Minutes later, back at HQ, in the command center, everyone watched nervously as Quin walked through with Ryka right behind him.

"Shouldn't you take a gun?" Ryka asked.

Quin picked up a cord with a special connector off a table and pocketed it. "No," he answered. "This should be enough, maybe. I have what amounts to a wireless router, but it looks like it only receives commands."

"What's it saying now?" Ryka asked as she followed.

Quin kissed Ryka on the forehead before moving on. "I'm inside a bunker," he said. "I get nothing. Outside, it's like a second voice my human side can ignore. I always knew I'd be safe in here, didn't know how it would affect me until I stepped out. That's just one of the reason's I stayed in. Kate shooting me should tell you the other."

In the room as well at some distance, Kate was armed with a sniper rifle, not once taking her curious eyes off Quin. "So you took that risk while holding my kid?" she asked.

Quin looked at Kate. "I'm very sorry," he replied. "I just knew I wouldn't hurt him in a million years."

"You can't be serious about this," Ryka said. "It's suicide."

Quin headed for an exit. "I'll be fine," he said. "It's our own people I'll have to worry about."

As Quin began to open the door, Ryka grabbed a plasma rifle.

Kate latched onto Ryka's shoulder. "What are you doing?" she asked.

Quin looked at his wife. "Ryka," he began. "Please stay. There's no guarantee I can protect you from other Terminators."

Ryka pulled away from Kate. "Promise me you'll be back." She said.

"I promise," Quin said. "I'll be back."

Ryka marched quickly towards a surprised Quin.

"Wait, wha…?" Quin gasped.

Ryka began to push Quin to move on. "That was the crappiest promise I ever heard."

Now standing just outside the door, their voices became muffled. Kate looked over to a soldier standing next to her. "If I don't come back, you take charge," she said, then jogging over to join the squabblers. "Take care of my kids." She added before closing the door behind her.

Quin held Ryka gingerly by her shoulders as Kate stepped out and beside them. "Ok, maybe that promise was a little fast," he said. "You should still stay. John's got the new intel and is probably on his way already. It's not far and things are gonna get crazy if Skynet really is there, which I'm sure it is."

Ryka looked back and forth between Quin and Kate, then she began to walk past Quin. "Nothing you say," she said. "Will stop me."

"Ryka," Kate called. "You don't even know where to go."

"I'm not going anywhere," Ryka said, then looking to Quin. "I'm following you. Want me to stay? Then, you stay."

Kate walked over to Ryka, placing one hand on her shoulder. "Quin's right. It's gonna be dangerous. You'd likely run into the middle of a battle. Quin, I'm sorry but I can't have you here."

Quin gave an understanding nod. "I know," he said. "Hey, you're second in command, just order Ryka to stay."

Ryka turned to Kate. "Sorry," she said. "But that's one order I intend to disregard."

Kate's head reeled back in frustration. "Ryka, please," she said. "You're my best friend. Don't make me go after you and leave my kids."

Ryka sobbed. "Janelle and Todd need you."

Quin raised his hands in frustration. "Kate," he whined. "Tell me you're joking. I can't have you both on my tail. Just, hit her on the head and drag her in."

Kate thinly smiled shaking her head. "Now you're the one making jokes," she said. "I'll admit I have my doubts about you, but deep down I want to believe you're the same guy that looked after my baby this morning, and you're right, I am second in command. Well, here's the situation; Quin, you need to go. Ryka, I can't stop you unless I kill you. As for me? I'm not letting Ryka go alone. So, the three of us will go."

Quin rubbed his eyes, shaking his head. "This place is about ten miles away," he said. "I had planned to run it. you really gonna keep up with me?"

Kate recoiled in disgust, "Ten miles," she said. "Screw that. We'll drive it. C'mon, follow me, we'll grab an APC for this."

Quin and Ryka followed Kate to a dingy warehouse doubling as a garage. The soldiers stationed there looked at Quin in disbelief.

Kate approached one of the soldiers. "I need some wheels." She said.

The soldier pointed to a nearby APC. "That one will be ready in about an hour," he said. "Just sit tight while we finish."

Quin looked disappointingly at Ryka. "I don't believe this," he whispered to himself. "This is crazy."

Kate waved to a nearby table. "Might as well have a seat," she said. "It'll be a while."

Ryka sat down. "Quin, you really think you can talk to it?" She asked.

Quin stood close by, feeling no need to rest. "Who knows," he replied. "I have to try and put an end to all of this."

Kate sat down next to Ryka. "Quin, we all know that those machines can't be reasoned with," she said. "It won't bargain out of pity or remorse.'

Quin placed his hands on his hips. "If we don't try something," he said. "We'll always wonder what could have been."

Forty-five minutes later a soldier approached Kate. "Alright, she's ready," he said. "She's in a bit of rough shape, but she's all armored up and has gas. Point being, she'll go."

"Thank you," Kate said, getting up and approaching the vehicle, her friends directly behind her. She sat down in the driver's seat only to scoot over to the passenger side as Quin came in. Ryka entered through another door.

The APC started right up upon the first turn. "You should go in back with Ryka," Quin said. "It has more armor, It'll be much safer."

Taking Quin's advice, Kate began to crawl to the back and took a seat across Ryka as the APC began to roll out.

After a few minutes, Ryka said. "Thank you, Kate, for coming along. I know it wasn't easy."

Kate placed her gun in the seat next to her. "It's ok," she said. "I plan on seeing the kids soon. Just gotta think positive."

Unlike Kate, Ryka almost seemed to be cradling her rifle, holding it against her body. "Are you and John planning more kids?"

Kate looked unsure. "I don't know," she said. "Maybe when this is all over. Twins were unexpected. Of course, we have the equipment to look, but we wanted the surprise of it being a boy or girl."

Ryka smiled. "And here you got both." She said.

Kate looked down at her stomach. "First Janelle," she smiled and chuckled. "Then the doctor was like, wait a minute. It's funny cause Todd sort of came wiggling out, no need to push really. How about you and Quin? I mean, provided he can fix his Terminator issue."

Ryka leaned her head back before making sure to speak loudly enough to sure Quin could hear, even though he was only a few feet away. "I'm hoping for a kid in two or three years!" she said.

Quin kept his eyes forward and smiled. "I'd tell ya to get a dog till then," he said, then lowering his voice as he casually waved at himself. "But,…well …you know."

Ryka adjusted herself in the seat to a more stiff position. "Damn it, Quin," she said. "Why didn't you tell us what you were when you came back?"

"I was scared," Quin answered. "I was hoping I would never have to say anything. You know, ignorance is bliss and all that. Besides, Kate, look what you did to my eye. Was it really necessary?"

Kate folded her arms. "Might as well have done that yourself. Not telling us was like not calling the cops when you should have. You're lucky to be alive. You look like a Terminator, least in my scope, I was aiming for your head."

Quin flinched and just wanted to change the subject, saying."Let's just go back to kids. Who and how did you pick names? Might be of use to me and Ryka."

Kate buckled herself in. "John came up with the names a while ago," she replied. "I decided to settle on them because they were different enough from each other. Kyla and Kyle were too similar, maybe next kid."

"I like those names," Quin said. "Put'em on the board, Ryka"

About a half-hour later, Quin could observe a battle not far off in the distance. The Resistance had encountered Skynet and its war machines. The battle appeared as a raging storm that got closer and closer, especially when he decided to drive toward it. Soon, he began to receive orders that flashed on his HUD. 'ENGAGE HUMAN RESISTANCE SOLDIERS. PROTECT SKYNET.' It said. 'We must be close.' He thought, then noticing an ariel HK closing in.

The flying HK suddenly fired, causing an explosion that rocked the APC, sending it on its side. Kate didn't move much since she had been buckled in. Ryka on the other hand, flew against the opposite wall, almost on top of Kate; she struck her head hard on the ceiling, knocking her out almost instantly.

Buckled in or not, Quin was absolutely fine. He looked back at Kate. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Kate regained some composure before unbuckling herself. "I'm fine," she answered. "What hit us?"

Quin stood to get a better view. "It was one of those ariel HKs, " he replied. "Must have seen the APC as the enemy. Ryka, you ok?"

Kate checked Ryka for a pulse. "She's alive," she said. "Out cold, but alive. God, I hate flying HKs."

Quin easily kicked out the windshield. "I need to go," he said. "You should be safe if you stay inside. Please, watch Ryka."

"Where are you going?" Kate asked.

"Skynet," Quin answered. "I have to try and stop this."

Kate grabbed Ryka's rifle and tossed it to Quin. "Please take it just in case." She said.

Quin nodded and shouldered the rifle before stepping out.

The ariel HK hovered nearby, training its weapons carefully as Quin appeared. Seeing a fellow Terminator in shades of red, it quickly retracted its weapons before flying off.

Quin watched as the HK flew away and then looked around. Seeing most of the action was off some distance and only very few flying HKs patrolling the area, he made the difficult decision to move onward.