Synopsis
5 surviving Sentinel Squad members (Rajani Dhama, Alexander Lexington, Jeremiah (Meld) Muldoon, Jake Slayton and Emil Winston) return to base with their patched-together Sentinel and the 2 Squaddies they rescued from the Savage Land (Commader James Rhodes in his man-sized 'Iron Sentinel' suit and Tracy Skylark). Prof Winston says he's retiring from Sentinel piloting to return to what he's best at - designing improvements for them. (The bosses never wanted him to pilot a Sentinel anyway.)
But the returning heroes are met by Gen'l Lazer and some military police who want to arrest Lex. Cpl Briggs got back before them and reported that Lex disobeyed the orders of his superior Sgt Steele, and Steele and 2 other Squads are now dead. Plus Lex is a secret mutant.
Jim Rhodes intervenes, saying that Lexington saved the lives of his team plus Rhodey and Skylark. Lazer backs down, but promises changes.
3 weeks later Briggs is back in charge, now promoted to Squad Captain. Skylark has joined our Squad. Briggs is going to lead them on a mission to save a village of mutants in Ecuador, who are being menaced by the mutated Sentinels of Cassandra Nova.
But meanwhile Val Cooper reviews the current Squad makeup with Gen'l Lazer, with the changes this issue and #3 (Rajani Dhama switching to a Brawler Sentinel, Jake Slayton taking over the Recon unit). Cooper claims that Lexington showed leadership ability, and has the respect of his teammates, while Briggs has neither. And supposedly she and Rhodes have a free hand in organising Squads. But Lazer says there is 1 overriding rule - no mutants in positions of authority.
The Squad faces the Nova Sentinels like huge insects, which seem reluctant to attack fellow Sentinels. Lex wants to try to communicate with them, possibly order them to cease their attack on the mutants. But Briggs prefers the direct approach. He blasts 1, and then the other insectinels turn on the Squad.
Now the Squaddies are forced to fight, and even Lex uses his mutant electrical power to fry them. The other mutant Meld makes his Sentinel exude tentacles which grab the flying bugs, and then his power can melt them too. Slayton detects human life signs in the church basement. Skylark's Sentinel breaks in and rescues a load of kids. The battle is ended, but the children are orphans.
Earlier in the issue Meld said he would wait for the right time and then desert, to get the freedom he's never had his whole life. Only Lex and Slayton know about this, and support it. Meld indicates that the time is now. Slayton tells Briggs he's picked up a news report from Quito about 5 more Sentinel bugs heading there. Sensing an easy victory in front TV cameras Briggs orders Slayton to accompany him there.
Meld is going to stay to look after the mutant children. He doesn't want them brought up by an uncaring government as he was. Rajani and Tracy are miffed that they weren't let in on the plan. But they readily agree to tell the bosses that Jeremiah was killed when some more insect Sentinels appeared.
Presumably that all goes to plan. We now skip a month to M-Day, and Lex wakes up to find he's no longer a mutant. He joins the rest of the Squad hearing that it's happening all over the world. Val tells Jim that Lazer is 'worried' about the safety of the remaining mutants, now that they are heavily outnumbered by enemies. And Sentinel Squad O*N*E is going to do something about it.
As the Squad prepare for their new assignment we learn that Lex is now in charge. Lazer is unhappy because he thought he'd made it clear that he didn't want Lexington to be given command. Val Cooper reminds him that he said she could do what she wanted as long as she didn't give the job to a mutant.
The Squad leave Rhodey welcoming a new set of recruits, and fly their Sentinels to the X-Men school.