(Please see all previous disclaimers)
"Show or tell them about what you found, Aquaformer" Red Alert stated, pestering the femme.
"Yes, show us or tell us" Vector Prime encouraged, sensing how volatile the femme could be.
"Okay…okay… I found this" Aquaformer reluctantly replied, showing something that looked like the map that had been stolen. Optimus and Red Alert were stunned while Lancex just looked on. Vector Prime was stunned as well and went to examine the object. He held it carefully but it didn't feel right. He then opened it and realized it was a fake.
"This is merely a copy" Vector Prime replied.
"Then it is of no use to us" Red Alert stated emphatically.
"Wrong. It is of use because it shows that someone is making copies and Megatron may not have the real map. Someone who is quite crafty and slick made this as a decoy. The question is who" Vector addd.
"Someone who has plans of his or her own" Lancex added, figuring it only made sense even though none of this fighting made any sense to him. He was an extremely dangerous bot to face in battle but he hated war, and hated the destruction it caused as it had ended his world.
"Who are you?" Vector asked, curious.
"My name is Lancex. I am a salvager. I have roamed the galaxy, salvaging things such as weapons and other items. Some I sell and some I keep. I have fought off many dangerous beings that you might only dream of in nightmares" Lancex revealed, hiding his full past and he shot a look to Aquaformer to not say anything either, merely as a reminder as he knew she knew not to say anything. He also revealed his optic patch that Red Alert had missed. All the others assumed it was from working as a salvager, not knowing the truth.
Vector noticed the look but said nothing. There was more history between these two than they were letting on. "And you?" Vector asked, pointing to Aquaformer.
"I am merely a nurse bot who got lost when the world I was living on was destroyed. I joined the Autobots when I found I had family in it" Aquaformer offered up. She ignored her spark reacting to this interaction as she had been taught long ago no mech would ever want her as a mate. She saw these mechs as no different.
"Did you two live on the same world?" Vector asked, seeing as both had mentioned that their world had been destroyed and that they had known of each other previously.
"Yes, we did" Lancex answered with a short, terse answer. He didn't want more known, as he had been taught by his parents and Aquaformer that if other bots know you were a prince they would destroy him or use him to get what they wanted. Aquaformer knew why he was doing this, but she also knew that this lesson may no longer apply. Optimus merely nodded. Something more was going on here, but he didn't have time to focus on it because they had more pressing matters, like looking for the planet keys.