Author Notes: This story is inspired by Doctor at War: Terminating Skynet by Marcus S. Lazarus and Doctor Who Unbound - Negation of Skynet by TimeTraveller-1900
Fictions Mentioned:
Episode 1
OP Song:
Adele - Skyfall (Lyric Video)
Insert Song: Start
Max Payne 2 - Main Theme
"What is it that makes a man a man? Is it his origins, the way things start? Or is it something else, something harder to describe? For me, it all began ever since this War had started. From the ashes of the eighth hour, I was born through the flames of eternal life that came forth from the heart of the planet Karn, home of the Sisterhood, and in this present time, I was given a personal mission that was entrusted to me by powers higher than my own. A mission that is so secretive, confidential, and of the utmost importance that only my most loyal of men could be trusted with. And thus began on May 12, 1984, classified mission somewhere deep into a couple of multiversal clusters embroiled in a time war of their own making. It was a stalemate. Neither side could win or lose. There were paradoxes and alternatives popping out like confetti. It was just your old regular day in the temporal post office when you had to clear up a bunch of paperwork that was either a downright mess, getting ripped to the shredder, or just burning to dust and ashes. Somewhere very deep into the early years of my incarnation, I've already been serving as a paramount advisor and ambassador who would represent the very best of my own people. I could never have suspected that what would transpire in that one calm mission of the night would not only affect the course of history but change my life forever as I would gain another one that I'd consider to be like a son. And the name of that son is none other than John Connor."
The Man was simply observing from afar and waiting for something to happen.
He had his sonic binoculars with him, zooming in for the exact same spot where the anticipated arrival would commence in the next few hours.
It was May 12, 1984. Exactly 1:52 AM. Thursday. A fated day.
The location that the Man had been observing was the famous Griffith Observatory, a museum facility located in Griffith Park on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in Los Angeles. It commands a view of the Los Angeles Basin including Downtown Los Angeles to the southeast, Hollywood to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. It has regular scientific and astronomical exhibits for the general public.
The soft winds of eerily calm demeanor were blowing in an opposite direction this time of year. But the winds felt ominous for the Man since he knew what was about to happen. Then the winds started to pace further from one particular corner just near the garbage truck as it was lowering the dump and automatically turning itself off.
It was time, the Man narrowed his eyes in concern, feeling the subtle temporal wave deep beneath his very bones.
He noticed the confusion from the truck driver as he tried to start the engines again by twisting the keys. It wasn't working. And then, there were blue lightning energy strikes slowly appearing and causing a change in the wind's direction. It was lighting up to form an arc on the space below as electrical discharges build up to form a blue spherical ball of a blinding flash of light. It made the garbage truck driver afraid. Shaken, he abandoned his vehicle and turned in the other direction. Good for him, the Man thought since staying there would prove to be quite foolhardy.
As the sphere dissipates and the electrical discharges slowly went away, it was revealing the presence of a naked man with a strong and firm body build. Quite handsome but expressionless and cold just as this night is now experiencing. He was slowly rising above the ground that had melted traces that forms a spherical shape pattern. He was now scanning the entirety of his surroundings like a hawk with sharp eyes that were in search of something. From the left to the right, he was looking before he eventually walk forward and took his first step towards the ledge and saw the sights of the wide open city of Los Angeles, California which is bright and buzzing even at night time just like your average American urban environment.
It almost seem peaceful if it were not for the man that had come out from the sphere and was walking undeterred.
The Man simply narrowed his eyes as he lowered his binoculars and breathe a heavy sigh.
It was here. The Terminator had finally arrived just as history said it would, he thought.
The Terminator had arrived in this period of existence via a limited artificial mode of temporal travel ‒ capable of effectively and efficiently displacing an individual or a group of individuals back and forth to whatever date they desire to travel to. Based on careful observations, there was a downside to this particular method of time travel that artificially managed to create a predestination paradox that had been circulating for an infinite number of cycles, creating an unstable loop that even a Temporal Power would heavily notice were it to trace this particular phenomenon to its source. Since in between, it had started to branch out and create other separate timelines with its own pitch of chronology unrelated to the main timeline, spawning various alternate futures that all jointly converged on this exact date. It was in fact one of the main reasons why it was tricky to even find an accurate date to travel to if one were to start from the very beginning.
Even then, the time loop is no longer safe for the most part since the artificial intelligence ‒ Skynet had now by several potential future timeline iterations realized the "error in the calculations" as it called it, and planned a few side steps to ensure its victory. And thus, it started a time war, but unlike the Time War that the Man is now fighting, this temporal conflict was more or less a skirmish.
Speaking of lesser time wars, the Man recalled two out of many incidents that had happened back in his native universe. There was the skirmish between the Halldons and the Eternals, and then the brutal slaughter of the Omnicraven Uprising – and on both occasions, the Great Houses had stepped in to settle the matter. And then there was the other specific matter regarding a larger but still lesser war that occurred which was known as the War in Heaven between the Great Houses and the Enemy.
Another would have to be a temporal conflict that had happened in his old friend's ("Professor Paradox") native cosmology. Yes, he recalled things such as the small events such as the Highbreed Invasion being changed to varying degrees that ended horribly for the universe, or the entire Chronosapien race going rogue, or temporal beasts running amok and causing a cross-dimensional rampage. The effects of this war forced his old friend to take a more active role in temporal affairs, camouflaging his Chrono Navigator as a prosthetic for his right arm for safekeeping.
It disturbed him greatly that this and plenty of other incidents that he had gotten involved in prepared him in a sense for his role for the day to come. Preparing him to take up arms and no longer run away. He still remembers Karn, still remembers Cass Fermazzi, and still remembers the guilt.
No, he mustn't get distracted about that now, he thought.
His thoughts shifted focus as he begins to tuck in his binoculars and head back towards his TARDIS which was right next to him. He steps inside the ship and closes the door. Inside was the control room. Entirely incongruous, white walls that were aglow with a series of odd, round impression with sunken lights and rough stone pillars that arched overhead to support the roof. A raised dais housed what looked like a control panel, of sorts – although the controls in question appeared to be patched up and cobbled together from scavenged components that had been made to fit. Nests of cables drooped from the ceiling. The whole place had a higgledy-piggledy sort of feel to it, like it was constantly being made over by an inveterate tinkerer, or mended by someone who was never able to get the right parts.
Overall, inside the box from the main console to everywhere else, if one were to actually peer beyond the veil, lay a small universe-opinions differed as to the meaning of 'small' in such a context-a microcosm block-transferred from mathematics itself. A living beat of time calculations and transdimensional equations, designed to relate to its pilot via a symbiotic bond woven into that pilot's very being. This was how the Great Houses commanded their ships-TARDIS's like this blue box.
However, the Man who had engineered this TARDIS had fitted some subtle amendments to the basic design. Several sections of the ship were not block transfers at all but built from actual materials from the real universe rather than dreamed out of the minds of the Homeworld's mathematicians.
These areas could bypass the symbiotic relationship, allowing a physical, nut's-and-bolts approach to controlling the ship. Why a Homeworlder should do such a thing, equipping such an exotic and sophisticated machine with crude manual controls, who could tell? Perhaps the ship's owner had become wary of overreliance on super-technologies. Perhaps he wished the TARDIS to be usable by a non-Homeworlder, though such egalitarian thoughts rarely occurred to them in their arrogant solitude.
"Sir," there was someone who was with him, saluting him with respect and professionalism. He was a man with little to no hair, wearing a set of armor made out of materials sturdy enough that couldn't be penetrated so easily by the Enemy's attack drones and their gunsticks.
His armor was incorporated with a more advanced air filtration and oxygen supply system, polarized lenses, and an annunciator to make speech more comprehensible. In addition, the boots were magnetized and incorporated a grav-field alternator to ensure stability. Another useful feature was that the armor and the bodysuit could be pressurized, providing temporary protection against non-breathable atmospheres. His helmet – placed on his shoulder has a T-shaped Jaig eyes visor with blue markings, the same as the rest of his armor.
His rank is that of a Commander of the 501st Legion, serving as the Man's right-hand man, working under a Temporal Power known as the Kaminoan Republic, and whose Kaminoan Self-Defense Force (KSDF) along with many other military organizations and groups in the Multiverse form a part of the Spatio-Temporal Armed Forces (STARS).
"Rex," the Man replied, acknowledging the presence. "Has anything happened from the scanners?"
"Not so far, sir," Rex replied with a negative. "The scanners aren't picking up anything except for that temporal anomaly that the Metal had produced and another one that would be due to arrive in exactly 0200 hours a few minutes behind, located somewhere on the alleyways of the city."
"Sergeant Kyle Reese," the Man muttered as he looks at the console screens. "Yes, his presence would be due in arrival shortly. Still...one needs to keep an eye out for any potential sign of temporal disturbance. If intelligence is accurate, we're not the only temporal players attending this very night."
And they both waited for a few minutes on the ship for Kyle Reese to arrive.
As to the purpose of why these two were in this period of time in this specific universe, there were many goals and objectives that needed to be accomplished, both personal and assigned.
One of those goals would have to deal with finally nipping the bud of the predestination paradox that started the whole mess regarding the Terminator (which he would need to quietly dispose of and erase most of his actions with the demat gun in order to erase the evidence that may inspire and accelerate the creation of Skynet and saving all of the victims that he had just killed) and Kyle Reese (ensuring his survival and derailing the intended fate), fixing the prime timeline back and snapping out any potential alternate futures that would be created further.
Of course, that would barely even solve the problem as the "1984 Out-Of-Context Problem" as many among the Temporal Powers would term has been exacerbated too long and formed multiple separate universes no longer bearing any connection to the prime timeline as a result of neglecting this phenomenon for too long. Sure, the Great Houses could intervene in this issue but they wouldn't be bothered by a measly paradox that is not a part of their jurisdiction. Why should they care, they thought.
But the Man cared. Even if this were not his native cosmology, he still cared enough to get involved especially when many of their enemies were now making a move on this specific universe where everything truly started.
Another of the goals would have to be one specific duty that the Man had been entrusted with by the one who employed him to this task in the first place. Protecting John Connor and taking him under his wing, training him for the future role that lay ahead of him. Of course, being the Man who is busy 24/7/365 most of the time because of the Time War, he cannot always be around for the boy. Even more so would be his vehement disagreement with him taking the companion role in the sense of coming with him in his exploits. No, that would be detrimental to the mission both on a personal and a designated issue. He will act as the mentor for the boy but he cannot take him with him because the Multiverse has become a far darker place.
Maybe when he was in his eighth incarnation, it might have been possible. Then again, this was the man who always somewhat embarrassingly hold the record for multiple bouts of amnesia while simultaneously getting involved with alternate universes and temporal paradoxes that made his timeline complicated to follow. And this part was one that he got laughed at when Temporal Powers Alliance (TPA) meetings do occur. And even with his eighth self, there was always the constant danger that followed. From the beginning of a happy optimistic bloke with renewed vigor to see everything to the end of a tragic figure that made everything feel so bleak and one-sided.
There were other goals besides these two but they would be the most important to provide context for the present situation.
While waiting, the Man continued to scan the entire universe and its temporal epochs for any sign of temporal activity. He spotted several of them. Worthy of note are the massive 4440.324, 4432.52, and 4423.4567 Dalek War Fleets who were currently being engaged in a twisted time battle fest with massive fleets of Night Fighters, belonging to the Baryonic Lords ("Xeelee") who are one of the Higher Temporal Superpowers of the Multiverse alongside the Great Houses of the Homeworld. These specific conflicts were occurring from at least three major temporal epochs whose distance to the year 1984 can be considered relatively far for lack of a better world. And these specific conflicts, in particular, were shaking things up to the point where and when many galaxies were being restored (in the case of the Xeelee) or destroyed (in the case of the Daleks).
Aside from that, other minor factions were doing their own dirty business, manipulating several players in history to do their dirty work. World War II may be considered to be a hotspot for temporal interference and activity and the years that had lasted acted as a sort of temporal investment as if it were a couple of pounds worth the price. Of course, they were currently being contested by groups such as Libations and Taxations, QuestionMark, and others.
"The Xeelee appeared to be holding the fort rather well and slowly driving the Daleks out of this universe which is a good thing as we'd rather not have to deal with things going too overblown. But now, my concern turns to World War II of all places," the Man muttered. He thought with a heavy sigh. "("World War II again? This feels like the making of a badly written cliché for temporal travelers making personal investments. Everybody seems to hold those years as a favorite despite being commonly referred to as one of the worst disasters in history where many thousands lay dead. But then, that's probably one of the reasons why it holds such an interest.")"
"...Sir," Rex made a hesitant look. "What are the odds that Faction Paradox is among those groups contesting for the years of the Second World War?"
"At this point, I wouldn't doubt their involvement any more than I should. Like I've said a few times before, I have learned since my last incarnation that whenever as far as a paradox is concerned, expect the Faction to not be far behind as it is in their very own name," the Man said, explaining one of his enemies briefly to his right-hand man.
"You think one of them might turn up here? John Connor's timeline is already worth the price of several more than the years of the Second World War can offer," Rex asked.
"Why do you think I was sent to this planet in the first place with you simply tagging along as a volunteer? John Connor is a very important person in the history of this universe at the same level as that of George Washington and other famous figures who turned and shaped history through and by their actions. Skynet or no, John needs to prepare for what's coming and I intend to do just that," the Man explained.
"Are you thinking of the part where he may possibly hold a role to be the next President of the United States," Rex reminded the Man of at least a few specific timelines where that had happened.
"A lot more than just some mere President of a country. If he may as well take an active role on the sidelines of the War as multiple factions are targeting him and our enemies, as well as his, may not be so far behind, he may have a much bigger role than history intended for him," the Man explained grimly.
"You're not saying it would come to that, sir?" Rex asked, concerned as he realizes immediately what the Man is referring to.
"Odds are right that it may be the case for the unification of several destinies, that's what one line of the prophecy concerning the boy was told?" the Man explained.
"With respect sir, when it comes to prophecies, I'm a bit weary on the subject," Rex replied.
"As you should, Rex, since it reminds us of the need to sometimes stop and listen," the Man said.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
"And now is the time for our resident soldier to come through on his end," the Man said, looking at the screen that was showing the same type of temporal energy that was in the shape of a blue spherical ball that was appearing several meters away and crashing down, slightly in pain due to the fall and due to the heat from the sphere. From the background, one can see a bewildered homeless person as he saw the spectacle with his own eyes.
The Man can see Kyle Reese, the soldier from the original future timeline that has been connected to the predestination loop, sent back by John Connor as it always had been in order to fulfill his mission objective which is to protect Sarah Connor and stop the Terminator for good.
Now all they needed was to wait.
A few days later, the Man and Rex were observing the truck that had recently exploded, courtesy of Kyle Reese's quick-paced thinking which impressed the Commander.
Commander Rex had been taking advantage of this opportunity to observe Sergeant Kyle Resse's entire movements from those same few days. They were discreet and disciplined, driven with nothing but focus on the mission at hand which was to protect the mother of his leader from a temporal assassination attempt. Well...for the most part at least if a certain level of personal business on the motel which ironically enough serves the mission that the soldier had been assigned.
"Rex, get back to the ship and prepare the medical bay for our new visitors," the Man asked.
"Yes, sir," the soldier complied as he heads back to the ship in a sprint of action.
Sarah Connor screamed as the truck flipped through the air, reminding her of those high-speed car chases from the James Bond movies as a result of trying to finally get rid of the Terminator that had been stalking her for the last couple of days, and she concluded the movies were crap as the truck flipped over before coming to a stop while she and Kyle Reese were trapped inside it because in the real world when trucks flipped through the air they didn't get out unscathed.
She dimly heard the sounds of smashing and crunching glass and grinding metal underneath the weight of the truck before it thankfully came to a stop.
Sarah took a deep breath and quickly did a mental check. She felt fine, which was more than could be said for Kyle who was in the seat next to her, his eyes squeezed shut in pain. She still wasn't sure what had happened to him; she had been driving on adrenaline while she had been trying to keep some distance between their truck and the motorcycle the Terminator had been riding while shooting at them with that machine gun, but she guessed he had been lighting one of those explosives and the Terminator had shot him and it blew in his face.
"Kyle..?" she said as she undid her seatbelt, thankful it had saved her life, and she swore if she ever got out of this alive then she would definitely have a gun for protection, a dog for an early warning system, and a very good seatbelt.
If she got out of this mess, she considered to herself darkly as she crawled slowly towards Kyle, remembering what the guerrilla fighter from the future had told her about pain before they'd had sex in the motel. She disconnected herself from the pain, though it was hard because she didn't have Kyle's experience.
As she checked him over she could see he was in a bad way, but as she thought through her options she wasn't sure where they could go from here with the Terminator so close…
While she crawled over the seat painfully, Sarah took a moment to think. Ever since this whole mess had begun - the murders of those women who'd shared her name, the shootout at that club where Kyle had attacked the Terminator as it zeroed in on her, Sarah had been living in the Twilight Zone; it was hard to accept anything was real when you found out you were being hunted by an unstoppable killing machine from the future, who wanted to kill her because her unborn son would grow up to become a future military leader who would be trying to stop the Machines from the future from wiping out the human race!
Time travel… It was all too much for Sarah to take in, and the story Kyle had told in the police station had made him out to be a lunatic like Dr Silberman had described, and Kyle's own frustration during that never-ending questioning hadn't helped before the Terminator had attacked. Sarah had no idea how many police officers had died during that mess, but she guessed a lot of them had while she and Kyle escaped.
All to kill her unborn son.
Idly Sarah thought about what her friend and co-worker at Big Jeff's said when that little brat who'd dropped ice cream in her apron the other day; "Look at it this way; in a hundred years, who's gonna care?"
No-one, that's who, Sarah thought to herself darkly as she remembered that nightmare she'd pictured the human race would live in in the future. It was a far cry from sci-fi shows like Star Trek where the future is depicted as a utopia where humans were zipping across space, encountering new worlds, new civilisations, boldly going where no-one had gone before.
No, the human race would be reduced to the level of cavemen while they tried to survive in bombed-out ruins, barely able to survive as the machines hunted them down.
As she got closer to Kyle and despite the seriousness of where they were now though she had thought about it briefly when she and Kyle had put their clothes back on before they heard that dog barking and they escaped by going through the back window, Sarah dimly wondered if she was pregnant now after the tryst she'd had with him. It hadn't taken her long to discover she was attracted to Kyle, but she did wonder if she was fulfilling some kind of temporal paradox…
Sarah's musings were cut short when she had reached Kyle and looked out through the window, just in time to see the Terminator lift its head… only to be smashed by an oil-tanker. Sarah winced at the force of the impact which would definitely kill an ordinary human like her, and she watched as the tanker drove over the Terminator before braking hard to a stop.
Sarah pushed it out of her mind so she could get Kyle out of the truck, but as she was getting her arms underneath him, she watched in horror as a familiar large figure crawled out awkwardly from behind the tanker just as the door to the cab opened and a man wearing a baseball cap jumped out.
Sarah wanted to yell at the man to get away, to get back into the cab and drive off, but she knew it was too late as she watched numbly as the man ran down the length of his tanker and checked it over before the Terminator grabbed him.
Sarah watched in terror as the Terminator threw the man's body to the ground - there was no doubt in her mind the man could very well be dead; after the way he had slaughtered virtually an entire police station, the death of a tanker driver was nothing major.
Hold on, she thought to herself as she watched the Terminator head to the cab, is he…limping?
She looked closer, studying his gait as he moved towards the cab slowly. Yeah, he was limping! The crash must have done a lot more damage than she'd expected, and she watched numbly as the Terminator climbed into the cab and closed the door. A few minutes later, the engine started and the tanker slowly began to move, turning towards them.
The sight jolted Sarah out of her shock at just how much the Terminator could take, and she doubled her effects to pull Kyle free of the truck.
"Kyle. Come on. Get up!" she told the injured man as she pulled desperately as the tanker was finishing its turn to head in their direction and smash them to pieces. "He's coming!" she said to try to motivate Kyle into snapping back into the real world, and she wondered just how much pain he could actually push aside like it was nothing.
Somehow Sarah managed to get the door open, but she was forced to drag Kyle's weight out through the door. "Come on!" she kept urging her lover to stand on his own feet again.
As she looked over the truck, she could see the oil tanker bearing down on them. "Help me!" she shouted at Kyle. "Get out. Get out!"
The urging managed to spur Kyle into action, and he twisted on himself so she could use the ground to push himself up on one leg even though he was still in a terrible way, but they both managed to get out and away from the truck they'd taken from that man from the Motel. Sarah was relieved when Kyle managed to get back on his feet, but she realised he was forced to limp and run as well, and he had to lean on her to get away, but she didn't have the time to think about it as the oil tanker smashed into the truck and sending it further down the road.
While she was helping Kyle run, she dimly heard the sound of brakes being thrown on the tanker but she didn't pay it any heed while she and Kyle ran for their lives over the bridge.
Sarah was relieved when Kyle became a bit stronger - sure, he was still limping, but he could still move fast - so he took some more of his weight off of her, allowing her to cast a quick glance behind to see the tanker quickly gaining on them. Sarah kept going while holding onto Kyle, afraid if she let go then they'd both die.
"It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned it. It doesn't feel pity, remorse, or fear. And it WILL NOT stop! Ever! Until you are dead!"
Kyle was right, Sarah thought idly as she ran his earlier words when she had tried to escape from him in the parking lot when this whole mess happened.
While she still held onto Kyle to support him as he ran, the two turned a corner - Sarah honestly had no idea where about in the city they were, but she didn't care; her survival instincts were going full blast as they both tried to escape the Terminator, but the turning was too much for Kyle as he collapsed by a dumpster in pain
"Don't stop! Run!" Kyle ordered, pushing her away before she could do anything; Sarah hated leaving Kyle behind, but she could hear the engines of the tanker behind her, and even if she could disobey Kyle and help him back up, it wouldn't take much for the Terminator to find some way of carrying out its mission to kill her, and besides she felt she knew Kyle well enough by now to know he had something up his sleeve…
Sarah didn't bother to turn around to see the tanker; the engine noise was so loud she didn't need to see where it was, and besides, she didn't want to look back and lose her momentum. Sarah had never been pushed to run this fast in her life; athletics at school was one thing, but she had never expected to be chased by a cyborg before...
As she ran across the sidewalk Sarah listened with horror at the sound of something heavy bashing into concrete, and the sound of the engine was directly behind her. The Terminator was going to try to run her over, and since she could hear the sound of the tanker the machine was driving behind her draw closer she didn't see any way of getting out of this, but she saw a parked car on the kerb, and she ran around its front.
Sarah was dimly relieved she had put some distance between herself and the tanker once more, but she knew it wouldn't last long. She turned her head, and she saw the tanker drive right through the car, crushing its rear to pieces.
Still hyped up on adrenaline as her survival instinct was going into overdrive, Sarah just kept running, trying to desperately squeeze every last drop of energy she had into moving more quickly, hoping to find some way of getting clear of the Terminator and escaping from this nightmare…But it was no use, she could still hear the tanker behind her.
That was when she heard another sound, a strange wheezing, groaning sound from somewhere in front of her, but she couldn't find the source of it; the tanker was now so close behind her she pushed all thought of what the sound could be out of her mind-
Suddenly there was a massive explosion, and Sarah could feel the scorching heat on her back before she thudded into a wall, and spun around on the spot, watching through wide eyes as the tanker exploded in a great ball of fire, and she distinctly smelt the stench of burning oil in the air. The force of the blast and the heat sent Sarah sprawling to the ground, and she watched in satisfaction and dim delight as she saw the cab go up in flames until she couldn't see anything before she gave in to her exhaustion and clung to the wall, and shook.
Leaning against the wall, shaking and panting with the exertion of running so hard and so far without taking a breather, Sarah finally lifted her head and looked at the burning remnants of the tanker. Is it over? she wondered to herself, watching the wreckage closely for any sign of the Termin- NO! NO WAY, PLEASE!
From the burning remains of the cab, Sarah watched in horror as a dark figure jumped out wreathed in flames. She watched as the Terminator fell behind another pile of wreckage before standing up stiffly again and walked a short distance before collapsing on the ground.
Is it…dead? Shutting down, what? Sarah thought to herself numbly as she couldn't help but fail in getting the image of that dark-clad figure who had been following her for the past few days, chasing her, trying to kill her, and ploughing through everyone who got in its way. Sarah couldn't see what was happening to the Terminator, the heat of the flames was too much, and if she were honest she didn't even want to know but she hoped the Terminator was being destroyed, though she doubted it; after all it had gone through, Sarah doubted nothing short of a nuke could destroy it.
All she wanted to know was if she needed to keep running, and she closed her eyes at the thought. She was so worn out by everything which had happened, she could barely think straight anymore.
After a few minutes of getting some semblance of her strength back though she wanted nothing more than to collapse on a nice soft bed and sleep, Sarah got back up again and walked slowly back towards the tanker, wincing at the heat she was getting from the flames while she looked for any sign of the Terminator, but the machine seemed to have disappeared…
"Sarah."
Sarah looked around and found herself staring at the distant image of Kyle who was not far away.
"Kyle," she tried to yell back, but she was too exhausted so she had to settle on a hoarse cry. She ran towards him, though even her best effort to squeeze a bit more speed out of her legs failed, so she had to do a quick-walk to him before she wrapped her arms around him and shook again "Kyle," she repeated his name and then again as the pair of them dropped to their knees in exhaustion.
Sarah pulled away slightly to look him in the eye. "We did it, Kyle. We got him."
Sarah virtually collapsed into Kyle's arms as she shook from exhaustion, but her mind was only slightly clear. The pair of them would leave the city together, but after that, she had no idea of what they could do, her mind was too fogged to focus….
A metallic screeching noise caught her attention, causing her to stiffen in horror, and she felt Kyle turn his head around to see if it was what they both thought it was. Sarah quickly turned her head, moving past Kyle to focus on the sight of the Terminator. The machine's organic appearance was gone, melted off during the heat, but while she took in some of the machine's appearance, her eyes couldn't help but stay focused on the red eyes set into its face...
"No," Sarah shouted, suddenly more angry than she had been since this nightmare had begun.
After everything the machine had done; killing two of her friends, destroying her ideas of what the future held, her hopes and dreams of a normal life, forcing her to go on the run while trying to survive being shot at or run down, the fucking thing was still moving-!
Sarah dimly felt Kyle try to urge her to stand, but before she was fully back on her feet a bolt of blue light hit the Terminator in the side, and the machine went still as it slowly started to disappear before it was finally gone.
"Kyle, what happened? Where did it go?" Sarah asked rapidly, wondering if this was some kind of trick.
But Kyle stared at the spot where the Terminator had been, gazing at it with confusion. "I…I dunno," he whispered, and she saw he was as taken aback as she was.
Another man's voice spoke up. "Looks like I acted at the right time."
Kyle and Sarah jumped to their feet, well as best as they could considering Kyle's injuries, and they found they were no longer alone. A Man was striding towards them from behind what was left of the cab. Sarah felt Kyle stiffen as protectively as he could, but Sarah ignored him as she studied this stranger.
He was a man who carried a stern and determined full brown Van Dyke beard face that was weathered, indicating that he had seen a great deal in his life while going through a great deal as well; green-brown eyes that seem old, both jaded and tired from all the fighting; and clean cut brown hair. He wore a dark brown leather trenchcoat, a dark green-brown double-breasted moleskin waistcoat, with ten brass buttons and a fob chain attached to it. He wore tan corduroy trousers, a box-frame belt with several fastener pins and studded pinholes, and dark brown combat boots adorned with charcoal leather gaiters. For neckwear, he wore a knitted in a burgundy and ivory herringbone pattern. There was a bandolier that he wore across his left shoulder, taken from the body of someone that he had failed to save, as a firm reminder of his roots.
Overall, quite a normal appearance. If not for one other thing.
There was a device that he was holding in his hand, Sarah stiffened when she caught sight of the familiar butt of a rifle, though this one with its larger circular bore reminded Sarah more of a torch.
"Who are you?" Kyle snapped protectively, breaking through her thoughts.
The Man simply gave them both an empathetic look as he understood the ordeal that they had gone through for all the days and for all the nights of countless running and far more.
In normal circumstances, the man would normally not reveal his own name out of shame or unworthiness. But knowing what these young people have gone through, seeing many people that they knew die at the hands of the Terminator, it was the very least that he could do.
There was no more time for pointless drama. There was something urgent that he needed to discuss with both of them. One that could determine a new fate forged in fire. Preparation for the eventual coming of a much bigger war that would be too great and terrible to ponder. And it all relates to the son that had been conceived for this very night.
Such perfect timing, he thought in dreadful concern. He said: "I am the Doctor," the man replied, lifting the weapon he was holding in his arms. "And I just saved you from that Terminator," he said mildly as though the matter was hardly relevant anymore and that a new discussion needed to be done. But not here. Not now. Somewhere safe. Somewhere quiet. Somewhere preferable. And he knew just the place.
"You did that?" Sarah whispered, partly surprised the man, the Man, even knew about the Terminators. The contrast between the Man and his appearance and this whole mess made it just seem even more bizarre. But her reply was more than a little mocking; after everything she had been through, the destruction was she unwillingly a part of, where the hell was he?
The Man nodded, before looking from the left and the right. He looked back to Sarah, saying. "If you want answers, the two of you would need to come with me. Now. This place is hardly safe for us to discuss in private," he would suddenly head towards the other side in order to support an injured Kyle, much to his and Sarah's surprise. "This way," he said.
And thus began a trek towards another side of the street where what appeared to be a blue box was parked there with none to the wiser.
What the hell? That was strange. Why was there a box there at this time of hour? How come Sarah never noticed it before since running past this direction? And neither did Kyle for that matter who was just as confused as she was.
So now what? They have reached their destination. The Man would suddenly open the door as they finally entered inside. And what they found was...
"What the fuck," Sarah couldn't help but involuntarily cursed as she and Kyle could not help but look very surprised.
A bigger-on-the-inside room. More like a room that was likened to a medical bay with the main console not too far ahead. There was a man standing there who was wearing a set of armor that Sarah thought might as well remind her of those Stormtroopers from all of those Star Wars movies. Even the helmet felt a little stormtroopery. These recollections were based on the fact that she had seen the most recent film to date from the cinema last year called Return of the Jedi.
"Both of you, sit down to the chairs," the Man ordered in a tone of authority, to which Sarah could not help but comply immediately as she holds Kyle by the arm while sitting down in a couple of chairs. He heads toward the console where the other man was waiting.
"Rex, take care of them for me," the Man ordered.
"Yes, sir," the soldier replied.
As Rex begins to head towards the position where Kyle and Sarah are and standing guard, helping Kyle with his wounds and bandaging them up, spraying a few wounds with a spray that would immediately close up, giving them a warm welcome and conversation with a professional tone, the Man puts down his torch-like device around the corner and was currently pressing a few switches which immediately made a grinding whirlwind sound as if this box was now on take-off. Sarah looked at this entire place filled with advanced computer screens and circuitry that reminded her of something from Star Trek, with complex readouts that looked antiquated and a little decrepit. A mass of unfamiliar pictograms, scrolling and shifting about in an apparently random dance.
For Sarah Connor, if it weren't for the fact that she had just been chased all day and night by the Terminator, a machine programmed to kill her in order to erase her unborn son from existence, she would have thought that she was hallucinating. But she might as well discount that fucking idea as she knows that she is not crazy.
She and Kyle waited in silence as they both look at each other, then towards the armored soldier, and back at the Doctor, not knowing what else to do for the time being. Until finally...
"I would assume that you all have questions that needed answering," he breathed with a heavy sigh, continuing to press the keypad of the console.
Of course, they had questions. Loads and loads of them. For instance...
"What is that thing? The one that you used on the Terminator?" Kyle said, indicating the torch-like device that was placed from the side.
The Man stopped what he was doing and turned towards Kyle with a serious tone of authority, one that was quite familiar to Kyle if he were to be completely honest, already deducing the fact that he was a fellow soldier, one that ranks higher than him in the hierarchical structure. "That, Sergeant Reese, is what is called a dematerialisation gun, more often simply called the De-mat Gun or D-Mat if you want to get technical. I used it to pull the plug on the Terminator's timeline so to speak and managed to erase almost every bit of his actions. In other words, I've erased it entirely from reality, and you or anyone else would never have to see that machine. Ever again."
Sarah gulped at the rather grim prospect of such a weapon, seemingly getting a pretty good idea of the whole "erased from reality" type of deal, while Kyle said, "Damn," in an impressed tone, wondering how such a weapon even exists and where the hell could he even get one of those. And speaking of that...
"And before you tried to think that you have what it took in using a de-mat gun, don't even think about it," the Doctor said with a pointed tone and the look of a military officer, one that somehow made Kyle sit up straight from his seat in full attention by natural instinct, feeling the experiences back when he was still under the charge of Justin Perry. The man with the stormtroopery armor only smiled with mild amusement as if thinking about something.
Who was this person, Sarah wondered?
He was obviously a soldier, and she could tell that much based on his tone and demeanor. He obviously knew about the Terminator that tried to kill her for the past few days and nights which were nothing but sheer terror and a nightmare that she'd rather awake from. But said nightmare was unfortunately true as what had happened for the past few days and nights can testify based on experiences alone. There was already quite enough proof already if one were to count the dead bodies that fell in the wake of such pursuit of her. Memories of the police station would flash back to her mind, grimacing inwardly.
"("Reese, she's got to stay alive. Do whatever you have to do.")"
That was the last word and request of a hard-working, pragmatic, honest cop and a detective lieutenant of the Los Angeles Police Department, bleeding to death as he was recently shot by the Terminator that was trying to hunt her down, giving Kyle a snub-nosed Ruger Security Six revolver, before eventually passing away due to blood loss.
It was a terrible night. It was one that had so many police officers died not knowing what they were getting themselves into. And it was something that would probably haunt her for the rest of her life.
The Man, immediately telling what was on Sarah's mind based on her downcast, grimaced expression, decided to divert the topic with the discussion that he had been planning for both her and Kyle. "I believe that now is the time for the both of you to ask me some proper questions. And I would reassure both of you that I and my second in command right beside you would try to answer all of your questions satisfactorily as best as I can."
It seemingly worked as Sarah was jolted from her depressive thoughts, instantly recalling the need to ask questions. Starting with the big one.
"Who are you people, some kind of time travellers?" Sarah asked, no longer mocking as she had been before. Now she was serious, willing to take heed of the man that had just saved both of their lives.
The Man smiled sadly as if fondly recalling a time when such a word was once pure and innocent, but is now carrying a grim and subtle darkness that didn't originally belong there before. He regarded her silently for a moment and nodded solemnly as though he was weighed down by some tremendous weight than was even heavier than the one Sarah had thrust over her own shoulders, as the mother of the child who would be the savior in a nightmarish future where the human race was held on by threads.
"Yes," he simply replied with a sad meaningful smile as he walked towards them, one that already spoke volumes for Sarah and Kyle.
"Did John send you both back?" Kyle asked desperately. "Did he find a point where the Terminators could really be stopped?"
Sarah stared between the two men for a moment, realizing that after the Terminator and Kyle had been sent back through time, it was possible for her future child to find some way to end all of this. But the Man shook his head.
"Unfortunately, we, or specifically I, came by our own accord, Sergeant Reese. The time travel technology that Skynet uses might be effective, but it's a very unstable method; the potential to create timelines is too great, which is even more hazardous considering how Skynet's existence is basically a time loop for the most part."
"...Then who are you?" Kyle asked.
"Let's start from the beginning. I am not from Earth, I am not from your universe, I am what is known as a Time Lord, and no, I am not boasting of a mere title as it is the name of the race that I come from. My people have had access to time and dimensional travel for a very long tie, and I used that technology when I was conducting research into other related matters in relation to our mission," the Man explained.
"Mission?" Sarah asked.
"A reconnaissance mission is what he means, ma'am," the armored man – Rex responded.
"And I was assigned to this particular universe for the time being until such circumstances would call me back to the front lines. As with regards to your situation, in my thorough research, I've managed to detect a temporal loophole where Skynet would be created, send a Terminator back through time, and be responsible for the creation of Skynet in the first place."
"You mean… the Terminator wasn't just responsible for nearly killing Sarah, but it would build Skynet?" Kyle asked in surprise while Sarah was still lost in thought.
"Not quite, Sergeant," the Man shakes his head. "Here's where it gets a bit tricky. You and Sarah Connor would always have been destined to have defeated the Terminator, but at a great cost to your life, in particular, Sergeant, fulfilling your assigned mission to the letter. But the victory is not assured as the remains of the cybernetic organism would have survived for study, and without the computer chip, Cyberdyne would never recreate the microchip which would eventually manage to accelerate Skynet's creation, ending this paradoxical little time loop. I've witnessed too many cases of alternate timelines becoming a reality over the years, and the acceleration of Skynet's creation was a possibility I could not risk, in this universe anyway," the Man clarified, before shaking his head. "Which is more than I could say for the others which are far too late to salvage."
"Wait...Are you saying that even without this whole bit about time travel, Skynet would still exist?" Sarah asked, shocked.
"Should you be surprised?" the Man simply asked as he begins to conjure up a few holographic projection screens with his screwdriver where each slide shows automatically what the subject the Man may be referring to. "Technology is an ever-evolving concept, Sarah Connor. Ever since the 1950s, your world has had a generation of scientists, mathematicians, and philosophers with the concept of artificial intelligence culturally assimilated into their minds. One such person was Alan Turing, a young British polymath who explored the mathematical possibility of artificial intelligence. Turing suggested that humans use available information as well as reason in order to solve problems and make decisions, and that would inevitably lead him to the question of why can't machines do the same thing. This was the logical framework of his 1950 scientific paper, Computing Machinery and Intelligence in which he discussed how to build intelligent machines and how to test their intelligence. Since then, everything to starts to turn."
And the Man explained further regarding the history of the world where Sarah and Kyle both lived and were captivated as it were like they were listening to an actual expert on the field who knew what he was talking about.
"From 1957 to 1974, artificial intelligence flourished. Computers could store more information and become faster, cheaper, and more accessible. Machine learning algorithms also improved and people got better at knowing which algorithm to apply to their problem. Early demonstrations such as Newell and Simon's General Problem Solver and Joseph Weizenbaum's ELIZA showed promise toward the goals of problem-solving and the interpretation of spoken language respectively. These successes, as well as the advocacy of leading researchers, convinced government agencies such as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to fund AI research at several institutions. The government was particularly interested in a machine that could transcribe and translate spoken language as well as high throughput data processing. Optimism was high and expectations were even higher. In 1970 Marvin Minsky even told Life Magazine, "from three to eight years we will have a machine with the general intelligence of an average human being." However, while the basic proof of principle was there, there was still a long way to go before the end goals of natural language processing, abstract thinking, and self-recognition could be achieved. And of course, you would both know what I'm referring to."
"Skynet," Kyle grimly added. "You're talking about how Skynet would potentially have started."
"Correct," the Man nodded. "Skynet, like any other AI, was born from the influences and contributions and dreams of some of the most brightest of minds on the planet. It didn't just start out of nowhere, no, it all stretches back to the very beginning when the concept of AI was already being thought of. And now, with all of this, mixed them together, and in a few years not too long from your time, you would find one single individual working with the Cyberdyne Systems Corporation who would carry out the dreams of the men that lay before. And that would be the true birth of Skynet."
"Creator?! Wait, you know who created Skynet?!" Kyle spoke in shock. This was quite the news to him as there was barely any record of such a person in the time that he had come from.
"Yes, a person by the name of Miles Bennett Dyson, who at this point in time is still a very young man in his early twenties," the Man answered. "But...he's not really the main problem as of right now."
"Not the main problem?" Kyle asked.
"Even if you were to talk him out in building the very thing that had led to a nuclear holocaust, he was but one part of the given equation. Skynet is also the property of the U.S. Government and they've been unknowingly developing what Skynet is intended to be long before Dyson comes into the scene and only manages to perfect it by the time he get's there. Even more so, I must warn you regarding one other thing," the Man added with a grim. "There are certain forces beyond this world that are targeting the both of you, and also specifically the child that you would not presently carry in your womb most recently."
"Wait...what...?" Kyle turned towards Sarah who became rather quiet.
Wait...Does he mean what she thought he meant? She thought this as she instinctively placed her right hand on her stomach.
"(Sigh). As much as I don't want to discuss something of this nature which I respect privately, it is part of the reason why we are in this specific time zone. Both of your actions have now contributed to creating something...wonderful..." the Man solemnly said.
"Wait...does that mean..." Kyle turned towards the Man for confirmation.
"Yes, Sergeant, you and you alone have always been the father of the man whom you would serve one day. Congratulations," the Man nodded solemnly.
Kyle became shocked and didn't say a word, looking at Sarah in a particularly new light.
"And as of right now, both of you are needed for the raising of this child as a new uncertain future is now opening up," the Man said. "Because War is on the horizon, and I'm not just talking about your war, Sergeant Reese, but another War entirely that has already landed into your world and it is the War that I and my second in command both fight in."
"War...?" Kyle noted the term, feeling a slight chill running down his spine. "What...War?"
"The War To End All Wars...The Third War in Heaven...The Time War..." the Man simply said.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
An alarm sounded as the TARDIS manages to detect a temporal anomaly and is now automatically showing a holographic projection screen that made everyone surprised. For the Man and Rex, they were narrowing their eyes as they look at the figure that was walking out from the spherical circle as it dissipates. It appeared to be a group of body parts all hovering with a bluish type of energy, all made of silvery-lined metal. With regards to its face, only the eyes and the nose were visible as the mouth was non-existent and replaced with a bluish aura.
Its known location appears to be somewhere nearby, only a few meters away.
"...What the fuck is that?!" Sarah exclaimed in shock.
"Oh kriff," Rex said, grimacing. "A T-Infinity."
"A what?" Kyle asked, shocked.
"A new model Terminator. It's not from your time specifically, Sergeant, it's from another time, travelling cross time to be precise," the Man explained. "And this specific model is very dangerous to be set loose. If it was sent here, I'd wager that it has the primary objective of correcting the timeline."
"A little too late of an arrival I should say...um...sir," Kyle respectfully addressed the Man.
"Yes, and that little miscalculation would tend to do us a favor to keep on our toes," the Man said simply as he begins to head towards the console room.
"What are you going to do?" Sarah asked.
"Whatever I have too, Sarah Connor," the Man replied as he busied himself with the controls.
But there was something else. He remembered another person named Sarah. Sarah Jane Smith to be precise. One of his best companions that he grew to miss. Since the War, he worried for her deeply and made extensive contingencies to ensure that she isn't getting involved in the War by any means. At least, that's what he would do for her and for every other companion that he clearly remembers.
But the thoughts of reminiscence would have to wait for now.
He needed to pull the plug on Skynet's timeline corrector and it would be as simple as pie with his old girl—TARDIS by his side.
Insert Song: End
ED Song:
Terminator Salvation - Break The Silence (Soundtrack)
Incarnation(s)/Regeneration(s) of the Doctor:
The War Doctor - A: John Hurt
New Characters:
Sarah Connor - A: Linda Hamilton
Kyle Reese - A: Michael Biehn
The Terminator (T-800) - A: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Commander Rex (STARS) - A: Temuera Morrison