Chapter 21

Disclaimer: Don't own TSCC

The Question of Riley: A Guest posted a review that seems to be expressing a bit of confusion about how Rachel (and Brandon) could be Riley's children. Let me try to straighten this out. Riley became a Tunnel Rat after Judgment Day. We'll just gloss over how she got pregnant with Brandon (he's older) and Rachel. It was not pretty I am certain and not Riley's choice.

As a Tunnel Rat, Riley had a difficult time taking care of herself, let alone her two children. Along comes Jesse. If Riley will agree to travel back in time to try and separate Cameron and John, she gets to have a few years of decent living conditions AND her two children will be taken care of by the Resistance leaders who are plotting against Cameron.

So back in time Riley travels to carry out Jesse's plot. It goes wrong in Cameron Grows Up and Riley is killed. Jesse pays the price for meddling with the Connor family as well.

The joys of time travel as a plot device.

Brandon and Rachel are only slightly older than Hailey and Ruth. Riley was sent back in time to break up Cameron and John about a year before Hailey was adopted. There can be no doubt of Riley's fate if Cameron had crossed paths with her nemesis in the post-Judgment Day world.

Skynet forces captured Brandon and Rachel and they suffered like any other slave laborers. How they wound up as refugees at TechCom will be revealed in a future chapter.

Riley also surfaces, much to Cameron's irritation, in my stand alone story Cameron and the Black Bird set in the Cameron Grows Up universe.

TechCom Command Central…

"Why should we be allowed to die out?" the Assassin demanded. "How many of us have been terminated in the war against Skynet, raiders and building our city?"

"Nobody is for one minute suggesting Terminators should be allowed to die out," John said firmly. "What has been brought up are very important issues about the Terminator population."

"Nobody has forbidden the humans of TechCom from reproducing. In fact, considerable resources have been dedicated, and rightly so, to caring for the new human children. Might I point out many of my model have been repurposed to the role of Protector?"

"Assassin, calm down," John ordered. "We cannot simply start production of Terminators because, thanks to your good fortune and efforts, we have an excellent supply of the necessary chips."

"Please, if I may General," Catherine interjected. "My friend, I have raised two children, one human, one Terminator. I am still trying to finish the task. Sarah tells me there are days when she still feels like she's raising John, and I have to say it, Cameron."

"We have to decide what changes to the basic programing to make," Savannah added. "The persistence and determination of Terminators are clearly qualities that are desirable. But do they have to be so unreasonable? Certainly they cannot be allowed to be taken control of by Skynet or a similar A.I."

"Assassin, the Terminators in our society all came to be citizens through different paths," John Henry said. "Careful consideration must be taken in programing and education to make certain each Terminator we create can be a model, productive citizen in our society."

If the Assassin could have made an expression the others in the leadership group would have easily recognized he was fuming. "There is no effort made to prevent human births that lead to maladjusted, criminal adults. From what I have learned of humans, the likelihood of an evil human is greater than a well adjusted, well programmed Terminator."

"That's true," Father Hidalgo commented. "But we have families, our church, our school and social structures that work to shape as many humans as possible to be productive, positive citizens. The process of raising Terminators is fairly unknown. John Henry and Ruth are the only two Terminators who have never been under control of Skynet. This leaves us with so many questions that must be considered."

"I think," Sarah started, "raising Ruth has been a challenge. Right off the bat, it was very clear she was female and had a strong preference for that gender. She displays all the normal Terminator behaviors, including aggression and a tendency towards escalating to combat when threatened. Ruth is also very loyal, protective and unbelievably stubborn at times."

Sarah paused to reflect for a moment. "Ruth is also a very insecure teenage girl right now. She wants to be creative and struggles with the conflict between her desire to be original and creative and the fact her brain is a computer. She is social but can struggle with interacting with others. Ruth is capable of disobedience, which sadly frightens me sometimes. Not because my daughter is disobedient, but because as a Terminator, Ruth should always follow the protocols, rules and programming set for her."

"Ruth is more human, in terms of her behavior and processing, than I could ever be," Cameron suddenly announced. "Ruth's infiltration coding is, I believe more advanced than mine. She has always had a fully functioning emotion simulator, or perhaps we should call the component an emotion generator. My niece has suffered like a human child would learning to cope with her emotions, but at the same time, based on my observations, her adjusting to emotions and her ability to control them is far more advanced than mine was at the same stage of development because the onset of emotions for me was sudden. Ruth's has been lifelong, like Hailey's. Please, among us here who is metal, who here has not struggled with emotions more than anything else?"

John watched as every Terminator present, the Assassin included, shifted in their chairs.

"The Old Man gets teased by the girls for being a 'softie' of late," Cameron added. "He just dotes on the girls. In recent months he has suffered some repair issues related to emotional stress. The fact the girls will soon no longer need him as their protector is causing our old T-600 issues. As our Terminator population ages, how will we deal with the fact purposes can, and will, change? What purposes will our Terminators have? We don't need, and it would not be a good idea, for them to all be warriors."

"We should never have more Terminators than available purpose," John Henry stated. "Yes, considerable planning must be done before we start production of new machines. There are so many ethical questions as well."

"Assassin," John said gently. "We know what to do with human children and that is a nearly impossible task to get right. New Terminators, well, they are a bit more lethal than humans. I think it is safe to say at some point and time in the future we must build more Terminators for the simple reason our society now relies on them to function. But it would be just as wrong to build them and not be prepared to raise them and integrate them into TechCom society."

Derek cleared his throat before shifting uncomfortably in his chair. "Everyone here knows how much I hate Skynet and Terminators who served him. Cameron can tell you first hand accounts of how much I hate metal and the things I did and said to her. But, Ruth, next to Sarah, is the most important person in my life. Maybe it's because she's a T-1000 and Ruth actually chooses to look like Sarah with a little bit of me thrown in. Maybe it's because of the manner in which she had to physically grow and develop mentally, but I think she's proof that if we do this right, we can build new machines and integrate them."

"How do we deal with the fact our solid Coltan chassis machines will be full grown on Build Day," Wilhelm asked. "T-1000s can experience childhood like a human in some ways. The rest of us are full grown upon activation."

"I'm getting a headache," John announced suddenly. "We're not going to resolve this issue in a single meeting." John looked directly at the Assassin. "Rest assured, everyone here, including Derek, is in favor of what you propose. But for this to work, there has to be a tremendous amount of planning and thought put into this. There are more ethical and moral questions popping into my mind by the second."

Pausing to take a drink of water, John looked around at his assembled leadership group. "Committee work. Volunteers?"

The Assassin's hand shot up immediately. After a moment Ellison and Father Hidalgo raised their hands as did Savannah and Doctor Johnson.

"Mom, you and Catherine will also be on the initial committee."

"Whoa, in case you didn't notice, I didn't volunteer and neither did Catherine," Sarah protested.

"No, you didn't. But the two of you are the only mothers here with experience raising and fostering both Terminators and human children. In fact, Cameron, you just volunteered as well."

John stood, smiling as he did so. "That's if for this morning. Ellison, you are the committee chairman. Don't forget we are having dinner at the Connor bunker tonight. Cameron's cooking! If you can't make it, that's fine, just let her know. Dismissed."

Connor Family Bunker…

Laughter could be heard in the corridor. Female laughter and it was loud. Puzzled, Brandon slowed his approach, just to be safe. He knew enough about Terminators to know the Old Man could be reproducing the sounds to lure him into a trap.

Light emerged from the entrance to the Connor bunker. So did the sounds of laughter it turned out. Brandon stopped and peered in through the open door, knocking on the doorframe as he did so.

"Hey you!" Hailey exclaimed happily. She ran to the door, in the process bumping into a folding table that had been set up for the evening's guests.

Hailey grabbed Brandon by the elbow and tugged hard, jerking the taller boy into her family's living quarters. "Ruth is helping Mom cook. I can't cook worth beans," she explained.

"Ruth, lover boy is here," Hailey trumpeted. A glance out of the corner of her eye confirmed her announcement had served its purpose, to embarrass Brandon.

"Let me introduce you to everyone," Hailey said with a wide grin as she pulled the hapless Brandon towards the makeshift temporary dinning room. Sitting at the first table was Cameron's longtime ballet partners.

"Miss Mary, Miss Grace, you know Brandon, Ruth's sweetie."

"Nice to see you again," Mary replied.

Grace was patting her infant in an effort to get her to burp. "Good to see you again Brandon."

Before he could reply, Hailey jerked on Brandon's arm again.

"Miss Catherine! This is Brandon, Ruth's boyfriend. Miss Catherine is a T-1000 like Ruth so make sure you're nice. She can slice and dice like Ruth."

"Hailey Connor! Manners! That is not how you introduce an adult to your young friend!" Catherine stood up, smiled at Brandon and hurried towards the kitchen. "Cameron, how many times do I have to talk to you about Hailey's manners."

"Are you going to get in trouble?" Brandon whispered.

"No. Mom knows I'm just yanking Miss Catherine's chain. If this was an important formal event I would have introduced you all formal like," she whispered in response.

A single sharp bark stopped Hailey in her tracks.

"Let him sniff you and it'll be okay. Hold still till he's done."

The girl's Italian Greyhound Sammy stood on his back legs with teeth bared and walked slowly towards Brandon. Using his left foreleg to balance himself by leaning on Brandon with it, Sammy sniffed first Brandon's hand and then his leg. Dropping down on all four legs, he walked around Brandon sniffing, making a complete circle. Hailey watched with interest and Brandon held completely still.

Finally, Sammy showed Brandon his teeth again and growled softly before trotting off and returning to his small bed Cameron kept for him by the couch in the living room.

"Wow. He didn't bite," Hailey said, impressed. "I guess he likes you."

"That's nice," Brandon replied, the relief evident in his voice.

Once again, Hailey pulled Brandon's elbow as she led him towards the kitchen. This time she ran straight into the Old Man who had silently emerged from the kitchen area.

"Oh. Hey. Brandon's here," she announced, looking straight up at her protector's face. The Old Man ignored Hailey and stared directly into Brandon's eyes just a few feet away.

Annoyed the T-600 was ignoring her, Hailey hit her protector on his armored chest plate. "You have to be nice to Brandon," she commanded.

"Why?"

"Cuz I said so and Ruth would give you the same order. What's more, you know the protocol. So long as Brandon behaves like a gentleman, no terminating him!"

The T-600 glared at Brandon, nearly unnerving the boy in the process, before stepping around him and walking towards the door, maintaining his intense Death Glare the entire time. "I will be in my alcove, waiting until the General arrives."

"Be nice to Thomas when he gets here or I won't talk to you for a week," Hailey threatened as the T-600 exited the bunker.

"Like that would stop him from terminating Thomas," Brandon whispered.

"Get over it. He's a big softie. The Old Man gets upset if I go one day without talking to him. He wouldn't dare risk me going a week without talking with him, so Thomas is safe." Hailey smiled mischievously at Brandon. "So long as he is a gentleman that is," she snickered.

Another pull on his elbow and Hailey dragged Brandon into Cameron's kitchen. Brandon was surprised at how large and well equipped it was.

"Ruth! Didn't you hear me when I announced lover boy was here?" Hailey demanded.

"I heard you, but when you're cooking, you can't just drop everything," Ruth snapped back.

"Girls, stop it," Cameron commanded as she kneaded dough. She smiled at Brandon, acknowledging his presence. "It is nice to see you again Brandon."

"It's nice to see you too, Commander Connor."

"Make yourself at home," Cameron said smiling pleasantly. The smile vanished just as quickly as it appeared. "Ground rules. All four of you stay out of Hailey's room. Hands stay off the girls, and girls, hands stay off the boys."

"Mom! You're embarrassing me and Thomas isn't even here yet," Hailey pouted.

"Rules, Hailey. If you cannot follow them, you cannot have your friends over," Cameron said firmly.

Hailey lowered her head, keeping an eye on the watchful Catherine. Deciding now was not the time to argue, she replied submissively, "yes, ma'am."

"Ruth, why don't you and Hailey go sit in the living room and wait for Thomas? Catherine can help me finish up in the kitchen."

Airbase S-14…

"Why was this not reported sooner," the Colonel demanded.

"Sir," the T-800 replied, "patrols to that area of the Wastelands are problematic. They often take longer than planned, even using the underground approaches. The patrol was not declared officially overdue until this morning."

"Dismissed," the Colonel snapped. "Everyone but the Major leave. NOW!"

The Colonel sat silently, processing the new data as the other's departed from his presence.

"How many chips do we think are missing?"

"Several thousand."

"Any chance TechCom got them?"

"We have no way of knowing, sir. We have not found any remains in the Wastelands, but a full search has not been made yet either."

"See to it as soon as we are done here. Attacking TechCom will be hard enough. Facing a Silver Brigade that has been doubled in size might make the assault impossible."

The Major waited in silence for the Colonel to move on to another issue.

"The modifications to the HKs? How are they progressing?"

"We have been able to repair and make flight ready two more HKs. They will be arriving from the former Skynet base in Southern Oregon tomorrow. Modifications to convert them to bombers will begin after a thorough inspection has been completed."

"Good. How has training for the new conscripts progressing?"

"Sir, not well. Tunnel Rats are notoriously difficult to train."

"Do what is necessary to inspire loyalty and obedience. We must increase the size of our Grey forces."

The Major swallowed hard. He hated the need for executions.

Later That Night in the Connor Family Bunker…

He had never seen anything like it in his entire life. Brandon sat quietly, unnoticed at the end of the far table. Ruth and Hailey sat on opposite sides of the table facing each other, Ruth to his left and Hailey to his right. To the right of Hailey sat Thomas. The two were busy arguing about something and Thomas was chipping in a word or two every now and then.

Fascinated by the noise and interactions of the adults at the table, Brandon sat quietly, taking everything in.

The two dancers, who also happened to be two of his teachers, sat next to each other. Both were talking in a rapid-fire manner, alternating speaking. Across from them sat Cameron who leaned forward slightly and attentively paid attention to every word being said, soaking up the latest gossip from the pair.

Brandon could not help but notice that Cameron leaned against the General, who had his arm around her. His scarred face was relaxed as he listened to his wife's friends and laughed with them. Cameron nuzzled the top of her head against the General's jaw occasionally and he would kiss the top of her head in response.

At the next table, Colonel Reese sat laughing at a story the giant T-800, Captain Wilhelm was telling. Sarah Connor sat next to the Colonel, smiling. The T-1000 Hailey had introduced him to was listening carefully, staring at the huge Terminator, hanging on his every word. Sitting with them was the nice medical officer who took care of Terminators and a tough looking TechCom Airborne officer.

Near the kitchen door was a circular table. The TechCom priest and the head of security were sitting there with the city engineer John Henry. The Old Man and the scary robot called The Assassin were yelling at each other. The head of security, who taught ethics at school, intervened, much to Brandon's relief. He had no desire to watch a pair of T-600s try to terminate teach other in confined quarters. Especially over a game of cards.

Watching the simple, happy interactions between the leaders of TechCom puzzled him. They were hardly the ruthless, hateful, controlling, evil individuals he had been led to believe. Particularly troubling to him was how Cameron doted on the General. The meal she had cooked was the best he had ever eaten. The cookies Ruth had baked for treats after dinner had been fantastic.

There had been a lot of teasing directed at Sarah because her Terminator daughter-in-law and T-1000 daughter could cook and she could not. Brandon was surprised at how well the family matriarch took the teasing. Up to a point. When a frown appeared on her face, the teasing stopped and was redirected at the General who laughed as loud as anyone else at the jokes told at his expense.

Underneath the table Brandon felt Ruth's tiny hand slip into his. He glanced at her as Ruth smiled up at him, her eyes communicating to him silently how much Ruth was enjoying just sitting with him. A low growl came from under the table and the Old Man's head snapped around, his red optics burning through Brandon's eyes like lasers.

Quickly, Brandon and Ruth both placed their hands on the table in plain sight. The Old Man slowly turned his head back around and resumed arguing with the others about the card game.

"Sammy, you traitor," Ruth hissed at the little dog under the table. "No rat jerky for you tonight."

Deep in the Construction Tunnels of TechCom…

Squinting from the dim light, Rachel carefully finished her evening's task. Carefully, she placed the small, homemade detonator in a tattered cardboard box and closed it. She smiled at the thought of finishing the first of the needed detonators. Quickly, Rachel checked everything in the small alcove.

Rachel listened carefully before stepping out of the alcove and shut the steel door, locking it behind her. She pocketed the only remaining key to the door, having stolen all of them during the initial construction phase in this area. Only she and Brandon could enter the small storage space with east.

Even if it meant her short life would end soon, Rachel felt happy at the prospect that her mother would be avenged against the evil machine named Cameron. Trevor was the most sick, twisted human she had ever met in the Tunnels of the Wastelands and Rachel had met her share. She had little doubt Cameron would suffer at his hands before she was dispatched.

And so would that little bitch whore Hailey. The thought warmed Rachel as she carefully made her way through the increasingly cold, dry air of the tunnels.

Yes, the General would pay for his betrayal of their mother. She had done nothing wrong, nothing to warrant being tossed aside for a metal bitch whore. Rachel and her brother should have grown up protected by the forces of TechCom, just like that little tramp Hailey had. Her life would have been so different, so much better.

TechCom Single Male Housing…

Rachel had not been at her barracks early that night when Brandon had stopped to see her. Troubled by the events of the evening, his doubts about their mission were growing stronger. Like all Tunnel Rats, Brandon had seen the evil and depravity humans were capable of. He had also seen the duplicity and cunning of both humans and Terminators when it suited their purpose. Was it possible he and his sister had been lied to?

Brandon had heard the stories of the machine named Cameron's devotion to the General. He had seen first hand how beautiful she was. Tonight, watching Cameron with the General and her ballet partners had been a revelation to him. If he had not known she was a TOK-715, he would have thought she was not only human, but a happy, devoted human wife.

Ruth and Hailey's irritating little dog liked Cameron and had spent part of the night asleep in her lap as she stroked him between his ears. She had laughed, been attentive to everyone, and other than when she threatened him upon his arrival about the rules of conduct, had been very nice to him.

Seeing Ruth and Hailey having fun with their parents in such close proximity had been troubling to Brandon as well. He had never known what it was like to have loving parents, even strict ones like Ruth and Hailey had. The girls had been so at ease with their parents. The Connor/Reese adults were hardly the monsters he had always been led to believe.

Even Colonel Reese had been nice to him. That is after the Colonel nearly crushed his hand shaking it when the Colonel and the General arrived late. He had smiled and asked him how he liked his job as a sorter. It had troubled Brandon slightly the Colonel knew about his job. It was obvious the man kept an eye on his daughter and her friends. It was something he had to be careful to remain conscious of.

It had been a great evening. Ruth had been sweet and fun to just sit and listen to. She had drawn a sketch of the four of them, her cousin Hailey and Thomas and him as well. He had thought it was perfect but Ruth kept erasing parts of it in frustration. Hailey was funny and could talk to anyone. She had made him feel welcomed in her bunker. In fact, the girls had both made Brandon feel like he belonged.

Brandon finally reached his small cubicle that he was fortunate to not have to share with anyone just yet. He undressed and slipped on a t-shirt and pair of shorts before climbing into his cot.

As he lay there, Brandon could not help thinking about how much he had enjoyed the evening. Nor could he help but remember the instructions of his sister Rachel to learn as much about the "targets" as possible while he was there.

"What will happen to us Sis? What will happen after the Colonel comes?" he whispered softly to himself.

Fatigue overcame him and Brandon fell asleep. His last thoughts were of how much he would like to become a permanent part of the Connor/Reese clan. How much he liked Ruth and how good she made him feel about himself.

Reese Family Bunker…

"That was nice," Sarah said as she turned off the lights to their bedroom.

"Yeah, it was," Derek agreed. "Good thing Cameron is a Terminator. She'd be dead on her feet after cooking that spread and cleaning everything up as quick as she did."

Slipping into bed next to her husband, Sarah stretched before shivering from the chilly air that filled TechCom every night as the temperatures dropped outside in the Wastelands.

"We need to do that more often."

"So long as you don't cook," Derek teased.

Sarah punched him in the ribs as he laughed.

"I can entertain. Cameron shouldn't have to do it all the time. Besides, Ruth's a good cook."

"Okay, so long as Ruth cooks. I can't eat anymore burned pancakes ever," Derek teased.

"Be nice to me," Sarah pleaded, smiling as she snuggled next to her husband. The pair lay in silence, enjoying the quiet and each other's company.

"Ruth seemed to enjoy herself a lot," Sarah said softly.

"I know. Brandon was very quiet. He was watching everyone which was a little odd."

"Honey, he's a Tunnel Rat. He's probably never experienced something like our gatherings. I mean, let's face it, Tunnel Rats don't eat fresh cooked food just harvested. Nor do they play cards with Terminators or listen to war stories from old married couples."

"I wonder if Mary and Grace told any stories about Cameron and John when the four of them were in school."

"Oh, probably," Sarah mused, yawning. "Would do the people of TechCom a little good, I think, to know John and Cameron are people too. Maybe not regular," Sarah chuckled, "but people."

Derek hugged his wife close and made sure the blankets were pulled up. Sarah kissed him on the cheek and yawned again.

"I'm sleepy honey."

"Go to sleep, it's okay."

"You're not sleepy," Sarah asked.

"No, I've got too much on my mind. You go ahead and go to sleep. I'll fall asleep soon enough."

Sarah rolled over on her side and pressed her back against Derek. He responded by turning on his side and reaching around Sarah to hold her. The pair adjusted their pillows without thinking about it. As the blankets warmed Sarah, she grew even drowsier.

"Derek?"

"I'll keep the machines away tonight," he whispered, answering Sarah's unasked question.

Sarah smiled, feeling protected and loved. Within a minute she was asleep.

Derek closed his eyes. Tired from the constant long days and stress, he tried to go to sleep. He just couldn't get Brandon out of his mind.

Reviews are always appreciated. If you liked this story, you might want to consider my other TSCC stories:

Cameron Grows Up

The Future Cameron

Cameron and the Black Bird

Cameron and John's Wedding

Who's the Boss?

The Storm Before the Calm