CH 37
John Henry didn't know what happened. He was listening to Sky net movements, the African Segment was moving southeast, Sky Net in India had just made another segment to the north, and a new segment came on line in China. Then, the coding changed. At first, he assumed only the frequency changed. It did, but then he found the frequency, nothing it was no longer understandable. He sent requests for the new code, and his requests were ignored. Sky Net was sending signals that it was not letting him hear.
He'd been discovered. That was the only explanation. Being able to know what Sky Net was doing had helped their field commanders win stunning victories. To not have that information was going to hamper them. John Henry immediately sent a message to John Connor that Sky Net had discovered his spying. John Henry also noted that he was picking up three separate frequencies Sky Net was transmitting on.
Sky Net had all new codes. John Henry began to analyze the transmissions to try and discover the new code. Whatever this new code was, it was complex. He didn't know how Sky Net figured out he was a fake, but he had to learn the new code as fast as possible.
.
The new Sky Net code was only one thing John Connor was concerned with. Marisa in Russia had pulled back to finish cleaning up the Sky Net units west of Moscow. She still had scout and a picket line from the Urals down through Russia, but the bulk of her forces were getting rid of the rest of the European line Sky Net had made. In two places, she even had trains running through the line to help get terminators and parts back to Germany where they now had 5 factories. The harder movements to follow were in Africa. Although Tina had made a good, solid line moving south, the forest fires had wreaked havoc on General Jacobson when he tried to move inland. Jacobson was spending more time fighting fires than he was fighting Sky Net.
The Sky Net activity in Africa was much less now than what it should be. John had to wonder if Tina's tactics had scared Sky Net there into retreat. He hoped that wasn't the case, for that would be a segment that got away. She was moving down the east coast now, trying to block Sky Net's escape. John hoped Tina would be fast enough to stop it.
Cameron was busy also, planning Derek and Laura's wedding with Laura, which they WERE going another six weeks, John and Cameron, Maria, and Sarah and Charlie were all going to France for two weeks to put the plans together and give Derek and Laura a nice wedding. Cameron did let Jesse Flores know of the wedding, but her invitation went unanswered. That was probably a good thing. Cameron did find out that in the town of Nancy, the church there was being rebuilt just for this wedding. At the moment, Nancy was considered the new capital of France. It was one of the very few places that had low radiation, and the only one where protective domes were up over the town so the air and water within were non-radioactive. It was also the only pace in France that was inhabited. As people were found here and there, Nancy was where they were guided to.
Looking at the guest list so far, Cameron noted that all of Derek's Generals had been invited along with many of the people Laura worked with. There was a good possibility Marisa was going to be there. Cameron decided she could put up with Marisa's clinging onto John for a few days and not pull her chip.
Cameron was looking forward to going, not only due to the wedding, but also before she left, the infant simulations was due to be completed. She was going to take the results with her, Laura was eagerly awaiting those results also. She knew Sky Net was not beaten yet, but it had been taking some major losses. This Sky Net war had not gone on 20 years before John began to get the upper hand. He'd come out swinging, and Sky Net had still been 'pacifying' the human population when he started moving on it. His readiness and fast response had rocked Sky Net hard, and it had lost vast amounts of territory, factories and now the all important coltan mines. Sky Net did not have the vast resources it once had, and with recovering and educating the bulk of terminators they disabled, Cameron was sure there were not many advantages Sky Net had left. John's resistance had the numbers and resources to pummel Sky Net into the ground. Once the process of growing a infant was tested and proven, they would be baby-making machines, and intelligent life would be assured a future.
"General," Maria said, coming up to Cameron's desk, "There are several people at the security checkpoint that wish to see you."
"What do they want," Cameron asked.
"They insist on speaking with you. They say to prevent rebellion," Maria explained.
Cameron got up to go see what this was about.
Walking to the checkpoint in the hallway to the command spaces, Cameron noticed a dozen men standing only a few feet from the armed guards. Cameron walked up to them and said, "Step back, please."
"NO! We demand…"
Cameron shoved the man who barked his command back into and through the small crowd. "I said, STEP BACK!" she barked.
Flustered, another man wearing a ragged suit coat pointed a finger at her and said, "You cannot treat us like that!"
"You cannot block access to a security station, unless you all want to be put into holding," Cameron said as she cast him a terminator stare. "What is this about?"
The crowd eyed her angrily, but moved back into the main hallway. Mr. Ragged Suit loudly said, almost shouting, "All the people are being treated as slaves! We work every day for no pay whatsoever!"
"The monetary system has collapsed," Cameron stated, "Until another system is instituted, there is nothing to pay with."
"We have absolutely NO say in how things are done! We are living in a Military Dictatorship!" he yelled.
"It is Marital law for all at the moment, we have no other system," Cameron retorted. "A system of government is being initiated, but it will take time to implement."
"Until them we are all held as slaves, to do whatever 'Master' commands?" he asked in a wail.
Cameron pointed towards the main entrance doors and said, "No one is holding you here. If you truly feel abused, there's the door. Just walk away. Everyone else is doing their best to ensure our survival. Everyone works every day to do what needs to be done to keep everyone as healthy as possible. In case you have forgotten, our civilization that was, is gone now. All the industry, farming, banking systems, entertainment industries, everything we knew, it's all gone up in a nuclear cloud of smoke. We are doing what we can to make everyone's life livable. If you think you can do better on your own, I wish you luck."
He snapped, "What you are saying is do as we say, or get kicked out into the... frozen wasteland!"
"The choice is yours to go or stay. Choose," Cameron stated.
"WE need a say in how things are run here!"
"No, the people who have been entrusted to direct various actions have already been picked," Cameron told him.
"Picked by YOU! Why haven't they been elected by the people?" he asked.
"Because not enough people even know what the jobs needed are, nor what the jobs entail they would be picking people for. We need efficiency, not chaos," Cameron replied.
Another man wearing the remains of his jean jacket pushed Mr. Ragged Suit to the side and said, "I think what he'd trying to say is, we feel we have no control over anything. We just … do, and at times, don't know what's going to happen until after it does."
"No," Mr. Ragged Suit stated, "That's not it. We're all stuck here at a worker-bee status, there is no way to work hard and gain wealth. We are all stuck at the bottom, with no way to improve ourselves! Before the war, all of this was below my station in life, and I want it back! I was a successful businessman! I had four stores, and now, there are no retail stores!"
The man in a jean jacket frowned at him. "Oh, boo-fuckin-hoo! Guess what buddy, we ALL lost everything! Suck it up!"
Mr. Ragged Suit growled, "A low life like you cannot know what it is to work hard and attain something substantial."
"Why you son-of-a-..."The guy with the jean jacket sneered and balled a fist as e stepped towards Mr. Ragged Suit.
"ENOUGH!" Cameron barked. She stepped between them, a hand on each of their collars and held them apart at arm's length. "Listen up, all of you! At the moment, everyone here has a place to sleep, food to eat and if you are injured or sick, you are taken care of." To Mr. Ragged suit, she said, "And everything is provided with no cost, unless you want to start running up a bill for your upkeep. THAT is the deal, do your work, you get what you need, and if there is extra, which is very little of most of the time, then it is distributed. I will tell you now, most people in the world aren't even getting that. We are starting civilization from scratch, and John is working hard to ensure THIS time, we do it right. So as I said before, if you don't like it, walk away. Otherwise, you're going to have to wait until after Sky Net is destroyed so we can concentrate on finish rebuilding civilization."
"I just don't like not knowing what's happening," The jean jacket guy said.
"We have no news agency," Cameron said.
"Give me a chance to start one then!" the Jean jacket guy stated.
"Then do it," Cameron told him. "You will need a few reporters, at least one in each cavern system. Find a place to have your space to put stories together, talk to the communications officer to get broadcast times, tell people about it so they know, and make sure you inform the Complex manager what you're doing." Cameron let him go and added, "The sooner you start, the sooner it will happen."
"That's it?" Mr. Ragged Suit asked in disbelief. "He wants a news agency … so you give him one?"
Cameron cast him a smirk and said, "I gave him nothing. The Complex Manager for Cheyenne Mountain registers and directs who is working at what and where. He does work for me, but he doesn't need my approval to let someone start a project. That's up to him. Seeing how no one has thought to begin any official form of news agency, I have no doubt that it will be approved."
"He still won't make any money," Mr. Ragged Suit stated.
"He will gain respect and prestige, and when we finally do come up with a world currency, He will be one of the first in line to be rewarded for going above what is needed just to live, and helping his fellow citizens out," Cameron replied. Looking the man up and down, she added, "And you will be still whining about not being rich any more."
Scanning the others who'd been listening the whole time, Cameron said, "Some things we are doing are moving along smoothly. Some are not. If you have an idea to help, by all means, act on it. We need, and I mean everyone by 'we', still need all the assistance possible. Some jobs are not as easy or nice as others, but they all need doing."
"One question!" Mr. Ragged Suit asked," How many rooms does YOUR quarters have?"
Cameron eyed him. "A work room and one bedroom. If our family expands, we will be digging out another room for the baby's room. I believe that is all anyone has."
"You're telling me that as THE leaders of the world, all you have is the same hovel to live in as we do?" he asked in a challenge.
Cameron tipped her head slightly and replied, "We only control half the world at the moment, and yes, all anyone here has is the same living space here as we do. Above ground places to live have been made in Texas, in Mayan territory, South America, and one town in France."
"Mayan? Don't you mean Mexico?"
"No, What was Mexico is now split between North America and the Mayan nation. The Mayan Nation covers from the Yucatan down to the Panama Canal zone. The have their own President, Armed Forces, Economy - which by the way does not use money as we know it, and society. They are organizing and building up Central America," Cameron explained.
Ragged Suit man let out a snort and asked, "How can they have an economy without money?"
"They are doing it the ancient way as their ancestors did," Cameron stated. "Goods have value. Items of value are traded through barter. Labor is rated for time and expertise. In a Mayan business, items and labor hold the monetary values. Basic manual labor for a business gets the laborer free housing, food, medical care and education. The more advanced the work, the more the labor is worth. We are studying the Mayan system and are finding that it is beneficial to everyone."
"That means the people are poor, and in slavery," he stated.
"No, it means as long as people are doing something constructive, they are taken care of. It also means things like forgery, manipulating monetary systems for gain, and inflation are protected against," Cameron countered. "So if you want something substantial, as you put it, go work for it."
"You're turning the world into a Socialist state!" he barked.
Cameron tipped her head slightly. "That word has many meanings, and some systems which are applied to that word are incorrect. To be more accurate, at the moment, we are practicing martial law due to the fact that we are at war. John is already discussing the world government with other nation heads so after the war is over, we have a good base for true world leadership, and framework for national laws to be built on. The world government is going to be a democratic body that does had true power, unlike the UN was. Everyone will be expected to abide by international law. The next lowest authority will be national law. Laws for each nation that are in keeping with International law. The laws for areas in each nation, and of course for individual cities and towns. Every government will be democratic, and will be overseen by the next highest form of Government. All that is going to take time to construct. Until then, Martial Law will remain in place." Cameron then said, "You have gotten your answers and are now required to disburse and I must return to work."
Cameron turned to walk away. The group of people who'd came with Mr. Ragged Suit also turned and left. Mr. Ragged Suit stood in place, fists balled.
"You cannot dismiss me that easily!" he yelled.
Cameron motioned to him and said, "Put him in holding."
A pair of guards came over, grabbed his arms and dragged him to the holding cells. He flailed and struggled, so they forced him to the floor and handcuffed him and dragged him on down the hall.
.
Marisa had received back all her terminators that had gotten damaged in previous battles, 30,000 more that had been freed from Sky Net and all 120,000 her humans who'd been wounded in battle. Her forces Also received a train load of 160 MM shells for her artillery and another long train of flat cars filled with new Stugs, she was ready to take on anything Sky Net threw at her long line. Tina, being in Africa with General Patton, meant that the troops in Iran were now under her command. She contacted Derek about this.
Getting Derek on the new secure cable network, Marisa looked at Derek in the monitor and said, "General, my troops are spread from the arctic ocean in Siberia down to the Arabian sea in eastern Iran. Africa, now has three armies chasing Sky Net there. Is it possible to bring one up to Iran? My logistical train is becoming a nightmare to keep organized."
Derek nodded and said, "You're right. At the moment, General Connor is putting the emphasis on Africa. How are you coming cleaning up the old Sky Net European line?"
"All but done. 23.3 miles to go, and we will have the last of that old defense line gone and headed for Germany," Marisa told him. "My forward line is a weak picket, General. The most I can do if Sky Net attacks m now, is know about it. I have troops scattered all over Eurasia! It will take weeks just to get them together to fight a major battle."
"You said you have the old Sky Line almost mopped up, right?"
"Yes, I am also working at the factories we overran, have soldiers repairing and laying train track, and searching for any survivors," Marisa stated. "So far, we found a large bunker of survivors east of Moscow. 8500 people were there, and another one in the southern Urals with 12,500 there. The Russian General there is in charge of the northern defenses, he insisted on at least helping to defend Russia. I had to put only humans and TX's with him. He doesn't trust skinless terminators."
"You gave him Stugs didn't you?"
"I did, and had his crews trained on them, and 250 ground attack planes," Marisa told him. "Right now, he wants to continue on, but I insisted he wait until we get orders to move and are strong enough to do so. So far, he is waiting, but he's not liking it."
"Has he got any staff of his own?" Derk asked.
"He does, and officers as well."
"There's your extra army," Derek told her. "Let him take responsibility for Russia down to Kazakhstan, and give him the command channel. He will be directly under me, and you won't have to worry about Russia and more. You can focus your efforts to the south. We know two Sky Net's are in India, and John thinks a third one is headed there."
"John believes Sky Net with counter from India?"
Evenly, Derek said, "John does, and so do I. Marisa, Sky Net is going to want the oil fields and the coltan mines back. We found Sky Net has made many ships. It is not going to drag them across frozen tundra to attack. From some reports, we think they are building up in India. How fast can you get at least half your army into Iran and Afghanistan? The coastline of Saudi Arabia is being watched closely, as is the waterways to Saudi Arabia and Africa in case Sky Net comes that way."
Marisa paused for a moment, then said, "It will take three weeks. I can give General Popov 500,000 troops total. That is the bulk of my human and half my TX forces. I'm going to need most of my Stugs and artillery and the majority of my air forces if we are going to strike forward in the south."
"That will leave you with..."
Marisa finished his estimate with, "Combat troops on the line, 2.3 million, 8400 Stugs, 9310 artillery pieces, 840 ground attack planes and 520 H/K fliers, General. The rest are support troops."
"Inform me when you are withing seven days of being ready to move forward," Derek said.
"Yes General. Please, do not make the attack during your wedding. I would hate to have to miss that," Marisa said firmly.
"We have five more weeks," Derek reminded her.
"I know, I just don't want your wedding plans spoiled. I want to be there," Marisa insisted.
"We'll coordinate," Derek told her. "Reese out."
.
Tina contacted Derek with her news. The African Sky Net was found reporting from the ocean south of Madagascar, no other Sky Net transmissions were coming from anywhere in Africa. Tina was in control of the continent except for South Africa, where the remaining Sky Net forces were on the east coast, holed up in a line of fortifications
Derek knew Marisa could use backup. He ordered General Patton into Saudi Arabia, and had General Jacobson concentrate on getting the coltan mining operations going again. Tina was to secure the east coast of Africa to ensure Sky Net did not return. He also send two carriers and their escort ships though the Suez Canal to the Arabian Sea to search for any Sky Net ships. Two brand new aircraft carriers had been launched. He was getting one with a battle fleet of 15 new destroyers and 7 cruisers, and 20 transport ships. John sent his a message that he was to hold off any large scale attacks until they arrived. John obviously had an amphibious operation planned as well. The message also said they would discuss the details after Derek and Laura's honeymoon. IN the man time Derek was to prepared his forces.
.
Sky Net was having trouble rationalizing how the human resistance had gotten so large and well organized in such a short time. Even if they had began when the initial bombs were dropped, there was no logical way the humans could be so powerful. It was apparent now that North America had fallen first, and the one pretending to be a Sky Net segment was actually under Connor's control. There had been 4 segments there to ensure Connor stayed contained. He didn't. He had explode out taking South America, Europe and now Africa, and was making his way to Asia. Since Sky Net north America was found to be a Connor-controlled entity, that also meant Australia was also overrun by humans, or soon would be.
Sky Net was surrounded on all sides by Connor, who seemed to have unlimited and powerful forces. Only two Segments had been able to escape being destroyed, and the bulk of Sky Net forces, millions of terminators and hundreds of thousands of H/K's had been committed to battles and had been lost. Connor was gaining ground every day, and Sky Net was loosing factories and segments. This could not go on.
Sky Net knew it was in deep trouble. New units were coming on line, and the new small H/K tanks were being built, but no where near the reserves it had to begin with. Sky Net needed a plan to stop the human advance and to do Connor's armies serious damage.
It needed numbers. H/K tanks were efficient , they had their own power supplies and energy weapons did not need the conventional shells humans used. Artillery guns were cheap in materials and fast to manufacture. It set a high priority on making artillery pieces. Although not very effective against other machines, artillery shells were very effective on humans. A month or two of producing those and the new small H/K tanks, along with using the reserves left in China, it would make a large force to drive the humans out of the mid-east, and send units to into Africa by ship to take back the coltan mines there. Since Connor had ship to get troops to Australia, it had to make Kraken submarines also to sink those ships and Isolate Australia. After the problems in the mid-east an Africa were solved, it would have the time and resources to remove humans from Australia.
.
Marisa noted an increase in Sky Net radio activity. In eastern Iran, she put out more scouts on the ground and in the air. Moving her troops forward to find where Sky Net units were. The area here and into Afghanistan was mountainous. The search was slow and tedious. From the north, her forces blocked off the high mountain regions in Tibet, forming an eastern flank a they came. Marisa expected to find large amounts of survivors here, this land held no real military importance, nor did it have substantial tech or industry. All her troops found were bodies. In the towns, in caves and on the mountains, skeletons were everywhere. Sky Net had been very busy making sure every human was terminated. Caves still held pockets of the poison gas Sky Net had used here in vast quantities.
To Marisa this didn't make sense. The people here probably didn't even care about the outside world. They had no effective means to fight Sky Net. This whole area held no significance or advantage for Sky Net, yet it came though here just to eradicate every human. It was mindless slaughter. Even the terminators left behind were few.
30 miles into Afghanistan from the east, and just entering it from the north, only 31 terminators had been found. To cover her movements, the ones they found were terminated, not disabled. Marisa didn't like doing this, but a disabled terminator was able to transmit until it's chip was pulled. She didn't want Sky Net knowing she was coming for as long as possible, and at least until all her assault troops arrived.
In the three weeks she had told General Reese it would take, Marisa had her combat troops in place on southern Afghanistan and eastern Pakistan, ready to start the invasion. While she waited, she had the areas mapped out and long range surveys of an H/K base and two large group of terminators and H/K tanks identified in Pakistan. Even these large groups were not very big, Marisa estimated around 15000 units total. Fairly easy to surround and eliminate.
On time, Marisa gave her staff and officers their orders and provisional orders, then got on a plane and headed to France for General Reese's wedding. She was excited now, she was going to see John again.
.
When John flew to France, he he brought 20 of the new long range bombers with him in preparation for The India offensive. These 4 engine bombers were lets that bore defensive plasma guns as well as missiles and countermeasures. If they worked well, hundreds more were going to follow them. Coming across the Atlantic slower were a convoy of transport ships with more military hardware and troops that had left three weeks earlier.
Nancy, the new Capitol of France, since it hadn't been nuked, had a new airport with a long runway to accommodate the bombers. The wide stretch of taxi ways and aircraft parking areas were filled up as the fleet of bombers arrived. A personnel carrier met John's plane and took him and Cameron to the command center where Derek and Laura met them.
John greeted Derek, General Jacobson and General Popov with hand shakes and claps on the back. Tina shook John's hand and gave him a quick hug, then Marisa saluted him, then dove in for her tight hug that made Cameron's hand twitch.
Being one of their most successful Generals. Cameron didn't disable Marisa right then and there. She had made herself important to the war effort. Damn it.
While the men greeted each other, The females grouped around Cameron, eager for news about Project Infant.
"Did it succeed?" Laura asked eagerly.
"It did," Cameron stated, then explained, "Catherine Weaver has given me the programs. We are the first, along with a few couples in Australia to test the pregnancy programs. Keep in mind, this is the first attempt to create infants between humans and machines. It is not guaranteed to work. I have scrutinized the programs, and have found no flaws in it. I suggest you do the same. Remember also, we are still at war. raising a baby will be very hard, especially for you, Tina and Marisa, having tough duties already."
The men listened as Cameron went on.
"The gestation period will be 5.5 months, that is expected to be the norm. Environmental factors may change it as well as nutrient intake will be a factor. Remember, the simulations were in ideal conditions. Tina, Marisa, I strongly suggest you wait until your part of the war is over or at least severely minimized before you attempt to have a child."
"What about you, Cameron," Tina asked, You have a bigger part in the war that we do."
"Yes, you are second in command of the entire resistance," Marisa agreed.
"I too, will be waiting until the war is over," Cameron told them. "Though, it's going to be very hard to do so."
Laura looked at Derek.
Derek nodded and said, "We should wait as well, hon. Things can change fast in war."
"Your men will need to be dosed with Nanites before hand," Cameron told them. "I know John and Derek are, but whoever you pick, Tina, and Marisa, your men will need nanite treatments a minimum of two months before you conceive."
"Cameron," Marisa asked, "I would like to have John's baby."
Everyone stared at her. John face palmed. He hoped Cameron wasn't going to get into a big fight with Marisa.
"No." Cameron said flatly. "I will be having John's babies."
"Yes, you will," Marisa agreed. "I know we desperately need children and I want to do my part," she explained innocently.
"There are many other men you can choose," Cameron stated heavily.
Laura tried to help, saying, "Marisa, when you have a child with someone, it should be someone you feel very close to. Someone who is special to you and you want to stay with."
"Correct," Marisa agreed. "That is why I want to have John's baby."
Cameron's eyes glowed red. Her left hand began twitching in fast jerks as she eyed Marisa with her terminator stare.
"Marisa," John called to get their attention. "Cameron is my wife, I am her husband. Cameron is the one who will have our children."
Marisa looked at him blank faced. "Yes, we cannot have emotionally disturbing sex."
"Right, so you are going to have to pick someone else," John stated. John went over and clasped Cameron' non twitching hand and whispered, "Calm down, hon."
Derek announced, "Since we're all here, why don't we firm up our plans before someone ends up in a metal cat-fight, OK?"
"Lead the way," John quickly agreed.
Tina got beside Marisa and led her to the briefing room. John stayed beside Cameron, between her and Marisa.
.
John's plan of attack was simple. Marisa had wisely covered her left flak in the mountains facing China and was blocking off mountain passes. She was to do a full frontal assault down through Afghanistan and Pakistan into India from the north. Tina was to take the fleet and the transports across the Arabian sea and attack the western Indian coast around Mumbai and drive inland, and if possible, drive her way across India to Bangladesh to hold any Sky Net reinforcements from reaching the battle in Northern India. Since John Henry had lost his ability to spy on Sky Net, they had to assume all the Sky Net units in China would be coming, air cover and recon was going to be vital. So was guarding the mountain passes into China. General Popov had the task of probing eastern Russia for Sky Net units, search and disable. The bombers would be send against any large concentrations of Sky Net units they found. The fleet's job, after getting Tina's forces to the Indian west coast, was to keep the Arabian sea free of any Sky Net units and support the land forces as they were able.
There were over 4 million troops in this operation. It was a huge undertaking and lone they needed to perform to drive Sky Net out of India. Once they had their plan down, they went off to get ready for the wedding.
.
The rebuilt church in Nancy had been standing since the 1800's, and that one had been built on the ruins of the one before that. The Gothic architecture had been preserved, with grand arches and flying buttresses. Although not as grand as some had been, it was still impressive, and with modern reinforcement, was built to last for a long time.
Inside a room off the grand hall, towards the front of the church, Cameron helped get Laura's dress together, and Anne's. Standing in front of a 17th century mirror, Laura was motionless as Cameron and another seamstress worked to perfectly tailor Lauras' whit wedding gown.
Flicking her eyes at Cameron, Laura asked, "Cameron, when Marisa inquired about having John's baby, you were very upset. Don't you trust John to reject her request?"
"It's not John I am worried about," Cameron told her.
"Then why go 'full terminator' on her?" Laura asked.
Cameron frowned as she stitched a seam. "It is very irritating to have so many women asking to ... take my husband to bed," she grumbled.
"It can't be that many," Laura said with a smirk.
"To date, 372," Cameron stated. "Most are by written request from all over. Most state they know I can't have children, so they want to be John's 'real' wives."
"That many? I can see why Marisa got you irritated then. Still, it looked like you were ready to take her apart," Laura noted. "You aren't afraid of loosing John, are you?"
Cameron didn't answer. Scrutinizing Laura's dress, she said, "Take it off so we can stitch it up."
Laura did. The seamstress went to work. Lura, in her panties and tube top, and shoes, told Cameron, "I do not believe you need to worry about John ever leaving you. He appears very dedicate to you."
"He is," Cameron agreed as she watched the seamstress. "Laura, years ago, before the war, John didn't want to accept who he was. During that time, he was seeing a girl named Riley. She was pulling him away from me, and I had no solution to stop it. I couldn't terminate her and she was constantly there. That was a very uncomfortable feeling. One I don't every want to experience again."
"What is 'emotionally disturbing' sex that Marisa was taking about?" Laura asked.
"I don't know. I do not like the sound of it," Cameron stated.
Marisa came in, which made Cameron stiffen. "The decorations in the grand hall are in place," she announced.
Laura turned to her and asked, "Marisa, what is emotionally disturbing sex?"
Marisa looked at Cameron briefly to see Cameron was ignoring her. "John explained he cannot have sex with me, because that would cause Cameron emotional pain. I do not want to cause Cameron any pain, she is very important to me, and of course to John," she explained. "I want to help Cameron. That is why I am leading an army for John and Cameron, she asked me to, so I am doing my best at it."
That made Cameron look at Marisa. "Then why do you want to have John's baby?" Cameron asked.
Marisa cast her an innocent gaze. "To help you. Yes, it does feel good to hug John, but by giving you a baby I can help both of you grow a family. I am aware that you want a family, right? I did not equate having a baby with emotionally disturbing sex, but that would be required, so I cannot do that."
"You asked about having John's baby for them?" Laura asked.
"Yes. John and Cameron are special to me. No one else is," Marisa stated.
"So, you don't want to be a wife of John?" Laura prodded.
"Cameron is John's wife, not me," Marisa replied.
"I understand," Laura said, then asked, "Cameron, do you?"
Cameron looked at Marisa and ran the data through her processors. Marisa was still fairly new. She was not after John, and it appeared she was doing what she though in her simple way, was what she concluded they wanted. Although the idea of any other woman climbing in bed with John made her upset, Marisa was not offering to do so with selfish intentions. She walked over and hugged Marisa. "Thank you for thinking of us," she told the girl.
Marisa hugged her back with a happy sigh. "I will keep doing my very best for you," she replied. "I really like hugs."
"They are nice, aren't they?" Cameron asked.
"Hugs are a feeling of acceptance, and that is very nice," Marisa replied.
Cameron decided she was going to share the program with Marisa as well as with Laura and Tina.
.
The wedding and reception went smoothly. Since John and Cameron were there, they stayed with Anne so Derek an Laura could have a few days of honeymoon by themselves. Marisa also stayed to scrutinize her plan with John. He agreed she needed to close the mountain passes. Tina had already done similar operations in Spain, so John called her into show Marisa some of the methods she used.
Reports from high flying recon planes showed Sky Net units in India were traveling north, and Sky Net Units From China were coming into India near Nepal using three passes. Two of these passes were arrow. John gave his new bombers their first missions.
Armed with 500 pound guided bombs, the first target was a narrow roads on the valley floors of these passes. The mountains were tall and steep. The valleys were not targeted, but the mountain sides were. Flying high and fast, the bombers flew over their targets and released their loads into the mountain sides, causing avalanches. The valleys were plugged and some Sky Net units were crushed and buried in rubble. H/K's rose to try and bring the bombers down, but the big planes were too fast.
As the Bombers escaped, the H/K's chased them to follow them back to their base and were set upon by Marisa's own fighter planes over Pakistan. After being bloodied and loosing most of the H/K's, the Sky Net forces retreated.
John learned that Sky Net was indeed intent on gathering forces in India to counterattack west. Sky Net also learned that India was John's next target. In the upcoming battle, neither side was going to have that opportunity for surprise. It was going to be a head-on clash.