Disclaimer: I don't own anything, please don't sue me!
October 29, 2007 14:45 PST
Aboard Rozinante
Sarah Connor and Derek Reese simply could not believe what their eyes saw: John Connor with a quarter-inch buzz cut. Sarah immediately thought to ask, "John, did Cameron cut your hair?"
He replied, "Yeah. Also, she said that my hair was part of what got me killed in her past."
Derek cut in with, "He's right, Sarah. I saw the T-1000 kill him." He turned to John and said, "Still, I can't believe you would trust that thing to be anywhere near you with a blade."
Cameron glared at Derek while Dave said, "John getting killed... this must have happened after I left."
The bitter fighter and the machine girl replied in unison, "It did."
Sarah decided to kill the argument before it got out of hand. "Look John, I'm not the biggest fan of you being in a... 'relationship'... with Cameron, but it's your choice. Just know that I think you're making the second-biggest mistake in the history and future of humanity."
He sarcastically replied, "Only the second-biggest? I must be losing my touch."
Durandal decided to add, "John, attempting to kill SkyNet before it went online without showing proof of the Terminators made the government even more determined to build it, if only to prove that they would not be intimidated by a 'domestic Neo-Luddite terrorist.'"
To say that John, Sarah, and Derek were shocked was a monumental understatement. John broke the silence by saying, "Wait a minute. You're telling me that we, Team Connor, SkyNet's greatest enemies, had an inadvertent hand in it's creation?"
Durandal chuckled. "Team Connor, that's cute. Anyway, like I said before, you and SkyNet are temporally joined at the hip. Neither of you would exist without the other. Were it not for you, SkyNet would never have sent the first Terminator after Sarah in 1983 and various organizations could not have reverse engineered the remains. On the other hand, if that hadn't happened, you would never have sent Kyle Reese back to protect her and father you."
Cameron piped up with, "But Kyle Reese and the first Terminator were sent from one timeline. Uncle Bob and the T-1000 came from the same timeline because no changes had occurred yet. Derek, his teammates and I came from a different timeline because of Cyberdyne's destruction. I don't know what timelines the Terminators in the medical bay came from, but our presence was not anticipated, otherwise SkyNet may have sent a T-X back."
John asked her, "Cam, what exactly is a T-X?"
"The T-X was a theoretical design that would have used a utilitarian combat chassis with a mimetic polyalloy sheath acting as skin. It would have been able to imitate anyone that had at least an identical frame to the chassis, but no one smaller. In addition, it would have been powered by an internal plasma fusion reactor and been equipped with numerous onboard weapons, such as a plasma cannon, .223 and .45 caliber machine guns, a flamethrower, an M41 Pulse Rifle, a circular saw, and nanotechnological transjectors."
Sarah decided to ask, "I can figure out most of those, but the Pulse Rifle and the nano-whatevers, what are those?"
Cameron replied, "The M41 Pulse Rifle fires 10mm explosive-tipped caseless rounds. Had it been an M41A, it would have also integrated a 30mm grenade launcher. I know that SkyNet had developed replicators similar to those seen on Star Trek: The Next Generation because that was how it gained materials from 2025 to 2027. SkyNet had planned to integrate smaller versions of those for ammunition supply purposes, but the T-X was never built in our timeline."
Derek groaned as memories came back to him. "Those two years were the worst. If we hadn't taken that factory, SkyNet would have had the numbers to win. As it was, guerrilla warfare was already the order of the day. It just became more important when that tech was put in service."
John said, "OK, I get all that, but what are the nanotech things?"
"Nanotechnological transjectors are tiny robots that invade and and allow the T-X to control any machine it decides to target."
Sarah and Derek exchanged a nervous glance while Dave stood impassively. John gulped and, his voice wavering, asked Cameron, "ANY machine?"
Cameron's voice lowered as she answered, "Anything or anyone with a built-in computer, myself included."
Derek snorted and remarked, "Especially you, given that you're just a walking, talking computer covered in flesh and the fact that you and John are close. I'm surprised you don't commit suicide to protect him from that. No, wait, YOU CAN'T!"
Cameron was about to walk over and snap his neck for his arrogance when Sarah came to the rescue again. "I'll deal with him, Tin Miss. Derek, she's staying, and if you don't like it you don't have to stay with us."
"Actually, I do, given that John's the only family I have left."
"Oh, and I don't count? I'm only his MOTHER! Did you forget that somewhere along the line?"
"How could I? He may have run the Resistance, but you survived until three weeks after he got out of Century in 2021, and even then it took six flyers to kill you. Tough old bird, to take over for him while he was in there. You didn't think much of me then, so why should now be any different?"
While Derek and Sarah argued, Cameron moved next to John and whispered, "I hope they don't end up in any type of romantic relationship. They'd never work out."
In a hushed but sarcastic tone, John replied, "I can't possibly imagine why."
15:30 PST
Los Angeles, California, Earth
A powerfully-built man in a black suit with a white undershirt and a blue tie walked into the hospital on a mission. He noted the security cameras, then went to the front desk and the receptionist asked, "May I help you sir?"
He produced an FBI badge and said, "Agent Robert Kester, FBI. I need to speak to Michelle Dixon."
The receptionist was curious, and she asked, "Is she in some kind of trouble?"
"No, no trouble. Where is she?"
"Let me find out for you." She dialed some numbers on her phone. "Michelle?... Yes, it's Rachel. There's a man from the FBI here who says he needs to speak to you, but he also says you're not in trouble... His badge said Agent Kester... OK, see you in a few mintues." Turning back to the man, she said, "She's on her way here, Agent. There's some offices to your right if you need privacy."
"Excellent, thank you."
Four minutes later Michelle Dixon walked into the lobby. Kester said, "I know you're busy Mrs. Dixon, but I need your help."
"Agent, is this about Sarah Connor?"
"Yes. May I talk to you in private?"
"The director's office is vacant right now, will that work?"
"Yes."
They entered the office, and he shut the door. He noted the cameras, then asked her, "Have you heard anything about her recent whereabouts?"
"No."
"They have an ally who goes by the name of Cameron. Have you heard of any events involving a group with the names Sarah, John, and Cameron?"
"Well, I heard on the news the other day that the Baum family had had their house blown up. Agent Ellison called it 'domestic terrorism.' Those three names were in the paper."
"If they survived that event, they've changed at least their surnames." He produced a photograph taken from the 1999 newspapers showing the security feed of Sarah, John and Cameron at the Security Trust of Los Angeles. "Did they look like these people?"
She glanced at the picture and replied"I don't know, but the reporter said that Sarah was a single mother with fraternal twins." Looking more intently at the photo, she said, "I guess they could have said that John and Cameron were siblings, even though they don't really look alike."
Deciding to get another angle, Kester asked Michelle, "Is your husband available?"
"Last I knew, Charley was out on a call, but-" She never got to finish her sentence because Kester grabbed her throat with his left hand while he shoved her on the floor and placed his right foot on her collarbone. He then proceeded to rip Michelle Dixon's head off.
The machine that the Connors called Cromartie wiped the blood from his hands on her pants and said, "Thank you for your cooperation." He then looked directly into the security camera and left the hospital.