REUNION Revised Edition

by The1Russter

In one complete volume, Reunion, retold w/new & revised chapters. Story begins w/BTR & quickly advances. John finds himself alone in the future but a young woman takes an unusual interest in him. Sarah is equally alone in the present but finds help from future. They each form new alliances & continue their fight against Skynet until they reunite once more. All characters.

38. The Last Battle

Disclaimer: I do not claim any rights to the Terminator films; the TV series, "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles;" or any characters depicted within the films or TV series. I do claim the right to this story idea and all characters and situations of my own creation. This story was created solely for my own enjoyment and the enjoyment of others. No profits are garnered from its distribution - unfortunately.

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TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES

REUNION

Part 3: Babylon

Author: The1Russter

Chapter 37

The Last Battle

"I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here." The Last Battle, Chapter 15, The Chronicles of Narnia, by C. S. Lewis

"Nothing we can do can change the past, but everything we do changes the future." Ashleigh Brilliant

"'A soldiers first battlefield is always his own mind.' Admiral Constanza Stark, CY 9762," Quote from Andromeda, Season 2, Episode 20, "The Knight, Death and the Devil" April 29, 2002.

# # #

2009, May 15, Morning, Day -3

Savannah limps into the computer lab to find John Henry working alone.

"Hello Savannah." John Henry says from behind a computer screen. "How are you feeling?"

"My leg is sore from overseeing the training exercises yesterday. You think it wouldn't require much physical activity, but it does. Tired me out. I think last night I slept the longest since I was twelve."

"You need rest. The human body requires approximately eight hours of sleep each day and you are doing too much after having emergency surgery. Your body is still working to replace the blood you lost. Perhaps you should rest today. Let someone else oversee the readiness of our army."

"Thank you. I think I will." Savannah grimaces with humor at John Henry's gentle scolding. "It just feels like I've contributed so little. Yesterday was a first for me, overseeing our people train. I'm not a professional soldier. I much prefer working on computers and machines, taking them apart and finding new ways of putting them together. I felt like I was barely holding my own in that fight at Topanga."

"You shouldn't worry about it. You've contributed plenty. Presently, it is more important you get plenty of rest for the coming battle."

"I don't think I will be able to do much fighting right now." She says gesturing at her leg.

"I think General Connor has something in mind for you. Everyone will have a role to play. Even Ms. Weaver and I will be doing our part. We cannot afford to leave anyone out in this final hour."

"Where are they now? Kyle and John."

"Resting. They will be taking a small group later to collect weapons and will be gone overnight."

"That doesn't leave much time before the eighteenth. Do you know what he has in store for me?" She asks as she takes a seat next to her friend.

"No, but I know he has been planning. I've been running some simulations on the computer using his ideas for the battle, against what we've learned about our enemy. But that hasn't kept him from hiding himself away in an empty room working out ideas. Early this morning he brought Colonel Reese in to see me and go over a fresh strategy. I'm concerned about General Connor."

"Why are you worried about John?"

"He barely eats; he doesn't get enough sleep; and he is spending less time with people. John is withdrawing from those he should rely on. The last two nights he has spent the time alone."

Savannah places a hand on her friends shoulder. "John is experiencing grief. He lost his first love, and his mom died just a short time before that. He is probably having difficulty dealing with that loss, so he focuses his mind on the task at hand. It probably doesn't make it any easier that his mom is right now somewhere in Los Angeles. He's grieving. We just need to give him time to work it out."

John Henry looks thoughtful for a moment. "I don't fully understand grief. But I did feel something akin to it when you were injured and I wasn't there to protect you. I promised you that I wouldn't let anyone hurt you."

"It's all right John Henry. You're not at fault." She decides to change the subject to help her friend.

"Do you remember that song I taught you?"

"Donald, Where's Your Trousers?"

"Yes. Would you care to sing it with me now?"

John Henry grins. "I'll start, and you can join in when you're ready."

John Henry begins singing in a tenor voice. Savannah gets a warm feeling listening and watching her friend sing that song again, as they did so long ago, such a short time ago. She joins in and without missing his cue, John Henry stops leaving her to finish the song on her own.

When they are finished, she gives him a hug. "Do you feel better now?"

"I am operating at 100%" She gives him a look and he grins. "I feel fine. Thank you."

"Where's Catherine?"

"She's in her office, working on her project. It is something she started a long time ago, project Babylon."

"Other than its Biblical reference, what is it?"

"You weren't present at its application. I was built to deliver certain program changes to Sky Net so it would let man live. Unfortunately, the aberrant version of Sky Net we just destroyed was prepared for me. It knew what I was going to do. That future we just left, was allowed to exist for the sole purpose of trapping and killing John Connor. It sent a machine back to ensure the construction of the real Sky Net. The one that built Ms. Weaver, Kreilley, the cyborg who's body I now inhabit, and our friend Cameron."

"So what are you doing now?"

"Right now I am making adjustments to our search parameters for the terminator that Sky Net sent back from your future time line. General Connor gave me information on time travel events he knew about or experienced himself. I did a search on those events and I am using the data recorded by the news media, authorities, and other obscure sources to narrow the search for the TX. However, it is possible that it won't arrive at all."

"How? Does this have something to do why Catherine ran out of the generator control room yesterday? And why I ran into John in the corridor looking so angry I and two others just backed out of his way?"

John Henry remains silent.

"Well? Are you going to tell me? Does it have something to do with Catherine's Time Displacement Equipment?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Because the doors to the room are barred and bolted and they weren't yesterday. Well?"

John Henry does the cyborg equivalent of a mental sigh before answering his friend.

"Someone very important was left behind when we traveled to this time. John used the TDE to recreate the same situation Ms Weaver had when John arrived here in the present. He hoped the person would recognize the signal and be able to use Sky Net's TDE to travel here. Something began to materialize on the TDE pad when Ms Weaver broke the signal by inducing a transfer. Despite John's hope that it was our friend, it could have also been the TX or any of the machines that had breached the building in the future where we were. John is very angry at her for interfering, as he thought the risk was worth it at the time. Though he's since realized his mistake, he can't forgive Ms Weaver for what she did. She's not pleased with me either, because I allowed him access to the TDE. If John and I were wrong, we might all be dead or destroyed."

"I see." Savannah says, patting John Henry's arm. "I suppose you can't tell me who this person is?"

"I made a promise not to reveal their identity. I've told you too much already, but you deserve to know this much because you are my friend."

"And if John tells me who this friend is?"

"Then I will tell you all I know, but its his choice to tell you, not mine. I must respect the wishes of my friend and also follow General Connors orders."

"The loss of your friend makes you sad."

"Yes. And I wouldn't understand sadness but for what they taught me." John Henry notices Savannah's almost eager expression that she tries to hide. "Is there anything else?"

"Assuming it wasn't the TX that was arriving, I assume then you still have to search for it?" Savannah changes tack.

"Correct. I failed to obtain data on where it was sent from Sky Net's T D E. If we knew when and where it was sent to, we could be ready for it and destroy it on its arrival."

"Who's to say it wouldn't be prepared to defend itself immediately?"

"Because all beings sent back through time experience a moment of confusion upon arrival. For machines, their systems goes into standby mode to protect more sensitive circuits during the transfer. Depending on the model, it can take three to twenty seconds before they become fully aware. In that time they can be destroyed. Unfortunately, Sky Net wiped the logs so I don't know when or where it will arrive. All I can do is hope it materializes in a place where it leaves a trace of its arrival. Provided it hasn't arrived already in a time and place where it was unobserved or left no trace."

"You'll find it John Henry. I know you will." Savannah says helping her friend.

# # #

Sarah sits down at the kitchen table and turns on John's laptop. She hope it won't take long to find the files John found and saved from the internet about Kaliba. She always fears John's hacking would get them caught some day, but his talents did come in handy.

Sarah curses when she can't find the folder where they were kept. She keeps digging through the documents folder and the download folder and then begins selecting folders at random. Nothing! She does a search typing in several key words but still nothing.

"Dammit!" Sarah slaps the table and checks the recycle bin. Empty.

She nervously taps her fingers on the table, before turning to the utilities. She's not all that familiar with them, but she knows John wouldn't use a PC without having a ton of security.

There's a utility that can recover deleted files and also one that can wipe free space. Ignoring the utility for recovering files she opens the other. The log shows it was run the day John and Cameron broke her out of prison. Opening the one for recovering deleted files, she launches it and waits for results. A few minutes later it reports zero recoverable files.

Frustrated, she closes the programs and shuts down the computer, resigning herself to staying indoors, again. From the bedroom window she's seen a higher number of police cruisers in the area. Considering she's only a mile or two from her former residence, its not unexpected. Ellison had some nerve hiding her in North Hollywood. It also unnerves her that the terminator called Cromartie lived in this very condo. That it might have seen her, or worse John, as they traveled to and from their home. It is a good job she made John take Cameron everywhere with him.

No wonder he gradually fell in love with the machine. She forced them to be together when she wasn't there. A hormonal teenager and an attractive female cyborg. After their last experience with the T-800, is it any wonder John should form some attachment to Cameron. Even Riley with her obvious physical attributes wasn't enough to keep John away. As much as she wanted to destroy Cameron, she didn't want to risk losing her son. John is all she has, which is why tonight she will hiding Cameron's body in the Sonora desert with her cache of weapons instead of burning it with the last of their thermite.

# # #

Cameron is sitting in a quiet corner of an internet Cafe. The USB drive, on which she transferred all the files on Kaliba from John's computer, is plugged into a port and she is examining the list of files. To the untrained observer, it would appear Cameron is randomly opening files and closing them. She does this until a small selection is left on the screen. She reads them and find the one she needs.

Checking to make sure she is still alone in the corner of the internet cafe, Cameron pulls out a disposable cell phone and places a call. Before her on the computer screen is a web page for a regional real estate business and windows open to the servers at both its business and the county seat showing paperwork that was submitted for purchase of a factory by Fox Industries.

A receptionist picks up the ringing phone from the switchboard on the desk in front of her and says, "Kenmore, Alvin, Irwin, and Barnard, Attorneys. My name is Tamara Sky. How may I help you?"

"Hi Tamara." Cameron says in a friendly but business like tone. "My name is Andrea White." she reads from the realtor's web page, "I'm calling to remind Mr. Victor that final paperwork needs to be submitted if the purchase for the old Wyman factory is to be completed by the end of business today. County offices won't be open tomorrow, being Saturday."

"I'm sorry to say, but FOX Industries has decided not to purchase that property. A fax was sent out to your office first thing this morning telling you of this decision."

Cameron types at the keyboard bringing up recent correspondence at the real estate agent. Luckily for her, all faxes are received electronically by a computer which then places them in electronic mailboxes of the recipient.

"Ah, yes. I'm so sorry. I'm reading the fax now. May I ask the attorney some questions about the decision not to buy?"

"I'm sure he'd answer any questions, but he's left on a business trip. He won't be back in town until next week."

"That seems odd. Tell me Ms Sky, and I don't mean to pry, but have you noticed anything strange or odd at Fox Industries?"

Tamara looks around the vast area of cubicles. At one time it teamed with activity, now it was only herself and a few other on this floor. The factories still operated, and she could only assume the engineers and programmers were busy toiling away in their offices as the parking lot was always full. Thinking about it, she realizes the cars are always there, same locations, morning and evening. In fact she noticed this morning the car nearest her had a good coating of dust like it had never been moved.

"Uh, um, no. Nothing odd." her voice cracks. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

She's lying, Cameron thinks having analyzed her voice.

"No that will be all. Thank you for your time. Have a nice weekend."

Cameron clears the computer screen and erases the web history.

Removing the USB drive, Cameron leaves the internet cafe and returns to the condo to keep watch on Sarah, secure that one threat to Sarah's life is gone and she didn't even have to use force. The situation is different than what she was told. The lawyer isn't here.

Checking her internal chronometer, Cameron ascertains she has plenty of time to get back to the condo before Sarah's departure. Time enough to fill up the gas tank for the long drive. The time for her to reveal herself to Sarah is fast approaching, and hopefully, John will be here as he promised. Both his mother and his Cameron need him, and love him.

2009, May 15, Afternoon, Day -3

Sarah wakes promptly at 2:00 P.M., sweating from a dream in which she was being pursued by Cromartie through one industrial yard after an other.

There is an annoying buzzing sound in the room. Looking around, she finds two hornets buzzing by the bedroom window trying to get out.

"I need to get out too." She says, knowing she has a long drive ahead of her. If she is to be back by tomorrow morning and resume her hunt for Kaliba, she can't leave any later than 4:30 P.M.

She gets up and takes a quick shower. Getting out, she wraps a towel around herself and walks to the bedroom. Sarah decides she's been seen too often the last two nights in the same clothing. Today she needs a change. She drops her towel and pulls some fresh underwear out her backpack on the floor.

When she stands up, Sarah looks at herself in the mirror. She studies herself sliding her hands over her body, noting the curves, the tightness of her stomach, the firmness of her muscles, and the scars she had acquired in her life. Each one has a story. Her fingers slide effortlessly over the commonplace scars she got while gun running in Central America. They have little to say. Her fingers find the scars from fighting the machines. Her face flashes with anger. The stories they told were scary, horrendous, and were not important. Her face grimaces when her fingers find the new scar on her left leg she acquired when she got careless. She wouldn't make that mistake again. Her hands slide across her abdomen, and there, barely visible a few light scars from the stretch marks she got when pregnant with John. These had a story to tell she was proud of and loved to tell. She smiles as she thinks of John. No matter how old a child got and no matter how far away they were, a mother always has a connection to her children.

She sits on the edge of the bed sliding her panties over her feet and up her legs. Standing up, Sarah pulls them over her hips. She then picks up her bra, straightens out the twists in the straps, and then slides the straps onto her shoulders, reaches behind her back and snapped the catch close. Looking in the mirror, she repositioned the cups on her breasts, then opens the closet door.

She digs through the closet and finds a pair of jeans. The pant legs are too long, so she pulls her knife out and cuts the excess off and pulls the jeans on. Next are a pair of cowboy boots with a flat heal she puts on tucking the ragged end of the jeans inside the boots. George Lazslo's shirts were too big, so Sarah pulls one of her T-shirts out her bag and slips it on. She then used one of his denim shirts as a light jacket rolling the sleeves up so they were just below her elbows and ties off the long shirt tails around her waist.

Sarah looks around the room. With the instincts of someone who has always been on the run, she has the feeling that she will not return. She picks up everything that was laying around. She shoves all her belongings into her back pack. Sarah tosses all of Lazslo's belongings back in the closet and drawers. She grabs a bag from the kitchen and goes into the bathroom and picks up the wet towels and shoves them inside. She does the same with the denim scraps, the empty tin of sardines, and the paper she used to write her note to John. The box of crackers she put in her back pack.

Then like she did before, she puts on the cap and tucks her hair up inside. Slipping on her backpack, Sarah grabs the bag of trash and goes out the door. Once again she hears buzzing. Looking up she sees a hornets nest on one of the beams supporting the balcony roof. Ignoring them, she dashes down the steps. After making sure her truck and its contents are as he left them, she drives off.

It is 4:15 P.M. when Sarah leaves. A few seconds later, Cameron follows on her motorcycle. She maintains a safe distance, keeping cars between her and Sarah, as they drive through the outskirts of Los Angeles, until they reach the desert highway.

2027, July 25, Day 64 4:50 AM

The heat on the foundry floor is oppressive. It strips the breath from John's lungs and bakes him like a roast in the oven. John looks thoroughly around every corner, grimacing against the heat of the furnaces. Calling out to Cameron again and again.

"Cameron!"

"Cameron!"

He has almost given up hope when out of a dark corner he hears her voice quietly call out to him. "John?"Cameron asks, surprised and touched that he would come looking for her.

"Cameron!" He starts toward where he heard her voice.

"Stop! Don't come any nearer. Please, you must leave!." Cameron pleads in her soft voice.

"Cameron are you hurt?" John asks, concern filling every syllable.

"Please, don't come any closer, John. Please." Her voice is pleading.

"Why? Let me help you." He walks closer. Kyle is slowly approaching him and watching.

"Stop John. Please stop. You need to leave, now!" She pleads as he walks into the corner where she is hiding. Kyle right behind him.

John walks into the shadows and his eyes adjusts to the dark. He is shocked by what he sees.

2009, May 15, Late Afternoon, Day -3

Kyle reaches over and gives John a gentle shake. "Come on buddy we're almost there."

John wakes up from his dream memory of the future and looks around. The two of them and a few soldiers are riding in the old Dodge truck down a desert road and it is oppressively hot. He is feeling parched. He isn't certain if it is from the dream or the reality of their location.

"I need some water." He croaks.

A soldier reaches over the back of the seat and hands him a bottle of water.

John takes a sip. "Thanks." He really wants to down the whole thing, but this is the desert and you need to conserve your resources.

A few minutes later and John looks out the windshield and sees some familiar land marks. Including a large rock which can provide the men some shade. "This is far enough."

Truck brakes squeal as the old four-door pickup comes to a halt on the sandy road. Kyle bangs on the roof. "Everybody out."

"Wait here in the shade of the truck until the sun sets. Don't wander away and conserve your water. And if any of you decide to remove your boots, shake them out before you put them back on. You don't want a scorpion stinging you in your foot." John orders. "Take turns keeping watch. When you hear my signal, then you can follow."

Ten minutes later, the truck is far behind them while Kyle and John take a long walk. They both know the area, but only John knows how to get to the weapons cache from this direction.

"Explain something to me if you can." Kyle says, while wiping the sweat from his brow.

"Shoot."

"Why are we collecting additional weapons from the cache when Catherine has more than enough money to purchase the weapons we need?"

"Because purchasing the weapons will get us on the radar. I have no doubt that Kreilley and the authorities have an eye on her accounts and her companies accounts since the attack on Zeira Corp. Also, purchasing that many weapons would mean going through the black market. There would be talk. Talk that might get back to Kreilley."

"But what about your friend where we bought the food and clothing? I thought you said he's someone you can trust."

"I'm certain he could provide us with most of the weapons we need. I'm just not prepared to spend all the money we've got. Nor do I want to be indebted to Mr. Jovanovic in any way. He might be a friend of my mom's, but the history of any of those guys from her past is questionable. Jovanovic isn't even the guys real name. Which is why we're raiding mom's weapons cache."

"Okay, but why is it, if you weren't willing to tell your mom that you were back for fear of damaging the immediate future, why are we taking weapons from the cache that we needed and used in the future?"

John swallows, his throat is starting to feel dry again. "We can return the weapons and replace the ammo later, but the knowledge of my presence before Judgment Day could alter everything my mom will do before then. After tonight, she is going to save two lives. The knowledge of my presence must be kept secret. She must continue to act as if I'm not here right up until the moment we act."

And I'll never forgive myself or Catherine if this all goes wrong, John thinks, since he's following Catherine's advice in not contacting his mom.

"But the guy at the store and Martin Beddell both know you are back."

"Mom didn't make contact with either of them before May 18, and I've paid Mr. Jovanovic enough so he wouldn't tell anyone I was there. I trust Beddell. He won't tell anyone. That's the way I want to keep it. We cannot risk letting Kreilley learn I have returned before we act. Our entire plan hangs on that point."

"You do realize your plan endangers Sarah's life."

"I know. I can't tell you how afraid I am for mom, but we cannot strike until Kreilley thinks he has won. Only then will he be at his weakest."

# # #

Miss Tamara Sky is making her way through the office building, the setting sun creating odd light and shadows in the cubicle filled office space.

An odd feeling had come over her after her conversation on the phone that morning with the real estate agent. Using her lunch break she walked around the building and discovered that on each floor, it was mostly vacant, but for a few others like herself. She never was a whiz at math, but you didn't have to be genius to figure out there were too few people for the number of cars in the parking lot.

She decided that today was her last day. No notice, just up and quit and call her agent on Monday and start taking modeling contracts again. She went down to personnel to turn in her badge, but the human resources office was empty. That settled it permanently in her mind. She was leaving.

She has worked the last six months as a receptionist for Fox Industries, fielding calls for many of the businesses under its umbrella. Tamara felt herself lucky when she landed this job, having to drop out of modeling school to help raise her younger brother and sister when their parents died. She could have gotten far in modeling with her exotic blend of Asian and Native American looks. But family comes first and now she wonders if leaving modeling was such a good idea.

At the end of the day, Tamara uses the washroom, and only returns to her desk for her purse. She takes the elevator to the ground floor. Waving goodbye to the security guard, she makes her way to the employee entrance.

She decides to send out her portfolio to a few more modeling agencies as she walks across the tarmac to her car. The parking lot is almost empty but for a dozen or so scattered vehicles. The sun almost disappearing behind the hills.

Pulling her keys from her purse, she picks up her pace, trotting in her high heels to an old blue Dodge Neon she bought to get to and from work.

Tamara reaches her car and fumbles with the keys to unlock the door.

Just as she hears a satisfying click, she notices a reflected movement in the window. Something rising up between herself and the sun.

Turning quickly she sees what looks like a dark shadow looming over her.

In shock, she drops her purse, with mild yell. The figure shifts to one side. It is the security guard.

"Miss, you dropped your badge in the lobby." the security guard looks down at the pavement. "and your purse as well." He bends down with a smile, picking up the bag and handing both items to her.

"Thank you." She says with a nervous laugh. She decides it wouldn't be worth the effort to explain her not wanting the badge. The man was kind enough to chase after her. She can always mail it back to them tomorrow.

"Have a good evening Ms. Sky," the guard says, knowing her name from having read her badge.

"You too." She says, quickly getting into her car and driving off, with an overwhelming feeling of relief.

2009, May 15, Evening, Day -3

The sun had set over an hour ago. The stars are shining brilliantly in the desert sky.

"Why are we waiting until after Sarah visits the weapon cache? Why not just nip in there, grab what we need and nip back out again?" Kyle asks, his patience having grown short in the desert heat.

"Mom knows that place like the back of her hand." John says hoarsely, his throat having gone dry again. "She could walk in there blindfolded on the night of a new moon and find exactly what she wants. We go in there before she does, and she will know someone's been there and she may do everything completely different. She might run off and hide Cameron's body somewhere else. Somewhere where I may not find it in the future. We've got to wait until after she leaves."

A minute or more goes by before Kyle says, "We should scout out a temporary base closer to the scene of action. Crystal Peak is too far away from Topanga to launch an attack."

"I was thinking the same. I'll contact John Henry as soon as we're done here."

John and Kyle aren't waiting long when they see headlights approaching. A black SUV comes to a stop not far from where they know the hatch to be located.

"Quiet" John says very low.

They watch as Sarah gets out of her SUV. She goes forward and pulls a chain buried in the sand, opening the hatch to the desert hideaway. John and Kyle watch as Sarah goes around to the back of the SUV and opens the hatch. She struggles for a moment and they see her slide a large bundle out strapped to a hand truck. John watches with mixed emotions as his mom wheels Cameron's body down into the hideaway. A few minutes later and she exits with a box of ammo. Sarah places it in the back of her truck and carries two bundles down inside.

They hear someone approaching from behind them and John and Kyle quickly bury themselves as low into the ground as they can get. They don't dare move until suddenly they hear the click of a gun being cocked, followed by a rough voice drifting to them in the night air saying, "Hold it right there Sarah Connor. One false move and I'll blow your head off."

Kyle watches anxiously while John just lays beside him calmly. Everything in him says he should act to help her, yet John says they should let things happen without interfering.

Kyle looks up to see a large man standing between themselves and Sarah who is standing just next to the open door of her truck. It is so quiet he could swear he can hear the man breath, or is that his own breathing he is hearing.

The man stands well back out of reach of Sarah. "I've been looking for you for quite some time Sarah Connor." His voice drifts back.

Kyle looks out of the corner of his eye to see that John is watching the proceedings as well.

"The boss will be very pleased to hear I've caught you."

"Who are you? Police? FBI?" Sarah says defiantly. Her voice sharp and clear in the dark.

"I'm not at liberty to say. Now, move away from the door very carefully and put your hands up on the roof of the vehicle."

"Spread your legs. Good. Are you carrying any weapons?"

Kyle is watching and sees the man has foolishly stepped closer to Sarah. If he is a professional, then he has certainly forgotten his training.

"I have a gun tucked into the waistband of my pants." Sarah says, moving her hand as if to pull it out.

"Stop! You keep your hands where I can see them."

Kyle can't believe the stupidity of the man. John just gives him a slight nod of his head. Kyle turns back in time to see the man staggering and falling to the ground. He can't help but grin as he sees Sarah leap onto the man and begin wrestling for the guns.

One of the guns goes arcing through the air while she simultaneously punches him. They are wrestling for control of the remaining gun, while rolling around on the ground, grabbing and scratching and digging at each other with their free hands.

Kyle is impressed by her toughness and skill. Sarah fights with a ferocity he hasn't seen in many fighters. Suddenly the large man strikes Sarah in the mouth and leaps to his feet. He is now pointing the gun at her.

Kyle whispers, "We should do something."

John just puts a hand on his arm, and shakes his head no. He knows his mom will have help.

They hear the large man's voice more clearly now. "You know. Any other time I might have enjoyed that. But my boss wants you brought in alive. He has a few questions for you. Then after that I don't know. I might just ask if I might have you for some amusement."

"You try anything with me and you'll suffer. Who the hell do you work for? Is it Kaliba?"

"Well, well, well. The little bitch knows something. Now I'd like to know what the hell are you doing out here?"

Sarah doesn't say anything. Kyle is impressed. Even in the face of death she doesn't back down. This is some woman who raised John on her own.

"Not talking. What were you doing out here? You got something hidden out here is that it?"

Sarah still doesn't say anything.

"Answer me now, bitch!" Pow! Pow! He fires two shots near Sarah. Plumes of sand go up into the air on either side of her. Sarah lays rock still and doesn't say a word while she judges her next move.

John quickly reaches over to restrain Kyle as he reacts to the gunshots. John's own stomach twisted into knots when he heard the gunfire, but he knows this isn't how his mom dies.

"If that's the way you want to play it, then I'd better take my amusement now. Cuz there will be nothing left worth playing with by the time the boss is finished with you."

Kyle glares a moment at John. Like he's asking how can he be so callous with his own mother. John just mouths one word. "Wait."

"You do anything mister, and so help me God I'll make sure you die before the day is done." Sarah's strident tones are heard clearly in the night air.

"Ha, ha, ha. Look around you. The day is already done." The man says gesturing at the night sky.

John taps Kyle on the shoulder and points. Coming from the same direction that Sarah arrived is a single headlight. Soon the quiet night is split by a roar of an engine and a bright light, that lights up the man holding a gun on Sarah.

The man's attention is drawn away by the approaching motorcycle and Sarah, who never took her eyes off him, throws a handful of sand in the man's eyes and quickly rolls away. He starts firing blindly at her as the motorcyclist begins to fire a gun.

The man leaps into Sarah's SUV and starts to drive off. Sarah fires rapidly in his direction. A tail light shatters, a tire blows, and the truck goes into a ditch where it stops.

John and Kyle watches as Sarah flings open the drivers door to find the man slumped over the wheel. She reaches inside and tries to remove her keys, but they are stuck.

The motorcycle suddenly goes silent. Sarah turns to face her rescuer. The motorcyclist gets off the bike, leaving the headlight on. Sarah wonders who this could be.

Kyle looks at John questioningly, but John is staring intently at the new arrival with a mix of emotions on his face that Kyle can't fathom.

The motorcyclist walks toward Sarah and stops a few feet away and speaks, its voice muffled by the helmet, "Sarah Connor, come with me if you want to live."

"Who are you?" Sarah is heard asking.

The person removes their helmet with both hands and lifts it off their head. Sarah gasps, and drops her gun. It is Cameron.

Kyle gasps as well. John quickly reaches over and shoves his face into the sand. Knowing Cameron's abilities, Kyle might have given their position away. But though John is making sure he and Kyle stay out of sight, he can't help but listen to the conversation.

"It's okay Sarah. John sent me back in time to help you."

"How is John?" He can hear the worry and concern in her voice. How he wishes he could just run to her now, but he can't. Not if they are to stop Kreilley.

"He is doing well. He was leader of the entire resistance force when he sent me back." Cameron replies calmly.

"Does he still remember me?"

"He thinks of you all the time Sarah. He carries your letter and photograph on him always, and he wears your key ring on a chain around his neck. You are always with him. You're his guardian angel."

John's heart breaks as he listens to Cameron tell her the message and watches his mother give into her emotions. He's pleased when Cameron steps forward and holds Sarah in her arms. He didn't know how well Cameron's personality matrix would work. He wanted her to extend the same friendship to his mom that he knew she was capable of. It is nice to see her respond so well to Sarah's needs.

John watches as his mom collects her belongings from her SUV and then get on the back of Cameron's motorcycle. Before she drives off, Cameron does a quick scan of the desert. Thermal imaging reveals some hot blobs but they could be rocks or animals sheltering from the cold. Not seeing anything that registers as a threat, she decides she is just wasting time.

The eastern sky was just beginning to get light as Cameron speeds off leaving nothing but a trail of dust in the air. John hopes his mom enjoys the ride. His mom never did like motorcycles, unless she was the one driving.

Waiting until the sound of the motorcycle is long gone, John stands up and gives a shrill whistle, pauses, then whistles three more times in quick succession. He is greeted by a car horn from the people left with the truck.

"Come on, there is something I want to show you before the others get here." John and Kyle run quickly to the cache and open the hatch.

John leads him down the steps and into the back where Kyle never went in the future. He shines a light on the bundles.

On the top of the bundles are tags. The one John is showing him, has his brother's name on it.

"Would you like to have some of his things to remember him."

He shakes his head no. "What's in the other bag?"

"My computer and other stuff of mine." John looks at Kyle then says. "Look over here."

John points his light onto the shelf where Cameron's body lies wrapped in plastic. They can just make her out through the translucent plastic.

"Everything she said . . ." Kyle begins.

" . . . was true." John finishes for him. "Now help me hide her body before the others get here."

A minute later, Cameron's damaged body hidden from view, they hear the truck drive up outside. Unable to finish their conversation, they quickly leave to go out and hand the things up they'll need. Luckily for them they know exactly where everything is.

2009, May 16, Early Morning, Day -2

John Connor is behind the wheel of the truck. Driving out of the desert. He gets a bit of a turn when he sees Cameron and his mom outside the rest stop. He didn't know they had stayed beyond arranging to keep the van there, so he keeps driving until they get closer to the city. He pulls into a convenience store, with gas pumps, on the edge of a small town bypassed by the highway. He sends the guys in to get some more water and something to eat while he pumps the gas. Kyle stays behind to speak with John privately as he pumps the gas.

"You know you live one hell of a life, John. When I was a kid, Derek and I stumbled across this collection of books that survived Judgment Day. A lot of the classics. I read every one of them. Not one of the heroes in those books could hold a candle to you John. You've got a steel in you that will not bend."

"I sense a 'but' coming at the end of that sentence."

"Not so much a 'but,' just some advice. You're not a machine John. Your emotions are real. Ignoring them won't make them go away. You need to talk about what happened in the future."

"I don't know what to say. I'm still not even sure how I feel. I just want it all to be over."

He doesn't know what to tell Kyle. He's torn between what has happened and what could happen. It just makes it easier for him to shut it out of his mind so he can do his job.

"I was there, John. I heard everything she said before she died." Kyle leans back against the truck running his hand through his hair. "It makes more sense now, no wonder Ally was so taken with you after . . ."

"Kyle." John says sharply. "I really don't want to talk about it right now. Okay?"

"Dammit John!" Kyle says standing up sharply. "There's more than you who is suffering right now! Ally was raised as my sister and I loved her as such. When we were older, I thought maybe it could be more than that. Maybe it could have if Kreilley didn't purge the bunkers before you arrived and changed all that. But dammit John, stop thinking about yourself. I still love Allison, and it kills me to think I might have saved her if I knew, and that I never had a chance to properly grieve for her or say goodbye. She's just one more person in an unmarked grave. And if you won't talk to me about what happened to Cameron, then you need to talk with someone. And soon, before it eats you up like Ally's death is eating me."

Without waiting for a reply, Kyle climbs up into the cab of the truck. John finishes pumping the gas and goes inside to collect his change. He knows Kyle is right, but who would understand. While inside, he purchases a prepaid cell-phone and sandwiches for himself and Kyle.

While he waits for everyone to finish their food or use the bathroom, John places a call to Crystal Peak.

Looking out the window of the convenience store, he sees a motorcycle go flying past on the highway. He isn't certain, but he thinks that might have been his mom and Cameron.

Not much longer, he thinks, and soon all of this will be over.

# # #

Catherine is busy working in her sparse but clean office next to the computer lab when she hears a knock on her door. Glancing at the security monitor, she presses a button and the sound of a latch is heard coming open.

"Come in Savannah." She says somewhat cheerfully.

Savannah walks in and takes a seat opposite Catherine. She is behind her desk where there is a computer keyboard and a large flat panel monitor on the wall behind it.

Catherine asks, "Have you given any thought to what I've asked you to do for me and for yourself?"

Savannah pauses a moment before answering. "I have."

"Will you do it?"

"Yes, but on two conditions." Savannah says then looks right at Catherine.

"Oh." Catherine sits back in her executive chair. "I'd like to hear them."

"It's nothing outside your abilities. You must do something to help Uncle James. Today is the day he nearly died to save my life. You should see to it that he is taken care of."

"That won't be a problem. He should be rewarded for his actions. What is the other condition?"

"Talk to John. Make things right with him. He hasn't been the same since we got here. He's more withdrawn. He doesn't talk unless it's to give an order or to convey information or to ask a question. John Henry and I are very worried about John. Please talk to him."

"I doubt that he would listen to me. Things have progressed too far."

"It's your own fault for lying to him when you brought him to the future. Why did you do it? Will you tell me at least?" Savannah pleads.

"Very well. If you think, it is important." Catherine sits up and faces Savannah across from her desk.

"When I traveled with John Connor to the future, I gave him all the help I could, not just to help me with my plans for John Henry, but to ensure he was surrounded by people who would be his friends. To help him until the bitter end. I did what I could from behind the scenes, to raise him to the position he now has. People don't give a damn about some unknown grunt, but make that grunt into a leader, especially when it is their ultimate destiny, and people will rally around them and ensure his safety. As part of that plan, I had to lie to John, after first gaining his trust. I lied, because if he knew for certain that he could get back, he might not do his best to defeat Sky Net. Unfortunately, my lies became true because th in this mountain, did not have enough power in the future to send him back. The nuclear generator wasn't working and there was only enough fuel for the diesel generators to produce enough power for one transfer, which was used when I sent Cameron back to save you, Sarah and herself from the Turk. When John led the forces against Topanga, I went ahead of him and weakened its defenses. I did all that and more for John Connor. Because if he did not survive the future, he would not be alive to stop it when he returned to the past. After things went bad at Topanga, and I got the Time Displacement Equipment working, that was my chance to make things right."

Savannah isn't certain if she believes Catherine or not. Her answer seemed to pat, like she'd been expecting the question so had rehearsed an answer that would sound plausible. If she had to be ready with an answer, then what is she hiding?

The phone on Catherine's desk rings. Savannah and Catherine both look at the phone surprised. Catherine checks the caller ID and sees that it is identified as an unknown caller.

She picks it up and hears a male voice say, "Eighteen, May Two-thousand Nine."

Catherine replies, "Day of Redemption."

"This is John. I need to speak with Savannah or John Henry."

Catherine holds the phone out to Savannah. "It's John. He wants to talk with you."

Savannah takes the receiver from her. "Hi John. It's Savannah. Where are you?"

"We are in the desert heading back to the city. Listen, carefully. We need a base closer to our target. We can't keep running back and forth to the Sierra's. Have John Henry do a search for a possible location all of us can hold up in until tomorrow night, closer to Topanga. If all of you leave and meet us there today, then we can all get plenty of rest before we act."

"That sounds good. Where can we reach you?"

"Did my number come up on Catherine's phone?"

Catherine nods her head. "Yes it did." Savannah says.

"Write it down. I picked up a prepaid cell phone to use until Andy gets those radios ready. You can reach me at that number when John Henry has a location for us. Pack up everything we will need and bring it with you."

The phone suddenly goes dead.

"He hung up." Savannah says. "He didn't say goodbye or anything."

"John won't be that way forever. He'll come out of it."

"When? You might as well have killed him. There's nothing left of the John I knew. He's been nothing but an automaton since Allison died."

If he's such a good friend, then why has he lied to you about Cameron? Catherine thinks but doesn't say as she turns her attention back to her computer. "Shouldn't you relay his message to John Henry if you want to stop Judgment Day."

"I will." Savannah stands up. "Are the new I D's ready for everyone?"

"Yes. John Henry and I finished them last night. You are now in the system. You are a still a Weaver by birth, but with your new name and history. He has prepared identities and history for John, his mom, and Cameron according to John's wishes."

Savannah begins to leave, but stops to ask a question. Something that has been bothering her since she last talked with Catherine. "The other day, we were talking about John and Allison. John Henry said you weren't pleased by that relationship. Why?"

Catherine sits back in her chair. "I wasn't displeased with the relationship, only that John relied on Allison so much. He needed her friendship to get through those dark days, but he needed no ties to that future. Even though the marriage was a ruse it created a binding force between him and her and that future. As you now know, John was never meant to stay there."

"Which you lied to him about. So him marrying Allison is as much your faults as anyone's."

"Perhaps. But I understand there were other considerations for him marrying her in the future instead of waiting."

"Well, yeah. The other was because his mom, Sarah Connor, was dying. She only had days to live. If that became the real future, that would have been Sarah's only chance to see her son married. You know, if you had told John the truth in the first place, the relationship with Allison might have never of happened."

"Possibly Savannah, but as John has returned to his own time, where his mother is alive and he can reunite with Cameron, I see no further point in discussing this. Perhaps, you should ask John about Allison when next you see him. I'm not the only one with secrets."

"What secrets?" Savannah asks quickly. Does this have something to do with what john Henry told me yesterday?

Catherine returns to working at her computer terminal. "Now I have work to do and I believe you have a message to deliver."

Savannah sees she'll get no further with Catherine and leaves to give John Henry the message.

2009, May 16, Mid Morning, Day -2

After switching the motorcycle for the Dodge Ram, Cameron and Sarah drive quickly towards Weavers' home. According to information given to Cameron, Ellison and Savannah's lives are in danger. As they are coming up the drive they hear the gunshots as the police men are taken down.

They stop outside and hear more gun shots from inside. Sarah and Cameron rush in guns drawn and run quickly through the house and find a man in gray about to shoot Ellison in the head. Sarah fires quickly killing the man before he fires. Two more men pop out and Cameron quickly shoves Sarah to one side and takes the bullets meant for her. Cameron shoots and kills one of them but the other dashes for safety.

"Quick, get after him." Sarah shouts at Cameron.

Cameron wastes no time and runs after the man.

Sarah goes to Ellison. He is bleeding profusely from several wounds, his arm even more so. Sarah rips down the drapes and uses her knife to rip strips off of it. Taking the strips she tries to bind his wounds the best she can to stop the flow of blood.

"It's you." Ellison gasps. "How did you find me?"

"It's a long story, and you're in no condition to be listening to long stories."

"Where's Savannah?"

"Hiding . . . down there." Ellison gestures weakly.

Sarah looks up from her task, and looks around. She calls out, "Savannah, where are you? Everything is okay now. Please come out."

Savannah comes out from behind the vase, visibly shaken and tears streaming from her eyes.

"Come here, Savannah. Remember me. I helped you before."

"I remember you. Your son taught me to tie my shoes." She whimpers as she approaches.

"That's right Savannah." Sarah smiles at her. "Come here next to me."

Savannah kneels down beside Sarah looking at her Uncle James, tears in her eyes.

"What are you doing here Ellison?" The gentleness in her voice quickly disappearing.

"I've been given custody of Savannah. We are here to get some of her belongings."

"Dammit Ellison. I told you she wasn't safe. Why in hell didn't you think?"

"We were going away. She needed something familiar with her." Ellison started coughing.

Cameron walks into the room.

"Did you get him?" Sarah asked her.

"Yes." Cameron replies in a tone suggesting the question was irrelevant.

"Did he talk? Did he tell you anything?"

Cameron recalls the events in her mind. She chased the man down the hall and cornered him in a bedroom. He tried to lash out at her, but she knocked him down. He stood up and tried to strike her, but she grabbed him by the throat and held him in the air until he passed out and died.

"He said very little and then he was quiet." Cameron answers.

Ellison finally spots whom Sarah is talking too, as Cameron walks around to his other side.

"Oh my God. It's you. How did . . . ?"

"It's another long story Ellison, and not one I think you would believe." Sarah gins, but her face is filled with worry.

"Don't just stand there! Help me bind his wounds." Sarah shouts at Cameron.

"You must call Auldridge." Ellison says to Sarah.

"Agent Auldridge. FBI?"

"He's a friend Sarah. He knows . . ." Ellison coughs, blood coming to his lips.

"What does he know Ellison?"

"The truth about Sky Net, the Cyborgs . . . he knows." Ellison's voice occasionally broken by coughing.

"It's too dangerous."

"We have friends Sarah. Detective Macklin, LAPD." He coughs some more.

"Great! Just how many people have you got involved?" Sarah snaps.

"Sarah, you can't fight this battle alone. You need to trust people at some time. They can help." Ellison breaks off into more coughing.

"They know the truth. They have seen the machines." Ellison coughs some more, blood begins seeping from his mouth. Savannah is kneeling beside him, crying while holding his free hand.

Cameron and Sarah finishes binding Ellison's wounds. Cameron scans Ellison and says. "He's suffered a huge amount of blood loss. One of the bullets has pierced a lung. If he doesn't get medical help soon he will die."

Ellison's cell phone begins to ring. Sarah picks it up. "Hello." she says a little curtly.

"Hello, this is Agent Auldridge is Mr. Ellison available."

"This is Sarah Connor. Ellison is severely hurt and needs help right away."

"Sarah Connor! I thought you were long gone or in deep hiding. How is Ellison hurt and where are you?"

"We are at Catherine Weavers home. Several men attempted to take or kill Savannah. Ellison has managed to take many of them out, but he has received numerous bullet wounds. He has a torn artery in his right arm, and a bullet has punctured a lung. If he doesn't get help soon, he will die."

"All right. Sarah, listen to me. I'm calling 911 right now. As far as I am concerned I've talked to Ellison and not you. Don't hang around, take Ellison's phone with you so I can reach you. Leave as soon as you can. Don't let anyone find you there. Got it."

"I get it." Sarah breaks the connection and slips the phone in her pocket.

"Help is on the way Ellison." Sarah says as she finishes binding his arm.

"Go now, don't let them find you here." Ellison says weakly.

"You'll die if I don't stay."

"Take Savannah with you. Take care of her, like you did John." Ellison starts coughing again spitting up blood.

Sarah helps him up into a sitting position. "Here try to stay upright. It will ease your troubled breathing."

Cameron's head tilts. "I can hear sirens approaching. If we don't leave in 12.2 seconds we will get caught Sarah."

"Grab the girl and her bag." Sarah tells Cameron.

Cameron picks up Savannah and her bag in her arms.

Sarah takes one last look at this man who has given so much and tried his best to help her and Savannah. She grips his hand in a friendly goodbye and gets up with gun drawn heading for the front door. Cameron is just behind her with Savannah in her arms. Savannah is looking over her shoulder at her Uncle James, tears still running from her eyes.

Ellison watches them leave. He smiles faintly and tries to raise his hand in a small wave, but his hand never leaves the floor.

Sirens can be heard in the distance as Cameron gets in the back with Savannah. Sarah hops in the driver's seat and goes tearing down the driveway and out through the gate. They pass an ambulance and cop car on the street. Sarah looks in the rear-view mirror and watches them go through the gate she just left.

Sarah struggles with grief, anger, and disappointment in herself for never trusting Ellison. Her driving is only marginally better than what Cameron's was that morning.

# # #

John and Kyle are standing outside the observatory at Griffith Park waiting for Martin Beddell.

"Are you okay for tomorrow night?" Kyle asks. John looks tired and stressed. To put it simply, he looks like hell.

"I'm fine. We'll end this. One way or another, and it will be over in less than forty-eight hours."

They can see a vehicle pulling in. Spotting the driver, they wave to get his attention.

"I'm sorry I blew up at you John. Maybe I'm not the person you need to talk to, but please talk to someone. I'm no psychologist, but it doesn't take one to know you are hurting."

Beddell's truck comes to a stop in front of them.

"I'm sorry too, but I'm just not ready to talk about it yet." John says with very little change of expression. "Good luck Kyle."

"You too." Kyle says with a frown and gets into the truck with Beddell, passing him a rucksack laden down with items from the weapon's cache. He's worried about John. He's been through hell and he doesn't understand how John is holding himself together.

"Come on Beddell, let's see what kind of men you've brought us. We've got much to do before tomorrow night."

John sees them off with a wave and he walks to the other end of the parking lot, his thoughts returning again to the foundry.

# # #

John Henry is plugged into the TDE, Catherine is standing beside him observing the readings on the display.

"Diagnostic is complete." John Henry intones.

After Savannah and the others had left with their weapons and supplies, Catherine decided now was the time to inspect her TDE for damage before they became involved in the cyber-attack on FOX Industries.

"Excellent. I was concerned its improper use and shutdown might have caused it damage." She says, giving John Henry a cross expression. Humans she expects to disappoint her, not John Henry.

"I did discover something of interest regarding the unknown arrival."

"What about it?"

John Henry unplugs himself from the TDE console before answering.

"Remember when I told you of the original future time-line beginning to reassert itself as we were preparing to escape by way of Sky Net's TDE from that future? Well it's possible the incoming transmission that you blocked got bumped to the original time-line. A signal not unlike the one this machine sends out when operating, was detected. It was faint, but if the TDE being used by our unknown arrival also detected it. . ."

"Then whatever was arriving here, might materialize there instead." Catherine finishes his statement for him.

She is intrigued. She based the design for her TDE on the resistances TDE, who in turn stole the design from Sky Net, which she was enslaved to at the time of its TDE's construction.

"Correct. But according to my calculations, the odds of that happening are quickly approaching a trillion to one chance."

One of Weaver's eyebrows quirks with amused curiosity over the current events. Its quite possible a temporal transfer is about to occur, or has occurred, between two parallel time-lines. If she could only be in both places at once to observe the departure and the arrival. So many questions could be answered about the quantum universe of which she only knows a token, but which is far more than all the human physicists of this present world knows.

"Are you going to tell John Connor?" She asks, with no more than a second passing since John Henry spoke.

John Henry frowns. "No, because it doesn't change anything. Why cause him more pain, especially now that he is trying to move on past Cameron's death."

2027, July 25, Day 64 5:00 AM

"John we need to go." Kyle says. "Catherine should have th ready. It is our only means of escape."

"Cam, I can't leave you here. I came across time for you. I gave up everything for you. I love you." John says with more tears than he thought he had left.

"Yes you can John. You've saved this world but you need to save your own. I'm there. You can still have your Cameron to be with you forever. She's with your mom now waiting for you in 2009. She needs you and I can't be with you anymore, but you can be with her as it should have been. You need to leave."

"But I can't. Please, I just can't leave you like this." John begs, "Let me remove your chip. I can still save you."

She looks at him with so much love. He is so close to death but he's more concerned for her than for himself. "John . . . I wish you could, but its too late. The heat from the furnaces have caused my port seals to expand and you don't have any tools. Please just go to her. Use the T D E. Hurry, please."

John is crying hard. The tears mingling with the blood and burning the wounds on his face, but nothing hurts as bad as how he feels inside. His heart is breaking.

Cameron looks up from her position on the floor. "Kyle, it's up to you to help him." she cries.

2009, May 16, Late Morning, Day -2

Suddenly a car horn blares loudly, interrupting John's introspection, as he inadvertently stepped out in front of a passing vehicle.

Damn, he thinks. Get yourself together Connor or you will be dead before you can save the world. He quickly trots over to the truck and wiping the tears from his eyes.

Corporal Wren Stevens is sitting in front on the passenger seat. A map of Los Angeles is open in front of her, the base of the map curling up against her torso as she reads the map. Her ample young bosom, clad in a tank top and denim shirt, casts a shadow over everything south of an imaginary line connecting Santa Monica to Riverside.

John barely even notices her presence as he buckles is seat belt, settling in behind the wheel.

"You seem a bit distracted walking over here sir. Are you okay?" She asks looking up from the map.

"I'm fine Corporal. Just trying to forget the past."

"Don't you mean the future sir?" She asks with a grin.

John weakly smiles back. "Yeah. That too."

"I should tell you sir, those of us who knew Allison haven't forgotten her. I know her lost must weigh heavy on your mind. But all of us have lost someone, or had to leave someone behind. You aren't alone, sir."

"Thanks, Wren. How did you know her?"

"She saved my life. We were in a tunnel trying to locate Colonel Reese when she stopped me before I tripped a bomb. She had a strength like no-one else I knew and I'll never understand how she saw the bomb's trip device. We had flashlights, and I couldn't see anything."

John reminisces in his mind. That would be Cameron. She would try to save an innocent life if she could. She must of relied on Wren's inexperience so as not to realize Cameron's use of her night vision or machine strength to save her life.

"She was a really special." John manages to say, buoyed slightly by Wren's comments.

"Where to sir?" she asks, repositioning the map, so to study more of the target area, settled in her knowledge of their current location.

"We'll know as soon as John Henry calls us."

And as if his words had magic, John's cell phone rings.

2009, May 16, 12:15PM, Day -2

"Is this the place?' Wren Stevens asks as they pull into the parking lot of the old and abandoned motel.

After dropping off Kyle, she got in front to act as navigator. John didn't think she'd be much help as she wasn't even born until after Judgment Day, but damn! She sure knew her way around a map. Out front of the motel is a large and faded, but at one time brightly colored, sign that says, Packard Inn and Roadside Amusements, Everything to Keep the Children and Adults Happy and Rested. Pasted over the sign is an equally faded sign that says closed for remodeling.

"Yes. According to John Henry the motel was closed for remodeling, but was then abandoned by the owners when an earthquake damaged the foundation. Due to problems with their insurance company, and a downturn in the economy, the owners were forced to close it and try to sell it. They still garner a small income from the amusement park out back, but nobody bothers with the motel anymore. We should be all right for overnight."

John parks the truck behind the motel, away from the street. Breaking in through a side exit, he and the others go inside. While posting guards at the various entrances, John pauses and looks out the back into a small amusement park which has access from another highway. Once part of the motel property, he can see the owners have installed a rest stop and fenced it off from the motel. From his vantage point behind the motel, he can look right down into the miniature golf, a go-cart track, a pool, and a picnic area. They'd be secure from an attack from this position. Anyone would give themselves away coming over the fence.

It doesn't seem like much time has passed when the M35 pulls into the parking lot out front. Followed by assorted vehicles crammed with people. The rest of their troops have arrived from Crystal Peak. Savannah is with them.

"I thought you were ordered to rest until your leg healed." John says when he sees her.

"I'm not letting Catherine tell me what to do. I'm going to do my share, whether she likes it or not."

"You sounded just like mom when you said that." John says with humor but there is no humor in his eyes. "But I'm glad to see you. It wouldn't be the same without you here."

"Where's Kyle?" Savannah asks.

"He's with a friend of mine. They're going to help out with some preliminary work before the battle. I'll give you the details later."

"Where should we park the vehicles?"

"Out back. You'll see where we parked. Everyone can go into the lobby or the nearby empty rooms to rest until we head out tomorrow."

"Andy still needs to work on the radios. He hasn't finished modifying all of them." Savannah says.

She's worried, John's face is almost an expressionless mask. Like everything he held dear was lost, despite the fact in the next thirty-six hours, he could get it all back.

"There's no power. So unless he brought a generator, he's out of luck."

"We have a portable generator." Savannah says. "He says he can setup a temporary shop in one of the empty rooms."

Ten minutes later, everyone is inside, but for two guards stationed with the vehicles. There are guards posted at various entrances, but John doesn't believe they will come under attack, but you can never be too safe.

While the soldiers rest prior to tomorrow nights battle, John takes a walk to the back of the lobby. There are still a couple of old cushioned chairs still sitting there for clients who will never come. John takes one of them and sits staring out a boarded up window. Despite feeling tired, he doesn't dare sleep for the dreams.

Savannah walks up and sits down beside him, "Nice view isn't it?" She says to try and get a laugh, but she doesn't get a response.

Catherine implied John held secrets about Allison. She can't imagine him being implicit in her death, if she did die. She'll ignore Catherine's suggestion and just concentrate on her friend and his needs.

"John, you should talk about it. It isn't good for you to hold it in."

"You've been talking to Kyle. He told me the same thing."

"Will you talk to me about it?" Savannah says reaching out placing a hand gently on his arm.

John pulls in his left hand and holds it, feeling the rings on his fingers with his right hand. Savannah can't help but notice there are two rings.

Instead of answering hers question, John asks one of his own. "In the future, after Catherine sent me through on the T D E, what happened in those final moments before everyone followed me."

Savannah hesitates, and then begins talking.

2027, July 25, Day 64, 4:50 AM

Catherine is busy working at th console. After sending John through, it began acting up. Kyle left to see for himself the enemy actions while she worked the controls. She is struggling with the controls when Kyle returns.

"Catherine! The building is surrounded by enemy metal. The soldiers are trying to hold them off, but we are severely outnumbered!"

"Call them off and get them in here now! Thi is acting precarious and I've got no idea how much longer I can keep it under control!"

"Damn!" Kyle shouts. "And we have no idea when that bomb will go off!"

He pulls out his radio. "Everyone! Withdraw! Withdraw! Pull back inside the building and join me in th room now!"

The rain is pouring down as the troops fire their plasma rifles at the oncoming endo's. Several troops fall as the endo's return fire. A few endo's explode as plasma fire rips open their power cells.

Lieutenant Jeffrey is busy firing her rifle when her radio crackles. "Withdraw! Withdraw! . . . . . join me . . . . T D E . . . now!"

"Everyone retreat inside the building now!" She shouts.

Everybody runs for the doors. Some pausing to provide covering fire so others can get inside. Their remaining machines stay outside to defend the humans as long as possible. Once Jeffrey is inside she orders the doors closed and barred.

Catherine looks up from her work. "John Henry, would you please fetch my daughter. We need to be ready to go at a moments notice."

John Henry nods his head and goes up to the level where Savannah lies recuperating. He goes over to her and finds her still semiconscious. A quick scan reveals she received a blow to her head, lost twenty percent of her blood, and recently had surgery on her left leg. He gently picks her up and carries her downstairs into th control room.

Energy is crackling and humming as the power builds. Catherine is busy working multiple control panels trying to keep the power stabilized and the coordinates locked in place. From the upper most levels, the sound of gunfire is heard.

"John Henry! Get over here now and help me!" Catherine yells at him.

He gently lowers Savannah to the floor next to the console. He quickly scans the readouts and says, "I can reroute some of the power to the outlying factories. If any of the equipment is still set to run, it will bleed off the excess power." He quickly slides controls and punches in commands on the touch screen while Catherine stabilizes the wormhole.

Savannah stirs, and open her eyes to see John Henry and Catherine working diligently at some kind of control panel while Kyle watches anxiously.

"It's working. But the coordinates are still fluctuating. I can lock in the temporal coordinates but the physical coordinates are all over the scale."

"Plug me into its computer. I can do it." John Henry says.

Catherine looks at him, and with a quick nod of her head, says, "Turn around."

Catherine extends her finger into a knife and cuts into the flesh at the base of John Henry's skull exposing what looks like a computer data port. She extracts a cable from her body and plugs one end into the data port on John Henry's head and the other into a similar data port on the console.

"I'm communicating with the computer." John Henry announces. "Software is incomplete. I found the cause. There was a line in the program that erased some blocks of program code after you sent John Connor. I am attempting to rebuild the gaps in the software."

Just then several troops led by Lieutenant Williams comes running into the room.

"We've sealed off the entrance from the neighboring building." She catches her breath then exclaims. "I think there are still more troops outside. The metal is coming on strong. Just when you think you are getting ahead, another wave of metal attacks. Sky Net must have called them in to defend itself."

"No it didn't." Kyle says. "It called them in to keep us here until that bomb goes off. Sky Net wouldn't mind losing if it took out the victors in its death."

"Bomb! What bomb?" Lieutenant Williams asks. Kyle quickly explains while Catherine and John Henry work on the console.

"Coordinates are stabilizing." John Henry announces, "You may begin transferring people Ms. Weaver."

"Thank you John Henry. Kyle, would you like to go next?"

"I'm the commanding officer." Kyle says. "I won't leave until everyone else has."

"What about you Savannah?" Catherine directs her gaze at the young woman sitting up, leaning on one elbow.

"I'm not leaving you behind and out of site. I'm staying here and I'll be leaving with you." Savannah says from her position laying on the floor next to the console.

"Lieutenant Williams, looks like you will be first. I can transfer as many as six at a time so I suggest you start getting people down here."

2009, May 16, Day -2, early afternoon

"Lieutenant Williams refused to be the first. She took command of the forces on the ground level and began sending small groups downstairs. Then the machines broke in. Lieutenant Jeffrey was killed. Williams fought hard. We could hear her yelling orders. Kyle had defensive units on each level to protect each withdrawing group until it was their turn to fall behind. The fight was terrible."

"Catherine sent those that fell back through on the T D E. But it quickly became apparent that she couldn't send all of them through to he in this time. To get as many people through as possible, Catherine had to start sending open ended time transfers. People began arriving in the main hall or outside the bunker."

"Then came several loud explosions from the top floor. The machines had broken through in mass. Lieutenant Williams started yelling at us to get moving. She'd hold them off. More people were sent, the machines were getting closer. I thought for sure we were going to die, then Catherine asked Kyle to place me on the pad. She wasn't going to wait any longer to send me. So, Kyle picked me up and got on the pad. He barely reached the center when Catherine and John Henry stepped into the middle of the pad. Kyle just about lost it, yelling at Catherine there were still people that needed saving. Then lightening began shooting all around the room and the energy bubble began to form around us. Even above all the noise we could hear the shouting and gunfire growing louder. As the bubble grew opaque, John Henry gave the cable a yank, that he was plugged into the console with, and held it in his hands. We could see machines approaching through the opaqueness of the bubble. The next thing I knew I was standing back inside Crystal Peak bunker in the middle of Catherine's T D E."

"The odd thing was, just before we disappeared, I swore I saw a bright flash, but before I was certain, we weren't there anymore."

"The flash was probably the nuclear bomb going off."

"I don't think so. Have you ever seen the fuel cell to a plasma rifle explode?" John nods his head, having seen two rifles explode. "The color was more like that. A blueish-purple tinged with gold. Not the white-hot flash of a hydrogen bomb. And it came from right overhead, not from any position the enemy was in."

"I can't explain it. Maybe knowing their guns was about to explode a machine threw it at the time bubble hoping to disrupt the transfer." John sighs, then asks quietly. "I only spoke to her briefly, what was Lieutenant Williams' first name?"

"Her first name was Blair. She was a good soldier. We spent some time talking at Pendleton. Blair was a former pilot. Stopped flying due to an injury but she went right into ground combat. Tough but kind is how I would describe her."

"When this is over, we should have a memorial service for all who died."

Savannah decides this the time to ask about Allison. "I noticed you are wearing Allison's wedding ring. She isn't missing, is she?"

A few tears run from his eyes. "No, she's not. She died saving my life."

Savannah reaches out, placing a comforting hand on his leg.

"She had a good heart. You know, when Allison leaned over me and told me that I was going to be okay, she reminded me of Cameron. It was just the same way Cameron would look at me and talk to me when I was a child and gotten hurt. There was this time when I was twelve . . ."

John wipes his eyes. "Savannah," his voice cracks, "I would like to get some rest now."

He doesn't want to be rude, but the last hing he wants to talk about is Cameron, though he is curious in the worst way about her life with Savannah and his mom.

"Okay." Savannah pats his leg affectionately and leans back in her chair to try to rest herself.

After a while and unable to sleep, Savannah goes for a walk and finds herself out behind the motel. She is surprised to see some people in the miniature golf course, some distance away and at the bottom of the hill. It looks like a woman with her back towards the motel and she is holding a gun on two men in front of her.

Her first thought is that a robbery is underway. Suddenly she hears the woman call out, and Savannah recognizes that voice, and her profile.

The woman, without lowering her weapon, turns away from the men and shouts, "Cam!"

"Yes Sarah." Savannah recognizes that voice, too. It is Cameron's. Always polite, and kind.

"We are going over to their car." Sarah shoves the gun back into her waistband. "Auldridge has a map he wants to show us. I think you'd better come along too. You've got information that may verify what these two suspect."

"What do you want me to do with Savannah?" Cameron replies.

Savannah's own heart skips a beat to hear her name mentioned. This was right after they saved her life.

"Check on her." Sarah calls out. "If she's still asleep, then let her be, otherwise she may as well join us."

Savannah watches as Sarah and the two men walk further away to a picnic table. She remembers the men now. She met them all too briefly. They helped Uncle James, and then they helped Sarah.

Cameron helps little Savannah out of the back seat of the truck. Savannah reaches inside and picks up her doll which she left on the seat. Cameron looks up and can see someone in the overgrown yard of the abandoned motel watching them. The person turns and walks away disappearing in the over growth before Cameron can zoom in and identify the person.

"Come on Cameron. Sarah is waiting for us." Little Savannah says to Cameron.

Cameron looks down at the little girl. "Okay Savannah, we'll go now." Savannah takes Cameron's hand, which surprises Cameron a little, and they walk to the picnic table.

Adult Savannah watches from behind the overgrown bush with happy tear filled eyes to see the two women she loved like family.

John needs to see this! She thinks.

Savannah returns to the motel lobby and to where John is resting. You'd expect someone in their sleep to be at rest, but his face is filled with pain and grief.

"Are you asleep?" She asks softly.

"I'm still awake." He mumbles. "I've barely slept since we got back because of my dreams."

"Then, why don't you come with me. There is something I want to show you."

"What?" John asks, as she grabs his hands to pull him out the chair.

"Just come with me, and you will see. We'll need to hurry or you'll miss it."

John follows her as she takes him out behind the motel.

"Look." Savannah points. At the further end of the rest area, John can barely make out his mom, Cameron and two men sitting at a picnic table. Sitting on the ground next to Cameron is little Savannah.

As they watch, his mom, Cameron and little Savannah walk to the truck and get inside. John watches, but eventually turns around, unable to look anymore lest he runs down the hill after them. He thanks Savannah for showing him his family.

As Cameron gets in the truck she sees that there are now two people behind the motel and they seem to be watching them. She zooms in with her HUD, one has his back to them, but they are too far away to get a positive ID. She stores the image of the woman's face for future reference.

Sarah calls out to her. "Cameron quit wasting time. We need to get moving."

"I saw someone watching us." Cameron replies, but when she turns back to look, they are gone.

"Just get in." Sarah shouts. "They were probably just homeless people living in the motel, wondering what all the activity was out back of their home."

Cameron slides into the seat beside Savannah and Sarah drives off, followed by Macklin and Auldridge in their car.

"Would you like to meet Geoffrey?" Little Savannah asks Cameron.

"We haven't got time to stop to meet your friends." Cameron replies.

"Don't be silly." Savannah chuckles. "This is Geoffrey." And she places her stuffed giraffe in Cameron's lap. "He's got something he wants to tell you." Savannah leans over and whispers in her ear. "He likes you and wants to be your friend."

After they pull out of the parking lot, John and Savannah rise up from behind the overgrown shrubbery. Having both dived behind it as soon as they realized Cameron might see them.

His curiosity pushed to the limits John asks her, "What was Cameron like growing up with her?"

Savannah doesn't even pause before answering. "When I was very little, Cameron was like an older sister. She'd play games with me. We'd get in trouble occasionally. Sarah would scold us both and say she thought she only had one little girl. When I was a little older, she was more like a close friend, a sister. Cameron once made me a whole bunch of Sudoku puzzles for my birthday. Cameron taught me a lot, but sometimes I feel I taught her things too. As mature as she could be sometimes, there was this child like innocence that never left her."

"But there were times, when I would find her alone and she seemed so sad. I think I was about fourteen when I scrambled up a hillside to find Cameron alone, sitting on a ledge, looking out over the valley. She was crying. I asked her what was wrong and she said she just felt like crying because she was alone."

Savannah looks at John. "Why do you want to know?"

John is crying really hard now. She hugs him. "Tell me, what's wrong." She says in a comforting voice.

"She wanted to tell you. We both did." John whispers before burying his face in her neck and shoulder as the grief he feels takes hold of him.

"Who? What?" She asks with concern, while gently stroking the back of his head.

"Allison was really Cameron, the whole time and I lost her. I lost her." A few tears trickle from Savannah's eyes while hugging John as she now knows who it was he and John Henry were trying to save.

She looks up to see the black Dodge RAM disappear down the highway with the people on board they love so much.

"Perhaps, then it is good you are here in this time. You get her back." She says, trying hard not to give into her grief as she comforts John.

"It's not right. It isn't how its supposed to be. Weaver is playing God, or chess, and I'm the piece she keeps playing with. She takes me away from people I care about, where I meet them and lose them again in the future, only to return me to the present and then acts if nothing has changed."

"Ssshhh." Savannah says calmly, fighting her own tears. "Come back inside, sit with me and talk, and I'll tell you something Cameron told me when I was a little girl."

Later that evening, when she's certain John will be okay, Savannah finds a private quiet corner and cries for her friend.

2009, May 16, Day -2, Evening

There is an office tower containing the corporate offices of FOX Industries overlooking a massive and busy industrial complex. At the top of that tower is an office. A man in an expensive gray silk suit is in that office sitting behind a mahogany desk. Across from him is a large flat panel monitor that entirely covers one wall. He is watching the news. They are reporting on the failed attempt to kill Savannah Weaver and the former FBI agent who was protecting her and her mother.

The man turns off the TV and presses the button on the intercom.

"Mr. Petri, will you come in here please."

"Yes, sir."

A smallish man in a blue suit enters the office.

"Mr. Petri, where is our attorney at this time?"

"He's on a plane to the Cayman Islands, sir."

"And what of our Mr. Preckman?"

"I'm sorry Mr. Kreilley, but Mr. Preckman has not called back after leaving a message yesterday saying he was following a clue as to the whereabouts of Sarah Connor."

"Did he say where he was going?"

"Yes, he said he was going to see someone in the desert."

"Did he specify which desert?"

"No sir."

"Damn him to hell. Any leads on the whereabouts of Mr. Auldridge or Detective Macklin."

"None of the teams have located them, sir. Its like they disappeared."

"So, we can't get to Ellison, Mr. Preckman hasn't reported back from chasing a lead on Sarah Connor, and Mr. Auldridge and Detective Macklin have disappeared."

He sits back in his chair and thinks, staring straight ahead, not blinking. Mr. Petri stands there nervously under his steady gaze. A few moments later Mr. Kreilley speaks.

"Mr. Petri."

"Yes sir."

"Put the guards on high alert, but on no condition are they to allow themselves to be seen in any greater number outside than under normal conditions. Also have all shifts report for duty. No leave for forty-eight hours."

"Anything else sir."

"Yes. Tell the project engineers to move project Kaliba into its final phase, tonight. I want it ready to launch within thirty-six hours." Kreilley pauses half a beat before adding, "And call off our security teams fishing trip for tomorrow. Charles Fischer will have to remain in solitary a little longer. He will be safe there, for the time being."

"Yes sir." Mr. Petri leaves quickly to carry out his orders.

# # #

Catherine Weaver and John Henry are left on their own at Crystal peak. Utilizing the computers, which were off the grid and therefore unaffected by Kreilley's Sky Net, they are busy hacking into military and domestic computer networks chasing down Sky Net's signals.

"Has there been any increase in activity on FOX Industries servers?"

"I won't know until they let down their firewalls. If I were to force may through, I could alert them before we are ready to act. Anything on your end?" John Henry responds.

"Satellite activity has increased by 8.5% since two hours ago."

"Ms. Weaver, I am getting something now. Oh shit!" John Henry exclaims and leaps at another computer and begins typing in commands at an alarming rate. Without pause he reaches behind himself and begins typing one handed on two different keyboards.

"What is it? What's wrong?' Catherine exclaims. She's never heard him swear before. He's picked up some habits from the soldiers. Suddenly the computer monitors go out. A few seconds later and they start coming on.

"Sorry I didn't answer you immediately, but I had to act quickly. Sky Net suddenly launched itself onto the internet and I had to shutdown our computers while simultaneously launching a worm onto their system."

"So. Kreilley has launched Sky Net."

"Not completely. The only thing going out right now is a whole bunch of program code all heading for those back doors into military, government, and civilian computer servers. We basically had an open door to Fox Industries, so I had to shutdown everything until the program code passed us by."

"And what will this worm do that you launched?"

John Henry grins, "It will keep the door open on their end and let me inside their servers. I have effectively shoved my foot in the door and they cannot close it. Now that our computers have re-booted, what is the current satellite activity?"

Catherine pulls up the readout from the servers on the lower level. "Satellite traffic up 80% since before the reboot and climbing rapidly. Now at 95%."

"Now all we have to do is grab hold of one those signals and direct it to where we want it to go. We'll use it as a bridge to funnel information from their servers."

"What information?"

"Data that incriminates Kreilley and FOX Industries for the crimes they are committing."

"Where will you funnel that information?"

"FBI and other law enforcement agencies initially. Other groups if it becomes necessary." John Henry says.

"Do you think that is wise?"

"People need to know what they were up to. Otherwise it could all happen again."

"I agree, so long as we secure a future where creatures such as myself and yourself are allowed to exist with the same rights and freedoms as the organics. I should return to my work. I'm still decrypting the files you downloaded from Sky Net."

John Henry's face remains impassive as he asks, "Shouldn't you call John Connor and tell him how he can defeat Kreilley? There are no weapons available to him to destroy Kreilley at this time."

"Not entirely. His actions the other day have given me an idea. Bring up the map of FOX Industries complex on the large monitor." Catherine turns to look at the screen.

"Zoom in on the south eastern corner." She orders. She is pleased, there is a scrap yard at the facility in this time as well. And there just inside the yard are two large cranes.

"Just as I thought." She smiles wickedly. "John Connor has everything he needs to destroy Kreilley."

"I see what you are planning, but will he be safe?"

"No. Like any other terminator sent by Sky Net, Kreilley will want to kill John Connor. To get Kreilley into the trap, John Connor will have to be the bait."

# # #

From the Journal of John Connor
May 16, 2009

In the end, the hardest battle to fight is the one with yourself. I suppose, that machines have it easier than us, they don't have emotions or attachments. They don't have to worry about losing the ones they love, for they do not love. No. That's not true. I know better now.

If machines like John Henry and Cameron are what the future brings, then I must remember some advice that Catherine gave me. For we, humans, cannot ignore our emotions, nor shove them aside. Maybe she had a duplicitous reason for telling me, but the advice is sound.

Right after my first major successful battle, long before I knew Allison was really Cameron, I had this moment of introspection, maybe even premonition that I was going to lose her. Catherine advised me if that happened, not to let the pain destroy me, but to use it to drive myself to succeed instead.

I lost so much in the future that Catherine brought me to. So many died, yet in the end she is right, they are still alive right now in 2009. I should be grateful for the lives we managed to save. It doesn't make what she did right. Far from it. The pain is still there, and I will use it drive myself to win this war.

Savannah, if you ever find my journal, I want to thank you for that day behind the motel. You will always be my friend, wherever the future takes us. I'll try to remember what Cameron taught you. Time travel is painful, in that it both separates us from and reunites us with people we care about. Human life is fragile. You cannot get back what was lost. And if Cameron had her way, she'd rewrite Romeo and Juliet so they could be alive, together, and their families at peace so you wouldn't cry at the end. I think that is something we all can agree on.

I think Cameron inherited more than she admitted to when she inserted her second chip. Maybe she lied to me as to make me think she wasn't the same as the Cameron who was waiting for me here in this time. Did she know or suspect she would end up dying for me? Yes, everyone dies for me. So maybe she did lie to me, so that maybe I wouldn't feel for her what I should be feeling for Cameron here. What she said to me in those final minutes is proof that she lied before about her not being the same, only sharing some memories. She loved me so I know that the Cameron I left behind loves me too.

The last battle between the heart and mind has been fought and won, but now there is a physical war to fight. Our pieces are in position, and the final Chess match will commence. There will be only one victor in this battle, and it will be the future. Whatever the cost.