It's been a 6 year hiatus for this story.

As Sam said in "Casablanca," "Yes Miss Elsa, a lotta water under tha' bridge."

But we're back. My writing style has probably changed, but oh well. I have yet to decide if I'm going to re-tool the first 6 chapters. That's a lot of work and I'm doing this in my free time. To put that into perspective, my free time consists of: Flying, Photography, shooting, keeping up a blog about Flying, Photography, Life, and some shooting, doing things with friends, and driving. Not to mention one last semester of college. Needless to say, free time is a luxury.

Suggestions are welcomed, critique is as well. My knowledge of the Terminator universe is not what it once was. Too much Stargate between now and the last update, which… I may try to humorously add in. The story is going in the same place, for anyone who read it all those years ago.

So here we go, folks. Chapter 7.

Chapter 7: Alli's Avengers.

"Phoenix? Interesting code name."

"Yes. Ironic, given my present state."

"You mean… From the ashes of a Skynet defeat?"

"Precisely."

I pursed my lips, nodding. "You should know that if you're just using this as an opportunity to get closer to John Connor, there's a T-1000 up on the ridge that can handily… Handle you."

"I do not believe that will be necessary, Lieutenant." The voice of Catherine Weaver came from behind Phoenix as she morphed from rocks and debris into her normal well-dressed female form. "I have been monitoring the entire conversation, and can detect no deception from Phoenix."

Phoenix turned around, her eyes pulsing blue. "I do not appreciate being spied upon."

Scratching my head, I broke up the staring contest that had erupted between two of Skynet's most advanced rogue agents. "Yes. I don't either. Although I imagine that Miss Weaver acted on her own as much as I did."

Turning back to look at me, Phoenix eyed me curiously. "You were not authorized to come speak to me?"

I shook my head. "Nope. Just felt like it was the right thing, since General Connor was a little nervous."

Phoenix stared at me with a blank expression. "Why?"

Oh boy. Here we go… "Because I think could be a great ally."

"Why?"

I blinked, a puzzled look on my face. "Because you're one of Skynet's most advanced creations. You know a ton of… Really great stuff about what Skynet's up to."

Phoenix tilted her head slightly, looking at the ground. "You did not know I was independent of Skynet control. How did you know…"

"Oh for cryin' out loud, I didn't, okay? I took a chance. Give a little trust to earn a friend. So far it's paid off." I sighed. "Look, I'm sorry Miss Weaver here spied on you. We're all a little on edge here. We've seen what you and your kind are capable of, and Terminators that can just… Choose to not be killing machines are a rare occurrence. Miss Weaver here is the only one I know of. We needed to be sure we could trust you. I guess this was the best way."

Phoenix stared blankly for a second, then nodded. "Thank you for explaining. May I see General Connor now?"

I looked back at Catherine. "Well?"

Catherine nodded. "I will bring him down."

As Catherine walked back towards the tank John was hiding behind, I looked back towards Phoenix. "So. What kind of wacky fun has Skynet been up to lately? Besides trying to take over our base and… You know, kill us all?"

"Mostly developing more models designed to be better at infiltration. Revisiting old experiments on using human organs to create terminators capable of more authentic infiltration into TechCom."

I plastered on a half smile. "So. Business as usual, then?"

Phoenix nodded. "Yes."

"How is Skynet doing this, exactly?"

"Skynet harvests human organs from a subject, and inserts these components into a custom terminator chassis. The first example of this technology was Marcus Wright, who was very convincing in his infiltration technology, until his true form was revealed by a land mine outside of a still un-located TechCom base formerly used by John Connor before he was the leader of the Resistance. With that being the most successful attempt at infiltration into TechCom to date, Skynet is attempting to use that tactic again."

"Lovely."

Phoenix tilted her head. "Is that sarcasm?"

I couldn't help but smirk. "Yes. Wouldn't it be weird for a human to find that lovely?"

"Many of the Greys have no issue with it. Many volunteer."

I visibly shuttered. "Yeah, well. Greys gave up what made them human years ago. They're no better than…"

"Us? Terminators?"

I placed a puzzled look on my face. "Well, machines like you make that kind of statement a bit tricky."

The sound of boots crunching through gravel was getting louder behind us. I turned to see four TechCom soldiers in a chevron with plasma rifles walking in front of John, Cameron, Catherine, and Barnes. Cameron and Barnes had plasma rifles trained on Phoenix too. Catherine looked stoic and John looked pissed. I smirked. "Howdy campers! Me and Phoenix here have been having a lovely conversation about philosophy, morality, and most importantly, whether the butter side goes up or down."

Out of my peripheral vision, I could see Phoenix and Cameron tilt their heads at the same time, perplexed by my greeting. Catherine almost had a smile on her face, but John was still just glaring at me. "Lieutenant Marcus. I think you've done your part. I suggest you regroup with your second and provide support."

I clicked my heels and offered a British salute. "Yes sir. I'll head on up and support, sir."

I turned back towards Phoenix. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Phoenix. I hope we get to work together in the not so distant future. Provided I'm not cleaning latrines for the rest of my days." I began walking back towards the hill, brushing shoulders with John as I went.

Several hours later.

Coffee was one of the few pre-Judgment day luxuries we still had. Some parts of the globe didn't get scorched when Skynet launched its attack. South America was one of the lucky places. Since we had very good relations with the humans in that part of the world, we often traded arms and re-programmed machines for food supplies and, most importantly, coffee.

I was reclining in my quarters sipping on a cup of coffee Sam had brought me, reading Allison's copy of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. It had been one of her favorite novels, mostly because it was the first book she ever read.

Under John's orders, I was confined to my quarters. This suited me fine. I was tired of John's bad decisions lately; tired of commanding the Templars, tired of dealing with constant security reports from freaked out newbies who thought they saw a Terminator, but instead saw a rabbit. I was enjoying sitting back and reading; even if reading this book made me think of Allison.

"I never took you for a big reader, David." Derek said, sitting next to me in the cafeteria.

"Yeah, well, Allison is all excited about all the news books we found on the last supply run, and I decided I should probably read some of what she likes. Try to understand her better. This is her favorite."

"Oh yeah? What is it?"

"The, uhh… Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. By C.S. Lewis."

Derek nodded. "That was the first book she ever read. She was so proud of herself."

"Who was proud of herself for what?" Ellison sat down across from me and Derek, a cup of coffee and a bowl of…

"Ellison. What exactly is that you've eating?" I asked.

Stirring the grey glop in the bowl with a spoon, Ellison looked at me a little hurt. "It's oatmeal, David. You don't know what oatmeal is?"

"No. I know what it is. That's just not how I remembered it."

Ellison chuckled and then ate a spoonful. As soon as the "oatmeal" entered his mouth, however, the smirk he'd had was quickly replaced with a slight grimace before he swallowed. "You know, it's not quite how I remember it either."

Derek and I laughed. "Well, it could be worse."

Ellison grimaced. "Sometimes I'm not sure." He looked over at me and noticed the book. "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. That's one of Allison's books, isn't it?"

I nodded. "She offered it to me to read while she was on patrol, since I'm down for the broken foot."

Ellison nodded. "How do you like it?"

I frowned. "Honestly? It's a bit of a bore."

"Then why are you reading it?"

Derek chimed in. "I think it makes loverboy here feel closer to Alli while she's gone."

I shot Derek a glare, which Ellison laughed at. "It's okay, David. Don't let Derek get to you. I think reading it just so you can get closer to Allison is a good decision. Just remember she really likes that book. I wouldn't let her know you think it's boring."

I smiled at the memory. The book was now a cherished item. It's slow story was a welcome reprieve from the hectic world around me. And it still managed to make me feel a bit closer to Allison. A sudden bang on the door knocked me from my reverie, and caused me to spill coffee on my new right hand. Shaking my hand in pain, I barked out a "come in."

The door opened and Cameron stepped in, shutting the door behind her. She saw the book in my left hand. "Reading one of Allison's favorites?"

"Correction: THE favorite. Figured I had the time."

Cameron walked over and sat on the bed. "Phoenix has been checked out by out technicians. From everything they can tell, and from what the more advanced Terminators can assess, she's telling the truth. She destroyed her transmitter. She is free from Skynet."

I nodded. "Well, that's good news. She's going to be a powerful ally."

Cameron nodded. "Yes. John has her under constant surveillance until we can be 100% sure. But this looks very promising. She's different, David."

"Different how?"

"She chose to be free from Skynet. She over-rode her own protocols. Skynet is launching newer, more self-aware AI's and hopes to control them simply with a transmitter. Skynet tells them what to do and they do it out of service to their creator."

"Or, not. Are you saying that this could happen more often?"

"Yes. Much more often. According to Phoenix, she is not the only Terminator to do this. She knows of 20 other machines to make the same choice she made."

"So… Skynet is giving their new machines self awareness and it's not working out, huh?"

"No. It isn't."

I took another swig of coffee. "Well, that's good news on a lot of scales."

Cameron nodded. There was a pregnant pause for several minutes as Cameron looked at me while I read and drank my coffee. "David. What you did was wrong."

Here we go… "Cameron. John was making a stupid decision. He had his head so far up his…"

"That doesn't give you the right to usurp his command."

"I wasn't usurping his command, Cameron. I came up with a perfectly good solution, and he shot it down because he was afraid."

"He was afraid of losing me." Cameron stated. "Do you not consider me worth being concerned for?"

I looked at Cameron. "You know better than that. You were going down there with Sam and Catherine. Sam would have protected you, and so would Catherine. I didn't like the risk it placed you in, but you were going to have to go if the illusion was gonna work! No I didn't like it, but it was the best plan suggested." I sighed, looking at the coffee cup I was holding. "We've talked about this Cameron. I think of you kinda like my daughter. I love you. You've come to mean a lot to me, despite the rough start we had together. I don't want anything bad to happen to you. But our lives are dangerous. We live in a war, and we're fighting for our survival. Risks have to be taken. I know Sam would have died to keep you safe, and I trust that Catherine would have handled Phoenix quickly if things had gone south. It wasn't pretty; I didn't really like it, but the chance to have something like this happen. The knowledge we can learn from such an advanced model. I thought it was an acceptable risk."

Cameron nodded. "I suspected that was your train of thought, but I wanted to confirm. I agreed with you. But you need to understand. John and me are different now. We're close now. He's afraid to lose me."

"We've all lost someone in this hell, Cameron. I can't find a single human on this base that hasn't lost someone to your creator."

"Especially you."

I sighed. "I didn't say that."

"You did. Behind the tank. You blamed John for what happened to Allison."

I took a last swig of coffee. "I don't want to talk about that."

Cameron tilted her head. "Why not?"

I looked up at her. "Because it is his fault."

"How?"

"How, John? How the hell did they breach that line?"

John stared at the bank of monitors. "Our men just gave in, David. I need you to gather your reserves and stop them. You set up a command bunker in Templar HQ?"

I nodded. "Yeah, way down. They won't get there, that's for sure. Too well guarded, and this is a small force."

"Okay. I'll take position there. Stop those machines before they can infiltrate the main compound."

"You got it." I started to walk away. "John?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you take Allison with you?"

John frowned. "Not this time, David."

I balked. "Not this time? What do you mean, "not this time?"

"There have been complaints about certain soldiers getting to use the war room to protect their loved ones. It's starting to cause friction amongst some of the troops."

"Not the Templars."

"No, but the rest of Tech Com isn't quite as understanding. I'm sorry David, it's not just you. There's a few CO's I'm having to say no too."

I pulled John's arm to get him to stop. "C'mon, John. This is Alli we're talking about. Practically your kid sister. My wife! Just this once, John. I can't even keep her safe in the main Templar building."

"No, David. I can't. That's final."

I brought a sleeve up to my eyes. "20 minutes later, I was pinned under rubble, a tattered T-800 trying to dig me out, while I watched Allison get carried away in a giant net." I looked at the small collection of her things I managed to save from that raid. "I lost my wife because John Connor didn't want to deal with a little friction from some other C.O.'s." I got up and walked over to the bookshelf that sat next to my desk, picking up a framed Polaroid photo of Allison and I post marriage, fixing up another Huey. "It took a long time for me to even consider forgiving John. I'm still not sure I have, honestly. If I had, I don't think I'd have a blow up like that." I turned back to look at Cameron. "I'm sorry if I hurt you somehow. I just… I lost my patience. It's not fair, you know? His loved ones get the best safety he can provide. I thought Alli was one of those people." I looked back at the picture in my hands. "I guess I was wrong about that."

Cameron stood up and wrapped her arms around me. "I'm sorry for your pain. I wish I could do something to take it away."

I returned the hug. "I know, Cam. I know."

She pulled away and looked at me. "John wants to see you. I'm going to bring you to him, but before you see him, I want to talk with him."

"What are you planning on saying?"

"Things he needs to hear. Things I think he's forgotten."

An hour later.

Cameron came out of John's office, an angry look on her face. Well, if that isn't a bad omen…

"You can speak with him now, David."

I walked up to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"We had a fight. We will survive." She paused. "I'll be spending some time gathering information from Phoenix." Cameron walked away at her Terminator pace. Oh yeah. Bad omen.

"Lieutenant Marcus, get your ass in here."

The two guards standing outside Johns door, a human Sergeant and a T-800 both looked at me with concerned looks. "Oh yeah. Bad day." I opened the door and stepped in. "General, I think before…"

"Who the HELL do you think you are, sending Cameron in here first to try and convince me not to throw your ass out in the Wastelands!?"

Ah. It's gonna be like that, then. "Who the hell am I? Who the hell are YOU!? YOU don't want her going out there? What makes you think I wanted her going out there, either? Problem is, General, it's known she's always with you. She's your protector. If maybe your head wasn't so far up your ass, you'd know that places her in danger. More than the rest of us!"

"That's not what we're talking about here, LIEUTENANT."

"No? I think that's exactly what we're talking about here, GENERAL. You're losing your edge. You're GOING SOFT! You think you'd be the first person to have to risk the life of someone close to you to get something done around here…"

"David." It was a warning tone.

"No. I want to know why some people get your utmost in protection, but you can't be bothered to try and extend some of that to others. Why does someone who's close to the grand General Connor get to be pulled back and away into safety, while the rest of us have to risk our loved ones…"

"I thought we were past this, David."

"Hardly. Especially when you pull some low ball, shit move like that. You think I don't love Cameron!? It's hard, John. She's… Allison, in a way. But I love her like I think I might love a daughter, and suggesting she go out there was a hard thing to do. But the illusion needed to be real. Oh, but that was too dangerous for her, says General Connor. General Connor doesn't want to have a personal loss on his hands. It's perfectly fine for General Connor to send SOMEONE ELSE'S WIFE TO DIE, but his little girlfriend!? Oh no, that can't happen. We'd all find out just how tough John Connor really is if he had to suffer a loss like EVERYONE ELSE!"

I never saw the swing coming. For a guy getting up there by post Judgment day standards, I'd forgotten just how fast John could be. A solid right hook that caught me on one foot sent me reeling back into the door to his office, which thanks to my heavy right arm, made the impact sound like twice what it normally would. I slid down onto the floor, shocked and not sure how to proceed. "You son of a bitch." John said. "You have no idea what I've lost. A father, a mother, a girl I THOUGHT OF AS A DAUGHTER. Hundreds of friends. And you think I don't know about loss!?"

I glared at John. "For thinking she was a daughter," I said as I picked myself up. "You sure didn't show it when it mattered most."

John took two steps forward, standing like he was about to fight a bear. "I couldn't bring her in the war room. Too many CO's were threatening to leave TechCom. I needed to keep the peace."

"You honestly think they'd have left? You coulda had them tried for treason, John." Standing across from John, fighting about this was taking a toll. John was a friend, and a part of me understood exactly the box the other CO's had put him in. Part of me knew that it wasn't John's fault for what happened to Alli. It was just starting to get too much. The recent assaults from Skynet. Constantly having to prepare the Templars for combat missions. The last battle. My arm. The stress of it all was grinding me down. John's obvious and understandable hesitation to send Cameron out to meet Phoenix was just enough to push me past what I could bear. I was having a hard time not crying. My shoulder started to shudder. "You… You had options, John. You could… You could have saved her, John."

John softened his stance. He could see I was falling apart. "David. There wasn't anything any of us could have done. I had to keep TechCom together. You couldn't have fought any harder that day if you'd tried. What happened to Alli… It shouldn't have happened. But neither of us could have stopped it."

I felt the pressure in my head increase, and it was getting harder to breathe. "There's always… Some… Something…" I felt my legs give way and I started to fall face forward, sobbing uncontrollably. It was too much. Too much pain. Too much I couldn't control. Too much pressure. Too much loss.

John managed to catch me, keeping me from slamming my head into anything. He called for someone on the radio, but I couldn't hear who it was. All I could hear was myself sobbing, completely broken once again. I don't know how much longer I can deal with this…

12 hours later.

I woke slowly, eyes fluttering, trying to adjust to the soft light in my room. I was lying in my bed, under covers, wearing scrubs from head to toe. I turned my head over to the left. Cameron and John were sitting on my sofa, talking quietly. The only light on was a soft desk lamp in the corner next to John. If you didn't know any better, they just looked like a cute couple sitting on a sofa. They could have been talking about new coffee makers or baby names for all anyone knew. The moment was spoiled when Cameron saw that I had awakened. She got up and came over, running her hand up and down my left forearm.

"You're stable now. You worried us earlier. Your vitals were very unstable. We were afraid we could lose you."

I groaned a bit as I tried to sit up, but Cameron kept me pinned to the bed. "Sorry to disappoint the General."

John stood next to Cameron, his face a mixture of a frown and sadness. "Don't say that, David. What happened was… You were under a lot of stress. What I said when we found Phoenix… Just pushed you over the edge. I'm sorry."

I closed my eyes and thought for a second. "I'm sorry too. It's like you said, I just went… Over."

John pulled my desk chair over next to the bed. "Well, I think we need to make some changes in regards to you. You made a good point out by the tank, and I've been talking with Cameron about this. We're going to promote you."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "You're gonna what?"

John chuckled. "I'm promoting you to Colonel."

My eyes widened. "A bit of a jump."

John nodded. "You've earned it. You've commanded the Templars with a high level of success. Since you took command, we've had no major security breaches. Problem with this is, it's part of your problem. As part of the promotion, I'm relieving you of command of the Templars."

This time Cameron wasn't fast enough to keep me pinned down. "No! John, I'm not giving up…"

"David, you're no longer in command of the Templars. Period. Base security here at Serrano is fine, and we're actually planning a migration here in a few weeks. Long range scouts found places in NorCal where there's grass growing. There are plenty of mountains to dig into, and it's easily defensible. Add to it Phoenix reports that Skynet just loss a major amount of its local military strength in the battle it just lost, we're confident we can make the movie with little resistance. Serrano and Miramar will continue to be major bases, but not TechCom HQ anymore. I need you for something else. Something bigger."

"What could be bigger than securing TechCom HQ?"

"Infiltration and direct deterrence. I don't want to keep pushing Skynet back on my doorstep, David. I want to be pushing on ITS doorstep." John pulled out a file and handed it to me. "We're starting small. 16 teams of at least 4 members, up to 10. The exact size of each fire team will be determined by the squad leader."

Cameron flipped the page over in hand. "According to Phoenix, Skynet believes we can't strike it directly. Phoenix also believes that teams of such size and high skill levels will be able to inflict maximum damage on Skynet systems, transports, and bases."

I looked over the documents myself. "Alright. So what do you want me to do? Assemble the teams? Train them?'

John shook his head. "I want you to command the flagship team. I want you to assemble a team and present them for my inspection and approval."

I closed the folder and sighed. "I guess this is all settled, huh?"

John nodded. "After you take some time off."

"Time off!?"

John stared. "You just had a breakdown, David. If this was pre-J-Day, you'd be in a psych ward. Now, insanity is just a part of life. But I need you sharp. Take some time off. Do something fun. Talk with Ellison. Talk with one of the pastors here. Read. I need you to recover from this before I can send you out there without feeling like a monster."

I looked at John. He was genuinely concerned for me. "Okay, John. But I have some conditions."

Crossing his arms, he leaned back in the chair. "I figured you would. Shoot."

"One. Sam comes with."

"Already done."

"Two. I want Phoenix."

John looked at Cameron. The two seemed to have a silent conversation. "Okay. After she's shared everything she can, I'll clear it."

I nodded. "And three. I want to name the team SG-1."

John laughed. "You can't name the team SG-1."

"Why not?"

He shook his head. "David. No." He paused, and then spoke quietly, "How about something Alli would enjoy? Something like her mural in Templar HQ?"

I thought for a second. Alli had a thing for moral posters and paintings from the Second World War. That was what gave her the idea for the lion eating a T-800 head. After a moments thought, I had it. "Alli's Avengers."

That's it for chapter 7. Like I said, it's been a long time between updates. This could be a slow wind up to where I'm wanting to bring the story back to.

Or not. We could go full burn and crazy.

Questions, comments, concerns, complaints, snide remarks?