Terminator: Return of the Fallen

Part XXXVII

Immediately after our return to the Safe House, John Henry and Catherine assisted me in returning to my former self. After four hours of surgery, I am back to my old, lovable self. Before I can go to my room and relax, John Henry stops me in the hallway and mentions another target of opportunity.

"Captain, do you have a minute?"

"Sure thing, J.H., and call me Charley".

"I was going through the files we extracted from the T-888, and I discovered a special file hidden on the chip. According to this file, there is a unique supercomputer that SkyNet is using to coordinate all air and sea operations. If we were to plant a virus into this supercomputer...."

"It would be like throwing a monkey wrench in the machinery. Do you know where this high tech computer is?"

"It's in a facility in the middle of the desert. I would like you to take Cameron and Charlotte to this facility, eliminate any defenders, and plant a virus in the supercomputer".

"Fine by me, but I want to take the armoured truck this time. This supercomputer of yours is probably heavily defended. I would also like you to accompany us and man the railgun. Nobody knows that weapon like you do".

"Agreed, and you will probably need some heavy artillery on this mission. We leave within the hour. Inform Cameron and Charlotte to prepare for immediate departure. You should also grab as many projectile cartridges as you can carry, just in case".

"Agreed. HEY REESE! FEEL LIKE GOING FOR A DRIVE?"

Cameron grabs a plasma rifle and climbs into the truck. I take the portable railgun and fill the pockets of my trench coat with extra cartridges of projectiles. Charlotte does not take a weapon, because she is not expected to do any fighting this trip. We will clear the area, and then all she has to do is plant the virus and get out. Reese is in the driver's seat, with Cameron and Charlotte seated in the cabin of the pickup truck. John Henry and I are in the back with the heavy weapons, in case we run into any opposition en route to the target.

As we drive through the desert, I can not shake this feeling that something is terribly wrong here. I am probably just being paranoid, but I have a very bad feeling about this one. I keep my eyes peeled for enemy aircraft, but nothing appears on the horizon. With the exception of the building that we are approaching, the desert is completely deserted. No Hunter Killers, no Terminators, no opposition of any kind. Then why can't I shake this feeling of impending doom?

When we reach the building, Reese parks the truck in such a way that the back of the truck is facing the front of the building. Any enemies that come out of the building will be directly in the line of fire of the railgun. I leap out of the back of the truck and head for the entrance, followed by Charlotte and Cameron. As the first one to reach the entrance, I break down the door and stand in the doorway with my railgun.

"All clear. Move in, people".

As we make our way through the building, we discover that it is definitely not what we were expecting. It is full of pipes, crates, pillars, catwalks, and stairs. One thing that is not present is a super computer, or any computers for that matter. I knew there was something fishy about this mission.

"Let's get out of here". A plasma burst flies past my shoulder and barely misses my head. "AMBUSH! FIND SOME COVER!"

Sometimes, I hate being right. We all jump behind whatever cover we can find and return fire. The catwalks are full of TXs, and they have us surrounded. Fortunately, I have spent many hours practicing with the new railgun. I can now aim, fire, and reload in a matter of seconds. I blast a TX in the face before Charlotte knocks me to the ground.

"What the hell...." I turn my head in time to see a plasma burst shoot through her chest. She falls next to me with her eyes still open, but I can see that she is gone. That shot was meant for me.

I spot the TX that shot Charlotte and I shoot it in the shoulder. The impact knocks it off of the catwalk and onto the floor. As it rises to its feet, I shoot it in the chest. One down, a lot more to go. As plasma burst fly all around us, Cameron and I pop out of our cover and return fire.

"Back to back! Now!"

We take up positions and fire at our attackers. I manage to destroy two TXs and damage several others. I have no idea how many Cameron is able to kill with her plasma rifle. At the moment, I do not care. We are still surrounded, and though we are blasting the catwalks as quickly as we can fire, I doubt we will kill all of them before they kill us. Sooner or later, we will have to make a break for it. As we stand back to back and fire at the TXs, I decide that it is time to make the same sacrifice that Charlotte made for me.

"Cameron, you head for that pillar over there and I will cover you".

"We should stay together".

"If we do that, we are both dead. Run, now! I'll lay down covering fire".

As Cameron rises to her feet and runs towards the pillar, I lay down a blanket of covering fire. When the TXs notice Cameron moving, they attempt to point their weapons at her and kill her while she runs. I shoot two of them in the face, before the rest of them forget about Cameron and focus their fire on me. Plasma bursts are landing all around me, and my cover is starting to be blasted away. Still, I return fire and hit as many TXs as I can. Two more take kill shots in the chest.

"Come on. I'll cover you this time". What the...

Cameron lays down covering fire on the catwalks, while I get up and run for cover behind the pillar. I had expected her to run for it while I kept the TXs distracted. I guess I underestimated her. As I run, I am shot in the left shoulder. I spin around and shoot the TX that hit me in the chest. It falls to the floor as a crumpled pile of scrap metal. Head and chest shots can kill a TX. Anything else will only damage it.

"Are you all right, Captain?"

"I'll live. Thanks for the covering fire. Now lean sideways and pour it on them".

Cameron takes up a position on the left side of the pillar, and I do the same on the right side. I fire at the TXs until I am out of projectiles, then I pop in another cartridge and continue firing. A handful of assailants are destroyed, but we are still heavily outnumbered. I score kill shots on two more TXs: one in the head and one in the chest. Cameron and I take cover behind the pillar, which is rapidly being destroyed by enemy plasma fire. We look at each other and understand: we must retreat.

Two TXs block the exit. I destroy one while Cameron destroys the other. I have no idea how many she has destroyed today, but I estimate that her tally is the same as mine. As we run, I get hit in my right leg. I spin around and shoot a TX in the face and then I continue to limp away while shooting at everything behind me. Cameron stands in the doorway and lays down cover fire, while I shoot and run all the way out of the building.

"Run to the truck. J.H.! WE'VE GOT COMPANY!"

As I limp towards the truck, a TX comes out of the doorway and aims at me. I pull the trigger on my railgun, only to discover that I am out of projectiles. John Henry fires the big railgun and demolishes the torso of the TX. By now, Cameron has already reached the truck and has crawled into the cabin. As I continue to limp, I pop another cartridge into the railgun. I spot the outline of another TX heading for the exit, and there is no way John Henry will have reloaded his railgun before it can fire.

A wall comes crashing down and two TXs aim their plasma rifles at the truck. I shoot them both in the chest before blasting the one at the door in the head. Another TX comes crashing through a wall on my left and aims at me, but its torso explodes before it can open fire. Thank God for that big railgun. After what seems like an eternity of limping and shooting, I finally make it to the truck. John Henry pulls me into the back of the truck, just as another TX comes out of one of the holes in the walls. I shoot it in the chest, and then yell at John Henry for abandoning his railgun.

"I can move on my own, but we will all be dead unless you get on that gun and keep us covered. REESE! PUNCH IT!"

The truck pulls away from the building as fast as possible, and begins the long journey back to the Safe House. As we are driving, I spot of a squadron of Hunter Killers coming towards us. This is not good.

"Bandits on the horizon! Please tell me that railgun is loaded".

"It is, but I can't hit two targets at once. There is a night vision scope behind you. Clip it onto your railgun and help me bring those drones down".

"Ok. I've got it. Let's lock and load". I clip the scope onto my weapon and aim at the skies. Here goes nothing.

Two Hunter Killers descend on our position: John Henry aims at one and I aim at the other. John Henry fires first and hits the drone's left engine, sending it crashing into the desert. I just aim at the second Hunter Killer and pull the trigger. Surprisingly, the small projectiles from my railgun are traveling at a velocity that allows them to penetrate the armour of a Hunter Killer. I guess the projectile hit the fuel tank, because the entire aircraft burst into flames and slammed into the desert floor.

Two by two, the drones dive down upon us and fire their missiles. The truck swerves in every direction as Reese struggles to avoid being blown to bits. Missiles detonate all around us as we reload our railguns and blast the drones out of the sky. John Henry continues to aim for their engines in order to bring down the flying death machines. I continue to aim for that spot that is most likely the beast's fuel tank, because every machine that I shoot there bursts into flames. Two by two they attack, and two by two they slam into the desert. Eventually, the skies are cleared of all enemies and the desert is full of burning wreckage. John Henry and I are a bit scratched up from the shrapnel of exploding missiles, but we will survive. As hard as this entire experience has been, the hardest part is yet to come.

When we reach the Safe House, Cameron and Reese climb out of the truck and head inside. John Henry helps me limp out of the back of the truck and into the house. Everyone else has been waiting for us in the living room, including young Sarah. How do we tell her that her girlfriend was killed in an ambush?

"What the hell happened to you?" inquires Sarah Connor.

"It was a trap, and we walked right into it".

"Where's Charlotte?"asks young Sarah. I don't say anything, and I don't have to. She can tell from my face that her lover is gone. "No. NO!" Young Sarah begins to weep on the couch. Her father and grandmother attempt to comfort her, but she runs out of the living room and into her bedroom. As John and Sarah follow young Sarah, Catherine walks over to me and places her hand on my left shoulder.

"How bad did you get it, Charley?"

"Considering that I've been shot at by a squad of TXs and a squad of Hunter Killers, I'd say I'm doing quite well. Granted, I have a hole in my shoulder and another one in my leg. Other than that, I'm fine".

"And the TXs?"

"We destroyed at least half of them. Some of them got away".

"You did everything you could, Charley. Good job".

"We walked into a trap, Catherine. SkyNet can always build more drones and Terminators. Charlotte...she was unique".

"Yes, she was. Come on, we'll patch you up and head out towards the ambush point in the morning".

The following day, we find the building full of destroyed TXs. The surviving units have withdrawn, and they have left their fallen comrades behind. We also find Charlotte's remains behind a destroyed crate. We gather all of the bodies and return to the Safe House. Charlotte's chip is removed and buried behind the house. The res t of her body is disassembled. As much as it pains me to do this, we need the parts.

John Henry has begun to use the wreckage of the destroyed TXs to develop a new generation of plasma weapons. He has already started building plasma assault rifles that are more powerful and more efficient than their primitive predecessors. He is also building plasma warheads that can be attached to shoulder mounted missiles, rocket propelled grenades, and grenade launchers. He has even started to build a plasma heavy machine gun to replace the slow loading railgun on the truck. Each of these new weapons can destroy a TX with a single shot. The next time we encounter those bastards, none of them will escape us. We owe it to Charlotte, and everyone else that has died for the cause. I swear upon their graves, they will be avenged.