Chapter 244

Oh Boy

Derek and Kyle were away from the base on a recon mission. Jim was with them. They were always glad to get out. There was a report of a 'UFO' spotted in an outline area. There were no photos or video captured of the incident. Based on the remote location, the Resistance team wondered it was possibly an HK drone.

"What do you think we have this time?" Derek asked.

Jim could only go by the information they were given.

"A homeless individual made the report." Jim said. "It's all we know."

Kyle didn't look impressed.

"I guess it's not a hubcap someone tossed in the air and took a picture of then." Kyle said. "We all know how reliable homeless people are."

Derek scoffed a little.

"If it wasn't for booze, drugs, and mental illness, there wouldn't be much of a homeless population to begin with." Derek said. "We don't know what we're dealing with."

Jim turned onto a small road off the main highway. It would parallel a large dry wash up into a canyon. They drove up it for some time.

"We don't know the basis of the report." Jim said. "It could be anything from a hallucination to an outright lie. Nevertheless, something unusual was reported and we need to check it out. We know similar reports have been traced back to Skynet activity before."

Kyle knew Skynet, and its illegitimate, offshoots tried to remain hidden as much as the Resistance did.

"Do we have a location where the homeless individual claims to have spotted the anomaly?" Kyle asked.

Jim would have liked a little more specific information.

"All we know it was several miles up past the abandoned bridge located in the canyon." Jim said.

Derek thought about the location.

"It seems kind of out of the way for someone who is homeless." Derek said. "It puts them away from all the government assistance to keep them homeless like we usually see in the city."

Kyle often wondered about the government's involvement with homelessness.

"You would think the government would make it harder for people to be homeless rather than easier and subsidize them in their chosen lifestyle." Kyle said. "I think all it does is actually encourage more people to become homeless for the handouts the government will give them."

Jim didn't feel the issue was of their concern.

"There are many questionable decisions made by many different groups all the time." Jim said. "We need to be on the lookout for anything Skynet related. If the individual went to the trouble to report the incident, there may be something behind it."

They didn't know if it was a small or moderate sized recreational drone, or some type of an HK drone test.

"It was probably just some nature photographer trying to get a good shot with their new toy. It could be a fancy drone with a camera." Kyle said. "Some people have too much money to spend on frivolous things."

Derek knew it could also be something more. He was aware small drones were used for a lot of different things now. One report they ran down was a rude neighbor spying on another neighbor's teenage daughter and she sunbathed nude by the pool in her backyard. John Henry was able to track down some images online which the rude neighbor posted.

"What time of the day was the sighting?" Derek asked.

Jim possessed all the details of the report.

"It was after midnight." Jim said.

Kyle and Derek exchanged a quick glance.

"The Witching Hour…." Kyle said. "Nothing good happens during those hours."

Derek wondered what happened to the individual who made the report.

"Is the homeless person still around the location where it occurred?" Derek asked. "We're not going to run into some trigger happy nut job are we? Having to deal with Skynet operatives is bad enough."

Jim was aware of what happened to them.

"They were taken to a psychiatric facility and placed on a seventy two hour involuntary hold." Jim said. "They were very adamant about the UFO."

Kyle and Derek were both a little more concerned about the sighting.

"Did they report if it landed?" Kyle asked. "Did they spot any little green men?"

Jim knew it was one of the questions the individual was asked.

"They specifically said it didn't land." Jim said. "They reported it went through a series of maneuvers at a very low altitude as well as a moderate altitude. It never went above the canyon walls during the process."

Derek and Kyle could tell it sounded more and more like an HK drone rather than an imaginary UFO.

Jim slowed down and pulled off to the side of the narrow road.

"We're close to our objective." Jim said.

Kyle looked at a satellite photo of the area. He knew it was something which was already reviewed multiple times in the Command Center.

"It looks like we're going to have to hike in to where the abandoned bridge is." Kyle said.

The team exited the SUV and took some gear with them. They didn't expect to encounter the HK drone, or a UFO, during the daylight. They hiked up the dry wash. The terrain was a little rougher than expected.

"Someone went to a lot of trouble to leave this area to report the incident." Derek said.

Jim thought so as well.

"It most likely indicates it was more than a hallucination." Jim said.

After twenty minutes they reach the location of the abandoned bridge. They found the homeless person's encampment. They looked it over without trying to disturb things too much.

"I can't say this is much better than living in the Wastelands." Kyle said. "It's hard to imagine someone living under these conditions by choice."

Derek looked into a crudely made shanty.

"I think it's especially so when there are other options available to these individuals." Derek said. "More than likely if J-Day ever does occur, they will probably survive it where they're at. It's very remote and shielded from the surrounding area."

Jim carefully looked over everything in the crudely made structure as well as the items around the outside of it. There was evidence where a campfire was often started. It was usually directly under the abandoned bridge. It was most likely to hide the flames from view at night.

"Let's get some surveillance gear we brought placed around the area." Jim said. "This is a very remote location. If someone is testing some type of HK drone, they most likely will return to the area."

Derek, Kyle and Jim placed multiple surveillance devices throughout the area. They also placed one to overlook the homeless person's dwelling and surrounding area. They figured they would be back at some point, or someone else would find the location and re-inhabit it.

They would expand their search area around the location. They would leave the area if nothing else was detected. It seems their best chance to detect something would be with the surveillance equipment.

Frustration slowly overwhelmed John. He was unsure what to do. He knew it was time to do something. What really mattered or didn't matter? Did anything? Life moved on, even if people or machines didn't. He knew one needed to reach out and grab a hold of life, or it passed them by. Life, like time, waited for nobody.

Life was about choices.

John decided to make one.

He headed for Jesse's room. He was tired of Cameron's games and manipulation. It was about time he did what Cameron wanted done and get it over with. It was what he wanted too. It was past time. Besides, he didn't even know where Cameron was anymore, or really even care. He could do without the latest manipulation or lies. He was ready for some action.

He watched her split the girls up to keep all of them 'free'. It was her manipulation which was responsible for it. She took Jesse away from Derek. She 'moved' Riley out of the 'way' and paired her with Derek. She slowly drove Vanna and Allison apart…. Maybe it was the worst offense of them all. How could she do it to them? They were meant for each other.

Is it how she should treat the very people who loved her and cared about her? They were willing to do anything for her and did. They followed her into the unknown and faced doom for her. The Duplicate set of girls died for her. They all gave her their total devotion, yet she still manipulated and controlled them.

'What a friend.' John thought. 'What a Bitch.'

John wondered if Cameron ever thought of anyone but herself.

He really didn't understand what Cameron was doing or why.

Bob was worried. He saw everything which was about to happen as something bound to create even bigger problems for everyone.

He turned to John Henry to discuss what was unfolding before their eyes. He KNEW it was what Cameron SAID she wanted, but he believed otherwise. Cameron always 'leaned' on the girls and 'pushed' them, especially Jesse.

John Henry was also worried about the events which were about to happen. Things were bound to escalate and get out of control.

"What do you think about what's happening?" John Henry asked.

Bob viewed everything as the 'road to ruin'.

"It looks like a nightmare from here." Bob said.

John Henry thought it was one way to look at it. He viewed some of Cameron's 'nightmares' before. They were very extreme.

"Indeed." John Henry said.

Bob hoped being a cyborg would insulate him more than it seemed to. He 'felt' things he didn't want to feel at times.

"I'm glad I'm a machine and not tangled in this mess." Bob said. "I get more feelings everyday as it is. I try to suppress them."

John Henry felt the same way. He also needed to point out the obvious about Cameron.

"Cameron is a machine too." John Henry said.

Bob was sure her evolution made Cameron more of a 'mechanical human' than a cyborg at this point.

"Is she?" Bob asked. "She is more 'human' now than the humans are."

John Henry wasn't sure Skynet knew what it created with the female infiltration units. They were all highly advanced and seemed to keep developing.

"She has progressed quite a bit from when I first encountered her." John Henry said. "Nobody ever foresaw this happening to a machine. Skynet never learned the depth of its own creation."

Bob wondered about the potential for some of the other Terminator types. There may not be a limit on what they could do.

"What about the Liquid Metal Terminators?" Bob asked. "They are even more advanced. I don't know how 'emotional' they are."

John Henry was very aware of what Mrs. Weaver did while she was in the timeline. There were many things he still didn't agree with. She told him everything she did was for him. It seemed Mrs. Weaver actually believed it too. It was exactly what Cameron said about John. It seemed Cameron actually believed it too. What were they blinded by?

"I don't know." John Henry said. "I never want to find out."

Bob wanted to help Cameron remember her true nature and purpose. He went on proficiency missions with Cameron before. Maybe it was time to return the favor. Maybe it was time to wake her up. He wasn't even sure if it was possible at this point. He was certainly going to give it a try.

"I need to take Cameron on a training mission to get her mind back in the game." Bob said. "We need to make her remember what she is. She's a Terminator."

Cameron having her own base was bad enough. She also possessed her own force of Terminators. She recreated her 'friends' as Terminators and then took them away to the seclusion of her base.

"I wonder what she has Hanna, Ally, and Sheila doing." John Henry said. "It worries me."

Bob could only imagine. The female Terminators could infiltrate anywhere. It was even more so with the advanced 'Neural Interface' Cameron developed and used on them. They looked and acted like their human counterparts. Cameron could be involved in all sorts of things since she operated outside the scope of the Resistance. Her 'off the books' operations were quite extensive with what little he knew about them.

"Do we really want to know?" Bob asked.

John Henry could picture the manipulation possible with them.

"No, I don't think we do." John Henry said. "They could pretty much do anything."

Everyone was aware of Cameron's fear she became Skynet. Maybe it would be her own version of it.

Bob tried to contemplate what Cameron was up to. He couldn't come up with any good scenarios.

"They're probably building 'SkyCam' or 'CamNet'." Bob said. "Do we join her or fight her?"

It seemed like a no brainer to John Henry. There was only one choice.

"It would depend if you want to win or lose." John Henry said. "You already know the answer."

Bob did know the answer. They all did.

"There is no choice." Bob said. "Game Over."

They both knew they would follow Cameron.

There were some things Cameron wanted to know. She was done 'thinking' about it. It was time for action. She was ready to find out. It might change the direction of her future. It might not. Either way, she wanted to know. It was better to know than to forever wonder. It was her desire for a very long time. It was only reinforced by the girls from the future.

She was close to sharing with Future Allison on more than one occasion. If she would have, she would have remained in her future with Future Allison, Future Savannah, and Future John. She wouldn't have returned to the past. She felt obligated to John at the time. She always believed it was a mistake not to keep the happiness she found. Now she was at a new crossroad.

Life was about choices.

Cameron decided to make one.

She left the lab and headed for Vanna's room. It was about time she learned what Vanna could share and offer. Her developing 'relationship' with Vanna was as fresh in her mind as if it just happened a second ago. Time meant nothing to her. Vanna was there for her from 'day one'. Vanna loved her before she was able to be returned to her chassis even. They spent many hours talking and sharing while she was only a program trapped in a metal box, her server. Vanna always offered her the promise of 'more'. It seemed to be 'more' of anything she wanted. It would include love, sex, friendship, and companionship. It was always about sharing and never about taking, or using, with Vanna. It was always something beautiful. The love which radiated off of Vanna for her was evident to all.

Being with John was something she seemed to avoid anymore. She wasn't sure why. Maybe the 'Allison' in her 'drove' her. It was time to experiment. She provided John with the girls. Now it was time to provide for herself. All of the girls preferred women to men anyway. Why should she be any different? None of the girls ever rejected or replaced her. They all wanted HER.

John was the one who rejected and replaced her.

Maybe it was Payback Time.

Cameron's base:

Cameron recreated her human friends as Terminators. She wanted them to work for her at her base. It seemed maybe she created them a little too much like the human girls. They felt the same 'needs' as the human girls. They acted like them too.

She wanted to have a working TDE which could work into the past, as well as the present. The one at the Resistance base was encrypted to only function into the future and couldn't go into the past. The Metal girls were tasked with getting the job done for her. All the work involved didn't go over well with them.

Sheila's desires were as strong as Jesse's. They may have even been more intense since she didn't have any inhibitions. Morals and scruples didn't mean much to a Terminator.

"We're sexy females, even if we're Terminators." Sheila said. "We're not construction workers."

Ally felt there was a specific goal for her once Cameron would be able to go into the past. Cameron never told her, but she figured out what it would be.

"Cameron needs us to work on her TDE." Ally said. "Besides, I can help her save 'myself', and save the baby."

Sheila wanted to correct her. They shouldn't lose focus of who they were.

"It was Duplicate Allison. She was terminated." Sheila said. "It wasn't you."

Ally felt otherwise. She felt like 'Allison'.

"To me it is." Ally said. "I want to save the baby too. It's the most important thing."

Sheila didn't want Ally to get carried away with her 'human' programming.

"Stop being so 'Allison'." Sheila said. "Or a Cameron wannabe…."

Hanna was sure their lifespan was limited. She believed Cameron wanted to go back in time and place them in the spot of where each of the Duplicate girls was at before they perished. She believed Cameron would have them terminate in place of the Duplicate girls to avoid changing the timeline or creating a new one. Cameron would 'trade' them for the Duplicate girls. It looked like a one way ticket.

"I think saving the girls 'ourselves' will be all our 'jobs'." Hanna said. "I don't think we're going to have a long shelf life."

The three Metal girls were aware Cameron would sacrifice them to get the human girls back, along with the baby. They didn't want to talk about it. Cameron would copy their programs and give them new bodies again. It's what they all hoped. There was no guarantee of it.

It left the Metal girls in a somber mood. The 'Neural Interface' with the human girls would make them want to do it to save them. The human girls were real. They weren't. They were machines.

Sheila wanted to lighten the mood a little.

"I would need to take my nipple rings off when we use the TDE." Sheila said. "I would feel naked without them."

Sheila stripped off her top so the other two Metal girls could see her rings. The excitement level went up in the room. She centered the captive bead on one of them, and moved to the other one up and down with her finger.

Ally pointed out the obvious.

"If we use the TDE, you will be naked." Ally said.

Sheila made the other girls 'hungry' by going topless.

Hanna was ready for a little more.

"Speaking of naked, is it time for our hour of 'alone time' yet?" Hanna asked.

Sheila pulled her pants off.

"It is for me, love." Sheila said. "There's no need to beat around the bush, besides I don't have one."

Ally took in Sheila's naked form. She wanted some of her right now.

"It's close enough for me." Ally said.

Sheila wanted to push it with Hanna and Ally and see who could take the most stimulation. She wanted to take things all of the way.

"Let's go see who ends up shutting down first." Sheila said. "I bet it won't be me."

The level of excitement was too much to pass up for any of the Metal girls.

"You're on." Hanna and Ally both said.

The Metal girls went off together to find out….

They knew what life offered, even if Cameron didn't.

It was her 'hang up', not theirs.

John reached Jesse's room and now stood in front of the door. He looked up and saw Cameron now stood in front of Vanna's door. He was actually a little surprised. He thought maybe he should care, but he didn't.

Cameron looked over at him. It looked to her like John was a day late and a dollar short. She looked away and lifted her hand to knock.

John looked away and did the same.

Each knew what the other was doing and neither seemed to care. They each knocked and waited. It was time to move ahead. They heard each other knock, neither looked to watch the other.

Life moved forwards, not backwards.

It was time to move on….

Tomorrow was a new day. Yesterday was gone.

Things at the Young residence looked very promising for Allison and Holly.

Allison and Holly were both naked on her bed.

Holly was in a place she didn't think was possible.

"You've made me feel more wanted and loved than I ever have before." Holly said.

Allison looked at Holly with her big 'puppy dog' brown eyes.

"I just wanted you to know you're special." Allison said. "You're special to me."

Holly could feel the 'love', even in Allison's look.

"You are to me too, Allison." Holly said.

Allison was troubled by her past and future obligations. She made promises she felt she needed to honor. She didn't want Holly to forget them and hoped she understood things could get very complicated and hurtful because of them. She felt it was something which needed to be addressed.

"I know I have complications and others in my life. You know it's how it is right now." Allison said. "I'm sorry about all of it and what will 'be'. I know you understand even if you hate it. Some things just need to play out and 'be'. It's very important to me I honor them."

Holly felt she was in a special place. It was very unique in what was available to her to be a part of and witness.

"I get to stay here with you, both of YOU, your sister Summer, and your mother." Holly said. "It's really special to see you as a young girl and watch you grow. I can see Young Allison and Summer grow everyday."

It was actually something Holly did. Each day she calculated what changes Young Allison and Summer showed. She knew they weren't noticeable to the human eye. They were noticeable to her.

Allison looked around her. Where she was at now was unimaginable a few years ago. Sometimes she still wondered if it was real or not. When one of the girls took her to heaven, she knew it was real, so everything else must be too.

"It's a strange life we lead. Having survived the horrors of the Wastelands, it's Paradise to be here. To see my parents again, live in my house, have a sister, and be with you are all beyond belief." Allison said. "I'm sure if I wasn't in the past, I would be dead in my future."

Allison started to reflect on all the 'bad' things which happened to her after Judgment Day. They always had a way of appearing at the worst times. The feelings started to overwhelm her. She looked at Holly and they all faded. Life still could offer quite a few things. The past didn't need to rule her life.

Holly was happy where she was right now in her existence.

"Life has much to offer…." Holly said.

She was well aware if anything ever happened to Allison, one day Young Allison would grow and mature…. There was a built-in replacement waiting for her. It was the same person too, even if the experiences would be different.

"Life has very much to offer…." Holly said again.

Holly hoped to be there when it happened. She could pick up with Young Allison where she left off with Allison. They really were the same person after all.

Vanna's door opened and Cameron walked inside. She didn't look over at John as she entered. She already knew where he was and what he was about to do. She really didn't care anymore. It seemed she didn't care about much anymore anyway. She was ready to move her life forward, experiment, grow, and expand. She hoped to see what 'real love' was like. She hoped it was better than 'love based on sex'.

Vanna's face lit up when she saw Cameron. She knew what it meant. It was her biggest dream ever, come true.

"I've been waiting for you." Vanna said. "I knew you'd come."

Vanna was sure this was about to be the best day in her life.

Life was good in Paradise.

'Oh Boy' by 'Buddy Holly', played in the background.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Eternal Beauty

There she is
I see her standing there
It is as if she stepped out of yesterday
Her eternal beauty is beyond compare

If loving eyes are blind
Then I'm as blind as can be
I only see her elegant face
Lovely, sweet and beautiful to me

Time does not exist
For a love that will bind
To share all of oneself
Heart, soul and mind, never confined

To just be near you
To hug you close and tight
To feel your warmth
Nothing will ever more right

I want you, I need you right now
I mean not to cause any pain
I exist outside the brain
Always the same I still remain

Nobody