OK, Here's a teaser . If you like it , let me know.

22:20 Outskirts of Red Valley

The highway road back into Red Valley had been almost deserted . John was eventually picked up by a farmer whose name , John had learned , was Dohie McGregor. Dohie liked 90.7 FM Rock Station. He had been making his way back from Albuquerque to his family farm in Red Hills, when he'd spotted John standing by the roadside with his rucksack.

Albuquerque 90.7 Rock FM was having an AC/ DC Special Night- John had rolled into the outskirts of Red, listening to Whole lotta Rosie, so loud he couldn't hear the empty agriculatural trailer bouncing and clattering behind them.

John never been more grateful for a lift in his life. When Dohie dropped him off at the junction outside Red, he'd pointed at the row of street lights and telegraph poles. They ran in a perspective line back to the lights of town centre. Dohie , said , "You follow the lights John, and they'll take you right back in, its maybe half a mile."

After thanking Dohie, Jonn shouldered his rucksack, put his thumbs through the straps and began jogging down the long straight. It was getting cold and as he ran, there were dark spaces between farm buildings, and then the well lit , warm looking homes and homesteads stung out along the roadside.

It was nearly half past ten. The General had warned John he had to make it back "'home' before midnight tonight, because that is as much assurance as The Metal were ever going to give that there was nothing currently 'out there' hunting young John Connor.

As he ran, he thought about The General's advice regarding Cameron.

"All she will want John, is for you to treat her like a normal sixteen year old girl. Act like everything is perfectly normal , and ,don't get into any logic-reason arguments with her, no point, neither of you will "win". Short cut arguments with humour , make a joke of such things. Take her out when you can, she loves dancing and good movies . Just treat her right and don't forget how old you both are right now, give things a lot of time. Be her best friend first and foremost, until you get to understand what really you mean each other.

"Both of you, and I've already told Cameron this earlier, please, respect your elders, particularly Yoshi and Derek.

"You are my special representatives in this time, and don't forget that. "

22:20 Phillips household.

Despite the luxurious padding in the Norfolk County Electric Reclining Armchair, Derek Reese looked distinctively uncomfortable and un-relaxed. He was flicking through the TV channels, following the special news reports.

The latest reports were suggesting a large meteorite had impacted into Red River Canyon System about an hour ago. "Whatever it was" that came down, had vaporised the top hundred or so feet off the nondescript hillside that had previously spilled down towards the old mine workings in the canyon ." Whatever it was" had left a deep rimmed crater in place of the original hillside .

On the TV screen Derek watched intently A. CNS helicopter film crew was hovering over the site. Their helicopter was floodlighting the area . Footage showed a near perfect circle burnt into the sandstone ridge. The perimeter of the site had been cordoned off and the edge of the cordon was already crawling with UFO freaks and Space- Nuts.

They wouldn't find anything, except what appeared to be a new pock mark in the face of the New Mexico desert , apparently of natural interstellar origin.

Derek called Yoshi in to look at the news bulletin . Yoshi didn't even blink an eyelid when she saw what had happened . All she said was "The General's blown The Shuttle then." ....Derek... uhm... I'm thinking of making a hot chicken sandwich, do you want one as well? ." That was just Yoshi, being calm. She was always calm . They were all stuck in 1999, with no way back for the foreseeable future.

. Cameron got up and walked out of the living room . JD, ( Jadey) her Alsatian kept in step with Cameron, looking up at her to see if she was going to get an extra "Patrol Walk" .

Cameron and JD were in hall . Coats were rustling . JD stood up against the door with her front paws on the glass looking like she meant to go out. Derek heard Yoshi firmly telling Cameron neither of them were going out yet, at least not until twenty two thirty hours. Cameron stood by the front door and scowled . JD scratched at the doormat.

Derek quietly sipped at his Bud as he contemplated playing the role of adoptive parent to the adolescent , future General Connor's . He let out a long sigh . Why had this role befallen him, of all people?

- One future General Connor he grudgingly genuinely respected but had serious personal issues with .

- The other General Connor was the most sophisticated , dangerous, killing machine ever to have stalked the face of the earth, and in Derek's opinion , the one which should never, ever have been re-chipped.

Derek been a solider since he was thirteen, What the hell did Derek Reese know about being a parent? - At least both Connor " kid's " were currently zero- ranked. But what happened the day they turn round , as older teenagers inevitably do, and say "hey we're not going alomg this Derek?" How do you keep the future 'Messiah' sentient life and his extremely resourceful future wife, in order, for the next few years?

Yoshi sat on the arm of the sofa and spoke quietly:

" Cameron and JD are wearing out the hall carpet pacing around like that. It's nearly 22: 30. Are we going to let them out some point ? Call her in ,now ,Derek , and let's reiterate the rules. Your job Lieutenant."

Derek called Cameron. Cameron appeared in the entrance to the lounge shook her hair to one side , as she did so, she perceptibly rolled her eyes in anticipation of the Derek Reese mini- lecture. JD sat down next to her, mouth open, panting slightly. Cameron already had JD's on her lead, and Cameron was wearing a coat.

Derek sat up in the chair , laid down the TV channel box and took a deep breath." Don't let her mess you around, be firm, she will follow what you say Derek." - General Connor had instructed him:

"OK : what's the deal about Yoshi and I letting you out to intercept John tonight? What were the main points we discussed?"

Cameron's expression didn't change, and looking more at the wall than at Derek, she replied in her best, bored monotone:

"No hijacking cars or other vehicles, no civilian or police injuries, no raiding military or police armouries or local gun shops without your express permissions, no use of Patriot Missiles without your express permissions. No Anti Tanks or depleted Uranium warheads or other weapons in public. No unnecessary damage to property or persons. "

"Let John Connor fight his own battles, unless it involves weapons or Metal. No using my synthesised voice or any other means to play hooky .

Derek nodded: " And John does what from school?"

"John does all his own homework." Cameron trotted out .

"Cameron" Yoshi added her weight in her most serious voice, "Honey, we have assurances John will be safe tonight, until midnight ."

"So," Derek continues . "That's no Terminating anything tonight, and I don't want to wake up tomorrow morning, or the next day, or next week , and find something in the trunk of my car that shouldn't be there. Unless it's an absolute emergency or you've discussed it with us first . Are we clear?"

Cameron put an hand on her hip and looked thoughtful. "What if it's a Grey? Can I Terminate that ?"

"You can Terminate anything that is a genuine threat to John , as long as you Terminate out of sight of the good people of Red Valley and it doesn't contravene any of the above orders , and, importantly you can only Terminate if you can't figure a non-violent way to deal with the situation OK? Understood?"

"Understood"

"That's understood what?"

"Understood Marm, understood Sir."

Derek was feeling quite pleased with himself, so he added, from his newly developing patriarchal position:

"OK now JD" - Jadey's eyes had been fixed on Derek whilst he had been speaking to cameron , giving the impression she'd understood every human word.

" JD- No biting or attacking anything that's not Metal or Grey. No stealing from the trash .
Keep Cameron and John in order . OK"

JD wasn't really listening, she' turned her head and looked in anticipation towards the front door.

" Now I expect you both to be back here before midnight and I want John straight in, quickly fed, and in his room. We'll deal with the rest in the morning. "

Derek turned to look at Yoshi, to see if had had missed anything, in the orders.

When he glanced back he realised, he hadn't even heard JD and Cameron quickly slip across the hall and soundlessly open then close the front door behind them.

Derek perked up in the chair. Maybe it really wasn't that difficult after all. - All he had to do was be firm and lay down the law.

"Well that went well, didn't it ?" Derek smiled at Yoshi. Actually It was more a fragile attempt at a smile than an accomplished positive facial expression.

Yoshi quietly nodded, not wanting to mention to Derek he hasn't really the first clue about dealing or negotiating with highly complex Sentient Evolving Metal life forms, or teenagers. Maybe he'd learn over the next few years. Maybe he wouldn't.

"That chicken will be ready now Derek. Did you want some?" Yoshi asked smoothly , without taking her eyes off the TV.

Then she asked:

"Derek, have you been in the kitchen recently?"

"No. Why?

"You better come and have a look. Cameron's left you a present. - You know when we went up to Santa Fe, to the arms and antique collectors fair, and she insisted you buy those six separate boxes of scrap that no one else could see the value in? And you almost got all fartherly-proud, for a moment , you did Derek, admit it, when the rest of the collectors were watching pair of you? Well she was playing you Derek- you really need to know how far ahead and how Cameron thinks."

"Ok." Derek sat up rather quickly, and followed Yoshi through into the kitchen.

Laid out on the kitchen table , on its bipod , was a modified, working , newly blued , circa 1939 Boys 0.55 inch antitank Rifle. It had a five round top fed magazine, and what looked like a box of newly die-cast hard point 0.55 rounds had been neatly placed next to the weapon.

Derek looked puzzled

"Is this for us? Is it in case?"

"No it's not in case. She made you buy it, two weeks ago it in anticipation of the next related question you are now going to ask me."

"OK why did I buy it?"

Yoshi was unwrapping chicken from its baking foil, on the work surface next to the sink:

" Derek , Cameron tells me the muzzle velocity from a 1939 Boy's 0.55 is about 800m per second. "

"Now, Unless it's fired from point blank range, she'll sense and detect the muzzle flash, full 360 degrees around her . It takes three seconds to reload something like this after a round is fired. "

"Cameron can easily dodge single-shot stuff at this velocity. I set her parameters to do this. So ,unless you can sneak in real close, like this far away me-to-you, with an oversize anti tank rifle , then, I don't think it was " a-just-in-case-Cameron- flips" type of present from Cameron to you ."

Yoshi sliced into the chicken to see if it was fully cooked.

"Cameron made it for us, particularly for you, in case any T8's turn up , but also for me to tell you , at the opportune moment, there's not really any available conventional weaponry that can stop her. So it's all down to your reason and language. It's down to you to find a way of getting along with her and John , nothing else."

Yoshi pulled off a morsel of roast chicken and nibbled it .

"Don't worry, Cameron say's the old T8's are really slow. Chicken?"

Then she frowned and pointed at the crockery in the drying rack.

"Plate, Derek, we eat off plates now ."

"Old T8's are really slow compared to Cameron, that is so reassuring ,Yoshi, thanks ". Replied Derek , picking up a florally decorated dinner plate.