Chapter 76

Carrots And Apples

Cameron and John cut their honeymoon short and returned to the base after the incident on Route 1. Until they knew more about the unknown Terminator, they figured they'd better hunker down and play it safe. They didn't know what the Terminator had been up to, or what he was about to do. They didn't know if the Terminator was 'hostile' or 'friendly'. His attempted 'attack' on John seemed to indicate he wasn't 'friendly.

Bob and Al were left to collect his remains for spare parts, or to turn the Coltan into projectiles for their weapons. They needed to see what information could be gleaned from his chip, if any was recoverable. It still remained to be determined.

John Henry briefed Cameron and John on the arrival of Derek and Jesse. They were told of Unit 710 and the information on Mrs. Weaver. He also informed them of the trouble which developed between Sarah and Jesse, along with the uneasy 'interactions' with Jesse and the two girls, Allison and Vanna.

Cameron and John both found the information disturbing.

John Henry waited until John went to use the restroom and was very specific in the nature of the near unwanted sexual touching he was able to pick up, as well as the feelings of Vanna and Allison. He also repeated the specific terminology Jesse referred to Cameron as.

Cameron didn't like the new development. She didn't like to hear how her 'association' with John was termed. It was offensive to her. What happened with the girls troubled her more. Vanna and Allison were very special to her. They already suffered enough at the hands of others. If there was to be any sexual interaction, it needed to be consensual.

She was well aware of what Future Jesse had done and orchestrated. She hoped this one wouldn't present the same 'problems'. It seemed to be the case. They both seemed to have similar issues, even if they were from different futures.

Cameron thought the easiest course of action would be to terminate Jesse and eliminate the problem. She wanted to try a different approach. She was determined to change Jesse's attitude towards Terminators, as well as her questionable behavior. She decided she would make 'this Jesse' her personal project. She would use all her infiltration programming and learned behavior. She planned to turn a 'Metal hater' into a 'Metal lover'.

She thought of what she wanted to do. She needed to make sure she didn't get played. Jesse seemed to be a master of manipulation. She'd survived the Scavenger camps and was able to join the Resistance. It was stated Jesse actually was a Scavenger for a short time herself. It would indicate extreme brutal behavior on her part.

Cameron decided to make her move. She entered the room where Jesse was at.

She remembered Future Jesse. She wondered how things were going to be different. Jesse was a 'different Jesse', even if she was the 'same Jesse'. She would be like Allison as compared to Future Allison. They were the same, but different. While many things were the same, many were different as well.

Jesse seemed somewhat surprised when Cameron appeared. She didn't appear to be afraid, but acted more amused.

Cameron looked at Jesse. She saw Jesse was Hot, which meant trouble. Sexuality radiated off of her. She seemed very much in command of her surroundings, especially for a newcomer. It was clear she was used to pushing her way around wherever she went. She was about to find out there were some individuals, who couldn't be pushed.

The two of them eyed each other for a few moments.

Cameron smiled at Jesse.

"Hello, I'm Cameron." Cameron said. "I'm pleased to meet you, Jesse."

Cameron held out her hand, but Jesse didn't take it. It was clear Jesse exhibited an attitude problem. It was probably an 'authority issue', as well as a 'Terminator issue'.

Jesse took a moment to look at Cameron. She appeared human to her. She understood Cameron had been in contact with humans for a long time in the past, the present, as well as two different futures. There was no way to tell how long she'd actually been activated with all of her temporal missions. She found her appearance intriguing.

"Likewise, love." Jesse said. "I've heard so much about you. I can see you're the spitting image of that little firecracker, Allison."

Jesse tried to look a little further. She couldn't tell Cameron was Terminator by looking at her in the current setting. She eyed Cameron from top to bottom and back again, twice. She would really like to compare Cameron to Allison, side by side, naked. She would like to compare everything.

Cameron felt as if Jesse just mentally undressed her. She wasn't sure she liked the way Jesse looked at her. It made her feel 'uncomfortable'. Somehow it left her with a very 'dirty' feeling. She wondered what thoughts were coursing through Jesse's mind as she looked at her.

It appeared Jesse tried to 'direct' the nature of the conversation. It appeared she wanted to have control of how things played out.

Cameron decided maybe she needed to play the 'Heavy' first. It would be the stick, before the carrot. She went on the offensive. She took control. She was a Terminator after all. It was time to assert her dominance. Her dominance was mental, as well as physical.

She moved directly in front of Jesse and looked her in the face. The smile and pleasant look was no longer on her face. There was a very stern Terminator look there now.

"Are there going to be any problems between us, or with my friends?" Cameron asked.

Jesse was somewhat startled by Cameron's actions. She realized Cameron was close enough to her to rip her in half. Her new demeanor seemed to indicate it was something she might do.

She understood the threat from Cameron. She wasn't easily intimidated. She held her ground. She didn't plan to back down. She knew she couldn't push things too far, too fast. She tried to play it cool.

"No love, everything is carrots and apples." Jesse said.

Cameron stood there as she faced her. She was irritated and dissatisfied with Jesse's response. It seemed to be the effect Jesse wanted. She decided to turn the heat up a little.

She moved closer to Jesse.

Cameron decided to push harder. Maybe a more direct, and to the point, approach was needed. Her eyes briefly glowed red before they returned to their normal brown color.

"Do I need to kill you too?" Cameron asked.

Jesse swallowed hard. She knew any response was going to be the 'wrong' one. She remained silent. She thought the cyborg's eyes glowed red for an instant. She wasn't really sure. It all happened so fast. The smile instantly disappeared from her face. She understood she faced a Terminator. She knew a Terminator could kill her in an instant in such close quarters. The fact the cyborg already mentioned killing her, seemed to make it worse.

Cameron moved closer still to Jesse. They were nearly touching at this point. She decided to make herself perfectly clear. She wanted everything to be in black and white, without any gray areas. She didn't want to give Jesse any 'wiggle room'.

"Don't bother my family or friends again." Cameron said.

Cameron's eyes glowing red a little longer this time.

Jesse felt her heart skip a beat. It seemed her mouth was instantly dry. It was hard to swallow. She clearly saw the cyborg's eyes turn red.

Cameron wanted to see if there were any questions on Jesse's part.

"Are we on the same frequency?" Cameron asked.

Jesse wasn't sure what to do. Cameron was dead serious. It was like she really cared about, and loved the people, real people. It looked like Cameron wanted to kill her. It looked like Cameron was going to kill her. She knew Cameron could kill her effortlessly and never even blink. She was a machine after all. Machines weren't supposed to 'feel'. She could feel the 'anger' in Cameron's presence.

There was no way she could compete with the Terminator on any level. Well, any level which wouldn't get her killed.

Jesse knew when she was outmatched. She hadn't stayed alive this long without learning how the game was played. It was time to back peddle. She remembered an old saying, 'One who runs away, lives to fight another day.' She didn't want to get off on the wrong foot with Cameron, even if she did with the others.

"I'll apologize to everyone I've offended, starting with you, Cameron." Jesse said. "I'm sorry for any trouble I've caused you. It wasn't my intention. You need to understand what it was like for a female in my future. Any female who showed weakness, was instantly preyed upon by others. I can see I've taken things a little too far. I understand we're not in the future anymore."

Cameron smiled at Jesse. She brought her hand up. Jesse's eyes widened and she took a half step back. It was clear Jesse thought she was going to grab her neck. She gently touched Jesse's cheek with her left hand.

Jesse was startled and terrified. She was most surprised by the soft gentle loving touch. It actually excited her. Nobody ever touched her the same way, especially a machine.

Cameron extended her right hand out in front of her again.

Jesse took it this time. She was a little surprised when Cameron's hand gave her hand a very gentle squeeze during the process. She knew Cameron could crush her hand in an instant. Instead, it was a very gentle touch.

Cameron was pleased with the new interaction. It seemed after the 'stick', the 'carrot' had its effect. She wanted to turn Jesse's attitude around. She didn't want to be prejudged based on her creation. She didn't have anything to do with how she was created. Humans didn't have anything to do with being born either. It was someone else who made the decision for them.

"Welcome to our home and our fight against Skynet. I look forward to working WITH you." Cameron said. "I'm sure you'll prove to be a valuable asset. Remember, the goal is for everyone to get along with each other, to make a more effective team."

Cameron was in total control. She detected a high fear level, but no deception at this moment from Jesse. If anything, the conversation and threats seemed to spark a state of high sexual arousal in Jesse. She found it somewhat strange. It was clear Jesse was no stranger to violence. If Jesse did run with Scavengers for a while, she would have been exposed to a lot of violence. It appeared as if violence, or even the thought of violence, stimulated her.

Jesse felt about a hundred different emotions right now. They were all mixed and twisted as they collided together within her head.

Cameron stepped aside so Jesse could leave.

Jesse thought it seemed like a good time to go. She turned and started to walk away.

Cameron wasn't quite done yet. There was another point she wanted to make perfectly clear.

"Jesse." Cameron said.

Jesse turned around.

"Yes?" Jesse asked.

The smile on Cameron's face instantly evaporated. She was a Terminator again.

"Stay AWAY from John." Cameron said.

Cameron's eyes glowed red for a second. It was a little longer this time than the other two times. It was to make a point.

Jesse swallowed hard. She knew a 'death threat' when she heard and saw it.

"I understand." Jesse said.

Cameron felt it was best if there was no confusion from the beginning. She wanted to make herself perfectly clear.

"I won't tell you twice." Cameron said.

Jesse nodded her head and walked away as fast as she could. She was scared to death. At the same time, she experienced a high state of sexual arousal. The way Cameron presented herself, and her threats, excited her. She could tell she was much more dominant than Sarah had been. Her interaction with Sarah had intrigued her. Her interaction with Cameron left her with a jumble of thoughts.

She decided if Derek wasn't in his room, she needed to take matters into her own hands, literally. Cameron terrified her, while at the same time she turned her on. Cameron was the hottest and most desirable 'female' she'd ever seen. No, not female, Cameron the hottest and most desirable 'person' she'd ever seen or met. To her there was nothing 'Metal' about Cameron…. Cameron was unlike any other Terminator she'd ever encountered, or even heard of.

Cameron watched Jesse go. She thought it would be a shame to terminate her. Jesse wasn't her only concern. What worried her was Mrs. Weaver. Was she in 'her future'? She didn't see any indication of her while she was there. Who sent the other Liquid Metal Terminator from her future, or whatever future it was from?

Was the 'Evil One' actually Mrs. Weaver, or Skynet, or both? Was it to assault John or seduce him? How did it get to the current timeline? Were there others? Was Mrs. Weaver coming back? Was she going to stay in her future? Did she simply go 'home'? The prospect of Mrs. Weaver taking it easy, didn't seem as if it would occur.

Cameron didn't look forward to going into the future again, any future. The present was complicated enough for her. She felt her future haunted her, as her past stalked her. There was no way to get away from either one. They would always follow her, or proceed her.

The fear of going into standby again terrified her. What if those weren't 'dreams' or 'nightmares', but suppressed memories…. What if those events actually already happened? What if there'd been other time travel and it had been deleted or erased and those were the fragments which remained?

She couldn't get lost in speculation. It was time to plan for the next mission. She wanted to see Jesse in action. She wanted to see how she followed instructions. She wanted to make sure Jesse was a team player.

Later on:

The team went on a dual strike mission. They would hit two locations, both of them with suspected Skynet activity. The targets were fewer and further apart for attack. They'd hindered Skynet from developing. Anything which looked Skynet related, was attacked and obliterated. There was no need to take any chances.

Cameron wasn't sure if Skynet didn't gain control, they were 'winning'. It was a plus they were stunting Skynet's growth, but were they really terminating it? Was it hiding instead and trying to build its strength? Where else was it hidden or active at? All these questions bothered her. She knew one day she would stand before Skynet as she terminated it herself. They would be face to face, or at least face to mainframe.

She had John Henry make the team assignments. She mentioned she wanted to be on Jesse's team. She wanted to have a certain amount of control.

John, Allison and Bob, were Team One.

Kyle, Sarah and Jim, were Team Two.

Derek, Jesse and Cameron, were Team Three.

The first target was a factory. It was being set up to make HK drones. Sarah destroyed one of the facilities on her own when Cameron was inoperable. The group hit another one since then. This was the third one. Like everything Skynet related, as soon as they cut off one head, two more seemed to grow in its place.

John's team and Kyle's team were in and out with no problem. Derek's team wasn't as lucky.

Cameron put Derek in charge to be the team leader. She hung back to watch Derek and Jesse perform. Everything went well until Jesse got careless. She deviated from the plan and entered an area they were told to avoid. It was outside the mission parameters.

Derek immediately reported the problem to Cameron. He didn't try to cover it up.

Cameron collected Derek and sent him to rejoin the other two groups. Cameron requested Bob join her. He did. She explained the situation to Bob.

Bob thought the instructions and mission profile were very clear.

"Where did she go?" Bob asked.

Cameron could only tell him what she knew. There were some thoughts in the back of her mind she didn't want to voice yet. She simply told Bob what occurred.

Bob replayed all the facts. His assessment didn't change.

"Why would she go there?" Bob asked. "It was outside the plan parameters."

Cameron feared something deeper or more sinister. Maybe it was time to give Bob some insight. If Jesse was with Scavengers for a while, she could be compromised elsewhere. She also wanted to remind Bob of some of her past experience with another version of Jesse.

"I'm not sure about what, or why, she deviated. I want you to help me track her so we can see what she's up to. It's possible she's a Gray, or some future Skynet operative." Cameron responded. "We don't know much about her. I know the 'problem' my Future Jesse was."

Bob was briefed on the whole scenario with Future Jesse previously.

"Affirmative…." Bob said.

Cameron didn't know what to expect, or what Jesse's goal really was. She was aware her earlier interaction to threaten Jesse did so. At the same time it sexually aroused Jesse. It was behavior she hadn't experienced before. Other humans didn't respond in such a manner.

"She may be trying to establish contact with someone. I want to find out. I don't trust her." Cameron added. "I don't want to prejudge her too much either, even if I've done so already."

Bob knew he could beat some answers out of her. He'd interrogated Grays before. They always talked before they terminated. He hadn't needed to beat a female to death before. He thought it would be an interesting comparison.

"Do you wish for me to interrogate her?" Bob asked.

Cameron was aware it would result in Jesse's termination.

"No, not yet, I don't want her hurt." Cameron said. "If she's not 'dirty', I think I can rehabilitate her. I believe she has a lot of potential. It would be a challenge and rewarding to me to reeducate her. I want her to prove herself on her own."

Bob nodded his head, he understood. Cameron had 'other' plans for Jesse. He could see Jesse could be quite 'attractive'. Her moral compass apparently didn't exist. He really hoped Jesse would be compliant with Cameron's suggestions. If she wasn't, there would be a price to pay on her part.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Dream

Some may possess
A smile that will beam
Perhaps hidden behind it
Is an unseen scheme

They may say words
That radiate joy and agleam
To a lonely troubled soul
They may even create esteem

Will their actions be
As part of the team
They may linger and wait
Before they strike and ream

Based upon their looks
Their actions one can deem
Is anything ever really
What it should seem

As it all slowly falls apart
They will make one scream
One wonders how it is possible
For what was once their dream

Nobody