details, but she just couldn't get her processor off of Hot Rod's departure. Her hands balled into fists, but she contained herself from ranting out her fury. Determined to not let the mech trio see what she was thinking, she kept her cyan optics focused on Bumblebee, listening.
"We were discussing about Wheeljack's success on tagging Stormblue when she infiltrated our base to steal data from Teletrann-One's systems," Bumblebee began. "We managed to track her down to Alaska. They haven't moved from that spot in the last few days, and we guessed they have set up a base there. We were also working out a strategy in order to prevent Megatron from releasing his pet on Earth."
"His pet?" Springer asked, raising an optic ridge. "Where did you hear this information from?"
"From Barricade," Bumblebee answered, glancing down at the ground and sighing. "We don't know exactly what kind of creature it is, but all we know is that it has to be stopped at all costs. That's all that matters."
"So what are we going to do?" Sideswipe asked. "How are we going to get to Alaska? We could take the shuttle, but there isn't enough room in it for a whole battalion of Autobots."
"We also discussed that problem," Bumblebee chuckled as he lifted his head and glanced at Sideswipe. "Prowl is going to make a call with the human military so that we can get a ride in at least four Lockheed C-130J Super Hercules. We'll be transporting at least sixty Autobots, but leave the rest behind to stay and defend the base. Several of our Autobot fliers will fly alongside the aircrafts to offer protection and air support in case we need. They will transport us from Edwards Airforce Base to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska. From there, we will drive the rest of the way to where the Decepticons have set up base – the Matanuska-Susitna Valley."
"That's a long way, don't you think?" Springer asked.
"It is," Bumblebee said, nodding in agreement. "But we don't have any choice. We've got to put an end to this once and for all." He glanced in between the mechs and then back at Arcee until he returned his gaze back to Springer. "Optimus has asked me to pick out a squad that will be under my command for the mission, and that will follow my orders to the letter. It is one that I completely trust with my life."
Sideswipe quirked an optic ridge and then smirked with amusement, but he said nothing. He seemed to know who he was going to pick. Arcee continued to remain silent, even though she had been listening throughout the entire discussion. She just hoped that Bumblebee didn't pick her because she couldn't trust herself to keep focused during the mission. The departure of Hot Rod had affected her more than she couldn't afford. Bumblebee didn't need a warrior that couldn't stay focused on the mission at hand.
"Sideswipe, Arcee, and Springer," Bumblebee said, snapping her back to attention, "I not only came here to tell you the news of the meeting, but to also inform you that you will become part of my squad. Mirage is also going to be part the squad as well. However, I would've added Hot Rod to the squad as well, but..."
All three drew back in shock, but it was Arcee who was the most shocked of all. She gasped and put a hand to her mouth to cover her horrified look. Bumblebee had selected her to be on his squad? She really didn't want to, for she feared she wouldn't be of much help to him, and he didn't even know her skills on the battlefield. How could he trust her and even have so much faith in her? It just didn't make sense at all.
Springer bowed his head in appreciation, but he gave Arcee a quick glance from the corner of his optics. "I am honoured that you would select me for the mission, Sir," he said. "I'll do my best to work hard."
"I'm sure you would, Springer," Bumblebee said. "Skyfire told me all about your skills, and I could use them in my squad."
Sideswipe made a coughing noise, forcing Bumblebee to return his attention to him. "Why did you pick me, Bee?" he asked.
The young yellow mech shook his head, and answered, "We'll talk about that later." He then handed all three of them a data pad. "This data pad will inform you of what the squad will be doing once we get to our destination. We depart with Optimus Prime and the other selected warriors in a week and a half at 0500. That is all."
Arcee picked up her data pad and forced herself to look at it. Her cyan optics zipped through the Cybertronian letters, trying to work out what their squad was to do. She managed to catch a glimpse of Springer also reading his data pad, but Sideswipe had stood up to follow Bumblebee out of the room and out of earshot.
She wondered if Bumblebee had made a mistake in picking her. She really wasn't sure if she was up to the task of fighting when all she could think about was Hot Rod. She missed him terribly, but she knew that it was his memory she could cling onto to make herself keep on going. She was never going to see him again, despite his promise to visit them someday.
"Oh, Hot Rod," she whispered to herself, not caring if Springer heard her as she let a single tear fall from her right optic. "I miss you so much..."
As soon as Bumblebee and Sideswipe were well out of earshot, Sideswipe leaned against the wall and glared into his friend's optics, the seriousness written all over his facial features. The silver mech had no intention of wanting to stay too far from Arcee, knowing that she was a little emotionally unstable due to Hot Rod's leave. It worried him so much that he reckoned that the byzantine coloured femme would only end up hurting herself in the end. He just couldn't afford to let himself stay too far away from her, especially considering how Hot Rod promised he would visit someday.
Ever since Arcee had become part of their little group they had formed a close relationship with each other. From the back of his head, Sideswipe realised that they were like a body. He was the body that protected the vital inner body parts, Bumblebee was the processor, Arcee was the spirit, and Hot Rod was the spark that kept them alive. They were inseparable, as though they stuck together like glue. But with Hot Rod gone, it only meant that they had lost their heart, their will, and their strength to keep on going in life. Without him, they were meaningless.
It tore Sideswipe inside to know that deep down his friends were suffering, and there was nothing he could do to ease it.
But back right now, where he was standing before Bumblebee, his frown only grew worse when nothing seemed to want to be said at all, and he had to keep control of his growing temper. He had patience with his students, but the fact that he was dealing with Bumblebee only made his temper worsen.
Finally, he spoke in a calm voice, "What is it you wanted to talk about that required only me to hear?"
Bumblebee seemed to regain his composure and straightened himself, flickering his doorwings slightly as he vented a sigh and answered in a soft tone, "Have you noticed Arcee's behaviour ever since we got back from our race?"
"That's all you wanted to talk about?" Sideswipe snarled as he took a few steps forward and jabbed a hand into Bumblebee's chest plate. "You dragged me all the way out here just to discuss about Arcee?"
Bumblebee frowned and shoved the silver mech backwards in a rough manner. "That's not the point, Sides!" he growled. "It has everything to do with the mission and I know why she's acting like this. It's because of Hot Rod's leaving that she is feeling depressed. I chose her to be part of my squad because we need her skills on the battlefield. However, because she is acting this way, I need you as well because you're the only one – besides Hot Rod – who can get her to stay focused. Even though she has a history with Springer, I can't exactly fully trust him until I know for certain about something. We can't afford to make mistakes, Sides, because this mission is far too important for us to fail!"
When he finally realised what Bumblebee was trying to say, Sideswipe backed away, casting his optics to the floor. "You're right, I'm sorry, Bee," he said softly. "It's just that... Hot Rod leaving the Autobots has left us all emotionally unstable. I just wish that he didn't have to leave, especially when we really need him right now."
He looked up, but refused to look Bumblebee in the optic.
"Arcee misses him, Bee," he whispered. "Even I miss him. I thought that when I volunteered to become his guardian that I wouldn't get attached to him." He shook his head, venting deeply. "That Hot Rod always has a way of sneaking into your spark..."
A hand reached up and placed itself on his right shoulder in a comforting manner. He soon found himself looking into the gentle optics of Bumblebee. "I know, I miss him too, Sides," the yellow mech smiled. "But we have to be strong on our own, and hope that someday he will come back to us when he is good and ready."
Sideswipe reached up and placed his own hand on top of Bumblebee's, giving it a gentle squeeze to give comfort to his friend, even though it was supposed to be him who was meant to be giving the comfort. It didn't bother Sideswipe in the slightest that they were both providing strength for the other.
Finally, Bumblebee pulled away, removing his hand from Sideswipe's shoulder and beckoned him to come closer. Sideswipe obliged and Bumblebee whispered into his audio receptor, "Once we get to the valley, Sides, I want you to protect Arcee with your life. I know she means a lot to Hot Rod, yet I am aware that she isn't fully stable at the moment, but we need her for her skills in battle. As I said before, I need you to look after her and make sure she stays alive. If Hot Rod finds out he lost Arcee... who knows what he might do."
Sideswipe nodded. "I understand, Bee," he said. "I'll protect Arcee with my life."
"I know you will, old friend," Bumblebee smiled. "I trust you to do your job."
Now that they had that problem straightened out, Sideswipe took that as his cue to leave. As he departed, he could've sworn that he heard Bumblebee breathe a sigh of relief, but he shook it off. He really didn't have time to think of what was to come over the next few days, especially considering he had to prepare for when he was go with the other Autobots to Edwards Airforce Base and meet their human friends there for transport. As far as he knew, he really wasn't comfortable with flying. He preferred to have his pedes flat on the ground.
Once he returned to Arcee and Springer, he sat down and took a drink of a cube of energon Springer had handed to him. As he drank his cube, he kept a close optic on Arcee, but every now and then he would see Springer try and provide some comfort to her. To Sideswipe's surprise, Arcee would brush him off and press closer to him. Despite Springer's look of jealousy, Sideswipe ended up wrapping an arm over her shoulders and pulling her close to his broad chest in an act of comfort. As far as he could tell, he was only doing it to help out a friend, and he tried to drop the hints to Springer, but the dark green mech seemed to not want to listen.
Sighing with annoyance, Sideswipe decided it was best that he played the friend and not the enemy. He merely rubbed Arcee's shoulder as she sobbed into his chest, her tears running off his silver armour. He would support her for as long as she required it. Once things were sorted out and the mission was close to its launch time, he would have a chat with Springer. For now, he would have to settle with being Arcee's rock.
Arcee didn't remember much as she continued to sob her optics out until there was nothing left to cry about. She recalled hitting Sideswipe's broad chest, telling him how much she hated that he was friends with Hot Rod and that he should've stopped him from leaving. Sideswipe seemed to take the punishment like the good solider that he was and he let her hit for as long as she wanted. She had kept on hitting him over and over again, screaming at the top of her vocal processor until she had shortened it out.
She hardly remembered what had happened next, but everything went black after her attack on Sideswipe and her screaming act. When she finally switched her optics back online, she found herself lying on a berth and she realised she was in the med bay. From the corner of her optic on her right, she spotted Sideswipe sitting in a chair. He didn't look very comfortable from where he was sitting, especially considering the dings and dents he was covered in. This caused a wave of guilt to hit her spark terribly.
She missed Hot Rod so much that she had taken her anger out on one of his guardians. What kind of Autobot did that even make her? She didn't deserve to have friends like them, and worst of all, she didn't deserve to be on Bumblebee's squad.
She opened her mouth to wake Sideswipe up and apologise for her behaviour, but her vocal processor came out empty, and it hurt to even use it. She blinked in surprise and tried again, only it hurt even more, causing an inaudible cry of pain to escape from her mouth. This caused Ratchet to poke his head into the room, and when he saw Arcee wide awake, he rushed on over to her side, startling Sideswipe from his exhausted recharge.
"Sheesh, docbot... Can't a mech get a decent recharge around here?" the silver mech groaned sleepily.
"Arcee," Ratchet said sternly, "don't try to speak. You shortened out your vocal processor last night, so I had to replace some circuitry you damaged. You won't fully recover your voice for another few more days. Just make yes or no gestures as I ask you some questions." This earned a nod from Arcee. "Are you in any pain?"
Arcee just nodded and pointed to her neck where her vocal processor was, earning a nod from Ratchet as he went over to a medical kit and pulled out a gel-like substance in a plastic packet. He then came back over and gently poured the gel onto the base of Arcee's neck, earning a muffled squeak from her.
"That ought to loosen a few things up a bit until you recover from your ordeal," Ratchet said. "However, I forbid you of speaking for the next few days; otherwise you will undo the repairs I had to make. That includes no screaming, cursing, or even whispering. Do I make myself perfectly clear, Arcee?"
The byzantine femme just nodded sombrely and brought her knees up to her chest, emitting a quiet sigh from her lips. She really was a mess ever since Hot Rod had left, and she missed him terribly. But her thoughts would have to worry about other things considering her shortened out vocal processor had muted her completely until it recovered.
She didn't notice that Ratchet had pulled Sideswipe aside and was telling something to him. Sideswipe would shake or even nod his head whenever the lime green mech asked him some questions. Once Ratchet was done, he indicated that Arcee can leave whenever she wants to on the condition that she put the gel on her neck once every few cycles, and left the two alone.
Sideswipe skated over to her side and looked her dead in the optic, forcing her to look away in shame and listen to what he had to say to her. If he was angry, he could just yell at her for being such an idiot and getting overly emotional about Hot Rod. However, Sideswipe surprised her by speaking in a gentle tone, "I know how you feel, Arcee. Bumblebee and I both miss Hot Rod so much that we find it difficult to not take our processors off of him."
She lifted an optic ridge in puzzlement. They were worried about him too?
"When he left," Sideswipe went on, "he not only left behind his home, he also left behind friends that he called family. Not only that, but you were the reason why he kept on going until the pressure wormed its way into his spark, forcing him to leave without a backward glance over his shoulder. But" –he cleared his throat– "he left behind something. Do you know what it was?"
She shrugged her shoulders.
"He left behind us," Sideswipe answered, frowning. "He left behind friends that he had come to accept as his friends. We're just like a body, Arcee. I am the chassis that protects the inner parts, Bumblebee is the processor, you are the spirit, and Hot Rod is the heart of all us. He is the glue that keeps us together whenever we're down. Without him... life doesn't have a reason to keep on going. But we have to for his sake. We can keep him close in our memories, our dreams, and our sparks, and he will come back someday. He promised he would, and he had never gone back on his promises."
Arcee felt fresh tears welling up, but she forced herself to hold them back. She didn't want to cry anymore, not when things were about to take a turn for a worse in regards to the threat that was looming ahead. Bumblebee had chosen her as part of his squad and he had known that she wasn't focusing right. Was that why Sideswipe was always so close by, to make sure that she regained her composure? Somehow, whatever Bumblebee had planned, it had worked. She felt better already and a lot more focused than she realised.
Though Hot Rod had gone off on his own once again, he would always be part of them and their memories. She took a deep breath and nodded her thanks to Sideswipe. She then made a gesture to tell him that there would be no more tears until the mission was over. She would grieve for her friend later, but right now, they had other important things to worry about. As soon as Megatron was taken care of, she was going to leave the Autobot base and bring Hot Rod back, whether he liked it or not.
Sideswipe gently petted Arcee on the back, being mindful of her doorwings, and he made his way over to the door, but Arcee's voice croaked in a hoarse whisper that caused him to stop. "Once over, we find Hot Rod. We bring him home."
He looked over his shoulder at her and saw the familiar, fiery burn in her cyan optics. They burned more fiercely than ever before, and he instantly knew that her spirit had been restored. She was back in top fighting condition. His job was done. He waved a hand at her, promising that he'll come back for her in a moment and drop her back at her quarters where she will be able to get some decent recharge.
Once he was gone, Arcee looked up at the ceiling as she made a silent vow that as soon as she had dealt with the mission, she was going to find Hot Rod, no matter how long it took, and bring him back home.
The several days came and went. Arcee had recovered remarkably quickly from her ordeal, and she was returned to duty at once. During the past few days while she recovered in her quarters, she went over the data pad Bumblebee had given her, repeating the orders over and over again into her processor just like she always did before a mission. She had only been on a few missions during the voyage on the Elpis, but none of them were as dangerous as this one. It made her nervous inside her spark, but she pushed it aside with a new determination as she repeated her vow whenever her focus faltered.
She couldn't afford to let herself lose sight of her goal, not now. But now that she had made that vow, she was going bring Hot Rod back no matter what, and her focus was once again restored.
Arcee often got visits from either Sideswipe or Bumblebee, but she refused to let Springer in because she was certain he was going to start another argument about the comforting hug Sideswipe had given her. She felt uncomfortable enough already, and she couldn't let her ex mech friend interfere with what was going on inside her processor. She even got visits from Ratchet, who came by to check to see how her vocal processor was doing. It had recovered remarkably quickly and he kindly suggested that she speak in a low voice for another few more hours so she could get used to the new circuitry in her neck.
But now that the day of the mission had finally arrived, Arcee soon found herself nervously walking down the corridors towards the entrance to the base. The younglings and sparklings she had helped care for on the Elpis wished her luck, each of them begging for a souvenir. Thus, she made a promise to them that she would bring them each a snowball because – according to the weather report – winter had arrived in Alaska pretty early. It was much earlier than the Autobots had thought, and a blizzard storm was bound to erupt from out of the blue and slow down the aircrafts.
She had been zoning off for quite a while that she hadn't noticed Sideswipe, Bumblebee, Mirage, and Springer joining her trek to their destination. She could see that Bumblebee and Springer were pretty excited about this mission, while Mirage kept his usual stoic expression. However, it was Sideswipe that worried her. The silver mech had a look in his optics that made her nervous. Was it bloodlust, or was it hunger for the energon of his enemies? She didn't know, but alas, it wasn't important. She recalled Bumblebee once telling her how Sideswipe had a knack for going... apeshit whenever a battle came up, but there had never been reports of Autobots getting hurt when this happened.
"Arcee, Bumblebee, Mirage, Sideswipe, and Springer," Optimus Prime's deep baritone voice called in a kind greeting, "I am glad that you made it in time. We were worried you were not going to make it."
All five of them walked up to their Prime and saluted him, thus earning a chuckle of amusement him. "We're all here and accounted for, Sir," said Bumblebee, lowering his salute along with his squad.
Optimus nodded and looked over at the huge line of Autobots in their vehicle modes that were waiting for further instruction. He then turned back to Bumblebee and motioned to him and his squad to take their position. They complied by transforming and driving up alongside Ratchet and Ironhide.
From behind the long line of Autobot cars and pickup trucks, several jetfighters sat in perfect silence. Arcee instantly recognised the stone gray B-1B Lancer as Skyfire, and a marble white B-1A Lancer as his soon-to-be sparkmate – Windrazor. She could easily figure it was them because of their huge size that made them equal in size to that of Optimus Prime. Seeing the both of them onboard for the mission made her feel more at ease and less worried about Hot Rod. She sighed with content, grateful for their warm presence behind her.
Skyfire seemed to sense her worries and he spoke to her via com-link. "Remember what we have taught you, Arcee?" he whispered kindly. "Do not forget your teachings and you will never go astray."
"I won't forget, Skyfire," Arcee answered back.
It was Optimus' voice that brought her back to reality and caused her attention to change direction. As he spoke, she could sense his determination to not let Megatron win. It was as though he had a powerful aura about him that made even the most timid of Autobots to want to fight for him. He was a mech of raw determination and power. His body language showed exactly what he was feeling. He was the reason the Autobots kept on fighting to this very day against the Decepticons, and he was the reason why they believed they would win.
"Autobots," he boomed, "you are all aware that you may not be coming back from this mission. There will be sacrifices, and there will be death. But I know that you will never let me down. For it is you who keeps me going in my battle to defeat my brother, and that it is you alone that gives me the willpower to win any fight."
The Autobots let off enormous cheers as he continued his speech.
"Know this, Autobots: you are the finest soldiers I ever had on the face of this planet. I will cherish every memory we have spent together. May your sparks shine brightly with your emotions as we march on to Alaska."
He then stood in front of the Autobots and transformed into his truck mode, his engine revving with power as he gave the order every Autobot had been waiting for. "Autobots, roll out!" He then surged forward, and the ground based vehicles followed close behind him, while the fliers took off to the air from behind Skyfire and Windrazor in formation, acting as lookouts and a barrier between the first incoming attacks and their Autobot brethren.
Arcee mentally gulped nervously as she fell in line alongside Bumblebee. She knew the drive would be only last for two hours, so as her wheels rolled across the ground, she kept on repeating to herself over and over again of her vow. Sideswipe and Mirage drove behind her, chatting quietly amongst each other on what they were going to do to their Decepticon enemies, while Springer jettisoned across the sky in his customized Cybertronian jetfighter mode that he had made up himself with the addition of his ground vehicle mode – a dark green 2011 Ford Interceptor Concept vehicle.
It seemed like it was going to be a long drive. But the more Arcee repeated the vow, the more focused she became. It had caused her to focus so much that she hadn't noticed they had reached Edwards Airforce Base until she accidentally bumped into Bluestreak, who had stopped accordingly, and accidentally dented his sky blue and silver armour.
"Sorry," she squeaked.
Bluestreak merely shrugged it off as he continued to watch and wait for any given orders.
Optimus had already transformed and went to meet with General William Lennox and Chief Master Sergeant Robert Epps, along with a large army of men and women that stood behind them, armed with sabot carrying weapons, and some special looking armour. These were the only humans Optimus could trust now with their secrets after the passing of Sam Witwicky.
He kneeled before them, getting at the correct level with them to talk with them personally. "Greetings, General Lennox and Sergeant Epps," he greeted to them.
"Hey, Big Man," Epps answered and greeted back the flamed Prime with a salute. "It's good to see you again. It's been a long time since I last time saw you?"
"Indeed it has been," Optimus chuckled as he nodded. "However, I wouldn't call it long for my kind."
There was chuckling from behind Optimus and from behind the two high ranking humans. Once it was settled, Optimus went straight to the point. "We came according to your time schedule and my men are ready to board the aircraft vehicles. But before I allow my men to board the transportation, I must ask if there have been any reports in regards to the Nemesis' position."
The two men looked at one another, they nodded to each other and turned back to Optimus, a serious expression on their faces. "From the last report of the satellite that has been watching the ship day in and day out, the Nemesis hasn't moved a single inch since you sent them the coordinates," answered Lennox.
Optimus nodded with satisfaction. "Then we will proceed as planned." He turned to the Dodge Charger police car. "Prowl, load up the Autobots into the aircraft. I will join you as soon as it is complete."
Prowl flashed his colourful blue and red lights in response and transformed into his bipedal form. He then nodded once and started sorting out the Autobots that would go into a suitable aircraft in order to balance it out. Arcee soon found herself lining up behind Bumblebee, with Mirage behind her, and Sideswipe behind him. She waited impatiently to get aboard the C-130J Super Hercules that was for her. She hoped that she didn't end up next to the window. She really wasn't used to heights.
"Bumblebee," Prowl's voice ordered, snapping her back into focus, "your squad will go into the Hercules on the middle right."
"Gotcha, Prowl," Bumblebee answered as he drove up to the designated aircraft and up the ramp with Arcee, Mirage, and Sideswipe following close behind. However, Springer said that he would follow alongside since he didn't like the idea of being strapped down. Arcee didn't know what he meant until she had got herself into position and one of the soldiers had come up alongside her vehicle mode and started tying down her wheels with leather clasps. She wanted to shy away, but the crowded space prevented her from moving, and she was forced to remain in place. Bumblebee's kinds words told her that there was nothing to worry about and that the worst part of being in these flying transportation vehicles was over with. The fun part was about to start.
Fun part? What fun part? She wanted to say it out loud, but she soon got her answer when the pilot of the Hercules – a female – spoke over the speaker and told the Autobots to be prepared because it was going to be a rough take off and that there was bound to be a lot of turbulence along the way. Arcee didn't remember what happened next because her cries of surprise were drowned out by the engines of the enormous aircraft and she found herself sinking into her tyres as it took off into the air.
"I think I left behind my waste tank!" she wailed.
She didn't get the response she wanted. Everyone just laughed in amusement at her cries of distress. Never again was she going to fly in one of these things again! Never again!
"Get some recharge everyone," Optimus ordered over the com-link. "Our pilot told us that it's going to be a six cycle flight to our destination. Rest now so that you have enough strength for the battle that lies ahead of us."
"That doesn't sound like a bad idea," Bluestreak yawned.
Now that Arcee thought about it, she did need to catch up on some recharge after having worried so much over Hot Rod. Sighing with relief, now that the engines of the aircraft had become nothing more than a dull humming, she tuned her internal chronometer to wake her in five and a half hours. Soon, she found herself drifting off into a peaceful recharge.