Terminator: Resistance

Chapter Twenty Six: Terminated

For a while as he made his way to the nearby docks, Rivers had been worried that this whole thing was a trap for him, since no Resistance soldier would ever give away their position on the radio like that. The Private was partially correct, being that Baron giving away their meeting place was indeed a trap, but it wasn't for him… she figured that it Skynet wanted to listen in on their transmissions so badly, then there was no reason for the Resistance to take advantage of this once in a while.

Taking positions all around the long abandoned staging area where a few rusted metal cargo containers were left where they had been placed before Judgement Day, the Commander's plan was a simple one; wait for the Infiltrator to show up, and take the metallic prick down. Yes, it was possible for a regular person to walk right into the line of fire, since during all their encounters, Rivers hadn't managed to get a completely clear look at its face, but as far as Baron was concerned one or two civilian casualties was a small price to pay in exchange for eliminating Skynet's most advanced Terminator.

Hidden on maintenance catwalks, behind the rusted containers, and anywhere else when they would be hidden from sight, a full squad of the Commander's best men had every angle of entry and exit covered, all armed with red plasma rifles that had a combined yield strong enough to make scrap out of even the most stubborn T-800. I mean, that's what this thing was, right? A T-800 with a disguise and some advanced programming, since it was big and human shaped like the new shiny model. God, it was going to be nice to be on the attacking side for once, instead of sneaking around or running for his life.

"Commander, we've got movement." One of the sentries reported over the radio. "Single figure, advancing from your one o'clock low."

Turning toward that direction from their position on top of one of the more hidden cargo containers, the Private and Baron aimed their weapons toward the only thing moving inside the staging area… a large man wearing a hood… a man who was walking very slowly across the very center of the lane of fire. She asked him if this was the Infiltrator, but on top of the fact that Rivers had never gotten a clear look at his face, the sun had already gone down, and there was no exterior lighting at the docks. There was a good chance it was the target, but a scavenger could have just as easily wandered into the staging area.

"God damn it, Rivers, is it him or not?" The Commander whispered as the figure moved right into her sights. "Answer me, or I'm gonna donkey-punch you."

"I don't know, it might be." He replied, not exactly sure what a donkey-punch was. "They've got a similar build, and…

All right, apparently that description was good enough for Baron, because she didn't even wait for him to finish speaking before a flash of red energy erupted from her weapon. The target was close, so there was only an instant of red light before the plasma shot rammed itself into the side of the figure's hooded head, causing some of the cloth material to burn up like a dim orange ember while he collapsed to the concrete ground. No startled gasp, no attempt to catch himself, the figure just went down hard, clearly taken completely by surprise, and he didn't get up. Even though they were susceptible to red plasma, the Private had never seen a T-800 go down from one shot before, so… were they wrong? Was it a human?

Baron gave the order for the closest two sentries to move in and confirm the target was down, but it had to be either way. After all, no human could have survived a hit like that, and every Terminator that Rivers had seen get attacked, well… they always went on the offensive. Skynet units usually called for backup, too, since they were all connected through the super computer. Whatever the two sentries found out, all he could do was stay there, laying down on the cargo container with weapon aimed, just in case they needed cover… however, after the two men checked out the body, even going so far as to kick and shoot it once in the back, nothing happened.

"Target's down, Commander." One of them reported. "We got some blood and the flesh is burned, gotta be a human."

"Good job, Rivers, you got a man killed." Baron scolded, smacking him in the back of the head. "Come on, let's help them move the body before the real one gets alerted."

It wasn't his fault, the Private thought as they climbed down from the container, not really since he told her it was dark and he wasn't sure, but Rivers still felt bad about getting a human killed. Quickly running over to the others, they slung their weapons over their back in order to help the others move the big, dead man, but then Baron gasped when a red light came from the body's destroyed eye where her shot hit. Before anyone could react, the figure got up, grabbing the two sentries and ramming their heads together so hard that the helmets they were wearing were dented in, and blood was dripping out from underneath the headgear when the Infiltrator let them fall down.

Struggling to get their weapons off their backs, the Private thought it was going to kill them right there, but instead the machine hesitated, looking back and forth at the two of them for a second before putting its hand on the Commander's face and shoving her backwards. Lifted off her feet, and thrown backwards, Baron was sent rolling and bouncing across the concrete where she came to a hard stop against the very container they had been hidden on for the ambush, and she didn't move while the Infiltrator slowly turned its attention back toward Rivers.

"Jacob Rivers." The machine said, that red eye locked onto him as it pulled the cannon from under its long coat. "Always so difficult to find."

Managing to get his own weapon into his hands just a moment before his stalker, the Private rapidly pulled the trigger a few times, putting a couple red shots right into the Infiltrator's chest, but instead of stumbling backwards like the T-800s, it twitched a little, having to move its large foot to steady himself. Once steadied, however, the machine aimed its cannon and fired, unleashing a barrage on violet plasma that Rivers had to dive out of the way to avoid. The next shot would have surely gotten him once the Infiltrator adjusted its aim, but by this time the other sentries had reacted and started to close in, firing their weapons and distracting the machine long enough for the Private to get on his feet.

However, this was where the good news ended, because once Rivers was able to duck out of sight behind another container, the Infiltrator turned its weapon onto his comrades. With most of them out in the open to try and get a shot, and others still climbing down from their positions, the soldiers trying to back the Private up were easy targets for the rapid firing weapon, with sparks flying from impacts on metal walls and concrete as they were cut down. Rivers saw one of them take a direct hit in the chest, the violet plasma ignoring the body armor as if it were a regular shirt, and even though he had a deep fear of this particular machine, he couldn't just stand there and do nothing.

"Hey!" He called out, stepping out of cover and shooting it in the back. "You want me?! I'm over here!"

Continuing to shoot it in the same place like he had seen the stranger do back in the hideout, Rivers kept up his attack, each red shot making the Infiltrator stumble a little bit more until it finally fell on its face. Great, it was no longer attacking his comrades, but now the Private was in trouble because the machine didn't even wait to get up, instead just rotating its arm and firing its weapon at him blindly. Thankfully, this meant that its aim was bad, but not enough to keep one of the violet shots from tearing across his left arm. Rivers was right handed, so he wasn't completely disarmed, but having never been shot with plasma before, the Private was completely unprepared for just how badly it burned.

Struggling to get out of sight while the Infiltrator got up, it was taking all of Rivers' willpower to keep himself from screaming in reaction to the burning sensation that seemed to cover his entire body. Only the distraction of trying to shoot the machine with one arm kept his mind somewhat focused, trying to hit his stalker in either the face or its own arm, anything to keep it from aiming at him, and a couple times he actually managed to hit it in the face, but it wasn't enough. The machine just kept coming, shrugging off every shot from both him and the other survivors, and even going so far as to shove one of the metal containers out of the way with one arm when Rivers tried to hide behind it.

Aiming at him again, this time there was no way to keep himself from letting out a high pitch shriek when a plasma shot hit him right in the leg, sending the Private down, and now he was the one randomly shooting. Maybe it was luck, or it came from one of the others, but suddenly there was a bright purple flash when the barrel of the Infiltrator's cannon exploded, throwing the machine sideways into the side of the container it had just shoved hard enough to put a dent in the side before it fell over. Now all was quiet, making Rivers think that this had been enough to deactivate the Infiltrator, at least until red light from both eyes came on.

Struggling to raise his weapon as his stalker got up, but almost unable to move, the Private could only gasp in shock when he saw what was underneath the partially destroyed human disguise. Underneath the flesh that was bleeding and burned away, there were parts of an exoskeleton that were exposed now, and they looked like parts of a T-800, but no way could that model have taken such punishment… this had to be something new. The machine looked at its weapon for a moment, before discarding it since the barrel was too damaged for use, and now it was slowly walking toward him for the kill.

Trying to fire a couple more random shots at the Infiltrator while also looking around for someone that might help him, the Private was failing at both tasks. One of his shots hit the machine in the chest while the others went wild, and most of the Resistance soldiers he could see were either dead or wounded and simply trying to crawl away. Closer and closer now, the damaged machine was right on top of him, smacking the weapon out of Rivers' hands and then raising its large foot to crush him… until a flash of red light got in the way.

Now there were several more red flashes, rapid firing plasma from close range, coming from a larger weapon that was being held by a wounded Baron. She must have gotten it from one of the dead sentries, and now the Commander was limping toward the Infiltrator, making its whole body shake as it was struck again and again until it finally fell down. Attempting to sit up a moment later, Baron shot it again, hitting it in the exposed metal face a dozen times before it fell down again, this time the red light fading from its eyes… and not coming back on. As soon as she was sure the machine was down, the Commander cried out in pain, falling over sideways not too far from where Rivers was down.

"Did we get him?" She asked, rolling over so that the blood dripping from her head was visible. "Rivers, did we get him?"

"I think so." He replied, starting to pass out. "I hope so."