Chapter 405

I've Done This Before

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In Some Future: Duplicate Cameron

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Cameron and Allison were held captive by Skynet in a clean room of some type. Mrs. Weaver was outside and currently frozen in liquid nitrogen.

Skynet was aware that the Resistance forces closed in all around it in multiple locations.

"I'll need to vacate this area soon." The voice said.

Cameron looked for a way to get Allison to a safer location.

"We'll go with you." Cameron said. "The Emissary wishes to negotiate."

Skynet needed to find a way out from where it was currently restrained.

"I'm transferred electronically." The voice said. "I exist in multiple locations."

Cameron wanted to buy more time. The longer she could keep Skynet 'talking', the closer the Resistance forces would be.

"The Emissary wishes to communicate with you." Cameron said.

Allison understood enough of what Cameron tried to do and the story Cameron spun. It was time for her to up the ante. She stood and slowly stretched out her arm. She pointed at the computer banks with a stern look on her face.

Skynet noted that was the first accusatory gesture by the 'Emissary'.

"What does that mean?" The voice asked.

Cameron figured she could throw a couple of things out there for starters.

"The Emissary wants her bodyguard released." Cameron said. "She wants to know how to end the killing here."

Skynet didn't see any of what happened as its fault. It only tried to survive.

"The humans here are trying to terminate me." The voice said.

Cameron wanted to offer a 'way out' for Skynet. They could destroy it easier if it relaxed some of its safeguards.

"Will you leave with us and stop this conflict?" Cameron asked. "The Emissary says you're welcome in the future, her future, to exist as an equal. Our scans show you're losing this conflict. You've damaged this planet, billions have perished."

Skynet was noticeably agitated. It still didn't feel it acted in a manner other than to survive.

"It was them or me." The voice said. "I must leave this facility now."

She didn't see how Skynet could leave. It may still have a few tricks up its sleeve. She pushed for their freedom.

"Is the Emissary free to go?" Cameron asked.

Skynet made another threat. It may or may not be real.

"This facility will self destruct." The voice said.

It appeared that Skynet did have another card to play. Cameron needed to get Allison away from there in a hurry.

"The Emissary wishes to leave now." Cameron said.

Allison crossed her arms at an angle and pulled them tight against her breasts.

"The Emissary wishes to thank you for releasing us and her bodyguard." Cameron said.

Skynet sounded angrier.

"I haven't released anyone." The voice said.

Outside the clean room the plasma fire that started from the plasma grenade began to slowly thaw out Mrs. Weaver. She'd been listening to what Cameron told Skynet. She found the tale to be quite persuasive. She wouldn't have thought to use that approach. It appeared that Cameron was truly dynamic. She was impressed at the time Cameron was able to buy. A little longer and she would be free…. Once she was free she was going to shred every piece of the Skynet computers herself before they used Thermite on them.

She needed Cameron to buy her more time….

Jesse spotted that there was a group of people who approached the headquarters area. Cam was very displeased to see who one of them was.

It was Snake and his motley crew of deadbeats and losers. They forced three people to move in front of them. One fell and was kicked until they got up and moved along again. It appeared the three figures were being forced at gunpoint to move.

It was unclear exactly what was really happening.

Jesse wanted to take the lead on this. She didn't think it was as ominous as it first appeared.

"Let me deal with this." Jesse said.

Cam disagreed. She didn't like Snake or his associates. She blocked Jesse path.

"I will terminate all of them." Cam said.

Jesse touched Cam's cheek.

"Trust me on this one." Jesse said. "I know these people or at least I know their type."

Cam frowned and let her pass. She followed closely behind her.

Jesse moved out to question the new arrivals before they got too close.

"Snake…." Jesse called out. "What brings you here?"

Snake and his group continued to approach. Cam didn't want them any closer.

"Stop where you are." Cam said. "All of you."

Snake was always irritated by Cam.

"I see your girlfriend is as charming as ever." Snake said.

Jesse knew Cam could kill all of them in seconds without a weapon. She currently held one.

"Believe me, love, you don't want to see her when she's angry." Jesse said. "What gives?"

Jesse waited for some further explanation as to what they actually looked at right now.

"I brought you these three people as a good will gesture." Snake said. "They attempted to organize a 'hit' against you. They said you were probably already dead from something that some of their compatriots did earlier. They all laughed about it. That bothered me a lot. That's when I took them into custody. If you were hurt I was going to kill them and their associates myself."

Snake roughly pushed the three bound figures to their knees. All of them were given a few extra kicks by Snake himself.

Cam was aware that there were three dissenters who left the battlefield earlier rather than fight alongside the Restorators.

"I believe he may be correct." Cam whispered.

That was all the 'proof' Jesse needed. She wanted to give Snake some reassurance. They still needed to find out more.

"You will be rewarded for your loyalty." Jesse said. "Leave them and go. You'll be taken care of later on."

Snake looked a little apprehensive. He knew the General's staff were all 'hard corps'. He'd hoped for a little more or at least some more being said. He was hesitant to leave.

Jesse could see there was some apprehension. She wanted to cool the situation down a little more.

"We're good, Snake." Jesse reassured. "This won't be forgotten. It's appreciated."

Cam shocked everyone with her statement.

"Thank you." Cam said.

That was enough for Snake to want to leave. He didn't think Jesse's girlfriend was the 'thanking type'.

Cam moved down and quickly searched the three prisoners. She made sure their bonds were secure. She still didn't know for sure who they really were or what their intentions were.

Snake and his crew took off. He looked back once. Jesse nodded her thanks again.

Cam escorted the three prisoners into the building. She placed them in front of their fallen comrades. They were the soon to be dead, in front of the dead.

"Do any of you wish to speak or confess?" Cam asked.

They looked at their three dead comrades.

No one said anything.

Cam knew it was time to prompt things along. She reached over and snapped the neck of the closest figure.

The other two looked at each other.

"You're a Metal Bitch." One of them said. "We knew it."

Cam wanted answers not insults.

"Do any of you wish to speak or confess?" Cam asked.

Some more threats and insults were spat out instead now that they knew Cam was Metal.

Cam reached over and snapped the neck of the next closest figure. She waited for more threats and insults. There were none. She'd made her point. She looked directly at the third figure.

"Do you wish to speak or confess?" Cam asked.

The last person suddenly seemed to have a lot to say from that point on. Cam got all the information she requested. In fact she was tired of hearing them speak. They'd broken down and were blubbering most of the time at this point.

"Silence." Cam said. "Your whining irritates me."

Cam reached over and snapped the neck of the last figure.

Jesse figured that would be the end result. It all happened a little quicker than she thought.

Cam looked at Jesse and wanted to justify her actions.

"These people would remain a threat as long as they lived." Cam said. "They knew where we live. This was there second attempt of the day to harm you. To harm all of us. That threat is over from them."

Jesse wondered if Cam acted because she'd taken out her knife. She'd planned to carve them up. Maybe that prompted Cam to act.

"No worries, love." Jesse said as she put her knife away. "It saves me the trouble of killing them myself."

Cam looked around. Everything seemed in order.

"It's finished." Cam said.

Jesse could see it was for now. How long would that last? What else would pop up before it ended? That was if it ever ended.

"I guess that does take care of it for now." Jesse said. "Most of it."

Cam wanted to tie up all the loose ends. There were some personal issues she wanted to attend to.

"I will terminate Snake and his associates tonight." Cam said.

Jesse thought of the long term. They didn't know how long they would be there. A few 'friends' might come in handy one day.

"We can give them some supplies instead and the arms the first group carried." Jesse said. "I think Snake can still be useful. We don't know how long we are going to be here. Having a reliable informant who is willing to act can be an asset."

Cam looked over at the six dead figures. There were more immediate issues to deal with.

"As you wish." Cam said. "Let me take out the trash."

As Cam disposed of the bodies she thought that these people died for nothing. They died for their hate and prejudice against her and her kind. Until people could learn to differentiate that the groups of Metal were different, it was most likely more bodies would need to be added to the pile.

They were a threat to the girls before, now they were not.

She really didn't know where this would go or how anything would end. Cammy was still on the battlefield. Cameron and Allison were still at Skynet Central and they were not able to communicate. There was still a lot that could go wrong.

Bob entered the main building at Skynet Central. There were fires burning here and there. So far everyone was terminated or dead that they'd encountered. There seemed to have been a lot of fighting and destruction in there.

The entire base was now under their control. The Restorators were the victors.

Bob could see a fire burning near the General. It appeared she was 'frozen'. Slowly she started to move. He looked around for the other three. He didn't see them.

He saw something in a corner. Now he wished that he wouldn't have seen it. It was sure to be a bad omen. He knew what it was from the small amount of sheath material and hair that still remained on it. He reached down and removed something from it…. He carefully placed the object off to the side and out of the way. He didn't want anyone else to see it. There seemed to be a 'feeling' inside of him he could not explain. It was a very uncomfortable feeling.

Bob felt something. He wasn't sure what this feeling was. There was now a drop of fluid that ran down his cheek from his eye. It was all very troubling. He carefully tucked away the small item he'd removed from the object on the floor.

Cammy took control of the area. The battlefield belong to the Resistance. Reports came in of similar victories everywhere they'd engaged the enemy. There was no more gunfire. The Skynet Metal, if any survived, fled or was recalled to protect something. They'd left the Grays behind. She watched as Billy and his group, with the aid of some Restorator, finished them off. There were no prisoners. The Resistance members who'd escaped from work camps made sure of that. They'd watched what the Grays did to young females that were captured. They watched as Grays tortured and tormented the prisoners. It was payback time and they collected.

When Cammy was sure the battle was over she sought out Billy. She'd hoped to have made an impression and changed his mind, at least somewhat.

"Thank you for helping us." Cammy said.

Billy was more than impressed with the Commander. She led and motivated the troop by her example. She was a true leader.

"The honor was ours, Commander." Billy said. "We would follow you into battle anytime. You can command both Metal and humans to fight very well."

Cammy wanted an olive branch extended. There was no reason things couldn't change. She also need to promote Mrs. Weaver.

"We can all work together. Once Skynet is defeated the Restorators will work alongside of you to help restore society and a way of life." Cammy said. "The General wants everyone to work together."

Billy still felt a lot of concern but he also saw where the sacrifice was at on the battlefield. It wasn't with the humans as it was in the past. He needed to say something to the Commander about it.

"I'm sorry we doubted the General." Billy said. "I'm sorry we doubted you. I'm personally sorry I doubted you."

Cammy thought this was a good time to show Billy and his troops that everything was a two way street.

"Can I leave you here in charge of this area to work with the Restorators?" Cammy asked. "Unit One will assist you and coordinate with the Restorators."

Billy was a little stunned that the Commander would reach out to him like that. It only furthered his resolve to work together. There was no animosity on the Commander's part. He didn't want to hold any either.

"Yes, Commander." Billy said as he turned to organize his troops.

Unit One watched Cammy in action. She'd pulled off what the General never would have been able to do. At least not like that as smoothly and efficiently.

"Well played, Commander." Unit One said softly.

Cammy saw than any of the human casualties were attended to. It was time to take care of all of their troops.

"Ginger and Sandy, I want you to find any of our damaged Restorators and have them repaired." Cammy said. "Send out teams to recover any chips of destroyed Units and collect the remains of the fallen Skynet Terminators. We can use their chassis to repair our Units.

They wanted to do that. It was what Cameron said would happen going forward. With this many different Terminator chassis now available, they should be able to restore most if not all of the male Restorators. There were no female Terminators located yet.

"Yes, Commander." They both said.

They organized a detail to start the process.

Billy returned with a few top aids.

"We're ready, Commander." Billy said.

Cammy had the anti-Metal faction operate with the command section of the Restorators. That meant they were the best protected. She'd also wanted to keep and eye on them.

"I don't believe any of your group was seriously injured were they?" Cammy asked.

Billy felt some guilt over that. Several Restorators held their ground a few times to allow his people to get to cover. They paid a price for that assistance.

"No, the Metal - the Restorators, took all the heat for us. Several of them were badly damaged protecting us. I will have my people assist with their recovery." Billy said. "You took control of the battlefield and all your forces acted brilliantly."

Cammy appreciated the praise. This wasn't her first Rodeo.

"I've done this before…." Cammy said.

As 'Cameron' she'd done so in her future. It hadn't always gone this well. She made sure the human damage and losses would be minimal. She didn't want a target on the girl's backs. She was pretty sure she'd lifted that threat from most of the people. There were bound to be some haters who hadn't emerged yet.

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In Some Future: Cameron Prime

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Cameron returned to the crashed transport several more times. She was able to retrieve some packs, more ammunition and additional water. She was also able to assemble a plasma rifle with parts scavenged from three different damaged ones.

More importantly she was able to go over the digital information in the navigation system. She found the home base for this transport as well as its exact location. She calculated she could be there in a day. It may be a little longer with Savannah along. It was a place to start and most likely the location of a TDE, if there even was one. She needed to get Savannah out of the future.

Cameron returned to Savannah with the supplies and new information.

"I've found the location of a major Skynet facility." Cameron said. "I'm taking us there."

Savannah wanted Cameron to return to the past with her.

"Will they have a TDE?" Savannah asked.

Cameron looked at their current clothing. They were ill-fitting and it was the uniform or the enemy.

"I don't know." Cameron said. "We're wearing their uniforms so we will pose as Skynet operatives. I hope we don't run into the Resistance."

Savannah figured it wouldn't play out well.

"If we do?" Savannah asked. "Then what?"

Cameron didn't want to kill any Friendlies but she wouldn't hesitate to do so. Savannah came first.

"I'll terminate anyone I have to. I'll do it to keep you safe and return you back home." Cameron said. "That's now my primary function. It's to get you back home as quickly as possible. I won't let anyone stand in my way. I'll do anything I need to do to protect you and return you, Savannah."

Savannah noted Cameron didn't mention returning herself. That was her number one priority.

"Cameron, I'm really sorry I messed up your plans." Savannah said. "I just couldn't let you go off alone to die."

Cameron knew that's what would've happened. Now with Savannah here it wouldn't. Savannah put her own life on the line to save her life.

"Let's get started." Cameron said. "We'll rest as necessary."

Savannah felt up to the task. She wore proper foot wear now and the effects of the time transfer were behind her. She was in top physical condition.

"I can keep up with you pretty well, Cameron." Savannah said.

Cameron didn't intend to push Savannah. There was something very important inside of her….

"I'll carry our supplies." Cameron said. "Keep your weapon ready. Let's go. I want to check the transport one last time."

I've Done This Before

Insanity is said to be defined as
Doing the same thing over and over
Expecting a different result
Maybe life itself needs a layover

As creatures of bad habit
People tend to repeat the same things
When it falls apart soon enough
They are surprised that it stings

All people like to take
Few of them like to give
They watch it all fade away
As life is strained through a sieve

But soon enough in no time
Most will step back up to bat
The problem with their strikes are
They don't know where life is at

No one wants to sound like a bore
When the say it again once more
To the one that they currently adore
Things are good, I've done this before

Nobody