This was inspired by the following writing by my friend Syena (used with permission, all rights reserved): She sat quietly, an M16 cradled in her arms. Her eyes stared into the flames before her. Softly, she began to speak. "No fate. The motto. The words still echo in my mind. I don't really know the whole story - why things are this way. All I know is he came. It was a cold night. People think that just because it's Texas, it never gets cold. For so long, it had just been a voice on the radio. The metal was all over the place. Fort Hood had been a hub for them. They built quickly. The army did their best. We can't blame them. They fought bravely. They died like they fought. Even my town wasn't safe. Abilene. Home of Dyess Air Force Base. The metal came. Just like the army, the air force fought while we all hid. We should all be ashamed, really. Then the harvesters. We had all heard rumors but we just took it for scuttlebutt. The typical paranoia and nerves. It wasn't until I saw one myself...that was a horrible day. We lost a lot of good people to whatever fate the metal had for them. Everyone has lost. I get that. But my loss still hurts just as much. I will never forget how my father died. He and I never got along. I always felt like I was a disappointment to him because I didn't have the good job. Now thinking back...that was all just so pointless. We wasted so much time being shitheads to each other. Time I will never get back. He died protecting us: My mother, brother, and me. The metal grabbed him by the neck as we ran. He knew what he was doing. We didn't look back but we know what happened. That's when I ran out of tears and feelings. My heart broke that day. After that, my brother and mother stayed in the resistance bases. Underground places. I wouldn't have it, though. I knew hiding and running was never going to save us. Our enemy is immortal and unrelenting. Our only option is to destroy the source. The master of the metal. Skynet. I joined the resistance. A lot of soldiers and just average folk getting together. I got a crash course in being a soldier. The funny thing is, not 5 years ago the army would never let me do this kind of thing and now there I was. Infantry in a war against the machines meant to save me this horror. I had fought in many battles and seen many good people die. I used that as the fuel for my efforts. Do not let them die in vain. We all did. But here I am and only now do I realize it was all a lie. No fate. No fate but what we make. Just a lie. A lie designed to inspire hope. Everyone has their purpose and ultimate end. I make no claims to know what will happen to man and machine. My family or others. I just know that you cannot escape fate. This was all set in stone before I was even born. Now I must face my fate." Slowly she looked up. She had been surprised that she had lived this long. That she was even allowed to finish talking. The T-600 stared down at her with those eyes. Those unfeeling, unwavering, unrelenting orbs of fire. No expression. Just a skull of metal. Slowly it reached out and picked her up by her neck. She choked as it lifted her. It stared at her face. Examining her. A curiosity. "Boom! Head shot!" Suddenly the machine's head exploded in a violent storm of shrapnel and sparks. She was dropped to the ground as the machine fell to its knees then forward next to her. "My fate. I'm the bait." Credits: XCC-900 Cyborg by ImageNation SMS Hair by Bice/OutofTouch Tyco Station by The AntFarm FIRE! by Blondie9999 Dark Raven by MindVision GDS