Disclaimer: I of course…don't own any of The Terminator legend. The world and its characters belong to James Cameron and the Hollywood powers that be. I'm simply borrowing them for a while.

T4-Connor's War

Chapter 6

They shook once. Twice. The Earth rumbled as it had only a few short months ago but the tremors were closer now. Crystal Peak had been found.

"Move out! Now! Clear out come on!" John found himself screaming at his crew as they shuffled hurriedly out of their quarters. Rico awoke first. Followed by Kane, then Luke. Kate was already powering the caravan, still prepped and secured from the night before. The timing was almost impeccable, John allowed his subconscious to muse as his body ran through the nearly habitual motions of moving out his team. It was almost as if they knew John was anxious to move out and attacked just when it appeared they'd make it out on time. Goddamn robots, he clenched his fists as Mikey and Jo stumbled into the hallway, packs half slung over their shoulders, Mikey still strapping on his boots.

"What is it? Another nuclear attack?" Jo's voice had regressed to the hysterical shriek that greeted him at their first meeting. But Connor was no longer the patient benefactor.

"HKs," he said briskly, pointing her in the direction of the bunker, "keep moving."

"HKs?" he heard her cry, but Mikey had already taken the hint and continued to steer his sister to where Kate and the others were waiting. John took a mental count. Five. And he knew who was missing.

"Seth?!" he screamed as the ground shook again. Another rock like that and the Hunter Killers will have gotten through the blast shutters. They had to move…now! "Seth!" he shouted again, ducking away from a falling air duct. But the boy was nowhere to be seen. Connor made a sweep of Seth's room, and the others adjoining. He rushed, panting to the hallway, down the corridor, under cots in med-labs, and raced back to ops before the next tremor came. "Seth!"

"John?" He spun around just as another blast shattered the glass panes in Operations and Kate smashed against the far wall, bracing herself against the shock.

"Kate, get back to the trucks!" he waved her off, still frantically looking for Seth.

"Kane's got it started already. We're ready to-"

"We're not leaving!" he stalked past her, pointing her back to the bunker.

"John-"

"No…h-he's around here…somewhere, I've gotta-"

"John we've got to go!" Kate screamed, throwing her arm over her head, avoiding falling debris as best she could. "They'll be right on top of us in a few minutes! John!" she grabbed for his arm but missed as she tumbled forward. Kate let out a shriek as she landed hard on her already bruised shoulder.

John stopped, mid-stride at the sound of her cry and spun around in time to see a pillar crack loose from its beams in the ceiling and crumble down on top of her. "Kate!" He ran towards the pile of plaster and decaying concrete, driving home the fact that Crystal Peak was decades old. Kate coughed as the dust flew around her and the ground shook again. "Kate! Hang on," John cried. She was holding her arm close to her chest, screeching in pain as she tried to pull herself loose. Several bricks had tumbled down around her and more still were threatening from above. Kate's leg was stuck. "Hang on," he repeated, sweat beading down his face.

"John," she coughed, "You've gotta…gh-het them outta here-"

"Shut up and help me!" he ordered as the veins in his arm threatened to burst out of his skin, striving to lift an enormous slab of concrete off of her thigh. Kate struggled with her good arm to hoist herself out from under it. Finally she pulled herself free. "Come on," John coaxed, bracing his arms around her waist and pulling her to her feet. She was no good to walk. Connor assessed that immediately. Her right leg had been completely mangled by the brick. She crashed against his chest and he braced them both against the wall as they felt another blast. Any minute now an HK would come crashing through the ceiling and the great resistance would be crushed before it begun. John stole one more look around his base now crumbling apart. There never was any sign of Seth. He had disappeared. And John was out of time. Something lurched in his stomach as he mentally ticked off Seth as *missing in action…Missing in Action…he felt ill… He ignored it.

His steel grip tightened around Kate's waist and he heaved her up in his arms. John took off in a sprint toward the bunker where a caravan of RV's and pick-ups were ready to move out. You must live.

"Connor! Get your ass up-"

"Kate! What happened-"

"Is she all righ-"

But Connor heard none of them, refusing to heed such civilian wails. "Move out Kane! Now!" he called as he passed the first vehicle. Kane didn't need to be told twice and the RV sped away through the bay doors and into the mountains. John Connor is leader of the great resistance and humanity's last best hope for survival. Connor lifted a nearly unconscious Kate up onto the bed of the supply truck where Dr. Mitchell had taken hold of her under the arms and braced her against the cab. Connor slammed his fist against the cab door where Rico, waiting in the driver's seat, nodded and sped off after Kane.

Mikey and Jo were in the last vehicle, Mikey in almost full body gear and Jo at the wheel. He tossed John a pulse rifle and made wild motions at him with his arms to get aboard. "Come on!" he cried. John nodded, cocking the weapon back as he grabbed hold of a steel handle and stepped upon the moving land rover just as the bunker's dome came crashing down. The only way to beat these machines is to survive them first and fight them later. John glared at the hole where the ceiling had been as Jo floored the vehicle forward. Two HKs emerged from the blackness and John held his breath, aiming the rifle up and fired.

"Faster!" Mikey shouted to his sister as they dodged another blast from the machine. John fired an entire round and then dove to prone position. He held up the gun to Mikey. "Not gonna get it done." Without another word, he reached into the stockade pile and pulled out his PT76 rocket launcher. He turned on his enemy, his back pressed flat to the bed of the rover, his eyes boring like lasers at his predator. "Get down," he said as Mikey ducked toward the front. "Fucking machine," he muttered and fired.

The explosion was nearly deafening. Far closer than anything John or Kate heard that night as the world died miles above them in Crystal Peak. This was point blank. Up close and personal. The HK before him exploded and a spectacular shower of debris and flames pelted down after them. "Floor it Jo!"

Jo shrieked back as piece of burning metal seared past her. John squinted up at the black cloud before him. One HK had been terminated. The other seemed to have backed off and their directional coordinates were taking them deep into the heat of the mountains, excellent surroundings for throwing off infrared scanners. As the rover ground over the rough terrain and his base disappeared behind the canyon wall, only then did John realize that they would never see Seth again.

Panting heavily, he turned in the bed of the rover and listened as the remaining HK decimated what was left of Crystal Peak.

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