CH 22
The attack came as a surprise. Overnight, Sky Net shifted forces to attack General Schmitt's lines in Yugoslavia. Sky Net poured thousands of machines into the human lines, breaking them up. The humans fought back hard, destroying many machines and taking high casualties. They did not stop Sky Net's push. Sky Net had fought it's way into well as made it to the southern German border In two more days of intense fighting, Sky Net was stopped after taking most of Austria.
Hearing word of this, Cameron attacked the St. Petersburg Sky Net forces with everything she could bring up. In the first day of battle, St. Petersburg ceased to exist, except as churned up ruins on a map. With more mini-Stugs, drones and fighters, as well as Allison taking out units from within Sky Net's own lines, the Sky Net lost all it's machines in the area. Cameron broke through and drove south towards Poland to relieve some of the pressure off General Schmitt's army.
The third day of this newest battle Cameron realized what was happening. Sky Net had become a bit smarter. It was conceding land farther north and was trying to cut off the human advance into the Ukrainian oil fields. Sky Net was attempting to trap a large portion of the southern army. In the next week the battle lines shifted to be more east-west rather than north to south. This time, Sky Net was fighting hard to keep humans out of Yugoslavia and Austria while it continued to try to pinch off the main drive in the south.
A comms meeting with Schmitt and a few other generals, Cameron explained Sky Net's strategy, the attempted isolation of their armies in the south. Cameron agreed to lead a fast strike force to destroy bridges and roads to cut Sky Net's supply lines in Europe.
With drones and Allison leading, Cameron took half the mini-Stugs, 150, and thirty Drones to help the bomber forces starve Sky Net's army off from it's supplies. During this advance, Allison was busy removing machines out of the way and taking down low flying H/K's and Sky Net transports.
Allison paced herself, taking out mostly Sky Net transport craft as they moved due south. She cut down trees and dug hasty trenches to make any road to the west hard to move over. Coming upon railroads, Allison ripped the rails up and tore trestles down. Now and then, she would find some Sky Net mimi-Stugs and terminators to rush at and smash into the ground. At night, Cameron stood guard controlling the Mini-Stugs and drones so Allison could sleep. The first weeks they were attacked by H/K's. As they moved south destroying the machines, the air attacks became fewer and weaker, only a couple H/K's at a time.
One thing Allison kept were railroad rails she's split in half. They made great spears for skewering H/Ks and knocking Terminators off their feet and destroying their bodies. Allison's life became, eat, sleep, and destroy anything Sky Net she came across. It seemed like that was all she'd be doing for the rest of her life. The weather became warmer, which Allison was grateful for. She was becoming sick of the cold.
.
Near the Ukrainian border, Cameron's compact force came across some refugees. A few hundred people were hiding in mines. Cameron gave them food and water and advised them to stay put. Not long after crossing into the Ukraine, they ran into a force of ten H/K tanks, and seemingly innumerable smaller vehicles. The drones Cameron sent out were shot down, but not before they spotted a mass of units gathering to the south.
The lines of the southern European force attacking in the south were only twenty miles away. Unfortunately, ammunition was running low, Cameron didn't have the resources to do anything but warn the forces to the south about the buildup. A large flight of H/K's came at them. Cameron's force fought them off and also depleted their remaining ammunition stores.
Once the last H/K crashed to the ground with a railroad rail piercing it, Allison went to the command vehicle. Walking in, she said, "Hey Mom, they're all gone. Want me to go look for more?"
Cameron talked as she looked at her screens. "No, Allison. I am checking our ammunition. We're reloading with the last boxes of rail gun ammo. We don't have the ammunition left to attack any more. One more battle, and the mini-Stugs will be out. There isn't any more missiles for the drones we have left, and only a half load of AP canon rounds for them."
"I can go smash up Sky Net tonight," Allison offered.
Cameron eyed her in thought for a moment. In a mussing tone, she said, "We do not have much left to fight with. If they follow you back and attack us, our force is done for. Logically, we should keep a low profile and make them search for us."
Allison nodded. With a huff she said, "OK, Mom, it's just if they are looking south, we can surprise them."
"On the other hand," Cameron added, "If we draw their attention and radio in their positions, the human artillery could do quite a bit of damage to them. Sending in our fighting machines at their backs, and having our empty trucks move west, they will go after them thinking we are retreating that way, allowing us to move east on foot around them."
Allison tipped her head slightly. "What about the truck drivers?"
"Five mini-Stugs will make no difference in this battle. I'll have the rail gun ammo taken out of them to add to the others going to fight. Yes, Allison, right after the sun sets, you're going to go get their attention. As hard as you can. Until then, get some rest. We will be busy tonight." Cameron told her.
.
Allison took a nap until sunset. When she got up, Cameron showed her where she wanted the area cleared of Sky Net machines. She also gave Allison a time limit. No matter what, Allison had to start back at nine PM.
In her first entry into the Sky Net held area, Allison came across a field of mini-Stugs all pointing north. She pounded them into the ground, split some in half and threw the halves far away to come down on others. Back and forth across the field, Allison destroyed machines as they turned and twisted, trying to get a shot at her. Resting for a moment, Allison hid lying beside a destroyed mini-Stug as others and Terminators searched for the cause of the destruction. Allison them heard the thunder of landing shells. It was time to leave.
Getting up, Allison faced a terminator. Quickly, she chopped it in half then quartered it. Seeing machines turn towards her, she knew the terminator had given her position away.
"Shit," she spat, and took off as fast as she could go, ripping a zig-zag path through the machines. Coming to machines still intact, she smashed these.
Shells from the artillery barrage, bullets and plasma fire streaked through the air and pounded the ground around her. She jumped high and down to ground level in her erratic movements. H/K's joined in the hunt for her. Allison notice she was leaving the land units behind. Thrusting herself high, she gained sped with her propeller arms and attacked the H/K's.
H/K's were mobile and able to maneuver quickly. Allison was able to maneuver faster. Darting around the sky, she sliced one H/K apart after another. It wasn't long before the H/K's discovered getting near her would end in their own demise. The remaining H/K's computed they would be more effective against the human artillery barrage and sped away.
The bombing was farther off now. Allison could see the explosions in the distance. The remaining H/K's accelerated to high speed and went south. Not long after they left, a flight of drones arrived to circle her. Allison hitched a ride on a drone and was flown back to their camp.
Allison jumped off the drone and landed outside Cameron's command vehicle. She heard the squeal and clank of mini-Stugs moving in the dark. Going inside, she said, "Mom, I got a bunch. Thanks for the ride."
Not looking at her, Cameron said, "You got their attention. They are coming this way with most of their force. We will have to move very soon."
.
Sky Net enhanced the last video pictures a Terminator had sent before it was destroyed. The short figure beside the ruined vehicle looked human. A close inspection showed the hood of the figure bore points, and the face conformed this person's identity.
Allison Conner, the mutated offspring of John Connor. Searching through files, Sky Net found Allison Connor's profile in engagements from Finland all the way down to where this video was taken. Along the whole path of it's machines' destruction, Allison Connor was there. It wanted the silent, deadly weapons she possessed. It needed to take her apart and find out why she was such an effective destroyer.
Attacking the humans to the south became secondary. It could destroy them later. Sky Net ordered all it's units in the area to go north and capture or kill Allison Conner and bring her body in for study.
.
On her screen Cameron showed Allison the mass of Sky Net vehicles heading towards them in a mile long line. "They are only a few miles away. The drones and mini-Stugs will begin their attack as the trucks move off to the west. The supplies we're taking are stacked outside. Allison, when the command vehicle and the drone control vehicle are abandoned, destroy them. Let's get moving."
Cameron got everyone together. She set the mini-Stugs in autonomous mode to attack the Sky Net machines just west of them. Above them, the remaining drones in autonomous mode were to attack the same area. The mini-Stugs towing the trucks, she sent off on a road-following mode to the west.
While Cameron got the decoys out, the men gathered all the supplies they could carry. Once Cameron was done programming their machines, Allison destroyed the control vehicles, making sure she crushed every electronic circuit board to dust. Cameron led the thirty men and Allison east down a frozen stream, staying below the line of sight.
.
Walking beside her mother all night, Allison hefted her own large pack with a couple boxes of medical supplies drifting along to each side of her. Not long after they left, she head gun fire in the distance. Cameron had them get down. An H/K tank rumbled by, heading west, followed by a few more vehicles. Once it was clear, they got up and kept walking. Cameron's ploy was working, Sky Net thought they were retreating west.
The stream met a river. Turning south, they walked until the sky turned purple with pre-dawn. Cameron scouted out a dip in the ground and had them rest there. Unless an H/K flew over looking for them, they were as safe as she could make them.
Allison was tired. Siting down on one medical kit, she put the other behind her and leaned back. Looking at the tired faces around her, it was a comfort to see her mother standing still, scanning around them. She felt safe with Mom on watch. Allison drifted off to sleep.
The next thing Allison knew was talking, and the sun shining on her. Heart in her throat, thinking Sky Net had found them, she jumped up with a screech and brought her arms out to destroy the machines.
"Easy! Calm down," a strange male voice said.
"Allison, this is a patrol from the south. They are going to take us to their base," Cameron stated.
Ten more men, all armed, were in the depression. Allison blew out a sigh of relief.
The men who'd found them were a squad from the Italian 4th Army. Transports were called to pick them up.
Cameron asked her most pressing question. "Where are the Sky Net machines?"
The Sargent shrugged and said, "We don't know, General, that's why we're out looking for them. We followed one of their big tanks, but we lost it. It looked like they were headed north west. The Captain thinks they moved to get further behind us. Heard tell our artillery gave them quite a pounding."
"I have information on some refugees we found. Approximately three hundred people hiding in old mines north of here," Cameron explained. "I told them to stay put until someone arrives."
"I'll pass the word on. Mario should be back soon with the transport." He then turned and loudly stated, "OK, boys, let's get the eyes up!"
Three soldiers came together and took lengths of pipe out of their packs. They assembled a long, thin mast with an eyepiece at the lower end. Standing 20 feet tall on braces, the Sargent began scanning the horizon.
Curious, Allison went over to him and asked, "Can you see far with that?"
The Sargent grinned and said, "I can spot the frill on a Ladies' underwear a kilometer away with The Big Eye." He was quiet for a moment, then said, "There they are. Corporal, send a message to command. I see three ... four H/K's hovering, bearing two seven six, range ... three kilometers. They are low and apparently looking for something."
Allison went up to peek over the edge. Using her zoom, she saw the H/K's. She also noted movement on the ground. "Below them, Sargent, there's some on the ground."
"Yeah?" he asked. He then let out a chuckle. "And we have six ... seven .. eight metal bipeds under them." Taking his eye off the lens, he frowned at Allison. "How'd you see them?"
"I can see good," Allison explained.
"That far away?"
Allison nodded.
The Sargent laughed and said, "All right then. If you would please, keep a watch out towards the river."
Allison nodded and went over to the other side of the depression. Cameron took the north side, the other direction they expected Sky Net units to come from.
The Corporal came over to the Sargent. "Sarg, command wants us to spot for an artillery barrage. First rounds incoming."
The far off thump of big guns sounded out. Then came the whistling, then the impacts in the distance.
"Re-aim fifty meters to the north," the Sargent called.
Another round of heavy thumps sounded. The H/K's moved south. The area they in was covered with exploding shells.
"On target, the H/K's are flying south," the Sargent reported.
"South?" Allison asked.
"They want to find and destroy our artillery," the Sargent told her.
Allison moved to jump. Cameron barked, "No! Allison, stay where you are!"
"Mom, they're going to kill people!" Allison cried.
"And if they see you, they will be down on us again, and everyone here will die. DO NOT go after them!" Cameron said sternly.
"Hey, Supergirl, you can't save everyone," the Sargent told her.
With a whine of frustration, Allison turned back to watch the river.
"Transports' on it's way, three armored carriers with escorts." the corporal announced.
Allison noted movement across the river. The top of the H/K tank seemed to grow out of the ground as it came closer. "H/K tank, a big one!" Allison cried, pointing to it.
"Drop the eye!" the Sargent commanded. The soldiers quickly brought the mast down to the ground.
"Another one," Allison said, pointing just to the right of the first.
Cameron and the Sargent climbed up beside Allison, peeking over the top.
"Where?" the Sargent asked.
"Ten degrees to our left," Cameron stated. "If we don't move, all three should pass by us."
"Three?" he asked, wide eyed.
"Four," Allison said. "looks like more behind them too."
Cameron said, "Corporal, can artillery fire?"
Getting off his radio, he said, "Yes, can you give coordinates?"
Cameron eyed the approaching behemoths and said, "Tell them to target the river one hundred sixty five meters from our position. If the shells can at least make a crack in their armor, the water will get in and short them out."
"That's pretty close," The Sargent warned.
Cameron eyed him. "Your shells alone will not destroy them." To Allison, she said, "If they get too close, you'll have to take care of them."
"I'm ready, Mom," Allison said stiffly.
A total of sixteen tanks topped with a large plasma gun and a smaller lazer made for the river. Cameron waited until their tracks first entered the water, then said, "Ranging rounds, now!"
The far off booms sounded. The whistles announcing the incoming rounds sounded close. One landed beyond the tanks, the second landed in the water, dead center of the river. Another landed off to their right, showering them with dirt.
Cameron noted where the rounds landed as the first tanks submerged half it's bulk into the water. She grabbed the radio. Using the Corporal's voice, she said, "First round, fifty meters too long, second, perfect, third, a hundred fifteen meters short, fourth, eighty two meters to the west..."
The soldiers stared at Cameron as she called in the corrections. She then said, "Fire!"
Another volley came in, this time they were packed more tightly together. One hit a tank on top of the turret. The explosion was impressive, but all it did was blacken the surface. More landed in the water, one on the front deck of a tank, shooting up fire and spray. Once all the rounds landed, Cameron said, "Coordinates are good, maintain fire."
They watched a third volley come in as the tanks crossed the river. A shell landed right beside one. That tank kept moving, then jerked on briefly, then stopped. The others went around it.
In five volleys, the barrage managed to stop three tanks dead in the water. The rest made the far bank, wet but undamaged.
"Cease the barrage, H/K's are out of effective kill zone," Cameron said into the radio, then handed it back to the Corporal. "Stay low, stay quiet," Cameron told everyone.
The Sargent had the poles for the Big Eye shortened. He used it to peek up over the edge. "OK, they are moving due west ... they're looking around. Opening their formation ... looks like they are moving on."
"Good news," a man behind him said.
"Aww shit! They're turning right at us," the Sargent spat.
"Weapons?" Cameron asked as she scanned the men.
A soldier looked at his machine gun. "Nothing we can fight those things with," he said sadly.
Cameron looked at Allison and said, "Crawl to the river and upstream as far as you can get. Wait until they pass you, then start taking them out. GO!"
Allison dove over the river side of the depression where the ground was lower.
The Sargent glared at Cameron. "You'd send your daughter to her death?" he asked in disbelief.
Stone faced, Cameron replied, "No, I send her to their deaths," she said calmly and pointed where the tanks were coming from.
.
Allison shot along the riverbank with her Arms propelling her below the level of the bank. Hearing the clank of treads getting closer, she stopped and peeked up over the top. They were almost to her. Dropping down, she got behind them. The closest one was sixty yards away. Allison rocketed forward.
Stopping herself right beside the machine, she grabbed the side with all her arms and lifted, then added a push. That tank flipped over. She raced to the next one towards the rear and flipped that one. Flipping the third tank over, she noted they all stopped. She punched a hole in the bottom of the one she'd just flipped, ripped out the barrel sized power source and flung it at another tank as it's turret spun towards her. She jumped behind the stricken tank.
A plasma gun fired, and the landscape lit up with a blinding white light. The air shuddered, a blast wave hit her, she managed to block it and still stumbled to sit. Ahead where the tank had shot at her, a large mushroom cloud rose into the air. She took a peek around her cover. The tank that had shot was missing it's turret, the front was partially melted. Another tank had been knocked off it's tracks. The snow was gone, the ground now covered in burning grass showed the explosion had happened right in front of that tank.
"Wow," she mussed. So their power sources were nuclear. She made a special note to herself, take cover when throwing H/K tank power supplies.
Allison got up and raced on. In the fog that used to be snow, she flipped a couple more, letting the rounds the tanks were shooting at her, penetrate the exposed bellies of their helpless fellow machines. One flipped over tank shot and blew it's own turret apart, and still landed upside down. It took a while to get all of them. Allison noted H/K's in the air. They began firing on her. Racing between the disabled tanks, she forced them to get lower to try and hit her. They hovered lower, ready to shoot the instant they had a lock on her.
Allison shot up between a pair of H/K's and punched hard. The machines flew apart, one hit another one. All three went down. A lone H/K rose up and sped away. Allison dropped to the ground and ran back to the depression.
"That last H/K was a coward," Allison announced happily as she walked up to the depression.
Then Allison noticed the medical boxes were open, and several men lay on the ground as others tended to them. "What happened?" she cried as she ran down to help.
Cameron eyed her. "There was a nuclear explosion. Not large, but it didn't need to be since we were so close."
.
The armored carriers came with a pair of mounted anti-aircraft units and four light tanks. Moving quickly, the wounded who suffered severe burns were loaded first. The Sargent and a couple others were blinded and their faces were all but gone.
"I'm so sorry," Allison whined as she got in to sit by men who were still shaking from their experience.
Cameron got into the seat beside her. Putting an arm around Allison, she said, "You saved us. You did good, Allison."
Teary eyed, Allison sniffled and said, "But they got hurt because of me! I caused that explosion!" She then wailed out, "I'm so sorry!" and burst into tears.
.
The command post north of a town Allison couldn't pronounce the name of was a large, fully functioning base. Allison was checked out at the hospital complex (no reflex test) and released to her mother. Three of the wounded brought back were Cameron's men. Cameron picked Allison up from the hospital and the driver took them to the command center, which was underground.
Allison was in a sour mood from once again causing others to get hurt. She didn't care who the generals were that praised her mother for her 'daring' run down behind the lines to stall Sky Net supplies from getting through, or their praise to her for her 'epic battle' that took out more Sky Net heavy tanks in one fell swoop, than their entire army did in a week of fighting.
To Allison's displeasure, all the officers assured her heartily that even if those men suffered permanent damage, they would accept their disfigurements for the good of all, and would want her to do the same if faced with the same circumstances.
She'd heard it all before, and all their praise could not wipe out the sickening memory of those men she caused to loose their sight and their skin. Those men were worse than dead, she had mutilated them.
Seeing Allison looking like she was ready to cry again, Cameron excused them and took Allison to their quarters. Cameron knew why Allison was upset, and there wasn't much she could do to comfort her.
Sitting Allison down on her bed, Cameron took a seat beside her. Slowly, she said, "Allison. You did nothing wrong. This is war. Many men besides the ones you saw are killed and horribly wounded every day. This army alone has lost two hundred thirty thousand men and women. Nothing you do will stop people being killed. We do what we can to destroy Sky Net, so fewer will be killed. Our aim is to stop the killing, but we have a long way to go."
Head bowed, hair hanging down in her face, Allison stared at the floor. "I just can't be the cause of people being hurt," she said in a weak little girl's voice. "I ... want to go home," she finished in a whine.
A tear ran down her cheek.
Cameron wasn't about to tell her only one of those wounded men was still alive, at least for the moment. Or that there was still a job to do once they were transferred back north. By the look of her, Allison had enough of war for a while. She was a great asset, but Cameron was concerned that Allison may become mentally damaged if she was forced to continue fighting. Cameron kissed her daughter on the head and told her, "You will, sweetheart. I'll make sure you get home."
.
Allison found it impossible to sleep at night. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the men in the depression, bodies and faces raw and blackened, others not so injured bandaging them. She swore she still smelled their cooked flesh. If it wasn't those men, it was the ones on the volcano with her that had gotten crushed by the avalanche she caused.
Giving up on sleep, Allison left the prefab hut and wandered down the street hugging herself. She felt tingly here and there. Knowing her own body from the army men and her mother explaining things to her, she knew nanites were at work healing her insides. That was why she also felt so hungry. Her nanites would cure her and repair just about anything wrong with her given nutrients and some time.
Why couldn't normal humans have nanites?
A cook tent was set up for the night watches. Allison wandered over to it. On the way, she saw a small piece of steel lying on the ground. Her nutrients were someplace, she'd lost them. She picked up the chunk of steel, cleaned it off and broke it apart into tiny bits and ate it.
"Hey, are you eating things off the ground?" a uniformed woman at the cook tent asked as she stared at Allison.
"Hungry," Allison said tonelessly.
The woman walked over and took her by the arm. "Come on over here and let me get you something. Eating things off the ground is not good for you!" the woman admonished.
Allison didn't reply. She sat down on the bench where the woman guided her. Moving around behind the counter, the woman asked, "What are you doing up at this hour?"
"Can't sleep."
The woman dipped a ladle into a pot of steaming, hot stew. "Well, hon, you should try. The guns are quiet tonight. It's your best chance," she said as she filled a bowl and set it in front of Allison. The woman then got her a chunk of bread.
"Now eat up, and then go back and try to get some sleep."
Staring into the bowl that was wafting up tasty tendrils of steam, Allison said, "I try to sleep, but when I close my eyes I keep seeing dead people. Some look ... skinned. I see them, and I don't want to sleep any more. I stay awake so they will leave me alone."
"You poor dear," the woman said softly.
Allison dipped her spoon into the stew and noted her hand was shaking. "I want to help Mom, but I'm a afraid I might cause more people to get killed. Every time I help, more die."
"We are fighting a war, hon. No matter how much you want to avoid it, people die."
Allison let out a sarcastic chuckle. "Yes, more die. More and more. Sky Net does want to kill us all, right?"
"That is why we fight back. We must, for our own survival," the woman said gently. "Now come on, eat your stew. Dwelling on it will not make it better."
The woman was right. Allison nodded. She sipped spoonfuls of stew. Eating a few of the potato chunks, she said tonelessly, "This is really good."
"Or, maybe you're that hungry," the woman said with a grin. She then gently asked, "Do you have any family around here?"
"My Mom. Dad is back home in the US, so's Gramma and Byron."
"Ahh, Byron is your brother?"
"Not really," Allison said with a shrug. "He's a good friend. Sky Net killed his family so he lives with us now."
"If you live in the US, what are you doing here?"
"Mom's a General. We came down from Finland. Got rid of some Sky Net machines and destroyed bridges, made roads impassible, things like that along the way," Allison explained.
"That was you?" the woman asked in a gasp. "You and your mother made that run down behind the enemy? Your name wouldn't be Connor, would it?"
"Allison," she agreed with a nod.
"Good Lord, child, you're a hero! I heard you destroyed a dozen of those big Sky Net tanks, one after the other. No one has ever done that before. Such a brave girl!" the woman swooned.
Allison stopped eating. Looking at the woman with her haunted gaze, Allison said, "I'm not brave. I attacked from behind, I slipped close so they didn't know I was there. The brave ones, the truly brave? They go out and fight Sky Net with weak weapons knowing they may well be killed, or horribly wounded. I hear them, their moans of agony and screams when they are brought back. That is, the ones who lived. I know others going out to do battle hear those same cries, but they go out anyway knowing the same thing may happen to them. I'm not brave, they are. I'm just good at destroying things."
"You're not afraid you could get killed?"
Allison let out a snort. "Only if they catch me sleeping, which I probably am not going to do for a while."
A soldier walked up behind Allison. He studied her, then asked, "Allison Connor?"
"Yeah?"
The soldier unslung his machine gun, pointed it at her back and opened fire. The woman screamed and threw herself down on the ground. Allison sat, glaring at nothing as he emptied his weapon at her back.
Once the bullets stopped coming, Allison let the bullets fall to the ground. Slamming her spoon down, she got up and face the blank faced soldier. He tipped his head as he studied her.
"Is that all you got?" Allison asked angrily.
Confused the soldier tossed the machine gun down and pulled pistol. Allison grabbed the pistol and wrenched as she pulled, ripping his hand off as well as the pistol. Sparks flew briefly from his wrist. 'Try again," she stated harshly, and pushed him back.
The sound of gunfire raised the command post's alarm. Flood lights slashed through the dark and soldiers scrambled. The Terminator looked around and moved to walk away.
"NO! You are not leaving!" Allison yelled. She shot an Arm out and grabbed him. Picking him up, she slammed him back to the ground in front of her. "NO RUNNING, you heartless metal FREAK! Stand and fight!"
Fearfully, the woman at the lunch stand peered over the counter to see Allison wasn't dead, but was standing with her fists balled, looking very pissed off. The solider who emptied his machine gun at her back was lying on the ground. The terminator got to his feet.
Allison picked him up again, higher this time, and slammed him down again. "Call your boss!" she raged. "Call him and tell him I WILL be coming for him. Sky Net can't run, it can't hide from me!"
Allison picked the terminator up again, this time sixty feet into the air. She slammed him down with all her might. The ground shuddered, dirt blasted out of the hole as if an artillery round had landed.
Allison strode up to the pit the terminator had made upon landing. The body was spitting out sparks. "YOU HEAR ME SKY NET? I AM COMING FOR YOU, AND ALL YOUR TINKER TOYS ARE NOT GOING TO STOP ME!" Allison screamed at the top of her lungs. "YOU ARE GOING DOWN!"
Allison then grabbed the terminator and ripped it apart. She crushed it's head and threw all the pieces back in the hole, screaming, "FUCK YOU AND ALL YOUR GENOCIDAL BULLSHIT!"
Quivering in rage, Allison glared down into the hole as silence surrounded her. Noting someone's presence, she looked up to see a line of soldiers watching her, mouths agape.
"Allison, are you hurt?" Cameron asked.
Allison turned to see more soldiers with various weapons watching as her mother approached.
Quaking from the rage she felt, Allison said in a calm voice as possible, "Mom. These things need to be stopped. I'm tired of seeing dead people strewn all over. I'm SICK of this STUPID WAR! Please, find Sky Net. Find it so I can crush it!"
Cameron walked up and hugged Allison. Allison returned the hug and burst out in a miserable wailing cry.
Seeing the large audience standing in a wide circle around them, Cameron said, "The threat has been neutralized. Go back to your barracks."
.
"Thank you for the stew," Allison said meekly to the woman who now shook with fear in her presence. She pushed the empty bowl back to the woman's side of the counter.
"Do you feel better now?" Cameron asked from the seat beside Allison.
Allison nodded. Looking at Cameron, she said, "We can't go home, can we? We have to stay and destroy Sky Net once and for all."
"If you want to go home, I'll make sure you do," Cameron told her.
"No Mom, I can't. Not while Sky Net is still out there. Everyone here is trying so hard, but they can't do what I can," Allison explained. "All that studying war, learning and playing with Byron and my friends. This is what it all means, right? I have to stop Sky Net, because no one else can."
"You can't do it by yourself, sweetie. I have no doubt Sky Net is planning to hit this place hard as soon as possible to get rid of us," Cameron explained.
"I know, that's why we have to leave and make sure Sky Net knows we're leaving," Allison reasoned.
Cameron nodded. "That is correct. Why don't you go back to our quarters and get some sleep. I will go make a plan, then we will go find Sky Net."
"OK, night Mom," Allison said. She got up and hugged her mother, then wandered back to their quarters.
Cameron watched Allison go. The woman behind the counter came up to her. "Excuse me, Ma'am ... General? What is your daughter? How can she ... do things like that?"
"Allison is part yokai," Cameron said, keeping her gaze on Allison walking away.
"What's that mean?"
"Yokai is a term equivalent to 'monster'. Beings like vampires, witches and werewolves. Allison is invulnerable to bullets and can destroy things far beyond arm's reach. She doesn't need a gun. She can fly, and when they are angered, yokai can be very destructive," Cameron explained.
"Things like that are real?" the woman asked with a gasp.
"Yes, and Allison has made Sky Net her personal enemy. When we find it, she will destroy it. Right down to the last circuit board." Finally looking at the woman, Cameron said with a huff, "I only wish she had time to grow up like a normal child before all this started."
.
Allison managed to sleep and had a new nightmare. This time she was standing on a pillar. Around her, all the bodies, the burnt faces and wrenched looking people gazed up at her with pleading eyes. Every one was crying out for her to save them. Allison did wake up from this dream, in the morning. She got dressed and went to find her mother. She was not going to let those poor people's cries go unanswered.
.
Sky Net recomputed it's strategy. For the moment, it had a much more powerful enemy than the humans. One who could destroy it's machines at will, and proved to be very hard to stop. In it's calculations, Sky Net increased the production of H/K aerial units to search, and armed the new units with larger guns and packed them with toxic gas canisters. It also made thousands or small, quiet units to search the ground without being spotted.
The current battle lines were wavy with many points the little horned girl could sneak through. Sky Net collapsed the lines, pulling completely out of Europe and remakde a defense along the edge of rivers in Eurasia. Where there was not a river, it bulldozed the land in front of it's new lines completely flat for two kilometers distance so Allison Conner could not sneak through to destroy it's machines.
It kept terminators out closer to the humans, with enough numbers and heavy weapons to keep them in check, along with some hardened fixed positions. Most of it's forces it drew back behind the lines to constantly search for and be ready to engage it's most dangerous enemy. Allison Connor.