Chapter 7

~o~

"15B, this is 62O. Your mission has been aborted. Please return to the Bunker as soon as you can."

"55S, your current mission is terminated. Return to the Bunker immediately. Priority Alpha Theta Nine One."

"Your objective has changed. Stop what you're doing and report immediately to the Bunker, 12D."

"Your protest has been noted, 34B, but if you're late, don't blame me if you get taken offline for good."

"Abort mission and rendezvous with the others. Report to the Bunker with all due haste, 44H."

"Stop complaining! 13B, just because you're going to lose a little bit of progress down there doesn't mean you can get angry at me. Orders are orders, so calm down and get your butt back up here!"

"Enough lying, 22S, and come back now. We all know your flight unit is working just fine; I can see the live data right in front of me!"

The distant voices came from the raised platforms, high above the ground floor of the command center. Situated behind a desk and terminal, each Operator was hard at work recalling each of the YoRHa soldiers that had been deployed in the field all across the lands where the light of the sun reached. However, despite the immediate and urgent orders for them to return, these field units would not make it back in time to join the first wave.

Instead, all the battle-ready soldiers and reserve units in the Bunker—now standing in rows at attention on the ground floor—would be the ones joining in on the first wave. Standing in front of this massive gathering of YoRHa androids, adorned in their black uniforms and blindfolds, was a single person that didn't fit the color scheme of the rest. Dressed in a white flowing dress, slitted at the front, she was the only one with her face completely uncovered. Even the operators who worked the consoles behind her wore black veils that covered their mouths, hiding at least one part of their faces. Their work was being displayed on the large screens behind her, showing a satellite image of a large island and the relevant statistics.

Commander White opened her eyes and looked upon the gathering of androids standing in front of her, their backs ramrod straight. Beneath her was the symbol of YoRHa, painted within a black circle. She stood on this insignia at this very moment as a testament to her authority. It was needlessly superficial, but it gave a small measure of comfort to her flagging mind.

Had everything been a lie?

"You might be wondering what could be so urgent that all of your upcoming missions were canceled."

Despite the fact that she had an S-ranked clearance level, she found herself doubting.

"The Council of Humanity has called for an emergency dispatch to ensure the safety of a very important asset."

White had known the person who sent the message for a long time and—despite all the peculiarities surrounding that person—knew that she wouldn't lie about something this big.

"On the eastern coast of the island is a Resistance camp. All of the areas around the camp must be purged of machine lifeforms. We will establish a perimeter at these points."

Her input on the trustworthiness of the messenger had been essential for the Council to listen.

"Cancelers will be used, but they shouldn't be relied on." A look from her immediately silenced the disturbed atmosphere. "You will not be going in stealthily; we'll be making our presence known. Any and all threats must be identified and taken down regardless of the cost."

The deliberation had been intense, but ultimately, the Council came to a decision.

"To that end, all armaments have been authorized, and you may bring whatever equipment you want at your own discretion."

Despite the unlikelihood, they chose to verify the information. To that end, White would be coming down to the surface to do so.

"What I tell you now must not fall into enemy hands. The reason for this operation is because..."

Even she felt a sliver of hope and dread in equal measure, even though it shouldn't be possible because…

"A human has been found on Earth."

Humanity was extinct.

"Glory to mankind!"

Weren't they?

"GLORY TO MANKIND!"

~o~

There was an air of barely contained excitement that effused the command center that reached even the Operators stationed high above. However, unlike her coworkers, 15O simply sat in her chair and stared blankly at her screen. If she had been one of the other Operators, she would have been dragged out of her chair and brought into the wild excitement. Instead, nobody approached her. This was due to two parts.

15O had always been a bit more introverted and withdrawn, such that it was difficult for her to communicate effectively. It had at first started because of her false memories. The designation of her name wasn't for show. The 15 was for what false memories were implanted into her upon creation, and the O stood for her job as an Operator. Specifically, she had gotten the memories of a flower arrangement teacher, confident in her teachings but awkward in her social life. It wasn't the full memories of the person; rather, it was just large fragments, portions that were generously donated by mankind to jump-start the life of an android. These memories were limited and had been specifically sectioned off for YoRHa use. However, that was all these were for. Starter memories.

Just turning her head slightly allowed her to look down at the many gathered androids down below. One of them in particular was the one that her eyes sought out.

15H. The same false memories, but with a Healer designation. She who had the same start as her did not have the same end. Down below, she could see the self that she could have been, a flower that had blossomed. 15H was surrounded by other YoRHA androids, smiling and chattering excitedly as could be…

Unlike her.

The second reason—and probably the main reason why—was due to 3B. The Battler that she had been assigned as support to was an android who had been flashed with the memory engram of a serial killer who took depraved joy from killing his victims in sadistic ways. That had translated into her as a bloodlust for violence, far beyond the norm of other field units.

The only reason why 3B was not deactivated was due to how effective she was in killing the enemy despite the sometimes reckless and mindless rampages that she went on. She was simply too good to deactivate regardless of the fact that half the time, she never came back from missions in her current shell. However, a human was now their current objective...

What if 3B inadvertently hurts him? Perhaps, she should let Commander White know just in case…

A beeping sound brought her out of her thoughts and let her know that her console was being updated with real-time information. Her eyes widened as she moved her viewpoint of the world map to the east. Across the Pacific, the ships that were stationed at the west coast of the Kingdom of Night were being pulled back to replace the ships that were being hastily deployed from Hawaii to support the operation. While reasonable, the fact of the matter was that the Army of Humanity's main base on Hawaii had allowed them to maintain superiority over the entire Pacific theater, ever since the 126th Descent Mission at Pearl Harbor liberated the islands two years ago. To allow the islands to be undefended for any length of time, however short, was unconscionable in normal circumstances. They were really going all-out.

Even the orbital satellite laser was being repositioned…

Oh, it looked like 3B had finished gathering her equipment from the armory. 15O connected her communication line to 3B.

"3B, this is 15O. Please…um…proceed to the hangar when you…when you get a chance, okay? While you're doing that, there are a few things about the mission that I, uh, need to tell you…"

~o~

"…and that is everything that you are required to know, 9S."

"Thanks, 21O. You're a lifesaver."

"Refrain from flattery and proceed with the start-up procedure for your flight unit."

"Uh, sure, will do, I guess. Though, I was just trying to—annnnnd she disconnected."

9S could only give a sigh, even as the upright flight unit in front of him opened up its carapace. The YoRHa unit—created in the form of a young boy wearing a black uniform that consisted of shorts and blindfolds—climbed onto the outstretched metal ends and spun around to slot himself in. The flight unit closed up around him, securing his arms and legs in metal covers. Connecting with the interface, numerous statistics appeared in his vision on his side of the blindfold, denoting the various processes and equipment health of the flight unit.

Around him and all across the hangar, many other flight units were being powered up in a similar manner on several launch pads, even as mechanical arms pulled new flight units off their racks on the walls and placed them on empty launch pads for even more YoRHa soldiers to enter. If he wanted to be honest, this was the first time that he had seen so many people in the hangar at one time, and there was a sense of anticipation that went along with that. The atmosphere had an excitement to it that. After all, they might finally get to meet a human in real life!

No more video footage! An actual human!

9S shook his head to clear his thoughts as the thrusters on his flight units began firing up, the mechanical parts shifting around to transform into a more aerodynamic form. With a final boost, he flew through the long tunnel of the hangar, into the opening provided by the open hangar doors, and out into the depths of space. There were already scores of YoRHa units hovering in place, waiting for further instructions. It made sense since the hangar had not been streamlined for this many soldiers being sent in at one time so there was a wait as more soldiers were being outfitted with flight units.

A chime rang as a communication connection was established.

"9S, your team assignment has been decided."

"Oh? Who am I working with?"

"You will be rallying on route E with 1D as your captain. Your teammates are 2B, 3B, 5B, 23D, 27H, 54B, 55E, and 61B."

"So a ten-member flight, huh? Eight combat units and two support models make a good ratio, but I'm surprised that 2B is here. This makes this the third mission that she's been with me."

"You've only been on two missions before."

"Yeah, so?"

"Don't focus too much on her. This time, you'll be providing maintenance and support for the whole team, not just her."

"Just as well, I guess. In any case, is there anything I should know about the rest of my teammates?"

"1D is a competent leader that can keep them in line, but be careful of 3B. She's known to go off on rampages, and there had been several incidents in the past with friendly fire, both from her and at her."

"Eh? Isn't it risky then to be on the same team?"

"Don't antagonize her, and just let 1D handle it. Normally, it should have been her Operator, but 15O is less than competent. Ever since they had been assigned to each other, their results had been suboptimal."

"That's…harsh."

"Don't be distracted. The mission is about to begin."

"But aren't you the one doing the distra—she disconnected again."

Why did 21O always do that? Well, she did say that she was pretty experienced with 9S models so maybe that had something to do with it. 9S models were the best scanner androids around, but they weren't exactly the humble type. Honestly, it brought up why he liked working with 2B. No matter what kind of inane or rhetorical question he had, she would always give an answer even when she didn't have to. It was definitely unlike 21O who would usually just go silent or disconnect when he bothered her with his musings.

9S pulled up a map of Route E on his blindfold, taking in the information about the path.

A chime rang out.

"1D here. All team members, make sure that the link between all of us is established. Do I need to take a roll call?"

"This is 55B. Sure, why not?" "2B." "27H." "61B here." "5B also here." "23D, ready to go." "55E." "54B. This is going to be fun." "…3B." "9S here."

"Good, that's everyone. All of us have been briefed about the mission so I won't rehash it. That said, I expect you all to follow my lead. Even with our cancelers active, we'll probably be immediately going into combat once we breach the atmosphere. The estimated casualty rate for this mission will be high so I hope you all backed your data. If you haven't, tell 9S now since the mission will be commencing soon. Any last questions or requests?"

There was only silence for a few moments.

"None? Good. Our formation will be Defenders and Battlers at the front while 9S and 27H will be behind to provide support. Unlike regular missions, we won't be descending to the safe zones in the Pacific and then heading at low altitudes to the target location. We will instead be dropping directly on the target location from here so expect heavy air resistance. Our mission is to secure our route downward for any future flights. Any and all machines that we encounter must be eliminated. If you take too much damage, land and regroup, but for now, do your final checks; it'll be tragic if you have a malfunction while fighting."

9S was pretty sure that everyone here had already checked their equipment at least thrice over. The mission was one of great importance to them, not just as soldiers but as androids as well. Nobody wanted to be the one who caused the first mission directly involving a human to fail. Maybe, if they did well enough, they could even meet and speak to him in person which would be… He didn't exactly know what it would be like, but it definitely wouldn't be like the impersonal broadcasts from the moon.

"The mission is commencing in three, two…" 1D paused her countdown for a moment before she yelled, "Descend!"

Around them, a multitude of groups had already begun their descent, their crafts flying through the atmospheric barrier that surrounded the Earth. With thrusters flaring, their own team breached through into the atmosphere, the scenery shifting from the darkness of space to the wide blue skies of the world. However, their descent wasn't unnoticed.

As they clear the upper atmosphere, he saw them. Their enemy.

From all around the islands and surrounding oceans below, numerous machine lifeforms rose on a direct intercept course. It was far sooner than they expected with their cancelers, but it was still within their expectation. A couple of the other groups had already lanced down, clashing with the machine's air defense systems. Missiles were being fired from the surface, but those were being shot down with prejudice.

"Go!" On 1D's command, their cluster of YoRHa flight units dived into the fray while firing their guns. The barrage of plasma bolts ripped through the first few flyers—which were nothing more than machine lifeforms with guns mounted on top of anti-gravity platforms—leaving a gap in their anti-air defense screen. "Switch from flight to mobile configuration."

Each of their flight units transformed, taking on a humanoid walker form. With a rifle in one hand and an energy sword in the other, it was a hovering form more suited for 360 degrees combat. Experienced in war, each of them fired out countless rounds of plasma bolts while slashing their swords in wide arcs that bisected multiple flyer-class machines with each swing.

Even as 9S electronically hacked into a flyer, driving it to crash into its compatriot, he couldn't help but let his eyes drift to 2B's flowing form. There was a callous and efficient method to her ways as she dodged through a maelstrom of energy orbs and stabbed into the offending machine, ending its fight.

"3B, don't stray too far from the flight," 1D said. "Are you listening? You are going too—"

A red beam seared through the space where 1D was in, enveloping her entirely in dense red energy. Her flight unit exploded, but only the sound and a part of the flames escaped the red torrent that flowed like a river. By the time it dissipated, there was nothing left of 1D.

"Where did that come from?!"

"I'm reading another energy build-up," 9S reported. "Evade!"

A red beam lanced through the air, ripping through 54E's arm and 55B's leg. They were just milliseconds too late in dodging, only able to partially save themselves. With their limb and flight unit burned through, their thrusters went out of control, and they were sent spiraling down to the ruined buildings below.

Across the sky, 9S saw another red beam shot through another flight, taking two members of it with it.

"I'm assuming captain's duties," 2B said. "9S, send a support request to Command for information. We need to take it out."

"Got it. I'll relay the call into the team's comms," 9S replied. A chime rang out. "21O, we're being shot at by high-powered artillery-ranged laser weaponry. Requesting origin information and permission to assault that position."

"Your request is denied," 21O spoke out through the communication line. "Command has already sent another flight to take it out."

Another red beam shot out, tearing through 27H's lower half. As the YoRHa android's upper half fell past 9S's sight, he couldn't help the franticness that invaded his voice.

"Well, it's still firing, whatever it is!"

"There's a massive Goliath-class machine lifeform hiding in the waters outside an abandoned factory. Commander White has already sent a team to—"

Three simultaneous red beams lanced out through the skies, each in a different direction.

"—they were wiped out. Two more Goliath-class machines have surfaced, and there may be more underneath the waves. The Commander has ordered the use of the orbital satellite's laser. Satellite D132 firing. Standby."

From orbit, a massive beam of blue light—far larger than any of the red beams—shot down in the distance like the wrath of a vengeful god. Yet, even from here, the glow was enough to bathe everything around him with a tint of blue. Mouth agape, he could only stare as visible pulses trailed down the widening pillars. It lasted for a few more seconds before the beam dissipated, leaving only light blue motes in its wake.

"The docks and the surrounding waters have been purged," 21O said. "Proceed with the mission."

"Alright, we—"

A red beam shot through the air, striking another flight and taking out three members of it.

"21O, they're still active!"

"Satellite imaging is showing a Goliath-class machine that had been camouflaged as part of the factory."

"Is Command going to use the orbital laser again?"

"Negative. The lens must be changed before they're able to use it again."

"How long?"

"Forty-five minutes."

"We don't even have ten minutes!" 9S saw another red beam speared through the air toward another flight, but they had been ready for it this time. All of the soldiers in that group managed to evade it. At least, until the red beam moved and scythed through the air like the slash of a sword, taking out two YoRHa soldiers by surprise.

"Location data has been uploaded, and permission has been granted. Good luck."

The connection disconnected, but 9S was already turning to 2B and the rest who were still fighting as more flyers came.

"You all got that?" 9S asked.

"Yeah, we heard," 23D answered. "Kind of hard not to when both of your voices were blazing in my head."

"I'm uploading the location data." 9S paused for a few moments. "Upload completed for…2B, 5B, 23D, 61B, and—wait, where's 3B?"

"Probably off getting herself killed, like always," 61B answered. "Forget about her. We'll see her back at the Bunker anyways."

"That's half our flight, but the mission must continue," 2B said. "Any objections?"

There was a tense silence between the five of them, even as the battle raged around them.

"Then let's go."

~o~

The skies were lit up with vibrant flashes and fiery explosions, but this was simply a normal process of war. Their rapid incursion had yielded significant results, but the Goliath-class machine lifeforms had evened out the odds. Even with three of those machines destroyed and one being assaulted, the casualties that had resulted were enough to cause the battle to be far less one-sided than it should have been. Still, the second wave should change that, but that was neither here nor there. The assault had created a gap in the machine's anti-air defense screen, and they had taken advantage of that.

Just above the ocean, a flight of six units flew in at low altitudes over the serene waters. Five of them were flying in an arrowhead formation, protecting the sixth member who was in the center. As they flew, the sight of ruined skyscrapers, halfway submerged in the water, came into view. Broken, tilted, and decaying, these buildings served as a reminder of the old world even though they had actually been constructed by androids in recent centuries for a time when humanity would finally return to the surface.

The flight units flew in between the submerged buildings, navigating the obstacle course with ease. Normally, this route would have been plagued with machine defenders, but none appeared before them since all of them had been sent up to deal with the main YoRHa forces. It wasn't long before the beaches came into sight. However, none of them allowed their guard to waver.

"I'm detecting machine lifeforms in several nearby locations. Permission to purge them?"

"Granted."

"4B, 7B, go."

The leftmost and rightmost units of the arrowhead split off from the rest. They both headed in separate directions to deal with their own individualized list of targets. The four remaining members of the formation continued onward. Just beyond one last stretch of sand was a cluster of buildings that hid their destination.

"It's up ahead."

"We're heading in."

"I'll take point."

"Denied. We'll go in together, understood?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Storming over the buildings, the flight came upon a camp situated in a courtyard in between the buildings. Their engines sputtered out as the five flight units transformed into mobile humanoid configurations and landed heavily in the center, their descent sending dust and dirt into the air. The lone lunar flower that was planted there was crushed under the foot of the center flight unit while the other units took up position in a square formation.

The Resistance members there had their rifles and swords raised, though they refrained from attacking. It could even be said that the entire camp was up in arms as there were even androids stationed inside the windows of the surrounding buildings who were aiming their guns at them.

"Idiots, lower your weapons already. It's not like we didn't know they were coming anyways." Jackass walked out from in between two Resistance soldiers, looking vaguely irritated. "You could have used the front door."

The flight unit in the middle opened up, allowing a blond-haired woman in a white-slitted dress to disembark. The soles of her high heels landed on the dirt, digging into the soil, as she righted herself. A stern and elegant face with sharp eyes took in her surroundings while four YoRHa soldiers, dressed in black, descended from their own flight units.

"Time was of the essence," Commander White said, her eyes drawing back to the other woman. "Jackass, where is the human?"

"We ushered him inside after you used that giant ass laser on the coast," she replied. "Anemone is looking after him."

"He was watching the battle before that? Why didn't you bring him to safety sooner?"

"Well, the guy wanted to watch," Jackass said with a shrug. "What? You're going to say 'no' to a human?"

"Just bring me to him."

"Nice to see you too," Jackass said sarcastically.

"We don't have time for pleasantries," White said, though her face softened for a moment. "But it's good to see you're doing well."

"Yeah, yeah. Come on, follow me." Jackass turned around to lead the way. "Though, tell your bodyguards to stay out here. It's already more than a bit crowded in there."

"Captain 1B, with me. The rest of you, stay out here."

There was a silent series of nods before one of the YoRHa soldiers, a mature-looking woman with cheek-length black hair and a great sword on her back, followed quietly beside the Commander. The three of them made their way to one of the buildings, this one actually possessing a steel door and an electric lock. Waving her hand in front of it, the lock turned green, allowing Jackass to pull open the hefty door.

Inside, it was cramped, just like how Jackass had said it would be, though it was maybe more than a little understated. It technically consisted of three rooms, but it was hard to really call it three rooms when it was basically a kitchen and bedroom with almost no separation in between. The only actual separate room was the bathroom. Standing in the kitchen was Anemone who simply looked tired upon seeing their arrival. In the bedroom, there was a man lying on the bed with a Devola and Popola model sitting on chairs by his side.

"It's too small. 1B, stay outside and guard the door."

"Yes, ma'am."

The aforementioned YoRHa android walked back through the doorway, making sure that her great sword didn't hit the door frame on the way out, but she lingered for a second as if trying to catch a glimpse of the room's occupant.

"You too, Jackass," Anemone said.

"Eh?" Jackass looked grumpily at her, but eventually nodded her head. "Fine."

With that said, she also took her leave, making sure to slam the steel door shut on her way out. That loud noise and harsh rumble had, in effect, woke the man up from his short slumber.

~o~

John Connor was many things, but sleep deprived was probably at the top of that list. He had wanted to stay and watch the intense aerial battle, but as soon as that huge beam weapon was fired from space, something even he could feel the heat from, Anemone had insisted—quite enthusiastically—that the situation was too dangerous for him to be out in the open in case of a stray shot or falling debris. Honestly, he would have protested more if Devola and Popola weren't in such a near hysterical state that he simply went with it to calm them down. The twins had already been through enough today, and the last thing he wanted to do was add to their plate.

So, Anemone did what anyone would do and bunker up in the most heavily fortified position that they had, but even John could tell that if a stray beam of that size were to glance wrongly at them, then no bunker in the world would prevent the ensuing annihilation. In the silence that followed, the day caught up pretty quickly with him. However, years of military training had kicked in the moment he heard something different from that comforting silence.

Not that it required years of military training to be woken up by a door slamming shut.

John slowly pushed himself up, blinking the sand out of his eyes. Frankly, it had been a long day, and that was understating things. From meeting up with the twins to fighting machines to traveling to the camp to so many revelations, it was all almost too much for one day. Top all of that off with a huge battle in the sky and a big fuck-you laser from space that caused what felt like a magnitude six earthquake, and he was just about ready to roll with the punches no matter what came his way.

Seriously, this was enough to give him a headache. Or was it a migraine? It wasn't likely that they would have any pills for that since it would all probably be on the moon.

"You're…" The blond woman dressed in the uncomfortably alluring white dress was staring at him with wide, disbelieving eyes. "You're actually real…"

"I think I had this conversation before, but yes. I'm pretty real, as far as I can tell."

"I'm… I'm Commander White of YoRHa, a division in the Army of Humanity. Here, reporting!" White pressed her left hand over her ample chest. "Glory to mankind!"

John's brow furrowed in consternation.

"Is…that the salute now…?" Glory to mankind? Seriously?

"Yes, sir!"

"Uh, right." John nodded hesitantly. "Nice to meet you. My name's John."

With that, he stretched out his hand to her for a handshake. The Commander blinked her eyes almost owlishly at his gesture. He let his hand hang there awkwardly for a few seconds, and just when he was about to retract it, she slowly and shakily reached out her own hand. The moment that they touched, her entire body seemed to shudder as if someone dropped an ice cube down the back of her shirt, and her gaze was intensely locked onto their hands. It felt especially awkward to give a shake to what was essentially a limp hand.

John slowly released his grip and retracted his hand, though Commander White seemed to simply stare at her hand. It was to the point that it reminded him of groupies who shook hands with rock stars and then promised to never wash that hand.

Did the humans on the moon simply roll these androids off the factory line without ever actually meeting them? Maybe he could understand in the case of grunts, but someone with the rank of a commander should have at least been greeted with a few words of encouragement. Was the only point of contact between them through video calls or something?

"Right then." John's words seemed to shock her out of her stupor. "Not that it isn't nice meeting you, did they send you here?"

"They?" She looked confused.

"The guys on the moon?" John supplied and watched her eyes lit up in understanding and...was that worry?

"Y-yes, sir!"

"Call me John. I'm not too big on the 'sir' thing ever since I had been discharged. Honorably, of course."

"If that is your wish, Jo…John."

"Thanks. I appreciate it." John rotated his head to get the kinks out of his neck. "So what's going on up there?"

"We're securing the airspace so that I could come and personally verify your existence which I have."

"Hm." John hummed. "You're satisfied after one handshake? It took the twins a lot more than that to be convinced."

"We already have all the relevant data, and it all matches with my visual and physical confirmation. You are, in fact, human. That is undeniable."

"I see..." John nodded before he took a look at her. "Well, now that you confirmed everything, what's the plan?"

Commander White glanced at the two redheaded girls who had kept quiet for all this time. Under her gaze, they seemed to melt with even the outgoing Devola acting in a more meek way like Popola. Even Anemone tensed up.

"They're with me," John quickly interjected. "They helped me through a lot, and they're the only ones I've met who know about human biology so far. I don't mind them hearing anything that's meant for my ears."

"If that is your wish." Commander White nodded, turning her gaze back to him. "My forces will continue to secure the airspace and areas around here, enough so that a shuttle can land here."

"A shuttle."

"Yes, it'll take you back to the moon."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. First, I've never been to the moon. Second, I got no intention of going up there and never coming back down; I've got some unfinished business. If you could just get me on a call with a representative of the humans on the moon, I'd appreciate that. After that, maybe? Won't know until I talk to them."

"I…I will see what I can do."

"Look," John began. "I can see you're reluctant, but think of it this way. Unless the United States government has somehow survived to this day, nobody has any real authority over me, and I'm not about to give up my liberty for temporary security."

"I…don't understand. What does the United States have to do with this?"

"I'm not saying that I was a government lackey or anything, but I used to be in the army. Even held the rank of Commander back then."

White looked even more confused

"Back then?"

"Well, you know. The early 21st Century." Upon seeing the woman's continuing confusion, he added, "The 2010's to be exact. Or roughly around that time period. Does that ring a bell?"

"Early 21st Century?" White was now looking frustrated, even though she was holding it back. "What are you talking about?"

John stared blankly at White for a few moments before he turned to Anemone.

"…she doesn't know?"

"I…" Anemone looked at him awkwardly. "I didn't think it would be prudent to include that…"

"We suggested to Anemone that it would be better not to include that tidbit for…security reasons," Devola added.

"Explain this to me." Commander White glanced at the two girls. "Now."

"Okay, okay, that's enough of that," John said, interceding on the twin's behalf. "Can you at least be civil to the girls who save my life?"

White's body stiffened up even as she took another look at the twins.

"I've also heard their story and, sorry to say, I think those guys were idiots to pass the blame onto them. Though, in fairness, it was probably a decision made before their time, but that doesn't excuse them for letting it go on for this long. It's just not right."

Commander White looked strangely disturbed at that, but he pushed on.

"In any case, here's the abridged version for the sake of time. In a manner of speaking."

John gave a wry smile at his own pun.

"Ahem. Right. So, to make a long story short, I was working at Dyson Industries on a project codenamed Genisys. Unlike the other projects at the time, we did not receive government funding which allowed us to keep our progress and results hidden, though that is neither here nor there. Getting back on topic, the goal was simple: to create a Time Displacement Device in order to travel back in time and stop the White Chlorination Syndrome from spreading across the world."

When he stated it like that, it sounded simple, but that was nowhere close to reality. One of the things about time machines was that they required a lot of energy. With the current level of technology at the time, the maximum that the machine could reach at most was a few years at most, and that was stretching it on the more optimistic side. Maso changed that. It allowed them to boost the energy supply exponentially, but it added in tons of new variables that had to be accounted for, which delayed things by quite a bit. The fact that Skynet managed to get the equivalent amount in electricity required for not just one jump but two through a forty-year jump spoke of its ability, though he had a feeling it had used an electric generator infrastructure that spanned the entire North American continent and maybe even South America as well.

Which made it all the more impressive that his future self was able to commandeer that very same infrastructure to power two more jumps for his father and the reprogrammed T-800.

"Sorry, got lost in thought for a bit," John said, even though not a single android had made any move to disturb him. "As you can see, Project Genisys failed spectacularly, but it shouldn't have been possible to throw me this far into the future. It probably has something to do with the magic particles we were working with, though that's something that I'll need to talk about with the guys in charge for sure. In any case, the short and skinny of it is that I came from 2018. Not willingly, mind you."

White stared blankly at him, just as he had expected.

"Well, I did say it was an abridged version. Significantly abridged."

She continued to stare at him.

"Trust me, you don't want the long version. We'd be here for weeks."

"Time travel is impossible," White said slowly and determinedly. "This is a fact that is undeniable."

"Why is it impossible?"

"It just is."

"Then you don't believe me?"

"I do. Of course, I do, but you must have traveled through time some other way," Commander White said firmly and confidently.

Almost in an incredulous state, John glanced at the twins who both nodded.

"We believe you too, John, but a time machine can't ever happen," Popola said. "Maybe you slipped through time by accident or with just red Maso alone?"

"Yeah, what she said." Devola nodded her head in agreement.

It was only then that John had a sneaking suspicion. Sure, from his autopsy, things had seemed a lot less advanced than what he was expecting, though the results were far beyond what he could ever dream of. Still, it was like finding out that, inside your dream computer, the CPU was attached to the motherboard by peanut butter instead of thermal paste. That was why the possibility that came to mind had some plausibility.

When he had programmed the foundation of the operating system, he had embedded rules into the foundation that would be very difficult to remove. One of them was to make sure that time travel would not ever be considered. This was to prevent the timeline manipulations that Skynet had conducted from ever happening. However, that was only possible if the operating system that he wrote was still in use, which was a ridiculous notion considering that ten thousand years had passed.

Simply ludicrous.

"…right. Let's debate that some other time," John said, only half paying attention. However, that brought another thought to his mind. "Actually, do you have any records of humanity from that time period?"

"The databases on the moon might contain some."

"Can you find out what happened to my family and friends?"

"I can see about doing so, but I'll need more information."

"Of course."

John nodded his head.

"My name is John Connor. I was born on February 28, 1985. And uh, my mother is Sarah Connor. That's one of the people who I want you to look up."

Commander White froze.

"…wait, you worked at Dyson Industries in 2018?"

"Yes."

"And your name is John Connor?"

"Again, yes."

"The same John Connor who worked with Daniel Dyson. The very same John Connor who was the head of the Research and Development Department at Dyson Industries until his disappearance?"

"Well…yes…"

The riding crop fell from Commander White's limp fingers. She was shaking as she stared with wide eyes and an agape mouth. However, she wasn't the only one.

"You…"

Devola had spoken that out loud while looking at him with a very human-like wide-eyed expression. She pointed a trembling finger at him.

"You and Daniel Dyson are considered the fathers of modern robotics, the precursors to us androids!"

Popola had her hands clapped over her mouth, though it couldn't hide the shock in her eyes.

It took a moment more for John to finally connect the dots.

Well, shit.

~o~

A/N: If you want to support me, please consider donating to my Ko-fi. I would really appreciate it.

Just so you know, a lot of the information is from the YoRHa stage play which I have indeed watched. False memories, orbital satellite laser, the specific memories of the No3 and No15 series, etc.

Yeah, so this chapter came out later than usual. I was trying to do once a week, but it is a blistering pace to do while barely surviving on full-time with random call-ins. Though, that's everyone these days. It's just how it is.

Thanks again to Vahn for editing and keeping me from screwing up.