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Description
September 1, 1939

It had come sooner than JJ could have predicted. His informant in Luxembourg, who had been wiring secret coded messages to him and sending him telegrams about the Chancellor's plans and progress, informed him that the machines had done as they had predicted.

They had done the unthinkable. Machines, the ones we designed to help us, had turned on mankind. Those soulless machines were killing the very people that created them. This would be war.

This was what would become the beginning of the War Against the Machine. And sadly for the mortal races on this planet, it wouldn't last very long at all.

Some knew this, but many still believed that they were untouchable- people like April, who couldn't care less what happened to France, which had been the first domino to fall to the Chancellor's B.R.A.I.N.

It had happened so suddenly, leaving the world reeling and what was left of the French population to wander the destroyed buildings and pick up the pieces of a shattered nation. There wasn't much left to pick up, though.

When the newspapers in Manhattan printed the articles of all the gory details of the happenings in France, even the coldest people were driven to pity the innocent French citizens that had been mowed down by the bullets of the Walkers.

What made it all worse was that The Chancellor saw this as merely collateral damage.

And April, caring and emphatic person she is, rolled her eyes at the articles and chose to use that particular newspaper to line the cat's litter pan that day.

Charlotte knew right away, by the look on JJ's face that the time had come. She packed only the essentials in an old mail bag- a few dresses, some cherished photographs, favorite records, and, of course, Mr. Sock Monkey.

It is surprisingly easy (emotionally and physically, in case you were wondering) to leave someone who never really cared if you were there or not.

Charlotte walked right out the front door and ran to the lot where JJ kept his Cessna in an abandoned hangar. As she had predicted, he was waiting in the pilot's seat.

She boarded and strapped in, put on all the gear and turned on the communication device and the radio.

It began to play God Bless America as the plane left the island.

She recognized the singer, Kate Smith, who had sung this song on Armistice Day last year, when people still thought that peace was possible.

It would be the last time either Charlotte or JJ would see American soil.

The communication device hooked up between them crackled to life when JJ turned the dial. Sure, they could talk without the device, but why talk louder than you need to be heard over the engine when you could use this?

"You holding up good back there?" crackled JJ's voice through the device.

He craned his neck around to look at Charlotte, trying to detect any sign of sadness or regret in her eyes. He didn't see even the slightest amount.

"Yes. Just hoping we didn't forget anything," came Charlotte's reply.

He turned back around. What would he have done if she decided she didn't want to go with him anymore? What if, like April, she decided that he was paranoid about everything that could happen? At the last minute, suppose she changed her mind? What would he do then? Stay in the states and die of the gas with her, he supposed.

JJ started the plane up.

"It's going to be a 6 or 7 days flight. We have enough food and fuel," JJ assured her.

"Oh, and there's a bathroom in the back. Typical passenger plane model," he added.

Charlotte's device crackled and popped out, "Good. I think I have everything I need."

JJ smiled. They were starting to gain altitude. "You're missing one thing."

"What?"

"A radio code name, rebel."

--

Part 4
[link]

Description
September 1, 1939

It had come sooner than JJ could have predicted. His informant in Luxembourg, who had been wiring secret coded messages to him and sending him telegrams about the Chancellor's plans and progress, informed him that the machines had done as they had predicted.

They had done the unthinkable. Machines, the ones we designed to help us, had turned on mankind. Those soulless machines were killing the very people that created them. This would be war.

This was what would become the beginning of the War Against the Machine. And sadly for the mortal races on this planet, it wouldn't last very long at all.

Some knew this, but many still believed that they were untouchable- people like April, who couldn't care less what happened to France, which had been the first domino to fall to the Chancellor's B.R.A.I.N.

It had happened so suddenly, leaving the world reeling and what was left of the French population to wander the destroyed buildings and pick up the pieces of a shattered nation. There wasn't much left to pick up, though.

When the newspapers in Manhattan printed the articles of all the gory details of the happenings in France, even the coldest people were driven to pity the innocent French citizens that had been mowed down by the bullets of the Walkers.

What made it all worse was that The Chancellor saw this as merely collateral damage.

And April, caring and emphatic person she is, rolled her eyes at the articles and chose to use that particular newspaper to line the cat's litter pan that day.

Charlotte knew right away, by the look on JJ's face that the time had come. She packed only the essentials in an old mail bag- a few dresses, some cherished photographs, favorite records, and, of course, Mr. Sock Monkey.

It is surprisingly easy (emotionally and physically, in case you were wondering) to leave someone who never really cared if you were there or not.

Charlotte walked right out the front door and ran to the lot where JJ kept his Cessna in an abandoned hangar. As she had predicted, he was waiting in the pilot's seat.

She boarded and strapped in, put on all the gear and turned on the communication device and the radio.

It began to play God Bless America as the plane left the island.

She recognized the singer, Kate Smith, who had sung this song on Armistice Day last year, when people still thought that peace was possible.

It would be the last time either Charlotte or JJ would see American soil.

The communication device hooked up between them crackled to life when JJ turned the dial. Sure, they could talk without the device, but why talk louder than you need to be heard over the engine when you could use this?

"You holding up good back there?" crackled JJ's voice through the device.

He craned his neck around to look at Charlotte, trying to detect any sign of sadness or regret in her eyes. He didn't see even the slightest amount.

"Yes. Just hoping we didn't forget anything," came Charlotte's reply.

He turned back around. What would he have done if she decided she didn't want to go with him anymore? What if, like April, she decided that he was paranoid about everything that could happen? At the last minute, suppose she changed her mind? What would he do then? Stay in the states and die of the gas with her, he supposed.

JJ started the plane up.

"It's going to be a 6 or 7 days flight. We have enough food and fuel," JJ assured her.

"Oh, and there's a bathroom in the back. Typical passenger plane model," he added.

Charlotte's device crackled and popped out, "Good. I think I have everything I need."

JJ smiled. They were starting to gain altitude. "You're missing one thing."

"What?"

"A radio code name, rebel."

--

Part 4
[link]