Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.
A/N: Sorry for the nearly 6 week delay,
my muse left me for a bit and I've been busy.
Hope you enjoy the chapter.
Chapter 22: ...And All The Wonder That Would Be.
February 15, 2013, Gulf of Mexico
An abandoned oil rig stood high above the calm blue water that surrounded it. The giant structure had been decommissioned a year ago and stripped nearly bare, all that was left were a few modules, including the barracks and a helicopter landing pad.
It was scheduled to be towed for scrap in few months but until then it would remain empty and barren.
Or, at least that's what was intended.
A group of translucent blue beams lit up the landing pad, leaving behind a group of confused people turning their heads at their strange new environment.
"Mommy, where are we"? A disconcerted Savannah asked her mother.
"I don't know dear, but it's certainly not where we're supposed to be". She answered with a hint of annoyance in her Scottish toned voice.
Seven also was forced to hide her annoyance at this unexpected 'layover'.
"Where are we"? She demanded, but John Henry ignored her as he made his way to the railing. He quickly looked at the sea about a quarter klick from them.
"I believe Cortana wants to make a dramatic entrance". He said as a pointed towards the water. Seven and the rest joined him at the rail and looked out to where he was now pointing.
Seven's metal covered eyebrow raised slightly as the sea began to roil and foam as air bubbles escaped from somewhere below.
"What the hell is going on"? Derek whispered to John as the young man stared at the giant bubbles breaking the surface.
"Cortana occasionally indulges in her more dramatic side". Cameron answered from the other side of John, causing both men to turn their attention to her looking confused. "She's bringing the ship to us". She said, causing understanding to wash over them.
Everyone was staring out at the large patches of boiling water, suspense building as they waited for the starship to break surface.
"Look"! Savannah shouted as the surface of the sea began to bulge upward like a giant fist was trying to punch through the water.
Just as everyone saw the bulge, it exploded like a volcano, sending a spray of droplets high into the sky, blocking out the sun and the ship as it rose from the sea.
Everyone shielded themselves as a fine mist washed over them as the roar of thrusters split the air and stirred up a breeze.
Seven knew the sound of those thrusters and the shape she could barely be made out through the artificial rain as it poured down around her.
A rare smile began to spread across her face as the ship became more and more visible.
As the mist began to clear, all eyes were on the large grey object now hovering a hundred meters above them.
Some of the group recognized its shape, but when the mist in the air full cleared, they read, in shock, the name emblazoned on its hull.
U.S.S. Voyager
Weaver's eyes widened noticeably, Ellison's jaw dropped, John and Sarah both stared in mute shock as the truth was revealed.
"You...you stole Voyager"? John sputtered in shock as he turned towards a smirking Cameron.
"For I dipt into the future, as far as human eye could see, saw the vision of the world, and all the wonder that would be". Cameron recited as her smirk continued to grow. She was getting a kick out of watching everyone's reaction.
"What"?
"Voyager's motto". Seven answered, but her gaze never left Voyager. She'd often caught herself wishing for something like this to happen, for the ship to reappear and relieve her of the immense sense of failure and guilt she carried after its loss.
A tear, one of the few she'd ever shed, slipped down her face as all those feelings were washed away and replaced with the peace she'd desperately wanted.
John and Cameron both caught the glinting droplet as it came down her face, and Cameron put a hand on her shoulder.
"Are you alright"? She asked over the roar of Voyager's thrusters that kept it airborne.
"More than I have been in a long time". She answered as her normally tense posture became relaxed. "Thank you".
"It is you we should be thanking". Cameron said. "Without Voyager, we wouldn't have been able to go home". She wrapped her hand around John's as she finished, allowing Seven to see beyond the surface of her words.
When Seven's combadge chirped seconds later, she tapped it out of habit before realizing her own actions.
"Is everyone ready to come aboard"? Cortana's voice filtered through the small comm device.
"I believe so". Seven answered after a chorus of nods from the group.
"Good, I may be able to scramble radar and reroute satellites, but I can't keep people from seeing our thruster exhaust stirring up the sea".
"Transport us to the mess hall". Seven responded before Cortana confirmed and ended the transmission.
Seconds later, everyone found themselves in a large room with windows and was filled with tables and chairs.
As everyone began looking around at their new environment, a flash of blue light in the center of the room caught everyone's attention.
"Welcome to Voyager". Cortana greeted as her arms swung out in a welcoming gesture. "You might want to sit, the atmosphere is a bit turbulent today". She said as she gestured to the chairs.
The ship shuddered slightly as Voyager pushed through turbulent winds, causing the last few standing to sit out fear of being thrown against the wall.
"We should enter orbit in three minutes. I suggest looking out the windows, watching the sky give way to space is considered one of the most appealing aspects of space travel in many cultures". She continued, making many of the group think of a tourist guide as she spoke, but everyone, Seven included, turned their eyes out the windows as Voyager continued to rocket its way into space.
Savannah let out a gasp as the blue sky suddenly faded to a starry black night, echoing the emotions of all those who were going to space for the first time.
Those who were staring at the stars were broken out of their trance when the blue hologram spoke again.
"We've entered a high orbit, all systems nominal". She reported before walking over to John and Cameron. "Do you think everyone's up for a tour"? She asked with a hint of excitement sparkling in her electric blue eyes.
"Uh... sounds like a good idea". He managed as his brain was still trying to process the fact he was in space on a fictional star ship, despite knowing it was going to happen.
"Where's Allison"? Kyle spoke up as everyone began to stand.
Cameron turned to John Henry and told him to take him and his brother to sickbay.
After they departed, Cortana began a tour of the ship, partly to get them familiarized with the ship's layout and partly to inform them about its history and capabilities.
Seven tagged along just so she could inspect the ship personally. Every room they visited she checked consoles and workstations to asses the ship's condition. True to John Henry's word, the ship had been fully repaired except for the Quantum Slipstream Drive.
The mere thought of getting her hands back on her drive gave the cyborg goosebumps. She hoped and almost prayed that it wasn't damaged beyond repair.
When they got to engineering, she noticed Cortana shoot her a knowing look as the doors slid open.
When they entered, anyone who knew what Voyager's engine room looked like in the show would immediately notice the changes since the refit. The consoles looked mostly the same but were up to spec with 2381 Starfleet and not 2371. The circular two story room around the core was a different story though. The core had been replaced with a Warp/Quantum Slipstream hybrid core. The powerful new warp core sat in the center like the old one did, but this one was better protected and had more safety features. Immediately to its right and left were two smaller columns filled with orange fluid that had an white rod running their lengths on the inside. They were joined to the warp core by a central collar near the floor that was made of a black material. It's purpose was to transfer power from the warp core to catalyze the quantum reaction that would power the drive and supply extra power to Voyager's station grade phasers and shields.
However, it was not these parts that were a concern to Seven of Nine, they could be repaired. The ones whose condition she was worrying about would be impossible to rebuild or replace.
Her eye were drawn to the four towers that had been added on either side of the engineering platform lifts. These lifts were located on the right and left of core and were counter-sunk into the wall. Each tower looked identical to the other three, black with Borg technology and control interfaces.
She walked up to the closest one on the left and typed in an algorithmic sequence on the tower's main control panel.
The group stepped back a bit when the tower hissed out a white gas before the top three quarters lifted up several feet. When the gas cleared, everyone stared at what Seven was now examining.
"A transwarp coil". Cortana breathed when she identified the tire shaped device resting in the tower's base. She quickly copied the input sequence she saw Seven enter and opened the other three towers, revealing three more of the precious devices.
Seven gave the blue hologram a raised eyebrow at her ability to manipulate ships systems before confirming her statement.
"Yes, they are necessary for field regulation to prevent the phase variance from occurring. They also serve as a backup in case the quantum drive would fail". She answered the questions the AI was most likely to ask.
"Oh, well since we didn't know exactly what everything does in here, we didn't touch anything until we had the full schematics".
Seven nodded thankfully for the AIs' wise decision. Tampering with them could have irreparably damaged the coils.
"A logical course of action". She commended as she began visually inspecting the device. "If all are damaged, this ship cannot leave this universe, however, I will be able to bring main power back online up to 54% with just the warp reactor".
"We won't be defenseless". Cameron explained to the less informed minds of the group. "But we won't be able to take it to other universes".
"I need a tricorder". Seven said once she couldn't find any surface signs of damage. Cameron walked over to one of the replicators and made one for her while Cortana finished to tour with the rest minus John.
He stepped over to Cameron who was watching Seven work, taking her hand in his when he did.
"What's the damage"?
"None, at least in this one". Seven answered as she moved to the next one. "This one is without damage as well".
John continued to watch Seven work as she confirmed that all four of the coils were undamaged.
Cameron seemed to relax a bit at that news, as did the blonde cyborg, but John was still at a loss to understand how anything in this room worked. Scifi tech was not considered necessary reading for school nor his training to become the future leader of the resistance.
His companion looked at him, and seemingly reading his mind, assured him that she'd go over the basic principles of how the ship worked later.
"Now what to do..."? John whispered to himself as he considered the best way to proceed from here. He knew that Seven shouldn't be allowed to mess with the ship's systems yet, he didn't trust her and he knew the feeling was mutual. He didn't want her taking over the ship like he knew she could do.
"Seven". He said, causing her to pause in her evaluation of the core.
"Yes"? She asked as she turned to face him.
"Do you trust me"?
She looked at him for a second as she tried to figure out his game, but failed.
"No". She answered truthfully. "And I doubt you trust me either".
"You're right, I don't. Which means that until we work out some agreement about all this". He shifted his eyes to the towering core in front of him to indicate what he meant. "I don't think I trust you to be in engineering or any other critical part of the ship".
She raised a metal eyebrow at his statement.
"Who made you captain"? She asked evenly, though her facial expressions let on that she didn't care what he said.
"Nobody did, but we both know how easily could take control of this ship, and we can't have someone who doesn't have a clue about Skynet giving orders". He answered, hoping she got that he wasn't trying to play dictator.
"He's right". Cameron spoke up. "John Henry may have briefed you on the Terminators, but you don't understand just how they act, how they think. You don't know Skynet, he does". She turned towards John to drive home her point.
Seven looked extremely skeptical, but she realized that what she knew about Skynet was about as much as John knew about the Quantum Drive.
"That still doesn't mean that he should be in charge". She pointed out as she continued to scan the dormant core.
"I didn't say I should be". John shot back. "To be honest, I don't think any one of us should be in charge".
"Cortana or John Henry wouldn't be a bad choice". Seven suggested, not realizing why John said what he did.
Cameron decided to enlighten her. "Some people here won't follow an AI, they've been fighting one their entire lives". She explained, causing Seven to turn back around with a thoughtful look on her face before nodding in understanding.
"I think we should have a group of people in charge". He suggested wisely. "This situation is too big to have just one leader".
Both Cameron and Seven thought about his words for a moment as silence permeated the room.
"Perhaps he's right". Seven admitted with a sigh. "If that's the direction we are to go, then we need to work out who will lead us".
"We'll have a meeting in the mess hall in one hour, until then, you will accompany us so we can begin filling you in on Skynet's psychological profile". Cameron said and John nodded in agreement.
Seven hesitated for a moment, but she obeyed and set down her tricorder and followed them out of the room.
Sickbay, same time:
The Doctor continued to organize his sickbay while he kept an eye on his patient and her two guardians.
Seeing the two battle hardened soldiers being so protective of their adoptive sister made him feel warm deep inside his programming.
The warm feeling grew when he began checking Allison's vitals like he did every thirty minutes. Derek and Kyle both seemed worried that something was wrong and didn't hesitate to ask she was okay.
"I assure you both, she's fine". He said with a reassuring smile.
Both visibly relaxed as they let out breaths that neither knew they were holding.
"Thanks Doc". Kyle said as he ran a hand through his hair.
"It's what I do". He responded as he took his tricorder out and did a secondary scan of his patient. When he finished, he remembered that the two soldiers next to him both lived in the same environment as Allison, and thus both probably had radiation exposure. "Speaking of which, both of you need a physical so I can determine your medical status".
Both of the brothers looked at each other momentarily as they silently communicated, something they'd perfected over the years. The Reese brothers knew that they'd both been exposed to things that would eventually kill them and both had their shares of aches and pains from past injuries.
"What are you going to do to us"? Derek asked with his arms crossed.
The Doctor ignored his defensive stance and answered his simple question.
"I'll scan you with a tricorder, perform a few simple tests, take a holophoto, nothing invasive or painful". He explained with a shrug.
"What kind of tests"? Kyle asked suspiciously, he and Derek both hated seeing the doctor, even before J-day.
The Doctor opened his mouth to speak but never got the chance to as the sickbay doors slid open.
"Oh, welcome to sickbay". He said over his shoulder, noting silently that Seven entered a few steps behind.
"Doctor". Cameron greeted while John gave the hologram an acknowledging nod.
"Can I do something for either of you"? He asked as he turned towards them.
"I came to check on Allison". John said while nodding towards the bio bed his friend was recovering on. "Maybe you could help Cameron though, you know, with her skin". He touched the still healing flesh on her face.
"Hmmm". He thought as he tapped his jaw thoughtfully before pulling out a tricorder and scanning her. "Your sheath is more advanced than John Henry's, but I'm sure I can come up with something to accelerate the healing. Cloning a sheath for your optic shouldn't be hard". He explained as he read the portable scanners readouts.
"Thank you, but I believe that total dermal replacement is necessary at this point". She said candidly, causing John to stare at her in blatant shock. "I'll explain later". She said to him before turning back to the Doctor.
"I will need to study these scans more thoroughly before I can tell you what I can and cannot do with the equipment I have". He told her as he folded up the tricorder.
"I understand". She said before walking over to Allison's bed and observing the monitor's readout.
"How is she"? John asked as he sidled up to her.
"She seems to be fine, but the Doctor would know better than me". She said to John while glancing at the Doctor.
Taking that as his que, he rattled off her current condition in laymen terms.
"At least I was able to keep one promise I made". He whispered to himself before telling those in the room about the up coming meeting. Cameron asked Cortana over the comm to inform the rest while John, Derek, and Kyle both got physicals and anti-radiation injections. The rest of the time was spent explaining to both the Doctor and Seven about Skynet and the Terminators in more detail than John Henry had.
One hour later, Conference room
Everyone except the Doctor and Allison were sitting or standing around the long table occupying the room just to the left of the bridge.
Some sat, but many also stood since there were only so many chairs. John sat at the head since he called the meeting with Cameron to his right and Seven to his left. Cortana projected a tinier version of her avatar that stood on the table near the center.
"Alright, for anyone who doesn't know why I called this meeting, we're here to figure out what our next move is and how were going to defeat Skynet". He paused to make sure no one had any questions before continuing. "We also need to decide who's going to be in charge". He finished before turning to Cameron to explain what was next.
"We discussed earlier that none of us are suitable to lead alone, instead, we should have a team of people leading us". Her statement earned several nods throughout the room.
"I was informed that some of you would be unwilling to follow an AI due to your experiences with Skynet". Seven wanted to make her case before the voting began. "Despite some of your...mistrust, I would suggest that at least one be included on the command team".
"She's right". John said with an appreciative nod towards her before turning back to the group. "The great thing about AI's such as John Henry and Cortana is that they absorb knowledge quickly, can access their collective databases and others easily, and think far faster than us".
Some in the room reluctantly nodded at John's logical argument while others looked like he was speaking the obvious.
"Don't count yourselves out, John". Cortana said with a small smile. "I've seen humans, like Master Chief, come up with solutions that I thought were illogical or impractical, but in the end, were the right choice. The human factor shouldn't be eliminated when it comes to the Command team".
"I think it would also be logical to include one of the Terminator's as well". Seven said as she glanced between Weaver and Cameron. "Their understanding of ground unit behavior, and Skynet in general, would critical to planning any sort of attack".
Even Sarah had to nod to that.
"I guess that leaves voting". John said after a momentary silence took over the room. "Everyone can put in their votes after everyone reads a short personnel file about everyone else. You need to know the people in this group before you just start writing down names". John finished before he started handing out PADDs that Cortana had replicated and downloaded the necessary data onto.
The room became silent for about half an hour or so while everyone read about the people they thought they knew and those that they didn't. When people had finished, they wrote five names down on a piece of paper and put in a simple box.
After everyone, including the Doctor, had voted, John and Cameron quickly went through the names and tallied the score.
John looked at the results with mild surprise, but did his best not to let it show.
"Alright, these are the results". He began as so to get everyone's attention again. "The people we've chosen are: Cortana, Cameron, Seven of Nine, Derek Reese, and John Connor".
It took every bit of will power not to choke when he said his own name, but he managed to keep his Sergeant's mask in place, impressing both his mother and his girlfriend with his growing maturity.
There were some murmurs in the room, but they quickly faded when John dismissed the rest of the room so the new Command team could talk in private.
When the doors slid shut, John was the first to speak.
"Alright, first things first". He said to draw everyone's attention. "We need an ETA on repairs". Seven met his gaze before speaking.
"The matter/antimatter reactor will be operational in three days, but the quantum reactor and quantum matrix will take a week to repair".
"It was damaged that badly"? John sounded incredulous, he remembered how fast Star Fleet engineers could fix things.
"No, but with the lack of available materials and with only me knowing how to repair the Quantum Drive, it will take more time". She failed to mention that she would also tire easily with her implants giving her as much trouble as they had.
Despite not knowing about her condition, he knew that she would need help in Engineering, both to speed up the process and to be there in case of an emergency.
"Catherine Weaver might be able to help you in Engineering, she's proven to be apt at building and repairing complex machinery". John suggested, to which Cortana and the others nodded having seen the time machine she'd rebuilt in the future with nothing but scrap parts.
Seven raised an eyebrow at the suggestion, but she knew that a machine like her as an extra pair of hands would be invaluable.
"A...wise...suggestion. She will have to be trained by me before I allow her to work in Engineering". She explained, and the rest agreed. "Which brings up another point. I will not release the design specifications to the Quantum Drive to anyone but Catherine Weaver. Her nature makes stealing any information extremely difficult".
"You don't trust us". Derek said as he leaned back in his chair, arms crossed.
"And you don't trust me, yet, but this is more than just trust, you do not understand how incredibly dangerous the Quantum Drive could be in the wrong hands". She said in a way that made Derek feel like he was being talked down to.
"Actually, I do". He shot back with a glare. "It's like one army having trucks and the other walking everywhere".
The three females in the room looked mildly shocked, but John just smirked. Derek hadn't survived as long as he had by being dumb.
"An apt analogy Mr. Reese. I apologize". Seven said genuinely before bringing the conversation back on topic. "Cortana, Cameron, and John Henry can both be hacked easier than Weaver or my cybernetics".
Cortana looked mildly offended, but she knew it was true. Despite her advanced matrices and programs, Skynet might find a weakness should it somehow infiltrate Voyager's systems, or even worse, if she were occupying her chip, she would be trapped like a fish in a barrel.
It would be like Gravemind all over again.
The mere thought of the slimy Flood hive mind made her shiver mentally.
"She's right". Cameron said with an affirmative nod from Cortana. "But we should have a contingency plan if both of you are killed or captured".
"A few of us humans could carry something that would give us access". Derek suggested as a mission from his early days in the Resistance came to mind.
"Like a key". John said with a nod. "But it would need to be something that Skynet wouldn't figure quickly if one of us got captured".
"A pass-phrase that's vocally spoken and requires multiple physical verifications would be better". Cortana said with a shrug. "If you use the same encoding as the Quantum Drive, I'm not sure even Skynet could hack it".
Seven sat their for a brief moment as she took the ideas in and added her own. "I will work on it tomorrow morning, I must spend the evening building a regeneration unit".
"Now that the Quantum Drive is settled, I have something else I think is important". He paused as everyone turned their attention to him again. "Training, for us humans anyway. Most of us don't know how anything in this ship works. I also think it should be required for everyone who hasn't fought a Terminator do so in the Holodeck".
"I can program the simulations in a few hours". Cameron offered as her mind already began to produce several ideas for locations and combat situations.
"I'll help". Everyone looked at Derek like he was crazy. If he'd been a man who rolled his eyes he would have at that moment, instead, he fixed the group with a glare before explaining himself. "To make sure the program will actually train someone".
Cameron gave him a mildly annoyed look, despite understanding his reasoning. Derek had trained soldiers to fight the machines for many years and she'd done only minimal training with John and Jim.
"You're input may be valuable". She said in her flat robotic tone, causing John to smirk to himself. He could tell she wasn't looking forward to taking advice from Derek.
With the topic closed, Cortana took this as her opportunity to speak.
"There's one thing that needs to be brought up that we haven't yet. Manpower". That got everyone's attention. "You all know that our little group and relatively little ship are not enough to take down Skynet and the thousands of Terminators stored inside the Narada".
"We need allies". John continued, understanding her train of thought.
"The Federation would be unlikely to get involved, and any other faction powerful enough to take on the Narada isn't trustworthy". Seven put out there just so no one assumed that anyone from her universe would be useful.
"Star Fleet would be more likely to detain us and keep Voyager". Cameron added to explain Seven's point.
John rubbed his chin as he listened to Seven further explain why the Star Trek universe wouldn't have any powerful allies that would be willing to cooperate short of having Skynet invade their respective territories, which wouldn't happen since Skynet didn't have the technology to leave the Terminator universe.
"Cortana". The blue AI switched her avatar's blue eyes to John. "Do you think anyone in your universe might be able to help"?
"Officially, no, but if we had the right people, and enough of them, we might be able to sabotage the Narada and finish it off with Voyager's weapons".
Cameron was the first to figure out who the 'right people' were.
"Spartans".
Seven's face lit up with interest almost immediately. She'd read a little about the famed super soldiers but knew enough to know their tactical potential.
"From what little information I've been given about them, I would seem to be the best option". The cyborg confirmed as she ran the tactical probabilities in her head.
Cameron nodded and so did Derek.
John didn't show his opinion one way or another until he spoke. "Who"?
Cortana was actually lost for words momentarily before finding the subroutine to speak. She hadn't expected him to ask that.
"The Master Chief and the rest of Blue Team. There are a few more possibilities, but we'll have to see".
"Would they join our cause"? Cameron questioned as she thought about how they were going to convince the super soldiers just how grave the threat could be.
"That's what I'm still working on". Cortana admitted. She wasn't sure how to make Skynet seem like a Didact-like threat without being brushed off like she and the Chief were by Captain Del Rio.
"It doesn't matter right now". John cut in before the conversation could stray. "We need to focus on training and repairing the ship, not to mention what were going to do about Savannah".
John turned back to Seven of Nine since she was the one who said she had a safe place for her to go.
"We would need to travel back to my universe, but we also need parts, raw materials, fuel, and a Benamite crystal regenerator that Be'lanna and I invented but didn't install on Voyager during its test run".
"Exactly who are you planning on having her stay with"? Cameron asked out of curiosity.
"I do not know exactly who, but it will be one of my former crew mates, someone whom I can trust with her life and our secret".
After discussing a few more minor details, the meeting closed and everyone got to work, but later that day, Cameron sought out John. Curiously, the computer informed him that he was in sickbay. Slightly worried that he might be sick, she wasted no time in making her way to Deck 5.
She surprised the Doctor when she burst through the sickbay doors, nearly causing him to drop a hypospray in surprise.
"Where's John"? She questioned worriedly.
Before the Doctor could respond, John walked over from the other side of the divided sickbay.
"What's wrong"? The worry in his voice nearly matched hers.
Seeing that he was perfectly fine, she felt a tinge of embarrassment run through her chip at her overreaction.
"Nothing, when the computer said you were in sickbay, I thought you were sick". She admitted with her head slightly bowed.
John smiled at her, showing that he appreciated how much she cared about him.
"I'm fine, Cameron. Derek and Kyle are both getting dinner and the Doctor won't let them have food in here". He explained while walking up to her.
Understanding that they'd asked him to watch over Allison, she chose to ask him how she was doing.
"How is she"?
"Uh..fine as far as I know, I still don't understand those readouts". He chuckled at his own ignorance before turning serious again. "The Doc's been checking her every thirty minutes and he hasn't said anything". He told his cyborg companion as he lead her into the back where Allison was recovering.
Cameron studied her human twin's sleeping form, noting the scars on her face and arms again. The young woman was brave though, that much she knew. She also wondered what she'd do with this second chance at life, just as she herself had wondered what she'd do with her own.
"I think this is the most at peace I'd ever seen her". John whispered loud enough for her to hear. "Usually, she has nightmares when she sleeps".
"Like you".
"Not anymore". He said as he looped an arm around her shoulder. She smiled at his admission and reached up and squeezed his hand like she'd seen other couples do on TV many times.
"I am a scary robot". She deadpanned, confusing John as to what she meant. Sensing this, she turned towards him with an absolutely serious face as her unblinking eyes, both covered and not, stared into his own.
"I'm too scary for your nightmares". She deadpanned again, only this time with a small smile pulling at the corners of her mouth.
John chuckled at her joke, impressed with just how much she'd learned in the time they'd spent apart.
"I bet even the boogeyman checks his closet for you". He whispered before leaning in and kissing her.
As their lips locked, the machine created to destroy him decided that kissing him was an activity she'd never tire of as long as she lived.
Little did she know that he felt the same way.
However precious that moment was, it had to end, just like everything else. The couple knew this, they just didn't expect to be interrupted by the only other person in the room.
"That is the last thing I want to see when I wake up". Allison mumbled as she roused from her drug induced slumber.
The couple ended their kiss abruptly and turned to her in shock.
She ignored their looks as she looked around at her strange environment.
Allison turned back to John, who had composed himself, and asked him a seemingly simple question.
"Where are we"?
A/N: A bit more of a plot oriented chapter, but I needed to get the ball rolling.
The next chapter will be short and focuses on Skynet and how it gets the chance to truly become
a force to be reckoned with along with a few short sections about Allison, Cortana, and two characters in the Haloverse.
Reviews are appreciated and thanks for being patient!