Chapter 302

Australia

Al and Ed checked over the truck and vehicles and found no trackers. There were three of their drones on patrol around them and they found nothing that was a threat. Al used Thermite and destroyed the remains of the HK drone.

They ran their vehicles through an ambush site on the way back but no one followed them. There wasn't anything in the sky. None of this made any sense. They weren't even sure the HK drone came to attack them when they'd taken out the future Gray and first encountered it.

Where did it come from and why was it there? Who was watching them and why?

It was the unknown that bothered them. How did whatever group it was, know where they would be?

Bob formed up with Steve and Tom. They set up the ambush for Al and Ed to run through on their way back to the base. There weren't any vehicles that tailed them.

Once the Resistance vehicles were through the ambush site. Bob resumed running down targets on the list he was provided by Ally. He'd needed to ask Steve and Tom to assist him several times.

He was a little bothered by the emaciated female at the one target location he took down. She'd regained consciousness after the brutal beating by the future Gray. She could have escaped out the front. She chose to take more drugs instead and ended up killing herself. He didn't think that was intentional but it may have been. He would have taken her to the hospital once he was finish in the back.

He wasn't sure if her death was his fault of not. He didn't want Savannah to find out about that and left it out of his report. He wasn't sure why he did that either. Maybe if he'd acted at the beginning of her assault things might have turned out differently for her. Instead he listened as she was abused.

He took out his phone and called up an image the Gray mentioned. He understood what the future Gray meant now. It seemed to him to be something of beauty, not something to chastise someone over. He would ask Cameron about it sometime.

He needed to refocus.

Cameron did an elaborate amount of work to build a cover story for all the events related to the Flores family. She tried to make everything look legal and proper.

Cameron sent a written message from a 'Law Firm'. It informed the Flores family that the only other known relative of the wealthy relative who passed away previously and left them a large sum of money, would be in town and like to visit them. The members of the Flores family were her only known relatives.

Cameron collected Gail and Jesse. It was time to go.

Ally drove them to the airport. She'd like to get a first hand look at Young Jesse.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come?" Ally asked. "Extra security is a good thing. It's sort of my job now too."

Cameron didn't like Ally trying to 'crowd' into the flight.

"It should be unnecessary." Cameron said. "This should happen relatively quickly and we should be back in a few days. You can supervise my operation at my base and replace anyone you want.

Ally felt that statement opened up another door.

"Can I try to infiltrate as 'you' with John?" Ally asked.

Cameron doubted Ally could pull it off. There was a chance she could.

"As long as you don't take it too far…." Cameron said.

She didn't finish the statement. She felt the implication was there what would happen if Ally got carried away. It would not end pleasantly for her.

Ally looked sad. She knew Cameron would deactivate her if she went 'all the way'. She didn't see what it could hurt. It really wasn't that big of a deal. It wasn't like she could get pregnant or something. John would ravish her sheath for a few minutes and then he would be done. What was the big deal?

Cameron didn't want to discourage Ally from trying to improve herself.

"See if you can get past Claire first. I want to make sure everything is OK with Holly, Allison and Hanna." Cameron said. "You won't deceive Savannah. Young Allison will most likely spot you as an 'impostor'."

The jet was waiting for Cameron. She'd filed all the paperwork to make this a legitimate 'business trip' and stay off everyone's radar.

Cameron took the controls with Gail at her side. They took off from Van Nuys airport and would follow their flight plan to Australia with a stop in Hawaii along the way.

The flight over the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii was uneventful as far as Cameron was concerned. It was very pleasurable for Jesse and Gail.

Cameron let Jesse know as soon as they passed five thousand feet. They would fly at forty two thousand feet or about eight miles above the surface of the water.

Jesse wanted to join the 'mile high club'. Gail and her promptly did.

They stopped in Hawaii to top off the fuel. Cameron invited Young Jesse to sit in the copilot's seat for awhile as they took off.

They passed over Pearl Harbor on the flight out.

"I see Pearl Harbor down there." Jesse said. "That was a raw deal in 1941 for the Yanks."

Cameron didn't want to get into the speculation about the 'politics' behind it. At the time it was clear that FDR wanted to assist the British in their fight against the Germans. They needed a 'trigger' to get involved that the American people would 'buy into'. It needed to be something big.

The American ships being sunk off the coast on New Jersey by U-boats didn't serve that purpose. There were also some engagements with US destroyers in the North Atlantic. One destroyer, the USS Reuben James, was lost in combat prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The president and the military knew an attack by the Japanese was coming, they'd broken the code. They figured it would be on American interests in the Philippines. That was the 'trigger' they hoped for. They knew that the other Axis powers would declare war on the US and that would open up the main thrust of US efforts to liberate Europe. The Pacific campaign took the back burner.

"The attack itself was overrated." Cameron said. "Every ship but three that were damaged or sunk in the attack was repaired. All but one of those that was re-floated, the USS Oklahoma, fought again. Most of the ships simply needed a plate welded over the holes in the hull and air was pumped in and the ships re-floated. The two ships that remained where they were damaged were the USS Utah. It was a pre World War I battleship that was used as a 'target ship' for gunnery practice. The other was the USS Arizona. It was a World War I era battleship."

"It seems everyone hypes it up." Jesse said.

"Remember, the goal was to get the US involved in the European war and bail out the British." Cameron said.

"It sounds like the Japanese signed their own 'death warrant'. Jesse said.

"Skynet should have studied history a little more before it acted." Cameron said. "It made the same overconfident mistakes that the Axis powers did. They simply bit off more than they could chew. US industrial might turned out hundreds of pieces of military equipment everyday in the form of tanks, planes and even a ship a day. At the same time the Axis powers were smashed back a little more everyday."

"I know the Kamikaze attacks by the Japanese inflicted some damage at the end of the war." Jesse said.

Cameron almost laughed.

"All that did was insure that Japan would be 'punished' with atomic weapons. They still didn't get it that they'd been defeated." Cameron said. "A couple of mushroom clouds later they did. Skynet tried to hit hard in the beginning with nuclear weapons, chemical weapons and biological warfare. They failed. The Resistance formed and the rest is history, for us anyway."

Jesse didn't want to say she was 'glad' about the biological warfare but that killed off everyone with an 'underlying disease'. Even people with any STD died off. That was the only reason she was spared getting infected with any of those as her assaults grew. It made all the survivors the strongest and healthiest people. They still suffered from plenty of other issues. Malnutrition was one of them.

Gail asked if Jesse could join her in the aft fuselage once they were over the Pacific Ocean again. There was nothing but water under them for the next ten hours. Needless to say, Cameron 'pushed it' a little.

Gail and Jesse spent much of the time sharing with each other as Cameron flew along at around forty two thousand feet.

Even when Jesse rested, Gail continued to 'work' on her and pleasure her. It was a very pleasant flight for Jesse and Gail.

They landed and passed inspection and customs in Australia. The forged documents Cameron fabricated were flawless, like everything she did was. John Henry made sure their documents were in the system where they needed to be.

John Henry made sure all computer related matters were taken care of and any 'red flags' were erased. He also made sure all traces of their activity was removed as soon as they were done.

CamNet oversaw everything and made sure there were no problems.

John Henry made arrangements so that there was a car waiting for them at the airport.

Cameron took the wheel.

Gail looked at the streets and traffic with disgust.

"I don't like the way they drive here." Gail said.

Cameron laughed.

"It's not as hard for us to adapt as it is for non Metal." Cameron said.

"It is still illogical." Gail said.

Jesse was very silent. She was flooded with emotion. She looked out the window and took it all in. She never thought she would see where she grew up at 'back' in this pristine condition. Everything was as she remembered it and undamaged. It was all so beautiful. It made her hate Skynet more for how it destroyed everything.

Cameron went over the rules with Jesse and Gail. They could talk to Jesse's parents and younger self but not identify who they really were. She told them of the letter she'd sent.

It wasn't that she didn't want Jesse's parents to know the 'truth'. It was that she knew the 'truth' was hard for people to accept at first. It was always so impossible for them to comprehend.

Jesse let out a gasp and pointed. Something gripped her from deep inside.

"There's my sister!" Jesse said as tears filled her eyes. "Look how beautiful she is."

Gail looked and spotted the girl Jesse indicated. Then she spotted something else. She saw 'her'. It was young teenage Jesse - Young Jesse. She thought for a moment she was about to malfunction as a special feeling swept over her. She was instantly captivated.

"There you are, Jesse – Young Jesse." Cameron said.

Cameron thought how beautiful Young Jesse was. She could also see how much they looked alike. They looked identical.

"Metal!" Gail shouted as she started to exit the moving car.

Cameron grabbed Gail's arm to stop her.

"Wait." Cameron said. "They're part of my Terminator force."

Jesse needed to think about what Cameron just said.

"Do you mean you have Metal here to protect me - young me and my family?" Jesse asked.

Cameron indicated something about that before. She didn't think that there was Metal that followed her younger self around that closely for protection.

"Yes. You – 'she' will never face the same threats that you once faced." Cameron said. "I promised myself to take care of you for your loyalty and devotion. I keep and honor ALL my promises."

The level of protection touched Gail deeply. To see Young Jesse and find out how protected she was meant something to her.

"You did all that for Jesse?" Gail asked as she sobbed.

Jesse and Gail both cried at this point as they thanked Cameron.

Jesse knew her younger self wouldn't be drug screaming out of her hiding place as the men held her down and took turns….

"I project the ones I love." Cameron said. "I protect all John's females."

'John may need them at his side one day.' Cameron thought.

Gail could see there was going to be a problem. Jesse and Young Jesse looked identical. There was only an age difference.

"You look so much like 'her'. She's going to recognize you." Gail said.

Cameron could see there might be some issues. She planned to meet with Jesse's parents first before they interacted with Young Jesse.

"I'd like Young Jesse to know the truth at some point." Jesse said.

Cameron didn't want to get ahead of themselves.

"Let's go find your parents and then we can come back." Cameron said. "I can call my Terminators for any updates."

Jesse wanted to influence Young Jesse's life in what she felt was a positive way and to her true calling.

"Can you tell the Terminators to make sure I – she doesn't date any boys but only females?" Jesse asked.

Jesse wanted her younger self to only know love and sharing, not use and abuse. She wondered if Young Jesse was still a virgin or not. She figured anyone that looked that hot probably got 'popped' by now. It would have happened in the her future years ago. I did for her.

"I think any boys can be discouraged from hanging around you - her." Cameron said. "I will relay the information."

Cameron didn't think now was a good time to tell Jesse that she'd given her Terminators orders that Young Jesse was to remain untouched by males. Cameron also knew that some other events may dictate a different direction as well.

Jesse felt ashamed that she'd hated Terminators at one point and now she wanted them as protection for her family and Young Jesse.

"Thank you." Jesse said. "You're always thinking of me and my well being."

As it was, Cameron planned to have Young Jesse remain 'untouched' by a male until John needed her anyway. John should have nothing but the best. She was not opposed to a female lover for Young Jesse in the meantime. It was nice to have your 'bell rung' once in awhile.

They drove for a bit longer.

Jesse looked around as they drove. There were in a very 'high end' neighborhood now.

"This is a way nicer neighborhood than we could afford, Cameron, are you sure?" Jesse asked. "My parents could never afford to live here. We barely earned enough to get by."

Cameron covered all the bases from the start.

"Your parents received a large 'inheritance' from a relative they didn't know they were related to…." Cameron said. "They're wealthy now."

Jesse's mouth dropped open slightly. The depth Cameron went to for her was more than she could've ever even have dreamt.

"You did all this for me?" Jesse asked. "Cameron, I don't know what to say."

Cameron appreciated loyalty. She felt it was her duty to do this.

"Please don't say anything." Cameron said. "I make sure all my debts are paid. I owe you for your loyalty and service to the Resistance and myself. It's our function to protect the future and John. You must help me protect John."

Jesse thought of the night with Isabel-Cameron and now Ally was about to be 'closer' to her…. Cameron did pay her debts.

Gail tried to console Jesse as she sobbed with uncontrollable emotion. She was so overwhelmed. She loved Cameron so much more now than she ever did. Cameron did all this and never said a word to her or anyone.

Jesse knew Cameron did it just for HER. Cameron always helped out everyone in the most meaningful ways. There was nothing she wouldn't do for Cameron….

Later on, Jesse saw her parents at a restaurant when they went out. She just wanted to 'see' them alive again. She stayed out of their sight for today. Tomorrow she would arrive at their house as scheduled by the 'Law Firm' - 'CamNet'.

Cameron wanted Jesse to be careful for now and tomorrow. She also wanted Jesse to have a 'sneak peek' at everything first so she wouldn't be flooded by her feelings. Jesse's tearful response was proof she'd made the right call.

Jesse was so overwhelmed with emotion that she asked Gail just to hold her that night.

Cameron went out to make contact with her Terminators. She reinforced the information about the boys….

"There have been two boys that have 'bothered' Young Jesse and several other school girls as well." The Terminator said. "I almost needed to intervene on one occasion. I know this is outside of the current mission parameters but it was almost necessary."

Cameron was not about to let someone abuse Young Jesse.

"That's troubling news." Cameron said. "If any threat again develops, I want you to make sure it ends that night, 'forever'. Make it look like an 'accident'."

"Affirmative." The Terminator said.

Cameron was not taking any chances.

Nobody put John's girls in a corner.

Isolation Is Not A Choice

Isolation is not a choice
It is forced upon one
Invisible and unwanted by others
Before you start you are done

Some join the pack lost
Others just hide and run
Some choose different vices
Others pick up a gun

You can not understand how
Things end before they have begun
For every one step forward
Ten are reversed and undone

You always wonder why
You have never ever won
You may not have anything
You are forced to have none

Life's weight crushes you
Smashing your mind like a ton
The mind forever in torment
What was it like to have fun

Nobody