Chapter 12: Our Side

The little girl hadn't been expecting to sleep that night as her mind raced a thousand miles an hour. JOHN HENRY had been informed of the Lieutenant General's mistake and placed all machines close to Los Angeles on high alert. Even if she wanted to fall asleep, it would activate a small shock to keep her awake. She had to be ready to move the moment she received a transmission and when it came, she moved. She took off the blanket that Kate had wrapped around her and swung her legs over the side, hopping down to the floor. She drew in a shaky breath as she looked down at her sleeping leader, wishing that she could grant the young woman some peace. But there was no peace in war. And as if it had read her thoughts, a panicked voice crackled through Kate's walkie-talkie.

"Lieutenant General, we have a code red! I repeat, code red! Come in!"

Star knelt down next to Katherine Brewster and clapped a hand on her shoulder, shaking her quickly. The leader's blue eyes opened with a snap. She instantly sat up, looking at Star with an alarmed expression on her face. Her muscles were tense and Star could sense her accelerated heart rate, preparing to pump adrenaline through her veins. Kate's face furrowed in confusion as she looked into the girl's light brown eyes but the screaming voice erupting from her walkie-talkie woke her up. The Lieutenant General placed a hand on Star's shoulder as she shakily rose to her feet and shuffled to her desk to grab her things. She could feel the ground rumbling every so slightly beneath her feet and knew that trouble had come. She gripped the walkie-talkie with white knuckles as she responded roughly.

"What the hell is going on!?"

Private McHenry's frightened voice crackled through the radio.

"They found us."

Star shoved her hands in her oversized coat pockets as she watched the young woman shove her combat boots onto her feet.

"Who found us!?"

"Skynet."

Kate froze in place, her eyes widening as she stared at her untied laces. Star noticed the leader's hands trembling and walked over to her. Kate's breaths fell heavy and slow and Star knew that it had to be hard to process. Her worst nightmare had just come true. Star knelt down next to Kate and took the laces from her nimble fingers and began to tie them tight. Light brown locked blue as the two girls immediately connected. Star drew in a slow breath and spoke softly but to the point.

"It's a Hunter-Killer. They're here to kill and gather people."

Silence fell upon them, both girls ignoring the private's one-sided conversation. Star's heart sank to her toes as Kate's eyes blurred with frightened tears. The young woman shook her head slowly.

"It's all my fault."

Star broke her stare and took the walkie-talkie from the leader and spoke as much like the Lieutenant General as she could.

"Don't do anything! I repeat, do not do anything until I step into that room!"

"Yes, ma'am."

Kate's face furrowed in confusion as she watched the girl hand her the walkie-talkie and her jacket from the desk.

"Star; Infiltrator-951. I was assigned by JOHN HENRY to secretly monitor you."

"What?"

Star ignored Kate's response and walked to the door, opening it quickly.

"We need to move. You and the Reeses are top priority."

Kate scrambled to her feet and met Star at the door.

"You're a machine."

"We need to move."

Kate nodded and licked her lips quickly as she turned into the hallway. Soldiers were scrambling to gather weapons and shouting orders at one another. The silent alarm had been set off. Kate shoved the guilt that she felt as far back as she could as she rushed to the communications room. She wasn't surprised to find the door open and Derek Reese's form towering over Private McHenry and his computer. The moment Kate stepped into the room, his green eyes locked onto her's. A lump formed in her throat as the leader spoke.

"We have to get out."

"It's 10 miles away and closing in fast."

Kate reaffirmed.

"We have to get out."

The young woman felt Star's hand clasp her fingers and she looked down at the girl, who nodded in support. Kate drew in a quick breath and forced herself to make eye contact with every person in the communications room.

"Look, I know this isn't the smartest or best idea but it's the only chance we've got. We need to get as many people as we can out of the base. We're all going to die one way or another but we're not going down without a fight. If there's a chance that some of us can survive, we have to take it; no matter how tactically dangerous it is."

She paused for a moment waiting for someone to lash out at her but she was met with firm determination and expectancy in their eyes.

"Load up as many civilians as we can in the vehicles. We don't have time to stock supplies. Just have soldiers get their guns and go. Three soldiers to each convey. McHenry, I want you to send a communication to JOHN HENRY now. I'm sure it already knows we're in trouble but I want to talk to it before Skynet severs all communications. Freer, Mason, and Wyatt, I need you out there keeping those soldiers in line. Consider it a promotion. Reese, you and your family will be on the first convoy out. Every one of us needs to keep our heads right. The last thing we need to do is panic. We just have to move. Understand?"

They each nodded in agreement and immediately went to their stations. Star released Kate's hand and stepped aside to let Freer, Mason, and Wyatt through. Kate took the opportunity to walk up to Derek, speaking softly as she shoved the walkie-talkie in the back of her pants.

"Do you know of any undercover machines in the base?"

Derek's' eyes widened as he searched his leader's for any sign of a lie.

"No."

Kate's eyebrows furrowed in anger as she turned on her heel to face Star.

"How many are there?"

Star didn't respond, feeling nervous as she flicked her eyes between the two soldiers but Kate persisted.

"How many are there?"

"Three. Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Phillips, Omar Laurence, and me."

Kate turned away from the girl and ran a hand through red hair to take out her frustration.

"McHenry!"

"Yes?"

"You're dismissed. Get out there."

Private McHenry nodded as he shot to his feet and slung his gun over his shoulder, sprinting out of the room. Kate turned her back to Star and placed a hand on Derek's shoulder, breaking his stare on the little girl.

"Go."

Derek's green eyes flicked down to Kate's.

"When are you coming?"

"Soon."

Derek nodded and Kate walked past him to Private McHenry's computer. She sat down in the chair and watched the oldest Reese walk out of the room before she turned to the screen. She quickly scanned over the words that were there and grabbed the microphone, staring at the computer intensely.

"You listen to me, JOHN HENRY or whoever's really behind that screen. I know you're not John Connor. John wouldn't do something like this. I don't know who or what you are but I will find you. And when I do, I expect you to answer every damn question I have or so help me, I will lay waste to everything you've built."

Kate sent the transmission and shot to her feet, hearing the chair collide with the desk behind it. She turned to Star only to find a tall, strong African American man standing beside the girl. The leader's hands curled into fists as she looked over the two machines.

"You Omar?"

The man nodded.

"Get these people out of here."

"Negative. You are highest priority."

Kate pointed her finger at the machine.

"No. The people inside this base; the soldiers, the civilians. They are the highest priority. If you think for one second that I am going to abandon them now, you can go to hell. You wanna keep me alive? You get as many of these people out as you can. But every second I'm in here talking to you is time that I can be using to save someone's life, so tell me. Are you on my side or do I have to put bullets in your metal brains?"

Star instinctively winced and looked up at Omar for an answer, not wanting to test JOHN HENRY. Kate's eyes flicked between the two machines and the panic outside the doors. She grabbed a pistol from the desk and checked to make sure it was loaded before she gripped it tight in her right hand. Omar took a step toward the leader and spoke emotionlessly.

"JOHN HENRY is not pleased with your actions."

Kate cocked the pistol and aimed it at the machine's head, just where the chip was located.

"Are you on my side or not?"

"We are on your side; have been since the beginning."

Kate kept her finger over the trigger for a few seconds before she lowered her arm and flicked the safety on. She then shoved the pistol in the back of her pants and nodded.

"Good. Let's get out of here."