Terminator: Return of the Fallen
Part XXXX
As we are driving back from the hospital, we pass a series of sand dunes. Behind one of these sand dunes, the Terminators in the car can hear the sounds of automatic weapons fire. We can hear men screaming, guns firing, and explosions. We even catch a glimpse of something exploding as we pass the dune. Something big is happening in the desert this morning.
"Cameron, turn around. Let's see what the hell is going on over there".
"That is not our mission".
"Cameron, there are people over there that might need our help. Turn the God damn car around and head towards the sound of the gunfire". Cameron, reluctantly does what I say.
As we drive towards the sounds of battle, we pass numerous television news crews that are trying to film the carnage as it unfolds. A group of Federal agents attempt to stop our car and turn us around. I leap out of the car and knock the agents on their asses. The others get out of the car and follow me in on foot. That is when we see the mess that the FBI has gotten itself into.
The FBI is mounting a massive assault on a heavily defended compound. Men in full body armour are being ripped to pieces by Gatling guns and various other automatic weapons. I can hear AK 47s and M16s firing from the ground floor of the compound. The Gatling guns are firing from the roof. These poor Federal bastards are being slaughtered.
"Hey, what the hell is happening?"
"Some religious cult has holed up in that building. We are trying to get them out, but they have some serious fire power. God damn it! FALL BACK! FALL BACK AND REGROUP!" From here, I can recognize the shapes of the things that are slaughtering the FBI agents. The guys on the roof are T-600s. The guys on the ground floor are T-888s. These poor bastards are fighting an army of Terminators!
I inform the others of what is going on. To my surprise, John Connor takes command of the situation. There might be hope for the little guy yet.
"All right, we have everything we need to take those metal freaks down. Cameron, John Henry, I want you to grab a couple of plasma missiles and take cover behind those cop cars. When I give the signal, you blast the front windows of the building with the missiles. Captain Zacks; you grab a plasma assault rifle and clear out the building. Everyone else, grab a plasma weapon and cover him while he runs towards the Terminators. Let's end this quickly".
"Aye, aye, mon General". As we grab our weapons, I can not help but notice the look on Sarah's face. She is simply beaming with pride. Her son is proving to be the combat leader we always knew he could be.
Cameron and John Henry grab their shoulder mounted missiles and take cover behind the police cruisers. I take up a position behind the police cruiser that is closest to the building. Everyone else takes up firing positions to cover me during the assault on the Terminators. As we are preparing to engage the enemy, the T-600s continue to spray the area with Gatling gun fire. Some of the police vehicles are so full of holes they resemble a piece of black and white Swiss cheese. From behind one of these vehicles, John raises his right arm. Here goes nothing.
"NOW!"
Cameron and John Henry simultaneously fire their missiles. The plasma warheads detonate to destroy the front of the building. The entire front wall disappears in a massive explosion. Right after the moment of detonation, I get up and start to run towards the compound. As I run, the rest of the Connor clan sprays the roof of the building with plasma fire. The surviving FBI agents also provide cover fire. They must be desperate if they are willing to help us.
Despite the covering fire, the T-600s are still able to fire at me. My clothing and skin are ripped apart by Gatling gun bullets. A handful of T-600s are destroyed by the covering fire and fall off the roof. The rest continue to shoot me. The assault rifle is also hit repeatedly. Fortunately, John Henry constructed it out of coltan extracted from destroyed Terminators. The weapon is as invulnerable to bullets as I am. So far, they are only using cop killer bullets. These rounds are meant to slip through the fibres of Kevlar vests, not to penetrate armour plating. As long as they don't have anything larger than cop killers, I should be fine.
When I reach what remains of the compound, I come under fire from the various T-888s in the compound. There seven T-888s, each one firing an automatic weapon at me. They lean out of doorways or take cover behind columns of concrete. The T-888s are using AK 47s and M16s. Those might be sufficient for slaughtering Federal agents, but they are useless against Terminators. I fire seven bursts of plasma fire in quick succession. Seven bursts, seven head shots, seven destroyed T-888s. The ground floor is secure, now to take care of the T-600s on the roof.
I find the staircase leading to roof, and there is a T-600 at the top of the stairs blocking my path. He fires his Gatling gun at me, and I fire my plasma weapon at him. His head is destroyed by the plasma fire, my body is undamaged by his Gatling gun. I run up the stairs and encounter two more T-600s. They attempt to engage me in hand to hand combat, not realizing that I am faster and stronger than they are. I knock them both off the roof and shoot them before they can get back up.
There are approximately twelve T-600s on the roof. I charge straight at them, firing my weapon as I run. Some of the T-600s decide to stand their ground, while others decide to charge at me. Every Terminator on the roof is firing at me. My skin is more or less destroyed and my clothes are ruined, but I am still functioning at 100%. As I run, I shoot every T-600 that is in front of me in the head. In quick succession, they collapse into piles of scrap. Some of them fall off the roof, while others just die where they stand. A handful of T-600s attempt to attack me from behind. However, I can see their shadows on the roof long before they can hit me. I spin around, knock them off the roof one by one, and then shoot them in the head as they try to rise to their feet. I run a single lap around the roof, shooting everything in the head. It only takes me a few minutes to clear the roof of T-600s.
After I exit the compound, I finally realize just how bad this battle was for the FBI. In every direction, there are dozens of agents lying dead in the desert sands. In some places, the sand has actually turned red from all of the blood. This battle has thrown them into complete disarray. The news crews have broken through the cordons and are filming everything. As I walk through the shattered ranks of the FBI, I spot a familiar four eyed face.
"Congratulations, Captain. That was a very successful assault".
"I wish I could say the same about yours. You got your asses kicked. Why in God's name were you using standard rounds?"
"We had no way knowing that they would be this ineffective...."
"Bullshit! You had them outnumbered and outgunned, and you STILL LOST! How could you not realize that you were not fighting humans? Did you use tear gas?"
"Of course we did".
"Didn't you notice that they were not wearing gas masks? Since when do humans fight that well after they have been gassed? Look around you. All of these people are dead because you screwed up". I notice that all of the cameras are focused on me. They are recording every word that I am saying.
"The FBI did everything possible to handle this situation".
"BULLSHIT! If you people had listened to us when we first warned you about SkyNet, you could have taken care of this back in the 90's. Those robots would never have been built and these people would still be alive. Look! Look at those shiny metal bodies glistening in the sun. Do they look human to you? Examine their bodies, and you will see that most of the shots fired actually hit their targets. The bullets just could not penetrate their armour. This is a war, and your government is not winning. It is not winning because it refuses to listen to us, to the people that know the truth. The desert runs red with blood because you people are arrogant assholes. FBI: Fucking Bastard Idiots!"
"These brave men and women died in the service of their country!"
"They didn't have to die. They died because the Federal Government sticks its head in the sand and refuses to see the truth. You want proof that this is a war between man and machine? THE PROOF IS ALL AROUND YOU, MORONS! Walk into that compound; see the remains of your enemies. You, with the camera! Film those bodies lying near the compound! Can you deny that those are in fact machines? No you can not because human bodies do not shine in the sunlight like that. You were all fooled by machines wearing trench coats and rubber masks. Well, the disguises have been stripped away and your enemies reveal their true forms. YOU ALL NEED TO WAKE THE HELL UP AND START FIGHTING BACK! I encourage everyone to stock up on assault rifles and armour piercing incendiary rounds, because this is a war and you are all on the front lines. The enemy does not distinguish between civilian and military, because they hate all humans. If you want to live, you need to fight back. Do not rely on your Government to protect you. They have failed for over a decade, and if today was any indication of the future, you are all doomed. That is all I have to say, so get the damned camera out of my face". I shove my way through the agents and reporters, and make my way to the car where the rest of the Connor clan are waiting. I hop inside and we drive off.
The twenty four hour news channels show the footage of the assault and of my rant on a non-stop loop. Countless correspondents and analysts go over my speech and debate my message. The Government sends its stooges in suits to argue that they are in fact prepared for the war with the machines and that today's disaster was just an unfortunate accident. That is bullshit! They are not ready for this war. If we leave our defence to them, we are all dead. However, there is one point that everyone always bring up when watching my speech: why is this machine fighting to protect humans?
My human exterior had been shredded away by enemy fire during the assault on the compound. It is painfully obvious that I am not human. If I am not human, why did I help the FBI agents? Why did I not let them get slaughtered? People keep comparing the footage from the assault to the footage from the party, when I admitted to being a former human that was transformed into a machine. For the first time, representatives from Cyberdine are commenting on my situation. Of course, they are denying that any such procedure has ever been performed or even considered. People are talking about conducting investigations against Cyberdine, but I doubt anything will ever be done.
What happens next? Only God knows. The people have had their eyes opened; they now know that there is a war and that they are caught in the middle of it. Now we will see if humanity can come together and fight, or turn on each other and fall apart. Whatever happens, we have reached a turning point in our war against the machines. May we all live to see how it ends!
