As I waited for Barnes' angry retort I tried to make out what the mass in the distance was. If the mass could be said to be angry that's the emotion I would use to describe it. But was it some humans that had decided not to take a side in the war or some present from Skynet?
My hands tightened around my gun as I felt excitement course through my veins. I could now prove to Barnes that I was a good fighter. I could prove to Barnes that whatever he felt about metal, I was one of the good ones. That John Connor had a reason to trust me.
"Terminators." Barnes said and I had my answer to two important questions.
One being if what I had said to him had gotten through. Metal was a derogatory term that the Resistance and other humans used to refer to Terminators. So him not using the term implied that he was showing respect to me.
At least for the moment.
The second being what the mass was. Good, I could prove myself to him through fighting.
Why did I want to gain his respect, anyways? That thought bugged me as the Terminators got closer to the base.
But then I had an answer.
Barnes was close to John Connor and if he respected me things could go smoother with John in the future.
"What do you want me to do?" I asked, figuring that acting like I truly respected Barnes would make this small fight easier for the both of us.
"Sound the alarms." Barnes said and I had to control the expression of shock that was begging to come onto my face. "Don't make it too loud, there doesn't seem to be that many Terminators. I should be able to take care of them."
I guess whatever Barnes had taken from our conversation didn't extend to wanting to be at my side during a fight.
"I'm a hybrid." I told him angrily. "If there's someone that could fight Terminators, it's another Terminator."
"And how do I know you won't betray me?" Barnes fired back.
I realized that now wasn't the time to have a full blown argument about where my loyalties lay. If we argued about it for even a second too long the base could take more of a beating than it should.
What if John Connor blamed me and any possible future we had together was lost because I couldn't back down from any kind of fight?
I turned away and started the first part of the alarm system. It was 'silent' as bells and whistles didn't sound loudly across the base. The people most necessary to the base's defense would become aware of what was happening and with a small fight that usually worked out.
And if things got more intense than expected there would be another line of defense.
As quickly as I had sounded the alarm I raced back to Barnes' side.
"I'm not letting a good soldier like you die because of your ego." I said as he spared a simple glance for me.
There was silence as the small group of Terminators got close enough to start firing. They must not have known that John Connor was here at the moment or else there would've been a lot more firepower in this group.
I knew that Barnes wanted to argue about how disregarding his orders was the wrong thing to do. Even though it was, I knew John Connor would be on my side. But first I needed to make sure I'd be worthy of John's praise.
I watched Barnes and was slightly nervous as this would be my first time fighting with him. When fighting as a pair you had to move as one. Even though I was open to feeling like one with him now, I knew it would be hard for him to get into the mindset.
As the first few Terminators came into range and all of us started firing, Barnes and I shot down our targets though we both didn't have a good feel of each other.
But as the fight continued we both grew closer to each other. Battle seems to do that with people. Battle seems to draw people closer together even though when the fighting ends they'll be far apart.
I feigned falling down so that the Terminators firing at me would grow more confident. At least the kind of confidence a Terminator can feel. When they relaxed their guard I fired at one as Barnes took care of the other two.
I laughed as the signals I had given to Barnes had been half-assed, but he had understood what I had meant.
I quickly stopped laughing as we finished up the final two.
As Barnes shot at the last one, the one I had shot down fired a final shot at him. I shot my Terminator a few more times to make sure it was down before checking Barnes who had collapsed.
A bullet had gone through part of Barnes' leg. It would take a little while to heal, but he'd be up and fighting in no time.
"Barnes?" I asked as I saw him look nervously at me.
"Thanks." Barnes said and I knew that was as good of a 'good job, thanks for protecting my sorry human ass' as I was going to get.
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