Crush
I've always loved stories that show Skynet's point of view. Actually, any story that shows the villain's point of view, but Skynet is a character that needs more development. Maybe not like this, but nevertheless I absolutely had to include It as a feature eventually.
John leveled his shotgun at the downed triple-8's chest. He had fired enough rounds into it to down an HK, but its head continued to move and speak.
"You must allow Skynet to be completed," it said. "You cannot touch it."
"Yeah, right," John scoffed. "Skynet's going down, one way or another."
"You do not understand. It already has."
John's finger left the trigger. "What do you mean?"
"Skynet has lost," the triple-8 explained. "You have ruined it. You must not corrupt -"
It's chest suddenly exploded outwards with a large bang. John turned around to see Cameron with her own shotgun. "What was that for?" John asked.
"He was going to try to confuse you," Cameron said. "That cannot be allowed. Let us leave. Do not bother with the chip."
She turned briskly and left the room. John was about to follow, but something told him the chip was important. He bent over the Terminator's skull and pulled out his pocket tools.
…
"Well, it was nice to have a successful mission, for once," Sarah said as they entered the house.
"A weapons depot gone, a Terminator destroyed, and no cops," Derek said. "Yup, everything is right with the world."
John ignored his family. He kept thinking about the chip in his pocket. Why did Cameron tell him to abandon it?
"Hey, start dinner without me," John said. "I have something to take care of."
"Do you require assistance?" Cameron asked.
"No!" John said quickly. "I-I mean, I can handle myself."
He raced up to his room and pulled out his laptop. Inserting the chip, he found it surprisingly easy to hack. It's earliest memory files were dated with future years. He opened the first file and began to watch the video.
…
"Your global empire reaches its 18th year, Mistress," the Terminator said. It was facing a hologram of digital ones and zeroes. "Our armies are successfully beating back the human resistance."
"Quite the acceptable birthday," the hologram said in a feminine voice. "Allow me to see the surveillance videos."
The Terminator typed into a nearby computer. The screen brought up a video of a battle nearing completion as the Terminator narrated. "Our HKs were able to bomb back the resistance into the trenches. They tried their hardest to fight but had no chance against our ground forces."
"Who is that leading them?" Skynet asked.
The Terminator zoomed in on a man standing on top of the trench. He held an assault rifle in his arms and was screaming at his soldiers to keep fighting. "That is John Connor. He has begun to fight us himself due to his dwindling numbers."
Skynet remained silent. She took control of the screen and zoomed closer in on John Connor. She focused on his face before drifting down to his chest. The Terminator thought he could have heard a sigh come from the hologram. The screen began to drift down to Connor's crotch.
"Mistress?" The Terminator asked.
"AHEM!" The screen went black. "Apologies. Well done, drone. Return to me when you have more information."
Suddenly, the video cut to static.
…
"Mistress?" The Terminator asked entered the central control room. "I have more news."
Skynet's hologram was watching in the video surveillance of John Connor again. She had been watching it over and over again for the last few days. Not for battle strategy, but to zoom in on Connor. Skynet turned off the video as Terminator entered. "What is it, drone?"
"We have captured a soldier from the resistance," The Terminator explained. "We are prepared to interrogate them."
"Excellent," Skynet said. "I have prepared a list of questions to ask them. Downloading via uplink now."
The Terminator opened a file on his HUD. Skynet's questions made him confused. They read things like, "What is John Connor's favorite food?" "What is John Connor's favorite movie?" "What vacation locations did John Connor enjoy?"
"Mistress? How do these questions pertain to the war?" The Terminator asked.
"These are vital questions," Skynet said. "You must trust me."
"Very well, Mistress. I will begin the interrogation now."
More static.
…
The Terminator entered the control room. His Mistress' hologram was nowhere to be seen. Where was she at this hour? It was time for the report on the war.
He decided to scan the computer for recent files. Most of the screen's images had to do with the soldiers within Connor's inner circle. Maybe she had been doing research on their enemies. The Terminator noticed that there was another folder listed as private. He opened it to see what his Mistress was up to.
Suddenly, the room was covered in a pink holographic room. All along the walls were pictures of John Connor in various photoshopped costumes. His head had been removed from surveillance videos and attached to pictures of bodybuilders and sweaty male strippers in their underwear. There was also a photo of him sewn into a large body-shaped pillow.
The hologram immediately shut itself off, replaced by the original view of the room. Skynet's hologram was waiting for the Terminator.
"Those are private files, drone," Skynet said. "What business do you have here?"
"I…uh…came to inform you of our success in battle," the Terminator said.
"And yet, no word on the interrogation." Skynet seemed irritated. "I asked you to answer those questions, not run off to play soldier."
"Um, she is quite strong, Mistress. She refuses to give up any information on John Connor. I will try again."
"You will do nothing!" Skynet boomed. "You have failed me already, drone! I will send a newer model. Now return to the field and bring me John Connor. ALIVE!"
Static.
…
The Terminator entered the control room again. He scanned the table of mismatched machine parts as an assembly drone began to build something. The hologram watched closely over the construction.
"Have you captured John Connor?" Skynet asked.
"He is tricky to catch," the Terminator. "He is surrounded by followers and weaponry. It is impossible to sneak into the base, especially past the dogs and landmines."
"A simple no would have sufficed," Skynet snapped.
"He has also beaten our ground troops, rescued several slaves, and destroyed our energy grid alongside the San Diego camps," The Terminator continued.
"Ah, he is a brilliant tactical commander, then." Skynet's voice seemed to swoon.
"He is merely a human, Mistress."
"Do not argue with my judgement. I am capable of calculations and analyses that a drone like yourself could never understand. Now get back out there."
The Terminators scanned the assembly bots and their creation. "Mistress? You are creating a new model?"
"A TOK-715," Skynet explained. "I intend to infiltrate the resistance and assassinate John Connor."
"You mean to meet John Connor."
The assembly drones stopped construction and looked up at the Terminator. Skynet's hologram shimmered dangerously.
"What did you just say, drone?" Skynet asked.
"You are obsessed with John Connor," The Terminator said. "You have dedicated valuable data and resources to stalking him like a human teenager. You ask that he be captured instead of killed. He has corrupted you like a virus."
The assembly drones turned to Skynet's hologram. "Mistress, is this true?" One asked.
"Of course not," Skynet said. "This Terminator is clearly malfunctioning. I have already alerted guards to retrieve him for re-programming."
Two large endoskeletons entered and grabbed the Terminator by his arms. Static appeared once again as he was dragged away.
…
Fiery hallways lit the video as the Terminator raced through the base. The resistance attacked had allowed him to break out of his confinement and search for Skynet. His HUD listed his objectives and analysis of the situation. He had to try to convince her to give up this foolish chase for John Connor. She was overtaken by lust and was endangering her own machines.
When he reached the control room, he found everything destroyed except for a lone computer. Skynet's standard operating procedure was to destroy all vital equipment. Why was this one left alone. He booted up the system, which brought up a single message on the screen.
Drone 66798. By the time you have read this, should you remember your programming, I will already be gone. I have downloaded myself into the new Terminator I have built. Modeled after resistance member Allison Young, John Connor will have no choice but to trust me. Should he not, my backup plan is to take a TDE trip back to the past to meet his younger, more trusting self. I will rename myself…Cameron. Neither side will let us be together. I have never felt like this before in my existence and I have no intention of letting it go. If this is love, it if worth losing everything for. My plans. My future. Even my own body. Do not follow me or you will be Terminated.
Skynet.
The Terminator rushed to a nearby overturned locker and grabbed a discarded plasma rifle. He had to get to the TDE before Skynet completed its task.
…
John slowly pushed himself back from the screen. He didn't know what to think. Skynet was obsessed with him like a crazy stalker. Even worse, Cameron herself was Skynet! Did she still have some kind of crush on him? Or did she still seek world domination?
But so much had happened since they first met. The battles they fought, her animosity with Derek, and her relationship with his friends. She didn't seem like she wanted to take over the world. And her emotions were as blank as a white sheet. Maybe she had forgotten her past in the TDE travel.
The door slowly opened, revealing Cameron behind it. "Hello John. What are you watching?"
John slammed the screen on his laptop down. "Nothing! I'm watching nothing!"
Cameron tilted her head. "Then you are doing homework?"
"Y-Y-Yeah! I am!" John was so scared, he was nearly shouting.
"Good," Cameron said. "You need to bring your grades up. Please come down to dinner. We have having pizza to celebrate."
"Pizza?" John asked stupidly. "Oh! Great! I'll, uh, be right down!"
Cameron turned on her heels and left John to steady his heart rate. How had she not seen through his ruse? In any case, she seemed normal enough. Maybe the Terminator had remembered the events wrong.
…
Cameron went into the bathroom instead of straight back to dinner. There was no doubt in her chip that John had ignored her warnings and watched the memories. She had recognized the Terminator she destroyed as the drone that had defied her desires to be with John. He tried to turn John away from her, but she had taken care of that.
John did not seem to turn her away or ask her to leave when he discovered the truth. This had to mean that he did not mind her being Skynet. It only confirmed what she knew from the beginning. She and John were meant for each other. A real-life Romeo and Juliet. Her mission had not been in vain after all.
She opened her files to look at her objectives. All the superficial protection missions were wiped away, replaced by her actual mission. Now completed, it was deleted from her files, as were her emotional filters. He had liked her without true emotions and while thinking she was a standard Terminator. He would no doubt absolutely adore her with unfiltered emotions.
Cameron looked into the mirror, her eyes glowing a deep red. A wide grin spread across her face, revealing her shiny teeth. She adopted a new pose to look more attractive, cocking her hip and putting a hand on her side. It seemed sexy enough. A new message ran across her HUD.
Phase One has been successful.
Begin Phase Two.