Terminator: Return of the Fallen

Part XXXIV

A few hours after I dropped young Sarah off at the Safe House, Charlotte pulled into our driveway. As I headed for the door, John Henry handed me a new weapon that I had never seen before.

"What's this?"

"I modified the portable railgun. This should have nearly double the firepower of the original weapon at a fraction of the weight. I also modified the projectiles so that they could fit in a specialized cartridge. You currently have ten projectiles in the cartridge. These projectiles are smaller than their predecessors, but they travel at much higher velocities".

"Great. May I ask why I can't just use one of the plasma rifles?"

"I'm still conducting maintenance on those. The railgun is much less complicated than the plasma rifles, so it takes less effort to prepare for combat".

"Can it still do the job?"

"One projectile to the head or chest can kill a Terminator. You just need to make sure that a chest shot destroys the power core".

"Got it. Let's hope I don't have to use it". I march outside, carrying the new railgun in my right hand. It is still bulkier than my M82, but it can now be wielded with one arm instead of two. I aim it at Charlotte, and hope that she gets the message.

"I didn't come here to fight. I just want to see Sarah".

"She doesn't want to see you. Leave before I am forced to kill you!"

"SARAH! SARAH!"

"What do you think this is? A Streetcar Named SkyNet? Get the hell out of here!"

"SARAH!" Charlotte begins to walk towards the house. I aim the railgun at her head.

"Don't come any closer. I'm warning you".

"SARAH!" She is getting closer. I am going to have to kill her.

"Don't move another step. This is your final warning". Charlotte looks me in the eye and takes another step forward.

"Go ahead. I would rather die trying to see her than live without her. Just fire and get it over with". She takes another step forward, and I steady the railgun to fire. Just as I am about to pull the trigger, I hear young Sarah call out behind me.

"Hold your fire, Captain".

"Colonel, I must ask you to go back inside".

"Lower your weapon; that is an order!"

"Your father and grandmother have authorized me to use any force necessary to keep her away. They both outrank you, so go back inside. Now!" For some reason, all of the Connor's have issues with authority. Young Sarah actually runs past me and stands in front of Charlotte. Now what do I do?

"I'm so sorry", both young Sarah and Charlotte have tears in their eyes. "I just freaked when I found out that...."

"No, I'm sorry. I should have told you a long time ago. I was so afraid that you would leave me if I told you...." They kiss. This is such a tender moment; it is too bad that I have to shoot one of them.

"I hate to break the mood here, but I have my orders. Stand aside, Sarah".

"Even my father would disobey orders when he thought they were the wrong thing to do". This is true, and his decision to not follow orders saved a lot of lives. The difference is that those orders involved bombing a facility full of POWs. This involves shooting a single Terminator in the head, and we are not even sure which side she is on.

"She could be the enemy".

"I don't think so". Young Sarah begins to caress Charlotte's face. "She was willing to die, just to see me. Does that sound like something an enemy would do?" Yes! But, there is something about her that just gets to me. Like I can feel that this is not an act, that she truly does love her. Reluctantly, I lower my weapon. Sarah is going to kill me for this.

"I hope you are right about this, Colonel".

"So do I, Captain".

We all head inside together. As expected, I get chewed out by Sarah and John. They both think that I have lost my mind. Sarah informs me that if anyone is injured because of Charlotte, she will stick a plasma rifle in a very unflattering place. I salute, and march out of Sarah's room before she shoots me. I do not want to get on her bad side; especially when she has access to plasma weapons that can kill me.

John follows me into the living room. I expect him to scold me for disobeying orders. Instead, he catches a glimpse of Cameron and forgets all about me. Cameron's arm is shaking in a way that I have never seen before. Well, that is not quite true. In fact, it reminds me of home.

"Cameron, are you feeling all right?"

"Of course I am, John. Why do you ask?"

"Your arm is shaking again. Maybe you should let John Henry and I take a look at it". For some reason, I choose to interfere.

"It might not be her arm that is the problem. Certain neurological conditions can also cause involuntary shaking".

"It can't be neurological because she doesn't have a neurological system. She uses computer chips and processors".

"Right. Sorry, I forgot". John begins to stare at me funny. "What?"

"Why are you smiling?"

"Sorry about that. It's just.....Cameron is reminding me of home". For the first time since this conversation began, Cameron looks away from John and turns her attention towards me.

"I do not understand".

"Your arm, my brother used to do the same thing. Seeing you shake like that reminded me of him". Throughout our entire conversation, Catherine had sat unnoticed in one of the chairs in the living room. That changed as soon as I mentioned my brother.

"WHAT! You never told me you had a brother". I have never seen her eyes this wide before.

"His name was Daniel, he was three years younger than me......IS three years younger than me. He died on Judgement Day along with the rest of my family, so I try not to think about him. I don't like to focus on the people I have lost. I keep forgetting that J-Day hasn't happened yet, so they are all still alive". I look at Cameron and smile. "You remind me of him. He had...has that same childlike curiosity, and he was strong as an ox". It has been many years since I have thought about my family. Now, I can't seem to stop thinking about them. Great: now I am a homesick Terminator. I can tell by the look on Catherine's face that she wants to hear more about my family. From the look on John Henry's face, I don't think I will have the time to tell her.

"We have a problem".

"What now?"

"According to the newspapers, there is a convention of engineering students in Los Angeles today. Many of these students will become specialists for the Resistance. This makes them prime targets for Terminators. If my calculations are correct, and they always are, there will be an attempt to assonate these students. If this occurs, then we will lose some of our finest robotics experts. We must intervene".

"Is there a delegation from McGill University?"

"I think so. Why?"

"I went to McGill. Maybe I will see some familiar faces". God, what is more pathetic than a nostalgic Terminator?

"Really? What did you study, Charley?"

"Does it really matter, Catherine? The university blew up before I could graduate. That chapter of my life was vaporized along with the rest of Montreal". As much as I am enjoying this trip down memory lane, Sarah brings us all back to the present.

"If we don't get moving, your friends will blow up long before the university does".

"Good point. J.H., load up the new railgun. I'll grab my M82. Let's save some egg heads". At that moment, I had an epiphany. "Hey, J.H., there are only five factory ships left, right?"

"That is correct: one in the South Atlantic, one in the South Pacific, one in the Indian Ocean, one in the Arctic Ocean, and one in the Mediterranean Sea. Why do you ask?"

"Suppose someone were to shoot a Terminator in the chest and destroy its power core; that would destroy the Terminator, right?"

"Correct".

"Then, there would be no need to destroy its main chip. With the chip intact, someone would be able to hack it and learn the exact locations of all five ships, right?" John Henry has a huge smile on his face.

"If I understand you correctly, you hope to eliminate a Terminator at the convention and then use its chip to help us cripple SkyNet's striking capabilities".

"You read my mind, old friend".

"I can, you know. Good plan and good hunting".

We grab our weapons, jump into a car, and head to the convention center. Once we reach the building, we encounter a small obstacle: a series of metal detectors. Catherine turns into her ooze form and shorts them all out. While the security guards scratch their heads and wonder why their equipment is breaking down simultaneously, we just slip by them and enter the convention hall. Once inside, I spot a familiar face.

"Hello, Theo".

"What the....How'd you get here?"

"Long story. So, what are you guys doing here?"

"Showing off our robot. It is going to kick ass at the competition tonight". As we are talking, I notice a man that is not a man. Judging by the way he is moving, and the way that he is surveying the area, I am certain that he is a Terminator.

"I hate to burst you bubble, but that guy over there is going to blow your entry out of the water".

"What makes you say that?"

"Mainly because HE IS A ROBOT!" I shout to get its attention, hoping that it will engage me. It pulls out an Uzi and shoots me in the chest and head. "EVERYBODY DOWN!" People scream and run for cover as I return fire with my M82. It runs, and I pursue it.

A gun battle ensues, between the Terminator and everyone else with a gun. The security guards pull out their pistols and fire at the Terminator. When it raises its Uzi to return fire, I shoot it in the chest with fifty calibre armour piercing incendiary rounds. This does not kill the beast, but it does distract it from the security guards. We both take multiple hits as bullets fly in all directions.

I unload round after round into the Terminator's chest. Unfortunately, the armour on its chest is thicker than the armour on its head. Fifty calibre rounds don't pack enough of a punch to hit the power core. All I can do is keep shooting and keep it blind to everyone else. I have no idea where the rest of the Connor clan is at the moment, so I have to take this bastard down on my own.

Just as I begin to contemplate a head shot and forget about swiping its chip, the Terminator leaps out of a nearby window. The machine has escaped, but no one has been injured. Except for me, of course. Various robots are riddled with bullet holes, but the people that built them are unharmed. The security guards are also unharmed, but I think some of them have messed themselves.

"Everybody ok?"

"What was that thing?"

"That was a psychotic robot".

"And what are you?"

"The same thing!" Sarah comes up to me and hits him in the back of the head.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Why didn't you go for a head shot?"

"We need that chip intact. Otherwise, we might never find those floating factories. If you want to really hurt SkyNet, you need to sink its mobile bases".

"You do realize that it will come back here and try to complete its mission".

"I'm counting on it. This time, I will have something a little bigger than an M82. J.H.?" John Henry takes the new railgun out of its case and hands it to me.

"It's ready. Just use it like a normal rifle. However, I only brought one clip of ammunition. You have ten shots, no more".

"I will only need one. Let's roll".