Cyberdyne of the Night's Watch

Chapter 3

Ser Alliser Thorne's boots clomped down the wooden stairs into the yard of Castle Black. "He's a big one, I'll give you that," he told Jon as he surveyed the new recruit. "Doesn't mean he's any good with a sword, though."

Jon nodded, thinking back to Hodor back home in Winterfell. He was the largest man Jon had known, but refused to even touch a weapon.

Thorne, putting on his best intimidating glare, stepped closer and stood right in front of Cyberdyne. The latter didn't seem the least bit scared, though: he glared back at Thorne in silence. Thorne circled Cyberdyne, sizing him up from head to toe. He squeezed the stranger's biceps through the strained black fabric of the cloak they'd found for Cyberdyne. "Good and healthy, too. Where're you from, son?"

"He's from a town called 'Los Angeles,'" Jon volunteered from Cyberdyne's side. "Part of House Skynet, he says."

"I wasn't asking you, Bastard," Thorne sneered. He circled Cyberdyne again. "House Skynet, eh? And where is that? Because I've been all over the Seven Kingdoms and have never heard of Los Angeles or House Skynet." Cyberdyne did not respond; he stood still as a statue with eyes straight ahead. Thorne came to stand in front of Cyberdyne again and tried looking into his eyes, but he was too short. "I asked you a question, recruit. Where exactly is it that you come from?"

"Could be an upstart House," Sam volunteered from the sidelines. "My father once told me a story from up in the Vale, where a House declared themselves independent from their liege lords. From the Royces, I think it was. Except they had no Maester so no one bothered to send a raven about it to the Royces. And they went for a hundred years thinking they were an independent House. Could be the..."

"I wasn't asking you either, Lord Piggy," Thorne interrupted.

Cyberdyne still remained silent, so Thorne snatched up one of the wooden training swords from the rack on the side of the courtyard. "When I ask you a question, recruit, you answer me!" He raised the stout staff high and brought it down on Cyberdyne's leg with a crack that echoed off the Wall behind them. Cyberdyne didn't even seem to feel the blow, however. He did not move a muscle, nor even look at Thorne. He whacked Cyberdyne again, this time across the back with a blow that might have paralyzed a regular man. Again, Cyberdyne didn't move.

A chorus of whispers rose from the men standing along the sidelines. Most of the Watch had heard about the new giant of a recruit, and they'd been excited to see what he could do. None, however, had expected him to defy Thorne so openly, nor withstand such abuse without flinching. Thorne had a similar look of shock, but covered it up quickly with his normal scowl. "Does he speak the Common Tongue?" Thorne asked, this time addressing Jon. "Or is he just daft like the rest of you lot?" The yard was silent, and Thorne spun around, not sure who to shout at. "THAT was a question, recruits!"

"He speaks the Common Tongue," Jon volunteered through clenched teeth. "Go ahead, Cyberdyne. Introduce yourself to Ser Alliser."

Cyberdyne finally moved, turning to look at Thorne. "I am Cyberdyne Systems Model T-800, assigned to protect Jon Snow."

"To protect Lord Snow, eh?" Thorne laughed and turned back to the audience of the other Night's Watch brothers to make sure they were laughing with him. "Makes sense that such a fancy lordling would need a babysitter now that he's out from under his daddy's wing, eh?" Some of the other brothers watching on the sidelines joined in on his cruel laughter. "Won't do you any good, Bastard. Just 'cause this..." he looked Cyberdyne up and down again, not sure what insult to use. "This worthless lout is here."

"Well he saved my life once already," Jon spoke up. "And the Lord Commander. And nearly lost an arm in the process!"

"The damage was superficial," Cyberdyne added. "And I could reattach the limb if necessary." He raised the muscular arm, still encased in a heavy bandage despite his assurances to Maester Aemon that he was not at risk for infection.

Thorne ignored Cyberdyne. "Well let's see what your servant can do, Lord Snow." He headed over to the weapons rack along the yard and picked up a second wooden practice sword. Then he tossed it to Cyberdyne, who snapped it out of the air like a Dornish snake. Then Thorne tossed the other sword at Jon's feet. "You're up, Bastard. Fight."

Jon rolled his eyes, but entered the center of the practice yard and raised the sword.

"My programming does not allow me to raise a weapon against Jon," Cyberdyne said with the sword still in hand.

"It's just a practice sword," Jon assured him, running a hand over the 'blade' to show that it wasn't sharp. "And we're wearing our armor." He thumped a palm across the boiled leather chestplate.

"There is still an 8.7 percent chance of unnecessary injury in sparring with blunt objects," Cyberdyne added. "Additionally, the substandard medical care available here significantly increases the odds of infection of any open wound, which would compound in severity."

"Cyberdyne, relax. I'll be fine. I've done this before." Jon whirled the practice sword through the air and circled the training grounds. "I can hold my own in a fight."

"Negative," Cyberdine said. "The risk of loss is unacceptable."

"Seven Hells!" Thorne shouted, striding into the center of the training yard and snatching the sword straight from Jon's hand. Then he poked Cyberdyne in the broad chest with it. "Come on, you ninny. I'll beat you bloody on my own."

Cyberdyne didn't raise the sword, but he looked to Jon like he was asking for permission. "Go on, then," Jon told him. "Let's see what you can do." Jon couldn't deny that he was curious to see Cyberdyne in action again. The fight with the wights in the Lord Commander's chamber had been over so quickly that he hadn't even had time to really process everything.

Alliser didn't even miss a beat. Before Cyberdyne could even fully turn to face him, Thorne's wooden practice sword was swishing through the air. And before the blow could land, Cyberdyne wasn't there anymore. He moved faster than a man of his size should be able to, and dodged out of the way with ease. A moment later, Cyberdyne's sword swept through Thorne's legs, throwing him into the dirt face-first.

Gasps and laughter rose from the onlookers. Sam and Jon weren't the only members of the Watch who'd dreamed of knocking Thorne on his ass. Cyberdyne brought the wooden sword down on Thorne's back with a crack that echoed through the yard of Castle Black. Thorne tried to pull himself out of the dirt, but another blow from Cyberdyne sent him crashing back down accompanied by a chorus of laughter and jeering.

Cyberdyne wasn't done, though. He hit Thorne again with a blow hard enough to silence the laughter from spectators. Then a few more. It quickly stopped being funny.

"Whoa, Cyberdyne," Jon said, jumping between them. "That's a bit too much. This is just practice."

"You asked me to demonstrate my abilities," Cyberdyne answered. His arm was still raised over his head with the sword held high, ready to bring it down onto Thorne's back again.

"You've done that," Jon said, reaching up to pry the practice sword from Cyberdyne's iron grip. "But we don't want to kill him."

Behind Jon, Thorne managed to get to his feet. He was covered in mud from head to foot, and a good amount of it had a scarlet tinge to it. He thrust a finger at Jon and his face contorted into an angry scowl with lips quivering, trying to form words that just wouldn't come out. Jon, and the other members of the Watch around the yard, waited to hear what he'd say. "You and your servant boy will pay for this, Bastard," Thorne growled. Then he turned and limped up the stairs back into Castle Black.