Chapter Two: Friends

Skyfire studied the meteor rock in his hand, his optics trained on it and magnified against it as far as they could go. It was mostly comprised of iron, which he was more than familiar with, and nickel, which served them little purpose, but also carried strange carbon traces, as if it were coated with it. He had obtained this rock ages ago, and yet now, with the study of carbon becoming rather important in alien worlds, he had remembered it and brought it out, planning to take it to the laboratory to compare with other samples.

A loud whir of a jet engine, small and shutting up just as it began, came from the other side of the room. Skyfire looked up to see Starscream still in recharge, flat on his back, one arm dangling from the berth. "Figures," he muttered.

"What figures…?"

Skyfire shook his head. He forgot that when his counterpart did not get enough recharge, he was prone to setting off his engines during recharge, or even talking. "It figures you'd recharge until the last possible minute before work." Starscream said nothing. "I don't understand why you went to the lecture, after telling me how boring it was going to be for so long."

"…wanted to be with my friend…"

Skyfire frowned. "What?"

"…may not be friends later…"

"Starscream, wake up," Skyfire reached over from his own berth and shook Starscream's shoulder.

Starscream woke with a start, sitting up abruptly and training an arm-blaster on Skyfire. His voice shrieked out, not like anything Skyfire had heard coming from the smaller jet before. "Who…!" His optics blazed red, his face bent in fury. Skyfire shied back involuntarily.

"Starscream…it's just me, Skyfire," he reached out a bit timidly and lowered Starscream's arm. "Remember? Are…you alright?"

Starscream came to his senses and lowered his arm. "Skyfire…! I…must've had a bad…a bad…"

"Subconscious processor cycle?"

"Well, in a way," Starscream fought to bring his intakes under control. He took in Skyfire's posture of reproach. Oh slag, I scared him, or threatened him or something…"I…I didn't mean to threaten you, Skyfire. It was…a reflex…" One born of years of being in the war, of needing to be on your thrusters in a moment's notice…

Skyfire managed a small smile and played with the meteor rock in his hands. "It is okay. But, are you sure you are feeling well? You've not been yourself lately."

Starscream looked away. "I don't feel like myself." The memories are both a blessing and a curse…now I know what to avoid, I cannot forget those millennia of being a warrior. Everything here is so different from what I remembered. I saw my memories through the eyes of a warrior under Megatron's rule, not as they truly had been…

"Well, if you want, you can tell me what it was about."

"What was what about?"

"Your dream."

"…oh," Starscream looked at Skyfire, then shrugged, trying to play it off. "It was silly…you don't want to know."

"I do, a bit, considering you were talking about your friendships in your recharge."

"I…was?"

Skyfire nodded, his smile slight and encouraging. Trusting. Not like Megatron's smile, which was cold and crooked. You knew he would take what you said and turn it around on you one day… "If you don't want to tell me, that is fine. I just figured it would put you at ease if you did."

Starscream contemplated his friend. Should he know? Should he know that, one day, we may be enemies? That I want to change it? How could this be explained, without him thinking I've completely fried my circuits? "I just have had this fear, recently…that one day…" No, it's too personal. He'll laugh. Everyone always laughs!

The white jet passed the meteor from one hand to another. "I won't laugh, Starscream. I promise."

The smaller jet fidgeted, fiddling with his hands, then stood, pacing a bit. "I saw…in my dream…maybe one day, we weren't friends anymore." He looked at Skyfire, waiting for the repercussion, the laughter, the ridicule…something…

Skyfire thought on this. "So you consider me a friend, then?"

"Well, of course, what else would you be?"

"I figured you just considered me as your coworker," Skyfire gave a small smirk and looked at the meteor rock. "I haven't many friends here."

Not many friends? That's a bit absurd. I would have thought someone as amicable as Skyfire would have many friends… Starscream flinched. "Well, we are friends. The…the point is that I had this…I don't know, dream or vision or something…we almost kill each other. We aren't on the same side, and there's a war. I…" I can't tell him about the ice, can I? Does it matter? How much am I to tell him, if anything…

"Starscream, I wouldn't dream of trying to kill you," Skyfire frowned. "Or anyone for that matter. And Cybertron is at peace, as it has been since before we were both created. I do believe this is an irrational fear."

No, of course not, now you wouldn't try to kill me. And I wouldn't try to kill you. It was a different story then… You turned Autobot, and I was a Decepticon.

Starscream eyed the rock in Skyfire's hands and held out his own hand for it. "What is that, anyway?"

The white jet smiled subtly at Starscream's blatant attempt at changing the subject. He knew the smaller jet wasn't particularly fond of exposing his personal secrets, which made him a bit glad that Starscream was willing to entrust him with such a personal thing as a bad dream. "It's a meteor rock I've been keeping for some time. It has traces of carbon on it, but, until now at least, I've been unable to truly study it."

Starscream took the rock, magnifying his optics at it. He found that his optics did not magnify as much as he needed them to be. I didn't receive an upgrade until the war was already started…but I know what this carbon is. "This has traces of deceased single celled organisms."

"Organisms? Like…flesh?" Skyfire sat forward, his optics trained on the rock with renewed interest. "I know it's possible in theory, but for it to actually be true?"

"Of course. Only these are single cell, which means…they're very primitive."

"How did you know what they were?"

Starscream cursed himself. I forgot! We had not even yet discovered flesh creatures at this time! The grants for the research had only come through recently! "I…well…I've studied on it independently. You'd go study minerals and whatever it is that you do after a shift…and I'd sit and study…this sort of thing."

Skyfire took the rock from him and once again studied it. "I don't see it."

"Your optics must not be magnified enough."

"But this is as far as they go. I would need to upgrade to magnify any further," Skyfire looked up. "You upgraded?"

"Well, in a way…"

This lack of explanation seemed to soar over Skyfire's head. He stood excitedly. "I must also upgrade! I must see this for myself!"

Starscream smirked and folded his arms. "I didn't think you were one to get so excited over life forms, Skyfire."

"Life forms like us, no, but to think, I've had this here this whole time, and not known what it was! It's…"

"Amazing?"

"Yes!" Skyfire smiled, bashful of his own excitement. Starscream couldn't help but laugh, even as Skyfire went to the door, opened it, and hurried out.

"Wait! Sky…oh slag," Starscream hurried out and after his friend. "You're forgetting…for every step you take it's almost three for me! Wait for me!"