On Earth…

Optimus Prime walks into the rec. room slightly tense from the knowledge that his old friend Sentinel Prime was coming to Earth, and when I say "old friend", I mean the glitch who blamed the red and blue mech for the incident on Arachna-7 that resulted in their friend Elita-1 being turned into a techno-organic. The aft chinned glitch was coming to bring them necessary supplies for his team's continued residence on the organic planet and the war with the decepticons. Did he forget to mention searching for and protecting the All-Spark fragments?

The Prime comes to a stop near the cement couch and couldn't help but smile when he sees his team being so relaxed. Prowl was on the floor watching a nature documentary with Bumblebee listening to music behind him on the couch, occasionally sneaking a glance at the screen. It was no secret to the Prime that the young scout only faked his disinterest in nature, the kid loved learning more about the planet's organic life after becoming friends with Sari Sumdac. Ratchet was reading a data pad on the tire chair and Bulkhead was nearby painting the scene.

Optimus doesn't want to disturb them, but they needed to know that the Elites were going to arrive soon.

"Everyone," he says gaining their attention, "The Elite Guard will be arriving in a few hours, so we need to be on our best behavior."

The team groaned, knowing they were in for an earful of unneeded insults and complaining about the planet.

Ratchet got up from his chair, "If anyone needs me I'm going back to the med-bay," he said walking out of the room complaining about stuck up glitch heads.

Prowl loses interest in his show and leaves the room without a word, presumably to go to his room and meditate. The way he walked was the only indication to his irritation of having his day ruined.

Bulkhead heaves a sigh after Prowl left the room, "So much for painting," he says as he packs up his art supplies to take back to his room.

Optimus and Bumblebee watch as everyone leaves. "Huh," Bumblebee says as he turns to look at his superior, "I've heard of clearing the room before, but doesn't a person have to be in the room to do so?"

Prime shakes his head, "Apparently not."

Having no further comments about what they had just seen, the two stood there in silence. After a few minutes, Bumblebee spoke up, "So, why are the Elites coming to Earth?"

"They are bringing some supplies; new medical equipment, a new transmitter, and some spare parts," Optimus said.

Bumblebee scrunches his face in thought for a moment, "Why would Sentinel's team be acting as a delivery service though?"

The Prime thinks a moment and confesses, "I don't know."

Bumblebee shrugs, "I'm going out for a drive, maybe stop by and see Sari and her dad. Unless Sentinel throws a fit that I'm gone, don't call me." He pauses as he walks to the factory entrance and turns to the Prime, "On second thought, don't call me unless it's an emergency." Transforming, Bumblebee yells, "Bye!" as he drives away.

Optimus shakes his head and smiles; every one of his team has their quirks and their equal dislike of Sentinel Prime. Returning to his thoughts on the visit, sure they needed the supplies, but he couldn't help but think that Bumblebee was right. Why would the Elites, especially a Prime of Sentinel's rank, need to deliver supplies to a faraway planet, regardless of whether that planet was the frontlines of the war? Is it because they were a team of maintenance bots?

No, that's not right, they were a part of the military and they all had some form of training in battle. Ratchet was a veteran field medic from the Great War, he had more experience than any of them and the Prime knew that Ratchet was also the mentor of Omega Supreme, who, until recently, was their ship. Prowl, even though he was not originally a part of their crew, was a student of Master Yoketron, studying the cyber-ninja arts. He himself went to the Academy before the incident on the spider planet and Bulkhead and Bumblebee had been in boot camp together. Wait, that's not right. Bulkhead had mentioned that Bumblebee was kicked out of boot camp and Bulkhead had finished his schooling before joining the team at the same time as Bumblebee. So, where was the mini-bot during that time?

Author's Note...

Second chapter is up and currently working on the third. Let me know if you like it!