The T-X

Ms. Anderson. Ms. Anderson! Kindly focus on my voice.

[He is running back down the gangway; the scene bounces along. His face is not visible because he is busy looking where he is going.]

I need you calm and focused enough that I can discover your location. To achieve this, you need to stimulate the vagus nerve in your abdomen. This sends a signal to the brain which will ease the anxiety and disorientation. Deep, slow breaths will stimulate the nerve. Put your hand on your stomach and attempt to push it out with your expanding breath. I will wait.

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i_like_your

[The shuffling stops. Eyes widening for a moment and then relaxing in relief. A slight smile of gratitude - she can do that now.]

Doct... Ctor Lecter.

[Confused wince.]

I... Can't retrieve... Anatomical data.

[Everything is so out of kilter. :c An analogue, organic interface for a digital, cybernetic 'mind'! It's not very compatible. But... She does as told. Head tilting down, as if wanting to look at what she's doing, but task-focused mentality forcing gaze to keep on the screen. At him. Her objective.]

Are you safe? If you're in peril, my capab... I'm not as funct... I'd try to affect extraction. But it's... And there's a high probability you'd be hurt and...

[Actual tears well up and, just for a few seconds, seems to be on the brink of crying. For her situation? For empathy about him? Because of stress? Not even she could say. And a few moments later, it's wiped away, anyway. Possibly not unlike some of the schizophrenic patients he might have once spent time with.]

I was unsure of... I've been walking a while. I think I can get back. A-are you there?

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I am primarily concerned with extracting you from that wasteland. You're as vulnerable now as I, and worse, you're disoriented.

Start walking back. What are your nearest landmarks? The wind has left no traces of your footprints.

[He scans the horizon, sighing softly. He doesn't really feel like putting himself at risk, but...the idea of her out there nags at him.]

From:

i_like_your

Yy... Yes, I'll...

[Gone is the snap decision and adherence to efficiency. The countless number of possible strategies already planned for and which can be selected at a moment's notice. There's a moment of genuine indecision and it's clouded with feelings, which makes it more difficult to figure out what to do. Turning slowly, but at least able to estimate a basic 180 degree turn.]

Please remain with the ship, Doctor. Please. With the ship. It's... Important. And... And hot.

[Hand goes to brow and... Oh. Sweat. So not used to how wearing red leather under the sun can affect flesh and blood, as she starts trudging back.]

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I'm terribly sorry about disobeying a direct request and all, but in this environment you could collapse from heat exhaustion within the hour. If you are not captured. Which is an unacceptable outcome as far as I am concerned.

[He stopped and scanned around, looking for kicked-up dust clouds.]

From:

i_like_your

[There is a figure in the distance, but she's not too visible. A pause before she returns to the feed, because of the other communications. Sarah being the last.]

I ca...

[What's that word? Difficult to think up spontaneous phrases without a bank of multiple choice answers. How do humans cope?]

I think I can see the... Ship. Yes. Exhaustion would be-

[Oh. Because she's organic. Right...]

Yes... This platform is less... Resilient. And time moves much faster.

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Yes, at times like this I get a bit jealous of your normal form. But we'll have you set right soon enough.

[He pulls out his reading glasses and holds them up so that they catch the light.]

Do you see the gleam? That's me. I am directly in line with--

[He pauses, tilting his head. Was that hoverengine sounds in the distance?]

I am directly in line with the Barge ramp. Head this way and I shall escort you back.

From:

i_like_your

[Brow raises! Wouldn't have, usually. Nor would there be that expression on her face suggestive of a glimmer of hope. Normally, there would have just been a reply of positive or negative.]

I'll be right there. And... I-I need to... Or find someone else to find Sarah Connor. Rescue her... She gave me her position.

I'll be with you soon.

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Let us then gather our forces and some weaponry, and ask the Admiral for transport. With the right supplies it is entirely possible.

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Oh no. Are you okay?

From:

i_like_your

[A bit better since Lecter's identification and provision of assistance.]

I'm... I'm unfamiliar. With this.

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I know the feeling. Perhaps you should lie down?

From:

i_like_your

[There's a pause. The T-X doesn't often do that, but needs to now. Thoughtful. Pondering the question. Then continues moving.]

No... Need to get back.

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Once you are, I mean. Do you need any help finding the ship?

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i_like_your

I... Don't know.

[Such a truthful answer. :c]

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Can you see the Barge from where you are?

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i_like_your

Everything has been resolved. Thank you for your co-operation.

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[Crap. That was the fucking T-X. And it sounded pretty fucked up. Sarah can barely make out the words, but she'll try to respond.]

I'm here. Sarah Connor. Am in some sort of. Wasteland. [Her words are clipped, timed to fall between static bursts.] What do you see around you?

[There's a possibility the T-X unit might be close to her new found very metal shelter. God only knows where the massive pipe leads, but it's better than the surface.]

From:

i_like_your

Sarah?

[There's a lot more externalisation of things now. Like a vocal query of the woman's name, instead of being able to instantly call up a personnel file and run voice analysis. It's a very intense stare. Sarah represents a great deal and the feeling is close to... Nostalgia. But if you haven't experienced that emotion before, how do you identify it for what it is?]

I'm...

[It... She now has to look up. Look around her. Can't even magnify now and everything's in... A lot more colour than usual. The wind whips up, briefly and she shields her eyes from the resulting dust, after the painful lesson of needing to blink in response is learnt.]

There's an open expanse. Some... I can't... Some rock formations rising up out of the ground. I'm attempting to find my way back. I don't think I was walking for too long.

Human beings are very... Limited. A-and you feel... Everything. There's no... No way to stop the flow of... Data. Sensation.

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Yeah, we're pretty fucking special like that. You don't see any rubble, like buildings that were standing? I'm...by an outcropping of rocks, there's a tunnel. My watch says I'm due South. The Barge is North of where I am. I don't know if you're going back to the ship or if you're far enough out that you can get to where I am.

If you want to go back to the Barge, it should be large enough that it sticks out in the haze. From where I am, it's probably a good few miles North, so...less than that for you. If you can find it, I left a canteen of water next to a blueish outcropping of rubble.

[She pauses.]

This isn't helpful.

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i_like_your

I should've done more... Preparation. Skynet wasn't big on... Girl Scouts.

[A flicker of a smile through the confusion. Even a Terminator can come up with humour, given enough human exposure - and this one's just been given a crash course in that. Stealthy patrols and observation aren't any substitute for social interaction or... Being one.]

I think I can... See it. The ship - it's... Yes.

[Another look is made around her surroundings. There's actual emotion showing on that usually blank face now, just as her hair's not as neatly pushed back as usual. Brow wrinkling with concern as she tries to take her bearings. Then looks back at camera.]

You're more helpful than you should be.

[At that, there's a pang of... Something. But she has no term of reference. Only knows what it compels her to say.]

I... I'll find you. Or send someone to you.

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Arthas is coming. I'll be fine, and so will you, once you're aboard the Barge again. [There might have been a laugh.] Girl Scouts can wait for another day.

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i_like_your

Maybe...

[Thoughtful.]

But you're still in need of escort. We could... Depart at any time.

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