Chapter 21: Countdown
On the Bebop: Zero Hour minus twenty-three hours and fifteen minutes
When Ein had gone to the hangar to take a nap he realized that it wouldn't be the quietest place on the ship right now but he was able to ignore the sound of power tools and clinking metal as Doohan and Miles worked. He was even able to tune out the occasional curse Doohan shouted but the moment he heard [and smelled] Arnold enter the hangar he was instantly awake and growling at the unwelcome visitor. When Arnold turned to look where the growling was coming from Ein stood up and barked angrily.
"Give him a break Ein." Doohan said. "He's not going to bother you." Ein growled but laid back down. Arnold continued to stare at Ein and seemed to study the little dog. Not liking the way the thing was looking at him Ein stood and started barking angrily. He knew that he wouldn't scare Arnold off but hoped that one of the others would make Arnold leave him alone.
"Boy he sure doesn't like you." Miles stated. Ein growled in agreement.
"Arnold, come over here and take a look at this." Doohan said, seemingly reading Ein's thoughts. Arnold complied and walked over to the Hammerhead. Ein stopped growling and laid down again but kept a suspicious eye on Arnold.
That had been an hour ago. Slowly others had begun to drift in and Ein started to relax at having familiar people around him. Heck, even Faye was better company then that thing was. The others had seemed to accept him, but that was going to be nearly impossible for Ein. To humans Arnold only sounded and acted a little funny. Even though they knew he wasn't human they could accept him because he looked and, to a certain extent, acted human. This helped them forget, or at least temporarily suspend, the knowledge that he was a machine. Ein couldn't do that. If he went with just his eyes he probably could, Arnold certainly looked human enough. Only his sense of hearing and smell wouldn't allow it. Despite the living flesh that made up Arnold's camouflage skin Ein could still smell the metal underneath it. That was bad, but worse was what Ein heard. If he concentrated he could sometimes hear the heartbeats of the people around him, and Arnold had no heartbeat. There was something making his blood circulate but it sounded more like a pump then a real heart. When he moved Ein could hear the endoskeleton servomotors working, a sound that should not be coming from a human being. The smells and sounds told any animal with intelligence that this was something trying to hide itself, a definite threat, and Ein was no exception. What he saw was something that was inhuman and couldn't be trusted, and even though he was intelligent enough to understand that Arnold wasn't really a threat you couldn't get rid of instinct so easily.
Ein had listened to the conversations between those gathered in the hangar, his ears pricking up whenever Arnold was mentioned of or he spoke. When Arnold was speaking to Ed Ein paid attention and when Ed mentioned something about teaching to talk normally curiosity got the better of him and he walked over to the Swordfish. Miles was now on his back on a wheeled board under the vehicle working on something, a set of tools lying on the floor, and trying to teach Arnold how talk 'normally'. Arnold was standing a few feet away listening while Ed stood beside him.
"Lets start with what Ed just told you. That's one problem right there."
"She asked what I was doing and I answered her." Arnold said. Inadvertently at the sound of Arnold's voice Ein gave a low growl. All three heads turned in his direction.
"When'd you get here?" Miles asked, almost expecting an answer.
"Hey Ein!" Ed called cheerfully. "Did you come to help Ed and Miles Away teach Arnold person?" Ein barked a definite NO!
"Miles Away?" Miles asked. Jet had told them about Ed's little naming quirks but this was something new. He didn't hear Faye or Kyle say anything but he did hear Doohan start to chuckle. The old man never laughed and if he found this funny Miles knew this wasn't the last he would hear of it. Deciding to ignore the attention his new name was getting he started talking to Arnold. "Anyway. Most people don't want to know that much detail about something. Unless they ask for details just give them a basic idea of what you're doing. Understand?"
"Yes." Arnold answered.
"Then let's give you a test. What am I doing?" Miles asked as he went back to work.
"Without seeing what part of the craft you are working on I cannot tell." Arnold answered.
"That's the wrong answer." Miles told him.
"Wrong, wrong, Arnold person got it all wrong." Ed chanted. Arnold glanced at her but remained impassive.
"I gave him a basic answer." He said.
"Yeah but you still said too much. If you don't know what exactly I'm doing tell them what I'm doing in general. Now in general what am I doing?"
"You are making adjustments to the craft." Arnold answered.
"Well what do you know, we have a breakthrough." Miles said.
"Yeaaaaaa!!!!" Ed cheered.
"Now if someone asks you to elaborate on that go into more detail, but otherwise just leave it at that." Miles told him. "Now lets see how you handle conversation."
"Conversation?" Arnold asked.
"Yeah. Talking to someone about something. For example, what do you know about the Blue Sox?"
"Baseball team, professional. Founded in 1893 as the Boston Americans. After several name changes known as Boston Red Sox from 1907-2021. Name changed again in 2021 because of the destruction of Boston during the gate accident. Unconfirmed rumors state that the name change was an attempt to lift a curse that had not allowed the team to win a world championship in over one hundred years." As almost an after thought he added. "If one chooses to believe the rumor it did not work as to date they still have yet to win any world titles." Under the Swordfish Miles stopped working.
"Ed, is it just me or did he just tell a joke?"
"Sounded like a joke to Ed." Ed answered.
"I guess that's a good sign." Miles said as he went back to work. "But conversation involves more then just stating facts. It also involves opinions, what you think about something. Like, do you think the Blue Sox are really cursed?"
"No." Arnold answered.
"Really?" Miles asked. "Well that's good to hear."
"There is no scientific evidence that curses exist." Arnold explained. "The inability of that team to win is because of bad managerial decisions and substandard playing ability on the parts of the players." Beside him Ed started giggling and Miles almost tried to sit up but the two bumps on the back of his head reminded him not to do that while under a vehicle. If he had the force of the hit would have knocked him unconscious. Instead he rolled out so he could look up at both Ed and Arnold.
"HEY!! You're talking about my FAVORITE BASEBALL TEAM!!!"
"Favorite or not my statement is the conclusion of all the facts." Arnold replied. Miles rolled himself back under the Swordfish, mumbling something about 'being able to read it from a hard drive.'
"Uh oh. Looks like Arnold person made Miles Away mad. Guess that means Arnold person only has Ed to talk to."
"Why do you keep on calling me a person when you know I am not human?" Arnold asked. He had been discounting Ed's odd behavior as a part of her wild personality, either to amuse herself or to amuse [and annoy] the other crewmembers. But by calling him a person, addressing him as she did others around her, she did not appear to be doing one or the other. It was something that not even Arnold's neural net CPU could figure out.
"Because that's what Arnold person is." Ed said, like that was all there was to it. Determining it not to be an acceptable answer Arnold spoke again.
"I am not a person. I am a Terminator." He said, not thinking Ed was getting the point.
"Wellllll. Arnold person is like machine men but is also noooooooot like machine men. Arnold person is different." Ed told him.
"The only difference between myself and other T-800s is the way you programmed me to think." Arnold replied. Ed giggled and went into a handstand.
"That's what makes Arnold person different. Not boring robot like other machine men, Arnold is Arnold." Ed explained then flipped back to her feet. "Just like Ed is Ed!" Arnold considered her words. His function was unique among all the other T-800s, just as Ed's behavior was unique to her and her alone. He concluded that this individuality, to Ed at least, entitled him to be treated as an equal. It was a twisted sort of logic but as Arnold had seen Ed specialized in that.
"I understand." He finally said. Ed laughed and clapped her hands.
"Arnold person gets big score on test! Ed is a very good teacher!" She said excitedly.
"Test?" Arnold asked, not understanding what she meant.
"Didn't you notice?" Miles asked. "You just had your first coherent conversation with someone. Congratulations big guy."
"Yeaaaaa!!!" Ed cheered. Arnold considered it for a moment and realized they were correct.
"Since you're all so fired up right now how about telling me how the work is coming." Doohan said gruffly.
"I'm almost finished." Miles answered. "We weren't slacking off." Doohan grunted something incoherent then went back to work on the Hammerhead. Thankful that he wouldn't get any more grief from his boss Miles concentrated on finishing up. "Hey Ed. Hand me the five eighths wrench would ya." Ed was the closest to the tools and began to search through them, not having any idea what she was looking for. She was a whiz with anything electronic but when it came to regular mechanical tools she was in the dark. Arnold was about to help her when Ein walked into the collection of tools, picked up the requested one in his mouth and offered it to Ed. Ed took it and went over to Miles.
"Mechanic Ed reporting for duty." She said and gave him the wrench.
"Thanks." He took the wrench, put it down and looked at his hand. "Next time don't sneeze on it." He said and wiped his hand on his shirt. Ed smiled at the remark but that smile faded when she turned and saw Arnold looking at Ein again and Ein was growling in response.
"Dummer Koter." Arnold said. Ed didn't understand and just looked on, confused but Ein had a much different reaction. As soon as Arnold finished his sentence Ein's ears stood straight up, his posture stiffened and surprise registered on his face. That surprise vanished as his ears went back and he barred his teeth. He then let out a chorus of angry barks and snarls that sounded like they should be coming out of an angry Doberman, not a little Corgi. Arnold stood impassively at the noise barrage but the ruckus attracted the attention of everyone else in the hangar.
"What the hell is going on?!" Kyle asked as he and Faye came running up. They had both heard Ein angry before but nothing like this. Ein stopped barking but looked like he was ready to charge without warning.
"Hey man what did you do?" Miles asked as he rolled out from under the Swordfish.
"That dog is not normal." Arnold said, pointing at Ein, who was so surprised he relaxed from his 'ready to attack' position.
"How do you know that?" Faye asked. He was right of course but no one had told him that Ein was a data dog.
"My knowledge of animal behavior may be incomplete but I do know how dogs are supposed to act, and his actions defy what my files say."
"And how did you come to that conclusion?" Kyle asked. "He could have just gotten used to you."
"Dogs are not supposed to 'get used to me'. The reason he has been calmer around me is because you have been telling him to. Suppression of instinct is not supposed to be that simple." Kyle shrugged.
"That means he's an obedient and smart dog."
"That my be true." Arnold admitted. "But even the smartest and most obedient dog cannot pick out a specific wrench at only a glance, or understand German when none around him speak it."
"German?" Miles asked.
"Yes. I called him a stupid mutt in German and he reacted to it. No dog can naturally be that smart and the only thing I can find in my files that applies to him is what is referred to as a data dog. He is one of them." Everyone in the hangar has a surprised look on their face. Even Ein looked amazed at what Arnold had just said. He had been with them less then a day and he had already figured out what most people probably couldn't figure out for weeks unless someone told them.
"Boy could we use someone like you on the force." Everyone turned and saw John enter the hangar.
"So you guys manage to come up with a plan?" Faye asked.
"A vague one." John answered. "Spike said that even in a situation like this the Dragon's are going to try to establish and maintain control, even though we know more then they do."
"Now there's a surprise." Kyle snarled.
"We're going to have to convince them otherwise, and that is not going to be easy." John continued. "What's going to happen is probably they're going to have a plan of their own, and since their weapons and numbers are unknown we're going to see what their planning and work our way from there."
"I can't believe we've been reduced to negotiating with scum." Kyle mumbled.
"Don't worry, Spike is guaranteeing that he can get things to work out in out favor."
"Let's hope he can." Miles said as he gathered up his tools. "If those guys are half as bad as the rumors I've heard…"
"Trust us Miles, they're worse." John said. "That's why we need every advantage we can get." He nodded towards the Swordfish. "Everything ready?"
"Just finished." Miles answered. "The Swordfish and Red Tail are all set."
"But this heap is going to need a few more hours work." Doohan finished. "I'm starting to find signs of water damage all over the place. What does he do, push it over the side to wash it?" Miles saw John, Faye and Ed grin at the remark but couldn't figure out what was so funny.
"So what do we do now?" Kyle asked, not really getting the joke either. John shrugged in response.
"Do whatever you think is necessary to prepare for tomorrow." He answered.
Preparing turned out to be little more then sitting around waiting for twenty-four hours to pass. A plan for meeting the Dragons was made. Kyle and John would wear their ISSP uniforms to show the Red Dragon agents that they weren't dealing with amateurs and both would carry plasma rifles for intimidation. Knowing that there was a chance of running into something sent by Skynet Spike had agreed to leave his Jerico pistol behind and take Kyle's magnum as his main weapon. After practicing with the two leftover rounds in the hangar [accidentally shooting out one of the lights and giving Ein one hell of a scare in the process] Spike felt certain he could control the weapon. After that they had to endure everyone's least favorite pastime, waiting. Weapons were checked and equipment inspected but there was nothing to do otherwise. Ed suggested playing chess and John and Kyle, not knowing any better, agreed. She beat them both in under five minutes. Ego severely bruised John suggested that Arnold should play her, thinking a machine could easily beat even a chess wizard like Ed. The first several moves on both sides were made quickly but soon they were spending long periods of time just looking at the board. While Arnold could think several dozen moves ahead Ed's unpredictable moves made it difficult for him to find her strategy. During one of Ed's turns she sat completely motionless, just studying the board for almost fifteen minutes.
"How long do you think she can keep this going?" Kyle asked.
"Don't know." Faye answered. "She played one game for a week."
"A week?" John asked. He turned his attention back to the game as Ed made her move and Arnold continued to study the board. "Arnold finish this quick. We're going to need both of you tomorrow." Arnold didn't respond and made his move on the chessboard.
"Check." He told Ed, who smiled and quickly made her move. Arnold scrutinized the board more closely.
"Did Ed fool you?" Ed asked.
"Possibly." Arnold answered. To him being fooled meant Ed had won the game and she had not yet.
"Ed makes Arnold person think Ed is doing one thing when Ed is really doing another!!" Ed proclaimed
"I thought machines couldn't be fooled." Faye remarked.
"Anything can be fooled." Arnold answered, not noticing her sarcasm. "I can detect lies by reading a person's body language and several other factors caused by the person's knowledge of their deceit. When I attempt to foil Ed's bluffing moves she does not react as a liar would, no surprise or worry. Ed either does not acknowledge the deceit or she convinces herself it is the truth."
"Awwwwww it was nothing." Ed replied, very proud of herself.
"A walking lie detector." Jet mused. "That would be pretty useful, eh Spike?"
"Yeah." Spike answered. "Next time we find something stolen we'll be able to nail Faye before she can sell, spend or eat it."
"HEY!!" Faye yelled, causing everyone but Arnold and Ed to jump a little. "I never took anything that I wouldn't have replaced!!!" No one dared challenge that but Spike grinned slyly.
"Arnold?" Spike prompted. Showing just how far he had come with human interaction in a short amount of time Arnold was able to correctly guess what Spike was asking.
"She is lying." He responded and moved one of his chess pieces. Ed quickly responded with a move of her own. Behind Arnold Faye was beginning to turn red.
"WHAT…!?!? BUT HOW…!?!? YOU COULDN'T…!!! " She sputtered. Spike was now laughing and the others were trying to contain their own laughter, wary of what Faye might do. Ed also started to giggle, only Arnold appeared to have no reaction, not even looking up from the chessboard. "YOU WEREN'T EVEN LOOKING AT ME!!!" She finally managed to bellow.
"I did not need to." Arnold answered calmly. "Your pulse rose, your respiration quickened, and the stress in your voice was all that was needed to be heard." He moved another chess piece. Faye opened her mouth to say something then shut it again, knowing that arguing with a robot would be pointless. The others were openly laughing now, despite the looks they were getting from Faye. Angry beyond words she stormed out of the room. As she left she made sure to 'accidentally' drive her heel into Arnold's foot as she passed him. Arnold, of course, gave no reaction.
"I could definitely get used to having Arnold around." Spike remarked, still laughing.
"So can Edward." Ed remarked and made another move. "Checkmate." She announced, making the others go silent.
"I'll be damned. She actually did it." Spike said.
"The question is how did she do it?" Kyle asked.
"Ed knew Arnold person would think Ed would use one way of winning. So Ed used lots of ways of winning at once!!"
"She used bits and piece from many different chess strategies." Arnold explained, anticipating what the others would ask. "I could not find a pattern connecting any of them." The others were dumbstruck. Ed had just outthought a thinking machine…… again!!
Slowly the hours passed. Ed played several more chess games with Arnold and even though he got closer with each successive match he lost all of them, not being able to counter Ed's unpredictable moves. After a restless night's sleep and even more waiting the hour they agreed on to leave finally arrived. They were going to leave two hours early to make sure they got there before their contacts did.
Cheyenne Mountain Command Center: Zero hour minus one hour forty-five minutes.
Skynet was pleased with the progress the last twenty-four hours had brought. Abandoning the covert way of acquiring materials Skynet had starting stealing what was needed and killing whatever humans might impede him. With the inflow of resources, pushing the factories to their limit, and having endoskeletons perform manual labor his forces had been significantly augmented. Another eight hundred T-800s had been created, and while plasma weapons were still scarce Skynet had more then enough conventional rifles and other assorted weapons to equip his ground forces. In Denver there was now twenty Hunter Killer fighters, all equipped with plasma cannons. There was even a troop transport made from a gutted and rebuilt B-52 bomber. With the ability to carry more then seventy thousand pounds of bombs and an almost nine thousand-mile range it was the most logical choice for transporting the heavy battle units. With the inside stripped of everything nonessential there was room for fifty fully armed T-800s. At the moment the transport was airborne, waiting for a signal from scouts on the ground that the Bebop had been discovered. Once that signal had been received the humans wouldn't stand a chance. Perhaps more importantly the transmission towers had been completed, and with them Skynet took control of all functioning surveillance satellites. Now there was no place on Earth the Bebop could hide. In addition Skynet could now tap into various computer networks throughout the solar system. Firewalls and electronic countermeasures were still a problem, but they would be dealt with in time. Oddly enough the one system Skynet had little trouble invading was the broadcast frequency of television.
As Skynet was deciding how best to use it a transmission arrived from the Earth astral gate. Skynet had been watching increased sign of activity that would be considered a threat, and now he found one. The ship that came through the Gate was massive and teaming with armaments. It proudly bore the Red Dragon insignia and headed straight to Earth as soon as it left the gate. There was only one ship that could match the specifications for the ship Skynet now saw. It was the Dragon's Claw: his former masters had decided to send their best against him. Their arrogance showed as no other ships came through the gate. Such overconfidence was one major failing of the human race, something that convinced Skynet that it could win even though his forces were not at full strength. The destruction of such a powerful vessel could cripple their will to fight, or at least stall them enough for Skynet to gain a foothold. Knowing such a blow must be absolute Skynet sent a silent order.
On board the captured submarine, now identified by its number as the USS New York, the four Terminators aboard began to work at various control panels. On deck one of the many missile hatches began to open. With a clanking screech of hinges and joints that had suffered from years of neglect the hatch slowly opened, its sound echoing through the practically empty ship. All pre-launch systems were green and all that was needed now was coordinates to the target. The target was currently out of range but Skynet knew that it would have to come into range sooner or later to be of any real use. Until then it was a waiting game, and Skynet waited with its finger, literally, on the trigger.
The Dragon's Claw: That same time.
"I am not pleased with these delays captain." An emotionless voice stated. The entire bridge seemed to stiffen at the remark. The lengthy delays had not been the fault of anyone on board but that didn't mean they wouldn't be blamed. "How long until we reach Earth?"
"At present speed a little over two hours sir." The captain shakily answered.
"Unacceptable." Vicious stated, making the captain start to sweat. "How fast can one of the transports get there?"
"Going at maximum speed it should take only an hour and a half." The captain replied. Vicious was silent for several uneasy seconds. The captain became more nervous as the seconds ticked away, not knowing what Vicious was going to do.
"Have a transport prepared to leave immediately." Vicious ordered and turned to leave the bridge.
"Sir if I may?" The captain stated. Vicious turned around and fixed the man with a cold stare, almost making the captain forget how to speak. "T, the area you are going into is possibly hostile. If something should happen we would have no way of finding our ground contacts." The crew of the ship had been told that they were to make contact with the still loyal member of the Skynet project, and that Vicious was to handle it personally.
"Your delays have already cost us precious time. If we don't arrive at the designated place on time we stand a good chance of losing any help on planet we might have had. You don't want that to happen, do you captain?"
"N, N, N, No sir!" The captain stammered fearfully. Vicious turned and left without another word. Only stopping to retrieve his new katana and choose two enforcers that were on his side a transport not unlike the one that had been stolen by the Bebop crew left the Dragon's Claw and headed towards Earth. The trip was made in silence and after navigating the asteroid belt around the planet it entered Earth's atmosphere.
Cheyenne Mountain Command Center: Zero hour minus twenty minutes.
Through the satellites Skynet observed the course set by the Red Dragon warship. If Skynet wanted a guaranteed kill shot he would have to wait until the ship entered a low earth orbit. As he continued to watch a smaller ship emerged from the larger and headed on a course similar to the one the Dragon's Claw was taking. Skynet determined this to be a scouting craft, not important enough to consider wasting one of his missiles. It was important however and Skynet focused one on the satellites solely on what appeared to be a transport craft, keeping a careful watch on its decent vectors. It occurred to Skynet that whoever was on that smaller ship would be meeting members of the Bebop crew or go to the ship itself. Calculating a probability of ninety percent Skynet prepared the B-52 transport to be ready to fly to the crafts landing coordinates the second they were known.
Earth: Unknown location: Zero Hour minus fifteen minutes.
"Any sign of them yet?" Spike asked as he leaned against their transport, puffing on his latest cigarette in a long session of chain smoking while waiting for their contacts.
"Nothing yet." John replied, lowering a pair of binoculars. He was currently on top of the transport scanning the skies for any sign of activity. "How about one of you two take over for a while? I'm starting to get eye strain."
"You're the one who volunteered to be the lookout." Spike replied, dropping the butt of his cigarette into an ever-growing pile.
"That's because I thought that we would be this in shifts. I've been doing this for almost an hour."
"Then another half an hour won't kill you." Spike replied calmly.
"Hey Kyle…"
"Forget it." Kyle answered before John could even ask. "And don't bother pulling rank, we all agreed Spike is in charge here." John snorted in response.
"If I have to get my vision fixed you two are going to pay for it." He responded before he went back to looking for their contacts. Only a few minutes after he started he noticed a dot in the sky that seemed to be getting bigger. "I think we've got something."
"What?" Spike and Kyle asked. John boosted the magnification on the approaching object.
"It's a ship. Looks like the same type as this." John said, stomping on the transport.
"It's them." Spike said.
"You sure?" Kyle asked. Spike nodded. Kyle picked up his plasma rifle and John jumped off the transport after grabbing his.
"You two remember the drill?" Spike asked as he put on his coat, covering the Magnum in its shoulder holster. Kyle and John nodded. "Then let's go." The craft was visible to the naked eye now and began to come in for a landing. As it did land the three of them began walking towards it, Spike flanked by Kyle on the left and John on the right. When the craft was on the ground the three stopped about a dozen yards away from the back hatch, plasma rifles held in a ready but not quite aggressive manner, just like Spike had instructed. When the engines of the craft had died the ramp descended and two men dressed in Red Dragon uniforms and carrying assault rifles came down it. Taking positions on either side of the ramp the men adopted a stance similar to the one Kyle and John used, their guns weren't exactly pointed at the three of them but they weren't exactly pointed away either.
"I assume there's a good reason for all this secrecy?" Spike asked in calm, almost bored sounding voice.
"Indeed there is." A voice replied from inside the craft. Spike's eyes widened and the calm, relaxed look he had on his face vanished, replaced by one of pure hatred. "If I had let you know who was helping you, you would have had a bad reaction." A third man came down the ramp, one that had white hair, carried what appeared to be a sword and had a face that that was so emotionless he might have been mistaken for a Terminator. Spike clenched his teeth so hard Kyle and John thought they could hear them grinding. Almost by reflex Spike's hand starting reaching for the magnum concealed in his coat. The two guards responded by leveling their guns on Spike, which in turn prompted John and Kyle to point their plasma rifles at them. "A reaction like that." The man said with a grin that was completely devoid of humor.
"Anyone you claim to help isn't going to very receptive Vicious. You don't care who gets killed, as long as things work out in your favor." Spike responded, hand still inside his coat, ready to draw the magnum at a second's notice. Vicious, there was a name both John and Kyle knew. His reputation was so great that even his name scared most people shitless. Kyle and John repressed a shudder and kept their weapons trained on the Red Dragon guards. Spike, meanwhile glared at Vicious with a look that resembled that of a wild animal that was ready to rip the throat out of its victim.
"Perhaps." Vicious admitted. "And if this problem was only confined to this wreck of a planet I would not bother to involve myself, but the situation has demanded that I take a personal stake in it."
"So you set us up to do most of your dirty work." Spike snarled.
"Do you regret accepting my help?" Vicious asked.
"The only thing I regret is accidentally stopping that Predator from turning you into a human shish-kabob." Spike responded, tightening the grip on his gun. Vicious narrowed his eyes.
"What has passed has passed." Vicious said. "What matters now is dealing with the problem at hand." Spike smiled inwardly at Vicious not having a response for the verbal jab. "What must be done now is find a way to solve our current problem." He regarded John and Kyle, not needing to guess who they were. "You two may lower your weapons, there will be no need for aggression." John and Kyle didn't move; not even acknowledging Vicious had spoken.
"Not like ordering around your stooges is it?" Spike asked, smirking. Vicious' face remained unreadable.
"Maybe you should do what the boss says before something 'unfortunate' happens." The thug on Vicious' left stated, motioning with his rifle.
"Try it and your head gets vaporized." John responded.
"He means it to." Spike warned. "We haven't seen what those guns do to people yet but you can bet it isn't pretty." It was a partial lie since he hadn't seen it himself, but they didn't know that. Vicious looked at the weapons the two former ISSP officers were wielding. He had seen similar weapons being tested back on Mars that had blown up when firing was attempted. However these two handled the weapons like experts and the way Spike spoke of them he had seen them in action. Vicious didn't want to show any sign of weakness but this standoff had gone on long enough and was costing them time that was better spent planning. Spike was not one to be intimidated by anyone and his two friends were following his example. Not wanting to leave themselves open to attack from Skynet Vicious gave a slight nod and his men lowered their weapons. Spike followed suit and John and Kyle lowered their rifles.
"Contact the Dragon's Claw." Vicious told on of the thugs. "Tell them contact has been made and to await further orders." The thug nodded and went back into the craft.
Cheyenne Mountain Command Center: Zero hour minus five minutes.
Skynet watched the small craft land in the middle a wasteland, near another craft that was almost identical in design. Using the satellite's magnification capabilities Skynet was able to identify John Connor, Kyle Reese, and Spike Spiegel. Whoever was in the second craft was of no concern, those there were reason enough to move. The Dragon's claw was within range and the time to act was now. After sending the B-52 transport towards the human's location he sent one order to the New York. Less then a second later a deafening roar came from within the vessel as one of the titanic missiles it housed shot out of its tube into the sky. A countdown appeared displaying the time it would take the missile to reach its target.
5:00
Earth: Unknown Location
4:00
"The Dragon's Claw?" Spike inquired. "That's some heavy duty hardware. Skynet must really have them worried."
"Not worried enough." Vicious replied. "That is the only ship they would send."
"If that's the case we need a plan that's going to be idiot proof." Kyle said.
"The elders have ordered an attack on Skynet's command center." Vicious said. "They believe it is rebellious project members who are responsible."
"Attacking the command center would be suicide." Kyle stated. "Who knows what kind of reinforcements Skynet has there."
"But with a ship like the Dragon's Claw we could bombard the forces outside the base from orbit and then send in a team to take out Skynet itself." John said.
"You know what the chances of anyone coming back alive from that would be?" Spike asked.
"A lot better then just waiting around for Skynet to make the first move." John replied.
Bridge of the Dragon's Claw
2:00
The ship was now in orbit above the coordinates set by their contacts had specified and they awaited a signal from Vicious' transport. The message they received had been encouraging. Contact had been made and that meant that the plan was going ahead as designed. It also meant that the captain would not be punished for his actions earlier. That sense of relief had vanished when an alert came form the radar operator.
"Sir!! Unknown contact coming up from the surface!!"
"What is it!?" The captain demanded.
"It's a missile sir, but its design isn't listed in any of our identification files."
"How soon until it hits!?!" The captain demanded. After typing in some data the radar operator looked up from his screen.
"It isn't going to hit us sir. By our calculations it will miss us by three hundred yards." The captain breathed a sigh of relief. It was a small number but large enough that any warhead mounted on even a missile that big would prove ineffective.
If the captain or any of the bridge crew had studied history they might have realized that the only type of missile capable of reaching space from the Earth's surface was an ICBM, and that they were armed with a warhead that could decimate whole cities.
0:30
Cheyenne Mountain Command Center
What the crew of the Dragon's Claw also didn't know was that Skynet had purposely made the missile not fly on a direct path at them. Such an action would have gotten the missile shot down, but by making the missile go 'off course' the humans were lured into a sense of false security. A direct hit was not needed. As the old human saying went, close only counted in horseshoes, hand grenades, and nuclear weapons. Skynet watched as the timer slowly wound down.
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Once the timer hit zero Skynet used a command override through the missile's guidance system and had each individual nuclear warhead inside the missile detonate at once. In less time then it took a human eye to perceive there was a flash of light so intense that it seemed a second sun had been created. The nuclear firestorm that erupted consumed everything within a twenty mile radius of its detonation point. The Dragon's Claw, one of the most formidable warships ever created, was vaporized in an instant. The crew never knew what hit them.
On Earth these events did not go unnoticed. As negotiations were progressing between Vicious and the Bebop crew the area was suddenly awash in a light so bright it caused all of them to flinch and cover their eyes. As the light faded and vision slowly returned Kyle was the first to voice the obvious question.
"What the HELL was that!?!?!"
"We've been double-crossed!!" John shouted.
"That was not something I ordered." Vicious stated coldly. "Reestablish contact with the ship and find out what that was!" The second thug went back into the transport but came out a second later.
"Nothing but interference sir. No response on any frequency." The thug hesitated before continuing. "Sir I think what we saw was the ship."
"Explain." Vicious ordered.
"The last reported position from the ship was in orbit above us."
"Then disappears in a mysterious flash." John finished. They looked up and could still see a faint glow slowly fading.
"That's impossible." Kyle said. "Nothing short of a nuke could…." He stopped himself as the realization set in. "Oh my god."
"I believe that is what Skynet intends." Vicious said, completely serious.
Cheyenne Mountain Command Center
As Skynet watched the destruction of the human vessel he also recorded it. There would be no hiding now, not after this. Humans would be aware of his existence, now he had to control the reactions they would have.