——"The tower's opening again,” observed Mirage. "Four Seekers this time."
——"Starscream, Skywarp and Thundercracker I recognize." Bumblebee replied. ——"But who's the big white and red Decepticreep leaving with 'em?"
——"His name's Skyfire, Bumblebee. He was a space explorer who went missing long before you were manufactured."
——"Shoulda stayed missing if you ask me."
——"Can't argue with that,” laughed Mirage. "We were never friends. Skyfire and a bunch of like-minded Cybertronians used to show up to our Turbofox hunts firing their thrusters and revving their engines.”
——“Why’d they do that?”
——“They were trying to save the Turbofoxes by scaring them away."
——"So where do you think they dug up this long lost Decepticreep with a conscience, anyway?"
——"In Alaska. Prime said he saw Skyfire's body laying in a scrap heap when he boarded the Decepticon's ship. I guess one of his buddies decided he was worth repairing after all.”
——Bumblebee waited patiently for the last Seeker to disappear into the clouds. Once they were all gone, he flipped up his communicator.
——"Bumblebee to reinforcements from Cybertron. You are clear to land. Over."
——"We hear ya, Big Bee." A voice said over the comlink. "We're coming down."

——Skyfire couldn't help but notice how much the landscape had changed as he flew overhead. The planet was almost entirely covered by ice when he first scouted it's surface eons ago. His mission was to seek out a world rich in the type of natural resources that the Decepticons could easily convert into energon. Once located, the cubes would be shipped back to Cybertron using the Space Bridge.
——Skyfire chose this world because he believed that it wouldn't matter if his race disrupted it's ecosystem. The few surviving lifeforms still inhabiting it's icy surface seemed to be headed toward extinction anyway. He was wrong. The planet had bounced back, and now ironically, he was about to aid in it's destruction.
——Although Decepticon by brand and designed for military conflict, Skyfire disliked war. Back on Cybertron, his fellow Decepticons called him a pacifist—as if it were some sort of slur. He became an explorer to get away from the war—and warriors like Thundercracker and Skywarp. Skyfire could feel their disapproving optic sensors all over him even when they were in their alt-forms.
——"Hey, Starscream. What's the deal with Megatron not making Skyfire change his alt-mode?" Skywarp complained over the comms. "Why's he getting special treatment?"
——"You're on an open channel, Skywarp. Why don't you ask him yourself?"
——"Oops!"
——Skyfire sighed. Nothing had changed. He felt as though he would never be accepted by his brethren. "I couldn't find a suitable alt-mode. Everything here on Earth is either to big or too—“
——"Who cares? Interrupted Thundercracker. "These Earth disguises don't work anyway! Right after I picked up Soundwave on the last mission, I had a bunch of Earth-germs buzzing around me like nano-gnats!”
——"Good one,” laughed Skywarp. "Everyone knows Earth-germs can't fly! You almost had me there for an astro-sec!”
——"They weren't flying on their own, dummy! They were piloting machines that looked like us!"
——"You mean... like they're doing now?"
——Thundercracker stared at the wall of enemy aircraft coming up over the horizon. He counted at least a dozen of them.
——"Um... yeah,” he answered. “Just like that."
——"Clear the comms of all non-essential chatter!” ordered Starscream. “Anyone who gets shot down by these insects is getting left behind to rust!”
——Starscream opened fire on the enemy aircraft. The pilots mistook the null ray bursts pelting their fighter jets for bullets. Instinctively, they moved to evade, only to find their consoles dark and their controls unresponsive. Several of the fighters stalled out of the sky, leaving Starscream a clear path straight through the middle of their formation.
——Skyfire swung in behind him, followed by Thundercracker with Skywarp bringing up the rear. The survivors of Starscream's initial assault looped back in hot pursuit of the four Decepticon jets.
——"This is Raat-1 to Raat-Leader. I've got a straggler in my sights."
——"Fire when ready, Raat-1."
——"10-4, Leader. These tin soldiers done made the biggest darn mistake they ever could make showin' us their afterburners."
——Raat-1 fired a missile at the last Decepticon jet in their formation. Skywarp vanished an instant before the warhead detonated, leaving fragments from the explosion meant for him to pepper Thundercracker. The prank had the desired result. The trickster reappeared out of thin air to fly alongside his comrade, chuckling to himself.
——"That's wasn’t funny Skywarp!" Thundercracker yelled. “I got shrapnel in my tail fins!”
——Seconds later, a sonic boom smashes into the remaining military aircraft like an invisible wall, sending them spiraling out of control. In moments, the skies are cleared... save for the four Decepticons that had triggered the Air Force’s response in the first place.
——"Aw, why’d ya have to go and do that for, Thundercracker?" whined Skywarp. "Now there aren’t any of 'em left to play with!"
——"Playtime was over the minute those germs nearly blew me outta the sky!"
—-"On the contrary, Thundercracker,” cackled Starscream. “We’re just getting started. Take the point and tell the flesh creatures at Sherman Dam that we have arrived!”
(to be continued)