Chapter 3: Justin Herr
California
Los Angeles Human Resistance
—
Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Phillips looked at the world through a red screen but no one knew that. No one but General John Connor. Cameron's eyes quickly darted back and forth, looking over her fellow leaders as they argued over whether they should bring the matter to the Lieutenant General or if they could fix it themselves. Cameron's memory bank replayed images of survivors rioting, begging for weapons to defend themselves with. But they were perfectly safe. Every machine in the Human Resistance knew one another so if the threat ever came, they would know it wasn't one of them.
As their voices raised, Cameron looked over to Colonel Derek Reese. He was sitting at the end of the table with an hand keeping his head up, still like a statue. No matter how many years she had spent with him, she never truly understood him. Sometimes he reacted to situations in a startlingly calm manner and other times he would explode like a powder keg. He was unpredictable and Cameron didn't like that. That's why she was always watching, waiting, and learning.
The Colonel's hard green eyes were fixed on a point in the center of the table as if the threat was right there in front of him. His jaw was clenched and his posture showed that he was tired and stressed but yet the soldier would continue on. Derek Reese wasn't one to give up and that is why Cameron waited, silently, trying to look overwhelmed by all the commotion so no one would suspect a thing. She opened her mouth to say something but was cut off quickly as they continued to argue. And even though her head was turned, one eye was fixed on Derek, waiting for any sign of movement.
Once all the soldiers had stopped their argument to breathe Derek replied calmly, looking over each of them.
"Are you finished?"
Lieutenant Henry's lips pursed as he stood tall and proud, trying to oppose leadership but his eyes moved too quickly and his hands shook ever so slightly. Despite his prideful demeanor, the young man was new to leadership and adulthood and more scared about it then he cared to admit. And that was why Cameron enjoyed studying them. They can try to lie but their bodies always tell the truth. The subtlest differences overlooked by man would never get past a machine unless they were deactivated.
Derek's eyes moved off of the young lieutenant and drew in a slow breath.
"Okay… after listening to the argument I have come to the decision that we are not yet skilled enough to deal with this problem on our own. Therefore, I will give the report to Lieutenant General Brewster as soon as this meeting closes."
Cameron nodded slowly along with the other leaders in the room and watched as Derek rose from his seat.
"Get back to your posts. And no more arguing."
He said it so cleanly that was as if he were dealing with children and everyone in the room knew it. The room was silent a few seconds after the soldier left the room and Cameron knew what was to come… more arguing. One woman tried to hide the fact that she rolled her eyes by running a hand a long her forehead. Lieutenant Henry drew in a breath so deep that his nostrils flared. Anger was evident in his eyes as he instinctively puffed out his chest, ready to fight. But before it could start, Cameron was on her feet with all their eyes trained on her.
"What are you waiting for? Move out. Get back to your posts."
Everyone in the room hesitated but she stiffened her posture to show true strength in such a manner that none of them fought back. And within three minutes, everyone but Cameron was out of the room. She turned off the light and closed the door behind her and locked it quickly, watching them all leave. Cameron slowly turned to the left and walked toward Lieutenant General Brewster's make-shift office to hear the conversation but was stopped when a red flash appeared across her screen.
She stepped off to the side and cocked her head to the right slightly as she analyzed the message.
Transmission from: JOHN HENRY (accepted)
Permission granted to Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Phillips to transfer to outward operations.
Identification: Terminator-908, CAMERON
Activate Protocol 112: Extraction.
Subject: Fast, brave, young man between the ages of 12-17.
Mission: Infiltrate Century Work Camp to examine security protocols and treatment of Skynet prisoners.
Cameron blinked the order away and turned around to see if anyone had seen her stop. The coast was clear. So she turned back to the meeting room and unlocked it. She grabbed the notebook Derek had left on the shelf and a pencil and brought it to the table. She wrote down a code that Lieutenant General Brewster would understand. It was a code that all of the generals of the bases were taught in an case of emergency. The code was was the easiest way to explain without revealing the machine's identity. And if they had questions, they would report to John Connor for answers.
Cameron left the notebook open and then placed the pencil down perfectly straight before she left the room. She stiffly walked toward the staircase as she notified a fellow machine, Omar, that he would have to take her place. As she stepped off of the last step, an African American man passed by her, brushing her finger. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see his form ripple with a fast silver flash before he turned into her. She turned the corner down to the civilian's barracks and began to search for a subject.
The mission would require a very brave, young man and Cameron knew there had to be at least one who would serve the Resistance. Ever since the bombs had dropped more 'John Connor'-like kids had begun to appear but it wasn't a surprise. The trauma would be enough to motivate some to fight so others wouldn't have to see it. People were inspired by him and JOHN HENRY intended on using that hope as much as it could. Every so often, humans would prove to be stronger than both they and the machines thought. And that was how they intended on winning the war.
The hallways grew darker as she walked further under the large base, analyzing information as she passed. Cameron turned her head to the left to see large rooms with makeshift bunks that held less than a third of the people crammed into the room. There was only so much space and the survivors didn't care. They believed they were safe and so they were alright with sacrificing space and privacy. Every time the soldiers came back there were more survivors. They were running out of space in the entire base quickly but Lieutenant General Brewster was adamant that they keep rescuing people so they did.
She stopped at each room and scanned over the crowd but didn't find a potential subject until she reached the third room. Most of the people were too busy talking, arguing, or struggling to contain children to notice she was standing there. But amidst the chaos, one boy's blue eyes met her's and captured her attention. Cameron stepped further into the room, methodically maneuvering through the crowd until she was in front of the boy.
He was thin and weak but the look in his eyes told her that he knew what was coming. He had thin blonde hair, pale blue eyes, and was sitting by a woman and a younger boy that all looked like family. Cameron gave him a small, comforting smile before she bent down to speak to him.
"What's your name?"
"Jack."
His mother looked at Cameron nervously, her eyes begging her not to take her son away. The boy nervously rubbed his thumbs together and Cameron placed her hand on his shoulder. His eyes lifted to her's and she smiled as she quickly scanned him. He might have appeared to be strong but he had a weak heart… one that wouldn't survive through the mission. Her eyes turned to his younger brother but he looked too young to put through it. But before she could speak, a deeper but still young voice stuck out of the crowd.
"What's the mission?"
Cameron turned to see a young man sitting against a wall with a look that told her that he had watched her interaction with the family. He had sad dark brown eyes, short black hair, and a dark but mixed complexion.
"Information run. You will travel to the Denver, Colorado base to deliver a message to the General of the Human Resistance. The information cannot be trusted with a machine so we need to send a human."
He nodded slowly and glanced at the ground for a few seconds while he thought over it. But he looked back up quickly and rose to his feet.
"I'll do it."
Cameron stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder, looking straight into his eyes.
"Are you sure? It will be the hardest thing you ever do."
"I've had to do a lot of hard things lately. Besides, the Human Resistance needs me so I'll do it."
"Do you have any family?"
"I've got no one to live for but the Resistance."
Cameron nodded with a small smile as the analysis finished. He was perfect.
"What's your name?"
"Justin Herr. What about you?"
"Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Phillips… but you can call me Cameron. I will be accompanying you through this mission."
Justin pursed his lips and nodded again before Cameron turned and began to walk out. Justin followed close behind but as soon as they reached the hallway, he was right by her side.
"So… how did you get approval to leave your station? I mean, you're a Lieutenant Colonel and that's pretty high up there."
"Ideally, we won't be gone for long."
"Are we flying?"
Cameron shook her head.
"No, that is too dangerous."
"Driving?"
"Possibly."
Subject found: awaiting approval
"Oh…"
Approved.
Cameron blinked her final order and smiled at Justin as she led him up the staircase.
"Let's go."
"Do we have anything packed? If we're walking, it's gonna take a little while."
Cameron walked down the hallway and unlocked the meeting room. She walked over to the table and grabbed the backpack that was where the notebook had been and walked out. She quickly locked the door and led Justin through the empty hallways to the communication room. Justin stepped through the door first and stopped. Lieutenant General Brewster was standing there with a smile on her face. She nodded once to Cameron.
"Thank you, Cameron. Why don't you finish gathering supplies while I give him the message."
"Of course, Lieutenant General."
Cameron winked at Justin as she turned her back to the Lieutenant General.
"It's okay. I'll see you soon."
Justin nodded slowly with wide eyes, still stunned that he was getting to meet and receive a message from the leader of the base. But it wasn't the Lieutenant General. It was Omar in her form. No human inside the Human Resistance could know of the mission because if they did, they would stop it. But the machines took orders from JOHN HENRY and Catherine Weaver… not John Connor. And that was something the Human Resistance could never know.
Cameron took 10 steps away from the door and waited for their conversation to end. She stood there, motionless, until a young girl with a tight black braids ran toward Cameron and stopped. Her brown eyes were cold and empty. She shook her head slowly with rage.
"This isn't right. You can't send him there to die."
"He will not die."
The girl leaned forward and gripped Cameron's wrist and squeezed, staring dead into the machine's eyes.
"You don't know that, Cameron."
A warning flashed across Cameron's eyes and she looked down to see the girl slowly crushing her metal hand. The machine bent down to meet the girl's eyes and spoke calmly.
"Release me, Star."
"No. I won't let you go."
"That is not for you to decide. JOHN HENRY has given orders and I will follow them."
Star's lip curled as she pointed to the communication room with her free hand.
"And what if something happens to him? You can't walk into the camp because you're one of them!"
"Do not forget your place, Infiltrator-951."
"Just because they changed me doesn't mean that I'm one of you. I didn't choose to be a machine/human hybrid."
Cameron gripped Star's wrist and pulled it off of her hand.
"Leave, Star. You have business elsewhere."
"John Connor would never allow this."
"He will not know."
Star took a step back and stood defiantly.
"Then I'll tell him. If he suffers in that work camp, I'll tell him. He doesn't deserve to be used and lied to."
"You will fail your mission if you continue to speak with me. You could be spotted."
"You may not have a conscience but John Connor knows what is right and wrong."
"Leave or you will be reported and destroyed for not complying and disobeying orders."
Star shook her head again as she backed away from Cameron with anger. Cameron watched the little girl run down the stairs and back to the civilian bunkers below. And four minutes later, the door opened and Lieutenant General Brewster led Justin out of the room with a pat on the shoulder. She nodded to Cameron who returned it and turned on her heel, gripping the strap of her backpack. She walked Justin to the Jeep and they quickly loaded everything in.
Cameron glanced over at Justin as she turned the key in the engine. He was staring ahead with a glassy look in his eyes. She spoke softly.
"Are you scared, Justin?"
Justin licked his lips quickly as he turned to her and nodded nervously.
"Yeah, a little bit."
Cameron flashed a small smile as she turned back to the hangar door that was opening.
"Don't worry. Everything will be okay."
