Sorry this one too so long. Been busy with other fics and RL is always a pain to those of us who prefer to dream.

Z Plus Two Years Two Hundred Days.

Kate had lived in LA her whole adult life. Ocean views were nothing unusual to her, but after Judgment Day she had seen Los Angeles from above ground only twice, and was heading inland. The sight of the ocean covered in black ash, with dead fish skeletons floating; was the very definition of despair.

Their unit, Connor included, had been transported up and down the coast in Halloway's submarines for hit and run attacks. When Skynet had discovered the Naval Remnants, they had dispatched their flying H/K's to patrol the coastline and the ocean itself, looking for ships and submarines coming ashore. Lori's scouts had discovered their patrols and routed Connor's people to knock the H/K's down before the submarines surfaced.

On two occasions, Skynet had attempted to build an ocean going H/K. Lori's people had found out about it and warned Connor, who hit the factories and destroyed them.

Baby Sarah was growing slow but healthy, and had become something of a hopeful sign for the underground. Kate had finally convinced her daughter to accept powdered milk, and returned to active field duty. It was the hardest thing she had ever done, but had consulted with John and decided that letting other prospective mothers spend time, albeit supervised, with the only baby in the world, might be a good idea. There had been three outbreaks of disease, quickly spotted and quarantined, but a few desperate women who knew that pregnant women got medical priority had taken a chance. Kate's next main priority was to build a nursery.

Kyle had taken a big brotherly role in Sarah's life and personally cleared each and every nurse, orderly and expectant mother that came within twenty feet of the girl. Most of them tolerated a seven year old standing guard. Connor had his own bodyguards since Dyson died, and he had told them to let Kyle through. Kate had found the whole thing endearing, but wondered a bit about her husband's interest in the boy.

The war was fast approaching its third year. Connor had expanded his control to include most of the coastline north and south of LA.

Skynet had started churning out different models, which were quickly identified, numbered and attacked by the Resistance. Some of them were easily dispatched, some of them were successful and deadly. The models that failed did not return. The others were refined and mass produced.

Connor had trained another Unit's worth of soldiers. Allowing him to leave Eric in charge of the LA Underground while he went on Operations.

The latest mission had been to investigate signals from further north. Connor had gone along in the hopes that there was another potential ally. But when they got there, the signals had stopped, and there was no sign of anyone.

"We have contact, bearing 030, speed 15 knots."

Halloway took in the news. "Up periscope."

The periscope was raised and Halloway quickly looked above the surface. He took a breath.

"Shall I sound general quarters sir?"

Halloway shook his head. "No. Not with our... cargo. Note their heading, make a note in the log. XO has the con."

"Aye sir, I have the con."

Halloway noted the formality that had remained since Judgment Day; and made his way down to the nearest missile tube.

Connor was there, with half a dozen people surrounding him, and there in front of them, was a row of tomato plants. In the wide missile cylinder, there were rows of hanging plants, some of them bearing small green fruit. And on some of them, leaves were stating to curl and brown.

Montag had been in charge of this section, and was explaining the situation. "We can't figure it out Colonel. They get water, and we put the lights on them sixteen hours a day..."

Connor took in the plants. "Has this been a problem before?"

"Nossir, but we always had sunlight then." Montag told him. "Every day we'd surface and open the missile hatches 1-12 so that the sun could get in. rainy days Hatches 13-26 to let the tubes fill with rainwater. We retrofitted them as water tanks." Montag winced slightly. "Now that we're a warship again, we can't risk surfacing for too long... at least not this close to land. So we rigged up the lamps."

Connor looked up at the florescent lights. "Too pale."

"Sir?"

"Sunlight is yellow. Different UV wavelength than florescent bulbs; which are always white."

Montag suddenly made the connection. "The white light isn't enough to make photosynthesis."

Connor nodded. "You'll need a way to make the lights yellow. Red and green lights work well too. Florescent bulbs don't make a lot of heat; you can wrap them with something."

"Yessir."

Halloway chose that moment to step forward. "Colonel?"

Connor turned and saw the ship commander. He nodded briefly to Montag and headed over to speak with Halloway.

"We had a contact a few minutes ago." Halloway reported. "I told my crew that we let them go because you were on-board. But the truth was that they were armed. Armed strong. Too strong for us to take them."

"What was the contact?"

"Looked like a cargo ship, but I could see H/K's all over it. They were landed on the hull."

"Must have been a big ship."

"Looked like an oil tanker, but the bridge had been replaced by an antenna. Biggest antenna I had ever seen."

"You get a read on where it was going?"

"It was heading for shore." Halloway reported. "I marked the heading in the log."

Connor was silent. "Find where it landed and set a course. Alert my men, and then yours. The H/K's aren't there just to scare off attackers. They'll be escort. Once they make landfall, that escort will split up. One to protect the cargo, the other to protect the ship. After you drop us off, we'll hit them, and you hit the ship as it heads back out."

"What makes you think it'll head back out?"

"It will." Connor said with certainty.

Halloway shrugged. It was reason enough. "When you say you'll hit them, exactly who do you mean?"

Connor blinked. "My unit, support team..." Then he blinked. "Oh. Right."

Halloway grinned.

Kate was in the Medbay, training a few technicians in how to grow bread mold for penicillin. Carla was on her left.

"I don't get it Ma'am, everywhere I go I get stared at."

Kate smirked. "Submarine's a closed community Carla. We're new."

"We were new in the Underground too. Didn't get this kind of reaction."

"Sub crews are all men." Kate spelled it out for her. "All of them."

Carla blinked. "Oh. Right." She licked her lips. "But The Colonel wanted us to come along, so there must be..."

"There is."

Carla and Kate both turned. Connor was in the door. Carla automatically straightened her shoulders.

"With Halloway's people and ours working closer now, plus the fact that we lost a sub already, there's going to be a lot of transport jobs. Halloway wants his crews to get used to people coming and going, and not all of them military." Connor explained. "Besides, studies have shown that women tend to respond better to pressure changes, enclosed spaces... technically, all Submariners should have been women, but try getting that on past the Navy's Top Brass back in the day."

Carla smirked.

"Anyway, we have a new problem. We just passed a Skynet ship. Big supply ship, with big antennae. I think it was a relay ship."

"Relay ship?"

"Skynet isn't a computer, it's software. Anywhere there's a computer with a link, there's a piece of Skynet. I think that the ship we passed was a relay, to upload Skynet, at least part of it, internationally. That's why it needed all the communication equipment. An order can be sent by any radio. Something big and complex needs a much more focused signal."

Kate's eyes glimmered. "If you're right, then taking out the ship would cut off Skynet's control over a huge area of ocean."

Connor nodded. "Halloway could come up for air again. But the ship was heading for land. It was a retrofitted tanker. it was taking something ashore." He took a breath. "I'm gambling that the defences on the ship were largely for the cargo. If it was, we can hit the cargo once it leaves the ship behind and we can spread out our attackers, and with most of the defences gone, Halloway can hit the ship."

Carla glanced at Kate. "Who are you taking sir?"

Connor didn't even seem nervous. "Well the usual strike team of course, plus a few medics. Halloway's taking the sub straight back out to hit the ship as soon as we leave, so we can't count on Medbays. Carla, it should be clear to you by now that Kate's been preparing you to take charge of your own medical team. We have to spread out and we need more than one unit."

Carla nodded. "I figured."

Connor nodded. "Consider this your first operation."

Carla licked her lips, doing her best not to show the sudden fear. Her eyes flicked to Kate.

Connor did too. "Any problems with that Kate?"

Kate shrugged easily. "Why would I? Just because Sarah's back on land being babysat without me doesn't mean I'm getting antsy, and just because the three of us, plus Oldham, are all sharing a room the size of a phone-booth doesn't mean I'm stir crazy. I've certainly got plenty to do here. Sixteen hours of watching the mould grow is thrilling, and then there's the view to admire, as long as you don't mind not seeing anything through miles of murky water..."

Connor smirked. "Y'know Kate, I just had a thought. Why don't you come with us?"

Kate smirked too. "As my Colonel commands."

The sub dropped them off North of LA, closer to San Jose. The sky was the same sepia toned twilight that always seemed to come this close to winter, and Connor's men began their trek inland.

As always, there were wrecks of long abandoned vehicles, some of them still with skeletons. Kate had long since gotten used to them.

With only twenty soldiers, some of them women, some of them younger than sixteen, everyone was keeping their voices low and their eyes moving.

The inclusion of children into the army was controversial, but Connor had given the last word. "The Machines don't care how old they are. They can fight, they can run, they can survive."

Kyle Reese had been the first to volunteer, and most of the kids were willing. Those that were not tall enough to carry a weapon had been pressed into service as message carriers, gophers, workers, and scroungers.

Kate still felt a chill every time she saw one of them carrying a rifle, but the new plasma rifles were much lighter and faster than the heavy weapons most of the experienced soldiers were used to.

And these kids did not need to be protected from the horrors of war. Kids like Kyle and Becki, had seen more in the year after J-Day, than she and John had; safely hidden away in Crystal Peak.

The darker, colder reason that John had only confided to her, was that kids didn't have as much concept of death, and thus made braver warriors. To the kids, it was just another game of tag. Kate had disagreed. Maybe that was the case back Before; and maybe that was why Child Soldiers had been such an evil then, but now there was nobody left in the world who didn't understand.

So when John had taken Kyle Reese on a mission to the surface, nobody but her wondered why. And when the kid had been one of only three survivors, nobody had asked why he was there in the first place.

Kate shook such thoughts out of her mind. She knew the reason that these thoughts were staying with her. Sarah was staying back at LA. It was the first time that Kate had been away from her daughter for more than ten minutes, and she was going a little nuts about it. So much so, that she was actually looking forward to the battle. If nothing else, it would keep her mind occupied for a few more minutes.

No such luck.

Connor had his lieutenants gathered around him; Kate on his left. He was explaining tactics. "Team one will toss the incendiary mines on the road at the ridge. Teams two and three will be waiting there. The mines will take out the lead vehicle, and stop or at least slow the convoy. Sniper teams in back to take out Skynet Air Support before Infantry moves in for the kill. If you can capture something from the cargo, do so, but if that puts your lives in too much risk, take it all out. Questions?" There were none. "Good hunting."

Carla traded a look with Halloway's Medics, plus the few that were a part of Connor's regular unit. They would be staying back behind the ridge, ready to go out and bring in wounded during the fight. It would be the first time that Carla was commanding them.

The spotters at the ridge were signaling with hand gestures. Ones that Kate recognized. The signal meant. Uncertain. Wrong. Uncertain. Safe. Danger. Uncertain.

Connor could read the signals as well as she could. "What the hell does that mean?" He whispered.

"Something's wrong, but they don't know what it means." Carla thought out loud. "I could go. If it's a trap or something, we can't let them take you; sir."

Connor twitched at that. Any time someone so much as suggested that he was 'too important' he tended to react badly. It was one of the very few stigmas that Connor had.

Kate was about to speak, when the signals changed. Humans. Many. Uncertain. Request help.

"Humans? Here?" Kate hissed.

Oldham had worked his way silently across the ridge to Connor. "Am I reading those signals right? Are there people over there? I thought that it was a Skynet Convoy."

"So did I." Connor mumbled. "All right, let's check it out. Oldham, I'm going up there. This might be a trap. If it is… I want you to keep most of the men here, and if something happens, you take the team… and you come rescue me just as fast as you possibly can."

Oldham smirked. "What? And risk screwing up my inevitable promotion?"

Connor looked back at him, surprised, for a full five seconds. "Huh. Now there's a thought that's gonna fester."

"I'll keep him honest." Kate promised. "Evans switched with Beckett for Recon duty today. Don't get them confused."

Connor nodded snaked his way quietly up to the top of the ridge, looking down to see the road below. A perfect spot to ambush a Skynet convoy…

Which was no longer there.

The Skynet convoy had never made it to the ambush point. What was left of it, was visible from the ridge, but just barely.

Connor was handed a Sniper Rifle, and he put the scope to his eye.

Somebody had got to the Convoy first. It was left, a smoking ruin. The escort forces, Flying and ground-based H/K's, were all burning wrecks. The fires were starting to burn out, so apparently it had happened several minutes before.

Connor licked his lips. "Did you see who did this?"

"No sir, it happened before we even made it to the ridge."

"That's why we didn't hear it happen. The wind is from the west; blew the smoke from the fires away from us." Connor thought a moment. "Is there-wait."

Evans heard it too. The low sound… of helicopters taking off.

Connor was on his feet in seconds, charging down the ridge, back toward his troops. "KATE! Flares!" He Hollered.

Kate heard him, and responded without hesitation, pulling out her flare pack, and throwing it to him. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see others ducking under their camouflage netting, diving for cover.

And then the sound of helicopters reached her ears as well, as the human flying machines rose into view from beyond the ridge, and started to fly away.

It reached all of them quickly. It was the first time since J-Day that anyone had seen anything in the sky that did not come from Skynet.

Connor snapped open two of the flares, and started waving them carefully overhead, making signals of his own at the helicopters. The magnesium flares burned at an impossibly bright level against the grey muddy ground and even paler sky.

The helicopter was not alone in the sky. There were more than twenty of them, turning in formation to fly to the north…

And then one of them turned back, following Connor's flares.

Nobody moved as the helicopter came in to land. Connor darted forward, saluted the pilot, and had a brief but pointed conference, and quickly made his way back to the rest of his Unit. "They're based in San Jose. Mostly National Guard units and a few Marines. Their Commanding Officer is a Regular Army Two Star General. They want to know if I'm going along."

Kate felt a thrill of near horror go through her. Their Commanding Officer was a Two-Star General. Her husband was suddenly demoted. "Are you?"

"I think I have to. After Eric, this is the first active military Remnant we've found."

"Then I'm going with you!" Kate said sharply. "Carla can handle the medical needs for the trip back, especially since there was no fight."

Dex put a hand up too. "I should go too sir. I think Eric would prefer it if you took your best quick draw along as guard, given that we don't know where we're going, and given that you and Kate are two out of three of our high ranking officers."

Connor nodded. "All right. Oldham, head back to the Underground, and tell Walters what happened and where. Halloway's subs should be able to give you bearing."

"Yes Sir."

"We'll be in touch as best we can. Tell Eric not to make too much fuss trying to contact us from his end. We don't want anyone listening in. Remind him that every Radio Conversation might be overheard."

"I will."

"And remind Private Danes that Sarah shouldn't be allowed to nap too long during the day shift." Kate put in. "She won't sleep at night."

Parting orders given, the Connors and Dex went along quickly toward the Chopper.

The flight was relatively short. Connor's eyes were always moving, looking for the reference points; planning to find his way back...

Then the helicopter flew over a barricade. It was a checkpoint. An actual, well armed, fortified blockade of the road and surrounding area, patrolled and guarded by US Army soldiers.

Past the barricade was artillery and mortar emplacements. The sky was patrolled by helicopters, the ground had human teams manning human cannons. Mentally, Connor was already cataloguing the weapons and their ranges, how hard it would be to train people to use them.

In the distance, there were wrecked towers visible, not unlike LA, and there, above ground, though camouflaged, was the base. The main building had the name 'Castle Keep' painted over the door, in full view of everyone, and people walked about, all at work, some of them civilians.

"San Jose." Kate commented. Despite herself, she felt like leaning out of the helicopter and screaming for the people to get underground where it was safe.

Connor nodded. The base was not permanent. It was made up of quick-build buildings or tents, large vehicles were obvious everywhere, no small number of them were tanks, Helicopters and even a few jets were parked here and there.

From the helicopter, Connor had gotten a birds eye view of the entire layout. Every bit of heavy artillery had two patrols within intercept range. All barricades were within view of another, and the helicopters parked beyond the hardware, protected until take-off was possible.

Connor grinned. Whoever the General in Charge of this base was; he was good.

The Helicopter came into land gently, and Walters jumped out first, scanned around, and nodded for Kate and Connor to follow.

The pilot motioned toward the main building. "Here comes General Whickham now."

Kate spun like she'd been shot. "General Whickham? General Chet Whickham?"

"You know him?"

General Whickham came toward the helicopter, looking impossibly neat, clean shaved and awake, especially compared to the other survivors.

Kate took of sprinting toward him, waving and shouting. "Uncle Chet! Uncle Chet! It's me! It's Kate! I'm here!"

"Kate?" The General blurted. "Kitty-Kate, you're alive! I don't believe it! You're alive!"

The helicopter pilot, Dex and Connor traded incredulous looks as Kate and Whickham met halfway and threw their arms around each other, hugging tightly and laughing joyfully.

The joyous reunion was getting a few looks from people hard at work. Whickham was the man in charge and was bear-hugging a stranger who was fresh off the chopper. Connor took a discreet look at them. Healthy, if lean, the standard issue angular faces and feral eyes. They were smiling, happy for the man in charge. They were pleased to see him get something wonderful.

John felt his throat close slightly. His own mother had never reacted that way. He was happy for her... but still... He did not know this man. This man that outranked him and apparently knew his wife very well. He was already weighing up the possibilities, making Judgement Calls...

Dex was not so concerned. "Kitty-Kate? Did her just call her Kitty-Kate?"

Whickham allowed Kate to pull away just enough to get a look at her. "What on earth are you doing here? You're... a uniform too? Oh that's..." His eyes focused on her face and suddenly seemed very serious. "...oh boy. Look at you Katherine, all grown up! You look like your mom."

Kate blinked past her smile. "I do?"

"You really do." He saw her shoulders. "And you're a Major now?" Whickham laughed. "How did that happen?"

Kate smiled widely. "Oh! There's someone I want you to meet!"

She took Whickham's hand and pulled him back to the choppers like a five year old. Connor idly noticed one or two amused looks as Kate yanked a Two Star General around his own base.

"You want a breath mint?" Dex muttered as they approached. Connor ignored him.

Kate took a moment to see them together. Of all the people Kate had seen in over two years, they were the only two who were shaved and neat, with pressed uniforms and no hollow dark circles under their eyes... The Leaders. Kate thought to herself. My family. And they look so... 'Right' together. Skynet'll never know what hit it.

Pleased, Kate made the introductions. "Uncle Chet, this is Corporal Dexter and my husband…"

The General beamed. "Oh that's right, you were engaged!" He held out a hand to Connor eagerly. "Good to meet you finally, Scott."

Kate and Dex turned to stone at the name of a long dead man. Connor took the hit easily and returned the handshake.

"Um…" Kate stammered eloquently. "This… Uh…"

Whickham read the look and leaned back slightly. "Excuse me, I fear that I have said something unpleasant."

Connor shook his head. "Not at all. I never met Scott. But if he could win Kate, he must have been something special." He made introductions. "Colonel John Connor."

Whickham seemed grateful for the rescue. "General Chet Whickham. I never met him either, but Kate I have known since she was a baby. I'm more grateful than I can say for her survival, and more so that she's been lucky enough to find someone to be with in this hell-hole."

"I believe I'm the lucky one."

A slim woman with short black hair came up behind them. Whickham gestured to her. "This is my second in command, Colonel Erica Noah. Noah, this is Major Kate Connor, and Colonel John Connor."

Noah took in the newcomers. "So this is John Connor." She looked him up and down pointedly. "Huh." She did not seem the least bit impressed.

"What?" Connor looked himself over. Nothing seemed wrong.

Noah held up a hand. "Nothing. Nothing at all. It's just that... From some of the things I've heard about you; I figured you'd be eleven feet tall and shoot lightning bolts out of your eyes."

Connor suddenly realized why Whickham had used Scott's name. John's Army had taken most of the area around LA and a good portion of the coastline. A set-up this big had to have heard something about it. Plus, Connor had been broadcasting to anyone who could receive. There was no way Whickham's forces hadn't heard Connor's voice from somewhere. Not with this much equipment.

Whickham already knew the name Connor, and John was wearing the uniform, name-tag and all. Calling him Scott was a way to let the General have the first word while he and Kate stumbled to clear things up.

Keep you guard up Connor. He warned himself. This man knows how to work the room.

"I've already dispatched my strike teams to clear a path between here and LA." Whickham said coolly. "If I'd known for sure that there was somebody there, I would have done it months ago."

Connor nodded. "We live underground. It's an occupational hazard. If I could get in touch with my people, we could fight from both ends; have our people meet in the middle."

Whickham nodded. "Agreed. Noah, place the Colonel's call."

"Sir." Noah saluted and left them.

"That'll probably take a while. Would you like the full tour while you wait?"

"No," Kate chuckled lightly. "I'm not really his niece, but my earliest memories are him and my dad at Fort Baxter."

"Her father and I went to college together." Whickham explained. "We went through on military scholarships, and I figured there was a better career path in the Army, since my major was military history."

Kate giggled. "My dad studied engineering, and the Army always has room for guys like that. Chet enlisted, went the whole route. My dad got the honorary rank because of his doctorates and his project assignment. They went up through the ranks together. Dad suggested Chet be my godfather, but mom was never really religious, so for all intents and purposes he's my uncle."

"And he calls you Kitty-Kate?" Dex said under his breath.

"If you repeat that to anyone, I will devise a way to make you pay for it." Kate quietly said matter-of-factly. "One so extreme so as to make you run screaming toward Skynet for sanctuary."

Connor and Whickham either did not hear their little exchange, or did not care to mention it. Whickham had taken them on a tour of the base. 'Castle Keep' was a lot like the underground, only bigger and with more equipment. The layout was good, the buildings secure, and made use of local subway tunnels to hide the sensitive or valuable equipment.

The tour ended in the Mess Hall, and Whickham invited them all to the Officer's table. A young woman in uniform came up and saluted. "General."

"Corporal."

"We're having some power problems in the nursery sir. Your permission to get some technicians together and open up one of the backup generators?"

"Go ahead."

Dex stood. "I can give you a hand. I know about field generators."

The woman nodded and shook his hand. "Erin Curry."

"Dexter. Call me Dex." he glanced at the Colonel. "With your permission sir?"

Connor nodded. Dex had felt like a third wheel since Kate had heard The General's name. In a way, John had felt that way himself.

Curry and Dex quickly headed off. Connor followed their exit and noticed about four men gathered around a chess board. "This double as a rec room?"

Whickham followed his gaze. "No. That's something of an OTS."

"You train your Officers with a chess board?"

"Gets them thinking along strategy. Like you, I'm forced to teach people what they need. Plenty of people have the ability, just never think along those lines. Injured soldiers, soldiers on stand-down… They play each other constantly."

"They any good?"

Whickham smirked. "No TV, no other entertainment, and they desperately want something to think about that doesn't involve Skynet. If there were any tournaments left, they could give me run for my money."

Kate smirked. "Uncle Chet held the Army Tournament record. He's a Grandmaster."

Whickham smiled affectionately at Kate. "The Game of War. It's helpful to me, shows me what they can do. Gibson can see the whole board at once, juggle various stratagems. Shwartz can use a small group like a scalpel, even when outnumbered… their tactics in the field match their tactics on the chess board. It's just their nature."

Kate noticed the gleam in her husband's eye. He was up to something.

"How many of them have you trained?"

"Twelve so far. Master level. Once we train them some men to use, they'll have some real strategists to direct them." The implication was obvious.

Connor's face hardened. "General, I'm a Colonel. You give the order, I give you the men, but due respect sir, we're outmatched enough. We aren't an army. We're a Guerrilla force. Strike, withdraw, and conceal, strike again. That's how we stay alive."

Whickham shook his head. "Good tactics, bad strategy. It gives Skynet run of the board. It lets them power over every inch of land that they want to, and forces us to evade in and out of them before we even reach any target we want to hit."

Connor nodded. He was on dangerous ground and he knew it. "What would you do?" He asked. "Sir."

Kate twitched. It was the first time her husband had called anyone 'Sir.'

"Keep going with the Guerrilla tactics for now, but once you train up your people, and I train up mine, we should draw a line at our best tactical spot and start forcing them out, one block at a time."

"You turn this into a war that has an actual front line, Skynet will know where to throw everything they've got."

"But Human Territory will be defined and defended. Any refugees out there don't even know where to look for us." Whickham countered. "Skynet won't control it. Humans can move freely without constantly being underground. Your strategy has them forever in tunnels, with Skynet right over their heads. The second they find a way in, it's over. It's a powder-keg waiting for a spark." He suddenly looked at Connor with such warmth and feeling. "Connor, No chess player throws away such incredibly useful pieces. You've been doing remarkably well Colonel, and from what I'm hearing, you're a great motivator. Your people see you as shield and living sword against evil. I know from experience, how hard it can be to make people get back up again."

The delivery was absolutely perfect. Kate felt like she was watching an execution. Without even suggesting it, without even mentioning rank or regulation, without giving anything but encouragement and adulation, her Uncle Chet had countered John's tactics, thrown out his game plan; reminded him who was in charge, complimented him lavishly, and relieved him of command.

Kate recognized the look on Whickham's face. It was a look that forgave and dismissed at the same time. It was the same look he had given her when she was six years old and he'd caught her trying to get the base soldiers to bring her ice-cream.

Connor suddenly found himself on the defensive. "No. I never did it alone. I had Kate, and my team, and many others. They're a good bunch. They know how to work well together General. I don't want to risk that. Hard enough to find something that works, when you've got it, don't mess with it."

"Maybe, but it's an old truism that there are no bad soldier's; only bad leaders. Even if you had good people under you; you still had to be the driving force. The burden of command is heavy at the best of times. You had to do it all by improvising with what you had, and you had to do it alone. I can only imagine how hard it's been, especially with your new family to protect. You don't have to carry this war alone any more. I can see the whole board too. That's why they give you these stars see

Without even knowing it, he had hit John's eternal weakness: his life-long reluctance to be in charge.

John seemed to sway on his feet, just for a second. Kate stared at him. He almost seemed tempted to just let it go…

Kate didn't make her movements obvious, but she threaded her fingers through his gently. Don't lose it. Give in to his way of thinking now, and he owns you.

John strengthened. Connor kept his face polite. "General, it seems to me that you're at your most comfortable when you know how your people think. Well, this may be our first meeting, but I'm a Colonel, you're a General. My base controls everything from LA outward, plus the only seafaring transport routes that I know about." He gestured over at the two men playing chess. "It might be wise if you knew my style too."

Whickham nodded. "It'll take a while for the path between here and San Francisco to be cleared out properly. I'd like to play you some time. Say tonight? After dinner?"

"Perfect."

"Excellent. In the meantime, we've got one more stop on the tour."

Kate felt her heart jump into her throat. Babies. Almost two dozen of them, lined up in small cribs, while various nurses, some military, some civilian, went back and forth in the chamber, taking care of them. There were two guards on every door; and the room itself was off Post-Op; making it a well defended room. They varied between a few weeks and almost a year old.

Connor put his arms around her from behind. "Sarah's got some extra playmates after all."

Whickham reacted. "Sarah? Kate, don't tell me..."

Kate beamed at the infants and nodded. "Yeah. A daughter."

"Katie, that's wonderful!" Whickham took her in a bear-hug.

Kate smiled into his shoulder and hugged him back. "First one born to the Underground. Till two minutes ago, I thought the only one in the world."

Whickham reacted again. "Connor, you haven't taken steps to..."

"I gave orders that all pregnant women be given priority care and protection."

Whickham gestured at the guards surrounding the nursery. "As have I."

"The fact is, there haven't been a lot of successful pregnancies. Most women don't want their kids to be born in this world." Connor explained. "Kate was the first. And it wasn't an easy pregnancy. We almost lost her, and the baby, and more than once. With Sarah healthy, some of the other civilian women in the base have reported pregnancies, but they're only a few months along."

"Despair set in quickly; in a wold where you hear no children's voices." Whickham observed. "Connor, this was my point. Your people, or at least the civilians in your charge, won't risk it because Skynet is always at your door. Here, people know that this is human territory. They can walk outside. They can see sky and stars. They'll risk it, because they know Skynet's got a long way to fight through. You can see why I want to expand human territory overtly."

Kate tensed. Her uncle hadn't let it go.

Connor was about to respond, when he was rescued. Colonel Noah came in and saluted. "General. We've established Contact with the LA Underground. Major Walters is on the line, asking for Colonel Connor."

Connor looked to Whickham, who nodded permission. "Connor, if we manage to get a clear path between the LA Underground and The Castle Keep, would you pass along an order to Major Walters for me?"

"Certainly sir."

"Have him bring a copy of the base records. I would like to know if there's anything we can offer to teach you, or for that matter if there's anything we can learn from what you've done."

"I will sir." Connor turned to leave, and seemed to pause. "You said you'd trained twelve men to Grand Master level?"

Whickham nodded.

Connor grinned like a shark. "Get them together tonight. I'll play you all at once."

"You will?" Kate and Chet asked in disbelief at the same time.

Connor nodded. "If you don't mind."

Whickham recovered instantly. "Not at all."

"So that's the report Eric. All is well."

"Glad to hear it sir." Walters voice crackled back over the radio. "We received word from Halloway. He says 'Mission Accomplished.'"

"You have the bearing and distance to us?"

Connor did not share knowledge of Halloway's submarines over the radio, and not in front of Whickham's men, but Walters knew what he meant. Halloway had come to him once their operation was over and the rest of Connor's unit had been taken back aboard, safely returned to LA. Oldham had the direction that the helicopters had flown in, and took advantage of Halloway's maps.

"I do sir." Walters confirmed. "Is there a directive?"

"Pigeon." Connor ordered.

"Yessir."

Connor had given the codeword. Walters was to clear a safe path between San Jose, where Whickham was, to LA, where Connor was. Whickham had given a similar order to his own people. Heaven help any machine that stood between their two armies.

"And sir? Tell her that Private Danes passed along a message. Message reads: She's fine." Eric called.

Connor grinned softly. "I will."

General Whickham had an office of his own, as most all Commanding Officers did. It was effectively a meeting place for taking private meetings with his various lieutenants and department heads. It was one of the few places left where privacy could be assured, and Whickham had brought his adoptive niece; for their first private conversation since their reunion. "So, tell me about Connor." He asked her, first off. "He the real thing?"

"Even better than the real thing." Kate confirmed.

Whickham nodded. "Good. You know your father used to say that they can make anyone a Colonel. To be a General, you need a good wife."

Kate grinned. "Alice would agree."

"I'm sure she would, god rest her soul." He looked at her. "The uniform suits you Kitty-Kate."

Kate smirked. "Will that nickname never die?"

"If you wanted the nickname to fade, you shouldn't have become an animal doctor. You're fourth generation military, and you decide to become a veterinarian?" Whickham chuckled. "I couldn't believe it when I saw you get off that chopper. But then I remembered your father... I figured if anyone could see Skynet coming... if there was anyone he wanted to protect..."

Kate swallowed. "He did. He died doing it, but he did."

Chet licked his lips. "And your mom?"

Kate shook her head. "No idea. Haven't heard from her for a long long time; even before the bombs fell."

Whickham chose not to pursue it; as Connor came back in. "Kate, I spoke to Eric. He says that Sarah's fine." He turned to The General. "And our guys are on the way here. They should meet up with your people halfway."

"Excellent."

"May I ask, did you know what was in the Convoy?"

"The one from today? It wa a large shipment of heavy metals. It was slated to be used in Machine construction."

"Is that confirmed?" Connor asked in concern. He was fishing to see where The General got his information.

"I have a small airbase near Midway. It puts an AWACK up every few weeks to give a standard report. More often if there's something important. They let me know that Skynet mines a lot of the material overseas and refines it on the big ships. By the time it gets here, it's ready to be turned into Machine warriors."

Connor nodded. "Skynet is software. There's no system core to hit, but if you can starve the brain by tearing part the body, keeping it's soldiers from ever being built..."

"I agree. We've been hunting the factories too." Connor smiled at Whickham. "My compliments to your people. Efficient bunch. Your defenses too." Connor commented. "The shifting backup for the heavy artillery is a stroke of brilliance."

Whickham grinned. "You noticed that on one flight in huh? Well, I didn't have miles of underground tunnels like LA, but I had more hardware to play with so I had to figure out a way to draw off anything Skynet could throw at us."

Kate nodded. "We had a whole lot less to work with. We set up most of what was left of LA as a kill-zone, Skynet can send an army in; it's a shooting gallery." She gestured around the above ground base. "Have you had a lot of trouble?"

Whickham nodded. "Not as much recently. For all their power, Skynet's machines roll off an assembly line. They need raw materials, they need a lot of work to set up their factories, need some serious power sources since they nuked the National Grid... we've actually had more trouble with the humanoid machines."

"The Terminators? Why?"

Whickham looked up sharply. "Terminators? Is that what you call them?"

"That's what they're called." Connor confirmed.

Whickham glanced at Kate. "Kate, your father ran Special Weapons. By any chance…"

"Skynet was one of them." Kate confirmed darkly.

Connor gained more respect for the man with each passing moment. Whickham took in the news, realized what it meant, realized what it meant for Kate in particular, and wiped the open pity off his face within seconds, picking up the story again. "We've actually noticed one or two Terminators that are dressed up in rags and rubber. Sort of like a thick latex over their bodies, hides all the chrome; and the rags keep you from realizing their skin is fake until they get in close. Most survivors wrap themselves up to protect themselves from the elements, and a lot of refugees come looking for protection." He sighed. "We lost three guys to the infiltrators till we figured it out, and we killed a refugee that was trying to ask for help after we knew what to watch for."

Connor had been listening to this description with jaded horror, and turned to glance at Kate.

His wife had heard every word too. Early infiltrators. A series of significant looks went back and forth.

Kate shook her head slightly. We can't tell him. Not about you. Not about them. Not yet.

Connor nodded slightly in return. We'll handle it Kate. We knew it was coming.

Whickham had taken in the whole silent exchange. "Kate, have you and Connor been taking telepathy lessons or something?"

Kate shrugged. "We call it marriage."

Kate had set up the Tournament after the evening chow had ended. There were several long tables in the mess. Kate had taken over two of them. Six players on each table, sitting back to back in two rows. Tables one through six were playing black, boards seven through twelve were playing white, as John conceded to them the first move without contest.

Whickham set up his own board at the Officers table, apart from the others, and flipped a coin to see who would get the first move.

Kate had grown up on army bases. She had long known that even the biggest army, the biggest bases, got very small very quickly when it came to gossip. Word about the thirteen-to-one tournament had spread through the base in less than an hour.

Kate knew she shouldn't be surprised. Whickham had long been obsessed with the game. When she was young, he often had three of four games going by correspondence. The fact that he was using chess as a way to train and gauge his officers made it something of a status symbol on this base.

And so it came that when the game began, there was an audience. Not many, maybe twenty of them, but in a confined space, it seemed like more.

Inwardly, Kate didn't see the appeal. Chess was hardly a spectator sport. But as the game passed the half hour mark, she could see the disbelief growing on the faces of the audience. Connor was actually giving them a run for their money.

Noah checked her scope again. Even in the Tank, her breath was making quick bursts of steam. "How many H/K's you read Tango 1?"

"Looks like five. Three on the surface, two on aerial escort."

"Tango 1, take the airborne targets, we have the ball."

"Roger that."

Noah pulled away from her scope and tapped the gunner. "Sarge?"

"I've got a target."

"Fire." Noah growled, adrenaline flowing freely.

"On the way."

The Gunner pulled the trigger and the whole tank shook with the recoil of the six inch explosive round. The huge H/K lit up from the force of the hit; it swivelled it's remaining gun to seek out the tank, as the flying H/K's began circling around to take the shot.

Noah saw them coming. "Tango 1! NOW would be a really good time!"

"Roger that. Tally ho."

Noah could never understand how a jet pilot could sit on the front of a jet turbine, surrounded by heavy explosive ordinance, hurtling though the sky at 800 miles per hour, in the dark, with highly efficient killing machines shooting at them... and sound so freaking calm about it!

The twin fighter jets screamed over them at unthinkable speed, their cannons blazing before Noah had even heard them coming. The trick was flawless. The flying Machines were out of position, seeking ground targets, unprepared for an aerial attack; and were caught completely off guard.

"Tango 1 has good hits." The voice came over the radio as Noah steered the tank straight over the flaming wreckage. "Don't stress Colonel; it's bad for you."

Noah smirked. Fighter pilots. They had to be on drugs.

Connor spent little time on the rest of his opponents. In fact, after every few moves with Whickham, he would simply get up, go back to the other two tables, and quietly move around them slowly twice. On the first lap he would look at each board, on the second he would make a move on each board, without even breaking stride, and then he would make his way back to Chet and sit down.

"Twenty bucks says Connor's out of his league." Marsden said quietly as Connor made his next move.

There was a murmur of agreement from Whickham's men.

"I'll take that bet." Kate piped up. "Twenty says Connor makes a clean sweep."

A stronger murmur. Whickham smirked over at his surrogate niece. "No loyalty to family?"

"You're both family." Kate retorted. "And no offense uncle Chet, but Connor's the best there's ever been."

Whickham looked at Connor who shrugged. "She married me for a reason."

Dex piped up. "I'll put another twenty with Kate."

Grady piped in. "I'm betting on the General. I bet a bar of soap."

The audience almost 'ooooh-ed'. It was the first bet that actually wagered something.

Dex and Kate traded a look. "You got anything?"

Dex licked his lips. "I bet your soap against… two bars of chocolate."

A much stronger reaction this time. Kate turned to look at Dex in disbelief. "Where'd you get two bars of chocolate?"

Dex looked painfully at Kate. "Carla's birthday is coming up..."

Connor was making his next rotation around the two mess tables. He suddenly made a move on Board six. "Checkmate."

Marsden and Grady traded a look. "You're on."

Walters lifted his radio. "First team. Go."

A pair of motorcycles took off from the side of the road, zooming down the cracked highway as the aerial H/K's swivelled to aim their guns. Liquid fire rained down at the small fast moving targets, and missed.

Walters lifted his radio. "Team two, go!"

Oldham came up with an RPG launcher on his shoulder.

The game passed the hour mark, and Connor had won games six and twelve. Each opponent had shaken his hand and then quietly joined the audience.

Whickham studied the board. "Where did you learn how to play?"

"From various people. Mostly from my mom. She was dating this guy who was pretty much the Grandmaster. He traveled around the world to play in tournaments. She managed to convince him to teach me how; even before school." He moved his rook forward. "She wasn't someone you said 'no' to."

Whickham grinned. "I learned from my teachers at Officer's Training School. When you learn command and tactics and how to run an army, all the teachers had various tournaments against each other for bragging rites." He countered John's tactics with his next move. "Between Chess and Poker, they taught me tactics and brinkmanship. War was equal parts of both."

Connor smirked. "My mom taught me chess before she taught me to spell my own name. Said everything I'd need to know about life I can learn in a chess game." Connor moved and stood up. "Excuse me."

He returned to the tables, made two loops around the other players as usual, and defeated his opponent on table nine. "Checkmate."

"He can't keep this up. I mean, he can't possibly keep this up." Marsden whispered. Somebody shushed him.

"This isn't like a boxing match Mars, you don't wear out." Grady whispered back.

"You make mistakes. You lose track of which game is which. He cannot keep this up."

Dex grinned. "Care to bet your toothbrush on that?"

"You're on."

Connor moved around the tables again. He made a move at table three. "Checkmate."

"How does he do that?"

Kate smirked. "He's John Connor."

Noah steered the tank over the latest Ground based H/K to fall before their advance, when she saw movement on her scope again. It was much smaller. "Reload!" She ordered, and her Gunner scrambled to obey.

Noah jumped up from her seat to the top of the tank, and grabbed the mounted machine gun over the top.

The Tank moved forward, ground it's treads up over the wreckage, when a pair of flares arced up from the ground.

Flares confuse heat-seekers. Noah thought. Skynet doesn't use fl- "HOLD YOUR FIRE!" She bellowed to anyone who could hear. "FRIENDLY! I'M A FRIENDLY!"

Cha-Clik!

Noah spun and saw that she had been flanked by a soldier she didn't recognize, who seemed to materialize from thin air on the side of the road. He was aiming at her. "We're all friendlies here." The Major commented. "So step away from the machine gun and let's… be real friendly."

Noah jumped down from the tank and grinned, snapping off a salute. "Colonel Erica Noah."

The salute was quickly returned. "Major Eric Walters; assigned to open the highway between LA and San Jose."

"Ditto." Noah responded. "All clear guys."

Walters wasn't sure where the radio was, but a good distance down the road, Jeep lights suddenly lit up, coming closer. Eric made a similar gesture behind his back, and his own men came slithering out of the dark; pushing their Motorcycles; and troop carriers coming from further down the road.

"I'm impressed. I was looking through a night vision scope, and I had no idea you were there."

"Connor taught us how." Walters explained. "Skynet has heat and night vision too."

"Staying hidden is one thing." Noah said, jerking her thumb at the flying H/K down on the ground. "Taking out a flying H/K in a complete piece before i get into sight is something else."

"I thought you did it." Walters returned.

Beat.

Both officers turned to the flying H/K on the ground, and it's spotlights suddenly flared brightly, and the turbine tore into explosive noise.

Noah saw the huge death machine rise from the ground and swore. The damn machine was playing dead and there was nowhere to run.

Walters moved faster... for his radio. "Rack em and Stack em."

The Flying H/K's rose above them, Walters and Noah diving for the edge of the road away from it... and suddenly it's turbine disintegrated. The huge machine was too low to explode when it landed, but an impact that made the ground jump under them all, broke the huge machine almost in half, and all it's lights went dead. A full four seconds later, Noah heard the bark of a huge calibre sniper rifle; the sound finally catching up with the bullet.

"God bless the man who invented 50 caliber bullets." Noah commented as her men lifted their heads.

"Amen." Intoned all the soldiers.

The game entered the third hour, and Connor had defeated all but General Whickham himself. The two of them sat hunched over the board. The audience was drooping from the long game.

"You think Skynet plays chess?" Whickham asked suddenly.

"I don't think there's ever been a learning computer that hasn't." Connor returned.

"Probably good at it."

"Deep Blue beat Kasparov in front of everyone in 1996." Connor agreed. "I don't doubt that Skynet is smarter than Deep Blue."

"Pretty bleak view for us then." Whickham commented.

Connor shook his head. "Chess pieces can only move one way. Humans can surprise you." He moved. "Supercomputers are just dozens of regular computers lined up one after another. Skynet was the first actual thinking machine. Brute force is the only way a computer mind overcomes a human one."

Whickham grinned. "I agree." He moved. ""Battle of Britain. The Nazis threw more than three to one odds against the RAF, and the RAF won. Find me some maths that explains it when brute force fails. A free man fighting for his home is worth ten invaders. And a human is worth a hundred machines."

Connor grinned. "I couldn't agree more." He moved.

Whickham looked back at the board and blanched. "How did you do that?"

Connor smirked. "People can surprise you."

Whickham smirked and knocked his king over, conceding the match before Connor could truly defeat him. General Chet Whickham, had never once, not even when he was six years old, ever lost a game of chess.

The audience, at least the audience that had remained to the end, was stunned. Except for Kate, who merely smiled and sent Dex a look. He nodded and yawned. He would collect their winnings. Kate came forward and gave her husband a kiss, as Connor and Whickham shook hands. "Good game."

"I thought so too." Whickham gestured at the board. "Now, that attack you made toward the end, the double rook move. I didn't recognise that."

Connor sat back down, looking interested. "Ah. I learned that one from-"

"Ah-ah-ah!" Kate interrupted. "It's 2300. Time for bed."

"But Kate-" Both of them started.

"Now boys, you can pick up the game tomorrow." She joshed them.

Whickham grinned. "Reveille at 0600. She has a point. We set up VIP quarters for you."

They made their way into the impromptu guest quarters. Various soldiers made quick salutes as both Officer's passed.

"Okay Connor, how'd you do that?" Kate asked with good humor.

"I'm just that good?"

"No you aren't."

"Ouch."

"Your good Connor, but your not omniscient." Kate said with authority. Why do I call him 'Connor' when we discuss tactics or war business?

"Keep that to yourself." John joshed her as they reached the VIP tent. Connor's radio buzzed and he answered it.

It was Whickham. "Connor, I just got a message from Colonel Noah. She's made contact with your men. The way between San Jose and here is open."

"That's good news sir." Connor responded.

"Major Walters has sent a message through. He says to tell Kate; that Danes is still back home, and she's fine."

Kate smiled serenely and leaned over. "Thanks Chet. See you in the morning."

The VIP tent was small and clean, with wooden plank floors, a double sized cot, with what looked like an air mattress. There was a small card table with two folding chairs and a jug full of water on top.

Kate turned down the bed and sat on it, turned to face him. "Come on. Confess."

John sighed and confessed. "I only played one game."

"John, you played thirteen, I was there." Kate told him, not getting it. "And you won, there were twenty witnesses." She pulled a toothbrush out of her pocket. "And you won me this too." She grinned and started happily brushing her teeth.

John shrugged off his jacket and dipped his finger in the tooth powder. "I only played against Whickham. Did you ever notice in what order I beat the other twelve? They were seated in a loop, back to back. I was white on half of them, black on the other. So twelve masters played each other, and I relayed the move to the table behind them. That was all." He fell silent as he scrubbed his teeth with his finger.

Kate burst out laughing around a mouthful of toothpaste, and rinsed her mouth out in a cup. She looked around briefly, and tossed the contents of the cup outside. A burst of cold air came in as the used water splashed into the icy mud.

"It wasn't some great tactical knowledge, it was a memory trick." John finished. "I just remembered what the first player did, and made the move on the board behind him, and then I took note of how he responded and made the move on the first board. After that, it was just a matter of finishing off the winners. The losers softened them up for me, and Whickham was the only game I played beginning to end."

Kate would not stop smiling as she stripped off her jacket.

John raised and eyebrow.

Kate held up her hands. "Won't tell a soul, I swear." She switched off the lamp and patted the cot. John lay down and she curled up under his arm as per usual. For the first time in months, she was very cold as she lay still. The world above the surface had turned to a long hard winter. "Chet had the same idea you had about the hydroponics."

John hummed, low in his throat and Kate could feel his chest rumble. "It wasn't a new idea even before J-Day. Plenty of people had the technology. Just a matter of making use of it."

"Hydroponics tent was warmer than the Post-Op." Kate mumbled.

"Can't wrap a tomato bush in a blanket." John told her.

"S'pose not." Kate mumbled, snuggling into him tighter. "Heard a few of the civilians talking, making plans about where they were going to sleep tonight. Chet said that a lot of civilians ignore the cots and sleep on the floor. Didn't know why till the sun went down."

"Cots are one to a person." John whispered into her hair. "When I was a kid, we spent a lot of the winter months camping. Bitter cold in Alaska, but Mom was tough that way." He seemed to shiver and wrapped his arms around her tightly. "Ever see a herd of sheep on a wet night? They manage to keep each other warm."

For a time they lay together in silence. "Feels weird not being underground." Kate whispered. "First time in a year I've been able to hear the wind blowing."

"Colder." John agreed. "Canvas and not concrete. Still, I can look outside the tent flap and see the sky."

"I had almost forgotten what it looked like." Kate said quietly. "John... the stars... they were a lot brighter back Before."

"Think so?"

Kate nodded into his chest and curled tighter into him, listening for his heartbeat. "I miss Sarah."

"Me too." John agreed. "We'll be home this time tomorrow. Day after at the most."

Kate smiled. "Will we be back?"

"There's going to be a lot of back and forth between the Underground and Castle Keep. We'll be back." John told her.

Another long silence. The cold was something new to them. Sleeping in Crystal peak was warm. Sleeping in the LA Underground was at least covered and concealed; and all points on the road was either in their Jeep, in Carla and Mac's house, or in one of Halloway's Submarines. The Connors had not huddled together against the cold for some time.

Kate actually found she liked it. The cot was narrow and he was warm and comfortable and she always felt better when he was immediately within reach. All her nightmares since leaving Crystal Peak were about something happening to her little family. Having his heartbeat be the first thing she heard on waking up was the fastest way to help her get back to sleep.

But there was something nagging at her. "John? You awake?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Why'd you want to play them all?"

"To learn about them. Faster to see how they all play chess than unravel how they all fight in a war. Your Uncle Chet knows that too. That's why he taught them all how to play."

"That's what tonight was about?" Kate mumbled into his chest. "You just wanted to see what they could all do?"

"Yep." He said gently. "But why don't you ask me what you really want to ask me?"

Kate's eyes opened in the dark. She took a breath without lifting her head from his warmth. "You got your wish. You're not in command. But if... You said it yourself. You wanted to see what his Lieutenants could do strategically. It's because you know they're going to be your lieutenants someday. So... I guess I want to know..." She sighed and slid up a little higher. Sleep was no longer an option for a while. "What's going to happen to him John? He's family to me. He's the only superior officer you have. If you're supposed to be in charge... What's going to happen to him?"

"I don't know Kate." He hugged her to him tighter. "Honest to god, I don't know."

Kate sighed and closed her eyes again. "Love you husband."

"Love you wife."

AN: Smaller chapter this time. I've been busy lately with other fics. People were demanding more from this one. I don't mind. I like my readers to be eager.

If you want to make the next part come faster, then may I kindly direct your attention to the 'Review' button?