The old office was nothing more than a ruin. The top floors—that had served as her private office—were gone. In fact, nothing above the second floor had even survived. Catharine felt something inside of her sink. Of course she knew the place would no longer be standing. She knew it would be destroyed. This was not her first time seeing the destruction of a post-Judgment Day world. Yet, she felt some sort of attachment to the place. It wasn't just a building to her. It was her home. It made her…sad to see the place destroyed.
Slowly, carefully, the T-1001 slipped passed the stones and medal chunks of building that hid the broken glass doors. The lobby seemed to be in fairly good shape, all things considered. The windows were mostly broken, furniture had been turned over, and there were signs of people having used the area as living quarters at one point in time.
As she rounded the corner, Catherine stopped. Over twenty men and women lay on the floor. Their ragged clothing showed them to be part of the Resistance, TechCom soldiers. The dried blood they lay in and the holes in their bodies showed that they were executed. Each one had their hands tied behind their backs. Noe, it seemed, had given any struggle to free themselves or fight back. These were soldiers who had just given up.
Turning, Catherine began sweeping the building for any signs of life. Her sensors didn't find anything in the immediate area. Satisfied that there were no survivors on the first floor, she moved quickly towards the stairs that would take her to the basement. The heavy doors that once blocked the progress of anyone without authorization were broken. Someone had kicked the doors down.
Altering her vision to better see in the dark, Catharine walked calmly down the stairs. The basement was trashed. The computers that had once housed John Henry were smashed or blown to bits. The desk he used to sit behind was turned over and looked like it had been used for cover during a firefight.
Catharine was about to turn to leave when she heard the sound of someone stepping on broken glass. Tilting her head slightly, she walked towards the origins of the sound. Behind an overturned computer server, the terminator found a woman crouching. She had fear written all over her face.
"Hello. You seem to be trespassing on my property."
The woman looked around in confusion before stammering out, "I-I din't tres-spass. P-please don't kill me. I'm n-not a deserter."
Catharine smiled slightly. She had forgotten that she was dressed in a Resistance uniform. The woman was wearing a faded jacket that held a rank and insignia on it. From the looks of it, the jacket had seen much better days.
"Before Judgement Day, I owned this building. I kept something very precious down here. Something I hoped was going to stop this war before it started. I am looking for him now."
"Him?"
"John Henry. Has anyone come here besides me?"
She shook her head.
"I see. Perhaps he is looking for my daughter, instead."
"W-who is your d-daughter?"
"Savannah. Savannah Weever."
