Judgment Calls

by Stephensmat

John Connor was aware the War was coming his whole life. Kate Brewster was not. This is their story, and the story of the war to retake the Earth. PostT3. AU From Terminator Salvation.

13. Z Plus 7 Years 47 Days

My family has a history of War. The Brewsters have been soldiers since the American Revolution. We fought before there was an America. We fight when there wasn't one any more. I thought that I was the first to break tradition. The sad truth of warfare is that so much of it is lost between the pages of history. WWII had only a dozen or so famous and decisive battles and the rest was lost in the long march. The War against Skynet was a long slugging match. There was no break. The battles were violent against a soulless enemy.

It was such a long game, one that we had no choice but to play.

When Skynet made the fatal mistake of localizing, we didn't realize at first how desperate it was getting. The infrastructure the software lived in had all been blown apart. The computer nets that were left were without power, without defense. John said that Skynet was not expecting an entrenched drawn out conflict. And if it hadn't been for him, there wouldn't have been one. Becoming software was how Skynet escaped our attempt to kill it on J-Day. With its army of machines built, it had its own infrastructure. It chose its battle-lines carefully. It had resources and factories protected.

We tried three times to fight our way in. They stopped us. So we put them under siege. It was so... satisfying to have them surrounded. Our lines were thin, but our territory vast. In truth, we were just watching them.

But Skynet did leave some of its forces outside its defended Territory. Skynet had mapped the hotspots just as we did, and its factories and its armies could move about in irradiated areas. As a result, we had trouble getting to them. Gould figured out how to radiation proof some of our tanks and Enrique's bandits went charging into the Hot Zones. When the battle began, and those tanks had their radiation shielding breached, the crews were the walking dead already. The suicide runs smashed and blew up Skynet's lines, with The Bandit's screaming 'For Connor!' as they threw themselves into their berserker attacks. John never slept on those nights; and the Bandits were regarded with some awe at their obsessive method of hitting back. As a result, the Radiation Zones were cleared out. Skynet couldn't get past us to get to them.

The Great John Connor may not have been the first leader to inspire fanatics, but he perfected the art.

The war stretched into stalemate. Skynet sent it's attacks, we endured, and knocked them down. They lost Hunters, lost resources. We started to starve them out. It's an historical irony that our two armies effectively switched tactics. They the hit and run, we the long term endurance game.

But there were advantages to fighting Machines. Robots are not covered under the rules of war. We drove them out. We used methods long denied by the Articles of War. It was frightening at first, how brutal we could be against an enemy that felt no pain, had no soul, and did not truly live. We drove them out. When Skynet localized, I dusted off my pilot skills, and we suddenly went theater-wide.

The Battle Of Sacramento

The Battle Of Sierra Madres

The Retaking Of Cheyenne Mountain

The Cuban Reclamation

The Carolina Front

The Rushmore Gambit

The European Evacuation

The Second Berlin Wall

But we lost battles too.

The NORAD Liberation

The Alamo Recapture

The Canadian Airlift

The Yellowstone Offensive

So many losses. History will decide which of these battles are famous. Who knows, maybe somebody will make war movies about us one day. Once they figure out how to film movies again. I wonder who will play the role of me. I wonder if she's even been born yet. I don't like to dwell on these thoughts though. Neither does John.

The Campaign was devastating. So much of war can be easily forgotten. Even this fight had its more decisive moments.

I was Medical. Every battle was decisive in my view. Every battle sent wounded. It became far too easy for some to forget that our Army did not roll off an assembly line. At least not at first. I remembered though. For a while, I was the only surgeon there. I know every scar on every soldier. Every scar is the result of me stitching them shut, including the one on my Husband's face. He is ashamed of it sometimes. Just with me. I love it though. It reminds me of the day Tech-Com began. The day we saved LA. I was there when it happened.

I was there when the world ended. I was there when my husband became leader of the Resistance. I was there when he turned back Skynet's attack. The first to make them run. I was there when we let go of the past; stopped being a US Army Resistance and became a Tech-Com Army. I was there he took control of Skynet's death machines.

The day we started capturing those factories was the day when humanity could breathe at last. The day that Terminators went to war for us.

In any war, there are moments, where the campaign can turn, and those are the battles marked in history. The war between Skynet and Tech-Com entered it's fifth year and Skynet learned.

It was the day everything changed.

[Taken From the Personal Journals of General Katherine Connor, recovered from Crystal Peak, 2170]

---

Z Plus Seven Years Forty Seven Days

---

It was the seventh year since Judgment Day, and amazingly, the horrors seemed far away for once. The war had been brutal and heavy in losses, but just for now, it seemed to be something outside the base. Every six weeks, a caravan of soldiers would roll in, battle hardened, grizzled from the harsh weather outside; and a new company would roll out, trained and tested by Connor before being sent into the war.

When Skynet localized itself, the entire infrastructure changed. Supply routes, communications relays, all of it was moved to protect its Brain.

With the map redrawn, humanity had been busy.

Captured Terminator factories were churning out Connor's forces day and night until they ran out of material. They were sent on mission to capture more material, and other factories. As their numbers swelled, they were sent on more missions. The Machines became humanities heaviest shock troops against the Machines.

Skynet tried to fight its way into its lost factories, but Connor had them rigged to explode when the programming was altered to Skynet Directives. A tactic that Skynet immediately adopted and it became much harder to capture any more Skynet factories.

The Scrubbed Machines were directed on their own mission, far away from people, any Terminator attempting to pose as a 'friendly' was quickly identified and taken down.

And that left humanity to plan, to rebuild, to prepare more troops, and to run the battlefield.

Each base Kate had lived on had been home to its own regiment, each of them with their own slogan and symbol. It was this sense of us-and-them that had helped bind the soldiers together.

Crystal Peak was no different. Connor had split up the regular army divisions into smaller groups, making them faster, stealthier. They came up with names for themselves. There were the usual sorts. The Hawks. The Tigers. The Desert Rats. The Blue Eagles. But the war against Skynet had its own sense of identity. Some reflected this. The Circuit Breakers. The Can Openers...

And then there was the 57th Infantry. The pride of the Human Race. The casualty rate was below the other minimums like nothing ever seen before, and everyone knew why. They didn't have a slogan, or a Coat of Arms like the other units. They wore no rank insignia, were relaxed around each other, and never saluted each other. Only their Commander: The General himself, for missions that He led personally.

To all who spoke of them, they were known simply as 'Connors Own.'

Crystal Peak quickly became the center of the war, and Skynet knew it. US Army Soldiers who had heard the news about the Tech-Com split in LA all made their choice, no matter where they were. It tried four offensives; and was cut to ribbons every time, as the ranks of Tech-Com swelled.

The US Army, for all it's tradition, could no longer provide safety, no longer allocate pay, no longer guarantee regular meals and medical care; not even to it's own soldiers. The bases that still held people all made their choice and mass defections to Connor's banner, people seeking just a little hope to hold on to, took place all over the country. Little by little they made it to Crystal Peak. Kate put another set of stars on her husband's shoulders, and the war intensified again.

Connor had been training Eric Walters, now a full colonel himself, to take control of the War Room. Everyone watching him learn knew that Connor still had a clear edge, but Colonel Walters was a close second. A trusted and respected Steward over the American Theater until the return of the King.

Connor rarely left the War Room, but during the course of the War, there were some things that Connor had to handle personally. To keep a secret of where he was when away from the Base, Kate had flown him personally, with only his own handpicked soldiers. Sometimes he was back without Skynet ever knowing he had left. Connor went to Mexico, to Canada, and once, during a pitched battle in the seas, to China. Halloway led a counterattack that opened a safe passage across the Ocean, and Connor went to Asia.

Every country had its survivors, its own leaders. Most governments were long gone, the de facto leaders of hospitals and towns being lynched by desperate people when they failed to keep their hopeless promises. Connor went to them all and made his case. Not all armies were quite so willing to forget the old suspicions and rivalries of nations that had all been blown to dust; but most were too hungry, too besieged and too desperate to argue when they saw Connor's Own in action.

Europe was lost, wiped clean by Skynet, the winds of Judgment Day being mortally unkind to the European Continent, and the few survivors being used as bait for an airlift that cost Tech-Com dearly.

Asia was in bad shape also, with the humongous populations suddenly its great weakness when the infrastructure to bring them all food and clean water broke down over night. The ones that survived the blast had fallen on each other for food and supplies. Starvation and disease had stabilized the population by the time Skynet's army got there, and most anyone still alive was willing to try anything by the time Tech-Com made them the offer.

Mexico and South America had come out ahead of the curve. Plenty of people there were used to finding their own supplies and staying hidden, and had taken in refugees of their own. The Drug Cartels that once ruled with fear now ruled with strength, the only serious hierarchy left standing after the governments collapsed. They stopped growing drug plants and poppies, and started growing food. They stopped transporting dirty money and started dealing information. Enrique had a few friends who would take him seriously, and Connor began recruiting them too.

Australia, New Zealand and most of the Southern Hemisphere was in surprisingly good shape, but Skynet had total control over them. The entire population of nations now kept in the prison camps, too many for Skynet to dispose of easily, and Connor got to them in time, helped them storm the wire, and free themselves.

Connor's Own lead the charge and covered the retreats, and Army after Army fell in to follow Connor's Banner. Kate stuck more stars on her husband's shoulders and the war spread across the globe. Another pair of stars for every continent.

Connor taught them all the tricks. To those with resources he taught strategy and cunning. How to evade, how to predict, how to hide, how to strike. Those struggling to survive even without fighting back; he taught to adapt. How to turn the Plasma guns to their own advantage, how to run your lights and heat and refrigerators from Terminator Heart power sources. How to capture Terminator factories whole and reprogram them to fight back.

Whickham's people were driven out of San José finally in the second year. They dealt a huge amount of damage to their invaders on their way out and went mobile. They moved as ghosts, striking and vanishing into the wastelands. Nobody, expect perhaps Connor, knew how they were doing it so well; or where to find them on any given day. On occasion, there would be a joint strike, or a trade of supplies out on the battlefield, but other than that, little contact. There were rumors in Tech-Com that Connor was secretly aware of their movements, and Whickham was aware of theirs, keeping out of each others way. Whickham's people had a loyalty to their General as ferocious as Connor's people had for him; but there was a common enemy to fight.

Skynet's defenses got tighter and fiercer with each passing year. After a time, Skynet gave up on factories outside its territory and kept its assembly lines in tightly behind its security zones. But there was only so much there. Connor struck the supply lines and the communication relays, starving the brilliant computer brain of its body.

Skynet was no dull machine like so many of its soldiers. It could see the whole board, and did not tire, did not rest, did not grieve. It knew to play the waiting game. It ground out its human enemies, one soldier at a time. Skynet's soldiers could be mission ready in minutes, but were not renewable. Once smashed completely, they would not get up again. It took proper equipment, raw materials and plenty of work to start making more Machines. All humans needed to make more humans was time.

Humanity was easier to kill, and took so much longer to grow up. The first generation born to the dust were pressed into service very young, tested to be sure they would not spook under fire, their size and energy making them deadly on a larger stronger enemy. It became a war of endurance; the last team to shoot would win.

The tactic was working. Connor was starving Skynet out. Its resources were maxed out, and their attempt to get more material to build from was dangerous for its caravans. The more Skynet pulled from it's offensives to keep its defenses strong, the more humanity could spread.

The endless Winter finally ended, and the sun came back. Endless cold gave way to brutal heat, and the earth baked. The atmosphere had thinned horribly. The weather was vicious or non-existent, and the temperature difference between day and night was extreme.

Connor taught his people how to grow, and trees were planted around Crystal Peak. Kate never would have realized how cathartic it would be for battle weary men and women to see green things growing, leafy and alive. Orders went out for it to keep going, anywhere in the world that could find a place that would work. It was effectively the first step into transforming the world back to temperate conditions. But that would take so much longer than a war.

There was incredible electricity in the air; the entire Underworld could feel it. The war was going well for humanity. Skynet's own backyard was quickly becoming the only thing left. Connor was taking them all the way to the Machine Core. Connor was going to win.

They were going to win the war.

---

Kyle and Lupe had been excited at first, given their first assignment. The two of them had formed little attachment to places growing up. But Crystal Peak was different. Aside from having been the one place that either of them had stayed the longest, it was also the most heavily defended spot that humanity had left.

More than that, it was home. It was where their relatives and fellow Tunnel Rats had lived with them, a place where they had gone to school and taken meals and been trained as Tech-Com soldiers. It was home.

But for all the security of Crystal Peak, the one thing they never had a lot of there was privacy. The officers had rooms. The recruits had their dorms.

Lupe and Kyle had adopted each other as children and not let go growing up. Such bonds were not unusual in any warzone, but this post J-Day war demanded closer connections of its soldiers. Warriors of Tech-Com had nowhere to go that could be considered away from the war. The threat of ambush was omnipresent, even in well secured areas. Skynet had learned the trick of staying hidden.

So when Lupe and Kyle had been assigned to make a run to the outer checkpoints, they knew what a heavy responsibility had been laid on them.

Their uniforms had been clean for exactly seven minutes after leaving the base, the two of them having to move fast across uncertain terrain. The two of them had been issued motorcycles, and they began their tour.

The route had taken them through many forward areas; and past a few checkpoints. Tech-Com may have been the dominant army in the area, but some places much further north and south had been patrolled and protected by the local forces. Enrique had strong ties to the Mexican and South American forces, and he had talked key warriors into signing on. Though they took their orders from Connor, they still had a great deal of independence from the rest of Tech-Com.

Skynet had won more than a few strategic victories by overhearing chatter on the radio. Coded conversations were the norm as a result, but the codes had to be regularly updated. The oldest tactics of sending codebooks by hand through trusted messengers was still the norm, and Kyle was currently the one holding it.

They were coming to the end of their first mission, but a series of ambushes had forced them to take the long way, cross country over the desert.

Night fell, and the chance to make distance in the dark had to give way to the fact that riding motorcycles over unknown terrain was dangerous, so they walked their bikes a little further till they found a campsite. Crashing a bike and breaking a leg would mean breaking radio silence. Doing that on their first mission… would not be fun.

And Kyle had to admit he wanted to have another night alone with Lupe.

They camped for the night in a burned out truck stop off the highway, their motorcycles hidden safely under camouflage netting. They didn't dare light a fire during the day for fear of the smoke being spotted. At night could be dangerous when on the plains, but Kyle managed to find a spot out of sight from above, under the collapsed awning. They camped up against a portion of the wall that was still standing, and they lit a small fire.

Lupe rolled out their sleeping bags, and Kyle inventoried their food. "Dried apricots or MRE?"

"I'll take the apricots."

Kyle smirked. She knew he liked the MRE's. She didn't understand why, but she knew he did, so she left it for him.

They hid their cargo with the bikes and settled in for the night.

Kyle looked up. "How long till morning?"

"Hours." Lupe said, lying on her back, hands behind her head as a pillow. "How old are you Kyle?" She asked suddenly.

"I don't know." Kyle said. "Why?"

"It was my birthday last month." Lupe said. "But we've never had a birthday party for you."

Kyle didn't seem upset. "Had to have a birthday party when you don't have a birthday."

Lupe looked up at the sky. "You ever look at the stars?"

Kyle did so. "Sometimes. I have during the trip."

"My mom told me to wish on stars. It was a lullaby."

"What's a lull-bye?"

"Lullaby." Lupe repeated slowly. "It's a song you sing to help somebody fall asleep."

Kyle looked up at the stars. "Huh."

"I think you must be what? About thirteen now. Maybe fourteen?"

"Maybe."

Lupe was silent a moment, then slid her bag over a bit underneath her, and curled up next to Kyle. "When… when I woke up in the tunnel last week, you were touching my hair."

Kyle was glad it was dark. He didn't want her to see the way he flushed bright red. "Yeah."

"You need a birthday Kyle. I'm giving you one."

"You are?"

"Today's your birthday." Lupe said decisively. "You're fourteen today."

Kyle sat up a bit. "I… I've never had a birthday before. I don't think. What do I do?"

"You get presents."

"That's it?"

"Uh-huh, except I don't have a present for you." Lupe said. "And a cake with candles. One candle for every birthday. But we don't have any cake."

"Or candles." Kyle quipped.

Lupe sat up with him, reached into her pocket, and pulled out a small birthday candle, which she lit carefully from the campfire.

She brought the tiny flame in closer between them. "Now blow it out, and make a wish." Lupe directed.

"I thought you wished on shooting stars." Kyle whispered, suddenly aware of how close their faces were.

"Birthday candles too."

Kyle licked his lips and blew the candle out; leaving them nose to nose. A thin trail of smoke wafted hypnotically between them.

Kyle hesitated, looked into her eyes, and leaned forward, kissing her. Lupe froze, and then very slowly kissed him back.

Both of them broke apart at the same time. Their eyes were big and dark; they had identical goofy grins, both of them breathing hard…

"What are you thinking?" Lupe asked.

"Got my present." Kyle confessed. "And my wish."

Lupe smiled, with wisdom beyond her years as all children of the dust had to learn. "Mine too."

Kyle lay back down. Lupe did the same, leaning against him for warmth, as they did every night. It was always so cold at night. Kyle wanted to put an arm around her, but didn't dare put an arm out from his warm sleeping bag. One or two scouts had lost fingers to frostbite overnight that way.

"Kyle?" Lupe asked. "What did you really wish for?"

"I… I wished that Connor was right."

"About what?"

"Well… about everything I suppose, but he told me once, about how when the war was over there would be a lot of work to do to fix the world. He talked about making the wastelands grow. The way he talked about it… He's already seen it Lupe. Back Before, there were trees, and rivers. And grass. He talks about grass Lupe. Green cool grass. He says it grows really tall and waves in the wind…"

"Sounds wonderful."

"It really does." Kyle smiled dreamily. "Connor said I would see trees and grass one day, when I grew up."

"I remember grass. I remember being outside and playing with it. I remember it tickling me." She whispered, telling a fairy tale. "My grandfather says that there are still some places down south where there are jungles."

"What's a jungle?'

"A place where there are lots and lots of trees."

"Really?" Kyle said in wonder. "I would like to see big trees one day."

And then, Lupe started to sing.

When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
Will come to you

If your heart is in your dream
No request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star
As dreamers do

Smiling, Kyle slept.

Fate is kind
She brings to those who love
The sweet fulfillment of
Their secret longing

Like a bolt out of the blue
Fate steps in and sees you through
When you wish upon a star
Your dreams come true

---

Z Plus Seven Years Forty Eight Days

"Kyle! Kyle! Wake up!"

Kyle woke up sharply. She was still there. She was pressed tightly up against the wall, peeking over it, staring across the wasteland, looking toward the road.

Kyle was fully awake in an instant and hugged dirt; wriggling out of his sleeping bag like he was shedding skin. Inching along, Kyle joined her. There was a flying H/K parked there, landed in the dust. It was surrounded by Terminators. "When the hell did that get here?"

"It didn't. I think it must have been there all night. If it was landed we never would have seen it."

"Why didn't it see us? We had a campfire!"

"We kept the fire down below the wall to keep it out of the wind. Can't see the smoke in the dark…"

"How the hell do we get to the road now? We aren't geared to fight a Flyer." Kyle hissed.

"Can we get to the road?"

"On Motorcycles? Without being noticed?"

They were silent. It was a long shot and they both knew it.

Kyle pulled out his map. "Okay. We can leave the bikes here. Mark it on the map for the next scouts to use. We go cross country back the way we came we can meet up with the 122nd, and get a ride back to Crystal Peak with them."

Lupe checked the map. "Yeah. But we have to cross through a few Hot-Zones."

Kyle licked his lips. "Got another way?"

"Nope."

"Let's roll."

Kyle hefted his Gunny Sack and rolled up his sleeping bag. "Stay low."

The two of them slithered low across the dusty ground, away from the road, and away from the H/K.

---

In between the secured areas, were wide stretches of land, many of them still radioactive. Tech-Com in general avoided them. They were not strategically necessary, they were not traveled areas, and though any known Skynet forces had been cleared out, they were not secured.

For that reason, Kyle and Lupe did not say much, keeping their eyes open and scanning at every available moment. The sun had risen high, the dusty ground was baking hot beneath their feet, and the sack they passed back and forth between the both of them was heavier with every step.

"How much farther?" Lupe groaned.

"Another few hours." Kyle croaked back. "Let's take a break."

Lupe collapsed instantly on the sun-baked ground, and then fought to stand back up. "Um… no. Too hot here."

Kyle nodded. They started to move again, when Kyle spotted harsh sunlight glinting. "Metal!" He hissed quietly, and both of them dropped, adrenaline wiping out the exhaustion.

The reflecting point of light in the distance did not move. Lupe fished out their binoculars. "It's metal, but not Skynet. Looks like a… water tank?"

Kyle slowly rose from the crouch. "There were some truck stops and suburbs through this area. At least, according to the map."

Lupe nodded. "Well, we can get some shade at-" She moved suddenly, and Kyle was flat on the ground.

In the same millisecond there was an electrical crackle and Kyle smelled ozone as the air burned where he was a moment before. He rolled and came up with his rifle. So did Lupe.

The Terminator was about fifteen feet away, and both young warriors came up shooting, knocking it down.

"Where's the other one?" Lupe hissed. Terminators always worked in pairs.

Kyle stayed low and scanned. There had been no sign of the machine a few moments before… which meant there had to be a hiding spot. He looked to the wrecked machine, and crept toward it silently. It had come from a hidden compartment in the ground…

"RUN!" Kyle yelled.

Lupe heard his cry and reacted without knowing what he'd seen. She turned and started to run away…

And another compartment opened in the round…

And Kyle brought his rifle up…

The second Terminator saw movement, aimed for Lupe's running form…

Kyle fired first, bringing it down. "Clear!"

Lupe stopped and turned back to him, breathing hard. "Sweet shot. How'd you know where the hiding place was?"

"I didn't. But it was either closer to you or to me, so I figured if one of us started running…"

Lupe knuckled his shoulder. "You're lucky it was me slowpoke."

Kyle grinned. "We better move fast. They'll have someone coming to avenge them soon."

---

The abandoned areas were almost universally a wasteland. Scouts and Runners were given extra canteens, and Kyle was glad for it, as all the water in radioactive zones was usually toxic. There was a lot of dust and dirt, not because of desert land, but because the dust blown into the air during Judgment Day was settling, guided by the winds to form the Hot Zones.

As such, the sand and dirt clung to everything, and all of it was irradiated.

Lupe guided the way with her Geiger counter, looking for a path that humans could walk. "No good. We've been up and down this whole area. There's no way through without a radiation shield."

Kyle just looked at her. "Well, did you remember to pack one?" He mocked.

"I thought the packing was your job." Lupe fired back with equally biting sarcasm.

Kyle pulled out his map again. "Going around the Hot-Zone would take us back the way we came. Skynet may have something there by now."

"Got another way home?"

"Nope."

---

Crystal Peak was walking on eggshells. Connor was mad about something. Enrique was barking at random people who were unlucky enough to cross paths with him.

Carla stuck her head into the Medbay. "Is he in here?"

Kate didn't turn. "If he were, you'd be on fire right now."

Carla came in. "What the hell is going on today?"

Kate rolled her head back and rubbed her neck. "Kyle and Lupe are late."

Carla shut her eyes. "Aw no. I really liked those kids."

Kate pointed a finger at Carla. "Comments like that are what's making Enrique and John climb the walls, so for now, we're thinking good thoughts."

Carla nodded. "Right." She licked her lips. "What do I tell Mackie?"

"That's up to you. If it were me, I'd tell him the same thing I'm telling my kids. Kyle and Lupe won't be back tonight."

---

"Well this is just lovely." Lupe hissed.

Kyle, crouched next to her, had to agree. The place they had slept the night before was now crawling with Machines. At least two dozen of them.

Kyle noticed this through his binoculars. "They don't look right."

"They're walking metal skeletons Kyle, there's nothing right about them."

"No, I mean the design has changed."

Lupe took back the binoculars and checked. "You're right."

The humanoid Terminators had gone through some vaguely cosmetic changes, mainly alterations to their pneumatics, their programming, or their body armor.

Lupe swung the binocular back toward their campsite. "They didn't find the bikes. And the Flyer is still there."

"What's it doing on the ground this long?"

"Maybe it's damaged?"

"Maybe. But then, where did these things come from?"

Lupe sighed. "What do we do? We're pinned. Radiation behind us, Machines ahead."

Kyle looked to the sky. "We wait till dark, we sneak past them, and we walk one of those bikes out of the way enough to start it up."

Lupe looked to the sky. "Nightfall is still a few hours away. By now Crystal Peak must be going nuts wondering where we are."

"If they send help, so much the better. But till then…"

Lupe pulled at the Duffel Bag, trying to get comfortable. "Wake me if I snore."

---

Enrique was not a strategist. He knew tactics. He knew things of use on a battlefield, but not for a full war. As such, he was one who preferred to act rather than to react.

Connor was impressed with his restraint. He lasted a full day before charging into the War Room.

Connor was gripping the edge of the map table so hard that one of the maps was tearing. The door burst open and Enrique exploded in like a hurricane. "Send the 122nd." Enrique snapped.

"No." Connor said calmly, and then just as calmly walked out.

The entire War Room breathed a sigh of relief. They knew why Enrique was going crazy, but having The General ready to bite people's heads off was not pleasant for the soldiers assigned to War Room.

---

People were all but throwing themselves out of the way as Connor marched toward his room, Enrique right behind him.

"Send the 122nd to go look for them." Enrique repeated.

"No."

"Then I'll go."

"No."

"Then I resign. I'm leaving Tech-Com, and I'll go myself."

"Oh that's brilliant. And do what?" Connor demanded sarcastically.

"More than you're doing!"

"Enrique, I forbid you to go."

"I told you, I quit. I'm a volunteer! I can do that!"

"Then you're under arrest for desertion." Connor said immediately as they finally reached the Officers Quarters, and specifically his room in the Presidential Suite.

"Come ON Connor, you know what it means if those two don't come back."

"Yes. I do." Connor felt sorry for the man. Enrique was not the type to sit back and let people do things for themselves, even if they had to.

Enrique looked around the empty room. "Connor. Whenever we've disagreed, I've bit my tongue and keep it to myself, at least in front of the others."

"It hasn't gone unnoticed."

"So now you go send the good guys to find my granddaughter and The Brat. You know what that boy still has in store for him."

"I also know that he's got to be a lot stronger than he is now." Connor said coldly. "He has to turn my mom into a soldier, starting with a crybaby waitress. So no, I won't be catching him when he drops. And if Kyle was on the right path he would have been back by now. Where exactly do I start searching? There's a lot of wasteland out there."

Enrique heard all this and opened and closed his fists. "So Kyle gets tougher. What about Lupe?"

Enrique was boiling. Anger turned inward was dangerous. He needed a target for all this frustrated rage. Connor braced himself, and provided one. "Well if she gets killed out there, I don't imagine there's anything that'll toughen him up more."

Enrique's eyes bulged. "Y-You… ARGH!"

Connor never saw the fist coming.

---

The sun had finally set. Kyle and Lupe were both itching to get moving, but knew better than to risk it when there was even a little daylight left. Skynet could see in the dark, but some of the more recently captured machines indicated that they'd removed that option when the Resistance had taken advantage of the heat vision for their own counter attacks.

So with the sun down, and the Terminators still on patrol, Kyle and Lupe made their move. The Flying Machine had not taken off, but it was running its lights on. Bright enough to throw long shadows and light up the dark with pale ghostly light.

Kyle took the lead, creeping down into the area they had camped out in the night before.

It was a painful way to travel, creeping inch by inch in the dark, till you came to an area you couldn't be caught in, and you had to dash across to the next safe corner of darkness. It was nerve wracking to say the least, especially against an enemy that may or may not have had heat vision, but it was the only way.

Kyle reached the bikes first, and tried to pull the camouflage away without making a sound. Every slight brush of the material sounded like a buzz saw in his ears, but he kept his movements slow.

Lupe was creeping along, slithering through the dirt, staying as quiet as she could. The most dangerous point was the small depression between the two cover points. The first where they had seen the enemy machines, the second where they had hidden their campfire the night before. It was an area several hundred meters along, and very little in the way of cover between the two.

In the dark there was always debris or sand drifts or scrub, and it was easy enough to simply play dead and hope that the Machines did not notice you. But the machines would notice movement, and it was always a balancing act. Make distance, but freeze when the Terminators were looking in your direction.

Kyle had gotten the bikes in the open, key in the ignition, and was trying madly to walk it gently away from the Machines, rolling it into the dark as best he could.

Once she got to the campsite, Lupe froze, very slowly turned her head to see which way the Terminators were looking, and picked her moment to vault to wall. Crouching low enough to stay hidden behind it, Lupe ran after Kyle; giddy to be moving so fast after so long creeping along.

The Machines must have heard the engine start in the distance, but if they had decided to chase after them, the two young humans had far too much of a head start.

---

Z Plus Seven Years Forty Nine Days

Kate had her medical bag with her as she let herself into the Presidential Suite. A call for medical help to Connor's private room at one in the morning would have caused quite a stir, but Kate took the call personally, made sure nobody else had heard it, and then taken her time to answer; knowing what must have happened.

Sure enough, when she got there; Enrique was sitting on the floor, leaning against the bed, with a flask in one hand. John was sitting against the desk, rubbing his jaw.

Both of them had bruises and cuts enough that they both looked like they'd just been through a street fight.

Kate rolled her eyes and started unpacking her supplies. "Gentlemen. So. Who would like to go first?"

Enrique looked up at her. "I slipped in the shower."

Kate nodded reasonably. "I see. John?"

"Yeah. Slipped in the shower. Me too." Connor at least had the decency to seem embarrassed before his wife.

"I see. Showering together, were we?" Kate smirked.

Neither of them answered.

"Well, maybe it's best you got it out of your systems. I want to congratulate you on taking it out on each other and not some random innocent bystanders." Kate said lightly. "By the way John, we got a call from the 122nd. Kyle and Lupe have checked in with them and borrowed a jeep. They'll be back tomorrow morning. I told them to spend the night there and get a bite to eat before they headed back."

Connor and Enrique were on their feet instantly. "What? How did you hear about this before I did? Why didn't-"

"Sit DOWN both of you." Kate barked. "You've already got the entire base terrified. Don't make it worse by looking like this when the kids get back, you hear me?"

"Yes Ma'am."

---

Z Plus Seven Years Fifty Days

"Man it's good to be home."

"Tell me about it."

Lupe smirked. "I was hoping to be home last night. The party they throw for first timers would have made a great birthday party for you."

Kyle smirked. "Who needs the party? I already got my wish."

Lupe flushed and looked down. "Kyle-"

Kyle shushed her gently as they reached the front door. "I know. I won't tell."

The main door was kept open, with a second checkpoint set up before the elevators. It wound fortified, and before you could pass through, there was the Sign In Sheet. "Welcome back soldiers. Check in please."

Kyle and Lupe met the Duty Officer at the door as every incoming soldier did. They both put their names down in the Book, and added the code word of the day. Every soldier had a different one. The Duty officer checked them both and waved them both through. They got onto the elevator and went down to the Main Hall.

Lupe was mildly surprised to see it was business as usual in Crystal Peak. Waiting for them at the elevator was Kate.

Kyle came to attention before Kate and saluted. "Ma'am."

"Welcome back you two." Kate said formally. "Report."

Lupe was looking around out of the corner of her eyes, remaining at attention. "We were able to evade Skynet ambushes in sector nine, twelve, fourteen and twenty. Mail Run from MASH units, Forward Posts, Checkpoint Alpha are all in the bag, and the second rucksack was from the Southern States. One of Enrique's picket-men met up with me at the Mexican border."

Kate took the sack and weighed it. "Good pile of mail. You keep the intelligence communiques separate?"

Kyle pulled a small sheaf of envelopes out of his pocket. "Next to the dye packs, yes Ma'am."

"Good lad. Lupe, is there something wrong with your eyes?"

"Ma'am?"

"You keep rolling your eyes about. Are you looking for someone?"

Lupe flushed. "No ma'am."

"…Okay. See, that's what we at the Officer's table... call a lie."

Lupe looked down. "I was there when Terri had her first run, and everybody was making a huge thing about it..."

Kate nodded sagely. "And you figured it would still be a surprise if you were expecting it?"

Lupe flushed darker red. "I didn't think..."

"Lupe, we need you to be professional. John says that no soldier should be honored for doing his or her job. Besides that, I hate surprise parties. Got that?"

"Yes ma'am." Lupe said, properly chastened.

"Drop your cargo off, then get to the Mess Hall, grab some chow."

Both young people saluted, and Kate returned it, heading off.

Lupe turned to Kyle. "You deliver the cargo. I'll go make out report to the Duty Officer and the Quartermaster. Motor Pool is gonna be pretty pissed that we came back one motorbike short."

"Give them the jeep and call it even." Kyle nodded, and she squeezed his hand as she left.

Kyle hefted the cargo bag that he had carried across the open war-torn wasteland and raised his voice as loud as he could. "Mail Call!" Kyle hollered.

The crowd pressed in almost immediately.

The Mailman had become something of a local hero now. With no email, no telephones or any long range communication except for the radios, most of which were used strictly for the military, all sense of community outside the base was shutting down. Kate was always stunned at how quickly newcomers were embraced, and how strongly anyone outside the base was considered 'Them'. With supplies scarce; the 'Us and Them' situation would have easily caused dissension, even mistrust that could lead to violence.

As a result, Connor had quietly given permission for his scouts to become Mail Carriers. People were talking to each other again, in one of the oldest and most reliable methods still available. A Mail run was the standard first mission, with dedicated Soldiers given the task of Mail Carrier for every other time.

Even hearing someone new talk about the weather, or their friends was something unusual and it became something precious. Kate had taken advantage of the new provision for her students, and made getting a pen pal part of their reading and writing duties. Connor had quietly spoken to some of the other heads of civilian populations, and they agreed on a need to get all Children of the Dust an education. The next generation knew more about their distant neighbors than most adults.

As a result, those who were lucky enough to have human to human contact with someone from the outside were thrilled. Everyone gathered around as Kyle pulled out the bundles of letters and began reading names. Two or three were for him and Lupe and he stuck them in his pocket. Some of them were marked official and went to Kate who would distribute them among the military commanders. Some went unclaimed, with their recipients on missions, on duty, or already dead.

By the time Lupe was back, the mail had been distributed. "Well, done here. Let's eat."

---

Kyle and Lupe made the way to the Mess hall, let themselves in, and jumped back as roughly a hundred people screamed "SURPRISE!" all at once.

Kate appeared from nowhere and stepped up behind them. "I love surprise parties." She deadpanned, and shoved them both in.

There were a lot of congratulations, a lot of drinks, and a lot of toasts. All of their fellow Tunnel Rats were there, including their direct Commanding Officer, and the Connors; as well as Enrique and Yolanda.

Enrique was the first one to charge forward and scoop Lupe up into a bear hug. "LUPE!"

"Grandfather!" Lupe squealed as her feet left the ground. "You're smushing me!"

Enrique relented and let her breathe. She pulled back and smiled at him. "What… happened to your face?" She asked him.

Enrique gave his loud coyote laugh for the first time since she left, and didn't put her down for the rest of the party. Everyone who wanted to talk to her had to do so where she was, four feet off the ground in Enrique's arms. Lupe didn't mind at all.

Sarah Connor, now a pretty young girl; and her younger brother Robbie were the first ones giving Kyle a hug. The Connor children were eager to get out there themselves, but were not yet considered old enough. If you couldn't carry a rifle the length of the base and back at a jog, you were too young. Sarah always had a Plasma rifle slung across her back, and Robbie was too small to carry one without tripping over it. The two of them had Kyle and Lupe as their adopted older siblings and wanted to know everything about combat, everything about the mission...

The eldest on base were the Drill Instructors, who were genuinely happy to see their students back from their first mission, safe and sound, already figuring out who would get sent to which Unit, or if they would be kept on as couriers and scouts for now.

The party ended when Connor stood up, bellowed for quiet, and turned to the two of them while everyone else in the room stood at attention. "Enrique, put the soldier down."

"I don't wanna." Enrique said firmly and everyone laughed again.

Connor gestured, and Enrique let Lupe back on her feet and the girl darted over next to Kyle, both of them at attention. Enrique straightened and took a place behind Connor.

"Kyle Reese. Lupe Salceda." Connor intoned formally. "You have been trained, you have been tested. Having completed your first mission with cunning and courage, you have been tested by man and machine; and have come through your baptism of fire." Connor turned to the assembled soldiers. "From this moment on, they are Tech-Com Soldiers. Faithful and true. They are the tip of the sword, and the knife-edge of Humanity. Let no fire reach their person, and no weapon shatter their resolve. They have been weighed against the might and numbers of Skynet, and The Enemy was found lacking against them. Let them be shown all due honor and respect in accordance with their rank and the faith placed in them by their commanders and their subordinates."

Lupe and Kyle smiled softly at each other.

Connor turned to the two of them, and produced from nowhere their new rank insignia, and a Tech-Com symbol for each of them, affixing it to their clothing, now true uniforms.

Connor initiated them both, and saluted.

Lupe and Kyle returned it. It was rare that The General performed this ceremony personally.

Connor never really stood at ease, but his shoulders relaxed slightly. "Carry on Soldiers."

"Yes sir." They both chorused as everyone whooped and cheered for them.

Kyle and Lupe were more or less lost in a sea of faces as they were handed around the entire crowd for hugs, handshakes, congratulations, well wishes…

The Command Staff slipped out. It was odd for them all to be there, and having the Supreme General and entourage in the room was making a few people slightly uncomfortable. Besides, there was still a war being fought every second of every day.

---

"Are we sure it's a good idea to leave all those kids in there alone with the booze?" Connor asked as they headed away from the party.

"Kids are a lot more mature than the adults in this place." Yolanda told him. "I took the kids through the Medbay. One or two people in there blind from bad moonshine. Kids are terrified of being offered drinks now."

"Besides, Carla's in there to keep an eye on them." Kate said.

"Has anyone met Carla's new boyfriend yet, or is she hanging out with an imaginary friend?" Enrique quipped.

"I've seen him, but we haven't spoken. Big guy, kinda quiet." Yolanda said. "Carla's been asking me to act as babysitter more often. She seems happier."

"Well, I'm glad. She hasn't really had anyone since Paco." Kate agreed. "I think after what happened to him, she's been too scared to."

"Oh, Johan, before I forget, I wanted to thank you. It was nice of you to do The Ceremony yourself." Yolanda said to Connor.

Connor smiled. "Hey, I've got history with those kids. Kyle is practically family after he looked after Sarah and Lupe this long. Plus, Lupe is your girl. Would I send anyone less to do the job?"

"You better not have. You know what signing on meant to her." Kate agreed.

"Still can't believe I let her do it." Enrique mumbled.

"Enrique, I was very proud of you." Yolanda said sweetly. "You only gave The General one black eye the entire time she was gone."

"He did not!" Connor objected.

Kate chuckled. "Hey, you remember the first time we did the 'Trial By Battle' ceremony? Kept fumbling on the words?"

Connor rolled his eyes. "You realize we actually lasted fifteen minutes since the last time you brought that up?"

Enrique gave his coyote laugh again. "Admit it Connor! How much of it did you ad lib the first time?"

"How was I supposed to know my commanders would copy it word for word?"

Marching smartly, Connor, Enrique, Yolanda, and Kate made their way back to the private Dorms. They were all smiling at each other, chuckling over things they had heard, sharing tidbits they had learned from the day's mail…

Right up to the second the door closed and they were left alone.

Enrique collapsed like his strings had been cut and he burst into huge sobs. "Oh… GOD!"

Yolanda was on him in second, arms around him tightly, whispering encouragements. "Shh, its okay love, she's okay."

"I #sob# was #sob# so #sob# SCARED!" Enrique was nearly bawling. "God, she's just a baby, out there in the war!"

Kate looked at the man, widely considered to be the scariest warrior who ever lived, and he was practically in the fetal position. She turned and sent a helpless 'what-do-I-do' look at John, who shrugged.

"Take notes Kate, another year or two, Sarah's time will come; I'll probably be in the same state." Connor said grimly.

Inwardly, Kate doubted that.

Enrique, having had his breakdown, was slowly getting himself back together. "Sorry. Haven't slept since Lupe and The Brat left base."

Yolanda was sympathetic. "C'mon. Let's get some tequila into you, and put you right to bed."

Enrique, still staring at the floor, let himself be led like a five year old. "Okay."

Kate gave John another look. She had been giving him looks like that since Connor let Enrique into Crystal Palace. He answered her the only way a wise man could.

---

Z Plus Seven Years Fifty Two Days

Connor barely reacted now when everyone would jump to their feet when he entered a room. He met all their eyes and saluted them, but barely registered that he was doing it any longer. It came with the uniform.

The Mess Hall was the easiest way to stay close to the men. Connor knew that he had to keep a certain distance from them, but he always had to be seen. Kate was always there to make sure he never got a name wrong; and truly, after a few years in charge, there weren't that many willing to get too close. John Connor had become 'The General' complete with capital letters in everyone's mind, and very few engaged him in casual conversation.

The exceptions to that rule were the ones that knew him before the uniform, and they had mostly stuck together. Even in the Mess Hall. There wasn't exactly an Officers table, thought that was what they called it. The Officers all ate with the regular ranks, but at the head of the room Connor and his family took their meals together. Eric and Enrique and Yolanda and Carla were always welcome. And for the most part, the only ones willing to linger over their meals with The General in attendance.

"How did the battle go?" Kate asked.

"Same as always."

"Then keep smiling."

Connor snorted, smirked despite himself and turned back to his tray. The one thing nobody could figure out was why The General seemed more nervous as the war progressed, while the rest of them got more and more excited. "Where're Sarah and Robbie?" He asked. "I didn't get a chance to say good morning."

Kate tensed but didn't let it touch her face. "They're with Eric. He's briefing Kyle and Lupe. The kids wanted to watch."

John bit down on his chow a little harder. "Kyle's next mission."

"Lupe's too. It's in a Green Zone John. It's a Coffee and Cake run."

"Like that means a damn huh?"

Kate and Connor both rolled their eyes, but neither of them reacted. Five years ago Kate would have jumped out of her skin when Enrique appeared from nowhere. Now she was much better at keeping her face cool.

Enrique sat himself down next to them. Five years had done nothing to change the ex Green Beret. "Katia, you and I both know that we lose more people to ambushes and traps than to offensives now."

Kate smirked. "I also know that Kyle and Lupe aren't in any way easy to catch unawares. She's your granddaughter after all."

"Well, this is true."

Connor smirked. Kate had learned to handle Enrique one way or another. Connor was still scanning the room. There was something… off. He couldn't quite put his finger on what it was…

Kate stood. "I'm going to get another coffee. You want anything?"

"A banana daiquiri." Enrique said without hesitation.

Kate pulled a face at him and headed back to the big coffee urns.

Connor glanced around the room; like he always did. Now and then he saw a face he recognized, saw somebody looking in his direction... suddenly he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. "Wha…" He said, before he caught himself.

Enrique looked up at him. "Something wrong?"

"I… I saw something?" It came out as a question and Connor didn't know why.

Enrique, still every bit as paranoid as he ever was, looked around the room discreetly. "What?"

"I don't know."

Enrique glanced around again. "Should we clear the room?"

Connor wanted to. His instincts were screaming. "No."

"Then let's talk about me for a minute." Enrique said, though he still shifted his weapon, making the huge silver gun a little looser in its holster.

Connor smirked. "Okay, let's talk about you."

"Lupe's been telling me about her first mission with The Brat."

"His name is Kyle." Connor said, not for the first time.

Very quietly, Enrique blurted it out. "And we know where he ends up, so while he's back in the 80's committing parenthood with your mom, where the hell does that leave my granddaughter?"

Connor actually smiled at that. "You've been holding that in for five years too long, man."

"Five years ago, I had five years. Now she's actually in the Combat Zone with him as her partner and I don't know how long I have." Enrique looked old for the first time. So impossibly ancient. "We know how Kyle's story ends." He said wearily. " And maybe it has to be that way. But what happens to my Lupe?"

"Kate asked me a similar question about General Whickham. He's still out there, kicking butt with the best of them. Kate loved him like an uncle. She was expecting me to take his job. He dodged Destiny's Bullet. I don't know what's going to happen to Lupe. I don't even know for sure what will happen to Kyle. No fate but what we make."

Enrique nodded, and got his face under control. They both glanced around. Nobody seemed to notice their little conversation. Connor felt his instincts go off again. There was something wrong in this room. Something that didn't fit where it should. He had seen it out of the corner of his eye, registered it without recognizing it. There's danger in this room! Find it you idiot! Find it! What are you missing?

"Have you told her yet?"

"Who?"

"Kate. Does she know about Kyle?"

"No. Not yet."

"Your kids are gonna start getting jealous; and your wife will kill you in your sleep for keeping secrets from her."

"It'd be nice to have problems that normal." Connor quipped. "But you're wrong about my kids. Families have always been blurred in the Mountain. They love Kyle like a brother. He doesn't have parents, so he's with me and Kate. They're okay with Mac. If anyone's jealous, it's the other Tunnel Rats."

Enrique smirked. "And you're okay with that? What happens if Kyle starts calling you 'dad'?"

Kate was coming back with the coffee cup in her hand, and Enrique jumped back to the point where she had left the conversation, with barely a pause. "What do you think John? Can we spare an Officer's Club? There's gotta be some powdered banana daiquiri out there somewhere."

Connor wasn't listening. He was looking out at the Mess Hall, at one soldier, who was getting up from the table he sat at, and heading for the Officer's table.

"Who's that?" Connor whispered.

Kate followed his gaze. "I think that's Martie. Carla's new boyfr-"

"ENRIQUE! KILL THIS MAN!" The General suddenly roared, pointing at Martie.

Enrique didn't hesitate. He drew his immense handgun, still his weapon of choice, and fired three quick shots. As always, it sounded like a cannon going off, the noise made even louder by being indoors.

Time suddenly seemed to slow down, as the entire mess hall dropped into a great stunned silence at their General's sudden yell, then the loud gunshots. Forks and spoons hung motionless in the air.

The man in question didn't fall. With a big messy hole in his chest, he threw off his jacket, and concealed underneath was a plasma rifle, taped to his stomach.

"Go Nova!" Kate yelled.

Time sped up to normal, and suddenly twelve men leaped from their tables, dashed past the man, past their motionless comrades, and surrounded The General with their bodies.

In the same heartbeat, the man pulled up the rifle, from its hiding place.

There was a spasm of light and sound. Every soldier recognized it. It was plasma fire. Shock gave way to training and bitter experience. Everyone scrambled for a weapon, or for escape.

Martie took another hit to the head and face from someone's weapon. His face got turned around by the force but he didn't even flinch. One hand flashed out and shoved the nearest table toward the door. The people scrambling to escape were blocked and tripped into each other.

Those that had weapons with them turned to fight, and saw the glowing red eyes beneath his ripped face.

Connor was pushing at the five men who surrounded him, trying to see, as all of them produced smaller, concealable weapons. Three took up positions in front of their General, two more flipped the Officer's table over, and Connor found himself shoved behind its protection.

The rest of the armed soldiers saw the Machine move toward the Officers table again, and moved as far away from Connor as they could and started shooting back.

The diversion worked, and the Terminator followed the threat, keeping itself alive while its main target was out of sight.

The machine turned and started shooting mercilessly at the armed soldiers, picking them out carefully, hunting them down one by one. There were very few people who carried heavy weapons into the Mess Hall. The unarmed soldiers tried in vain to escape, as the Terminator cut them down. The rest of them had scattered to the walls, finding cover wherever they could. Including Kate, who dove behind some tables and froze, fingers crossed.

Sherrin had no weapon, and threw himself in front of Lisa, who did. He took a hit across his shoulders and dropped like a brick. Lisa fought to catch him with one hand, kept firing with the other.

And with the counter-attack scattered, the half human monstrosity resumed it's attack on Connor. The plasma fire kept his bodyguards down long enough for it to get closer, until it got closer to their end of the room.

"NOW!" Connor's voice roared.

The table lifted, still on end, the humans behind it lifting the whole thing for cover, and they charged the thing.

Predictably, the Machine just smashed its way through the table. And there, on the other side of it, was Connor, and his bodyguards, all with guns. They were on either side of the Terminator, guns ready. The opened up on it quickly.

The machine didn't drop. Its armor was stronger. Every soldier fired again and again.

The machine saw Connor. Its gears were fraying, its circuits burning... Its movements were getting slower and choppy, but it saw Connor and its Red Eyes blazed as the gun came up.

The whole time, nobody stopped shooting, and The Machine only got one shot off. Jackson saw it, and leaped, putting his body between Connor and the gun. The plasma cracked again, and Jackson was picked up and tossed by the charge, his smoking body thrown across the room.

It was enough though, and the Terminator had dropped.

Stunned silence. The only sound was everybody breathing hard, as the Terminators' red eyes faded to black.

Enrique was up, glaring at Connor; the first to break the numb silence. "You've got to tell people."

"You want lynch mobs forming to string random people up?" Connor countered.

"I want people to know these things exist, and that one got in already." Enrique shot back.

Connor rubbed his eyes. "God."

Everyone left alive was staring at them. The whole universe was turning upside down, starting with a room half filled with dead bodies; and they were already arguing about what to tell people?

---

Connor was in the War Room within seconds. "Ten Hut." Someone said; and they were all instantly at attention. Even those at their consoles were at attention, still working.

"May I have your attention please?" Connor said. It was not really a question. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to face him. "I'm going to start giving instructions in a second, and I want you to know why, simply because we have to do this very quickly. So here it is: The whole tone of the war changed about five minutes ago. You may have heard the gunfire. Skynet has a new model. Something we haven't faced before. The Terminators now look human."

Reactions, ranging from disbelief to sheer horror went around the room.

"They managed to get one in here. But we know that K-9's can see through the disguises. It's important that we contact everyone out there now, tell them what's happening, and have them ready. I want our people already out there to check any newcomers. Any refugees that want in to any of our bases are to be kept away from sensitive areas or the general population, and kept under guard till they can be verified. I want our K-9 units at the entrances at all times, and more guards to back them up. Auxiliary doorways are how the one we caught got in, I want it sealed for now. Same with any other way in you can think of. Have out men on the deep range verify each other personally. If we don't know who they are, I don't want them with our men on missions-"

"Sir!" Amil yelled. "I have Colonel Walters on Priority channel for you."

"Put him on." Connor directed.

The speaker crackled and a frantic voice came over. "General! The Machines can look human!"

Connor shut his eyes as the tension level in the room jumped significantly. "I know Eric. One made it here just now. Report."

"We met up with a batch of refugees. They knew the area, and they wanted to come to Crystal Peak so we made a deal. They help us find our way to target; they could ride back with us. We were about to begin our strike, when two of the refugees fell back behind us and started shooting. They took most of our ambush team and all of our spotters before we could figure out where the fire was coming from... And then the Skynet convoy we were planning to hit came swooping in."

Connor felt for him. Walters was carrying this; blaming himself. "Casualties?"

"More than two thirds by the time we got organized. We were taken by surprise. There was no way to know that-"

"Eric." Connor interrupted. "We were duped. It's okay. I'm sending Medivac right now, and a K-9 unit with them. All your people will line up for K-9 inspection before heading back."

"Yessir."

Connor glanced at his War Room. They all had stunned looks on their faces. "What are you gawking at? Get the word out!"

The War Room was up and moving again in its sudden hive of activity.

With his people informed of the gravity of the situation, Connor hooked up his earpiece and spoke privately with his second. "Eric?"

"Sir?"

"You said that there was a batch of refugees, but only two infiltrators."

"Yessir."

"Ask the other refugees. Find out how long those two had been traveling with them."

"That was my first thought too sir. But the other refugees were all killed before the gunfight. We found the bodies. Looks like they got it hand to hand."

Hand to hand with a Terminator. Connor didn't envy Walters the job of examining the bodies.

Connor sighed. "Whole new war Eric. Come home."

"Yessir."

---

The cleanup was quick and efficient, once they let people in.

Kate was checking the wounded. Most of those hit had been killed outright, but one or two were still breathing.

Lupe had been the first one back in the room, small enough to slip between the guards trying to clear the hallway; Kyle on her heels. "Grandfather!" Lupe yelled. "Are you all right?"

Enrique turned to look at them, and jabbed a thumb at Kyle. "Haven't you dumped him yet?"

"He's fine." Kyle snorted.

"Kyle!" Kate yelled. "This one's alive. Get a gurney!"

Kyle upended a broken bench. It was a little narrow, but it was the closest thing. "Yes ma'am."

Kyle and Carla took one end of the 'gurney' each, with Jackson over the top of it. Kate kept pace with it, trying like crazy to keep him alive as they all walked, the crowds parting for them.

As they went out, Gould came in, and Connor waved his head Tech over.

Enrique joined them, and they gathered around the downed attacker. The usual smell of burning metal was matched with charred skin from the Terminator.

Gould crouched down and started prodding at the skin. "What the hell did you hit it with?"

"Everything." Enrique growled. "And it took way too long to fall down."

Gould looked up. "We should get it back to my lab."

Connor glanced around. There were more survivors than he'd thought. Most of the unarmed soldiers had taken cover, or played dead, useless against a machine when not armed. They were all getting a good long look. "Do it fast." Connor said. "In fact, I'm coming with you."

The Terminator was gathered up, and covered with a jacket, being carried out of the room.

"Connor knew. Connor saw through the disguise." Lupe said quietly.

"Yeah." Enrique agreed.

"How'd he know?"

Her grandfather smiled enigmatically. "He's John Connor."

---

Carla's hands were moving like a blur, experienced and certain. "Get a tourniquet around that arm. Bring an intubation kit!"

Kate was scrubbing up when Corporal Basil, one of her medics, came running up to her with the radio. "Ma'am, I got the 8063'rd."

Kate was already masked, so she gestured for Basil to follow her to the operating table. Basil held the radio up to Kate's mouth as she worked. "Manuel?" Kate called. "Crystal Peak here. Situation Report?"

"We've got some casualties heading in from Forward Areas. Skynet launched an offensive this morning. Suture."

"What about sutures?" Kate asked. "Are you operating right now too?"

"We're busy." Manuel, one of Kate's trained Doctors, was unflappable. It was a trait that made him a good surgeon in a combat zone, but it did tend to make conversations a little longer. "Not that it's not good to hear from you boss... More sponges here... but was there something..."

"Manuel, there's a new model Terminator out. They have-"

"Hey! Turn up the gas; he's...oh my god! GUARDS!"

There was the sound of the radio at the other end being dropped, then a lot of screaming, then the disgusting watery sounds of humans being gutted and dismembered by pneumatic Terminator fists. Plasma fire, then more screaming, then nothing.

Kate shut her eyes, feeling the bile rise. She would take the sound of his voice into her nightmares tonight. She turned to Basil. "Baz, go tell the War Room that MASH 8063 has been hit."

"Yes Ma'am."

Kate got back to work. She'd feel this later. Five years of such things had given her a thick skin.

Jackson opened his eyes with a hellish cry of pain and shoved the gas mask away from his face. His eyes flashed back and forth for a second deliriously. He fixated on Kate.

"The General?" Jackson croaked out.

"He's safe." Kate promised. "You did it Jackson. You saved him."

Having fulfilled his first and last duty, Jackson had a look of absolute peace as he allowed himself to be put under.

He did not survive the operation.

Kate reached out, and slowly closed Jackson's eyes.

Carla looked at Kate in numb disbelief. "He... he was a machine. He was at my table Kate... Martie was… A Machine…"

Kate nodded. She studied Carla carefully. Even masked, the poor woman was clearly going through every moment spent with him in her mind. And then she ripped the mask off her face.

Carla went into the Post-Op ward, grabbed the first bedpan her fingers could reach, and threw up violently.

Kate rubbed her back and held her hair sympathetically. Carla was still having nightmares about the first infiltrator project. This was going to be bad. And not just for her.

But that would have to wait. She headed to the second Operating Room, Lisa following, yanking off her gloves for her. "Lisa, you're not Medical. Why are you here?"

Lisa was wearing a mask, but still in uniform. Her shell-shocked eyes were staring. "He... he took the hit."

Kate shrugged. "It's what a bodyguard does."

"No, not Jackson. Tony. He took the hit for me."

Kate gave a secretive smile, hidden safe beneath her mask. "Don't worry Lisa. I'm gonna take good care of Sherrin for you."

"T-Thank you ma'am."

"If you aren't gonna hold his hand during the op, get out of my OR." Kate directed.

---

Tech-Com was warned, but too late. The Infiltrators were everywhere. The strike on John Connor was the first overt move the Terminators made. In less than an hour, Skynet completely rewrote the map. Over half the offensive units had been nearly wiped out before the humans could get a solid counter-attack together.

A K-9 Unit was at the entrance of every fixed base. A mobile K-9 unit was with every moving Unit. The Machines knew of them, had found ways around them with all their targets.

Kate took one of her MASH Units off the War Room maps. It had been completely wiped out by the Terminator in the Operating Room. The other followed soon after.

The Offensive Units were rounding up the survivors, getting the humans left standing together. The Maps showed the human forces. The Battle lines looked like Swiss cheese.

At the same time, Skynet launched its offensives, coming out from behind their defenses with a vengeance.

Connor drew his people back desperately, trying to rope enough of the survivors together to check Skynet's advance, and was failing. Humanity was falling back on every front, trying desperately to keep ahead of Skynet's relentless full speed death march.

Skynet's new weapon had single-handedly brought The Machines back from the edge of Defeat.

---

Z Plus Seven Years Fifty Three Days

Enrique got his family squared away and came into the Tech-Lab, where the downed Machine had center stage. Only Kate, Connor and Gould were in attendance, studying their new machine very carefully.

"It's still breathing!" Enrique said first thing in the door.

"It's breathing, but it's dead." Kate promised him absently.

"If you could think of it as alive." Connor murmured.

"The design is incredible." Gould said with undisguised awe. "I've never seen an interface like this."

Kate was hunched over the remains of it with her own equipment, knowing that she shouldn't be surprised what she was seeing, but she was. "It has tear ducts. Sweat Glands. Freckles. Hair follicles. It has some kind of liquid recyclers to keep its eyes moistened and its mouth realistic. Some kind of air pockets that simulate breathing. It has tooth enamel. Fingernails. There's some kind of biological valve in here to create a pulse, skin pigmentation, blood circulation… The hair and fingernails are growing at the same rate as a human…" She had met two of them. Her husband more than that. She was speaking for the benefit of the techies watching, those who were catching up to the destiny that the Mighty Connors had already lived.

"The biological and the mechanical seem to be independent of each other." Gould was saying. "It looks like the living tissue was grafted over the metal. There's some kind of organic sheath that lets it keep the blood out of the gears. If Skynet's figured out how to do this, it could give any of it's machine's skin."

Kate's tone was frankly reverent. "It has fingerprints… pupil dilation. Even blood vessels and capillaries under the epidermal layer. Everything about this thing is designed to make you think it's human."

"It worked." Enrique said darkly. He and Connor traded a loaded glance. They both knew it was going to happen. They were both still caught unawares.

"Where's Carla?" Connor asked.

Kate looked up quickly. "Throwing up for distance and accuracy last time I saw her. She takes a break from that and gets drunk enough to throw up all over again. I've got Lisa with her and Sherrin now, Yolanda has Mac."

"I thought Sherrin was in the Intensive Care Ward."

"He is. So's Carla. If she doesn't snap out of it soon, I may have to sedate her, put her on IV's."

"Poor wench had no idea." Enrique said mournfully, nothing put open pity in his voice.

"Speaking of Intensive Care, what were our casualties like?" Connor asked.

"Eighteen killed. Eleven wounded. Sherrin took the worst of it. I'm gonna have to amputate once he's stable enough to survive the operation."

Connor sighed. "Have you told him yet?"

"Yeah. He's taking it... about as well as you would."

"Doctor, look at this." Gould pointed into the 'corpse'. "The biological functions are all run from below the battle chassis. Blood pack, bodily fluids, it all recycles through here…"

Kate looked and nodded. "That's why the thing still has so many biological functions after its dead. The wetware's not run from the power source. Kill the Terminator and it keeps breathing, even if it can't move."

"Aim lower and kill the bionic core, the Terminator keeps moving with a dead skin suit on."

With the two of them pored over the dead Machine, Enrique leaned in closer to have a private word with The General. "How did it get in here? I thought you had K-9's at all the entrances."

"We do, but there are a few other ways past them. We set them up when the Troop carrier hit the door last year. We couldn't get the main entrance open, so we set up one of the maintenance tunnels to go twelve feet longer. We set up the entrance and camouflaged it. You could get one person a time down that tunnel… it's not an invasion point…

"Good enough for an infiltrator though."

"To get through that door, you need more than a face. You need a Uniform, and ID, a pass-key, and an access code. Carla had all the above."

"When was she off the base?"

"Last week. She was teaching the MASH bases about some surgical techniques." Connor seethed, keeping his voice low, mindful of Gould nearby. "We had warning. We knew Enrique. You me, and Kate. We knew. We knew that Skynet was going to do this before Skynet existed, and still they managed to get one in the door."

"And if we hadn't known about the infiltrators all those years, you would not have seen it for what it was today, and you would be dead right now." Enrique pointed out. "It figured out a way Connor, they aren't stupid."

Gould was still dissecting their kill. "I don't recognize any of this."

"Interface tech? Something to make the skin serviceable?"

"Gives the machine a sense of touch." Gould agreed. "The kind of input this thing is capable of is incredible. This has to be something new. A new kind of CPU? Definitely a new battle chassis. I've never seen this kind of armor before."

"Took a lot of fire before it dropped."

"Kate?" Connor called. "Is there anything we can point to? Anything we can check at a moment's notice to see who's human and who's not?"

"Other than the K-9's, I don't know yet. I'd have to get a look at more than one of them to be sure."

Connor nodded. "That's my job. In the meantime: Gould, go over this thing with a fine tooth comb. Enrique, have your people informed. It'll mean more coming from you. Tell them that the infiltrators were targeting our offensives more than our bases; and that so far there seem to be relatively few of them. Kate your job, unfortunately, is-"

"Get the survivors through the night, and keep Carla on suicide watch."

"Is she that bad?" Connor asked in alarm.

"I don't know, but I'm going to be spending most of this evening removing Sherrin's left arm, so I want to make sure someone's watching her." She glanced over. "And John, a word or two from you would not be a bad idea."

"We've got to question her anyway." Enrique nodded.

Kate glared at Enrique, not for the first time. "An encouraging word is what I meant. Not an interrogation."

"You think we don't have to do both?" Enrique shot back. "That thing got into the base because of Carla. We need to buck her up, and figure out what else he got to while he was here at the same time."

"All right, both of you chill." Connor directed. "You're both right. That's my job. But before that; I have to figure out what to say to everyone else. We got the word out to the Units on Maneuvers, but the Base population still doesn't have a clear answer."

Kate pulled her radio, and dialed it to the PA Frequency; a frequency that only the Officers could access. "General Connor will make a statement exactly one hour from now regarding the current situation. Please make every effort to attend, or to make provision for those unable to. That is all."

Connor glared at her. "Oh, thank you so much for that. What am I supposed to tell them?"

"Whatever it is, it better be good. Figure it out." Kate said shortly. The implication was obvious. You've had decades to think about this moment. Now it's here.

"Once you tell them, the Hunt Begins." Enrique said quietly. "You know that, right?"

"I know."

---

The rumor mill had done its usual job, and most of them knew already. Or at least suspected.

But Connor appeared out of the War Room and walked out into the Center of the Main Hall, and the tension jumped again. He never had a podium, never had a microphone, and never took to any stage. He stood in the middle of the room, and simply waited till they gathered around.

His usual addresses were something to look forward to. Information about the war, about the other bases. Sometimes mail would come in, distant communities looking for contact with someone, and he would read it out to everyone...

But not today.

Connor spoke. "You all came to this Base from different places. But you came here, and you offered your swords, your service. Together we started something bigger than we were. Something that gathered momentum. Something that will keep going after all of us are gone. Today, something terrible happened to our family. Something that makes this war more difficult." He took a deep breath. "The Machines have rolled out something new. Terminators can look human now."

The reaction was about like he expected it. There was a horrified cry that was echoed by somebody, and then everybody was yelling. Some yelling their questions, others their suspects, others their ideas...

"HEY! Listen UP!" Connor roared. They quieted. "I've been telling you that the only way we're going to do this is to back each other up. We all came here from places without hope; and we built hope right here. We built enough hope to go around. So now I'm asking more of you. I've never asked more of any of you than I knew you could handle. What I'm about to ask of you, is what I'm going to have to do myself. Don't give in to fear. Don't give in to panic. Don't let paranoia and suspicion tear us all apart. We've survived every day that came AFTER the end of the world. We can survive this too. We always have. We always will."

Connor saw the agreement, but the certainty that he could usually give them was absent. Their eyes were on each other. Suspicion was the heart of the base.

---

Sherrin opened his eyes and saw her. Lisa was exhausted, asleep in her chair, slumped over enough that she was resting her head on his stomach.

Sherrin forced his head to roll to the left and he saw that his arm was gone. Halfway between his shoulder and his elbow was a stump, wrapped in bandages.

Lisa felt him moving under her and opened her eyes. "Hi."

Sherrin couldn't look at her. "...way..."

"Hm?" Lisa couldn't make it out.

"…Go away."

Lisa reacted like she'd been slapped. "No."

"…dnt wnt to se ths." He was already passing out again.

Slightly stung by that, Lisa slowly backed away from him.

---

"Who knows how long they've been on base? Skynet could have had them slipping in for ages!"

"Terminators don't do subtle. If they were here that long we would have known about it."

"Terminators aren't stupid either. How the hell do we fight an enemy that looks just like us?"

"People have been killing other people a whole lot longer than they've been killing machines."

"Yeah. Skynet knows that too. What about Walters?"

"What about him?"

"He pulls in as many refugees as he can every time he goes out. Two of those refugees killed more than half his unit, but he survived."

---

"How's Mackie?"

"He's fine." Connor promised her. "In the meantime, we have to talk. Start at the beginning."

Carla didn't say anything.

"Carla. Look at me."

Carla did so, staring up at him vacantly. She had been saying less and less lately. "His name was Martie."

Connor nodded. "You're not in trouble Carla. Nobody blames you."

"I do."

"Well I don't." Connor snapped. "Look around Carla. There's no trial going on, there's no observers. There's just you and me having a conversation now. So let's talk."

Carla let out a little sob again. "He was a Machine. He was a Machine."

Connor nodded.

"I was..." Carla swallowed thickly. "I was helping set up the new MASH Unit in sector four. They had some refugees there. Mostly the Holdouts."

Connor nodded, letting her set the pace. 'Holdouts' were people that had been hiding in their homes, or in the mountains long term, having access to their own supplies, their own water... There were some people who had been preparing for the end of the world, and had places to hide out. Some of them were still hiding, too isolated to be worth chasing down. Since they were pretty well supplied when the war started, most of them were only coming back to the rest of humanity now.

"Martie was one of the refugees. At least I thought he was." Carla whispered. "And I saw him there, and he said hello. And then I said hello. And then he asked me my name..." She broke down crying again. "Hell. I need a drink."

Connor put a hand on her shoulder. "Snap out of it Carla." He pushed gently. "Tell me the truth."

"...you're gonna hate me..." Carla said in a very small voice.

"Carla." Connor's voice was warm, but getting more serious.

"I... He asked me if I came from Crystal Peak, he wasn't the first one to ask me that, I had no idea there was anything suspicious about it, I never thought..." She got herself under control again. Her confession had to be dragged out of her in bits and pieces. And each of those bits was mess of words pouring out of her. "I... I told him we were, and he said he wanted to join up. We never turn anyone away, and... And I liked him. I..." She let out another sob. "I liked him. He asked about me. He was interested. He asked if... IT asked if I knew you." Carla dry heaved. "He asked if I knew you sir. And then he... it asked me to introduce you."

She sent a quick glance at Connor, hunched her shoulders slightly, as though expecting to be punched in the face. "He... Sir, a lot of people want to meet you, so I know what to do when the groupies show up, and it's not the first time I've had to brush them off, and I was going to do that, but when I said 'no' he-dammit, it, didn't seem to mind. So..." She ran out of words and stopped babbling, exhausted again. "W-we were together the entire way here. Wh..." She swallowed. "When we got back, he saw the K-9 units, but he didn't seem to care about them, and there was a hold-up or something at the Motor pool entrance. I think one of the jeeps had some damage... axle got busted maybe. You know how the roads are." She was silent. "Or tires. The jam outside the Blast Door wasn't that long, it could have just been some busted tires, if they-"

"Carla."

Carla swallowed again. "Sorry sir. It... It wasn't our jeep. We were hitching a ride, so we jumped out... and I decided... or maybe he did. It did. Well, one of us decided to go around to the Auxiliary maintenance tunnel. I had the code when we were fixing up some of the Techies that got hurt repairing the blast door while it was closed. The code was never taken out I guess... We came in that way."

"Then what happened?"

"I showed him around."

Connor steeled himself. "Then what happened?"

Carla's look was helpless and pleading. "...sir?"

"Carla, we have the jammers running around the clock to protect us from high altitude missiles, or satellites. We know that Skynet can't get a transmission out undetected. All the sensitive areas have constant guards, and won't let newcomers in. But you are not a newcomer. So if 'Martie' was left unsupervised for any length of time during your little tour, he could have done any number of things that will come back to bite us. So. You came into the base, and then...?"

Carla burst into tears again. "We went to my room."

Connor looked on the poor girl with open sympathy. "You didn't know Carla. All warfare is based on deception." She didn't answer. "I was the target Carla. It used you to get to me. And it waded through almost twenty people to get to me. The buck stops right here." He jerked a thumb at his chest.

Carla didn't answer right away. "God, I feel sick." She breathed. "Sir... Why me?"

Connor almost smiled. It was a question he knew well. "Because you were connected to me. Just like any number of people. The rest was just opportunity."

"I... I thought that maybe Skynet knew something about me. I don't know what. But something that might have made it think that..."

"That what? That you were an easy mark?" Connor scorned. "Carla... the one thing you're not, is weak. And if Skynet thought that you were something it could turn to it's advantage, then it's going to be surprised. I'm not going to blame you for the evil that Skynet did."

"Thank you sir." Carla sniffed. "But you aren't everyone."

---

Skynet to all units.

Sectors 14-75 have been secured.

Human populations in full retreat.

Reserve units mobilized.

Infiltrator project successful. Stratagem Successful. 147 Tech-Com units destroyed.

Infiltrators 1-57, 59, 62, 1001 have been destroyed. Remaining Units are still on maneuvers.

Crystal Peak Infiltrated. Operation failed. Reattempt underway.

Castle Keep Infiltrated. Operation successful.

Search and Destroy Stratagem Reactivated. Mobile H/K units 001-200 now on offensive maneuvers.

Humanoid Units Upgraded. T-50 series now obsolete. T-75 Series now obsolete. T-100-500 now the minimum standard.

Terminate John Connor.

End transmission.

---

AN: Volume Two is underway! Okay, first things first. No, I do not hate Carla. Second of all, I know I'm inventing some of the Terminator Mythos here, but it's my story so I get to do that.

Sorry to advance the war five years, but this fic is rapidly approaching the story that will not end, so I have to move it along somehow. This is where it starts to get ambitious for me. Up till now has been variations on the same theme where the machines are concerned. It's my first attempt at a Skynet game changer. Yes, it's canon, but it hasn't really been well explained in the movies, so... wish me luck. I hope you all enjoy it. If you do, there's this wonderful invention called the 'review' button, and I would love it if you'd take advantage of it.