Airachnid looked around her new quarters. It was simple. One berth, one desk, one chair, one "closet" (which was a small area with a door where she could store her personal belongings, of which she had next to zero of). She looked back at her guide, Prime's mate. She smirked at her rival, but she did a scan of her. The blue femme had been in the berth with the Prime. Repeatedly. She growled.

Arcee set the flat pillow and thin blanket on the sheeted berth. "This is all we have left, but Optimus has sent the humans out to get more of everything. And just so you are aware, I'm not on Optimus' side. No bot gets a second chance. You only get one, and if you mess it up, too bad, so sad."

Airachnid sat down on the berth. "Which is why the Matrix did not sing for you as it sang for Optimus."

The blue femme smiled at her, and not in a kind way. "If it had, I would have shot you the instant I saw your helm poking up through the pod."

"And I would have returned fire," she growled.

The femmes stared at each other for a long moment before Bulkhead interrupted them. He led Ratchet in through the door.

"Optimus wants Ratch' to examine her, and it looks like we came at a good time. Now Ratchy won't have to sweep up the pieces."

The medic pushed Arcee aside, which wasn't too unusual. But he was gentle on Airachnid, noting her every wince, even if it was fake. She growled lowly. Some medics seemed to be loyal on both sides. Her growl was cut off when Ratchet looked back at her and she ducked her helm.

His voice came through her processor. I am loyal to the Autobots, but it is my duty as a medic to heal all the hurt a Cybertronian carries. If I did not do so, I would be failing my mentor, my peers, and my duty to the Cybertronian society. He had told her that when he fixed Starscream up and sent him on his way with a cube of Energon.

Optimus stood in the doorway, overseeing it. The only one that was missing in this cheery party was Bumblebee, but Arcee knew better than to assume the scout was just wandering around. He was probably guarding the exit as the last line of defense if things got ugly.

Ratchet stood up. "She will recover soon. The stasis lock's effects will wear off. I do not think we need to give her more than three Energon cubes a day."

Optimus nodded and dismissed his friend. Then he moved to Ratchet's former position as he examined her himself. This time, Airachnid did not wince or squirm or whine. She stared into Optimus' optics. And he stared back.

Three minutes later, Arcee broke it up with an angry snarl.

Bulkhead held her back on Optimus' command.

"You have been through a lot," he murmured. He stood up and let her take his servo. He squeezed her digits gently, then shook her servo off. "But you are still in a precarious position. Do your best not to fall off."

Airachnid nodded and she pulled her knees to her chest.

Arcee was the last to leave, and she gave her a dirty look as she shut the door. Then she tracked down Optimus and spun him around. Though she was smaller, and left a smaller footprint than everyone else (figuratively and literally), she held a high position in the ranks. "What was that about?"

The Prime stared down at her for a moment, then he looked up at the ceiling and sighed like he did whenever he was about to launch into a story or give a long answer.

"When Airachnid and I were separated in the effort to leave Cybertron, the last thing I saw was of her being trampled and Shockwave finding her. Airachnid was not a triple-changer, or a fierce warrior before Shockwave found her that day. She was a medic of sorts, and she was called Airachnid because that was what her mother called her. But after Shockwave's experiments, she became Airachnid, and she had received extra legs due to her name...I watched some of those experiments. He fed the videos to me, to taunt me, to bring me back to Cybertron, but after he said that she had not made it, I found no use in returning to my mate. She was gone, after all, and I would have gone with her if I had turned around and chased Shockwave down."

Arcee frowned at her mate. "But do you still love her?"

He stared down at her. "You of all Cybertronians should know that love never dies."

He said nothing more. He held open his door for her, and Arcee reluctantly padded in.