Chapter 27: Assault
It was quiet, and that was surprising. They were flying off to a battle the likes of which mankind had never seen yet everyone in the troop carrier was quiet. When he thought about it West decided it made sense, eleven men had been asked to become the last hope for the human race. What do you say about something like that? He knew the eight men he selected would answer that they would be proud to do so, even it meant death. John would probably say the same thing but Spike, he was a different matter. To West he seemed like the type of person who thought that he owed nothing to no one. The type of person who usually made grade A assholes. From what West had seen that wasn't really the case. Spike probably wouldn't volunteer for something like this but if he had his reasons, and he did, he would stick to it until the end. And that's probably what it would come down to.
"Sir. We're approaching the drop off point." The pilot of the craft reported, snapping West out of his thoughts.
"Any hostile contact?" West asked.
"We've got a couple of airborne blips on the radar, most likely fighters."
"Are they moving towards us?"
"Negative."
"What about on the ground?"
"No contact from any ground units reported."
"How long until we reach the drop point?"
"Five minutes sir." West nodded in acknowledgment and faced his squad.
"Regardless of what happens, all of you have proven yourselves just by accepting this. I couldn't ask for a better group to go into battle with."
"Yeah. Maybe they'll put up a statue of us after we're blown to smithereens." One of the squad said with a nervous edge to his voice. All of them seemed nervous to one degree or another. Everyone except for Spike. He sat with a look of utter calm on his face, seemingly not aware of what they were about to throw themselves headlong into.
"Whatever happens, happens." Spike said with a shrug when he noticed all eyes were on him. Spike was accepting whatever fate had in store for him but still had all of his focus on the job ahead. West could have used a platoon of people like that right now, they sure would come in handy. Wishful thinking, he might as well as wished for a tank division while he was at it, but he still wouldn't get one. Right now they had a job to do and he had to keep his mind in reality. To show him just how right he was the transport shuddered and they felt it descending.
"Remember the plan!" West shouted as the craft touched down. "Stick together and conserve your ammunition. The main force should take care of most of the opposition but keep your eyes open and make your shots count!! We'll need every bit of firepower we have once we get inside the mountain!"
[If they got inside the mountain.] Was what West really meant. The plan they had devised was for the main force to engage Skynet's forces while the eleven of them somehow try to sneak through all the chaos around them and then penetrate the command center. If by some miracle of God they managed to pull all that off they then had to fight their way through who knows what kind of internal defenses Skynet had managed to set up to the nuclear reactors that powered the facility. Once they got that far all they had to do was shut down the reactors and Skynet would cease to function. Simple really.
{More like suicide.} West thought as the ramp of the craft began to lower. "LETS MOVE!!" He shouted and ran down the ramp. Once the squad was off the transport they saw they waited while other craft flew above them and vehicles passed them on the ground.
"Give em hell!!" Someone shouted from one of the trucks. This was the part of the plan West hated, having to send all these brave people ahead just to be a diversion. He didn't have long to dwell on that as his ear radio squawked to life.
"Sir!! Scouts report contact with enemy ground units!! Enemy fighters inbound on an attack vector!!"
"Deploy our ground units and have our fighters engage theirs!" West ordered. Ahead of them they heard explosions and fighters roared by overhead. "This is it. Check you radios and prepare to move out. John, from here on out you're in charge." West ordered. Each member of the squad had an ear radio about the size of a large hearing aid so they could keep in contact with each other and the rest of the human force without needing their hands to talk. After making sure that the radios were in working order they headed towards the newly formed battlefield.
ISSP landing sight
"All right you heard the captain! Let's go kick some robot ass!" Al Belkin shouted as his squad rushed off of their transport. After the combat troops got off two other figures followed. Mary Somers and her cameraman came down the ramp and had only set one foot off it when Al started barking orders. "You two!! Don't go thinking you can wander off wherever you like. You stick with us no matter what. If I tell you to move you will do exactly what I say otherwise I'll smash that camera and have both of you detained!! Got that?!" After getting a nod out of both of them Al turned back to giving orders to his squad.
"The things I have to put up with to get a story." Mary said under her breath. In addition to constantly barking orders Al had insisted that both Mary and the cameraman wear helmets and armored vests. Mary understood the concern for their safety but the only spare vests they had weren't made for women and it was damned uncomfortable. Then there was the fact the best fitting helmet they could find was two sizes too large and she looked more then a little goofy in it. "Are we ready?" She asked into her mike, deciding a little indignity was a small price to pay for achieving journalism history.
"Whenever you are Mary." Her technician answered. "Sound and picture are coming in loud and clear. Just give the word." Despite the distance that separated Mary from her ship she was still able to give a clear picture from the battlefield. She nodded into the camera and the technician went to work. Using the same frequency given to him earlier by his new best friend Ed he again broke into the majority of information outlets. Across the solar system TVs and computers were again treated to the pirate broadcast. Knowing that every time the signal had taken over something more and more interesting had happened people stopped what they were doing to watch, eager to see what would happen this time. Well, almost everyone. At each of the major TV stations those in charge of broadcasting let out a collective groan. Wasn't there proof somewhere that showed they were the ones who decided what got put on the air and what didn't?
"This is Mary Somers live again from Earth for what could be the last time." She had confidence in the ISSP and Captain West's plan but this kind of talk made for greater dramatic effect. To help her build on that an explosion ripped through the background, closer to them then the rest. She flinched and grabbed onto her helmet. "Behind me a combined force of ISSP Earth forces and civilians willing to defend their homes have launched an all out attack on the main base of the supercomputer Skynet. With no help expected from any of the planetary governments it has fallen upon these brave individuals to try and stop the machine that has declared war on the human race."
Government bunker: Mars
This was the second emergency meeting that had been called in the last twenty-four hours and needless to say no one was happy to be there. The problem was thought to have been solved at the last meeting, then those two damned cops had messed everything up. First they had fought against Skynet's forces and won, proving that it could be beaten. Then they had blabbed to the whole solar system that there was still no government involvement even though the atomic weapons Skynet possessed had been destroyed. If they had just kept there mouths shut they could have just quietly wrote Earth off, shut down the astral gate and that would have been the end of it. Even if Skynet had managed to send ships into space they would be dealt with long before they became a threat, even before the civilian population had become aware of them. Now they looked, as one newspaper put it, 'incompetent jackasses at best, cold blooded murderers at worst', both not really what an elected official wanted to be viewed as.
"Whether government officials are too scared or have no regard for the people residing on this planet there message has been made loud and clear, 'You are on your own'." Mary continued, she almost seemed to be mocking them.
"Turn it off." The president of Mars said. He had heard more then enough. Mary's broadcast winked off the screens of the gathered group. All those who had been assembled before were there again, with the noticeable absence of Robert Connor. It was not a great loss. The last thing any of this group wanted to hear was 'I told you so' and he probably wouldn't have come even if he had been ordered to. "Gentlemen, you are all aware of the latest developments. The question that lies in front of us is how are we going to deal with them?"
"Deniability is no longer an option." The Red Dragon representative said. "While it is still only their word against ours the lack of a nuclear response from Skynet will have greater sway over public opinion then anything we can say."
"We could say that Skynet is holding back. Showing it doesn't want all out war." One of the ISSP chiefs suggested.
"Impossible." The chief of ISSP's Mars branch said. "Skynet already showed its willingness to use nuclear weapons against something that isn't even a direct threat to it. Now all of the sudden it has a change of heart and decides that it doesn't want to use them on a direct threat that it knows is coming? A threat that could conceivably defeat it if those weapons aren't used? The public isn't that stupid."
"So we can't say this information was never sent to us." The president of Mars continued. "What about communication mistakes? That the message didn't get to us in time, or got lost in back channels?"
"Unlikely." The general stated. "He would have broadcast information that important through the highest priority channels. A message like that gets taken right to the top, no stops along the way."
"And what if it was held up on purpose?" The Red Dragon representative asked.
"What do you mean?" The president asked.
"Well let's say that the message wasn't brought to our attention because someone had a personal stake in this matter. One that would like to see this matter swing in their favor."
"You're referring to Robert Connor I assume?" The general asked. The Red Dragon representative shook his head.
"Unfortunately no. Believe me I would like nothing more then to see Connor strung out for something like this we can't use him. Though his nephew is involved he has voiced, very publicly I might add, that help should be sent to Earth, no matter the risks. To claim he was lying the whole time would not be believable enough. What we need," He started with his shark like grin. "is someone that is Connor's opposite. Someone who has been in conflict with him the entire time."
"Someone who is well known for butting heads with Connor. Someone who would do almost anything to take him down a notch. Even if it meant getting him through his family and the deaths of countless civilians and stranded ISSP personal." The general agreed.
"Someone who was blinded by his confrontations with Connor enough to neglect his duty, even if it was for one instant." The president said. They had played this game before. In politics one had to very good at shifting the blame and making someone else take one for the team. Even if that person wasn't willing to. Everyone's gaze shifted to the Mars ISSP chief, who began to look around nervously.
"I…" He started to say but the Red Dragon representative interrupted.
"You are known to have a number of confrontations with Robert Connor. Some of them have even been known to make headlines. Because of his 'inability' to fall in line you saw him as insubordinate, even with all his accomplishments. One might even go as far that there were certain instances where you didn't want him to succeed. Criminals caught and contraband intercepted that you seemed less then happy about. Such an attitude would arouse suspicion that you were in league with these criminals."
"I'm far from the only one." The chief growled.
"What? Me?" The Red Dragon representative said with mock surprise. "I merely represent a business organization. I do not ask questions about what they do." He said with an arrogant smirk. "Because Connor was such a thorn in your side of your illegal activities you wanted to strike back. You couldn't strike back directly; it would be obvious who did it, whether it was at Connor himself or his family. But," He paused for dramatic flare. "once you heard that Connor had a personal connection to the current crisis, his nephew, you saw an opportunity to get back at him. By not telling us about the message from Earth you would have condemned John Connor to death, leaving his uncle powerless to stop it. The civilians," He gave a snort of mock laughter. "they're only Earth people, no big loss. And the ISSP units that would be stranded, well. I guess it's their own fault for fighting alongside Connor and his associates, isn't it? Only through the unforeseen actions of a quick-thinking and dedicated ISSP captain, and the luck of having a reporter nearby, did this message finally reach the proper people." He gave the chief a hard stare. "Because revenge clouded your judgment you caused countless deaths that could have been prevented."
"People aren't going to believe that!" The chief said through clenched teeth. "It's too far fetched."
"On the contrary." The Red Dragon representative said with a grin. "Once the details are ironed out a little bit this story will be very believable. There's just one thing missing." He didn't elaborate and turned to the president for a decision.
"I think we have all that we need." The president said. "Once the message was confirmed as the truth the blockade fleet that was being readied had a change of orders and was sent to support the forces fighting Skynet. Is that plausible enough?" He asked the general.
"Should be." The general said with a nod. "Even if the fleet left now they would never make it there before this battle was over, one way or another. But it'll show we tried as hard as we could, despite what had happened." He added with a glance at the chief.
"In that case I see no reason for us to stay here any longer." The president said as he stood up. "I suggest that we prepare statements and try to cover this from any possible angle. Good day gentlemen." The president left the room, escorted by his bodyguards. A minute later the rest of the gathered crowd stood and left. All except the Mars ISSP chief, who just sat with his head in his hands, lost in his own thoughts. As the Red Dragon representative walked down the hall towards the elevators the general approached him.
"What did you mean by there's only one thing missing? I thought we covered all the bases here."
"Not quite everything." The Red Dragon representative answered. "We are still missing one thing. An ending to all of this."
BANG
Before the general had a chance to say anything a gunshot sounded from inside the meeting room. The guards rushed inside but the Red Dragon representative did not seemed surprised.
"And that would be it. After realizing just what he had done our traitor suffered a nervous breakdown which ended with him taking his own life." He said and started walking again. "When you've been in this business as long as I have things start to get predictable." He told the general.
While the bureaucrats were plotting Mary's broadcast continued.
"Even knowing they wouldn't be receiving any help the ISSP forces drive onward, determined to stop this menace before it becomes any stronger." Mary continued. Behind her more explosions rocked the camera. "Though the machine army has the advantage in numbers the ISSP is using its superior firepower and air support to fight it to a standstill." She motioned for the camera to follow her and they moved to a position that gave them a better view of the fighting. The camera focused on a group of three T-70s that were following about a dozen T-800s that were attacking an ISSP transport being used as cover by group of civilians wielding rocket launchers. Several rockets shot out from the position and struck the group of gathered war machines. Out of the resulting smoke cloud the T-70's moved in a calm, steady stride. Being the larger targets they had stayed behind while the T-800's rushed forward, forcing the humans to fire on closer threat and giving them the needed time to advance to the most optimal attack position. While the humans scrambled to get new rockets the T-70's stopped moving and in unison raised their right arms and with perfect synchronization all three cannons began belching fire. In seconds it was over, the large rounds tore through the ISSP transport and the humans that were around it. The T-70's powered down their cannons and began looking for their next target. They turned and saw Al's unit, and they appeared to be looking right into the camera.
"SHIT!!" Al yelled as the machines again began to raise their weapon arms. Mary and the cameraman stood their ground, whether through determination or just sheer stupidity. The cameraman continued to broadcast until the cannons were almost in firing position, snapping him back to reality just as something came screaming in from off camera and slammed into the lead T-70. The explosion that followed rained derbies down on Al's unit, forcing the cameraman to cover his head and ruin the shot he just had.
"Over there!" Someone shouted. The camera was swung around and pointed skyward, focusing on a strange fighter hovering above them that definitely was not ISSP standard. It had two mean looking cannons fixed on opposite sides of the cockpit and looked heavily customized, identifying it as a civilian ship.
"Something's moving down there!" Al shouted, making the camera focus back on the smoke that was beginning to clear. Limping out of it came a single, torn up looking T-70. Despite the damage it had received it began to again raise its gun arm, which had somehow survived intact. Al was about to give the order to take cover when the robot began making jerking motions in response to something hitting it. The cameraman stayed focused on the T-70 Mary looked up towards and saw the fighter was firing again, this time with machineguns. Turning back towards the T-70 Mary watched as the high caliber bullets punched through the already weakened armor and ripped large hunks of metal off it. The robot fell backward as vital systems were wrecked and fell to the ground with a crash. It lay there motionless for a second began to convulse in what had become a familiar sight as it's power cell ruptured and went up in a second explosion almost as large as the one that had initially damaged it.
Al's unit started cheering and waving at the craft when it suddenly banked away, narrowly avoiding bolts of purple energy that seemed to come out of nowhere. Turning the camera to see where the energy bolts had come from the cameraman got a shot of two very odd looking fighters chasing after the craft that destroyed the T-70s, energy cannons blazing. Before Mary could comment on what had just happened the first craft pulled a hard turn and came back towards them twisting and turning to avoid being shot down. The three craft again roared over their position but this time when they passed a rocket shot from the ground and headed right for the lead Hunter Killer. The missile was on target, blowing one of the engines off and sending the first fighter spinning out of control, right into the second one. After filming the two craft crashing to the surface and exploding the cameraman followed the smoke trail of the rocket back to the ground and managed to catch the site of Al throwing down a now empty rocket launcher and picking up his assault rifle.
"Don't just stand there like a bunch of idiots!! FORWARD!!" Al shouted and fired his grenade launcher at an approaching T-800, knocking it to the ground. The rest of his unit followed their commander's example, moving forward and firing their weapons. The clatter of rifle fire, combined explosions and the roar of launching rockets, forced Mary to start yelling at the top of her lungs to be heard.
"With the advantage temporarily theirs ISSP forces are attempting to advance on the enemy's positions and drive them back to their main base!!"
On the Bebop
"That was too close." Kyle said as he watched Al shoot down the two Hunter Killers that were chasing Faye. He had one eye on Mary's broadcast and the other on a second screen that Ed was sending the satellite images to. The storm system that had rolled in and covered the battlefield with thick clouds had taken away direct visual contact but the satellite's sophisticated sensors were able to penetrate the cloud cover. Using a combination infrared, night-vision and advanced imaging procedures Kyle was able to see what was going on with almost the same amount of clarity that would have been if there were no clouds to begin with. Off to one side Ed was typing away on Tomato getting her 'secret weapon', whatever that was, ready. Sparing a moment to look Kyle saw the words [REALIGNMENT 40% COMPLETE] displayed on the screen. Kyle didn't know what that could mean and didn't have a chance to think about it when a voice came out of the radio.
"Hey watchdog, we've got enemy inbound from two directions. I need to know how many there are in each group. And I need to know it five seconds ago!!" Kyle didn't recognize the voice but according to the satellite readout it was coming from an ISSP position and the signal was authentic. Scanning the surrounding area Kyle found two clusters of things that were definitely not human and were advancing in the direction of the signal's origin.
"Unit five, you've got twelve inbound Terminators advancing from the Northeast and another group of eight from the Northwest. No additional air or ground units detected in your area."
"Thanks watchdog, we'll be ready for them." The unit commander answered. Kyle didn't quite know how he had gotten the nickname watchdog for this operation but everybody seemed to be calling him that now. Looking back to the readout he saw the ISSP unit divide up and being to engage the Terminators. With no one else asking for help at the moment he turned the transmit function of the radio off and turned to Ed.
"Now you're sure that Skynet can't hear us Ed?"
"Of course Big Brain can't hear us." Ed responded like there could be no doubt. "Ed made sure that if Big Brain got sneaky it would get a busy signal." Before the human force had taken off Ed had created another data feedback loop that would react if anyone tried to eavesdrop in on ISSP frequencies and lock them out. Again Kyle found himself amazed at the skills this kid had and a bit wary about how much havoc she could do if she put her mind to it.
"Then why don't you give him another headache. A real big one." Kyle suggested. Between the strain of controlling that many robots combined with Ed and MPU's hacking it was possible Skynet would lose control and make the ground attack go easier. Ed turned towards Kyle with an 'I know something that you don't' grin on her face.
"Ah, ah, ah." She said waving her finger at Kyle like a teacher scolding a student. "Ed will give Big Brain lots and lots of headache, but not yet. Ed needs to be reeeeady first. When Ed and MPU get secret weapon ready Big Brain gets big, big, BIGsurprise!!" She finished with a laugh and throwing her arms up in the air dramatically then going back to work on Tomato. Kyle was beginning to wonder if he should order her to try and hack into Skynet's mainframe again. Even a slight distraction would save lives and give John and Spike a better chance of getting inside the mountain. Then again forcing her to go back into Skynet would keep her from completing whatever it was she was doing, and if it was everything she was claiming it would be it would be more effective then just going into Skynet blindly. The rational part of his mind told him that the best thing to do would be to try and stop Skynet now with a proven method of attack. On the other hand in his short time on this ship he had learned that with this group, with Ed especially, irrationality was always better. That decided he went back to monitoring the satellite readout and directing various ISSP units.
Mars:
Robert Connor was only one of over a dozen or so people gathered outside an electronics store watching the carnage unfold on TV.
"The machines are still fighting as hard as ever." Mary shouted over the din of battle. "But ISSP have made several advancements against Skynet's positions, slowly pushing the machines back."
"Mr. Connor?" A voice asked. Robert turned around and saw two men wearing black suits and dark sunglasses.
"Yeah?" He answered. He wasn't even going to try lying, these two obviously knew who he was so denying it would be pointless.
"Would you please come with us. There are people who would like to talk to you." Suit one asked.
{Looks like what I did is catching up to me.} Robert thought to himself. He briefly considered going for his gun but there was a good chance stray bullets would hit innocent civilians. Instead he just nodded and followed the two as they led him to an armored limousine and opened one of the doors. Getting in he was surprised to see the president of Mars sitting in the seat opposite him. Next to the president was another man in a black suit and sunglasses.
"You're a hard man to track down detective Connor. We've been looking for you for a while now." The president said.
"That happens when a man doesn't want to be found." Robert replied. "And I'm not a detective anymore." He added.
"Yes, we'll have to figure out how to deal with that later." The president said as the car started up. "I suppose you're wondering why I'm speaking to you?"
"Probably to tell me about my upcoming public court-martial and execution." Robert sneered. He knew how things worked and didn't care who he managed to piss off now.
"No, nothing like that." The president responded. "The situation on Earth has changed drastically in just the past few hours, changes that have caused the interplanetary governments to shift their standings on how to deal with it. Changes that were brought to light thanks to you."
"Me?" Robert asked, a look of suspicion on his face.
"Yes you. That transmission you managed to get about Skynet's nuclear threat being taken out of the picture, it was a turning point in our thinking. Just because there were problems in the chain of command…"
"Oh that explains it." Robert interrupted. "You guys need someone to play the scapegoat and the hero, and I'm supposed to play the part of the hero right?"
"Well not just you of course, there are others. Jason West, Kyle Reese, even your nephew have played a very large part in all of this."
"Cut the crap and get the point." Robert snapped.
"Very well detective, if you insist. As you know when the dust from all of this settles there are people who will be held accountable, both for the positive and the negative of what has happened."
"And you want us to make you look like you did the right thing." Robert growled. "Not a chance. I'd rather shoot myself then help you bastards."
"You don't have to do anything." The president answered calmly. "You don't have to side with us, you don't even have to agree with us, you just have to let things take their course. The government was acting on what it thought was the best intelligence it could get…
"Bullshit!!!"
"And because of that we had to make the decisions that we did." The president continued, not acknowledging Robert had even spoken. "Harsh but for the good of humanity. When we received the information you had, after a deliberate sabotage attempt, we changed our policy and sent help to Earth. Medals and whatnot are awarded and things return to normal. You and your family stay out of the spotlight and you're allowed to retire while your nephew, after getting a pardon from the government, is free to do whatever he chooses."
"Stop the car." Robert growled. "I'm not going to be a part of this." The president sighed and shook his head.
"Detective, you're going to be a part of it whether you want to or not, there's no way you can't be. Your integrity is admirable but regardless of that you're in the middle of this. We'll say and do the same things whether you approve or not. I'm just telling you this because I believe you have a right to know. Speaking on my own behalf I believe yourself, your nephew and his associates have averted a disaster that could have spread throughout the entire solar system. Actions like that deserve to be recognized, even if there is a second motive behind the recognition." Robert scowled and looked out the window. After a minute he turned back to the president.
"After this is over myself and my family will be left alone?"
"Completely. You won't owe anybody anything and we'll owe you nothing. You can't lose." The president guaranteed. Robert considered it for a moment then held out his left hand. The president smiled and shook Robert's hand. "Glad you're able to see things our..ACK!!" Before the president could finish Robert yanked him forward and in a flash had his gun underneath his chin. The bodyguard had his own gun out and pointed at Robert's head but Robert ignored it.
"The only reason I'm pretending to go along with this is for the sake of my family." Robert growled. "Not you and your bullshit politics. Understand that?!" He asked and pressed the gun in harder. The president let out a grunt Robert took as an affirmative. "Good. Then you'll understand this to. I got this close once, I can do it again. If anything happens to Sara or John you had better pray that you die of something else before I get to you!!" He threw the president back into his seat and reholstered his gun.
"Your statements are noted." The president said calmly and ordered the bodyguard to put away his own weapon. He didn't have quite the extreme reaction the Red Dragon weasel did but Robert could tell the president was nowhere near as calm as he acted. "Now I suppose you'll want to get into the fight yourself so I took the liberty of arranging a spot for you on the fleet that is headed for Earth. If all goes well you'll be able to see your nephew in a little over twelve hours. And a fair word of warning detective. If this battle has no deceive winner when we arrive or it appears the machines have won, I have ordered the area of Skynet's command center bombarded with nuclear weapons."
"By the time the fleet gets there the people on the ground will either be victorious or dead." Robert responded.
On Earth it was seemed more and more likely that the former part of Robert's statement would be true. Both sides continued to hammer the other as hard as they could, doing their best to annihilate each other. The human force, though taking heavy casualties, was finally making significant headway in its assault on Cheyenne Mountain. In the sky one lone Hunter Killer fighter remained and was being pursued by three ISSP fighters. The HK's turret swung around and managed to down one of its pursuers but the other two opened fire and shot the craft to pieces.
"This is Red Saber one." The lead pilot said into his radio. The skies are clear. I repeat, the skies are clear."
"Good job Red Saber one." John's voice answered. "All fighters are to commence strafing runs on my order. Use your missiles on concentrated formations and your guns on the others. Jet, do a flyby on that tower and see just what it is and if it's operational yet." The 'tower' that John was referring to was the previously unidentified structure on the satellite pictures. When it got in visual range it was clear that it was no communication array. It was a massive structure surrounded by metal scaffolding, most likely used by the machines that had constructed it, giving the impression that the thing was caged. The top half of the thing bore an eerie similarity that John remembered from one of the Cyberdyne files he, Jet and Faye had gone over. On the top were two 'arms' that branched up and out to the side that ended not with hands but with an under slung double-barreled cannon. John had initially thought it was a Goliath tank but looking at the bottom of the thing they could see no treads, just four column like structures that seemed to be holding the rest of the construct up. As far as John could tell it was either an unfinished Goliath or a permanent gun platform to defend the mountain. Whatever it was John wasn't about to press the attack if that thing was combat ready so before the final push he needed to be sure it wasn't.
Jet cautiously brought the Hammerhead closer to the thing, all the while keeping one eye on his instruments and another on the commotion going on below him. So far nobody was intentionally trying to shoot him but you never knew when a stray rocket or burst of gunfire might come your way. What had Jet on edge was the fact none of Skynet's forces had even attempted to defend whatever this thing was. Maybe they didn't consider him a threat. Or even better, that this thing wasn't even worth defending. So far that's what all of his scanners said. Infrared showed the entire thing was cold and no energy was being detected. That was a very good sign, with no power the turrets wouldn't even be able to rotate, let alone fire. As Jet pulled away from the structure he activated his radio.
"Everything is registering zero. Looks like it's dead." Jet reported.
"Roger that Jet." John responded. "You seeing the same thing Kyle?" He asked after opening another channel.
"Exactly the same." Kyle responded. That mysterious structure had been high on the concern list going in and Kyle had made sure to keep an eye on it. His readouts said the same thing as Jet's, cold, powerless and dead. Satisfied with the reports John switched frequencies again.
"Hit 'em."
That was all the aircraft needed to hear. Faye and the ISSP fighters fired a barrage of missiles into the most concentrated areas of Skynet's amassed forces, blowing large gaps in the line that resembled smoking craters.
"With what appears to be the final push towards Skynet's base the ISSP has begun to bring out their big guns in order to disorientate and destroy the machine enemy." Mary narrated as the camera swept across the battlefield, taking in all the destruction. However despite her words Skynet's forces were neither disorientated nor anywhere near breaking. For a brief moment the sounds of the missile strike faded and everything was quiet. Then with no warning fire began to pour from the still fading smoke, a majority of it being the loud roar of the T-70's chain guns. Out of the fires and still blinding smoke came a Terminator, not moving at the slow and steady march that the machines had been using so far it was sprinting towards the ISSP line, firing its rifle. Immediately following the first Terminator came a second, then a third. More came sprinting out of the smoke, charging towards the human line. Even the T-70s were rushing forward, though their immense weight limited them to a slow jog. The human line fired at the charging machines but they would not be able to stop them.
"DAMN IT!!!" John shouted. "Skynet had this planed from the start!!" He hated hiding and wanted to get into the fight but if they didn't stay hidden they would become Skynet's main target. From their hiding place John's squad wouldn't be able to do anything to help the main line and firing missiles at the charging mass would kill as many humans as it would machines. That left him with one alternative. "Doohan!! Put a blast through the front of their charge!!"
"One firebreak coming up." Doohan answered. John didn't quite understand what that phrase meant but it looked like Doohan understood his idea just fine. Flying along a course parallel to the front of the machine charge Doohan lowered the nose of the Swordfish and pressed the firing button for the plasma cannon. A blast of energy shot to the ground, raking the edge of the machine line. Instead of a single blast Doohan held the trigger down and a solid stream of energy literally cut a trench into the ground. Any machines hit by the blast directly were vaporized instantly and those on the edge of the blast were turned to molten slag a nanosecond before the heat made their power cells go critical. Even the machines that managed to escape being hit the plasma beam weren't spared. The combined explosions of the beam itself and so many power cells going critical combined into one massive blast that was powerful enough to throw nearby T-800's into the air and back into the rest of the onrushing Terminators. Collisions knocked many T-800's to the ground but when they struck the T-70's they merely bounced off. One T-70 even went so far as to bat an incoming T-800 away with its regular arm.
The sight would have been quite amusing if anyone had been able to see it. The explosion caught those manning the ISSP positions by surprise and everyone instinctively hit the dirt. Everyone except Mary and her cameraman. Trying to get the best possible shot they did not move until the shock wave from the explosion hit them and knocked them off their feet. Those watching the broadcast saw the world go spinning and came to a sudden stop where they got a very good view of a couple pairs of boots.
"Idiots." A voice snarled. "Are they all right?"
"Yes sir. Nothing worse then some bruises and scraps." A second voice answered. Off camera Mary groaned.
"What hit us?" The cameraman asked, still a little dazed.
"Nothing. You should be grateful for that and the fact that I don't have time to lock your ass up. So just keep filming and this time keep your heads down!!" Al shouted. The picture became wobbly as the cameraman picked it up and refocused on Mary, now covered in dirt and looking a little dazed herself. Forcing herself to calm down she faced the camera and continued.
"After stopping a machine counterattack the ISSP forces are now…"
ROOOOOAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRR
This time Mary and the cameraman dove to the ground as the air became filled with projectiles. Crawling forward the cameraman focused the camera on the source of the almost deafening roar. The surviving T-70s had formed a new line and were marching forward, all of them firing their cannons. While Al tried to figure out what to do someone else noticed something. John saw that the advancing line was composed of T-70's only, no T-800s. Looking around he saw why. The remaining T-800s were moving towards the right side of the line.
"They're trying to flank them!" John shouted, turning to West. "Tell Al he's got Terminators coming from the right. Doohan!! Hit them again!!"
"I'll give it a try." Doohan replied. "But that long blast probably damaged the cannon."
{Damn!} John thought to himself. This was one of those command situations that he never wanted to have to make. If he ordered Doohan to fire with a damaged cannon the chances were good that he would blow himself up. And if he didn't give that order Al's entire unit would be killed. "Do it."
"Right." Doohan replied. Diving down for another strafing run Doohan pressed the plasma cannon trigger. The cannon let out a loud hum that turned into a high pitched whine that machinery usually gave off when it was about to fail. Warning lights started flashing and an alarm began sounding. The readouts confirmed what Doohan had feared; the energy dampners in the barrel had been damaged and wouldn't be able to contain another blast. On a normal cannon of this type that kind of damage would have resulted in failsafes being activated and stopped the cannon from firing a second time. But true to Spike's form those failsafes had been removed, and now power was building up to a dangerous level. The T-70's were getting closer to Al's unit and even though Doohan couldn't see it he knew that those other robots were doing the same.
"Doohan, what's the problem?" John nervously asked. He could see that Doohan was getting closer to his target and still hadn't fired the gun yet. Using binoculars John could see energy crackling all around the gun and knew that couldn't be good. The fact that the cannon now had several streams of smoke coming from it wasn't really a positive sign either.
"Nothing!" Doohan snapped and turned off his radio. "Come on you old war horse. Don't give up on me now. Fire!!" The only response the Swordfish gave him was to make the alarms increase their volume as the power buildup approached its maximum before blowing up. Doohan was almost over his targets and if the gun didn't fire now he would miss and not get another chance. "GODAMN IT I SAID FIRE!!!" The craft shuddered violently and Doohan could hear an explosion but he was still flying. More importantly he saw a blue flash of light streaking toward the ground. He watched as the bolt continued on its path and landed right in the center of the T-70 line. The blast the followed was the biggest of the day so far, all the built up energy of the plasma cannon had been concentrated into one blast and had literally blown the advancing T-70s away.
Mary and her cameraman had stayed on the ground when the explosion hit and only after the ground stopped shaking did either of them dare to get up to see what had happened. Focusing the camera on where the T-70s had been they saw nothing more then rising smoke and debris. Several smaller, closer explosions made them turn around and they managed to see several ISSP troops firing rockets at Terminators that had somehow snuck up behind them. They were being dealt with fairly quickly and since it wasn't anything new Mary motioned for the camera to be turned back towards the explosion.
"With the machine counterattack now truly broken through the use of… unconventional means by ISSP the human side has been given another chance to fight on." Mary narrated. Dust and debris still shrouded the area and there wasn't much to shoot. Trying not to sound disappointed with the lack of something to show Mary was about to start again when above them came a low rumbling. Looking up Mary saw flashes of light in the thick clouds followed be another rumble. The storm was getting ready to break. A gust of wind swept over the ISSP position and carried off the majority of the debris obscuring the blast site, showing what was left. "My god." Mary was far from the only one to have that type of reaction.
In front of them was a crater, a large one. Thirty feet wide and at least ten feet deep it was comparable to some of meteor strikes that had assailed Earth for the past fifty years, only this one was man made. Doohan flew overhead, admiring his handiwork.
"Looks like the old girl still had some fight in her." He said proudly as he passed over the crater. He knew that the fight the ship had in it was probably going to add up to a replacement cannon. That explosion that had accompanied the blast hadn't been small and he knew he was in for major repair work when this was over.
Across the battlefield John looked at the damaged Swordfish and wondered how it could still be flying. The explosion had destroyed the barrel of the cannon, which continued to trail smoke, and scorched the rest of the gun, as well as the underside of the ship, black. But it was still flying and seemed to be in no serious trouble so there was no reason to order Doohan down. Knowing it was now or never John activated his radio.
"We've got our opening. Let's use it! Everyone move in and secure the mountain!!" He motioned to the others in his group and they moved forward.
"You heard him boys and girls, let's go!" Al shouted and rushed forward. The others in his squad followed, along with Mary and her cameraman.
"With the machine forces decimated from combined air and ground attacks the final assault on Skynet's command center has been ordered. With very few ground forces left and no air support it now seems that the moment of victory is within site." Mary said as they ran forward despite the explosions and gunfire that surrounded them.
Inside Cheyenne Mountain Skynet listened to Mary's statement and almost felt like laughing.
For the most part the supercomputer had run the battle according to the most logical methods for victory. By using illogical tactics the humans had inflicted heavy losses but Skynet was also able to confirm two hundred and twenty five dead on the human side, a large number for such a group this small. They would suffer more losses before they were able to reach the mountain but they would reach it, if things were going the way that reporter was saying. The truth was far different. While Skynet couldn't listen to the ISSP's communications because of that damned Radical Edward he was able to figure out what the humans were planning through a loophole in their communications defense. While Radical Edward had locked him out of all ISSP frequencies there was something he had missed. All ISSP radios were blocked to him but there were three craft that had civilian radios and they had different frequency settings then those ISSP used. By listening in through the civilian bands Skynet was able to calculate just what the humans were doing. It appeared that John Connor was part of an ulterior plan to be used during the course of this attack. Skynet was unable to calculate just what it was when the satellites began detecting energy fire that was not his own. The fire was coming from one specific group of humans, a group that was headed through a weakened defense sector straight for the command center.
It was a logical conclusion that John Connor was in that group and possibly Spike Spiegel as well. Their objective appeared to be to infiltrate the command center with only a few men armed with plasma rifles. A typical human plan, stupid and simple minded. Any rational being would have considered all the contingencies that would possible. Instead they decided to use a plan that was only half thought out and with no apparent backup. To Skynet this was another reason humanity needed to be destroyed, more like put out of its misery. And Skynet had just the thing to do it. Sending a command Skynet activated what would be his King's Gambit.
In chess the King's Gambit is a strategy employed to fool an opponent into thinking that they are winning, that they have the strategic advantage. Once the opponent's guard has dropped the first player would use that confidence against his opponent by quickly turning the tables on them. The strategy the opponent had been using would now be worthless and unless he could recover and change it he would lose. Skynet doubted the humans would be able to recover that quickly if at all.
Outside the complex the gun tower that the humans thought to be inoperable began to emit a sound that was similar to a jet engine powering up. Amidst the sounds of the battle no one could have heard the sound grow in volume and intensity. Its power source was a fusion reactor based on the Terminator power cells, only scaled up a hundred-fold. Skynet watched as the power level to each system rose and came online.
Though no one close to it would have noticed any differences in the strange machine someone else with a different perspective did notice.
"What the hell?" Kyle said as he started to get strange readings coming from the gun tower. As the battle had progressed that thing had shown no changes but now it was starting to give out a weird energy signature. At first Kyle thought it was nothing but a glitch in the satellite relay but the power output from that thing was growing, and it was getting hotter to. "Ed, take a look at that funny thing we found earlier and tell me what you see." He was hoping that it was just a misread and Ed's computer would catch and correct it.
"Ed sees that mystery thing is changing colors." Ed reported. Well so much for hope.
"John, get everybody the hell away from that gun tower!!" Kyle yelled into the radio. "It's going active. I repeat, it's going ACTIVE!!! Pull everybody back!!"
At the same time Kyle was trying to warn the forces on the ground a message flashed on Skynet's main screen.
Power up complete
All systems onlineIf he could have Skynet would have smiled. Now the killing would truly begin.
Outside John, and everyone else on that frequency, received Kyle's message and their first instinct was to look at the silent behemoth to see what Kyle was talking about. The answer came when one of the gun turrets swung around and with a purple flash of light blasted one of the ISSP fighters out of the sky. As the burning wreckage fell to the ground John began yelling orders.
"Anyone who's close enough get under the arc of those guns and take it out!! Everyone else head for cover!!"
"There will be no hiding." Skynet's amplified voice said from somewhere inside the machine. Even before the announcement's echo had faded everyone saw movement at the base of the machine. One of the columns supporting the machine began to lift itself off the ground, knocking aside scaffolding as it flexed out and replanted itself. Mary's cameraman zoomed in on the repositioned column and panned over it.
"It almost looks like a spider's leg." She remarked, not realizing she had said that aloud. "It's doing it again!" She shouted and pointed to another column that started to move on its own. It put itself in a similar position as the first one but did nothing else. The third and fourth columns did the same but things weren't finished yet. Bracing themselves the newly formed legs began to push and slowly the rest of the machine began to rise off the ground. Throwing off the rest of the scaffolding the thing raised itself to its full height, leaving even Mary speechless. Now standing on four legs that gave it an insect like appearance Skynet's newest monstrosity had changed itself from a nonfunctioning fixed gun emplacement to a walking tank that looked like it could, true to Skynet's word, hunt every one of them down, no matter where they hid.