Chapter 104

Failure

Bob and Jim were inside of a vacant building next to one they knew was some type of Skynet operation. They found an unlocked door and entered. They needed to search the building to make sure there were no threats. They didn't want to have the enemy on two sides of them.

John Henry's server, JH, notified them of the events currently occurring at the Resistance base. If something negative developed, they may need to abort the operation and return to the base.

Jim moved towards the front of the building. It faced the street. He entered a hallway from the workroom area. He moved past several doors. He checked inside each one of them. All of them were empty so far. He moved past what would appear to be a break room type area, as well as too small restrooms. The signs on the front of the restrooms which indicated if they were 'male' or 'female' were missing. He could tell the male bathroom by the urinal on the other side of a partition by the sink. There was nothing to indicate any of the restroom facilities were used recently.

There was a reception area in the front. It was devoid of all furniture and everything else. He entered the front lobby area and checked the front door. It was secured. He made his way back through the hallway and rechecked every room. The sink didn't appear recently used in the break room, nor was there any trash.

Bob took a quick look around the workroom floor of the building. There was no machinery inside. There were still workbenches. They appeared to be semi-permanently attached to the floor. It was clear they could be moved or removed if necessary. There were electrical hookups on all of them. On the ones with an enclosure below them, he took a quick look inside. Everything was empty.

He made his way to the rear of the building. He checked the roll up doors which led to the outside, as well as the dock. Everything was secure.

He made his way back towards the front. In the far corner away from where they entered on the other side of the building, was another doorway to what was labeled as the 'Utility Room'.

Bob opened the door with his pistol in his hand. The room appeared to be vacant. There were several large water heaters. There were several large electrical boxes which could control the electricity. There was a master switch on each of them, which was in the off position. There was a ladder which went straight up. It went to a roof access hatch.

Jim exited back onto the workroom floor. He didn't spot Bob. He looked towards the door they'd entered from. It was still closed. He saw Bob lean out from a room on the other side of the building.

"I haven't found signs of anyone in this section of the building." Bob said. "There's a roof access hatch."

Jim hadn't found anything.

"I found no indication of humans either." Jim said. "Let's take a look from the roof at the building next door. We should be able to move along the front side of the skylights to avoid being seen easily."

Bob and Jim started up the roof access ladder. They didn't find recent signs of any humans in the building. They knew when it came to Skynet, there could be other things than humans involved.

The arcing and flashing started.

The energy bubble appeared.

The arcing and flashing stopped.

Cameron could tell it was another rough ride. She slowly arose. Everything was 'wrong'. They were on a ship. It was some type of unknown ship. She thought it was the aircraft carrier, but only for a millisecond. Too much was different. Nothing felt right. Everything looked different. Whatever it was, it was all wrong. The pressure and gravity seemed off. It seemed artificial somehow. It didn't make any sense. There were a lot of things which didn't make sense to her. There was no magnetic pole her sensors could pick up either. There were various warnings and alerts going off with her HUD.

She needed to find out more. She knew she needed to be very careful. She told the girls to stay put and not move. She would be right back. She needed to stay close in case the energy bubble reappeared. If one of them missed it, they were going to be left behind. She really wondered when things were going to end.

Cameron wanted to look around and see exactly what her current location was. She knew it was unlike anything she knew. It might be a Skynet weapon they didn't know about. It seemed strange. It appeared as if everything looked old or used. It wasn't new. The warnings on her HUD continue to go off. She went to find a porthole.

The three naked women on the floor stood up. They were really unsure what was happening at this point in time.

They looked around them with curiosity. Things seemed very different, even if they still looked familiar.

Allison looked around and noticed 'Cameron' was in a different spot now from where she was only a few seconds ago. She wondered how. It didn't make any sense.

'Cameron' peeked around a corner and looked at them. She seemed to stare at Allison.

'Cameron' stepped out and walked towards Allison. She wore a dress now. It was different.

"Nice dress…." Allison said.

Allison wondered where 'Cameron' found the dress so quickly. She hoped there were some other dresses for them. She would be a little more comfortable being clothed in an unfamiliar place. She looked at 'Cameron's' hair, it was different too somehow. In fact, the entire 'look' was off. Everything was the same, but it was 'different'.

Jesse too wondered where 'Cameron' found the dress at.

"Where are our dresses?" Jesse asked. "To tell you the truth, I'm fine with how I look right now."

Jesse knew they still needed clothing, especially if they ran into any men. She could tell everything was off with their surroundings as well. It wasn't her main concern now, it was Cameron. She wondered why 'Cameron' seemed 'different'. There was something strange about her now. Something didn't seem right. Maybe all the energy being blasted through and around all of them was starting to have a negative effect on Cameron.

'Cameron' walked up to Allison and looked at her. She looked at her from head to toe and back again. She didn't say anything. She just looked at her.

Allison felt a little uneasy as 'Cameron' looked at her. She hoped 'Cameron' wasn't about to go 'bad'. Nobody knew why when they did.

"Are you OK?" Allison asked.

Jesse and Vanna noticed it too. They could tell something was wrong. Something was different. Things just weren't right. They both began to feel a sense of danger. They were in the unknown.

Vanna was now worried for Allison. She didn't understand what happened and was afraid Cameron might have gone 'bad' again. She felt the need to protect her longtime lover.

"Allison, use caution." Vanna said. "Something isn't right. Something is way off."

Allison was worried, but not really afraid.

"I feel it too." Allison said. "I think we're on a ship."

Jesse came to the same conclusion. There was no explanation as to where they were.

"We're on a ship for sure. It's unlike any I've ever seen." Jesse said as she looked around.

Jesse and Vanna looked at each other.

The nude form of Cameron appeared behind the other 'Cameron' who wore the dress. 'Dressed Cameron' still stared at Allison.

Cameron knew it was a problem of some kind. She wanted some answers.

"Where and when are we?" Cameron asked.

'Dressed Cameron' jumped back and turned to face Cameron. She seemed startled by her 'sudden' arrival.

She looked Cameron up and down and back to Allison. She then looked back at Cameron as she faced her.

Cameron could tell right away the girl who looked like Allison wasn't afraid of her. She didn't know if she looked at some type of clone of Allison, or perhaps one based on her.

"WHAT are you?" 'Dressed Cameron' asked.

Cameron deduced they were in the future. It seemed to be a further future than she'd been to before.

"I'm a cybernetic organism from your past." Cameron said.

'Dressed Cameron' reached up and touched Cameron's cheek.

"You're a weapon." 'Dressed Cameron' stated.

'Dressed Cameron' still didn't show any fear after she determined Cameron was a weapon.

Cameron hoped a friendlier approach might produce answers quicker.

"My name is Cameron." Cameron said. "I'm honored to meet you."

Cameron held out her hand. 'Dressed Cameron' slowly took it.

Cameron expected 'Dressed Cameron' to respond. She didn't. She decided to prompt her some more.

"What's your name?" Cameron asked.

"My name is…."

The arcing and flashing returned. The energy bubble reappeared. The arcing and flashing intensified. The girls had stayed in the same spot. It enveloped them. It looked like their journey wasn't complete yet.

John watched John Henry make some modifications to the TDE. There were several power cells from some of the Terminators they captured hooked up to it.

"Is it safe?" John asked.

John Henry doubted it. If one of the power cells exploded, it would destroy half of the base. It included John and him. It would affect everyone on the base. It could cause the other power cells to sympathetically detonate and destroy the entire base. All that would remain of the base would be a smoking hole in the ground.

"No." John Henry said. "You said you wanted me to get creative. I did. This should give the TDE a big enough boost to grab onto them if we can still find them. It's been awhile since we last tried anything like this. I keep going back to the point in time we lost them. I believe there is a temporal time lag of some kind. I keep trying to compensate for it."

John wasn't sure he understood the specifics of any of it. He wasn't sure if John Henry indicated there was some type of temporal loop the girls were currently trapped in. He was aware temporal mechanics weren't an exact science. Nobody actually knew much about them. He wanted Cameron and the girls back. It was all that mattered. He was willing to gamble with the laws of physics to make it happen. He briefly wondered if he should evacuate the entire base first. He believed time was of the essence.

"If the bubble comes back, run the machine until it breaks or blows up. We have to try to hold on to them." John said. "I don't care if we destroy it. If we don't do this now, we're never going to be able to do it."

John Henry was a little concerned with John's desire to run the equipment until it broke or blew up. He decided to quickly install a fail safe shut off for the power cells. He didn't plan on being vaporized if he could help it. He wanted to remind John of some of the past events. It was possible they could have extremely negative consequences in more ways than one.

"I'll try. The Liquid Metal Terminator said our TDE brought her here. It was just not to this specific location. We don't know where she was at when we 'picked her up' or where she ended up at." John Henry said. "It could have been anywhere. I don't know what will happen, even if it looks like we have them. This machinery was never designed to do what we're attempting. Everything we're doing is an entirely new procedure."

John Henry wondered when they actually picked the Liquid Metal Terminator up. Was it the last time, or was it what they were doing now? Maybe she ended up in their past from what they were doing now. The temporal forces were being 'bent' forwards and backwards. The TDE was being used in an untested and unsafe manner. They could be opening up temporal conduits in time, which they might not be able to close.

It was time to get started. He turned the TDE on. Everything started up with a large vibration and electrical noise. He wasn't sure why it was different. Nothing happened which they could see. The machine roared and thundered. He flipped a switch and the power cells added to the energy of the TDE. The room shook even more so than normal.

It was clear something was different. There was a lot of power running through the TDE.

The arcing and flashing started. The energy bubble returned. Everything seemed more intense somehow. He felt the need to issue a warning.

"Here it comes again." John said. "I think something is wrong. The extra power has altered the function of the TDE."

The shapes in the energy bubble seemed 'different' for some reason to John.

The TDE vibrated violently. It seemed as if it was strained to the limit.

John Henry could tell the things were about to go critical. It was possible events could start to cascade with no way to stop them.

"John, get back." John Henry said. "The TDE is overloading. We can't let a power cell rupture."

John Henry quickly tripped the fail safe and took the power cells offline.

The energy bubble immediately began to dissipate.

John and John Henry both moved away from the TDE. They could both tell it was about to break.

The back of the TDE control panel blew off. All the power went out. The room filled with smoke.

John Henry was glad the power cells were shut off when it happened. It was clear they were only a few seconds away from terminating. He checked for a fire. There was no sign of flames. It was the electrical wiring which was fried.

When the smoke cleared there was nothing on the TDE pad. They failed. The girls were lost and the TDE was damaged and inoperable. They were gone.

Darkness was all that remained.

The TDE pad was empty.

Nobody was there.

John Henry could see how disappointed John was. He wanted to try to give him some hope. He didn't think there actually was any hope. His previous approaches all ended in failure.

"I'll work on repairing the TDE." John Henry said. "I'll make it more powerful. I'm using the temporal information Mrs. Weaver sent. I want to be able to try to receive, as well as send, in the new design. I've pulled one Terminator each off Young Allison and the Reese brothers to assist in gathering materials." John Henry said. "It will speed up the process greatly. I instructed them to use whatever means necessary to procure what we need. I know it's a top priority for you, John"

John Henry didn't mention the power cells were only seconds from overloading and rupturing. It was actually a very close call.

"It's fine. Kyle and Sarah can fill in for one of the Terminators and Derek for the other." John said. "I don't want to drop the ball on the children. If something were to happen to the children, Cameron would be very upset at me."

They both knew it would be IF Cameron returned, not when she returned.

John Henry was sure there was another problem brewing. it might be in its infancy, but it was still there. He wasn't quite sure how to term it. He wanted there to be a negative connotation to it.

"What about the 'new arrival'?" John Henry asked.

John Henry KNEW all about HER. It took all the control he could muster not to say, 'What about the 'Bitch Whore'?' He viewed Cameron's pain over her. He FELT Cameron's pain over her. It was the root of the very problem which made Cameron wish she'd never been built. It was the very problem which created the whole mess. It was Future Riley's actions, as well as Future John sending her away. Now there was a 'Riley' here at the worst time. John was alone. Cameron and the girls were gone.

He hoped if they were in Cameron's future before Future Allison's capture, one of them would terminate the problem before it could happen. He put his money on Jesse. He knew someone could take a girl out of the 'evil', but they could never take the 'evil' out of the girl. Just like Cameron, Jesse too possessed her basic 'programming' to revert to. He wished he would have mentioned it to her himself.

He regretted not having programmed Unit Two, or Unit Three, to find and terminate Future Jesse and Future Riley when they saved Future Allison. It would have created a different timeline, but it would have been a better one for Cameron. At least THAT Cameron wouldn't have been exposed to as many problems. He knew having Riley there at the base was a mistake and would only lead to trouble.

John didn't like John Henry's attitude. He didn't like his mother's attitude either concerning Riley. He was personally thrilled she was there and now at the base. He didn't see why it was a big deal. She was another Resistance fighter which could be added to the team. He wanted to make sure John Henry understood how things would progress going forward. He would specifically need to point it out to everyone else, especially his mother.

"I'll get her acquainted with our operations here and 'break her in'." John said.

John Henry instantly disliked his terminology. He was sure where such a foolish endeavor would end. It would be John in-between Riley's legs. He was sure the little head was already thinking for the big head.

John wanted to see Riley again and talk to her. He never got to say 'goodbye'. They only 'completed' their love a few times. He didn't intend to do it again, but only to be around her. He knew she was a different Riley, but she started from the same Riley. Her death hurt him deeply. He wanted to terminate Cameron over it. He almost pushed 'the button' several times. It made him sick later on to know Cameron hadn't lied to him when she said she didn't do it. He almost terminated Cameron out of his anger and rage. It seemed to him as if the entire series of events was some type of convoluted nightmare.

He didn't understand Cameron didn't kill Riley because Cameron loved him. She wanted him to be happy if Riley was his choice. She hated it, but she allowed it for him.

John went to look for Savannah. He needed to redirect his thoughts. He could study with her like he promised. He would have a talk with her about everything which happened and why. No more secrets. No more lying. He also wanted to put the brakes on whatever Cameron instilled in Savannah, and made her feel obligated to fulfill…. Savannah needed to fill out some. Riley was here now and she was already filled out. It was a totally different look and feel than Cameron. He would like to compare them again.

As John went in search of Savannah, he thought about Riley. She really looked good. Now, if Cameron didn't come back….

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Failure

We think we see the fast ball
So we swing the bat
The ball has passed us by
We don't even know where it's at

We foolishly step up to the plate again
We try and take another swing
It's a curve ball this time
Only empty air does the bat sting

Is every day in life
Really only a cruel game
No matter how we play it
The end result is always the same

We change around the tactic
It does not seem to matter
It appears the reoccurring outcome
Is a heart and mind that shatter

It looks like every option ends in failure
Is that all life can offer anyone
It feels like the game is always over
Before it has even begun

Nobody