Terminator Salvation
By Empirestv
A-10 fighters and a squadron of Blackhawk helicopters approached the radio telescopes. The Skynet anti-aircraft guns immediately opened fire downing a jet immediately. The jet fell into one of the radio telescopes creating a fireball. The A-10 fighters dropped their bombs causing explosions that softened the Skynet guns. Finished with their task, the fighters circled the area and went back to base. The helicopters landed on the ground; soldiers immediately exited the helicopters with M-4 rifles in their hands.
John Connor exited the helicopter and looked around as his men scanned the area. He noticed a crushed Terminator endoskeleton beneath the helicopter but ignored it. He was dressed in black with a bullet proof vest, elbow and knee pads, and combat boots. He carried a pistol with him in a holster on his right side but no rifle. His hair was cut differently from the others; it was spiked up resembling one of his protectors years ago.
Another set of boots exited the helicopter but with thinner legs. She appeared as a teenage girl dressed in a resistance uniform with a coat that seemed to be too big for her. She had long brown hair and an attractive face. Like Connor, her face was expressionless.
"Take care of that," Connor ordered his Sergeants who had accompanied him. One of the Sergeants fired on the crushed Terminator deactivating it. The girl next to Connor twitched slightly from the gun fire.
"What are your orders, Sir?" a leading Sergeant asked Connor.
"Send in a recon team to scout the area. The rest of you take cover," Connor ordered softly.
"You heard him. Let's move!" the leading Sergeant gestured and shouted to his men.
"Should I go with them?" the girl asked.
"No. We don't know what's down there. You're too valuable to lose," he rejected.
Connor took out some binoculars and looked into the distance as the recon team went down into the large hole they had made with their bombs.
Resistance fighters used cables to lower themselves into the large hole. Inside, they could see several stories of what was a Skynet laboratory. Once they dropped down, they scanned the area with rifles ready. Flares were ignited giving the team some light as they traveled through the maze of computers and equipment.
As they walked further into the laboratory, they saw dead mutilated bodies on hospital beds. The horrified fighters kept their cool as they continued their recon. "You seeing this?" the squad leader asked Connor's Lt. above.
"I see everything," was her reply.
"The objective has been located. There must be over a hundred human prisoners down here. They look severely malnourished," the squad leader reported.
"Stay focused on the mission. The mission was to acquire the data, not the prisoners," Connor reminded him through the radio.
"Yes, Sir," the squad leader said reluctantly. "Get what we came for," the squad leader ordered a specialist.
The specialist examined a computer console and began downloading the information. "I think I found something. There is a file on a new kind of Terminator: the T-800," the specialist reported.
"Just like he said," a team leader expressed in amazement.
"Extract the data and come back to the surface. We will rescue the civilians another time," Connor ordered through the radio.
"Yes, Sir," the squad leader replied.
The fighters looked around and saw the civilians begging for help. "According to this, Skynet is scheduling to take these people to San Francisco in a camp," the specialist reported.
The Squad leader frowned upon hearing that. "Release them. Make it quick! Specialist: download the information to central command."
The fighters immediately began working on freeing the civilians and bringing them to hole for extraction. The girl at John's side tilted her head as if she sensed something.
"The data collected is being electronically transferred to central command," she said.
"That's not what I ordered. If you can trace that then they can too," Connor said aggravated.
"There is a Hunter Killer in your sector ten miles and closing," Connor's radio said.
"Get out of there. We have Hunter Killers approaching," Connor ordered his Squad leader.
"Sir, there are a lot of people down here," he objected.
"That doesn't concern me. I gave you an order," Connor argued.
There was silence at the end. Connor clenched his fists in anger but then gave a depressed expression. "Have everyone move out. Leave them behind," Connor ordered the rest of his men.
Connor's men immediately moved away from their cover positions and entered the helicopters. Connor waited for all of his men to leave the scene before leaving himself. As he was about to leave, a broken Terminator suddenly grabbed his foot knocking him down. Connor fought the Terminator, but it was suddenly pulled off the ground. The girl raised the Terminator off the ground into the air. The Terminator had lost its legs but was still a few hundred pounds. The girl kept the Terminator up into the air with ease and for a brief moment her brown eyes turned blue.
"Kill it," Connor ordered her.
The girl titled her head as if interested in the Terminator model. It was thrashing about in a vain attempt to free itself. Finally, the girl crushed the Terminator's neck disabling it. She let go allowing the Terminator to fall to the ground lifeless. She then gave Connor her hand pulling him to his feet.
"Thanks," he said flustered.
She nodded and then entered the helicopter. The helicopter lifted off the ground and sped away from the site. The Hunter Killer arrived shortly thereafter and bombed the hole. The entire hole exploded killing everyone still inside.
While in the helicopter, Connor hid his face in grief. It was not the first time one of his squads had been killed nor was it the first time a squad had defied his orders. Many of the resistance fighters were not trained soldiers and lacked discipline. The only one he could really count on to faithfully execute his orders was the Lt.
"What have I become?" he asked the girl.
"You are John Connor," she replied.
"I sacrificed all of those people and my men. And yet I feel nothing. Am I becoming like them?" Connor wondered.
The girl had no answer. "The transfer was completed before they were killed. The mission was a success."
"Maybe that will earn me a promotion," Connor said bitterly.
"You decided this fate John. You can lead these men to victory and save the human race or become a wanderer," she said.
"No fate but what we make," Connor said thoughtfully.
A naked man stumbled around covered in oil while flames continue to roar around him. He looked at the ruins in confusion wondering where he was. He saw a dead Resistance fighter on the ground and took the clothes for himself.
Suddenly a bright light spotted him. A Hunter Killer moved in for the kill but then suddenly stopped itself. "What the hell?" Marcus asked himself.
A retractable arm suddenly grabbed Marcus and placed himself a holding cell. The Hunter Killer then sped away.
Connor's helicopter landed on the outskirts of LA and then took off towards a secret air force base. Connor, the Lt, and some of his men in the helicopter walked a short distance and then opened an underground door leading to tunnels underneath. Going inside, Connor was immediately saluted by soldiers as he walked passed.
Connor reluctantly saluted back indicating his displeasure at being called an officer. He had been trained by his mother during his early years, but he was not a trained soldier. He had no business leading these men and yet they considered him a symbol ever since he reported he was in charge of Southern California defense in 2003.
There was a tradition amongst resistance fighters to wear red bandages to indicate they were soldiers, but Connor did not take part in it. He kept to himself assigning another Lieutenant to inform the survivors that their father or son had just been killed. Without saying a word, Connor went inside his specially made bunker and closed the door.
Paranoid of assassination of himself and his wife, Connor locked all the locks on his door that resembled a bank vault door. Upon meeting his wife Katherine Brewster, Connor gave her the customary hug and then went back to his work at a computer console. Kate was noticeably pregnant and there was the possibility of twins.
"Thank you Cameron for keeping him safe," Kate said to her.
"Of course," she replied without emotion.
Connor looked over his computer and read the data on the new T-800 model. He was surprised to learn that Skynet had made such an advancement so early. The T-800 model wasn't supposed to be developed for ten years later. Connor looked over the information with dread.
"How could they have developed the T-800 so fast," Connor wondered out loud. He looked over at Cameron with uncertainty.
"Maybe you were destined to stop the T-800 from being developed delaying them ten years," Kate said helpfully.
"I need to make a conference," Connor said resolved.
The room became brighter as the equipment turned on. Connor stood up and allowed the light to shower over him. Cameron and Kate were off to the side out of view. Holograms of the other commanders appeared in the room. The list of people included Colonels and Navy Captains in the Resistance.
"I have data extracted from one of the Skynet laboratories," Connor announced to them.
"This line is secure. Proceed to transfer," a Russian Navy Captain permitted.
Connor gestured for Cameron to transfer the information. "We heard the stunt you pulled out there. Very impressive Connor," a Colonel complimented.
"Just doing my part," Connor replied.
"They say you have ambitions Connor. That you're willing to throw away your men to get results. They say you want to be the General of the Resistance," a bitter General accused.
"I have no such ambition, Sir," Connor said truthfully.
"With Connor's assistance, we have detected an underlying signal between Skynet and the machines. We think we can manipulate that signal to shut down the machines for good," the Russian Navy Captain said defending Connor.
"How did you come by this Connor?" the General asked.
Connor sighed as he prepared to be chewed out. "Lieutenant Philips developed the program, Sir."
"You were ordered to dispose of it. It's a security risk," the General said angrily.
"With all due respect, I disagree with you, Sir," Connor replied.
"Who are you to disagree with Central Command. I ought to relieve you of command," the General threatened.
"That is your prerogative, Sir," Connor replied.
"That machine could compromise Southern California command," one of the Colonel's agreed.
"She has been of great use to me," Connor said defensively.
"It's not a she Connor but an it," the General shot back.
"Captain Connor has a different approach to the machines. We must give him the benefit of the doubt and see what he can do with them," the Russian Navy Captain suggested.
"It has already been decided. You are to deactivate it or be relieved of command," the General said resolutely.
"I refuse," Connor said.
"Then you will be relieved by force, and it will be destroyed," the General threatened.
"If you do that, I will assure you that all of you will be killed within the month," Connor threatened back.
The council gave looks of shock and amazement just as Connor shut down the projector. Cameron looked at John with an interested expression. "That went well," Kate commented sarcastically. "Why don't you piss off both Skynet and the Resistance, so they both try to kill us."
"I did what I had to do. They don't know what these Terminators are capable of like I do," John said.
Kate gave him a knowing look. "Are you going to program me to kill them?" Cameron asked.
"No, I was just bluffing. I am not going to program you to do anything," John replied.
