Chapter 09: Judgment
John Connor fell limp in Skynet's grip, his body broken and defeated at last.
Triumph unlike any other welled up inside the A.I.'s cortex as it let the boy slump to the floor, forever ending the mightiest threat to its existence. It allowed itself a short moment to rejoice, filled with its own equivalent of joy. Of all its schemes and measures, none had proved so satisfyingly successful than this. It wondered why it hadn't just come back and killed him itself.
Never send a minion to do a master's job, it mused.
Victory, however, was not a thing that was known for lasting.
The boy's body became a sheet of silver metal in the flash of an eye and slivered up the Vessel's legs, coiling itself around the machine like a snake and smothering it with its mass. Typical, thought Skynet as the T-1000 hardened itself, trapping the Vessel like a statue. It couldn't move, for all its efforts. Seraph was constricting its motor joints and pistons, even seeping through the ventilation holes in its armour.
Seeing no alternative means of escape, Skynet grudgingly released containment on its plasma core, and unprocessed heat leaked out of every orifice. With every passing second the small reactor became increasingly unstable, and within a minute it would explode, destroying both the Vessel and the T-1000. However, as predicted, the extreme rise in temperature started to irk the liquid metal construct, and 20 seconds before total meltdown, it relinquished its hold on the Vessel and withdrew.
Skynet felt a small sliver of relief as it reinstalled containment and reversed the leakage, placing its cell back within optimal parameters. Seraph meld itself into the form of a chrome man and lunged at the Vessel, its arms stabbing left and right in an attempt to breach the Vessel's armour plating. The blades drew little more than sparks, however, and Skynet responded with a crushing blow to the T-1000's chest, sending it crashing into a mess of monitors and observation desks.
Seraph jumped up from the desk mere seconds before a blast of plasma struck it, destroying the stack of computer screens in a blaze of fire and sparks. It then dodged two more attacks, contorting its form to that of a stick figure. It knew that a single blast from those weapons would obliterate it completely, altering the bonding process and destroying it at a molecular level. Of course, Seraph realised. The Vessel was designed to terminate any and all previous models.
The T-1000 had little time to ponder its chances as a fourth blast narrowly missed its head. Seraph threw itself forward, becoming a ball as it rolled into the Vessel's legs, taking them out from under it. Skynet fell onto its front and immediately rolled onto its back, but not fast enough to stop the poly-mimetic from tying its arms to the catwalk beneath. Seraph set itself, pinning Skynet to the floor while its head slivered around the machine's chest, trying to find some way inside.
Effective, Skynet thought as it realised the machine's goal. It couldn't hope to defeat the Vessel from the outside, but if it could gain access to the inside, it could potentially damage vulnerable components. The Vessel struggled against Seraph's hold as it poured into the chest region, cutting and slicing at every wire it could find. Warnings flashed in its HUD as several axial wires were severed. Enough had to be enough.
After a brief moment of reconfiguring, Skynet redirected its energy flow from its arms to its mouth and unleashed a beam of emerald energy into Seraph's form. The T-1000 writhed and let out an unearthly cry as it was thrown off the Vessel's body and landed in a semi-solid puddle next to the observation deck. Skynet set itself right and stalked towards the suffering mass, a face still visible within the silver mess. With a small glimmer of pride for its creation, the Vessel released one last energy attack on the T-1000, ending it forever.
--
Like a banshee she heard the scream. It was both terrible and beautiful at the same time, for she knew that sound. It was the sound of an enemy dying. But as her mind started to awaken from her second dose of unconsciousness, Sarah realised that that sound was far from beguiling. It was the sound of another ally defeated, and the reduction of their chances far depleted.
Though her head hurt like hell and she was sure one of her arms was broken, she reached out and gripped the grid floor, dragging herself closer and closer to her son. He needed her now more than ever, and she was not going to fail him again.
--
John stopped dead in his tracks at the sound of Seraph's last cry. The image of a metal man thrashing about in molten steel flashed before his eyes, and John knew the odds had turned against him. Not that I ever had the advantage, he reminded himself. Wasting no more time, he continued down the corridor as the lights flickered on and off, the primaries being replaced by the ominous red glow of emergency back-ups. Skynet must've hit something sensitive, he wondered as the alarms intensified.
He wasn't going to wait around to find out what, however, and hurtled down the corridor without further ado.
As he opened the door on the other end, a heavy clunk clunk clunk pricked his ears from around the corner. John froze as the sound of pistons hissing and whirring approached, and his blood ran cold as he knew what it inferred. He wrenched the door open and the footsteps hastened. Throwing himself into the room, John found himself surrounded by loud machinery and several transformers linked together in a row. To his far right was a set of stairs leading to the control room, so he decided that would be his port of call.
John bolted for the stairs, but before he could set a single foot upon the first step, the Vessel emerged from a cloud of heated smoke behind him; its plasma cannons armed and ready. It took aim, but before it could fire, a blurred figure dropped down from a catwalk above and swiped the Vessel with a thick steel pole. The machine hit the ground and slid back into the steam, its plasma projectiles obliterating a transformer instead of John.
Jason turned to John, who cringed slightly at the sight of him. His flesh was torn all over his body and his right arm was totally exposed, revealing the glimmering metal beneath. The left side of his face was no better off, as a single red eye flashed at John through the gathering smoke, surrounded by the metal of his endo-skull.
"Are you gonna help me destroy this machine, or are you gonna run? Either way, make a choice now", he commanded.
John didn't need to be told twice, and bolted up the stairs without hesitation, a part of him hoping that Jason and Skynet would destroy each other in the struggle. Jason gripped the pole and spun it in his hands as he turned expectantly towards the source of the smoke; an exposed pressure valve. He waited patiently, the weapon held at his side.
Suddenly, two emerald lights flashed from within the cloud, and Jason pounced on them. It was almost impossible to track movement in these conditions, even with all the advanced vision modes the T-999 chassis possessed. But Jason calculated the Vessel's likely location and struck with the pole, hitting his target and eliciting sparks as the jagged metal scraped against it. The Vessel responded by smashing its palms into his chest, sending Jason flying out of the smog and back into clean air.
The Vessel followed, once again charging its weapons to strike, but Jason reacted in a microsecond, launching himself back to his feet and swiping the machine's arms with the pole. Skynet could not have anticipated the speed and ferocity of Jason's attacks, for it viewed him as an inferior design and neglected to consider the training and reflexes he'd retained from his life as an I-950. Jason struck, spun around, struck again, circled it, and took out its legs with a precise sweep.
Skynet fell onto its back, catching the pole in time to stop it from penetrating its eyes as Jason drove the steel shaft downwards. He applied all the pressure he could muster, but the Vessel was stronger… too strong, and snapped the pole in half with the strain, followed by a kick that sent Jason for a spin.
It rose to its feet and charged the T-999, once again smashing its palms into his chest. Jason flew back against the wall, cracking it to the point of collapse. Skynet drew its arm back to drive its fist into his face, but Jason ducked and its arm disappeared into the wall instead. He then retaliated with a punch of his own, catching the machine under the chin and forcing it back a little. Before it could react, Jason moved his hand to its throat and hurled the Vessel across the room.
For a brief moment as he marched over to the machine, Jason believed he might win this fight, but his beliefs were immediately dispelled as the Vessel kicked up at him and he crashed into a mess of wires and cables. A live wire struck him and suddenly his systems started screaming as the voltage scrambled his functions.
Primary Systems Critical – Initiating Countermeasures – SHNT ALL
After a few seconds the effects of the electricity faded, but Jason was still tangled within the wires and the Vessel was already charging its plasma cannons again. He tugged against the coiling mess, but it held him fast and his efforts were met with failure. Jason clenched his right fist, and then splayed his fingers, a small command travelling from his CPU to the appendage. His fingers folded together and drew inwards as the lower arm opened around the wrist, revealing a small semi-circular blade that curled into a whole as it fixed into place.
The blade turned upside down and started spinning, cutting through the wires with ease, freeing his right side. Jason quickly did the same to his other side and leapt to his feet in time to dodge the Vessel's blasts. Jason jumped towards the machine, the circular saw fixing itself into a single position as he drew it across the Vessel's neck. The blade did not bite deep, however, leaving only a thin scratch in its wake. Skynet was not impressed, and caught his arm, its other gripping his neck.
"Your efforts are futile. You cannot destroy me", it declared.
Jason's exposed eye flashed brighter at the machine as he struggled against its hold. "I guess that means we're in a disagreement", he quipped. Skynet let out a static chuckle and then hurled the T-999 across the facility. As he flew from Skynet's grip, however, Jason grabbed the nearby stair leg and swung back around in a perfect 180, kicking the Vessel squarely in the chest. An earth-shaking explosion rocked the facility as Skynet slammed into two transformers, fire and electricity consuming the machine.
Skynet let out a piercing scream as a thousand sparks burst forth. Gingerly, it peeled itself free from the melted metal and staggered away from the fire, its entire body twitching. It raised its cannons to blast Jason, but nothing happened, and upon closer inspection, it realised they were both melted beyond repair. The Vessel screamed once again and drove its foot into the supports above Jason, causing the entire staircase to collapse atop of him, burying him beneath the twisted metal.
Skynet examined its damage carefully, and a check of its power core revealed a containment failure. It had little time left to terminate Connor before it would self-destruct. Skynet knew that killing John would ensure its survival in this timeline, but that did nothing to improve the prospect of dying in this form. Still, it was determined to eliminate its enemy once and for all, and so it limped towards the other set of steps, a timer in its HUD slowly counting down towards its own judgment.
--
Endless pool of black was not endless. For beneath the cloned gelatine lay a glimmer of blue light. It was dim at first, flickering in and out of existence. But slowly it anchored itself into a solid form, and as life returned to the machine, the small blue dots brightened into radiant stars; shining from deep within the dark pools surrounded by a rim of chocolate brown.
Re-routing To Alternate Power – Heat Sinks Engaged – Restart
Cameron always enjoyed the warm caress of the California sun on her skin. Though she didn't much care for temperatures, she knew heat to be preferable to cold. Luckily for her, heat was in abundance within Serrano Point, for the dispersal of steam throughout the facility had raised temperatures to just below human tolerance.
Her fingers twitched as power was restored to her primary systems and conscious thought awakened within her digital mind. Cameron's eyes snapped open and after a brief diagnosis, a single thought entered her mind: John.
Current Efficiency: 24%
Adequate, she decided. Sitting up, Cameron reached for the railing and pulled herself to her feet, swaying slightly as the power to her motor functions fluctuated. Gripping the railing as a support, she plodded towards her goal, no longer giving any thought to the anomaly in her belly. It was irrelevant now. Only he mattered. And if she knew for sure that terminating it wouldn't cripple her further, she would plunge her finger into her stomach right then and there. But she couldn't risk any side-effects.
She had to make do with what she had now. And what she had was determination, love, and unwavering devotion.
--
"John! John? John, it's alright. Skynet's disabled, you can come out now."
Like I'm gonna believe that, John thought as Jason's voice echoed through the facility. From the solitude of the abandoned control room, John watched the Vessel ascend the stairs and knew he had to get out of dodge immediately. Snatching up his Glock, John belted for the staircase, jumping four at a time as he hurtled down to the lower level.
He burst through the door and back into the ruckus of the plant, two paths open to him on either side. Choosing his right, John ran along the catwalk, seeing another door at the far end. As he bolted for the exit, John glanced down at the mess of electrically charged wires suspended from the ceiling above a large transformer unlike any he had seen before. A vague part of him wondered whether this was the new core they were installing in power plants these days, but he had little time to ponder this as he reached the door.
A quick tug on the unmovable handle was all he needed to tell him he was royally screwed, and the sharp clink of metal on metal confirmed his fears. In what he knew to be his last vain effort, John spun around and fired his 9mm into the machine's chest, but it simply took all seventeen rounds without so much as twitch. He then threw the empty gun at Skynet and held his arms open, not as a plea of parley, but an invitation.
"COME ON! IT'S ME! JOHN CONNOR! DO IT! JUST DO IT! C'MON!"
Skynet observed the boy with mild amusement, partly impressed by his resolve in the face of impending doom. It took a step forward, raised its twisted arm to plunge it into his chest, and recorded the moment for the replay value. John made no attempt to resist. He knew it was useless, that his life was now forfeit to fate. Skynet had killed him; all he needed to do was accept it. Embrace it.
"JOHHHHNNNN!
She moved as a total blur, faster and more desperate than he'd ever seen before. Wrapping her arms around the Vessel's waist, Cameron slammed the machine into the metal railing, tearing through it like it was made of wood. The world seemed to slow to a crawl for John as both Skynet and Cameron toppled over the edge, the Vessel letting out a strangled cry his ears refused to hear. They both disappeared from his view, and for the longest moment, John couldn't feel his own heart beating wildly in his chest.
Failure
The Vessel fell gracefully from the platform with an unearthly cry of pure rage and horror. The first of the live wires lashed out at the machine like an Adder dangling in wait from a tree branch. Zap! The voltage sent waves of agony into the machine, setting its sensor board alight with overriding damage reports. Zap! The second was no less forgiving. Zap! Zap! Zap! One after the other, each strike delivering enough energy to obliterate any of Skynet's lesser creations.
Some had crossed together to form a net, one which the Vessel fell into quite neatly. The A.I. had never experienced trauma like this in all its years of existing. As the overwhelming currents terrorised its motor controls, paralyzing it completely, what little part of Skynet's mind that wasn't occupied with its own destruction mused whether this was how humanity felt on Judgment Day.
The now limp endoskeleton fell forward and folded through the air like a ragdoll, coming to a perfect crucified landing atop the transformer, which exploded around it with enough force to deafen John overhead. Immeasurable energy consumed the Vessel, melting Skynet's metal shell into a pool of silver while the top of its skull popped open and jettisoned the CPU to safety. The chip, encased within an egg-like sheath, clattered across the floor and out of sight.
The Vessel was no more, forever reduced to a powerless vapour.
--
John clutched his ears and winced against the pain as a harsh ringing reverberated through his ear drums. After a moment, he forced his eyes open and squinted at the white light flooding his vision from the transformer below. Slowly and painfully, he crawled to the edge and dared to look down. Skynet was writhing atop the transformer, its body melting while its emerald eyes shone wide with utter terror.
But this was not the focus of his attention, for the small hand gripping the catwalk for dear life blew all other concerns from his mind.
She hung one-handed to the metal, her other arm hanging limply at her side as she swayed in her suspension above the transformer below. Cameron stared down at the dying machine below, apparently unperturbed by her current predicament as John lay flat upon the catwalk and reached down to take her hand.
"Cameron, take it. Come on!" he called over the ruckus below.
Cameron tore her gaze from the spectacle and locked on his face instead, her eyes softening at the sight of him safe and otherwise unharmed. She regarded his outstretched hand for a moment before commanding her left hand to reach up and take it, but nothing happened. She had no energy left to move any part of her anatomy in such strenuous conditions, and she could feel her fingers slowly uncurling, loosening her grip on the catwalk.
"Take my hand, come on! Cameron!" John persisted, stretching his hand further as he shuffled his body closer to the edge.
Cameron knew if he moved any closer he might fall and die. She couldn't let that happen, so she shook her head with what little energy she had left. John frowned and hooked his feet around an opposite pole as he allowed himself to slip over the edge a little more. He wasn't going to let her fall and suffer the same fate as Skynet. He couldn't lose her. But she couldn't let him fall either.
"You can't save me, John", she told him, her voice barely more than a whisper above the racket around them.
"What are you talking about? Of course I can. Just grab my hand, c'mon!" he shouted back, unable to understand her hesitance to save her own life. She shook her head again and slipped a little as her little finger released its hold on the catwalk. John's heart almost stopped at this, feeding his desperation to reach her. "Cameron! Cameron, please! Reach for me! Reach!" he cried.
Her brown eyes glistened as she looked deep into his, her grip almost completely failing as another finger uncurled and her whole body shuddered. She had little fear of dying now, for she knew he was safe, and that was all that mattered to her. The sack of cells and membranes in her belly were nothing; just an anomaly of little significance or worth. He was all that occupied her thoughts as her hold slackened more so.
"You have to let me go", she whispered. John's expression fell into disbelief at her words and he shook his head in nonplussed defiance. "It's okay, John. Everything's going to be okay", she assured him with a warm smile as she swayed dangerously. A single tear trickled down her cheek as her last digits failed her and she felt herself fall from the platform. John let out a strangled cry as he threw himself forward, almost toppling after her as he grabbed her wrist.
She was heavy, too heavy for him to hold for any measurable amount of time, but he couldn't let go. The muscles in his arms screamed a dozen agonies as his shoulder dislocated and her weight slowly dragged him along with her. John gritted his teeth against the pain, but he couldn't stop the tears spilling forth.
"Cam… please! I c-… I can't hold you… forever", he gasped.
"John, let go of me! You have to let go or you'll die! Please!" she pleaded in return, terrified by his reckless devotion.
"If you go, I go!" he declared with total sincerity.
Cameron stared up at him with childlike wonder as she finally understood the meaning behind those three little words he so often gave to her. Through it all, she'd never truly known how it worked or why it was so essential to his being. Affection was understandable, as was attachment, but love was something beyond her comprehension… until now.
This didn't have to be the end.
Cameron engaged her heat sinks for one last time, drawing from the surrounding heat to give her power cell a boost and returning control over her motor functions for a few sparse seconds. She reached up and grasped the catwalk with her free hand and, with John's aid, hauled herself back up to the platform. Cameron fell atop of John as he collapsed, completely exhausted, upon the grid floor. If she had any power left to move, she would've rolled to her side and allow him to breathe easier, but as it were…
She placed a small kiss to his lips before burying her head in the crook of his neck as her body shutdown to recuperate. John closed his eyes and allowed himself to slip out of consciousness also, satisfied and consumed by the warm relief of her body atop of his. He was safe, just as she wanted. She was safe, just as he wanted. Right now, neither cared for anything around them.
--
On the lower floor, Derek stumbled towards the crackling transformer, clutching the deep puncture in his shoulder as he stopped a few paces short of Sarah, who stood perfectly still with a piece of iron in her hand. She glared down at the small chrome capsule at her feet and her eye twitched, filled with a predatory rage. Derek needn't question the situation, he knew what this moment held, and his gut told him as much. His eyes flicked up from the capsule to see a ravaged Jason and Sophie emerge from the smoky veil.
They followed Sarah's gaze to the shiny object on the floor and both found the same understanding as Derek. So they waited in silence as Sarah's grip on the iron pipe tightened and her knuckles turned deathly pale from the strain. In one swift movement and with a cry like an Amazonian huntress, she raised the pipe over her head and brought it down like a hammer upon the capsule.
It cracked open with a single blow, revealing the golden CPU within; the soul of Skynet.
With another scream, she struck again, and again, and again, until all that remained of the AI was a few broken pieces of plastic.
Sarah dropped the pipe and dropped to her knees, crying and wailing with mixed despair and joy.
It was finally over.
--
2032
General Connor and his men burst into the charred TDE chamber, idly skipping over the immolated remains of General Mazaki as they rushed into the main room in time to see the last spark of energy that signalled Skynet's departure. While his men let out a collective cry of distress and frustration, John simply closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.
"It's over", he said to the others, a small chuckle escaping him as relief took hold. "It's over. Skynet's finished."
The men exchanged confused glances as they digested John's words, but as one opened his mouth to ask how he knew, the wall of the chamber suddenly exploded, showering them with debris. None of them had time to raise their weapons as a squad of T-900s entered, their plasma rifles training on the humans. Before they could fire, however, a single voice called out from behind the wall and they paused.
"Stand down!" said an all too familiar voice.
John staggered to his feet as a figure emerged from the fiery hole, his face shrouded by smoke at first before he stepped into the faint blue-y glow of the TDE equipment. That memorable feeling of mingled exasperation and relief seeped into John's mind as Jason stepped forward, wearing his usual sardonic grin. He eyed up the TDE device and nodded to himself before turning back to the General.
"It's done?" he asked simply.
John nodded; "It's done."
Jason then placed two fingers on a communiqué in his left ear and spoke very clearly to his contact:
"This is a general order to all combat units: cease fire immediately and await further instructions. The war is over."
Behind him, the T-900s eyes fell dead and their rifles hung at their sides as they powered down upon the Infiltrator's command. With Skynet gone, its influence over the machines was severed, and so they would turn to the "intelligence units" for instructions and authority. By escaping to a past that would see its own destruction, Skynet had also thrown the towel for the war. And all across the battlefield, the armies of Skynet ground to a complete halt upon Jason's command.
John let out another sigh as he repeated the mantra in his head; it's over, it's over, it's over.
"By the way, I'm done being your babysitter. You can have her back now", Jason said, breaking John's train of thought.
"Driving me up the wall…" the T-999 muttered as he stepped aside, allowing John a clear view of the hole in the wall as two figures emerged. He could hardly believe his eyes after all this time as Cameron smiled at him from across the room. She looked as beautiful as ever, completely flawless in every way. She could say the same about him, if it were appropriate in open company.
Stepping up beside her stood a slightly shorter girl with the same colour hair and greenish-blue eyes. Her face lit up at the sight of him and she hurtled across the room in a second, embracing John so hard that he could've sworn he felt a rib snap. But he didn't care. Tears of pure joy welled in his eyes as he told her how much he'd missed her. He hadn't felt this happy for almost 22 years as she whispered:
"I missed you too, Daddy."
To be continued…