H E R O E S
DISCLAIMER: You all know the drill, I don't own Terminator, if I did it wouldn't have taken so long for there to be a third movie.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The second and last part of the story. I don't think I'm done writing Terminator fics though, I do have an interesting idea for a romance? fic. (Put emphasis on the '?')
The first week at the base passed in a flurry of activity for Sally and Martin. Their respective injuries were treated to the best of the base doctor's abilities, they were familiarized with the layout of the base, and introduced to some of the higher ranking officers they would be encountering most often.
Amazingly during that first fast-paced week no one suspected Martin to be anything other than human and Martin did nothing to create suspicion about his true nature.
This came as a relief to Sally, as in the beginning she was in constant fear that Martin would be found out. By the end of the fifth day where Martin remained regarded as nothing more than a refugee with amnesia Sally allowed herself to relax.
Martin kept mostly to himself. Though he had proved adept at blending in Sally tried to stick near him, feeling that he was in some way her responsibility. Most people seeing them together assumed that they were staying together because of the experience they'd had. Sally found it troubling that people thought there was something between her and Martin, but it was understandable since they had no idea why such a relationship could never occur.
It was hard for Sally to adjust to living in such a large base. In her old base there had been only about two hundred people, here there was upward of six hundred. She quickly found out large crowds made her uncomfortable.
Whenever she was away from Martin she was asked about the events of her journey. Sometimes it was from a soldier wanting information and advice about how she'd survived so long above ground, but mostly the people asking were simply curious about her simply because she was someone new with an unusual story.
Most people believed that she had saved Martin's life during the journey instead of the other way around. There was no way she could think of to explain the truth without revealing what Martin was, so that was another thing she kept quiet about.
Sally had also briefly attracted a small following of men trying to add her to their list of conquests. This caused her to spend as much time with Martin as she could in order to make it look like there really was something going on between them and in the process drive off potential suitors. It was remarkably successful, even though he seemed normal there was something about Martin that made people uncomfortable.
There wasn't of course anything going on between her and Martin. Though flattered by the attention Sally wasn't ready for anything romantic so soon after all she'd been through. At least that was what she told herself when she tuned down any advances made.
Normally she spent her time wandering around, getting familiar with the layout of the base, something she was having a hard time with, and listening to what people were talking about. Many interesting topics came up, but very rarely did she join in conversation.
Most of the base's residents believed that the war was almost over. This was supported by the fact that in two weeks time General Connor planned to launch a massive attack against several of SkyNet's largest factories. After that deciding battle people believed the tide of war would turn and the machines would fall.
After what had happened to her base Sally found it hard to believe that the machines were on their way out, but like everyone else she had absolute faith in the General.
In preparation for the upcoming attack General Connor was personally meeting with anyone who was considered a tech expert. This included people ranging from computer programmers to experts on the workings of the machines.
Rumors said that he was looking for someone who knew about the programming of the machines, especially Terminators in series 800 through 850. Never was it explained what he wanted to know, which made the rumors all the more interesting.
After hearing several of these stories Sally decided to look for Martin to discuss what she'd heard. If the General was really looking for information on Terminators Martin would probably be able to help better than anyone else in the base.
Sally felt that the sooner the war ended the safer she and Martin would be. Once the fighting was over it would be easier to hide the truth. Or maybe, Sally thought in her more fanciful moments, if Martin somehow ended up a hero it wouldn't matter even if he was found out.
It took nearly an hour of searching for her to find him. Three times she had gotten turned around and found herself walking down the same stretch of hallway or in the direction opposite of where she wanted to go.
Finally she found him in the 'civilian' section of the base, where people who weren't an active part of the war effort lived. Martin spent most of his time there because it had been decided not to assign him any work until his memory at least started to come back.
Sally didn't stay there herself, as she'd been assigned the job of repairing weapons, something she enjoyed. Helping in a way that didn't involve being shot at by the machines was a pleasant break for her.
Martin was standing off to one side of the room, watching life go on around him. The only reason he was a part of it all was by freak chance, but it didn't matter, he was in the base and somehow he was making a place for himself. Truly, he was making an entire life for himself, pretending to be part of what was going on around him and in the process becoming an actual part of it.
Sometimes, when Sally was in the mood for deep thinking she decided that Martin was becoming more human than it was normally possible for a machine to be. Some of his actions seemed impossible to explain as simply part of programming, but as Sally knew nothing about the way the mind of a Terminator was made there was no way she could be certain of such beliefs.
When Martin saw her he smiled and waved. As always, if you looked closely enough and knew what it was you were looking for, you could see something missing from his smile.
Sally gave an equally fake smile in return. She was too deep in thought to even try to be cheerful.
"Hey Martin, how's it going?" she looked around to make sure no one was watching them too closely. Though she knew there was nothing suspicious about her planed topic of conversation she couldn't shake the feeling that she was doing something wrong.
Once certain no one was listening she continued, "Have you heard anything interesting about the upcoming attack?"
Martin shrugged in response. Dimly Sally wondered when he'd picked that up, as she was sure he'd never done it before. Once he started speaking she snapped back to attention.
"I've heard many different," a pause to find the best word, "rumors, but they are varied and often contradictory."
Sally nodded, from the sounds of it he'd heard the same stories she had, but there was a chance that his different perspective might give him a slightly different, possibly more informative view.
"We've probably been hearing the same things. Do any of them sound more likely?"
He shook his head, "Nothing I've heard comes from any ranking officers, that alone gives me reason to doubt the validity of the information. Also anyone directly involved is keeping quiet about any details other than that 'it's going to be a truly massive attack' to quote one of the tech experts involved."
None of it was anything Sally hadn't heard. She knew it wasn't important that she understood exactly what was going on, but since General Connor wanted information on the machines she felt that she and Martin should be able to help in some way.
In a low voice Martin spoke again, "This hasn't been mentioned, but I do know that the main target of the attack it one of SkyNet's largest factories. It was one of the first to start production of Terminator units. Also, a number of experimental devices are being tested there. What's more, General Connor plans to lead the attack on this particular factory himself."
Sally thought this over. If the General himself was going to be there the mission was definitely something major. There was a possibility that some of what Martin knew could help the mission, after all he probably knew more about Terminators than any one else in the base. The problem was that she couldn't think of how to share that information.
"Martin, should we tell what you know? Not in a way that anyone will figure out the truth, but maybe we just say you're memory came back a little."
"It could work, but we need to put the information in context, a story as to why I would know such things. Simply knowing information about SkyNet factories could possibly create suspicion and lead to my being discovered."
Looking around the room Sally realized that their conversation was attracting some attention. Not unexpectedly though, a man and woman standing in a corner talking in hushed tones are sure to attract some attention. To Sally it was obvious what the people watching thought and the idea made her shudder.
"Let's invent a story later, but we'll need to find some place private, our little 'drama' seems to be attracting an audience." As she spoke she gestured to the curious onlookers, some of who were actually discreet enough to look away once Sally motioned at them.
She left and Martin resumed people watching.
That sounded so wrong, 'find some place private' made it sound like they were planing on…
Deciding that this was one of many trains of thought that wouldn't get her anywhere she tried to think of an actual location for them to formulate their story. She knew of a number of seldom used rooms and empty supply closets, but that would cause people to think…
Well Sally, she thought wryly, you did try pretty hard to cultivate that impression.
Eventually she decided that it was a rather good idea, such an activity was perfectly normal and no one would interrupt them. They could even get together later that day, once Sally was done with her day's work.
All through her work shift she couldn't stop thinking about possible stories for Martin, as intelligent as he could be she doubted that he had much of an imagination. Normally the endless checking the charge of power packs and examining of plasma rifles to see if they could be repaired worked to take her mind off just about anything but it wasn't working today.
One of her fellow repair workers, a man named Steven, noted her distraction and commented.
Before she was able to stop herself she blurted out what she was thinking about, "Oh, we've got some plans to make tonight."
This was interesting, such gossip always was, "Really now, with whom? Go on, I'm listening," he encouraged her to continue.
"My personal life is not a topic of public discussion," she snapped, blushing furiously.
She was so flustered and lost in thought that she didn't even notice when a soldier entered the room and started towards her.
"Are you Private Sally Green?"
"Yeah, what do you want?"
Only after saying this did she think to turn around and face the man addressing her. She immediately regretted what she'd said and the tone she'd said it in. It was Sergeant Reese. The only reason she recognized him was because for some reason the General held him in special esteem. Martin had mentioned this to her in passing, she had no way of knowing whether it was true or not.
Afraid at what reproof she might receive she did her best to mutter an apology.
The Sergeant took no notice, "Come with me, General Connor wants to speak with you."
Something didn't sound right, "The General wants to speak to me… Why?"
"I can't mention it here."
It didn't make sense, unless…
General Connor knew.
Sally had no idea as to how it could have happened but somehow General Connor had found out about Martin. That was the only thing she could think of that made any sense.
Her mind was reeling as she was escorted to the section of the base where the General's private quarters were. There the Sergeant left her.
Martin arrived moments later. She looked at him, but he was as clueless as to what was happening as she was. There was no way she was going to ask him anything for fear of making the situation even worse.
The door opened and Sally found herself in an impossible situation, she was with a Terminator, face to face with General Connor and wondering what the General was going to do to her.
Doing the only thing she could think of Sally saluted. Martin imitated her standing at ridged attention.
"Relax."
Having expected to be addressed immediately about bringing a Terminator into the base, the General's calm manner caught her off guard.
"Yes Sir… erm… What do you want us here for… uh Sir?
Not the most intelligent way of putting it, but Sally was terrified and trying her hardest to play innocent on the off chance that it really wasn't about Martin.
As she waited for a response she found herself feeling as though she would faint. Taking a deep breath she tried to calm down and was somewhat successful. She still found herself unable to maintain eye contact with the General and she dropped her gaze to look at Martin out of the corner of her eye.
Martin seemed to be faring much better, the fact that Terminators were incapable of fear probably had something to do with that. In the dim light there was a faint reddish glow to his eyes, only noticeable if you knew to look for it, but to Sally it served as a constant reminder as to what her 'friend' was. She felt a jolt of fear as she realized that the General would know what to look for when spotting a Terminator.
Sick to her stomach Sally looked back to the General. Chances were he'd noticed, he was the great General Connor after all, Sally thought it was entirely possible that he'd known all along from the minute they'd entered the base.
Bracing herself she waited for what was to come. Ready for the worst she still found herself completely unprepared.
General Connor smiled understandingly, "Don't worry, actually, I've been expecting you. You'll be playing a vital part in the upcoming mission."
Sally felt as though the world had been turned upside down, the General expecting her? There had to be some mistake.
"I'm sorry sir, I don't understand," her voice was weak but she was amazed that she had managed to speak at all.
The General smiled, "During the upcoming attack we will be breaking into one of SkyNet's factories. I need a tech expert who has a through enough understanding of the machines so that they would be able to operate some of the equipment there."
It made no sense to Sally, "I thought just about any tech expert with the right equipment could hack in and manipulate the machines."
"They also need to be able to reprogram a Terminator."
"You think I reprogrammed Martin?"
There was no sense in denying it any longer, the General knew the truth and Sally had the feeling that he had known all along.
General Connor was mildly surprised by this remark though he didn't show it. It had been obvious to him that 'Martin' was a Terminator and he had assumed that Sally was the one who had reprogrammed it. Since she was the only survivor from her base it was possible that the person who had reprogrammed it was dead, but General Connor found that unlikely. He knew what would happen during the attack on the factory and a Terminator would be reprogrammed, or already had. It depended on the point of view one looked at it from.
There was also the possibility that she was still trying to feign ignorance in some way or that she was intimidated by the situation, General Connor hoped that was the case.
"I know that Martin is a Terminator. Don't worry, it's not a problem," as he spoke he remembered his childhood experiences with a similar machine, "but it's vital to the mission and to the very survival of the resistance that you help."
Sally thought that it was a distinct possibility that she would die on the spot humiliation, the legendary General John Connor thought she was some kind of genius able to bring about the end of the war. Ready to mutter an apology or explanation she was cut short by Martin.
"General Connor, chances are that I would be able to reprogram any Terminator of the same or an earlier model than myself. I would also be able to understand and operate any devices in the automated factories provided I had the proper equipment."
He said it all in a calm even tone that Sally wouldn't have been able to manage if her life depended on it.
The General thought this over, "Alright then. Tomorrow you'll have to start training with the tech experts, but I think you'll also be able to give them some advice."
Not asking any further details of them General Connor let them leave. The General had always known the basic details of the mission, but the exact means of carrying it out had come as a surprise to him. There would be plenty for him to think about in the days until the attack.
The meeting had left Sally feeling frightened. Not only did the General know about Martin, he didn't care, all he was thinking about was how Martin would help in the attack. With a shudder she wondered if the constant pressure had caused General Connor to go crazy.
When she voiced her concerns to Martin he wasn't worried.
"General Connor doesn't appear to be insane, from my files on human behavior he appeared perfectly normal and the mission makes sense. If the resistance is able to capture one of SkyNet's factories and reprogram Terminators for their own use it could have a major impact on the battle."
Still skeptical Sally continued, "Yeah, but I thought you'd lost most of your programming. So was that all a lie of something?"
Martin shook his head, "No, though some of my programming was damaged I still-
They stopped their discussion as a tired looking soldier made his way past them. Once he was out of sight Martin continued, "My basic programming is still intact, part of which is information on the functioning of Terminators from my series and several previous series. It's so an endo would be able to perform simple repairs on itself if necessary.
"So we could end up with a whole army of Terminators on our side?" as she said this Sally had a sudden vision of hundreds of 'Martin's' marching across a battlefield shooting down endos and H/Ks.
"I would assume that's what General Connor has planed, but I cannot fully understand the workings of the human mind so as to be able to think as General Connor would. I may very well be mistaken."
After saying this Martin fell silent thinking or processing data, whatever it was the Terminators did while deciding what to say.
"I don't think we should so openly discuss things like that. It might cause someone listening to figure out what I am, and though General Connor doesn't care I doubt that any other people in this base would be so accepting."
Sally couldn't argue with that, especially since as Martin said this the tone of his voice managed to convey a feeling of discomfort. Still, no matter how human Martin could sound there was no denying what he really was.
Over the next two weeks there was so much going on and Sally was kept so busy that she hardly had time to think about what the point of the upcoming mission might be.
Though her ankle was back to normal she wasn't put back out on the patrols, she was allowed to continue helping with repair work. This was fine by her and she had started considering making a request to continue doing repair work permanently.
Even in the constant flurry of activity she found time to meet with Martin. She always told herself these meetings were just to be sure that he was managing all right and hadn't been discovered. It also struck her as a good idea to continue to make it seem there was something between them.
When he wasn't working to get ready for the mission Martin had managed to stay out of the way. The story of his and Sally's arrival had spread around the base and most people treated him with pity, but left him alone.
Sally was always happy to see Martin and he was happy to see her, or at least he managed to look happy when they greeted each other.
On their last meeting before Martin was to leave on the mission Sally did feel worried. Martin tried his best to assure her that nothing would happen, but Sally wouldn't be convinced. For the past few days she had a bad feeling about the mission and was sure that something would happen and Martin would get killed or discovered.
Finally he put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. Though his tone of voice was comforting his eyes were blank and emotionless, "Listen Sally, it's a risky mission, but you shouldn't worry. General Connor knows what he's doing. I can tell you that there's no way that SkyNet will be able to anticipate this. I can't tell you the details of the mission, but once it's done the war's as good as over."
Martin had gotten better at understanding human emotion and how they reacted in various situations, but he still wasn't ready for what Sally did.
She hugged him.
Tears filled her eyes as she spoke, "I know. It's stupid, but I've got a bad feeling about this. I can't explain it, just be careful."
Awkwardly he hugged her back. He knew that humans put an incredible amount of value in emotion and touch, but he had come to the conclusion that only a human could understand the exact meanings to such gestures. Martin had a rudimentary understanding of emotion, but he knew the only way to fully understand was to experience it, something he was unable to do.
Embarrassed by what she had done Sally pulled back, "Just don't do anything that'll give you away."
She left before she could do anything else so ridiculous. As always she tried to find some way to justify her concern for Martin. This time no excuse was forthcoming.
Making her way back to her sleeping quarters she sat down to think. After what she had been through with Martin it was at least understandable that she felt some attachment to him. The way she felt was wrong and she knew it. Martin, no matter how human he could seem, was a machine and didn't care about her or any other human, it was all just programming. She wasn't sure if programming was enough to explain how he planed to help the resistance. Maybe it was possible he just wanted to help, but that didn't make sense either.
She couldn't believe she was getting herself so worked up over a machine, things would be so much simpler if Martin was human.
Thinking about this she must have fallen asleep because the next thing she knew she was being shouted at.
"You're the one from base fifty-nine aren't you?"
Yawning and sluggish Sally nodded and tried to figure out what was going on. She could tell it wasn't an attack since there weren't any explosions.
"What the hell are you doing still here?"
He didn't wait for a response, "Just come with me, before we're late and screw things up even worse."
Still clueless followed. Unable to figure out why she was being yelled at Sally tried to figure out who was doing the yelling. She finally recognized him as the creepy Sergeant Reese. There was no reason she could think of that would have him of all people mad at her. There had been a few times she'd seen him, but she couldn't figure out what she could have done to get him so mad.
He could have figured out about Martin, but Sally quickly dismissed that thought. Reese was a special friend of the General, from what she's heard, and would have gone straight to him. General Connor would have explained to him and chances were the Sergeant, being so devoted to the General, would leave it at that.
Following Reese to the main entrance of the base Sally wondered if the General had changed his mind about her going on the mission. Did he think that she actually controlled Martin and she would have to come to keep him in line and prevent him from doing anything? That wouldn't mean much, if Martin did turn against them she'd be as helpless as the rest of the group.
Someone handed her a plasma rifle, apparently she really was going to be accompanying them on the mission.
Checking to make sure everything was in proper working order she went along with the rest of the soldiers and tried to blend in. Feeling rather foolish she tried to stay towards the back of the group.
Most of the other people there were renowned for some special skill. Right away she was able to pick out four sharpshooters, at least five tech experts and an explosives expert. As far as she could tell she was the odd one out with no special skills or experience.
Martin was up at the frond of the group talking with General Connor. Though they had been over everything Martin could tell about SkyNet and it's defenses in the in the previous days the General wanted to go through it all again. Now Martin was repeating some key points.
In the midst of discussing the weakness and lack of the interior security systems Martin stopped abruptly.
"Why did you have her come?" he gestured to someone towards the rear of the group.
General Connor looked over his shoulder, but couldn't figure out who Martin was talking about, "Who exactly are you talking about?"
"Sally Green."
It took the General a minute to figure out who it was that Martin meant, but looking back a second time he saw her. It seemed impossible, he'd picked every man and woman in the group himself and Sally Green definitely wasn't one of them. Still she was there, was trailing along at the rear of the group. General Connor tried to figure out how something like that could have happened.
Martin spoke first, "When I was late arriving this morning you sent those five people to look for me. One of them must have misunderstood your orders and thought you wanted her."
This was the same conclusion General Connor had reached, but it was too late to do anything now, all that could be done was to do something to insure that Sally did nothing that could compromise the mission.
After giving the matter some thought Martin spoke, "Let me go back and talk to her, if she knows some of what's going on she'll be less likely to do anything that will create a problem."
Martin slowed down until he was walking alongside Sally. As soon as she saw him she visibly relaxed. Before she could say anything Martin shook his head, "I'll tell you what you need to know then I have to go back up front with General Connor."
Sally nodded and listened, waiting to hear what she was doing here.
"We're going to be attacking one of SkyNet's main factories. There are five other groups out ahead of us working to clear the way and draw the machine's attention. When we get to the factory we'll be going in a side entrance while the remaining members of the other groups attack the three main entrances."
Sally blanched upon hearing this, "We'll be going inside?"
Martin understood that the humans had no idea of what SkyNet's forces numbered and tended to overestimate them, "It's not as bad as it sounds, SkyNet has limited resources and can't have large numbers of machines guarding its factories. It uses most of the machines to maintain the constant attacks on the bases, it figures this way it won't have to worry about humans coming to it."
The discussion was starting to get them some looks from the surrounding soldiers but Martin ignored them, "I have to go back to the General now."
He started to pick up his pace, but Sally grabbed his hand, "I'm staying with you!"
Removing her hand from his wrist he shook his head, "No, just stay back here."
Making his way back to the front of the group Martin resumed his discussion with General Connor.
The machines were spread thin trying to deal with the other groups attacking the factory and it wasn't until the resistance fighters were in sight of it that they actually encountered any large groups of machines. Mostly small aerial H/Ks attacked them, very fast, but not as well armed as their larger counterparts they proved to be more of a nuisance than a threat.
As the last of the small H/Ks were shot down General Connor spoke to Martin, "Are you sure you can get the doors open? The demolition team could probably get it done in under a minute."
Martin looked over at the factory's side entrance, "No, I can take care of it, an explosion would draw too much attention to the area. It will be best if we make this seem like just another small attack."
"Good, but you'll have to work fast. Chances are it knows we're here by now."
As if to emphasize the General's point a report came in of a group of approaching endos.
In the midst of the shooting Martin walked to the entrance. Not once was a plasma bolt fired in his direction. The resistance fighters knew he was on their side and the machines recognized him as one of their own.
Reaching the door Martin had to pause as a scanning device determined his model and series. After the data was analyzed the door opened.
General Connor had been carefully watching the events unfold, seeing the door begin to open he knew it was time.
"Move! Now!"
At once the resistance fighters made their move, any losses during the charge were acceptable. If the attack failed nothing would matter. SkyNet would win the war and the resistance would be destroyed before it was even formed.
As they ran a tech expert saw her lover fall and she ran to help. The instant she reached the body she was gunned down by the machines.
Regrettable, but nothing could have been done.
In all only five soldiers died during the run to the factory, two sharpshooters, two explosives experts, and the tech expert
Martin stood at the door and watched as the soldiers entered. He knew the door most likely wouldn't close until he entered or was registered to have ceased functioning. SkyNet had never considered that there might someday be a traitor so no precautions had been taken. A computer, even one that was self-aware was only as intelligent as those who programmed it. Even the mighty SkyNet reflected this truth in its inability to plan on betrayal.
Once the last soldier, Sally went by Martin stepped inside and the door slowly began to close. There was one last flash of a plasma bolt before the resistance fighters were plunged into darkness.
There were a number of exclamations in the confusion before someone turned on a light.
Blinking in the sudden change form total darkness to light General Connor looked for Martin and Sergeant Kyle Reese, the two most important members of the group.
Reese was easy enough to find, he was the one holding the light, Martin though was nowhere to be seen.
The General felt a rising sense of panic at the thought that Martin had somehow been left outside. True the mission could go on without him, but it would be much more difficult.
The sight of a figure hunched over drew his gaze. Martin was kneeling by the door holding Sally in his arms.
Unable to figure out what was wrong with Martin General Connor made his way over to the pair.
On closer inspection what had happened became obvious. The plasma bolt fired as the door closed had hit Sally.
A hole had been seared right through her chest. Very little blood dripped from the charred flesh around the wound, the intense heat of the plasma bolts in effect cauterized any wounds they made as they burnt away flesh.
The only comfort was that she had died instantly with no chance to feel pain or fear.
Martin looked up at the General with a horrible, haunted expression that he shouldn't have been capable of.
"She's dead."
Martin's voice held no emotion, it was a simple statement of fact. General Connor managed, with limited success, to convince himself that Martin's seeming grief was just an act.
Several of the soldiers tried to comfort him, they had all lost loved ones and so assumed they knew what he was experiencing.
Looking from Martin, to the body and then to the soldiers General Connor finally spoke, "We need to keep going. This mission has to succeed."
As if by an afterthought he turned to Martin, "I'm sorry."
Martin resumed his habitual lack of expression as he gently, almost tenderly lowered Sally's body to the floor, "It doesn't matter."
Saying nothing more he began to lead the fighters through the maze off corridors.
From personal experience with Terminators General Connor had some unusual theories on whether or not they were able to understand emotion. He knew that this was no time to try and test those theories and didn't speak to Martin.
They continued nearly blind in the darkness, the flashlights only illuminating a small portion of the corridors extending before them. Reaching a junction where two corridors met Martin stopped abruptly, "Turn off all your lights."
Someone towards the rear of the group let out a groan of protest, "What, and sit in the fucking dark until-
The complaint was cut short by the General, "Do what he says."
He trusted Martin to know the right thing to do in any situation they might encounter. After all, right now they were the first humans to have entered the building since SkyNet took over.
The lights went out with no further comment. Calmly Martin stepped out into the center of one of the adjacent corridors and fired four shots with his plasma rifle.
He stepped back to the rest of the group, "You can turn the lights back on now."
One of the soldiers shined his flashlight beam down the hall. The remains of several endos lay there in a heap on the floor.
General Connor addressed the group, "This is where we split up. The left corridor leads directly to the main generators, you know what to do when you get there."
There were a few scattered 'yes sirs', many of the soldiers just nodded or remained silent.
"This shouldn't take more than twenty minutes, once that time is up this place is razed no matter what."
Sergeant Reese accompanied General Connor and Martin down the middle corner. Martin noted that the Sergeant appeared amazingly excited, though Martin knew working along side the General was a great honor Reese seemed more than just eager to please. Before Martin was able to inquire Reese spoke.
"That was impressive how you took out those endos," there was a hint of suspicion in his voice, "In the dark, but you took them out with only four shots and they didn't even fire back."
Knowing that people preferred eye contact during conversation Martin turned to face Reese before replying. "They didn't register me as a threat. I was able to target them because-
His explanation was cut short by a plasma bolt. It missed Martin by mere inches. Turning he saw seven endos approaching.
Even as Martin reached for his plasma rifle one of the endos raised its gun and took aim at General Connor.
Reese managed to act first, and more by accident than design was able to shoot the endo's arm off. Martin fired his plasma rifle, finishing the endo with a shot to the head.
In such close confines trying to dodge wasn't an option and there was nowhere to take cover. It was going to be a matter of taking out the endos before they were killed.
Having practically the same programming as the endos Martin made a move that most likely 'confuse' the machines. He stepped between them and the General.
The endos didn't fire, they registered the situation as another Terminator being closer to the target and more likely to be able to successfully terminate it.
It appeared that SkyNet was still unaware that one of its attackers was a Terminator.
Knowing that the lull wouldn't last for long Martin opened fire managing to blast one endo's head off and damaging another so it was no longer able to function. Reese and General Connor managed to take out three more.
By this time the remaining two endos were able to register that Martin was in fact a threat. Again the machines prepared to fire, but it was too late.
One was destroyed by two simultaneous plasma bolts to the upper body. It exploded knocking the other to the floor.
The last endo managed to fire, the plasma bolt hitting Martin a glancing blow. Sergeant Reese fired three shots in quick succession destroying the machine.
Not realizing that Martin had been shot Reese turned to him and smirked, "I thought they didn't register you as a threat."
Martin choose to ignore the Sergeant's comment and examined the wound where the plasma bolt had grazed him.
Though metal shone through the tattered remains of charred skin there didn't appear to be any structural damage. A quick diagnostic scan confirmed this. The wound was small enough that the chances of it being noticed before the mission was complete were slim.
Ignoring his injury Martin took stock of their surroundings, "This way, the entrance to the room containing the equipment we're looking for should be just up ahead."
Aiming the flashlight beam past the remains of the endos a door was visible a short distance down the hall.
Careful to keep his injury from being noticed Martin went to see what sort of mechanism would trigger the door to open.
Typical of an entirely automated building the door was operated by a number of sensors. One to detect motion, another on the floor measured the weight of whatever was approaching. If the panel on the floor detected a weight of over fifty pounds, the lightest of repair drones weighed nearly seventy, it would open.
As the door slid open a bizarre sight was revealed. Illuminated by a gentle light were hundreds of tubes, all filled with a murky liquid.
Martin looked into one of the tubes at the shadowy form hunched at the bottom. Reese looked over Martin's shoulder and gasped, "They've got people in there!"
Sure enough on closer inspection the shadow had a vaguely human shape, with a number of wires attached to its body.
"We can take care of that later," General Connor motioned for them to hurry.
This didn't satisfy the Sergeant, "We've got to do something to help them."
At the same time Martin removed what amounted to a heavily modified laptop from his pack, "No it will be quicker if we start reprogramming one now and then start the time-displacement mechanism."
Reese looked at him wide eyed at the mention of the time-displacement mechanism, "He knows about it too?"
The General nodded, "He's the one who can operate it."
Martin ignored the little drama and focused his attention towards the wires running into the base of the tube. Carefully he pulled several of them away and attached the computer to the tube's base. "You want it programmed as we discussed?"
General Conner simply nodded, for a brief moment lost in thought as he watched history make itself.
"Programmed?" Reese looked from the General to Martin uncomprehending.
"Just a precaution, it's not important for you to know the details," The General's answer wasn't much of an answer at all.
The fact that he had no choice but to follow the course of actions that he had known of since childhood didn't make things any easier. It was almost too tempting to do or say something that would, in some way the events that had already happened. In it's own way it was just as tempting to do something simply to change said events for the sake of changing them.
Fortunately the General's thoughts were interrupted by Martin, "The Terminator has been programmed according to your specifications. It will take approximately seven minutes for the liquid to drain from the tube and the Terminator to be fully activated."
"Right. We can't just wait here, do you know where the time-displacement mechanism is from here?"
Not bothering to reply, Martin simply started walking towards the back of the lab. There was a small room to the side of the room containing the Terminators.
Martin stepped in first, "This is it."
General Conner was at a loss for words, it was an empty room. Was it possible that Martin had betrayed him? Could something have happened to alter the events that he'd been told of since childhood?
Reese quickly found his voice and began to curse at Martin, mentioning not only him and his ideas, state of mind, and sexual preferences, but also including the shortcomings in his family tree in a way that would have been amusingly ironic in a less serious situation.
Unperturbed Martin explained, "It's this room. The subject to be transported stands on the marked portion of the floor, the displacement field is activated and the subject is transported."
Reese walked to a circle about ten feet in diameter made of some dull unidentifiable metal in the center of the room. "Right here?"
"Yes," Martin motioned for the General to leave the room with him.
"Where are you going?" Reese didn't seem to like the idea of being left alone.
"I have no idea of the effects of the field on a person standing in the room and don't think it would be particularly wise to find out at a time like this."
Once again the wires needed to attach the small computer to were exposed and plainly visible. This struck the General as lacking in foresight. When he mentioned this to Martin the Terminator simply shrugged, "Nothing here would trip over a wire and they're easier to repair this way."
General Connor smiled, "I guess I can't complain."
"Right," Martin wasn't much for small talk despite Sally's best efforts, "It's done, we can operate the mechanism now."
Rows of indecipherable numbers began to scroll across the computer's screen. In the displacement chamber a number of lights flickered on.
They waited in silence, but nothing more happened.
"What's wrong with it?" the General sounded like he was nervous and attempting to conceal it.
After pressing several of the computer panel's keys Martin turned to General Connor, "I don't know, it says 'foreign object neutralizing displacement field'."
In a very human manner he gestured helplessly to the unreadable screen.
The General closed his eyes and tried to make sense of the problem. He knew that a Terminator had already gone through and he knew that Reese had to be able to go. What was the big difference in the two situations, or what was he overlooking that should be apparent?
In hope of seeing a hint as to the problem he looked in on Reese. The Sergeant was standing in the center of the room resting the plasma rifle against his shoulder and nervously shifting his weight from one foot to the other.
A Terminator had made it through the time-displacement field and a Terminator was simply living tissue over a metal skeleton.
In a moment of realization the problem and its solution became clear.
"Reese put your gun down, the machine won't work if there's anything with exposed metal."
That was the only explanation for why SkyNet hadn't sent a small army of machines armed with plasma rifles into the past, or so he hoped.
The Sergeant was quick to comply. Resetting the machine Martin tried again.
"Still no go," pausing Martin thought the matter over, "Try taking off your boots, belt, jacket, anything with metal on, or in it."
Though starting to become more annoyed than nervous Reese did as Martin suggested.
This time a low hum filled the air and the numbers on the machine changed.
"Damn!"
Martin's exclamation startled the General, "What's wrong now?"
"This time it says 'error cannot transport inorganic material clear field area and try again'," Martin replied tapping the screen.
"What's the hell is that supposed to mean!" Reese shouted from the displacement chamber.
"It means that the time-displacement mechanism won't transport nonliving objects. You'll need to remove your clothing," incapable of becoming frustrated Martin spoke in a calm voice that only further infuriated the Sergeant.
The situation was fast becoming too much for the overly serious Sergeant, "What the fuck! Are you doing this just for laughs? Do you even know how to work the damn thing?"
"Sergeant!" General Connor spoke in an authoritative tone that he usually tried to avoid with Reese, "This mission is vital and your current attitude towards the matter isn't going to do any good."
Still cursing under his breath Reese removed his remaining clothing.
Martin again restarted the machine. As before a low hum filled the air, this time quickly rising in pitch. Lights flickered in the time-displacement chamber and on the computer screen the numbers flashed.
In a tone containing neither fear nor excitement Martin read the information scrolling across the screen. "Power fifty percent. Scanning transport area, subject detected. Clear displacement field area. Set time frame…"
His fingers fairly flew across the keys as he typed in the date General Connor had told him to send Reese to.
"Time frame set; prime physical co-ordinates selected. Power now at seventy-nine percent."
Energy crackled through the air making the men's hair stand on end, Martin continued to read.
Power at ninety-six percent, ninety-seven, ninety-eight, ninety-nine. One hundred.
Field generator fully powered.
The air around Reese began to shimmer as if with intense heat, it soon became impossible to see the Sergeant through the fluctuating waves of energy.
Activating time-displacement field.
The hum of the machine rose to a near inaudible whine.
Field active. Sending subject in five, four, three, two, one…
A flash of light and the Sergeant was gone.
Subject successfully sent.
The General stood, staring at the empty room with an almost pained expression. History had been fulfilled. "So Reese has gone."
Martin, unsure if the General Connor's statement had been a question, nodded, a gesture acknowledging what he had heard and the best thing to do when it became difficult to understand what it was the speaker wanted. He was unable to understand why the General seemed sad so close to victory.
At this point the Terminator they'd reprogrammed entered the room as it was supposed to. This one looked different from Martin, having darker hair and a more bulky form. The differences made sense, Terminators had to be different or the resistance would have figured out what to look for long ago.
Again Martin started the time-displacement mechanism. The Terminator crouched in the center of the displacement chamber silently waiting to be sent back in time to perform its mission.
Then it was over. The Terminator had been sent back to protect the young John Connor and the mission was over.
The General said nothing, he was lost in thought for the moment.
Martin knew he'd never be able to understand humans. True Sally had been willing to try and explain to him as best she could, there were still some things that one had to be human to understand. Sorrow, though was one emotion he thought he could understand, if too much happened to a person they ceased to function properly.
Still the General remained silent so Martin spoke, "You have nine minutes to get out. What now?"
This snapped General Connor out of his daze. He almost but not quite smiled, "Good, we destroy the time machine and get the hell out of here."
Martin tore the wires bringing power to the machine from the wall, then he entered the room. Instead of using his plasma rifle to blast away the parts of the machine he smashed in the panels on the walls with his fists.
Satisfied that they were destroyed beyond repair he moved to the center of the room. Pointing his plasma rifle downward he fired blasting a hole in the floor. There was a discharge of energy as some unknown computer was blasted apart. He let his plasma rifle drop and reached down and pulled up a hand full of wires, sending out sparks as they broke.
Standing still amidst the sparking wires Martin picked up his plasma rifle and examined it as if seeing it for the first time, or perhaps seeing it in an entirely new way.
Plasma rifle gripped loosely in his bloodied hands Martin returned to the General. Slowly and deliberately he spoke, "Shoot me."
He offered the rifle to General Connor who couldn't believe what he'd just heard from the machine.
"What do you mean?"
Martin's ice blue eyes were as empty as a dead man's, "I am unable to self terminate, therefore I am asking you to destroy me."
"I know all that, but why?" impossible as it was it sounded as though Martin had gone insane.
"There is no reason for my continued existence, you have won the war and everything created by SkyNet will be demolished. If I am not destroyed now I will be later, it is simply a matter of time."
From experience General Connor knew it was pointless to argue with a Terminator. Destroying Martin also struck him as pointless, enough good men had died and, though Martin wasn't human there was no doubt that he was a respectable soldier, hard to think of as a machine.
Time was running out and Martin showed no sign of changing his mind.
There was always the option of leaving him behind, but that wasn't really an option at all. Martin knew too much about the resistance to risk letting SkyNet find him.
General Connor pointed his gun at Martin's head so that the shot fired would go directly through his CPU destroying him instantly. Finger on the trigger the General took a deep breath, still not ready to do what had been asked of him, "Are you sure this is what you want?"
-END-