Chapter 06: Conner's Cannot Go Solo

Cameron sat in the truck, looking outside. She did not say a word to Derek, who sat next to her. She just stared outside the broken window. So much had changed in just a few hours. After Cameron had talked to Kyle, she realized she was indeed more of a loner. She had talked to Barnes about it, and he told her she would make a fine sniper. And that was it. She went up to Derek and said she wanted to be a sniper. Go solo. Leave the team. That was the hardest of all things. Her tem, or now ex-team, would stay at the HQ, while Cameron went back with Derek and would fight there. It was hard, yes. But it was for the best. No Conners around her. No team mates. Just Cameron and the droid. Derek had asked several times if she was sure about it, but he knew that he could not change her mind. Cameron did not tell John about it, he would find out soon enough anyway. She did not want to tell Kyle either, but it just happened.
'Are you alright?' Derek asked again.
'Fine,' Cameron said back, monotonous and without looking at him. Derek looked at her, but only saw the back of her head. He sighed. Perhaps he had made the wrong decision to approve her request. On the other side, he knew Cameron would still have done it even if the entire Resistance had disapproved her request.
'Cam-' he sighed, but Cameron turned her head and stopped him.
'Please,' she said, but did not finish her sentence. He just nodded and looked ahead on the road again. Cameron took a deep breath and looked outside again. It was weir how things could end, or how they could go.

'She did what!' John yelled. He had just heard the news from Kyle himself. Kyle still looked mad and just glared before him. A nurse was binding his hand. John cursed and yelled. Than he smashed his hand on the coach Kyle was sitting on.
'Calm down, Conner,' the nurse said simple, a smile decorating her brown face, 'Or the both of you will have a bound hand.'
'I can't believe-' John began again, but Kyle interrupted him.
'Why didn't you just-'
'Me!' John yelled, Kyle jumped up.
'She is YOUR daughter, John!'
'I'm your father, so don't call me 'John',' he said fierce.
'Than don't order me like a soldier!' Kyle snapped. They stood face to face.
'I'm sorry, son,' John sighed, Kyle backed off and shook his head.
'I can't believe you,' he said soft.
'Please, Kyle, you have to understand,' his father answered.
'Don't worry, I understand,' Kyle said, 'I just thought that a Conner should never go solo. But than I realized, you also broke that rule.'
'Kyle,' but John decided not to say anything more.
'Just what I thought,' Kyle said and walked away. He had always been so proud of his father. The great John Conner. But now he realized, John Conner was also 'just' a man. That was what upset him. His father had always been so much, so much more than he actually was. Cameron had been right, only she said it the hard way. And now, he hard to learn it the hard way.

Cameron laid still between the grass. Following the cyrborgs through her loop. Four. A small patrol. Checking for any more survivors. Her heartbeat was low. Her breathing almost as if she was sleeping. Would she be caught now, she would die. She could make this. Four headshots, if she was lucky. First the last one, then the first one, then the last one again and then the first one. It would be tricky. One of them could take a good look around, spot her and shoot her. Still, she could always give it a try! Cameron slowly inhaled and exhaled. Looking through her loop. Counting down, making sure she would hit all four of them. Suddenly she heard the voice of Derek in her ear.
'Reese to Cameron, over,' she cursed in her head, 'Reese to Cameron, come in, Cameron! Over.'
'Cameron to Reese,' she hissed, 'Shut up!'
'Cameron, you have to return to the fortress, right now. Over,' Cameron lightly shook her head, as she still followed the droids through her loop.
'Negative,' she whispered, 'I have a clear shot on four machines. Over.'
'Cameron, pull back! Over,' Derek said clear, pronouncing every word sharp.
'Negative!' Cameron hissed back, 'I will first take the shot, over.'
'Cameron, pull back! That is an order, over.'
'Fine,' she sighed and laid her gun down, 'I'm coming. Cameron over and out.'
'Good, Reese over and out,' a small click and the was alone again.
'Like this we'll never win,' Cameron sighed and looked once more through her gun. Then she slowly backed off on her belly and went back to the fortress.

Cameron walked with big passes through the halls. Angry and mad. She opened the door and threw her gun on the ground. The people in the room looked a bit shocked. Derek straightened his back and walked away from the table. The other six people also straightened their backs, but remained around the table.
'Why the hell didn't you give me those shots!' she yelled.
'Cameron-' Derek tried and wanted to lay his hands on her shoulders, but Cameron hit his hands away and backed off.
'No, Reese!' she yelled, 'I had a wonderful shot! Four machines, Reese, I could have taken them down!'
'Cameron-' Derek tried again.
'No! Don't you put me in the field if I cannot get my shots!'
'Cameron!' Derek said loud, Cameron became still, 'I called you back, because of Kyle.'
'Kyle?' Cameron said, with wide eyes, 'What's wrong? What happened!'
'Sit down,' Derek said and reached for a chair.
'No, just tell me,' Cameron said. Strange how she suddenly could be so worried. Derek looked at her and nodded.
'Alright,' he said and sighed.
'Tell me, Derek!' Cameron almost lost it.
'Kyle was out on the field with some man,' Derek began, speaking calm and low, 'When a troop of T700's attacked them.'
'O my God,' Cameron sighed and wished she had accepted the chair, but she remained standing.
'He lives,' Derek said quickly, 'but he hurt pretty bad.'
'Derek,' Cameron looked at him, there was more, 'what are you hiding? You're not telling me something. Please.'
'Kyle,' Derek took a deep breath and looked at Cameron, 'Kyle lost half of his left arm. They don't know what to do.'
'They don't know what to do?' Cameron said in amazement, 'What the hell do they think they should do! Give him a new arm, of course!'
'I know, but some object against Kyle becoming a machine partly,' Derek looked at her and she saw he agreed with her
'Partly a machine!' Cameron yelled, 'It's just the half of his arm! Otherwise he can't do so many things!'
'I know,' Derek said, 'but over there they're still debating about it.'
'I have to go there,' Cameron decided after a moment. Derek nodded and a small smile curled his lips.
'I will take you there,' he said. Cameron nodded. The people on the background looked a bit dazzled at each other. They were in the middle of a meeting!

'John,' Derek walked to his nephew and hugged him quickly. John looked with wide eyes at his uncle and his daughter.
'What happened to you!' he said, seeing blood on their faces and limbs.
'Nothing,' Cameron said, but John already lifted her chin a bit to take a good look at her wound on her head.
'What happened,' Cameron rolled her eyes.
'Nothing, Derek didn't see a landmine,' she said it so simple, John would almost not care.
'Come on, that needs some stitches,' he sighed. Derek nodded but Cameron shook her head.
'No, I have to go to Kyle,' she said.
'You can't,' he said, 'Not now.'
'Why?' Derek asked.
'He's in surgery,' John said. No one said a thing for a moment.
'He's getting the arm?' Cameron asked. John nodded.
'It would be the best,' he said.
'It is,' Cameron said and smiled.
'Good,' John said and smiled back, 'But you still need some stitches.'
'I hate stitches,' Cameron sighed.
'You are getting them! Come on,' John smiled and wanted to put his arm around her, but he thought it might be better not to. Derek saw it and nodded. One step at a time. They should not go to fast and ruin everything. At least they were back together. In one place, for now. A Conner should not, and could not, go solo. John had heard it so many times from his mother, but only now realized how right she had been!