Chapter 1
Dr Simms looked out of the open door of the ancient Sea King helicopter as it flew in formation alongside another two Helicopters. One was an equally old Merlin helicopter and the third a Chinook. He watched as the Scottish countryside swished past beneath him at a mere sixty foot beneath him. Simms was a technician with the resistance. His main expertise was in the cracking of Skynet encryption codes reprogramming of the 800's series Terminators.
Right now, there were a number of reasons why he was feeling nervous. He wasn't sure if he was going to be sick or just piss himself. The first reason was the seventy-year-old helicopter he was travelling in. The second was the fact he was heading in as part of the final wave at attacks on Skynet's last stronghold within the United Kingdom. Skynet had been pushed back so far that the war was in its final days. With the help of their new allies, the global resistance was on the brink of finally defeating the machine menace. This would bring Simms to the third reason as to why he was nervous. Sitting in front of him was one of the resistances 'new' allies, a T-1000 liquid Terminator. Moreover, this one was not reprogrammed but instead it was there out of its own choice. At least with a reprogrammed T-800's Simms felt at least half safe around them. It sat there in its humanoid default form facing Simms. It's shiny reflective surface bouncing back the red light of the helicopter interior lighting. Its head smoothly moving around taking in its surroundings and the people within the Helicopter. It had been quite since boarding the Sea King with his team.
"Do I make you nervous Dr Simms" it finally asked.
"Do I need to really answer that"? Simms said quietly without looking at it.
"No. it would seem obvious that I do" it replied.
The T-1000 returned to looking at the Scottish landscape passing by below.
Inside the Helicopter were three other members of Simms's team. With the exception of himself the rest were all soldiers, Hicks was the squad leader, a 24-year-old woman originally from France. Next to her was Marshall who was the explosives expert and part time medic and finally there was Smithy who was a regular grunt but most probably the one with the most intelligence out of the squad if not the biggest philosopher.
"We're approaching Skynet's base now". The T-1000 commented as it withdrew its head back into the Helicopter. The team turned to look out of the pilot's window to see the target. Skynet's last European stronghold. Even from this distance, you could see the huge fires and smoke drifting high up into the atmosphere. Word had reached them that the initial attack had gone to plan and now it was their turn.
The Sea King came to rest in the park at the foot of Edinburgh Castle. Skynet had moved its Western European server farm into the castle itself and set up heavy defences, which at this moment were fighting hard to hold the resistance back but failing.
"Right lads" Hicks said as she exited the helicopter "Gather around".
The team stands around Hicks as the transport takes off. They can see it getting a few light laser hits as it pulls away form the castle. The gunfire had come from a T-850 sanitary who in turn is taken out by a resistance sniper using an ancient fifty-calibre sniper rifle.
"Sectors eight through twelve have been breached. We move into the east wall server room, do our magic and beat feet before it goes boom. Understood"?
The order is giving for Marshall, Smithy and the T-1000 to take point and make there way into the castle. Hicks and Simms would bring up the rear. Simms task in all this was to retrieve a number of tactical data including weather patterns for the last 10 years. Since Skynet ran ninety percent of the satellites during that period then this would be the only opportunity to get that information. The team worked their way up the side walkways and keeping clear of the heavily guarded central courtyards. The battle was still raging on the other side of the castle grounds but things were much quieter on their path.
Simms could see the downed endo-skeletons of 800 and 700 series bots that where killed by the early advancing squads from the first wave. There was even a refitted T1 at one point, its armour riddled with sixty-watt laser rounds. There was of course the fair share of human bodies. Resistance fighters who have giving their lives in the fight for humanity against the none stop devastation brought on since the first nuke landed all those years ago.
The T-1000 raises its arm to stop the squad. A heavily damaged triple eight comes limping over to them. On its arm, it is wearing the red banner of the resistance. Simm's could barely make out what it was saying because its vocal matrix had clearly been damaged in battle. Nevertheless, the T-1000 relayed the message back to Hicks and her team.
"He said the area is cleared, and to proceed to basement level west wall".
'He Said' Simms thought to himself. He always thought how weird the T-1000's referred to the S.M.A.L's (Solid Mass Artificial Life forms) as he's or she's like they were alive. Saying that it was weird that he had started to think of the T-1000's as anything different from just liquid robots.
The alliance between humans and T-1000's had only been going for six months or so. However, in that short time they had accomplished so much. With base after base being, destroyed, Skynet was spread thinner and thinner for resources and units. The big swing that changed the face of the war was the downing of the communication network Skynet had used to jump its conscious around the globe in seconds to command its troops. With that network down, Skynet had become trapped in its own UK network and with this battle it become only a matter of time before the artificial intelligence was killed.
They entered the massive server room and the temperature instantly dropped. Resistance soldiers who had been giving the task of holding this position from enemy counter attack were standing around stamping their feet and rubbing their hands to keep warm.
"Right Dr Simms. You and the tin man here start your work." Hicks orders.
"Mimetic Poly-Alloy, not Tin" the liquid robot replies.
"Yeah… not much for the humour are you"? Hick's mumbles as she walks away.
Simms takes out his hand built laptop and plugs it directly into the T-1000 which in turn plugs its fingers into the server port on one of the many computer servers. The T-1000 was there to do the job of repelling Skynet's electronic defences and allowing Simms to download the needed info and whatever he can find in there.
Smithy had sat back and watched the Dr and T-1000 work. He wondered if Skynet was capable of getting irony. Man had created Skynet and in turn, Skynet had destroyed man. Skynet had then created the T-1000 who it would seem would play a big part in the destruction of Skynet itself. The T-1000 robots were the cutting edge of Skynet's technology. Unlike the S.M.A.L's they didn't use chips or circuitry but instead a mostly unknown technology that it captured from top secret labs in Japan. It had been thought that Skynet downloaded its own conscious into each one. This of course was its first mistake. Over a short time, the T-1000's began to think for themselves and argue against Skynet's own doctrine. They had worked out that humanity could never come back from this but the Skynet army could pose a threat to their own freedom. With only fifty-eight ever constructed they all agreed to rebel and assist the humans in the downfall of their creator. Smithy would laugh at the irony himself if it were not for the fact every time he tried he would cough up blood. Like so many of his colleagues in the resistance and civilian quarters, he was dying. However, it was not the war or malnutrition killing him but Radioactive fall out. Cancer was his killer.
Simms had broken the final firewall quicker than he could imagine. Right now, he was in the heart of Skynet's satellite data. With the T1000 playing interference he began the download to the mass of information onto the hard-drive on his computer. The data rolled in quicker than his eyes could keep up. Within fifteen minutes they were done and Marshall was setting up the mini nuke to detonate the site. The bomb consisted of six hydrogen power cells taking from damaged T-800's. The explosion would be enough to level the place and end the war. With Skynet gone all HK's and ground troops left would reset to 'stand alone' and without any incoming orders or strategic intelligence would prove easier for resistance fighters to take down.
With the bomb set, they made their way down to the park for evacuation. The general order had went out and all troops had been ordered to retreat. Skynet's troops would hold the area it was believed and not counter attack. For all Skynet had known the humans would of just retreated, because of the T1000 Skynet had know idea the Resistance had been in the server room or what little surprise they had left. They boarded the number of trucks waiting and drove off. Within minutes they were out of firing range with no sign of enemy troops in pursuit.
Ten miles away they could see the castle go up in a bright white light with the mushroom cloud forming shortly afterwards. Simms turns to the T-1000.
"Well how do you feel? You've just killed your creator." He asks
The chrome humanoid didn't even turn to look at him as it replied. "Probably the same as Skynet did as he watched five billion humans burn up on judgement day".
Simm's didn't know wither to be horrified at this or not. Working with A.I for as long as he had he shouldn't still be surprised at the attachment of emotions from the Machines. The robot whom has stayed in its default form throughout brgan to speak again.
"Regarding the data Dr Simms you needed from Skynet, I had a chance to process it between Skynets attempts to trace me while I was connected. The weather pattern suggests that one hundred percent of the Earth's surface is indeed saturated with radioactivity". Simm's head immediately dropped.
"shit" He mumbles to himself.
The robot continued "Skynet had predicted that you had no more than ten years left before the last human died of cancer".
Simms had promised he wouldn't cry and god knows he was trying hard not to right now. He quickly became aware of the silence in the truck with the rest of the troops. He could hear the yells of joy and congratulations from the other vehicles but not his. His truck had heard what the T-1000 had said. It dawned on them all that they had won the battle but at the end of the day Skynet would win the war. The end of all Humanity.
Hicks addresses the T-1000. "Well it seems your lot have inherited the Earth. If you ask me… you're fucking welcome to it".
The liquid team mate leans forward. In its blank silver, face a human face appears and smiles.
Simms thought that maybe the liquids would do a better job than man would. Maybe they can bring the planet back to its natural healthy state in a few thousand years.
"Christ" he says to himself "you couldn't do a worse job than us".
