Chapter 1414
Blinded By Hatred
There were four human girls and four Metal girls in the nude sunbathing area. Things escalated among them into a 'free for all'.
Vanna and Sheila finished up. Vanna didn't want to get too much sun where it didn't normally shine. At least she wouldn't need to worry about 'tan lines'.
"I'm going back." Vanna said.
Gail-Cam was with Laura. She hurried to get the job done. She did.
"I'll go with you." Gail-Cam said.
Vanna and Gail-Cam gathered their things.
Sheila moved over to Laura at that point.
"It's your call, love." Sheila said.
Sheila looked over, Ally was with Mary and Cam-Gail was with Leticia.
"Maybe we'd better wrap it up." Laura said.
Sheila and Laura watched the other girls finish up.
"I think everyone is happy now." Mary said. "That was quite an experience."
Sheila joined with Leticia as soon as she finished.
The rest of girls collected their things and left.
Vanna needed to remind Sheila to put some clothes on before she left the enclosure. She did not want to draw unnecessary attention to them.
Cameron held the door for Holly-Camille. They both entered the Control Center. Neither was in a talkative mood.
Hanna got up and Cameron sat down in her spot and plugged in. She wanted to update on everything. It would keep her occupied.
Jim looked over at Cameron but didn't say anything.
He watched Hanna speak with Holly-Camille and they left together. They entered the spare room of the Master Suite.
Frank and Dan left San Luis Obispo and headed for Santa Barbara. Ken and Lou would follow in a couple of hours with the Blackhawk and probably get there about the same time.
They wanted to have everything ready in case they were needed to assist with anything on the ship.
Steve and Tom finished up with the 'clean up' of where the hostile van was destroyed at.
"I want to get a lead on where that van came from." Tom said.
Both Tom and Steve were not pleased with almost getting caught in an ambush. They were glad Kyle and Derek were not injured.
"That was a close one." Tom said. "They seemed to be waiting for someone and I don't think it was us."
Tom thought about that.
"I believe the captive is from the anti-Metal faction." Tom said. "They thought they were going to bag a Gray or a Fanatic."
Tom was grateful for Kyle making the spot and the connection.
"Those Claymore mines would have done a number on us." Tom said.
They knew they would have done a lot worse on Derek and Kyle.
Tom wanted to update with John Henry. They wanted some answers and then they wanted some retribution.
John Henry was relieved that Jan didn't return to the Command Center. He could not filter anything from Summer. CamNet seemed to push it all on her. What she viewed would have been severely restricted if Jan would've returned.
"Those images are not something you should dwell on." John Henry said.
Summer didn't look away from her monitors. CamNet fed her information at an incredible rate.
"I've see most of them before." Summer said. "Don't let my size or age influence you."
John Henry knew that Young Allison started out this way but she was older. It was clear that Summer was advance in education and ability over all the other people. It only reinforced his belief that Summer was the product of some manipulation or 'temporal malpractice' by Cameron in the distant future. If it was not Cameron, it was one of her Duplicates or one of her clones. It could even be Metal Summer herself. She was another 'Cameron clone' for all practical purposes.
It really made him wonder what Summer would be like if she received the same level of 'training' that Young Allison or even Savannah was given. He did not agree with the 'indoctrination' that went with a lot of that.
"I'm aware of your superior abilities." John Henry said.
Summer wanted some answers.
"The sooner the prisoner talks, the sooner that our troops can act." Summer said.
John Henry did not want to get into that. He started to look over at Summer's station to see if she was being fed images of the interrogation. So far he hadn't spotted any. He hadn't received any of them either.
He didn't agree with the methods used at Cameron's base. Then again that is why there was a separate base. Cameron didn't want her actions to taint the Resistance. She did a lot out things outside the scope of the Resistance operation. She did the dirty work to keep John's hands 'clean'. CamNet and Cameron were the Metal Resistance for all practical purposes.
Cammy drove toward the rehab facility that was paid well not to ask questions. If anyone there did, they would be 'replaced', one way or another.
Julie looked a little concerned that they'd left the Antelope Valley and were headed for the San Fernando Valley.
"Why do we have to go so far from where I'm from?" Julie asked.
Cammy did not think it was that far. It was just over an hour's drive. It was less for her. She was about to say something when Savannah took over.
Savannah took Julie's hand.
"We're going to a place that will treat you and not ask questions." Savannah said. "They won't force you into foster care or back to your home if you don't want to go. You will also need to remain there until you are drug free and have healed up some. You will be given clinical medical care without uncomfortable questions being asked. What you want to divulge is up to you. Probably the less anyone knows about you the better."
Julie looked at Savannah. It was clear this wasn't the first time these girls 'helped' someone. They understood the problems the girls could face going back home or being dumped into foster care. They must have some pull to keep everything out of the system.
"I know you have done this before to help others." Julie said.
Savannah gave her a faint smile.
"Sometimes it's nice to have help." Savannah said.
Julie looked at Young Allison.
"I know I owe all of this to you." Julie said.
Previously what Young Allison saw bothered her still. That was a terrible way to live. The things they found out since they'd made contact were even worse.
"My future will be about helping people." Young Allison said. "There's no reason I can't start now."
Both Young Allison and Savannah resisted the urge to follow what happened with the Resistance teams earlier in any detail. They didn't want to get caught up in anything until Julie was dropped off. They knew Cammy and Anna were on top of it and if anything relevant needed to be dealt with they'd be told.
Most of the drive was spent in small talk. Julie opened up more to Savannah and Young Allison as they drove.
Something Young Allison said touched Julie.
"Are you really going to help people in the future?" Julie asked. "I mean when you're done with school and everything?"
Young Allison did not want to get into the specifics.
"I am." Young Allison said.
Savannah wanted Julie to think about her future.
"If this works out for you and you stay off drugs you should think about what you want to do for the future yourself." Savannah said. "You can reach out to help people through some of the programs out there to help others. You can keep an eye on things to make sure there's no abuse either by a group that is supposed to help. One person can make a difference. Every life you help 'save' has meaning."
Julie said she would see how things went and look into it.
Cammy pulled up to the gate of the rehab facility.
There was a female administrator there waiting for them
"Is this the place?" Julie asked.
"It is." Cammy said.
Julie thought it looked pleasant from the outside. She hoped the inside was the same. She hoped it didn't look like a prison.
"It looks nice." Julie said.
Savannah got out along with Young Allison and Julie.
"Take this." Savannah said.
Julie looked at it.
"Is this your phone number?" Julie asked.
It was a 'drop number' that John Henry and CamNet both monitored.
"No." Savannah said. "It's someone who will contact me or one of my associates if you run into any problems. There will be someone here within an hour or less. If I'm available I will come myself."
Cammy and Anna got out after Young Allison and Savannah were done with Julie and gave her some more specific information. They wished her well and turned her over to the facility.
They all got back in the SUV and left.
Savannah thought Young Allison would talk about what they'd just been through but she didn't. It was clear that she was troubled by all of it. She seemed much more at ease dealing out death to Grays.
Young Allison was troubled. She wanted to get back into the swing of things.
"I want a full update on what's happening and what information has been gleaned from the captive." Young Allison said.
Savannah did not want Young Allison to get ahead of herself.
"You won't be participating in any 'on the ground' action." Savannah said.
Young Allison was about to point out that Savannah said something similar at the beginning of the week and look what she'd been through since then.
"We'll see." Young Allison said.
Savannah didn't care much for Young Allison's answer.
Young Allison and Savannah were updated as they drove.
Jim looked over and noticed Cameron's hand glitched often. He figured she must have received a full detailed update on all the activity that occurred during the last week. There'd been extensive action with Savannah and even a major episode with Young Allison. The reports of that were epic in themselves.
He spied Vanna and Gail-Cam on their way back to the private area. He sent Gail-Cam a message to have Vanna stop by the Control Center. It looked like Cameron could use a 'helping hand'.
Allison and Camille-Holly were still on the balcony when Hanna and Holly-Camille entered the Master Suite.
Hanna and Holly-Camille spotted them sitting on the balcony and decided not to disturb them. They planned to use the attached room instead.
Camille-Holly lifted her head and looked back.
"What is it?" Allison asked. "Is Vanna back?"
Camille-Holly listened for a few seconds.
"It's Hanna and Holly-Camille." Camille-Holly said.
Allison wanted to see Holly-Camille and Camille-Holly together. She figured there had to be something Hot about being able to be with your own body. Whenever she was with a 'Cameron clone' she got that opportunity, sort of. Holly and Camille could actually be with their own chassis while they were in the borrowed chassis of the other one. Gail and Cam could do that too.
"We could join them." Allison said.
They got up and did just that.
Cameron was very disturbed with all the action that went down while she'd been on the cruise. They'd be back at the base in a little over half a day. She only found out most of the details now. She was sure a lot was held back. She wanted to take her mind off of 'other things' right now. Maybe what she looked at now was actually worse. There were a lot of close calls.
She felt a soothing touch and looked over. Vanna smiled at her. She noticed that Vanna now held her left hand. It must have been glitching. It no longer was.
"I'm here if you need me." Vanna said. "Keep working."
Cameron managed a faint smile and continued the detailed update.
She looked forward to the day when she would share everything she allowed John to share. She just needed to get started. She still wanted Savannah to be her first. It was the same goal as Young Allison. Who would be first?
Young Allison glanced back as they were updated. Brian, Randy and Mel were behind them in their SUV. There was some extra 'muscle' with them if they needed it.
She didn't want Savannah to ask her to return to Palmdale with Anna in the Detail's SUV.
There was no workable information yet on where the anti-Metal faction was at.
"Do you want to do anything else?" Young Allison asked.
Savannah did not hear anything operationally that needed to be dealt with right away.
"Maybe we can do something." Savannah said.
Young Allison smiled.
Sheila hooked back up with Leticia when they returned to her suite. She really didn't have anywhere else to be. Ally and Cam-Gail stayed with Mary and Laura. They would keep them busy until dinnertime in their suite next door.
There was time to kill. They might as well make the most of it.
Bob kept a careful watch over the girls when they were in the nude sunbathing area. He needed to make sure their activities did not spill out onto the deck and that no one tried to breach their location once access was cut off. That all worked out smoothly.
They all returned to their suites adequately clothed as well.
He would make sure everything was ready for their disembarkation tomorrow morning.
CamNet released some information as the interrogation progressed. There was no video of it. She only released some audio.
It was evident the female detainee figured out she was not being held by the Fanatics or Grays. She was a captive of the 'Metal Lovers'. She'd watched two of her associates killed by the gravity shots. She figured the same thing happened to the man in the bushes. That was the case.
So far there hadn't been any beating to go along with the questioning. She was simply being asked questions. Most of her answers were half truths or lies. She tried to protect the rest of her group.
She seemed to have a lot of questions of her own.
"So where's the great John Connor?" She asked.
"That is none of your concern." Hank answered.
"I expected his Metal Whore to be here." She said. "You know it works for Skynet don't you?"
"That is none of your concern." Larry answered.
"Great." She said. "I'm stuck with Pete and RePete."
Hank and Larry looked at each other. That was what Sheila and Ally said about them before Savannah gave them names.
"I can see you have heard that before." She said.
"Give us the information we need and there will be no problems." Larry said.
The scarred girl laughed.
"I'm not getting out of here alive." The girl said. "I only surrendered because I thought I was about to be captured by the Grays. I've been a captive of them before. I know how to survive in their camps. The 'Metal Lovers' never let anyone go. They're more 'Skynet' than Skynet is."
The roundabout questioning went on and on.
It rapidly devolved into name calling and finger pointing. The captive soon started to talk of how John Connor was a 'sell out' and nothing more than a tool of Skynet. Those who followed him were all traitors to mankind and they would be punished as such when they were apprehended. The 'Free Resistance' considered them all as collaborators. They would all be tried and hung in front of the masses of people. Any of the 'Metal Lovers' with a Metal lover would be made an example of. Not only was it unnatural. It was sleeping with the enemy, literally.
There were repeated references that John Connor was the 'Pied Piper' leading mankind to its enslavement and doom.
CamNet waited for someone to ask that the interrogation move along in the standard fashion. That would be where the answers were beat out of the captive Terminator style. With the repeated references as to what would be done to Cameron and by extension Savannah and Young Allison, CamNet considered having the bound detainees blinded and brought down into her bunker. At this point she wanted to beat the information out of her.
Savannah and Young Allison were allowed to hear parts of the interrogation.
Savannah knew some of those references were about her as a 'Metal Lover' with a Metal lover. That applied to most of the group one way or another. The entire Reese clan would be included as well as 'Metal Lovers' even if they didn't have a Metal lover.
Cammy and Anna heard it all too.
"How much longer are you going to listen to this?" Cammy asked. "If I was there I would terminate her myself."
That statement made Young Allison think about that. What would she do if she was in the same situation?
"That's what she wants." Young Allison said. "She wants to be killed before she can talk. She's hoping to make one of the Terminators snap her neck."
CamNet issued a directive that the prisoner was not to be terminated before they'd obtained the information they wanted.
"I know it is not the normal procedure but since we have the time and resources do you want to try and use some drugs on her to make her talk?" Savannah asked.
Cammy wanted a different resolution.
"We can waste time with that but what we do works and produces results." Cammy said. "I personally want to wait for Sheila to return and watch her 'work' on her. I don't like the things she's said so far. Her tongue should be ripped out at the conclusion of the interrogation. When Sheila is done with her, I will do that myself."
Savannah didn't want talk like that. Young Allison didn't need to hear that.
"Cammy, stop it." Savannah said.
Young Allison touched Savannah's hand.
"Relax; I know everything related to the interrogations." Young Allison said. "I know it in detail and effect."
Savannah frowned. She knew that was true. That was Cameron's fault. Then again John and Cameron were the ones being named over and over. It was clear that Cameron's hatred and obsession with the anti-Metal faction was more than personal about what happened with John and Future Riley. There was a deep routed animosity there. Part of that was to blame on the losses that Future John entailed on the battlefield. It was perceived he liked Metal over humans. That was not the case. The real difference was that Terminators could sustain greater damage than a human and were more likely to survive a battle. That should be common sense to everyone. For some it appeared not to be.
The girl eventually blamed her burn scars on John Connor. She said the only good thing about it was the Scavengers did not bother her when they saw her. Then again no one else wanted her either because she looked like that.
She asked for a top to wear several times but was denied.
Cameron listened to the interrogation. She called up some audio of it too so Vanna could listen to it. She wanted her to know what the enemy looked like and why her actions were justified.
Every time the female spat out 'John Connor' or his 'Metal Whore' phraseology it would cause Cameron's hand to glitch even with Vanna holding it.
Vanna was a little surprised when Jim left the Control Center and Allison appeared and sat on Cameron's other side a short time later.
All the relevant transmissions were played for Allison even as the questioning continued.
Cameron looked at Vanna and Allison during a pause in the questioning.
"THIS is why you must help John." Cameron said. "You've taken the first step but I need more from you. You both need to help me protect John from these people. They are going to kill him if they can find him."
They all knew that Cameron would be terminated as well if they could get their hands on her too. That applied to their Metal lovers and probably them.
As soon as they returned to the Resistance base Cameron was going to solicit the 'help' of Jesse and Claire. She regretted not having that occur on the ship before they got off in Catalina. She would ask Jesse first. She wanted to save Claire for last.
Hearing it first hand was very disgusting to Vanna and Allison. They knew the prejudice and hatred blinded this person to a better reality. What John and Cameron did was to help all humans from being under the yoke of Skynet.
Young Allison was very aware of the irony of it all. Here they'd just tried to help someone eating garbage and now they were about to beat the answers out of another person and it would result in their death.
Savannah didn't like to listen to this information in front of Young Allison.
"We've heard enough of this." Savannah said. "If there's anything to act on I want to know that. We don't need to hear the rest."
The transmission of the interrogation stopped.
"How do you help someone like that?" Young Allison asked. "They are so filled with anger and hate they will never listen to reason."
Anna hadn't said much.
"Not everyone can be helped." Anna said. "That applies to everything."
Now Young Allison questioned helping the girl.
"What happens if Julie reverts?" Young Allison asked.
Savannah didn't want to do this.
"We don't know what will happen, one way or another." Savannah said. "Things will have to play out for any of the people we tried to help. The drugs that they get addicted too are what their real devil is."
All she needed to do was think about several celebrities that experience 'drug issues'. There was always big praise when they finished rehab. A few of them slipped back to the old ways after a time. Disaster was their master.
Summer and John Henry continued to follow the interrogation.
She got a heads up that her mother was up and about to leave the room.
"I need to go." Summer said. "I've been in here a long time."
They watched Jesse and Claire leave Claire's room.
John Henry was about to comment. He looked over and Summer was gone. The monitors where she was at were blank. It was almost like she was never there. He checked his files. She was.
The mood was somewhat glum in the SUV now. Cammy wanted to try and salvage something from it.
"We could still go somewhere and do something." Cammy said.
Anna wanted to keep it simple.
"We could always watch a movie." Anna said. "There is a new theater that opened up off of Rinaldi."
Young Allison was afraid they would want her to go back to Palmdale if they didn't do something. The movie seemed as good as anything at this point.
"We could do that." Young Allison said. "If everyone wants to do that, I mean."
Savannah wanted to think about this. They could leave the theater at any time if they needed to. If something turned up on the anti-Metal group they could act on it. The trouble was that Young Allison was here with them.
Cammy would prefer neither of the girls get involved in a combat operation. The theater would keep them occupied at least until the evening.
"There's an Islands restaurant right on the corner near there." Cammy said. "We could catch dinner there after the movie."
They would need to check it out to see if any good movies were showing. Not all of them were worth the time spent to watch them.
Cameron appreciated Vanna and Allison in the Control Center with her. She also didn't want to tie them up.
"I'm fine." Cameron said. "You need to enjoy some of the things on the ship."
Vanna wanted to include Cameron.
"You could go with us." Vanna said. "Is anything you're doing now going to change if you finish it later on?"
Allison thought much the same thing.
"You're on the ship for another half a day. You can't act on anything from here." Allison said. "Obsessing over something like that can't do any good."
Cameron looked at the wall of the Owner's Suite.
Vanna reached over and gently turned her head away.
"That's either what you want or it isn't." Vanna said. "What's done is done. Move on."
That made Cameron wondered about Mary, Laura and Leticia.
"What happens with the new girls you met once the cruise is over?" Cameron asked.
Allison smiled.
"We remember the good time we shared with them and move on." Allison said. "That's how it was in the past – the future."
Allison didn't point out that many of the females they were with didn't live too much longer. There was a lot of death involved.
Vanna wanted Cameron to unwind some.
"What happens on the ship, stays on the ship." Vanna said.
Allison remembered there was a movie playing in the main theater.
"We could do watch the movie." Allison said.
Maybe that was what she needed. Cameron reached back and unplugged. She needed to get away from it all.
"Do we know what movie it is?" Vanna asked.
Cameron knew. She gave them a brief rundown.
"We can go there and see how it is." Cameron said. "If you don't like it we can leave."
Allison and Vanna took Cameron away from the suites and the private area. The further they moved her away from there the more she became like herself when she was around them. It was the Cameron they liked. It was the Cameron that was like them. It was the Cameron they loved.
"Do you want to sit in the main part of the theater or use the private box area?" Cameron asked.
Allison like to see the screen dead center. Their box section was off to the side and closer to the front.
"We can try the main theater first. If it's too crowded we can use the private box area." Allison said.
Cameron wondered if the girls were hungry.
"Do you want to grab a bite to eat first?" Cameron asked.
Vanna and Allison were both stuffed from all the food they'd eaten in the last few days.
"I think I'm good until dinner." Vanna said.
"I am too." Allison said. "I wonder if we will still fit into our dresses at this point."
Cameron knew that wouldn't be a problem.
"You will." Cameron said.
"Let's just go get our seats." Vanna said. "Dinner won't be that long after the movie ends anyway. We still need to get ready too."
They took the stairs down and walked right into the main theater and found some good seats.
Cameron liked having Vanna and Allison on both sides of her. That was where they'd always been when she let them. It was her own mistake for forgetting that at times. They'd gone into the unknown before with her knowing their future was uncertain. They still went anyway. They went with her because they loved her. That was love to die for.
Steve and Tom still wanted a target to act on. They didn't like the delay with the interrogation of the prisoner.
They checked the drone footage over the two sites they been at earlier. They wanted to know if anyone else was snooping around.
The reports came back negative.
"The anti-Metal faction was there to set off that ambush." Tom said.
"Yes." Steve said.
"Why were they there specifically?" Tom asked. "They must have come across some intel to expect someone one to show up."
Steve thought about it.
"I don't think I was a random hit." Steve said. "They were expecting someone."
They knew the groups infiltrated each other.
"Maybe that someone is still going to arrive." Tom said.
They contacted John Henry for an update. He told them Summer told him the same thing at the beginning of the operation. He'd been watching for something to break loose. It hadn't.
That left a new possibility. Maybe whoever was supposed to show up did but arrived late enough to see what happened and avoid any involvement.
The drone images should have captured something if that was the case.
Someone may have gathered intel on them.
