Chapter One
Only a minute or so had passed since Agent Fowler had called the Autobots. Jack and Arcee had returned, and been informed of the situation. Now, Team Prime was gathered around the main console to start planning their first move. Bulkhead was propping himself up on the railing, Optimus was standing in front of the console facing everyone else, Ratchet was standing beside him, the humans were standing behind Bulkhead at the game station watching silently, and Arcee and Bumblebee were standing beside each other in front of Optimus.
"Where are we supposed to start? He could be anywhere." Arcee asked, to which Bumblebee replied with a series of short beeps.
"Bumblebee's right," Raf said. "the photo was taken at Nellis AFB, which is close to Vegas, which is in Nevada. So, assuming he doesn't have access to a groundbridge, he can't be far from base."
"So we go to Nellis? To look for what? Tracks?" Bulkhead asked gruffly.
"For the time being, old friend, it is all we can do." Optimus replied reassuringly, before turning to Ratchet. "Ratchet, activate the groundbridge."
Vegas. What a glorious place to be. The neon lights of the city could be seen for miles, day or night. The vast surrounding desert stretched even further than the eye could see. The morning sun made the air exceptionally hot, and not a single cloud could be seen in the sky.
Not far from Nellis, a green portal of energy cracked open; the groundbridge was activated. From it came Arcee, in her alt form.
Nellis was divided into two halves by a large public road that cut through it, one half being larger than the other. The smaller side included the runway itself, and a large amount of housing for military personnel.
"Remember your mission, Arcee." Optimus spoke through the comms. "You are looking for signs of the lone thief. Do not remove your disguise unless absolutely necessary."
"Understood." Arcee said.
"The photo was taken at the edge of the runway, start there." Ratchet said.
As Nellis came into view, the holographic image of Sadie appeared atop her. She kept a great distance away from the base itself to avoid appearing suspicious. It was simple enough; drive around the open side of the runway to look for signs of activity.
"Wait, Arcee's going alone?" Jack asked.
"Arcee is the only one small enough to avoid detection," Ratchet said. "She will be fine, Jack, they're just humans."
Arcee wasn't looking for anything in particular. In fact, she didn't really know what to look for. It was about halfway around the airstrip when she noticed something. That spot looked similar to where the photo of the bot was taken. She was close, so she decided to get closer. About ten seconds later, she found her first clue.
"Arcee to base." She said.
"Have you found something?" Optimus responded.
"There are tracks in the sand leading away from the airstrip." Arcee said. "Footprints about the size of the guy in the photo."
"Find out where they lead; we must find the stolen weapon," Optimus said.
Without a second thought, Arcee changed course and followed the footprints leading away from Nellis.
Eventually, she found that the tracks abruptly stopped. Seeing as she was now in the middle of nowhere, she decided to transform in order to get a better look. She looked down at the ground to see parts and pieces of metal scattered about.
Arcee pressed her finger to the side of her head and spoke through her comm link. "Optimus, I found... most of the gun."
"Most?" Optimus asked.
"The tracks stop here." Arcee replied. "It looks like he carried the whole thing as far as he could before having to strip it down to what he needed. I don't see the ammo or the gun itself. Just the turret."
After a moment, Optimus responded to Arcee's description. "Return to base, Arcee, bring the turret with you."
"So that's it?" Miko asked.
"That's most of it," Raf replied. "Arcee said it's missing the gun and ammo. Guess that's all the guy wanted after all."
The C-RAM parts were piled together in the corner of the main room. The rest of Team Prime (save for Bulkhead, who was in his quarters, resting) gathered around the main console again, discussing what to do next.
"How much money did we just save Fowler by finding this?" Arcee asked.
"Quite a lot, I imagine." Ratchet replied. "The gun itself must be only small compared to the rest of it, and I doubt it's that complex."
"Although we may have saved Agent Fowler from his debt, there is still a job to be done here." Optimus said.
"The bot who took the gun." Arcee said. "Any idea on how to find him? I mean it's not like he's just going to show up again-"
Suddenly, Agent Fowler's voice could be heard from the console. "Prime! The bot who took the gun just showed up again!"
"Well I'll be." Arcee said to herself.
"I'm getting reports of lasers flying through the air, a loud buzzing sound, and giant blue explosions!" Fowler said.
"Sounds like someone hit an energon mine." Arcee said.
"Get down here now, and get the situation under control!" He demanded angrily, before sending coordinates for Esmerelda Nevada.
"Activate the groundbridge." Optimus said to Ratchet, who activated the groundbridge with the pull of a lever. "Autobots! Transform, and roll out."
