Thanks to Myxale, Aaron Leach, ArrowMk84, and Handerra for reviewing. I'd like to hit at least forty reviews after this chapter.
Haven
ch. 10
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System diagnostic
-10
-40
-70
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-100
-Damage to left optical node. Optical node offline.
-Damage to node…Severe
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-Increasing power to right optical node to compensate.
The TX stood up from the ground. Her left eye was shot. A hole bore right through to her endoskeleton. She compensated by increasing the power to the right eye. Her vision grew, but was still only two thirds of what it was before.
She began scanning the area around her. She was back in the main room with the automated machines. She looked around, unable to find Connor or the T-800. Satisfied that they were not in the immediate area, she reassumed her search.
She walked by the machines, scanning each, until one caught her eye. Off against the wall was a circuit breaker. After a quick scan, she evaluated that all the machines in the room connected to the same power source through this breaker.
She walked closer and read the electronic display telling her the voltage output and amount of energy being use. She punched the main unit, her fist traveling straight through the concrete wall behind it. The breaker spat sparks and sent a large electrical current through her metal skin. Her skin flashed chrome for a split second as it absorbed the voltage, protecting her endoskeleton.
The machines in the room stop functioning. The 'WHHHRRRRR' of electrical motors shutting down was the only noise in the room, until there was silence.
The digital readout of the circuit breaker indicated a rupture. After a few moments it stopped flashing and read a countdown. Thirty seconds until backup circuits are on line. Within thirty seconds power was restored to the room. All the machines and lights, however were turned off. They would either have to be turned back on manually, one by one, or through the control room which could activate them all at once.
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-checking thermal
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-fully operational
-heat levels in room have yet to dispense
-Thermal vision operating at 56 percent and increasing
Diagnosing motion tracker
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-fully operational
Her systems were back functioning at full power. She could now see the room clearly. She activated her thermal vision and located two objects together. One was a human, while the other was machine. She identified them as John Connor and the T-800 series model 101 terminator.
Her thermal vision then identified three more objects; two humans and one machine. They appeared to be inside the main control room of the facility and not far away from John and his terminator. If they reactivate all the machines then they would again render her sensors useless. She could not let this happen. It would be a great annoyance. She decided to leave John Connor for a moment and terminate the other interlopers before they were able to activate the industrial machines in the room.
"You need to be more careful John. You could have accidentally destroyed her chip." Bob told John. He was referring to John blasting four bullets into the TX's head. John took out one of her eyes, but he could have easily taken out the chip.
"I wasn't thinking. I just pulled the trigger." John was being pulled by Bob under the catwalks. It was dark in the room, and Bob was using his night vision to see. He would switch to thermal.
Bob surveyed the room with his thermal vision to check for the location of the TX. The heat from the manufacturing machines having cooled down enough for him to differentiate between their heat and heat from a human or terminator. He stopped; his HUD showed four heat signatures. A group of three humanoids had just appeared, entering through the control room, which was not far from his current location. Bob re-adjusted the settings of his thermal sensors. He concluded that the three were Sarah Connor, Derek Reese, and the TOK715.
"What is it?" John asked.
Bob realized that the fourth signature, Haven, was alone, but making her way to the group. She had temporarily suspended her search for John in order to kill them.
"Your family has just arrived." Bob said.
"What, they're here?"
"Yes. Haven is able to see us now, but she is making her way towards them. She plans to terminate Sarah Connor, Derek Ree…."
"We got to stop them!" John interrupted nearly shouting.
"It would put you in unnecessary danger."
"I'm already in unnecessary danger! Did I program you with instructions to protect them?"
"No. My mission is to protect you and aid you in the mission to capture the Havens CPU."
John sneered. "Whose orders do you follow?"
"John Connors."
"Me, or my future self?"
"You are both the same." Bob was a machine, but what was in his eyes was absolute. Cameron had stated before that she only followed the orders of John's future self. Bob seemed unable to tell the difference between the two Connors. Maybe John didn't program that into him, or maybe the T800 just can't comprehend the differences between the two Johns. Or lastly, maybe they really are the same.
"Then I order you to help me save them." John said coldly.
Bob stared at John for a moment. He seemed to be hesitating. He looked away from John without changing his expression. He just took what John had said. He let go of John and the two made their way to the control room side by side.
"Is Haven there yet?" John asked. He holstered his Desert Eagle and pulled out his mk23. The mk23 had a larger clip and higher rate of fire. It was also the stronger of the two guns.
"We are closer to the control room. At current rate of speed we will arrive there first." Bob held his MGL up, ready to blast anything.
Sarah entered the room with her weapon drawn right behind Cameron. Derek followed behind her. The three scanned the room and found no-one and more importantly, no things either. The room was full of computers. Some looked twenty plus years old, having large plastic blinking buttons lighting up the room. The random code showed on the screens, dating them further with the green text on black screens.
"Now, these are my kind of machines." Derek stated as he aimed his pistol at the floor, a precaution incase of miss fire. "No intelligence or possibility of it gaining it. Dumb as they can get."
Sarah just gave him a slight smirk and turned to look at Cameron, she wanted to see her reaction to what Derek had said. Cameron however held her stoic face, staring out the window.
The room had four large glass windows, seating one next to the other, giving anyone in the control room a good view of the large manufacturing plant. One could easily see everything, and manage the workers in the plant from here on a normal day. All the lights were turned off, and all that Sarah could see was a black void. Bits and pieces of light shown through cracks, barely allowing her enough light to see the machines in the room.
"He's out there somewhere." Sarah said. She turned to Cameron.
"It's possible." Cameron said. "There is still heat from the machines. I can't see John, but he could be here somewhere."
"Let's find the lights." Sarah commanded. Cameron turned away from the windows and began searching for the correct switches. Derek, still having problems following Sarah's orders, did so as well, after a moment of hesitation.
Derek moved to one computer. It sat next to a doorway, leading out into the work room. He saw two switches next to the frame and flipped them. Over head lights in the control room turned on.
Both girls turned to him to make sure that he was the one who turned them on. He gave them his attention for just a minute. "What?" he asked as the two women continued to stare.
Sarah just rolled her eyes at him and turned away. Cameron eyed for a moment longer before she to looked away. Derek shrugged his shoulders and continued his search.
A shape outside the door caught his eye. It was still dark, but he could see something was moving. Derek positioned himself closer to the door and kept his gun ready.
A shaped formed, walking towards him, taking slow steps. It stood around 5 foot ten and was caring a large weapon. Perhaps a rifle, but Derek couldn't tell. What he could tell was that it was not human.
"Metal!" He screamed as he walked back from the door. Derek fired his gun, emptying the clip in a matter of seconds. The machine was not phased and just walked up to him.
By this time, both Sarah and Cameron were by Derek's side and had their weapons raised. Derek fumbled to place another clip in his gun, suddenly feeling rusty. Derek almost dropped the new clip as he attempted to place it in.
Whether noticing this or not, Sarah moved ahead of Derek and pointed her gun at the incoming Terminator. Sarah almost dropped her gun when the machine got into the light and gave her a full view of itself.
"Sarah Connor." It spoke, identifying that she was in fact Sarah Connor.
Sarah did not move or budge. She made no attempt at responding to the machine. She blinked her eyes, regaining her composure, and tightened the grip on her pistol. The terminator took a step forward. Sarah in took a step back. Cameron was now to her side, but made no move against the machine.
"Excuse me." It said and walked right past her. The terminator moved to the control panels and began flipping every switch it could find. The machines in the room all came to life.
"What are you doing?!" Derek yelled to Sarah. He pulled the slide back on his gun and aimed at the Terminator. "Shoot it!"
"Wait!" Sarah said signaling Derek to hold his fire. It didn't make sense that 'he' was here. She had seen this type of machine before. Twice. One time it was her friend, but the first time it was her enemy. Now looking at it, him, she wasn't sure. He made no move to kill her and even identified her as Sarah Connor. He knew who she was, and he was not trying to kill her, at least, not at the moment.
"It's you." Sarah said. The terminator turned to look at her. He was dressed in his signature black leather jacket and held what looked to be a grenade launcher in his hand. She had to ask it the question. Just part of her had to make sure. "Are you here to kill me?"
The machine did nothing for a second. Sarah just stood waiting for the answer, along with Derek. Depending on his answer Cameron would kick into action, but Sarah couldn't rely solely on her.
The older terminator held up his MGL and pointed it directly at Sarah. Her heart sank and she stood still with fear. Memories of her first encounter with a Terminator filled her minds. The day and a half she spent with Kyle, fighting the machine, and running. The two days that changed her life, and gave her a son.
"Get down." The machine ordered, but Sarah did not hear it. She was stunned and it was Cameron who grabbed her and moved her out of the terminators range of fire.
Sarah fell to the ground, impacting her face against the cold steel floor. A pop noise filled the air after Cameron grabbed her and the she heard the sound of an explosion once she hit the ground. She rolled on her back to look at the machine. It was walking forward, toward the door. It fired off two more grenades as it moved. Sarah realized that it wasn't aiming at her, but aiming behind her. It didn't look at Sarah, Cameron, or Derek. It just attacked whatever it was shooting at.
"What was that?!" Derek yelled. It was a dual question. Asking Sarah, what just happened, but also why she freaked out when she saw the Terminator. Derek was at her side helping her off the ground.
Another explosion occurred, but this time the room was filled with a blue light. The terminator, a T-800 series 101, flew back into the room. He lay on the ground with a large hole in his skin. The smell of burning flesh entered lingered in Sarah nostrils.
"Get out of here." The T-101 told them. He began to get to his feet. Once it was evident that they were very slow in leaving he yelled it again. "Run NOW!"
There was another door on the other side of the room. The three ran through the door, but Cameron stopped once they got outside the room.
"Go hide." Cameron told the two and she turned around and made it back to the control room. Sarah called out to her, telling her to come back with them, but Cameron refused. There was a threat in that room, and it wasn't the T-101. It was something else. Something more powerful and she was going to help the T-101 destroy it.
The TX entered the room and grabbed Bob. She flung him to the side, impacting one of the control stations, destroying it. She now held Bob's MGL, having taken it when she grabbed him. She threw it away from her, and away from Bob. She wasted no time. Her mercury skin began to reform, recovering her chest which was bare from taking direct hits from the grenades.
Bob was now to his feet and returned her attack. He pushed her back, forcing her into the back wall. The outer layer of the wall collapsed, showing the insulation and noise deafening material underneath.
Bob went in with a punch, but the TX was quicker. She grabbed his left hand, before it was able to make contact with her. Using both her hands, she twisted and pulled it, until she broke it. She released and Bob's arm fell to his side. She ripped it out of his shoulders gears. It was only held and connected by Bob's artificial skin.
Bob moved back to get his footing. Once he was balanced, he made a mad rush toward her. He curled up his upper torso and looked like a line-backer running back trying to break the line of scrimmage. The TX was amused by the attack. She side stepped and kicked Bob back onto the ground.
Bob had slight difficulty getting back up without the use of his arm. He surveyed his surroundings and found his MGL within grasps. He grabbed it and got back to his feet. He turned around to face the TX, but was met by a blast from her concealed plasma cannon. Bob avoided it as best as he could, but his left arm which was already broken was caught in the blast. The plasma erupted, disintegrating his arm along with a good deal of his flesh. Bob's main systems and primary functions were still online. He was still functional.
The TX kicked Bob, this time forcing him through the glass windows and onto the floor of the room, nearly thirty feet down. It was not enough to destroy him. Destroying the T-800 would make it easier to terminate John Connor. Twice the obsolete machine had saved Connor from her.
She debated that perhaps he was not so obsolete. Haven turned toward the door to make her way down to the bottom floor to destroy the T-800.
Immediately she was met by two punches to her face and a kick to her 'abdomen'. She moved back slowly and regained her footing. The TOK715 model stood before her. It ran forward, attacking her again. But Haven was better. Haven counter attacked with a swift kick from her right foot.
Cameron felt herself be plummeted against the wall. Bits and pieces of concrete fell to the floor as she was hit. Running a quick diagnostic she determined very little damage was taken. She stood back up and moved to attack the female terminator.
She reached out and latched on the enemy terminator's shoulders and attempted to push the terminator back. However the other terminator was faster than she was. In a quick motion it grabbed her arms first and removed them from contact. Her grip tightened on Cameron arms.
Surprise- the realization of the unexpected. This was something that she has frequently witnessed at the Connor house. John was the instigator in most of these, while Sarah caused her share, and Derek, while fewer than others, did manage to surprise her from time to time. Currently, the female terminator's superior strength over her was surprising. This terminator was very advanced.
Cameron moved back, trying to shake the grip of the other Terminator. With agility that Cameron could not obtain the machine did a spin kick, knocking Cameron to the floor. Cameron's arms, still possessed by the other terminator, kept her upper body from coming face to face with the floor. In a swift motion her arms where behind her in a cross shape.
Noise of electrical motors was heard as Cameron's endoskeleton worked with all its might to get free. And in a moment all that stopped. Cameron acknowledged, no felt, an external structure penetrate her endoskeleton. It penetrated her primary cortical node, stopping all motor functions of her body. Cameron stood there just lifeless, only able to move her eyes. The enemy terminator had great knowledge on her specs. It knew exactly where the node was.
Her HUD flashed off for a moment, before coming back with a damage report. Immediately her circuits went into action, accessing one of her back up nodes. Thirty seconds until backup node reboot and motor functions return.
The other machine let go of her and Cameron, left with no choice, watched as the machine's right index finger extended. Mimetic poly alloy flowed back as the finger grew to three times its length. The machine looked to have a sinister smile as it watched a blue spark flow from the tip. It transferred this same look to Cameron as it stabbed the finger into her neck.
Cameron spent no time lingering. She immediately blocked access and rerouted circuits to her cortical node away from the TX's prod.
"You're special." The terminator said. "You're able to resist me. Your CPU is of the same design as mine, but it's interesting…"
*ERROR*ERROR*ERROR* Cameron diverted more power to her circuits to stop the other machines invading virus, but she was having a harder time. *CPU SOFTWARE INTEGRITY IS BEING COMPROMISED* her HUD read.
The TX continued. "Your CPU is unorganized. You have too much corrupt data. Your CPU has been damaged." The TX sent a powerful surge through its finger. All of Cameron's protection programs halted. Control over herself halted and began being rerouted to the TX.
*ERROR*ERROR*ERROR*ERRORRR….Noooooo! Cameron wanted to scream. Her functions were still ten seconds away from activating rendering her unable to voice her words.
No! No! NO! She mentally screamed over and over again as her HUD flickered on and off, indicating her cortical node was being rerouted to a wireless access. No! Please NO! Cameron watched her HUD showed that all her command functions and files were being encrypted with code she did not understand.
The TX removed her finger Cameron's neck. The machine had one last look before turning away and walking out of the office room in search of John Connor.
No, please no! Cameron's node came back on line. A schematic of her endoskeleton showed the circuitry path it used to reroute power to the node. Larger than anything else, in big white letters flashing, Cameron's HUD read, Wireless Remote Access.
"NO!" Cameron screamed. She still had control over her voice functions and facial expressions, but that was it. With no control over her body, Cameron stood up. And her body made a move for the exit.
Till next time, and remember to review.