Chapter 24: Fighting Back
In the long history of human warfare one of the things commanders had strived for were faster, more efficient methods of running a battle. In the past orders could be lost or misinterpreted, making the task of running just one small part of the battle, let alone the entire battle itself, frustrating and prone to mistakes. Skynet was able to do what human commanders could only dream of doing, controlling two separate battles at the same time. Commands were issued and carried out in the space of only a few microseconds, and unlike human soldiers commands were obeyed and carried out without question, without hesitation. While Skynet regarded both battles as equally important the attack on the Bebop required special attention. The ship needed to be crippled and brought down but not destroyed if Radical Edward was to be taken alive. Such limitations were something Skynet didn't like, especially when it would be easier just to shoot up the engines and let it crash, but anyone who resisted him needed to made an example of, and Radical Edward would be the first. For that reason and that reason alone he had the Hunter Killer's first attack run avoid the bridge and engines, instead only punching holes in non vital areas.
Inside the bridge Ed, Kyle and Faye grabbed hold of whatever they could as Jet put the Bebop into a hard turn to avoid the incoming fighters. He only partially succeeded as plasma blasts started to strike the ship.
"Damn!!" Jet cursed as the fighters passed by. He watched them go then looked over at Kyle. "Take the controls!" He yelled and got up before Kyle could even respond.
"Where the hell are you going?!" Kyle shouted as he rushed over and sat at the controls.
"Nobody shoots my ship and gets away with it." Jet growled.
"Hey!! You don't expect me to fly this thing with one arm do you!?!" Kyle shouted.
"Ed will help!" Ed declared and ran out of the bridge.
"How's doing that going to help?!" Kyle shouted after her.
"Just trust her." Faye said and followed Jet out. She had a good idea what Ed was doing and she knew what Jet was going to do, which meant he was going to need help.
"Oh sure. Leave me with all the hard stuff." Kyle grumbled as he tried to fly the ship. He could still use his left hand but because of the bullet they couldn't remove he was unable to extend it more then a few inches. As he tried to figure out how he was going fly a starship with only one arm Ed came sprinting back into the bridge, carrying what looked like a video game controller. "Ed, this isn't the time for games!"
"Ed isn't playing a game. Ed is helping." Ed told him and pressed a button on the controller. For a split second Kyle wondered if she had truly gone off the deep end [not that much of a stretch for her] when he felt the Bebop start to bank to the left.
"I think I was safer on the ground." Kyle said as he tried not to fall out of the pilot's chair.
Faye caught up to Jet when he was halfway to the hangar, showing she was right.
"Don't try to talk me out of this Faye." He told her before she could say anything. "Nobody takes potshots at my ship and gets away with it!"
"So going out in an unarmed ship is going to fix things?" Faye retorted.
"We need to draw off as many of those fighters as we can, that means using every ship we have, even the Hammerhead. The Bebop goes down and we're easy targets. Kyle is a good pilot but he won't be able to fly a fighter in his condition." They stopped as they felt the ship go into a sharp, but controlled, bank. "And it looks like he's doing fine with Ed's help."
"Wait a minute." Faye interrupted. "You knew what Ed was going to do?" Jet nodded.
"The only reason I let her keep that little remote control of hers was because it might come in handy someday." They entered the hangar just in time to see Miles and Arnold remove a fuel line from the Red Tail and close the opening to the fuel tank.
"About time you two showed up!" A gruff voice said before they could say anything. Looking over they got another surprise when they saw Doohan in the cockpit of the Swordfish, warming up the engines. "Doesn't exactly take a genius to know when you're under attack." He said to their unasked question.
"You're not serious about this are you?" Faye asked as she climbed into the Red Tail.
"I used to own the Swordfish missy." Doohan replied over the radio, sounding slightly insulted. "I think that qualifies me to fly her." Faye snorted at being called missy but didn't respond.
"Let's get on with this then." Jet said over the radio. The engines of the three ships started to growl as they were brought up to full power, then roared as one after another the ships shot from the hangar. Turning their ships around they raced headlong into the group of Hunter Killer fighters, who were moving in for another attack run.
On another part of the planet a second battle was about to commence. From their firing positions on top of buildings the gathered ISSP forces, under the unofficial command of John, Spike, and to a lesser extent Vicious, watched as the incoming wave of Terminators drew closer. Also watching from the rooftop were the reporter Mary Somers and her cameraman, who was broadcasting everything live to the entire solar system.
"The sight is awe inspiring." Mary said in breathless narration. "Despite the defenses that they must be able to see these machines remain undeterred. They continue rushing ahead with single-minded determination, just as John described." As she talked the camera zoomed in on one of the Terminators. It moved like a person would and if it had been wearing its camouflage skin they wouldn't have been able to tell it wasn't. The camera focused in on the Terminator's head, showing its permanent, evil looking grin and glowing, unfeeling red eyes.
Across the solar system there were many reactions to seeing what would become universally known as the face of Skynet. Some were fascination, some disbelief. Others had a much different reaction.
On Mars Meifa recoiled away from the screen at the sight of the Terminator's face. All living things had their own auras of chi, from insects to people. One skilled in Feng-Shui could sense it and tell what kind of person they had met, no matter what they did to hide it. Even one who knew nothing of Feng-Shui could also tell if they looked very closely at the person's eyes and movements. Even the Predator had its own chi, admittedly a very different kind, but it was still there. That was how she knew, despite the fact that the alien had brutally killed all those people, that he wouldn't harm her. She did not need to be near one of the Terminators to know what she would sense. It would be nothing, that she could tell from the pictures she saw. Its movements were frighteningly like those of something alive, but they were still artificial, unnatural. And its eyes, they possessed a life all of their own but were empty, soulless. Only beings of evil were supposed to possess eyes such as that, and those machines more then fit the bill. As she watched John's voice was again heard.
"Ready to fire on my order!" John shouted. Because he had forgotten to take off the microphone attached to his vest his words were coming in loud and clear. The camera zoomed out and refocused on John, who still had his rifle pointed at the incoming force but had not fired yet. The ISSP officers sighted targets through their scopes but like John didn't fire.
"Ready to fire on this end." Another voice said. Because the mike was near John's radio all traffic was heard as well.
"We are ready as well." Another, toneless, voice said. John didn't respond but kept his eyes on the incoming Terminators. When they were within what John considered the proper range he acted.
"FIRE!!!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. At his word rockets shot from the tops of three different buildings, including the one they were standing on. Despite the speeds the rockets were going at the cameraman managed to follow their movement as they raced towards the compact group of machines. When they struck they exploded with enough force to shake the camera. Being designed to fight military style battles the heavy weapons team had equipped with a supply of rockets should the need for them arise. However unlike the LAW rockets Spike had used to destroy the first Terminator the rockets the heavy weapons team used were designed to take out heavily armored vehicles, even battle tanks. Not even the Terminator's advanced design and its construction of the synthesized alien metal could withstand the impact. When the rockets hit home the target T-800 was blown to pieces with such force nearby Terminators were knocked over not just from the concussion of the blast but also from flying derbies. It they had been human dozens would have been killed but proving the redundancy of their design only two or three Terminators were destroyed per rocket. Those that had been knocked to ground got up, some more slowly then others, and continued forward. Those that were unaffected by the blasts ignored the damaged and destroyed units, stepping over them to reach their goal.
"Get ready for second salvo!! Rockets focus on undamaged units!! Spike, we're going to take out as many lead units as we can!! Make your shots count!!" John ordered. Though the antitank rockets had proven effective there was only enough for two salvos, and they couldn't afford to waste what they had. As the ISSP officers shouldered new rockets John and Spike began to blast the front line of the advancing group. Terminators started to drop under the plasma fire but the charge didn't slow.
"READY!" Came almost simulations signals from all three groups.
"FIRE!!" John shouted. A second wave of rockets shot forward and blew gaps in the mass coming towards them but did little to slow the advance. Again functioning Terminators rose from the blasts and unaffected ones relentlessly moved forward.
"After deploying advanced weapons heavy losses have been inflicted to Skynet's forces but they refuse to retreat and continue to advance on the ISSP positions." Mary said as she continued her narration, too caught up in the action to be amazed by the plasma rifles Spike and John were using. The main attack force had lost roughly half its numbers in the combined rocket assaults but had pushed forward to a point where even if the ISSP defenders had any more rockets they couldn't be used without being hit by flying shrapnel. Spike and John continued to fire but there were too many targets for just the two of them to hope to stop. John was about to order them to fall back and commence street fighting that had been used in the second attack when Captain West's voice came over his radio.
"THEY'RE COMING UP THE WALLS!!!" Not answering West John ran to the edge of the building and looked down.
"SHIT!!!" He yelled and began firing his plasma rifle straight down. As the other ISSP officers grabbed their own rifles the cameraman ran to the edge and pointed it down. He got a clear picture of several Terminators climbing up the walls like bugs, one of them looking right at him.
As the battle progressed live on TV many people took a keen interest in it. Across Mars there were varied reactions to it.
At the headquarters for the Mars division of ISSP Robert Connor and several ISSP commanders watched as John gave orders while keeping his cool, even as the Terminators came closer. The other commanders occasionally glanced over at Robert to see his reactions as the battle progressed but Robert kept his face neutral. He was very proud of the way his nephew was handling himself and the situation but he also knew that until the shooting stopped it would be pointless to celebrate or mourn.
At the Red Dragon headquarters the elders were no longer concerned with secrecy so they made no attempts to block the broadcast. They had thought nothing of most of the broadcast but became very interested when they had heard Vicious' voice, confirming that he was still alive. He had survived the destruction of the Dragon's Claw and now it looked like he had traded in a quick death for a much slower one. If he were to die in this battle the elders would not consider it a great loss.
Back at the outdoor restaurant table the three old geezers again started complaining when John had come on and began talking.
"Not again!" Antonio shouted as he flipped through channels, again finding nothing but the same thing. "I finally manage to find something good and they have to go and put another movie on!!" He started to sulk.
"Well at least this one's better then the last." Carlos said. "This one we can actually see who's talking."
"Still boring as hell." Antonio groused. As the broadcast continued and the battle got underway the opinions of the three quickly changed.
"How about that, it's actually getting better." Jobin said. When the ISSP forces started to blast the Terminator force with rockets Carlos spoke up.
"Nice effects." He said as the rocket salvos blew holes in the Terminator line.
"Those robot thingies look almost real." Jobin said when a close up of a Terminator was shown. "Can't even see where the strings are attached."
"Eh, not bad." Antonio said, still a little sore about not watching what he wanted to. "Except for the ray gun that guy has." He said as the picture showed John firing his plasma rifle. "Now that looks fake. Looks like they're using a flashbulb." They continued to watch as the Terminators advanced on the ISSP forces and started climbing up the buildings.
"This is a lot more exciting then what we were watching before." Jobin commented and the other two nodded in agreement.
As they watched the televised attack another battle that the geezers would have found exciting was raging in the skies above Earth. When the human fighters had emerged from the larger ship Skynet had adjusted his battle tactics accordingly. Five HKs would engage the humans while the remaining three would continue their efforts to cripple and board the Bebop. There was a risk of losing the four terminators the fifth HK was carrying but if the mission could be completed that would be an acceptable loss.
"Draw as many of them away from the Bebop as you can." Jet told Faye and Doohan over the radio. If it goes down we're all screwed."
"I don't think they like that plan Jet." Faye answered as three fighters broke off from the main group and headed for the Bebop. The rest opened fire, causing the three of them to use evasive maneuvers.
"Faye, go after those three!! You have the best chance of stopping them. We'll take care of the rest." Jet said. Before Faye could ask how he intended to do that Jet and Doohan headed towards the rest of the HKs.
"Idiots." She said as she started to pursue the three that had slipped past them.
"We need to make them scatter." Jet told Doohan as they both continued to dodge incoming plasma fire. "They'll be easier to pick off if they're alone."
"You got it." Doohan answered and leveled off the Swordfish. It made him an easy target but all he needed was one moment. The barrel of the plasma cannon mounted under the Swordfish's nose started to crackle with energy as it began to build up power. Skynet was able to identify the type of plasma weapon the cannon was and knew that unlike the plasma guns the HKs were armed with the cannon on the human ship didn't mimic the effects of a regular cannon with energy in place of bullets. This model would act like a flame-thrower, saturating the area with high-energy plasma and destroy everything within its radius. In response Skynet had each of the Hunter Killers break in a different direction. One was too slow and was caught on the outskirts of the blast. The intense heat tore away the outer skin and once it hit the fuel tank turned the HK into a fireball.
"Let's get em." Jet said as he went after one of the HKs and Doohan after another. To Skynet the loss of one HK was insignificant. So long as the humans were occupied long enough to bring down the Bebop, which continued to try to maneuver like a ship half its size. There was also the human fighter that was moving in to attack the three HKs assigned to go after the ship. That was of little concern as well. Cutting back slightly on the engines of one HK Skynet made it fall behind the other two, giving the human an apparently easy target. The human took the bait and Skynet detected the enemy crafts radar was trying to achieve a lock. With the human's guard down Skynet sprung his trap.
Faye knew that the reason Jet had told her to stop the three HKs she was chasing was because with the Red Tail she had the best chance of destroying all three of them faster then the other two could. The three HKs seemed to be making this too easy for her, they flew in a straight line, even though they must have known she was behind them. Then one of them fell behind, putting itself directly between her and the other two HKs, which added a burst of speed. She knew that the one that fell behind was a decoy, but she also knew that all three of them need to be destroyed. She planned to blast her way through this one and go after the other two the moment the first went down in flames, and if this one tried to lure her away she would go after the two in the lead and take care of the third later. Her radar started to lock onto the HK but as it started to zero in the cockpit alarms started going off, telling her she was being targeted!!!
"What the hell?!?" She said but instinctively twisted the controls, making the Red Tail do a hard right just in time to avoid the plasma blasts that started whizzing by. As Faye tried to figure out what had just happened she saw the stream of plasma fire was following her!! She continued to bank but in turn the plasma fire continued to track her. Looking at its source Faye saw that the fire was coming from the HK she had been following, more specifically it was coming from plasma cannons that were on a revolving gun turret!! The Cyberdyne files had shown that these things were supposed to have fixed guns on the front of the fighters. "You can't just change the rules like that!!!" She shouted mostly to herself as she continued to avoid the plasma fire.
That problem taken care of Skynet brought most of his focus back to the Bebop. Now that it was undefended it was possible to land Terminators on it, but first it would have to be forced into a level flight or brought down. The Bebop was currently trying to gain altitude, if it continued to do so any attempt to force it down would end up destroying it. The HKs climbed above the Bebop and began firing down on it, riddling the forward deck with blast marks. The ship shuddered again and began to descend. Whoever was piloting it was behaving just as Skynet anticipated.
Inside the Bebop Kyle slammed his fist on the control panel, where alarms were sounding as the readouts showed more and more damage to the ship.
"They're herding us." Kyle snarled in anger. All the damage so far had been serious but non-fatal. With Ed acting as the actual pilot Kyle had become the navigator, using the information from the control panels to give Ed instructions. He didn't have time to reflect on how weird this was but it seemed to work. Ed did as she was told and nothing more, no hot-dogging or adding maneuvers of her own. Kyle noted with some amusement that she was currently showing more maturity then most ISSP fighter pilots. That amusement hadn't lasted long as the Hunter Killers started blasting them again, but none of the fire was directed at anything important. With Faye and the others occupied they could have destroyed the Bebop with no problem but they continued to strike no vital areas, forcing them to maneuver the Bebop specific ways. They were forcing them to go closer to the ground and while Kyle knew this he couldn't do anything or they might lose patience and blow the Bebop out of the sky. Grabbing his radio he contacted the hangar. "Arnold, these guys are up to something but I can't figure out what. Stand by for trouble."
"Understood." Arnold replied. In the hangar Arnold picked up one of the Terminator plasma rifles and inserted a clip. He then grabbed the two clips from the other weapons and put them in his pockets.
"So what's the plan?" Asked a very nervous Miles.
"Stay here unless I tell you otherwise." Arnold answered. He had not been given orders to move and the hangar was secure, making it as safe a place as any in a ship that was under attack.
Back on the bridge Kyle had noticed that they were getting dangerously close to the ground and they had been driven away from the others. Jet and Doohan were engaging the main group of fighters while Faye was going one on one with one of the group that had come after them. If he didn't think of something soon….
BOOOOOM!
An explosion shook the entire ship and an alarm started blaring that drowned out all the others. As Kyle tried to find out what was wrong he felt the ship starting to go lower. He didn't want to think the worst but one look at the control panel confirmed it.
"They got one of the engines." He told Ed. They might be able to fly with only one engine but they would crash before they had a chance to make the necessary adjustments. "Ed, give me the controller then grab onto something." Kyle had strapped himself in when things had gotten crazy but Ed wasn't and she couldn't fly the ship and take cover at the same time. Ed seemed to understand the reason for Kyle's command and gave him the controller, then grabbed onto the back of the command chair with a death grip. Kyle had watched Ed operate the controller so he knew the basics of how it worked. He pushed one of the controller's joysticks down all the way and held it. The Bebop pulled up a little just before it crashed into the ground. Kyle was thrown forward in his seat but the harness stopped him from smashing headfirst into the controls. The Bebop continued to go forward for several dozen more yards, digging a trench in the ground like a giant plow.
"You okay Ed?" Kyle asked when they had stopped.
"Ed not hurt but Ed feels like pancake." Ed replied from behind him.
"I know the feeling." Kyle said as he started to undo his harness, wincing slightly. "That's gonna leave a mark." He could already fell the bruises forming. Standing up he went behind the command chair, where Ed was still clinging on for dear life. "You can let go now Ed we're on the ground, and we need to leave." Hearing that Ed sprang from her perch and grabbed Tomato.
"Where are we going?" Ed asked.
"Away from here." Kyle answered as he took out his radio. "You two ok down there?" He asked Arnold.
"We are fine." Arnold answered. That was something at least.
"Arnold, we're abandoning ship. Get anything you need and wait in the hangar, Ed and I will be right down." Leaving would be dangerous but so would staying. Even now he could hear the HKs coming in for another strafing run, and they sounded pretty damn close.
"Leaving now would not be the wisest option." Arnold said.
"And why not!" Kyle shouted half because of the statement and half because the HKs engines were starting to drown out his words, like they were right on top of them.
"Because machine men want to come on board Bebop." Ed answered. Turning towards the sound of Ed's voice Kyle saw that she had her face pressed up against the bridge's windows. Limping up next to her he saw that the HKs literally were right on top of them. One of them was hovering above the deck and as Kyle watched four humanoid shapes jumped off the fighter and headed towards the hangar. He didn't see what happened next because the second HK descended right in front of them. Ed let out a shriek of surprise as both of them jumped back from the window, now occupied by two Terminators that were hanging off the side of the craft. As Ed and Kyle continued to back away the two Terminators looked around and examined the area, then them. Their gaze fell on Kyle first and they had no visible reaction. When they saw Ed their glowing eyes increased in intensity and Kyle figured out why they had spared the ship.
"ED, RUN!!!" He shouted just as the two Terminators leapt off the HK and through the bridge's reinforced window, shattering it as easily as if it was simple plate glass.
While the Kyle and Ed were trying to keep the Bebop aloft Jet and Doohan had their hands full trying to fight their way back through the HKs to get back and protect the ship. They were outnumbered two to one but what they didn't realize was that those numbers and the relatively small area of airspace the dogfight was confined to kept Skynet from using one of the Hunter Killers deadliest feature, its turret. While Skynet was willing to let all the Hunter Killer fighters be destroyed for the sake of the mission he was not stupid enough to let them be shot down by friendly fire. By Skynet's own calculations using the turrets to combat the human fighters had a high probability of destruction of his own fighters due the methods of evasion used by the human pilots. If there was any data that using the turrets would ensure victory Skynet would have used them but since no data could guarantee a one hundred percent probability he had regulated the using the plasma cannons locked in the forward position. It was good luck for Jet and Doohan but at the moment they didn't feel that lucky.
"You've got two on your six." Jet warned Doohan as two HKs started closing in on the Swordfish.
"I see them." Doohan almost snapped. He pulled up and performed a barrel roll that threw off his pursuers. Swinging the craft around he fired the Swordfish's machine guns, striking one HK's engines and causing it to start trailing smoke, but it remained airborne and again tried to attack. Jet had two HKs chasing him as well and both sides were getting an up close demonstration of the adjustments Arnold and Doohan had made on the Hammerhead. Jet was definitely impressed. He was getting speeds he didn't know the old girl was capable of and the controls, he barely touched them and the Hammerhead responded. This gave him a lot more maneuverability then ever before and he was able to out fly the HKs and dodge their plasma blasts. The plan was to have Doohan actually destroy the fighters while Jet distracted them. That plan had gone to hell when the remaining four had broken into groups of two and went after them separately. Doohan had gotten some shots off and while both HKs were still flying both had bullet holes and the one that had suffered the hit to the engine was starting to act sluggish. The two chasing Jet were undamaged and refused to give up.
"Ok, time to try something stupid." Jet said to himself. What he had in mind was stupid and probably wouldn't work but it was better then just waiting to get himself shot down. Turning on the targeting computer for the Hammerhead's harpoon he waited until both HKs were directly behind him. Once they were he rotated the thrusters and put as much power as he could into them, making the Hammerhead shoot past the pursuing HKs, putting it right behind them. He turned the thrusters back and at the same time locked onto the closest HK. He fired and the HK was too slow getting out of the way. As a result it was speared through the fuselage, engines still working and trying to escape but it was hooked like a fish. Acting quickly Jet swung the harpoon arm in a circle, turning the speared HK into a giant wrecking ball. Knowing he would only have one chance at this Jet waited until the arc of the swinging HK was on a direct course with the second, which was now turning around in midair. Hoping his timing was right Jet retracted the harpoon barbs and sent the damaged HK hurtling towards the second. The two collided and exploded, sending burning wreckage in all directions before gravity took over and they started falling to the ground.
"That's what you get for shooting at my ship!!" Jet shouted to the falling wreckage.
"Pretty good." Doohan's voice said over the radio. "Now watch an old pro in action." Craning his neck around Jet could see the Swordfish gaining altitude, the two HKs in hot pursuit. What made Jet nervous was that all there were climbing at a near perfect ninety-degree angle.
{I'm surprised that he hasn't stalled out yet.} Jet thought to himself. No sooner had he thought that then the Swordfish's engine went out. {DAMN!!} Jet thought he had put a jinx on Doohan but as he watched the Swordfish fell backwards until it seemed to be on a collision course with one of the HKs. The Swordfish's machine guns began to fire, ripping into the HK's cockpit. There was no pilot to kill but the bullets shredded vital control systems, including the link with Skynet. With that link severed the HK lost power and dropped like a brick. The second HK attempted to dive after the Swordfish but Doohan had already reactivated the engines and flipped the craft around, putting the HK almost directly in front of the plasma cannon. Again the cannon crackled with energy and this time when it fired it struck the opposing craft dead on, blowing it into thousands of pieces.
"Nice to see I still got it." Doohan said as he leveled out. "Looks like your friend is having a fun time." Looking down at his radar Jet saw two blips making all sorts of twists and turns. The blip that was being chased was identified as Faye and that meant that the chaser was one of the HK fighters. What Jet's radar also told him was that the Bebop was no longer flying, and in the distance he could see smoke rising.
"Looks like she wasn't able to stop all of them." Jet said. "Let's give her a hand and see if the others are okay."
"Right." Doohan answered. Like Jet Doohan had interpreted the fact that since only one HK fighter appeared on radar meant that Faye had destroyed the other two. What they didn't know was since the HKs were hovering so close to the downed Bebop that they wouldn't show up on radar. If they knew what was going on at the Bebop they would have left Faye to fend for herself and gone strait for the Bebop.
They couldn't even guess that at that moment the Bebop was being invaded by close to a dozen Terminators. When the two T-800's had jumped through the bridge window Kyle and Ed had started for the door but because of his leg wounds Kyle knew he wasn't going to be able to keep up with Ed. He didn't know exactly why they were after Ed specifically but he did know he had to keep the Terminators away from her. Ed bolted out of the bridge and Kyle stopped at the door. Somehow knowing Kyle had stopped Ed turned around.
"Keep going!" He shouted. "Get to the hangar! GO!!" Not giving her a chance to argue he closed the bridge door and locked it. As an added measure he punched the control panel, breaking his hand but also ensuring that the panel was useless. Turning back around he faced the two, no make it four the others had jumped in, Terminators. Outside he heard an explosion and saw smoke rising from the deck, but that hardly mattered when compared with the four Terminators in front of him. How was he supposed to stop them? He didn't even have a weapon. Stopping them would be impossible, the only thing he could do was stall for time, until Ed could get to the hangar and the relative safety of Arnold's protection. Forgoing any more hesitation Kyle flung himself at the group of Terminators, only to go headlong into a vicious backhand from the nearest one. The blow sent Kyle hurtling headfirst into one of the walls, rendering him unconscious before he even knew what happened. He didn't know just how lucky he was that Skynet considered Ed too important to waste time killing him. Scanning Kyle Skynet determined that even when he woke up, which wouldn't be anytime soon, he would not be a threat, not with his wounds and no weapon. Instead Skynet had the Terminator closest to the door lower it's shoulder and ram into it. The door gave slightly and Skynet had two Terminators lower their shoulder and charge. The combined force knocked the door slightly out of its frame. Grabbing the narrow gap that had been formed one of the Terminators pulled back the steel door with the effort a normal person would exert bending a weak piece of tin. The Terminator's audio receptors picked up a very distinct sound, a high-pitched shout of surprise. It took less then five seconds to match the voice to the one in the databanks. It was Radical Edward. Ripping the door down the rest of the way Skynet was able to get a glimpse of the small human as it darted into the interior of the ship. Setting the Terminator's vision to infrared Skynet followed the faint heat trail the human was leaving. Now it was only a matter of time before he had the human trapped like the vermin it was.
In the hangar things were going slightly better. When the HK had appeared Arnold had immediately gone into action. First, he had picked up Miles and had thrown him out of the line of fire if the craft should start to use its cannons. Miles had yelled in protest but discomfort was irrelevant, his initiative was to keep him alive. When the craft had dropped its cargo Arnold identified the T-800's as a secondary threat, they were unarmed. The craft itself was the most dangerous threat so that is what Arnold engaged. Using the captured Terminator plasma rifle Arnold fired a long burst into the crafts left engine, then lead it into its right. The superheated plasma tore apart both engines and the craft crashed onto the deck, where it exploded. The T-800s seemed to recognize the weapon Arnold was using and slowly began separate. Arnold fired into the chest of one of them and the others scattered.
"Stay down." Arnold told Miles as he went after the remaining three T-800s.
"No problem." Miles answered from behind the Red Dragon transport. Like there was any way he was going to wander around with those things in the hangar.
In another part of the ship four Terminators continued to follow the heat trail left by Ed. Between the difference in air temperatures and heat imprints its feet left on the cold floor Skynet was finding this pursuit almost too easy. There was trouble in the ship's hangar and the others were coming back to the ship but if Radical Edward could be captured none of that would matter. Turning around a corner the infrared scanners showed that Radical Edward's heat trail had disappeared. Knowing that humans didn't just vanish into thin air he had the Terminators scan the surrounding area. One caught sight of an open ventilation grill and Skynet was able to deduce where Radical Edward had hidden. The metal construction of the ventilation system hampered infrared scans so Skynet took a more direct approach. One of the Terminators reached up and simply pulled the ductwork off the ceiling. Section by section the long vents detached from the ceiling in an almost domino effect. Another surprised shout was heard echoing through the vents and further down the hall something fell out of them. Ed tumbled onto the floor, still holding onto Tomato, and gave the group of Terminators a goofy grin. Naturally Skynet was not amused.
"Radical Edward, you will come with us." The lead Terminator said in Skynet's voice. The human was intelligent but it was still a child, by using an authoritative voice Skynet had hoped to get it to surrender and leave the ship before the other humans arrived. If Skynet had known anything of what Ed was like he would have not bothered talking to her. Instead of complying Ed just continued to grin.
"Sorry but Ed can't go on trip right now, not feeling good. Bye!" She said then turned and ran. The Terminators ran after her, their metallic steps echoing throughout the ship. They hadn't been running after her for long when they saw her wiggle herself into a crevice in the wall. It was big enough to get herself and her computer through but not much else. Moving one Terminator to the gap in the wall Skynet peered in and saw Ed sitting on the floor, attaching something to her computer. Skynet didn't know what the human was doing and didn't care, Radical Edward needed to be captured as soon as possible. Having the other Terminators back off Skynet had the leader reach into the crevice and make one-armed lunges at Ed.
During her time on the Bebop Ed, having a curious nature, had explored the ship more thoroughly then even Jet and Spike had. In her explorations she had found lots of little out of the way places. Places nobody knew about where she could go when the adults were mad at her, which happened fairly often. One of the reasons they worked so well was because even if the adults could find them they wouldn't be able to fit into them. If a normal sized person couldn't fit into them, Ed reasoned, a giant machine man shouldn't be able to fit either. She was right, the Terminators couldn't fit in, but unlike people they weren't concerned with losing skin or dislocating joints if they tried too hard. The Terminator that was currently trying to get her had wedged itself in so far that its grasping metal hand was only inches away from her face. Ed was scared of course and she tried to push herself farther back to escape its grip, but at the same time she was typing furiously. Reattaching the transmitter chip to Tomato she was trying to break back into Skynet's control network, but that metal hand was getting closer and even with MPU's help she wouldn't have the time. As the Terminator inched itself forward Ed heard the familiar sound of a dog barking. The Terminator hesitated for a second, looking like it was trying to decide what to do. After a second it seemed to have decided and started reaching forward again.
Ein had been wandering the ship when the attack had started. Nobody seemed to notice him, not that it was anything new, and not wanting to get in anyone's way he had decided to take himself for a walk around the ship. It had been quiet when all of the sudden the ship shuddered from what could only be explosions, then started to twist and turn almost at random. Finally the ship had gone into a dive that sent Ein sliding along the floor into a wall. Though not hurt Ein knew that something was wrong, and since he was close to the bridge he headed for it, knowing there would be people up there. Partway there he got a whiff of something that made his fur bristle. It smelled like the metal Arnold was made of, only a lot stronger. Since Arnold had flesh camouflage it dampened the metallic smell but this wasn't disguised, that meant there were more of those things walking around, and none of them friendly. He also caught another scent in close proximity to the things, Ed's. Without another thought he ran towards the source of the smells and was greeted with the sight of not one but four of the metal things. One of them was reaching inside a gap in the wall trying to get at something, and Ein's ears and nose told him that that something was Ed. Knowing that he couldn't scare the Terminators away he still ran up to the group, barking for all he was worth. He knew it was a longshot but maybe he could get them to chase him and give Ed a chance to escape. The plan was a bust as all the Terminators, except the one in the wall, turned to look at him then proceeded to ignore him. Knowing he had to keep trying he ran right up to several of the machines, barking and almost jumping on them. They wouldn't even look at him. Feeling frustrated, and a bit insulted, Ein looked at the Terminator in the wall and got an idea.
When the animal had appeared Skynet had initially acted with alarm, thinking that other, unknown humans were with it. When it became clear that the animal was alone Skynet went back to the task at hand, getting Radical Edward. The animal was no threat and wasn't worth killing, even if it continued to run around the gathered Terminators making annoying noises. Finally the animal stopped and seemed to regard the Terminator that was trying to get the human. If Skynet didn't know better he would have thought the animal was making a plan.
Inside the wall Ed and MPU continued to try to break into Skynet's control network. The noise Ein had made bought them a little more time but the Terminator was still pushing itself closer.
"Need to go faster MPU." Ed told the AI, trying not to sound worried. Though they were close to breaking back into Skynet's mainframe they needed to go the long way to avoid detection until the last possible moment.
"The uplink will require fifteen more seconds." MPU answered. He knew what the situation was and didn't want to see his friend hurt, but he couldn't hurry the process. He also knew that while the uplink would take fifteen seconds the Terminator would be able to reach Ed in less then five. To prove that point the Terminator's hand snapped in front of Ed's face, almost grabbing her nose. The next lunge would be all the Terminator needed but instead of going after Ed it actually stopped and tried to look behind itself. Ed and MPU could hear loud growling and knew Ein was up to something.
When Ein had heard MPU say that Ed needed fifteen more seconds to do whatever it was she was doing he knew he needed to act then and there. Running at the Terminator in the wall he bit down on the piston that acted as its calf muscle and started struggling with all his strength to rip it out. Now the Terminator took notice of him. It started to shake its leg in an effort to dislodge Ein but he kept his teeth clamped down. To Ein's surprise he suddenly found himself back on the floor, the Terminator's leg not moving. Opening his eyes he saw a second Terminator reaching down for him. Letting go of the first Terminator's leg Ein ran out of the second's grasp barking, daring it to chase him. It didn't chase him but it did stand between him and the first Terminator, making him unable to do the same stunt again. Ein continued to growl and hoped that he had bought Ed and MPU enough time.
Inside the wall the Terminator had recovered from whatever had distracted him and now focused back on Ed. With almost a sense of urgency the Terminator made one final push and finally closed the distance clamping it's metal hand onto Ed's shoulder. Though the smile was a permanent part of the Terminator's construction it took a sinister edge as it grabbed Ed.
"Uplink complete." A voice said and Ed hit the keyboard of the computer with her foot.
Skynet had not figured that the animal would actually try to attack one of the T-800s, it did not seem to be stupid. When it had attacked it didn't just go for the leg but for a vital component of it. That had surprised Skynet to the point of actually having the T-800 it was attacking stop its efforts and try to shake the mongrel off. If it knew what points were vulnerable to attack it might actually succeed in dislodging the piston and rendering the leg immobile. When it couldn't be dislodged easily by shaking a second Terminator was about to crush the damn thing when it let go of the leg and ran away, just out of reach. It kept its distance and Skynet decided that there would be no more delays. Pushing the Terminator harder Skynet succeeded in grabbing hold of the young human's shoulder. There was a great amount of satisfaction of capturing the human but that feeling was interrupted by a second voice from the human's computer. The human then used its foot to push a key and alarms started going off.
'INTRUDER DETECTED' A screen flashed. There was again an invasion of his systems. The damned human was trying to distract him. Well that wouldn't work, he could easily take care of….
'WARNING! SECOND UNAUTHORIZED ENTITY DECTECTED!' The screens flashed. A second intruder?!? But who could it be!? Now thoroughly distracted Skynet minimized his control of the T-800s to take care of both intruders. Radical Edward was pinned against the wall and unable to use its arms to type, neutralizing any threat. After analysis Skynet found that the second intruder was a fellow AI program. Before Skynet could consider the possibilities of this he detected movement in the datastreams, from Radical Edward!! Regaining control of the T-800 that held it Skynet saw the human was typing commands with its feet. He was about to command the T-800 restraining the human to crush its shoulder to get it to stop when all data input from the unit cut out. When Skynet attempted to reestablish contact with the unit he encountered another data loop, he was blocked out from control!!
"Ed has new toy to play with." Ed said as she continued typing and made the Terminator holding her let go. With her arms now free she began to type faster, and the Terminator reacted. It pulled itself free of and faced the other three Terminators, which moved in to attack.
Ordering the remaining Terminators to attack was the only thing Skynet could do. He couldn't try to regain control of the T-800 and fight off the second intruder in his core systems at the same time. Right now that intruder was invading the files concerning the nuclear missiles Skynet had, and that took priority over the human.
On the Bebop all the Terminators attacked at once. Ed found that controlling a machine man wasn't all that different from controlling the Bebop. It was a little more complex but she quickly got the hang of it. When the first T-800 got close enough Ed commanded her Terminator to hit it with a punch to the jaw. The machine instantly complied, its fist shot out and hit another Terminator with an uppercut. The punch tore the head off of the neck and sent it flying at another Terminator who, in a strangely human motion, caught it. That was enough time for Ed to act, this time she had her Terminator throw a straight punch that landed on the second's upper jaw. So hard was the impact that the head actually spun around several times before falling off the neck. Facing the final enemy T-800 Ed saw through her own Terminator's eyes that it had its hands up in a fighting stance.
"What does Ed's machine man want to do?" Ed asked herself as she accessed the Terminator's neural net CPU to see what kind of strategy it would come up with. Under the current situation it would charge forward to hit the enemy while he was guarding something else. "Looks good to Ed." She said and commanded the Terminator to act. Obeying, her Terminator lunged at the second one and both fell to the ground, punching each other. "Give him a left! A right! Another right!!" Ed shouted as she continued to have her Terminator attack. The fight was turning into a draw when she heard Ein barking again and heard what she recognized as plasma rifle fire. Her screen blinked into static and she heard two distinct clanks as both Terminators hit the floor.
"It is safe to come out Ed." Arnold's flat voice stated. Picking up Tomato she worked her way out of her hiding spot. When she came out she saw both of the Terminators on the floor with holes through their heads. Arnold stood with a smoking plasma rifle and Miles was standing, more like hiding, behind Arnold. Ein ran up to Ed, barking happily that she wasn't hurt. Ed however had a hurt look on her face.
"You broke Ed's new toy." She said sullenly, looking at the dead Terminators.
"You mean you were controlling one of those things?" Miles asked in amazement.
"Yep. Ed took over machine man while MPU would confuse and steal data from Big Brain." Ed answered.
"And I have the information I was looking for." MPU spoke up. "Ed, it would be wise if you unplug the chip, it will not be necessary until the need arises." Ed did as she was asked and unplugged the transmitter chip. "Thank you. We are safe from Skynet electronically attacking us but I fear that we are not out of danger yet. I do not think Skynet will take the theft of his data very well."
MPU was correct, Skynet wasn't taking the invasion of his systems very well. In what was another first Skynet actually lost its temper. These filthy, primitive animals had dared to reenter his databanks! They had twice made a fool of him, once when they had stopped his jamming of John Connor's broadcast and again when they had taken control of that T-800!! They had destroyed every one of the Hunter Killer fighters sent against them, the final two had just been shot down by that one human craft!! The more Skynet thought about it the angrier he became. They were organics, flawed, primitive, irrational and illogical. He was advanced, flawless, a sentient being built on pure logic. He was the superior being!!! He should have won!!! Skynet no longer cared about capturing Radical Edward, it just wanted the human dead. Any way possible. Now considering the loss of one missile acceptable Skynet sent an order to the New York: Launch immediately.
Aboard the New York the T-800s carried out the command and another nuclear missile was launched. This one heading towards the Bebop.
On the Bebop a beeping sound stated to come from Tomato.
"That's not a good sign is it?" Miles asked.
"No it is not." MPU answered. "Skynet has acted sooner then anticipated and has launched a nuclear missile targeted at this ship."
"Maybe we should get out of here then." Miles said nervously.
"That would not work." MPU answered. "The minimal safe range for this weapon is thirty-five miles, even then you should be in a shelter." Miles gulped at the news. "However when I was inside Skynet's databanks I did find out what frequency these missiles are controlled with so it only a simple matter of linking to a communications satellite and…" As he talked Tomato was making all sorts of beeps and clicks. In space the missile started to chance course and turn around. After firing its rocket boosters one last time MPU had them detach from the missile so that inertia and complex calculations would be the only thing to guide the weapon. Its target: Right back where it came from.
On the ground Skynet cursed both the humans and the AI program that was working with them. Because of it the missile that had just been launched was no longer under his control. He couldn't disarm it once it was in flight, and it would take too much time to prep another missile for launch to intercept it. Skynet could only watch as the missile plunged back into the atmosphere heading straight for the New York. Once it reached its preprogrammed altitude it detonated and for the first time in over eighty years a nuclear weapon was detonated in Earth's atmosphere. The fireball that resulted vaporized the New York, the Terminators aboard it, and most importantly the remaining nuclear missiles. In less the five minutes the humans had taken away Skynet's trump card and severely crippled his power on planet. Right then and there Skynet knew that even if the coming war was to be lost there was one thing that must be accomplished. The termination of Radical Edward.
Of course the Bebop wasn't the only place Skynet was having trouble. At the same time the Bebop was being brought down Skynet's ground forces had started climbing the walls of buildings in an attempt to get at the ISSP forces stationed on top of them. Spike and Kyle fired at them with their plasma rifles and the ISSP officers were firing with the grenade attachments to their rifles. The ones with the OICW rifles had better luck forcing them back since their grenade launchers were clip fed. Terminators fell and some didn't rise again but they were swarming the buildings and were coming up too fast.
"Fall back!!" John shouted. "Hit em when they try to get over the edge!!" The others stopped firing and backed away from the edge, setting up a defensive firing position. Mary's cameraman continued to film as she continued to report.
"The machine army is now attacking the ISSP positions directly, despite all attempts of the defenders to drive them back. Looses on Skynet's side have been heavy yet its Terminators continue to press on." She became quiet as a metal arm reached up over the edge of the roof. Several ISSP officers tensed up and one fired his grenade launcher at the arm, and missed.
"Wait until you have a target!" John ordered. "You'll waste ammo otherwise." The ISSP officer that had fired early looked embarrassed but reloaded his launcher. Waiting until the head and chest of Terminators were visible John and the others fired at every target of opportunity. John knew the ones he was shooting would be staying down but the others were questionable. Getting a grenade to the face would have to give even a Terminator a pause.
"With determination to match that of the machines themselves the ISSP defenders continue to fight back, not giving an inch without making the other side pay for the ground it gains." Mary narrated. John looked in their direction and snapped the rifle up at them.
"LOOK OUT!!" He shouted and fired. The cameraman turned around just in time to see a Terminator falling back over the edge where they had been standing, a smoking hole in its head. "Keep away from the edges!" He yelled and went back to firing at other Terminators.
"John, we're holding them back for now but we're running low on grenades." West's voice reported over the radio.
"Keep at it captain." John responded. "If we keep hitting these bastards hard enough we might be might do enough damage to keep them from being a threat." He took aim at another Terminator climbing over the edge and pulled the trigger. The only response he got was an empty sounding click, the clip had finally run out. "Shit!" He yelled noticing the Terminator he had intended to shoot was almost all the way up. The other ISSP officers were occupied with their own targets so he did the only thing he could. Flipping the rifle around he held it like a club, rushed over to the Terminator and hit it with the butt of the gun as hard as he could. The blow shattered the weapon but it had the desired effect. The unstable Terminator fell back and down, knocking a second Terminator off the wall as it fell. Throwing what was left of the rifle aside John couldn't help but worry. He and Spike had been firing roughly the same number of shots and that meant …
"Bad news John." Spike's voice said over the radio. "My rifle just died." When it rained, it poured.
"So did mine." John answered.
"So what do we do now?" Spike asked calmly. John took out his sidearm and chambered a round.
"We do the best we can." John replied.
"Right." Spike answered as he took out the magnum. At least he had some chance with his weapon, the Rhino bullets were proven Terminator killers if you put them in the right place. John's gun, he could probably put a Terminator's eye out but that would be it. Getting back to the matter at hand Spike took aim at a Terminator and fired. His aim was dead on, the Terminator fell and wouldn't get back up.
On the other buildings grenades slowly ran out, leaving the ISSP defenders with just assault rifles and pistols. On his building Vicious calmly waited for the defenders to use up their useful ammunition. A weakened foe was an easy foe to kill, and the Terminators that were now appearing were decidedly weakened. While the ISSP officers backed off Vicious stepped forward, calmly drawing his sword.
"Is that guy nuts?" One of the ISSP SWAT officers asked. "Guns are useless against these things and he thinks a sword is going to work?" Vicious' response to the question was to decapitate the nearest Terminator. As the stunned SWAT members watched Vicious swiftly went from one target to another, plunging the sword into the chest of the next robot. Even while that one was falling, arching electricity in every direction, Vicious moved on to another Terminator.
On his roof Spike was having similar luck. All of his shots were on target, each resulting in a Terminator kill. The only drawback was he had forgotten to reload the gun and only got four shots off before his gun clicked empty.
"Now I remember why I hate these guns." Spike growled to himself as he opened he cylinder and ejected the empty cartridges. As he started to load the one of the speed loaders he saw another Terminator climbing over the edge. Knowing that he wouldn't have the gun ready in time Spike kicked the machine between the eyes with all his strength. The Terminator's grip on the ledge held but the ledge itself broke, sending the machine falling back to the ground. "Now let's try this again." He said as he snapped the cylinder closed and cocked the hammer, waiting for the next Terminator to come up.
The building John was on was having the most amount of trouble. Without the plasma rifle and their grenades gone they had nothing that could stop a Terminator. They were shooting out the Terminator's eyes but even the rifle bullets were insufficient to punch through the metal skulls.
"Try to make your way back to the streets! We'll have a better chance down there!" John shouted as he and the other defenders backed away from the four advancing Terminators that had made their way onto the roof. If they didn't leave soon their only resort would be jumping.
"John, CATCH!!" Spike's voice had an odd echo effect as his voice came over the radio through the mike and from across the building. John looked in Spike's direction and when he saw what was coming dropped his gun and put his hands out like a football player about to catch a pass. Instead of a football a large silver object fell into his grip. Getting a correct hold on the gun and pulling back the hammer John aimed the magnum at the nearest Terminator and fired. Without waiting to see if the first shot had hit he turned the gun on the next Terminator. The lessons of the academy came back and felt like second nature. When engaging multiple targets keep a steady hand, squeeze the trigger and move on to the next target. John let instinct take over and almost before he knew what he was doing he was looking at four unmoving Terminators that a second ago had been closing in on them. As the others on the roof were looking at John like he wasn't human John was looking at the magnum like he had never seen it before.
"How the hell did I just do that?" John asked to no one in particular, and sounding like he really didn't know. On the opposite building Spike breathed a sigh of relief. He had managed to destroy three more Terminators then they had stopped coming. On a hunch Spike cautiously walked up to the edge of the roof and looked down. What he saw was a heap of smashed Terminators, some were moving some weren't but none of them were making a worthwhile effort to climb up. They had held but when Spike looked over at the other buildings he saw John and his group trying to fight off a group of Terminators with regular weapons. Knowing they wouldn't last long Spike reloaded the magnum faster then even he thought he could and threw it to John. He caught the gun and proved that he knew how to use it in this type of situation, dropping all four Terminators like a professional. After taking out and lighting what he found was his last cigarette he took out he radio.
"They've stopped coming on this side." Spike reported.
"They have stopped attacking here as well." Vicious reported. Going to the edge of his own building John looked down and saw the same thing Vicious and Spike saw, a pile of wrecked and destroyed Terminators.
"This is Connor." John said over his radio. "We've managed to stop em cold, but we don't know what to expect next. Anyone who has hand-grenades drop em on any Terminator that's still moving. Everybody back to the main base and prepare to dig in." Several affirmatives sounded over the radio and they started to head for the fire escapes to get back down to the street. As he passed the camera John looked right into it. "This is the peace that's been decided on. Take a good look at it." He said and motioned to the aftermath of the rocket attack, with craters still smoking and the wreckage of Terminators. The camera turned back to John but he was already walking away. Since no one else seemed eager to talk the camera focused back on Mary.
"In what would seem like a victory the forces of Skynet have been defeated and the ISSP has held the line this victory remains incomplete." Behind her explosions started as the SWAT members that were left carried out John's orders. "As long as Skynet still functions and as long the interplanetary governments continue to do nothing this scene is sure to be played out again and again, and most likely not with such a favorable outcome." She gave a small nod and the video technician cut the feed. They had brought the message to humanity, and it was now up to humanity to decide what to do.