The T2 trilogy is a series of novels written by S. M. Stirling, set after the events of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and first published in May 2001, which makes them the first works to officially continue the franchise. The series consists of three novels: T2: Infiltrator (2001), T2: Rising Storm (2003), and T2: The Future War (2004).
Plot overview
T2: Infiltrator (2001) T2: Infiltrator explores Sarah and John's life while living off the grid. Set six years after the events of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Sarah and 16-year-old John live a relatively normal life under the assumed names John and Suzanne Krieger near a small town in Paraguay, believing they have destroyed Cyberdyne Systems for good and prevented the creation of Skynet. They own a successful trucking company known as Krieger Trucking, while also being proficient smugglers. Sarah works at the company, while John attends military school, quickly becoming one of their best students, gaining military skills, weaponry and hacking knowledge. They gain a new neighbor in Dieter von Rossbach, a former Austrian counterterrorism operative and future model for the T-800 series. He is drawn to the Connors, and after Sarah tells him about the future war, they are attacked by a new T-800, created in the present by a new Terminator model, the i-950 Infiltrator Serena Burns. Realizing that Judgment Day was not permanently averted, they attempt once again to stop Skynet's creation with the help of Dieter. They eventually run into FBI agent Jordan Dyson, Miles Dyson's brother who is looking to capture the Connors for his brother's death and Cyberdyne's destruction, but witnesses the Terminators himself and comes to believe them and decides to help them destroy Cyberdyne's most recent facility and the remaining Terminators. Sarah is seriously wounded by Serena as she destroys her, while Dyson looks after her and makes sure she makes a full recovery. John and Dieter flee to Paraguay once again. Dyson, however, finds out that Cyberdyne has a back-up facility located in Montana and immediately informs them of this information.
T2: Rising Storm (2003) Set a few months after the events of the previous novel, T2: Rising Storm shows John and Dieter starting up the foundations of the future Resistance. John traces possible recruits all over the internet, while Dieter secures weaponry and supplies to live through the coming Judgment Day. Dieter has been chosen as John's guardian by Sarah while she recovers from her wounds, becoming Sarah's most trusted asset. She is taken back to Pescadero State Hospital and is transferred to a halfway house by Dr. Silberman. After having seen the T-800 and the T-1000 himself seven years previously, Silberman has come to believe Sarah's story. When an undercover Terminator is watching over the recovering Sarah, Silberman helps her flee across the border so she can make it back to Paraguay, making amends for his previous treatment of her. Sarah stays at Dieter's house, while Dieter and John head to Cyberdyne's back-up site in Montana alongside Wendy Dorset, John's new girlfriend and the Resistance's first recruit. They come to the conclusion that no matter how far Skynet's creation is delayed, it will seemingly always become sentient. John and Wendy design an A.I. virus which prevents it from ever becoming sentient. While Wendy is subdued by Serena Burns' first i-950 clone, Clea Bennet, John mistakenly uploads the wrong program into Skynet's programming and Wendy is killed. A distraught John destroys Clea Bennet alongside Dieter, who end up fleeing the military base. As they head back to Paraguay, John feels like the entire journey was in vain, with he himself being responsible for Skynet's eventual sentience. Meanwhile, Sarah has been attacked by Serena's second clone, Alissa, managing to destroy it and preventing it from succeeding in its mission. Skynet, however, becomes sentient and starts its process of eradicating humanity.