CH 26
Sky Net reviewed the recent fight at the communications tower. It had found Allison Connor again, and expected the resulting destruction of it's forces by her and that Gargoyle. What it hadn't expected was Allison Connor to fly straight up under her own power and destroy the drone monitoring the fight.
Allison Connor could fly. That explained why she was moving without being detected. Allison Connor working with the Gargoyle so close to Sky Net's location also meant it was in grave danger. It readied the T-900 and downloaded itself into the five CPU chips in the T-900, leaving a copy of itself in the mainframe to defend the installation.
To aid in escape, Sky Net had ragged clothes appropriate for the weather collected for the T-900 to wear. Instead of north away from humans, Sky Net plotted a course to travel east. Human forces were coming closer, and it was sure they would take in a poor, refugee woman. Once they did, Sky Net could disappear and plot it's revenge.
.
Approaching the Sky Net facility, Allison found it was tougher than she thought. First was the missiles, coming at her in waves. She swatted and destroyed them as they approached. Cameron intently watched the ordinance coming at them. Besides the missiles, artillery was taking pot shots at them. Allison zigzagged and evaded the shells that shot harmlessly past them. Next was the flak. Shells that exploded randomly around them. The shrapnel bounced off Allison's shields as Cameron studied the buildings below them. Fire was coming up at them especially thick from three buildings.
"Got it yet?" Allison asked as she dropped to avoid another wave of shells coming up at them.
Cameron concluded Sky Net may put it's heaviest defenses away from itself to make them attack the wrong place. Not being sure if Sky Net had the tactical sense to do so, she had to go with making sure this place was completely destroyed. "The building with the communication dishes on it. Go down through the roof to the top floor," she said.
Allison dove, powering herself down as another wave of shells and a few missiles rose up at her. Leaving the exploding chaos above, she powered straight down, pulling back hard just above the building. She smashed the roof then brought more of it down as she spread her arms out to slow herself down more as they dropped through the hole. Miscalculating, Allison and Cameron plunged down through the floor, to land on the next floor down.
Standing in the debris from above, Allison released her hold on her mother as she put up a shield to block the debris raining down on them. "Sorry, I missed," she offered.
Cameron snapped her head side to side, taking in their environment. They were in a vacant office room.
"Follow me."
The hallway was clear. Cameron ran to the double doors at the end, searching for cabling. "Allison, rip the ceiling down," she ordered.
Allison did. The tiles and metal brackets rained down around them. Eyeing the pipes and conduits above, Cameron saw a junction box for Antenna three. It had two conduits coming out of it, one on each side. She followed one up into the floor above, then followed the other back to where it came out of the wall.
"Allison, see that silver pipe? We need to go where that originates from. Destroy whatever you have to, but leave that pipe intact," Cameron told her.
"Right, Mom," Allison replied, and punched a hole in the wall.
Going through that hole and following the pipe down down three floors, across another hallway, then down another floor, Allison led them to a large junction box in an elevator well. Standing in the last hole she'd made across the elevator well from the box, Allison frowned and asked, "Which way now? All the pipes go up."
"Straight in, make a hole just to the left of that box," Cameron instructed.
Allison did, ready to fight anything on the other side. "Hey, Mom? Why hasn't anything attacked us in here?"
"Because Sky Net is centering it's defenses around itself, and most likely plans to blow this building up. We must hurry."
Allison jumped across the space, followed by Cameron. The room they were in looked to Allison like one of those control rooms. Cameron went to a computer station and began typing. "Allison, watch the door," she said.
Allison did. She didn't open the door, but put an ear to it and listened closely. "Metallic feet, but not coming close," she reported.
Cameron finished her message, then scanned the room. "Allison, time to leave. Make a hole, there," she ordered.
"Aren't we going to destroy Sky Net?" Allison asked.
"Your Father is. He's got the coordinates, and will carpet bomb this area with everything available. We need to leave, now."
Allison punched a hole where he mother said to. Beyond was a room with windows in it. They ran through the hole. Allison blasted another hole to the outside, grabbed her mother and shot outside. Instead of flying high, she flew as fast as possible low, over the complex. A missile chased her, she slapped it into the ground.
"Faster," Cameron stated.
Allison put all her effort into speeding up. One arm held her mother, another held up a cone shield in front of them to make the wind go around them, and six propeller arms pulled them along at an ever increasing speed. Soon the facility was far behind them.
Straining from the effort, Allison asked in a stressed voice, "Mom? How far do we have to go?"
Seeing sweat beads on Allison's forehead, Cameron said, "Glide and look for a place to take shelter. A concrete building, deep valley or a cave." She looked back to see nothing was after them. She then scrutinized the landscape for a suitable place where they could rest for a while. It was also not lost on her that their food they had been left behind. Allison wasn't going to be able to eat anything for a while. That would be a problem.
.
Sky Net in the T-900 body walked through the remains of a power substation. The building beside the wrecked yard of transformers was still mostly intact. From behind came the sounds of gunfire. Looking back, it saw it's facility shooting every anti-aircraft battery skyward. It had escaped just in time.
Sky Net computed it was still too close. If that was Allison Connor, she could move very quickly. Sky Net fled the road and ran across a field and into the woods. It disappeared only a moment before Allison came gliding down and carried her mother into the substation through a hole in the wall.
.
Cameron searched the wrecked inside of the building for the safest place to be in the coming moments. Finding an electric vault that was intact, she guided Allison in and sat her down. She noted Allison rub her head. Cameron shut the door and took a seat by her. Putting an arm around Allison, she said, "Rest for a while."
Allison leaned into her mother. She also noticed her mother's pants were ripped, and a gouge was taken out of her lower leg to show her metal bones. "Mom, doesn't that hurt?" she asked as she scrunched her face up.
"I'm fine, Allison."
"Dad will get Sky get, right?"
"He will. I anticipate the bombardment will occur in the next five minutes. We should be safe here. Once it's over, we will go make sure."
"Think Mr. Finger ... I mean Apollo is waiting for us at that other station?"
"I don't know," Cameron said honestly. Petting Allison's hair, she said, "I never wanted this to happen to you. The last year you've spent more time fighting Sky Net, than you have being a little girl."
"It's OK, Mom. We do it because we're the only ones who can, right?"
"That's right."
They were silent for a few moments, then Allison asked, "Mom? Why does Apollo have that finger between his legs?"
The ground trembled in a quake, followed by a sonic boom. The boom died out and the ground trembled gain, harder. This time the quake kept going as the air shook with multiple booms. The trembling turned into shaking, vibrating their world. Parts of the building broke free and crashed outside their room.
Even in the dark, Allison could see in infrared the cracks developing in the walls. Light fixtures broke free and crashed to dance along the floor with the now heavy vibrations. Allison put a shield over them when pieces of ceiling broke free and smashed on the floor. The floor grew cracks, Large steel cabinets that were in a neat line shuddered with the quakes and fell over. Pipes began dropping around them. Allison deflected a large pipe away from them as it fell and doubled her shield.
"Mom, you did tell Dad the right place, didn't you?" Allison asked.
"Yes, we are feeling just the shocks, not the direct impacts," Cameron said flatly as the floor shuddered again.
"It's gotta suck to be Sky Net right now," Allison said.
"Let's hope so."
.
When Cameron's message with the Sky Net co-ordinates came in, John didn't waste any time. He immediately ordered every rail gun and missile launcher in range to target and fire on those coordinates in Tibet. Not long after the first impacts of the shells, John Henry reported that Sky Net went off line. The news cause a break of of cheers through the command center.
Holding back his joy, John decided to send a flight out to retrieve Cameron and Allison. Going over to John Henry's station, John asked, "What co-ordinates did Cameron transmit from? I'm going to send a rescue mission out to get her and Allison."
John Henry gazed at him blankly. "I do not think that is possible, General Connor. Those are the same coordinates Cameron reported Sky Net's location at."
"What?" John asked weakly, feeling the blood drain from his face.
"Yes, Cameron transmitted from where Sky Net was located. We just destroyed that place, and most likely everything within a mile around it."
"Oh God," John breathed as he leaned against a desk. "I just ordered a strike on my wife and child?"
John Henry tipped his head slightly. "From the time of transmission to the time of first impact was enough of a gap that Cameron and Allison most likely escaped. That is what I would do," he explained.
John swallowed hard. He HAD to believe they was still alive. Doing his best to keep his voice even, he asked, "John Henry, those units you are controlling in Asia, Can you send them searching for Cameron and Allison?"
"Yes. I will begin the instructions immediately."
.
At the old, and now demolished power station, A dome of rubble rose up and burst debris out like a mini-volcano. From within the cone of the dry eruption, Allison and Cameron crawled out up onto the summit.
"I think Daddy got it," Allison said as she looked out over the devastation. Here and there, fires burned on the wrecked landscape.
I the distance, Cameron saw a Sky Net transport coming, flying low over the ground, search lights panning the area. "Allison, get down."
The both ducked. Allison whispered, "Mom, I can whack that thing..."
"No," Cameron said quickly, interrupting her. "Not unless it sees us."
Allison Didn't argue. She stayed low, peeking over the top of the rubble as the transport went by. Watching it, her attention was drawn to the air. She didn't see anything yet, but felt a presence. "Mom, it's Mr Finger," she said, pointing up.
"His name is Apollo," Cameron said firmly.
Apollo came racing down from above to crash onto the transport, driving it to the ground. He ripped it apart with his claws and flew out of the burning wreckage to land beside their rubble pile.
Allison stood up and waved, "Hi Mr ... Apollo!" she said happily.
Apollo scowled at them. "I've been looking for you," he said heavily.
"You found us!" Allison replied. Feeling a bit mischievous from surviving and seeing their friend, she asked, "Did your Finger point the way?"
"TALK to your child!" Apollo said, glaring at Cameron.
"I will. First, will you fly us out of here? Sky Net is gone." Cameron told him. She then tipped her head. "John Henry just send me a message. He sent us a transport. You just destroyed it. There is another coming from the East. I sent him our coordinates. Please leave this one intact. The ride will be more comfortable for all of us."
.
Walking through the woods, Sky Net had come up with a human name for itself. Since it had taken on the outer appearance of a Chinese woman, it decided on Lin Yang. Lin had evaded Sky Net, and was searching for other humans. That was a plausible story. With the worn, dirty clothes to complete the look, the story should fool humans into taking her someplace 'safe'.
The attack on the facility Lin had expected, but not the ferocity. Eight point seven kilometers away, Lin was shaken off her feet by the earthquakes, and a tree fell down on on her. After the attack was over, Lin carefully pushed the tree off so as to not ruin the skin covering. Any exposed metal would show Lin was not human.
Not long after Lin had resumed her walk, she saw a transport coming. The transport turned to intercept her and shown a spot light down on her. Puzzled by this, she commanded it to land. The transport landed and the side door opened. From inside, a male voice said, "Greetings. Do not be frightened. I will take you to a safe place."
Lin was not frightened, but confused. "I am Lin Yang, a human, you will not hurt me?"
"Hello Lin, my name is John Henry. No, I will not cause you harm. I am picking up survivors in the area."
Lin got on the transport. The name John Henry was familiar. That was one of the rouge AI's. "May I thank you for the ride in person?" she asked, hoping to get near enough to destroy the AI. The Plasma guns in her arms would make certain John Henry was destroyed.
"I am operating this transport by remote, Once I pick up Cameron and Allison Connor, I will return this transport to the base, then you can thank me personally. Please, have a seat," John Henry said pleasantly.
Lin did, sitting down on one of the bare benches. This was a prime opportunity. With the Connors here, she could destroy them and John Henry all at once.
.
Apollo had made a toga-wrap out of the blanket so he'd be covered. He tried hard not to listen as Cameron explained the facts of life to Allison as they waited for the transport. Of course, Allison had many questions and comments as Cameron explained how babies were made. Unlike most mothers, Cameron stuck to the mechanical facts of reproduction. Apollo was never so glad to see a transport arrive and come down to give them a ride.
"I see, Mom, so that is how part of me can be Dad," Allison said, happy she had learned something new. "Are you and Dad going to have more babies?"
"No, I was pregnant when Sky Net attacked, but Sky Net shot me and killed our babies." Cameron said in her monotone voice.
"That's terrible!" Allison cried. "So, my sisters didn't even get a chance to live?"
"No, dear."
Stepping onto the transport that had good lighting, all the metal showing on Cameron gleamed in the light, seeming to make her damage look even worse. The whole left side of Cameron's face showed bare skull, as did much of her right shoulder and upper arm where flesh was still hanging off at her elbow, One metal knee poked out of her pants as did her left shin. Cameron's back was mostly exposed, showing silver backbone from just below her shoulders down to her waist.
Allison scrunched her face up. "Mom, you really look terrible!" she said in a whine as she payed attention to her mother's condition.
"I am fully functional, no need to worry. Come sit," Cameron told her.
Allison did, leaning up against her mother to put her arms around her in a hug. "I just feel bad for you, Mom," she said sadly.
It was then Allison noticed someone else was here also. Besides Apollo sitting across from them, there was another woman towards the back of the transport. The Chinese woman sat with her head down, not even sparing them a glance. Upon seeing her, Allison noticed there was something not right with her.
"Mom, who's that?" Allison asked as she turned her hearing up.
John Henry's voice came over the speakers as the craft lifted up. "That is Lin Yang. I picked her up three point one miles before I found you," he explained.
"I'm sure she hasn't had a very good time here either," Apollo offered.
"Hello, Lin, I am Cameron," Cameron said in Chinese.
Lin glanced at Cameron, said a meek, "Hello," and went back to studying the floor in front of her.
Her wariness peaked, Allison asked, "Lin, are you human?"
"She speaks Chinese, she doesn't understand," Apollo said in a huff.
"Strange," Cameron said in English. "It is obvious I am a terminator, but Lin shows no reaction. Humans usually have a strong reaction when so much of my skin is missing. Especially if they have been hunted by metal."
"She has no heartbeat," Allison stated.
Apollo looked over at the woman.
Cameron tipped her head slightly to the side. "What are you, Lin?"
"Mom, look at her infrared, she doesn't look human to me," Allison said. She let go of her mother and stood up beside her, invisible Arms out ready to defend or attack.
Apollo got up and walked towards the woman. "You were asked a question," he said in a hard tone in Chinese.
Lin cowered away from him. "Please, don't hurt me," she begged. Quickly, she figured angles and moves to kill all three efficiently, then take over the controls. She wouldn't get John Henry, but she would find him later.
Apollo strode over to stand directly in front of her.
"I would not do that if I were you," Cameron told him.
"Save yourself pain. Who are you?" Apollo demanded.
"Who are you?" Lin asked meekly, holding her arms up in front of her as it to shield herself from him.
"Mom, get on the floor," Allison stated as she stared at Lin. Cameron complied.
Shifting into his humanoid form, becoming taller and now bearing wings, horns and a very muscular body, Apollo said in a growl, "I demand to know ..."
Lin snapped her arms out at Apollo as her hands flipped back at the wrists and shot him in the chest with dual plasma bolts. Apollo's torso exploded out his back, then plasma bolts punched holes in the side of the transport. Pieces of Apollo splattered the walls.
Before Apollo's body recoiled from the blast, Allison shot her Arms out and chopped off both of Lin's arms, also ripping all the clothing and skin off her chest to show bare metal. Wrapping Lin with the rest of her Arms, Allison squeezed Lin, pulled her up to float in the air and turned her to face her.
Her eyes now crimson, Allison said in a heavy tone. "I no longer care what you are. You will die."
"I have a thermonuclear bomb inside me!" Lin said quickly in English. "Kill me, and you kill yourself, and your mother!"
"It is possible," Cameron stated.
Allison considered it. Thinking aloud, she said, "I have to ask myself, why would a cyborg here, be trying to run away? If it was anti-Sky Net and alone, it would be hiding much better. No, I think Sky Net saw us coming, and knew it could not stop us, so it put itself in a cyborg body to flee, while letting us believe we killed it. I think you are Sky Net, and you have proven you will do anything to survive. That means you will hesitate to activate your device as long as there is a chance you can find a way to escape."
In a commanding tone, Lin said, "Your only option for survival is to land this craft and let me go."
"That bomb must be someplace in your body," Allison mussed. She tore Lin's right leg off and asked, "In the right leg?"
"STOP, you are going to kill yourself!" Lin shouted.
Cameron knew what Allison was doing. "Keep going," she said.
"Left leg?" Allison asked, and ripped her left leg off. She punched a bigger hole on the fuselage as she threw the legs out.
"You can kill yourself, or we can make a deal!" Lin stated loudly.
"Lower torso?" Allison asked, and ripped her apart at stomach level and tossed the sparking lower half out of the transport.
"I will work with you. I can make you very powerful!" Lin stated.
For some reason, that struck Allison as funny. She laughed a short, bitter laugh. "Anything to stay alive, huh?" she asked.
"Yes, just name it." Lin stated.
Allison kept her grip on Lin with four Arms and threw her out the hole, then jumped out after her. Free of the transport, Allison shot them up in the air as she pulled Lin close. She had no intention of letting this thing live, but needed to get it away from her mother. Wearing a sadistic grin, Allison yelled, "I WANT RICHES!"
"Yes, all the money and precious minerals can find will be yours!"
"I WANT SLAVES!"
"I will make you all you want!"
"I WANT POWER TOO, PROMISE ME THAT!"
"The world will be yours!"
"I WANT EVERYTHING I ASK FOR!"
"All you want and more, please!" Lin cried, making a few tears to make it convincing.
Her face shifting into a snarl with tears of rage in her eyes, Allison screamed, "I WANT MY FRIENDS BACK, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"
Allison then threw Lin up as she chopped her head off and smashed it flat. Allison reversed her propeller arms to drop down as she drove Lin's pieces as high and fast as possible.
A starburst of harsh white light appeared over Allison. Allison brought her Arms up in a shield as the hard punch of a concussion slamming down on her. The impact drove Allison down hard. The wind screamed by in her speed. Holding her arms out as flat as possible, Allison saw the ground coming up fast. It wasn't working. She balled her Arms around her in as tight and strong of a shield as possible. A quick calculation told her she was going to hit the ground at around two hundred miles an hour.
This was going to hurt. At least she had saved Mom, Dad, Byron and all her friends back home. She was going to really miss never seeing them again.