The planet was a desert—lifeless, dry and empty. The only sound Starscream heard as he worked was the wind whistling through masses of crumbling boulders. Kneeling by an intact outcrop, he dug away loose gravel so that he could trace the contorted white quartz veins in the stone beneath. They reminded him of white worms burrowing through the shiny, metamorphosed schist, and he followed them with his fingers, searching looking for patterns. At some point in a distant age, the veins had been straight. Now they were folded up on themselves, squashed into undulating waves by powerful tectonic forces. But were these the same forces that had raised the mountains that loomed to the east, or was he dealing with two separate events? The veins gave no answers.

He had been working on the problem for three months already, and had yet to solve it. Nor was Skyfire there to help. The other jet had advised him to give it up two months earlier, by which time Starscream had already been struggling with the problem for a month straight. Skyfire had said that he shouldn't spend too much time on any one thing, and that it was time they moved on to the next system. Sometimes, Skyfire had said, the effort it took to find an answer was not worth the trouble. He had suggested that they leave the question for future scientists with better equipment.

But by that time Starscream was locked into mortal combat with the problem and could not bear to leave without knowing the answer. He had told Skyfire that he wanted to stay until he had figured it out, and had urged his partner to go on to the next system without him. He would catch up later. Skyfire had pointed out that this was impossible since the next system was too distant for him to reach with his smaller fuel tanks. So Starscream had suggested that Skyfire could go there and then come back for him in a few months' time. But Skyfire had frowned on that option, stating that it was unsafe for them to work alone and that he didn't want to have to fly all the way back again just to pick him up. Starscream had protested, and finally, after a calm, reasonable discussion in which Skyfire never raised his voice (translation: an argument, thought Starscream), it was agreed that Starscream would remain behind and Skyfire would return for him in two months' time.

It had been a quiet, dull two months, and Starscream was counting down the days (eight left) till Skyfire got back. The novelty of working alone had quickly worn off, and now he was bored.

"Well, Starscream, you seem to have come to another dead end," he observed as the quartz vein under his fingers petered out into the rock. He had adopted Skyfire's habit of talking to himself, which was rather ironic since he was always teasing his partner about that.

Dropping his hand, he settled back on his haunches and examined what he had uncovered. The veins were compressed into an accordian shape, yet they also looked curiously stretched and sheared—probably more than one stress had acted on them to give them that appearance. Starscream sighed at the thought of untangling what had happened. He just wasn't that motivated anymore. His zeal for the problem had faded over the months, and now he recognized that he had stayed behind more because he didn't want to be bested rather than because he was actually interested. He eyed the quartz veins a moment longer, then decided to take a break. He could work on the problem later.

A nearby boulder provided something to rest his back against, and he sat and stared at nothing in particular. What was Skyfire doing right now? Probably reading, Starscream thought. He knew from experience that Skyfire didn't mind being alone. As long as he had a book to read, the other mech was perfectly content to be left alone for days. Starscream was discovering that he hated solitude. With a passion.

He picked a pebble up off the ground, examined it briefly, and tossed it at the quartz veins. It bounced off of them and went skittering to the ground.

"Whee," he said, picking up another one.

A crunching noise came from behind. Then, "Starscream?"

Starscream leapt to his feet. There, threading his way through the rocks, was a familiar white figure. Skyfire had come back early!

"Skyfire!" Starscream cried. He threw himself at his partner in an antigrav-assisted leap.

"Hi Starrrr—"

Skyfire's greeting was cut short as Starscream smashed into his chest. The big jet went staggering backwards, arms wheeling frantically. Starscream locked his arms around his friend's neck in a happy hug. He stuck there, grinning as Skyfire danced backward over the rocks, each step threatening to send him toppling over.

At last Skyfire managed to halt his retreat. He stood still for a moment, relieved, then glared downward. Starscream just smiled up at him. For a moment Skyfire held onto the glare; then he laughed and returned the hug.

"So, did you miss me?"

Starscream said wryly, "A little."

"A little? What does a lot look like?"

"Why, full afterburners, of course."

"Remind me not to stay away so long next time," Skyfire said.

Starscream made a face as Skyfire set him easily back on the ground.

"So, show me what you've been up to," Skyfire said.

"I was just trying to figure out these quartz veins," Starscream explained, suddenly finding himself fired with enthusiasm again. Together they went over to the outcrop to examine it, Starscream leading the way.