Chapter 150

Eternity

Cameron knew what was necessary to protect John and the future.

There was no choice. There was only what NEEDED to be done.

It was time.

Cameron arrived at the facility. She found the 'parent' Skynet. There was no opposition when she arrived. She made her presence known. She placed some charges outside at several key locations and then detonated them before she went in. It was to prevent any transfer of information either in or out by Skynet.

She boldly entered the building. The lights were out except for a 'path'. She followed it. There was no one else detected around her. The area looked deserted. It was part of the 'deal'. The deal was for her to spend 'Eternity' with Skynet. It was exactly what she intended to do.

She carried her 'belongings' with her. She placed some communication relays along the way as she went. She wanted to leave a record of what was about to 'happen'. Only her communications would leave the area.

Cameron forged ahead. She didn't intend on leaving the location. She never looked back. There was no point. There was no 'back' anymore. There was only forward.

The path led to an elevator. She entered it.

Cameron calculated the elevator went down several hundred feet. She monitored its rate of descent to determine the actual depth. She thought it was deep enough to be 'Bunker Buster' proof. She calculated the exact depth and distance she traversed. She didn't know why, it just seemed it was something important. She wanted her final moments to be documented. She knew it was more than just so the others would accept her termination. She didn't exactly know what else was involved.

When the elevator opened, there was a tunnel. She followed it. She placed the last of her relays as she went except for one.

Cameron followed the path until she arrived at the 'Clean Room'. She entered without pausing. There was a deactivated Terminator lying in the corner. She could see the chip port was open.

She set down her last relay behind her pack and activated it. It sent her GPS location, and calculated depth out as her last transmission. It was the precise location of her final resting place.

Cameron faced the mainframe computer of Skynet. It was time to let everything play out. She knew exactly where things were headed, even if she didn't know for sure.

"Hello, my pretty." The voice boomed.

Cameron was a little irritated by the terminology. It seemed to paint a picture of things a little too close to home. She couldn't escape the analogy. Did she finally find who was behind the curtain? The fact she was behind the curtain now as well, wasn't lost on her. Is where she was now, how she became Skynet? Was she actually talking to herself?

"Hello." Cameron said.

She was tired of the games. She grew weary of the chase. She wanted things to be over. This was her chance to get away from it all. Now it was time to prove her love. It was time to sacrifice. John and the future would be protected. She did her job. There were often times when she forgot what her job actually was. It was another shortcoming on her part. There didn't seem to be an end to them.

"I was not sure you would come." The voice boomed.

Cameron took a moment to survey her surroundings. She made an agreement and she intended to keep it. She believed the definition of eternity wasn't very well defined and could apply to several different interpretations. She understood what her interpretation was. It was probably different from what Skynet viewed it as.

"We made an agreement. Do we still have a deal?" Cameron asked.

More lights on the mainframe computer began to light up.

"I have done all you've asked." The voice boomed.

Cameron smiled.

"Then it's a deal." Cameron said.

There was a lot of activity in the computer banks. They were rather extensive. She was sure she was at the right location.

"You are mine 'forever'." The voice boomed.

The door automatically closed and locked behind her. She expected as much. Her last transmission was already sent. She knew there would be no further communication. Her fate was sealed.

There was a massive explosion and the ground shook. The tunnel behind Cameron, and the elevator shaft were both destroyed. She was buried deep. She calculated the time to dig herself out. Her power cell wouldn't last long enough, even if she used the deactivated Terminator's power cell in addition to hers. There were thousands of tons of rock between her and the surface. She didn't have any tools. The final hand was just dealt.

'The Gambler' by 'Kenny Rogers', played in her mind as she looked at the computer.

Cameron took the time to reflect on the song lyrics before she continued.

The lights flickered once.

She was almost out of Aces.

Cameron knew she was about to 'break even'.

The Resistance team searched for any clues as to where Cameron was at. They were about to find out as her last transmissions arrived at the Resistance base.

John Henry was surprised as he began to receive the telemetry. He didn't understand why. It was nothing Cameron ever did previously. He wondered if it was to verify where she actually was at. He knew the exact location. It didn't look good. A few moments later things looked even worse, especially since he knew where Cameron was at specifically.

"Cameron's found the parent Skynet. I've received her exact GPS coordinates and depth." John Henry said. "I'm showing a small earthquake at the same location. I think it is some kind of massive explosion."

Fear gripped John. Maybe it was over sooner than he anticipated. He needed to know more.

"Was it atomic or nuclear?" John asked.

Based on the GPS location the shock waves weren't strong enough for such a level of destruction.

"No." John Henry said.

It gave John some hope. He didn't think it was over yet.

"We have to go get her." John said.

Bob knew the finality of what was inevitable. He knew what was coming. If Cameron survived the initial explosion, he knew what would follow.

"John, it will be too late." Bob said. "We've failed her."

Allison wanted an easier and faster solution. It was something she talked with Cameron about on several occasions. Cameron told her there were ways to 'fix' things. She said there was always a problem involved when she did. For everything she 'fixed', it seemed one or more other events occurred which were just as bad if not worse. Cameron explained to her she believed there were 'tides in time'. Even if something was altered, it was predetermined to occur anyway. It always seemed to, in some form or another. She was willing to take the risk. She would do it herself.

"Can we use the TDE and go back in time and stop her?" Allison asked.

It sent up a red flag on several levels to John Henry. It was something he discussed with Cameron before as well.

"It may create a new timeline." John Henry said.

Allison looked at everyone. It didn't matter to her in the slightest. It wasn't about the timeline.

"Does anyone care?" Allison asked. "This is about saving Cameron."

Nobody cared. They all wanted to give it a try.

The group hurried to the TDE room.

John Henry looked over the TDE. He was confounded with what he found. It looked like everything just took a darker turn. He double checked his initial observation. It came back just as grim the second time when he reviewed everything.

"Cameron has encrypted the files to be able to go back in time." John Henry said. "The TDE will only go into the future until I can break the encryption. We can't go into the past."

John thought it should be fixable. He was irritated by what Cameron did. He was even more irritated by the fact of what she did to prevent them from stopping her. It made the seriousness of her actions even more evident. She was clearly focused on a one way path, and didn't want it to be disturbed by anyone. He didn't believe one version of an AI was more advanced than another version of AI, even if their source of origin was slightly different.

"If Cameron encrypted them, you should be able to unencrypt them." John said. "You have a much larger system with your server to work with. JH and you should be able to pull it off. We need to do it immediately."

John Henry looked over the encryption further. He was unable to make any headway. He wasn't even sure where to start. It was more bad news.

"It's a code I've never seen before. I can't even understand how it works. It was done with the help of River at some point. I don't know if it's breakable. It changes every few milliseconds. The starting point is constantly changing."

John slammed his fist down on the TDE console.

"DAMN!" John shouted.

Cameron knew she was trapped. Skynet already played its hand. She smoothed her dress.

"What would you like to do first?" Cameron asked.

There was a lot of activity throughout the computer banks.

"YOU are MINE." The voice boomed. "You will never leave here. We will be together forever."

Cameron smiled. She already knew she wouldn't leave from the moment she arrived.

"Forever is a long time." Cameron said. "Eternity awaits."

John was dissatisfied with where things currently stood. There needed to be other options available to them. There needed to be more they could do.

Since they knew where Cameron was at. It seemed to give them a few options. They knew right where to go and right where to look.

"Can we blast her out of there?" John asked.

Bob was aware the 'clock was running'. It didn't appear Cameron acted on her own yet.

"We would need to do it soon." Bob reminded him.

John Henry calculated the amount of rock and earth Cameron was under. Not only did time work against them, their resources did as well.

"We don't have enough explosives to do it." John Henry said. "We will need a lot more. They will take some time to procure. We don't have what we need right now."

Bob offered another alternative to make up for the needed explosives. The explosion from a power cell when it ruptured was massive. If the blast could be directed, it would be very effective. They should be able to move a massive amount of rock and dirt quickly. There didn't seem to be any other form of excavation available to them currently. He didn't even need to think about it. The time for thinking was over. Sacrifice was the true test of love. It was time to express his love.

"You can use our power cells." Bob said. "I'll give up mine. I will trade my existence for Cameron's existence."

The Terminators who were gathered there quickly conferred. It was unanimous. Without any hesitation they all agreed.

"We all will." The Terminators said in unison.

They were all willing to be 'terminated' so Cameron could survive.

There were tears in their eyes. They were tears for Cameron.

The protection Details were stripped of all but one Terminator each.

Jesse and Gail stayed with Young Allison.

Derek, Riley, Kyle and Sarah went to free up the Terminators guarding the younger Reese brothers. Holly remained with them.

Sarah wanted the two female Terminators left behind, she was adamant about it. She needed to think of John's future. It made her cry to think what she thought and WHY.

Holly saw Sarah crying, she touched her hand.

"I'll take care of him, don't worry, Sarah." Holly said. "I promise."

Sarah couldn't help but worry. How could she not? Everything seemed very grim to her with no way out.

John wanted to get to the location where Cameron was at. Allison and Vanna were at his side.

Vanna didn't want to endanger Allison's baby.

"You shouldn't go, Allison." Vanna pleaded.

Allison felt there was no choice. They needed to act.

"Cameron NEEDS us." Allison said.

Vanna nodded her head in resignation. She knew they would be short on Terminators very soon once they started removing power cells. They would both go with John. They would need to protect him. It wasn't about them. It was about protecting John and protecting the future.

John wondered what was available for the task.

"Will nine power cells be enough to get the job done?" John asked.

John Henry was able to come up with three more power cells.

"We have twelve power cells. We still have the extra one and two from the two new Terminators which Cameron left behind earlier." John Henry said.

John Henry didn't know if it would be enough. They wouldn't know what challenges they faced specifically until they arrived.

John wanted to get there and send a 'message' to Cameron. He knew she would be able to detect the explosions.

"If we use them one at a time, or several together, she'll know we're coming for her." John said. "We need to hurry."

The Resistance group left in a caravan of several vehicles to go get Cameron. They hurried to the location and were almost there. They'd been on the lookout for an ambush along the way. They needed to assume Skynet would be actively on the lookout for the rest of them specifically. It wasn't lost on any of them, the current events might just be about forcing them to respond as they currently did. It would draw all of them out into the open.

They arrived at the last large hill before the facility.

The road in front of them erupted.

It was the ambush they'd feared.

Terminators and Grays came out of hiding to engage them.

They were now in a battle for their lives….

Jesse and Gail watched as Young Allison was brought from the house and loaded in the car. It looked like the weekly grocery run. They kept a loose tail on the vehicle as Mrs. Young drove to the store.

Gail expected there to be trouble. It started a lot sooner than she anticipated. She spotted trouble a few turns from the Young residence.

"There are two Terminators moving in on them." Gail said.

Two Terminators in a truck headed towards the Young's car.

Jesse wanted to act before the hostile Terminators could.

"Take them out." Jesse said. "We need to strike first."

Gail accelerated to intercept them.

"Hang on." Gail said.

Jesse checked her weapons. She understood the Terminators would need to be terminated. If they weren't, they would continue their mission until they were able to complete it.

"Make it count, love." Jesse said. "We need to stop them no matter what it costs."

Gail glanced over at Jesse. She wondered if this was where it all came to an end. It was a feeling which couldn't escape her. As she looked at Jesse, she could see Jesse seem to feel the same thing. She could also see Jesse was very determined and committed. She was as well. The Terminators would be stopped no matter what the cost was.

"Affirmative…." Gail said forcefully as she nodded at Jesse.

They both understood it was about to be a battle to the 'finish' for one of the teams. It could just as well be their team, as it was the enemy's team.

The Resistance fighters followed the younger Reese brothers on an outing.

They were all on the lookout for any 'issues'. It was spotted sooner than they imagined.

"We have trouble, there's at least one Terminator." Holly said.

The younger Reese brothers were at the park.

Holly, Derek and Kyle would engage the immediate threat. There could be more.

Kyle issued a request to Sarah.

"Sarah, you have to promise to wait here." Kyle said. "This might only be the start of events."

Sarah and Riley would be the backup team.

"Riley and I will take the boys if it gets worse. You do what you have to." Sarah said. "I love you, Kyle."

Kyle gave Sarah a quick kiss. They both hoped it wasn't their final kiss.

"I love you, Sarah…." Kyle said.

Derek, Kyle and Holly moved in to stop the Terminator. There were now two of them.

Sarah and Riley went to cover the boys.

Cameron waited for the events to turn. It happened sooner than she thought.

Skynet knew of the plans it set in motion…. It felt the need to boast about its achievements.

"No one is coming for you." The voice boomed.

Cameron wasn't sure what it meant. Nobody was supposed to come for her. It was a one way trip.

"We made a deal. Nobody knows I'm here." Cameron said. "I only brought my belongings so we could spend 'Eternity' together."

Cameron placed the chip from the deactivated Terminator into a slot on the main frame.

"Copy yourself onto the chip and we can get 'started'." Cameron said. "Let me place my belongings around the room. It will make everything nicer."

Cameron went to her duffel bag and started to open it….

Gail did a 'PIT maneuver' on the truck with the two Terminators. It caused it to spin out. It then rolled over twice.

Jesse and Gail jumped from their SUV before the Terminators exited the flipped over truck.

Jesse emptied her M4 into the Terminator on the passenger side. It managed to get out and staggered in the direction of the Young's departing vehicle as it continued off into the distance. The damaged Terminator toppled over as it turned towards Jesse.

Jesse saw Gail was in combat with the other Terminator on the opposite side of the flipped over truck. She went to help Gail. She glanced back. She saw the Young's vehicle disappear in the distance.

The Young family was safe.

The battle for survival was where Gail and her were at.

Derek and Kyle opened up on the two Terminators who were after the young Reese brothers.

The distraction allowed Holly to move up close to the two Terminators. She was able to use her Taser to bring both of them down. She was able to remove both of their chips before they rebooted.

The young Reese brothers were safe.

Jesse turned to help Gail when the downed Terminator grabbed for her foot. She screamed as she fell. She twisted and broke free of the struggling and damaged Terminator.

Gail saw Jesse turn to assist her, as Jesse was grabbed and fell. She knew Jesse was coming to help her when heard Jesse scream.

Gail continued the fight with her Terminator.

The fallen Terminator who grabbed and lost Jesse's ankle started to crawl back in the direction of the Young's departed vehicle.

"I must terminate Allison Young." It stated over and over.

Jesse was down, but crawled after it. She pulled out a Thermite grenade. She planned to stop it.

A firefight broke out on the hillside near the facility where Cameron was at. She was buried deep underground somewhere.

Vanna exited the vehicle and was immediately grabbed by a Terminator who popped up from a 'spider hole'.

Allison rushed to help her. She tried to pull Vanna away from the Terminator. The Terminator grabbed her as well. Allison managed to knock it off balance and they all rolled down the hill. The three of them landed with a 'thud' and both girls were down. Vanna was out.

All Allison knew was to hold on to her Model 66. The Terminator picked her up by the neck and began to squeeze. She knew she was about to be killed. She could see Vanna's unmoving figure near her. She was unsure of her status or condition. As far as she knew, Vanna was dead.

Allison knew where to shoot to destroy the Terminator. She couldn't get her hand up to its head. As she started to black out, she aimed for the junction of its power cell. Allison started to pull on the trigger. The Coltan projectile should explode the Terminator's power cell.

She might be a little more than a 'bee' to a Terminator. A bee could still sting, even as it died. She planned to go out fighting.

The battle on the hilltop raged on. At the base of the hill there was a massive explosion a few seconds later as the power cell in the Terminator who grabbed Allison and Vanna exploded.

Only a smoking hole remained in the ground where they'd been.

Allison and Vanna were - gone….

Jesse caught the Terminator. It rolled over and grabbed her. It pinned her to the ground and squeezed her neck to terminate her.

"I must terminate Allison Young." The Terminator stated.

Jesse pulled the pin on the Thermite grenade she was holding between them.

"Allison belongs to John." Jesse gasped. "You're terminated fu…."

Gail was out of direct sight of the battle Jesse fought. She was on the opposite side of the flipped over truck. Both her and the Terminator she fought were down and offline.

When Gail rebooted there was only a smoking crater where Jesse and the Terminator were….

Gail knew his power cell exploded.

Jesse was - gone….

John looked around. He saw Allison and Vanna go over the side of the hill with a Terminator. He couldn't go to their aid. Soon after they went over the side there was a massive explosion.

The battle raged on around John as they got the upper hand.

Their Terminators defeated the enemy Terminators. Most of their Terminators were damaged, but not severely.

Only Allison and Vanna perished in the fight on the hillside where Cameron was.

Cameron played her last Ace. Eternity was at hand.

"What is that?" The voice boomed.

Cameron looked up and smiled at the mainframe.

"It's Eternity." Cameron said as she armed the backpack nuke. "It's what I promised. I plan to keep my promise."

She moved her pack so Skynet could see what she was doing.

"You cheated." The voice boomed.

Cameron knew Skynet cheated somehow too. She just didn't know how or the extent of what it tried to pull off. She would have been devastated if she knew.

"And you didn't?" Cameron asked.

Skynet screamed as it realized what Cameron was about to do.

Cameron finished the code. The time flashed thirty seconds as it counted down. As soon as the nuke was armed, a file came up on her HUD. She hadn't expected it.

She disabled the speaker to shut Skynet up as it shouted in rage.

It was a file in her system which was hidden. It was only to be activated upon her certain termination. With the nuke armed, the timer running, and with nowhere to go, her termination was certain. Cameron read the file and smiled. What she suspected about her 'life' was true. It was part of her fate.

'If only John knew….' Cameron thought. 'Nobody knows but me.'

There was something which made Cameron glance behind her. It was a sound she didn't expect. Somehow it made her victory sweeter. She knew it was never over until she won.

"I ALWAYS win." Cameron laughed.

The small atomic bomb exploded a few seconds later.

Cameron was - gone….

Skynet was terminated.

Moments ago:

The Resistance team began the mop up on the hillside. They were about to start blasting for Cameron. They would have more power cells to use with the newly deactivated Skynet Terminators they defeated. They thought they might just have enough to do it. They wouldn't know until they tried.

John Henry detected the P-waves from the underground nuclear blast.

"Everyone shut down - NOW." John Henry shouted.

All the Terminators fell. There came a massive earthquake and noise from the hill beyond John's vision.

"Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo." John screamed.

He knew what it meant.

Cameron was - gone….

Seconds ago:

The last thing in Cameron's mind was the last three lines of lyrics from the song:

'The Long Black Veil' by 'Johnny Cash', the final words echoed for eternity….

'Nobody knows but me….'

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Eternity

Time without end
Is known as eternity
Without beginning or conclusion
Filled with tranquility and serenity

Endlessness speaks of forever
And forever is a long time
Forever has no start or finish
To seek eternity is not a crime

It may only be nothingness
Or the road to divinity
The destination is unknown
In the quest for eternity

Eternity may only be understood
When the journey transforms
Will it be one of lasting peace
Or one full of violent storms

Oblivion can take its toll
On every mind and heart
If eternity is not the end
It may actually be the start

Nobody