Sarah Connor finished the scheduled half-day at school, easily blowing through the sociology classes, and walked out into the main college campus at UCLA. Normally, she would grab a quick lunch and then head over to the restaurant to pick up a swing shift for so extra spending money. She was halfway to the cafeteria before she realized she had to break that habit.
She sighed and turned around and headed back to the parking lot. She had to ride her motor scooter back to the apartnt, et up with Kyle, and then head over to her mother's place to pick her up. They had things to take care of at the bank and would probably use up the entire afternoon.
When she reached the parking lot, Sarah had to smile at seeing Kyle was there and had just finished strapping her scooter onto the back of his vehicle. She walked right up to him and gave him a hug and a kiss.
“You just saved
so much ti!” Sarah said, happily.
Kyle chuckled and led her around to the passenger side and opened the door for her. “I figured we can grab lunch with your mom before having to slog through bank jargon for the rest of the afternoon. I was given the day off after submitting a few more designs at work that they want to implent imdiately and I wasn't needed for that part.”
Sarah nodded and climbed in and then buckled her seatbelt as Kyle closed the door. He ran around the front and climbed in the driver's side and started it up. He pulled away and Sarah told him how well she did in class that morning, which he praised her for. Things were always easier to do when you were enjoying yourself.
Since it was lunchti, Kyle drove along the backroads and avoided a lot of the rush hour traffic. Sarah appreciated that, since she didn't want to sit in the Californian sun for an hour or two, just to cross the city to pick up her mom and to co right back.
Her mother also appreciated skipping the rush hour traffic after they picked her up and took her out to eat. She had a grand old ti teasing her daughter and saying she was too young to beco a grandmother, then she would laugh and rib Kyle over not being responsible for his actions until after he had to be.
Kyle didn't enlighten her that he had been responsible the entire ti, since he had made Sarah pregnant on purpose. He needed to control how and when Judgnt Day happened. As far as he knew, in the original tiline, it was supposed to be August 29, 1997.
But, and this was a huge but, that was before the Terminator and Kyle Reese had been sent back in ti. They knew that date as the date it happened, except when they ca back, they created a new branching tiline. That soone else was now Kyle Reese and the Terminator had been disposed of, either put their tiline back to being close to the original tiline or their tiline was one of the divergent ones.
As they finished eating, Kyle's mind went over the different Terminator movies he knew about, so he had seen and so he had heard about. The problem was, he would need to wait for at least ten years before he would have any clue if they were close to any of them... or if they were really lucky and it matched none of them. They could be blazing their own path through ti, which would be spectacular.
The trip to the bank went about as well as any of them had expected. It was long, tedious, and involved a lot more paperwork and effort than any of them thought it should have. When it was nearing supperti and the bank was going to close, they finally finished signing the paperwork for the last thing they went there for, ending Sarah's college loan.
They had already deposited a couple of hundred thousand dollars into both her's and her mother's accounts and neither of them would have to ever work a day in their lives. The mother was relieved and had a happy face and Sarah was grateful that it was done and the bank visit was over.
Kyle drove them to a different restaurant and they enjoyed a much livelier supper. Only her mother had a glass of wine with the al and she looked a little guilty that she was enjoying it. Sarah told her it was okay and I told her she shouldn't feel bad that she wasn't pregnant, too. It made both won laugh and broke the underlying tension that had crept up.
He dropped them off at their respective hos and went to his own. With all the money they legitimately had access to, Dragon buying a few old warehouses went off without a hitch. Paying for them sight unseen was kind of a regular thing, according to the realtor agent, mostly because buyers always renovated or tore it down to replace it with sothing better.
Dragon and Kyle were not going to do that.
As they had discussed before, the outside was going to remain the sa and no one in the area would question it or wonder what was going on inside of them. They were warehouses in a subdivision full of other warehouses, after all. Why should they stand out?
The insides on the other hand, were going to change significantly. They would beco similar to one of Dragon's warehouse factories that she had back on Earth Bet. They had tried to convert the one in Zion that made all the general products and things for the people living there, and it had been mostly successful.
In this world, with access to nearly unlimited resources and the technology Dragon was recreating from scratch, she would have no trouble making the warehouses into exactly what she wanted.
Kyle entered his garage and locked up both the Humr and the garage. He checked with his clairvoyance power and then stepped from there and into the first warehouse. It was a huge ss with discarded wooden crates and half-looted equipnt. Whover owned it before had left in a hurry.
Instead of storing it all to get rid of it, Kyle brought out one of the industrial replicators he had on The Reclamation and attached one of the small powerful generators he had from the Invincible universe. He attached a standard console to it next and then a small tractor beam emitter. A bit of programming compatibility later, and the huge machine was sucking in all the contents of the warehouse and converting it into energy.
Once it was all clear, which barely took an hour, he had the machine produce standard bulkhead parts, modified to Dragon's specifications, and quickly attached them to the walls, floor, and ceiling. Once it was all intact and reinforced, he removed the now useless ceiling supports and the entire interior space of the warehouse was left completely open.
Another check with his clairvoyance power later, Kyle stepped into the secret lab back at work and he saw Dragon putting the finishing touches on one of her more advanced articulated robotic arms that she used for independent assembly.
“You couldn't wait for
to bring out Saga's hand modifications for you?” Kyle asked with a laugh.
Dragon let out a laugh sound as well. “I was seeing if I could reproduce it with what we had here, and I did. It's a bit clunky and larger at the base than I'd like, since we haven't worked on streamlining things here yet.” She patted it. “It's also more efficient and has a better range of motion.”
“You installed a reversed hand grip?” Kyle asked as he saw the articulated fingers had rubber pads on both the front and the back.
Dragon let out another laugh. “I knew you'd notice right away.”
Kyle walked over to the laptop attached to it and checked the programming. He nodded his head slightly as he read the lines of code and the arm was a lot more efficient, since it didn't have to rotate to grab things anymore. It just changed the right hand gripping hand into a left hand gripping one.
“The base thickness won't matter, since the reach and versatility easy compensates for it.” Kyle said and stored a copy of the laptop and then the new arm. “Are you ready to head over to your new workspace?”
Dragon's chanical head turned as she surveyed the large advanced lab. She looked back at him and motioned with her hand.
Kyle laughed. “Yes, you'll have a much bigger lab if you want. You just have to assign so space for it when you remake the facilities into the way you want it.”
Dragon nodded and reached a hand out to him. Kyle took it and stepped her from there to the empty warehouse. She made a gasp sound at seeing the gigantic gleaming tal box the warehouse had beco.
“How did you remove... oh. The walls and ceiling support themselves.” Dragon said as she understood what he had done.
“Yes, internal structural support works well. It allows a lot of leeway in both room and starship construction.” Kyle said and pointed to the side of the room. “Go ahead and familiarize yourself with the operating system and look through the plans it already has. You can design what you want, as long as it's large and doesn't require fine detail. I'll give you a normal replicator after you've had so experience with the big brother version of it.”
“Thanks, Kyle.” Dragon said and walked over to it. She didn't try typing on it and instead pulled a cord from the side of her head and plugged it into the access port on the console.
Kyle made fifty copies of the new robotic arm she made and set them aside, then produced large crates that were filled with electronic components. He was tempted to add a few hoverpads and chose not to. Dragon would be too tempted to add them to her current ch designs instead of advancing The Plan. It was much too early to introduce hover technology to the tiline, anyway.
Dragon's ch made an odd sound and then the industrial replicator beeped. A mont later, an entire fuselage of one of her original Dragon chs from Earth Bet ford and slid out of the receptacle.
“Please, please, please... help ... rebuild myself.” Dragon whispered.
Kyle ran over to her and hugged her, let her feel it with his technomancy, then the two of them spent the rest of the day and part of the night using a normal replicator, their Tinker powers, and a lot of reclaid electronic parts to make her a new body that she would feel comfortable in for the first ti in a very long ti. Kyle had also installed a backup station for her to use, just so she could feel more at ho.
“Thank you, thank you.” Dragon whispered as her chanical head pressed against Kyle's face, as if trying to kiss him. His technomancy let the both of them feel like she actually was giving him pecks on the cheek.
“You're more than welco, Theresa.” Kyle said, sincerely. “More than welco.”
*
The two new innovations, better transistors and more efficient capacitors, hit the market a week later and the entire scientific world nearly lost their minds. Just like the R&D team at Cyberdyne Systems, they all knew how much the changes were going to help them in their own projects.
The change was especially felt in the computer construction industry, since having better parts made their finished products that much better. They were also cheaper than the current versions and worked better. That was like ambrosia from the gods for computer technicians.
Things started to change a little after that. Slightly better electronics from all across the board were now being produced and almost no one in the public noticed the new mory cards sold to businesses and colleges for their computers to use and made them more robust and could operate even faster. The network cards were also given an undercurrent of importance that only those in the know felt excited about.
As they were installed and connected, they started to inadvertently build the skeleton of what would eventually beco the backbone of the internet. This was exactly what Dragon was shooting for and her programs were in on the ground floor for the biggest technological revolution that had ever hit humanity.
Almost no one noticed a new construction company coming into being and it wasn't under governnt oversight, like a lot of the other construction companies were. That was because they were not going to be operating with governnt sanction and the less people knew about it, the better.
Magical contracts and ntal manipulation ensured that anyone hired was not going to spill the secret and there were no major purchases of construction equipnt for anyone to track. Everything had been produced in the warehouses and shipped out to the construction sites.
With so much capital available, Dragon easily bought derelict or abandoned buildings in every major city in the United States. Walls were put up and the buildings were torn down, then they started digging down and kept digging, and kept digging so more.
More people were hired and more equipnt was built, then shipped out as they beca available. The construction crews loved having a stable and well paying job, usually in their area where they lived, and the hours were reasonable. The work environnt was friendly and their supervisor kept a close eye on them and made sure they were taking every safety precaution they could.
No corners were cut on materials used or the equipnt available. If it was needed, then a request was sent to the head office and it was there the next day. The dical and dental plans were full coverage, to everyone's surprise. Even the food served for als was normal and not the cheap crap the workers expected.
Everyone that worked for Atlas Construction loved their jobs and never once had the inclination to brag to their friends about it. They did ask around if any of them wanted to work, though. More hands made faster work and the company wouldn't turn anyone down if they actually wanted to work.
By the end of the month, nearly a quarter of the necessary construction sites were fully operational and they were still ramping up. More people were hired near the sites or brought in to work, since so places didn't have the spare workforce to allow them to have a solely local construction crew.
Extra pay for moving expenses and sign on bonuses ensured that there were always more people willing to work anywhere they were needed. The company continued the sa aggressive hiring practice all across the country and no one realized how extensive the company had beco or how fast it had spread.
By the 6 month mark, all Arican constructions sites were well underway. This was well ahead of Dragon's prediction software's best estimates and she couldn't hide her surprise as she told Kyle about it during their next eting. He was also surprised they had co so far in so short a ti.
However, they couldn't start on the European Plan until they had enough empirical evidence that their Arican Plan was working. It would be the height of folly to start over there when they didn't know if it would work here. Plus, they were burning through money as fast as they could make it. They needed to build up so more official capital to expand their construction business to another continent.
*
Sarah Connor grumbled as she paced around her apartnt. It was getting harder to attend classes at college and she was glad the current sester was finally ending that week. She just wondered what she was going to do with herself for the next two months and was trying to figure it out.
Her best friend Ginger stared at her very pregnant friend's extended belly as it wobbled by her for the upteenth ti that afternoon. When Sarah wobbled by again with a grumble and a groan, Ginger had had enough.
“All right, that's it!” Ginger snapped and Sarah stopped pacing. “I'm sorry about this, Sarah. I really am.” She said and walked over to her and put her hands on her friend's shoulders. “I an this in the nicest way possible, I really do.” She said and rubbed her shoulders. “Get out.”
“Wh-what?” Sarah asked, confused.
“I'm getting sick and tired of watching your beach ball belly. It's a major buzz-kill!” Ginger told her. “Matt's refused to co here in case you're in a pickle and ice cream mood. He actually threw up the last ti here was here a month ago!”
“A month? Has it been that long since...” Sarah started to say.
“Yes! I haven't had sex in my own bed in a month and I want it, Sarah! I want it bad!” Ginger responded and then sighed. “Call Kyle and get him over here to pack your things. I want you out by supperti.”
“But... Ginger...” Sarah started again.
“No, I'm sorry. I've put up with it for this long and I can't do it anymore. I love you, I love you a lot.” Ginger said and reached down to pat the big belly gently. “But this has cramped my lifestyle for long enough. You have to go. I'm sorry.”
Sarah sighed and tried to hug her, only for the big belly to get in the way and she sighed again. “I'll call him right now.”
“I really am sorry, Sarah.” Ginger said and let her shoulders go. “I'll help you pack.”
Sarah waved her offer away. “Kyle's been prepared to move
in ever since I told him I was pregnant. He's got this handled.”
Ginger looked surprised and then laughed. “He told you that, did he?”
“He already had my room picked out and decorated.” Sarah answered and Ginger laughed again.
“And you being the stubborn girl I know and love, you refused all this ti until I decided to kick you out.” Ginger said and Sarah nodded. “I hope you don't drive him nuts like you're doing to .”
Sarah laughed at that and leaned in to kiss her cheek. “I think he'll welco it. I'll be giving him more attention, after all.”
Ginger smiled and watched Sarah walk over to the phone. Her smile slipped as Sarah talked to her boyfriend and told him that she was moving in and he could co and pick her up.
Sarah smiled and hung up the phone. “He said he's already in the car and on his way.”
“Of course he is.” Ginger said and tried to smile back. “Sarah...”
“It's okay.” Sarah said and walked back over to her and gave her cheek another kiss. “I knew it was coming a while ago and just didn't want to admit Kyle was right.” She said with a shrug. “You're too much you to stay around the house and do nothing. That's not who you are.”
“And who you're becoming.” Ginger responded.
“Unfortunately.” Sarah said and rubbed her belly. “For the next few months, at least.”
“You only have two months left.” Ginger said. “I'll be there and I'll call constantly...”
Sarah smiled and shook her head. “No, I'll only drag you down more. I'll call when I'm going to pop and you can be there to welco my little boy into the world.”
Ginger nodded and stepped beside her to give her a sideways hug. “I'm going to be the best damn godmother to the little tyke as anyone could ever be.”
“I know you will.” Sarah said and hugged her back with one arm.
A knock on the door made them break the comforting and awkward hug. Kyle entered the apartnt carrying a stack of boxes and saw them standing there. He gave Ginger's cheek a kiss, kissed Sarah on the lips, and walked by them without saying anything. No words needed to be said.
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