Chapter 15: Welcome to Earth
On Earth a sixteen-wheeler truck roared through one of the many deserts, paying no heed to any vehicles or people it happened to pass. At first glance no one would think anything was out of the ordinary until they looked at the truck's occupants. The two that occupied the truck's cabin were identical, from the layout of their faces to their expressions that seemed to be a frozen scowl. These were only two of the hundreds of Terminators that Skynet had sent out in search of supplies. After stealing the truck and emptying out its original cargo, a shipment of some weird sort of edible called Piyokos, the team had set out to one of the top places in Skynet's that would have suitable components. Skynet had been careful when sending the Terminators out on these missions; due to the fact all of them had the exact same camouflage skins no more then two could be sent per location. Any more then that and suspicions would be aroused. Skynet was also careful not to have any of the teams in areas of close proximity to each other. This would reduce the risk of two different teams being seen by the same people. The Terminator behind the wheel of the truck slowed as the surroundings started to change. Instead of endless miles of sand the area became dotted with old and partially gutted vehicles. Cars, trucks, aircraft, even military helicopters and tanks lay about in a makeshift scrap yard. The Terminator driver put on the brakes and the truck came to a screeching, but perfect, stop in next to a hangar like structure and in front of what looked like an office. The door to said office flew open and an older male human with white hair came storming out of it.
"Just who in the hell do you think you are!?!?!" The human yelled as the second Terminator opened his door and jumped to the ground. "Driving like that, you could have killed somebody!!"
"Are you Doohan?" The second Terminator asked, ignoring the human's questions. The human stiffened at the being ignored and the type of question he had just been asked.
"Who wants to know?" The human asked, giving the Terminator a suspicious look.
"Paying customers." The second Terminator answered. "My brother," He nodded towards the Terminator still in the truck. "and I were told you are the best in supplying rare components and parts. Our employer has instructed us to find these," He took a folded piece of paper out of coat and handed it to Doohan. "and to tell you that you shall be well paid for your troubles." Doohan scrutinized the figure before him. He had dealt with his kind before. Disrespectful, arrogant, and willing to throw money away without a second thought, all sure signs that these two were corporation lapdogs. He'd had a few dealings with creeps like this before, and they were all the same. The stuff they bought was sure to end up in some rich prick's personal toy, guaranteed to not be given the respect such machines deserved. It disgusted him but he resigned himself to the fact that things like this couldn't be helped. Besides he had to make a living somehow. He unfolded the paper and began reading. Mostly it was aircraft components, along with some ground vehicle motors. There was also a request for as many VTOL engines as he could supply.
"This it?" He asked, deciding to deal with these corporate pukes.
"We were also instructed to find anything that could be useful to our employers." The man answered.
"And just who are you working for?" Doohan asked. "I like to know who I'm dealing with before I sell them anything." He pointed to the list in his hand. "Most of this stuff is military hardware, and I'm not going to sell this kind of stuff to some rich bastard who doesn't know how to use it." The Terminator reached into his coat and pulled out what looked like a credit card.
"We are in the employment of ISSP." He said as he handed Doohan the card. "This will explain everything." Doohan examined the card for a second.
"Give me a minute." He said and walked towards the office before the Terminator could answer. When he got inside he saw his assistant Miles looking out the window at their visitors.
"Not very friendly, are they?" Miles asked.
"Guys like that aren't paid to be friendly." Doohan responded as he put the card into his computer and scanned it. Everything seemed to check out. Apparently ISSP developed an interest in slashing their expenses on Earth by using what was available on planet instead of spending more for brand new equipment. "Always trying to cut corners." He mumbled before taking the card out. As he left the office he handed Miles the paper. "Get started on that list, you don't want to keep a customer waiting." Miles took one look at the list and his eyes almost left their sockets.
"You've got to be joking!! It'll take me all day just get half of this stuff!! "
"Then you'd better get started." Doohan said and slammed the door to the office. The man hadn't moved and said nothing as Doohan handed him his card back. "You've got yourself a deal, but this is a large order and we'll need at least two days to fill it." The man's face remained impassive, Doohan had expected some kind of reaction, most people didn't take too kindly to delays.
"Wait here." The man said and walked back to the truck. He opened the door and began talking to his brother. Doohan could not hear what was being said but the other man's face remained as blank as the others. The second man nodded and began talking into a radio mike. After a few minutes of conversing with whoever was on the other end he hung up and began talking to the first man, who nodded and jumped back down.
"Agreed." He told Doohan. "You will retrieve all the items on the list we have given you, and we will look for anything else we might need." Without another word he turned and walked off into one section of the boneyard. His bother got out of the truck and headed in a different direction.
"Assholes." Doohan snarled as he trudged back to the office.
At the same time dozens of miles away Spike and Kyle were trying to find way to get to Doohan's property but so far they had come up empty. They couldn't just fly out there because they needed to conserve as much fuel as they could. Before they had landed they had made an orbital pass over Cheyenne Mountain and found vehicles pulling in and out of the area. The increased activity could only be because Skynet had become self aware, and the vehicles were dropping off extra personnel and supplies. Among those forces arriving were bound to be Terminators. Even with the plasma rifles they couldn't take on the three hundred Terminators already built, and they didn't know just how many would be assigned to the complex's security in light of the losses recently suffered. They would need help and Doohan was one of the few they knew was trustworthy.
Kyle no longer wore his ISSP uniform and now had on a loose fitting shirt and pair of jeans. Spike still wore his blue suit but over it, in spite of the heat, he wore a brown overcoat. The reason he was wearing a coat in heat like this was to conceal the plasma rifle he had hung on his shoulder. When they had landed it was decided that Kyle and Spike would try to contact Doohan, while John and Faye gathered any information they could find as well as supplies. With two more mouths to feed the food supply had begun to dwindle. Ed and Jet would remain on the Bebop and try to work out some sort of plan. Each team was given a plasma rifle and right now John was carrying his in the same fashion Spike was. So far no one had seemed to recognize Spike or Kyle and they hadn't seen any Terminators but they were still keeping a sharp lookout for anyone suspicious.
"Your friend would have to live out in the middle of the desert." Kyle gripped as they struck out again trying to convince someone to let them borrow a vehicle. They could have easily stolen one but they didn't want to draw any kind of attention. "Anywhere else would have made this a lot easier."
"He says keeping his stuff out in the middle of nowhere makes anyone think twice about stealing anything. Not exactly easy to sneak up on anyone out there." Spike explained.
"Yeah sure." Kyle said with a dismissive wave. "All I know is the longer it takes us to find transportation the bigger the chance we'll be caught. I just hope Faye and John are having better luck then we are."
As it happened Faye and John were having even less luck then Kyle and Spike. Because they were looking for food in addition to information they had been given the small amount of money that was left. They had been wandering the flea markets for hours but the only thing they found out was everyone overcharged for everything. As they walked both kept an eye out for anyone who would have recognized them. From time to time they got funny looks from the locals so when a man in dirty clothes and a large hat looked at them strangely they paid it no mind. What they didn't see was the man hurry through the crowd towards two other men dressed like him.
"I'm beginning to see why everybody hates Earth." John said as they walked away from another unsuccessful barter session. "Everybody is either charging an arm and leg for the basics or they're trying to rob you." He glared at a shabbily dressed man who was looking at them. The man turned and ran off when he realized he had been caught.
"Look at the bright side." Faye whispered. "At least no one knows who we are."
"Yet." John said. "Probably because no one has a working TV down here." So far the only evidence the two of them had seen that Earth had contact with anyone else was a newspaper from Venus dated three years ago. Of course that didn't mean nobody knew about them, but right now it looked like everyone was clueless.
"Hey buddy." A scratchy voice with a heavy Spanish accent said. Both of them looked over and saw a fat man wearing a large sombrero, a dirty poncho and eye patch. "You looking to buy something? I got lots of stuff, real cheap."
"Sorry buddy but from what I've seen cheap means five hundred Woolongs for a can of soup." John responded.
"I got good stuff, quality price." The fat man insisted. "Maybe you like something for your pretty lady friend. I even got some Bloody Eye if you want some." Faye and John sent him an angry glare. "Ok so you don't do that kind of stuff. That's fine, I got plenty of other goods."
"Sorry but we're not interested." Faye said.
"Then maybe you have something we want." Another voice said from behind them. Turning around John and Faye saw two men dressed in similar clothes as the first. One had a black beard and the second, the one who was talking, had a bad mohawk and a mustache that looked like it belonged on a villain from one of those ancient movies. Both had switchblade knives and were trying to look menacing.
"Like maybe those big bounties that you got hanging over your heads." The fat man finished, flicking open his own switchblade. The situation couldn't be more serious, these three were obviously bounty hunters and knew who they were. Despite that Faye and John just couldn't take the three of them seriously.
"Ok let me get this straight." John said calmly. "You obviously know who we are, and you know why we have bounties on us. Yet you're trying to take us in with knives, as dangerous as we are? I'm guessing that you guys have a combined IQ of what? One, one and a half tops." Faye smiled at the remark but the three bounty hunters growled.
"You not so smart yourself." Patch said. "You got no weapons and you walking around in the open." John and Faye exchanged glances.
"Guess that means they are as dumb as they look." John remarked.
"Yeah, the amazing bonehead brothers." Faye added. Now the three bounty hunters were turning red.
"That's the Memphis brothers to you, smart ass." Mohawk said.
"Yeah, and once we take care of you two we gonna settle a little score with your friend." Patch added.
"Wait a minute. You actually know these guys Faye?" John asked.
"Never seen them before." Faye replied. "I hang out with people who are smarter then a head of lettuce." Now the Memphis brothers were reaching the boiling point. Not just because of the insults but because the two still weren't taking them seriously.
"Quiet!" Patch shouted. "You are coming with us so shut your mouth you little bitch!" Faye froze in place, while John chuckled and shook his head.
"You shouldn't have said that." John said.
"And why not!!" Patch shouted and he got his answer in the form of Faye's fist slamming into his jaw. She had moved so fast not even John had seen it. The blow sent him flying and Faye went after him, a dangerous look in her eyes. John turned to face the other two stunned Memphis brothers.
"She is a pistol isn't she?" He asked them and before the two could answer he nailed Beard with a right cross that sent him to the ground. Mohawk was able to recover his wits and lunged at John with his knife.
"You gonna pay for that!" He snarled. John just sidestepped the lunge and smashed his elbow into Mohawk's nose. John smiled with satisfaction as he heard a crunch and Mohawk stumbled back into Beard, who had lurched off the ground. They stumbled but managed to stay on their feet.
"Heads up!" He heard Faye shout and stepped his to the side just as the sound of a particularly hard punch reached as his ears. Patch came tumbling past and knocked the other two down.
"Alright, now you two are gonna get it." Patch growled. "Come on boys lets get em!" Despite his tough talk he had to be helped up by the other two. His face was beginning to swell in several places and his one good eye was beginning to swell shut. The three charged as best they could, Patch went after Faye and the others went after John. The quickly gathering crowd was treated to the sight of the three Memphis brothers being pummeled by a barrage of punches. The fight finally ended when Faye landed a haymaker to Patch's stomach that made him double over and fall to the ground. John grabbed the other two by the hair and slammed their heads together. As the three fell into a heap the crowd began applauding.
"You three have any other smart remarks you'd like to say?" Faye sneered. The three just looked away.
"Serves you right you bounty hunting scum!!" Someone shouted from the crowed . The Memphis Brothers glared at the person but one look from Faye and they started to cower.
"Not very popular around here are you boys?" She teased.
"You ain't kidding lady." Someone else yelled. "These three bums have been causing trouble for weeks. Taking whatever they wanted, trying to have their way with anything in a skirt they saw, and flashing those knives and bounty hunter licenses, like they were better then everyone else. We kept them away from the girls but they wouldn't stop, and the police, they don't do nothing."
"Is that right?" John asked. "Well we're going to have to do something about that." He turned to the woman who had just been talking. "Go find as much rope as you can, and a roll of duct tape." As the person went to get the items John turned back to the Memphis brothers. "Since there are no cops around I guess it's up to me. I am here by placing you under citizen's arrest, under the charges of assault, sexual harassment and disturbing the peace. How do you plead?"
"Hey man you can't do this to us!!" Patch shouted.
"A plea of guilty is entered." John said, ignoring Patch. "Prosecution?" He said to Faye.
"Lock em up and throw away the key." Faye responded.
"And the defense?" He asked the Memphis Brothers, who just sat there with dumb looks on their faces. "Defense rests." The woman came back and gave him the items he asked for. "Thank you. And now after much deliberation I hereby find you guilty on all charges. You are sentenced to three days, or until the cops actually get off their asses and arrest you themselves."
"No way man!! There's no way you're gonna make us…guhhhh." His protest was cut short by a well-placed foot in his face courtesy of Faye.
"Now you can do this one of two ways." John said as he tied Patch's hands and feet together with the rope, then used the duct tape to make sure he couldn't move his fingers to untie the ropes. Finally he put a piece of tape over his mouth so it would stay shut. "You can do this willingly or you can end up like your friend here." The two remaining brothers looked from John over to Patch, who was still unconscious, then over to Faye, who had an evil grin on her face. They took one look at that grin and held their hands out to be tied up.
"Anything you say man, just keep her away from us!" Mohawk pleaded. John grinned and tied them up the same way he had done with Patch. With the help of several enthusiastic volunteers from the crowd they then tossed all three of them into an abandoned bathroom with no windows and barricaded the door so they couldn't get out, even if they managed to loosen their bonds.
"I'll come back in a few days, hopefully we'll be able to really do something about these dopes. Have somebody feed them occasionally but make sure to put those gags back on. No telling what kind of bull they'll say to get you to untie them."
"Don't worry." One of the crowd assured him. "They're not getting out until you say so." He held out his hand and John shook it. "Thanks for your help, if there's anything we can do for you just ask."
"Have you ever seen anyone who looks like this?" John asked as he handed the man a picture Ed had printed out of the Terminator from the attack on the Blue Snakes. The man examined the picture for a few moments then handed it back to John.
"Sorry, but I've never seen anyone like around here. He a friend of yours?"
"Something like that." John replied. "If he's not here we'd better get going."
"Well I hope you find him, and come back whenever you like. You'll always be welcome here."
"We'll be sure to take you up on the offer sometime." John said as they turned to leave. "Take care." After they were out of earshot Faye turned to him.
"You know we could have asked for food while we were there. They seemed pretty willing to give us some."
"They barely have enough to feed themselves Faye. I don't think even you would steal food from a starving person." Faye snorted but didn't answer.
"So what do we do now?" She asked after a few minutes.
"We keep going. Find anyone who can help, figure out what the situation with the Dragons, and get back to the Bebop."
"Sounds like a blast." Faye remarked as they kept walking.
Back at Doohan's place Miles was loading one of the requested VTOL engines into the back of the truck under the supervision of one of the brothers. Miles tried to make conversation but the man was not that talkative.
"So how long you and your brother been working with ISSP?" The man remained silent. "Ok. I get it, top secret kind of stuff." Deciding to change subjects he choose one of his favorite things to talk about. "So have you been following the baseball season so far?"
"No." The man answered. Miles apparently didn't hear the answer because he didn't stop talking.
"It's really been up and down so far. The Blue Sox have an ace pitching staff but their bullpen keeps on blowing it in the last two innings. Everybody says they're cursed but I'm still holding out hope. What do you think?"
"I think that you talk too much and do not focus on your work enough." The answer surprised Miles and he almost lost control of the forklift he was driving, coming very close to dropping the engine. He managed to safely put the engine into the truck but when he looked over at the man he found himself on the receiving end of a stare that told him he was in trouble.
"That'll be enough for today Miles." Both turned around and saw Doohan and the other brother walking up to them. Each was carrying a box full of parts, but the second brother had a box that was easily two times the one Doohan was carrying and at least twice the weight. They put the boxes in the back of the truck, which held various containers and several large engines. "You'll have to forgive my assistant here. He's still a little green."
"If the engine has been damaged you will not be paid for it." The first brother stated. Doohan nodded.
"I understand. I'd do the same thing." He closed the doors of the cargo area and locked them. "That's all we can give you now. If you come back tomorrow we should have the hydraulic controls and additional engines you wanted." The two brothers nodded and one of them took out another plastic card and tossed it to Doohan.
"You will receive the rest tomorrow." One said and both climbed back into the truck's cabin without another word. The engine roared to life and the truck sped away in the same direction it came. After it was out of sight Doohan took Miles' hat off and hit him over the head with it.
"Damn it Miles! If that engine is busted and we don't get paid for it the cost is coming out of your salary!!"
"Hey I'm sorry!" Miles said. "The guy was starting to give me the creeps." To his surprise Doohan calmed down and gave him his hat back.
"I know what you mean. There was something not right about those two. I just can't put my finger on it. When they were out in the bone yard they were able to identify parts and disassemble them faster then even I could. Thing is, those two look and act more like hired thugs then mechanics. Something just isn't right."
"You know what the weirdest thing is?" Miles said as he put his hat back on and adjusted it. "I swear that I've seen those two somewhere before."
"Probably just your imagination acting up." Doohan told him as he turned and went back into the office.
Several miles down the road Spike and Kyle were headed towards Doohan's in their newly acquired transportation, a busted up old jeep that sounded like it would die any second. They had run into a man wanting to get rid of it and even though it looked like it would fall apart if somebody sneezed. Spike and Kyle were desperate so they agreed to take it. Kyle was driving and Spike was riding shotgun, literally. He had the plasma rifle out and ready for use in case they ran into trouble. Trouble indeed almost literally ran into them when a sixteen-wheeler truck came barreling down the center of the road. Kyle spun the steering wheel and barely avoided being clipped by the larger vehicle.
"Just what the hell is their problem!?!?" Kyle shouted once he got back on the road.
"Don't know." Spike answered as he craned his neck around to get a better look but the truck was already becoming a speck. "Did you see who was driving it?"
"Sorry but I was too busy watching my life flash before my eyes." Kyle responded. Spike just shrugged and settled back into his seat. About ten minutes later they arrived at Doohan's. Doohan came out of the office expecting the two corporate pukes to be back complaining about their damaged engine but instead he saw Spike, and someone else, get out of a small jeep.
"Spike? What brings you all the way out here? I didn't think the Swordfish would need another overhaul so soon."
"Wish it was something that simple." Spike answered. "We're in a bit of trouble and…"
"Hey pops!" A voice yelled from inside the office. They looked over and saw Miles coming outside holding several pieces of paper. "We'll be able to get the hydraulics by tomorrow but those engines won't be here for at least a week." He looked up and noticed Kyle and Spike for the first time. His eyes widened slightly and he started to say something but Doohan cut him off.
"It can wait a few minutes Miles." He turned back to Spike. "So Spike, who's your friend?" Spike and Kyle both gave him confused looks.
"You mean you don't know who I am?" Kyle asked.
"Should I know?" Doohan asked with a frown.
"I know who you are!" Miles blurted. "You're Kyle Reese! You and that other ISSP cop, what's his name? Uh, Conner, that's it, John Connor. You guys are wanted for blowing up a building and killing a bunch of cops." He looked at Spike. "So are you!"
"You did what!?!" Doohan shouted at the two.
"Well we did kind of blow up a building." Spike admitted.
"But we didn't kill any cops!" Kyle was quick to add. Doohan shook his head the looked at Miles.
"And just how do you know all this?"
"I saw it on TV." Miles explained. "They had a special episode of Big Shot, broke into the ball game I was watching." His eyes widened in realization and he snapped his fingers. "That's where I saw those two before!"
"Saw who before?" Kyle and Spike asked.
"Those two weird guys we just sold a bunch of stuff to. One of them was on Big Shot the other day. Something about killing snakes." Kyle and Spike exchanged glances.
"Did these two look exactly alike?" Spike asked. Miles nodded.
"Did they have blank faces, dead looking eyes and funny accents?" Kyle asked. Miles nodded again.
"Yea. How'd you know about that?" Spike didn't answer and looked in the direction they had come from.
"See anything?" Kyle asked.
"Nothing." Spike replied. "Are they supposed to be coming back?" He asked Miles.
"As a matter of fact they're coming back tomorrow to pick up some stuff."
"Would somebody please tell me what the hell is going on?" Doohan exclaimed.
"Let's go inside." Spike said. "You're going to want to be sitting down when you here this."
Elsewhere Faye and John were about to run into problems of their own. They'd come across another town built in the ruins of a city and were having slightly better luck. By asking around they had learned about a man called Jack who dealt in high tech, and usually stolen, equipment. When they had described some of the rarer things Jack had John recognized some of them as being parts for the plasma rifles they had taken from Cyberdyne. If he had access to that kind of equipment he could be very useful against the Dragons. The trick would be convincing him to help with no money or goods to offer in trade. As they approached Jack's shop, fittingly an old appliance store they saw two people standing in front of the counter. They decided to stay back until he was finished with those two before approaching. One pressed a large wad of bills into Jack's hand and the two turned to leave. When they did turn Faye and John saw two faces that were same in every detail. The same type of faces they had been seeing a lot of lately, Terminators. Instinctively John started to go for his plasma rifle but Faye grabbed his arm to stop him. He was tempted to just push her away and grab the rifle but he noticed the same thing Faye had. The Terminators had not recognized them; they hadn't drawn their guns and didn't have any outward reaction to them. John didn't want a firefight with civilians in the area so he kept the rifle under his coat and hoped that they would just leave.
Unfortunately for John both Terminators were already regarding him with a high level of suspicion. They had seen the human reach for something under his coat and even though the female stopped him both regarded this as an aggressive action. Both of the human's pupils had dilated, and both were breathing at a faster rate then normal, a typical 'fight or flight' reaction. These two would have no reason to act like this unless both knew what they really were, and Skynet was sure no one on Earth knew about them. Activating a thermal scan both saw that the female was armed with a simple Glock pistol but the male was concealing a rifle whose make they could not identify. They also saw that one part of the rifle was slightly hotter then rest of the weapon. Both factors led the Terminators to the conclusion that both humans must be questioned.
"Is there a problem?" The first Terminator asked. As he spoke he searched his memory backs for the identities of the two humans. In nanoseconds he had them. The female was Faye Valentine, a bounty hunter and the male was John Connor, an ISSP lieutenant. Since neither Terminator had recent data they could not compute why either human would know of them.
"No problems." John answered quickly. "We thought you were someone we knew." Even a normal person could detect the nervousness in his voice as his hand slowly moved towards his weapon.
"Keep your hands away from your rifle." The second Terminator warned. Both Terminators drew their guns. They had been ordered not to kill unless they were directly threatened but the erratic behavior of this human could become a threat. John looked over to Faye who nodded.
"Whatever you say." John said but brought up his rifle and fired several shots, one of which caught the first Terminator in the chest and knocked him down. The second Terminator returned fire and drove the humans back. The first Terminator got to his feet, a smoking hole in his chest. His power cell had not been damaged so he was still functional. As they began to pursue the first Terminator took out a radio and spoke into it.
"Advanced team three reporting. There is a situation."
"What is the situation?" Skynet answered.
"We have encountered humans armed with an energy weapon. Unit twenty has sustained significant damage but remains functional."
"Who are the humans that have the weapons?" Skynet asked.
"They have been identified as Faye Valentine and John Connor."
"Pursue and terminate the humans. Capture the weapon if possible but do not allow the humans to survive."
"Understood." The first Terminator said and shut off the radio. At the command complex Skynet began a search of the two individuals to see how they might have acquired such a weapon.
After John had managed to damage one of the Terminators he and Faye started to run through the twisting streets and mangled wreckage in an attempt to escape. The plasma rifle gave them an advantage but they didn't know how many other Terminators were out there. Taking cover behind a pile of debris they listened for sounds of their pursuers.
"So you have a plan for getting out of here?" Faye whispered.
"Not really. What about you?" John replied. Faye shook her head. "Well at least we're on the same level of thinking." The humor quickly disappeared as bullets started flying over their heads.
"Surrender and you will not be harmed." Came the neutral tone of one of the Terminators.
"Like we're supposed to believe that." John mumbled. He looked behind them and saw the ruined streets of the city forming a virtual maze, offering a hundred different hiding places. "Ok I've got a plan. I'm going to distract those two and you're going to make a run for it."
"Now wait a minute!" Faye started but John cut her off.
"Don't argue! You have a better chance of ditching these things so when I start firing you start running! Get back to the ship and warn the others." He didn't give her a chance to argue as he stood up and sprayed the area with plasma bolts. The damaged Terminator was to slow to react and one of the bolts took the top part of his head off, but the other one managed to get behind cover. "Go!" He shouted at Faye and after giving him a hesitant look she started running. After she had disappeared behind a corner John got out from behind his cover and slowly made his way to where the second Terminator was hiding, ready to open fire at the first sign of movement. He heard a loud crash and rushed the rest of the way to discover a wall with a large hole in it. "Damn!" He cursed and ran though it. He was afraid this might happen but he was sure that it would focus on the most dangerous thing, him. Instead he had gone after the one he was allowing to escape, Faye. John charged down the narrow street of what looked like a slum, praying he found Faye before that thing did. Instead of what he wanted he got the opposite as turned one corner and almost ran head long into the Terminator.
Faye didn't want to run but she realized she would only distract John so she had done as he asked. She had ended up in some area that was rundown even by Earth standards. Some of the buildings, the ones that had been made of solid stone, had held up better then the others, where the wood had rotted and metal had rusted.
"SHIT!!!" She heard John's voice yell followed by a salvo of plasma gun blasts and the sharper, deeper report of the Terminator's handgun. She hid beside one of the buildings and waited. "Faye!" She heard John call a second later. "Faye are you all right? Can you hear me? It's dead Faye. It's safe to come out now." Faye breathed a sigh of relief then answered.
"I'm fine John! Where are you?"
"Damned if I know." John answered. "The only things you can use for landmarks are small pieces of garbage and large pieces of garbage. Just follow the sound of my voice and I'll follow the sound of yours. We're bound to run into each other eventually."
"You got it." She said and started walking. "You think there are any more of those things out there?"
"Don't know, but we're going to need to be very careful." Faye was about to respond when from behind her someone clamped a hand over her mouth and dragged her into one of the buildings before she knew what was happening.
"Be quiet and don't panic!" Whoever it was hissed into her ear. She recognized the voice and turned her head around. Whoever was holding her let her do so and her eyes widened when she found herself looking at John. Luckily his hand was still over her mouth and it muffled the surprised shout she gave.
"Faye?" John's voice said from outside. Faye looked from outside back to John, who hadn't spoken a word. "Faye, is everything all right? Faye!?" The voice seemed to become more urgent and the two of them heard footsteps approaching. John guided Fay further back into the building and took his hand off her mouth.
"Answer him." John told her as he aimed the rifle at the door. Still confused Faye didn't do anything. "Don't just stand there answer him!" He hissed. Realizing what John was doing she did answer.
"I'm in here!!" Faye shouted as loud as she could. The footsteps began to draw nearer.
"Where are you?!" John's voice from outside said, closer this time.
"Over here!!" Faye yelled. She saw a shadow approach the doorway and felt her heart skip a beat. The Terminator, minus one arm, walked into the doorway still speaking in John's voice.
"Faye you've got to stop hide…." The Terminator saw John and raised his gun but John was quicker and put a plasma bolt right through the energy cell. The one armed Terminator fell back, convulsing, and exploded when he hit the ground.
"He got the drop on me." John said, lowering the gun. "Nailed me pretty good too, must have thought I couldn't fight anymore. Guess I showed him didn't I?" He sat down painfully and for the first time Faye noticed his left arm was bleeding. Kneeling down Faye saw a large wound that was bleeding at a steady rate. "Not as bad as it looks." John insisted. "It just grazed me and took a little skin off with it."
"It's more then a little skin." Faye told him bluntly, not accepting his lies. "You're lucky it didn't hit an artery." She stated as she tore one of the sleeves off his coat and used it as a tourniquet to stop the blood flow. "Keep pressure on that." She ordered him as she picked the rifle off the floor. "Can you stand?"
"Of course I can." John said and got up, and almost fell down like a drunk. The loss of blood was making him a bit light headed. "Just not very well." Faye shook her head at his stubbornness and grabbed his uninjured arm.
"Come on. We're going back to that town and see if they can fix your arm." She told him and started to half guide half drag him out of the building.
Back at Doohan's Spike and Kyle finished telling Miles and Doohan everything that had happened so far and while both were surprised Doohan was doing a good job of hiding it.
"So you're telling me, that those two corporate pukes I sold all that stuff to this morning were a couple of robots?" Doohan asked in a tone of annoyance.
"That's about the size of it." Kyle told him.
"I knew there was something wrong about those two, I just knew it." Doohan grumbled.
"Now you're sure that they'll be coming back here tomorrow?" Spike asked.
"They said they would be." Miles answered.
"Looks like all my good karma is finally paying off." Spike said with a grin.
"And what do mean by that?" Kyle asked him.
"We need to find out what the Dragons are up to with Skynet, and we just happen to have someone who can tell us exactly what's going on coming to us."
"Spike, those things aren't just going to give us the information we want." Kyle reminded him.
"I know that. But if we catch and disable one of them, take precautions to protect Ed's computer from the Terminator AI, we just might have something."
"And I suppose you have just the thing to capture one of those Terminators without destroying it?" Spike grinned again.
"As a matter of fact I do. We just need to set it up and they'll walk right into it." Kyle looked around at Doohan and Miles. Both of them seemed interested in what Spike had in mind.
"Ok Spike, you've got my attention. Let's hear what you've got."