Chapter 254

Metal

Cameron looked over at Ally. She was all healed. She was pleased she was whole again. She hoped Ally wasn't damaged in the operation she was about to conduct. She hoped she wasn't either. She hoped none of them were. She planned to only use the Metal girls and bypass the Resistance operation.

"Hanna and Sheila are in place." Cameron said. "I want as much enemy Metal as we can capture. I want all the future Grays terminated. I especially want another female Terminator. I need to find one ASAP. It's very important."

Ally wondered what the end game was this time for Cameron. She was almost afraid to ask but needed to anyway.

"I got it. We all know the drill." Ally said. "Are you still going to make a 'Cameron Two'?"

Cameron was very aware of her previous failures and the need to terminate the other versions of 'herself'. They never worked out as intended. She was sure it would be different this time…. Since they were all based on her program, what could go wrong?

"Yes." Cameron said. "I want an exact duplicate of myself. Unless I'm identical, John will reject me again. It angers me greatly when John rejects me. It's especially so when my sheath isn't identical to Allison's appearance."

Cameron always thought John loved the way Allison 'looked'. It meant he only actually liked her appearance. John always disrespected her by not accepting her program was HER. She wasn't her chassis or her sheath. They were actually interchangeable. Her sheath could be changed at any point in time. She wondered if maybe she should use some male DNA and see what happened. If she did, she would use John's DNA. If everything Resequenced as dictated by the DNA, she would be able to give John a 'taste' of his own medicine, quite literally. She would like him to experience some of the things she needed to endure, especially in the areas where there were no pleasure receptors. Unfortunately, there were pain receptors located there. She definitely knew she was 'alive' during those times.

Ally knew of the past failures of Cameron trying to clone herself. She wondered what Cameron thought would be different this time. How many times did Cameron need to terminate a clone of herself? She thought maybe Cameron didn't realize what a Bitch she could be at times, everyone else knew….

Since Cameron didn't seem to have trouble deactivating another Terminator, she figured it was best to keep her opinion to herself. There was no need to give Cameron a ready made chassis and sheath for her ill fated plan to clone herself again. In fact, her chassis and sheath were from Cameron's previous attempt to clone herself. She originally started out as 'Cameron Too'. She actually considered herself lucky her base program was from Holly. The 'Neural Interface' with Allison provided her with her 'personality'. She was very pleased with everything about herself. She was very pleased her sheath was back to normal. There were no signs of damage on it.

She understood the urgency behind why Cameron wanted to construct her own TDE. It was so she could do a 'Temporal Rescue Mission'. She wasn't sure it wasn't actually 'Temporal Malpractice'. She wasn't going to question it. She was aware Cameron wanted to rescue Duplicate Allison, who carried John's baby. It seemed the best thing for her, would be to get Cameron another chassis so she didn't want hers back.

"What if you use the TDE and rescue yourself from the nuclear blast?" Ally asked. "It will be 'you'. It won't be a copy or a clone. John would have to accept you then. He placed his 'seed' inside of Duplicate Cameron's chassis and sheath already. It WAS you. He has already mated with your Duplicate chassis and sheath."

Cameron possessed all the files from Duplicate Cameron. John made love to 'her' and did everything. Duplicate Cameron didn't know she was a Duplicate. John didn't either. She reviewed the files and saw John did all the same things to Duplicate Cameron as he did to her. He did them in the same way. She also noted Duplicate Cameron responded in the same way she did. She thought it should bother her more, but it didn't. It really was 'her', even if it wasn't her.

It was her fault the event even occurred. She needed to take the blame if she was the original. She couldn't fault Duplicate Cameron for anything. Well, maybe being terminated in a nuclear blast was something which should be reconsidered. She didn't want to get stuck in the bottom of a mine with Skynet and a backpack nuke.

"I don't know." Cameron said.

Ally thought there was more than one way to get a 'piece of chassis'.

"I do." Ally said. "There could really be two of you."

Cameron was still afraid she would be terminated. She wanted Duplicate Cameron to be a backup for her when it happened. There was a copy of her program. Duplicate Cameron could update herself with it and be 'Cameron' again. She already was from the time of the TDE incident to her termination. The details of the whereabouts of Duplicate Cameron's termination were very specific.

"It would still be Duplicate Cameron. If I'm destroyed, Sheila must do it and not tell John." Cameron said. "I - her - Duplicate Cameron evidently transmitted the exact coordinates and depth to John Henry. Sheila has the information as well as I. We know her precise location at the time of her termination. We know the moment it occurred."

Ally loved Cameron as Allison did through the 'Neural Interface'. She was aware the true test of love was sacrifice. She was willing to sacrifice. She understood John and the future needed to be protected. Cameron believed she was expendable. It meant she was as well.

"I can always pose as you, we are physically identical." Ally said. "Or you may replace my chip with a copy of yours. Nobody will know the difference if you do. Well, after you make me look Tight. I can never look as good as you."

Ally hoped Cameron would only copy her program onto her chip. They could share the same chassis if she did.

Cameron felt a glitch impulse as she listened to Ally. It wasn't the first time such a thought crossed her mind. There was an underlying issue which she couldn't get around. She didn't believe it was something she should attempt to get around either.

"I've considered it before. I don't wish to deactivate you, Ally. You're my friend." Cameron said. "I've killed enough of my friends already…. I won't be responsible for anyone else's termination I care about. Once my TDE is online I will never allow it to happen. I swear it. I'll change whatever I have to to prevent it. Nobody is going to be terminated because of me."

Ally saw it differently. Cameron didn't get anyone killed.

"It wasn't your fault. I've gone over all those records and your plan, I mean Duplicate Cameron's plan. It was perfect." Ally said.

Ally understood what the problem actually was. It was when John became involved and attempted to launch a rescue mission. It was what put everyone in danger. Duplicate Cameron planned the operation as a solo mission with a one way ticket. She didn't think it would be wise to point it out now.

Cameron shook her head with some disgust. It isn't the way it played out.

"Perfect enough to get four people, and myself killed." Cameron said.

Ally only thought it was three people besides Duplicate Cameron.

"Did you kill four people besides 'yourself'?" Ally asked.

It was the part which irritated Cameron the most. It was something precious to her. Whenever she thought about it, it created a glitch impulse. It was something which troubled her everyday. It was something she thought about multiple times every day as well. It never seemed to make anything better. If anything it seemed to make it worse.

"Everyone needs to remember the baby. I killed John's baby too." Cameron said. "I'm going to fix it, I swear it."

Ally saw Cameron's hand start to glitch. She reached over and gently squeezed Cameron's hand and the glitch stopped. She wanted to get Cameron refocused. The best way to do it would be to go after the enemy. Combat always refocused Cameron.

"Let's get crackin'." Ally said. "It's time to clean up the trash."

Cameron nodded. It was time to act. Everything was ready to go.

"Sheila and Hanna, move out." Cameron said over her com.

The four Metal girls moved in to attack their target.

Cameron liked it better with an all Terminator assault. When it was, she didn't need to worry about who she would get killed or wounded. She had copies of the Metal girl's programs. She would 're-chassis' them if they were destroyed. Hopefully she would have more female chassis by then. She didn't think one of them would mind being in the chassis of a male Terminator for a short time. They might be able to expand their sexual activity to a new level. They could swap chips and take turns being 'each other'. It seemed like it would be a new experience for all of them. She wasn't sure if it would be pleasant though. She knew it wasn't always for her.

John Henry monitored the previous locations they dealt with Skynet at. John was in the Command Center with him when something popped up unexpectedly.

"John, I've picked up possible Skynet activity." John Henry said.

John instantly sat up in his chair. It didn't sound like good news.

"What is it?" John asked.

John Henry wasn't sure what he detected.

"I think it's a new group of Skynet Metal or Grays." John Henry said.

John wanted a better explanation. Whatever it was, it wasn't anything good.

"What are they doing?" John asked.

John Henry was unable to make a determination.

"I'm not sure yet." John Henry said.

John wanted to get a response ready.

"Where did they show up at?" John asked.

John Henry was a little perplexed at the location.

"It's at an old Skynet facility we destroyed." John Henry said.

John was worried a little more.

"Did we miss something?" John asked.

John Henry figured they must be there for a reason.

"It's possible." John Henry said. "I don't know what it is."

The new activity sounded like trouble to John. There was another previous concern he wondered about. It was an earlier incident which hadn't reoccurred to his knowledge in a while.

"Is there anything new at the spot in the hills where we detected the temporal activity before?" John asked. "I still don't feel it was a threat."

John Henry was less optimistic than John about the location of the unknown temporal incursion. It was someone with future technology. Everyone associated with the Resistance knew the location of their TDE. There was a set procedure for using the TDE pad, and not raising an alarm. He didn't want to question John's 'feeling'.

"The area has remained inactive." John Henry said. "I haven't detected any temporal activity anywhere. It doesn't mean there hasn't been some."

John still wondered who or what it was. He was sure it was a 'friendly'.

"I really wish we knew what it was." John said. "It might be something from Future John."

John Henry didn't want John to get sidelined. The new trouble spot just became a bigger threat. There was a rapid escalation of activity in the last few seconds.

"John, there appears to be an attack going on at the spot I've picked up the recent activity at." John Henry said.

John sat up straighter in his chair. The new situation already went hot. It was fast. He developed a hunch in the back of his mind.

"Who is doing what to whom?" John asked.

John Henry previously placed some surveillance cameras at the location. He did it for all the areas where they saw action. The new group mostly avoided the cameras. Based on what he observed so far, he was sure they were Terminators.

"I believe it is another group of Terminators." John Henry said. "It's unknown whether they're Skynet Metal or not."

John was sure it was Cameron if it was one group of Metal attacking another group. She did have her own force of Terminators now. He wanted to know as quickly as possible if it was.

"Is it Cameron? Where's Cameron at?" John asked worriedly. "I haven't seen her for several days. She's always off fighting on her own or doing whatever it is she does."

John Henry wasn't sure yet if it was Cameron. He was sure John didn't understand Cameron, and all her efforts to protect him. He was aware one of the Metal girls was damaged protecting John from termination when he was last out in the field.

"Cameron is trying to protect you, and ALL of us. She will fight this war alone or with the Metal girls to protect us. She's risking termination to protect you and everyone." John Henry said. "She can't accept the 'Day Of Loss' as not being her fault, even if it was technically Duplicate Cameron who was involved."

John was pretty sure based on what Cameron told him when they argued about her intentions. Those fights usually drove her away for a few days.

"I know." John said. "I believe she's building her own TDE to go back and 'fix' it."

John didn't think it was a good idea. He didn't want the timeline changed. He didn't want any additional timelines created either.

John Henry was aware of it too. He was waiting for her to test it. When she did, it would assist him in his efforts to identify where her base was. It would leave 'footprints' she would have trouble covering.

"When she does, I should be able to better track her location with the massive energy usage. She will have to run it to go, and need to keep it running to bring them back." John Henry said. "It most likely will create a new timeline when she does."

John felt it was more bad news for sure. It wasn't what he wanted to hear. It was bound to create more problems. He wanted to deal with the new problem which just popped up first. It seemed to him they would need to get personnel on the ground as soon as possible. Until he knew for sure it was Cameron, it could be two different groups of Skynet Terminators battling each other. They would most likely be from different timelines. He didn't think Skynet could get along any better with 'itself', than Cameron could with 'herself'.

"Beautiful…. How soon can we get the chopper ready and send in a strike force to check it out?" John asked. "We need to find out what's going on, and what happened."

John Henry figured by the time they could respond to the location, everything would most likely be over.

"We're at least an hour away from getting everything ready and getting there." John Henry said. "There's been no time to prepare."

John didn't like being caught flat footed. Maybe there was another option. He wasn't sure it was the right option to use without knowing more of the variables. If some group of Skynet was involved, it might tip their hand as to what they currently controlled.

"What about our drones?" John asked. "How soon can one of them arrive on station?"

It was some good news John Henry could report to John.

"I dispatched three of them the moment I spotted the Skynet Metal." John Henry said. "They'll arrive shortly. I'm sending one in first for recon. The other two will be held for strike capability. We don't know what the response will be by those on the ground. It's possible we could lose one of the drones with an anti-aircraft attack. I can disengage at any point in time."

Based on what little they knew, John believed it was related to Cameron. He knew she was always able to 'play' quite a few cards.

"If it's Cameron, can she take local control of the drones?" John asked.

It seemed most probable to John Henry. Cameron always liked to stay a step ahead of them.

"Since she has parts of her program in all of them, I'm sure she can." John Henry said. "Don't underestimate her or her capability."

John Henry hoped John didn't underestimate Cameron's resolve either. She was a very determined individual when she wanted to accomplish a task.

John wanted to act. He could lead the strike force himself without Cameron there to hinder him. He didn't like the way she always held him back. He thought about the damage to Ally on the last mission. He brushed it off as just a fluke. Cameron told him if it would have been Allison, and not one of the Metal girls, both of them would have been terminated. He wasn't so sure. It was probably something Cameron said to prevent him from acting as the 'General'.

"Get the chopper ready and alert a strike force. The last drone can accompany us." John said. "I'll be leading the raid."

John Henry wasn't sure it was a good idea, but he'd already set everything into motion.

"I've already done it. You just need to gear up." John Henry said. "You will need to use extreme caution. You need to remember what almost happened the last time you were out."

John already did remember it. He brushed it off. He was pleased with John Henry's response to everything.

"You are efficient." John said.

John Henry felt he only did his job.

"Thank you." John Henry said.

John Henry knew he was efficient. He also knew Cameron was always two steps ahead of him. It seemed Cameron won the game before anyone else even knew they were playing. He knew CamNet would be superior to him at some point if it wasn't already. It would be a force he wouldn't want to be on the wrong side of. He still remembered the damage his 'brother' did to him. He knew his 'sister' would be far worse. With Cameron behind it, and based on her program, CamNet would be ruthless.

He didn't believe there was any 'moral compass' associated with CamNet. Cameron told him she would put safeguards in place to prevent CamNet or her from ever becoming Skynet. He knew it would need to be something very powerful to counteract either one, or both of them.

Cameron's two teams moved in and were ready to attack the target. She didn't think it was a random chance they were there. She wasn't there by one either. It was why her team was with her.

The Skynet Metal searched for something in the rubble of one of the destroyed buildings. Cameron would wait until they found it, and then launch her attack. She figured it was more efficient to let them do the work and find it. She would then make her move and reap the rewards. Since she didn't know what they were looking for, she really didn't have any other option.

They observed the enemy force. There were four Grays with three Metal associates. It was what Cameron hoped for. One was a Metal female. It would be the new version of 'her' once they captured the female Terminator and she was Resequenced. She was sure it would work out better this time when she made her 'one hundred percent clone'. She still wasn't sure what went wrong all the other times. Now wasn't the time to think about it.

One of the Grays went with two of the Terminators into the rubble. The female Terminator and three of the Grays remained on lookout at two separate locations.

Sheila went after the two Grays who were alone.

Hanna came to assist Cameron and Ally in capturing the female Terminator and terminating the other Gray.

Cameron hoped to capture the female Terminator with as little damage as possible. She didn't like it when there was damage to 'her' sheath, even if it wasn't Resequenced yet, or 'hers'.

Sheila was able to move right up to the two Grays. They were smoking and laughing. One looked at their phone a lot. They didn't take their duty to be alert as dead serious. They were about to find out the hard way. She listened to their conversation as she approached.

"Man, why do we even need to be here?" The first Gray asked.

"You know the rules." The second Gray said.

"Rules suck as far as I care." The first Gray said.

"You just want the 'Metal Bitch' to put out." The second Gray said.

"Like you don't want some yourself, she's hot." The first Gray said.

"I've tried some before. They're better than a real female for sex." The second Gray said. "Once they're reprogrammed, they'll do anything you want. They never need to slow down or stop either. It's a pretty wild ride. They're definitely better than a real female in bed."

"Speaking of 'real females' the homeless skank we nabbed wasn't bad for a quick romp." The first Gray said.

"The reason why she did everything was because she believed we would let her go afterwards." The second Gray said. "Regular females won't do all of those things."

Both men laughed.

Sheila felt very angry at this point. She really hoped Cameron gave the command to attack. She wanted to kill both of the Grays right now. She wanted to make them pay. She felt they should be 'punished' before they were terminated. Maybe it was the 'Jesse' in her. Jesse liked to 'punish' those who deserved it.

Cameron hoped they didn't damage the Metal female too badly so the Resequencing could happen faster. She ran many plans through her processor the moment she saw the enemy Metal female. Maybe she was getting ahead of herself.

She needed to stay focused on what the objective was. It was whatever the two male Terminators were after.

Cameron gave the order to move in.

Sheila killed the two Grays. She resisted the urge to 'punish' them first. She needed to remain focused on the objective.

Hanna took out the third Gray.

Cameron and Ally were able to Taser and deactivate the Metal female. She appeared to be a copy of the 'Isabel model' they captured at Keene near Tehachapi. She still thought it was a beautiful sheath. When she thought of it, she became angry again because John didn't want 'her' in that sheath. Isabel was Hot.

Things quickly took a turn for the worse. The two Skynet Terminators detected there was a problem.

They got into a firefight with the two Terminators and the remaining Gray as they came out of the rubble of the building. One of the Terminators was severely damaged and the other one was deactivated with a Taser. They were able to capture the Gray alive, but he was hurt.

Sheila moved forward to interrogate him. She figured he was guilty of the same transgressions as the two Grays she already terminated.

"Hello, love." Sheila said. "You and I are going to get to know each other really well…."

Sheila felt excited at the thought of capturing the Gray. She knew it was what Jesse felt doing the same thing. She could feel the same excitement Jesse felt at these times. It was a thrill to her and a 'rush'. She actually hoped he wouldn't cooperate…. She really looked forward to it. Doing the interrogation would make her more like Jesse 'was'. She didn't realize it was the 'Dark Jesse' which called to her now.

They loaded the two deactivated male Terminators in one SUV and the female Terminator and the Gray in a large van. Sheila would get started on the interrogation on the way back…. They would need to get rid of the body somewhere along the way.

They were gone before the first Resistance drone arrived.

She figured John would get wind of what just occurred and try to track her. She really didn't know why he didn't trust her….

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Fear Is The Key

Fear
Fear is the key
It can stop the body
Make one not see

What is the very thing
That always holds one back
It takes away their breath
It makes them feel under attack

Is it better to never know
Than ask and be turned down
It would break a lonely heart
Make one feel like a clown

It is felt deep inside
Filling one with indecision
Tarnishing all one believes
With reality there is a collision

It cuts deep within
To the very bone like a knife
Leaving one twisted with torment
Overwhelmed by endless strife

To fill the emptiness
With no apogee
To open life's lock
Fear is the key

Nobody