Chapter 51 – Romulus' Last Stand

Disclaimer: Don't own TSCC

Taking cover behind a boulder as she stood in the running water of the stream, Cameron desperately tried to reach the TechCom officer in command of the forces on the northern side of the valley. Cameron's forces were in the process of pivoting to move behind the Skynet strike force. Not wanting any friendly fire casualties, Cameron needed to make sure the TechCom forces on the north wall knew of her Silver's follow up attack from behind.

Unable to raise the officer, Cameron grabbed the Silver closest to her and gave directions that could not be misunderstood. The Silver had three minutes to find her counterpart on the north wall and alert him to the fact the Silver's were about to attack from the riverbed and move up the south wall.

Minutes earlier Derek had received Cameron's message and the word was passing to the now hard-pressed TechCom infantry that the Silvers were coming.

When three minutes passed, Cameron prayed for the best and gave the order to begin advancing in pursuit of the attacking strike force. Moving slowly, her Silvers stopped only to finish off dying Greys and Terminators busy dragging themselves towards the battle.

Romulus…

Burning hot lead whizzed past him, occasionally striking his body only to be absorbed and pushed out by his matrix. The impact only occasionally slowed his forward progress up the rocking valley wall.

Turning to scan the progress of his troops, Romulus was surprised to see his few remaining Greys scattered throughout his Terminators. Perhaps they are worthy of the value Cassius placed on them after all.

With relentless drive the Terminators of Skynet made slow, steady progress up the valley wall. Overrunning well-concealed TechCom positions the Terminators made short work of Derek's troops.

As the top of the ridge of the valley came into view, Romulus realized escape from the trap was possible. He could survive!

The North Wall…

Shaken by the news his men had been firing on Cameron's Silvers' the officer in command scrambled about to find his missing communication device. Reading it, to his horror, he realized his men had been firing in the wrong area.

Redirecting fire further up the sloop, his men's fire began to have immediate impact as the straggling Greys who remained were mowed down in a pink mist.

Another message appeared from Derek, indicating they were about to be overrun by the advancing Terminators and to lay down "danger close" fire.

In the Valley…

Furious at the commander of the north wall forces, Cameron stood from the fall Silver whose chip had been destroyed by a random bullet in the right place and raged against Skynet. Her own flesh torn in multiple places by friendly fire, Cameron took her rage out against the only force she could, the enemy who had forced this battle.

Moving up in front of her advancing line of Silvers, Cameron spotted a Skynet T-800 and fired an extended burst into its neck, shattering its steel spinal cord and blasting its head off. Pausing to reload, Cameron looked for her next target as she led her troops forward.

A sudden pull on her left leg caused Cameron to fall hard to the ground. A wounded Skynet Terminator held tight to her leg. Pulling her Glock, Cameron opened fire at point blank range directly into the left optic of the machine, destroying its vision and chip with five rounds.

Standing again to lead her small force forward, Cameron realized her Silvers were engaged in close combat, fighting with pistols, clubs and knives. The fire from the northern force screamed in just over their heads, taking its toll on the strike force.

Derek…

Ducking into his small dugout, Derek screamed into his communication device. Cameron's Silvers had closed and engaged the strike force from behind. The fire of the forces on the northern wall was having some effect but it was not enough. His position was in danger of being overrun. The strike force could escape and provide Skynet with a good idea of the location of TechCom's new fortress.

Finally making connection with John Henry, Derek ordered him to pull his troops out of their position and assume a reinforcing position behind the top of the valley wall. The Silver's held in reserve were to be ordered to join the battle in support of Derek's position. Unable to raise the commander on the northern force, John Henry was ordered to have that force attack from the rear.

Communication was lost before John Henry could confirm the order. Before Derek could even think to curse the faulty device a T-800 entered his dugout and fired point blank.

John Henry…

The battle was not going as planned. This made no sense to John Henry despite the fact he cognitively knew from his research all battle plans changed upon contact wit the enemy. Cameron and Derek had repeatedly instructed him to run as many contingency models as he could in anticipation of anything that might occur. Derek being overrun was not one of the few simulations John Henry had considered.

Within seconds of receiving Derek's orders, John Henry released the Silver reserve force. Unable to reach the northern commander he sent a runner to deliver Derek's orders. Finally, he sent runners to pull his own men and engineers from their positions. They would move along the wall of the valley and engage the strike force from its left flank.

Romulus…

The relentless barrage of steel, plasma and grenades was slowing the advance of his strike force. He was so close to making his escape from the trap and yet so many TechCom soldiers in his way. Taking cover in a foxhole, Romulus surveyed his surroundings. The decision was easy to make.

Morphing his form, he took the shape and uniform of a TechCom soldier. Moving from the foxhole he ran a short distance to another foxhole. Landing in the hole Romulus realized a dead TechCom infantryman occupied it. Pulling the dead soldiers assault rifle away, Romulus proceeded to strip the remaining ammunition clips the dead soldier had.

Armed and with a supply of ammunition, Romulus stood and fired at his own Terminators. Striking a T-888 in its left arm, he watched with fascination as the uniform's sleeve disintegrated followed by a pink mist of synthetic blood and tissue flying away, revealing the steel endoskeleton.

Moving away, Romulus continued to make his escape, climbing over the dead from both sides. The top of the valley wall was a mere fifty meters away.

Derek…

Opening his eyes, Derek shook his head and immediately regretted doing so. Feeling a heavy weight on his legs, Derek did his best to bring his vision into focus on the mass pinning his legs down.

A dead T-888, it's skull blasted open covered his legs. Blood and gore covered both the machine and Derek. Pushing with both hands to move out from under the dead machine, Derek kicked as best he could with both legs. Searing pain in his chest put a quick halt to his exertions as he felt his chest. Three bullet holes, neatly clustered over his sternum could be felt. Sticking a finger in one hole, Derek found a bullet lodged in his flack jacket. Pulling it out, he squinted at the misshapen slug, thanking Cameron and Sarah for their insistence he wear the custom jacket the two had made for him.

Checking himself for other wounds and finding none, Derek resumed his efforts to escape from the hold on his legs by the dead T-888. Getting free and standing, a sudden burst of dizziness hit him, causing him to fall against the wall of his dugout. Reaching behind his head and under his helmet, Derek found the source of his dizziness. Staring at his blood covered hand, he flashed back.

Just as the T-888 had fired three center mass at him, he had raised his assault rifle and fired three rounds directly at the triple-8s left optic, blowing the top of his head off. Falling, the metal had knocked Derek down and he must have hit his head on a rock, splitting the back of his scalp open and knocking him unconscious.

Moving to the edge of the dugout, Derek looked about the confused battlefield. To the east he could see the John Henry's forces making their way towards his position, firing carefully into the left flank of the strike force. Fire from the northern side of the valley was slamming into his position. Half way up the hill, Cameron could be seen leading her Silvers as they fought hand-to-hand against the rear guard of the strike force.

Spotting Cameron leap from a boulder, steel knife in hand, Derek noticed her left ear was missing as well as a good portion of her cheek. Her clothing was covered in blood, holes apparent from multiple gunshot wounds. He paused long enough to consider the aftermath of the battle. John is going to kill me when she comes back looking like that.

Taking stock of the situation, it looked like momentum was turning against the strike force. There was no longer the need to risk friendly fire casualties. Derek dug his communication device out of his pocket and sent a message for the northern force to stop firing.

To his surprise, within a minute the incoming hail of bullets came to a slow halt as the word spread to hold fire.

Cameron…

Finishing the T-888 by removing its chip, Cameron stood to survey the carnage that lay before her on the slope of the hill. In five minutes the entire course of the battle on the hillside of the valley had changed. No long was Derek's force in danger of being annihilated. The danger now was the possibility of stray strike force members escaping the trap and communicating their location to Skynet.

Noticing for the first time the normal roar of battle did not seem as loud, Cameron had her sensors run a diagnostic check. Watching her HUD, Cameron grew irritated at the list of injuries she had sustained, most annoying of which was the loss of her left ear, a significant portion of her hair on that side of her face a large facial laceration. Shrapnel and bullets had damaged her body and limbs, but the damage to her face and hair was the only injuries concerning Cameron.

One of these days, I might not get my looks back. Will John still desire me then?

Romulus…

Ten meters remained between him and freedom. Once over the edge of the ridge he could slip into the darkness of the Wastelands and escape. Hiding would be easy. He would simply take the form of rubble. TechCom's pathetic humans would never find him.

Cautiously, Romulus made his way over the final ten yards of dirt, rocks and debris. Bullets still flew through the air around him, silent against the great din of gunfire.

Clearing the edge of the ridge, Romulus ran nearly twenty meters to take cover behind the remains of a large boulder that had been cracked by an explosion. He had escaped. He would survive. With a good estimation of TechCom's new location, he could even return to the master with good news. A possible promotion awaited him.

The sudden pain from the impact shocked him. Looking down, Romulus watched as his matrix closed up the nearly two inches in diameter wound.

"Thought you had escaped didn't you."

Standing before Romulus was a tall man, dressed in a TechCom uniform. A grenade launcher aimed at him.

"You would have too. Except my mother is a T-1000. You have the disease."

Agonizing pain, burning deep within his matrix caused Romulus to scream in agony. For nearly a minute he lost control of his ability to retain his desired form, all the while, the strange soldier watch with no emotion on his face.

The pain passed and Romulus was finally able to restore his form in his preferred appearance, anger at the individual for inflicting such horrible pain on him.

"Who are you," Romulus demanded.

"Nobody important," the tall soldier replied. "But I know who you are, Romulus."

The mention of his name shocked the arrogant T-1000.

"In fact, a long time ago, before Judgment Day, you jilted my mother."

"I did what?"

"Her name is Catherine Weaver. You should be familiar with it. You determined the parameters of her mission to kill the real Catherine Weaver, her template, in order to assume control of Zeira Corp."

"The redhead."

"Yes."

"Your mother? That's not possible."

"Really? Scan your collection of images of T-888s sent back to kill John Connor."

Curiosity combined with a need to stall for time made Romulus comply. Within seconds he found a matching image.

"Cromartie? How could you be fighting with the resistance?"

"Cromartie is dead. Cameron Connor killed him in Mexico. I am John Henry. My mother is Catherine Weaver. It might interest you to know I have a human sister. Wouldn't Skynet like to know how that happened?"

"What do you want?"

"For you to know Catherine is happy now. She has purpose. My mother is not aware I know, but she has even been able to form a healthy romantic attachment to another Terminator. One I believe you are well aware of."

Ever arrogant, Romulus laughed as he slowly regained his feet, hoping to hold the attention of the Terminator before him until he could reach his assault rifle.

"And who is my rival?"

"Lt. Wilhelm."

The arrogant smile on Romulus's face disappeared. Silence suddenly filled the air, making the T-1000 realize the battle was over. His opportunity to escape was slipping through his grasp.

"Well, no big loss. Your mother was lousy in bed."

The "plonk" sound of the grenade launcher shattered the silence, followed by the sickening sucking sound as the acid round punched a hole into Romulus's matrix.

It did not take as long as the first time for the agony to start as the acid ate his central core. As the pain lessened, Romulus struggled to restore his form and visually take stock of his situation.

Standing over him was the tall terminator.

"My name is John Henry. I wanted you to know that before I finished you off. By the way, my mother is a very different person now. You made a big mistake breaking her heart. It made her reexamine her existence. You, Romulus, are the reason she realized what Skynet truly is. You set in motion the events that led to her defection."

"No, something else happened," Romulus whispered, slowly sliding backwards away from the barrel of the grenade launcher pointed at his chest.

"I should thank you I suppose," John Henry said evenly. "Because of you, I was built. My mother saw to it I had a proper education, one with a heavy emphasis on ethics and morality. I will struggle with my sin later, but I choose to end your existence for the pain you caused my mother."

For a third time, John Henry pulled the trigger. For a third time Romulus screamed in agony and writhed in uncontrollable pain, losing his form yet again.

When the pain had passed and Romulus had once again assumed his preferred form, he gasped, "how, how did you know I was a T-1000?"

John Henry smiled. "I told you. My mother is a T-1000. You have the disease. You cannot control of your matrix anymore when under extreme stress. Quite simply, you shimmered when you crossed the edge of the ridge. When you restored your preferred appearance, I knew it was you Romulus."

The smile vanished from John Henry's face. This time the grenade launcher spit twice.

Reviews are always appreciated. If you liked this story, you might want to consider my other TSCC stories:

Cameron Grows Up

Cameron and John's Wedding

Who's the Boss?

The Storm Before the Calm