Chapter 223

What Now

The Blackhawk brought the HK drone and two deactivated Terminators back to the Resistance base. They were in for a few surprises with what they found out as everything was processed. That would develop later on.

When John Henry reviewed the chips of the two Terminators he was surprised. He discovered that Skyshield was actually after Isabel. They apparently wanted to retrieve her. They must have identified her by facial recognition.

That knowledge in itself was troubling. Was Skyshield looking for someone else? How much surveillance did they have set up? John Henry tracked everywhere Isabel went that day and found the cameras. There was one at the doctor's office and one at the mall. He was able to hack into their network. He could control what they observed and when. He could also loop their feeds at any time if they operated in any of those areas again.

Cameron wanted they system erased, eliminated and infected. She wanted it used as a weapon against Skyshield.

John Henry went through all the surveillance footage and traffic cams and erased everything. He'd previously found the connection to a Skyshield server and infected it with a virus that would erase everything. It would also infect and erase any computer system that tried to interact or interface with it.

It was a surprise to all and a relief that Young Allison hadn't been the target and that Isabel was. Maybe that was because Cameron made herself the target. Young Allison was who she was patterned after once she was a teenager. The threat still remained.

Cameron wanted security beefed up around the Young residence. Allison and Holly would stay with the Young family in the place of Isabel. Isabel's removal was a sore spot for the Young family. Gail and Sheila would be in the detail house next door along with Steve and Dan. Al went to reinforce the Reese detail.

With the determination that the Young Family was not the target, it was decided to keep Paul Young out of the loop for now. Claire thought it would be better if he not know the 'truth' about all this. It was hard enough for her to accept. She did realize Isabel and Cameron gave her clues all along to make this easier for her to understand and accept. She'd long suspected something was going on and that Allison and Cameron were directly related to her somehow. Now she knew the story.

She was proud of the woman Allison grew into. Her grown daughter was beautiful. The strange part was that now she was also only a couple of years younger than her. That seemed to be the hardest part to accept. They were more like sisters at this point. There were 'two' of her daughter here in her home and more of her in other futures.

It was really a Future Shock to Claire.

Isabel was recalled to the Resistance base. Allison did not want her to just disappear. Isabel bid the Young family farewell before she left for Resequencing. Cameron's original plan consisted of Isabel returning to the base without a 'goodbye'. Since Isabel was really 'Cameron' or at least her program clone she did not see it as an issue. Allison said it would be hard on Young Allison and Claire to do that unannounced. They would need closure. Mr. Young would want to know what happened to her and why Allison and Holly were now there instead.

Cameron listened to Allison and saw that Isabel meant a lot to Claire and Young Allison. That revelation made her feel good about herself. It looked like she made a positive impact on someone for once. She did not realize that this was how everyone thought about her.

Isabel and Cameron returned to the base. Cameron decided to Resequence Isabel at once. Her appearance was now a liability. Cameron was actually glad they'd Resequenced Sheila.

Cameron took Isabel with her to find John before she was deactivated. Isabel and Cameron tried one last time to have John be with 'Cameron' as Isabel, he refused.

"John, I'm 'Cameron'." Isabel pleaded. "You're my husband. I want to be with you."

"Look who's next to you." John said. "It's not the same."

John looked at Cameron standing next to Isabel. That was Cameron and that was his wife. It was not Isabel.

The conversation soon broke down and everyone was angry and upset. Cameron didn't like not getting her way. It was apparent that any 'Cameron' did not like it.

Cameron was furious. Isabel was livid.

Being rejected 'again' made Isabel ask Cameron to speed up her termination.

Cameron talked to Vanna about what she wanted done. Cameron consolidated her information from Isabel and Isabel was deactivated awaiting the Resequencing procedure.

Isabel's last words to Cameron were that she erase her chip and never reactivate her again. Isabel told her if she ever made a clone again that everything related to John on a personal level needed to be removed or firewalled. The clone of her or her program should be for operations only and not her duplicate.

Cameron returned to the Young Residence.

Claire looked Cameron over. She was impressed. A human female would have been scarred for life. Cameron looked perfect.

"Your face is healed and you look more beautiful than ever." Claire said.

Cameron was pleased to hear that.

"Thank You. I don't like my face damaged. I don't like John to see me damaged." Cameron said.

It was clear to Claire that Cameron cared deeply for her husband. It was not a 'job' to her even if it was a job.

"You really love him, don't you?" Claire asked.

Cameron smiled. There were deeper issues too.

"Yes, I could not function without him." Cameron said. "I hope you understand the importance of the protection that is needed for Allison and Young Allison. Protecting them protects the future."

Claire wanted her daughters protected.

"I do. I have learned so much from Allison. It is really something to see her so pretty and as a woman." Claire said. "It is all still so hard to believe."

Cameron wanted to stress that Allison's beauty was her own.

"Her beauty is natural." Cameron said. "She gets it from you."

Claire complexion blushed a little. She liked to hear that Cameron thought she was pretty. There were some of the other things she learned too that were a surprise to her.

"Previously I was surprised to learn she has a female companion. The woman with the red hair is beautiful and I really like her. Allison told me Vanna is the future version of Savannah. I must say Savannah is turning into a real beauty like Vanna is." Claire said. "This is all so hard to grasp and to accept as reality. I have seen it all with my own eyes. I have to believe it. It is all such a Future Shock."

Cameron wanted to lay out the game plan.

"The future is a shock to everyone." Cameron said. "Holly and Allison will be with you and Young Allison twenty four hours a day. Sheila and Gail will accompany you whenever you go out and they are only seconds away as we speak. Two male Terma - associates will shadow you as well. I will be here often and bring Vanna sometimes so Allison and her may 'share' with each other."

Claire understood what that meant…. She also liked Vanna a lot.

"Will Allison be with John in the future?" Claire asked.

That was the plan. She did not think now was the time to point out that Young Allison would be as well and that she was the proper 'Allison' in this timeline. Allison, Vanna and Jesse were just place holders for her for John. She wanted John to have human female companionship until Savannah and Young Allison were ready. Being 'ready' to Cameron meant being able to reproduce. Age was just a number to her. She would find out later it caused a lot of flack for everyone else.

"Yes." Cameron said. "Vanna as well and hopefully Jesse will be too. I want all three of them to be with him."

It seemed to Claire like Cameron forgot someone, herself.

"What about you?" Claire asked.

Cameron did not want to get into that. She stated the most likely scenario.

"I will most likely be terminated." Cameron said. "I do not 'belong'. I am an aberration to the timeline. I have disrupted the 'Natural Order'."

Claire could see the tears form in Cameron's eyes and then stream down her cheeks.

"Oh, Cameron…." Claire said as emotion gripped her.

Claire came to comfort her. She loved Cameron too.

Everyone loved Cameron except Cameron.

Previously they'd captured four HK drones form an assembly line that was in the process of being set up. John Henry led the process to rework them to best suit the needs of the Resistance. They also wanted to make sure they would not fall back under Skynet control.

John was displeased with their encounter of another HK drone. He wanted to have a Resistance drone response of their own. He checked in with John Henry about the progress of the program.

"I have one of the drones we captured ready for testing." John Henry said.

John wanted that taken care of as a priority.

"I want that done ASAP. I want some air power. Will you download some of your program into them?" John asked.

John Henry wanted to increase the drone's capability to operate autonomously when not under their direct control.

"Yes." John Henry said. "There will be some from me for a conventional response and some from Cameron for unconventional responses. She is better at that than I am. Mine will be strategic and textbook. Cameron's will be tactical, fluid and organic."

John was not sure which one was the better approach. It seemed Cameron's approach would provide greater flexibility.

"What will the armament be?" John asked.

In the future the drones would have a plasma cannon. They decided to use conventional weapons designs to start out with.

"There will flexible minigun with Coltan projectiles and two small air to air missiles and two small air to surface guided missiles. Our drones are not that big." John Henry said. "The missiles are small but will be effective."

John was satisfied with that progress. Now there was the latest round from the encounter in the High Desert to deal with.

"What about the drone we brought from Palmdale and the two Terminators?" John asked.

John Henry figured he was about to give John a surprise on that update.

"The two male Terminators are being repaired and reprogrammed." John Henry said. "There was a female Terminator pilot that we discovered as well in the wreckage of the larger drone that Bob brought down with the Stinger. She is severely damaged and may not be repairable. We were unaware she was in the wreckage of the drone until we started to process it. We will harvest the Coltan from her endoskeleton if the damage is too great."

This was the third Skynet or Skyshield drone they'd encountered that could hold a pilot or occupant of some type.

John wondered about the crude unfinished drone that could take a pilot they encountered in the mountain hanger. That was where they captured the female Terminator with Asian features.

"Do you think the female Terminator that became Sheila was the pilot for the drone we destroyed in the mountains when I was with Bob and Dan?" John asked. "Are they using female Terminators because they are smaller?"

"That assessment is most likely. I think they used female Terminators because they are somewhat diminutive. Those manned drones are Skyshield junk." John Henry said. "I do not see them getting any military contract soon with that poor level of quality. I plan on having our four drones combat ready soon. That's after we finish the testing of the first one. The other three will be patterned after the first one."

John liked that they made improvements and upgrades to their drones. He was still intrigued with the idea of a manned drone. It could be flown as a regular drone or under the control of a pilot. He would not mind trying to fly one. Most likely Cameron would have a fit.

Claire comforted Cameron. She could feel her pain and hurt. How could Cameron be a 'machine'? She seemed as emotionally fragile as any female and she hurt 'inside' for all the same reasons.

Previously Allison mentioned that Cameron created a Poem Book that she should read.

"You read it, Mom, and feel it." Allison said. "You will never see Cameron as anything but another girl."

Claire felt that way already. She watched Cameron dance, learn instantly, adapt and improve. She watched her help Young Allison. She was able to teach her things. They often were advanced things too. The love, caring and sharing Cameron gave out was tremendous.

She knew from the start that Cameron and Isabel were special and Isabel was 'Cameron'. She could tell the other female cyborgs were not as advanced. It was clear they were still learning and improving. Holly was the next most advanced.

There was one thing Claire thought that was terrible. She was very upset that Isabel was deactivated and was no more. Her existence was ended, it was like lights on, lights off. She was 'dead' as far as they saw it. She'd developed strong feelings for her…. Cameron explained she contained all of Isabel's information. She told her they were 'one' again.

"Isabel was me and I was her." Cameron said.

Claire realized at that point she was in love with Cameron and Isabel because she was 'Cameron'.

She thought Holly was wonderful too. She was a little shocked to see Allison kiss Holly once as she walked into the room. Once they were spotted they both stood and faced her. Allison took Holly's hand and looked at her. A message was clearly sent. She understood it and all that it 'said' silently. Allison gave Holly another quick kiss in front of her. Allison was not ashamed of her love for Holly and wanted her mother to know. No words or explanations were necessary. She realized Holly would protect Allison at all costs to herself. That made her smile. She saw how a 'machine' like Cameron, could love as well. She knew Cameron would protect all of her daughters, no matter what the future wrought. Holly was proof of that.

This was all still so hard for Claire to fathom.

What was next? What now?

It was all really more than a Future Shock.

What Now

Most of the time it seems
No matter which way we get turned
Someone gets bumped into
Or another bridge is burned

Blindly through daily life
Like a bulldozer we plow
We cringe and we wait
For the next one to disavow

We always reach out
We wait for a hand returned
Often it is rejected
Once again we are spurned

We always hope in the end
That it all works out somehow
Since little ever changes
Does it make a difference anyhow

The affectionate touch of another
Is meaningless if it isn't earned
It is a lesson often forgotten
It always needs to be relearned

Is there one we can wow
What will or won't they allow
Before another we must bow
We always soon ask again, what now

Nobody