Chapter 11 - The Sword in the Stone
If he be worthy...
Saber sat parked on a hill overlooking the outskirts of Albuquerque, New Mexico. From on high, he could see the resting place of the mythical sword. Not even a mile from his position, the Autobot could see the gleam of the Blade's ancient metals plain as the stars in the night sky the Sword was said to represent. With a population of Five-Hundred and Sixty Thousand within a Kilometer of its landing zone, it was a miracle that the Sword had managed to miss the City when it landed, the damage it could have caused would have been utterly catastrophic. That said, the Sword's current resting place had made for something of a difficult predicament, as far as retrieval was concerned.
Using his Alt-mode windows as sensors, Saber could see that the Humans had set up some kind of station around the Sword. A Large, fenced off area with great cranes raised overhead white tents had been erected in the short time between landfall and discovery - and the Humans were crawling all over it.
The Station was heavily fortified. Armed Guards and LAV III Armored Personnel Carriers had already set up at the locale's entrances. At 16 Feet tall in his bipedal mode, there was no way Saber was going to get in without a battle…then again…a battle with the indigenous over the Sword wasn't entirely off the table.
The Star Saber was a weapon so powerful it was said to be able to destroy Stars with a single swipe of its cerulean edge. With it, Prima and the rest of the 13 vanquished the Ultimate evil and ushered in Cybertron's first Golden Age. Needless to say, the Sword was incredibly important to Cybertronian culture, but to Saber it represented a touch more.
Optimus Prime, his Father, had died while wielding the The Star Saber; Saber had even watched Megatron deliver the final blow himself. But not before Optimus had sent the Sword - and the Matrix with it - away, denying the Decepticon the right to rule. Without the Matrix there could be no true Prime; Cybertron was without a legitimate leader.
Saber thought about the Autobot forces back home. It had been 4 Million Solar Cycles since the Sword left Cybertron. The Autobots on the Planet, if there were even any left, were probably destitute. Their command structure had been decimated in a single battle and their chances of survival against such a ruthless foe, let alone actually winning the war, were slim. But with the Matrix and, more importantly, the Star Saber? Saber could single-handedly return home and retake Iacon by force.
It seemed simple enough on paper. With the Star Saber, Saber would punish the Decepticons for their transgressions. He would wipe them from the face of Cybertron. For his Mother, for his Father, for all the Autobots that lost their lives that day, for the Autobots back home fighting the good fight: Saber would make the Decepticons rue the day they'd ever set foot in Iacon. All he needed was the Sword of Prima to make it happen. For the blade that had defeated Unicron, destroying Megatron would be nothing; that thought alone was inspiration enough for him to go and try to take it by force. If it had to come at the cost of Human lives, then so be it. For Saber, there was no cost too steep for the future of his race.
Saber waited for nightfall; with the moon and stars overhead, it was time for him to begin his operation. The Autobot had been watching the Humans down below for hours now; he'd deduced that the vast majority of them were scientists and researchers. There were actual soldiers too, but from what he could see, cross referenced by the internet, they didn't have much that could easily penetrate his armor. With the majority being science based non combatants though, it made him wonder why they hadn't just moved the Sword to study it elsewhere.
The Blade was raw Energon and the radiation that it exuded couldn't have been good for their fragile biological make up. If they wanted to learn about it, it would have made more sense to relocate the weapon to someplace safe rather than build a City around it. Then it dawned on him that the Humans might not have been aware of what they found. Their tech was relatively primitive, even by ancient Cybertronian standards, so perhaps they hadn't detected its energy yield. Whatever the case, they would not have to worry about it for long. He was going to take it off of their hands real soon.
Saber straightened his front wheels and revved his engine as he took aim. He was gunning not for the station or it's inhabitants, but for the Star Saber at the heart of the Humans' little camp. He'd made up his mind about taking the blade by force hours ago, now? It was time to go get it.
The Autobot put pedal to the metal, his rear wheels spinning in the dirt before gaining traction and propelling him off down the hill. "For Cybertron!" He shouted through his Radio as he raced towards the research station at full speed without any regard for what he might hit. Nothing was going to stand in his way.
Down the hill, the Humans stationed at the gates took notice of the Black and Gold Datsun racing towards them. "Hold it!" One of the Soldiers brandishing an M4 shouted. "That's far enough!"
Saber heard and understood him clearly, but he didn't care.
"I said stop!" With a second warning given, the Soldiers aimed their weapons at the incoming Autobot, but this didn't deter Saber either. The Soldiers didn't bother with a third warning, they just squeezed the triggers of their rifles and opened fire.
The Human's 5.56 millimeter ammo shot through the air and bounced off of Saber's chassis. "Hmph. Tickles." The Autobot barely even felt the incoming gunfire as he accelerated up to the gate.
Getting the memo about his intentions, the Human Soldiers dove out of the way; the Autobot smashed right through the striped barrier arm of their checkpoint and raced out onto the other side. The second his tires hit the temp asphalt of the Research station, the alarms began to blare.
Saber turned his wheels and downshifted. His pedal to the metal, he drove through the station. His bumper smashed fences and his chassis bumped into jeeps and cars as he tried his level best not to run over any Humans. The idea of dragging one of their bodies in his grill was not a pleasant one and the added weight would just slow him down, which he couldn't afford right now.
Turning down a street, Saber came up on a road that led straight to the Star Saber. Shifting from 4th gear into 5th, Saber raced as fast as his wheels would carry him. For a moment, it looked like he would be home free but then, from another one of the entrances, one of the APCs rolled in. Armed with a 242 Bushmaster 25 Millimeter chain gun and a side-mounted 7.62 machine gun, the humans had brought in heavy artillery to deal with the Autobot. If Saber had been a normal car, it would have been more than enough to stop him. But, unbeknownst to the Humans, Saber was not a normal car.
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, the Light Armored Vehicle's chain gun let loose on the Autobot. Saber turned sharp right then, driving across the dirt, he circled around faster than the Humans could turn the LAV's turret. As Saber crossed the front of the APC, the Driver of the Armored Carrier floored it; its 8x8 wheel drive chassis rushed forward in an attempt to physically restrain the Robot in Disguise. That would prove to be a bad move.
Moving faster than the APC, Saber transformed in an instant and threw his whole body at LAV. With a groan, the Autobot picked the front of the Light Armored Vehicle up and then shoved it back, sending the whole thing belly up.
His robot mode now in its full glory, Saber stood high above the Humans, his mere presence stumping the many scientists in the station.
The Autobot deployed his Pathblaster, "Stay back!" He ordered as he waved the Pathblaster in a rather unnecessary intimidation display. Just seeing a giant, talking, living 'robot' should probably have been enough, but he wanted to show them he was armed too even if he didn't intend to fire on the Humans - in fact, he couldn't. The Blaster was still missing its condenser and couldn't be fired without it, but the Humans didn't know that.
The Human soldiers watched Saber brandish a defective weapon. "Open fire!" They shouted as they peppered the Autobot with 5.56 rounds that just bounced off his chassis like they had before. Unable to shoot back, Saber moved on, but not before overhearing one of the humans say "we need Fire Support!"
The Autobot rushed into a dead sprint for the displaced Sword; he jumped the gates the humans set up around its crater and then leapt in. He slid down into the crater and then, once he reached the bottom, he climbed to the center and there it was. Before him lay the Star Saber in all its mythical glory embedded in the Earth, a Sword in Stone.
This was it. The Star Saber and the Matrix of Leadership, both were his for the taking. With them he could take the Power of the Primes for himself, bring the Decepticons under heel and save Cybertron from Megatron's Tyranny.
Saber reached for the Sword. He wrapped his hand around its grip and squeezed. He'd done it, he'd reached the Sword, now it was time to exfil. Having kicked a hornet's nest, the Autobot knew he needed to get out of there as fast as he'd entered. But, as he tried to step away with the Sword, he found that the Sword would not budge.
"What?" Saber turned back to the blade. "Ok, maybe the Earth is denser than I thought." He said as he retracted his Path Blaster arm and placed both hands on the Sword for a second attempt. With a groan Saber pulled, but the Star Saber went nowhere.
At the crater's edge, some of the human scientists had gathered around to observe the Autobot. Evidently, he was drawing something of a crowd. "I do not have time for this!" He exclaimed.
Saber propped his foot up on the mound the Sword was embedded in and pulled with all his might. He strained his servos and mechanical muscle as he struggled to wrest the Star Saber from the Earth's grasp. Try as he might, however, the Star Saber would not move for him.
Saber stopped trying to wrest the blade from its position. When he finally laid eyes back on it, he discovered a thin veneer of cerulean light around it and the piece of Earth it was embedded in. There was some kind of forcefield keeping it bound to the Earth.
"The Sword…it's protecting itself…from me?" Saber was shocked. There was no longer any wonder as to why the Humans hadn't tried to move the blade; they couldn't. "I don't understand? I can take you back to Cybertron, back to Primus. All you have to do is let go!"
Saber wrapped his hands around the blade again. He squeezed his eyes shut and heaved. "I'm the son of a Prime! Why won't you accept me?!" He struggled out as he tried to remove the Sword, once again to no avail. Then he heard a distant chopping in the air.
Saber opened his optics only to immediately get blind-sided by bright, hot lights followed by a small 'boom'. A moment later he felt heat at his chest and was violently thrown backwards.
Saber let out a pained cry as he hit the floor, it felt like someone had just punched him in the chest. "Ow…" The Autobot looked skyward to see a Helicopter hovering in the air above him, a smile trailing from one of the missile bays beneath its Starboard wing. The Chopper had fired a missile at him and it hurt like hell.
The Autobot looked up at the Chopper. A quick cross reference with the Humans' internet told him it was a Sikorsky AH-64E Attack Helicopter. Or, as it was more commonly known, an Apache.
The Apache's gunner position took aim at the Autobot. Saber didn't need to cross reference the chopper's payload to know that he didn't want to get hit by anything else it could throw at him.
The Autobot's eyes darted back and forth between the Sword in the ground and the Helicopter in the air. Before he could make another dash for the blade, the Chopper opened fire.
Saber rolled away, dodging the first volley of gunfire. He cast a gaze back to the Sword and snarled with frustration. The Sword wasn't moving and he'd drawn too much attention in trying to retrieve it. The Autobot squeezed his eyes shut and lamented the decision he knew he was going to have to make, he was going to have to abandon the Sword.
The Apache in the air fired 2 more of its Hydra rockets; Saber transformed. His wheels rolling and engine roaring, the Autobot drifted himself out of the crater and drove off, leaving the Star Saber behind.
Saber raced through the Research station as the Helicopter followed. Rushing towards the fence, the Autobot transformed and moved into a sprint while the Apache's main gun spat munitions just overhead. Shells impacting the dirt mere meters from his feet as he jumped the fence at the edge of the compound and landed on the other side with a roll before transforming and racing off.
The Autobot swerved and dodged, evading missile fire before hitting the open road; the Apache still following after him. On solid asphalt, Saber floored it. His limiter going redline, the Autobot moved as fast as his alt-mode would allow, but the Attack Helicopter kept pace with him.
The Chopper shot another duo of Hydra Rockets downrange, both narrowly missing Saber on the road as he tried his level best to flee. In a straight line, on a road long enough, Saber's top speed of 188 Miles an Hour would eventually barely outpace the Helicopter's Top Speed of 182, but in the air, the chopper didn't have to maneuver any roads. There was no Road in New Mexico long enough for Saber to pull away from that Apache, he was going to have to find some other way to evade it.
The Apache fired another duo of Hydra rockets, which Saber barely evaded. The Pilot of the Chopper was getting closer and Saber? He couldn't keep this up forever. He was going to need to come up with something - fast.
The Autobot and the Helicopter's chase would bring them to a mountain pass, where Saber drove through and the Chopper followed relentlessly. Saber began to wonder how far he'd have to go to get it off his trail when suddenly, the Helicopter's lights went out and, a moment later, the Autobot's systems would follow suit.
"What the?" Saber slightly panicked as he lost control of some of his on-board tech. His altimeter, his compass, GPS, Internet connection and the lights on his Alt-mode, all of it went dark. He wondered if the Humans had used some sort of Electro Magnetic Pulse, an EMP designed to take lesser systems offline. Such technology was outlawed on Cybertron, but no such laws existed on alien worlds. Before he could infer however, the Autobot felt something slam into his right side.
"Gah!" Saber yelped as he went skidding off the road and towards a boulder. When he finally came to a stop, he could barely tell what was around him, let alone what had hit him. Expecting an LAV or some equivalent vehicle, Saber's Transformation Cog engaged. Shifting forms, the Autobot stood up tall. But, to his surprise, whatever had hit him was also changing form too.
Saber gasped in shock. "Decepticon!" He called as he transformed his right hand into his defunct Path Blaster, only for the mystery bot to grab his blaster arm and point it off target before shoving Saber into the big rock.
"What?!" Saber yelped in confusion. Another Cybertronian? Here? The coincidence barely seemed plausible.
"Shh! Quiet!" The mystery bot hushed the Autobot, which only compounded Saber's confusion.
The Autobot looked down at mystery bot's chest and found an Autobot symbol, it and a pair of Blue racing stripes were painted atop a white chassis. The color, the symbol placement and the bot's voice, Saber realized that he recognized them all. The Autobot got a look at the mystery Autobot's face, a Black helmet over a silver faceplate with a Blue Visor. All his life, Saber had only ever known one Autobot with that set up.
"Meister!" An ecstatic Saber exclaimed, only for the other Autobot to cover his mouth.
Meister put up a finger to his own lips. 'Quiet.' He ordered and Saber nodded in compliance.
Meister removed his hand from the young Autobot's mouth, the two looked skyward and watched the Helicopter as it hovered aimlessly. Without its instruments, the pilot could only rely on their eyes and instincts to navigate in the Dark which was far easier said than done for a Human Being.
The Helicopter did another pass of the mountain range before giving up its chase, pulling back and heading back to base. When he was sure they couldn't be heard, Meister gave the signal.
"Aight, I think the coast's clear."
"Meister!" Saber exclaimed again with just as much enthusiasm as the first time.
Meister gave him a smile. "Hey kid. Been a minute."
"It's been more than that!" The Autobot shouted. "I'm Glad you're ok."
"Likewise." Meister nodded.
"What're you doing here?"
Before Meister could answer, the Autobots heard the growl of another engine. Saber shifted and turned towards the sound only to feel a tug on his Blaster arm. He turned to find Meister there, hand on his gun, keeping the Autobot from raising it.
"I think you mean 'we'." He said. Before Saber could ask what he'd meant, they were joined by a 3rd Car. The Car then transformed, revealing itself to also be an Autobot. To Saber's continued surprise, Meister wasn't alone, he'd brought Wheeljack with him.
"There you are, kid! We been lookin' all over for you!" The Autobot's Chief Engineer said, the sides of his head flashing with enthusiasm as he spoke.
"Wheeljack! You're here too?" Saber asked.
"Present and accounted for." Wheeljack answered.
"This is crazy! What're you guys doing here?"
"Lookin' for you." Meister said. "Sorry about the spook. We woulda called but you said your T-n-R was broken. Figured it woulda been a wasted effort."
"Don't worry, I can get those patched up. But not here." Wheeljack said. "That EMP I set off's onna timer. Soon as that pilot get's their instruments back, they'll pull a U-E."
"And failing that, they'll send more cats to cramp our style." Meister said.
"If they haven't already."
Meister gave Wheeljack an agreeing nod. "We gotta scram, Double-time."
Saber gave a nod. "Right." He said. The particulars weren't actually that important, he was just glad to see other Autobots again.
"Oh, and Saber...? One more thing." Meister began as he backed up onto the Street. There, Saber watched Meister transform in the dim moonlight, revealing his alt mode to be a White Porsche Race car.
"It ain't Meister anymore. Call me Jazz."