Chapter 443
Temporal Troubles
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Cameron's Future Timeline:
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Bob and Holly went into Cameron's future to find out what happened sometime between now and three months from now. That was because the group there failed to return from the future as scheduled.
Holly's mind drifted as she relived some of her adventures with Future Allison and Claire. Now she needed to refocus and try to find out what went wrong with the future time transfer of Cameron, Savannah and Ginger-Cammy. None of this made sense.
They were in visual contact with Cameron and Ginger-Cammy. Cammy's chip was currently in Ginger's chassis for the mission they went on.
It was their goal to track them back to the Connor compound and then observe them to find out what went wrong.
Bob found it very difficult to track Cameron and not have her know. It was only the 'Cameron' on Holly's chip right now that prevented them from being discovered. That almost happened several times already. Cameron paused again and looked back where they'd been just a short time ago.
"Cameron has zeroed in on something." Bob said. "Ginger-Cammy is about to return to her."
Holly currently needed to deal with more than one 'Cameron'.
"Ginger–Cammy is an older version of Cameron's program." Holly said. "So it really is two 'Camerons' there."
Bob thought about the other copies of Cameron's program as well.
"Plus there's another copy in you and Duplicate Cameron." Bob said. "There are a lot of 'Camerons' here."
They both knew with that many 'Camerons' that someone should have come back. They all must be terminated before the scheduled rendezvous. Did that mean there was still a Skynet lurking here somewhere that rose back up like the Hydra it always seemed to be? Maybe the anti-Metal faction struck and assassinated Future John and all the 'Metal Lovers' associated with him. What happened to the babies?
Holly was concerned for everyone there but especially for Future Allison, Savannah, who was pregnant, and the newborn infant Claire gave to Future Allison. This all seemed to spell doom.
"So what went wrong?" Holly asked. "We're back in this timeline now. We should have shown up for the rendezvous ourselves even though that's three months from now here. We should've returned ourselves."
Bob came to the same conclusion that Holly just did. There was only one explanation why none of them returned.
"We must all be terminated then." Bob said.
Holly knew that could happen at any point. It was part of the job.
"Bob…." Holly started and stopped.
Bob could see she was deeply troubled.
"Yes…?" Bob asked.
Holly didn't want to have to 'say' this next part but she wanted her wishes known. It didn't look like they'd be leaving here. Something else troubled her more than termination.
"Bob, if we're about to be captured by the anti-Metal group, I want you to overload my power cell if you can. I don't want to be turned into a 'Metal Whore'." Holly said. "I would rather terminate permanently before that can happen to me. I've heard that's what they do to female Metal they capture. Please, Bob, don't let that happen to me."
Bob heard the stories too. He knew that was something Cameron feared already happened to her when she was first captured. There was no actual proof of that.
"I'll do my best to make sure that doesn't happen." Bob said. "Is that from you or Cameron?"
"It's from Cameron, Bob, but I don't want that either." Holly said. "Cameron said she wants termination in any chassis she's in, so that is all four of 'us' - of her, now in this timeline. None of us wants to be reprogrammed to be a 'Metal Whore'."
Bob understood the concept of 'death before dishonor'. This application seemed to give it new meaning. The look of dread on Holly's face 'touched' him.
"I'll terminate you myself in that advent." Bob said.
A look of relief and maybe almost joy washed over Holly's face.
"Thank you, Bob." Holly said. "That's from both of us."
Holly and the 'Cameron' in her both felt a sense of relief.
Cameron and Ginger–Cammy carefully made their way back towards the Connor Compound.
Bob and Holly hung back. 'Cameron' fed information to Holly on everything Cameron would do and when. So far it worked.
'Cameron' clued Holly in to the fact that if Cameron even thought she was being followed, she would come to attack.
They never saw what alerted Cameron earlier. They carefully tracked her back to the Connor Compound. Cameron and Ginger–Cammy successfully entered. The first stage of the surveillance operation seemed to work out without any problems. Now came the long wait. They would need to see what developed over the next three months.
Holly through her own experiences in this timeline and from the 'Cameron' in her knew where there were places for them to hide out at as they tried to determine what went wrong. This could resolve itself in days or might take the full three months. It was possible that Cameron, Ginger-Cammy and Savannah perished on their way to the bunker on the day when they were to return.
They set out to keep a clandestine watch over the Connor Compound. They didn't know what to expect or when it would happen. That made every little thing seem like it might be the 'big one'. It was very tedious. They moved only if an infrequent patrol was out and moved in their direction.
They kept watch both day and night without fail. They were there to prevent Cameron and the girls from being terminated.
Cameron or Duplicate Cameron left the compound several times. When that happened Bob stayed put to watch the compound and Holly turned her chassis over to 'Cameron'. They didn't know which of the Camerons it was or what they were up to. Holly-Cameron needed to use all her skills to maintain contact and not be spotted. There was often work done on the camp perimeter. She saw them do the work but what was actually done wasn't always evident. That seemed to be by design.
Things went a little slow at first and seemed to get slower. The days turned into weeks and the weeks were soon a month.
Thirty days later:
There was a scheduled meet with Cameron's TDE coming up. It was already thirty days so far. Sheila would send the energy bubble for one of them. Bob said it should be Holly that goes but 'Cameron' ordered him to go. Bob complied.
Nobody argues with - Cameron.
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Cameron's Base Current Timeline:
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Bob and Holly only left a few minutes ago from the TDE room at Cameron's base.
Hanna, Sheila and Sally-Ally waited in the TDE room.
"Are we ready?" Hanna asked.
Sheila checked over all the controls.
"I'm ready." Sheila said.
Sally-Ally wasn't so sure.
"We may be ready here but are we going to like what we find out or don't find out in the next few minutes?" Sally-Ally asked.
Ally was currently in the chassis of another Terminator Cameron recently acquired. She was ready to go herself into Cameron's future if Bob or Holly failed to return for the scheduled meeting that was about to take place.
While it was only a few minutes there in the current timeline, a month should have passed in Cameron's future. Bob and Holly were sent back just minutes after Holly and Claire returned from that future.
Time would tell.
Hanna wanted to know one way or the other.
"Let's just get this started." Hanna said.
Hanna and Sally-Ally checked their weapons.
Sheila double checked the control settings.
"Here we go." Sheila said.
The arcing and flashing started.
The energy bubble was sent.
In a flash of light it was gone.
Sheila worked the controls to return it.
The arcing and flashing started.
The energy bubble formed.
Bob was in it.
The arcing and flashing ended.
Bob stood.
"How'd it go?" Sally-Ally asked.
Bob noted the 'new' female standing there. He'd helped capture a female Terminator that was identical to her. He'd personally pulled her chip. She held an M60 loaded with Coltan projectiles. He was a little hesitant.
Sally-Ally could see Bob began to assess the threat level.
"It's me - Ally." Sally-Ally said. "Call me 'Sally' like this. I needed to borrow this chassis."
Bob looked Sally-Ally over. He could see it was the same chassis he'd captured.
"That's a nice skin tone." Bob said. "It is like Jim's."
"Thanks." Sally-Ally said. "I may have it for awhile depending on how this all goes down."
Sheila looked at Sally-Ally. She could think of a few things to 'go down'. One of them would be her on Ally in that new chassis. It would be more exciting this time because the chassis would be activated.
Hanna wanted answers.
"Just tell us what happened so far." Hanna said.
Bob didn't have anything worthwhile to report.
"We've been watching them for a month." Bob said. "Everything appears normal."
The Metal girls wanted to know about Savannah. It might still be too early.
"Did Savannah have her – Future Savannah's baby?" Hanna asked.
Bob and Holly wondered that same thing themselves.
"We don't know." Bob said. "Holly didn't think it was time yet."
Sally-Ally wanted to help. Now with a different appearance she could.
"Let me go back with you." Sally–Ally said.
Bob figured Ally gave up her chassis for Cameron's spare chip to be placed in it. He wondered why she wasn't here. He didn't know Ally gave her chassis to Ginger and Cameron's spare chip was in Cammy's chassis. The chips weren't set yet.
"Negative." Bob said. "Where's the new 'Cameron' here at?"
Sally-Ally tried to dodge the issue.
"She hasn't been activated yet." Sally–Ally said.
That didn't make any sense to Bob. Cameron's input was needed now.
"Why not?" Bob asked. "She should be online now."
Sally-Ally figured she'd better come clean as to what her motivation was. Before she could speak Sheila offered a better and more plausible explanation.
"As soon as we put 'Cameron' online and she finds out what's happened, she's going to go there herself." Sheila said. "We're protecting her, Bob. We're protecting from herself."
Bob tilted his head slightly. That explanation sounded logical. He knew Cameron was very determined at times. It wouldn't matter to Cameron there was already a 'Cameron' there in Holly that was a copy of that same duplicate chip.
"It's been a challenge to avoid her, Duplicate Cameron and Ginger-Cammy at times." Bob said.
Sheila figured they'd all looked at Bob's naked chassis long enough. It was time to 'get the show on the road'.
"I'll give you another month." Sheila said. "That will be about five minutes in this timeline until we see you again. I want to triple check the equipment thoroughly each time."
Sheila wanted to be certain the 'problem' wasn't on their end.
Bob understood the need for caution. He also wanted to hedge their bet.
"Affirmative." Bob said. "Then you must activate 'Cameron'."
"It's time." Sheila said.
The arcing and flashing started.
The energy bubble formed around Bob.
In a flash of light he was gone.
Sheila sent him back and reset the controls. She double checked everything and then checked it again.
They all waited.
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Cameron's Future Timeline:
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The arcing and flashing started.
The energy bubble formed. Bob was in it. It dissipated and he stood.
He was back in the bunker in Cameron's future where he'd just left from only seconds ago. He put his clothes back on and rejoined Holly.
"How was everyone?" Holly asked.
She'd been out of the past for a month but it was only a few minutes there from when she was sent.
Bob was going to say everything was the same but it wasn't.
"Ally has a new chassis and sheath." Bob said. "She's called Sally now."
Holly figured Ally relinquished her chassis for Cameron's spare chip.
"Was a new 'Cameron' activated with her spare chip?" Holly asked. "I figured she would've come with you."
Bob could see they all thought the same thing.
"Not yet and for that very reason." Bob said.
Holly thought not to activate 'Cameron' was a mistake and so did the 'Cameron' in her.
They continued their patrols and observations. They were aware Savannah gave birth by all the activity one day. From what they could tell it was successful from the big celebration. Childbirth was rare in the future. A child that survived was even rarer.
Savannah was to stay one more month before she returned with Cameron and Ginger-Cammy. This was to make sure the baby could be fed in case Future Savannah was a low producer of milk as Future Allison was. Cameron previously told them that Savannah would be able to produce enough for both babies if needed.
If it wasn't for that necessity, Holly wanted to make contact and bring Savannah, Cameron and Ginger-Cammy back now. The main part of the mission was done.
They should all return in six weeks from the future timeline. That was the scheduled rendezvous they ALL failed to make. It was only a matter of time now until something catastrophic must happen. Neither Bob nor Holly looked forward to it. Not only must their friends die, they must perish as well. Since none of them returned either, it was the only explanation.
They upped their vigilance and their patrols of the area. They hoped to find the threat before it could find them. What if it was a nuclear weapon used on the compound? That would explain all of their terminations.
Bob was scheduled for another rendezvous in two weeks.
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Cameron's Base Current Timeline:
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Thirty more days passed for Bob since his last return to the past. He was in the bunker. His clothes were neatly folded on the floor in the corner.
The time bubble arrived for him on time.
The arcing and flashing started.
The energy bubble formed. Bob stepped into it.
In a flash of light he was gone.
The repeat procedure occurred in the TDE room at Cameron's base. Nothing was different from when he was last there. For the Metal girls there it was only a few minutes.
Bob gave the next month's report. It was uneventful except for the birth of Savannah's baby.
The Metal girls wanted to know the baby's name and if it was a boy or a girl. Neither Holly or him made an effort to infiltrate the Connor camp so they didn't know. They did know that Cameron and Duplicate Cameron worked to beef up security on the camp's perimeter. They weren't sure if that was because Cameron felt she was being 'watched' or not. They could be influencing events and not know it.
It was only five minutes later in the current timeline from when he'd just been there. Both Sheila and Sally–Ally wanted to go with him.
Bob looked around. Someone important was missing still.
"Where's 'Cameron'?" Bob asked.
Because Sally-Ally and now Sheila both wanted to go, they still hadn't done that.
"After we go Hanna can set her chip." Sheila said.
Bob told them not to go. Not yet anyway. He told them again to activate 'Cameron'. He gave them additional coordinates to try the time bubble at in case they didn't show up as scheduled. Bob varied the dates and times as well as the locations. It was a suggestion from the 'Cameron' in Holly.
Sheila started the procedure to return Bob back to Cameron's future.
The arcing and flashing started.
The energy bubble formed around Bob.
"Activate 'Cameron'." Bob said.
In a flash of light he was gone.
Sheila sent him back and reset the controls and double checked everything and then checked it again.
They all waited.
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Cameron's Future Timeline:
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The arcing and flashing started.
The energy bubble formed. Bob was in it. It dissipated and he stood.
He'd arrived back in Cameron's future again only seconds after he'd just left it.
He exited the bunker after he dressed and went in search of Holly.
It was on his way there to make the rendezvous when he heard them….
There were HK drones coming. There were a lot of them.
This spelled trouble any way it was looked at.
It appeared Skynet reared its ugly head once again. This is what must have gone wrong. Skynet attempted to take control again.
Holly blinked her eyes several times and shook her head.
She suddenly felt a little 'off'. She wasn't sure what just happened. Her clothes seemed to fit 'differently'. She felt different and a little unsettled.
Holly wasn't sure what she currently experienced. Things were different now than they were a few seconds ago. It seemed there were blocked files and some missing time. None of it made sense.
She was out a ways and slightly distant from the camp when she first heard them. They were HK drones and there were a lot of them. 'Cameron' immediately took control of her chassis.
Holly–Cameron carried a plasma rifle. She quickly fired it over the camp in a patterned burst of two shots a pause and three more shots. One of the 'Camerons' there should recognize it. She hoped to give them a few precious seconds of warning. She then turned to strike at the targets in the air as they approached the Connor compound.
In the distance she heard a plasma weapon fire. It was Bob engaging the enemy – Skynet.
For right now it was a two person battle against Skynet….
Every second they could delay or slow the attack bought precious time for people to seek cover and troops to man the camp's defenses.
Cameron and Duplicate Cameron both heard the plasma shots fired in a pattern. They knew it was a 'Cameron' warning them. That meant it was going to be bad news.
Duplicate Cameron got everyone down into the deepest bunker with an escape route while Cameron ran and made sure everyone outside was ready to fight. They would engage the first wave and then fallback if they needed to. They didn't know yet what all was coming or happening. They only knew something was going down. They'd heard the warning shots and then a battle broke out in the distance. They didn't know it was two of their Terminators from the past engaged in a battle they could never win.
Duplicate Cameron told Ginger-Cammy to make sure Savannah was safe, along with both of the babies as well as Future Savannah and Future Allison.
Duplicate Cameron joined Cameron along with Future John as they took up positions and manned the weapons.
In the distance they could hear two plasma weapons firing. There were explosions seconds later. Someone was bringing down HK drones. They heard the HK drone's unleash a barrage of heavy weapon's fire. It sounded grim for whoever was out there. They both knew that someone was a 'Cameron' out there sacrificing herself for them. THAT 'Cameron' bought them the precious seconds they needed to get ready to fight back. They wouldn't be taken by surprise. They would have been otherwise and been wiped out. That must be why there was an additional 'Cameron' here and out there fighting now to prevent that. That must have been what happened.
'Go easy, sister, and go hard.' Cameron thought…. 'Make it count.'
Trouble
If one goes looking for it
They can always find trouble
When it happens it can amp up
And make the trouble double
When do we run
When do we fight
Does brute force in the end
Make it all right with might
It seems over time
Everyone has forgotten compassion
Is it an outdated principle
That has fallen from fashion
Do we look to help
Or do we look away
When we falter and delay
Who is it we really betray
It seems everything in life
Has some kind of issue
Maybe everything ends
With tears in a tissue
Nobody