Chapter 2

Do It - Now

Sarah Connor:

The Machines will try to win. They never can, the Machines never will. Even if they destroy Mankind - they lose. The Machines are then in charge, they become the Boss. When everything is destroyed, what are they the Boss of? They are the Boss of nothing at that point. I have hope that my son will return. I do not know. I believe he will. He will return for one thing, a Machine. That Machine is named – CAMERON.

Sarah awoke with a jump. That was nothing new. Her past and her future haunted her, even in her restless dreams. She looked around and rapidly remembered what happened and where she was at. She did not intend on leaving anytime soon. In fact, she didn't have any place to go. Without John her life was without purpose. Cameron even told her that once. She was angry at the time Cameron said it to her but she knew Cameron was right. Now with John gone, Cameron would be her new purpose. She knew Cameron was the only thing John would return for if he could. She was aware John may never return.

It seemed that Sarah's whole world collapsed and imploded on her. Everything was gone. It all seemed so hopeless now. Everything she'd fought so hard for, for so long was all meaningless without John. John was what mattered and Cameron was the key to it all.

Sarah watched Vanna work on Cameron. It was all done with such care and precision. It was almost as if Vanna worked on someone that she cared about. It never looked like Vanna worked on a piece of machinery.

Vanna's back was to Sarah. She worked on Cameron's sheath and chassis, her body. Vanna's hand gently touched Cameron's right cheek as she spoke softly.

"Oh, Allison, I miss you so very much." Vanna said sadly.

Sarah watched and listened. She wondered what Vanna just said and why. There was something about that name. She'd heard Vanna use it or start to use it twice now. There must be something going on more than she knew. She needed to ask. She tried to use some tact.

"What name did you call her?" Sarah asked softly.

Vanna jumped. She quickly turned to look at Sarah. Vanna wondered how long Sarah had been watching her. She wondered what Sarah saw her look at on Cameron. It would be hard to explain if she asked. She wanted to know a few things about Cameron for herself, for personal reasons. She also needed to see the extent of the damage.

"Cameron, I mean Cameron. I'm sorry." Vanna said awkwardly. "I'm glad to see you are awake, Sarah. You seemed to have experienced a very troubled sleep. I'm sorry if I disturbed you. I tried to work as quietly as possible."

Vanna moved off to the side some. Sarah noticed Cameron was naked. She was appalled at what she saw. There were wounds all over her. Sarah winced at the thought. There were parts of Cameron's body that were little more than bloody pulp. Other parts were missing. It appeared as if Cameron had been shot hundreds of times.

Even as badly damaged as Cameron was, Sarah reflected on her beauty.

'It's a machine.' Sarah told herself.

She was aware that Cameron was a beautiful machine which her son cared about. She did not want to say the 'word'. She knew what it really was. Sarah knew John loved Cameron. She'd seen 'the look'. She knew 'THAT look'. She'd been around long enough to know what 'THAT look' meant.

Sarah believed that Cameron came to rescue her in jail to make John happy. Not because she was ordered to or wanted to save her. Cameron sacrificed herself for John's desire for his mother, her. She did it because John wanted his mother free. John made a choice. He chose her over Cameron. She felt love was about sacrifice. John chose to sacrifice Cameron, who he loved, to get her free. Cameron made the sacrifice to give John what he wanted, his mother, her.

'Everyone sacrifices for John Connor.' Sarah thought.

The statement echoed in her mind.

Sarah took a long look at Cameron. She also remembered those who previously fell.

'Everyone dies for John Connor.' Sarah thought seemed a little more appropriate.

A stab of guilt flooded Sarah to see Cameron like this. This was the fault of both John and her in more ways than one. Sarah felt ashamed at the way they all treated Cameron. There were all the cruel and the mean things they said to her. They made fun of her and they threatened to terminate her.

Sarah knew Cameron was a machine but she also saw Cameron could react to things. She could see that Cameron expanded beyond what she was when they first met in 1999. Cameron may be a machine but she was more than just a machine.

She hated Cameron back then, now she held deep respect for her. Cameron earned that respect protecting John and fighting alongside of her. She looked at the mess Cameron was in. She really wondered how John could have done this to Cameron. LOOK at her.

Sarah would be Cameron's protector now. She would be her guardian. She wanted to lay down some rules and everyone there was going to adhere to them. She didn't want anyone to see Cameron like this. This was too degrading even if she was a machine.

"I want Cameron covered when you are not working on her. I want her treated with respect." Sarah said. "I want her treated with dignity. It is important to me. It is VERY important to me."

Sarah looked at the damage and wondered if Cameron's beauty would ever fully return. It seemed doubtful at this point. Cameron's chip may be gone but she knew what happened to her to end up looking like this. She knew who was responsible.

Vanna was taken aback at Sarah's words.

"I would have done that anyway, Sarah." Vanna said. "I will treat her with loving care."

Sarah looked at Cameron, 'all' of her. She could see 'everything' more clearly now. She looked like a human female in every way. It made Sarah wonder about something. Could Cameron really function as a 'female'? She needed to know.

"Did you examine her completely?" Sarah asked. "I mean 'everything'?"

Vanna looked over at Cameron.

"Yes. I noted all the damage and what is necessary to get her chassis and sheath, her body restored again." Vanna said. "I will be able to fix everything. Most of the damage is cosmetic. The chassis damage is minimal."

That was not what Sarah specifically meant. She wanted to know something on a more intimate level. She did not really want to know but she needed to know. It would matter in the future when John returned.

"How 'complete' is she as a 'female'?" Sarah asked.

Vanna felt a quick throb of guilt. She wondered how much Sarah saw earlier of her 'personal examination' of Cameron. Vanna looked where Sarah's gaze now rested. She'd looked for personal as well as professional reasons earlier.

She would try and keep it diplomatic and professional now in her response.

"Oh, I understand. She is one hundred percent 'female' in every way that I can tell from an external exam. She is very complete. It appears her female anatomy is 'fully functional'." Vanna said. "She appears to be like us, a human female right down to the smallest detail. Everything is the same. There is a complete neural network connected that is much like that of a human female. It also appears that the response would be nearly identical to that of a human female."

That was what Sarah wanted to hear even if it was not what she wanted to hear. This was about John and his future. She was sure Cameron was going to be a part of it as more than just a protector. She never would have allowed that before. Now to get John back, she would welcome it.

"Thank you, I just needed to know." Sarah said.

'It matters to me now and in the future for John.' Sarah thought.

Sarah decided she would have Cameron ready for the arrival of John when he returned with Cameron's chip. She was also afraid and worried that John would not return unless he could retrieve Cameron's chip. She wondered if John was even still alive. Maybe he was stuck in the future somewhere.

She tried not to think about that and all the horrors of the future that John would need to face. That thought was going to cause her more worry. She needed to deal with the here and now. This is where she was at and she was not going to let John down. She would carry on the fight. The more she could do now to hurt Skynet, should help John in the future.

Vanna noticed Sarah seemed deep in thought. She needed to get some things and did not want to startle Sarah. She noticed Sarah touched her weapon a lot, even when she was asleep.

"Excuse me. I need to get some supplies." Vanna said.

She placed a towel over Cameron's torso. She gently brushed a few strands of hair from Cameron's face as she left.

Sarah saw the loving and gentle act. It made her wonder….

'I will fix you.' Vanna thought to herself. 'I will make you better than new. I will do it for Allison. I don't know you Cameron but I know you are made in the image of Allison, MY Allison. You are identical to her right down to the last detail. Every tiny detail even down to the pigmentation is exactly the same. I did check. I know. I have seen you before. I have seen ALL of you. Everything is exactly the same as MY Allison. I miss Allison so much.'

As Vanna exited the room she looked back again at Cameron. Where was Allison now and what if she looked like that? She felt the bile rise in her throat.

Sarah was escorted into the 'Clean Room'. She was notified the Turk would be operational soon once they got all the 'bugs' out of it. It seemed they'd experienced some difficulties in finishing the set up.

"We almost have the AI up and running but there is some kind of additional system or virus in the programming. It was not there before all this happened. The virus is able to block all attempts to remove it." Mr. Murch said. "It seems to be very advanced."

Mr. Murch felt it was like a second AI that was somehow trapped in the programming. It was not trying to delete or harm anything. It was just there trying to survive.

What Mr. Murch just said to Sarah took a few seconds to sink in. It hit her like a ton of bricks.

"Wait, STOP trying to remove it." Sarah shouted. "STOP."

Sarah remembered seeing the computer screen on the wall at the previous location. It flashed a message over and over.

"I'M SORRY JOHN – I'M SORRY JOHN…."

A new hope surged through Sarah, maybe, just maybe….

This needed immediate action.

"Can you hook up some kind of interface that I can communicate with?" Sarah asked.

That question caught Mr. Murch off guard. He was unsure what she referred to or what she wanted him to do.

"What?" Mr. Murch asked confused.

Sarah became frustrated. This was important. She tried to keep her cool. She knew that might be a losing battle. She was easily irritated and angry a lot. Her troubled sleep seemed to be a factor in that. With John 'away' and Cameron damaged it only added to the personal problems. The even more uncertain future didn't help any.

"Can you hook up some kind of interface that I can communicate with to the computer?" Sarah asked. "I need to talk to her."

Mr. Murch was even more confused. What was she talking about?

"Her? Talk to whom?" Mr. Murch asked.

He looked around and felt uneasy. He did not see Mr. Ellison anywhere nearby.

The questions and delay upset Sarah greatly. She was already near the snapping point. This was about to drive her over the edge.

"Just do it - NOW." Sarah said forcefully.

Sarah reached back but stopped the impulse to bring her Glock up. She released the cold plastic grip and took a deep breath. She needed to keep her cool. These people were trying to help.

Maybe, just maybe they weren't ALL gone….

Sarah Connor:

I don't know what tomorrow will bring. I don't even know what today will bring. There is always hope. Sometimes that is all one is left with. There are places I have been in where hope was all that remained. It was never enough but it was something. I have that hope now.