My Life as a Teenage Autobot
Chapter 15: The Sword in the Stone
Optimus, Jetfire, Arcee, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee stepped out of the Ground Bridge vortex and into the mist filled mountains of the Chinese-Mongolian border. Jetfire pulled out his data pad and marked the Iacon tracking beacon. "Two klicks due North." He reported. The team drew their weapons and carefully made their way across a narrow ridge. Meanwhile, Soundwave flew overhead with a fake Iacon Archive pod attached to his undercarriage…
On the Nemesis…
The Decepticons' warship was repaired since Trypticon's destruction; however the damaged crewmembers needed more time to heal. "How many available soldiers do we have?" Megatron asked Knockout. "Unfortunately, only 60 Ground Vehicons and 23 Flyers are battle ready, my lord. Only the Insecticons sustained minimal casualties." Knockout reported in a solemn tone. "Send a team of twenty of each type to accompany me to the real Iacon relic. Soundwave will distract the Autobots for as long as possible." Ordered Megatron.
"And what shall we do my liege?" Shockwave asked, referring to himself and Starscream. Megatron did not turn to face him. "You two will remain here and watch over the ship." He said while barely maintain control. "Assuming that you can perform that task without letting two Autobots slip past so they can destroy it." Both Starscream and Shockwave lowered their heads in shame. Without another word, Megatron left.
The Decepticon away team arrived at the Caucasus Mountain Range in Russia, where the relic was located. It did not take them long to find the relic, which was buried in one of the Mountains. Megatron looked more closely and realized what it was: the hilt of one of the most legendary weapons in Cybertronian lore. "The Star Saber; forged by Solus Prime herself." Megatron gasped.
When the Decepticons came to within a few feet of the sword, Megatron stepped forward and grabbed the hilt. He pulled with all his might to pull the sword out of its stone sheath, but the sword did not budge. In an act of frustration and desperation, Megatron blasted at the rock surrounding the sword, but alas, none of the rock was damaged. "The Star Saber is covering the rock in a protective shield!" the Decepticon leader explained. "We must keep the relic out of Optimus's hands at all costs."
The Autobot Base…
Jack, Miko, Raf, and Jenny were sitting on the sofa in the upper level of the silo. Jenny and Miko were conversing fluently in Japanese, pausing only to laugh at certain points. "So, what do think they're talking about?" Jack whispered. Raf shrugged. "I don't know. I can understand Bumblebee, not Japanese."
The two girls stopped talking to each other and turned to the boys. "Sorry about that." Jenny said. "It's been awhile since I've spoken Japanese. Miko and I were just discussing how annoying parents could be sometimes." Jack saw his chance to ask Jenny about something. "Jenny, speaking of home life, who's Brad?"
Jenny remained silent for a moment but decided it would be better for her to tell them. "Brad is my best friend." She began. "A bit clumsy sometimes, but he is the bravest, most loyal person I know." A smug smile spread across Miko's face. "Any chance that you two are…" she implied before Jenny interrupted with a quick "No." The robot girl's cheeks then flooded with light blue. "I mean… we've been…we're not yet… I'd like to… it's just…" Jenny stammered.
Miko burst out laughing at Jenny's apparent discomfort. "Miko!" Jack groaned. "Ignore her. Just pick up where you left off." Raf said. "Right… oh Brad is my age and he has an 8 year old brother named Tuck. Tuck's pretty much the opposite of his brother in that he is scared by the silliest things." Jenny continued.
"There's Sheldon who has an unwavering fascination with me. It can get creepy at times, but his skill with machines is second only to my mom's." Before Jenny could continue, Ratchet detected another Iacon beacon. "Optimus," he said over the comm-link. "I have found a new beacon." Static was the only response. "Optimus, do you read me? A second Iacon beacon has appeared and there are Decepticons in its vicinity." Ratchet reported.
Jenny excused herself and flew over to the computer hub. "I could investigate." She offered. "After your incident in Las Vegas you want to go in alone against not one but multiple enemies?" Ratchet asked incredulously. "It's not like we have much of a choice. Optimus and the others can't hear you and the Decepticons are after another relic. Besides, I've learned much since Las Vegas." Jenny reasoned.
Ratchet rubbed his metal chin before finally conceding. He opened a Ground Bridge to the new coordinates. Before going through, Jenny turned back to the children and said, "Wish me luck." Jenny came out of the swirling green vortex behind a large gray rock. She peered out from behind the rock and saw a huge excavation project underway. A team of Vehicons were cutting down part of a mountain with their blasters and a few Insecticons were hauling away the chucks that were already cut. Another team of Vehicons stood guard while Megatron supervised the operation. Something looking like a hilt of a sword was sticking out from the rock.
Jenny contacted Ratchet. "Hey, I think I found the relic. It looks like a giant sword." Ratchet's eyes widened. "Jenny, you must prevent Megatron from making off with that relic. Its power is too great to risk it falling into his hands." Ratchet warned. "I'll continue trying to contact the others, but for now, find a way to stall the Decepticons.
I need to be careful. Jenny thought. She spotted a rock on the ground and picked it up. Jenny took careful aim and threw the rock at Megatron when he wasn't looking…
Megatron felt something bounce off the back of his head. He whirled around and drew his cannon, ready to fire, but didn't see anything. He turned back around to supervise the excavation when something hit him again. "Who goes there?" Megatron demanded while turning back around. He pointed at two Vehicons. "You two. Search the area for any sign of an Autobot."
The Vehicons nodded in reply and started toward the place that Megatron was pointing. They surmised that an Autobot would be able to hide behind a particularly large gray rock directly in front of them. The two circled around the rock in opposite directions as they rounded the rock they came to face… each other.
"I have a bad feeling about this." One of them said. "You always say that." The other replied. Just then, something came hurtling out of the trees and tackled one of the Vehicons to the ground before using its blaster arm to blow the other's chest in.
Megatron heard the commotion of course, and sent four more Vehicons and an Insecticon to investigate. They found the two destroyed Vehicons and inspected the area around them. "Lord Megatron," said one of the search party. "I found footprints. They are very small sir." Megatron furrowed his brow. "How small?" Megatron asked. The soldier said they were about the size of an adolescent human female.
"Then Jenny did not go with the rest of the Autobots." Megatron concluded. "Destroy her before she can get word to Optimus." The bots acknowledged the order and continued their search. Out of the blue, a tree fell on top of the Insecticon, pinning him underneath thousands of pounds of fresh pine. The remaining four Vehicons fired blindly at a light blue blur that jumped and twirled around them.
"Lord Megatron, Jenny is…" he got out before receiving a swift right hook to the face. She dispatched another Vehicon with her eye lasers and a third with a volley of missiles. The fourth one got around Jenny and picked her up by her left boot. He held his blaster at her head and charged it up. Jenny simply pointed the bottom of her right boot at his face and blasted his head off with a beam similar to the ones in her palms.
Jenny heard Megatron order more reinforcements after her so she decided that now was the time to break cover seeing as his help would be spread out. She leapt out of the forest and activated the Gatling guns in her forearms. Charging at the Star Saber at full running speed, Jenny opened fire on the nearby Vehicons. Megatron turned to face her and opened fire with his own weapon.
Jenny dodged the blasts and continued running toward the Star Saber. She lept up and grabbed the hilt with her comparatively tiny hands and pulled with all the strength her Energon boosted servos would allow. "Grrrrr… why… won't… you… budge?" Jenny grunted as she tried to free the Star Saber. Even her pulse engines blasting at full power didn't make any difference.
Megatron walked up to Jenny backed up by his remaining troops. They raised their weapons at her. Jenny gave up trying to pull the sword free and dropped back to the ground. There she faced Megatron and his cronies, who had surrounded her. So much for being careful. She quipped to herself. "Well well. It seems I've captured the one who destroyed Trypticon, the one who made a fool of me, and the one who eluded me for weeks." Megatron boasted…
Back in the Mongolian Mountains…
"Ah bugger." Jetfire declared in frustration. "Every time we get close to the beacon it moves." The Autobots had been searching for what seemed like an eternity. "I believe that we are chasing a fake relic." Optimus said. Just then, a Ground Bridge opened and out came Ratchet. "Optimus, I've been trying to contact you, but it appears that you were being jammed." He surmised.
"Jenny is currently at the location of a real Iacon relic, the Star Saber… and she's alone fighting Megatron." Ratchet reported. Optimus's eyes widened. "Autobots, to the base!" he ordered. Soon the Autobots bridged back to the base and then to the real relic…
At the Star Saber Excavation Site…
As Jenny's mind raced to make a decision that wouldn't end her life, the Nemesis began lifting the section of mountain that the Star Saber was still stuck in. "You know, Megatron, I did have help." Jenny reminded. Megatron grinned. "Help that is now…preoccupied." Megatron countered.
Laser blasts seemingly came out of nowhere and slammed into some of the Vehicons. Megatron turned his head toward the incoming fire for a split second, leaving Jenny enough time to strike directly at the Decepticon leader. She threw a punch at Megatron's chest, but he blocked and swiped Jenny away like a fly.
She landed with both feet on the ground and took fresh aim at Megatron when she heard a Vehicon preparing to fire. She turned to see Bulkhead clobber the Vehicon with his Energon mace. "I've got your back." Bulkhead assured.
Megatron looked around for a moment. "Where is Optimus?" he inquired over the comm. He then saw a red and blue semi truck driving at top speed toward the slowly rising Star Saber. Megatron and four flyers shifted into vehicle mode and took off in pursuit of Optimus. They fired their blasters at the Autobot leader but he swerved to avoid them.
A conveniently shaped rock in front of the Star Saber provided a ramp for Optimus to use. He flew into the air at over 200 miles per hour. A laser blast caught his right side, but he continued undeterred toward his goal. Optimus shifted into Robot mode and grabbed onto the Star Saber. The sword began to glow with a blue aura. Meanwhile, Megatron and his cohorts pulled away and made for the Nemesis.
With a gentle tug, Optimus pulled the Star Saber free of its stone entrapment and plummeted toward the ground. The other Autobots finished dispatching the remaining Decepticons. They looked at what was happening in awe. "I loosened it for him." Jenny joked.
Optimus slammed into the ground with tremendous force, but the Star Saber saved him from any damage. Back in the bridge of the Nemesis, Megatron turned ordered a Vehicon to drop the Mountain on Optimus. The Energon Rope holding the Mountain deactivated, sending the whole thing tumbling down an incline. Optimus was going to be crushed!
"Optimus, retreat!" Arcee yelled. The Prime nonchalantly turned around and sliced through the mountain like it was butter. "No way." Jenny gasped. For once, Megatron was rendered speechless and held his mouth agape at what just happened. On his view screen he saw Optimus standing triumphantly with the Star Saber.
Optimus swung the sword in a circle and fired a wave of Energon at the Nemesis. It impacted the rear of the ship and damaged some of its engines. The warship fled the area as fast as it could. "We Decepticons, now face our darkest hour." Megatron lamented.
The Autobots returned to their base victorious. "I saw it with my own eyes, but I still can't believe it." Jenny said as she replicated Optimus's swinging motion. "I know. Now the Boss Bot has the Star Saber, and we might actually win the war." Bulkhead agreed…
The Nemesis…
With so few available crew members, security wasn't exactly a top priority on the Nemesis. This allowed Dreadwing to finally enact his plan of betrayal. He snuck into the vaults on the ship and pulled out the Forge of Solus Prime. He then activated a Ground Bridge using a Data Pad and left the Nemesis with the Forge.
The coordinates he set were for Mount Hotaka in Japan. He came out of the Bridge and closed it. The Decepticon defector then sent an encrypted message on every known frequency that humans could detect toward Jasper Nevada, a city that Soundwave said was in proximity to the Autobot Base.
A/N: For those of you who watch Transformers Prime, you will know where this is going. For those of you who don't, the next chapter will be the last. Thank you to everyone who read this story and to everyone who has given it praise. This story has been a true pleasure to write and apparently a pleasure to read. Thank you again for your support.