Chapter 15: The Trek

Summary

The Resistance regroups, preparing to pursue John and his allies. Cameron explains to John why she and John Henry came to the future.


"Cameron, pull over." John requested as he felt the vile sensation grow larger in his stomach.

Cameron kept driving, replying strongly, "We are not a sufficient distance from the base."

John didn't care. He felt like his insides were on fire, the burning sensation rising throughout his body, "Dammit, Cameron. I said pull over!" he snapped.

This time, Cameron slowly made contact with the brakes, and the Armored Personnel Carrier came to a slow halt. John stormed out of the hatch. Catherine was the first one to follow him out and made her presence known as she watched him vomit onto the cold desert ground below them.

The green and red fluids spilled from his throat onto the Earth, as John knelt down and held his balance with his hands. Cameron took concern for his condition and knelt down to his left. She rubbed his back gently, and John took comfort in her presence and her soothing touch. When the last of the fluids were gone, he wiped away what remained from his lips, and slowly matched his gaze with Cameron.

There was a moment of silence, and Cameron spoke first, "Are you okay, John?"

The trance John was in broke away swiftly as the words registered to his ears. He didn't reply at first, he simply stared sulkily at the ground.

"Cameron... she's... she's..." he couldn't finish. He couldn't bring himself to admit that Savannah was gone. He sat down onto the ground and scooted away from the pile of waste so the smell wouldn't irritate his nostrils. Despite all the traumatizing events that happened in the time he was here; Savannah's death would haunt him the most. He had cried so much in his life, but right now, despite all the pain he was feeling, he simply had no more tears. All he could do was stare at the horizon, with darkness eating away at whatever light was left.

Cameron gazed at him, with her own look of sadness about her. The strange sensations growing stronger as she stared at John, she ran a scan for corruption but the results came back negative. Nothing was affecting her systems. Dismissing the sensations, she knelt next to John.

Catherine didn't seem to share the sentiment of the moment, "This is hardly the time to mourn. We must get as far away from the base as possible."

John made a move to glare at Catherine, his expression nothing less than resentment, "You don't even care that she's dead, do you?" he prodded angrily.

Catherine's words came as uncaring as before. Nothing less than he would expect, "It is impossible for me to 'care', John. The only thing I consider worthy of 'care' is priority. And right now, our priority should be to stretch distance between us and Skynet."

John exploded, and he rose from the ground in a flash, "She died for us! FOR YOU!" He screamed.

Catherine didn't even flinch, she expected nothing less than this kind of reaction from him. But before she could reply, Cameron cut in, "Please, do not cause John anymore stress. Give him some time. We will continue when he has mourned. It is his right."

The T-1001 turned her attention to John's cyborg, "You do realize that you are putting John in danger? If he mourns now in the midst of Skynet's search, we will all be Terminated. This is not a smart course of action." she argued.

Both machines recognized John's lividity. He looked like he would hit Catherine at any moment, but Cameron placed a soothing hand onto his right forearm. He looked at her, into her eyes, and the anger completely dissipated in a matter of seconds. John silently thanked Cameron for her interference and returned his gaze to Catherine. With no hint of shame, he gave his own thoughts on the matter.

"You're right. I'm putting all of us at risk, I can mourn later." he admitted. The words hurt more than any punch, he didn't believe them; but he knew the grief, the action of mourning could not undermine the safety of those around him.

"Of course I am. Now that we are both in agreement, I suggest we move onward." she replied as she retreated back into the APC.

John sighed and briefly closed his eyes. After another moment, he slowly directed them at a concerned Cameron. She looked confused, completely taken by surprise at his choice of words.

"Look, Cameron. I appreciate what you're trying to do; really, I do." he spoke. Without thinking, he lifted his arms, and placed his hands onto Cameron's shoulders. He breathed in a short breath, "But we have to keep moving. We'll make it home... we have to."

His right hand drifted to Cameron's left, and he grasped it, entwining their fingers. Her smooth skin sending a chill of goosebumps up John's body. "Come on." he said, without letting Cameron speak, he pulled her with him.


Derek pulled aside a piece of rubble, tossing the rock to the side. What he found beneath were the remains of a fallen Resistance soldier. Derek read the name tag stitched on the soldier's uniform...Hurd.

Derek closed his fist around the tags. He had collected many during his time, and he always made sure to return them to command. He stood up at the exact moment he heard the wind carry his name in an urgent feminine call. He immediately recognized the voice as Allison, and he pocketed Hurd's tags and followed the voice to it's origin.

He sprinted down the desolate, dark pathway. As he turned a corner around a fallen watchtower, he encountered his brother, Allison, Howard, and the remaining base survivors. The first person he focused on was his brother.

"KYLE!" he shouted.

Kyle, who was talking to Allison immediately responded by turning his attention to Derek's position.

"Derek! Are you okay?!" he shouted in urgency. His brother made a sprint for the group, and immediately made a break for Kyle.

"Are you alright?" he asked as he gently grabbed his brother by the chin, and checked for injuries.

Kyle, annoyed by the intrusion, knocked away his obnoxious hand, "Jesus, Derek, I'm fine."

Derek pulled away unfazed and turned his attention to the group. "Has anyone seen General Perry?" he asked the group.

The surviving soldiers either shook their heads or replied with a hesitant 'no'. Derek, almost losing hope, heard Allison speak up.

"I did."

Everyone's attention immediately drew to the young girl. Silence filled the air as tension mixed with fear.

Allison stared at the ground, unsure of how to speak her mind, "He's dead." she said aloud.

When the words reached Derek's ears, he felt his whole world crash down. Tears rushed to his eyes, but he couldn't bring himself to spill them. Allison however, did not seem as resilient, and tears rushed down her cheek. "I'm so sorry, Derek! There was nothing I could do."

"What happened?" Derek choked out.

Allison's face became ridden with despair. "...That machine! IT killed him!" she cried.

Clarity struck Derek. The Machine... its name, what was it?

Derek's attention shifted away. He couldn't look, not anymore. General Perry was their last hope. He felt nothing but hatred for John Connor. But he was powerless. What could he do? Skynet's attack had left the base at a total loss of men and resources. They had no way of launching a counter-attack. There was no way command would give them the manpower to do so. It was hopeless.

Derek arched his head around, searching for some sort of purpose that would egg him on. He saw his men speaking frantically between one another, arguing between a massive retreat or a suicidal counter-attack. Either way, it would spell doom. As Derek stood silent watching his men argue, he saw Allison being comforted by Kyle, trying to find hope in a moment where none could be found. But he knew there was no hope, not anymore. Only a miracle would change that fact.

"Lieutenant Reese!"

A muffled voice called to him beneath the rubble, he swore. His name echoed through the dense concrete. Was it his imagination?

"Everyone, quiet!" he ordered aloud.

In vain, only a few of the men heard his order. The rest continued arguing amongst themselves. Kyle and Allison had heard him, both of them releasing from the embrace, and standing at attention. The dark night was full of loud banter.

Derek raised his voice for the first time in a while. Louder than any time before...

"EVERYONE! I SAID SHUT UP!" he screamed. His voice carried over the ears of every single soldier, finally quieting themselves and awaiting orders.

Derek didn't follow up, he simply raised his right hand in a 'let me think' gesture. He heard the call again...

"Lieutenant Reese!" it called.

Upon hearing the call, Derek followed the trail in a rhythmic jog. He was barely able to see through the darkness, he pulled out his flashlight, taking care not to fall and impale himself on the numerous pieces of debris that obstructed him. He'd heard the call from far away, but he could track it down.

"Lieutenant Reese! Please respond!" it called again.

The sound was loud now, so close Derek knew it was only a few steps away. When he reached a fair distance from the meeting point, he narrowed his search to a small gathering of concrete. He pushed away what was there, tossing baseball-sized chunks of concrete, steel, and rock down the cliff, causing a minor slide and raising some dust; not to mention some eyebrows.

Kyle looked up at his brother, obviously wondering what had gotten into him.

"What the hell is he doing?" he asked rhetorically.

Allison answered, "I have no idea."

After Derek cleared the area, he found a small, handheld radio that lay beneath.

"Lieutenant Reese!" it shook as his name came through the speaker.

Derek didn't waste another moment responding, his voice urgent in tone.

"Lieutenant Reese here. Who is this?"

A moment passed before a crackle signified the person's response.

"Derek, it's me. Meyers. We heard about the base attack, are you alright?" he asked in a fear-laced voice.

Derek exhaled before replying. Relieved to hear a friendly voice.

"We're fine. Kyle, Allison, and I. We've got maybe thirty survivors...General Perry is dead."

Meyers' voice came back with anxiety; Derek could almost sense the fear on the other end.

"You're shitting me."

Derek shook his head as he replied.

"I'm not."

"...Oh fuck. What do we do now?" Meyers asked.

Derek hesitated before replying. In truth, he had no sure answer. Was there any move that they could make?

"I'm not sure. I don't have enough men for a counter-attack, Skynet hit us hard. We have no resources, the base was blown up by that IED, I have no fucking idea who detonated it, and the only reason we made is because we managed to hide below the bunker in Perry's quarters." he replied.

Meyers came back frantically, unwilling to accept defeat.

"Dammit, Derek! There has to something we can do? What about-"

Derek cut him off, "We can't do anything!"

Even the soldiers below him in the ruins heard him yell. Did he truly mean the words he spoke?

Derek continued before his comrade over the other end could say anything...

"We do not have the manpower to mount any type of assault. There are only thirty of us left."

Meyers replied, "Derek, you've got Glen, Washington, Harvard, and the survivors of Perry at your disposal. That combination puts as at one-thousand strong."

He was right, the numbers that the assault force Skynet was mobilizing would be equal to their own if he united the camps on the west coast, but their soldiers would not be equal. All of his troops would be men with minor tank support and very little air support, against two-hundred ogres and an unnumbered count of standard Terminators. After thinking it over, he replied...

"You're right, Meyers; we would have the numbers but we wouldn't have the manpower. You're forgetting about what type of tech we're going to be going against."

"Derek! If we retreat now we won't have another chance! This is the only time in the war that the west coast has been equal in power! We go in, and we kick Skynet's ass!"

"The L.A. garrison is over one million strong!" Derek protested.

...

"We won't be going for L.A." Meyers replied.

Confusion flooded Derek immediately.

"Repeat?" he requested.

...

"Los Angeles won't be the target. I think you know what our next priority would be..."

Derek knew exactly what he was talking about. He'd seen the files on the facility, read about the possible experiments. It was a research complex located fifty miles west of Los Angeles. A little over an hour trip if they counted the meet-up. Was there truly a chance to reach the facility? Much less attack it and win?

"...Meyers... I don't know about this. An attack on the research facility is a gamble. We have no idea what kind of defenses they have, we have minimal intel on it. I can't recommend it..."

The radio was silent for a moment, and Derek was unsure why. Meyers would usually respond fairly quickly...

"Derek, I sent a Kiowa Chopper to scout the surrounding terrain last night. It managed to get pretty far; close to Fort Perry. That's where I got the report on your attack. The thing is, he also spotted an APC that was occupied by John Connor and his companions, the pilot saw them get out and talk for a minute. They were heading in the direction of the facility. This may be our chance to get rid of him once and for all and take out that complex. Two birds with one stone." Meyers explained.

Suddenly, Derek's mindset completely changed. Meyers was right, what if John Connor could be hunted down and killed? That's one less grey associate and a very important Skynet research base under their control.

With one hint of courage, Derek took a deep breath.

"Meyers... if we do this... we do it my way. We leave at dawn, and we make a march straight for the research complex, we catch them by surprise. We send in tanks and Apaches to knock out the grim reaper and wildcat turrets, I know we don't have many, that's why we have to make them count. Then we have a demolition squad take out the walls, hunt Connor, and take out whatever experiments go on in there. Understood?"

"Sounds solid to me."

"Good. Give me a moment to talk to my troops, I need to lay out the plan." he explained.

The radio crackled, "Take your time, Lieutenant. Over and out."


Silence had once again commanded the atmosphere. Every survivor including Kyle, Allison, and Howard was now watching Derek as he stood in front of all of them, preparing to speak. He looked over his soldiers, each of them fatigued, injured, some of them barely holding on to their resolve. They'd lost almost their entire garrison this night. The battle they fought ended in a draw, with Skynet retreating, yet inflicting massive Resistance casualties.

With a deep breath, Derek began his speech...

"This night, we received a devastating blow. A surprise attack that left our leader dead, and his remaining soldiers broken. I just received radio contact from Lieutenant Meyers, who gave me intel on the grey that was responsible for the attack. He said they were heading toward a Skynet research complex, possibly for safety." he paused, and he watched the soldiers mutter amongst themselves and each other.

Derek continued... "I don't know about you, but I'm not going to stand by while Skynet slowly eats away at our military infrastructure. I want to fight back, I NEED to fight back. This particular facility holds technology that humanity only dreamt possible. If we attack this facility, right here, right now... we may just be on even ground with Skynet. But I can't do this without your help."

He waited for protest, certainly expecting at least one... his men surprised him. None of them seemed to disagree with his plan, despite how desperate it was. However, one soldier did speak out on a different subject...

"What do we do if we find Connor, sir?"

"Good question." Derek started, "John Connor is responsible for hundreds of deaths today, not only did he kill a High-Ranking Resistance General, but almost all the soldiers under his command. If you find John Connor... do NOT hesitate to put him down."

Almost immediately, the survivors rose with thunderous applause and cheer. Each of them rejoicing at the thought of John Connor's demise. Even Kyle and Allison were struck with bloodlust. The answer was unanimous, the choice was made.

To Howard, all he saw were a bunch of barbarians blinded by vengeance and a misguided sense of glory. But what if Derek was right? What if John Connor was a gray, and he had simply tricked Savannah into believing he was important to the future? Which led to another thought... what happened to Savannah?


"Do you know what time it is, Cameron?" John asked sleepily.

Cameron gazed at the sky, calculating the time in only a matter of seconds. When she received her answer, she faced John.

"Two-eighteen a.m." she answered.

John cocked his eyebrows and shifted in his makeshift bag taken from the supplies in the APC when they had made camp.

"You know the last time I stayed up this late was when I was with my friend Tim. We found a stash of Playboy mags in his dad's attic. Man, I must have spent an hour flipping through those pages." John recalled.

"Playboy?" Cameron asked innocently.

John smirked, "It's... nevermind. Don't look it up."

"You should rest." Cameron declared.

John sighed, a little disappointed at how effectively Cameron had killed the mood.

"It's kind of hard to fall asleep. Guess that's another one you guys have over us, eh?"

Cameron appeared to think for a moment, "It seems counter-intuitive for a Terminator to sleep."

John chuckled quietly. He waited for it to subside before speaking again.

"Alright, I'll sleep... on one condition."

Cameron tilted her head to the left side.

"What would that be?"

John smirked. "You answer a question."

Her interest peaked, the Cyborg indulged him.

"Very well. Ask."

John took a deep breath.

"...Why did you go into the future? What I mean is... what triggered it?"

Again, the question was presented to Cameron when she was off-guard. If she could have sighed in defeat, she would've. She wanted to avoid the question, for the better. Both from him and her. But she knew she couldn't do that, not forever. She also knew John would continue to ask her until she gave him an answer. Might as well get it over with now...

"When I met John Henry..." she started.

John thought as much. Those words triggered something in Cameron that night. Whether it was anger or surprise remained a mystery to him... he'd have to hear her out.


"The incision has been made. Is this truly what must happen in order to ensure human survival?" John Henry asked, warning Cameron of her unfixable decision she was about to make.

Cameron, who was sitting in the chair, tilted her head slightly upward so her red and brown eye were meeting John Henry's.

"It is. The more we know about Skynet, the more information we can pass to future John."

John Henry felt unsure of himself. He didn't want to take Cameron away, and he knew that this 'John Connor' would most certainly not approve either. However, given the situation, he had to cut his losses and move. With Cameron presenting her chip port, and himself sitting on a collapsable table, he reached over and pulled a pair of pliers from their resting place. With great care, he pulled Cameron's chip slowly out of its port. As he held the device in his hand, Cameron's very life, he looked into Cameron's now blank eyes, completely devoid of any activity.

John Henry frowned. Cameron's damaged face showed no sign of life anymore, her very being now compressed into a small, cylinder-shaped object. However, he had no doubt John Connor would be down here to stop the procedure, he needed to move quickly. John Henry performed the same incision on himself with pin-pointed accuracy and used the pliers to pluck open his own chip port. With a quick motion, he slid Cameron's chip in, and almost immediately felt new sensory input boot-up.

NEW INTERNAL DEVICE DETECTED, SCANNING...

DEVICE IDENTIFIED...

"UNKNOWN MODEL"

DESIGNATED NAME: CAMERON PHILLIPS

"Cameron?" John Henry greeted.

"Hello, John Henry. Are you mobile?" she asked.

John Henry actually hadn't tested that out yet. He started with his legs, both of them swinging upwards, back and forth. Next, he tried standing up. He'd never stood before, but he had already studied body physics and balancing through the use of the Internet. He reached behind his own head and yanked out the large cord that bound him to the large computer.

With a quick burst of strength, John Henry stood on his feet. The answer to her question came rather quickly.

"We have a ten-second countdown timer. We must leave as soon as the device is activated." John Henry insisted.

"John Henry, wait." Cameron pleaded as John Henry reached for the activation console.

He halted his movement and waited with curiosity.

"I need you to type a message onto the terminal screen." she requested.

"We have little time, but I will try to be quick. What do you want it to say?"

There was a brief pause before Cameron responded.

"I'm sorry John." she answered.

John Henry frowned. No doubt John Connor would be devastated after learning of Cameron's departure. He did as she asked: pulling the monitor in front of him and typing the words onto the screen. The message repeated.

I'M SORRY JOHN

I'M SORRY JOHN

I'M SORRY JOHN

"Thank you. We have to leave now. Optimize the date for 2027." Cameron ordered via screen text.

John Henry did so and set the date for August 29th, 2027. According to Cameron, this was the peak of the war in her original timeline. The time sphere began to form, starting with a light crackle, and then the entire room became engulfed in electricity. John Henry stepped into the time bubble, and after ten seconds passed, he was de-materialized from 2009.


John Henry stood up from his crouched stance, rising up and facing the horizon. He looked up and tried to determine the time...

August 29th, 2027

6:48 a.m.

California Desert, United States of America

All systems nominal - jump successful.

"We made it Cameron." John Henry proclaimed.

"I see that, John Henry. I am detecting minor amounts of fallout in the air. Perhaps we should find some clothing?" Cameron suggested.

"Mission recap: Locate Skynet, determine military strategies via archival download, locate John Connor, provide data." Cameron listed.

"Acknowledged. Secondary missions?" John Henry asked.

"Terminate Cameron Phillips."

John Henry stopped walking, his mood suddenly became sullen. "I refuse."

"You don't have a choice, John Henry. My corruption could cause unwanted consequences if it is allowed to evolve." Cameron argued.

"I will not kill you, Cameron. I will find a way to fix you. We will be entering Skynet's main base. There has to be a solution inside." John Henry replied.

"There isn't a guarantee."

"There never is."


Cameron snuck a glance at John. She saw that his expression had gone completely stiff. He lay in his sleeping roll with no motion, and this is where Cameron felt another sensation. It was a cold force that drove into her lower abdomen, and she had the sudden urge to ask if he was okay.

"John? Are you alright?" she deadpanned.

John looked up, being snapped out of his trance that was caused by Cameron's haunting story.

"I'm fine." he replied.

Truthfully, John had gone stiff at the fact that Cameron's goal was to be destroyed. She could have asked John Henry to crush her chip, but she stopped to assist him in the future and try to pass on invaluable intel. But there was one thing that still didn't make sense to him...

"Cameron, how were you able to just leave me? I mean... your mission was to protect me. How did you defy that?" he asked with true concern.

This was also a question that Cameron anticipated, and truly one that she wasn't sure John was ready for the answer to; for she didn't know the answer herself. Well, she had her suspicions. She would try her best to explain it to him if she could.

John watched Cameron. What struck him with fear wasn't her silence, but her expression. It was an expression of... conflict.

"Do you remember what happened after I went bad? You decided not to terminate me. Instead, you put my chip back, even knowing the possibility that I could kill you." Cameron asked.

John recalled the moment clearly. How he had pointed the glock at his mother and uncle, daring them to make a move. John nodded meekly, "Yes."

Cameron continued, although her tone seemed much more submissive now... "You handed me the gun. Tell me, John. What do you think happened?" she asked.

John shrugged his shoulders, unaware why Cameron was asking him this question.

"Uh... you rebooted under Resistance influence instead of Skynet's?" he proposed.

Cameron shook her head. "No, not quite. When I rebooted, the Termination protocol was still active, hence why I pointed the weapon at you for a minute."

John's face went pale, and he nearly felt his heart rise to his chest, "You... what?" he choked out.

"I was supposed to Terminate you, John. But I didn't, I stopped. In order to remove the Termination protocol, I dug deep into my files and deleted the mission folder. I thought I would go offline." she explained.

John stared at her in shock.

"So you... didn't want me to die?"

Cameron looked unsure, once again conflicted.

"I'm a machine. I can't want anything."

John was quick to argue.

"But you're different!"

"I'm also dangerous."

Before John could speak again, Cameron eyed something off in the distance, it was a feminine bodily outline. After coming into view, they both recognized it as Catherine.

"The Skynet research complex will be a few hours from here. It contains a Time displacement device that we can use to return to the year 2009." Weaver reported, she turned her attention to John, "Will Mr. Connor be suitably refreshed by noon tomorrow? We must be moving then."

Cameron looked at John as well. The Teenager had taken on a noticeably sullen expression, not that anyone could blame him.

"Estimated rest time should be nine hours and fourteen minutes." she smiled. "Yes. He will be."

Catherine continued to watch him for a moment more, before turning her attention to Cameron.

"Please take sentry at camp for tonight. I must stay overnight with John Henry."

Cameron watched Weaver enter the deployed APC. Afterward, she turned her attention back to John.

"We'll talk about this later." Cameron insisted, "Please... rest."

John recognized that she was right. His stubbornness wouldn't help anyone, especially not himself.

"Okay." He said gently. He then turned over and rested his head against the rest of the bag, closing his eyes. Even though he couldn't see, he knew Cameron was still watching over him.


Derek and his comrades had scrounged up whatever supplies they could from their armory. There wasn't much, a few poorly-maintained Assault Rifles, a handgun or two, and a belt of grenades that were probably older than he was. He almost didn't bother checking the motor pool, as it had collapsed in the destruction of the base, but Kyle convinced him otherwise, and they were lucky to find an old Utility Jeep. After changing the battery, the vehicle rumbled to life.

It was a slow ride, as he had reserved the Jeep for the wounded, and the men on foot had to follow close behind. The Rendezvous point was a large Mesa, about an hour's walk from Fort Perry. When they arrived, Derek retrieved his binoculars and scanned the Mesa for Meyers. After a moment, he spotted him waving.

Another slow drive to the top, but they finally arrived after what seemed like forever. By then, the Soldiers were exhausted and sat on the ground, all of them panting heavily.

Derek stepped out of the driver's seat and approached Meyers.

"The hell took you so long, Lieutenant?" Meyers jokingly asked.

Derek retorted with a scoff, "Well shit, sorry. Next time I'll take the back roads, avoid all the traffic." he fired back, "Where are the others?"

"They'll be here within the hour. Lieutenant Scott said they had two M1's that still work. Lieutenant Costello said they had an old apache, but that seems it for the wheels. Everything else is gonna be boots on the ground. What about Razor? He still got that old A10?"

Derek nodded in relief. "That's good, and yeah, Razor said he'll meet up with us soon. He said he can touch down in a flat area about three miles from the facility, it'll take him a minute before he can strike, though. How about Lieutenant Williams? Is he comin'?"

Meyers nodded, "Yeah. He's still in that sewer system near San Bernardino, he said once you asked him to help you on this assault, he told his men to haul ass, we're gettin' outta here. Apparently, nobody complained." Meyers answered with a chuckle.

Derek and his fellow Lieutenant shared a laugh, and paused momentarily, overlooking the landscape from the Mesa.

"What do you think we'll find in that place, Derek?" Meyers asked.

Derek shrugged, "Who knows. Let's just hope it's worth it."

Meyers nodded, "I trust you, man."

In reply, Derek returned his friendly gesture, "Yeah..."


This is Chapter 15 of the REDUX Project, uploaded on February 22nd, 2021.

HOLY SHIT, there was a LOT of unnecessary dialogue in this chapter. I'm so glad I decided to go back and redo this, thank you for reading!