Meanwhile, the research team in the Ark were salvaging scrap parts from already useless machinery from the ship in order to recompose other devices that could recover their functionality. Optimus helped while Wheeljack still made calculations about the soil they landed in, though he had nearly to none proficiency in biology, quite a number of minutes were required for him to reach an important conclusion: If there was once life in this planet, it inevitably perished due to the harsh conditions given by the planet's position in that system. He interrupted Optimus's work to notify him of this, he explained that given the analysis of the soil and the orbit's shape it was clear that life forms could only proliferate in a given time of the planet's year. This was because the distance it had from the weak star varied in length in specific points of the oval orbit, which was greatly stretched in both extremes, where the planet had the lowest temperature and the atmosphere weakened. Although, while the planet trails a full cycle around the star, it was clear that the star's gravity was strong enough to pull the planet towards itself before it drifts too far away. Despite it's small size, it has an incredible density, which meant only two things: first, it's gravity could attract any kind of matter to it's core if it's own gravity isn't strong enough to repel it's attraction. And second, this planet size seems to be ideal to orbit the star in the way it does, since it's bigger than the star itself but it's considerably less dense, which electromagnetic field allows it to be drawn to the star at certain distance but repelled when too close.
This discovery resulted irresistibly fascinating to Wheeljack, since he had a serious quirk for all kinds of science and had the stubborn wit to understand the most complex of mechanisms, could be a bomb or a planet, he managed to find his way through it in the most creative ways. But the fact that most fascinated him was the working contradiction in the planet's pass of time, which relative to Cybertron, it needed an extensive amount of years, yet to be calculated by Wheeljack himself, to complete a full cycle, but he estimated that it could take millions of years, or perhaps less. Wheeljack thought about this when he first saw the state of the ship he helped to design and build, worrying that maybe the metal he had available couldn't be strong enough to withstand traveling further into space, ended up noting that the amount of time they've been in stasis in that planet was ludicrous. Cybertronian years at least. He also made a quick equation, though rushed and imprecise, to interrupt the crew's salvaging work and demonstrate them that time goes slower when the planet reaches it's closest point to the star and goes incredibly faster when far from it. Though he ended up admitting that in a relative point of view it could be at the inverse, and tried to fix the equation until Optimus rested his hand on Wheeljack's head and told him that the discovery was enough.
After a few hours of recovering usable parts to rebuild a base, Optimus was notified by Ironhide through the intercom that two moving objects were approaching the base, Optimus replied that it wasn't enough to be relieved, though it could be a decepticon tactic for a invasion. The autobots stopped their duty to get prepared for anything that may come. Optimus went outside with the two bulky guards and crossed his arms, expecting. Grimlock, in the other hand, unsheathed his sword discretely, he didn't like surprises, so he wanted to be prepared. Ironhide broke the tension that Optimus had built when he had a better sight of the two moving objects, he had been keeping a wary eye on them since he spotted the alert for the first time. He threw an affirmative sign of two friendly symbols to Optimus, meaning that they were the scouts who were returning to base. Optimus, in that same confirmation, received a message through his intercom: it was Sideswipe, Bumblebee and him were alright, and the mission was apparently a success, they are in their way to base, close enough to recover the signal of the com-device.
Ironhide switched his visor for his normal eyes and looked at Grimlock, he then reproached him that he must have had ready a ranged weapon instead of the sword. Grimlock grunted, replying that he liked to fight the enemy up close, so he could see the expression of the enemy's face while he bested them in combat. The two of them almost start a loud argument, if not for Optimus's intervention, who silenced them both with a thousand-yard-stare and ordered to alert the rest and be prepared. Optimus knew they were not alone, if Sideswipe's mission was a success, then that meant the decepticons were alive, if that's the case, he would doubt of himself of rejecting the idea that the scouts were followed.
