Incoming from the human base, Scourge warned.

Cyclonus leapt into his transformation, regaining the skies. Below him the old Autobot was racing to his leader's body.

Did you kill him?

Possibly. Perhaps we should make sure of it. Cyclonus banked to aim at the ground again, but the Aerialbots were already diving past him. Scourge and the Sweeps had failed in their task: in moments a giant stood over the fallen Prime, swatting at the Decepticons.

"You'll have to go through Superion first!"

"With pleasure," Scourge snarled back. "We are of Unicron and you hardly measure up."

Posturing again, Cyclonus thought, before realising: Distraction!

Too late, he turned to focus on the aircraft coming from the human base. It was a heavy-bellied cargo carrier, and its ramp was lowering mid-air. Ultra Magnus came hurtling down that ramp in vehicle mode, already launching his missiles into the Decepticon fleet. Racing down to the ground behind him were several more unknown Autobots, and a helicopter—different to the one they had encountered on Junk—flew out over them before the plane closed its ramp and started firing.

Now the reinforcements were here, Superion scattered into his components again, the five Aerialbots regaining formation alongside the human plane. On the ground, Rodimus' body was being loaded onto Ultra Magnus—it looked like one of the motorcycles was already working on him. The rest of the Autobots were providing cover fire, two of them boldly standing upon Ultra Magnus' trailer.

We have lost our advantage, but we have our information, Cyclonus transmitted. I suggest retreat before we sustain serious injury.

We have given them a clear message, Scourge agreed. Let's get out of here!

He arrowed away, followed by his Sweeps, but Cyclonus circled over the Autobots one last time before following. They were well-drilled, he thought. Each one had entered the fray knowing exactly what they were doing, and perhaps today that had saved their leader's life.

When Rodimus came to, he was already aboard the cargo plane, and Hot Spot and Wreck Gar were gently lifting him down from Ultra Magnus' trailer.

"And now we return you to your regularly scheduled programming… the best part of waking up!" the Junkion told him cheerfully, though he laid him out on the floor with diligent care.

"He's awake," Hot Spot reported to everybody else.

Predictably, Kup was immediately hovering over him; the surprise was Ultra Magnus transforming and joining Kup with an equally concerned expression.

"How're you feeling, lad?"

"Rodimus, are you all right?"

Rodimus was in a lot of pain, and he was half-expecting a lecture on what he had done wrong to get to this point. "I think I broke our ceasefire."

"Nah, that was definitely Cyclonus did that," Kup assured him.

Ultra Magnus sighed. "It was worth a try."

Rodimus waited, but there was no follow up so he nodded and tried to smile—it came out as a wince.

"Relax and keep still," Hot Spot told him. "You took a nasty hit. Wreck-Gar's not worried, but you're in for an overhaul once we reach base."

"Today's grand prize is a new fuel pump valve, three compressors and an energon infusion!"

"Sounds like it's worth playing for," Rodimus agreed, trying to look around without moving his head. It seemed that every Autobot on Mars had come along to bail him out—and at least one human. The pilot was facing away from the hold, obscured by their seat-back, and the helmet did not help, but he made an educated guess: "Lt Faireborn?"

"Glad to be of assistance, sir!"

"It's much appreciated."

"We didn't have time for the clearance needed to launch our own ship," Ultra Magnus explained. "Lt Faireborn was able to provide us with one of the EDC cargo planes for transport."

"I'm ninety percent sure she didn't get the clearance for that either," Streetwise added.

Rodimus grimaced. "I hope she doesn't get in trouble for this."

"Not if I can help it," Ultra Magnus said with quiet finality. "In my deposition, I specifically mentioned her diplomatic handling of a very sensitive situation and put in a recommendation for promotion."

There was no chance that an Autobot would have the authority for that last part, although if the EDC felt a need to appease them, Ultra Magnus' opinions might hold more sway than they should. Rodimus looked at his second-in-command appraisingly. "Magnus, I'm beginning to think you might just have a soft spot for hotheads."

Ultra Magnus frowned, and for a moment Rodimus thought he was going to get a lecture after all. Then the old leader met the new one's optics, and his face relaxed. "I like people who act on their convictions." The words were non-committal, but approval warmed them.

Rodimus filed that away to mull over later. "Is everybody else O.K.? What happened to the Decepticons?"

Kup brushed casually at a burn across his left shoulder. "No serious injuries on either side. Those Decepticons lay on their armour pretty thick, but they were flyin' scared today—did better at dodging than aiming."

"They seem much more disorganised without Galvatron," Ultra Magnus agreed. "They had the opportunity for a lot of damage but not the confidence."

"Trust me, Cyclonus had plenty of confidence."

"Lucky for us, he was focused on you," Kup remarked. "Lucky for you, he was less confident when the backup arrived—right after you went down. He scrammed with the rest of them."

"Uh, we tracked their flight path, and it's possible they were heading towards the moon of Phobos." The rest of the Aerialbots must have been flying back under their own power, but Silverbolt had joined them in the plane's hold, though he entered the conversation diffidently. "I suggest that we do a sweep of the moon and make sure there are no ongoing operations there… with your approval, Prime."

If Ultra Magnus noticed the Aerialbot's awkwardness, he paid it no heed. "I fear they may have followed us here rather than having any vested interest in the planet."

Rodimus started to nod, winced again and mm-ed instead. "But it would be prudent to check, and you have been telling me to prioritise prudence." For the last four years or so… "It's a good idea, Silverbolt. Get together the numbers and the firepower with the EDC—I don't want to take chances—and we'll make sure any Decepticons are cleared out before we leave for Earth."

"C'mon, Magnus, let's radio in and get that process underway now." As Kup turned Ultra Magnus towards the bridge, he sent a meaningful look over his shoulder, but it was at Silverbolt not Rodimus Prime.

The Aerialbot did not need Kup's prompting to address his leader, but he was not helped by Rodimus' prone position. Eventually, Silverbolt settled for crouching on one knee, head bowed. "Rodimus Prime, I apologise for earlier. There's no excuse… I just… forgot."

There was also no privacy, and behind him, Autobots and Junkions were exchanging quizzical looks. Rodimus sent them what he hoped was a stern look; they took the message and shuffled to the far end of the hold. "Just take a seat, Silverbolt." That brought the Aerialbot closer to his level and let them comfortably avoid eye contact as he studied the ceiling and Silverbolt, the far wall. He kept the rest of his words low. "I guess I've been waiting for that to happen… The Hot Rod mix-up. You won't be the last. Despite Spike and Ultra Magnus' marketing efforts, I'm not exactly covered in qualifications for this job."

Silverbolt gave a wry snort. "Been there. Did you know Optimus Prime chose me as leader of the Aerialbots because I was afraid of heights?"

That put a new light on 'Arise, Rodimus Prime.' "There must be a story there."

"There really isn't. The point is, of all people, I know what it's like not to be taken seriously as a leader. I should not have made that mistake today—it won't happen again from me or any of the Aerialbots, I promise you that."

"Thanks. Maybe next time I'll come up with a plan that works."

Silverbolt looked directly at him then. "You knew what you were doing today. Like Ultra Magnus said, it was a worth a try—it never even occurred to me to just talk to them, but shouldn't that be the Autobot way?"

"You make a good point." Rodimus looked wryly back. "So, benefit of hindsight, Aerialbot Leader: d'you think Optimus knew what he was doing in appointing you? Or do you think he was just the arbitrary type?"

"I try not to think about it." But a beat later, Silverbolt smiled and shrugged. "I guess it worked out."

Notes:

In the original concept for this fic, I planned to have Cyclonus face off against Ultra Magnus, but when I rewatched The Killing Jar, I decided that episode works better if they've not done one-on-one combat before. So Rodimus stepped in, with Ultra Magnus being used more in his counterpart to Galvatron role and introducing the Decepticons to the idea of leaders returning from the dead. (Ironically, even though Optimus Prime is the most infamous for this act, we're at the wrong point of the timeline to use him as a reference.)

I do have some cursory character development (or image rehabilitation) for Ultra Magnus with the new Decepticons starting to respect him as a leader among his own faction, while Rodimus starts to realise there's more to him than the stick up his exhaust.

Junkion lines: Eh. I was lazy. Standard TV announcer stuff for the most part, and I remember 'best part of waking up' from old Folgers coffee ads.