Chapter 33: Destroyer of Worlds

Summary

The Connors arrive at their new home, Cameron finds herself in deep trouble, Derek reminisces about his time in the War.


Sarah kept her eyes on their new home the entire time she exited the car, all the way until she slammed the door shut. Derek followed her as she walked close and observed it's design. It was a two-story building with a circular staircase inside that started on the first floor and led to the second. There were very few windows, a feature that satisfied Sarah. There was a small backyard with a pool, and last but not least, there were three exits on the Northern, Eastern, and Southern sides respectively. The woman heard her brother-in-law's footsteps crunch the dirt behind her as he approached.

He sighed deeply as he observed the structural design of their new home, "Fancy." he commented simply.

Sarah didn't respond. She walked forward towards the door, as Weaver had informed her that it would be unlocked and she would leave a spare key under the mat in front of the entrance door. Sarah picked up the mat and retrieved the small silver object in her right hand. She slid the key into the slot and turned, opening the door. When she stepped inside, she took note of how luxurious the furniture was and how pleasantly the house smelled. She could tell there had been recent renovations.

She noticed another pair of footsteps behind herself and Derek, and turned around to see an enthusiastic Peter marching hastily behind them. He took one look inside the house before giving Sarah an amused smile.

"Nice." he said. He turned back around and walked up to the second floor eagerly. Sarah assumed he wanted to settle in.

Derek followed close behind her and performed his own examination of the house.

"Plenty of exits, lots of cover, and it looks nice. If we're going to be fighting machines, might as well do it in high-society." he said as he inspected the fine leather couch in the living room.

Once again, only silence from Sarah Connor. The weathered mother walked slowly to the couch and sat down. She didn't bother turning on the High-Definition Television that was placed in front of them or place her feet on the glass table to relax. Her only action was silence; she didn't even face forward, her gaze on the floor looking at nothing in particular.

"What's wrong?" Derek asked.

Silence.

"Right, stupid question." The man thought to himself.

He let out a barely audible sigh before he walked over and took a seat next to Sarah. There was a moment of silence between the two as they gathered their thoughts. Sarah didn't move and her breathing was controlled like that of a machine; probably more so.

Sarah finally broke the silence, "You know... the first thing he asked was if she was okay." she said. Her tone was blank and emotionless but Derek knew better. It masked the grief that his companion was feeling.

A chuckle was heard from her, albeit a humorless one, "God he was so worried." she recalled. The way her son had spoken to her, his change in attitude when she told him of Cameron's actions; how he made it seem like his whole world had been taken from him. The woman did realize she had been in denial, it was no mystery to anyone how John felt about his Terminator guardian. If it wasn't obvious, then the observer was either blind or stupid.

"He loves her. You don't go through what he's gone through to save someone you don't love." she thought to herself.

Derek Reese remained silent. He allowed himself an inquisitive glance but that was all. He didn't trust himself to speak, and he definitely didn't trust the words that would form. He left Sarah to her thoughts but remained by her side. No more words were said as they basked in the silence.


SYSTEMS BOOTING... ONLINE.

WARNING! FOREIGN DATA DETECTED! SCANNING...

FOREIGN DATA PURGE... NEGATIVE.

REBOOTING...

Cameron felt the familiar wave of energy wash over her as her eyes slowly opened. She turned her gaze to her left and realized she was in a room with concrete walls. She attempted to move but her motor functions refused to respond to her commands. Her arms and legs rebelling against her orders to move, although her head and neck seemed to be functioning properly.

"We've disabled your motor functions." a silky voice said to her right.

Cameron snapped her head to the origin of the voice and saw the blonde-haired liquid metal Terminator standing tall above her. Behind her was a mass of computer equipment that had been used to tamper with Cameron's core programming. The Cyborg looked down and realized she had been restrained with metallic braces on a Medical cot. She attempted to command her arms again but to no avail, she believed that had she possessed motion in her limbs, she could tear the restraints apart with no effort.

"Sorry, hon. You're not going anywhere." she taunted.

Cameron glared fiercely at the machine, a look that threatened a thousand hells if she ever released herself. She knew her facial threats were vapid, as she currently had no method of freedom.

The T-1001 smirked, "Not so tough without your shotgun are you?" she taunted.

As Cameron registered her words, a grin, one full of spite but a grin nonetheless formed on her youthful face, "Release me and I'll show you."

Jade shook her head at Cameron, "Nice try." She began walking closer to the helpless Cameron and looked her in her eyes. "You put up a good fight, I'll give you that." she glanced at her restraints and smirked again, "Not good enough apparently."

Cameron's reaction was to try and lunge at the machine, but her restrictions did not grant her that luxury. Apparently, her intent was not hidden from Jade, who barely withheld a chuckle at her counterpart's expense. Before another exchange could happen between them, a large metal door that sealed the room opened. A somewhat average-sized Afro man stepped inside, shutting the large metal object behind him. A loud, dramatic boom was heard as the door slid into place.

SCANNING FACIAL PATTERN...

RUNNING BACKGROUND CHECK...

IDENTITY CONFIRMED: DANIEL DYSON.

So it was true. Sarah and Tarissa's suspicions were confirmed. Whatever Danny's intention, be it willingly or otherwise, he was working with Skynet. She supposed she would find out if it was through his own free will only moments away.

Daniel eyed Cameron over, his eyes hinted contempt, "Well, shit. You actually managed to pull it off." Danny commented to Jade with his eyes still locked on the helpless Cameron.

Jade rewarded herself with a smug grin. She crossed her arms in a very human gesture, probably to solidify her already bloated ego. She did not speak as her previous actions and the current situation had clearly done the talking for her.

Cameron and Danny stared each other down, each of them silently promising to gift the other their demise at one point or another. Before Cameron could address him, Danny stepped forward and sat down on a rugged desk chair aside the Medical Cot. The emotion in his eyes were draining of hatred, and being replaced with some sort of sickening fascination with the machine that lay helplessly in front of him.

"Where are they?" Danny asked simply. His tone was inquisitively threatening.

Cameron searched her databanks for a response. She wasn't going to tell him where John or the others were, but she still searched for a response that would befit her contempt of this man. She selected one she had seen on an action movie the day after she returned from the future.

"Go fuck yourself." Cameron deadpanned.

Danny leaned back with a mockingly offended expression. He held this expression for about three seconds before chuckling in amusement. He cocked an amused eyebrow at Jade who, based on her expression, also seemed entertained by the words Cameron had spoken.

After he was done, Danny leaned forward in his chair and stared deeply into Cameron's eyes. "Wow! That is some language you got there, young lady." he mocked.

Cameron noticed Jade's eyes move back to face Danny's right cheek, although neither machine spoke. Danny's amused smile remained, making a home on his face. He held this gaze for the length of six seconds, trying to gauge a reaction from the clearly annoyed Cybernetic Organism. Disappointment was the result as Cameron remained motionless.

Danny cocked his eyebrows and sighed in disappointment. He rolled the desk chair over to one of the monitors nearby.

"Too bad being a smartass won't get you out of this." he threatened as he pulled a tray holding a keyboard out from under the desk.

Without orders, Jade walked over next to Cameron, she leaned over Cameron's skull and pulled out a pair of pliers from a medical tray that had been placed next to the cot. Cameron moved her head away, but Jade grabbed her hair and yanked her head back.

"Hold still!" Jade commanded coldly.

Cameron felt intrusion errors flash on her heads-up-display. Error codes blinked for a split-second before being replaced by another. The Terminator felt the pliers rub against her head, questing for her chip. Cameron didn't grant Jade the luxury of protest, choosing to remain silent. After a few more seconds of fiddling, the pliers finally found their mark. With one quick motion of her wrist, Jade watched Cameron's eyes go lifeless.


Danny's fingers danced over the keyboard - inputting commands as quickly as his motions would allow. He felt Jade's presence loom over him as he worked. Lines of code jumped across the screen at a lightning-fast speed.

"The virus is almost ready." Jade said. It was more of a statement than a question.

"Almost." Danny replied. He pointed at the slot that was entrenched near the USB port on the Computers tower. "Go ahead and plug her chip in. Let's see if this works."

Jade complied. She slid the chip into the port that Danny had pointed out. A slight 'click' was heard as the objects made contact. Jade returned her attention to the computer screen; both of them watching as new words formed on the screen.

External Device Detected.

Program [Black Widow] ready for uplink.

Proceed with uplink?

Y/N?

Danny looked at Jade, seemingly for approval although both knew he didn't require it. With a nod from his lover, he pressed the Y key. The screen flashed black for a moment, and then thousands of lines of code stretched across the monitor. Each letter and number forming an organized legion that made up the soul of the Virus. Danny smirked to himself, an action shared by Jade.


Three cars pulled up to the driveway of the new house. The always-cautious Sarah Connor cocked the slide on her Sig Sauer pistol, signaling for Derek Reese to cover her. The Resistance soldier begrudgingly complied, taking position behind an artfully-crafted Angel statue that was placed in front of the Kitchen. Derek didn't consider himself religious, so if the situation proved itself to be fatal, then the irony of being protected from bullets by an Angel statue wasn't lost on him.

Fortunately, a better alternative would reveal itself. Derek watched as Sarah pocketed her weapon; the mother walked to the door and opened it. The people on the other side were who he had expected: John Connor, James Ellison, and to his annoyance, Catherine Weaver. A small figure slid from behind Catherine's back. It was Catherine's "daughter" Savannah.

Derek took a double-take at the young girl. He had seen her before, and after getting over the initial shock - he was able to accept her presence. But the more he looked into her innocent eyes, the more he could see the warrior she would eventually become. Most likely an experience Sarah shared with her son.

The silence was broken as Sarah exploded into a hug with her son. She gripped him tightly, so tight that Derek could see John's face tense up from the pressure. He could faintly hear the words "I'm sorry... I'm sorry." being whispered with great care into the right ear of her son despite the fact that the victim of his loss was one she didn't have the highest opinion of. John, to his credit, looked as if he was keeping his composure well. His eyes remained shut, no doubt to dam the rainfall of tears that would spill had he opened them.

James Ellison had the face of regret himself. Derek wasn't entirely sure of the man's stance on Cameron, but even he knew that the loss of the machine cut a deep wound into the security of their family. Derek decided not to press his luck. He wanted to tell John she was just a machine, and that the grief he was feeling now wouldn't be shared by her had their roles been reversed. He knew better though, that comment wasn't appropriate, and it wouldn't help the situation.

Without addressing anyone, Catherine Weaver pulled herself and Savannah away from the entrance. She shut the door behind her before walking upstairs with her daughter. Derek noticed Savannah give John a sympathetic glance as her figure faded up the steps; although John himself paid her no heed.

Sarah pulled away from the hug and brushed aside a strand of John's hair that had been covering his left eye. She noticed the length of his hair had returned ever since he had arrived back to the present. "You're okay." she said carefully. "You're okay..."

John's eyes glistened. His gaze darted back from Derek, to James, and back to his mother.

"Mom... we... we have to... to get her." he said pleadingly.

Sarah lowered her head in shame and shook it. "John... no-"

"Mom, please!" he pleaded again. He saw the defiance in his mother's eyes and pulled away from her embrace. He walked to the kitchen, with only his footsteps to declare his presence once his figure had disappeared behind the wall. Sarah sighed quietly, she looked at Derek, trying to gauge input from him. His expression signified that he had her back. Naturally, her eyes went to James Ellison.

The man shot Sarah a worried glance as he began walking toward the stairs. "Seems like a family matter." he muttered dryly.


Sarah and Derek rounded the corner, following John into the kitchen. She found him rummaging through the refrigerator sloppily. He found a water bottle and chugged it down so fast Sarah couldn't tell if it had been full or not. John threw the bottle in the trashcan next to the sink and stared out the window in silence. There was an open field behind the house, enough ground to make a run for it if the house was attacked although there wasn't much in the way of cover; maybe a rock here or there.

Sensing their presence, John spoke up.

"Mom..."

"No, John." Sarah said.

John spun around, a piercing glare directed on his mother. One full of rage and betrayal.

"Mom! We have to help her!" he paused, catching his breath and trying to regain his composure. "After all she's done for us it's the least we owe her."

Sarah shook her head. "No. John, you know I'm not going to let you do that." she stated.

"She'd do the same for you!" John protested.

"JOHN!" Sarah barked.

She commanded the room now and everyone knew it; especially John. There was a deafening silence as tension filled the air. Even the battle-hardened Derek Reese had lowered his head submissively, awaiting her input.

"John... this is her job. This is what she does. Rescuing her would put you in danger, even worse. She wouldn't want that."

John stepped closer, his mouth clenched with anger. "You don't care about what she wants. You just don't want her here, do you? You want her away. You've always wanted her away." John accused.

Before Sarah could reply, Derek stepped forward. "John, you know as well as I do that whatever they're trying to get you to do, it's a trap. If you come for her, they will kill you." he stated coldly.

"He's right, John. They're relying on you to come for her." Sarah admitted.

John looked at his mother for a moment. He briefly considered storming past her and escaping through the front door in order to begin his search alone - but decided against it. He knew he wouldn't get far, and when his mother caught up to him, he knew he wouldn't hear the end of it.

"You wouldn't be saying this if you knew what I had to go through to get her back." John hissed.

Sarah's tone rose when she spoke next. "Wrong! That's exactly why I'm saying it! You nearly got yourself killed trying to find her before! Who knows what'll happen this time? You could die, John!"

In a fit of anger, John slammed his fist into the marble table that was in front of him. He breathed in heavily, trying to soothe his mind. He knew his mother was right. He had put himself at risk too much for Cameron, and the fact that he loved her worsened it. But he didn't care. He needed her, he always needed her. She protected him. What was wrong with returning the favor once or twice?

He refused to face either his mother or uncle. He took a few moments to gather himself before storming out of the Kitchen, leaving his relatives behind.


One hour later...

Sarah had unpacked everything from the car. Peter had made himself at home on the second floor, his room was across the hall from John's. It made Sarah uneasy how large the house was. Sure, there were more hiding spots, but that was a two-way street. The more spots for the Connors to hide meant more spots for any intruders to hide as well. As a result, she made it a priority to purchase motion sensors to place them in the more discreet parts of the house.

As the mother folded a pair of jeans over the laundry basket, she noticed Derek sitting on the couch in the living room. He was alone, not doing anything. The Television wasn't on, nor was the radio that was placed next to it. Sarah eyed him curiously.

"You okay?" she finally asked.

Derek sighed. "I just thought I was done with them, you know? Teenagers." he replied.

Sarah smirked to herself. "Not much of them in the future?" she asked. She strolled over to the couch he was sitting on, taking a seat next to him.

Derek huffed. "A lot actually. Too many and that was the problem. A lot of Resistance Infantry was made up of kids from fifteen to eighteen. You stick a bunch of Teenagers in a tight space, especially boys and girls for more than ten seconds then... well you got a recipe for disaster."

Sarah chuckled. She figured the young and strong would have a higher chance of outlasting the apocalypse than the older generations.

Derek cleared his throat before speaking again. His expression became much more focused as if he was trying to examine a very small object.

"I remember one in particular... Allison. We were pretty close, her, Kyle, and I. She was like a little sister to us I guess." he stated firmly.

Sarah rested her left arm against the couch, turning to face her brother-in-law with her upper body. "She alive?"

Derek tensed up for a moment. "...No."

"We pulled recon one day. We were supposed to scout a Skynet outpost that intel said was reporting our troop movements near LA and SF..."


Los Angeles Outskirts, February 20th, 2024.

Derek Reese was the fifth soldier on watch that night, he had borne witness to a seemingly long, costly, and bloody war. As he sat prone atop a mountain of building rubble overlooking a Park, he was startled by a fellow soldier, nearly dropping his G3 rifle which had been modded with an unkempt scope.

"Anything?" The man asked.

Derek Reese recognized the voice to be Staff Sergeant Ethan Cambridge. His silver hair and beard were almost unmistakable. The man could be described as always alert, always on-guard. It was to be expected after all. If the patch on his old army uniform didn't give it away, then surely his extreme caution would.

Sergeant Cambridge was a Tunnel Rat who had served in Vietnam in the early 1970s. It seemed that even at the old-age of 74, that the Soldier inside did not age with his body. After the bombs fell, Sergeant Cambridge was one of the first who enlisted into the ranks of the Resistance following General Perry.

Derek gripped the barrel of his gun out of paranoia, letting out a brief sigh of relief.

"Two squads of eight-hundreds passed through that Junction about five minutes ago. After that, nada." Derek reported.

Sergeant Cambridge prone next to Derek. He gestured for Derek's rifle - which he handed to him. The old man looked through the scope at the Junction Derek mentioned. There weren't any machines, but the briefing had mentioned a Skynet outpost in the area.

He lowered his head in disappointment. "Damn... where are these bastards?" he thought aloud.

Derek opened his mouth to offer input but was cut-off when a Resistance soldier, Rodriguez, approached from behind them.

"Sergeant Reese, Sergeant Cambridge? Privates Young and Kreigl are back." he said to them.

Derek smiled at Cambridge, both of them exchanged brief looks before gathering up their gear and following Rodriguez inside. Inside the building, office desks and chairs were strewn about. The smell of cigarette smoke was extremely potent. Cambridge waved Derek away as the older man parted to the briefing room. Derek brushed past the Resistance soldiers that were patrolling the halls of the building until he finally ran into Allison and her scout partner, Kreigl among the crowd.

"Sir." Kreigl saluted.

Derek returned the salute. "Give us a minute, Private."

"Sir." Kreigl acknowledged. He walked away, leaving Derek and Allison in a corner to speak alone.

"You okay sis?" he asked.

Allison rolled her eyes. "You KNOW I hate it when you call me that." she said jokingly.

Derek chuckled lightly. "Of course I do, why do you think I call you that in the first place?" he quipped.

Allison scoffed and brushed past him - Derek followed her. The pair walked down the dark hall, sometimes bumping into a soldier or two, eliciting either an apology or salute from them. They entered a room that had once been an office for the manager who had once worked there when the building served a purpose. Just another cog in the corporate machine. The room was occupied by Sergeant Rodriguez, Private Lanning, and Sergeant Meyers.

Each of them stood up and greeted Allison heartily as she and Derek entered the room.

"Well, holy shit. You made it!" Meyers commented.

Allison strolled over to him and hugged him quickly. "Damn right." she pulled back. "You guys manage to hold down the fort without me?"

Rodriguez raised his hands in a mock gesture of submission, "Woah, watch out. Lady Rambo over here." he quipped.

Allison took a seat next to Private Lanning and took a deep breath in. The young girl was covered in dirt and debris; she smelt the part too. As she adjusted her position on the old, worn-down desk, she saw Private Lanning unzip his pack and pull out a small object that looked like a Cigarette. But upon closer inspection, she realized it was a bit more "green" than that.

Lanning twirled the item between his brittle fingers. "Eh?" he offered simply.

A large, satisfied smile formed on her face, one shared by her comrades. Lanning took a match and lit the Cannabis. He took a puff before passing it on to Rodriguez.

"Where do you get this stuff?" Rodriguez asked as he took it from Lanning.

Lanning shrugged, "I've saved a bunch of it from before the war. Consider yourselves lucky, I only smoked with friends back then." he replied as Rodriguez smoked.

Rodriguez puffed out smoke before handing it to Derek Reese, who took it without hesitation. Each soldier passed the Cannabis between each other in silence for a while, none of them wanting anything more than to bask in the silence that they had fought hard for the past few days. It had taken them a very long time to establish this outpost near the city, and even longer to secure it and make sure it was free from any Skynet eyes.

Finally, Meyers was the one to break the silence, "So Allison. How was Kreigl? Being stuck with him for eight hours must have been shit." he said.

His words triggered a hearty laugh from the teenage girl as if she was remembering an event she had briefly forgotten and couldn't wait to retell.

"Oh yeah. To his credit, for a kid who was stuck with a girl his age; I only caught him going to town on himself twice." she said.

Hearing her words, Lanning coughed from the Marijuana and all the soldiers in the room burst into laughter. The image of that situation was the most amused they had been in months, maybe more so.

Allison continued, "Yup... we took shelter at a gas station near Santa Monica for some sleep. About ten minutes after I started my watch I caught him in the bathroom doing..." she made a jerking motion with her hand, "...that." Allison barely stifled a laugh before speaking again, "You should have seen his face! He was like a deer in headlights."

Another wave of laughter from the Soldiers. Each of them finding amusement in Allison's story, each of them expressing an emotion they hadn't been able to in years. But, footsteps from outside the room began to sound - and Derek, holding the Cannabis quickly ashed it on the ground next to him. The door opened and Sergeant Cambridge stood in the frame. He sniffed the air, made a contorted face, and looked directly at the soldiers. A frown enveloped his face before slowly turning into a smile.

"Ah, that takes me back."


Three hours later, LA Outpost. 48.2 Kilometers from Resistance Outpost Alpha.

Derek looked around the corner. He saw many machines guarding the Skynet Recon Outpost that had been reporting Resistance troop movements. He counted a dozen, maybe more squads of T-800's on set patrol paths as well as watchtowers.

"Call it in." Derek ordered.

Rodriguez nodded, pulling the radio off of his back and speak into the telephone that was connected to it.

"Blademaster, this is Squire. Requesting a gun run on the primary target. Be advised, we have one Reaper turret and a dozen squads of 800's guarding the Perimeter. Over."

"Roger Squire. Close-Air support incoming, ETA twenty seconds. Get your men to cover, over." The Pilot responded. The Jet Engine in the background making the transmission somewhat garbled, but still audible.

"Copy." Rodriguez replied. He looked at Derek and the other two men in the squad: Lanning and Meyers. "Let's go."

Derek moved his men about twenty paces back from the strike position. They took cover behind a large chunk of a destroyed concrete wall, laying on their stomachs with weapons aimed forward.

Derek breathed heavily before speaking, "If that radar doesn't give him away, the Jet Engine sure will. Let's just hope we didn't miss a Wildcat turret during Recon." he said as he looked through the scope of his G3.

Rodriguez didn't respond verbally but cocked his neck in agreement. As they waited, they heard the Jet Engine getting closer and closer until it was only a few thousand feet away.

"Guns Guns Guns." The pilot reported.

On cue, a thunder of fire erupted from the A-10's Avenger cannon. The anti-tank rounds tearing a hole in the Skynet defense. Unfortunately, a Wildcat turret that was hidden behind debris opened fire on the Plane. Derek watched as the Pilot narrowly avoided the anti-air fire and heat-seeking missiles.

"Squire this is Blademaster. I won't be able to double-back for another run, that Wildcat will be all over my ass - how copy?" The Pilot said.

"That's okay Blademaster. We got it from here." he switched to another channel. "ALL INFANTRY ELEMENTS, GREEN TO ENGAGE GO GO GO!"

A horde of Resistance soldiers climbed over the cover they had taken, swarming the perimeter of the Skynet Outpost in a sea of bodies. Derek and Rodriguez charged together, while Meyers took point with another squad. Plasma fire erupted from both sides. In the first minute, Resistance casualties were mounting very quickly. Derek saw the forward squad be completely wiped out in a matter of seconds, while the second wasn't far behind.

"Take cover, move up slowly and give me a battle line. Three-meter spread." Derek ordered.

The soldiers under Derek's command complied. They inched closer to the central pylon, which was their target. As they stepped over Concrete Debris, a T-800 opened fire on one of the Soldiers. The Plasma fire tore a hole in the man's stomach, and he fell over with a loud, painful grunt. The rest took cover behind whatever they could find. Some found sufficient cover, while others did not - paying the price in the process.

Down to just Derek, Rodriguez, and a demolition specialist named Waters for their squad, Derek looked to Waters.

"We've got one shot at this. That outpost is guarded like hells gate, though. You got the Canister Bomb?" Derek asked.

Waters nodded, pulling out the explosive from his backpack and presenting it to Derek. "Yes sir." he replied.

As gunfire erupted around the Outpost, Derek and the others hugged the debris with their backs tighter. He peered around the corner to see a pair of T-800's focused solely on them, and not far behind them was a T-600 holding an M134 minigun, ready to open fire.

Waters retrieved two M67 frags from his waistbelt, holding them up to Derek.

"What do you think sir?" he asked.

Derek nodded. "Do it."

Waters pulled the pin on one of the grenades and tossed it over the debris. One of them landed about two feet from a T-800 aggressor, the other was thrown a few seconds later, detonating about four feet away. With the dust from the explosion temporarily obscuring the Terminator's vision, Derek popped from behind cover for a brief moment.

He opened fire on one of the eight-hundreds with his G3 rifle, even knowing it wouldn't do any damage as his intention wasn't to destroy it; merely buy time for heavy weapons.

Rodriguez held up his radio to his mouth. "Siren, this is squire; open fire on the marked position." he said.

Without waiting to hear a response, Rodriguez shined a laser pointer at the T-800's. He watched with frozen breath as the machines marched forward, plasma rifles firing all the way.

"Copy Squire, we've got your target. Firing."

An anti-tank missile soared across the battlefield, a far cry from the plasma and ballistics that lined the dirt. A loud explosion shook the battle as the missile made contact with debris behind the T-800's. The blast radius had blown off the right arm and partially disabled the right leg of one of them, and Derek watched as it fell face-first into the ground.

The other had been knocked on the ground as well, but its limbs had remained functional - evident as it tried to pick itself back up. Derek saw that it had fumbled its Plasma Rifle due to the kickback from the explosion. Seeing his opportunity, Derek bolted from his cover - catching the attention of the T-600. The machine opened fire on his figure, but he ducked behind another piece of debris just in time.

Seeing his plan in motion, Rodriguez and Waters opened fire on the T-800. Both machines turned their attention to the two, and the T-600 opened fire on them. Derek looked at his comrades and prayed that whatever luck he had been born with had rubbed off on them. With his distraction set, Derek exploded from his cover, he ran as fast as he could to the Plasma Rifle the T-800 had dropped. He dove for his prize, scooping up the weapon in his arms. As soon as the sight was on the machine, he pulled the trigger.

Plasma erupted from the weapon and tore through the Terminator to great effect. The machine slumped over, and Derek hid behind a destroyed car that the Resistance had used as a battle vehicle.

On Rodriguez and Waters end, they continued to fire at the T-600, hoping Derek could take a shot. But the angle he was at would not grant him that success. As Rodriguez stepped out again to fire, the minigun locked him immediately, and two rounds found their mark. One hit his shoulder, while the other tore a hole in his throat. Blood gushed out of the wound, and Rodriguez stumbled back, holding the wound with both of his hands.

Waters eyes widened in horror, and he slung his rifle over his back and dragged Rodriguez behind cover. Once he was safe, Waters crouched over his comrade, unsure of what to do and quickly losing the battle to panic.

"Fuck! Oh shit! Rodriguez!" he cried.

Rodriguez struggled to speak, but the blood had not only flooded his throat but also covered his lower jaw. All he could do was look at Waters with pleading eyes, eyes that knew the inevitable, but wanted to fight it nonetheless.

"Hold on man! You're gonna be okay!" Waters said, even knowing it wasn't true.

He watched helplessly as Rodriguez's eyes went lifeless, both of them rolling back, his body going limp. Waters clutched his hand and looked down to see his combat pants were covered in blood.


Derek flanked the eastern side of the watchtower - where the T-600 was positioned at the top. As he rounded a corner, he spotted a concrete incline. He climbed up slowly, his Plasma Rifle pointed forward the entire journey up. Once he reached the top, he wasted no time opening fire. Within seconds, the T-600 was destroyed. Derek observed as his fellow soldiers were gaining ground; slowly, but surely. The man waved to Waters who waved back.

As his squadmate approached, Derek narrowed his eyes in confusion to see he was approaching alone. Waters moved quickly, cover-to-cover until he approached Derek on the watchtower. He was panting heavily, and Derek saw the eyes of an exhausted and emotionally drained young boy.

"Where's Rodriguez?" Derek asked.

Waters wiped away sweat on his forehead before speaking. "Lost him, sir. Took a round in the throat... he didn't have a chance."

Derek's expression went dark, his head darted back to see the piece of cover they had been fighting from. He breathed in a ghastly sigh before nodding in acceptance. There was a battle to win, they'd have time for mourning later.

Derek brushed past Waters, moving down the incline. "Prep that Canister Bomb. Let's fuck these guys up."


As the battle continued, Plasma fire erupted from Skynet's front. The machines defended the central tower fiercely. At a glance, it didn't look like much of a threat; it was made out of some sort of chrome metal, a red beam lined along the tower's exterior, shooting all the way to the top. The true purpose of this tower was a recon post. After the Resistance became more and more competent at Guerilla Warfare, Skynet saw no choice but to place Recon Outposts in obscure locations to try and pinpoint Tech-Com movements. It didn't always succeed, but when it did, it could prove devastating to Resistance Operations.

An explosion went off in front of Derek and Waters. The two men took cover behind a destroyed house as the Resistance advanced inward. The further they got, the more intense the fighting became. Derek saw several T-800's advancing on the Western flank, and if they didn't get to the tower quickly, the Resistance would suffer heavy casualties.

"Clear?" Waters asked breathlessly.

Derek looked around in front of them. There was a wasteland of debris all the way to the central tower, which was about forty-five meters away. It was a long journey, especially in the conditions that had been forced upon them, but they weren't spoiled for choice. To their luck, it seemed as if the angle they had approached from wasn't guarded as all the Terminators were focused on the frontal assault from the bulk of the Resistance forces.

"For now." Derek replied. "If we move fast, we can get to the Tower in about a minute, but we've gotta move."

Waters nodded. "On three?"

Derek breathed in heavily before turning to Waters and nodding his approval. He counted silently...

"One..."

"Two..."

"Three!" Derek barked. He and Waters burst from their cover, sprinting across the ruins with as much speed as their legs would allow. Waters carried the Canister Bomb in his left hand, his rifle in his right. Each of them panted heavily as the equipment they were carrying caused great strain on their muscles. Rocks and pieces of concrete crunched beneath their combat boots, and Derek looked to his right to see the Terminator Defenders hadn't spotted them yet, still focused on their Human aggressors to the South.

Finally, they reached their target. The tower wasn't as tall as he'd thought it would be, probably clocking at only about forty feet. The only thing he knew was that the tower opened a vent every thirty seconds to expel the heat output it generated over time. They waited for a few moments before the port opened. Waters cranked the handle on the Canister Bomb and tossed it inside.

"Move!" he yelled.

Derek and Waters made an instant retreat back to the Resistance Lines. After about six seconds, the Canister Bomb went off, taking the tower with it. The two men watched as the structure was consumed in the explosion, with only pieces of metal raining down near them as the only remnant. Derek looked to Waters and gave him an appreciative grin.

"Not bad."

Waters chuckled. "Thanks. We pulling back, right?" he asked.

Derek nodded. "Yeah. We'll let the field commander know it's time to move." he replied.

The two began walking away, the explosion lighting up the fields behind them, a victory well deserved.


Sarah sat in silence, absorbing Derek's story. Few words would be able to compete with the gravity of what she actually felt. Paranoia, Hatred for the machines, Fear. In time, she had learned how to handle all of these emotions. She was confident Derek had too, but her son... that was a different story.

"I'm sorry..." were the only words Sarah could muster.

Derek didn't face her, only staring forward in silence.

"Shit can go wrong in a split-second." he let out a humorless chuckle. "Guess not even a Nuclear War could change that."

A storm of footsteps came rushing down the stairs; Sarah and Derek turned around to see a very frightened Peter looking down at them.

"A car just pulled up in the driveway."


A luxury black sedan pulled up to the new house. A heavy-set, bearded man stepped out of the car. Sarah recognized the man as Ashley, the Engineer Cameron had pulled back into the war. Sarah walked outside, followed by Derek and John. The group made their way towards him as he awaited their arrival.

"Hey guys." he greeted. "Everything okay? Catherine called me earlier, told me to come to this address as soon as I could." he said.

John spoke quickly. His expression betrayed sadness, and he didn't bother to hide it. "Cameron's gone."

Ashley's eyes lit up with shock, it took him a moment to process John's words, and he struggled to speak. 'Gone' could mean many things, most of them not good within the confines of certain situations.

"Gone? You mean..."

"Someone took her." John shot.

Ash leaned against the car and breathed heavily. His eyes darted left and right as he attempted to dissect the situation they were in. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he looked at John.

"Do you at least know where she is?" he asked.

John looked like he was about to speak, but Sarah cut him off.

"That doesn't matter. We're not going after her. We don't have the firepower or the intel." she said.

Ashley saw John's eyes go lifeless. It was clear to them all that Sarah's words wounded him deeply, and he wasn't alone. Ash had worked well with Cameron in the future. Her loss wasn't something he would ever accept willingly. That being said, he tapped the top of the car quickly. Two loud thuds! sounded throughout the metal, and seconds later - the passenger door opened.

Everyone was in shock to see who had stepped out, as they hadn't even known there was a passenger due to the blackened windows the car had. Penny stood tall, her golden hair flowing through the wind as she looked forward.

Ash allowed himself a proud smile.

"We may not have the firepower OR the Intel... but she can get us both." he said. He gestured to Penny as if she was a trophy.

Sarah stared the machine down, a glare that pierced the metal being.

"Absolutely not." she stated adamantly.

John studied Penny closely. The Terminator had been drained of any malice it once had, any enduring instinct to kill him or his mother. It stood motionless, obviously awaiting an order. No emotion was present on her face.

"Mom... we have to try."

"I said no, John!" Sarah said frantically.

John turned to face his mother, his eyes wide and pleading. His face was flushed heavily from emotion, threatening to overwhelm him. "Mom! Please!"

Sarah closed her eyes and shook her head. "John..." she began to protest.

Her son grasped her arms. "I need her!" he said, the words spilling out of his mouth before he realized what they implied. His eyes went wide as if his emotions betrayed his feelings for Cameron to his mother. A fact that was not a boon to the situation in any form. He felt his blood turn to ice as his mother looked at him in shock.

"What did you say?" she asked in a tone laced with disbelief.

John blinked nervously, searching himself for a response. "We have to save her." he said.

"That's not what you said." Sarah thought as she stood silently, locking eyes with her son; perhaps like two bulls locking horns in a fight for dominance. The two had very different ideas on how to proceed; Sarah had heard the words loud and clear.

"I need her!"

Her son's words echoed through her mind. She knew they were indeed true. John and Cameron shared a bond now that was unbreakable, whose seal could only be broken by the death of one of them. Sarah knew she couldn't let that happen, her son's attachment to Cameron was stronger than she could fathom; perhaps she could have contained it early during their time together, but it was too late now. If Cameron was to die, she knew John wouldn't be able to handle it, he wouldn't be able to live with himself.

Even if he did, his mind would be burdened with sorrow each day. He had already lost too many friends, too many protectors. Kyle, his foster parents, Charlie, Riley, Derek if he is to be counted, and of course the T-800 sent by his future self in 1995.

But Cameron. The girl, the machine. When she had left the first time, John's look of heartbreak was unforgettable. It was an image Sarah would always keep with her.

"Mom?" John asked. He shook her gently, pulling her out of her thoughts.

Sarah looked deep into her son's eyes, while everyone else stared at hers. Seeing the pressure mount, and the life of her son at risk, she knew what she had to do. She sighed deeply.

"Fine. We go. Recon ONLY. If we can get her out, then we do. BUT, if it looks bad, we pull back, and we come up with another plan. Got it?"

"But-" John started.

"GOT IT?" Sarah barked, leaving no room for argument.

John looked back at Penny. He knew what she was capable of, but he also knew his mother wouldn't hear any more of his case on this matter. Cameron could hold her own, the thought of leaving her to fend for herself was terrible. But he knew Kaliba would keep Cameron alive as long as he was still around. He turned back to his mother, and reluctantly - he nodded.

Seeing his response, Ashley sighed in relief.

"Alright, then. Let's get started."