Cyberdyne of the Night's Watch

Chapter 1

"Oy!" Domian called down from atop the gates of Castle Black. "You musta just come from Mole's Town, eh?" He ribbed his companion, Artos, with a hearty grin plastered across his face. "You know you're supposed to put your clothes *back on* when you're done with the whores, eh?"

The man standing at the gates completely naked didn't seem to think it was funny. He just stared back up at Artos and Domian with a somber glare. He wasn't even shivering, though a bone-chilling wind came sweeping off the massive ice wall behind them. Artos could feel it even through his thick cloak and two layers underneath, but the man didn't even flinch. "You here to take the black, maybe?" Artos called down. He'd certainly be a welcome addition; the man was a veritable mountain of muscle. Bigger than any man Artos had ever seen, and he'd once seen Sandor Clegane at a joust in Torrhen's Square.

"I am looking for John Connor," the man finally announced.

"Jon *Snow*, you mean?" Domian called back. "'Ere's no John *Connor* here." He wasn't particularly friendly with the new recruit from Winterfell, but everyone was at least familiar with Ned Stark's bastard. He was the only Jon at Castle Black, though Domian seemed to recall a fellow named Jon at Eastwatch by the Sea.

The man stood silent, still staring up at the two Brothers guarding the gates. "Yes," the man finally answered. "Bring me to John Snow."

Domian and Artos traded a look. Unannounced strangers weren't particularly common at Castle Black, particularly ones without a recognizable sigil. Or clothes, for that matter. But they couldn't exactly leave him out here in the cold, and he *did* seem to know the Bastard. "He's up in the Lord Commander Mormont's chambers," Artos announced as Domian cranked the gates open. "'Avin' a funeral for some wildlings they found beyond the wall, I heard." Domian snickered. Most of the Brothers had seen the two bodies wheeled in from beyond the Wall, but no one was quite sure who they were or why the Lord Commander had bothered to bring them back.

"Artos here will show you the way," Domian said, gesturing to his friend. "And maybe you can find him a decent cloak along the way?"

Artos sized up his new companion from up close; that would be a difficult task. Most of the Night's Watch were lowborn runts, stunted from eating bowls of brown for every meal instead of real food. This fellow was so large he might need to have his clothes custom made. Unless they could find them in whatever brothel he'd visited in Mole's Town. "Sure," Artos said. "Err... come with me."

He led the way into Castle Black with the stranger in tow. "Wot's your name, anyway?" Artos asked.

"I am a Cyberdyne Systems T-800 model," the man answered crisply.

"Uh huh." Artos didn't understand what any of that meant. "That's a weird name," Artos whispered under his breath. Must be from the Free Cities, or even further. He'd heard all sorts of things about the strange lands beyond the Red Wastes. Looking at the size of the man before him, Artos decided that maybe he shouldn't discount those rumors so quickly. Artos also noted that the man didn't even seem to look at the wall, though most newcomers couldn't take their eyes *off* of the thing. Even after two years as part of the watch, Artos was *still* awed by the sheer size of it.

In the store room, Artos dug out the largest pair of trousers he could find and tossed them to the stranger. "Try these on." The man pulled the pants up his legs untiil the seams ripped, but at least it covered up his genitals enough to present him to the Lord Commander. The man also managed to squeeze into a shirt, only causing a few tears, and Artos found a big blanket meant to be worn over the shoulders that a Dornish recruit had brought a few years back.

They followed the winding stairs upward until they came to the Lord Commander's quarters. Artos rapped on the door with his knuckles, then said "Lord Commander Mormont? There's a fellow here to see the Basta..." He remembered that Mormont didn't approve of the nickname. "To see Jon Snow. I think it's..." he didn't even know what word to use to describe the stranger. "It's important," he finally said.

The door creaked open a moment later, and Jon Snow poked his head out. "What i...." His voice trailed off upon seeing the giant behind Artos.

"You are John?" the stranger asked.

"Yes..." Jon Snow answered. He opened the door a bit wider, revealing Lord Commander Mormont in the center of the room, and the frozen corpse of a man laying on the table behind him. "And who are you?" He turned to Artos, puzzled. "Have we finally gotten more recruits from King's Landing?"

"I am a Cyberdyne Systems T-800 model," the Terminator said before Artos could answer. "I was sent here to protect John Connor, but my programming indicates that he may be using an alias. In the event that I am unable to confirm John Connor's identity, my redundant orders are to protect any other identifying as 'John.'"

"All right..." Jon said, not quite understanding some of those words. "I don't *need* any protecting."

The corpse behind Mormont chose the perfect time to rise from the table and lunge toward Jon. It grabbed the curved hatchet from its belt and raised the blade high. The Terminator shoved Jon aside and took the axe blow to the shoulder, slicing deep through layers of synthetic flesh until the blade clanged against his metallic skeleton. The Terminator didn't flinch even as the members of the Night's Watch recoiled in horror at seeing their reanimated brother. The Terminator ripped the ax out of the wight's hand and sent the weapon clean through the man's neck. When that didn't work, the Terminator searched the room for an additional weapon and came upon the oil-burning lantern. He upended the container of oil onto the man's body, and then set it aflame.

The chamber fell silent as the body burned; everyone was in shock at what they had just seen. Lord Commander Mormont helped Jon to his feet, and Artos peeked in through the still-open doorway. They looked from the burning corpse back to the Terminator, then to the gaping axe wound in his shoulder that was sparking instead of bleeding.

"What did you say your name was?" Jon finally asked.

"I am a Cyberdyne Systems T-800 model," the Terminator repeated.

Jon thrust his hand out. "I'm honored to count you as my brother, Cyberdyne."