Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
A/N: And we're back! We're back!
District 9, Ruins of LA, 2024
"How do I always end up in these situations?" a distraught Lieutenant Kara Thrace wondered as she ran through the blasted remains of an abandoned apartment complex.
The muscles in her legs ached like hell and begged for a moment of rest. Kara's brain brutally told them to shut up and that a moment's rest might end up becoming an eternity of rest (which actually didn't seem like such a bad idea).
It was all supposed to have been a simple survey mission for the purpose of evaluating the area as a possible site to establish a new refugee camp. The addition of the civilians rescued from the Skynet carrier had made Fort Leopard's already difficult-to-manage refugee population virtually impossible to manage. Little more than a week had passed since the rescue and already there were reports of fights breaking out in the overcrowded, undersupplied refugee area. Two people had been killed so far. As they said, no good deed ever goes unpunished.
General Koontz, fearing this was only the beginning, had determined that they needed to relocate at least a hundred refugees if they were to get the situation under control. The general had sent Kara and Sergeant Custard to this ghost sector of no interest to either the machines or the Resistance. She and Custard had been tasked with determining if this place was suitable for people to inhabit. And by "suitable" they meant "machine free" and "out of the way."
Kara and Custard had driven out to this forsaken backwater and toured the place. It wasn't very attractive but there was shelter, low radiation levels, and seemingly no machines. Three dull hours later, their vehicle had decided to blow a tire in the middle of some ruins. Custard had suggested he continue the mission on his own while she fixed the transport. Not wanting to be stuck out here any longer than necessary, Kara had agreed. That was a mistake.
She had made another mistake ten minutes later, when in the middle of replacing the damaged tire, she had been contacted over the radio by Custard, who informed her that he had found "something of interest" in an apartment complex and suggested she come over ASAP. Curious to see what he had found, Kara had dropped what she was doing and hurried to meet him. In her haste, she forgot to ask Custard for his ID verification code. When she had gotten inside the complex, she found "something of interest" - but not the something she was looking for: Sergeant Custard, his body hacked and mutilated, lying in a pool of blood.
Kara might have suffered a similar fate had it not been for her keen instincts. As it happened, Kara had looked up just in time to see a rubber-skinned T-600 bearing down upon her with a blood-stained wood axe. She had reacted just in time, using her plasma rifle to successfully deflect the blow, sparing her from harm and snapping the axe in half. Unfortunately, the blade ended up embedded in the stock of her rifle rendering it useless. With no other options, Kara had retreated further into the building.
Presently, things didn't look good for her. Her pursuer was not very far behind and Kara had some serious doubts about losing it. She didn't know how long she had been running for, but she figured at least an hour due to the exhaustion that was starting to overcome her. If this went on much longer, Kara might simply drop dead from a heart attack. If the machine on her tail didn't catch her first.
Finally, after climbing a flight of stairs, Kara forced herself to stop. Panting and gasping for breath, Kara looked down to see the T-600 standing at the base of the stairs. Its rubber face had an expression that conveyed a sense of satisfaction. Clearly, the machine believed it had driven its prey to the point of exhaustion.
"We'll see about that, toaster." Kara thought viciously.
The T-600 began ascending the stairs. Kara pulled out a grenade, primed it, and rolled it down the stairs. The grenade went off halfway down the stairs, a couple steps ahead of the Terminator. The blast sent splinters of wood flying in every direction, forcing Kara to shield her face. When the dust settled, Kara saw that the T-600 had been knocked back to the base of the stairs and was not moving.
Summoning her remaining strength, Kara bolted back down the steps, taking a short cut through the hole in the middle of the stairs created by the explosion. The T-600 was down but certainly not out. She had bought herself two minutes at most. Without her plasma rifle, Kara was in no position to finish off the machine. Theoretically, she could use her combat knife to remove the T-600's chip, but she did not know how to perform the technique. Right now, Kara's main intent was getting out of this building and back to her vehicle.
A few rooms later, however, Kara found herself unable to retrace her footsteps. During the pursuit, she had gone out of her way to make her path as random and unpredictable as possible to confuse the Terminator. Ironically, it seemed that she had ended up confusing herself instead.
The sound of heavy footsteps from behind her indicated that the T-600 was not only back on its feet but back on the trail as well.
"Maybe I could ask it for directions." she thought dryly.
She searched desperately for an exit while simultaneously trying to shake off the T-600. She ended up doing neither very well.
After ten more minutes of non-stop running, Kara stopped briefly to catch her breath. She could still hear the T-600 closing in from behind. Much to her dismay, she had no more grenades left. All she had now were her side arm and combat knife, neither of which would be much help against a Terminator.
As Kara tried to think hard about what to do next, her thoughts were interrupted by a harsh barking sound. Startled, Kara looked down behind her and saw a large dog with shaggy, black hair staring up at her. Fearing it might be a vicious stray with rabies, Kara drew her side arm. The dog barked again, but not at her this time. It was barking in the direction she had just run from. The dog must have smelled the T-600, and was now doing what most dogs did in the presence of Terminators - raise the alarm.
This, however, didn't help Kara very much. If anything, it just gave her position away, not that the T-600 wasn't already aware of where she was. Kara figured it was time to get out of here. She made her way towards the nearest adjacent hallway, but the black dog suddenly bounded over and blocked her path.
"Hey!" she whispered angrily, "Shoo! Get out of here, boy!"
The dog responded by barking lightly at her. It proceeded to circle once around her feet, and then wandered over to the hallway on the opposite side of the room. Once there, it stopped, turned around and barked at Kara again. A bewildered Kara watched as the dog wagged its tail and barked again.
"He's trying to tell me something." Kara realized.
The dog began pacing back and forth, pausing every other cycle to bark at her.
Kara understood. "He wants me to follow him."
Although not sure the dog actually knew where it was going, Kara figured it couldn't be any more lost than she was. She hurried over to its side.
"Lead the way, boy." she whispered encouragingly.
The black dog promptly ran down the hall and turned a corner. Kara chased after it and when she turned the corner, she found the dog waiting for her at the top of a flight of stairs. The dog then barked again, signaling her to follow, and bounded down the stairs. Kara followed without hesitation.
Halfway down the stairs, she noticed the dog had disappeared from sight. But before she could start to wonder where it had gone, she heard a yelping sound from below. She knelt down and peered through the gaps in the steps. A pair of beady eyes stared back up at her. The dog, she realized, was hiding in the space directly beneath the stairs.
Praying that this dog knew what it was doing, Kara hurried the rest of the way down and joined the dog underneath the stairs. The dog whimpered and nuzzled her, and not knowing what else to do, Kara patted its nose. Both human and dog then grew quiet as they heard the ominous sound of heavy footsteps.
Kara held her breath as the T-600 began descending the stairs. She watched through the gaps between the steps as a pair of boots stepped over them. Her heart nearly stopped beating when the dog gave a low growl at the machine above causing it to stop in its tracks. Fearing the dog might freak out and start barking loudly, thus sealing their doom, Kara carefully placed one hand under its lower jaw and the other hand behind its head. She stroked its fur gently doing her best to comfort the animal. To her relief, the dog remained silent. She was further relieved when the machine turned and headed back up the stairs. She didn't dare breathe again until the sound of footsteps had completely faded.
"Good boy." she whispered to her companion.
The dog whimpered back in affection before leaving the hiding space and heading down yet another hallway. Kara followed it and soon found herself outside a closed door. The dog leapt on its hind legs and began yelping and pawing at the door. Discovering that the door was unlocked, Kara opened it for the dog. The dog barked happily and wandered into the room. Kara entered a moment later. She was about to close the door again when she heard the unmistakable sound of a hammer being cocked.
Instinctively, she spun around with her side arm drawn and came face to face with a man holding a pistol in his hands.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" the man demanded, pointing his gun at her.
"That depends." said Kara coolly, pointing her own gun back, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
The man was thin, grimy-looking, and dressed in civilian clothing. He gave her a piercing look and said, "I asked you first, lady."
"All right," replied Kara, "I'll answer one of your questions. I'm with the Resistance."
"Figured so." scowled the man.
"Uh huh..." muttered Kara dryly, "Now, why don't you answer one of my questions."
"I live here." said the man tersely.
"Great. A muto." thought Kara.
"What are you doing here?" the muto asked again.
"I'm not here to harm you." Kara tried to stay calm, "Listen, it's not safe here. There's a machine in this building."
"I know." said the muto. "But it won't come down here."
"How would you know?" Kara asked suspiciously.
"It was already here when I got here. I know how it works." stated the muto, "You, on the other hand, are a different story. I don't know how you work."
"Look," Kara said, "I don't want to hurt you. So, let's just both put our weapons down and I can be on my way."
"I don't think so, lady." the muto growled. He continued to point his gun at her. "Put your gun down and tell me why you're here, and then I'll think about letting you go."
"If you want to know why I'm here, I followed your dog here." said Kara quietly, still keeping her gun trained on the muto.
The muto flickered his eyes towards the black dog which was watching all this from a nearby corner.
"Not my dog." he said.
"Whose dog is it?"
"No idea. He's like the machine. He came with the place."
"Right... Well, I still followed him here to your room."
"But what were you doing here in the first place?"
"That's none of your concern." replied Kara coldly.
"As a matter of fact, yes it is." retorted the muto, "Tell me what you're doing here. And don't lie."
"Or what?" hissed Kara, unwilling to let this guy push her around.
The two of them continued to point their guns at each other.
"Don't think I won't put a bullet in you, missy." warned the man.
Kara smirked. "I don't doubt it. But the real question is, who can shoot first? You or me? Personally, I think it's me."
"Do you?" sneered the muto.
Kara smirked again. While both of them were armed with handguns, Kara had her combat vest and helmet which would provide a decent amount of protection against small arms fire - even at close range. Furthermore, she could tell based on the way he was holding the firearm, this muto had limited experience in handling guns. If it came down to a shootout, she was almost certain she could take him out before he took her out.
"I fight machines, pal." said Kara with a pleasant smile, "If I can handle them, why shouldn't I be able to handle you?"
"Yeah, well what about me?"
Kara's smile evaporated. She slowly turned her head around. Uh oh...
A fierce, grim-looking woman in civilian attire was standing at the doorway holding a shotgun to Kara's head.
"You've got five seconds to throw down that gun, bitch." the woman snarled, "And if that gun isn't on the floor by that time, it'll be your head instead."
As much as she hated to admit it, Kara knew she couldn't win this one. She was outnumbered and outgunned and in a tactically unsuitable position. Plain and simple. She would have to fold this round. Kara sighed and with great reluctance she lowered her weapon, ejected the clip, and let the empty gun slip out of her hand. The weapon hit the floor with a dull clatter.
"Move!" barked the woman.
She shoved Kara further into the room.
"Sit down." she ordered, pointing to a chair nearby.
Not in any position to argue, Kara did as she was told. The woman kept her shotgun trained on her.
"Tie her up, Larry." said the muto woman.
The muto male nodded, put his pistol away and walked over to where Kara was sitting. He pulled out a length of rope from a drawer and began tying Kara's arms to the chair. With the woman still aiming a shotgun at her, Kara offered no resistance. She did, however, make a mental note to never accept help from strange dogs again.
After Kara's arms and legs had been secured to the chair, the woman lowered her shotgun.
"Watch her, Larry." she said, "I'll go get Frank."
"Right." Larry said.
The woman left the room presumably to get Frank, whoever he was, leaving Larry behind to guard Kara.
For the most part, Kara remained calm. She had been in much worse situations than this before. Though, it would be untrue to say that she didn't feel a little embarrassed about having let a couple mutos get the drop on her.
Kara tested the strength of her bonds. They were pretty tight. Not much chance of getting out of them before the woman returned with Frank or whoever. Maybe if she provoked Larry into hitting her, the ropes would be loosened in the process.
"Sad, isn't it?" Kara sneered contemptuously, "Needing your girlfriend to save your sorry ass."
"Watch your mouth, lady." warned Larry, "That's my little sister you're talking about."
"Your little sister, huh?" laughed Kara, "Wow. That's just pathetic."
Larry glowered at her, but to Kara's disappointment he did nothing else. Five minutes later, the woman returned with another man - Frank presumably. He was standing behind the woman, making it difficult for Kara to get a clear look at his face.
"That's her, Frank." she said pointing at Kara.
The man stepped out from behind the woman to look at Kara. Kara gasped in disbelief upon seeing the man's face.
"Mac?"
The man stared back at her. "What did you call me?" he asked.
"I-I..." Kara stuttered, "Mac... B-but..."
"Did you just call me Mac?" asked the man, "Like Big Mac?"
Bewildered, Kara looked more carefully at the man. He did indeed look like Sergeant Mac... only younger, somewhat less grimy and rugged, and definitely better shaved. He also didn't have as many scars as Mac.
"I-I don't..." stammered Kara. "Who are you? You-"
"-look like Big Mac." The man nodded in understanding. "I know. My brother and I do look alike."
Kara's jaw dropped. "You're Gregory Macintosh's brother?"
The man nodded. "Yup." he said, "His little brother."
"Little brother? Mac never said anything about having a little brother." Kara thought to herself.
"Did you know Greg?" the man asked.
"Of course." said Kara, "I-I was in his squad."
The man turned to Larry and the woman. "Untie her."
"Wait a minute, Frank-" the woman protested.
"She knows Greg, Jill." the man assured her, "She's safe. Trust me. Anyone who knows Greg is safe. Untie her, Larry."
Larry proceeded to undo Kara's bindings, and she was soon free. As she stood up, she wondered if she should run away, attack someone, or thank Frank.
She went with the third option.
"Thanks." she murmured.
"You're welcome." the man held out his hand, "Frank Macintosh."
Kara shook his hand. "Lieutenant Kara Thrace."
Frank Macintosh gestured to the woman and her brother. "My wife Jill and her brother Larry."
"Erm... nice to meet you." said Kara feeling rather awkward,.
Larry nodded in acknowledgment. Jill continued to regard Kara with more than a hint of suspicion.
"So, how's my big brother doing these days?" asked Frank eagerly.
Kara sighed and looked down at her boots. "This ain't gonna be easy." she thought grimly. "For any of us."
Los Angeles
8:47 AM, Thursday, May 14, 2009
"I can't help but think I'm losing my mind." Ellison said, speaking into his phone.
"Look, Ellison, anyone who's been through what you've been through would be having nightmares. It'll take a while for you to accept that what happened wasn't your fault. Once you do that-"
"Booth, please hear me out." Ellison interrupted, "It's not just dreams. It's worse than that. I'm seeing and hearing things. Things that aren't really there."
"Whoa! Seeing and hearing things? As in hallucinating?"
"Yes." replied Ellison grimly.
"Oh... Well, that's a different story. You should get yourself checked out, James. I mean, I started hallucinating on the job too. Turned out to be a brain tumor."
"A brain tumor? Really?"
"Yeah."
"Good God! Did you get it removed?" asked Ellison.
"Yup. There were some complications... but everything turned out well... I think... Hey, James, what crazy stuff are you seeing?"
"A woman." answered Ellison.
"A woman? That's it? Could be a lot worse. You know what I started seeing?"
"No. What?"
"Stewie. The cartoon baby from Family Guy."
Ellison couldn't help but laugh. "Are you serious?"
"As serious as ever, James. Anyway, it might just be stress. But in case it's more than that-"
"I know, I know." said Ellison, "I should have myself checked out." He sighed. "Thanks, Booth."
"No problem, James. Hey, look, I gotta go. Another skeleton was found at the Lincoln Memorial this morning. Bones and I need to be there ASAP."
"No kidding. Well, have fun. And say hello to Parker for me."
"I'll do that. Take care, James."
"You too, Seeley."
Ellison hung up, and then immediately started dialing another number.
"Hello, this is James Ellison. I'd like to speak with Catherine Weaver... She's not there right now? Oh, well, just let her know that I will not be coming to work today. I'm feeling... under the weather today... Alright, thank you very much. Bye."
He hung up again. He started to dial a third number, when he felt someone grab his arm.
"Don't waste your time like this, James." Ellen Tigh whispered. "There's nothing wrong with you."
"The fact that I'm even talking to you right now indicates otherwise." Ellison countered.
Ellen rolled her eyes and sighed. "Sometimes I just don't get you people. You're happy to believe in things when they're invisible, but if they're staring you right in the face - nope, can't see it!"
Ellison's only response was to pull his arm out of Ellen's grip and start dialing again.
Connor Safehouse
9:07 AM, Thursday May 14, 2009
"Oh my God..." moaned Derek Reese as he lay on the couch clutching his head in agony. "Did someone just shove a hot poker through one of my eye sockets?"
Kara and John just smirked at each other and snickered.
Cameron launched into a detailed explanation: "You are suffering from veisalgia, an unpleasant physical experience that commonly follows the excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages. Common symptoms include headache, nausea, sensitivity to both light-"
"Ow!" gasped Derek, suddenly grabbing his ears, "Stop shouting at me! You're hurting my ears."
"-and noise. Most people would refer to this experience as a hangover."
"I said, stop shouting at me!" protested Derek.
"Hey, hey, John," whispered Kara, "Watch this."
She made an obnoxious clicking sound with her tongue which caused Derek to grab his hair and howl in pain. John burst out laughing.
"Hey, Mom!" he called out, "Come check this out!"
A few moments later he asked, "Did any of you guys see Mom this morning?"
"She left one hour thirty-two minutes ago." stated Cameron.
"Where'd she go?" asked John.
"To get groceries."
"What about Kaliba?" asked Kara.
"She says we'll infiltrate Kalvin IBA headquarters later this afternoon." said Cameron, "If Wazlib is there, we'll capture him as he leaves the building. If not, we'll search the building for information concerning his current whereabouts."
John sighed with relief. "For a moment there I thought she was going off to get Wazlib by herself."
"Will you people please stop making so much damn noise?" Derek shouted at them from the couch.
Kalvin IBA Headquarters, Los Angeles
"I'm sorry, Miss Baum." the receptionist at the desk said, "Mr. Wazlib isn't here today. May I ask why you want to see him?"
"Oh." said Sarah, "I'm..." - she tried to think of something - "...I'm a friend of his. I happened to be visiting LA this week and I thought I'd just drop by to say hello. I haven't seen him in a while."
"A social visit?" asked the receptionist. She regarded Sarah with a curious and almost incredulous look.
"Yeah. That's right." lied Sarah. "I'm sorry, but is that not allowed?"
"No, no." assured the receptionist, "We have no rule against social visits. It's just that..." She paused to take her glasses off. "... it's just that even if Wazlib were here, you probably wouldn't be able to see him."
"Why not?"
The receptionist's voice dropped to a soft whisper, "Wazlib is a bit of a... loner. He refuses to see anyone unless they're here for business purposes. He wouldn't even talk to Susan when she showed up here last month."
"Who?" asked Sarah.
"Susan Bee. His fiancé. Probably his ex-fiancé now. I mean, he actually tried to pretend that he didn't even know her. Nearly drove the poor woman to tears."
"I see what you mean." said Sarah, "Well, do you happen to have his current home address or phone number? I couldn't find him in the phone book."
"Sorry, Miss Baum, but all employee information is strictly confidential."
"In that case, can you tell me if he'll be in tomorrow? Maybe I could catch him as he gets out of work."
"Mr. Wazlib doesn't have a fixed schedule here. He's one of those employees who comes and go as he pleases." stated the receptionist, "If you give me a minute, though, I might be able to find out for you."
Sarah nodded and smiled. "Thank you. I'd appreciate it."
The receptionist got up from her desk and walked into a room in the back. Sarah looked around to make sure no one was watching. Then she walked behind the desk, sat down, and began typing on the computer.
"Let's see," she thought as she accessed the building's inventory, "Employee records... employee records..."
She knew she'd never be able to view the records online. But perhaps headquarters had hard copies of the records stored somewhere. A minute later she found something that seemed promising. According to the inventory, employee records from last year were being kept in the storage room below the main lobby.
Hearing footsteps, Sarah clicked out of the inventory and hurried back to the front of the desk trying to look like she had been waiting patiently.
"I'm sorry, ma'am." the receptionist said upon her return, "But Mr. Wazlib is on a 'special' assignment. I'm not permitted to know anything about his current schedule."
"Well, thanks for your help anyway." Sarah said politely, "I really appreciate it."
"You're welcome, Miss Baum. Have a nice day."
"You too." Sarah gave her a friendly smile and then hurried off towards the elevator.
"Are you sure that's her, Duran?" asked Bella. Presently, she was sitting in her office watching live security feed on her laptop.
"Positive." replied Duran, who was standing right next to her. "That is the female Human Resistance fighter from the warehouse."
"And now it appears she's searching for our mutual acquaintance, Mr. Wazlib." stated Bella, leaning back in her chair slightly.
"What shall we do with her?" Duran asked.
"She cannot be allowed to leave here." Bella replied with a soft hiss.
Duran nodded. "She is presently heading for the basement storage. Shall I have our agent down there intercept and detain her?"
"Detain her? For what purpose?"
"For questioning."
Bella shook her head dismissively. "Why bother? We will learn nothing from her." she said, her tone laced with venom, "You have no idea just how stubborn these particular humans can be."
"Then shall I instruct our agent to terminate her on sight?"
Bella thought for a moment. "No." she said after a while, "I have something else in mind."
She gave Duran one of her curious smiles.
Sarah stepped off the elevator.
"There you are." she thought upon spotting a door labeled "Storage: Authorized Personnel Only."
The door was locked, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. She reached into her hair for the hair pin she always kept on her person.
"Hey, you!"
Startled, Sarah spun around and to her dismay saw a man in a security guard's uniform marching towards her.
"Damn it!" she cursed mentally.
"May I ask what you're doing here, ma'am?" the guard asked.
"Me?" said Sarah, "I uh... I left something in there... my purse."
The guard raised his eyebrows. He clearly wasn't falling for her story. "This is a restricted area, ma'am. I'm going to need to see some ID."
"I-I don't have it... not right now" Sarah claimed hastily, "It's in my purse... which I left inside... which is why... I, uh, was hoping... you know... you could... help me... get inside."
"Crap, that was lame." she thought to herself.
The guard apparent thought so too because he just shook his head. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but I'm gonna have to-" He suddenly cut himself off. He looked up at the ceiling and silently rubbed his ear for a few moments.
He looked at Sarah again. "You sure you left something in there?" he asked.
"Positive." replied Sarah with a nod. "I'm asking you, please just let me in there for a few minutes. I won't be long. I promise. Okay?"
The guard nodded slowly and pulled out some keys.
"Alright ma'am, I'll let you in." he said. "Just because you asked nicely."
Pleasantly surprised by the guard's change of heart, Sarah stood aside and allowed him to unlock the door.
"Whatever you left in there, find it fast," he told her as he opened the door, "If anyone finds out I let you in, we'll both be in trouble."
"Right." said Sarah, "Thank you."
She stepped inside the storage room and flipped on the lights. A quick gaze around the room told her this might take a while. There were rows and rows of shelves with boxes and boxes stuffed with files, records, and other bits of corporate information. More boxes lay in every corner of the room, with the exception of the one directly to her right which contained a forklift covered by a plastic tarp. And in one of these hundreds boxes, was the information she was looking for.
"Right." she thought, "Let's get to work."
"She's inside." reported the security guard.
"Good." said Bella. "Lock the door. And don't open it until I tell you to."
"Understood."
Bella then turned to Duran. "I have a meeting with my staff," she told him. "When the exercise is complete, have the data core from the unit removed and brought up here. I wish to view the results myself when I return."
Duran nodded. "Very well," he said obediently.
Bella turned and left her office.
Duran then opened a drawer from Bella's desk and pulled out a small microphone. He put the speaker to his mouth and said in a clear voice: "Unit Five, activate."
The signal traveled from the top of Kalvin IBA Headquarters to the basement within a span of less than half a second. Delta Tech "DAGIT" Unit Five received the signal and woke up from its slumber another half a second later. A series of messages began running through its simple mechanical brain.
Security alert...
Unauthorized entry detected...
Instructions: Seek, locate, and exterminate intruder.
Unit Five powered up its systems and prepared to carry out its orders.
District 9, Ruins of LA, 2024
"How did my brother die?" asked a grim-faced Frank.
"He died in battle," replied Kara solemnly. She took a deep breath and exhaled, "He died saving my life, and the lives of two others."
Frank nodded. "Greg would have wanted to go out like that." he said. He shook his head. "God damn it, I... I wish I could have seen him... just one more time... my big brother... gone forever."
"I know how you feel," Kara said mournfully, memories of Mac's death playing fresh in her mind, "Mac was like my big brother too."
"He was like a lot of people's big brother," said Frank, "You know, people in the Resistance used to call him 'Big Mac' not just 'Mac'."
"Big Mac, huh?"
"Yup." Frank nodded with a little smile, "Greg was 'Big Mac' and I was 'Little Fry'. For four years we fought the metals side by side. Of course, Greg wasn't too keen on me joining up with him at first."
"Why not?" asked Kara.
"Because he'd been looking out for me ever since our parents died on Judgment Day." Frank said, "The day after the bombs fell he swore he'd keep me safe." He gave Kara a wryly smile. "He didn't consider being a soldier exactly safe. He would have preferred that I stayed back from the fight. But I couldn't stay back. I wanted to fight. I had to fight. And Greg just couldn't say no to his little brother."
"Good thing he couldn't," added Jill suddenly, "If Greg hadn't let Frank join up, we'd never have met."
Kara stared at Jill. "You were in the Resistance too?"
Jill nodded. "Five years ago, Frank and Greg rescued me from a labor camp. They wanted an extra body on their squad, and I wanted to give some payback to the bastards that ruined my life."
"No kidding." muttered Kara. She turned to Larry. "What about you? Were you in the Resistance too?"
Larry shook his head. "Nope. I've been living in this place for the last three years. Before that I was living in the tunnels. I didn't even know Jill was still alive 'till I ran into her and Frank one day. And that was after she and her husband had quit being soldiers."
"You two left the Resistance?" Kara asked Frank and Jill.
Frank gave her a sheepish look. "Yeah. That's why we had to tie you up. As far as the Resistance knows, Jill and I are dead. If they ever found out we went AWOL-"
"-you'd both be in deep shit. I understand." finished Kara, "But why did you leave?"
"That's a... complicated matter." Frank said, "You need to see for yourself."
He, Larry, and Jill took Kara down the hallway to another room. One look told Kara that this must be where the family lived. The room was cleaner compared to the rest of the complex. It also had a table, some chairs, a few cupboards, a water basin, a makeshift kitchen, and a portable generator in the corner."
"The machine never checks this part of the building," explained Frank as they stepped inside, "It doesn't think anyone could be living here since the rooms were never completed. The electricity, no working kitchen, no running water."
He smiled. "I guess it never realized that a man like Larry here could easily finish the job."
"I wouldn't call it easy." Larry said. "It took a year to make this place livable. And you don't want to know what I had to do get that generator."
"Okay, not easy." admitted Frank, "But not impossible."
"How long have you been here?" asked Kara.
"Six months." said Jill, "Frank and I ran into Larry searching for supplies in the tunnels and he took us here. It's a nice change of pace. Being able to settle down instead of running."
Kara laughed dryly. "You settled down with a T-600 for a neighbor?"
"No place is perfect." said Frank, "The metal's been here longer than any of us. I honestly think Skynet sent it here years ago and then simply forgot about it. As far as the machines and the Resistance knows, no one lives here."
"Larry showed us the patrol route the machine takes," explained Jill, "It's never deviated from that route in the three years Larry's been here."
"How'd you learn its route?" Kara asked Larry curiously.
Larry pointed at Kara's feet. "That dog taught me."
Kara looked down and realized the dog had followed her here.
"How long has this guy been here?" she asked.
Larry shrugged. "No idea. Like I told you, both he and the machine came with the place."
The dog whimpered and began sniffing Kara's boots. Kara reached down and patted it on the head.
"So, anyway, Frank, why did you and Jill leave the Resistance?" she inquired.
"Come with me," said Frank, "I'll show you."
He and Jill led Kara into the bedroom.
"Keep your voice down." he whispered. He then pointed to a corner of the room.
Kara cautiously approached the corner which she soon discovered contained a crib. She peered inside and gasped softly. Sleeping peacefully in the crib was an infant boy no more than two years old.
"What's his name?" she asked quietly.
"Zach." said Jill with a smile, "We named him after Frank and Greg's father."
"That's a good name." Kara commented, "Zach."
She peered into the crib and looked at the little boy again.
"He already looks like his father." she mused.
Kara then looked up and faced Jill and Frank. She understood what this was all about now.
"You left the Resistance" she said softly, "because Jill was pregnant with Zach."
Frank nodded. "She was almost three months into her pregnancy by the time we found out."
"Did your brother know anything about this, Frank?" asked Kara.
"Of course, he knew." said Frank, "He's the one who convinced Jill and I to leave the Resistance in the first place."
Kara was astounded. "Really?"
Again Frank nodded. "The day we found out that Jill and I were gonna have a baby, Greg walked up to me and said, 'Frank, you can't stay here. You and Jill gotta go. This is no place to raise a child.' I told him that I wanted to stay here and fight. Fight for my child's future. He told me, 'Go and live for your child's present, and I'll stay and fight for his future.' And so that's what Jill and I did. We left the Resistance for Zach, and Greg stayed and fought for us."
"And he died for us." added Jill. "All of us."
"Gods..." murmured Kara, "I knew Mac was a good man, but... but I didn't know...he was so..." She couldn't finish her sentence. A tear was forming in her eye. She quickly wiped it away.
Just then Larry poked his head through the doorway. "We have a serious problem."
"I was just upstairs," he explained once they were outside the bedroom, "and guess who I almost ran into?"
"The machine?" said Frank, "But it never patrols this part of the building at this time of day."
"I don't think it's on patrol anymore." said Larry.
Horror crept on to Kara's face. "Oh crap." she muttered.
Everyone stared at her.
"It's hunting, isn't it?" said Jill grimly, "Hunting for you."
Kara nodded slowly. "I-I shouldn't be here. I've already put you in danger. I can't let that thing find out about you."
"So what are you gonna do?" asked Larry.
"I'll lure it away from here, for starters." Kara said, "Then I'll try to destroy it."
"How?" asked Frank.
"I don't know yet." Kara admitted, "I don't have anything on me that could take it out quickly."
"Maybe you don't," said Frank, "but we may."
"You have a spare plasma rifle?" Kara asked incredulously.
"No." Frank replied, "But we do have these."
He opened up a dusty crate. Inside was a collection of Molotov cocktails.
"Interesting hobby." Kara commented.
"I made these in case our metal friend found us one of these days." he explained, "The T-600s are vulnerable to heat. When Jill and I were in the Resistance, we didn't have plasma rifles. We used these babies on the machines instead."
He offered Kara one of the cocktails.
Kara slowly took the cocktail and held it in her hands. As she stared at it, her hesitant expression turned into her usual winner's grin. She kissed the bottle lightly.
"Alright, then. Let's burn some rubber." she said with glee.
The black dog, sitting in a corner of the room, barked with what Kara thought was approval.
Ten minutes later, Kara Thrace was cautiously creeping through the corridors of the apartment complex again, side arm in one hand, the cocktail in the other. The situation was a little better now that she had a weapon she could use against her enemy. But first she needed to lure the machine outside so that she didn't accidentally burn this whole building down. Luring it out of here would involve getting its attention and still outrunning it long enough to make it outside. Definitely not an easy task.
Rounding a corner, she noticed a boarded up window. That had potential. If she could open it and find a way down safely, she'd have an easy route to the outside. Of course, removing the planks would take some time, which she didn't have a lot of.
Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of footsteps. She spun around and came face to rubber-face with the T-600.
"Uh... hi." she said for no apparent reason.
The T-600 tilted its head to the side in a brief display of curiosity. Then it slammed its fist into the center of Kara's chest sending her crashing through the boarded up window and out the building. Kara plummeted two stories and landed on the rubble strewn pavement in a cloud of dust.
"Ow..." she groaned.
Her armored vest and helmet had shielded her from the worst of the impact, but her back ached nonetheless. But that wasn't the biggest problem. The cocktail bomb had slipped out of her hand in the crash and was nowhere in sight now.
Kara pulled herself up and started frantically looking around for it. She discovered the bomb had rolled thirty feet away from her and, much to her relief, it was still intact. But before Kara could take a single step forward, something tackled her from behind, knocking her back to the ground.
Determined to fight back, Kara rolled herself back to her feet. She raised her side arm and fired at point blank range into the emotionless rubber face coming at her. She only managed to get two rounds off before the machine yanked the weapon from her hand. Before Kara knew what was happening, she was staring into the barrel of her own gun.
"Frak!" she thought. She squeezed her eyes shut.
BANG!
A shot rang out. But to Kara's surprise she didn't feel the expected bullet pierce her skull. There was no way in hell the toaster could have missed. Which could only mean it hadn't fired at all.
Kara opened her eyes and saw the T-600 now standing with its back turned to her, a bullet wound in the back of its head. She looked up and to her surprise she saw Frank standing behind a window four stories above, wielding a hunting rifle.
The T-600 raised Kara's side arm to fire at Frank, but several more shots rang out striking the machine in the chest. Larry stood on a balcony two stories below Frank, a pistol in each hand.
Realizing it was under attack from two new attackers, both of whom had apparently come out of nowhere, the T-600 began calculating a new stratagem. It never completed its calculations though. For while it had been distracted by Frank and Larry, Kara had recovered her Molotov cocktail. Taking a lighter from her belt she lit it and with a yell, she hurled the cocktail at her opponent. The bottle smashed against the Terminator's chest and its contents ignited in a great ball of fire.
The burning machine thrashed its arms wildly as its skin was melted off, producing a noxious smell of burning rubber. Eventually, the fires began to die out, and much to Kara's dismay, the machine was still on its feet. And it was coming at her again.
The Molotov cocktail had reduced the Terminator down to its titanium endoskeleton which had suffered a fair amount of damage. The once silver, shiny metal was charred black. Many of the hydraulics and servos aligning the arms and legs had been fused or melted by the heat, thus making the machine's movements jerky and slow. Nevertheless, it was clearly not out of the fight yet.
The machine walked - or rather lurched - towards Kara, its red eyes filled with demon fire. Kara backed up slowly trying to figure out what to do next. She started to regret not asking Frank for a spare cocktail.
"Heads up!"
Kara turned around and saw Jill running towards them, a flaming Molotov cocktail in her hand. Kara instinctively took cover, as Jill flung the cocktail at the machine. The cocktail landed at the Terminator's feet and the machine burst into flame once more. This time, the T-600 fell to its knees and was swallowed up entirely by the raging inferno. So intense was the conflagration that both Kara and Jill had to shield their eyes.
When the flames had diminished to a point where it was safe to look, Kara uncovered her eyes and saw much to her satisfaction that the T-600 was nothing more than a smoldering lump of melted titanium.
"Mac, wherever you are, I hope you're watching." she thought, "Because that one was for you."
Half an hour later, Larry had successfully replaced the damaged tire on Kara's vehicle. Meanwhile, Kara, Jill and Frank had finished burying Sergeant Custard's body in the ground outside.
Kara dumped her last load of rubble and gravel on top of the burial mound. She then took her broken plasma rifle and planted the barrel into the mound like a flag. She then took Custard's helmet and mounted it on the butt of the rifle.
Kara stepped back and inspected her handiwork. It wasn't much, but it was the best she could do. She straightened her shoulders and gave the marker a crisp salute. Behind her, Jill and Frank did the same. They may have not been soldiers anymore, but they still paid their respects to Humanity's fallen warriors.
"Why did you help me, Frank?" Kara asked Frank as they walked to her vehicle, "You risked your family's safety for me. You could have just let me die. Then the machine would have returned to its usual routine and everything would have gone back to normal."
"For one thing, I was never really fond of having a machine as a neighbor. It was something I think we can all agree that we're better off without." said Frank. He then stopped in his tracks and said solemnly, "And also, it's what Greg would have done. I did it for him."
Kara thought about this. "Yeah." she said quietly, "It is what he would have done."
Frank placed a hand on her shoulder. "You know, Kara." he said, "If you ever get tired of fighting, well... you know where to find us."
Kara smiled. "Thanks for the offer, Frank. But I'm never gonna get tired of fighting."
"You ever thought about having a family yourself?" asked Frank, "A home?"
Kara shook her head and sighed. "I... uh... I've had a lot of homes and families... but they've never lasted very long. I don't know if I'll ever find a real one." She shook her head again. "I really gotta get going. I'm way overdue back at base."
"Wait," said Jill. She stepped forward and looked Kara in the eyes. "I want you to do something first."
"Of course." Kara nodded, "What is it?"
"I want you to swear that you will not tell anyone about us. We're not soldiers anymore. We just want to live in peace as best as we can in this world." Jill said slowly.
"I promise I won't tell anyone." Kara stated.
"Swear on it." Jill told her, "Swear on your honor as a soldier. We're a family. Greg died so that we could be a family. Don't let his sacrifice be in vain. So, swear on it."
Kara looked her in the eyes.
"I swear." she said. Her words were carved in stone. Jill saw that Kara was being sincere and she nodded in satisfaction.
At that moment, the quiet atmosphere was interrupted by a familiar barking sound. The great black dog bounded up to them. Of the three humans, it seemed be interested in Kara the most.
"This guy really likes me." Kara chuckled. "Too bad I can't take him with me."
"Nothing's stopping you from doing so." said Larry as he got up from securing the new tire in place.
"Really?" Kara gasped. "I can?"
"Of course." said Frank, "If he wants to go with you."
Grinning like a kid, Kara knelt down and spoke to the dog. "Do you wanna come home with me, boy?" she cooed, "Would you like to help sniff out nasty machines for me? Would you like that, boy?"
The dog responded by licking her face affectionately.
Kara giggled and wiped her face clean with the sleeve of her uniform jacket.
"I'll take that as a yes." she said.
"Don't suppose he has a name." she then said to Frank, Jill and Larry who shook their heads in response.
"Well, I guess I'll have to think of one." Kara said with a shrug.
She then stood up and faced the family.
"Thank you." she said, "For all your help. I really mean it. Thank you."
"And thank you, Kara." said Frank, "For telling us about Greg."
"Everything you did today, you did for him." Larry stated.
"And you can continue honoring him." added Jill, "By finishing the fight he died in."
"I'll do that. And you can continue honoring him too." said Kara, "By staying together as a family."
Frank nodded. "I think we can do."
Kara smiled and gave Frank and Jill a military salute. Husband and wife saluted back as well. Kara then reached out and shook Larry's hand.
"Take care, all of you." she said.
"Thank you. And good luck to you too." Frank wished her.
After one last goodbye, Frank, Jill and Larry departed.
After watching the family leave, Kara knelt down beside her new companion once more.
"Okay, boy. You're gonna need a name. What shall we call you?"
She thought about it for a while. "Mac" seemed like the most obvious choice at the moment... and Kara never really liked obvious choices. She tossed around a few more names and until finally her mind settled on one.
"Husker. How about that?" she suggested, "Would you like to be called that, boy? Husker?"
The dog licked her face again.
Kalvin I.B.A Headquarters, Los Angeles
9:32 AM, Thursday, May 14, 2009
"And accordingly," said Bella to her staff, "I want to be able to perform our first set of demonstrations before our military contacts in two weeks."
This set off a round of murmurs across the table.
One man got the nerve to speak up. "Miss Kalvin," he said, "We still need to conduct a new series of tests on the new DAGIT designs. We gave it some major upgrades last week. It'll take at least three weeks for us to test all the different variables and compare them to-"
Bella cut him off. "We only need to perform one test." she said.
"What sort of test?" asked the man cautiously.
"I can't go into all the details right now." Bella stated, "But it will tell us everything we need to know about the effectiveness of our product."
Another man spoke up. "When will this test be performed?"
A smile formed on Bella's face. It was not a warm smile.
"Soon." she said, "Very soon."
In the storage area, Sarah had managed to find the shelf that contained employee records from 2007-2008. She finally came upon a box, one labeled "W-X".
"Ah ha!" she thought with triumph. She stood on her toes and reached up to grab the box. Slowly, she pulled it off the shelf inch by inch. It was two thirds of the way free when suddenly a big, black, hairy spider crawled out from the space between the boxes and scuttled onto the exposed skin of her hand.
Sarah recoiled backwards with a yell. She collided painfully with the shelf behind her. The box she was pulling out tipped over and dumped hundreds of once carefully arranged records and files into a heap on the floor.
"Damn it!" cursed Sarah.
"What is wrong with you?" she berated herself, "Letting yourself be frightened by a stupid spider?"
"No one's gonna notice." said a calmer voice within her, "It's not if anyone actually comes down here and looks through this stuff. Just find the file on Wazlib and get out. No need to panic."
She picked up a handful of papers from the top of the mess and began sifting through them. Suddenly, a mechanical growl echoed through the dim of the room. Startled, Sarah dropped her papers. Something was coming.
A red glow illuminated her and she looked to her left. A pair of red eyes stared at her from darkness of the poorly lit corridor.
Sarah backed up slowly as the eyes' owner walked into the light.
No - not walked. Rolled...
A large, red eyed machine rolled into plain sight.
It looked like some kind of forklift. Except it was metallic grey in color. And it had no driver's seat. And it had tank-like treads instead of wheels. And it had a hemisphere on the top on which its two red eyes were mounted. But the thing that caught Sarah's attention the most was that this thing did not have a pair of lifting forks.
Instead, it had a pair of triple-barreled machineguns.
And they were pointed right at her.
"Oh shit!" thought Sarah.
Instinctively, she hurled herself sideways and plunged through a barrier of cardboard boxes into the next aisle, just barely dodging a hail of bullets from the machine. She pulled herself back to her feet and leapt over the spilled boxes of various stuff she no longer cared about. She began sprinting down the corridor as fast as possible praying the machine couldn't track her through solid objects.
Unfortunately, the machine was designed to do exactly that. It hosed the aisle with machinegun fire. Bullets sliced through Sarah's feeble cardboard box cover as if they weren't even there. Sarah dropped to the floor as enemy fire whizzed over her. The tank machine detected her position, readjusted its aim, and fired again.
Sarah rolled herself sideways to avoid being cut to shreds. She shoved boxes out of the way and sought refuge behind a new row of shelves. The tank bulldozed its way through the first bullet ridden aisle, causing the wooden shelves to collapse inwards on themselves. After finding its target again, the machine lined its guns up for another attack.
Before the machine could fire, Sarah drew her pistol and fired through the gap in the cardboard boxes she was hiding behind. Most of her shots merely bounced off the armored plating of the machine. By chance, however, she did hit a couple soft spots piercing the tank's hull. The machine rolled backwards slightly as if it had received a painful stung.
Taking advantage of the machine's distraction, Sarah got to her feet again and began running once more. Her heart pounded and her adrenaline levels surged. If she could make it to the door in time-
Her hopes were dashed as another volley of machinegun fire tore through the aisles forcing her to take cover behind a third row of shelves. She glanced over her shoulder. She was very quickly running out of aisles to hide behind.
Mr. Finch waited impatiently for his delivery to arrive.
"Come on, come on." he muttered, looking at his watch. If he didn't get his package to Miss Kalvin in ten minutes, she was going to have his head.
The door to his office opened and a woman stepped inside.
"Excuse me, Mr. Finch." she said, "I believe this is for you."
She placed a briefcase on his desk. Finch checked the tag on the briefcase.
"Yes," he exclaimed with great relief, "This is mine. Thank you very much."
"You're welcome." said the woman and she left.
Finch wondered if he should check the contents of the case to make sure everything was there. He looked at his watch again. Less than ten minutes left. He had to go now.
Sarah had just about reached the end of the line. The tank had chased her through the aisles forcing her deeper and deeper into the storage. Now, at last she was backed up against a solid wall. The tank smashed its way through the final row of shelves and came in full view of Sarah.
As the tank's red eyes swept over Sarah, she felt cloud of despair wash over her. She was cornered. She could not run, hide, or fight. All she could do now was die.
The machine lined its guns up in preparation to fire. Sarah steeled herself. She hoped for a clean shot to the head.
Click, click, click...
The gun barrels spun but did nothing else. Sarah stared at the machine. What the...?
Click, click, click...
Sarah's confusion turned to both relief and disbelief as realization dawned upon her. The machine had miraculously run out of ammunition! She couldn't stop herself from laughing out loud at the irony.
The machine didn't take too kindly to be laughed at, however. The empty guns folded upwards and retracted themselves into a resting position. A long vertical slot in the center of the tank's face opened. Something emerged from the narrow gap in the center.
Sarah immediately stopped laughing when she saw what it was: A vertical, circular sawblade, at least two feet in diameter, with razor sharp teeth, attached to an arm-like appendage. With a roar, the blade started spinning and the machine accelerated towards Sarah.
Not wanting to suffer a particularly agonizing and messy demise, Sarah began running again.
"Glad you could join us, Mr. Finch," said Bella icily.
Finch paused to catch his breath before placing the briefcase on the conference table.
"We did it." he announced, "We've obtained a new supplier of coltan from Africa."
An applause broke out around the table.
Bella merely nodded with approval. "Excellent." she said, "Did they send you a sample of the metal for analysis?"
Finch nodded. "Yes, they did. Assuming there's nothing wrong with the material, we'll be able to receive a new shipment of coltan to replace our losses at Desert Heat & Air by the end of next week."
"Very well." stated Bella, "Mr. Finch, would you please show us the coltan sample?"
"Of course."
Finch undid the latches on the case, opened it, and stared at the contents inside.
His eyes widened in exclamation. "What the hell-"
He was cut off as a tremendous explosion engulfed the conference room, shattering the windows and rocking the building violently.
Although deep in the bowels of the Kalvin I.B.A. Headquarters, Sarah still felt the building tremble.
"What was that?" she thought, "An earthquake?"
This distraction proved to be nearly fatal, because the homicidal blade-wielding machine took the opportunity to bring its spinning sawblade down on her. Sarah dodged out of the way, but did not escape entirely unscathed. The sawblade grazed her elbow, cutting through her leather jacket and nicking the skin beneath. Sarah gasped in pain and clutched her wounded elbow. She knew it was bleeding but she didn't know how bad.
The machine reoriented itself and charged her again. Sarah fled down the aisle and when she rounded the corner, she saw to her relief the exit door nearby. She ran as fast as she could, stopping only when she had arrived at the door.
It was locked from the outside. Figures...
Sarah turned around and saw the machine coming straight at her like an angry robotic bull. As it bore down on her, Sarah suddenly had an idea. She positioned herself right in front of the door handle and held her ground.
"Come on, you bastard!" she snarled through her gritted teeth, "Come and get me!"
The machine came closer and closer, its blade spinning and whirring menacingly. Sarah continued to hold her position, refusing to budge. And then at the last possible second, she threw herself sideways. The machine missed her and its blade cut through the door handle instead - destroying the lock mechanism just as Sarah had intended.
Sarah rammed the door with her shoulder and burst out of the storage room. Not even stopping to catch her breath, Sarah ran down the hall towards the elevator and freedom. She was halfway there when someone grabbed her from behind in a headlock.
"You're not goin' nowhere, lady!"
It was the security guard who had so "generously" let her into the storage room earlier. Sarah swore. She had no time for this bullshit.
"Don't fuck with me, pal!" Sarah grunted.
She slammed her non-injured elbow into the guard's stomach, causing him to loosen his grip on her neck. She then grabbed his arm and flipped him over her shoulder and onto the floor on his back. Before he had a chance to get up, Sarah delivered a vicious kick to his head knocking the man out cold.
Sarah then entered the elevator and took it to the first floor. When she stepped out into the main lobby, she found herself in the middle of pure pandemonium. Alarms were going off. Hundreds of panicking employees were fleeing for the exit. What the hell was going on?
Whatever it was, she'd have to find out later. Right now, she needed to get back to the safehouse.
Sarah slipped into the crowd and allowed herself to vanish from plain sight.
In the parking lot outside, the woman who had given Finch the briefcase, glanced up at Kalvin I.B.A. Headquarters. Smoke was pouring out of the upper-most level. She could hear the blaring sirens of police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances rushing towards the scene.
The woman smiled with satisfaction. Then her skin and clothes became molten silver and her features reshaped themselves.
Catherine Weaver got into her car and drove away.
So far so good.
Bella Kalvin pulled herself from the wreckage of the conference room. She had suffered minimal damage in the explosion. The same could not be said for her staff. Most of them were dead or critically wounded.
Oh well...
She gazed around the burning, smoldering, death-filled room with a cold, calculated expression on her face.
"This isn't over, Tiamat." she hissed.
Bella then activated her cloaking device and vanished into thin air.
A/N: You're probably wondering if the Hodgins on General Connor's staff is related to the Dr. Jack Hodgins of Bones. I'll leave that up to your imagination.
Likewise, I'll leave it up to you decide for yourselves if Bones, Booth and the rest of the Squints survived Judgment Day. Personally, I'd like to think so. Though, I must say, Bones would definitely have her work cut out for her. So many skulls in the future...
A/N 2: DAGIT - the HK Tank Prototype that attacks Sarah - is an obvious tongue-in-cheek reference to TOS BSG.
A/N3: Next chapter, John Henry and Savannah build something using parts from a toaster. Ellison gets his head checked out by a doctor. And Kroogar starts to live up to his name (hint, hint, he's gonna do something to his hand). Also, expect to see the phrase "government bail out" at least once.
