Team Prime never needed the Ground Bridge… at least, not for the purpose that Optimus had been thinking they would need it for. When Arcee called them and told them to come to her location, the confused bots and humans did so with all haste. They soon discovered that Arcee had only just reached the location herself, and the signal that she'd been chasing had disappeared from the area.
"I don't understand," Ratchet mused as he walked over and looked at the destroyed vessel. "There's nothing here, so why would there be a signal?" He turned to the others, specifically looking at Vesper and Optimus. "Perhaps it was a bug in the system?"
The scarlet femme shook her head slowly. "I highly doubt that such a specific signal – especially one of Decepticon origin – would simply be 'a bug in the system'." She crossed her arms over her chassis, tapping her chin with her index finger. "There was someone here… but they appear to have been chased away."
Ultra Magnus looked sceptically at the femme, his optics flashing dangerously. "Or this could have been a ploy," he growled, and Vesper flinched as their optics met.
Optimus grew angry as the others started to whisper among themselves, casting cautious looks in Vesper's direction as the femme sadly looked away and back at the vessel she'd once been a prisoner on. Then she noticed something, and without telling the others – who were now involved in an argument – she hurried over and walked over to the askew door. Then, with a quick look back, she hurried into the ship and started to walk around inside. There were still deceased Decepticons lying around, and she stepped over them as she investigated. She'd never actually seen the inside of the vessel – having been in stasis for a long time – but she still investigated, even though she was quite aware that getting lost was likely.
She soon found a large, gaping hole in the ship's hull, and her optics widened as she walked over and gave it a closer look. It was sitting just above one of the wings of the ship, and she frowned as she clambered out, then stood up. She could see the others arguing… and she watched as Optimus turned to see her standing on it. His optics widened, and then he yelled, "Get down from there before you hurt yourself!" This caused everyone else to look at her, and all of their eyes widened as well.
Vesper shook her head. "I will not hurt myself," she called, her voice still light and cheerful. Then she climbed back into the hole in the ship's hull and continued her investigation, not realising that Optimus hadn't believed her in the slightest. Telling the others to stay put, the Prime hurried into the ship, then quickly tracked Vesper down. She had found her way to where the stasis pods were, and she was running her fingers over the jagged edges of where one pod had formerly been.
"Vesper?" Optimus asked as the femme's servo fell to her side and she slowly turned to look at him.
"They… do not trust me, do they?" she asked, her optics glancing in the direction of the others, who were still standing outside the confines of the ship. "I suppose that their distrust is warranted." She sighed before looking down at the floor. "I… should have informed you all prior to—"
"Their distrust is not warranted," Optimus growled, losing his self-control for the briefest of moments. Then he sighed and slowly shook his head. "What matters now is that you are no longer on their side." He walked over and placed his hand on her shoulder. "And that I trust you." He gently gripped her chin and tilted her head upwards so that their optics met. He smiled tenderly at her before leaning down and gently planting a kiss on her lips. Vesper gasped a little, a shiver running down her spine as their lips touched, but then she frowned and bit her lip as the Prime pulled away. "Do not worry. You always have my support," he breathed, pulling her into a hug and stroking the back of her head as she snuggled closer, grateful that she had him to rely upon.
Suddenly something clanged to the ground, and the two jumped apart and immediately became tense, their optics glancing frantically around. They heard nothing else, but that didn't stop Optimus from grabbing Vesper's servo in his own and squeezing it gently. The femme was starting to become panicked, he could feel it, and he tried to send her soothing thoughts as he formed his free servo into a blaster.
The two remained completely still for a while, then they heard the noise again. Optimus immediately became even tenser, and his faceplate slid over his mouth. Vesper whimpered as she shuffled closer to the Prime and hid behind him, her free hand resting on the small of his back. Then the noise came again, and the Prime's eyes narrowed before he heard footsteps. Both the Prime's and the femme's eyes widened, and Optimus whipped around… just to see a familiar face step through the door.
"Wheeljack!" Optimus' optics widened as he looked down at Vesper, who was grinning like a mad woman. The bot looked at her, his eyes narrowed, then he grinned equally as madly when he recognised her.
"Vesper!" he said, putting his dual swords away and crossing his arms over his chassis. "When'd you get to Earth?" he asked. Optimus, confused, looked between the two, not understanding how a Wrecker and a data analyst knew each other… and appeared to be good friends.
Vesper shrugged. "A while back, I guess," she said, walking over to Wheeljack after looking up at Optimus with a reassuring look. "What brings you to this planet?" she asked, poking the Wrecker in the arm.
He shrugged. "I was tracking this ship down. It's been a while since I've been here," he admitted, looking over at Optimus and nodding. The Prime nodded in return. "And it's good to see that Optimus is still alive and kicking." He grinned before looking back at Vesper.
The femme nodded. "You have been to this planet before, then?" she asked, and Wheeljack nodded.
"Must admit though, it was worth coming back now," he said, winking at the femme. Normally she would have blushed and shrugged it off, but this time she stiffened. Wheeljack noticed this and was about to ask if something was wrong, but when a shiver went up his backstrut, the Wrecker stiffened before both he and Vesper looked at Optimus. The Prime's servos were tightly clenched and a snarl was very clear on his face. His optics flickered from blue to red occasionally, and Wheeljack took a few steps back and raised his hands. "Hey, I meant no harm by it!" he said, his own optics widening as Optimus stormed over, grabbed Wheeljack's shoulder, and threw him into a nearby wall.
"I do not care," Optimus scowled, walking over and grabbing Wheeljack around the throat before pressing him against the wall. "I will not tolerate your advances towards her!"
Vesper ran over and grabbed Optimus' arm. "Optimus, please, stop hurting him!" she cried, and Optimus looked down at her before exhaling and releasing Wheeljack, who slumped to the ground and coughed. Vesper immediately sighed and looked over at the Wrecker, who looked quite stunned.
And he wasn't the only stunned one. The other members of Team Prime – Bulkhead and Miko included – were gaping at Optimus, and if he noticed them he paid the looks no mind. Instead, he turned on his heel and angrily stalked away, and Vesper gave Wheeljack an apologetic look before hurrying after him.
"By the Allspark…," Ratchet breathed, looking after Vesper and Optimus before looking over at Wheeljack. "I've never seen him like that…"
Wheeljack got to his feet, leaning on the wall of the ship in order to support himself. "Isn't he supposed to be calm and collected or something?" the Wrecker asked, looking over at Bulkhead. "I thought that was part of being a Prime." Everyone shrugged, then silently looked in the direction where Optimus had gone as they heard an angry roar and then metal hitting metal.
Vesper frowned as Optimus punched the wall, and he sighed heavily as he felt one of his knuckles break. He looked down at it as it began to spark, and then back at Vesper. "I… I was out of line," he eventually said, breathing heavily. His optics – no longer flickering between red and blue – looked sadly into Vesper's. "I am sorry."
The femme shook her head. "It is I who should apologise," she said, walking over and wrapping her arms around Optimus' torso, resting her head on his chassis. "He has always been like that. I usually go along with it, for we both know that nothing will come of it."
The Prime sighed as he returned the femme's hug. The two of them silently stood like that for a while, then Optimus sighed again before saying, "I should go and apologise to Wheeljack."
Vesper nodded. "As should I. We are both at fault here," she mused, then tried to step away from Optimus, although she found that the Prime would not release her. She looked up to notice that he was gazing at her, entranced, and she smiled. "Optimus, you need to release me," she said, her voice soft.
Optimus slowly shook his head. "I… do not want to," he admitted, a soft blush creeping to his cheeks.
Vesper blushed as well, then rested her head against Optimus' chassis again. "This is nice, I will admit," she said. "Just being in your arms makes me feel safe."
Optimus stroked her back gently with the tips of his fingers, making her shiver. Then he chuckled as he said, "Look up at my face." She did as she was asked just as Optimus leaned down and kissed her again, and she returned the kiss for a little bit before finally pulling away, breathless. Then she leaned back up and kissed him forcefully, stunning the Prime, but he quickly returned it with just as much force and hunger. He slipped his glossa into her mouth, using his servos to press her body closer to his, and a thrill went through his backstrut as he heard her moan softly.
When the two of them finally managed to pull away from each other, they both separated their bodies and walked a short distance away from each other. Both of them were panting, shocked at themselves. "Um, whoa," Vesper gasped, looking back at Optimus, who was leaning against the wall with his optics squeezed shut. He was clearly fighting for self-control, and Vesper frowned. She dared not approach, however. Instead, she said, "I will leave you be, and check on the others," before turning on her heel, not waiting to see the Prime's reaction.
The others had not heard what Optimus and Vesper had just done, so they were simply having a chat. Ultra Magnus and Wheeljack appeared to be giving each other venomous looks, and Vesper wondered why as she approached. Ratchet was talking lightly to Alice, and every so often the two of them looked at the remainder of her left arm. Jack, Raf and Miko were all chatting to their respective guardians, with Bulkhead extending the conversation between himself and Miko to Wheeljack, who was more than happy to converse and ignore Ultra Magnus, who didn't appear to be very interesting in the chatter of the others anyway. So it was only the Autobot lieutenant who noticed the quiet femme standing nearby. He was silent as she came closer.
So, when she cleared her throat, everyone but Ultra Magnus jumped and whipped around to face her. "Vesper!" Ratchet chastised immediately. "Don't scare us like that!"
"It was not my intention, Doctor," she said, her voice calm. "I am sorry." Then she shook her head. "Wheeljack, you were hurt because I failed to inform you of… events." She sighed as she walked over to him and placed her servo on his shoulder. "I am sorry for that."
Wheeljack grinned. "It's all good, Vesp," he said. Then he looked in Optimus' direction. "Although I really didn't expect that." He rubbed his throat and grimaced.
Vesper sighed. "To be honest, I did not expect it either," she admitted. Then she shook her head. "But enough about that. I want to ask you a question, Wheeljack, one that I feel I must have an answer to."
Wheeljack frowned, but nodded anyway. "Sure. What's your question?"
Vesper gestured around her. "Why are you here? At this location in particular?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chassis.
Wheeljack shook his head. "I shot this down about two months back, but I didn't find it until now." He shook his head as Vesper's optics widened. "It was carrying something that had an Autobot locator on it. Of course, whatever it was carrying was taken, but the locator remained." He held a small device up and wiggled it around. "I picked it up earlier."
Vesper nodded. "I see," she said. "Well, Wheeljack, you will be pleased to know that the Decepticon cargo was never actually handed over to Megatron."
Wheeljack grinned. "Well, that's good to know. Then you guys must know where the cargo is, right? Do you have it in your possession or something?"
This caused Bulkhead to chuckle. "It's not something one can have in their possession, Jackie," he said, and the Wrecker stood to face his old friend. Bulkhead then gestured at Vesper and said, "She was the cargo."
The Wrecker turned, shocked. "What?" he breathed, and Vesper nodded. Their conversation was cut short, however, when Optimus finally decided to show his face again. He had an expression of serene calmness on his face, and he looked at everyone with calm optics.
"I believe that we should return to base," he said, his voice just as calm as his eyes. Vesper, however, could see that Optimus was slightly unstable, but she did not push it. Instead, she nodded and looked over at Ratchet, as did the Prime. "Do you have the remote control to the bridge?"
The medic, having been given it when he and Alice had met up with the others, nodded as he pressed the button. A swirling green vortex opened up and the group headed in, although Optimus refrained for a bit when he heard something that sounded like metallic heels clicking on the floor. Then his optics widened as he turned.
"What—" he started to say, but then something sticky clapped over his mouth and silenced him. He immediately tried to get it off of his face just as he heard the tapping noise again, and he looked up to see purple eyes and a nasty, smiling, female face in front of him.
"Well, well, if it isn't Optimus Prime," the femme purred as she tapped her way over. She wasn't using her main legs; instead, she was using the eight 'legs' she had on her back. "What a prize…," she mused, stroking his cheek gently only for him to jerk his head away and glare at her. Before the Decepticon femme could do anything – or say anything – more, she got thrown off of the Prime by a very angry blue two-wheeler.
Optimus sat up and watched as Arcee attacked the other femme, but he also watched as the other femme snarled and threw Arcee into the wall. He stood as Arcee did, then tried to yank the web off of his mouth as Arcee continued her assault on the other femme.
"Go!" Arcee ordered as she looked back at Optimus, using her blades to keep the female Decepticon at bay. "I'll be fine!" she exclaimed, turning her attention back to the Decepticon.
Optimus, realising that he could say nothing to convince her otherwise, gave a muffled sigh before turning on his heel and running into the Ground Bridge. He soon found himself before the others, and the four humans immediately suppressed a giggle as they looked at the sticky substance covering Optimus' face.
"What the heck is that?" Alice chuckled, walking over and standing next to Ratchet, putting her remaining hand on her hip.
Jack shrugged as she looked over at him. Then he frowned as he remembered that he'd seen the substance before, surrounding his mother when she'd been captured by MECH… who, at the time, had been working with—
"Airachnid…," he breathed, and Raf and Miko turned to look at him.
"Who?" Miko asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
"A Decepticon who killed Arcee's former partner, Tailgate," Bulkhead explained as Bumblebee beeped something unintelligible. He shook his head. "Arcee really has a vengeance against her."
"We have to go back," Ultra Magnus said, his voice blunt. "She could—"
"There isn't much we can do," Wheeljack stated, his voice just as blunt as he coldly regarded the warrior. "But hopefully, Airachnid is still weak."
"What do you mean?" Vesper asked, and Wheeljack smiled as he pulled out one of his katanas… and revealed that it was dripping with energon.
Back at the Decepticon cargo vessel, Airachnid and Arcee were battling it out. Currently the Autobot was at a disadvantage, but she could see energon dripping from a large wound in Airachnid's side. She knew that she had to somehow implement this weakness in order to take down the Decepticon, her mortal enemy, but she just didn't know how to do that. She soon discovered that Airachnid's movements were becoming sloppy and predictable, and that allowed Arcee to get an excellent blow on the Decepticon, chopping off at least three of her 'legs'.
The 'Con hissed in agony as she was forced to utilise her real legs, and she glared at Arcee with a look of absolute hatred. "I will kill you just like I killed Tailgate!" she screamed as she leapt at Arcee, but before she could, Arcee kicked the 'Con in the head and knocked her out. She stood over her mortal enemy and pointed her blaster at Airachnid's head, but something grabbed her arm then, and she looked back to see Ratchet standing there, shaking his head slowly.
"There is no point," he said, his voice neutral. "Just come back to base."
"But I must do this for—"
Ratchet's stony glare silenced the femme. "Optimus' orders."
Arcee was about to disagree and argue, but then she sighed, realising that there was no point. Instead she glared icily at Airachnid before stepping into the swirling green vortex that Ratchet had emerged from. Ratchet followed her, and the Ground Bridge closed, leaving Airachnid laying on the floor, unconscious and leaking energon.