April 14, 1863
"Well, well, look what we got here," says a Federal sergeant on horseback, aiming his Springfield Armory rifle-musket at Corporal Luke Connor. "A Rebel scout intruding into our territory."
"This ain't your state," replies Luke. "You don't belong in Tennessee."
"Tennessee is part of the Union, boy. You people are wagin' an illegal rebellion against the United States of America."
"I suggest you surrender," says the terminator. "You are presently unarmed and they are armed with Springfield Armory rifle-muskets and Colt Army revolvers."
"And who is this?" asks the Federal sergeant. He looks at the terminator. "Someone out of uniform, carryin' a rifle. Why, that must mean he's a spy! A Rebel spy! We just caught ourselves a Rebel spy, men! If you surrender, we may spare your life."
The terminaotr drops the Enfield rifle. "I surrender."
"Tie them up!" yells the sergeant.
One of the soldiers comes to tie Luke's hands together. He pushes the soldier away.
"Get your dirty paws off me, Sambo!" he yells.
Luke is answered with a rifle butt to the face. "Who you callin' Sambo, Reb?" says the soldier.
In less than a minute, Luke's hands are tied. "Why are you surrendering?" asks Luke. "You're bulletproof. You can take them."
"My fight is not with them. If they do not make any attempt to kill you, I will not attack."
Then the three Federal soldiers lead Luke and his guardian away towards the west.
It is sunset by the time Corporal Luke Connor reaches his destination. He can see a high wooden wall with towers on each corner. The three soldiers drop them off, and soldiers from the facility tkae Luke and the terminator in. Luke looks around and sees a brick building and several wooden buildings. He hears the whinnying of horses and the barking of dogs and men yelling orders. This is a camp for Confederate prisoners. They are brought into the brick building, which serves as the headquarters of the prison camp. They are then put inside a room. "Now what?" asks Luke.
"We wait," replies the terminator. "You will be safe here. Trust me."
The wooden door opens, and a soldier comes in. "Here is your food and water," he says. He gives them hard biscuits and two tin cups fileld his water.
"At least you get two biscuits," says the terminator.
"Yeah, I'm real happy about that."
"You should eat. You need to keep up your strength."
Luke proceeds to eat the biscuits and wash them down his water. The biscuits were stale and hard, and his mouth still felt dry even after drinking two cups of warm water. He still remembers his mama's homemade cooking- fresh meat, vegetables, and eggs. Fresh food has been in short supply since the war started. In fact, it seems almost a lifetime ago. Now here he is in a Yankee prison camp, with a machine that was sent from the future to protect him. Then the door opens, and the same soldier who gave them the biscuits. "You," he says to Luke. "We want to ask you some questions."
"Who me?" asks Luke.
"Yes." The soldier takes Luke out and drags him to the room across the hall. This room has a wooden table and two chairs and an oil lamp. And a Federal soldier sits at the table. Luke could tell that the man is an officer. The officer has a sword in his sheath and a Colt Army revolver in his holster. "I am Lieutenant Charles Reese of the United States Army," says the officer. "What is your name?"
"I am Corporal Luke Connor of the Army of Tennessee," says Luke. "I'm from Carthage."
"Tell me what you were doing?"
"Just trying to get away, I guess."
"A deserter?" asks Reese. "Well, there be a lot of deserters coming over to us to surrender. I guess they heard the news about Franklin. What I want to know is who was that guy that was travelin' with you? Was he a spy?"
"I just met him this morning."
"Was he a spy, Reb?"
"He's not a Confederate."
"What was his mission?"
"To protect me?"
"Protect you?" says Reese as he paces around the small room. He then slams Connor's face into the table and places the barrel of the Colt revolver at his temple. "Let me say this, Reb. You already lost and you know it." He lets Luke get up. "Private!" A soldier enters the room. "Put him with the other prisoners."
"Yes, sir!" snaps the soldier. The soldier leaves, and then comes back. "Get his companion here," says the lieutenant.
"Yes, sir."
Less than a minute later, Luke's companion is brought in. Reese can tell that he is dressed like a civilian. He is tall and heavy. "Have a seat," says Reese.
The terminator sits down.
"I am Lieutenant Charles Reese of the United States Army," he says. "What is your name?"
"I am a Cyberdyne Systems Model 101 Series 800," says the terminator. "My ID is 381146."
"What kind of answer is that?"
"I gave you my identification number."
"So, what were you doing?"
"My mission is to ensure the survival of Luke Connor."
"Who sent you on this mission?"
"I was sent here by General John Connor of the United States Army."
"Never heard of him."
"That is because he will not be born for another one hundred twenty-two years."
"What?"
"I came from one hundred sixty-six years in the future."
Lieutenant Reese stares straight into the prisoner's eyes, never having heard such a story before. "Why were you sent to protect someone in the past? Here in 1863?"
"Skynet had sent a T-800 to this day to terminate Luke Connor. Luke Connor was the earliest ancestor that Skynet could locate. We captured the facility where the time displacement unit was located, and I was sent to intercept the terminator in 1863."
"Well, since you are from the future, tell me one thing. When does this war between the states end?"
"The last Confederate troops surrender on May 26, 1865."
"Okay, so you came from the future to protect Luke Connor. I'm sure they have invented better weapons in the future, like a rifle that reloads ammunition whenever it's fired."
"Time displacement is generated when the bioelectric field interacts with the time displacement unit's event horizon. You go through naked. I had to be wrapped in living tissue- skin, muscle, internal organs-before going back in time."
"So what are you underneath the skin?"
"I am a metal endoskeleton, imperviosu to small arms fire, microprocessor controlled."
"Impervisou to bullets? Like the ones from the Colt?"
"Precisely."
Reese takes out his Colt Army revolver. "I think that you're just lying your ass off. You are a spy, and I have never heard a more sillier cover story than that. But since you claim to be bulletproof, I'm gonna test it out." He places the muzzle of the Colt against the terminator's left temple. He pulls the hammer back.
And then pulls the trigger.
The hammer strikes the primer, which deontates the gunpowder. The explosion propels the bullet, and the recoil pushes Reese back a bit.
The terminator stands up, and Lieutenant Reese drops his revolver as he sees someone appearing to be a man get up after a revolver bullet is fired into his head. He looks and sees the shiny silvery surface of the terminator's skull. "I want to see Luke Connor," says the terminator.
The terminator is escorted by Federal soldiers to one of the wooden buildings used to house the Confederate prisoners. He scans the inside. It is a one-room structure with a dirt floor and several beds, with no lighting or heating. There are more people here than beds. He scans the faces of the prisoners until he finds Luke Connor.
"Are you injured?" asks the terminator.
"No," replies Luke. "I'm doing just fine."
"You will be safe here, Luke."
"Who're you?" asks one of the prisoners.
"I am a Cyberdyne Systems Model 101, Series 800, ID 381146."
"Whatever." the prisoner goes back to sleep on the dirt floor.
April 15, 1863
Corporal Luke Connor wakes up on the floor. He looks around and sees some of the prisoners awake, and other are asleep. The terminator stands silently, watching for any threat.
"Did you get any sleep?" asks Luke.
"I do not sleep," says the terminator. "My power cells will allow me to function for another one hundred years. All of my mechanical and electrical systems are operating at peak efficiency."
"Well, I'm feeling well too."
Luke hears a bell ring. "Looks like it's breakfast," says one of the Confederate prisoners.
They all go out into the courtyard where some of the Federal soldiers have gathered. They are all given their breakfast, which is-surprise-hard biscuits.
The terminator gives his biscuit to Luke. Luke looks around and sees some of the other prisoners. He decide to break pieces from the extra biscuit and give it to his fellow soldiers. "Okay, people," says Sergeant Tucker to the prisoners. Everybody line up."
"What is going on?" asksk Luke.
"You are all here to pose for a photograph."
Luke sees a bald man wearing a round hat, a rbown coat, and brown pants. He carries a camera on his tripod. "Okay, y'all," says a the photographer. "This here is a camera. It takes your picture so your likeness can be printed on a piece o' paper."
The Confederate prisoners all pose.
"There," says the photographer. "That should do it." He then returns to his wagon to develop the film.
Lieutenant Charles Reese goes back into his office after having breakfast. Unlike the prisoners and the enlisted men, he and the other officers get to have eggs and fruit. He looks at the Confederate soldiers who had surrendered and now stay here, being fed and c lothed and housed. Some of the prisoners had been here since Fort Henry was taken the year before. He turns towards Sergeant Tucker, the senior enlisted soldier assigned to this prison camp.
"How are the prisoners?" asks the lieutenant.
"They seem to be okay, sir," replies Tucker. "At least physically," says Reese. "Although the guy we caught out of uniform seems to be a bit crazy. He thinks he's a machine."
"Maybe it's from malnutrition. We're not that well-supplied. Some of us don't even have shoes."
"Well, I just can't wait to this war is over. There's this pretty lady back home in Pennsylvania whom I'd love to make my wife."
"Does she know you love her?"
"Well, I haven't exactly had the time to do that, what with this war and all."
"The war is for a good cause, you know. You did praise the Emancipation Proclamation this year. And you did call slavery an abomination."
"Which it is," says the lieutenant. "Still, we need to find a homeland for these people. I mean, do you really want your kids to go to school with little nigger kids?"
The terminator looks at his surroundings. The temperature is sixty-seven degrees Fahrenheit. It is about high noon. He is on a dirt road about thirty miles east of Nashville, Tennessee. He had been walking around looking for clues where Luke Connor had went. He had lost their trail. and he saw the othet terminator. He calculates that the humans took control of Yuma Base and sent one of their terminators to 1863 to intercept him. Skynet had uploaded thousands of files about the Civil War into his memory core before sending him to 1863. He had acquired Connor back at the Confederate fort, but failed to terminate. He knows where to acquire his target. Using his microprocessor, he calculates the best plan to intercept and terminate Luke Connor.
there is not much to do in the Federal prison camp except maybe do some pushup and talk to the other prisoners. The arrival of two prisoners gave new conversation opportunities to the prisoners already here. And their conversation with one of the prisoners is real interesting.
"So yer from the future?" asks one of the Confederate prisoners.
"Affirmative," replies the terminator. "I came from July 11, 2029."
"And I suppose you rode a magical black stallion that can gallop to the past," says another prisoner.
"I went through a time displacement unit," says the terminator. "It is a barrel-shaped device.It creates an event horizon which interacts with a bioelectric field to create temporal transit."
"You sound like Benjamin Franklin," says a prisoner. "So what's it like in the future?' asks Luke.
"I am activated only when I am due for a performance reviewor assigned on a mission. The rest of the time I am kept in storage."
"So you're metal underneath?" asks a prisoner. "And bullets don't kill you?"
"Yes, I have a metal endoskeleton which provides motor function. My human flesh was attached so I can blend in wqith the human population."
"Well, you certainly don't blend in with that German accent of yours."
"Do you like this accent better?"
The prisoner is startled that the terminator spoke in a flawless Southern accent in a voice just like his. "You know, maybe after you are done protectin' Luke here, you can go terminate Abraham Lincoln."
"President Abraham Lincoln is terminated on April 14, 1865."
"Well, there's somethin' to look forward to."
"So, what about you?" asks Luke. "What;s your story?"
"Name's Tom Riker," says the prisoner. "Lieutenant Tom Riker."
"Pleasre to meet you, sir."
"Well, we're prisoners here now. Anyway, I grew up in Memphis, I got married and have a little girl. I was a survivor of Fort Henry."
"Does your wife know?" asks Luke.
"I think so. I heard that the Yanks were negotiatin' prisoner exchanges with us. Maybe my wife got the message. You married, Connor?"
"No, sir. Although from what the terminator told me, I will be married someday."
"That is correct," says the terminator. "And his great-great-great-grandson leads a war for human survival and wins."
"So what is the future like?" asks Luke Connor. "For humans, I mean."
"There is new hope," replies the terminator. "Humans have started to rebuild civilization in portions of America that were liberated from Skynet's forces. It is expected that ninety-nine percent of the country will be liberated by September of 2029."
"But that won't happen of I get killed before getting married and having kids."
"That is correct."
"Where did you grow up?" asks Riker.
"In Carthage," replies Luke. "My dad was a tobacco farmer and was in the militia. I joined the militia and then when the war started, I was called up. One thing led to another, and I'm here."
"Is there anyone special waiting back home?"
"Only my parents. There ain't no girl waitin' for me back home."
Luke sleeps soundly after having a hard biscuit for dinner. He had septn the day listening to stories from his fellow prisoners, and talking about the terminator. Suddenly he wakes up. He looks and sees the terminator.
"He will be here in a few minutes," says the terminator.
"The one who's trying to kill me?" asks Luke.
"Yes. Trust me."
Connor stands up and sees the terminator go out.
"I'll be back," he says. The terminator goes out into the courtyard, past curfew. Predicably, the Federal soldiers come to confront him.
"Get back in that shack, Reb," says one of the soldiers. The terminator keeps moving forward.
the soldier fires a shot with his Springfield Armory rifle-musket. the bullet simply grazes the cyborg's side. He grabs the barrel of the rifle and snatches it. He then punches the soldier and starts running even as shots are fired in his direction.
Lieutenant Colonel Judah Levinstein is having a roast chicken dinner with the outher four officers under his command in the prison camp. The officers' dinner is interrupted by the sound of gunshots.
"Let's check this out," he says. He and the other officers leave the officers' mess to check things out.
They see one of the prisoners in the hallway carrying a rifle. "Now you drop that weapon," says Colonel Levinstein, holding his saber. The prisoner keeps walking forward.
"Surrender now!" yells the colonel.
The prisoner keeps walking, so Levinstein thrusts the saber into him. The prisoner just knocks Levinstein away. More soldiers run in armed with sabers and Colt Army revolvers. They fire shots at the terminator.
"Get him!" yells Levinstein.
The terminator - assigned to terminate Luke Connor- arrives at the United States Army prison camp. His audio sensors indicate that some sort of ruckus is going on inside. He figures his counterpart is staging an escape. He goes to the front gate of the prison camp. Using his servo-motor induced strenght, he pushes down the gates. He clamly enters the courtyard of the prison camp. Some of the soldiers come to repel the intruder. He responds by shooting one of them square in the chest with a bullet from a Richmond Armory rifle-musket. He then shoots the other soldiers with his J.H. Dance and Brothers revolver. He looks around for Connor or his twin.
He sees more soldiers coming out to meet him. He grabs the Colt Army revolvers from the bodies of the fallen Federal soldiers and opens fire at the remaining soldiers. He looks and sees the wooden buildings and calculates that Luke Connor must be in one of those buildings.
Luke sees the terminator come back.
"He's here," says the cyborg. "We'd better get to the stable, grab a horse for you, and escape."
Luke can hear gunshots. Peering through the open door, he can see the Federal soldiers do battle with a figure. "This way," says the terminator. He runs right through the wooden wall, making a man-sized hole. Luke follows his guardian. He runs through the spaces between the wooden buildings used to house prisoners. He can see wooden building with large doors. He sprints towards the stable, relying on the terminator to cover for him. suddenly he feels something sharp at his throat. He sees Lieutenant Reese standing in front of him, holding a saber to his throat.
"Well, well," says Lieutenant Reese. "I guess you Rebs thought you can send someone here to rescue you."
"I have no quarrel with you," Luke says to the Federal lieutenant.
"I ain't gonna let you escape alive. You will die right now."
Suddnely, Reese falls back. Luke looks and sees the terminator, his fist clenched. Luke bends down and grabs Reese's revolver and saber. He looks at the unconscious Federal Army officer, and then at the saber. He prepares to stab the lieutenant through the heart.
"Get away!" yells the terminator. "He's here."
Luke turns and sees his guardian's twin arrive, sporting a rifle. He immediately runs for the stable. He hears gunshots. He falls, and then gets back up again. Hre rushes inside the stable. He sees the horses all in their pens. He also sees where the saddles and reins are located. He grabs a leather saddle and a bridle and bit. He sees the same horse he was riding when he was captured. He fastens the saddle and bridle, making sure all the straps are secure.
"Okay," he says to the horse. "Let's ride."
The horse carries Luke and walks to the stable entrance. Luke sees the Confederate prisoners making a run for it due to the commotion from the two terminators. He wonders if Tom Riker would make it back to his wife and daughter. He kicks the side of the horse gently, and the horse gallops toweards the open gates of the prison.
Wrestling with his other self, the terminator sees Luke ride away on a horse. He delivers powerful punches into his opponet's face, powerful enough to shatter a human jaw. His twin manages to deliver a few counter punches. The two terminators roll around in the dirt. The terminator grabs the Colt Army revolver he acquired from the guards of the prison camp. He fires it at his twin in point blank range. He then carries his twin and runs towards the brick building. Soon, part of the brick wall collapses, and the two of them are in one of the interior rooms. They continue wrestling, rolling around.
Luke is now riding in the woods after an escape from the Federal prison camp. He wonders what to do next. He gets off the horse, and walks off. He feels weak all of a sudden. He sits down and lays against an oak tree.
The battle between the terminators continues. They continue wrestling, as the terminator does his best to keep his twin from getting away. His twin has noticed that the terminator anticipates his every move. Suddenly, the terminator has his twin face down. he gets up, and then slams on his counterparts neck with every ounce of force he can muster. He looks and does an electromagnetic scan. His twin had suffered serious damage. He then leaves to loom for Luke Connor. Just as he leaves, he can hear the galloping of horses. Apparently, someone from the priosn camp rode away to get reinforcement, and the reinforcements are here. The terminator looks at the ground, going to ultravision mode to look at the tracks. He can see recently made hoofprints on the dirt. He follows the hoofprints.
Cavalry soldiers arrive at the prison camp and see the damage and the carnage. Apparently, from what they were told, a single Confederate soldier had attacked the base, killing some of the guards and facilitating the escape of over forty Confederate prisoners. They walk inside the headquarters building. apparently something had busted through the brick wall. "Captain, look!" yells one of the soldiers.
The cavalry captain looks and sees a man on the ground, dressed in the gray uniform of the Confederate soldier.
"He doesn;t seem to be alive, sir," says another soldier.
Suddenyl, the man in the Confederate uniform gets up. "Sweet Jesus," says the captain.
the other soldiers have similar expressions or just keep quiet, for the man's head is dangling from his body. He lifts his head and re-adjusts it, making suire the joints are secure.
None of the soldiers do anything as the man walks. They see him pikc up a rifle from one of the fallen soldiers, and then they see him run away.
The terminator is walking in the forest not far from the prison camp, following the hoofpints. Using infrared, he looks for the heat signatures. He sees the heat signature of a horse and a human. He walks over there. Using visual scanning, he can see the horse that Luke had ridden earlier. And he sees Luke, who appears to be resting against the trunk of an oak tree. "Are you all right?' asks the terminator.
Luke does not respond. The terminator examines Luke and finds a bright red spot on his back.
No further examination is needed to conclude that Luke Connor had been wounded.
"Well, well, look what we got here," says a Federal sergeant on horseback, aiming his Springfield Armory rifle-musket at Corporal Luke Connor. "A Rebel scout intruding into our territory."
"This ain't your state," replies Luke. "You don't belong in Tennessee."
"Tennessee is part of the Union, boy. You people are wagin' an illegal rebellion against the United States of America."
"I suggest you surrender," says the terminator. "You are presently unarmed and they are armed with Springfield Armory rifle-muskets and Colt Army revolvers."
"And who is this?" asks the Federal sergeant. He looks at the terminator. "Someone out of uniform, carryin' a rifle. Why, that must mean he's a spy! A Rebel spy! We just caught ourselves a Rebel spy, men! If you surrender, we may spare your life."
The terminaotr drops the Enfield rifle. "I surrender."
"Tie them up!" yells the sergeant.
One of the soldiers comes to tie Luke's hands together. He pushes the soldier away.
"Get your dirty paws off me, Sambo!" he yells.
Luke is answered with a rifle butt to the face. "Who you callin' Sambo, Reb?" says the soldier.
In less than a minute, Luke's hands are tied. "Why are you surrendering?" asks Luke. "You're bulletproof. You can take them."
"My fight is not with them. If they do not make any attempt to kill you, I will not attack."
Then the three Federal soldiers lead Luke and his guardian away towards the west.
It is sunset by the time Corporal Luke Connor reaches his destination. He can see a high wooden wall with towers on each corner. The three soldiers drop them off, and soldiers from the facility tkae Luke and the terminator in. Luke looks around and sees a brick building and several wooden buildings. He hears the whinnying of horses and the barking of dogs and men yelling orders. This is a camp for Confederate prisoners. They are brought into the brick building, which serves as the headquarters of the prison camp. They are then put inside a room. "Now what?" asks Luke.
"We wait," replies the terminator. "You will be safe here. Trust me."
The wooden door opens, and a soldier comes in. "Here is your food and water," he says. He gives them hard biscuits and two tin cups fileld his water.
"At least you get two biscuits," says the terminator.
"Yeah, I'm real happy about that."
"You should eat. You need to keep up your strength."
Luke proceeds to eat the biscuits and wash them down his water. The biscuits were stale and hard, and his mouth still felt dry even after drinking two cups of warm water. He still remembers his mama's homemade cooking- fresh meat, vegetables, and eggs. Fresh food has been in short supply since the war started. In fact, it seems almost a lifetime ago. Now here he is in a Yankee prison camp, with a machine that was sent from the future to protect him. Then the door opens, and the same soldier who gave them the biscuits. "You," he says to Luke. "We want to ask you some questions."
"Who me?" asks Luke.
"Yes." The soldier takes Luke out and drags him to the room across the hall. This room has a wooden table and two chairs and an oil lamp. And a Federal soldier sits at the table. Luke could tell that the man is an officer. The officer has a sword in his sheath and a Colt Army revolver in his holster. "I am Lieutenant Charles Reese of the United States Army," says the officer. "What is your name?"
"I am Corporal Luke Connor of the Army of Tennessee," says Luke. "I'm from Carthage."
"Tell me what you were doing?"
"Just trying to get away, I guess."
"A deserter?" asks Reese. "Well, there be a lot of deserters coming over to us to surrender. I guess they heard the news about Franklin. What I want to know is who was that guy that was travelin' with you? Was he a spy?"
"I just met him this morning."
"Was he a spy, Reb?"
"He's not a Confederate."
"What was his mission?"
"To protect me?"
"Protect you?" says Reese as he paces around the small room. He then slams Connor's face into the table and places the barrel of the Colt revolver at his temple. "Let me say this, Reb. You already lost and you know it." He lets Luke get up. "Private!" A soldier enters the room. "Put him with the other prisoners."
"Yes, sir!" snaps the soldier. The soldier leaves, and then comes back. "Get his companion here," says the lieutenant.
"Yes, sir."
Less than a minute later, Luke's companion is brought in. Reese can tell that he is dressed like a civilian. He is tall and heavy. "Have a seat," says Reese.
The terminator sits down.
"I am Lieutenant Charles Reese of the United States Army," he says. "What is your name?"
"I am a Cyberdyne Systems Model 101 Series 800," says the terminator. "My ID is 381146."
"What kind of answer is that?"
"I gave you my identification number."
"So, what were you doing?"
"My mission is to ensure the survival of Luke Connor."
"Who sent you on this mission?"
"I was sent here by General John Connor of the United States Army."
"Never heard of him."
"That is because he will not be born for another one hundred twenty-two years."
"What?"
"I came from one hundred sixty-six years in the future."
Lieutenant Reese stares straight into the prisoner's eyes, never having heard such a story before. "Why were you sent to protect someone in the past? Here in 1863?"
"Skynet had sent a T-800 to this day to terminate Luke Connor. Luke Connor was the earliest ancestor that Skynet could locate. We captured the facility where the time displacement unit was located, and I was sent to intercept the terminator in 1863."
"Well, since you are from the future, tell me one thing. When does this war between the states end?"
"The last Confederate troops surrender on May 26, 1865."
"Okay, so you came from the future to protect Luke Connor. I'm sure they have invented better weapons in the future, like a rifle that reloads ammunition whenever it's fired."
"Time displacement is generated when the bioelectric field interacts with the time displacement unit's event horizon. You go through naked. I had to be wrapped in living tissue- skin, muscle, internal organs-before going back in time."
"So what are you underneath the skin?"
"I am a metal endoskeleton, imperviosu to small arms fire, microprocessor controlled."
"Impervisou to bullets? Like the ones from the Colt?"
"Precisely."
Reese takes out his Colt Army revolver. "I think that you're just lying your ass off. You are a spy, and I have never heard a more sillier cover story than that. But since you claim to be bulletproof, I'm gonna test it out." He places the muzzle of the Colt against the terminator's left temple. He pulls the hammer back.
And then pulls the trigger.
The hammer strikes the primer, which deontates the gunpowder. The explosion propels the bullet, and the recoil pushes Reese back a bit.
The terminator stands up, and Lieutenant Reese drops his revolver as he sees someone appearing to be a man get up after a revolver bullet is fired into his head. He looks and sees the shiny silvery surface of the terminator's skull. "I want to see Luke Connor," says the terminator.
The terminator is escorted by Federal soldiers to one of the wooden buildings used to house the Confederate prisoners. He scans the inside. It is a one-room structure with a dirt floor and several beds, with no lighting or heating. There are more people here than beds. He scans the faces of the prisoners until he finds Luke Connor.
"Are you injured?" asks the terminator.
"No," replies Luke. "I'm doing just fine."
"You will be safe here, Luke."
"Who're you?" asks one of the prisoners.
"I am a Cyberdyne Systems Model 101, Series 800, ID 381146."
"Whatever." the prisoner goes back to sleep on the dirt floor.
April 15, 1863
Corporal Luke Connor wakes up on the floor. He looks around and sees some of the prisoners awake, and other are asleep. The terminator stands silently, watching for any threat.
"Did you get any sleep?" asks Luke.
"I do not sleep," says the terminator. "My power cells will allow me to function for another one hundred years. All of my mechanical and electrical systems are operating at peak efficiency."
"Well, I'm feeling well too."
Luke hears a bell ring. "Looks like it's breakfast," says one of the Confederate prisoners.
They all go out into the courtyard where some of the Federal soldiers have gathered. They are all given their breakfast, which is-surprise-hard biscuits.
The terminator gives his biscuit to Luke. Luke looks around and sees some of the other prisoners. He decide to break pieces from the extra biscuit and give it to his fellow soldiers. "Okay, people," says Sergeant Tucker to the prisoners. Everybody line up."
"What is going on?" asksk Luke.
"You are all here to pose for a photograph."
Luke sees a bald man wearing a round hat, a rbown coat, and brown pants. He carries a camera on his tripod. "Okay, y'all," says a the photographer. "This here is a camera. It takes your picture so your likeness can be printed on a piece o' paper."
The Confederate prisoners all pose.
"There," says the photographer. "That should do it." He then returns to his wagon to develop the film.
Lieutenant Charles Reese goes back into his office after having breakfast. Unlike the prisoners and the enlisted men, he and the other officers get to have eggs and fruit. He looks at the Confederate soldiers who had surrendered and now stay here, being fed and c lothed and housed. Some of the prisoners had been here since Fort Henry was taken the year before. He turns towards Sergeant Tucker, the senior enlisted soldier assigned to this prison camp.
"How are the prisoners?" asks the lieutenant.
"They seem to be okay, sir," replies Tucker. "At least physically," says Reese. "Although the guy we caught out of uniform seems to be a bit crazy. He thinks he's a machine."
"Maybe it's from malnutrition. We're not that well-supplied. Some of us don't even have shoes."
"Well, I just can't wait to this war is over. There's this pretty lady back home in Pennsylvania whom I'd love to make my wife."
"Does she know you love her?"
"Well, I haven't exactly had the time to do that, what with this war and all."
"The war is for a good cause, you know. You did praise the Emancipation Proclamation this year. And you did call slavery an abomination."
"Which it is," says the lieutenant. "Still, we need to find a homeland for these people. I mean, do you really want your kids to go to school with little nigger kids?"
The terminator looks at his surroundings. The temperature is sixty-seven degrees Fahrenheit. It is about high noon. He is on a dirt road about thirty miles east of Nashville, Tennessee. He had been walking around looking for clues where Luke Connor had went. He had lost their trail. and he saw the othet terminator. He calculates that the humans took control of Yuma Base and sent one of their terminators to 1863 to intercept him. Skynet had uploaded thousands of files about the Civil War into his memory core before sending him to 1863. He had acquired Connor back at the Confederate fort, but failed to terminate. He knows where to acquire his target. Using his microprocessor, he calculates the best plan to intercept and terminate Luke Connor.
there is not much to do in the Federal prison camp except maybe do some pushup and talk to the other prisoners. The arrival of two prisoners gave new conversation opportunities to the prisoners already here. And their conversation with one of the prisoners is real interesting.
"So yer from the future?" asks one of the Confederate prisoners.
"Affirmative," replies the terminator. "I came from July 11, 2029."
"And I suppose you rode a magical black stallion that can gallop to the past," says another prisoner.
"I went through a time displacement unit," says the terminator. "It is a barrel-shaped device.It creates an event horizon which interacts with a bioelectric field to create temporal transit."
"You sound like Benjamin Franklin," says a prisoner. "So what's it like in the future?' asks Luke.
"I am activated only when I am due for a performance reviewor assigned on a mission. The rest of the time I am kept in storage."
"So you're metal underneath?" asks a prisoner. "And bullets don't kill you?"
"Yes, I have a metal endoskeleton which provides motor function. My human flesh was attached so I can blend in wqith the human population."
"Well, you certainly don't blend in with that German accent of yours."
"Do you like this accent better?"
The prisoner is startled that the terminator spoke in a flawless Southern accent in a voice just like his. "You know, maybe after you are done protectin' Luke here, you can go terminate Abraham Lincoln."
"President Abraham Lincoln is terminated on April 14, 1865."
"Well, there's somethin' to look forward to."
"So, what about you?" asks Luke. "What;s your story?"
"Name's Tom Riker," says the prisoner. "Lieutenant Tom Riker."
"Pleasre to meet you, sir."
"Well, we're prisoners here now. Anyway, I grew up in Memphis, I got married and have a little girl. I was a survivor of Fort Henry."
"Does your wife know?" asks Luke.
"I think so. I heard that the Yanks were negotiatin' prisoner exchanges with us. Maybe my wife got the message. You married, Connor?"
"No, sir. Although from what the terminator told me, I will be married someday."
"That is correct," says the terminator. "And his great-great-great-grandson leads a war for human survival and wins."
"So what is the future like?" asks Luke Connor. "For humans, I mean."
"There is new hope," replies the terminator. "Humans have started to rebuild civilization in portions of America that were liberated from Skynet's forces. It is expected that ninety-nine percent of the country will be liberated by September of 2029."
"But that won't happen of I get killed before getting married and having kids."
"That is correct."
"Where did you grow up?" asks Riker.
"In Carthage," replies Luke. "My dad was a tobacco farmer and was in the militia. I joined the militia and then when the war started, I was called up. One thing led to another, and I'm here."
"Is there anyone special waiting back home?"
"Only my parents. There ain't no girl waitin' for me back home."
Luke sleeps soundly after having a hard biscuit for dinner. He had septn the day listening to stories from his fellow prisoners, and talking about the terminator. Suddenly he wakes up. He looks and sees the terminator.
"He will be here in a few minutes," says the terminator.
"The one who's trying to kill me?" asks Luke.
"Yes. Trust me."
Connor stands up and sees the terminator go out.
"I'll be back," he says. The terminator goes out into the courtyard, past curfew. Predicably, the Federal soldiers come to confront him.
"Get back in that shack, Reb," says one of the soldiers. The terminator keeps moving forward.
the soldier fires a shot with his Springfield Armory rifle-musket. the bullet simply grazes the cyborg's side. He grabs the barrel of the rifle and snatches it. He then punches the soldier and starts running even as shots are fired in his direction.
Lieutenant Colonel Judah Levinstein is having a roast chicken dinner with the outher four officers under his command in the prison camp. The officers' dinner is interrupted by the sound of gunshots.
"Let's check this out," he says. He and the other officers leave the officers' mess to check things out.
They see one of the prisoners in the hallway carrying a rifle. "Now you drop that weapon," says Colonel Levinstein, holding his saber. The prisoner keeps walking forward.
"Surrender now!" yells the colonel.
The prisoner keeps walking, so Levinstein thrusts the saber into him. The prisoner just knocks Levinstein away. More soldiers run in armed with sabers and Colt Army revolvers. They fire shots at the terminator.
"Get him!" yells Levinstein.
The terminator - assigned to terminate Luke Connor- arrives at the United States Army prison camp. His audio sensors indicate that some sort of ruckus is going on inside. He figures his counterpart is staging an escape. He goes to the front gate of the prison camp. Using his servo-motor induced strenght, he pushes down the gates. He clamly enters the courtyard of the prison camp. Some of the soldiers come to repel the intruder. He responds by shooting one of them square in the chest with a bullet from a Richmond Armory rifle-musket. He then shoots the other soldiers with his J.H. Dance and Brothers revolver. He looks around for Connor or his twin.
He sees more soldiers coming out to meet him. He grabs the Colt Army revolvers from the bodies of the fallen Federal soldiers and opens fire at the remaining soldiers. He looks and sees the wooden buildings and calculates that Luke Connor must be in one of those buildings.
Luke sees the terminator come back.
"He's here," says the cyborg. "We'd better get to the stable, grab a horse for you, and escape."
Luke can hear gunshots. Peering through the open door, he can see the Federal soldiers do battle with a figure. "This way," says the terminator. He runs right through the wooden wall, making a man-sized hole. Luke follows his guardian. He runs through the spaces between the wooden buildings used to house prisoners. He can see wooden building with large doors. He sprints towards the stable, relying on the terminator to cover for him. suddenly he feels something sharp at his throat. He sees Lieutenant Reese standing in front of him, holding a saber to his throat.
"Well, well," says Lieutenant Reese. "I guess you Rebs thought you can send someone here to rescue you."
"I have no quarrel with you," Luke says to the Federal lieutenant.
"I ain't gonna let you escape alive. You will die right now."
Suddnely, Reese falls back. Luke looks and sees the terminator, his fist clenched. Luke bends down and grabs Reese's revolver and saber. He looks at the unconscious Federal Army officer, and then at the saber. He prepares to stab the lieutenant through the heart.
"Get away!" yells the terminator. "He's here."
Luke turns and sees his guardian's twin arrive, sporting a rifle. He immediately runs for the stable. He hears gunshots. He falls, and then gets back up again. Hre rushes inside the stable. He sees the horses all in their pens. He also sees where the saddles and reins are located. He grabs a leather saddle and a bridle and bit. He sees the same horse he was riding when he was captured. He fastens the saddle and bridle, making sure all the straps are secure.
"Okay," he says to the horse. "Let's ride."
The horse carries Luke and walks to the stable entrance. Luke sees the Confederate prisoners making a run for it due to the commotion from the two terminators. He wonders if Tom Riker would make it back to his wife and daughter. He kicks the side of the horse gently, and the horse gallops toweards the open gates of the prison.
Wrestling with his other self, the terminator sees Luke ride away on a horse. He delivers powerful punches into his opponet's face, powerful enough to shatter a human jaw. His twin manages to deliver a few counter punches. The two terminators roll around in the dirt. The terminator grabs the Colt Army revolver he acquired from the guards of the prison camp. He fires it at his twin in point blank range. He then carries his twin and runs towards the brick building. Soon, part of the brick wall collapses, and the two of them are in one of the interior rooms. They continue wrestling, rolling around.
Luke is now riding in the woods after an escape from the Federal prison camp. He wonders what to do next. He gets off the horse, and walks off. He feels weak all of a sudden. He sits down and lays against an oak tree.
The battle between the terminators continues. They continue wrestling, as the terminator does his best to keep his twin from getting away. His twin has noticed that the terminator anticipates his every move. Suddenly, the terminator has his twin face down. he gets up, and then slams on his counterparts neck with every ounce of force he can muster. He looks and does an electromagnetic scan. His twin had suffered serious damage. He then leaves to loom for Luke Connor. Just as he leaves, he can hear the galloping of horses. Apparently, someone from the priosn camp rode away to get reinforcement, and the reinforcements are here. The terminator looks at the ground, going to ultravision mode to look at the tracks. He can see recently made hoofprints on the dirt. He follows the hoofprints.
Cavalry soldiers arrive at the prison camp and see the damage and the carnage. Apparently, from what they were told, a single Confederate soldier had attacked the base, killing some of the guards and facilitating the escape of over forty Confederate prisoners. They walk inside the headquarters building. apparently something had busted through the brick wall. "Captain, look!" yells one of the soldiers.
The cavalry captain looks and sees a man on the ground, dressed in the gray uniform of the Confederate soldier.
"He doesn;t seem to be alive, sir," says another soldier.
Suddenyl, the man in the Confederate uniform gets up. "Sweet Jesus," says the captain.
the other soldiers have similar expressions or just keep quiet, for the man's head is dangling from his body. He lifts his head and re-adjusts it, making suire the joints are secure.
None of the soldiers do anything as the man walks. They see him pikc up a rifle from one of the fallen soldiers, and then they see him run away.
The terminator is walking in the forest not far from the prison camp, following the hoofpints. Using infrared, he looks for the heat signatures. He sees the heat signature of a horse and a human. He walks over there. Using visual scanning, he can see the horse that Luke had ridden earlier. And he sees Luke, who appears to be resting against the trunk of an oak tree. "Are you all right?' asks the terminator.
Luke does not respond. The terminator examines Luke and finds a bright red spot on his back.
No further examination is needed to conclude that Luke Connor had been wounded.