A/N: Enjoying the enthusiasm for the new story. Again, I like the opportunity to do something fresh with these characters.
GENERAL'S LOG: N-113
LOS ANGELES - February 19th, 2038
"It had been more than twenty years since the machines decimated nearly 75% of the human population. The survivors had been hunted down relentlessly by the machines. What few of us made it were thanks to the efforts of John Connor. SkyNet had tried to prevent his rise to humanity's salvation, but they ultimately failed. Connor was an inspiration. He's been dead for four years now. The moment that happened, everyone started looking to me. I was his most feared lieutenant, and not just by the machines. People say that I am... intense. Maybe it's the eye patch. I know in my heart of hearts that I can be a little abrasive. But that was me before this insanity. Feels like forever ago."
"The horrors of Judgment Day live forever in my mind. No nightmare could compare to the skies being set ablaze followed by black snow which we realized were the charred remains of the dead. My family, all my friends, gone. No emergency services, police, military presence. NOBODY was coming for us! The few that survived after being hunkering down to wait out the nuclear fallout... we had to step up. People around me were scared, rocking back and forth, not knowing what was coming next."
"That was when I stepped up and led what I dubbed "my company" out of the rubble until we came across other clusters. There were some bitter hoardings of supplies, fighting for dominance. It was John who made us unite. If we were going to have any shot against those metal bastards, we had to put out bullshit aside and do the damn thing!"
"Sorry that I haven't been updating consistently but such is the job of the leader of the Los Angeles faction of the Resistance. My compatriots from around the world drill into me that these diaries were necessary for future generations to remember that humans are resilient. There is hope because we rose from the ashes when the world blew up."
"It's just that today is especially painful for me-"
"GENERAL!"
Jade closed the screen to her recording session and turned toward her subordinate, mildly annoyed.
"What is it?" she asked in her gravelly voice.
This boy was relatively new. Someone must not have given him the memo that the general doesn't care to be stared at. Jade knew he was distracted by the patch over her left eye. Had she just left it a gaping hole or gotten some shitty artificial eyeball then they really would be staring.
"The Northern Battalion just downed a Flying HK!" he spoke.
The older woman blinked and pushed back her chair to stand.
"Tell that was some damn fine work," Jade nodded with a smile. "Let them know I will be down shortly."
"Yes, general!"
The young one gave a quick salute before retreating.
Jade looked back at her computer and sighed.
(Later.)
(I am too sober for this!)
Jade leaned forward, staring at the blacktop beneath her feet. The weight of everything this apparent cyborg just unloaded was enough to crush the goth into a diamond. It's not that the world she was living in was a lie, per se. But she seriously underestimated what the future held in store for humanity. In all honesty, Jade was certain we were a couple primary elections away from World War III. It seemed ridiculous to accept the conceit that less than two decades from now, society would become Mitchells vs The Machines!
But it was impossible to ignore the reality of the robot dropping her facade for a second to reveal the metal skeleton underneath. Jade thought she was going to faint from the shock.
(Okay, tin toy is telling the truth. FUCK ME!)
"Jade, we need to..."
The teen held up a finger.
"Easy, robo bitch. Just...give me a minute."
The dark-haired girl felt even more justified in her utter hatred for A.I. Seeing artists she admired being ripped off and having their jobs threatened, musicians being imitated by a machine that could be fed prompts, and conspiracy jerk offs creating false news stories because they can visualize anything they can imagine. It was all disgusting and insulting. Why not an apocalypse on top of that? They've done everything else to us besides kill us!
"I know this is a lot to take in and-"
"Yeah, no fucking shit!"
"...but" the cyborg continued. "That Terminator is still out there. I don't think you appreciate how relentless it is."
Jade hugged herself and took a deep breath. It was all too much, too crazy to accept. Hearing about this machine programmed to do one thing and one thing only, to assassinate her. According to her, Jade was important...or she will be down the line. While being specific on the "how's" of killer robots and time travel bullshit, this Vega doppelganger had been rather vague about the "why's."
"Look..." the teenager sighed. "I'm just a student, okay? I'm nobody!"
"But you will be," the cyborg nodded.
"I need to know exactly what the deal with me is!" Jade demanded. "Before I go any further with you, you need to be straight with me and tell me the truth!"
The Tori imitator crossed her arms and started walking slow, deliberate circles around her human companion.
"My knowledge of the time travel technology is limited, but others in the future have weighed in on the implications of such a risky endeavor. The past used to be set in stone, unchanging. But that all was eliminated when the ability to go backward in the timeline was discovered."
Jade held out her hand for the circling robot to stop pacing because she was making her dizzy.
"Let me guess..." the goth mused. "They were worried about paradoxes."
"Paradoxes are theoretical," she countered. "They were speculative until we were actually able to do time travel."
Thin hands brushed her raven hair. She felt like her head was going to explode from this hard science fiction bullshit invading her otherwise mundane existence. But the pain was given company with an empty feeling in her stomach. Jade was starving right now.
"I don't know your knowledge of human anatomy, but we need to eat from time to time. So, let's just keep going and don't stop until you find a drive thru."
The terminator nodded and walked toward the car with Jade pocketing her scissors and sitting back in the passenger seat.
Ten miles into their excursion, they pulled up to a McDonald's where Jade got a couple of McDoubles and a large fry with a Coke. The cyborg just watched the human girl eat her food with great interest.
"May I suggest you slow down," she insisted. "You run a higher risk of choking if..."
"YOU'RE NOT MY FUCKING MOTHER!" she shot with a full mouth. Once Jade could swallow, she said more clearly, "I don't give a damn about any fucking paradoxes! So, spill already. Why does this thing want me dead?"
The robot Tori looked around for anyone in ear shot and figured the coast was clear.
"You mentioned that A.I. thing...um...SkyNet. What was it?"
"SkyNet was an artificial intelligence created toward the end of the Cold War. It was intended as a neutral peace keeping entity, a way to keep the nuclear powers of the world in check. What the programmers never anticipated was what would be called "Judgment Day." Basically, SkyNet became self-aware in the early morning hours of August 29, 1997, and within hours nukes were sent from the U.S. to Russia which ultimately triggered their terrible counterattack."
Jade had learned about this conflict between America and the U.S.S.R. in history class. It was hard to believe that kids were growing up with the thought in the back of their minds that they could die at any minute! The Cold War was simply that, capitalism vs. communism in a bitter conflict that we dare not use our ultimate weapons because it would be the end of civilization.
"SkyNet figured the best way to save the world was to neutralize the human threat."
"Burn the village to save the village," quipped Jade. "You sure SkyNet's real name wasn't Ultron?"
"I have no frame of reference for that," the cyborg blankly stated.
They both quieted down as a couple ran past the car.
"So, what happened then?" asked Jade.
"After the fallout had subsided, patrol units - big armed drones - were sent out to annihilate any remaining human clusters. Not a single one had to be left. Terminators were used to infiltrate suspected colonies; that was why they were disguised as humans. But they didn't anticipate the dogs. The machines' best efforts could not stand up against centuries of companionship."
Jade smirked.
(They really are man's best friend.)
"The terminator technology got more sophisticated, the original T-800 units and the experimental T-1000. Both had their strengths and limitations, hence my creation. The T-X was meant to be the best of both worlds. The liquid metal that surrounds my skeletal structure can make an illusion that is indistinguishable even at close scrutiny."
She had to admit, the resemblance was uncanny. If she didn't turn into a literal gun and was a total calculating badass, this robot could have easily passed for Tori Vega.
"I'm not even wearing clothes," the terminator shrugged. "I just give the illusion of clothing. Had I been an earlier model, I would have to find clothes after arriving in this time."
Jade shook her head.
"What the...hold up, you come into here naked?"
The fleeting image of a nude Tori Vega intruded upon her thoughts. The goth dwelled on that for way longer than she felt comfortable and suppressed it.
The cyborg nodded.
"It was the same for a living person we've found out. The energy field created by the time displacement equipment reacted strongly against anything that was artificial. Terminators got around that with being surrounded by living tissue."
"Then how do you get around that?" Jade asked, digging into her fries.
"A later model such as myself is placed into a cocoon composed of organic material."
It looked like an embryonic sack to an observer. Poetic as human beings who have tested the time travel trip described it as being born.
"Where do I fit into all of this?" Jade asked.
"John Connor, the leader of the Resistance - humanity's uprising against the mechanical menace - had a second-in-command. You."
"Me?"
The terminator nodded.
"It may seem impossible to conceive now, but you were a crucial component in the Los Angeles Acquisition. It was the first of several campaigns where a determined group of survivors successfully took back a human city. Terminators have been dispatched over the years to prevent the rise of Connor, but they all failed."
"And now they're after me," breathed Jade.
"Affirmative."
Jade took a long sip and let hat hang in the ether for a minute.
"Wonderful."
General West traveled down to the zone dubbed "Hanger 66."
While the machines were effective in destroying our buildings and highways, a whole form of infrastructure remained relatively untouched: the subway systems. While not as widespread or intricate compared to cities like New York, the B Line and D Line did assist in connecting the Resistance to supplies. The old station below Koreatown which stretched to downtown Los Angeles was renamed, "Hanger 66" presumably after the famous road since it was instrumental in bridging the gap between survivors.
Hanger 66 was where recovered SkyNet technology was collected. Vehicles that just needed some repairs and weapons that were still usable proved invaluable. But the biggest boon was when human soldiers acquired an intact terminator, regardless of model. Since human resources were precious and Connor stressed the importance of life, he was against suicide missions. But sending a machine into a dangerous situation was a more agreeable option.
When John Connor became aware of an attempt on his life, he had sent a human solider, Kyle Reese to the year 1984. While the terminator sent by SkyNet to assassinate his mother, Sara Connor was destroyed, it came at the cost of Reese's life. Connor was determined not to repeat the same action, so he sent a reprogrammed T-800 into the past, this time to protect his younger self and by proxy, his mother once more. It was a good thing he did because the terminator assassin they sent that time was a superior model.
He made Jade promise that only terminators would be sent on such missions in the future, especially when the time displacement technology can only work one way. She gave her word. After Connor's death, things were kind of quiet for a while. Even the old battlefields were eerily calm, like the eye of a hurricane. It would turn out that SkyNet was crippled by their most recent assault on a system of robot factories. Nowadays, finding a terminator was rare because the machines lost the ability to produce more units. For now.
SkyNet was still plotting and knew that Connor had to have a successor. And they found it in Jade West. Intelligence came back to Jade that SkyNet in a desperate final gambit would send one of the last remaining T-800 units in existence through time to kill her younger self.
Jade knew what she had to do.
"Do you have it, Tessa?" she asked.
"Yes, ma'am" saluted a dark-skinned woman about ten years her junior. She was certainly older and more put together than the boy she chatted with earlier. "But it will take time until we wipe it's memory. Need that blank slate."
Tessa stepped back to reveal the T-X model, laying on the metal table. It was a little battle-worn but any damage appeared to be cosmetic at best.
"Is it..."
"Fully functional!" nodded Tessa. "Already ran the diagnostic."
Jade smiled. She learned from her commander and mentor that you find who is a worthy man or woman to supplant you and nurture that individual. Jade recognized greatness in Tessa and she more than proved herself in the streets of L.A. where most of the fighting against the machines took place. Soldiers referred to it as The Highway to Hell. But the woman wasn't just good infantry. Tessa was also a cunning tactician and as big a tech nerd as Jade had ever seen.
She had come to regard her right hand as a dear friend. Jade would address her informally as Tessa when it was only the two of them but made a point to always call her "Lieutenant" when around others. It was imperative that anyone below Tessa to not falter in their respect.
A handful of roughnecks past through, stiffly acknowledging the general and lieutenant.
(Good. When my days are numbered, they will follow her.)
"So, this is the kind that can look like anyone?" asked Jade.
"That's right," Tessa smirked. "Can't believe it took the machines as long as they did to come up with this."
Jade shook her head. The biggest folly of the T-800 was they all looked the same. It was fine when you send only one, but when you have photographic evidence from multiple decades showing the same ageless face, it raises too many questions. It didn't take long until it stopped being a strong infiltration unit.
Tessa ran her hand over the chest cavity of the deactivated cyborg with a grin. Her commander recognized that as her gadget freaky geek flag being raised.
"I am so fascinated by their application of liquid metal. I have to give SkyNet the tiniest bit of credit. The most impressive thing we've made was a thermometer."
The general chuckled.
"Can't argue with that."
"Any thoughts on what the disguise would be?" asked Tessa.
"Let me think on that," Jade nodded.
They said their respectful goodbyes and Jade returned to her sleeping quarters. She unsheathed the portable computer from earlier to finish the diary. Jade opened the most recent saved file and scrolled to where she left off. She deleted the partial sentence and started this portion over.
"This day is more difficult for me than most because it is the birthday of someone very special: Tori Vega. Sometimes I wished I had never known her..." Jade breathed heavily, a tear forming in the corner of her eye. "That way I wouldn't miss her so badly! I know I'm not alone in that I took the people in my life for granted, but for Tori it was way worse. I wasn't the nicest person. Okay, fine, I was fucking awful to her! Meanwhile, she just wanted to be my friend."
Her whole body shuddered as she tried to reel in her breath so she didn't kick into a fit of sobbing.
"I know its too late. I can never, ever, reconcile with her. No chance to show her how much I appreciated her and how much I love...I don't think I would've been strong enough had she not been in my life. For a little while anyway. Let anyone who hears this remember that life is finite and you need to make each day count. Otherwise, why are we even trying to fight back?"
Jade signed off the diary and saved that day's entry in full.
When Judgment Day came around, Jade literally lost everything and was forced to rebuild from scratch. Missing all of her friends was devastating, she missed them so much. But not did her feelings toward Tori run in such a deeper way but Jade would routinely torture herself. She opened a small drawer and inside was a grey thumb drive. Jade inserted it into her computer and opened the video file.
It showed Tori smiling while sitting on the couch in her family's living room. From the angle, the person holding the camera or phone was sitting near her.
"Hey!" came Cat's disembodied voice. "This is Tori Vega...from school!"
Tori sighed with a smile, shutting her eyes. Even when she was annoyed, she couldn't help but be a sweetheart.
"Yes, Cat." she told the camera. "And I am going to recite a poem for you, okay?"
A fainter voice, presumably her sister Trina was off camera but further away. What she said barely registered and Jade had to rely on Tori's reaction.
"No, I didn't write it!"
She cleared her throat.
"I want you to wear me comfortably,
as you would a dress
or the silver necklace that you wear
around your neck.
Comfortably, so that I am always
next to you.
But most important-
Something you decide
each morning to select."
The entire time she was addressing the camera, Jade felt her nerves set on fire because it felt like Tori was saying this all to her face. Fitting that she decided to read a love poem. Tori was just a lovable person and Jade...was too dumb to see her for who she was.
(IT'S NOT FAIR! WHY DID SHE HAVE TO DIE?!)
Jade removed the thumb drive and returned it to it's safe place. She laid down, figuring she might as well get some sleep because there was no telling how early tomorrow Tessa would give her the call that the terminator was ready for identity and mission assignment.
The general dedicated her life to leading the humans closer to victory. She would defend the future of her people with her dying breath. For Jade, personally, she didn't have a future. But maybe others would because of her actions. As far as Jade was concerned, her future died in the nuclear fire.
A/N: It wouldn't be Terminator is we didn't have a little glimpse into the future. Poor Jade, the lone wolf turned pack leader.
The poem Tori read was "Wear Me" by Robert Kogan
