AN: One last time, one last battle. Hold tight kids, because here we go...
The War will end, which is wonderful, except for the fact that so many of us live for it. In a way... we're all Terminators. We've shut down everything that could hurt us, because there's too much hurt. We've shut down everything we love, because it's too easy to lose. And every time we lose something, by war or by choice, we fill that missing part with more of the War.
The War will end soon. Everyone knows it. After that, we're all just Machines looking for a new program.
Those of us that survive, at least.
[Taken From the Personal Journals of General Katherine Connor, recovered from Crystal Peak, 2170]
Z Plus Twenty Seven Years Three Hundred Thirty Days
It was the twenty seventh year since Judgement Day. Skynet's forces were stretching thinner and thinner, and the Machines suddenly had to worry about casualties. Skynet's resources were maxed out, with nothing new to mine, and the factories going silent.
Every now and then, a surviving Machine would ambush a human supply line or patrol, and there would be a few casualties. Not enough to make any kind of difference, more than enough to keep the paranoia alive. Fear grew when it led nowhere.
Checkpoints Roundup and Touchstone remained under Tech-Com control. Skynet sent two attacks to wipe out each. They both failed. Tech-Com had spent twenty years capturing Machines and reprogramming them, some going to war, the rest being saved. Terminators of every make and model were waiting by the thousands in caves, in storerooms, in hideouts and outposts. And now as one they all woke up, and moved toward the System Core, making an ominous pilgrimage back to where they had all been born years before.
Armies of scrubbed Machines were coming in their legions to face their maker. Skynet had redrawn its borders around the System Core, and Humanity was parked just outside it, waiting for The General to turn them loose.
Throughout the Underground, rumors were spreading of impending Victory; rumors that Skynet had nothing left. But under that undercurrent of excitement, was the memory. Fear lived in the corridors of Tech-Com soldiers, because the last time Tech-Com was winning this war, Skynet rolled out something new. Humanity did not dare get its hopes up after so long. But as the war dragged on, the rumors would not die, and Humanity was hoping to be hopeful.
But there was another fear growing, unspoken but unavoidable. After twenty seven years, there was practically nobody left that had lived before Skynet. Humanity was an underground species now, and the notion of having nothing to fear from the sky was suddenly an unspoken possibility. Skynet tanks fed them, Skynet batteries powered them. Skynet weapons armed them. Skynet attacks defined their borders, their procedures, their actions. The War was the only thing keeping the Human Race alive.
And now the vast wasteland was going quiet, Machine factories shutting down as raw materials stopped coming, Machine relays going dark as there was nothing left for them to relay instructions to.
The tide of the war had turned against Skynet, its immense army now bleeding resources. Humanity was being fed, gaining strength, and gaining ground on all continents that still had surviving human populations.
Kate loved this dream. She was so clean, so comfortable. The omnipresent hunger was not only at bay, it was gone. She looked out the window, looking at the world passing by, and the sky was a beautiful rich blue. Trees and grass, healthy and green. She could see her reflection. Her hair was so full and soft, her skin smooth and young... She looked so... healthy. Well fed, looked after. It was decadent how lovely she was.
She looked back to her companions. John was there, sitting behind her, wiring up a set of explosives. He looked so scruffy and exhausted; not like in the War Room. This was not the John she had wanted as her husband. It before the Uniform, before Tech-Com...
But this was before she had loved him too. Before J-Day, before Crystal Peak, before their year together...
And next to her in the drivers' seat was their Terminator, their bodyguard, his face scarred and the metal barely visible beneath.
"So, if this war is between people and machines, why are you on our side?" Kate asked him, more annoyed at the paradox than genuinely curious. She'd met two Machines so far, and this was the one not killing people she loved. More than that, she didn't really care.
"The Resistance captured me, reprogrammed my CPU." The thick Austrian accent said. "I was originally designed for Assassination Missions."
Kate felt her beautiful healthy face twist slightly. "So you don't really care if this Mission succeeds of not. If we get killed, does that mean anything to you?"
The Machine considered, but its face did not change at all. "If you were to die, I would become useless. There would be no reason for me to exist."
Kate had no doubts about how capable he was compared to the T-X, or how resourceful their foe was. He was taking a huge risk with his whole reason for existence. "Thank you for doing this."
"Your gratitude is not required." The Machine said clinically. "I am programmed to follow your commands."
That got John's attention. The scruffy young man jumped up and came over to sit nearer to them. "Her commands?" He repeated.
"It was Katherine Brewster who had me reactivated and sent through the Time Displacement Field." The Terminator explained. John's eyes widened and went to her for a split second.
Kate was more than a little surprised herself. She tried to picture herself as someone who would send a cyborg through time, and the image didn't fit. "What exactly am I in this future of yours?"
"You're John Connor's Spouse and Second In Command."
Kate felt herself flush, and her head shook seriously. "No." She said instantly, rejecting the whole notion immediately.
John looked at her, nonplussed. "What?"
Kate looked at him, openly disdainful. "You're a mess."
Connor actually seemed amused by that. "You're not exactly my type either." He turned back to the Machine behind the wheel. "Why didn't I send you back?"
"I'm not authorized to answer your questions."
John looked to Kate, and she knew immediately what he wanted. It was slightly fun, the notion of having a Terminator at her beck and call. "Why didn't he send you back?" She asked.
"He was dead." The machine said with brutal detachment.
Kate felt her face change, her expression falling slightly.
John took it with a depressed acceptance, as though it was just another thing to add to the list. "Oh." He said finally. "Well that sucks."
"Humans inevitably die." The Terminator pointed out.
"Yeah, I know but... How does it-no. Y'know what? I don't wanna know."
Kate didn't hesitate, curious to learn about the mysterious impossible world that their protector had come from. "How does he die?"
John rolled his eyes.
The Terminator didn't hesitate. "John Connor was Terminated July 4th 2032. I was selected due to his emotional attachment toward my model number, due to his boyhood experiences. This aided in my infiltration."
That little revelation seemed to affect John more than the news of his death. "What? What are you saying?"
Indifferent, The Machine spelled it out for him. "I killed you."
Kate woke up sharply, gasping for air. She looked over instantly. He wasn't there; but she knew that already. They always protected each other from nightmares.
Kate sat upright, hugging her legs, resting her head on her knees. The ache in her arm was nothing compared to the pain in her heart. The words kept echoing in her head.
"Why didn't he send you back?"
"He was dead."
"Why did I ask?" Kate mourned aloud. "Oh god, why did I have to ask? He was sitting right there next to us, and he said he didn't want to know, and I went and asked for details on how he died... Why did I have to ask?"
Because you didn't even like him then. A cruel little voice whispered in her mind. Because you didn't really care if he died. You wanted to stop Judgement Day, go back to your life, and forget he ever existed.
She couldn't even imagine life without him now. Life without him, their kids...
"John Connor was Terminated July 4th, 2032..."
Kate rubbed her face. "No." She whispered fiercely. "It won't happen. I won't let it happen. No Fate But What We Make."
"Generals Kate Connor, Eric Walters and Erica Noah, please report to the Main Briefing Room." The PA announced.
Promise made, she jumped out of bed.
The Briefing Room had been sealed by Nova for over a full day. Connor had not come out. He had meetings with over a dozen Team Leaders, plus the entire Command Staff, plus the Council, plus one or two with Rojas.
The whole Base was buzzing, with the most electric anticipation on every face. Kate didn't know if she should love the change or hate it. But everyone was feeling it. The ones that lasted this long were uniformly closed off, feral, suspicious...
But now... everyone was looking at each other. They were meeting each other's eyes. Like they were asking each other questions. People were talking to each other more, and the subject was always the same. Everyone walked with some extra energy in their stride, nobody in Crystal Peak could sit still... The War had gone on so long it was like oxygen, like the tunnels, the Mess Hall, the uniform. It was what being a human being meant. A human being fought in the war, lived Underground, kept out of sight, and feared Skynet.
If the War ended, all that would be over. In a day, it would be over.
And what they would all be after that, Kate had no idea.
The Underground was speed walking around, struggling to breathe from the anticipation, a whole species made up of nervous wrecks. But Kate wasn't worried. She knew the battle would be won, and with it, the War. The dates were matching up. Destiny was satisfied. All their secret prophecies were about to be fulfilled...
"John Connor was Terminated July 4th, 2032..."
Kate was a nervous wreck for an entirely different reason.
As she reached the elevators, the doors opened and she found Noah and Walters already there, on their way downstairs. "You guys know what this is about?"
"I can only think of three things it might be." Walters offered. "I think this is it."
Nova guarded the door to the Briefing Room, and they knew Connor's Command Staff on sight, letting her through. Colonel Gould was already there, Connor hadn't moved since the night before. "Have a seat folks. Gould was just giving us the numbers based on the plan we've got now."
"Brain Box has done the projections eight different ways. At best, our casualties will be in the 65-85% range." Gould said.
Kate came in and sat down. "What's the good news?"
"That was the good news." Connor told her. "Worst Case scenario, we lose the battle, at which point we will not have forces enough to defend more than a quarter of our territory should Skynet decide to go from defending the System Core to using those forces for attack."
Silence.
Kate and John traded a look. They had words from the future, that promised Skynet defeat... and what would happen soon after.
"...is there any way?" Kate asked finally.
"The problem is the Turrets." Noah said. "We can try and take them first, we can try and avoid them, but the fact is, the plan can't be improved on. At some point, you just gotta accept the losses you're gonna get. It's the price of winning a war."
The others pretended not to notice Walters giving her a dirty look, but he was nodding sickly. "She's right." Walters said. "The Turrets can't be beat. Automated, long range, near limitless ammo that close to Skynet's Main Base."
"The plan is sound, but those Turrets are around the whole place, 360 degrees. They'll chew their way through a lot of people before we can knock them down."
Connor nodded grimly. "Well... There is a way."
"He's got an idea." Noah said, not for the first time. "I can tell. He's got that look."
"Well, wait till you hear it first." Connor smirked. "We can shut the Turrets down. All of them... If we use Brain Box."
Beat.
"Sir, I hereby relieve you of command." Noah said. "General Walters, back me up right now."
"Gotta admit, my first thought is to agree with her." Walters said ruefully. "General... If... Brain Box has all our Intel, all our secrets, all our troop movements, all our scout reports, all our Checkpoints, personnel numbers... And it can't Take Skynet. It won't even put up a fight. We send Brain Box into battle, and Skynet will devour it whole."
"It'll turn a battle for victory into the biggest defeat we've ever suffered." Noah agreed.
"Skynet doesn't have direct control over the Turrets like it does the mobile Machines." Connor said firmly. "We only need to let Brain Box at them for a few seconds. Brain Box can't take Skynet it's true, but all we have to do is take control for a few seconds. Brain box can be hooked up to a transmitter, and then it takes control of the Turrets. Brain Box can turn them on each other, make them blow each other up before Skynet can retake control. Send one command, and then we disconnect. It can be done."
"Skynet's got good reaction times." Noah pointed out.
"Erica..." John said gently. "We're sending Connor's Own into the fight, along with eight Units. We're sending Nova Group in three different directions, it's going to be a long fight so we're sending the International Tech-Com in as reinforcements, and sending all our Naval units to cut off any reinforcements that Skynet might send... Brain Box ain't nothing at this point. This time next month, Skynet will be burning in Digital Hell, or humanity will be a footnote in Skynet's memory banks. We're already committed."
Deathly silence.
"Oh my god..." Walters whispered. "This... this is really it."
"One way or another, this is it." Connor said evenly.
Long silence. Noah and Walters were staring at each other like the world was between them.
"It can't work." Gould put in. "To have Brain Box send a signal, we'd need a much stronger transmitter than we can put up. It's the only way to have enough signal strength. Plus, if we were to give Brain Box ability to transmit instead of just receive, it would mean giving Skynet a two way transmission into the Base."
"And that is something we can't allow." Connor agreed. "But there's another way. We take Brain Box out of Crystal Peak."
"And take it where?" Gould asked. "Like I said, we need a transmitter bigger than anything we've got here. There's no way we could rig something in a field post."
"We don't have to rig anything." Connor explained. "Skynet already has. Years ago."
Beat.
"Arecibo?"
"The whole telescope was rebuilt to do something, but it's still all there. A Telescope, a receiver, an antennae. We hook up Brain Box, and let Skynet's equipment give us the power and bandwidth we need."
"Arecibo is Union territory." Walters pointed out. "With all the forces we need to hit the System Core... We'll never be able to get in there."
Connor smirked. "Agreed. Well... there is a way." He turned to Kate. "How hard would it be to get a call to Lori without anyone else on the Council knowing why?"
Noah and Walters traded a glance. "There's that look again."
"I know. I used to really love that look."
Lori looked out her window. She may have been a leader now, and a civilian one at that, but there was no such thing as Ex-Tech-Com. You never stopped scanning, you never stopped minding your surroundings. A lot of soldiers preferred being on the ground. Up in the air, you were easier to spot, and it was harder to take cover.
The water had never been the safe haven that Halloway had promised. None of Skynet's children did terribly well in the water, but neither had humanity. Underwater meant slow going, and with most of their shipyards destroyed, it wasn't worth the effort of building submarines for shipping a lot of goods. Halloway had been invaluable at smuggling Connor and his own unit around during the early days of the war, but as Tech-Com spread and the War went badly for Skynet, the oceans had been largely used as hiding places for flying H/K's that could hover out beyond the reach of anything for a long time.
A hop from the north American continent to Mexico and northern Brazil was a relatively short flight, but Lori and her escorts were still watching carefully across the waves.
Lori had never been to Rojas' Compound before. The most she knew of it had come from when Enrique had left his mark all over the Union men and their stronghold years before. There were whispers that The Nova Group were quietly making their way in, but for what, nobody was sure.
Lori stepped out of the helicopter as soon as it landed, but made no move to go anywhere. The union guards got a long look at her, and her guards. The helicopter kept its engines running as Union troops came up to meet her.
"Councillor." One of them said. "Welcome to Union Prime. My name is Elcar. Governor Rojas asked me to meet y-WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY DOING HERE?"
Lori smirked. She had a feeling that taking along an escort made up of The Nova Group would ruffle a few feathers. "They are here as my bodyguards. Compliments of The General."
Elcar glared at her. "I have standing orders that Tech-Com forces are not to be permitted in our Bases without permission from Governor Rojas."
"They are not in your base, they are on my helicopter." Lori didn't so much as look away. "If you have a problem with that, then take me to your leader. I'll clear it with him."
Eventually, a deal was struck. The Nova Group would stay out of any meetings between Lori and Rojas, and the Union Guards would stay outside also; to watch them.
Rojas seemed amused by the whole thing. "You must understand Councillor, that the Nova Group are not exactly popular around here."
"About as popular as the Terminators." Lori agreed lightly. "You aren't worried though?"
"I'm not as... superstitious." Rojas agreed. "Four guards, even from the infamous Nova Group, is not enough to wage war on the Union."
"True, but it was enough to force a compromise that would allow us to talk privately."
Rojas smiled, as though he'd just won a secret game, and Lori knew he'd suspected that this was the point. "You have something for me?"
Lori chose her words carefully. Rojas had been looking for supporters within Crystal Peak for years. "In one hour, I'm getting back on the chopper I came in on, and I'm going back to Crystal Peak. There's a seat for you, right next to mine."
Rojas blinked, jaw hanging open.
Lori nodded. "I was asked... to extend an invitation."
"By Connor?" Rojas asked in disbelief.
Lori nodded.
"Just how stupid does he think I am?"
Lori snorted. "I've never had a whole lot of respect for any man who asks that question, but that's why he sent me. I'm not Tech-Com. To be honest, I've been having a lot of trouble getting around the soldiers to do my job ever since your guy Ross convinced me to become a Civilian again."
Rojas studied her face. "You're here as what? An Honest dealer?"
"Something like that. Connor sent me a message for you. 'We Can End This'."
Rojas seemed to shiver for a moment. "And by that he means..."
"The whole damn War."
Rojas didn't so much as blink. "Well, I'll certainly give this news careful thought."
Lori snorted. "In other words, 'take a hike'."
"No offense, but if Skynet and Connor beat each others brains in, it's only good for me... and for you. We both know that even if Connor keeps his word and resigns, he'll still be a major threat to the Council. The less power he has, the fewer forces he has, the more you've got to work with."
"You know another word for 'forces' in this conversation is 'people'." Lori pointed out. "Look, you don't risk anything by having the conversation."
"I don't gain anything either." Rojas shot back. "And... I just don't trust him."
Lori nodded, seemingly unconcerned. "Okay. I guess I'll head home then. By the way, have you heard from Mar Del Plata lately?"
Rojas froze. "What do you know about that?"
Lori shrugged. "Nothing. Since I joined the Council, I'm not in the loop for a lot of Tech-Com operations, but what I do know is that some of the SAW Teams have stopped knocking down flying H/K's, and are instead tagging them with trackers. I'm told that a number of H/K's have landed in Mar Del Plata. More than that, I really can't tell you; because I'm not in the loop."
She didn't have to be. If Connor had tipped her off about mentioning it, then it could only be bad news for Rojas.
Rojas considered his response carefully. "It wasn't nearly as big a place as it was Back Before, but it's still our territory, so we have a listening post there... We lost contact with it this morning."
Lori nodded serenely. "That's the first time you've ever had an H/K invasion succeed in taking a beachhead. You could probably send a force to intercept it before it split up, gathered reinforcements, or got anywhere serious... But of course, you don't know how many there are, or which way they're headed now... If only you had the frequency to track the tags Tech-Com has been putting on the H/K's all this time."
Rojas said nothing.
Lori took a breath. "Many years ago, Skynet had it's first try at Germ Warfare. We didn't have a laboratory, we were all living in subways and sewers, scraping supplies out of LA. I wasn't even an Ally then. I just pulled together a few hundred refugees and made my way. Connor was trying to recruit me when the Virus hit us all. Connor gave me the cure. No charge, no conditions, he just handed it to me and told me to go save my people." Lori looked at him earnestly, and handed him a slip of paper. "Here's the frequency. Find the H/K's, wipe them out. No conditions, no price. But come and talk to Connor anyway."
Rojas was silent for a long time. "All right. I bring my bodyguards. Nova stays out of the chopper. I won't go to Crystal Peak."
Lori nodded. "Tech-Com retook the LA area. My old place the Orphanage is still there. Nova is checking it out, securing it. I propose five guards each, five guards only. Can't fit more than that on a transport chopper anyway."
Rojas took the paper and nodded. "Agreed."
"So, you're okay with this?" Sarah asked quietly.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Robbie said evenly.
"No reason." His sister said innocently. "I know you're still a little miffed th-"
"Sarah!" Robbie interrupted loudly, drawing stares from a number of people in the Motor Pool.
"When was the last time you saw him?" Sarah demanded. "Either of them for that matter?"
Robbie sighed. "The wedding."
"Years ago." Sarah said forgivingly. "And you took it with your chin up, and I can respect that."
"Thank you."
"I just want you to know that, so that when you see him again and fall apart like a little screaming baby on my shoulder, you'll know that I don't mean it when I mock you mercilessly."
"I appreciate that." Robbie said solemnly. "I'll be sure and remember this conversation the next time Kurt needs someone to cover for your make-out sessions ."
The truck rolled in to Crystal Peak, and Robbie and Sarah went over to meet it quickly.
Berk was the first one out. The years had been good to the former Tunnel Rat. He'd filled out into a strong confident man. He saw Robbie and beamed, saluting crisply. "Evergreen."
"Berk." Robbie said cheerfully. "Welcome back."
Berk hadn't set foot in the Base since leaving for Death Valley. He looked around like it was a mirage. "Wow. The old place hasn't held up that well, huh?"
"She's held up great, considering." Sarah knew what he meant though. The vehicles were in for repair constantly, with no way to replace them. Damage done to various parts of the assembly meant that there were loads of old equipment here and there, parts cannibalized out of them to repair the equipment that could be saved. At this point, a Tunnel Rat was fixing his clothes with thirty year old staples, salvaged for tailoring use now that the thread was gone and paper was getting harder and harder to recycle by hand. The cracks had been showing for a long time, but everyone knew that this time next month they would have all the time in the world. "How's Ginny?"
"Ask her yourself." Called a familiar voice from inside the truck, and Robbie turned to see Ginny poking her head out, beaming a smile. Robbie felt his heart start to race. She was beautiful. The years since he'd seen her last had changed her from pretty to beautiful.
"Gin!" Robbie blurted, thrilled to see her. "I didn't know you were coming on this trip! Let me help you down."
Ginny took his hand gratefully, Berk taking the other one, and the woman jumped down happily, with a four year old boy holding on to her hip. Robbie went buggy eyed.
Sarah was delighted. "Well well. Hello there. And who is this?"
The young boy shyly pushed his face into Ginny's side. She chuckled and plucked him up off the ground. "This is Robin. Robin, this is Robbie Evergreen, the man we named you for, and his sister Sarah."
Robbie felt his jaw hit the floor.
The Orphanage had been abandoned years before, when Connor split with the US Army and formed Tech-Com. Lori and all her people had gone with him. Here and there were some signs that Whickahm had used the place long ago, but it had been abandoned by them soon after when they had to leave LA.
Nova had arrived two days before and made a search, looking for booby traps and listening devices. Skynet was patient, and may have left a surprise behind.
Oldham, now a colonel, and member of the Nova group, made the call. "Area is secure, landing zone clear. Bring the Chief."
"I still say we should take a bigger escort." Kate said.
"Five guards each." Connor said. "I've got three guards, and two Infiltrators. Something that we can be pretty sure Rojas won't have."
"Not that, the Fighter Escort." Kate said. "The skies are pretty clear between here and LA, but..."
"Oh come on, don't pretend you're not looking forward to it. You've been out of the sky for years."
"Well, after my last landing, finding anyone willing to loan me a plane has been tough." Kate teased.
"Chief, we got word from Oldham." Walters voice called. "Looks like the Meeting is on."
Kate settled into the pilot's seat, and Connor sat next to her. "Copy that." Connor responded. "Take care of the place until I get back."
"Always do."
Sarah had taken Robin and was having a great deal of fun playing with him.
At the other end of the table, Robbie, Berk and Ginny were catching up on old times.
"You check in with the others?" Robbie asked Berk.
Berk sighed. "They didn't even recognize me." He said. "They haven't changed. Still pale, rail thin, still scurrying from one corner to the next..." He looked saddened by it.
Robbie understood. His time in Eden had given Berk some muscle, a enough extra pounds to make him almost safely underweight, and a good supply of muscle. The Tunnel Rats still hadn't come out of hiding for anything. Most of them would come out to help with work. Some of them never came out. Every now and then, one of them would come up from the lower-decks and ask for help delivering a baby, or medicine for some sickness spreading quickly through them...
Berk gave Robbie a look. "If it wasn't for you, I'd still be down there with them."
"As I recall, it was mom's idea." Robbie brushed that off modestly. Ginny and Berk were pushing their rations around on their trays awkwardly. Robbie tapped the trays and smirked at them. "You hold your breath, you'd swear it was edible. Meat's good though."
Berk nodded. "They've improved the meat tanks."
Robbie chuckled. "So."
Ginny smiled. "Say what you want to say."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Robbie demanded, jerking a thumb toward Robin.
"We wanted it to be a surprise." Berk explained. "And when you didn't come back to Death Valley..."
Robbie blinked. "I feel bad about that. But, we set up another place like the Valley in the Appalachians, and you guys are just too efficient about running Death Valley without me."
They both laughed.
Berk sighed. "Connor sent out the call for men, and we both wanted to volunteer. But Robin is only four, and..."
"And you wanted to have someone stay with him." Robbie finished.
"We flipped a coin." Ginny finished the story. "So Berk's gonna be out there with you..."
Robbie looked confused. "Where'd you find a coin?"
Berk chuckled. Ginny sent him a look, and berk gave a single nod, so simple that Robbie almost missed it. "I'm gonna get some more coffee." Berk said. He gave his wife a kiss on the cheek and headed toward the chow line.
Ginny smiled softly at Robbie. "Is it weird?"
Robbie nearly choked. "Is... what weird?"
"I'll take that as a yes." Ginny said. "When you didn't come back... I thought maybe I had screwed up."
"Does Berk know you think that?" Robbie asked quietly.
"Robbie, Berk and I have the same story. We were nothing kids; starving in the dark; rotting away in a nothing place, and you saved us. Not Connor, not Kate... It was all you. Neither of us would have made it without you." Ginny bit her lip. "And I think I know why you stopped coming around to see us."
Robbie sighed. It's 'be a man time'. He told himself. "I am very happy that you are happy." He said firmly. "If I had a problem with Berk, I would have told you long before the wedding. But he went from a barely noticeable Tunnel Rat to someone I admire. And he's apparently done a great job as leader of the Death Valley outpost, and that's because of you."
"And you." Ginny told him firmly. "You're his hero Robbie. Something that I can relate to. When I was pregnant, we both agreed from the start that boy or girl, we were going to name our first after you. Berk proposed, and I knew my answer was gonna be yes, because he's the only one you ever brought to Death Valley that measures up."
Robbie felt something shift inside him for a reason he couldn't quickly place. "Measures up to what?"
She reached out and took his hand. "You."
They looked at each other warmly for a while.
Robbie couldn't help it. He was smiling. "I never should have been away this long."
"Well, you better come visit a lot more once this war ends." Ginny said seriously. "I miss you."
"We miss you." Berk said, coming back, sitting down next to Ginny. "You should see Valley Eight."
Robbie laughed. "I will... What's the mood there?"
"Tense." They both answered him. "Everyone knows something big is about to happen, nobody knows what for sure."
Robbie nodded. "The attack will happen. It's been building since we took the Staging Area. It could happen any day now."
Berk let out a long slow breath. "And what happens after that?"
Robbie shook his head. "I have no idea. I don't think anyone does. It's making everyone crazy." He lowered his voice. "A lot of people have been talking to the Edener's here. They want to know if they can join up as soon as the war ends."
Berk and Ginny traded a glance, as though they had been waiting for that a long time. "What'd you tell them?"
"I told them the more the merrier."
Berk lowered his voice suddenly. "Robbie?" He whispered. "What's up with your sister?"
Robbie looked to the other end of the table. Sarah had Robin in her lap, rocking him a little, the way a mom would. She was giving the little kid a disturbingly earnest smile, like she was memorizing the moment.
Robbie felt his jaw drop, yet again.
"We're almost there." Lori told Rojas. "Connor just arrived a few minutes ago."
Rojas nodded. "Well, this is...What the hell is that?"
Lori looked down below them. It was immense. It was an army of Machines, thousands of them, tens of thousands of them, marching in rank on rank. They moved in perfect Machine unison, an unbroken chain of chrome death, marching tirelessly beneath then helicopter. There were so many that neither of them could see the end it it. The sun shone off a river of Machines, as they went to War.
Lori didn't smile. "Connor."
"What?"
"After the Siege at Arecibo, the day you broke with us, Skynet fried half its own Machines. Connor sent us all out to collect them. We sent people, we sent Machines... They reprogrammed them out in the field, and the ones we captured went out and captured more, and the ones they captured went out and captured more."
"Why the hell didn't you use any of them?"
"Well, first of all, it wasn't 'us'. I'm not Tech-Com any more. Second of all, I think Connor was saving them... for this Mission. He's had them hidden all over the country, all over the planet. He's spent ten years just gathering more and more of them. They've been all over the place, just... waiting. Down there is about a third of what's going in to the fight."
Rojas felt the ground shift. "So many... god, Connor's got so many of them..." He whispered.
Beside him, Lori fought down a secret smile.
There were no speeches, no formal introductions. Rojas and Connor had never met, but they knew each other on sight. Their guards spread across the room, staying right behind their respective leaders, watching each other uneasily. The Orphanage was far from both of their holdings, far from their bases. If anything bad went don here, nobody on either side would ever know exactly what.
There was a table in the middle of the room, room enough for two people.
Rojas spoke first. "Your call... was intriguing. That's the only reason I'm here."
Connor nodded. "There's no sense wasting time on posturing. Neither of us has done this before, and time, as always, is against us."
Rojas nodded. "Let's put the kids to bed and talk. No weapons."
Connor drew his weapon, handed it to Kate, and turned to his people. "Let us talk. Don't let anyone else in here."
Rojas did the same and turned to his own guards. "You too. Yell if you see anything, Machine or Man."
The others all gave each other unpleasant looks and did so, heading out of the room. Rojas still had his duffel bag, as did Connor. They left them well away from the table, and met in the middle.
Rojas too the time to draw a bottle out of his duffel bag and put it on the table. "Tequila. Good stuff. Not moonshine."
Connor smirked. "Fantastic. Haven't seen any Pre-J-Day booze in over a decade."
Rojas smirked. "Always start with a drink. Or so my father used to say."
Connor pushed the bottle forward. "You drink first."
Rojas snorted and did so. "Coward."
"Survivor." Connor countered.
Detente. Barbs exchanged, they could now get on with things.
"Your call was... surprising." Rojas admitted. "You're not worried about compromising Lori's position with the Council?"
"That's tomorrow's problem." Connor evaded. "I wanted to talk to you about today."
"You want my help." Rojas guessed.
"I want reinforcements." Connor countered. "Whatever you can spare to win the ultimate victory, and access for my people to reach and capture a Skynet held area on the edge of your territory. Rojas... let's be allies again."
"Why?" Rojas said suspiciously. "Last I heard, the System Core was the only thing left. I've got eyes too. I have reports of massive troop movements. Thousands, millions of Tech-Com soldiers from across the world coming here. They're heading for the System Core."
Connor didn't bother to deny it.
"If you're honestly marching on them, then you'd have to be willing to do this without me. If you can win, then you're coming to me because you're hoping to limit your own casualties. So I have to choose between getting my people killed or not. That seems like a pretty easy choice. If you're not willing to do this without me, then the whole thing is a doomed mission, and I reap the benefits." He grinned suddenly. "That's it, isn't it? You don't know how to do it."
"There is a third option." Connor said mercilessly. "What if I can take Skynet without you? What happens after that?"
Beat.
"...after that?" Rojas repeated.
"With Skynet taken down..." Connor spelled it out for him. "...who's left?"
Rojas felt a sudden spike. "I thought you promised to retire once Skynet was dead."
Connor's eyes went sub-zero. "And who told you about that agreement, made many years ago?"
Rojas kicked himself. "I have sources." He waved that off.
Connor counted on his fingers. "There are only two possibilities. One: The Council takes over when the war is over as I agreed, in which case you are their enemy anyway, as you're the only power base without a voice and they inherit all Tech-Com with only you as an opponent to their rule. Or two: You already have influence over the council, in which case, all deals are off, and you are alone in the world once I'm done with Skynet, which will be a few weeks at most. So why stay my enemy, when you can be my ally?"
Beat.
"Why?" Rojas asked. "Doesn't track. If you have nothing but winning scenarios, why play nice? Why would you do this?"
"You're the only human enemy we've got Rojas. Think about this. With Skynet gone, we'll be the only ones left. I don't want to start World War Four five minutes after Skynet is dead."
"Just like that?" Rojas retorted. "Since we broke with you, I've been building forces. My whole continent is cleared out of Machines, and I've got jungles still growing. I could probably take you on. With Skynet gone and who knows how many of your forces wiped out doing it... I could take you."
"But you won't." Connor said confidently. "Because you know I've got Machines too. You don't know how many, but you know it's millions at least. What's to stop me sending them south instead? You haven't faced a serious invasion for years because I cleared out Skynet's whole offensive force. The only offensive Machine army is mine."
Rojas didn't have an answer for that.
"I am prepared to offer an alternative." Connor said. "If you will join forces with us for this mission... The Council will give the Cartel Union a representative of it's own. Full membership."If the Union joins as a full member of a civilian government, then the whole world will be under one command. Then I resign. Like I agreed. Union has an equal voice without a shot being fired, and my guys suddenly feel better about the union because you were there backing them up. No more war."
Rojas and Connor studied each other for a moment, calculating. Rojas knew that Lori was loyal to Connor, as was Lee, the Asian Councilor. Ross, the Australian Council member, was secretly in The Union's pocket, as was Hunton, the African Delegate. If Rojas could get one of his own people there too, then he would have a three to two advantage over everything humanity had with Skynet gone.
So, Rojas concluded, the only roadblock after that would be to make sure Connor followed through on his promise to turn over Tech-Com as a whole to the Council after the war. And as everyone knew about that, the only problem would be if Connor suddenly announced he had changed his mind.
And there were ways to prevent that.
"General Connor..." Rojas said with a smile. "I think we can do business after all."
Lori looked up as Connor sat down before her. "Well?"
Connor nodded. "He's in. Lori, have I thanked you for this?"
"I feel like a guest in the world." Lori said. "I won't say the danger didn't bother me, but today was the first time I felt like I was doing something since I had the first conversation with Ross." She reached out and wiped the decades of dust away from a door frame. "Look."
Connor looked, and saw something that had been carved there.
The Orphanage
"A house is made of walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams."
Lori Ryker
Alexander Sanders
Allison Gipp
Isobel Saint
Melisa Hervey
Daniel Dyson
Lonnie Kowalewski
Tyrone Meltzer
Zelma Legler
Guy Ledonne
"Ten names." Lori said. "We started this place with ten people, and look what happened."
Connor nodded. "You did good."
She sighed. "Me and Isobel are the only ones left from that first team." She looked at him. "When we left this place, it was because I told them to."
Connor was silent a moment. "Lori, when the fighting stops, the politics begin. This meeting alone was proof of that. We all look at the causality lists...wonder if we could have done things differently. But the buck stops right here." He jerked a thumb at his own chest.
Long silence.
"Connor, is this really it?" Lori said in a very small voice. "Is the War gonna be over?" She sounded six years old.
Connor nodded. "Yeah. Yeah it is."
Lori looked at the list of names. "John, when I think of the day I chose to come with you... I could just strangle you sometimes."
Connor smiled. "Lori, you should know, the rumors about Nova slipping into South America are true. We've got proof the Union has been supplying Australia and Africa."
Lori spun around to glare at him. "What?"
"That's why the Council is getting things done in other continents. They've actually got some resources."
"Then why?" Lori demanded. "Why give Rojas a seat? I know you're not gonna balk. You made a promise, you'll keep it. You can't honestly tell me that you'll hand over the whole world to him once Skynet's gone."
"Of course not. That's where you come in."
Z Plus Twenty Seven Years Three Hundred Thirty Two Days
Walters and Noah were waiting for him when he arrived back at Crystal Peak. "So?"
"We did a deal." Connor reported. "Have Robbie meet us in the Briefing room."
"Robbie?" Kate repeated. "Why?"
"I need a few of those rock chewers we gave Eden. Skynet used them to dig some Underground bases, and we've been using them as garden tools long enough."
"Those crushers have been sent around the world." Kate said. "Robbie hasn't needed them here in..."
"We kept a few on hand." Connor cut her off. "When we gave them to Eden, we kept a couple aside so that we could dig a tunnel one day. From Checkpoint Roundup to the System Core."
"That's what the earth crushers were for?" Noah said in disbelief. "I thought you salvaged those from Skynet for the Eden project."
"And they were useful for that." Connor agreed. "But the point of getting them... was to dig this attack tunnel."
Noah just stared at him in open disbelief. "Y'know..." She said finally. "Chet told me about that chess game you played. He said that... that you had the third rank cleaned out as your first offensive, and the rest was just setting up for your final attack on the King." She started counting on her fingers. "When Skynet localized, you started collecting the earth-movers for Eden. You had Saint get the 'Package' when you had a chance to hack a Skynet satellite for Intel. Once we got the surveillance photos of the System Core, you started stockpiling reprogrammed machines, when Ross started hinting about what happens when the war ends you immediately agreed to setting up a civilian government to take over..." She shook her head in disbelief. "You had your endgame figured out from the third move, didn't you?"
Connor didn't respond to that. "After we meet with Robbie, have Connor's Own assemble. It's time."
Everyone felt their heart rate tick up.
Robbie's face didn't so much as twitch during the entire briefing. Connor laid out the plan, the problems, and who he was sending. The General explained what the Gophers were needed for, and Robbie didn't react at all. And then, when The General was finished finally, he spoke for the first time.
"It should be me." Robbie said. "Eden hasn't needed the Gophers in this area for a while. People who know how to use them to dig tunnels are all off across the world... And I'm Department Head for Eden here. I know that equipment better than most..."
"You can train someone."
Robbie shook his head. "Digging with a Gopher isn't like using a shovel. You get earth shifts, collapses, rock deposits... Skynet built the Gophers to handle it, but it can be touchy. I dug out half of Death Valley with those earth-movers. It should be me."
Kate pretended not to gulp. Connor didn't so much as blink. "Okay." The General said. "You're on the strike Team. Report to Noah."
Z Plus Twenty Seven Years Three Hundred Thirty Three Days
"57th infantry, Report to Barracks. Repeat, Connor's Own to Barracks."
There was really no need for the PA to announce it. Connor's Own had been on high alert the entire time The General was gone. Connor's guards for the meeting with Rojas had all been part of the nova group, and they never talked. The fact that they were the ones selected was enough in itself to start people talking.
There was an incredible tension in the air. Tech-Com had been marching in from different directions. Quite often, the soldier on the battlefield knew the least about the war, but they still talked to each other, and they knew. Tech-Com was gathering from all across the globe, arriving one ship, one helicopter at a time, and marching inward, toward something.
The energy in the room was nauseating in it's strength. Something was about to happen. Something that would change everything.
"Ten-Hut." Walters' voice called.
The whole room jumped to attention. Connor came into the room, Kate at his side; Walters and Noah right behind them.
Connor strode to the middle of the room, with the whole 57th parting for him as he passed. They all saluted, almost reflexively. Connor barely reacted. It had happened everywhere he'd gone.
"Checkpoints Roundup and Touchstone, have made their full report of the visible defenses within their area." Connor said.
The silence became more than oppressive. It was like all of them were screaming without making a sound. Everyone knew exactly what 'area' that was.
Connor took in a deep breath. "The time for preparation is over. The next Mission, is to destroy the Skynet System Core."
The room erupted into cheers. Kate summoned all her willpower not to clap her hands over her ears as the room shook with it. It was dangerous, and it was vengeful and it was eager and it was... over suddenly.
The screaming fell into Heavy silence. They had never been given a mission like this before. Reality caught up too fast.
Connor knew it. "This is what we've been working toward for the last thirty years." He said. "This is the dream mission. The Heart of the Beast. I know what you've all been thinking. What if it never ends? Well I'm here to tell you right now... It will end. We've spent twenty seven years closing Skynet down one block at a time, and we've done that. It's cunning has been foiled, and it's force has been checked. We've starved it and driven it and crushed it and it has demanded so much blood for every inch of ground. I look around this room and I see a lot of familiar faces. And I see a lot of faces missing that should be here with us. So now I'm asking more of you. Maybe all. But one way or another, this... This is it. The big one. The finish line."
There was a long beat. Kate and John looked all over, giving each soldier their eyes a moment. The war had gone for close to thirty years... and there was nobody in this room lower than the rank of General who had reached their twentieth birthday.
Connor smiled at them softly, like a loving father. "After nearly twenty eight years, these are the Last Days of The War."
Deathly silence. Connor's Own had seen it all, done it all, faced decades of torment and torture and hardship. And with those words, he had brought nearly all of them to the brink of tears.
The meeting broke into smaller groups, each General talking to the team they would take, giving details, answering questions.
Kyle and Griffin were going to go with Noah, and were trying to get close enough to hear her, when Kyle felt a tap on his shoulder.
"Kyle." Connor said softly. "Come take a walk with me."
Intrigued, Kyle did so. Griffin nearly went buggy eyes at The General coming over, and wisely kept his mouth shut before he said something stupid.
"Kyle, I have a special mission for you." Connor said. "While the majority of our forces are tied up invading The System Core, you will be taking a team of Bandits, Techies and Nova, and you'll be taking them south."
Kyle swallowed hard. "Sir?" He said weakly. "Permission of speak freely?"
"Granted."
"The others... they've been making jokes about how all the career soldiers get killed with only one week to go. If this is it, then we've all got one week left before we're safe..."
Connor rested a hand on his shoulder. "Kyle, I'm not benching you. This mission is important. You know by now that Union men are going to be on the Battlefield with us."
"I heard the rumor."
"It's true. The Union will be in on this, and so will the Bandits, Nova Group... We're getting extra units sent in from the African, Australasian and Asian theaters... All the armies of Man are on this particular battlefield. We won't have anything left. The reason for that is... neither will Skynet."
Kyle's eyes went as big as saucers. "Oh my god..." He croaked. "This is it. It's really ending!"
"And when it's over... Kyle, do you remember the Siege at Arecibo?"
"Yessir. I remember we never found out what that Pulse was."
"Correct. But for now, that's not important. Skynet has grown, as a program. It's a brain that has gotten bigger over the years. As a result, there's not a lot of places it could run to, but since it's software, it could escape via transmission. Now, you saw the surveillance. There's a million odd transmitters in that place; and we can't possibly get them all. But there's one other way we can keep Skynet from transmitting itself out. There's only one or two receivers in the world that can handle a transmission like Skynet's brain. One of them in New Mexico, and it's been gone since J-Day. The next is in Australia, and we've already captured it. The last is in Arecibo. That's currently Union Territory. Skynet and the union have been trading that whole area back and forth for the last year."
Kyle twigged. "But with the Union sending it's guys up here to fight at the System Core with us..."
"Correct. Kyle, you are to take a team of Bandits, and capture Arecibo Observatory, clear the area out of any Machines, and leave the Dish and the Antennae intact. If Skynet decides to run, you're going to cut it off. No escape."
"No escape." Kyle said softly. "General, I'm still a corporal. The people you'll be sending with me..."
"...are not Tech-Com. Nova doesn't have a rank. They have a command structure that changes fro mission to mission. Bandits too. They're allied forces. An Tunnel Rat on a Trial By battle could give a Bandit an order. Gould is a colonel, but he's not part of your mission. Your mission is to get him to where he can do his thing."
"Yessir."
Z Plus Twenty Seven Years Three Hundred Thirty Four Days
Tony Sherrin woke up and found his wife was already dressed, doing push-ups beside the bed. "Hey."
"Morning." She puffed without stopping.
"Did you sleep at all?"
"A little." Lisa answered. "I don't think anyone on the base is exactly relaxed though."
"Tell me about it." Tony said quietly. "Ready to go?"
"Almost." Lisa said without turning.
"Nervous?"
"Nope."
"Worried?"
"Nope."
"Scared?"
"I ain't scared a' nuttin-GAH! Oh. Thought I saw a spider." Lisa chuckled ruefully. "False alarm. Everything's fine."
He smiled. "Would you sit down and talk to me a minute please?" Tony put his good arm around her as she sat on the edge of the bed. "What are you thinking?"
Lisa let out a breath slowly. "What... jeez Tony, what if this is it?"
Sherrin almost laughed for a second. "I don't know Lisa. So help me, I really don't know. I mean, what happens to us with the War over? You'll be a hero, and quite right too. The people who win this last fight will go down in history."
"That's if I live."
Sherrin pointed at her sharply. "Hey! Don't you give me that!"
"Oh come on, you think that there isn't a soldier alive anywhere that isn't thinking it?" Lisa scorned, jumping up. "We've lived through thirty years of this crap, and the riskiest part is right before it's all over. We've lived through a marathon, and the last lap is..."
Sherrin reached out, pulling her back to the bed, down into his lap. She didn't try to pull away. "Lisa..." He crooned in her hair. "I'm trying to think how to say this without getting my face slapped."
Lisa chuckled. "Let me read your mind." She drawled. "When you lost that arm, you told me to walk away. You did it because you were ashamed. I know you, Tony, You come from a background that... You wanted me to leave you because yo u thought you couldn't protect me any more. You're a guy, you wanted to be the tough guy for your girlfriend."
Tony sighed. "It's hard for me to watch you go off to war when I can't go with you. No matter how many battles you win, I hate that I have to watch from back here. I always have. And this is the big one. I love you Lisse, but I don't feel right about not being there to protect you."
She kissed the shoulder of the severed arm. "You only lost this arm because you were protecting me. Years before we got married, you stepped right into the fire and you didn't even blink before you put your body between me and a Terminator. I've never forgotten that."
Tony smiled at that, just a little bit. "Lisa, this time next week... I think the war might be over. And if it is, you will be a hero, immortal, unforgettable. I'll be a 'One-Boot' retiree. With Skynet gone, there'll be work for you, a place for you... but I'll be expendable again."
"Connor won't leave his guys out in the cold."
"I know, but with Skynet gone, we don't need all one-hand's on deck, if you know what I mean."
Lisa looked up at him, realizing his concern. "Okay? So..." Lisa felt her jaw drop. "You're trying to decide if you're willing to wait for me?"
"Lisa, I would wait for a hundred years if I had to. I'm just wondering, if this is it... if it's really over, what does that mean for us?"
Lisa licked her lips. "Tony, the day this war ends, I'm handing in my resignation."
Tony blinked. "Really?"
Lisa grinned. "I love that I can still surprise you." She kissed him lightly. "I never told you why I joined the US Army, did I?"
"No."
"I had a fight with my father. He thought I should learn some respect for money, so he cancelled my credit cards. I found out when I offered to pay for my friends, and they all got rejected. I hit the roof, had a huge fight with him, and stomped home to yell at him for it. He told me to grow up, and I stormed out. I figured I was going to go out, get a job, make a fortune and make him admit I was right. Three days later I was hungry, exhausted, homeless, penniless and there was nothing keeping me out on the streets but my refusal to go home and admit to daddy I was wrong. I managed to get desperate enough enlist before I calmed down." She sighed ruefully. "By the time I realized I hated being in the Army, I was on maneuvers. Our first training mission. I got the pride smacked right outta me. By the time I got back, my home town wasn't there any more, and I spent two years working KP in The Alamo, because I didn't know how to do anything else, and the training camps got nuked before I could learn anything." She smiled playfully. "A few years later, I'm still chopping sea rations for a living, and after a triple shift, I ask a US Army soldier for help and he tells me to go take a long walk."
"I wasn't that polite about it as I recall." Tony laughed. "God Lise. How did we ever get from there to here?"
"I don't know. But what I do know is... my dad was right. And if I hadn't been so stubborn about telling him so, I would be dead right now. I've done things I never would have believed anyone could do." She kissed him again. "When this war is over, and it's safe again, I'm resigning from Tech-Com. I have no idea what I'm going to do, but I know that I want you to be there with me, and unlike the first time I walked away... I know I can handle it now. I can handle anythin-GAH! Spider!" She leaped away very quickly.
Sherrin laughed and got up, pausing long enough to kiss her neck. "Don't worry. I'll take care of it."
Z Plus Twenty Seven Years Three Hundred Thirty Five Days
The first armies of Tech-Com rolled out, heading to the target. One group headed the opposite direction, with Kyle Reese in the lead. With so much of Skynet gone, and the unspoken permission of the Union, travel to Arecibo was a much faster procedure.
Kyle wasn't nervous. Behind him in the Convoy was an odd collection. A Tank, several jeeps, a pair of helicopters. Tech-Com, some of Sarah's SAW-Team, a group of Bandits, and a large group of Techs, including Gould. They were all there for a purpose. Tech-Com was Escort and command, the Bandits were Combat and Recon, and Gould's people were there to make sure their Mission worked. In the middle of their Convoy, in the most protected location, was a armored transport. And within, according to Gould... Was Brain Box.
"Corporal, we have contact, right ahead."
Kyle pulled them all to a halt, ready to meet the possible attack. But it wasn't Skynet. It was a Union patrol, they both paused and took a long look at each other across the wasteland.
Labine, at Kyle's side, wasn't happy to see them. "They got us outnumbered."
"Yes they do." Kyle said flatly.
"Are they supposed to be here? I thought Arecibo was Skynet territory."
"It is, but just around the telescope. Left over after the Siege I guess. Connor says Union can't hold the whole area, so they leave chunks of it alone. Skynet can't push out, Union can't be bothered pushing in, so we have to go through a few union blocks to get to the telescope."
Lupine nodded. "Sarah says that Rojas keeps it that way deliberately, so that if we ever came down here, we'd have to go through two enemies instead of one. Connor probably does it the same way. The corridor between us and the union is a No Man's Land."
"Then where the hell did they come from?" Kyle waved over at the Union convoy, now moving forward again. As they came closer, Kyle was starting to realise how many there were. Thousands of them.
"Stand easy."
Kyle and Labine turned to see Colonel Gould coming over.
"They're not here for us." Gould told them.
The bulk of the Union Convoy came to a halt, and a jeep in the lead sped up a bit, pulling to a halt twenty feet short of them. "Englais?" The driver hollered.
"Si." Kyle shouted back.
"We're heading North. Connor and Rojas have something cooking!"
Heading for the System Core. Kyle thought. "We're heading for Arecibo!"
"The Telescope?" The answer came. "Rojas told us to leave something you can use to get to the island. You should know, Skynet has it right now."
"Not for long." Kyle called back.
"Good hunting!"
"You too!"
It was by far the most polite any conversation between union and Tech-Com forces had ever gone. A moment later the Jeep started moving again, and then the Convoy did the same. Tech-Com gripped their weapons as they passed, but the union wasn't interested in a turf war just now. "They don't seem so bad." Labine offered.
Gould didn't take his eyes off them as they passed. "Labine, back before the War, the Union were a bunch of Drug Lords. They haven't changed that much. There's a reason Connor doesn't let that stuff in Tech-Com."
Kyle didn't take his eyes off them either as they headed north. "Two of my guys were part of a Trial By Battle patrol near this area. They ran into an opposite patrol from the Union. Their patrol sent my guys back, stripped naked with their hands and feet cut off."
Gould nodded. "Yup."
"Everyone's wondering what happens when the War is over. You know what happens?" Kyle said. "We come down here. Get busy."
"Start another war?"
"Not to kill. To bury."
Nobody flinched at Oldham's scars. They had virtually destroyed his face years before, and his throat damage had changed his voice considerably. But such things were too commonplace to pull people off the front. He was one of the most experienced solders to live this long, and that made him a hero.
So when Oldham was told that he was commanding the first wave, the only one surprised to hear it was Oldham himself.
"I still don't understand why you're not coming with us." Oldham told Walters.
"I'll be there, but at best, the Battle is going to be a slugging match." Walters explained. "I have to do a few things here and they have to be done personally. Noah and I will prepare the attack, then come back here."
"What exactly is this mysterious something you have to do that nobody can help you with?" Oldham probed.
Walters just looked at him.
Oldham nodded. "Right. None of my business."
"The invasion will take a few days at least. You've got the first wave, we're attacking from two directions... at best, we're going to need at least three command officers to finish this. Don't worry, I'll be there in time to take all the credit, I promise."
Oldham nodded with a smirk that stretched his face painfully.
Walters saluted him. "Good hunting."
Oldham returned it. "To us all."
Micheal had a post at the radio of Checkpoint Roundup, not unlike a post in the War Room. Noah wanted him with her, but she knew the battle was going to be bad enough without having his mom looking over his shoulder.
"Circuit Breakers, this is Roundup." Micheal called to them. "Welcome to the party."
"Mike, that you?" Lisa called warmly. "Hey sweetie, how's life in the Skybox Seat?"
"Colonel Lisa." Micheal called back. "How's my best girl? You told your husband about me yet?"
Lisa smiled. It was a running joke they'd had since Mikey was old enough to get his first crush on her. "Naw, I keep you secret. That way I don't have to share you with any girls your own age."
"Well you..." Micheal paused. "Are we on a shared frequency right now?"
"Yes." General Noah's voice answered him from Checkpoint Touchstone.
Micheal turned seven shades of red and suddenly became very professional. "37th Infantry, report to map co-ordinates 2387/46A. Frequencies will recode every three hours before Mission Clock hits Zero, and then recode automatically every four seconds. Duty Officer of the day will give you the rotation key for accurate encryption. Status report?"
"All hands and weapons status quo." Lisa reported, smothering a laugh.
"Circuit Breakers, consider yourselves processed. Welcome to Roundup."
"Even with your mom as chaperon sweetie, it sounds like it'll be a great show." Lisa teased.
Arecibo had a surprising amount of Skynet forces. A few H/K's, two in the air, one on the ground, and no small number of Terminators. The Terminators were surrounding the Dish in a circle, all of them evenly spaced around the Rim. The aerial forces were hovering over the dish itself, near the suspended antennae.
Kyle didn't dare use the radio with them so close, so he called them in to speak, quickly and quietly. "Okay folks, looks like we get a piece of the action after all. Gould tells me we need the facility intact, which means we don't hit the aerial H/K's till they move away from the Dish. The ground H/K is me and Griffin, everyone else pick a Terminator and wait for the blast to start your sniper shots."
"If they're doing something here, they'll destroy the facility before we can stop them." Lithgow said.
"No they won't." Gould said firmly. "They need the Dish intact more than we do."
"Why?"
Kyle put a hand up. "That's tomorrow's problem. Today we got Machines to smash."
Kyle and Griffin moved in first. They still knew the layout out of the area. The old hiding places were still there. Kyle and Griffin moved down from the hills and took cover in the crater that Kate had dug with a plane so many years before. The H/K creaked in their direction, treads rolling a well-traveled track over the crushed debris...
And they rose up to attack, hurling their charges, just like they'd done a thousand times before.
The H/K rolled over the charge before it even knew they were there, and a blast of explosive gutted it whole from beneath.
The blast was all the signal the rest of the soldier's needed, and they all started shooting, direct from their hiding places, gunning down the Machines standing around the dish.
The turbines spooled up louder, and the two H/K's split up, one going hunting, one staying close to the antennae.
"Snipers Hold Fire!" Kyle hissed into his radio, and turned to Gould. "How bad do we need the antennae?"
"Pretty bad. The dish would probably survive." Gould told him.
Kyle hit his radio again. "Snipers, you only shoot if you can spare the antennae. Do NOT risk it if you can't be absolutely sure!"
"What about the other one?" Lithgow asked, disturbingly matter-of-fact. "That's not near the Dish at all now."
Kyle could hear turbines and plasmafire, and was suddenly aware that the hunting sky machine was getting disturbingly close. "Other one you can kill. Right now in fact. Right NOW!"
The horrible sound of spinning metal being torn apart was almost immediate. Somehow, the bark of a sniper rifle was audible a moment later, as the sound caught up with the bullet.
"KYLE! LOOK OUT!" Griffin screamed, running through and grabbing Gould by one arm, Kyle by the other, and half pulling them aside, as the H/K came crashing down from above. The impact threw them all off their feet, and they lay, stunned by the blast, covered in dirt and ash as the flames built behind them. The wreck creaked and groaned a little as it came apart.
Kyle raised his head. "Well... cutting it kind of close that time huh?"
Griffin nodded dumbly. "Ugh."
Gould rolled stiffly to his feet. "Man, I should have stayed at Palace." He groaned. "I'm too old for this."
Kyle smirked. "Yeah. After thirty years, an H/K pancake on the last day would be a bad way to go."
"URK!" Griffin grunted.
Kyle and Gould turned to him in confusion and blood came bubbling out of his mouth.
A moment later he fell down, revealing a somewhat scarred and damaged Terminator, having emerged from the wreck, looking even more evil than usual with Griffin's heart in one skeletal hand.
"Griffin!" Kyle shouted, as the Terminator's other hand flashed out, backhanding Kyle and Gould enough with a single blow to send them both flipping over, sprawling away.
Punch-Drunk, Kyle felt around absently for his rifle and didn't find it. The Terminator came over, and calmly picked Kyle's weapon up, aiming it neatly down at both of them
Another crack of metal, and the Terminator's head titled hard to the left on it's shoulders. A bullet-hole had suddenly appeared through the middle of the skull, blowing through it so quickly that it didn't have the time to fall down. A moment later the sound of the sniper rifle going off caught up and echoed over the two survivors.
"Kyle are you okay?" Lithgow shouted over the radio. "I'm so sorry I didn't catch it in time! I had to take the other H/K."
Kyle looked down wretchedly at his old friend. "Was the antennae damaged?"
A beat. "No." Lithgow said finally. "No sir."
Kyle rose up, went to the motionless dead Machine, and calmly took his weapon back from it's hand. "Griffin was expendable. We have to finish our mission."
"Yeah." Gould said quietly. "I got it." He keyed his radio. "Okay Team, unpack Brain Box, Mission Clock is running."
Kyle stared the dead Machine in the face and nudged it over with the barrel of his rifle. It fell to the ground, and Kyle started shooting it, point blank, over and over, till the face was melting under the wrath of the plasma. Kyle kept shooting, teeth bared, eyes tearing, completely feral, till he was screaming non-stop over its body, howling with frustrated rage.
"REESE!" Gould roared.
Kyle snapped out of it, gasping for air, every limb shaking.
"I think you got him." Gould said with grim understatement. "Let's hook up Brain Box, drive a stake through Skynet's heart and go home."
"Sir, we found something strange over here on the far side of the Dish." One of Gould's Techies reported over the radio.
"What is it?" Gould asked, not taking his eyes off Kyle.
"No idea. It's just a platform."
The two of them went around the dish to look at the strange monument. Gould followed a step behind so that he could keep an eye on Kyle. The soldier hadn't so much as looked at Griffin's body since the battle, and was staring rigidly at the strange new addition as they approached it. "What is it?" He demanded.
"I have no idea." Gould admitted.
It was a single piece, covered in chrome, as was all Skynet construction. It was a pillar, which had to be at least ten feet wide, and twenty feet high. It was topped with a large flat platform, circular in shape and a long staircase extended out in a straight line from the platform on top to the ground.
"What do you make of it?" Gould asked.
"You're asking me?" Kyle returned. "It... maybe a landing platform?"
"Only way to know for sure is to go up those stairs and see what's up there."
Kyle shook his head. "What would Connor say?" He asked. "Connor would look for a detail. Something out of place that you don't think of at first."
Gould spoke finally. "I wasn't here during the Siege. Reese, you were here: Was this platform here then?"
"No." Kyle said without hesitation. "That's new."
"Skynet hasn't had a lot of luck with large scale construction since the Pulse, and Union's been giving them grief in this area from the other side... So whatever that platform is, it can't have been here more than a year, and Skynet must have wanted it here bad."
"Since the Pulse..." Kyle repeated, almost to himself. "The Pulse that came from here... and was never explained."
The two of them looked up at the strange pillar, the staircase that led to the top, and the large flat platform on top of it.
"Gould, you got a mission." Kyle shook it off. "Connect Brain Box to the antennae. Mission Clock is Running."
"Will do." Gould said. "After that, I think I'll have my people go over it again, look for anything... else, that it might be for."
"Agreed. Let's do this thing."
Z Plus Twenty Seven Years Three Hundred Thirty Seven Days
Kate met Walters and Noah at the door. "We're almost ready in the War Room, I was wondering if you two would make it back in time." She told them. "How is it out there?"
"Tense." They both said at the same time.
Kate nodded. "Here too. Let's go."
It was the moment before the storm. The debate had raged for days, as to when to make the strike. There were no doubts as to how long the battle would last, but whether to attack by day, or by night, all at once, or in small groups...
Connor had made the final decision. The attack would begin as soon as possible.
On a clear day, the walls of the System Core were visible. They seemed to stretch the length of the whole horizon. From Checkpoints Roundup and Touchstone, they were too far to make out the thousands of Turrets that lined the walls, covered the battlefield... The sun shone off the ground like on the gleaming salt flats, reflected by waves of Chrome. So Many Terminators they couldn't see the end of them. A haze fluttered above the walls of the System Core, at a distance it was like smoke, but they all knew it was a massive formation of H/K's.
It looked impossible. It looked untouchable.
Every eye in Checkpoint Roundup was on Oldham as he came in, cool and calm. He was in no particular hurry as he made his way to the map, and the radio speakers surrounding it. "Roundup to Palace. Ready."
"Connor here." The General's voice flowed through the tent soothingly. "Are you prepared?"
"We are sir."
"First one to the middle of the System Core buys the first round." Noah quipped into the radio. It was just for show. None of this was going to happen in a hurry.
Outside the command tents, on the edge of the battlefield, at both Checkpoints, all the last Armies of Mankind waited, straining at the leash, with their prize in clear view. The feeling was like an exhausted marathon runner suddenly seeing the finish line.
It was glorious, it was explosive, it was impossible, it was doomed from the start.
It was the End of the War.
Walters keyed the radio and turned to Connor. "First Wave is assembled and ready General." He reported. "Awaiting your order."
"Put me through."
Because of the Jammers, Connor could only reach the Staging Areas, but they had set up loudspeakers, and so the waiting soldiers were able to hear their General.
"So here it is." Connor's voice echoed over the eager Tech-Com warriors. "All the Armies of Man have gathered together against a common enemy. The Crusade ends at the System Core. One way or another, win or lose. We have come to journey's end. Tomorrow, the War will be a memory. We all got drafted into this war. We were nobodies from nowhere, scrabbling over the ruins of a world we never realized we were in danger of losing. The wrong people, in the wrong time, against impossibly suicidal odds. So naturally, you became Heroes. So now I'm asking you to follow, one more time. One last battle. One last act of courage. One last act of faith. One more command. Attack."
The word hung in the air.
"ATTACK!" Noah roared.
"ATTACK!" Walters roared.
"ATTACK!" Oldham roared.
"ATTACK!" A million voices bellowed in response, and the Last Battle began with a vengeance. They could hear the roar clear across the continent. Every voice in Connor's Army, taking up the battle cry.
"Robbie!" Jackman called. "We got the call from Palace. Noah says Skynet's busy. Get cracking!"
Robbie waved back in response, and went to the controls. "Okay Gopher, let's send this chicken home to roost."
The huge earth-mover roared to life, powered by Skynet's battery power, it ran a lot quieter than nay machine this size that humanity could ever hope to build.
The drilling equipment could be pointed in any direction, and it dug downward.
Jackman came over. "What do you think?"
Robbie made a back and forth motion with his head. "An hour or two to dig deep enough that it won't collapse, another hour to get deep enough that we can tunnel under the battlefield without getting noticed... Then at least a few days to dig from here to the middle of the System Core."
"A few days!" Jackman responded in disbelief. "You're not telling me your father expects us to hold out that long?"
"If Kyle did his job... we just might."
Lisa hugged dirt. The noise of it was excruciating. The whine of turbines had risen to an unearthly decibel. There must have been hundreds of H/K's flying over head. So many that her Unit was almost in the shade. The stench of plasma was thick and cloying till the air was almost solid with the stink of burned air.
Mackie looked at her in shock. "This is insane." He said, as though the idea had just occurred to him.
The high-pitched roar of the turbines was warring with the high pitched whistle of the rocket launchers behind them as Tech-Com fired back.
Lisa grabbed her radio. "Where the hell are the Metal Marines?"
The Jammers squalled hideously in her earpiece, making her teeth ache.
Mackie pushed her down." "They'll be here! Air support first!"
He was right. The air split with another howl of jet engines, and a squadron of fighter jets came from behind them. Two dozen, then four dozen, circling in range enough to fire, before circling back away from the cloud of H/K's.
The huge air defenses broke from the formation to chase after them, and Lisa felt her bones rumble from the wrath of hundreds of dogfights breaking out in the air.
The chaos was extraordinary, the notion of this happening across the battlefield, 360 degrees around the system core was overwhelming.
Above them was an explosion, the sound of which was barely enough to be audible, and Lisa grabbed Mackie by the shoulder, hauling him to the side, as the debris of an H/K fell to the ground, close enough to throw them off their feet.
Lisa looked up blearily, and saw that a significant portion of her unit had not been fast enough.
And then Lisa saw firelight glint off chrome out of the corner of her eye, in a very familiar way, and instinct took over. She spun around and fired without pausing to aim, her rifle tearing into the Terminator that was getting closer. It had many other with it. So many others. Thousands of others.
Lisa tried to back away instinctively, the flames at her back making that difficult. The narrow gates of Skynet's walls had opened, and out flooded an army of chrome Death.
The ground trembled again, in a strange rhythmic pattern. The scream of jet fighters and exploding missiles and arid plasma overhead made hearing anything new impossible, but the staccato beat of marching was familiar to her as a sound and not a rhythm that made the ground shake.
Another wave of Terminators, their pneumatic legs speed-marching in flawless unison, were charging from behind Lisa and what remained of her unit, the sheer total number of the Metal marines making the ground shook as they took synchronized steps toward their enemy, and the ferocity of the battle increased dramatically, as Chrome met chrome like a wave crashing against a cliff.
Lisa's senses were overwhelmed. A veteran of twenty years, Lisa had never experienced the sheer massive tonnage of the Battle of the System Core.
Micheal had a finger in one ear, the other pressed hard against his earpiece. Checkpoint Roundup was significantly quieter, but trying to hear reports over the crashing noise and the squall of the Jammers was a near impossible task.
Outside, waves of people were moving. Adrenaline charged soldiers were charging in, eager to get involved, and the earliest of casualties were coming back, their time in this battle done from the first minute.
Walters was at the map, keeping track of exactly how many inches Tech-Com had bled its way through so far.
Another voice came over the speakers. "Jammer in 22-Baker is down!"
Everyone cheered, as about a thousand truck launched missiles exploded into life all at once, every soldier in that area marking a target by radio signal.
Micheal ripped the earpiece from his ear with a shout. "Agh!"
Oldham spun. "Noah? Problem?"
Micheal Noah's voice came over the speakers. "Baker Sector reports Turrets have begun bombardment!"
"Here we go." Walters said under his breath.
Connor lifted his radio. "Kyle, now!"
Kyle dropped the radio without so much as bothering to respond. "GOULD! NOW!
Gould was at the edge of the Dish, and he threw the power switch. Brain Box's eyes lit up brightly.
Seeking Connection.
Connection Found.
Seeking Turret Control.
Located. Automatic responses. Biometric and Motion Trackers. No Direct Skynet Uplink.
Override: New Target List.
Lisa dared to look up a moment as the Turrets stopped firing for half a second. They tracked back and forth as though they were looking for something.
Skynet to Automatic Gun Emplacement Units.
Compatible System attempting override of single process.
Locate process.
Working.
Error Found.
Automatic Protocol 93472348324 of 6745024812421398 is compromised. Begin reinstall from Skynet AI Protected Memory. Terminate connection to system uplink.
Too late.
It lasted only a few seconds. The Turrets swiveled back and forth wildly for a second, before finding their new targets.
Each other.
With an unholy barrage of deadly fire, the one defensive line that Tech-Com could not escape, overcome or survive, the tipping point of the war, and the decisive weapon of the battle... simply tore themselves apart, rushing to see which could obliterate the other fastest.
Tech-Com roared.
"It worked! They're down! The Turrets are gone!"
The War Room cheered. Connor was unmoved.
"Well." General Noah said quietly to herself. "Now we've got ourselves a real ballgame."
"The Tunnel?" Connor asked.
Kate nodded. "Robbie began digging when the invasion started."
"So by the time we got out there..." Connor turned to his Generals, Noah, Kate, Walters. "I don't want that Tunnel there longer than necessary. I'm deploying the Asset to the field. Use of Nuclear Weapons is Authorized."
The Five Keepers of the Bomb met for the first, and almost certainly the last time since being told of the Weapon.
Connor let them into the storage room. It hadn't been opened since the day Connor had shown them the contents. There was a thick layer of dust over everything, but the bomb was unchanged.
Connor unlocked the case with his key, Saint did the same. Walters used his hand-print, and the bomb keypad lit up, suddenly usable. Kate had the detonator, and connected it, flipping it to the 'active' position. Nothing changed outwardly. The thing had been sitting here for years. But suddenly, it looked a whole lot meaner.
"The Package is ready." Connor said formally. "Noah, you have the access code, do not use it till you get there. It'll be safer for the trip. You know what to do. You'll have our full second wave until you approach the staging area. When the rest of the force split to go to their respective Checkpoints, you make sure nobody notices you head for the Tunnel. Understood?"
"Yessir." Noah said promptly.
"Godspeed."
Walters looked to Saint. "Take the Package to the War Room. Leave it in the case. We move out in thirty five minutes."
They made their way to the service and freight elevators. With so much being moved back and forth between levels, there wasn't enough room for all of them.
"We'll take the other elevators." Walters told Saint. "Get the Package to the Motor pool. It's not like they can leave without us."
Saint nodded and let the freight elevators close...
Leaving Noah and Walters alone together for the first time in over a year. They looked awkwardly at each other as they made their way back toward the personnel elevators. They didn't say anything until the doors closed.
Long silence.
"I don't know how to ease into it either." Walters offered.
Noah turned to face him fully. "So here it is. The final dance."
Walters looked up at her finally. "Erica... after what happened..."
She reached out and put a finger over his lips. "I know. I'm sorry too. I... I was angry, and the reasons all made sense yesterday."
"I know what you mean." Eric smiled. "Jeez Erica, what if... I mean... What if this is it?"
Silence.
Erica looked for a moment like she was about to kiss him, but thought better of it. She still had her armor on. "Come and talk to me after?" She said quietly.
Eric looked pointedly at her. "You really think any of us are coming back?"
"The Soldier's Retirement package?" Noah quipped. "You better come back alive, you hear me?"
"You too."
Dr Lana Chen knocked on Kate's door. "Ma'am?"
Kate was following a checklist, marking things off. "We got the plasma supplies, right?"
Chen nodded. "Every soldier who's not moving out, every civilian staying on the Base. They've all donated twice over the last few days. Our refrigerators are full to bursting."
"Well, that won't be a problem in a few days." Kate said grimly. "Staff?"
"Most everyone knows basic first aid, went over triage with a few extra people. The Main hall, the storage rooms and the Mess have all been converted into Post-Op Wards, and our helicopters are on their way here from the MASH Units. They'll patch them up enough that they can get back here. All our aircraft are already in the air or on standby. The other Theaters have sent everything that can fly to us." She took a breath. "It's... It's really happening, isn't it?"
"John Connor was Terminated July 4th, 2032..."
"Yeah." Kate shivered. "It's really happening."
Chen bit her lip. "As much as I'd like to leave it at that, there's something else."
Kate looked up. "Yeah?"
Sarah pulled her vest around her snugly and zipped it up. "Flares, grenades, radio, combat knife..."
Kurt gave her a hug from behind. "You're very sexy when you're in soldier mode."
Sarah smirked. "I feel bad. My Team's been scattered to the four corners, and I'm spending the battle in a nice cosy Tank."
Kurt laughed and kissed her again.
Sarah returned it. "You're frisky today."
Kurt smiled, and took a breath. "Sarah..." He said. "The War is gonna be over. And if we win, then..."
Sarah kissed him lightly. "I haven't forgotten. I'll marry you when we get back."
"Bet your ass you will."
They smiled lovingly at each other and were about to kiss again, when the door flew back on its hinges with a slam! Kurt and Sarah jumped apart as Kate stormed in, outraged.
"YOU LITTLE TWIT! I RAISED YOU BETTER THAN THAT, DAMMIT! HOW COULD YOU BE SO WASHOUT, OFF THE WALL, STUPID?" Kate roared.
Sarah growled under her breath, and let her mother have it. "YOU'RE NOT BENCHING ME! NOT FOR THIS! I HAVE TO BE THERE!"
The two of them glared electrically at each other for a long moment. The expressions on their faces were so alike. Kurt steeled his nerves and put himself in between them. "Can I ask what's going on?"
Kate's face turned disappointed and Sarah wilted. "Okay, so maybe I should have told him."
"Told me what?" Kurt demanded.
Still a doctor, Kate sent her daughter a look. Disclosure was up to her, aside from when it affected her status as a soldier. Sarah softened and nodded. "Kurt, sit down."
Kurt did so.
"I'm pregnant." Sarah said finally. "And of course, you're the fa-"
"AND YOU WERE ABOUT TO MARCH OFF INTO BATTLE?" Kurt exploded. "THIS AIN'T NO EASY PATROL WE'RE GOING ON! WERE YOU EVEN GOING TO TELL ANYONE?"
Sarah bared her teeth. "The war is gonna be over Kurt. This time next week..." She shut herself up quickly.
Kurt stared at her. "What? This time next week what?"
Sarah looked down.
Kate gave her daughter a hollow look. "So much like your father." She said under her breath.
Sarah lifted her chin and met Kurt's glare head on. "A week from now, there'll be no Skynet, and no more battles to fight. Repopulating won't be as urgent. Without the war as population control..."
Kurt's face twisted, suddenly furious. "So what? Our baby doesn't matter?"
Kate glared with him. "Sarah, I know you didn't mean that."
Sarah rested a hand over her stomach. "Please don't make me stay here." She whispered. "Robbie is going, Kurt is going, my team, Kyle, uncle Eric, aunt Erica... They're all going to be out there. There won't be another battle. There won't be a chance to make this up to them... Please don't make me stay here."
Kate put her arms around Sarah. "Sweetie, you have to think about the baby."
Sarah swore under her breath. "Mom... I already know the story. About the camps? I already know." She said. "But... just this once."
Kate felt for her. "This is what it means. Being a soldier. It doesn't just mean risking your life. It means standing back while others risk theirs."
Sarah looked wretchedly at Kurt, who was still furious. "I know." She whispered finally. "Mom, can I have a minute?"
Kate nodded, and left them.
Sarah immediately took Kurt's hand. "Our baby does matter." She said swiftly. "I love you. This baby is a good thing. But I was planning to spend the battle inside a tank, and I wasn't happy about that either. But I can't abandon you out there."
Kurt held her. "Let this be my first promise to my baby. I will kill Skynet for you."
Sarah smiled, tears forming in her eyes. "Damn right you will."
"And when I come back, we're getting married."
"I should have married you years ago. I should have married you the minute you asked." She said. "We'll be a family."
"Yes we will." Kurt said.
Long silence.
Sarah swatted him lightly. "Stop staring at my belly."
Kate was waiting, leaning against the wall as the door opened, and Kurt came out. "She's staying." he said softly.
"I know." Kate said quietly. "I went through it too."
Silence.
"Kurt, Sarah can get single-minded sometimes. It's not because she doesn't love you. Or because she doesn't want the baby. Just the opposite. Sarah's trying madly to protect the things she loves, and the only way she can see to do that is to kill Skynet. She knows that's dangerous, and the only way she can forgive herself for other people in danger is if she's in danger with them. She wants to be there with you Kurt."
"Yes Ma'am." He said softly. "Ma'am, there are people in the Underground like Sarah. Killing Skynet is the only goal they have. I... I look at Sarah and to be honest, I worry for her. She loves me, but she doesn't need me. She just needs this war. She needs this war like a drunk needs moonshine. What's she gonna do in a world without Skynet?"
"I wonder the same thing about John." Kate said lightly. "There was a time when I looked at the world and wondered if I was just a hindrance to him. I don't wonder that any more. You and Me Kurt. We keep them even."
Kurt met her gaze, and they gave each other a look of empathy. And then Kurt's eyes bulged. "Oh my god. What are we gonna tell The General? He'll kill me!"
Kate laughed lightly, always glad to deal with problems this normal.
Kurt looked terrified. "Don't laugh! There's a baby... a... my... oh my god." The young man seemed to sink into himself, stunned with the sudden attack of parenthood. "A baby."
Kate squeezed his shoulder. "Hey, how do you think I feel? How many people in the Underground live to see their grandchildren?" She made him look at her. "This is a good thing Kurt. Don't flip out."
Just then, her radio crackled. "General Kate! We've got the first casualties coming in!"
"Noah!"
Noah turned and saw Kate running up to her. She was dressed in her surgical scrubs, which were painted red with more than just blood. Kate looked tired, and she rolled her wounded shoulder; but she checked to make sure they weren't overheard before she spoke. "Is The Package going with you or Eric?"
"Me. I've got the Tunnel."
"Good. The 5775th MASH Unit is already running low on blood supplies. Do me a favor and drop off whatever you can carry on your way. And have someone stay behind and beat up Lieutenant Casey."
"Why?"
"He sent in two wounded that would take three surgeons eight hours work to save. We're running a volume business here. We don't have the time. We need the forward posts to triage these damn cases before they ever get this far."
"I'll tell him; in my own reasonable polite, loving way." Noah said. "By the way, Eric tells me Sarah's not coming on this mission. There's only two reasons I can think of why that would happen, and she doesn't seem to be missing anything obvious. I take it congratulations are in order?"
Kate started to answer, and paused. "Wait. 'Eric' told you?"
Noah flushed. "Well... yeah."
"It's the first time I've heard you call him Eric since Checkpoint Roundup." Kate noted. "Is there a thing going on?"
"You never answered me about Sarah. Are we keeping it a secret?" Noah asked.
"I outrank you. You answer first."
"If Connor's going to murder his daughter's boyfriend, I want to know about it. He's on my team." Noah shot back. "I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours."
"Your news is about Walters. After Chet, and John and Eric... You'd never be with anyone who didn't outrank you." Kate said cuttingly. "Erica, I've spend the last three hours wrist deep in a bowel resection. Give me some dish that doesn't involve death and destruction."
Noah was suddenly playing catchup. "Well... Look, nothing's changed, except that... well, everything has. Ma'a... Kate. If this is it, if it's really gonna be over then... All the wartime choices, all the wartime priorities... Well, a lot of things won't be quite so big and scary as they were yesterday."
"Well." Kate beamed. "Progress. This is good."
"No it is certainly not good." Noah snapped. "Dammit Kate, yesterday everything made sense. Now... I don't know. We're right there. We're right on the finish line. We're all dreading it. The thought that our tombstones will read 'Almost Made It'."
Kate smiled sadly. "I don't know what to say to that. But... maybe tomorrow?"
"Maybe."
"Pregnant." Connor repeated.
Sarah nodded, hand resting on her stomach. "I feel like such a... cheat. The Big One, and I'm back here knitting while you're off to war."
"Your mom talk to you yet?"
"About my big brother that never was?" Sarah guessed. "Yeah. And I wouldn't risk this for anything, but... Robbie's out there. So's Kurt. So's Kyle, so's my team, so is everyone else. And I'm not. I'm staying here."
Connor nodded slowly. "Sarah... This Last Stand goes badly, and Skynet will have the world on a plate. We'll have got nothing left for another round. But... it goes right, and your baby will be born in freedom."
Sarah shivered. "What do we do then? The war is going to end. In a way... before Kurt, it was the only thing keeping me alive."
"Before your mom, me too." Connor admitted. He sighed hard. "Sarah... Sometimes I wish I had filled your head with silly songs and garden toys."
She looked up at him, feeling about six years old. "You don't mean that."
"No, I don't. I loved having you with me. So did the others, seeing a four year old staring over the maps like a hawk, always full of questions... I wanted to spend time with you, and Tech-Com was still new. I was needed in the War Room every minute, so it became your daycare of sorts... You drank it all in like a sponge. I think Eric was terrified, always worried you'd ask a question he wouldn't have prepared for..." Connor scrubbed his face with his hand. "I was willing to have you there because... when you were born, I wasn't there. i was out blowing up a Skynet bio-weapon factory. I missed that moment... When your mom was pregnant, we didn't think you were going to live. The doctor told me point blank I would have a better chance of saving your mom if we aborted you. If I cared only for the war, and had to choose between my wife, a skilled surgeon and dedicated warrior, or a screaming helpless infant... where would you be?"
Sarah didn't have an answer to that.
"You have to want life Sarah. Every soldier does. Without that... we're just Terminators. Less than them. It all comes down to that choice. You've seen it Sarah, I know you have. When a soldier gets wounded critically, and the Medic, or his CO gets right in his ear and yells at him to keep living. You've done it yourself, I've seen you do it. You order people to stay alive, even when they start shutting down. What keeps them here baby?"
Sarah sniffed. "The need to live."
"No." Her father corrected her gently. "It's love. For family, for a friend, for a brother in arms... Love for life if nothing else. I told your mom how close she was to the edge, and she fought harder than any hundred soldiers. She fought for you, forced her way back from the dead for you, because she loved you to bits."
Sarah was crying. The first time John had seen tears on his daughters face in over a decade. Sarah sniffed. "Wil... will you forgive me?"
"For giving me my first grandchild instead of one more soldier among more than three quarters of a million?" Connor coughed. "Oh, I think I handle that. I love you Sarah, and I'm very proud of you. But if you risk that kid without a reason better than the war effort... so help me sweetheart, you're not too old to put over my knee... and then court martial. You hear me?"
Sarah smiled a little. "Yessir General Dad."
"Stick with it sweetie. I spent a year... in this room as a matter of fact, telling myself I had no time for love when there was a war to win. It was the most wasted year of my life. Don't feel guilty for this Sarah. This is the part that makes things so much better."
Z Plus Twenty Seven Years Three Hundred Thirty Eight Days
The battle continued without pause for two days and two nights.
The Tunnel kept inching closer toward the center of the battle. None of the forces above at surface level had any idea it was there. The noise and vibrations of the frantic race for survival drowned out any time to notice anything else.
The tactics were simple. Strike, withdraw before the counter-attack, draw the enemy closer, obliterate them when they extended themselves. It was simple and repetitive, it was all too easy to screw up.
Connor was directing the overview of the battle, taking a few fighter jets from one area to back up another, directing which units moved in which direction, checking weapon load-outs, checking casualty lists...
Within the battle, the Jammers were being protected carefully by Skynet, most of it invisible to Crystal Peak. Every time a Unit or team withdrew from an area, they brought recon to their Checkpoint Chiefs, who reported it back, and bit by bit, the map was filled in, and then revised in the next round.
Strike, and Machines were destroyed, withdraw, and humans died; attack the counter-attack and more Machines destroyed. Over and over, and more people died, wreckage piled up and Machines went dark, and more people died, and the Medics came in to collect the wounded, receiving cover from air support and more Machines were trashed, and the next attack went on at the same time and more people died, and the H/K's came down in flames and more people died. And the artillery back behind the line opened up with everything it had, and more Machines burned, and the next shift came on as the sun set and more people died...
It was a race, to see who would reach breaking point first.
Connor had been working for two straight days and didn't show the slightest signs of being tired. People were wilting at their consoles getting their facts confused, the Unit numbers jumbled, and there was Connor right behind them, keeping the whole war straight, correcting them before they had fully made any mistakes.
Kate didn't leave the War Room either. Every time she came to the Mess Hall, the Dorms, anywhere there was people, she had been mobbed for news she could not give, or casualty lists she did not have yet.
Noah and Walters left for the battle, with the Nuke in tow. Noah headed for Robbie's Tunnel at Checkpoint Touchstone, Walters for the opposite side of the battle at Checkpoint Roundup.
"Colonel Oldham."
Oldham let out a breath without turning like he'd been holding it for a year. "General Walters."
"Heard you needed some adult supervision over here."
"If I wasn't looking at three of you, I'd zap you back." Oldham graveled in exhaustion.
"I'm the one in the middle." Walters stepped over to the map. "Report."
"Units 73, 194, and 57 are attacking, Artillery units Alpha and Charlie are covering them. We're currently running nineteen Fighter Missions an hour. Units 67, 11 and 50 are in retreat, or on standby. Casualty rates are at an average of thirty percent across the board. Blocks 110A to 38B are in Tech-Com control."
"Understood, get some sleep. I have the ball."
"Yessir. Good hunting."
Oldham turned to go, and then turned back. "Crap, I forgot."
"Forgot?"
"We managed to get a few drones over the walls." Oldham said. "We got a photo of the center of the facility. Just one, before it got knocked down."
"What's at the middle of this?" Walters asked, intrigued.
"A... I don't know, quarry, or a transmitter. Something." Oldham tried to describe it. "It looks like they scooped out a big half sphere, and then covered it in chrome."
"Any ideas what they're doing?"
"Digging out a big hole and building something on it. more than that i can't say, but the whole thing is crawling with Terminators. That was all I saw."
Walters picked up the radio. "Roundup to Palace, come in Chief."
"This is Palace. Report."
"We got a look over the walls!"
Kate sent her husband a look as his face hardened. "What are the Machines doing?"
"Digging!"
Mackie howled as the jeep flipped. He felt a punch across the back of his shoulders as the windshield met him; and suddenly he was rolling across the ground. He saw six of everything as the howl of a turbine swept over them.
Dex was right there instantly, pulling him up. "Shake it off kid, your mom will kill me if I come back without you."
Mackie blinked rapidly, clearing his eyes. He saw steel behind his father and brought up his rifle fast, firing a quick draw shot over Dex's shoulder, nailing the approaching enemy. "She won't take it any better if I come back without you." Mackie grinned.
"LOOK OUT!" They both shouted, pointing past each other.
They both spun in the same movement, sweeping their rifles back and forth. Mackie had inherited his father's skill as a quick draw. The two of them were taking the lead in the attack, firing smoothly, covering each other. As the Terminators moved in, they moved forward, sweeping out the area, one backing the other up, father and son.
The aerial H/K's were another matter.
Javier and Lisa had split up their Unit, using the standard two person strategy to take on a convoy of H/K's, before it could get to where the fighting was heaviest. The Jammers were running thick and strong in this area, so they had to work alone. The air was thick with flying Machines and Jets fighter, all of them looking for targets, or to protect each other.
Javier moved first, throwing charges, Lisa second, throwing smoke.
A cloud of thick red smoke came billowing up as the convoy of H/K's paused, blocked by their exploded leader.
Lisa and Javier ran for it as the fighter jets saw the smoke marking their targets.
Too late this time, as an aerial H/K saw it too. It swept forward, and fired a blast of plasma up at the incoming fighters, bang on target. The fighter/bomber had a wing blown off, and it came down in a tailspin.
Javier shoved Lisa forward as the plane came down hard behind them, the blast tossing them both off their feet. Lisa got back up again, but Javier did not. She spun around and came running back for him. Shrapnel had nailed his leg in half a dozen places.
Javier pushed her back. "The bombing run didn't make it!" He grunted. "H/K's are coming. You can get clear if you run..."
"I'm not leaving you." Lisa snapped and brought up her rifle to shred a Terminator getting a little too close. "Come on, lean on me, I'll get you moving."
Javier grabbed her wrist, and pushed her away firmly. "Give me the smoke canisters, and get the hell out of here!"
Lisa wanted to argue, but the ground was shaking. She looked up and saw the enormous Machines getting closer. She unslung the bandoleer with smoke grenades, and saluted him briefly, running for her life.
Javier took a deep breath, and tossed his rifle aside. The ground was shaking heavily, getting closer to him. He was barely moving, with no weapons. They were just going to roll right over him.
Javier took two smoke canisters off the bandoleer and waited. The ground was shaking so heavy that he was bouncing up and down, groaning as his leg smacked against the dirt every half second, bouncing him back up again.
The sun was blacked out as the H/K got closer, and he lit up both smoke canisters. Thick red signal smoke rolled over him, billowing up from both his hands.
Javier roared victoriously up at the Machine as the distant spotters saw it, and the jets came screaming in; obliterating all of them.
The Tunnel was now long enough that Robbie couldn't see the start of it from where he was. It was as wide and as tall as anything you would find in The Underground. The Gophers were how Humanity had dug it's tunnels in forward areas, where cities and pre-war preparations weren't available.
Skynet of course didn't need controls, but Humanity had long figured out how to use Skynet Machines. Robbie followed along behind it with the controls as it dug, covered in the dirt and dust.
Behind him, the tunnel was wide enough for a small vehicle. In the early days of the war, Saint had salvaged them some golf carts from LA, and then the motor-pool had built something similar, powered clean by terminator batteries. Exhaust fumes while underground was a hazard. When a tunnel went over long distance, such carts were the only way to carry any appreciable cargo back and forth.
Robbie had on earplugs, and earmuffs over them, as did his escort, so they didn't hear the sounds of the cart coming up behind them until its lights caught them from behind.
Robbie set the controls to keep digging, and headed back to meet them.
"Captain Brewster!" Noah called to Robbie. "How's it going?"
Robbie took off his goggles with relief. "Uh. We hit some heavy rock about six hours ago, slowed us down. I've got my team putting in some lights, and signal relays close enough together that we can stay in contact with Base. As I'm sure you've seen, my team is putting in charges to collapse the tunnel once we're done, to cover our escape when the timer is set. We can effectively drill through one sector a day... which would put us under the outer walls right now."
The thought was chilling. Thirty feet above their heads, a war was being fought, and they were closer to their enemy than any of their fellow soldiers.
"How's it going up there?" Robbie asked Noah.
"We're doing okay. Not great, but okay. We're cutting our way in, but we're losing guys for every inch."
Robbie nodded thickly. "I know. But if we tried tunneling without a war going on, Skynet would pick up the vibrations of us drilling."
"It's one hell of a diversion." Noah admitted. "Listen, we're getting closer, so I'm increasing your escort... and I'll be bringing the package down as soon as you're near the target."
Robbie nodded. "It'll be today."
Noah's eyes flashed. "It's dawn."
Robbie blinked, and pulled out one earplug. "Sorry?"
"It's dawn up top." Noah clarified. "Outside the Dawn is Breaking. The Last Dawn that either Skynet or Humanity will ever see."
Robbie didn't know what to say to that.
Noah didn't seem to know what to say either. "Robbie... do you have any idea how incredible your family is?"
Robbie smirked. "I had a hunch."
"Me too."
Robbie turned and saw Kurt was one of his new escort. "Kurt!" He smiled. "I didn't know you were assigned to me."
"I am now." Kurt said. He sent a quick look at Noah.
Noah didn't react outwardly. "I have to get to work. And I have to bring your cargo down here. I'll be back."
"We'll be here." Kurt promised.
Noah got on the cart and gunned it, heading back up the tunnel. Cargo carts could easily travel in two directions; leaving Kurt with Robbie.
Kurt rubbed the back of his neck. "There's something you need to know."
"Sarah's pregnant." Robbie guessed.
Kurt rolled his eyes. "Did everyone know before me?"
"She didn't tell me anything, but... her behavior has changed some the last few days."
"She would tell you first." Kurt agreed. "If only because you're the only one in Tech-Com that isn't required to confess everything to her father."
"So I figure if she hadn't told me, then she's not telling anyone. There's only one or two reasons she would keep it a secret... and we're a day away from Victory."
Long silence.
"You okay with... with this?" Kurt offered.
Robbie smiled serenely. "Kurt, I think at this point you really should stop worrying about whether or not your girlfriends family likes you."
Kurt chuckled. "Your dad and I have reached a... mutual understanding. Your mom is thrilled... What about you?"
Robbie was silent a moment. "Do you... do you ever worry about Sarah? About what she'll do after all this?"
"Constantly."
Robbie nodded. "We're a team, her and me. We've had each other's back for as long as I can remember... but my war ends when the world is green, and the sky is blue, and the oceans are clean, and nobody is hungry. Her war ends when this tunnel is finished." Robbie looked at him. "If my sister... and my best friend goes and leaves me behind, then I want to know the guy she lands with will look out for her when I can't."
"Like Berk did with Ginny?"
Robbie nodded. "Just like that."
Silence. They were both aware of the cart coming back.
"I don't have a real big family Kurt." Robbie finished. "Thanks for joining up."
Kurt nodded, cool and deadly again. Both of them could remember a time when speaking of the future and of family just didn't happen. It was less than a week ago.
The cart pulled up. The Nuke was on it, guarded by Noah, and Jackman.
Lisa slugged back a drink from her water bottle. It made the ration bars go down easier, and that was about all the breakfast anyone in her Unit was going to get. Their next round was going to come any minute, and they all knew it. But now that she looked, she saw a few faces she recognized. Including Berk, which really surprised her, since she hadn't seen him in more than five years, and assumed him long dead.
"Burns." Lisa called. "Who the hell are these kids?"
Burns smirked. "Our reinforcements. The call went out. Some of them are from Eden, some of them are Navy... a lot of them are fresh from Trial By Battle."
"Well, if any of them live, they'll become heroes today." Lisa nodded and tossed away the wrapper off her ration pack. "MOVE IT OUT!"
Noah keyed in seven digits, and let out a breath. "Package is armed."
Robbie nodded. "We'll be in range in about-"
Sck-REEEEEEEEECH!
Robbie spun. "Shut down the drill! Shut it down! Kill it! Kill it now!"
Jackman moved fast and shut down the Gopher.
Skynet To Unit 3456298.
Sub-Surface Attack Detected.
Intercept.
"What the hell was that?" Noah demanded.
Robbie had already sprinted up to the end of the tunnel. "It's metal. Looks like we hit a foundation or something."
"No. We're not close enough to the buildings." Kurt responded.
"Probably a defensive wall then. To make sure nothing could drill through this section. I'll try and get around it."
"Wait!" Noah paled. "You mean we hit a Skynet defensive line?"
Connor grabbed his radio. "NOAH! GET OUTTA THERE!"
Kurt hit the ground as the tunnel was suddenly shaken apart by a massive explosion. It was a blast that shook his eardrums apart and sent his brain into a spin. As he instinctively tried to rise, he could see Noah screaming, but he couldn't hear her at first.
"...is Gone! DIGGER IS GONE!"
Kurt barely managed to turn his head, feeling his blood run into his clothes, plastering them down. The Digger had been blown up from the surface. The Tunnel was breached. He could see sky where the Digger used to be.
Jackman ran over to him and started checking him. "Kurt, try to hold still okay?"
Kurt looked down at himself. He wasn't going to live much longer. "Give me a jolt." he ordered hoarsely.
The Medic looked at him grimly and pulled the adrenaline needle. Kurt barely felt it go into his chest; his head was spinning so much.
"Fall back! Fall back! Seal the Tunnel!" Noah was yelling.
"We can't." Kurt gasped. "We have to complete the mission!"
"We can't get any closer. We're close but we're not in target range. The Digger is trashed. The Mission is over."
Kurt heaved his whole body forward, and grabbed for the Bomb platform. "Like hell."
"Kurt…" Robbie began.
"Robbie, it's the first promise I ever made to my kid."
Crystal Peak was a hive of activity, right to the moment of the Blast, and then was lost in a sudden hush.
"What is going on out there?" Kate hissed.
Connor got on the radio. "Walters, can you reach Checkpoint Touchstone?"
"Negative sir. Looks like the Tunnel got noticed."
Kate felt his fingers tighten on the radio in her hand. Connor's face turned to stone.
The first Machine clamped down into the Tunnel, weapon ready... and froze.
Kurt was sitting on the Bomb, and in his hand was the detonator, held up, in clear view.
Another Terminator clamped down into the Tunnel. A third. Then five. Then ten. Then more. The tunnel was full of them, the hole blown clear to the surface was surrounded by enemy troops. They pointed their weapons at Kurt and froze.
"You know what that is, right? Yeah. You know what this is." Kurt rasped. "They go back down the Tunnel, or I push the button."
"Orlandez!" Noah hissed. She was still seeing five of everything, her weapon was four feet away, Jackman was already dead, and Robbie's weapon had gone up with the earth-mover. With more Terminators than she could easily count, it was a shooting gallery waiting to happen.
"General, just go! Take the team with you!" Kurt rasped.
"General, we can't just leave him." Robbie hissed.
"General, go now, because I don't know how much longer I can hold this detonator steady."
Kate sent Connor a look.
Connor lifted the radio again. "Noah, do it. Get the rest of your team clear." He lowered it again, squeezing his eyes shut a moment. "Sorry Sarah."
Kate gave him a nod, and a look that made him think of his mother. You made the right decision soldier.
Noah gestured at Robbie with her eyes, and the rest of the team moved over to him subtly. "Fall back!" Noah ordered.
Robbie planted his feet, intent on staying with Kurt, when half the team swiftly picked him up and put him on the cart.
Noah and the others swiftly got the nuke off the cart and set it down next to Kurt, and then gunned the motor, heading back down the tunnel.
"We'll be back!" Robbie called to Kurt.
"I know you will… brother." Kurt said quietly. He drew another detonator from his uniform. "I know what you're thinking." he said to the Machines. "You're wondering which detonator is for the Nuke. Well, I'll give you a hint. It's not this one." He swiftly hit a button.
Robbie spun as the tunnel came down. "No! NO!"
Noah grabbed him before he could get caught in the blast, and the Tunnel collapsed, neatly separating them from Kurt... and the Bomb.
Robbie tried to kick Noah off and run to the rocks, but she wouldn't let him go. "Come on soldier." She told him gently. "We have to move."
"We have to go back for him."
"We can't. And he made sure we couldn't."
Robbie pushed her away and ran to the cave-in.
Connor and His wife traded a bleak look. "Let me." She said finally.
Noah's radio crackled. "Robbie?" Kate called. "Listen to me. You have to leave him."
"NO!" Robbie snapped. "I promised!"
"Sarah wouldn't want you to get yourself killed either. Leave him behind. That is an order."
Robbie grit his teeth so hard they hurt, but he kept his chin up. "Yes Ma'am."
Kurt heard them leaving at last behind him, and let out a breath without turning. "Okay."
"What now?" The Machine asked. "It has been calculated that you will detonate rather than risk capture or Termination."
"Well, you're a pretty smart Machine. It'll take eight minutes for my people to clear the Blast zone. You have till then to think up a solution."
"Based on pupil dilation, body posture, respiration; I calculate a 57% chance that you will pass out or bleed to death before then."
"Well... that's more your problem than mine, isn't it?"
Connor spun to his Control Team. "Everyone at Checkpoint Roundup is to fall back immediately. Scrubbed Machines in play can keep fighting. Tell everyone west of the System Core to move in immediately."
"What are you doing?" Kate asked quietly.
"The Nuke isn't close enough for a confirmed kill." Connor explained. "But it's close enough to blow a huge chunk out of the entire System Core. Checkpoint Touchstone is far enough away from the primary blast, so if we can get our people out of the way at Checkpoint Roundup..."
Robbie checked his watch as the cart went the length of the Tunnel in a hurry. "How long have we been moving?"
"Three minutes."
"How long will it take to get clear?"
"I don't know."
"I'm just saying, after all that, it would be a real shame to get killed anyway."
"I concur." Noah said tightly.
Robbie was silent a moment. "On the other hand, I survive, I have to face Sarah. Maybe you should let me off here."
Kurt could feel the life ebbing away slowly, his arm was drooping. His vision was starting to blur.
"How long as it been?" He croaked out to The Machine.
"Long enough that we have found a solution." The Terminator said coldly.
"Come on, somebody talk to us..." Connor hissed.
Just then, the lights went out. The constant chatter from the Communications Room went silent.
All the frantic back and forth conversation of the War Room dropped to dead silence in an instant. The War Room was suddenly a tomb.
"It's over." Connor's voice echoed into the darkness.
Numb silence.
"Somebody figure out how to get me to Arecibo!" Connor barked. "Now."
Checkpoint Roundup was still. Everything had gone offline in an instant. The omnipresent roar was dead silent.
A moment later he could hear Micheal clicking on the radio console. He couldn't get an answer anywhere.
Walters looked around. They were all looking at each other. They had been expecting a nuclear blast, a massive counter attack, a report of the walls collapsing... but sudden silence did not even make the list.
"Are we dead?" Someone asked. The quiet was so complete that it seemed like the only option.
Finally, Walters stepped to the tent flap and pushed it back. Outside the dawn had broken. And before him was a scene of impossibility. Every vehicle, human and Machine was still. Everything in the sky, human and Machine, had crashed. Smoke rose from a billion spot fires, as the sky was brightening, the smoke picking up the sunlight and setting the sky on fire over the frozen battlefield, as though suspended in time.
And every Terminator was frozen, motionless, mid-step. Walters could see Tech-Com soldiers moving cautiously through the battlefield. Even from where he was, Walters could see the exact moment one of them dared to reach out and push one over. It toppled without hesitation.
Feeling his throat close over, Walters went back into the tent and let Micheal have it. "GET THE RADIO WORKING!"
Carla was so tired she was asleep standing upright. She rocked a little on her feet when Kate tapped her shoulder, and snorted awake. "Scalpel." She said automatically.
"You operate in your sleep often?" Kate teased.
Carla yawned. "Sorry. I've been dream-operating again. Any word?"
"We're still trying to get the radio on. Thing is, once we do repair the radio here..."
"They have to repair the radio at the System Core too." Carla acknowledged. "So I stand here and stew?"
"Or you could stand there and sleep, though as a Doctor I recommend you use a bed."
Carla sighed hard. "The radio's are fried, the vehicles and aircraft are all fried, so any wounded can't even get here and if they could, half the equipment in my OR is fried too. They're trying to repair everything as fast as they can, but without knowing if we can expect Skynet knocking on our door any second, it's hard to know where to work first."
Kate nodded. "So we wait."
Silence.
"What if this is it?" Carla asked quietly. "What if the war is over?"
"I have no idea." Kate said. "But if it is, we've got a lot of work to do." She was silent a second. "What about you? You gonna stay in the Mountain?"
Carla shrugged. "Dex was telling me about a few enclaves out on the fringes. They got nothing out there. And then there's the African Remnant. They need doctor's desperately out there. Smallpox outbreaks here and there..." She shrugged. "Lori came to me with this idea about restarting Doctor's Without Borders. She's had one or two other doctors from Union territory talk to her..."
Kate nodded. "World can always use another helping hand where it's needed."
Carla nodded. "Dex... is not against the idea. But if..." She shivered. "When will we hear?"
Kate shrugged. "Either when somebody shows up from the battle with news, or we get the radios working."
"You don't have to come with me." Connor told Kate.
"You don't have to go at all." Kate pointed out. "Arecibo is secure, and if that Pulse was what we both think it is, we've got all the time we could need. John, if the War is over..."
"Then we've got to move fast." Connor said coldly. "The one thing we still have to do is find the damn Time Machine. There are only two places it could be. The System Core, and Arecibo."
"But why you?" Kate pressed. "We've got wounded to see to, casualty lists to put together, you know that Sarah and Carla and Sherrin and everyone else is going to be all over us for news... Why do you have to go?
Connor hesitated. "Because I don't want Kyle thinking about the Time Machine any longer than he needs to, and he's at Arecibo with our head Techie right now. For all I know, Gould's been bored enough to figure out Arecibo."
Kate considered that and nodded.
John was silent a second. "And... Once the shooting stops, the politics start. What happens next will be tricky, and I'd rather have what needs to be done finished before it gets that far."
Kate shivered. "Union? Ross?"
"If we're lucky. But you can stay here." John said easily. "With everyone out on Missions, someone should be here. And if you want to be here when the List comes in, you'll have to stay."
Kate hesitated.
"John Connor was terminated, July 4th, 2029..."
"No." Kate heard her voice say. "I'm coming with you."
AN: Just to let you all know; the next chapter will be the Grand Finale. I know that most of you would like it to go on forever, and a part of me would to, but the thing about a Time Travel Story is that we had a fixed ending before page one.
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