"She had an object lesson in what the future would entail. Skynet sent machines back in time to try to kill key members of the Resistance before the war started." It felt odd to be talking about, but it wasn't really more than Marcus had told everyone when they landed in that world. Wasn't Steve always telling John he should learn to trust people? Didn't Derek want him to focus on the present, not the future? "She wasn't even pregnant with me yet when they came after her. She had to learn on her feet, then raise me and train me."
He grinned as she went on. "Hey, who knows how much Latin could come in handy on some world? You've got one up on me there. But, seriously, if there's one thing living in a post-apocalyptic world has taught me, it's that the strangest skills become useful at the weirdest times. And, if you want to learn something else, there's no time like the present."
Standing up straight again, he grabbed a screwdriver and a penlight, then motioned her over to stand next to him. "Quick tutorial. This here, that made the noise, is the capacitor. It regulates the energy to the transformer, here. See how these wires around both seem to be stripped? Just the bare wire without the casing? That's probably what caused your fire. These others, the casing is more melted, probably from the fire."