Chapter 104

Failure

The energy bubble appeared. The arcing and flashing stopped.

Cameron arose. Everything was 'wrong'. They were on a ship, some kind of a ship. She thought it was the aircraft carrier but only for a millisecond. Too much was different. Nothing felt right. This was all wrong. The pressure and gravity seemed off. It seemed artificial somehow. That didn't make any sense. There were a lot of things that did not make sense to her. There was no magnetic pole her sensors could pick up either.

She told the girls to stay put and not move and that she would be right back. She needed to stay close in case the energy bubble reappeared. If one of them missed it they were going to be left behind. She really wondered when this was going to end.

Cameron wanted to look around and see what this place was. She knew it was unlike anything she knew. This might be some Skynet weapon they did not know about. What was strange was that everything seemed old or used. It wasn't new. She went to find a porthole.

The three naked women on the floor stood up. They were really unsure what was happening at this point in time.

They looked around them with curiosity. This was all very different.

Allison looked around and noticed 'Cameron' was in a different spot now from where she was only a few seconds ago. She wondered how. That didn't make an sense.

'Cameron' peeked around a corner and looked at them. She seemed to stare at Allison.

'Cameron' stepped out and walked towards Allison. She wore a dress now. That was different.

"Nice dress." Allison said.

Allison wondered where 'Cameron' found the dress so quickly. She hoped there were some other dresses for them. She looked at 'Cameron's' hair, it was different too somehow. If fact the entire 'look' was off. Everything was the same but it was 'different'.

Jesse too wondered where 'Cameron' got the dress at.

"Where are our dresses?" Jesse asked. "To tell you the truth I'm fine how I look right now.

Jesse wondered why 'Cameron' seemed 'different'. There was something strange about her now. Something did not seem right. Maybe all the energy being blasted through and around all of them was starting to have a negative affect on Cameron.

'Cameron' walked up to Allison and looked at her. She looked at her from head to toe and back again. She didn't say anything but just looked at her.

"Are you OK?" Allison asked.

Jesse and Vanna noticed it too. They could tell something was wrong. Something was different. This wasn't right. They both began to feel a sense of danger. This was the unknown.

Vanna was now worried for Allison. She did not understand what happened and was afraid Cameron might have gone 'bad' again.

"Allison." Vanna said. "Something is not right."

Allison was worried but not really afraid.

"I feel it too." Allison said. "I think we are on a ship."

Jesse came to that conclusion too but there was no explanation how they were there.

"We are on a ship that is for sure but it is unlike any that I have ever seen." Jesse said as she looked around.

Jesse and Vanna looked at each other.

The nude form of Cameron appeared behind the other 'Cameron' that wore the dress. 'Dressed Cameron' still stared at Allison.

Cameron knew this was a problem of some kind. She wanted some answers.

"Where and when are we?" Cameron asked.

'Dressed Cameron' jumped back and turned to face Cameron.

She looked Cameron up and down and back to Allison. She then looked back at Cameron as she faced her.

Cameron could tell right away that this girl who looked like Allison was not afraid of her.

"WHAT are you?" 'Dressed Cameron' asked.

Cameron deduced they were in the future. It seemed to be a further future than she'd been to before.

"I am a cybernetic organism from your past." Cameron said.

'Dressed Cameron' reached up and touched Cameron's cheek.

"You're a weapon." 'Dressed Cameron' stated.

'Dressed Cameron' still did not show any fear after she determined that Cameron was a weapon.

"My name is Cameron." Cameron said.

Cameron held out her hand. 'Dressed Cameron' took it.

"What is your name?" Cameron asked.

"My name is…."

The energy bubble reappeared. The arcing and flashing returned. The girls had stayed in the same spot. It enveloped them. It looked like their journey was not complete yet.

John watched John Henry make some modifications to the TDE. There were several power cells from some of the Terminators they captured hooked up to it.

"Is that safe?" John asked.

John Henry doubted it. If one of the power cells exploded it would destroy half of the base. That included John and him.

"No." John Henry said. "You said you wanted me to get creative. I did. This should give the TDE a big enough boost to grab onto them if we can still find them. It has been awhile since we last tried this. I keep going back to the point in time that we lost them. I believe there is a temporal time lag of some kind. I keep tying to compensate for it."

John was not sure he understood the specifics of any of this. He wanted Cameron and the girls back. That was all that mattered.

"If the bubble comes back, run the machine until it breaks or blows up. We have to try to hold on to them." John said. "I don't care if we destroy it. If we don't do this now, we are never going to be able to do it."

John Henry decided to quickly install a fail safe shut off from the power cells. He did not plan on being vaporized if he could help it.

"I will try. The Liquid Metal Terminator said our TDE brought her here. It was just not to this specific location. We don't know where she was at when we 'picked her up' or where she ended up at." John Henry said. "It could have been anywhere. I don't know what will happen even if it looks like we have them. This machinery was never designed to do what we are attempting."

John Henry wondered when they actually picked the Liquid Metal Terminator up. Was it the last time or was it what they were doing now? Maybe she ended up in their past from what they were doing now. The temporal forces were being bent forwards and backwards. The TDE was being used in an untested and unsafe manner.

John Henry turned the TDE on. Nothing happened that they could see. The machine roared and thundered. He flipped a switch and the power cells added to the energy of the TDE. The room shook even more so than normal.

It was clear that something was different.

The energy bubble was back, the arcing and flashing returned. It seemed more intense somehow.

"Here it comes again." John said. "I think something is wrong."

The shapes in the energy bubble seemed 'different' for some reason to John.

The TDE vibrated violently. It seemed that it was strained to the limit.

"John, get back." John Henry said. "The TDE is overloading."

John Henry quickly tripped the fail safe and took the power cells offline.

The energy bubble immediately began to dissipate.

John and John Henry both moved away from the TDE. They knew it was about to break.

The back of the TDE control panel blew off and all the power went out. The room filled with smoke.

John Henry was glad the power cells were shut off when this happened. He checked for a fire but it was the electrical wiring that was fried.

When the smoke cleared there was nothing on the TDE pad. They'd failed. The girls were lost and the TDE was damaged and inoperable. They were gone.

Darkness is all that remained.

The TDE pad was empty.

Nobody was there.

John Henry could see how disappointed John was.

"I will work on repairing the TDE. I will make it more powerful. I am using the temporal information Mrs. Weaver sent. I want to be able to try to receive as well as send in the design. I have pulled one Terminator each off Young Allison and the Reese brothers to assist in gathering materials." John Henry said. "This will speed up the process greatly. I instructed them to use whatever means necessary to procure what we need. I know this is a top priority for you, John"

John Henry did not mention that the power cells were only seconds from overloading and rupturing. It was actually a very close call.

"That is fine. Kyle and Sarah can fill in for one of the Terminators and Derek for the other." John said. "I don't want to drop the ball on the children. If something were to happen to the children, Cameron would be very upset at me."

They both knew it would be IF Cameron returned, not when she returned.

"What about the 'new arrival'?" John Henry asked.

John Henry KNEW all about HER. It took all the control he could muster not to say, 'What of the 'Bitch Whore'?' He'd seen Cameron's pain over her. He'd FELT Cameron's pain over her. The very problem that made Cameron wish she'd never been built. It was the very problem that created this whole mess. It was that and Future John sending her away. Now there was a 'Riley' here at the worst time. John was alone and Cameron and the girls were gone.

John Henry hoped if they were in Cameron's future before Future Allison's capture, that one of them would terminate this problem before it could happen. He put his money on Jesse. John Henry knew you could take the girl out of the evil but you could never take the evil out of the girl. Just like Cameron, Jesse too possessed her basic 'programming' to revert to. He wished he would have mentioned it himself to her.

He regretted not having programmed Unit Two or Unit Three to find and terminate Future Jesse and Future Riley when they saved Future Allison. It would have created a different timeline but it would have been a better one for Cameron. At least THAT Cameron would not have been exposed to as many problems. He knew having Riley here at the base was a mistake and would only lead to trouble.

John did not like John Henry's attitude. He did not like Sarah's attitude either concerning Riley. He was personally thrilled that she was here and now at the base. He did not see why it was a big deal.

"I will get her acquainted with our operations here and 'break her in'." John said.

John Henry instantly disliked that terminology. He was sure where this endeavor would end. It would be John in-between Riley's legs.

John wanted to see Riley again and talk to her. He never got to say 'goodbye'. They only 'completed' their love one time. He did not intend to do that again but only to be around her. He knew she was a different Riley but she started from the same Riley. Her death hurt him deeply. He wanted to terminate Cameron over it. John almost pushed the button several times. It made John sick later on to know that Cameron hadn't lied to him when she said she didn't do it. John almost killed Cameron out of anger and rage. This whole thing is a nightmare, John thought.

He didn't understand that Cameron did not kill Riley because she loved him. She wanted him to be happy if that was his choice. She hated it but she allowed it for John.

He went to look for Savannah to study with her like he promised. He would have a talk with her about everything that happened and why. No more secrets. No more lying. John also wanted to put the brakes on whatever Cameron instilled in Savannah and made her feel obligated to fulfill…. Savannah needed to fill out some. Riley was here now and she was already filled out.

As John went in search of Savannah, he thought Riley really looked good. If Cameron did not come back….

Failure

We think we see the fast ball
So we swing the bat
The ball has passed us by
We don't even know where it is at

We foolishly step up to the plate again
We try and take another swing
It is a curve ball this time
Only empty air does the bat sting

Is every day in life
Really only a cruel game
No matter how we play it
The end result is always the same

We change around the tactic
It does not seem to matter
It appears the reoccurring outcome
Is a heart and mind that shatter

It looks like every option ends in failure
Is that all life can offer anyone
It feels like the game is always over
Before it has even begun

Nobody