Out of the Past: Old Ghosts and New Enemies

Foreword: Cowboy Bebop and all related characters are property of Sunrise Entertainment. Terminator and all related characters are property of Warner Brothers.

A/N: The time frame for this story is two months after the events in Out of the Past.

Chapter 1: Business as usual

Spiders from Mars Casino:

The Spiders from Mars had always had good business, and like any good casino it had its share of rigged machines and crooked dealers but that had never seemed to bother customers much. Well, not the dumb ones at least. As for the smart ones, the very few that there were, they rarely reported anything. Instead they tried to beat the system, show that their skills were so good that they could beat even a crooked system. Those in charge were more then happy to let them try, ninety nine percent of them would walk out with nothing in their pockets and probably owing the casino money. Those that did actually have the skill and could beat the system had to be dealt with. When Gordon ran the casino they would usually be taken to a secluded place and, in the tradition of the old days, knee capped. After Gordon had died in an 'accident' a while ago the new management had taken a different approach. The cheater would be allowed to leave with the money they had won and be followed by a casino employee. At first opportunity the employee would knock said cheater unconscious and take back the money they had cheated them out of. The casino's business card left on the unconscious gambler was a final message for them not to come back. So far the system had worked to great effect. Some cheaters were able to avoid the people sent after them and get away but they never came back and so far the new system had earned back far more money then they had lost and there was no plan to change anytime soon. Tonight it looked like they would have to go through the routine again with some guy with an expensive suit that was cheating on one of the craps tables. What really happened would be much more interesting then just a simple mugging.

Zach Stone had been having a good night. When he had first walked in this casino no one seemed to recognize him, which was a plus. Having a two million Woolong bounty on his head for extortion meant that he had to be careful wherever he went. Since no one seemed interested in him he decided to enjoy one of his other illegal vices, cheating at craps. His system for winning wasn't of traditional sort; it was the high tech sort. Using a small, camouflaged keypad in his palm and some dice loaded with microscopic circuits he could roll any number he wanted. If the pit boss checked the dice he wouldn't find anything without some cutting tools and a microscope, and so long as he lost every once in a while it would keep them from getting suspicious. What he didn't know was that this casino had encountered a device like his before and had set up electronic scanners to make sure they would know when someone is using it. Something else he didn't know was that it wasn't the casino he would be dealing with.

After about an hour of playing he was up about thirty thousand Woolongs and had no intention of stopping yet.

"Quite a winning streak you've got going." A silky voice said from behind him. Turning around he saw he was being addressed by a hot little number with purplish hair and wearing a tight black dress that left very little to the imagination.

"Once in a lifetime run." Zach replied his usual pick up line. It had worked a hundred times before and it seemed to working again this time.

"All that money and no one to share it with. What a shame." The woman said as she came up and started to put her arm around him. She seemed to know the game and Zach was about to continue when he felt something starting to poke him where the woman had put her hand. Not being stupid Zach knew that whatever it was couldn't be good so he quickly knocked her hand away and started running.

"SHE'S GOT A GUN!!!" He shouted at the top of lungs as he took off. The statement had the desired effect, the customers started to panic and casino security started to converge on the woman, who started to yell even louder then the fleeing customers.

"Let me through!! I don't have a gun!! LET ME GO!!!!" Whoever it was sure had a lot of lungpower.

{Too bad it won't help her.} Zach told himself with a grin. By the time they got this straitened out he'd be halfway to Ganymede. All he had to do was get through the slot machines and…

"Hey pal how's it going?" A slurred voice asked. Out of nowhere some tall skinny guy stepped right in front of Zach, forcing him to stop.

"I'm going if you get my drift." Zach said and tried to go around the drunk, who followed the move and continued to block him.

"What, with all the fun that's going on?" The drunk said in disbelief. "I heard there's some broad with a gun holding up a blackjack table. Sounds like a million laughs." Zach, however, was not laughing. This idiot was blocking his only escape route and he couldn't stay there for long. Deciding to take the initiative Zach took a swing at the drunk's head. In a blur of motion the drunk's arm came up and intercepted Zach's punch.

"Wha..?" Was the most intelligent thing Zach could think of to say.

"Now that wasn't very nice." The drunk stated, sounding completely sober and about twenty IQ points smarter. Now really pissed Zach swung his other fist but the 'drunk' just grabbed his wrist and threw him head first into one of the slot machines. The impact knocked the slot machine over and the senses out of Zach. For some reason he couldn't move but he could still hear and see, not that he could see much lying on top of a tipped over slot machine.

"What's going on here? Who are you and who is that?" Another voice asked.

"Me? I'm just you're regular everyday bounty hunter." The drunk answered. "And that is my latest bounty."

{Damn! A bounty hunter!} Zach thought to himself. He didn't think he'd get caught this easily.

"Can I see your license?" The second voice asked. More then likely casino security.

"Sure." The first voice answered.

"All right Mister Spike Spiegel, he's all yours." The second voice said. "By the way, that woman that he said had a gun wouldn't happen to be with you? She's claiming to be a bounty hunter to."

"If I say no is she going to jail?" Spike asked.

"Nope. She doesn't have a gun and she wasn't cheating at anything so there's nothing we can hold her on."

"Then I guess she is." Spike answered. Was it Zach's imagination or did Spike sound disappointed at what the security guard said?

Somewhere on Earth: That same time

In one of the many wastelands that used to be the cities of Earth a single vehicle drove along the shattered remains of a highway. On the outside it was a large, very ordinary looking van but inside was anything but ordinary. Inside was what amounted to a mobile command center with the highest grade tracking devices money could buy.

"It never ceases to amaze me that whenever we get a positive ID on one of these things it's in places so out of the way nobody in their right minds would go to." Said someone who was manning the tracking equipment.

"It's because they know that would be the best place to hide. I thought we already went over this Specs." A voice from up front answered.

"Just trying to keep myself awake John." Corporal James 'Specs' Ritch answered.

"Try driving on a road like this for two hours, that'll keep you awake no problem." John Connor answered, as he had to make a sudden turn to avoid a pothole the size of a small car.

"No thanks." Specs replied. All together there were five people from the ten man 'Terminator Crushers' unit that had been formed shortly after the destruction of Skynet in the van. Their mission was to hunt down and exterminate the remaining Terminator robots that had been built before Skynet became sentient and wired all other robots into himself. Estimates on how many were left ran as low as twenty to as high as two hundred and their experience in fighting these machines, as well as the plasma rifle each one of them carried, made them the best people for the job. In the front, sitting next to John, was Kyle Reese, John's best friend and one of only a handful of people to know the whole truth about the short but bloody war with Skynet and its origins.

In the back of the van was Specs, who had lost a leg during the final battle with Skynet and recently had it replaced with an artificial one. Second there was Corporal Max Winters, the team medic who had helped keep Specs alive after a stray plasma bolt had blown his leg off. The third member of this group was Lieutenant Patrick Roberts, who had been second in command of Jason West's squad when it had been his. West had died on the mission to infiltrate Cheyenne Mountain and as a result John and Kyle had been given promotions to the ranks of Captain and Lieutenant respectively.

After the new unit had been formed John had filled the empty position Spike had left with Captain Al Belkin, a friend of West's and someone he knew they could trust. Once they had a full roster John had broken the unit up into two five man teams, knowing they'd be able to find and destroy Terminators faster in smaller groups but not making the groups so small they'd put themselves at risk of being overwhelmed. Al was in command of the second group that was to the west of John's checking out a second supposed Terminator sighting. Many of these sightings were false alarms but they had to check out each one just to be sure. In the two months following the destruction of Skynet they had destroyed a total of fifteen 'rogue' Terminators and it looked like it they would be in this for the long haul.

"You're sure this is the real thing and not some old coot seeing something?" Kyle asked Specs.

"The physical description matches a Terminator perfectly, and reports say he acts like one to. So yeah this is the real thing. Knock on wood." He said and knocked on his artificial leg.

"Specs, that joke wasn't funny the first time and it's not funny now." Roberts said. A loud bark seemed to agree with him. "And it looks like Killer doesn't think so either."

'Killer', a big German Shepherd that was currently lying on the floor of the van, was the non-human member of this team. Knowing the reactions dogs had to Terminators John decided that having one with each team would help them track down the remaining robots. John specified only two qualifications for the dogs they would work with. One: They needed to always obey commands when they're given them, no matter what. If they didn't there was a good chance they would get shot in a crossfire. Second and most important, the dogs had to like everybody, and that meant everybody. No matter how a person looked or acted the dogs would go up to anyone and try to make friends with them. That way if they ever acted hostile John and the others would know there was a Terminator in the area. ISSP had delivered, and the two dogs, named Killer and Mauler as a joke on their good nature, showed that so long as a person didn't try to hit them they would go up to anyone to have their ears scratched.

"That's enough with the jokes you two. We're here." John said as the van pulled to a stop. "Standard procedure. Roberts, you and Killer will be point; the rest of us will back you up. Try to stay out of sight and keep in radio contact at all times. Any questions?" When there were none the five of them put on overcoats to hide the plasma rifles they carried. They went on foot to the populated part of the city and one by one they broke off from the group and tried to blend in with the crowd. Roberts continued to walk Killer like he was just a person giving his dog some exercise so he wouldn't get any unwanted attention.

"Doggie!" A young voice squealed. Looking the direction the voice had come from he saw a little girl no more then four years old running towards Killer.

"Sit." Roberts told Killer and the dog obeyed. Before the girl got much closer her mother grabbed her arm, yanking her to a stop.

"What did I tell you about going near strange animals!?" The mother scolded.

"It's alright ma'am he's harmless. She can pet him if she wants." Hearing that the girl slipped out of her mother's grasp and went over to Killer, who lowered his head so she could scratch him behind the ears. Giggling the little girl began patting the large dog, who started wagging its tail.

"I'm sorry if we're bothering you it's just that when she sees an animal she just has to go up and meet it." The mother apologized.

"It's no problem at all ma'am" Roberts responded. John had said that when there was a chance to talk to locals they should. What they have to say might give them information on the Terminators they were tracking. No such conversation was needed here as Killer's tail stopped wagging and he suddenly became very alert. Looking over to a side street Killer's ears went back and he began growling loudly.

"Is something the matter?" The woman asked, nervous now that the large dog was becoming aggravated. Roberts wasn't listening. He was looking in the direction Killer was growling at trying to see if the Terminator the dog had detected was in plain view, it wasn't.

"Ma'am this is a police emergency. Take your daughter inside and stay there."

"What…?" The woman started to say.

"Now!" Roberts hissed. The woman nodded and grabbed her daughter's arm, dragging her into a nearby shop. "Track!" He told Killer. The dog stood up and began to lead Roberts, who activated his radio. "Got a confirmed sighting West of my current location."

"Keep going, we're right behind you." John's voice answered. Glancing around quickly Roberts saw that the other members of the team were heading in his direction and knew they had his back. He let Killer lead them through a side street to an area that had close to a dozen homeless people milling around, some asleep on the ground. The ones that were awake began to back off fearfully from the large angry dog and the five strangers that came with it. Killer focused his attention on one sleeping homeless person who was facing away from them. The person's clothes were filthy rags but he looked far too large and well fed for someone who had apparently been homeless for so long. Kyle leaned down and picked up a small hunk of fallen masonry about the size of a softball. Looking over at John he pointed to the chunk of masonry and then to the sleeping person. John nodded in response and everyone reached for their plasma rifles.

"Down!" Roberts hissed and Killer laid down, still growling. Once they were all ready Kyle threw the piece of masonry as hard as he could at the sleeping man's head. It struck dead on and shattered, getting no reaction from the man. That was all they needed to see.

"Terminator!!" Kyle shouted and the five of them raised their plasma rifles. Its cover blown the Terminator rolled over and started to aim an old beat up automatic pistol but John and the others fired first, shooting off the one of the Terminator's arms and putting a plasma bolt through its head.

"Don't worry it's dead." John said to the frightened civilians. "All right, lets haul this son of a bitch out of here." Now came everyone's least favorite part, disposal. It was nothing fancy, if the Terminator was neutralized but intact they just took the downed machine somewhere safe and put a plasma bolt through its power cell. The explosion that followed would take care of the rest. It wasn't glamorous but it was part of the job.

"John can you hear me?" Al's voice said over John's radio.

"Loud and clear Al. We just managed to bag another one."

"Good, because we've got a problem."

"What kind of a problem?" John asked. He was quiet as he listed to Al explain. "You're shitting me! That many?! Where the hell are they…" John went slightly pale at what Al said next. "We're on it." He said and turned off the radio. "I want everyone out of here right now!" He shouted at the civilians who just stood there. "I said now!!" To drive the point home he fired a few shots from his plasma rifle into the air. That caused the civilians to run. "Sit that bastard up." He told Kyle and Specs.

"What for?" Kyle asked.

"Just do it!" John ordered. Confused the two of them got the Terminator into a sitting position. "Now everyone start running." John said and took aim. Knowing now wasn't the time to ask questions the others started running just as John put a plasma bolt through the machine's power cell. A few seconds later the power cell went critical and exploded. John ignored the explosion and started back to the van.

"John what the hell is going on?" Max asked.

"We've had a multiple sighting. As many as a dozen Terminators in one place." That set off alarm bells for everyone. That many Terminators wouldn't be in one place unless there was some kind of coordination.

"Where have they been sighted?" Roberts asked.

"Near one of Skynet's old hangouts." John answered.

"Shit!!"

"Exactly." John said as he opened the driver's side door. "We need to get there and fast!"

"Damn it, why couldn't ISSP have given us air support?!?" Kyle shouted as he and the others got in. "We could get there a lot faster if we flew!!"

"Because the brass, in all their infinite shitheaded reasoning, thought with Skynet gone we wouldn't need any type of back up or different vehicles." John replied.

"What about calling another unit to give us a lift?" Roberts asked.

"Al already tried that. No one's close enough to help. We're on our own." John answered as he gunned the van's engine and started racing toward where Al had indicated.

"Business as usual." Kyle snarled.