Epp 16

As it was getting time for dinner, a guest arrived. Mr. Murch, Catherine's senior engineer arrived with Elanore to see John Henry. Mr. Murch wasn't sure what to expect, but it wasn't a houseful of cyborgs and humans living together. One of his surprises was Mary, who walked along on one metal leg. Not only was she sentient as well, she had a boyfriend. Little Savannah, Catherine's daughter, seemed comfortable around these cyborgs and told Mr. Murch that John Henry was her older brother. He met Cameron, again being surprised that she was 'married' to John Tok. although Mr. Murch knew John and Sarah were the Connor fugitives, he kept that to himself. He did not question Catherine's motives on harboring them, especially since learning that Cameron was The Tok's mother.

Cameron put on a great dinner that Mr. Murch spend watching those around him. Mary had metal showing on her face from 'an injury'. Other than showing remorse she had been hurt, no one seemed to care. As the dinner went on, he learned that John and Cameron were on the verge of being able to allow Cameron to have a baby in the traditional way : growing one in her womb. To Mr. Murch, this was Earth shattering news. They were indeed working at an entirely new species of intelligent beings. The thought of cyborgs being born was mind blowing.

After dinner, while Mr. Murch pressed John and Cameron for details in their miraculous feat, Eddie escorted Mary to the lounge. Settling down on the couch together to watch a movie, Eddie idly petted Mary's arm as she sat next to him. It wasn't long before Mary gently stroked Eddie, and coaxed him on where else to pet her. They only made it through the first fifteen minutes of whatever movie was on, before they retreated to her room.

.

The next morning Eddie felt like shouting to the heavens that Mary was the only one for him. Needing to tell someone, he called his brother Richard.

"Hello?"

"Rich, this is Eddie. How are you?"

"Finally came out from that survivalist camp, Edward?" Richard asked in a clipped tone.

Eddie let out a huff. "Yeah, Rich ..."

"My name is Richard. We're grown up now, Edward."

"Yeah, OK. Look, I got some news, if you don't want to talk to me, just say so."

"I didn't say that. So, what is it that brought you back into the real world?"

"Her name is Mary Tok. This girl is like nothing I've ever seen before, Rich. I mean, she's wonderful."

Richard's tone changed. "That's great Edward! How about this. Bring your girlfriend up to the house this weekend. We just had a baby. You can show off Mary and see our new little girl. You got some decent clothes? We'll go out and celebrate."

"That sounds good. Ah, Rich, you talking about a suit and tie thing?"

"You don't have one I take it. No, Edward. Just a good shirt and pants, shoes not boots, and nothing in splotched green or brown," Richard stated.

"Yeah, OK, we can do that. Mary's got a few nice clothes too. I gotta tell you Rich, I think you'll like her."

"She's Asian I take it?"

"Somewhere down the family tree. She don't look it though. Rich, I really think this is the girl for me. Shes' ... perfect."

Richard laughed. "Sounds like you're serious about her. Look, Edward, If you truly are serious about this girl, you'll clean yourself up and stop hanging around with those gun-toting freaks. I can still remember Marcia telling me what a nice guy you were, but your buddies scared the hell out of her with all those guns. Don't make that mistake again."

"I don't think guns scare Mary. In fact, I don't think much of anything does," Eddie said in a musing tone.

"Edward," Richard said firmly. "She most likely putting up a brave front, and doing it for you. She got you out of there, so that tells me she wasn't thrilled about camouflage and rifles. Please, Edward, show her she is the most important thing in your life, and not an assault rifle."

"Well, seeing how neither of us have had any success at relationships, we've agreed to help each other out," Eddie said.

"That's a good start, Edward. So, you'll be up this weekend? Say, Saturday?"

"Yeah, that would be great."

"See you then."

Eddie hung up and saw Mary watching him. Holding the phone up, he said, "That was my brother, Richard Young. He and his wife just had a baby. He wants us to come up to his place in Palmdale to see their new baby, and to meet you. Sound good to you?"

Mary smiled and said, "Yes, I would like to meet your family."

Eddie did want to impress his brother. Friday, Eddie went shopping in a men's store and bought a light blue shirt, white T-shirt, dark gray dress pants a pair of dress shoes and black socks. He even got a sport jacket to hide his back holster for the 9MM. While he was out, he took his Wrangler to a car wash and even had it waxed. Mary cut his hair and trimmed his beard. Despite his unconcern about his fingernails, she trimmed those down for him also so he would look his best.

Since they were the same size, Elanore let Mary borrow a full length dark blue skirt to go with the same color top. Mary had a knee length skirt, but that showed her still bare metal leg. Elanore's skirt went all the way down to Mary's ankles. With high topped shoes, Mary's leg was fully covered. For her face, Cameron found a flesh colored bandage to cover up the part of her cheek that was still showing metal. It covered from up near her eye and just in front of her ear, to halfway down to her jaw. Large, but explainable.

Not seeing his brother in a couple years, Friday night Eddie was nervous and swore he couldn't sleep. Discovering the thrill of emotions and feeling all the wonderful tingling sensations of two naked bodies together, Mary wore him out with sex. He slept just fine.

With the trip directions Cameron plotted out for them, Eddie and Mary left in the morning after breakfast. It was a warm, sunny day. They had a nice drive, Eddie holding Mary's hand the whole way.

So Mary wouldn't be surprised upon meeting Richard, Eddie told her, "Mar, my brother is more, umm, refined than me. He's a teacher and kinda liberal. I don't think he means to be offensive, but he can get that way. He sure wouldn't understand the kind of stuff we deal with. He's got this idea everything can be worked out through discussion."

Mary understood. "He'll be one of the first to die if we can't stop Sky Net."

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry, Eddie," she offered.

"We help who we can, right?"

.

Reaching Palmdale, Richards' house was easy to find with Cameron's directions. Eddie pulled up into the driveway of a beautiful, one story house. Looking at the roof as he got out, Eddie frowned. "Man, for how nice the house and lawn is, his roof's so filthy it's growing grass."

"Possibly it's to camouflage the house from the air," Mary guessed.

They got halfway to the walk when a man emerged, swinging the door open. "Edward!" he said happily.

"Hey, Rich... ard," Eddie said, remembering to add the rest of his 'grown up' name. "This is Mary, the girl I was telling you about," Eddie replied with a wave.

"Well hello, Mary!" Richard said with a big smile as he swept her with his eyes. "I have to say, I do believe Edward was right when he said you were perfect. How did Edward ever find someone as gorgeous as you?"

"He stood by me and would not let me face danger alone," Mary stated.

"So, Edward is your hero?" Richard asked with raised eyebrows.

"He is my best friend," Mary said matter of factly.

"I was just there when she needed help," Eddie offered. To get off the subject, he asked, "I see you mow the grass in the yard, you don't mow the roof?"

Richard laughed. "That Edward, is the latest in green housing technology. Not only does it keep the house cool without using the air conditioner, it also helps remove carbon dioxide from the air," he said proudly. "Come on in!"

The inside of the house was nice with clean, painted walls and modern furniture. Going into the living room, Richard bade them to sit. Eddie let Mary pick her place on the couch and settled down beside her. Seating herself, Mary put her left foot in front of her right to hide and tell tale metal that might be showing. Richard sat in a chair across from them.

"Did you have an accident?" Richard asked Mary, pointing to his face.

"Yes. Eddie tended to me. He was very kind and gentle."

"Hello," Richard's wife said as she came in. "I just put little Allison down. I almost forgot how much of a handful babies are. You must be Mary," she said, all smiles extending her hand.

Mary shook her hand. She also noted the baby's name. "You named your little girl Allison? Allison Young?" she asked.

The woman nodded. "Yes. I had a strange phone call not long after we decided on her name. This young woman called, saying she was Allison."

"Denise, that had to have been a prank call," Richard said.

Mary knew her Mother's history. Cameron had told her the significance of Allison Young. She cast a serious look at Eddie. She didn't know if she should reveal what she knew. Until she could call Mother, she decided to let it go for the moment and returned her attention to Mrs. Young.

"Something wrong, dear?" Mrs. Young asked, seeing her reaction.

"I don't know. It's probably nothing," Mary offered.

"Edward, I see you cleaned up good," Richard said happily. "I take it Mary has had a large influence on you."

Eddie cast him a weak smile. "I do my best for her," he replied. "You still teaching?"

"I am. There's not a more important job in the world that guiding our children," Richard proclaimed. "I truly hope in my lifetime I get to see true peace in the world brought about by our coming generation."

"Mr. Young," Mary said firmly. "Peace and being free to live your life as you want is the best thing that can happen. It will not come about from the classroom. Children need to know there may well be conflict."

"Of course there will be conflict," he agreed. "That is what things like discussion, debate and protests are all about. Getting points out there so they can be talked about and action taken."

"Richard, she's talking about armed conflict," Eddie stated. "The world isn't, and has never been a peaceful place. It's too full of greed and corruption, and those are things we will always be fighting."

"Edward, please," Richard said with a sigh. "If we are to solve problems, it MUST be through discussion, NOT at the muzzle of a gun. That only makes things worse. I wish you would see that."

Eddie let out a dry chuckle.

Mary was finding Richard Young's attitude irritating. She spoke up again. "Mr. Young, Eddie is correct. There are some problems you cannot fix by talking about them. To do that, both sides need to be listening. It is a grand idea, but not practical. What do you plan to do if some day, something comes along that wants to kill everyone, and will not listen to reason?"

"Like what, an invasion?" Richard asked with a snort.

"Yes, an invasion," Mary stated.

"By who?"

Eyeing Richard sternly, Mary said, "By things that do not care about human life. By machines made to resemble humans that are out to destroy everyone. You may see that day, Mr. Young. When it comes, do you think you will be able to talk your way into staying alive?"

Richard blasted out a laugh. "OH I get it now!" he said and clapped his hands. "That woman … Sarah … I forget her last name. The one in the papers who spouted off about machines coming to kill us all. She was crazy, an escapee from a mental institution. Surely you don't believe that nonsense!"

There were times Mary didn't much care for Grandmother Sarah, but she held respect for the woman. Mary stood up and gazed down on Richard. "Don't call my Grandmother crazy. She knows better from personal experience. Experience we are trying to keep you from learning first hand."

"You're crazy too!" Richard shot back.

"Ahh, Mary? Calm down," Eddie said.

Mary didn't. "Am I?" she asked Richard. Her eyes glowed blue.

Richard and Denise gaped at her. "What the hell was that?" Richard asked.

"Showing you how foolish you are," Mary stated. "You claim Eddie here was 'living in his fantasy world'. It is YOU, who hide behind books and your own narrow sense of right, that does not see what is happening. You are wearing the blinders, Mr. Young. Unless you can open your eyes, you and your wife are doomed."

"Mary, I think we should go," Eddie offered.

"Not yet," she stated. "Allison has to be protected. She will be very important in the future."

"How did you make your eyes glow like that?" Denise asked.

Mary turned her gaze to her. "Terminators can do that. Yes, I am a terminator, but thankfully for you, I was built by my Father and Mother, not Sky Net. I came here to help stop Sky Net."

"You were built?" Denise asked in disbelief.

Mary lifted her skirt and put her metal foot on the coffee table and pulled her skirt up, which exposed her leg and one of her 9mm's strapped just above her knee joint. "My skeleton is made of Coltan and armored. I am TOK 853, a cyborg made to help my parents and step father fight Sky Net and keep it from destroying the world. Tell me again, Richard Young, how you have the most important job in the world."

"Jesus," Richard whispered.

"Mary's one tough character too," Eddie added. "I was in one of those fights with her, and I have to say, she absorbed more than her fair share of damage. That bare leg and her cheek still aren't healed."

"This can't be real," Denise whispered.

"It's real, all right," Eddie told them. "Mary is soft and cuddly on the outside. Inside, she's built like a tank. I mean that, literally. I met Sarah, and she's kinda rough, but up until now, it's just been her and a couple others trying to stop what they call Judgment day, when we get nuked and the machines take over."

Mary pulled the exposed 9MM from it's holster and offered it to Richard. "The ammunition in this gun is made to take down Sky Net terminators. Take it, keep it handy. If one comes to kill Allison, it's the only way to stop it."

"I don't like guns!" Richard stated loudly.

"HEY!" Eddie barked. "This isn't about 'like'! This is about keeping your daughter alive. To protect your family. Damn it, Richard, if you won't protect your family, THEY. DIE!"

"This is a trick," Richard said with a not sane sounding giggle. "That's a nice prosthetic you got, Mary, but that's all it is."

Mary shifted and offered Denise the gun. "Take it, this is no trick. I'm trying to save your lives," she said sternly.

Denise tentatively reached out and grasped the gun. I've never handled a gun before," she said meekly.

"Come out back with me, I'll show you how," Mary said. She took her leg off the coffee table and offered Denise her hand.

Mary followed Denise out back. Eddie sat and stared at his brother.

"You'd let your family die because you don't like guns?" Eddie asked in a hard tone.

Richard's face screwed up."Why are you doing this to us?" he asked. "Jesus, Edward, you have Denise scared to death something's coming after us!"

"Something may be," Eddie told him. Leaning forward, he said, "I was lucky, Mary found us before those terminator things did. Yeah, they killed a few guys, but most of us survived. If nothing comes after you, that's great. Mary says Allison will be important in the future, so it's possible one of those terminators will try to kill her, like they have tried to kill John. Richard, this is serious shit."

Richard shook his head. "You're just trying to spread your 'guns solve everything' delusion. You're going to get someone killed!"

"Guns solve nothing," Eddie said. "People do, but only if they take responsibility. Look, I don't have a college education, but I do have common sense. If you have nothing to protect your family, they are vulnerable. There is danger out there, and these things can't be bargained with."

Richard's face blanked. "Edward, I'd like you to go and take Mary and her gun with you. I won't have one in this house," he said.

Eddie shook his head sadly. "I feel sorry for you. I really do." He got up and went to see where Mary and Denise got off to.

Eddie went out back and stood patiently while Mary went through dry firing with Denise and showed her where to aim to disable a terminator so she could get herself and her daughters away from danger.

Mary then reloaded the gun, and wrote down their address and her telephone number just in case .

After they were done, Denise took the gun and went inside to hide it from her husband.

Mary went with Eddie and showed Richard her other pistol to Richard to prove she had it.

Richard walked them out to the jeep. Once they were in, he said, "You know, we are finished now, Edward. I don't want to see you again."

Eddie offered him a smile. "Hope things go good for you, brother." He started his jeep and backed out of the driveway.

As they left, Mary put her hand over Eddie's. "I'm sorry it turned out like that Eddie," she said softly.

"Me too," he said, and clasped her hand. "Denise has the pistol?"

"Yes, she is hiding it."

"Well, we did what we could," Eddie said with a huff.

.

Taking a break from working out how to get Cameron pregnant, John took a good hard look at what else they could do to stop Sky Net cold. Sky Net was hiding and waiting to be uploaded by the Air Force. The big question was, where was Sky Net? John Henry was hoping to intercept and corrupt or stop an attempted transfer. He was in the Air Force's computers, but with so many stations it was taking all his efforts to be ready to stop a critical data transfer.

John would rather find Sky Net and physically destroy it to be sure it was gone. Unless Kaliba attempted a data transfer, John Henry was not going to find Sky Net.

Looking at the information they had, Cyberkinetiks was down hard and still without power. Sky Net hadn't had the chance to transfer out of the building. They had also not seen any suitable container leave that might contain Sky Net. That meant it was still there, or had been moved away underground.

John Henry was sure it was under Johnson corp, but again, there was no solid proof. It was possible, however.

As John thought, he asked, "John Henry, where did the programmers go?"

"Home. A few returned the day after the power was cut off, then left. They haven't been back since," John Henry explained.

"Do you know where they went?" John coaxed.

John Henry paused, then said, "I see, Sky Net still needs programming, so wherever those programmers went, is where Sky Net is. I shall begin a search immediately."

"Are there any buildings close to Cyberkinetiks? Say, up to two miles away?" John asked.

"Yes, there are two residences." John Henry stated. "Here, and here."

John looked at the satellite photos. The ranch house looked normal, a pickup truck in the driveway, kids toys in the back yard, a garden, a patio with a barbecue, normal stuff. The other was a two story that had several cars parked in back and two more in the driveway. No kid's toys, clothesline, or signs of a family living there.

"That's our place," John stated.

.

John called everyone together. Eddie and Mary were still out, so the only 4 wheel drive vehicle they had was the Suburban. All right for off road, but too big to go through woods. John had seen woods near the back of that house. At the moment, whoever took that position had to hoof it.

Hearing John had found Sky Net, Sarah would not be left out. She also refused to take a 'guard' position. As everyone collected together with their weapons, Gregory came in with the Ariel photo and printed directions from John Henry. John thanked him. Right after, Mary and a blank faced Eddie came in.

"Yes, you're back!" John said happily.

Eddie perked up. "At least someone's glad to see me," he grumbled.

"That I am, we need you and your Jeep," John replied.

.

The target was just a house, but John wasn't going to take any chances. Eddie and Mary would drive through the woods and come up from behind the house to cover the back. Him, Cameron, Jake, and Sarah would take the Suburban and drive up the road, then turn into the driveway and right up against the cars in front of the garage doors, blocking that as an exit. Gregory and Elanore in the van would follow right behind them and cover the sides of the house. John Henry, here with Savannah would block any electronic signals coming from the house and shut down the nearest cell towers. Sarah passed out ski masks for everyone. Communication was by radios that each of them had. Catherine Weaver also wanted to be part of the raid, but John had another task for her.

John laid his plan out. Once everyone knew their job, Eddie and Mary left first since they would take the longest. Eddie had his sniper rifle and a 9MM. Mary has her plasma rifle and one 9 MM. Both had plenty of ammunition.

.

John swore it took forever for Mary to report they were in position and had not been sighted. Upon her report, John nodded to Sarah who was driving. "Let's go, Mom."

Sarah drove at a normal speed. Her turn into the driveway was sharp. She drove right up to the two cars and bumped them into the garage doors. Before she could throw the vehicle in park, John, Cameron, and Jake were out and running. They got to the front door as the van slid to a stop in the yard and Gregory and Elanore piled out, running to the sides.

Breaking the front door down, Cameron yelled, "On the floor, NOW!" as she pointed her shotgun at a couple of startled men. They quickly complied. Jake was in next, wielding his plasma rifle, followed by John and Sarah. Jake broke down the hallway door to see Gregory coming in through the destroyed kitchen door. A woman screamed and dove to the floor.

In the living room, John noted their fast progress. Shortly, they had the first and second floors cleared and rounded up six terrified looking humans. They didn't find a single computer anywhere.

"Where is it?" John asked a frightened man.

"Where's what?" he asked with a squeak.

"Your computers! Tell me unless you don't want that arm!" John commanded and put the muzzle of the shotgun on the man's shoulder.

"The basement!"' the man cried. "Stairs are behind that door by the kitchen."

Jake opened the door and looked down. He nodded and went down, Cameron right behind him.

"We don't have any money, please don't hurt us!" a woman cried.

Cameron came back up. "There's a concrete door at the bottom. We need another plasma gun."

Elanore went down with Cameron. John heard plasma rifle fire. Having the prisoners covered, John told Sarah, "Go outside, watch the front and sides for a possible emergency escape."

Sarah nodded and went back out the front. John Got on the radio and told Eddie and Mary to also keep an eye out for an escape route from underground.

.

At the reinforced cellar door, the fire from three plasma rifles shattered the door and broke through. Ready for anything, Cameron surveyed the space beyond. The room was full of workstations and racks of computers. Two dead people slumped over in their chairs. She also saw monitors showing outside views of the house.

Stepping through, Cameron radioed, "We have a server room down here. Two dead bodies, monitors around the house. Someone saw us coming."

"There has to be an escape route, find it," John replied.

Jake studied the walls. One had thin but square seams in the shape of a door. "Cameron, There's a door here."

"Destroy it," Cameron commanded.

.

Mr. Johnson strode quickly down the tunnel with the box Sky Net was in, and a single 12V battery on top. Not expecting trouble, he barely had time to get the basement door shut, grab Sky Net and escape. He should have had more time, but whoever was up there had plasma weaponry. His escape door from the basement was not going to stop such weapons either. He hit the detonator for the part of the tunnel near the house. The rumble of the explosion followed by the blast of air past him confirmed Connor wasn't able to follow.

It had to be John Connor. Unfortunately, killing John Connor was his secondary mission. His primary mission was to ensure the survival of Sky Net. He had he capability of killing John Connor, but with plasma weaponry, he would be disabled, and Sky Net vulnerable. Once he got Sky Net back to the factory and plugged in, he'd seal the last door and flood the tunnel. Sky Net's programming was all but finished. Once he got Sky Net uploaded to the Air Force, his primary mission would be complete. He would then be able to complete his secondary mission of killing John Connor.

.

Jake shot the door in the wall, and the door exploded back out at him, throwing him back into the room. Cameron raised her rifle and looked into the hole to find the tunnel beyond was filling with debris. Light came from above. She could see outside.

.

John stumbled as the house shook from the detonation. The people on the floor screamed. "Where did that come from?" John asked over the radio.

"Oh GOD, please don't kill us!" the woman screamed.

.

Cameron, Jake and Elanore came up out of the basement. Jake's ski mask was ripped open and bloodied. Metal shown from within.

Cameron quickly explained. "Sky Net had an escape tunnel, it collapsed it, we couldn't follow."

"DAMN IT!" John roared. They were so close, and Sky Net just slipped away. Focusing on Jake, he pointed and asked, "Can you see and walk all right?"

"I can."

Hating his words, John said into the radio, "Mission scrub, everyone retreat!"

As fast as they had burst into the house, they ran out.

"Hey WAIT!" the man in the floor cried. "You're going to leave us tied up here?"

"You'll figure it out," John yelled to him on his way out.

.

Getting back in the Suburban, Cameron glared at the house. "I'm sorry, John, she said in a monotone voice.

Tears in her eyes, Sarah banged her fist on the steering wheel.

"Mom, drive!" John snapped. He was very disappointed too, but they had to get out of here.

"What went wrong!" Sarah yelled as she backed out to the road.

In her monotone voice, Cameron said, "They had security cameras watching the outside of the house. They saw us coming. The basement door from the house, and the one into the tunnel were both reinforced concrete. By the time we got into the basement, Sky Net fled and collapsed the tunnel. We could not follow."

"That tunnel has to go to Johnson Corp up the road," John said.

"That is the most probable location," Cameron agreed. "They will also be waiting for us."

"Guns out and ready," John agreed. He keyed his radio. "Mary, try to take out the power lines going to Jonson corp. Do not get within sight of the factory."

"Will do. They do have emergency generators."

"Maybe they do," John told her. "The virus is still active. If the generators are automated, they may fail to turn on."

"They also may work fine."

"It's a risk we have to take. After the power's out, get out of there."

"Understood."