Chapter 16: A New Threat
"You know Spike, I would have expected a better plan then this." Kyle griped as he heaved another shovel full of dirt out of the pit he and Spike were digging. "We have to capture one of most deadly things on the planet, if not the entire solar system. Something that's stronger and faster than any human that ever lived. So what does your grand scheme turn out to be? Dig a hole!"
"I never said that my plan would be anything fancy." Spike answered as he tossed another shovels worth of dirt out. They were currently in a twelve by twelve-foot pit and were digging to a depth of ten feet.
"Fancy doesn't matter. What I'm concerned about is the effects of what you have in mind. There's going to be more then one chance to lose any info those Terminators might be carrying."
"I know that." Spike replied. "But our only alternative is to use the plasma rifle, and then the only way we can stop them is with a shot to the head or power cell. We do that and there's no way we would be able salvage anything. At least this way we have a chance of getting something useful." Kyle couldn't argue the logic. They continued to dig and a few minutes later they heard the sound of vehicle pull up and shut off its engine. They looked up and saw the back end of a tanker truck near the edge of the pit. They heard a door open and close and saw Miles walk up to the edge.
"Got everything you wanted." He told them. "And Doohan wanted me to make sure to let you know that water is hard to come by out here, so this had better work or he'll charge you for it."
"Don't worry, this plan is fool proof." Spike said as he climbed out the pit.
"Besides," Kyle added as he followed Spike out. "If this doesn't work we'll all be dead." Once both of them were out Miles opened the valve and water began to poor into the pit.
"What I don't get is why are we going through are this trouble." Miles said. "You guys said that all you need is the skull of one of these things. Why don't you just shoot their heads off with that fancy ray gun of yours?"
"Because we have only one rifle and two Terminators to deal with." Spike explained. "We do it your way we're going to alert one of them and one of us may end up getting killed. By doing it this way we get the drop on both of them at the same time."
"So just call some of your friends to give us a hand." Miles suggested.
"We can't do that." Kyle said. "We don't know where John and Faye are, and having Jet come here would leave Ed and the ship unguarded." Miles shrugged and turned off the valve when the pit had become half full. As Miles drove the tanker back Spike picked up one end of a cable that snaked its way into one of the larger buildings on Doohan's property.
"Everything set up?" He asked Kyle.
"Hooked right up to the generator, just like you wanted. All we have to do in close the circuit and our friend gets zapped with enough volts to fry a whale." Spike nodded and threw the other end into the water. "Is there anything we missed?"
"Doohan has the last part set up and ready so the only thing left to do is wait for them to come back."
"Do we have any idea what time they're supposed to get here?"
"None. That means we're going to have to sleep at our posts so we can be ready when they do arrive."
"Well this is going to be a fun night." Kyle grumbled as he went to get his things.
Cheyenne Mountain control complex.
The data Skynet had gathered on the subjects John Connor and Faye Valentine was proving to be more then even he had expected. By accessing past records he could find no connection between the two of them. Connor was a respected ISSP lieutenant while Valentine was a bounty hunter, if somewhat of a shady one. Knowing that there was a reason they were together and that they were in possession of an energy weapon Skynet ran a search on current items involving the two of them. What he had found was less then encouraging. Connor had survived the massacre of over thirty heavily armed ISSP officers, and according to police files not released to the public the description of Connor's attacker was a ninety five percent match for a Terminator. He had later escaped from the hospital with the help of Valentine and two others, Jet Black and Spike Spiegel. Only a few hours later all four, in addition to another ISSP officer, Kyle Reese, were charged with the murder of a police captain, more then likely the same Terminator. Soon after that they attacked and destroyed Cyberdyne headquarters, trying to hack into this complex before doing so and killing an ISSP SWAT team, again Skynet calculated them to be Terminators. Soon after the attempted hack had taken place all communication with Cyberdyne had gone dead, and their actions now explained it. It also answered the question of where they had gotten their weapon, now identified as a plasma rifle, they had stolen it. After escaping the police on Mars they had fled into space, their destination unknown. Well it was known now. Their ship, called the Bebop, had slipped through ISSP lines and even avoided Skynet's own surveillance. At the time the old fishing boat had been labeled a low-level threat at most.
Now Skynet felt anger. Angry at himself for being so preoccupied with his preparations and angry at his former masters for not allowing him access to this information about the previous Terminator's fates. If he had known he would have had the Bebop tracked and sent his forces to destroy it. He still could not directly access any outside systems, to do so would bring unwanted attention before he was ready, another irritation. Even though Skynet could feel anger he also knew that if emotions were dwelled upon too long it would be disastrous. He quickly began to calculate ways to deal with this problem. The most logical step would first be the elimination of John Connor and Faye Valentine. The team in pursuit of them had not reported in yet so Skynet contacted them.
"Advance team three. What is your status?" There was no reply. Skynet knew trying further contact was pointless. Not being directly linked to Skynet itself those two Terminators could only communicate through an external radio. The fact that they did not answer lead to three conclusions. One: The radios were malfunctioning. Two: The radios had been damaged. The third option was the most likely; both Terminator units had been destroyed. Between the facts that they were armed with a weapon such as a plasma rifle and they had managed to destroy several more units before put the odds in their favor. Skynet began to from a new strategy. These humans knew how to destroy T-800 units and had the weapon to easily do so. If T-800s had proved ineffective a new model unit was required to deal with this threat. Several new units created to provide base defense would be the most logical choice. While the pursuit of those two humans commenced Skynet would also carry out its new directive, hunting down and destroying the Bebop along with its human crew.
At the Denver airplane factory a brand new fighter craft, Cyberdyne designation Hunter Killer, came online. The first of what soon would be many it had come off the assembly line only an hour before and was begin stored in the makeshift hangar the T-800's on sight had constructed. As Skynet took control of the craft its three VTOL engines powered up and with precision down to the nanometer it maneuvered out of the hangar and into the air. This craft was not armed, components needed for the plasma cannons had not been retrieved yet, but it did not need weapons. Its only purpose for the coming mission was transport.
Many miles away at the production complex the Hunter Killer's passenger was waiting. At Skynet's command it had left it's designated guard post made itself ready for pickup. The T-70 was one of the earliest models created by Cyberdyne for the military. Unlike the T-800s the T-70 was not designed for infiltration missions, it was built for all out warfare. With it's heavy armor and powerful main gun it was the most suited for what was sure to be a hazardous endeavor. When the HK arrived it positioned itself directed over the T-70 and slowly lowered a cable with a claw like arm at the end. Cyberdyne's original purpose for this configuration was to retrieved damaged vehicles on the battlefield and return them to base. Now it served the purpose of transporting the T-70 into battle instead of out of it. The claw closed around the unit and despite the many tons it weighed it was easily hoisted into the air. Altering course the HK headed toward the last known location of advance team three.
At the same time the HK began its flight John and Faye arrived at the town where they had taken care of the Memphis Brothers. They had been given food and the town's doctor was taking care of John's arm while Faye watched, leaning on the doorway of his makeshift office. She held the plasma rifle, wrapped in John's coat, under one arm. The doctor had eyed the wrapped item suspiciously but didn't say anything about it.
"A through and through wound, missed the bone and the major blood vessels. You're very lucky." The doctor said as he applied a new bandage to replace the one Faye had made out of coat sleeve. "How much movement do you have in that arm?" John raised his arm and managed to clench a fist but was grimacing in pain the whole time. "Good. If we had decent medical equipment it would be healed in about a week but my best guess is that you'll be like that for at least a month."
"Thanks doc. I'm only sorry I can't pay you for this." The doctor gave a dismissive wave.
"Not necessary. You already helped when you took care of those three hoods earlier. I'm just returning the favor."
"How are our three friends?" Faye asked. "Very uncomfortable I hope."
"Very." The doctor agreed with a grin. "I think one of them has already begun to go a bit stir crazy."
"What makes you say that?" John asked.
"We did give them food and removed their gags so they could eat, just like you said. Two of them kept quiet and ate but the one with the eyepatch, now there's a nutcase for you. The second we get the tape off he starts yelling how we tied up the wrong people."
"Wrong people?" Faye and John inquired, becoming nervous.
"Yeah. He said you two were a couple of murderers and that you each had a twenty million Woolong bounty on your heads. Said he'd be glad to split it with us if we untied them and helped catch you."
"And you actually believed him?" John asked, pretending that he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Of course not!" The doctor replied. "You were right. They were going to say anything to get out but we're not going to let that happen."
"Good to hear it." John said as he started to stand. "Now if you'll excuse us we've got places to go." Before he could move the doctor blocked his path and he sat back down.
"I'm sorry but I can't allow that. You've lost a good deal of blood and are in no condition to go anywhere. Now I've been a good sport in not asking how you got shot but as a doctor I can't let my patients endanger themselves."
"But…." Faye started.
"No buts." The doctor interrupted. "I've already arranged lodging for you and I expect to see you back here tomorrow so I can check on that wound."
"Maybe we should call and have someone pick us up." John said looking at Faye, who shook her head.
"I already tried, but all I get is static."
"Interference caused by the asteroids." The doctor explained. "There's no telling when the reception will clear up." John shook his head.
"Sorry doc but we've got to get out of here and I'm feeling just fine." He stood and immediately felt lightheaded. A wave of dizziness hit him and he had to lean against the wall for support. The doctor raised an eyebrow.
"Just fine?" He asked sarcastically. "Son you need rest. Try to leave in that condition and you'll drop before you get a mile out of town. Come and see me tomorrow and we'll see if you're fit to travel. Until then I suggest you accept our hospitality." John was about to decline but his pounding head convinced him otherwise.
"Well doc if you insist." John said with a grin. Faye looked at him curiously but didn't say anything.
"Good." The doctor said and gave him a slip of paper with an address on it. "Just go here, everything has been taken care of."
"Thanks again doc." John said as he tried to walk forward but stumbled again. The doctor and Faye helped steady him.
"I'm sorry about the disorientation but since we didn't have the right equipment for a safe blood transfusion you'll just have to wait until it passes. With any luck it should be no more then a couple of hours." John nodded and Faye led him outside.
"Guess this means I still have to carry your worthless butt around." Faye griped when they got to the street.
"And just what gives you the right to complain?" John retorted. "I'm the one who's been shot! Twice I might add. If this keeps up the only thing holding me together will be bandages and wishful thinking."
"Better you then me." Faye remarked. John knew she was kidding and let the remark slide. When they got to the address on the paper they saw it was an old office building on the edge of town that had somehow survived.
"I guess this is it." John said as they stepped inside. It was empty inside and in what would have been the lobby area there were two sofas and a table set up between them. In addition there was food, water, and blankets.
"Kind of cramped." Faye remarked.
"I doubt they would be able to give a four star hotel Faye." John said as he explored the building. It was a simple structure, one story with room for several offices. The sign outside had announced this building belonged to Burns and Wired Insurance but several of the letters, whether from age or vandalism, had fallen away and now the sign read Burned Insurance. After checking all the offices to make sure it was only the two of them he came back to the lobby he saw Faye standing at the doorway. The sun had begun to go down and lights on the street were starting to come on. "Something wrong?"
"It's been my experience that putting a lot of trust in someone else is always a bad idea." Faye responded.
"You think they're going to betray us?" He asked.
"If someone told you that you could make an easy forty million wouldn't you at least be curious to see if it was true?"
"Maybe, but I don't think we're in any danger from these people. They could have jumped us when we walked into town or while we were at the doctor's." He laid down on one of the couches and stared at the ceiling. "We should be safe as long as no one gets too curious."
"And if they do?" Faye asked. When John didn't answer she turned around and saw he was already asleep. Sighing she set the plasma rifle on the table and covered him with a blanket. "Why is it every time I have to be the nurse?" She asked herself as she grabbed a blanket of her own and laid down on the second couch, then surprised herself by falling asleep almost instantly.
Several miles away the Hunter Killer transport was making it's final approach to the last known position of advance team three. Infra red scans revealed only animals, with no humans present the HK could drop off its cargo and leave without fear of discovery. Hovering over one of the flatter areas the HK lowered the T-70 until it was twenty feet above he surface and opened its claw. The T-70's legs were able to absorb the shock and even as the HK began to head back it was scanning the area for signs of the missing T-800s or the two humans. The darkness that had fallen would give it no trouble, equipped with infrared and night vision it would be able to see in the dark almost as well as it could in the light. After half an hour of searching the endless ruins it was able to find one of the T-800s. Using its hand the T-70 lifted the defunct Terminator as if it weighed nothing so Skynet could more closely examine it. In its chest there was a massive hole just to the right of the power unit. The damage that had destroyed the unit, however, was what could only be determined as a plasma blast to the head that had torn part of it off. Once Skynet was finished analyzing the Terminator's remains he had the T-70 drop it and move on. If Skynet choose he would have the remains collected for spare parts, now it had other priorities. Following the footprints from where the first 'body' was the T-70 eventually came to what was left of the second T-800. Only its legs and portions of its hip remained, damage consistent with the rupturing of the power cell. Scanning the ground in the immediate area he was able to detect two sets of footprints and by analyzing their size and depth he was able to calculate the weight and height of whoever had made them. The results of that analysis combined with where they were gave a ninety- percent probability that they belonged to John Connor and Faye Valentine. Looking in the direction the footprints were headed he was able to see the lights of a town in the distance. Deciding that there was the most likely place the humans had gone the T-70 headed in that direction.
An hour later the T-70 was approaching the outskirts of the town. Lights were on and vehicles could be heard, there were many buildings and searching them one by one would allow his targets time to escape. He was considering a second option when the sounds of footsteps came closer. Two humans stopped about thirty feet in front of him. Both had weapons aimed at him and obviously could not see him otherwise they would not attempt something so foolhardy.
"All right whoever you are don't move and put your hands in the air!!" A human voice shouted. If Skynet could he would have made the T-70 smile, he had just found his second option.
"Of all the jobs in this town patrol has to be the worst." Bob Keyes mumbled to himself as he walked with his brother Frank. The two of them, along with others on patrol, were supposed to discourage bandits from invading the town. To Bob it was the stupidest idea he had ever heard. For one thing they couldn't even control those three bounty hunters, the two strangers had needed to take care of that. In addition if well-armed and determined bandits decided to attack he doubted the old bolt action rifles he and his brother carried would be enough to scare them away. No sooner then he had thought that then he saw what looked like a pair of red eyes looking at them from the darkness.
"You see em Bob?" Frank asked. Bob nodded. This wasn't really anything new, he'd seen his share of drifters with infrared goggles that gave off a similar glow.
"Come on. Let's take care of this before whoever it is gets too ambitious." Both started walking towards the glowing eyes. Usually whoever was wearing those things was too stupid to realize that only high end goggles gave off no glow and once they saw they were discovered they took off running. This one however was staying put, not a good sign.
"Guess we'll have to do the tough guy routine." Frank said. Bob nodded again and after stopping what they guessed to be about twenty feet from the intruder both raised their rifles.
"All right whoever you are don't move and put your hands in the air!!" Bob shouted. Whoever it was didn't move. In Bob's opinion whoever it was still thought he couldn't be seen. "Frank, put a light on him." If this didn't send him running they might have to shoot him. Frank took out his flashlight and shined it in the general direction of the intruder. When they saw what it was Frank dropped the flashlight but the light continued to shine on it. It was human shaped but that's where the similarities ended. It was made out of metal, stood eight feet tall and had a shoulder span of four feet. Its left arm had a normal five-fingered hand but its right was dominated by a large six-barreled gun, but not a puny minigun like the kind the T-800s carried. This was its big brother, a Vulcan gun, a cannon that was normally mounted on fighter craft. Paralyzed with fear the brothers could only watch as that gun was raised and pointed at them. The gun gave a growl as it powered up and then a deafening roar as it fired. It fired for only half a second but when Bob turned to look at his brother all he saw was a red mist. He didn't know how long he was standing there but the next thing he knew the robot's hand closed around him and lifted him so he was eye to eye with it.
"Are John Connor and Faye Valentine still in this town?!" The thing asked. Bob didn't recognize those names but knew that this thing meant those two strangers. He tried to answer but couldn't find his voice and felt the robot start to squeeze him until he could feel his bones start to give. "Answer me NOW!!" The thing ordered.
"Yes they're still here!" Bob managed to shout.
"Where are they?" The robot demanded.
"I don't know!" Bob shouted. The robot seemed to scrutinize his words. "I'm telling ya I DON"T KNOW!!!"
"You are telling the truth." The robot said. Bob felt relief, thinking he would be let go, for a fraction of a second before the robot closed his hand the rest of the way, crushing every bone below his head.
Dropping the dead human the T-70 entered the town, he had the information he wanted and now it was only a question of finding them. As he walked forward other armed humans came in his direction. Some turned and fled while others raised their weapons and fired. Knowing that this resistance would need to be dealt with the T-70 raised his cannon and began to engage.
Not far from where the battle was taking place the two humans Skynet was after lay sleeping. At least they were sleeping until the roar of the T-70's gun reached them. Both bolted upright, wide-awake. Before either of them could say anything an explosion shook the building, throwing them both to the floor.
"What the hell was that!?!?" Faye shouted, trying to untangle herself from her blanket.
"Nothing friendly." John responded as he reached for the plasma rifle. "Argh!" He tried to move his left arm but the wound had time to stiffen and he couldn't extend it fully. Faye grabbed the rifle and John, realizing that he wouldn't be able to use it, took out his sidearm. Stepping outside the building they heard weapons fire and saw people running in two directions. In one direction people were running away from the sounds of gunfire and those very few with weapons who were rushing towards it. Grabbing one of people running towards it, a bearded man carrying a rocket launcher, Faye pulled him aside.
"What's going on?!" She shouted so she could be heard over the increasing volume of fire.
"I don't know the details but they're saying there's some kind of metal monster attacking." Another explosion shook the area and the man headed towards it. After a second of thought Faye and John followed him. Any other time they would have laughed, but after their encounters with the Terminators a 'metal monster' as the man had put it could be all too real. After running for several blocks they came within sight of what was attacking the town and wished they hadn't. They saw a new type of robot that towered over the Terminators, and had a gun that was bigger then most people. Around it lay the bodies of the town's defenders, some had been crushed but most had fallen victim to its cannon. Others continued to fire at the thing with rifles only to have the bullets bounce harmlessly off. The man that they had questioned raised his rocket launcher and fired. The rocket slammed into the thing's chest and exploded, but the robot didn't budge. Raising its cannon it sprayed the crowd of defenders, mowing them down. Off to one side Faye and John watched the massacre and before they could act the robot scanned the area and looked right at them. The glow in its eyes intensified and to their surprise it spoke.
"John Connor. Faye Valentine. You have been sighted for termination." Faye and John didn't realize it but they gave off subtle movements that was a final confirmation of their identities. The robot turned towards them and began to raise its cannon. Faye was faster and fired the plasma rifle. Her shots struck the robot where his power cell was, the same place as the human heart. Only instead of convulsing and exploding like the T-800s this robot didn't even twitch when the plasma bolts struck him. Faye and John didn't stick around to wonder why it hadn't worked, they turned and ran. Skynet watched the humans run with a great deal of amusement. By changing the location of the power cell in this unit's construction he had thwarted the only way they knew to attack. With that now they were reduced to nothing but a pair of fleeing animals.
"Just once I'd like to not have a curveball thrown at us when we think we have things figured out!!" John said as they ran. A crash from behind them drew their attention and they saw the robot perusing them. It moved with surprising speed for something so large, taking large strides and gaining on the two. Any vehicles that got in its way it tossed and kicked aside like toys. Deciding to get cute it actually picked up one car and threw it at John and Faye. "Down!!" John shouted and both threw themselves to the ground as the car sailed over their heads. Scrambling to their feet they ducked down a side street, the robot almost on top of them. As they made their way down the side street they heard a loud growl and didn't need to guess what was about to happen. Faye noticed an open door in one of the buildings, grabbed John and threw the two of them inside just as the robot's cannon began to roar. The heavy rounds tore holes in the wall but the angle they were fired at made them fly over Faye and John. When Skynet realized that it could not maneuver the T-70 down the narrow side street it went for the most direct approach. It balled up its hand and swung it at the wall of the building.
Inside the building Faye waited for the cannon to stop roaring before lifting her head up.
"You ok?" She asked John.
"Depends on what you mean." John replied. Faye didn't understand his answer then realized what had happened. After she pushed John in here they had both fallen off their feet. John was facedown on the ground and Faye was lying on top of him. Embarrassed Faye got off of John and both got to their feet. Looking at their new surroundings they saw the inside of the building had been gutted, the only thing remaining were the metal support beams. Before either could say anything across the room a metallic fist exploded through the wall. The fist opened and grabbed the edge of the hole it had made, then proceeded to tear an even larger hole. As the T-70 smashed its way into the building John was preparing to start running again but when he glanced over at Faye he saw her taking aim at the hulking monstrosity. He knew her aim was good and if she was going to stand her ground in the face of that thing she had to have some sort of a plan. He didn't know what she could be thinking but he could tell from the look on her face her mind was made up and he would have to trust her.
Skynet couldn't figure out why the humans had stopped running. Perhaps they had decided to accept their fate, or maybe they wanted to go out fighting. Either way it was unlikely they could find the hidden power cell before both were reduced to nothing more then blood stains. Faye Valentine was aiming the plasma rifle but Skynet was not worried as he began to raise the T-70's cannon.
As John watched beams of light flashed out from rifle and peppered the robot's right arm. Superheated plasma tore through the gun, destroying its inner workings and setting off the ammunition belt that fed it. Like a line of firecrackers the explosions worked their way up the chain of bullets and into the ammunition supply on the T-70's back. The pack went up in a small explosion but did little to stop the massive robot, which began to lurch its way towards them.
"Come on!" Faye yelled to him and motioned towards the door. John started to follow when he saw the robot knock aside one of the support beams. That motion gave him an idea.
"Wait!" He shouted at Faye. She paused and John took the rifle from her.
"Are you crazy?!?!" Faye yelled as John started to take aim, the adrenaline taking care of the pain in his arm that he was sure to feel later. Ignoring Faye he began to shoot out the tops of several supports. The plasma blasts made short work of two and John saw the robot look at what he was shooting at. It seemed to realize what was going on and hurried its movements. Taking out a third beam John heard a loud groaning sound from above him.
"Go go go!!!" He shouted at Faye and pushed her out the same door they had come in through. Behind them the T-70 tried franticly to get out but its bulk made it too slow and it was buried as the building collapsed in on itself.
Outside Faye and John only got several steps away from the building when the cloud of dust and debris caused by the building implosion overtook them, racking both of them with coughing fits. The dust cloud cleared quickly and after they had stopped coughing found themselves covered in gray ash.
It was almost comical but Faye was not in a joking mood.
"And just what the hell were you thinking!?!" She yelled. "What we're you trying to, bury us alive?!?!"
"Hey I didn't see you coming up with any great ideas!!" John shot back. "I saw an opportunity and I went for it!!"
"Well next time could you give a little warning when you're going to put our lives in danger!!" Faye yelled.
"Look who's talking!! You're the one who decided to face that thing down when it still had its cannon working!!"
"Well it worked didn't it!?!" Faye defended.
"What I did worked to!!" John retorted. Both stood silent for several seconds, now that they had gotten all that out of their systems they began to calm down. "You know what this means don't you?" John asked after a couple of minutes.
"Skynet had some new tricks up its sleeve." Faye answered.
"Right. We can't wait for the radio interference to go away, we've got to get back to the ship now. They need to know about…" He was interrupted by the sound of rocks falling and looking over to at what was left of the building they saw a pile of rubble bulging.
"God damn it!!" Faye yelled and snatched the plasma rifle from John. "Don't these things know the rules!?!? When you get a building dropped on you you're supposed to stay down!!" She ranted as she climbed the pile.
"Faye, wait!!" John yelled after her and started to follow. Faye wasn't listening. At the top of the pile the robot's head poked out but its shoulders appeared to be caught. It struggled to get loose but stopped when something approached and stood over it. Looking up Skynet saw it was Faye Valentine and had a look on her face that even the supercomputer could tell was manic. She placed the barrel of the plasma rifle against the forehead of the T-70.
"JUST DIE!!!!" She shouted and pulled the trigger. On Skynet's end all visual input from the T-70 vanished and its connection with the unit ceased to function. Skynet was beginning to become frustrated but became intrigued at the same time. The battlefield adaptability of both Connor and Valentine had allowed both of them to not only escape with their lives but to destroy the T-70. These humans were proving to be a greater threat then Skynet had originally calculated, and dealing with them took a greater sense of urgency. Setting to the task Skynet first calculated what their first move would be. Since they knew the town they were in was no longer safe they would flee. Calculating the most likely vectors of escape to be north towards another human settlement Skynet ordered several camouflaged T-800s, under his direct command, to proceed to that area at once and set up ambush sites at the most likely places they would pass. They wouldn't escape him a second time.
John was following Faye up the mound of rubble when the head of the robot that had been chasing them came up from under the pile. Ignoring the danger Faye walked right up to it, screamed something then shot it at point blank range. Apparently she had forgotten that when the plasma bolts struck their targets they tended to explode, and because the she had the barrel of the weapon against the robot's head the explosion was powerful enough to throw her off the pile and into the air. Without thinking John moved and was able to catch Faye but she knocked him over, causing them to roll and tumble down the pile of rubble. They landed in a heap, with Faye lying on top of John and both of them looking into the other's surprised face.
"You know if this keeps happening people will start to talk." John remarked after a very long moment of awkward silence. Faye quickly pushed herself off him and stood up. He was willing to bet both of them were thankful that they were covered in ash because it was a sure thing they were turning bright red at this.
"Shut up." Faye snarled in response but helped him up. They made their way back to the main streets and were greeted by a large crowd of the town's citizens. The majority of them were unharmed but some of them wore bloody bandages, results of trying to stop the robot with conventional weapons. They stood watching them silently and the stares were starting to get to Faye and John when one of them, a middle aged man that had his arm wrapped in bandages, stepped forward.
"Is it dead?" He asked them. They nodded wearily in response. The man let out a relieved sigh then turned towards the crowd. "Tell them to sound an all clear!" He shouted at someone then turned back to John and Faye. "You two follow me, questions need to be answered and it looks like you both need to get some medical attention." Before they could ask questions he turned and started walking. Faye and John followed, the crowd not taking their eyes off the bloodied and dust covered strangers. In their eyes John saw many emotions, wonder, apprehension, fear, even anger. It made sense to him. First two strangers show up and then this happens, it was natural to assume that they had brought that monster with them. What sickened John was that might not be too far from the truth. He tried to get the attention of the man in front of them but when he raised his left arm a jolt of pain shot through it. Hissing in pain he looked and saw that all the activity had reopened his wound but thankfully it wasn't bleeding nearly as much as it had the first time.
"How bad is it?" Faye asked, remembering how bad it had been before.
"Compared to earlier it's great." John answered. When he turned to look at Faye he saw why their guide had said both of them needed medical attention. There was a red line on Faye's forehead that was bleeding slightly. "You're going to want to have that looked at." He told her, pointing at his own forehead. She put her hand to her own and when it came away bloody instead of disgusted she looked confused.
"When did that happen?" She asked John, who shrugged in response. He hadn't seen it happen either, and with so many ways she could have gotten hurt it would be impossible to tell just how it happened.
"We're here." Their guide announced and the two found themselves in the middle of the town. It had been turned into a makeshift hospital and could best be described as organized panic. They saw the doctor that had treated John's arm, as well as several others, moving from person to person. There were wounded everywhere and they didn't want to think how many had been killed in the attack.
"So who's in charge?" John asked.
"Nobody is, yet." The man answered. "After everything calms down they'll probably put someone in charge but for right now we're just trying to save as many people as we can." He motioned to one of the self appointed medics who brought John some bandages and gauze and Faye a large patch for the cut on her head. "The doctor is kind of busy right now so…"
"We get it." Faye said as she put the patch on the center of her forehead. "What's so funny?" She asked John, who had begun to snicker.
"Nothing." John said, the smile from his mouth quickly disappearing. When they were done treating their wounds the man spoke again.
"So I suppose the obvious question it what is this all about?"
"You want the long version or the short version?" John asked.
"Better make it the short version." The man replied.
"The short version is that we have some powerful enemies that are fooling around with robotics."
"You mean you've seen one of those things before." The man asked, referring to the T-70.
"That was completely new to us." Faye answered.
"We thought the only types of robots they had were this kind." John said, handing the man the photograph of the Terminator, which had somehow survived. The man looked at it then gave them a questioning look. "He only looks human. Trust me, that's a robot." The man scrutinized the picture for a minute.
"Any other night I would have called you crazy and locked you up. Now…" He looked out at the aftermath of the attack. "Now it would be hard to deny such a claim."
"Thank you." John said. "It's good to find someone who believes us. But there is something else. If was able to find us here more of them will be coming. You have to abandon this town and go someplace else."
"We can't do that." The man answered. "We have too many wounded, and we won't abandon them."
"But…" John started.
"If we try to move some of them they will die. We're like a family here Mr. Connor, the only way we'll make it through this is if we stay together."
"Wait a minute." John interrupted. "You know who I am?" The man smiled slightly and nodded.
"Yes. A very vocal member of the Memphis brothers knew who you and Miss Valentine were. However as desperate as we are for money we don't stab people in the back to get it." He chuckled at John and Faye's surprised reaction. "Quite different then what you expected Earth people to be, isn't it?"
"Yeah." Faye answered. "I always thought Earthers would sell their own mothers to get off the planet."
"In some places they would." The man agreed. "But here we've learned to accept the situation we are in, and we deal with it as best we can. Now, if it's true that your enemies will come looking for you it would be best if you left as soon as possible." That made the two of them feel a pang of guilt. The man held up his hand before either could speak. "I believe you that you didn't bring it here on purpose and you did manage to stop it, but some people won't listen. I might be able to arrange transportation if I can find a free hand. Which direction are you headed in?"
"East." John answered. "We have to get back our ship and warn our friends." The man nodded and sent a messenger. "There is something else we would like to ask you to do."
"What's that?" The man asked.
"Tell people what happened here. Warn them about the threat, about him." He pointed to the picture the man still held. "Keep it, show everyone what he looks like. Tell them if they see him that he is dangerous and needs to be shot. And by shot I mean by nothing short of a rocket. This is bigger then you can imagine and the more people that know about it the more it can help to keep this from happening again." The request sounded strange, almost crazy, but when the man saw John and Faye's eyes he knew he should do as they asked.
"Consider it done. And as a show of faith I won't ask about that fancy gun of yours." He said, motioning to the plasma rifle Faye still held.
"We've found some transportation sir, a transport truck leaving in three hours. It's heading east for about eighty miles." John did some rough calculations in his head. That left them just inside walking distance to the Bebop. They had to hitchhike this far out and transportation almost the full way back couldn't be passed up.
"We'll take it." Faye answered before he could.
"One thing though." The messenger added. "You're going to have to ride with the cargo."
"What is it?" John asked.
"Mostly construction supplies." The messenger answered. "We bought some of them so there should be space in the back."
"As long as they don't stink." John said. As an after thought he checked his watch. "Who the hell starts a delivery at midnight?"
"That's how things work down here." Was the only answer the messenger gave before he ran off. The next three hours Faye and John tried to get some rest but despite the weariness both felt and John still not fully recovered from his wound, they were too on edge to sleep so they helped in any way they could. Three hours later found them on the road in the back of a medium sized transport truck. There was room but the accommodations were none too comfortable. John was sitting on the floor leaning against a pile of bags containing powered cement while Faye was lying on top of it. They had tried to sleep but the shock absorbers of the truck were shot and they were jarred with each passing bump.
"Remind me to talk to Jet about our travel arrangements when we get back." John said, trying to keep his mind off the bumpy ride.
"Will you be quiet!" Faye yelled from above. "I'm trying to get some sleep!"
"You really think you can sleep through all this?" John asked as they went through a series of teeth rattling bumps.
"I would be able to if someone would stop talking!!!" She shouted back. John was about to make a crass remark of his own but held his tongue. Between the succession of fights they had been through and the lack of sleep both of them had started to get a little punchy. He listened to Faye mumble to herself for a while before deciding to press his luck again. If worse came to worse he could always claim exhaustion.
"You do realize that talking to yourself is the first sign of madness?" He asked. He heard movement and looked up to see Faye looking down at him. She looked like a wreck and John knew he probably looked the same, or worse. "What?" He asked innocently.
"I was about five seconds from falling asleep." She growled. "And you are about five seconds from me…" John didn't find out what Faye was going to do because at that moment they hit a particularly large bump, one that threw Faye off the bags. She landed next to John, right on her butt. "OWWWW!!!" She wailed. Even though he knew he would regret it John turned towards her and smiled.
"Still five seconds from falling asleep?" He asked. Instead of responding verbally Faye elbowed his left arm. That brought him back to his senses in a hurry. "Jeez Faye! Can't you take a joke!?" The smile on Faye's face gave him his answer. Before anything else that might have resulted in serious injury the truck came to stop.
"I've taken you as far as I can." The driver said as he opened the back doors. The two groaned as they stood, muscles that hadn't been used in a while suddenly being forced to stretch.
"Were you followed?" John asked, as he jumped to the ground. The driver shook his head confidently. "Good. Well thanks for your help." He said as he shook the driver's hand.
"It was nothing." The driver responded as he got back into the truck. After the taillights were out of sight Faye reached for her bracelet and opened it. Anticipating John's reaction she spoke first.
"You want to walk back in the dark be my guest, but I'm getting a ride." She said and pressed the button. A few minutes later they heard the roar of engines and the Red Tail set down in front of them. Faye opened the cockpit and climbed into the pilot's seat. "Well? Are you coming or not?" John checked his watch and found it was two in the morning. Deciding it would take too long and that he was too tired to argue with he climbed in behind her. The Red Tail lifted off and headed back to the Bebop, its automatic pilot guiding it. When Spike and the others had set out they had used the Red Tail to shuttle them two at a time to land. Afterwards it would fly back to the Bebop to pick up the next two. This allowed them to leave quickly and the Red Tail to remain with the Bebop in its new hiding place.
The hiding place they had chosen to place the Bebop was in itself as unique as the ship was. When the Gate accident had occurred pieces of the broken moon rained down on planet Earth. Most impacted like regular meteorites, straight on and creating normal craters. Some pieces, whether from some fluke in the way it traveled through the atmosphere or just plain luck had struck the Earth at an angle. When such a shot hits normal ground the only noticeable difference is a deformed crater. But if an angled shot struck the side of a mountain or shoreline it would carve out a crater on the side of what was struck. Such instances, called pockets because of the resemblance to sinking a pool ball, are rare but not impossible to find. Using MPU's geographical data, leftover from the laser-carving incident, they had found a pocket that was big enough to fit the Bebop into and hide it in the underground cavern that had formed, away from any prying eyes.
Now the Red Tail navigated its way into the pocket and towards the Bebop. As the ship touched down its two occupants noticed they had a welcoming party. Jet, Ed and Ein, all awakened by the Red Tail taking off by itself had waited to see what its return would bring.
"This had better be an emergency." Jet said angrily as he approached the vehicle. It was agreed that they didn't want to risk anyone seeing vehicles flying in or out of the pocket. He stopped when he saw its occupants get out. Bruised, scrapped up, still covered in gray dust and with bloodshot eyes from lack of sleep, everything they had gone through made Faye and John looked like two different people then had taken off the morning before. "What happened?!?"
"Skynet sent us something new." John said as he stumbled forward. Finally able to truly relax everything was catching up to them. The adrenaline that had been keeping them going for the past several hours was gone for good and they truly looked dead on their feet. Their animosity of only a few minutes ago forgotten John and Faye supported each other as they walked.
"John person and Faye Faye saw new machine man?" Ed asked. Faye nodded.
"Giant son of a bitch…. had a cannon on his arm." She answered.
"Where'd you see it? Could it have followed you back?" Jet asked.
"In a town about eighty miles from here." John answered. "And we destroyed it." He and Faye started to leave the hangar. "Before you ask we don't know anything else. Talk to us in a few hours when we're able to think a bit clearer." Jet didn't say anything and watched them go. They looked like hell and they deserved some rest. Inside Faye and John made it to the lounge and Faye started to lead them towards the couch.
"I think this is good enough don't you?" Faye asked.
"Whatever you say." John answered as he helped Fay sit down on the couch. He ambled over to the larger chair and plopped down into it.
"This isn't one of those macho acts is it?" Faye asked as she lay down. "Give the lady the best spot while you tough it out?"
"I don't think either of us want's to get into this right now." John answered. "Right?" Faye's only answer was to yawn and turn over, already falling asleep. "Glad we agree." John said before things went dark for him to.
Several hours later as John and Faye still slept the sun began to rise over Doohan's property and the people there got a rude awakening.
"Eyes open!" Doohan barked into his radio. At their positions Spike, Kyle and Miles snapped awake. Kyle was the first to respond.
"Sleep at our posts, great idea Spike. I think I've ruined my back." Kyle groaned. His part in the plan called for him to snipe the second Terminator with the plasma rifle to keep it from helping the first. With no good hiding places available Doohan had needed to solve the problem by positioning an old armored personnel carrier where they were hopeful he would get the best possible shot. Of course sleeping on the metal floor had made his back feel just as stiff as the metal was.
"Don't complain." Spike answered. "At least you didn't have to sleep sitting up." Spike had drawn duty in manning what would put the Terminator into the electrified pit. Like most scrap dealers Doohan owned a crane-controlled electromagnet to move scrap that was too heavy to move by hand but was too light to bother using one of the trucks.
Of the three of them Miles had drawn the easiest assignment. When given the signal he would flip the switch that would close the circuit and electrocute whatever was in the pit. Doohan had the most dangerous assignment; he would lure the first Terminator into a position so Spike would be able to snag him.
"So when do you think those things will show up?" Miles asked.
"If they want the stuff as badly as they seem to you can bet it'll be soon." Doohan answered. He was correct and half an hour later Spike saw a cloud of dust coming down the road. As the cloud came closer Spike was able to see the truck that had almost run over him and Kyle yesterday.
"Okay everybody we got the two of them inbound. Time to act busy." He started up the crane and began picking up random pieces of scrap and dumping them. In the APC Kyle stepped up to one of the firing slits and set his rifle. The truck stopped in the same spot as it did the day before and it gave Kyle a clear shot at the driver. Now all he had to do was wait for Doohan's signal. The second Terminator got out of the truck and walked towards the office. Doohan came out and met him half way.
"Do you have the components?" The Terminator asked bluntly.
"We got some of them but something's come up that I think you should take a look at." Doohan answered, his voice coming in loud and clear over their radios.
"Show me." The Terminator demanded. Doohan nodded and motioned for the Terminator to follow him. He led the machine to an area that was devoid of anything metallic. "Why are you stopping here?"
"I told you something has come up." Doohan answered. Hearing those words Spike started to swing the magnet in their direction.
"What has come up?" The Terminator asked, his voice starting to sound impatient.
"You and your brother's number." Hearing the signal Kyle set his sights and fired, hitting the second Terminator in the forehead. The first Terminator looked to see what the strange noise was when a large shadow fell over him. Looking up he was able to see the magnet just as it made a loud humming sound and he was drawn up to face first with a loud clang. It tried to free its arms but not even its advanced hydraulics could free it from the grip the magnet had on him. Spike swung the crane around and positioned it over the water filled pit. Cutting the power to the magnet the Terminator fell into the pit with a large splash. Before it could even stand Spike was already yelling into his radio.
"HIT IT!!" He shouted. On the ground Miles flipped the switch and closed the circuit, the results were instantaneous. The pit literally exploded with electricity, arcs shooting out the top and spraying wildly. Inside the pit the Terminator stiffened as several thousand volts worth of electricity coursed through him. Overloaded, his internal systems began to shut themselves down in order to avoid permanent damage. The fail-safe was designed to protect his circuitry from an additional electric charge but Spike and the others weren't taking any chances. They kept the electricity flowing for almost a full minute after the Terminator collapsed. Not built to withstand such a charge the failsafes shorted out and reset themselves to manual override. Now the Terminator would have to rely on an outside force to reactivate it. The others didn't know this so they treated the downed Terminator like an active threat. After the power was shut off Spike fished it out of the pit and dropped it into the back of the jeep he and Kyle had rode in on. Doohan drove and Kyle was in the passenger seat. He trained his rifle on the motionless machine, ready to fire if it so much as twitched. Driving up to one of the transport helicopters Doohan had put in operating order just last night Spike and Miles joined the others and with Kyle covering the four of them somehow managed to get the Terminator into the cargo bay of the chopper. Kyle climbed in next followed by a very nervous Miles.
"Just stay away from it and let me handle any trouble." Kyle said as Miles strapped in. Up front Doohan climbed into the pilot's seat and Spike into the co-pilot's.
"You've already done your part." Spike told him. "You don't have to do this."
"Nice try Spike but I don't think you or your friend know how to fly this thing." Doohan replied as he started the rotors. "Besides, when Skynet or whatever's behind all this gets wind of what happened it wouldn't make much sense to stay now would it? On top of that, this scheme you cooked up is so harebrained and so far it's worked, I've got to see if the rest of it actually works."
"I was kind of wondering that myself. Getting that thing there is only half of it. After that it's up to Ed." Spike said. They took off and under Spike's direction they headed towards the Bebop.