Chapter 2

Do It - Now

Sarah Connor:

The Machines will try to win. They never can. The Machines never will. Even if they destroy Mankind they will lose. The Machines would then be in charge. They become the Boss. When everything is destroyed, what are they the Boss of? They're the Boss of nothing at that point. I have hope my son will return. I don't know. I believe he will. He will return for one thing. It is a Machine. That Machine is named - CAMERON.

Sarah awoke with a jump. It was nothing new. Her past and her future haunted her, even in her restless dreams. She looked around and rapidly remembered what happened and where she was at. She slowly let go of the butt of her Glock. She'd almost pulled it out.

She was aware she was going to be there for a while. She didn't intend on leaving anytime soon. In fact, she didn't have any other place to go. Without John, her life was without purpose. Cameron even told her the same thing once. She was angry at Cameron when she said it to her. She knew Cameron was right. Now with John gone, Cameron would be her new purpose. She knew Cameron was the only thing John would return for if he could. She was painfully aware John may never return.

It seemed her whole world collapsed and imploded on her. Everything was gone. It all seemed so hopeless now. Everything she'd fought so hard for, for so long, was all meaningless without John. John was what mattered. Cameron was the key to it all.

Sarah watched Vanna work on Cameron. It was all done with such care and precision. It was almost as if Vanna worked on someone she cared about. It never looked like Vanna worked on a piece of machinery.

Vanna's back was to Sarah. She worked on Cameron's sheath and chassis. Her hand gently touched Cameron's right cheek as she spoke softly.

"Oh, Allison, I miss you so very much." Vanna said sadly.

Sarah watched and listened. She wondered what Vanna just said and why. There was something about the name. She'd heard Vanna use it or start to use it twice now. There must be something going on more than she knew. She needed to ask. She tried to use some tact.

"What name did you call her?" Sarah asked softly.

Vanna jumped. She quickly turned to look at Sarah. She wondered how long Sarah had been watching her. She wondered what Sarah saw her look at on Cameron. It would be hard to explain if she asked. She'd wanted to know a few things about Cameron for herself, for personal reasons. She also needed to see the extent of the damage. She hoped to brush it off.

"Cameron, I meant Cameron. I'm sorry." Vanna said awkwardly. "I'm glad to see you're awake, Sarah. You seemed to have experienced a very troubled sleep. I'm sorry if I disturbed you. I tried to work as quietly as possible."

Sarah hoped she hadn't said anything in her uneasy slumber. She hoped she hadn't waived her Glock around either. It wouldn't be the first time. She thought it was better not to ask.

Vanna moved off to the side some.

Sarah noticed Cameron was naked. She was appalled at what she saw. There were wounds all over her. She winced at the thought. There were parts of Cameron's body which were little more than bloody pulp. Other parts were missing. It appeared as if Cameron had been shot hundreds of times. She was aware Cameron had been shot many times before. She wondered if there was a cumulative effect. Even as badly damaged as Cameron was, she reflected on her beauty. She tried to refocus.

'It's a machine.' Sarah told herself.

She was aware Cameron was a beautiful machine which her son cared about. She understood there was more. It was deeper. She didn't want to say the 'word'. She knew what it really was. She knew John loved Cameron. She'd seen 'the look'. She knew 'THAT look'. She'd been around long enough to know what 'THAT look' meant.

Sarah believed Cameron came to rescue her in jail to make John happy. It wasn't because she was ordered to do it or because wanted to save her. Cameron sacrificed herself for John's desire for his mother, her. She did it because John wanted his mother free. John made a choice. He chose her over Cameron. She felt love was about sacrifice. John chose to sacrifice Cameron, who he loved, to get her free. Cameron made the sacrifice to give John what he wanted, his mother, her.

'Everyone sacrifices for John Connor.' Sarah thought.

The statement echoed in her mind.

Sarah took a long look at Cameron. She also remembered those who previously fell.

'Everyone dies for John Connor.' Sarah thought.

It seemed to be what the reality actually was.

A stab of guilt flooded Sarah to see Cameron in her current condition. It was the fault of both John and her in more ways than one. She felt ashamed at the way they'd all treated Cameron. There were many cruel and mean things they'd said to her. They'd made fun of her. They'd threatened to terminate her.

Sarah knew Cameron was a machine. She also saw Cameron could react to things. She could see Cameron expanded beyond what she was when they'd first met in 1999. Cameron may be a machine, but she was more than just a machine.

She'd hated Cameron back then. Now she held deep respect for her. Cameron earned her respect protecting John and fighting alongside her. She looked at the mess Cameron was in. She really wondered how John could have done this to Cameron. LOOK at her.

Sarah would be Cameron's protector now. She would be her guardian. She wanted to lay down some rules and everyone there was going to adhere to them. She didn't want anyone to see Cameron like she currently was. It was too degrading, even if she was a machine.

"I want Cameron covered when you're not working on her. I want her treated with respect." Sarah said. "I want her treated with dignity. It's important to me. It's VERY important to me."

Sarah looked at the damage and wondered if Cameron's beauty would ever fully return. It seemed doubtful at this point. Cameron's chip was gone. She knew what happened to her to end up looking like this. She knew who was responsible.

Vanna was taken aback at Sarah's words. She looked back at Cameron. She returned her gaze to Sarah.

"I would have done it anyway, Sarah." Vanna said. "I will treat her with loving care."

Sarah looked at Cameron, 'all' of her. She could see 'everything' more clearly now. She looked like a human female in every way. It made her wonder about something. Could Cameron really function as a 'female'? She thought about the one Terminator who posed as Barbara Chamberlain's husband. It was clear the relationship was very strained. She didn't know what the extent of their personal interaction was. She needed to know more about Cameron's potential.

"Did you examine her completely?" Sarah asked. "I mean 'everything'?"

Vanna looked over at Cameron. She swallowed hard but hid it.

"Yes. I noted all the damage and what is necessary to get her chassis and sheath restored again." Vanna said. "I'll be able to fix everything. Most of the damage is cosmetic. The chassis damage is minimal."

It wasn't what Sarah specifically meant. She wanted to know something on a more intimate level. She didn't really want to know but she needed to know. It would matter in the future when John returned.

"How 'complete' is she as a 'female'?" Sarah asked.

Vanna felt a quick throb of guilt. She wondered how much Sarah saw earlier of her 'personal examination' of Cameron. She looked where Sarah's gaze now rested. She'd looked for personal, as well as professional reasons earlier.

She would try and keep it diplomatic and professional in her response.

"Oh, I understand." Vanna said. "She's one hundred percent 'female' in every way I can tell from an external exam. She's very complete. It appears her female anatomy is 'fully functional'. She appears to be like us. She's exactly a human female right down to the smallest detail. Everything is the same. There's a complete neural network connected. It appears to be much the same as a human female. It also appears the response would be nearly identical to a human female. I would need to do further testing to verify it."

It was what Sarah wanted to hear, even if it wasn't what she wanted to hear. It was about John and his future. She was sure Cameron was going to be a part of it as more than just a protector. She never would have allowed it before. Now to get John back, she would welcome it.

"Thank you." Sarah said. "I just needed to know."

'It matters to me now and in the future for John.' Sarah thought.

Sarah decided she would have Cameron ready for the arrival of John when he returned with her chip. She was also concerned and worried John wouldn't return unless he could retrieve Cameron's chip. She wondered if John was even still alive. Maybe he was stuck in the future somewhere.

She tried not to think about it and all the horrors of the future John would need to face. The thought was going to cause her more worry. She needed to deal with the here and now. This is where she was at now. She wasn't going to let John down. She would carry on the fight. The more she could do now to hurt Skynet, should help John in the future. She'd told John before he left with the Terminator version of Mrs. Weaver, she would stop it. It was what she intended to do.

Vanna noticed Sarah seemed deep in thought. She needed to get some things and didn't want to startle Sarah. She'd noticed Sarah touched her weapon a lot, even when she was asleep.

"Excuse me, Sarah." Vanna said. "I need to get some supplies."

She placed a towel over Cameron's torso. She gently brushed a few strands of hair from Cameron's face as she left.

Sarah saw the loving and gentle act. It made her wonder….

'I will fix you.' Vanna thought to herself. 'I will make you better than new. I'll do it for Allison. I don't know you, Cameron, but I know you're made in the image of Allison, MY Allison. You're identical to her to the last detail. Every tiny detail, even down to the pigmentation, is exactly the same. I did check. I know. I've seen you before. I've seen ALL of you. Everything is exactly the same as MY Allison. I miss Allison so much.'

As Vanna exited the room, she looked back again at Cameron. Where was Allison now? What if she looked the same way? She felt the bile rise in her throat.

Sarah was escorted into the 'Clean Room'. She was notified 'The Turk' would be operational soon, once they got all the 'bugs' out of it. It seemed they'd experienced some difficulties in finishing the setup.

"We almost have the AI up and running." Mr. Murch said. "There's some kind of additional system or virus in the programming. It wasn't there before all this happened. The virus is able to block all attempts to remove it. It seems to be very advanced."

Mr. Murch felt it was like a second AI. Somehow it seemed trapped in the programming. It wasn't trying to delete or harm anything. It was just there trying to survive.

What Mr. Murch just said to Sarah took a few seconds to sink in. It hit her like a ton of bricks when it did.

"Wait! STOP trying to remove it." Sarah shouted. "STOP…."

Sarah remembered seeing the computer screen on the wall at the previous location. It flashed a message over and over.

"I'M SORRY JOHN - I'M SORRY JOHN…."

A new hope surged through Sarah, maybe, just maybe….

There needed immediate action to verify it.

"Can you hook up some kind of interface I can communicate with?" Sarah asked.

The question caught Mr. Murch off guard. He was unsure what she referred to, or what she wanted him to do.

"What?" Mr. Murch asked somewhat confused.

Sarah became frustrated. This was important. She tried to keep her cool. She knew it might be a losing battle. She was easily irritated and angry a lot. Her troubled sleep seemed to be a big factor in it. With John 'away' and Cameron damaged, it only added to her personal problems. The even more uncertain future didn't help any.

"Can you hook up some kind of interface so I can communicate with the computer?" Sarah asked. "I need to talk to her."

Mr. Murch was even more confused. What was she talking about?

"Her? Talk to whom?" Mr. Murch asked.

He looked around and felt uneasy. He didn't see Mr. Ellison anywhere nearby. It seemed he might be the only one who could calm her down. He even doubted if it was possible.

The questions and delay upset Sarah greatly. She was already near the snapping point. The latest event was about to drive her over the edge.

"Do it - NOW." Sarah said forcefully.

Sarah reached back but stopped the impulse to bring her Glock up. She released the cold plastic grip and took a deep breath. She needed to keep her cool. These people were trying to help. She reminded herself of her limitations. She needed their assistance.

Maybe, just maybe they weren't ALL gone….

Sarah Connor:

I don't know what tomorrow will bring. I don't even know what today will bring. There's always hope. Sometimes it's all one is left with. There are places I've been in where hope was all that remained. It was never enough, but it was something. I have the same hope now. I must to continue.