Title: What's In A Name
Author: gega cai
Pairings: Kate Brewster centric, eventual Kate/John
Rating: PG
Words: 2400+
Warnings: Language, violence, and some gore in previous chapters.
Summary: Judgment Day has come and gone. Kate Brewster struggles to find her new identity and purpose in a post-apocalyptic world.
Disclaimer: Characters and other likely inventive scenarios based on the world created by James Cameron and William Wisher Jr., John Brancato and Michael Ferris (?)
Author's Note: This fic references some events from T3 and T Salvation. Fic takes place in 2009, five years after Judgment Day according to T3 (July 2004).
I swore I wrote the first half of this part in a previous chapter, but I guess not. That is what I get for taking awhile to update between parts! Thank you all for reading!
What's In A Name
Part 10
by gega cai
Once we clear the elevator shaft and descend down to this large lower level, there's an estimated fifteen to twenty minute window to override the system and then about an hour to secure the arms," Kate said as she stepped aside from the crudely-drawn floor plan of the American military base. It hung behind her in the largest room that could accommodate what Montana had to offer her as an operative force against Skynet. The room, like the people crammed into it for their briefing of the mission, had seen better days. It reeked of musk with a hint of a defeated and rusted 20th century. Kate turned to face the group of mostly young people, barely men and women of age, looking back at her and the map. Most had dumb faces; others raised an eyebrow at such a gutsy plan. She heard the distinct laugh of Tabor muffled among those that whispered to each other with their doubts.
Finally, someone stood to speak up, "You said Skynet may be there –that you're taking the chance that machines aren't there to protect those weapons. That's a hell of a chance, Brewster. What are we going to do if we succeed in getting there and Skynet shows up within that hour window? The weapons may be a total waste--"
"Yeah!" another agreed, "They could all be damaged or unusable; that's why Skynet deserted it!"
More voices spoke over each other, each with their own concern. It's in their nature, Kate heard John's voice reason in her mind.
"Listen!" Kate yelled over them. Still they clamored with their reasoning against the move. Kate saw Tabor looking back at her with a nasty smile; she flushed at his taking pleasure in the breakdown around them.
Just then, a loud and piercing whistle cut through the noise. Everyone looked and saw big Vince stepping up, his fingers leaving his lips as the whistle faded. He nodded over his shoulder towards Kate and said calmly through his teeth, "Listen to the lady."
"Thank you, Vince," Kate exhaled. It bothered her that he had to intervene. He stepped back, giving her their full attention again. She pushed back her hair and continued, "You all are right. It's dangerous --even foolish, but so is accepting to live like this any day longer!"
"We can turn this around. You all know you're the best fighters and the most qualified to get in and get out. There may never be another chance to do something like this --I know what it seems like I'm asking," she began softly. "I can't change the past. I'm not asking for forgiveness or whatever the hell it is you all think I owe you to believe in me. But, I believe in something that is greater than what we have, even if we have to be ripped apart, one by one, to escape this shit we're all living through. No matter how I would like this to end for my sake, I'm doing it because I trust Connor and what he sees in our future."
She paused and stared at them, hoping they were hearing her message before she gave it to them plainly: "You either do this now or get left behind. I refuse to leave my fate in the hands of a machine or whatever Skynet is supposed to be."
The crowd remained silent and watched her turn to Vince. She had nothing else to say; Kate couldn't look back at them all and wait any longer for them to decide. Instead, she crossed to the table beside Vince, determined to ignore anymore naysayers or opposition. With her jaw clenched, she busied herself with fastening on a clunky utility belt and zipped up her jacket.
"Let's go," she said over her shoulder to Vince, still ignoring the Montana group as they watched her leave with her small team.
"She's quieter than a mouse, Brewster," a young female said looking away from her monitor. Her face glowed half blue from the team's lights and half red from the monitor. Apart from her shaven head and the light scars etching the young angles of her face, she was a cute girl.
In another time or life, the girl might have done something different in life then this. There was no place in a human resistance against machines for good looks. Women had been just as instrumental as men were in rebuilding settlements and surviving after the bombs fell to be considered inferior or a minority. Yet, Kate had witnessed many women who used what good looks they had left to get along with men who could provide for them. This girl was different. Montana had always been a threat to Skynet. This girl, as young as she was, was one of their best assets. She'd seen many battles –-several close calls by the look of some of the marks on her. Kate reasoned that she must have chosen against using her good looks to stay alive or maybe she just did not know better.
That kind of thinking was archaic even if it was barely half a decade since Judgment Day. Instead, the girl was a female version of Simon, or even John when he was her age. It took her no time at all to access the base's network, which seemed to be "Snoozing on minimal power. I'll even have to turn on the life support systems when you reach the lower levels."
"Okay, but no systems online until we're past the half-way mark. I'm counting on Skynet to be here when this old bunker is awoken and buzzing," Kate said in a wash of blue light. She was sweating heavily from the weight the equipment she was wearing and from the dry heat of the mid-morning sun cooking them from outside the armored van. The glistening of her face in the blue light made her look metal, like the machine she was becoming to get through this mission.
"That's radio silence for everyone until I break it. Vince?" She nodded to him. He tipped his head to the side in Kate's view from behind the bald headed girl to nod and acknowledge her command. "Okay, Vince's team will follow mine down. The rest await my command. With a little luck, we'll see you all top-side sooner than later," Kate smiled at them.
Making good time. It can't be necessary to carry all of this?, Kate asked herself as she, Simon, and a small number of her alpha team rappelled down one of the deep and wide shafts of the inactive base. Her thighs and arms burned with each push off the cold surface. Suppressing a wince, she adjusted her belt so that her handgun wasn't digging into her thigh anymore. Simon seemed to be having the most difficulty with the weight of their equipment. The kid was barely over a hundred pounds --his body was shocked with the weight and effort it had to exert. Yet, he bore through as they all did, determined not to get left behind.
Kate ignored the somewhat amusing sight of Simon turning purple, to read the LED screen-pad on her forearm: LEVEL :12
They were almost at the half point.
It was some time later that they touched down at the bottom level. The atmosphere was stale and unusually quiet except for the low whir of life support trying to function after years of inactivity. Kate brought up her LED screen to view a rough floor plan of the level. Her concentration was interrupted by the flash of flares lighting up from Simon and the others. The level glowed and flickered alive for the first time since it had been abandoned shortly after Judgment Day.
"Alpha team has touched down. Keep your eyes and ears peeled, we may have company soon," Kate spoke into her communication link.
Vince's static voice replied, "Copy that: Brew team close behind and on top of ya. See you soon."
"Mm --nothing like the static tingled-smell of mankind's achievements rotting away in a concrete hole in the ground," one of Kate's team members said.
"Shit, until that static tingle is a pain eating away at your blown gut from a HK's gun...nothing before it should be missed. It can all rot!" another said.
"Cool it!" Simon called back. He turned to Kate, waiting for her command.
"It should be down this corridor," Kate motioned behind Simon.
Simon turned to face the darkness beyond the flickering of their flares; others turned to face it too. Kate could sense the dread in the room. Skynet could have rigged the place with anything just so it could leave the place rotting here, waiting to take out anything or anyone willing to go in after such a precious cargo.
"I'll head first," Kate announced. They all turned back to face her, mostly relieved she offered but also approvingly with respect. She took a flare from one of the team members and walked passed them into the darkness. Simon followed close behind, keeping her within a few strides of his reach. Kate knew he did so only because John would have revered him for the rest of his days if he were to stop Skynet from hurting Kate. I'll take what I can get, Kate joked to herself.
Soon, they all stood looking at what must have been a thick, heavy door that could not be opened by hand. It was nearly as wide as the corridor and a few feet taller than Kate. To their immediate left, a single, standard door and observation window encased what must have been a security guard's room.
"Think you can swing this big boy open in less than ten minutes?" Kate asked Simon.
"Yeah, gimme five," he replied, sprinting to the guardroom door. Kate followed, half-smiling, as she found him struggling with the door. In true John Connor fashion, she griped his shoulder and pulled him back, allowing her the room to kick the door open.
"Thanks," he said sheepishly.
He entered and quickly pulled up a chair to the guardroom's console. In one single motion, he removed a laptop from his backpack and set it open on the console. At first, he paused looking over the console, searching. Finally, he blew hard on the console's buttons, sending dust into the air. Fighting back a cough, he flipped its power button –Kate turned away as the console hummed on and checked outside the window at the team waiting outside. Seeing them safely watching out their position, she turned and leaned in over the console. Still clear...less than three minutes, Simon. C'mon...
Simon shot a side-glance at Kate, an obvious uneasy look at her attention to him working. Taking the hint, she left the room to let him work. John never had a problem with her watching over him as he hacked into systems. Of course, he was a lot quicker and there was no reason to wait impatiently over his shoulder.
Kate peered down the darkened corridor as the bald headed girl's voice cracked in their ears, "Skynet scouts are en route, Brewster. Looks like the unwanted guests will be arriving to this party once they get image confirmation. Less than forty-five until we have bogies in the Sky. Over."
Shit, Kate thought. "Copy that --Vince, await my command and stay at your current position. Over."
"Will do, over," he replied.
Then, a mechanical pop came from the big door.
"Nicely done, Simon," Kate said into her link.
They all stared at it cautiously --it even had a blinking green light begging them to breach its secrets.
"Good job, Simon," Kate called over. She, with a few other hands helping her, pulled the heavy door to swing it open. It whined and gritted as it swung. Inside, the room's light source began to flicker on. Simon sprinted into view of Kate's peripheral vision as they all stood staring into the opened room before them.
"This can't be real--," one of the team members began to say.
"They were right," another added in a whisper.
Kate swallowed hard as she watched the last florescent light finally click on and its glow hit an armored vehicle. The American industrial complex had not been joking around with this stock-pile. This room was one of many in the base.
Kate began to step inside when Simon spoke, "Hey, has Connor been here before?"
"What? No..." Kate said puzzled.
"Well, I figured I'd mention it. There's something weird going on in the system. I figured it was something of Connor's. I mean, he can do that right?"
"What are you talking about, Simon? Explain it to me," Kate demanded.
"I dunno. The system was acting like it was expecting me, I mean us. It practically pointed me in the right direction to open this room."
"You followed it?"
"Well, yeah. I--," Simon shrugged.
"Top-side! Brew Team! Be prepared to engage, Skynet is already here! Repeat! Skynet is here!" Kate spat into her com-link as she sprinted hard into the room.