Judgment Calls Chapter 19: Z Plus 10 Years 90 Days, a terminator fanfic

AN: I want to stress again, that any of the factors involved in this chapter are things that I am not an expert in. I don't know if any of the facts are right, but for purposes of this story, I hope it works.

Z Plus Ten Years Ninety Days

Kate came rushing into Medbay. "Lana? Dr Chen?"

Chen came in from Post-Op immediately. "Yes Ma'am?"

Kate shrugged her jacket off. "It started this morning."

Chen looked, as Kate shook out her bad arm, and seemed to concentrate for a few moments. Her arm twitched.

Chen smiled. "Fantastic!"

"It's not much, but..."

"But its a million times more than you could do yesterday." Chen counseled. "This is a good sign. It means we have something to work with now. This is progress we can improve on."

"Don't mind telling you, I was freaking out a bit." Kate admitted.

"Well, you didn't get your shoulder stuck with a knife, it was a liquid metal Terminator. Who knows what the rules are?" Chen said. "By the way, where did all our vitamin supplements go?"

"They're under guard." Kate said. "John figures it's easier to steal food from the Medbay than from the Mess."

Carla came in early enough to catch most of that. "In the meantime Ma'am, we've got two guys in here with Scurvy. Scurvy! Can you believe that?"

"We're worrying about Scurvy, Lice, Scarlet Fever, TB... There's a smallpox outbreak in Australia. We're solving 17th century medical problems here, right alongside Plasma burns." Kate told her. "We'll get you some stuff back."

Carla smiled at her. "So. Arm working again?"

"Slightly."

"Lot better than not at all."

"I know."

Carla helped Kate back into her jacket. "Oldham pulled in a few minutes ago."

Kate nodded. "I better make sure he knows why he's here."

Half the population of Castle Keep was rolling in the front door of Crystal Peak.

Kate met Oldham and gave him some quick instructions, when it suddenly dawned on her how many people there were in the entrance. It took her a few minutes to realize that there were a lot of people on their way out too.

Kate looked, and saw Gould getting into a jeep, having a pointed conference with her husband.

As the second group left, she slipped in next to him. "Something going on I should know about?"

"I have a special assignment for Gould." Connor told her. "But keep it to yourself for now, okay?"

"How can I not? I don't even know what we're talking about." Kate objected.

"I don't know that its going to work, and even if it does, I still don't know that it's going to work."

"Well, good. That wasn't vague or cryptic at all." Kate gestured back at the entrance behind them. "I can't help but notice that Gould was the first one to lead a team out in weeks."

"We're not marching at the moment." Connor said. "The Union's chewing through Skynet, and they can feed their soldiers. We don't like either of them, and right now they're shooting each other. Why throw our guys into it?"

Kate nodded. "By the way, my arm works. Sort of."

Connor smiled in open relief. "Oh good, because I was freaking out a little bit too."

Kate nodded. "Yeah. I um... lied to you about where I got stabbed. It didn't miss the muscle, and it took a pretty big chunk out of the shoulder blade. I had Chen patch it so I could help with the wounded and with Kyle before they operated."

Connor nodded. "I know. I talked to Chen while you were in surgery and got the whole story, including the parts you didn't tell me."

Kate smirked, despite herself. Can't put one over on The Great John Connor. "Dig up some of the vitamin supplements." She moved on. "Carla's got two guys in Medbay with Scurvy."

Connor nodded. "I know, I had to keep it hidden at first in case people panicked and started hoarding."

"And now?"

"Now I'm wondering how long before I have to post guards."

Z Plus Ten Years One Hundred Four Days

Dr Chen had been CMO at Castle Keep for less than a week before coming to Tech-Com. She had been second in command to Dr Bowman till he died. So when Kate had been promoted to Base Commander, she had no problem with Carla becoming CMO. She had seniority and knew the people better.

The downside of course, was that most of the day to day running and routine was left to her, and that included the morning reports and announcements. Chen was starting to hate the morning reports.

The cases of Scurvy had continued. The Medbay had got together with the think tank and recalculated the portions. Fresh veg was harder to come by even before the Base went on strict rationing. A lot of what was served in the Mess Hall was surplus, or from Crystal Peak's storage bay; vitamins were already in short supply.

The first announcement had to go to the Maternity wing of the Medbay. The slogan of 'Populate or Perish' hadn't been forgotten by anyone. After coming out of Castle Keep's Maternity Ward, Chen had been somewhat… overjoyed to see the way Crystal Peak laid out the Maternity wing, and took care of their children. Chen came into the room, looked them over, and rubbed the scar on her neck absently. "Ladies…" She announced, belatedly adding; "And assorted gentlemen." Most of the women there had someone keeping them company. "I have an announcement, and you aren't going to like it." She took a breath. "As of this morning, we are no longer giving priority on food to pregnant women."

There was stunned silence for a moment. Then the yelling began. It took Chen a good while to get them calmed down. "Hey! HEY! LISTEN TO ME!" She yelled over them. "This doesn't include you! I just said we're starting this today. You all have a few weeks to a few months left. But things are getting tight. We can't afford to do this forever. So as of now, food incentives are off the menu."

"Along with a number of other things." Someone commented.

The point was made though. Things were getting serious.

Chen came out of the Maternity Wing and found both The General and his wife waiting for her in Medbay. "How did it go?" Connor asked.

"Ever been mobbed by two dozen angry pregnant women who see you taking their food away?" Chen asked them.

Beat.

"I can honestly say that I have not." Connor conceded.

"So, there's something I can do for you?"

Kate rubbed her still damaged shoulder. "Arm's getting stronger… but the shoulder's still hurting. Not muscle strain, not lingering damage. This is… something else. It's sharp, and it's deep."

Chen looked concerned. "Let's get an X-Ray."

Kate had the X-Ray done while Carla snuck in for a quick conference with Connor. "Sir. Just a few things I want to put on your radar." She said. "First, we have to slow down the drinking water."

"Why?"

"A lot of people are guzzling more water down to try and fill up a bit. It's not a new trick, but there are a lot more people doing it now."

"What's the problem?" Connor asked with worry. "We adapted the Skynet filter tech that they use in their Infiltrator tanks; we're close to a hundred percent water retention."

"It's not that we're running low on drinking water sir, it's that they're drinking too much of it. They're putting out a lot more, and they're losing sodium and such as a result. With food rationed, they don't have a lot of salts in their body. That can be dangerous."

"Sodium?" Connor thought for a second. "Talk to Saint. A lot of the junk food that's full of preservatives and such has plenty of salt in it. I remember reading once as a kid that potato chips could be pumped full of chemicals, and then vacuum sealed. The towns are full of stuff like that which people avoid because there's no nutrition. But there's plenty of salt in it, so if it's still edible, maybe we can crumble it up and add it to the stew."

"Make sure you test it here first." Carla said. "We really can't risk giving people food poisoning."

Connor nodded. "There's a salt mine somewhere south of- No. Scratch that. Union territory now." The General sighed. "Salt tablets?"

"Not enough for everyone." Carla shook her head. "Right now, it's a small problem; I just wanted you to be aware."

Connor nodded. "You said there were two things?"

"We've had some people coming in for incidentals. Concentration lapses, slight dizziness, lethargy; stuff like that. The early symptoms are showing."

"Well, get used to it Carla, we aren't rationing for healthy, we're rationing for sustainable. They'll be lethargic, and they'll live longer for it." Connor said seriously.

Dr Chen stuck her head in. "General? We've got the results of the X-Ray."

Connor took a breath.

"Sorry I don't have better news for you Kate." Chen said gently. "There's still some kind of metal deposit in there, halfway through the bone."

Kate stared at the X-Ray. "Any way to get it out?"

"Not without operating. And… Frankly, we're already pushing our luck with your recovery, given the positioning."

Kate bit her lip. "John… is this dangerous? The metal in my shoulder came from the Mercury in our Meat Locker. The only piece of that thing not on ice is currently lodged in me. Is this a risk to the Base?"

"Frankly Kate, I'm more worried about its risk to you." He put the question to Chen. "What are the odds that this thing is going to be dangerous to Kate?"

"We're talking about a trace amount the size of a pea." Chen put in. "No signals coming from it, no reaction to the X-Ray, no movement, and the way it's lodged suggests it either won't or can't fragment. So unless it can self destruct spontaneously on its own, and with quite a bit of force, I highly doubt it."

"It's just there. And it's causing my wife pain." Connor said darkly.

Chen finally caught up and swallowed. "I'll see what I can do, sir."

Connor nodded. "All right then." He glanced at Kate. "I have to get back to the War Room."

She nodded and gave him a quick kiss.

"Chen." Kate said seriously, the second he was gone. "Am I going to have to live with this?"

"Very likely Ma'am."

Kate sighed. "Men do not take such things well, do they?"

"Not that I've noticed, no Ma'am."

Z Plus Ten Years One Hundred Eight Days

Mikey lined up with the rest of them, and got his tray. He started to head out slowly, when a hand caught his wrist tightly. "Freeze." Kate said with friendly menace. "Hey look at that! I can use my arm to catch things!" She shook her head and got right back to the point. "Mikey, I know what you're doing, and until now, we've all let you get away with it, because we agree with you."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Mikey said without hesitation.

"I'm talking about you sneaking more food downstairs on your tray."

"Me? No, that's Micheal. I'm Mikey, so it's an easy mistake..."

"No deal. Micheal Noah wasn't even born yet when you started your little supply line." She put her arm around him and pulled him to a table. "We've calculated this. How many calories for every adult, and every child. The math changes if you're still growing, or doing heavy duty. We haven't forgotten the Tunnel Rats."

Mikey smiled at Kate softly and gestured at the bits and pieces the Rats had given her. She always wore them. "I know. But…"

"But nothing. We're on rations." Kate said firmly. "You can't come back for seconds any more. Everything you give them leaves you hungry. Now. Eat your food."

Mikey blinked. "Now?"

"Right now."

"I was… going to go downstairs anyway…"

"And you can. As soon as you clear your tray." Kate said evenly. "Mikey, I've got two kids of my own, plus the Tunnel Rats, plus a few thousand soldiers. I can sit here and wait all night for you to eat your vegetables."

Mikey sighed, conceding defeat, and picked up his fork.

"Report." Connor said the second he arrived.

"Our forces are all in holding position as usual. We've never had more accurate run-downs of where and when Skynet is moving." Noah said.

"And where are they moving?"

"South." Walters said instantly. "They can't figure out why we aren't engaging, but they know we aren't. They've stopped trying to bait us, and they're heading south. They're needed there."

"Union's pushing out?"

"Yep."

"Any words on who's winning?"

"Not yet. Not even close. But the Union took full advantage of the time Skynet was redeploying. They were ready to be alone against the world long before this. The break was long planned."

Connor didn't seem worried. "Let them slug it out."

"It's keeping the heat off us I'll admit." Walters said. "In all honesty sir, it's a relief The way the Union came out of their borders once we hit the convoy... they were expecting this. They were getting ready to take over the whole show. If it wasn't for Enrique getting the word out, they'd have the entire northern continent too by now."

"Australian, Eurasian and African Theaters are all calling in. They want to know how this changes the game plan."

"South America was our pipeline, not theirs. Tell them it changes nothing." Connor said.

"That's them, but what about us?" Walters asked. "Sooner or later they'll get tired of beating each other up, and when they do, we'll either be left with Skynet having control over everything still living down south, including the jungles, the animals, the crops and whatever else... or The Union men coming for us, high on victory over Skynet."

Connor nodded. "Eric, don't worry about that. By the time that comes up, we'll either be ready to take them both, or in no position to put up a fight against either."

Z Plus Ten Years One Hundred Twenty Nine Days

Three weeks passed, and things got tighter. Everyone had experienced rationing before in one form or another, but there were no secrets here. Food was running out, and this time there was no place else to go.

Connor tried to cycle the guards so that they wouldn't be noticed, but at the three week mark, there seemed no point. Everyone knew why Connor's Own was there.

As the weeks went on, more and more of them were present.

There had been some grumbling. Not a lot, as most everyone knew that even Tech-Com couldn't conjure bread from thin air, but people in Crystal Peak never exactly had a lot of weight to lose, and hunger was now passing from difficult into risky.

A black market formed, perhaps inevitably, and Connor put a swift stop to it. There was to be no hoarding. There was to be no gouging.

"Skynet is trying to block Union advances. What I can't understand is why they haven't moved their reserves in and just won the damn fight. I also can't figure out why it hasn't engaged us!"

"Because they know we're hungry." Connor said grimly. They know the 1000 got in, they know what it's missions were. They don't know if I survived, but they know we aren't pushing out. Skynet has jumped, correctly, to the conclusion that the longer it waits, the weaker we'll be. Meantime, it has a whole other commander and army to fight. The reason it hasn't moved its reserves in, is because it's trying to cover itself from us. Skynet doesn't know just how deep the split goes, and if we'll still organize joint operations."

"Maybe that ain't a bad idea." Walters offered. "If nothing else, it'll offer some goodwill to the Union, and end the fighting with a Skynet loss."

"And then what? We offer the Cartels an invitation to a big celebratory dinner, and then ask them if they'll bring enough for everybody?" Noah snapped, then immediately contrite. "Sorry. I get bitchy when I'm hungry."

Connor and Walters were notably silent.

Noah rolled her eyes. "Alright, at other times too."

Connor and Walters were notably silent.

Noah growled a little. "Oh, shut up."

"You know Eric, I can remember when Noah needed two for a conversation." Connor quipped.

"Really sir? I can't."

Oldham and the rest from Castle Keep had been put on Guard Duty. The Crystal Peak guards were too close to the people here, and would hesitate when their friends got desperate. Castle Keep was family too, but they were based away from the Mountain, and had a little distance from the people there. The alternative was to activate the Infiltrators and let them guard the food. Nobody wanted to do that yet.

Connor came into the Presidential Suite, but he didn't go any further into the suite than the door.

Kate heard him come in and came to join him. "Hello."

They were silent a moment.

Since the revelation about Kyle, Kate had barely spoken to him in private. It wasn't out of any great anger; it was just that neither of them had a solution to their disagreement. It made things awkward.

"You... um, you wanted to see me?" John asked her.

"Just wanted to let you know." Kate said. "We're running low on the Vitamin supplements."

"We have to keep them saved for perimeter teams and scouts, or else Skynet will walk right up and knock." John told her gently.

"I know. I understand, but that doesn't leave a lot to put in the food here. Lisa wants to cut our food with some inorganic material. Nothing toxic. We're... looking for ways to fill up the pots."

John sighed. "Well. It'll work, but it won't make anything better. During WW2 a lot of POW camps cut their prisoners rations with sawdust. It gave them quantity, but it didn't ease their hunger because it had no nutrition at all. The same will happen here."

"It's no so much about easing hunger John, as it is about keeping riots from breaking out in the Mess. People are hanging around there permanently now, just waiting for their next meal."

"Well I guess that's to be suspected. Nobody has any energy to do anything else." John conceded. "Do the kids wonder where I am?"

Kate shook her head. "You've had to work round the clock before. And the fact is... They're sleeping more now."

John looked old suddenly. "How are they handling it?"

"The same as you are. You know Sarah and Robbie, they're... stoic." She cleared her throat. "Do... have you heard anything from Gould?"

"It's working." Connor said. "But if we can't get enough to go around it doesn't solve anything..."

Kate nodded. "What about you? Are you eating?"

Connor was silent a moment. "Yeah."

Kate licked her cracked lips. "Where are you sleeping?"

"The War Room. We're on half compliments. Too many people there fading fast, and with most of the Current Ops being on the other side of the world, and everything on this continent phased back to just keeping an eye on the Union; there's no reason to keep The War Room fully staffed."

Kate nodded. "I think the words getting out that we... are..."

"Not speaking? Got news for you Kate, the word has been out on that one since the day I told you about Kyle." He gestured with his head at the kid's room. "Do they know?"

"About Kyle?"

"About us."

"I think they're the only ones being kept out of the loop."

Silence.

"John." Kate whispered. "I... I hate fighting with you."

"I know. Me too." John said quietly. "I don't have an answer for you yet. Kyle... has to do what he's already done."

"I... don't know what to say to that." Kate admitted. "When we don't have any answers... usually it's because we're not going to find any. That's how it goes in a war. But... but this time..."

"I know." John said softly.

"General Connor to the War Room please." The PA announced.

John didn't move.

"Go." She told him.

Connor stood up stiffly and headed out.

"Love you wife." He said to himself, the second the door closed behind him.

Z Plus Ten Years One Hundred Forty One Days

Connor made his way toward the War Room from the Mess Hall. Someone had scrawled graffiti on the wall. 'Will the last person to starve to death please turn out the lights?'

With the war still going strong internationally, most of Crystal Peak's job had been to dig in and conserve energy for their own battlefield, but Connor's job was unchanged. He was still running a war across the globe. He could tell that the feeling was the same in here. They smartened up a little when The General entered the room, but they were running low on energy too. A dozen lethargic people, trying to save the world.

"Report." He said first thing as he entered The War Room.

"General Dougal from the Australasian Alliance reports victory in the siege of Coober Pedy." Sherrin reported. "The underground homes were able to hold out the advance. But Skynet still has Melbourne under its control."

"Melbourne's going to be a dogfight." Connor conceded. "Tell Dougal to activate the Diggers."

Sherrin turned back to his console as Connor went to the maps. "What's the troop movement in the Beijing Offensive?"

"Admiral Chow says that Halloway's assistance was useful in breaking the ocean lines, but Skynet's pretty firmly entrenched." Noah said.

"Standard Skynet tactics. They fortify the metropolitan areas."

"General, at some point we should have a conversation about whether its worth fighting for them any more." Noah suggested.

Connor considered. "You may be right. We've handled living in the wastelands this long. Humanity adapted to living away from the cities. Sherrin, did Dougal give you any idea on how many people might still be in Melbourne?"

Silence.

Connor turned to look and saw Sherrin face down at his desk. "TONY!"

Sherrin sat up, his eyes going in separate directions. "Wha?" He slurred. "What happened?"

Connor and Noah came over, and checked him quickly. "No concussion." Noah said, cuffing Sherrin across the shoulder. "You're not eating your rations."

"I do eat my ration... I eat... most of my rations..." Sherrin drawled.

"All right, report to Medbay. Noah, go with him, make sure he gets there."

"Sir."

The point had been made however. Things were getting serious. People were passing out at their posts, some of them had terrible bad breath, and people were feeling harsh joint pains, to say nothing of the way they were all getting thinner and paler with each passing day.

A lot of the parents in the Base were giving some of their food to the kids. Mikey had to be physically restrained and made to eat so that he wouldn't give the Tunnel Rats everything on his trays...

Connor checked the calendar on the wall again, as though looking at it could make the days speed up.

Time was running out.

Sherrin had been marched from Medbay to the Mess Hall, and was eating his pitifully small meal. He ate as slowly as he could; trying to trick his stomach into thinking the meal was more. He looked around. The signs of hunger were visible now. People were getting thinner, they were moving slower...

It was getting bad.

"Hey."

Sherrin looked up. It was Lisa. "I heard you had a bit of a problem."

Sherrin looked down. "I'm fine. Feel like an idiot though."

"Who doesn't nowadays?" Lisa sat down and licked her lips. "I... was talking to Harland."

Tony opened one eye. "Who?"

"One of Saint's people. They were... searching through some of the supermarkets. Looking for stale food that might still be edible."

"They find anything?"

"Harland... says he did. More than he handed over."

Tony opened his other eye too. "I don't like where this conversation is going."

Lisa sniffed a bit. "If I turn him in, whatever he's got will be added to the rations, and be gone in about ten minutes. But if... Well, he says if I... he says he'd be willing to share some if..." Lisa licked her lips. "Tony. I love you."

Sherrin just looked at her sadly. "And I love you." He reached out with his good hand and stroked her cheek a little. She nuzzled into him. "When we first met, did you ever think we'd be here like this?"

"Not for a second." Lisa said. "But when we started out with our little arrangement, did you ever think that love was an option?"

"An option sure, but... Never thought it would happen to us. We were just too volatile."

"Really really volatile, as I recall." Lisa chuckled.

Silence.

"Did we really call it that? 'Our little arrangement'?"

Lisa chuckled. "Yeah."

They looked softly at each other for a while. The moment passed and Lisa had no particular expression on her face at all when she spoke again. "Harland... I think he likes southern gals. I um... noticed that he reacted when he heard my accent. And... Before you say anything, you should know that I wasn't the only girl he was talking to."

Tony looked down. "I don't want you to do this."

"And I don't want us to starve." Lisa said. "Hey. I wouldn't be the first one to..." She went silent.

"It's one meal." Tony said. "It's hardly worth one meal."

Lisa didn't look away. "I know. But... if he has more than one meal's worth... He won't risk looking for someone new each time if..."

They both leaned back instinctively as the conversation was suddenly interrupted. "Hi." Carla said lightly, sitting down with her coffee. "Mind if I join you?"

Lisa swallowed. "Actually ma'am, Tony and I were discussing a private matter."

"Yeah. I know exactly what you were discussing." Carla said, taking them by surprise.

"You do?" Lisa blinked.

"Harlan was arrested for hoarding and racketeering about two hours ago." Carla said. "I figured somebody should let you know before you found out any other way."

Lisa and Tony traded an indecipherable look. "How'd he get caught?"

Carla smirked. "Well, Harlan was one of Enrique's Bandits. One of the ones who stayed south because had family there. He never came to Crystal Peak, but when the break with the Union happened, the ones that stayed behind scattered. Some are pulling off hit and run attacks, some are scouting or patrolling our territory... Harlan; he came north and met up with Lori. That's how he started working with Saint." Carla took a sip of her coffee. "So obviously, he didn't know who was who around here. Didn't recognize many of the Officers... and he made the same offer he made Lisa to the wrong woman."

"Who?" Tony asked, without thinking.

"Connor's Wife."

Beat.

The three of them burst into hysterical mirthless laughter. After the pressure had been building for weeks, it felt good to laugh. It just wouldn't stop. The three of them were in convulsions, tears rolling down their faces. Then Tony actually fell off his chair, and they laughed at that too. People were staring at them, but they couldn't seem to stop themselves. It went on and on till Lisa was near to passing out.

They kept laughing till it actually caused pain, and eventually the ache was enough to release them. Carla helped Tony back into his seat.

As the laughter finally faded, Lisa and Tony were left staring at each other, relieved; more because they wouldn't have to talk about it, wouldn't have to decide.

Tony spoke first. "Carla, I gotta know. What was he hoarding?"

Carla tossed back the last of her coffee. "Good question. Whatever it was, they didn't find it when they arrested him, or so they say." She looked at them both gently. "You two make a cute couple. Try to keep it that way."

And with that, Carla got up and left them to themselves.

Z Plus Ten Years One Hundred Forty Five Days

Connor came into the room at a quick march. Oldham met him. They walked fast and talked quietly. "How many people know about this?" Connor asked first thing.

"Not many. They didn't want to share, so they didn't spread word around." Oldham said. "My people can be trusted."

They came into the Storeroom. Hidden within were the huge swimming pool sized fish tanks, covered over safely. There were three of Oldham's guards there, and two dead bodies on the floor. "Tell me what happened?"

Oldham sighed. "We were in here, standing guard, when we caught them sneaking in. They saw the Tanks, saw us... They knew the fish were in there. They accused us of hoarding it for you and the Officers. I told them what you said, about how there's barely enough fish to feed a third of the people here for one meal. I told them everything you said about how they had to replenish their numbers, or there'll be nothing for the future."

"What did they say?" Connor said, though he could guess.

"They said that there wasn't any point in having food tomorrow if everyone starved today. They moved for the Tank, we told them to turn back. They tried to take our weapons, and..." He shrugged. "What I can't figure is how they knew to come in this way."

Connor took one look at the bodies and sighed. "This is Heinzman. He's part of the Engineering team, so he's got access to blueprints, records; things like that. He probably figured out where the Fish tank was."

"And the other?"

"His brother." Connor said darkly.

"They're looking out for the people they care about." Oldham said seriously.

Connor glanced at him. "'They'?"

Oldham shrugged. "People are dropping from malnutrition. But not all of them. There are still people who still have some strength. And the ones that can still do whatever, have people they care about who can't. People they've been fighting for this long." he looked The General in the face. "And they won't wait for long. They know they wont have the strength themselves soon enough."

Connor felt bad for Oldham. He nodded slowly. "I'll have the Bandits put their own guards around the fish tanks and the Mess Hall."

"Actually sir..." Oldham looked ill at whatever he was thinking. "I want the Infiltrators to move the fish tanks into the Rooms adjacent the Mess Hall. We're spread too thin with a guard force too weak. We can't move the orchard, of the hydroponics. Not without destroying the plants. But we can eliminate one place to guard, boost our numbers."

Connor nodded. "I'll see to it." He turned to go.

"Sir?"

Connor turned back. "Yeah?"

"What do we do with them?" Oldham was gesturing at the two bodies on the floor.

Heavy silence. Connor was aware of hungry eyes watching for his answer. "No. Take them down to the morgue."

"Sir... I may have to post a guard or two in there too." Oldham explained.

Connor sighed thickly. "It's not what we do Major. Not yet. Not like this."

And even despite of everything, the Major looked relieved. "Sir."

Kate checked in on Medbay once she heard. "Chen, has there been any trouble?"

"No. I think folk have given up on finding calories here."

"What's the rteport?"

"Same as it was yesterday, only worse." Chen said tiredly.

Kate looked around. "Where's Carla?"

Chen was really starting to hate her job. "She's... taking the day off."

Kate looked at her sharply. "Why?"

Chen sighed. "She's not pregnant."

Kate looked horrified. "I thought... She was so sure. What happened?"

Chen shook her head. "Hunger. It's put her off her period. She thought it meant..."

Kate rested a hand on her empty stomach. "We had more food than this in the Camps, and I was still going hungry. Carla... is lucky."

Chen nodded thickly. "She is."

The Communications room had become the temporary nerve center of the War. With so many operations on hold due to manpower shortages, they saved power, saved energy... It was the new Theme of Crystal Peak. Even here, the lights were low, or every other one switched off. The room was small and the Officers sort of stuck together there. "Where's Kate?" Walters asked as The General came in.

"Sleeping." Connor reported. There was a lot more of it in the base now. Sleeping people used fewer calories, which worked out great because starving people wanted to sleep a lot more. "Speaking of, when did you last sleep?"

"I sleep when he sleeps." Noah pointed at Walters.

"I sleep when you sleep." Walters said to Connor without hesitation.

Connor didn't let it show on his face. "Good to be surrounded by the bravest bunch of zombies in Tech-Com."

"About that sir..." Walters licked his cracked lips. "We're getting some volunteers. Quite a lot of them actually. They want to know why we aren't still hitting Skynet and Union targets."

Silence.

"Maybe because most of our soldiers can barely walk?" Connor offered.

"Due respect sir, that's why they're volunteering. The vitamin paste is running low, the vitamin tablets are all but gone... Anyone about to engage in combat duty gets a double dose of the vitamin supplements. Anyone who volunteers to get shot at keeps starvation back another day."

Connor didn't know if it was the pride or borderline delirium that made him laugh. "Sure. Why not? Eric, go work up a list of targets. If we're going to be awake, we might as well do something."

Walters climbed slowly to his feet. "I'll have to do it myself. Half the War Room is barely there." He headed out, leaving Noah with Connor.

"Amazing to me that people give their most when they're at their weakest." Connor said quietly. "If I had the energy, I'd run around saluting them all."

"We got the best of humanity to work with." Noah said quietly. "The ones that keep getting up again. Due respect sir, you were in a... you were in this fallout shelter the first year of the War. You should have seen the early months. The Prozac nation on withdrawal; the morbidly obese couch potatoes on a starvation diet… not a pretty sight. Eventually, we had to pull everyone still sane out of reach, let them slug it out till the cold or Skynet took care of them. Real psycho's coming out of the woodwork, doomsday cults, lunatics escaped from asylums and hospitals, cold blooded killers loose from the prisons… Hunger and desperation make people do things John. Bad things."

Heavy silence.

"I think that's the first time you ever called me John." Connor said quietly.

Noah just looked at him. She wore her hair down all the time now, to hide how hollow her cheeks were getting. Her eyes were wide and bright. "Yeah. Guess so."

Those in Crystal Peak that still had the strength were getting agitated. The Mess Hall was like a powder keg waiting for a spark. Those that hadn't known about the fish tanks and the beehives before knew now; as they had all been moved into the same place off the mess hall. There was so little food to go around that it could all be kept in the same place, with a thousand hungry people surrounding it, and a thin row of hungry guards standing between them.

Connor had ordered the crowds to disperse, but they hadn't gone far. They had nowhere else to go. As the local war ground to a halt, and Connor handled the Global war over the radio alone, his Officers found ways to keep themselves busy. Walters spelled Oldham on guard at the Mess, Noah had taken over for Yolanda with the Bandits and the Maternity Ward. It took two people to do the job of one.

It was only a matter of time.

Connor had the War Room to himself for the first time in days. He just slid down in his chair and let the exhaustion show on his face for the first time. He'd been hiding it well, but he was running out of energy too. His teeth were hurting; his stomach was cramping painfully...

His radio buzzed. "John?"

Connor pulled the radio without opening his eyes. "Kate?"

"Would you come and see me please?"

Connor got up and walked slowly toward the Presidential Suite. He didn't know when it became such a long trek to get there, but his energy was low enough that he had to take his time.

When he got there, the door wasn't locked and the lights were low. Kate was in bed, reclining somewhat. She patted the bed next to her, and John sat down. She reached out and he pulled her to him. "Hey."

They lay quietly a while. It was the first time they had been together like this since Kate found out about Kyle. John tried desperately not to think that she was saying goodbye to him.

"John." Kate rasped. "I think I'm getting sick. No energy left, I'm dizzy all the time. I can't keep my hands from shaking."

Connor wrapped his arms around her. She was getting so thin now, like all of them were. "You're not eating your rations."

"Sarah and Robbie need it more." She said thickly.

"We've calculated that." Connor hissed.

"You can't be mad at me. You gave them half your ration too." She smiled a bit. "They aren't stupid you know. They know we can't really spare it either; sneaking stuff on to each others plate, and ours."

Silence.

"John." Kate said quietly. "As Base Commander, I hereby request permission to activate the Infiltrators, for work around the Base. All of them."

Connor didn't speak.

"It's getting bad John. People have no energy left, no endurance... The Machines do." She licked her lips. "What happens when the whole base goes down from malnutrition?"

"You were the one worried about what people would think. Having Terminators manning the barricades."

Kate would have cried if she'd had the energy. "I think we're running out of... We're running out."

His radio buzzed again. He answered it. "Connor here."

Walters' voice came back, sounding frantic, the sound of screaming in the background. "General, the situation in the Mess Hall has not improved! I've ordered my people to hold back as best they can; but we've got more than three hundred people down here and-LOOK OUT!" The sounds from the background generally indicated that a riot had broken out. "We are very close to being overrun sir! There are guns in the crowd! Nobody's dead yet, but it's only a matter of time!"

Connor had already pried Kate's arms from around his neck, and was hurrying to get up. "I'm on the way!"

"I don't know if that's a good idea sir! They're gonna start eating each other in a second. I told my guys to keep their safeties on. They're desperate; can't just kill them for that!" The sound of a something smashing came over the radio. "At least not yet!"

Kate was up too. "I'm coming with you."

"Kate-"

"John, those are my children down there tearing each other apart." She snarled, her thin angular face making her as feral as any mother bear with her cubs in danger. "I'm coming with you!"

The war in the Mess Hall was far more brutal, far more vicious than the war against the Machines. Humans were smashing at each other over scraps that didn't exist. The fish tanks were the first target, Enrique's men surrounding the tanks, looking borderline worried, knowing the ring of soldiers pushing the crowd back with their bare hands would break through the sheer press of hungry bodies.

One kid managed to get under the ring of soldiers, and made a break for the tanks. One of Enrique's men, nobody saw who, swung his gun toward the movement and fired.

BLAM!

For a microsecond, the press of the rioters was eased as everyone screamed and tried to jump back, with no room to do so, just in case more bullets were coming.

The kid fell to the floor, bleeding from the chest and mouth.

The crowd went berserk at the fatality. First blood went to the soldiers and the desperate refugees came back harder, knowing they were willing to kill.

It was chaos! Nobody knew who was on which side, half the hungry people wearing uniforms, half the people trying to keep the rioters from destroying everything in their hysteria were civilians themselves. Some of the defenders fought back their allies unawares...

"ATTEN-SHUN!"

Somehow, against all laws of physics, against all logic, Connor's voice carried over the violence. Those closest went silent, and those near them, worried about the solder's getting reinforcements, paused to look; until Connor's presence became known properly.

The crowd parted, nobody looking directly at him as he came in. There was sobbing. There were groans of pain. There was a lot of hard breathing. Nobody had any endurance without food.

"Where's Walters?" Connor yelled. He was mad. He was yelling, and in the sudden silence, everyone jumped.

"Sir." Kyle called, pushing his way through people. "He's over here!"

Connor pushed his way through, people letting him move over toward the wall. Kate came along behind him quickly with her kit.

Walters was on his back on the ground, looking ashen. Connor stared. He had a knife sticking out of his stomach.

Kate shoved her husband aside and went right to work.

Connor turned his subzero eyes across the crowd. Nobody would look at him.

"Who did this?" Connor roared.

Silence.

Kate spared him a look. After the revelations about Kyle, and the death of Enrique, he was getting more and more fierce.

Connor moved down the room toward the tank, the crush of people trying to get out of his way. Connor moved slowly, looking down the front row of people; until he got to the body of the child.

Kate saw as the crowds parted. "Mikey." She moaned.

Kyle was already there, looking miserable as he sat over the young corpse. "We were friends." Kyle said quietly.

Connor squeezed his shoulder. And then sent a fierce look at Enrique's soldiers. "Who fired?"

More silence. And then finally, one soldier stepped forward. Connor checked his nametag and insignia. Sergeant Christen. He had tears pouring down his face. "I did it sir. I'm sorry. I didn't see it was... I just reacted." His hands were shaking and he held out his gun. "As you will; General Connor."

There was a beat of horrified silence. Everybody was feeling the 'knife-edge' feeling. They all took a share of the blame. They all wanted to know how Connor would handle punishments and discipline for this chaos. Even if he could find all the instigators...

Connor took the proffered weapon, and looked. They were all watching him with tired, scared eyes, made huge in their starved dirty faces.

Connor turned to Kyle. "What do you think Kyle? Should I kill him?"

Kyle did not cry. He looked like he wanted to, but there were no tears. Only rage. "I would like to."

"Does that make it better?"

Kyle was silent with dry sobs for a moment. Everyone holding their breath, waiting to see how this played out. "It would be one less mouth to feed." Kyle offered.

"Kyle."

The boy sighed and stood up. "Would be wrong."

Connor nodded. He turned to the crowd. "You're going to be angry about this. And you're going to want revenge, going to want to hurt someone as much as the pain in your stomachs makes you feel. It's natural. It's pointless. It's exhausting. It's destructive... It's human." Connor took them all in, moving closer to the crowd. "Have you ever been without food for longer than you could take it? Have you ever been abandoned out in the dark? Have you ever been alone? Have you ever been without my protection? My defenses? Ever? You think I'm going to let you fall now? After all this?"

Silence.

Connor nodded. "I won't let you die. Not today. Not ever. We are soldiers in a war. The only way I will let you face death is on your feet, with a weapon in your hands, and me at your back. Always. I won't let you fall to this. Give me the day. One More Day. It's all anyone can ask for. One more day, and then if you want to, you can eat me first."

Someone laughed.

"Don't worry. They will." Kate called from Walters' side, her voice carrying.

More laughter.

"I hereby declare this riot delayed until Monday. Go home."

The crowd started to break up; moving slowly toward the corridor, moving slowly in the confined space, their anger checked by Connor and by hunger.

Connor went to Kate. "How is he?"

"He'll need surgery." Kate told him. "Let me worry about him. You worry about all them. Have you even heard from Gould since you sent him out?"

"Many times. But... at best, this is going to be tight."

"They'll have questions. Will you answer them? Honestly, I mean?"

Connor didn't answer for a moment. "If I did, how would they react?"

"I honestly couldn't tell you."

Chen came running in with her Medical team.

"Lana!" Kate hollered. "Time this right. If I let go of Eric's stomach too soon he'll bleed to death, get set up!"

Sergeant Christen was miserable. He'd stayed away from the Bandits while he sorted himself out.

He knew that friendly fire happened in any war. He knew it was an accident. It could have happened to any soldier. Except that it happened to him.

Yolanda came to him, sitting just inside his reach but not touching him, offering her company if he wanted it. Connor was their Commander, unquestionably. But Enrique was the one that brought them together, trained them, made them a Unit. Even with them all saluting Connor, Enrique was a huge part of their lives.

Since Enrique fell, Yolanda had taken that place.

One of the Bandits came in quietly and whispered something to Yolanda. She took the message, nodded, and turned to Christen. "Kyle Reese is outside. He wants to talk to you."

Christen shivered. "I killed his friend today."

"If you don't want to see him, you don't have to." Yolanda said.

Christen shook his head fiercely. "No. I have to face him. Have to face this."

Yolanda nodded. "Okay then."

Kyle came into the Dorm, and sat down hard across from Christen, slouching a little. Yolanda shooed everyone else out of the Dorm and let them talk alone.

They sat silently for a long time.

"His name was Mikey." Kyle said. "He always went for seconds in chow line, but he never ate a full meal. He always took it down to the Tunnel Rats."

Christen nodded sickly. "I didn't mean... I just saw movement and I acted."

"I know." Kyle said. "I know that."

Silence.

"Connor says that these things happen in war." Kyle said. "He says that you can't predict it. You can only hate, or forgive."

Christen nodded, but didn't dare say anything. "You one of the Tunnel Rats?"

"Not for a long time." Kyle said softly. "But they're family. After J-Day, my mom... The radiation made her sick, and she told me to leave, so that I wouldn't have to watch..." Kyle swallowed. "I was barely housebroken. The Rats found me. We haunted the old school till Skynet put us in the Camps. That didn't break us up either. Connor got us out, and we haunted the Underground." Kyle looked exhausted. "And it's not just you that kill them." He rubbed his head, lost in thought. "Why does it feel like this now?"

Christen nodded. "I hear you. The Bandits are my family. If something like this happened to them..."

Kyle attacked. The punch caught Christen right in the mouth and knocked him down. Kyle was on top of him instantly, teeth bared, eyes wild; his fists raining down savagely on the unprotected face and neck; and the Bandit fell under the pummeling, dazed from the first punch.

Christen tried to fend him off. The Bandit had at least six inches and five years on the former Tunnel Rat, but Kyle was brutal, feral, and pouring out an ocean of wrath on this man.

"AT EASE CORPORAL!"

Kyle released his Prey and jumped back. The door was open, and Kate was glaring at him. Her hands were still stained with Walters' blood. She was looking at him with something Kyle had never seen from her before. Disappointment.

Christen was still weaving a little as he hauled himself back to his feet. His face was a mess.

Kyle was breathing hard from hunger and exertion and no small amount of anger. His eyes were wild and fierce. No fear, no apology.

Kate just looked at him, like she was trying to figure out what she was looking at.

Silence.

"Sergeant Christen." Kate said. "I can't clean up your face till I get my hands scrubbed. Report to Medbay. Kyle, you too. Get those knuckles sterilized. Neither of you is in decent shape to handle an infection."

Both of them nodded and walked off, like kids caught by the School Principal.

Kyle never said a word.

Kate saw to their injuries and sent them to opposite ends of the base. She had a quick conference with Perry, who confirmed that Kyle had been getting erratic since Lupe died. Perry wasn't worried by it. Such reactions were not uncommon in the Underground. Sometimes it was even helpful on the battlefield. Emotional breakdowns were nothing unusual, and most every soldier who had it in them to last this long were able to shake it off sooner or later.

Kate wasn't satisfied with that, and went to her husband. Connor was preparing to move out, gathering his gear.

"John." Kate said without stopping him. "I'm worried about Kyle."

"Is he all right?" Connor asked in concern.

"He's… Since Lupe died, he's been more… feral." Kate said. "He's letting heartbreak take him to a very hard place, and I worry that it might start to…"

"Weren't you the one telling me that I had to make my people tough and unbreakable?"

"I meant that you have to keep them going, no matter what gets thrown at them. Like you do with all the soldiers. Kyle's not being brave, he's being cold. There's a lot of pressure on his cork right now…" Kate didn't know how else to put it. "He's in pain. He's in so much pain he's becoming dangerous. You can't tell me you haven't noticed."

"His CO thinks he's fantastic."

"Perry sees a fighting tool. Perry sees someone who'll charge a 1000 just for the hell of it. And I'm not so sure he's wrong. John… most people here have the war, and little else. Kyle… what does he have now?"

"Okay, so what do you want from me?"

"Snap him out of it." Kate said as though it was obvious.

"You wanted me to play bad cop and let him break down on your shoulder."

"I wanted you to let him grieve where he didn't have to worry about what you thought of him. He's not grieving now. He's wallowing. Coming from you, he'll snap out of it."

Connor was notably silent.

"John?"

"I'm not a camp counselor Kate."

"Yeah you are. When you need to be, you're whatever you need to be." Kate stared at him, like she was wondering if he was a Terminator. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Long silence.

"Kate…" He said finally. "Kyle has a part to play in this war that no other soldier can play."

"I know that. But why does he have to be lonely and miserable the rest of his life?"

Connor just looked at her. Silence.

Kate sank imperceptibility. "No… Seriously?"

Connor wouldn't look at her.

"Tell me I'm wrong." Kate said. "You know exactly what I'm thinking; tell me I'm wrong."

Connor didn't answer. She stared at his face, searching desperately for some sign of the man she had fallen in love with behind the stone wall his face had become.

Kate's jaw dropped. "Oh my god. You want him that way. So you're… what? Stacking the deck? Improving your mom's odds?"

Connor finally looked at her. "What would you have me do?" He demanded. "I'm the one that set my parents up on their first date. They were together for two days, only one of them lived and they spent three quarters of it running for their lives. If anything at all, and I mean anything goes differently than what my mom told me… what happens then? What happens to me? Because I don't know! Do you?"

Kate was glaring furiously. She was angrier than he had ever seen her. "You listen to me right now." She growled ferociously. "He may have a future, but he has a life too. I don't like what's ahead for my Kyle but I swallow it every time I see him because I love you, and I want you to exist. But you cannot ask me to look at a teenage boy who calls me 'mom' and see nothing but a tool to be used for one specific doomed purpose. And you can't expect me not to care that it forces him into a life of isolation and violence and misery."

Connor looked up at her. "Why not?" He said coldly. "My mom did."

Kate slapped him.

Deathly silence.

"Stop comparing me to your mother." Kate snarled.

Carla looked up as Connor came in. He looked like someone had killed and eaten his puppy. Who knows? She told herself. Robbie loves the K-9's. Maybe someone has.

"How is he?" Connor asked.

"We did everything we could, but he wasn't in top form." Carla said gently. "None of us are."

"What's the prognosis?"

"Hard to tell." Carla said tiredly. "He wakes up, he'll live. We really can't predict anything at this point." She fixed him with her best 'be honest with your doctor' glare. "You don't look so good."

Connor shook his head. "We're heading out soon, I just thought… I should check on him."

"Where are you going?" Carla asked.

"I … No." He stopped himself. "I'll tell you all about it when I get back. I just wanted to check on Eric first."

Carla stood. "I'll take you to him. He's got his own room."

"Thought you were booked up."

"Yeah, but we lost a few this morning."

Connor sighed thickly, and followed her into Walters post-op room. The lights were low, the heart monitor beeping slowly…

"I'll leave you two alone." Carla said.

Connor barely heard her. Walters looked… hollow. How had the knife even found him? Connor sat down next to Waters' motionless body.

"Eric?" John said quietly. "Can you hear me?"

Silence. Eric didn't so much as twitch.

He licked his lips. "I'm... I'm heading out now. It should be you. But of course..." John was silent a moment. "I... I've never told anyone this before. You're my best friend. I thought it was Kate, and it is, but I don't know if you can count your wife. I really don't. Can you believe that? I never asked anyone if you can have more than one best friend, or if..." He went silent and scrubbed his face again. "You're my best friend. I've never had a best friend before. When I heard your voice on the radio, I was going nuts, trying to figure out how to convince you to trust me. Trying to figure out how to start a war that for all purposes I'd already lost."

Eric didn't react. He just kept breathing.

John stared at his heart monitor for a while. "I remember when I was a kid. I had a friend once. But he was a punk. He was a delinquent. The kind of kid who would lie to the cops for you and not care why. He was too much like me. When I split from there, I never said goodbye to him, never left him a note. And it didn't bother me. And those were the people I counted as friends back then." John scrubbed his face. "You brought me an Army Eric. You were the first man to ever salute me, and you were the first man ever to call me 'sir'. For a while there, I didn't like that about you. But you... you knocked me flat sometimes buddy. You just knocked me out of the park."

Eric didn't react. He just kept breathing steadily.

"I can count on one hand the number of people that I have relied on in my life before J-Day. And after J-Day, you were the second, after Kate. And I still don't know if your wife counts as your best friend. I... I relied on you to tell me that stuff. So you have to get better, okay?"

A hand touched his shoulder gently, and John jumped out of his skin, spinning around. It was Noah. "How much of that did you hear?" He demanded quickly.

"Enough." She said. Noah turned her head slightly, looking around the room. "Where's The Base Commander?"

Connor didn't answer, suddenly The General again.

Noah sent him a look. "You and your wife having a fight?"

"If you must know, yes."

"I figured."

Connor glanced at her. "The fight was about twenty minutes ago. You know?"

"We all know. We don't know what, but when you two aren't talking, everybody else is." Noah quipped, trying to make it light. She felt dangerous ground beneath her feet. "The convoy is ready to roll out. Let me go for you sir. Let me take this one."

"Why?"

"Because Eric can't." Noah said quietly. "He's your second in this war. I'm pretty close, and your wife runs everything else. But he's your guy. General Whickham told me once that a second in command or an XO... they look inward at the ship, or the base; so that the Commanding Officer can look outward at the war."

Connor was silent a moment. "You and Walters are a lot more alike than either of you like to talk about."

"Yessir."

"Stay with him till I get back?"

Noah swallowed. "Yeah. I mean, Yes sir."

Connor stood to go.

"General?" Noah called after him. "It counts. Your wife can count as your best friend. But... that's only if you're lucky enough to have more than one of them."

Connor didn't turn, but she knew he heard it. She felt awkward saying any of it. She felt like she was crossing a line.

Connor didn't comment on it. He gave her a wave without turning and headed out.

Noah spun toward Walters. "Bet you thought that was pretty funny, didn't you?"

Eric didn't react. He just kept breathing steadily.

"You better wake the hell up Eric, and get me out of this!"

Eric didn't react. He just kept breathing steadily.

Noah sighed and sat down next to him. She took off her cap and shook her hair out. When she ran her fingers through it, a small handful of hair came with it.

She looked sickly at them in her hand. "God, I hope this works."

Z Plus Ten Years One Hundred Forty Six Days

Lisa curled up with Tony. One thing nobody had in The Underground was privacy, so they had to learn discretion. There were no regs about dating, or sleeping arrangements. They spent most every night together.

"Tony." Lisa rasped. "I think I'm sick. I um... I think my hair is falling out."

Tony squeezed her gently, and Lisa ached. "You've been working too hard. Burning up your calories."

Lisa cried a bit. "I know. I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I know you liked my hair. I grew it long for you."

Silence.

"I wanted to marry you." Tony said finally.

Silence.

"You picked a hell of a time to tell me."

"Figured you wouldn't turn me down if I was this pathetic."

Lisa coughed, feeling her empty belly spasm. "I think we might have lost this one Tony."

"I think you might be right."

"All hands, report to the Mess Hall." Connor's voice commanded over the PA.

Silence. Around them, they could hear soldiers getting to their feet, climbing out of their bunks. Lisa and Tony didn't follow.

"Mess Hall." Lisa slurred. "Think it's what it sounds like?"

Tony slid out a little, trying not to fall off the cot. "I'll go. Rest."

Lisa didn't nod.

Tony was on his way to the Mess Hall, with most everyone else. He picked up the story as he walked. Those who still had the strength had tried to storm the Fish Tanks the day before. There was nobody in Tech-Com that didn't trust Connor, or didn't believe him when he said that handing out what was left was merely forestalling the inevitable. But if they starved to death before the fish could replenish their populations...

Tony felt his heart thump harder against his ribs when he heard that Connor had stopped the mob with a promise. One more day.

He'd made that promise the day before, and now he was summoning everyone to the Mess Hall.

The crowd made its way toward the Mess, and the first of them opened the doors...

The smell rolled over all of them at the same moment, and several hundred people froze mid-step at once. It smelled like food. Like quite a lot of food.

Mouths watering, they pushed into the Mess Hall, and spontaneously cheered. Everyone behind them pushed harder, trying to get in and see, and the cheering got louder and louder.

The crowd pressed forward, and were held back by the Bandits, standing between the crowd and the Chow line.

The guards weren't holding them back though, just keeping things under control.

And there at the chow line, was John Connor, with huge pots and tubs full of food. Mostly meat. Beef, pork, lamb, chicken... Plenty to go around. After so long starving, there were huge piles of food right there in front of them, and they whooped and hollered.

"Okay folks, listen up!" Connor shouted, and they calmed to hear him speak. "First things first. We have enough for everybody!"

The cheers started again, everyone whooping with the joy of starving people finding a feast. But more than that was the relief, the impossible relief that there was something to eat.

"Now for the bad news!" Connor shouted over them. "The Medical Staff says that we probably can't handle a lot of solid food right away. What we've got is meat. Plenty of it. But that's hard to digest, so it would be dangerous to give you too much. So, our talented KP staff have turned it into soup, broth, stew and about a dozen other things that you can handle. So step right up, no pushing. There's enough for everyone. Don't be afraid to come back for seconds! Or thirds."

Another cry of adulation. The notion of coming back for seconds was hard to believe even before rationing. Just hearing the offer made did more for morale than anyone thought possible. The now familiar cry went up in gratitude, in disbelief, in joy and awe!

"CON-NOR! CON-NOR! CON-NOR! CON-NOR! CON-NOR! CON-NOR! CON-NOR! CON-NOR! CON-NOR! CON-NOR! CON-NOR! CON-NOR!"

Little by little the cry ran down as people started to eat.

Carla drank her bowl dry, and smiled happily, tears streaming down her face. Felt so… good. Felt so very right to have food in her stomach again. The Mess Hall was full of people, all of them eating, guzzling down their broth. She put down her third helping, and tried to figure out the miracle.

Connor had been working a plan. She was part of the team that figured out the exact ration. Connor hadn't been trying to keep them on a war footing; he was trying to keep them alive as long as possible. It had to be because he had a timetable. Which means wherever all this food had come from, it hadn't been ready till now.

But why had it all been kept so far away from the Base? To protect it from hungry people? Then why hadn't the fish tanks and their own Base livestock been moved out? And Connor wouldn't keep so much livestock out there where Skynet could get at it.

So where did it come from? She asked herself again.

Looking around, she saw plenty of people had the same question, but they were too hungry to care.

Connor was still at the chow-line, but the tubs and pots and kettles were running low. He hoisted the empty ones onto a trolley and headed off with a few of the guards. "Don't worry folks, plenty more where this came from." He told the people lining up again. "I'll be back."

He took the empty tubs out to the kitchens as people thanked him, smiling like they hadn't smiled in months.

Even with another mostly full plate in front of her, Carla smiled too.

Somehow He'd done it. Again. Somehow He'd saved them all. Again.

People were peeking at the Kitchen doors, trying to see, though the guards kept them out. Carla knew that wasn't going to do it. Connor hadn't been held up in the kitchens. He'd left the Base. Where had he gone? Wherever it was, he'd taken Dex with him, or he'd be here.

Curiosity got the better of her, and she stood up.

"Mom?" Mackie asked, wondering where she was going.

"Be right back sweetie, you finish that."

Mackie was hungry enough to let it go, and Carla went snooping. She didn't bother with the Kitchens. She knew there was another way in there. And she would bet the other way in, was wherever Connor was going right now.

The Base was all but abandoned. Word had spread faster than wildfire that there was food to eat, and most everyone was in there.

There were exceptions of course.

"Hey Tony." Carla called as she walked.

Sherrin jumped like he'd been caught doing something wrong. He had a bowl in his hands. "Lisa... she barely has enough strength to walk. I..."

"I understand. Give Lisa my love." Carla nodded. "And feed it to her slowly Tony. Let her get used to having something in her stomach again."

Sherrin nodded.

Carla took a chance. "I'm actually looking for Dex. He just came in from a mission, think; but I didn't see him in the Mess..."

Tony nodded. "Yeah. Well, everyone's down there. If he came in with a vehicle, he probably had to take it back to the Motor Pool himself. Short handed, y'know?"

Carla nodded. The Motor Pool. Right near the Vehicle Entrance.

She came off the elevator and froze. The vehicle entrance was at the far side near the Main Doors... the personnel entrance, the way into the Motor Pool itself, was guarded by an Infiltrator.

Its eyes were on her instantly, but it's posture never changed, and she relaxed. If it was programmed or ordered to kill interlopers, she would already be dead.

Decision time Carla. She told herself. Turn around, or brazen it out.

Taking a breath, she marched toward the door like she was meant to be there.

"Halt." The Machine said, raising a hand. "Authorized personnel only."

Carla pointed at her insignia. "Chief Medical Officer. I'm part of the Palace Command Staff, and you better believe I'm authorized."

The Machine considered her, and Carla prayed that its instructions were vague enough to let her through on that.

Luck was with her apparently, and the human-looking Machine lowered its arm out of her way.

Kate walked into the Motor Pool, and felt her heart stop.

Connor was there. So was Dex, Gould, Noah...

But Carla barely noticed them. There were almost a dozen troop carriers, but they didn't have any troops in them. What they had instead was loads of meat. Sides of beef, racks of lamb... They were all hanging from the roofs of the Troop Carriers like they would in a butcher shop...

At the back of each truck were the huge tubs that Carla had seen brought into the Mess Hall, the ones where the stew and broth had been brewed up.

Carla had caught them mid-assembly line. A hanging slab of meat was hanging in the edge of the truck; slices of meat were being carved right off the bone, and being swept straight into the huge cooking pots right away. When the meat ran out, the bones were discarded and the next slab of meat was brought forward. Enough for everybody a dozen times over with room to spare!

But what struck her dumb was the sight of the meat being cut off the bone.

The bones were clearly metal. The chrome was clearly visible. Carla glanced to the left at the discarded bones, and they were all metal too.

Dex noticed her suddenly. "Carla."

Her discovery brought the room to a screeching halt.

Connor was calculating already, moving toward her, and Carla turned to run.

"Stop Her!" Connor yelled.

Carla made it three inches out the door before the Infiltrator standing guard swept her up in an unbreakable grip, and she was heaved back into the room like a child, unceremoniously dumped in a heap before Connor.

"Nobody else gets in." Connor said seriously. "Nobody that hasn't already."

"Affirmative."

The Machine moved away, but Carla couldn't take her eyes off the metal bones.

Everyone was staring at her. Connor gave them a glance. "Back to it."

Everyone turned back to their tasks, and Connor held out a hand to Carla; pulling her back to her feet. "Carla, I can only imagine what you must be thinking about this, but try to think for a minute. Cloned meat is... It's the only way we can feed everyone. Artificial substitutes were an accepted idea Back Before, but nobody had the capacity to..."

"Sir…" Carla hissed, trying to make him understand. "This… This is Infiltrator technology. You're making us eat Terminator skin!"

"No! No I am not!" Connor said seriously. "It's grown the same way, but it's not! Carla, you've studied the Infiltrators. You know as well as I do that their skin doesn't seem human; It is human. Look at it under a microscope, you can't tell the difference. This isn't the same thing."

Carla was hungry enough that she wanted to believe him. "What is it then?"

"When we left LA, I had our guys collect blood samples from all the livestock." Connor explained. "I was collecting samples from Enrique, and our own here… When we captured the Infiltrator factories, I had Gould work on them quietly, to see if it could be set from human flesh to animal. And it can. It takes a little longer to make that much meat, but it can. The factories have been churning out sides of beef, lamb, pork, chicken… Carla, it's the same meat. Genetically, it's the same animals we had in LA years ago." He gestured at the pots. "Taste it. Smell it. Look at it under a microscope. It's the same. It's beef. It's pork."

"It's Evil!" Carla couldn't take her eyes off the side of meat hanging in the back of the truck, or of the metal bones, clearly visible as more meat was cut away. "It's just evil."

"Carla, it's artificially grown meat. It's a next-generation tofu. Tofu that actually tastes like meat. It actually is meat." Connor was silent a moment as her reeling brain tried to process. "Look, I'll do a deal with you." He said finally. "You've still got livestock samples from when we were checking them for inventory, or diseases right? You take those samples off ice, and I'll give you samples from these. Do a double blind test. One where you don't know which is the original. If you can spot the difference, I'll come clean myself. If there is no difference, you don't have to worry."

Carla was silent a moment. "Sir… what if you're wrong? What if it's toxic? Skynet knows we capture their stuff and use it. We've been doing it since the war started. Everything the Infiltrators are is deception. What if they thought of this? What if they knew we'd do something like this? What else would we use it for?"

"Carla, what do you think we've been doing since our supply line got cut?" Connor asked her. "We've been running this stuff through every test we can think of. It's clean. And we don't have a lot of options here, do we?"

He could tell she wanted to be convinced. He wondered if everyone would react his way, or if it was just Carla's reaction to anything concerning Infiltrators. But she was hungry. And her son was hungry. She wanted to be convinced.

"General…" Carla whispered hoarsely. "W-What did Kate say?" She swallowed. "Is that what this fight is about?"

Connor didn't have an answer for that one. Kate hadn't spoken to him since their fight about Kyle. "Carla." He said seriously. "Go back to the Mess Hall, and watch your son eat a meal for the first time in too long. Ask him how it tastes. Then find me a better way to do that for everyone, and I will throw this stuff out right away. Sooner or later, the word will get out, if only because we can use this technology everywhere. Every Base in the war can make this work. Sooner or later, the whole human race will know. But by that time, nobody will be starving to death in Crystal peak. If you can't live with that, then you have the chance to tell them right now. Otherwise, you may consider it a direct order from me to keep your mouth shut."

Carla was almost relieved. She wanted to eat. She wanted her son to eat. She wanted Dex to eat. She wanted to be okay with it. And if it was a direct order, then it wasn't her choice any more. "Yes sir."

Carla went back to the Mess hall in something of a daze, and sat down heavily next to her son, exhausted. From walking through the Base, or the weight of what she'd learned, she wasn't sure. Her eyes fixed on Mackie as he tilted his bowl back and slurped up his first meal in days. "It's really good, isn't it?" Mackie enthused.

"Yeah." Carla said softly. "Yeah it is."

The meat supply had spent weeks building up to provide enough for everyone. The captured Infiltrator factories that fed them were now feeding all of Tech-Com, and all the Civilians on their bases, or in the range.

The war stretched on, and Tech-Com was patient. Their soldiers were getting stronger from the nourishment. As they grew stronger, they would be able to handle solid food again. The pressure was taken off the hydroponics and vegetable gardens, and some fruits and veg were able to stockpile again, with more food to go around.

The offer was sent out from the Cartel Union to the entire theatre, that anyone who wanted to defect from Tech-Com and find food was welcome. Tech-Com wondered what Rojas would think when nobody accepted the offer.

Connor went back to work after delivering the food.

Carla kept the secret.

Lisa had to be spoon-fed the first bowl by Tony, and eagerly ate the second herself.

Kate did not join her husband at the great celebratory feast.

The fear was replaced with impatience. Everyone knew they had to be careful about how fast they ate after the forced starvation diet. Everyone knew they had to build up some strength and muscle again before they went back out to the war.

They were champing at the bit, ready to take out months of frustration, the sudden rush of nourishment making them eager to obliterate their enemy.

As the day came to a close, people threaded out, assured that there would be more to eat again the next day. Once they left, the others came in. The Tunnel Rats made their way through secretly, helping themselves to their own meal. Kate came and ate with them, having waited till Connor and the day shift were finished.

Kyle was one of the last ones to come in. He ate alone, and he left again without talking to anyone. He looked more feral than anyone had ever seen him. He barely spoke, even to Kate.

Z Plus Ten Years One Hundred Forty Seven Days

Connor went back to the War Room, but didn't go in. He just stood and looked at the door for a long time. She wasn't on shift exactly, but if Kate was in there... He should sort out their feud, but he didn't know how. What could he do differently? And they couldn't have the fight in front of others...

"Sir?"

Connor turned, and saw Noah behind him. "What do you need?"

Noah smirked a little. "Actually, that was going to be my question to you."

Connor hesitated.

Noah read his mind and shrugged. "I figure if you can't talk to anyone about it, then it must be personal. So if it's something you can't talk to Kate about, you'd go to Enrique or Eric… Well…" She shrugged again. "General Whickham didn't have many confidants. He was Old School. Lonely at the top y'know? And after J-Day, I was the only one left…" She smirked. "I guess I miss having The General's Ear."

Connor smiled a little. "Yeah. Well... why not?"

They went down to the Bandit's room, and made their way to the back of the Dorm, to Enrique's old room. Connor searched the room for less than thirty seconds before he found a bottle of moonshine and two glasses.

Noah sat down, took off her combat vest full of gear and grenades, and sat comfortably, shaking her hair out. Connor poured and did the same in the opposite chair.

"So, the question of the Base." Noah started as Connor handed her a glass. "What are The General and the Base Commander arguing about?"

"Everyone knows, huh?"

"Can't keep a secret for long around here."

Connor sighed. "Kate says that I'm treating some of the Tunnel Rats too harshly. She says that I'm being too cold hearted about what's ahead for them."

"What do you think?" Noah asked.

"I think she's right. I just don't see any other option." Connor shrugged. "I mean... what's the alternative?"

Noah threw back her glass. "You got me. We've been trying to figure that one out since the war started, and I flat guarantee you that Generals have had the same problem since before Alexander the Great. The difference is that this time, your top Base is commanded by your wife."

"You don't approve of that, do you?"

"Hey, it works. I don't like to mess with things that work. I'm just not used to it." Noah shrugged. "I'm career military. Not used to things like dating your co-workers suddenly being encouraged."

"I've noticed that you don't seem to date much."

"Didn't know you were watching."

"Always watching Noah. My eyes are everywhere."

Noah shrugged again. "Too busy. Besides, it's tough being a cast-iron bitch for the duration of a war. Takes a lifetime of discipline and effort." She held out her glass as he poured. "I've made a career at intimidating people. Kinda hard to stop playing the part, let your hair down. You know what that's like."

"Me?"

"You're the catch of the Base, sir." Noah said without hesitation. "Curry and Dex weren't an item when they made Mackie. Carla gave her consent, it's not like a number of people haven't used re-population as an excuse to have a fling."

Connor looked down, embarrassed. He knew that. Nobody had approached him or Kate because he was 'The General Connor'. "You think I made a mistake, suspending the fraternization rules."

"No. I absolutely do not. I think that humanity would have dwindled long ago without that. Necessity is the mother of invention and all. And it was a needed change. I'm just saying, if you didn't do it, Kate wouldn't be at you for treating the Tunnel Rats as soldiers and not as your kids, and you wouldn't be hesitating out front of the War Room because you're having a spat with your wife."

"Most of the Tunnel Rats are near adult now. The original ones I mean. But there are a lot of kids that still fall through the cracks and get adopted by the other orphans down there. People have a way of finding what they need when they need it. I don't think Kate's wrong, I just wonder if it should be my job to give them a childhood." He threw back his drink. "I would love to coddle them and protect them. I really would. But they'll be crippled that way. I have to show them Tough Love sooner or later, I wonder if staying that way all the time isn't the right thing to do."

Noah poured the next round. "Y'know, when I first got a Unit, Whickham told me that it was my job to be there for them in every way, because he wasn't always going to be. Good things came from your Commander, the cold hard things came from The General." She gestured. "I don't know how, but you manage to do both. You have a burden that nobody else in this world has. You are entitled to push away the emotion when you might instead want to hold on to it. Maybe more than anyone else in history, you are allowed to do things your way."

Connor threw back his drink."You were right before. When you said that I missed the first year, and came out when I already had the best and the strongest to work with. You and Eric, and Whickham... and for that matter everyone else alive... they had to deal with it."

Noah nodded, taking a sip.

"What do you remember as the worst thing?" Connor asked.

"I don't like to think about it."

Connor poured another generous helping into her glass. "Nobody does. I may be the last man who doesn't know what J-Day looked like from outside the Shelter."

Noah shivered, took a gulp to fortify herself. "The wandering. So many people moving. People just... trudging places and didn't know where or why. I remember the ones that were blind. They lost their vision from the flash when the bombs went off. Thousands of them. They moved in groups, holding each other up as they wandered." She threw back her drink. "I don't like to think about it."

"Enrique told me that soldiers are experts in not dwelling on hard things. And survivors are experts in overcoming those same hard things. How everyone does it, who the hell knows? Thing is... My mom taught me once that Attitude reflects leadership. It filters down. If I push the emotion away too much, people are going to assume that's how I want things to work. And... It's not. I want..." Connor sighed. "You tell yourself that you have to treat them all the same. But you don't."

"You can't really." Noah agreed. "Some of them stand out. Usually the exceptional ones. You have to respect that when it happens. You can't ignore it when you see it. Kate gets pissed about it, but she's new to Command."

"Not that new."

"Kate's been in Command of Medical. She's been in charge of civilian projects. Places where command means being a friend and a healer. Plus the Tunnel Rats; where she has to be maternal." Noah looked him in the eye. "She wouldn't have sent someone like Enrique into the fight. She wouldn't have told him about Lupe just so that he'd go ballistic and do some damage to the enemy on his way out. Even if it was the right thing to do." She threw back her drink. "The one and only time she ever went eagerly to war was to save you, and even then the only soldiers she took with her were Infiltrators. She broke the standing orders because she didn't want to risk real people."

"And it worked. She didn't have people to spare, and we didn't lose anyone." Connor took his wife's side. "And even if her only reason was that she wanted to keep people safe, that's not a bad thing."

"Not a bad thing at all. But risking people is the nature of war. Without that constant risk, war would be a fun game to play."

Connor poured another round. "For years now, I've been trying to get across to people that Skynet is only half the problem. The other half is restoration. All the civilian projects are every bit as important as the Military ops."

Noah nodded. "I'll buy that. Eden. Schools. Medical. Penpals. All the civilian projects. You we're setting Kate up to take them over full time weren't you? Even before you promoted her to General."

"Yeah. I was." Connor admitted.

"Tell me you aren't protecting her." Noah accused lightly. "You made her Base CO, but she's got about two hours combat experience. You've made Crystal Peak the Command Center for Eden, for the schools, the Mail... But you aren't sending her out on Missions. She can be mad at you all she wants for singling people out for special treatment. But she's one of them, and she can't have it both ways."

"Kate does her part."

"She does more than her part. And she can kick butt with the best of them, when she does fight." Noah agreed. "I'm just sayin'... you've also been trying to drill into us that people aren't like Machines. We don't roll off an assembly line. Enrique got the word out, when another man would have failed. I've seen Dex make shots that Terminators wouldn't even try for. We've got a good team here. You pick the exceptional and draw them to you." She sipped. "But if it's not a matter of putting people where they can do things nobody else can; if you're treating people under your command with preferential treatment, if you're putting other people at risk, or hampering the war effort because there are people you don't want to risk by making them do their jobs... then cut it out. It's not fair to the rest of us, and we're counting on you to do whatever it takes to save the Human Race." She toasted. "So do whatever it takes. And to hell with what anyone else says."

Connor was silent for a long time. Kate would say the same thing. His mother had told him that softer emotions were not for him, and Yolanda had said the same at the wedding. Kate would tell him to embrace those feelings and use them to an advantage. Noah had said the same.

He wanted that. He wanted that happiness for himself too, and his mother was wrong. He could have that and still win the war.

Feeling better about it, he returned the toast, and they drank.

"Well." Connor said finally. "We'd better get back."

Noah nodded.

Connor turned to put the bottle and glasses away, when he felt gentle hands on his shoulders, and a soft warm kiss being pressed against the back of his neck. He froze, and then turned around slowly.

Noah, her hands still on his shoulders, was standing very close to him, looking up at him carefully. She wasn't sure if he was about to draw her back for another kiss or punch her.

Hunger had made her eyes seem so much bigger, and her long slender fingers slid down till they rested gently on his chest as he turned to face her. They were both holding their breath.

She said nothing. Her eyes held the unspoken question.

Connor softened a little, and he shook his head slightly, like he was breaking it to her gently.

Noah took it straight, and pulled back. She didn't slump, or let on any disappointment. An offer was made, it was rejected, she knew why, and she agreed with it. She respected that. She nodded quickly, turned on her heel, and headed off professionally.

Connor felt like he'd dodged a bullet.

Connor went back to the Presidential Suite and let himself in quietly. Kate was still working at the desk, and she looked up when he came in. "Hey." She said quietly. The awkwardness was still there.

"Hey." John said softly. "I... I'm not here about our thing. I still don't have an answer for you yet. Not one that you'll like. I just wanted to tell you something."

Kate looked up at him. "What's that?"

"That I love you so much it scares me half to death sometimes. And that every now and then I realize how a few days can go by without my having remembered all over again how unthinkably lucky I was to have found you. Every now and then I get reminded of why I love you so much, and that there's nothing that can happen, no fight we could ever have, that could change that." John said. He was soft, and sincere, and heartfelt, and honest.

Kate swallowed, a little blindsided by that. "I love you too. Every bit as much. I wake up every morning and before I open my eyes I wonder where you are now, and I hate myself for being mad at you. I hate it when we fight, because when we fight each other it's like I'm fighting the best part of myself." She was calm, and deep and gentle. "But I don't know what the answer to this fight is. And if we don't find one, we'll be having this same argument for the rest of the war."

"I know. But I still wanted you to tell you all that... We fight long enough, it might be easier to forget the important stuff."

Kate smiled. "No. I won't ever forget that."

"Me neither."

"Love you husband."

"Love you wife."

John left her then, and she went back to work, smiling happily to herself. She felt lighter and happier than she had in days. Their fight was all but over. They just needed to move past it now.

Z Plus Ten Years One Hundred Forty Eight Days

Connor came into the War Room. "Report."

With Kate busy avoiding him and Walters still in Intensive Care, Noah was the only Command level officer still in the War Room. "We're having supply problems in Australasia." She reported. "It's not our supply lines, its a matter of distance."

Connor nodded. "Figure out what they can't get for themselves and give that priority. Tell them they'll have to be as self-sufficient as possible."

"They already know. I think they were reporting supply problems because they wanted to know what we could do about it after the Union cut us off."

Connor was pleased. Noah was professional. There was no awkwardness between them at all. He was about to answer when his radio buzzed. "Connor here."

"He's awake." Carla called.

Connor took off running. Noah was right behind him.

They made it to the Medbay, and found Eric Walters, awake and focused. "Sir." He rasped.

Connor sat down next to him, but didn't let the relief show on his face. "Hey. You don't look so bad. How you feeling?"

"Hungry." Walters said.

"Well, good news on that score." Noah said lightly to Walters. "You may just be the last hungry person on Base."

Walters smiled in open relief. "It worked then?"

Connor nodded. "It'll be tight for a while, but we've got enough food for everyone again."

Walters chuckled. "And lucky me, I missed the feast."

"Well, that's what you get for playing hero." Kate said. She came in and stood next to her husband. "You had us worried for a while there. But Carla says that if you woke up, you'd be fine; so the worst is behind you."

"Comfortable bed, food coming, and nurses?" Walters quipped tiredly. "Doesn't sound so bad."

John turned to face Kate. Now?

Kate nodded barely. Let's sort this out.

"Well." Connor said aloud. "We should let you rest." He sent Noah a look.

She nodded. "I'll stick around a bit. It'll be nice to have an intelligent, civilized person to talk to again."

Connor rolled his eyes and headed out.

Walters turned his head painfully to look at her. "Something going on?"

"Nothing we need to worry about." She looked at him and softened. "And I'm really glad you're not dead Eric."

"Me too."

The Connors found the first room without anyone in it. It was one of the Post-Op rooms. With the two of them alone at last, they just sort of stared for a moment. He took the chair next to the nearest bed, and she sat on the edge of the cot.

"You were right." John said finally. "I… I try to keep the human part of everyone alive. But not Kyle. What you said, about how he's in so much pain he's dangerous? You were right. And I am encouraging it. He needs to be dangerous, so that mom will be dangerous; so that I can be dangerous. Kyle I try to isolate. Him I try to harden. It's not fair to him."

"It's not fair to you." Kate countered. "It took me way too long to realize it because I was upset about losing Kyle, but it finally hit me: I gave you so much hell about Kyle, but I forgot that whatever pain you're causing him, it's causing for you too. He's your father. And you can't even talk to him about it. I can't imagine what that does to you. I... I think about your mom, wondering if showing you love would make you too soft. Wondering if I do that for Kyle..."

John didn't answer for a while. "When I found out that you were pregnant, I swore I wouldn't treat my kids like... You love me too Kate. It doesn't make me weaker. It makes me stronger." John looked up at her. "Kate… soldiers on the battlefield? They call out for their moms. Kyle calls for you. I never should have told you. I never should have put that on you."

"Shhhh." Kate said gently, pulling him forward in his chair till she was hugging him to her stomach. "I'm glad you did. I took it badly, but… This is the sort of thing that wives gear up for John. This is why we took vows. I was there for you when you had to order the Bandits into the Hot-Zones, I was there when you ordered Eric to leave the two hundred behind… I've got a part to play in this war that nobody else can play too. Destiny seems to catch people in our family that way."

John's hands came up and wrapped around her tightly. "Kyle needs someone. Lupe won't be easy for him to…" He fell silent.

"To replace?" Kate said gently.

"Yeah." Connor sighed. "Mom said she asked him. If he had a girl in his life. He said no. I wonder if… If he was lying to her because of what was going on between them… or maybe the change in timeline screwed that up…"

"Or maybe he just denies Lupe because it hurts?" Kate guessed.

John almost smiled. She was reading his mind, finishing his sentences. In this most horrible way, they were a team again. "Yeah."

"I don't know. And right now, I'm fine with not knowing. For all our talk on how we're going to treat Kyle, we forget that we're not the only ones in his life. Robbie and Sarah haven't left him alone for ten minutes; his Unit has rallied around him tight… He needs someone. He's got lots of people, but Lupe was special to him. So was your mom." She sighed. "I told you once that you were never going to lose me. I meant it. I told you that I would always love you alone, always be on your side, no matter what decisions you had to make, or what sacrifices this war demanded. i meant every word. Kyle is a son to me... So are a lot of kids in this Base. I was angry, and I... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I gave you grief. The last few months... You don't have a lot of people to lose... I found out about Kyle, and then the 1000 got in. Then the Terminator, Lupe, Enrique, and then I blow up at you, then everyone starts to starve, then Eric gets stabbed... Of all the times for me to not have your back, I picked now. I'm so sorry."

They clung to each other for a while. They broke, just staying close enough to listen to each other breathe.

"Noah says that I am entitled to push emotions away. She says that I can treat the people under my command as I wish. But I have to live with the consequences."

"What do you think?"

"I think that the soldiers under my command and the civilians under my charge, and the allied forces across the entire globe have tasked me with saving humanity at any cost. They know that sometimes I have to be the bad guy."

Kate nodded. "I know. I know that too, and I agree with it. But when I found out about Kyle..." She shivered. "Sarah and Robbie salute me. And it's not just a game they play with their mommy any more."

Silence.

"Kate?" He whispered, still holding her.

"Yeah?"

"Was Lupe pregnant?"

Beat.

"Yes." Kate said quietly. "How did you know?"

"She had her hand resting on her stomach when I came in that day. You did the same thing whenever you were..." Connor trailed off and went silent for a long time. "My whole life, I had this image in my head of what The Great John Connor would be like. Someone who can defeat Skynet. I saw him as... bullet-proof, unbreakable. No pain, no fear, no questions. But that's not me is it? That's a Terminator."

Kate stroked his hair for a while and rested her hands on his shoulders. "There are no rules for this kind of situation. We all just do what we can. You got treated differently your whole life… because your life was headed in a different direction than anyone else. I… I had to remind myself that Kyle is the same." She took in a deep shuddering breath. "And the one thing you're not… is cold hearted."

They were silent a long time, holding each other.

The PA crackled. "General Connor, report to the War Room please."

Kate pulled away enough to look at him. "Think you can handle it?"

"Are you kidding? I can handle fighting Skynet a hell of a lot better than fighting you." Connor said lightly.

She gave him a quick squeeze "Love you husband."

"Love you wife."

Connor stood to go, and Kate squeezed his hand. "By the way General, if you see my husband on your way to the War Room, tell him I'm tired of sleeping alone."

Z Plus Ten Years One Hundred Fifty One Days

Kate marched into the 132nd's Dormitory. The Unit itself was not on a Mission, though the soldiers in it had several smaller missions or duties around the Base. Kyle however, now spent all his free time in the gym, the target range, or sleeping.

Kate came in like an angry wind. "Everyone out except for Reese!" She barked.

Kate never barked. So everyone snapped to attention and all but ran for it.

Kyle came to attention and waited.

"Corporal, you've been savage, you've been short tempered, you've been surly, and I can live with all of that. But not with you being violent."

"Does Christen want revenge?" Kyle asked. It was the first thing he'd said willingly in months.

"No. He wants to drop the whole matter. He blames himself. I don't. Maybe he'll let you off the hook, but I'm not. What if you had your gun with you? Would you have killed him?"

Kyle didn't answer.

"Mikey's death was an accident. I loved him like a son too Kyle. Just like all my Lost Boys and Girls." Kate said firmly. "And he wasn't responsible for Lupe either."

Kyle twitched.

Kate stared at him a moment. "Who's the most dangerous human alive?"

"Connor." Kyle said without hesitation.

"You think he gets angry?"

"I know he does." Kyle conceded.

"Does he ever blow up at people? Does he ever beat the stuffing out of people who make mistakes?"

"No." Kyle whispered.

"I don't blame you for being angry Kyle. But you either control it, or it controls you. Connor controls it. If you can't, then we have a problem." She looked at him. "Do we have a problem?"

Kyle straightened. His eyes seemed to focus for the first time in weeks. "No Ma'am."

Sorry John. She thought to herself firmly. But he'll have to be tough enough without me kicking him when he's down.

Kate nodded firmly, and softened, just a bit. "I love you Kyle."

Kyle shivered. "I know Ma'am."

Kate took that in and paused. "You used to call me 'Mom' when we were alone like this."

"I remember." Kyle said. Just that. Nothing more.

"Now. He wants to see you." Kate said. "You got your head on straight, or are you gonna mouth off to The General too?"

The teenager reacted to the blasphemy. "Of course not."

"Then get moving."

Kyle Reese came into the War Room smartly. "You sent for me General?"

"Reese, I've got a mission for you. One that we've put off for far too long. Intel has located three smelting and metalworking plants. I need you to go out there and find the one most likely to be workable. We're going to restore it, and use it to properly kill the 1000 we've got frozen."

"Yes sir." Kyle said immediately.

"Can you handle the mission alone?"

"Yes sir."

"Carry on Corporal."

"Sir." Kyle saluted and turned to leave.

"Oh Reese!" Connor called him back, remembering. "I made a list of potential partners for you on Recon missions. If you want to add some names, feel free. You'll have seniority; this one is entirely your choice."

Kyle took the folder. "Thank you sir." He said darkly. He didn't like it.

"Or have you picked a new partner already?" Connor asked.

"No sir. Not yet." Kyle said coolly. "I want to make dead sure."

Connor couldn't help it. He knew the answer, and he knew he should let it go, but... but he had to ask. "Dead sure of what?"

"That this one's not as weak." Kyle said coldly.

The background hum of the War Room dropped a little at this. Lupe was known and loved in the Underground. And the one who loved her so much more than any of them was writing her off as weak. Nobody really blinked. He wasn't the first soldier to hide pain behind a fierce game face. Wouldn't be the last.

Connor didn't remark on it. "As you were Reese."

Kyle saluted again, and left the room. Once he was out of the War Room, he flicked through the folder. He knew most of the names. in the back of the folder, there was an old Polaroid photograph.

Kyle looked at the photo of a pretty blonde woman, with steel in her eyes. She looked... sad about something.

Kyle turned the photo over. 'The toughest woman I know. She can make you strong too. Like she did for me. Sarah Connor, 1986.'

Connor's mom? Kyle's eyes bulged and he spun back to the War Room. Through the door he could see Connor, giving orders, taking in everything, untouchable, immortal. The General looked out the open door to return Kyle's look. It was a strong steely gaze, unbreakable, powerful. Kyle felt his shaking emotions get stronger from the look alone, and returned it with a single nod.

The door to the War Room swung shut, and Kyle Reese went back to war.

John approved of my keeping this record. It wasn't until we left for Crystal Peak that I realized why. Nobody saw him as John. Only Connor. Only The General. Not even his mother. Not even his daughter. Just me. It's unusual that someone's wife is more objective than his coworkers.

Nevertheless, the Myth is earned. It was John Connor that made humanity get up and fight. He did not do it alone, and for all his outrage over being considered 'too important', he still did it better than anyone else; and the world we live in now is not one that tolerates second best.

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

AN: Read and Review

AN: Take Two. Small changes for grammar