Chapter 187

Drone

John wanted the teams to split up. He wanted to be able to deliver a better response. He was sure they were being led on a wild goose chase. He wanted one team closer to where they started from if the helicopter turned around and went back the other way. He thought the drone didn't originate too far from the area where it was first spotted. He didn't have anything to back it up with, other than just a feeling.

Cameron, Bob, and Holly were currently headed east on Highway 58. They were headed back toward Walong and the Tehachapi Loop.

Bob didn't like splitting the two teams up. He would have preferred they all stay together. He did understand there was a possibility the helicopter would double back. The two teams would allow them to better cover all the bases. If they ran into trouble with Cameron incapacitated, they would be at a disadvantage.

He really didn't understand what it was like for Cameron. It all seemed very painful for her. It bothered him just to think about it. He wasn't the only one there. He wanted to know more.

Bob wondered about Holly and what she thought about right now. He looked at her.

Holly looked down at Cameron as she cradled her head.

Bob looked at Holly for a long time, he finally needed to ask something.

"Do you?" Bob asked.

Holly said nothing for a long while. She wasn't ashamed of how she felt.

She knew what he was really asking her.

Holly turned and faced Bob.

"Yes. I love her." Holly finally said. "I love Cameron."

Bob nodded. He understood. He was aware his 'feelings' and 'emotions' expanded over time as well. It was part of their programming to better blend in with humans. The only way to successfully do so, was to become like them.

"Everyone does." Bob said. "It is impossible to be around her and not fall in love with her. She's the most special 'person' in the world."

Bob believed all the Terminators felt the way he did. He didn't see how they couldn't.

Holly wasn't bothered by it, she was proud of it. What finer person than Cameron was there to love? She wasn't sure if she knew she loved Cameron before they shared her chip for fifteen months. She was sure of it as soon as their programs could 'share' and explore each other. She'd never experienced beauty like she found. None of it was physical. It was all 'emotional'. Sharing with Cameron for such a long time allowed her to grow as an individual and greatly develop her own feelings and emotions.

Gail and Holly both started out as Restorators created by Mrs. Weaver. Over time it would be evident she was much more 'advanced' than Gail in personal interactions and even in her presence. It was from her long term exposure with Cameron on her chip. She felt it made her a better infiltration unit. Everyone else thought it made her more 'human'. She believed in what she felt.

"Bob, I love - love her." Holly said. "I'm in love with her. I can't help it. I'm not ashamed of it."

Bob suspected as much.

"I understand." Bob said.

"She has done so much for all of us, everybody." Holly said. "She has made all our lives better and have true meaning. I feel I have a true purpose because of her. I value life itself because of her. I would do anything for her. I WILL do anything for her. I'll make sure she can go on as John's wife as she was meant to be."

Bob could see the true test of love was sacrifice.

"You are a true friend." Bob said. "You're willing to sacrifice your own 'future' for Cameron and her future."

Holly looked down at Cameron and back up to Bob.

"When you love someone you'll sacrifice anything for them, ANYTHING." Holly said. "I don't care. I want Cameron to be happy."

Bob understood. He believed he would do the same thing.

Holly looked back down at Cameron.

"I will fix you. I promise, Cameron." Holly said softly. "I promise."

Bob heard her but didn't say anything. What was there to say? He understood.

He understood a lot more now than when he was first activated. The more time he spent around others, especially humans, allowed him to grow and expand. He was able to see what honest and true feelings were.

Bob could hear Holly cry softly and said nothing else. He knew the infiltration units contained different programming than he did. He knew they could 'feel' things much greater than he did. If it was the case, he couldn't even imagine the pain and hurt Holly must currently feel. His pain was already intense. A single tear slid down his cheek. He only wondered at the pain and torment Cameron must always experience….

He also knew most of it wasn't Cameron's fault. It was the ones around her who were to blame. They were the ones who did things to her. He wasn't angry at them, but he did blame them. Every action had a reaction. Cameron was the one who seemed to pay the price for the actions of others. It didn't seem fair.

He viewed Cameron's poem book, as did all of the Terminators. He didn't understand the meaning or context of many of the things he read, when he first read them. They all made more sense now to him. It wasn't lost on him how many of Cameron's poems were about pain and suffering rather than joy or love. It was the negative side of life which seemed to weigh heavily upon her.

John Henry continued to monitor the progress of the tracker on the HK drone under the helicopter. It was his goal to determine a location. He hoped to figure out where they were going, before they arrived. One location seemed to stick out.

"The helicopter with the drone is headed towards Bakersfield." John Henry said.

John felt very uneasy about everything. None of it left a good feeling in his mind. There was the threat of them being led into an ambush. It was his biggest worry. He was aware Cameron made herself the target of Skynet. He knew it put her in danger of retaliation. She did it to take the heat off of his mother and him. Sarah Connor and John Connor weren't the threat. The threat was the cyborg Skynet created itself to go after John Connor in the future. The threat was the cyborg helped destroy Skynet in the future and hunted it in the past as it attempted to reestablish itself.

He wanted everyone to stay on their toes. The only way they could track the HK drone was through John Henry.

"Keep an eye on them." John said. "I expect a possible double play coming up. I don't have a good feeling about any of this."

John Henry couldn't disagree with his statement. The transit of the helicopter was extremely slow. It was much slower than it should be under any circumstances.

"The helicopter is flying very slowly." John Henry said. "It's too slow. It may be about to stop."

John Henry wasn't sure if it may have already stopped and then resumed it's slow speed course.

John was aware the helicopter should have been long gone by now. The only reason it would go slow, was for them to continue the pursuit. He didn't believe the Skynet forces knew how close they were to the HK drone when it was recovered. The only contact they initiated with it was at the Tehachapi Loop itself.

"I don't like it." John said. "We'll continue to follow it. We don't have very many options right now."

It seemed the helicopter wanted to keep them 'hooked' to follow it.

John Henry was reminded of a similar 'play' by Sarah very recently.

"It's like when Sarah lured the two vans into the ambush." John Henry said.

John remembered how the ambush turned into a 'turkey shoot'. There was also an underlying fear he couldn't shake. It was more than monkey see, monkey do. It was the root cause of the threat to Skynet

"It's almost as if Skynet observed and learned." John said. "I still think Skynet is after Cameron and Allison."

John Henry thought Skynet would want to avoid Cameron. Contact with her always seemed to have negative results for Skynet.

"Why? Cameron has destroyed Skynet numerous times." John Henry said. "It should fear her."

"I think it's why Skynet wants Cameron and Allison. It wants to make more of 'Cameron'. I think it wants an army of 'Camerons'." John said. "Like it made an army of Bob's model."

The thought of it didn't sit well with John Henry. He knew Cameron could be a very formidable adversary if she chose to be one.

"It's possible." John Henry said. "An army of 'Camerons', with her chip copied and modified for Skynet, would be 'unstoppable'. It would be a cold and merciless force to contend with. She has adapted to many situations Skynet has not. She can operate more freely and independently than Skynet ever can."

John thought about it. An army of 'Camerons' would be a force to be reckoned with. It would be calculating and ruthless. It would be the termination of mankind. He shook it off. Skynet didn't have her yet. They weren't going to either.

He was sure it was a thought in Cameron's mind. Perhaps it's why she sought termination. If she was terminated, Skynet couldn't get a hold of her or her chip. He was sure it was part of the underlying drive within her. It was a desire to preserve the future, by not allowing her to become the enemy.

It did occur to him if Skynet were to 'copy' Cameron in her present 'condition', they would have a very unpredictable and unstable series of clones. The clones would probably attack each other and even Skynet itself. He toyed with the idea of letting Skynet get a hold of a 'bad' copy of Cameron. It would be like infecting Skynet and its operations with a virus.

John attempted to contact Bob several times with no luck. He wanted an update.

"How is Cameron's team doing?" John asked. "I can't reach Bob."

John Henry was aware of the situation. Since John hadn't sent his message as 'priority', he figured why Bob hadn't responded. The only news Bob would be able to deliver, was bad news. He would need to deliver the grim message himself.

"Cameron is offline. She is currently incapacitated. She's shut down." John Henry said. "He most likely didn't want to worry or distract you. There's nothing you can do from your location other than become upset."

It was what John feared. He should have known Cameron wouldn't have been sidelined willingly without some type of protest.

"Beautiful." John said in disgust. "What's next?"

John hoped she didn't go on a rampage. It would be tough for Bob and Holly to handle her. They would need to use a Taser on her.

John Henry thought about John's question. There seemed to be only one response.

"Most likely it will be more bad news." John Henry said. "It seems to be the way these things unfold."

John decided to concentrate on the slow moving helicopter. Maybe the load shifted or was unstable. Maybe a 'sucker punch' was about to be delivered. Either way, they needed to find out what was happening.

The helicopter with the Resistance team moved rapidly northward. The mood improved with Allison's song selections. They helped serve as a distraction to everyone's individual thoughts. Each person thought about their own worst case scenario.

So far they were a backup force. They didn't have a clear mission. Their main goal would be to extract Cameron from the danger zone. They didn't know what the extent of the danger would be.

Sarah was the designated team leader. She decided to take some proactive action.

"I want to pick up Cameron." Sarah said. "I want her removed from the battle zone."

Gail was ready to step up. If they needed another Terminator for one of the teams, she was available.

"I can replace her." Gail said as she volunteered.

Jesse and Gail exchanged quick glances. Jesse knew Gail would sacrifice herself for Cameron, just like they all would. Evidently it was like they did already with the Duplicate versions of them. They all perished to try and assist Duplicate Cameron.

Sarah contacted John and told him they would pick Cameron up and Gail could take her place.

It was a big worry for John. There were several things for him to worry about. He was aware the team acted on their own. He was aware it's set up another scenario for a repeat of 'The Day Of Loss'. He was aware they would be short handed in a scrape.

"It will leave you without a Terminator." John said. "Depending upon how this plays out, your team might need one."

John still feared Cameron could go on a rampage at some point. They would need a Terminator to try and restrain her, while someone Tasered her, and then deactivated her.

Sarah saw it as an even trade. She believed Cameron would step into the role if it was required.

"We'll have Cameron." Sarah said. "She can protect us."

Evidently Sarah had more confidence in Cameron than John did.

John didn't want to take any chances. He understood he would need to risk some of the humans under the current circumstances. He wanted to give them an option.

"Derek, will you go in Gail's place?" John asked.

Derek was ready to go. He actually expected to go in place of Gail from the beginning. He didn't want to leave the rest of the team without a Terminator either.

"Yes." Derek replied. "I'll go with Bob and Holly."

Sarah gave Derek's hand a gentle squeeze.

Allison, Vanna, Jesse, and Riley all wanted to take Cameron's place. They would all try for the spot at the time of the 'exchange'. They all felt at least one of them should accompany Derek. It was hard to make up for a Terminator on the battlefield.

Bob received the new information from John Henry. They were almost to Keene. There was a fire fighting helicopter kept there. They spotted it earlier when they passed by it to get back on Highway 58 from the Tehachapi Loop. There was enough room to land the Blackhawk near it. The two groups would meet there. They would exchange Derek for Cameron. It should be an easy transfer in an open location.

He was worried about Cameron. Would she even reboot if they needed her in a combat situation? He wasn't sure they could count on her in her current condition. Then again, every time she needed to rise to the occasion, she did.

Bob was near his goal. He took the off ramp to exit Highway 58. They would be at the destination in less than a minute. He wasn't sure how far out the Blackhawk was. It should be there in just a few more minutes. He made a left hand turn and passed under the freeway and entered the small community of Keene.

He glanced over to his left side. He picked up something in the side view mirror. Danger warnings went off in his HUD. He swerved violently.

The spot where the SUV should have been seconds ago was now a smoking hole in the ground.

The SUV spun and rolled from the blast which impacted behind it. On the second roll, something caught on the body and the SUV flipped end over end. Bob and Holly were thrown free from the wreckage of the SUV. Cameron wasn't as lucky. She was still inside of it. It was on fire.

They both understood the nature of the incident.

They were under an HK drone attack. It came in for a second pass to finish them off. They spotted it. They both saw it was a big one.

Holly and Bob scrambled out of the clearing and made for the SUV. It was now a flaming wreck. The drone passed over them once. They weren't sure why it didn't fire again on them. Maybe it tried to see who they were before they were blown to bits.

The big HK drone moved in to attack them again. Bob picked up one of the LAW rockets he found lying among the scattered debris from the SUV. There were weapons and ammunition lying all over the area. The HK drone attacked the SUV again. It was hit with two rockets and it exploded. There was only a smoking crater where it once was.

Bob fired at the HK drone with the LAW rocket and hit it. It spun out of control and crashed into the hillside. It tumbled a half dozen times and then exploded in a massive fireball.

Bob and Holly were both damaged.

Cameron was gone.

The Blackhawk pilot informed them there were several explosions and a massive fireball where they were headed. They were almost there.

Gail moved forward to look. There was an explosion in the air followed by another explosion against the hillside. Some burning object tumbled end over end. It looked like some kind of an HK drone to her. It was different from any she saw before. It was hard to tell exactly what it was amongst the flames.

She did spot one good thing. Well, two actually.

"I see Bob and Holly down there." Gail said.

Everyone tried to look at where the burning debris was at.

Allison asked the question everyone wanted to ask.

"Is Cameron with them?" Allison asked.

Gail checked twice and still searched for her.

"I don't see her." Gail said. "At least not yet anyway I haven't."

The pilot looked at everything too. He couldn't see any of those other things. He wondered how good her vision was.

The co-pilot looked over at the pilot. He was just as much in the dark.

John's team heard the report relayed from the Blackhawk. He feared an imminent attack on them. He expected some type of 'sucker punch'. One was just delivered to Bob's team. They were next. He hoped to have a few seconds' warning.

"Lean out the windows and check our six, and three sixty, for that matter." John said. "Look everywhere for another HK drone."

Dan and Three checked for any aircraft. They physically leaned out from the side windows and looked in all directions.

"I don't see anything." Three reported back.

Dan only saw the sky.

"Affirmative, I don't see anything either." Dan said.

John wanted to turn around and go to the attack site.

"We need to go back and find Cameron." John said.

Three saw the endeavor as futile. He wanted to point it out to John and why.

"We should follow the helicopter with the HK drone. It's our objective." Three said. "Sarah and her group can assist Bob and Holly. They will be there in seconds. We are at least a half hour away."

Dan thought of another advantage they could have if they stayed with the current mission.

"When they land the helicopter we're tracking, we can commandeer it and fly back faster to their location than we can drive." Dan said. "We will also have the drone too if we do."

John thought for a minute. He told John Henry to keep him updated every few minutes. They continued after the helicopter. It appeared to have landed. They weren't too far away from it.

He really wasn't sure what they were going to find or what would be waiting for them. They would know soon enough.

John was worried to death about Cameron…. He briefly wondered if he should have used a different choice of words.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Dagger To The Mind

It never changes ever
It's always the same
No one wants damaged goods
That I can honestly proclaim

It matters not when or where
It's always the same
The damage is in the brain
Always more and more shame

I'm not good enough
It's always the same
It's like I don't exist
Why do I even need a name

To reach out is a painful sin
It's always the same
I have nothing anyone would want
I would if I were ANY other dame

I simply have nothing to offer
It's always the same
Am I nothing without money or wealth
Or beauty, pizzazz or fame

I really am NOBODY
It's always the same
Rejected, frustrated and thrown away
It does not matter if I maim

It's like a dagger to the mind
It's always the same
Born to lose, I can never win
No longer will I continue life's cruel game

Nobody