Chapter 311

That's Not Going To Happen

John tried to push the thoughts out of his head as he rushed Cameron back to the base. He really wondered how all this was going to play out. It was sure to all land back on his lap.

He called ahead. Cam and Ally were going to meet him at the base.

As soon as he arrived in the carpool area, Ally opened the back of the SUV. Cam picked Cameron up and moved her inside. She effortlessly and lovingly carried Cameron in her arms.

John hurried after them.

More Terminators began to arrive. There were a lot of them.

John tried to explain his position and what he witnessed. He explained how he wanted to 'fix' Cameron.

"I need to pull her chip and delete all the files about Future Riley." John said.

The idea didn't fly with the other Terminators.

There was a copy of Cameron's program on Cam's chip. She understood the implications of what John wanted to do. She wanted to make it clear what he actually desired.

"Do you mean you want to erase what YOU did?" Cam asked. "How is it her fault?"

Ally knew deleting files from Cameron would alter who she was. It wasn't fair to Cameron. It wasn't Cameron who was the transgressor.

"Why should Cameron pay for YOUR mistakes?" Ally asked.

John was tired of fooling around. It was time he erased what troubled Cameron. It was a 'no brainer'. He understood the concerns of the others. It didn't matter to him. Cameron was the one with the problem. It wasn't them. If something was broken, it should be fixed. He didn't like going through the same events over and over.

"Look, it needs to be done to fix her." John said. "I'm going to do it myself."

Cam wouldn't want it to happen to her. She doubted Cameron did either.

"That's not going to happen." Cam said.

Ally was right there next to Cameron. She agreed with Cam.

"Damn straight." Ally said.

Sheila and Gail were there as well now.

They were both very upset about the current situation and John's plan.

Sheila looked at the other three Metal girls.

"Maybe I should go back in time and 'delete something' from John to prevent his actions with Future Riley from ever occurring."

John wasn't sure if she was joking or not. He didn't think so .

Ally and Sheila high five each other.

John began to feel he wouldn't have to wait for the future to be assassinated by the Resistance. It seemed the Terminators were going to do it, NOW.

John Henry entered the lab.

More people arrived. They all found out what was going on.

Sarah headed directly for John.

"What the Hell are you thinking?" Sarah demanded.

John winced.

Great, now his mother was there and upset as well.

Two more 'hostiles' pushed their way to the front.

"John, you can't do this." Vanna said.

Jesse was just as adamant.

"I won't let him." Jesse said.

Gail and Ally moved in back of Jesse, as Cam and Sheila moved in back of Vanna. It was more evidence of Cameron's handy work. It always paid off in spades. It was all more proof Cameron covered ALL the bases.

John knew the Resistance, both Human and Terminator, would physically stop him.

The tension in the lab was extreme. No one was going to listen to him. They were going to revolt against him. Everyone was loyal to Cameron. Everyone loved Cameron. They really loved her.

John remembered how more than once, they followed Cameron to their doom, without question, totally loyalty, no matter the cost….

It was total love, honest and pure. It was REAL love.

They were all willing to sacrifice everything for Cameron.

John knew the true test of love was sacrifice.

The room was tense and ready to explode.

John was in charge. He wanted to set everyone straight. He gave 'orders'. Nobody listened to him.

No one was about to back down.

The door opened and Savannah strode into the room. She looked at EVERYONE. There was a new 'electric' presence in the lab. She didn't look very happy about the current situation. She wanted to establish control. It was clear everyone was going to pursue their own agenda. She wanted to be alone with Cameron.

"I want everyone to leave here NOW." Savannah said. "I'm taking control of this situation. Cameron needs ME."

Everyone looked stunned, but no one was really surprised.

The 'Chosen One' was there. She made it clear no one was going to mess with her future.

Savannah wanted to reassure the others. She believed if anyone could help rectify the situation, it was her. She was aware things could go wrong unexpectedly. It was a gamble she was willing to take.

"I'll be responsible for Cameron." Savannah said. "I'll HELP her. I want everyone to leave."

John thought it was a good excuse to get out of there. Apparently so did everyone else. He left without another word and everyone filed out behind him. He didn't like the fact no one would listen to him. He knew what he wanted to do was wrong, but he felt he still needed to do it anyway. He wanted to fix Cameron.

Savannah watched everyone walk out. She noted John was the first one out the door. She waited until the door closed and then went over to Cameron. She looked at her for a long moment. She reached out and touched her cheek. She looked over at the door again. She didn't like what could have occurred. She focused her attention on Cameron.

"I'll protect you, Cammy, I swear. I'll always protect you." Savannah said. "We have so much to accomplish yet. I'll be at your side. I'll HELP you. WE will fix everything. It will be the two of us. The way it is meant to be…."

Savannah almost said. 'Just like mommy planned.' She then wondered why she even thought it. They were HER feelings.

Savannah wondered where a lot of the things she 'knew' and 'thought' about came from anymore. She touched the side of her head….

No, it wasn't in her head Savannah knew, it was in her heart, as was Cameron….

Cameron opened her eyes.

She was alone.

Cameron looked around.

"Welcome back." Savannah said.

Cameron almost jumped. She hadn't noticed Savannah was behind her.

"Where is everyone?" Cameron asked. "Why is this cable plugged into my neck?"

Savannah smiled. She wanted Cameron to know she was in control.

"I sent them all away." Savannah said. "I wanted to copy some files."

The words stung Cameron. It made her remember when Future John sent her away.

Savannah noticed the trepidation on Cameron's face.

"I asked them to leave us alone." Savannah said.

Cameron wondered what was going on.

"Why?" Cameron asked.

Savannah took Cameron's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"I wanted to be alone with you. I wanted to be the only one here when you woke up." Savannah said. "I wanted to make sure no one changed you. It's something I won't allow."

Cameron quickly turned and faced Savannah.

"Change me?" Cameron asked. "Why would they change me?"

Savannah wasn't sure how to explain it.

"They wanted to 'fix' you." Savannah said.

Cameron felt offended anyone would try to alter her without her permission.

"Fix me?" Cameron asked. "Why would they fix me? I'm not broken."

Savannah didn't know all the details. She didn't think it really mattered. It was the principal of the event which mattered, not the specifics.

"You shut down again." Savannah said.

Cameron remembered her 'conversation' with John. It irritated her again as she thought about it. She also took a good long look at Savannah. Savannah was there for more than her protection.

"Why else are you here with me, Savannah?" Cameron asked.

Savannah placed Cameron's hand on her neck. She wanted Cameron to scan her and see she was being truthful. She wanted to provide Cameron with what she wanted. She wanted to make things clear.

"Cameron, I'm 'old enough' now…." Savannah said. "There's no point in waiting."

Cameron felt 'fear'. The implications were devastating to her. Savannah was ready and willing to have a child for her. She wanted her to wait longer.

"No, Savannah, you're still young." Cameron said. "It would be too hard on your body."

Savannah felt justified in her actions. History was on her side. The human body was designed to function as nature dictated, not as 'man' made up rules or laws to try to bend nature into some artificial social norm. The reality of what was practiced throughout the nation almost made the 'laws' laughable. The very people who made them, didn't adhere to them themselves.

"It's what happens in the future. It's also the way it was a few hundred years ago, and centuries before then until the beginning of time…. People NEEDED to start 'early' and they died early." Savannah said. "Will the future be any different if Skynet takes control?"

Cameron could already 'see' the fallout related to it. She was aware everyone would blame her. She would need to deal with Vanna and Sarah as well as John. The two females would be all over her in a very negative way. The humans weren't the only ones who were of concern to her.

"No. I can't allow this." Cameron said. "Your mother would be angry at me and John."

Savannah looked away and frowned for a few seconds. She thought too many years passed already. If anyone was going to return, it would have happened years ago. It didn't.

"My mother is never coming back." Savannah said. "I think we both know it."

Cameron figured the same thing as well. Too much time passed since Mrs. Weaver left. It was the other desire which worried her the most. She didn't want Savannah to take such a drastic step as a young teenager.

"I'm afraid you may be correct." Cameron said. "I understand you are biologically old enough, and have been for a while. I want you to live your life a little bit first. There are more things you need to do and experience. I can't ask you to do what you've promised me, yet. I can't. I won't either."

Savannah saw it as her decision and her choice. Her school work was past the college level and her decision was based on information, science, and history. She looked Cameron straight in the face. She wasn't afraid to say what she believed.

"You're not asking me." Savannah said. "I'm telling you."

Cameron felt a glitch impulse. There were other things in the works. There were other things she wanted to try first. Some of them were for personal reasons.

"NO. I can't allow this of you, not yet." Cameron said. "There are a few other things I'm working on. If they don't work out, then we can discuss this further in a few YEARS."

Savannah held her ground. Her mind was made up. It was her body and she intended to use it to benefit Cameron. There were a number of factors in her favor currently. In a Skynet future most of them would vanish. She knew what was currently available to Cameron as well as what should be considered superior.

"I'm not damaged by radiation exposure, biological or chemical warfare and I've maintained a healthy diet ALL my life." Savannah said. "I'm the Prime Specimen. I'm the perfect choice. I'm the logical choice. I'm the ONLY choice."

Cameron could see Savannah was right in every way. She still didn't want her to do this. Not yet anyway.

"You're correct in everything you said, but I can't allow you to 'sacrifice' yourself yet." Cameron said. "You know I love you as if you were my own, Savannah. I've helped raise you, watched you grow, develop, and mature."

Cameron also KNEW she felt more for Savannah than 'motherly love'. The more Savannah 'grew' the more her feelings grew. Her future knocked at her door. The things Savannah offered might have been something she would have done with some of the others previously. She didn't think she could do it with anyone she cared about. She didn't want to use her friends and family. They all possessed their own feelings and desires. Each of them was entitled to a future of their choice. She wanted Savannah to know the depth of her feelings.

Savannah needed to say a few more things. She wanted to make sure Cameron understood exactly where she was coming from.

"You know I love you too, Cameron, and not only as a surrogate mother. You know you've treated me 'special'." Savannah said. "Everyone sacrifices for John Connor. Now it's my turn."

Savannah and Cameron both experienced the same feelings.

It was love, love which they felt towards each other.

Cameron didn't want to burden Savannah's life unnecessarily. It was how she viewed it.

"Savannah, it will happen one day." Cameron said. "It's not going to happen for a while yet. It just can't. It can't. I won't allow you to do this to yourself."

Savannah wanted to play a little leverage. She felt she made her point and she was ready to back it up with action. She watched Cameron in action and she could play the 'game' too. She wanted to give Cameron something very serious to think about. She thought it might be the only way to reach her and make her think twice about some of her decisions.

"You can stop me for now, but if you're gone again, or away, you won't be here to stop me." Savannah said. "It's something you better THINK about real hard before you do anything foolish again. I want you to know and understand I'll step up and take my rightful place. It's the place you've made me promise to take. We both know the 'Natural Order' is unchangeable."

Cameron thought it might be a good reason to think about some of the future events through first. She touched the cable currently connected to her.

"Why is this cable plugged into my neck?" Cameron asked again.

Savannah faced Cameron and looked into her eyes. She felt she did something which was necessary. It was necessary to protect Cameron. It was necessary to protect Cameron for her.

"I've copied your program. I've made a copy of you so no one can change you. I'll restore you back to this very second in time if they do." Savannah said. "I won't allow anyone to alter the person, the woman I love."

Cameron wanted THAT love as much as she wanted Savannah. She didn't think now was a good time to point out she was actually a machine. It was evident it didn't matter to Savannah at all. Savannah always saw her for the individual she was, not how she came into being, or what was inside of her chassis. it didn't matter if it was metal and electronics, instead of bones and organs.

She understood why the others would always feel some trepidation towards Terminators. Terminators tried to kill all of them. She tried to hurt John before. She did know, even when she tortured Sarah, she didn't terminate her. She could have easily done so, but she didn't. She left her next to the destroyed SUV in the Los Angeles River. She didn't terminate John. He was the one who terminated her, after she told him she fixed herself, and she loved him and he loved her.

Savannah was the only person Cameron trusted with a copy of her program. The exact location of the copy of her chip at her facility was hidden. There were files in Ally or Cam which would only be unencrypted if she were terminated. If she made the clone with Gail for Young Jesse, she would also have the encrypted file. Only then, could anyone find it, if she were terminated.

"I trust you, Savannah." Cameron said. "You must now promise me you will wait…."

Savannah didn't want to create a further problem right now.

"I promise, Cammy, for now." Savannah said. "I'm telling you. I AM going to do what you've groomed me to do. I swear it. You've helped me plan my life and future, guided, and directed me. I'm ready. I will do it soon enough, but not right now."

Cameron didn't know what to do or say. She knew she didn't have any right to tell Savannah what she could or couldn't do with her own body. She would find it offensive if someone told her what she could or couldn't do with her chassis. She was afraid she may have 'brain washed' Savannah. Then again, Savannah did have a healthy undamaged, untouched body, and she was ready….

Why was everything so difficult? Why couldn't things be easy? If she really was living her life over, and over, how did things play out with Savannah and her each time? What did they do for each other? What did they do with each other? It was very upsetting because there were no answers.

Cameron looked at her hand. There was no glitch. She smiled. The "Natural Order' asserted itself. It was a little earlier than she anticipated…. A few years back she would have jumped at what Savannah offered. Now she wanted to delay things as long as she could. It really made no sense to her.

Savannah was now the 'woman' Cameron shaped, guided, and molded her to be. Savannah was the female she wished she could be. In this moment, she felt she created the perfect 'replacement'.

Savannah was everything Cameron was, and everything Cameron wasn't. Savannah was perfect.

Jim and Bob ran down some leads on some Coltan some Grays might have access to. They were driving away from the Eagle Mountain mine. They entered the area under the guise of being part of the Bureau of Land Management. They spotted fresh tire tracks when they were there, but they didn't spot anybody.

Bob headed back toward the Interstate.

Jim and Bob kept an eye open for any threats around them.

It wasn't long until a threat was spotted.

"There are two dirt bikes closing from our five o'clock position." Jim said.

He reached in the back and moved two M4 carbines, with the M203 grenade launchers, to the front seat area. There were more drastic measures he could take.

"Do you want me to take them with the Barrett?" Jim asked.

Bob didn't want to get ahead of themselves.

"We need to see if they're armed first." Bob said. "It could be two kids out for a day in the desert."

Jim frowned slightly.

"I don't think either one of us actually believes that." Jim said.

The dirt bikers gained on them. They appeared to be on an intercept course. There was no reason for them to do so if they were just out having fun.

Jim loaded an HE round into the M203 and charged his M4. It seemed to him there was going to be some type of contact. It didn't appear it was going to be in a positive manner either.

Bob could see Jim wanted to act. The magnetic signs were still on the side of the SUV. They indicated they worked for the Bureau of Land Management. If weapons were observed or used, it would blow their cover. There still needed to be some doubt on anyone's part about who they actually were before they acted.

He didn't think it was prudent to increase his speed. He didn't want it to seem as if they tried to run. If they worked for the Bureau of Land Management, they wouldn't. They would keep driving as they were.

"If we take them down now, it will tip our hand." Bob said.

Jim contemplated the consequences of things which might occur. None of them were very pleasant. He believed the victor in the encounter would be the ones who acted first. He didn't see any reason why it shouldn't be them. There were some things they needed to think about.

"I don't want to get blown up either." Jim said. "They may have a satchel charge."

Bob was a little worried too. They hadn't spotted one yet, but one, or both of them, may have a LAW rocket. The closer the two dirt bike riders came to them, the more effective their chance of scoring a hit with a LAW rocket would become. It was better for the dirt bike riders, and worse for them. He still didn't want to take down anyone who was innocent. He decided to set a couple of conditions.

"If they split up, take them down. If they both remain together, we need it to play out a little more." Bob said. "We don't want to make a mistake and terminate anyone who is innocent."

The dirt bikers continued on an intercept path. It seemed as if they almost wanted Bob and Jim to act first.

Bob and Jim weren't going to take the bait.

The dirt bikers would cross in front of them as they came from Jim's side.

Jim leaned back in his seat so the door frame would block his features. He could see one of the dirt bikers take a photo of their SUV with his phone.

The dirt bikers accelerated away from them and disappeared up ahead.

Jim watched them go. He would have liked to have brought them down.

"I don't think they're gone." Jim said.

Bob was a little worried what would happen when they spotted them again.

"They may be setting up an ambush." Bob said.

There was a rise in the road in front of them. They were currently out of the view of the two dirt bike riders. It was time to take some evasive action on their part.

Bob moved off of the paved road and onto the dirt road which ran alongside the railroad tracks. They were the railroad tracks which went from the main line, to the mine. They would be over about an eighth of a mile from the road, and pass through a shallow cut. It should put them below and in back of the dirt bikers, if they were in the process of setting up an ambush. Their mission could have been just to check out who was in their area.

Jim contacted John Henry to make sure there was a 'cover' story in place. If there was a means for them to check, it would be better for them if there was a solid story which backed up why they were there. They were sure the image the one dirt bike rider took went to an individual, or groups of individuals, in a different location.

John Henry reported back the Bureau of Land Management records would show one team was sent out on some wildlife observation.

They passed through the cut next to the railroad tracks and emerged on the other side of the hill. The dirt bikers weren't waiting for them to come over the hill on the paved road.

They moved back to the paved road because it was a straight shot all the way back to the Interstate. They didn't see the dirt bikers again. It was possible they were working in cahoots with others.

"We may pick up another tail." Bob said. "They could be waiting in Desert Center."

Jim touched the reassuring steel of the M4 barrel and the M203 mounted below it.

"Time will tell." Jim said. "I'm ready either way."

Bob went through Desert Center in sixty seconds. It was a small place. He entered the Interstate and accelerated up to freeway speeds as they headed west.

There was nothing behind them in the way of a tail.

"They took a photo." Jim said. "They could try and pick us up later on. There's not much around here until we pass Indio."

They passed through Indio and by the connector road to Palm Springs a little later on. There was still no sign of a tail. It could still be waiting to acquire them. There weren't very many locations they could go off of the Interstate which led anywhere.

They would dump the vehicle and obtain another one before they even got close to the base. There was too much coincidence involved with everything. There were too many unanswered questions which needed an answer of some type.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

That's Not Going To Happen

Daily life remains in flux
Some events seem inevitable
Others may be changed
Perhaps some are preventable

There's a lot of push and shove
There's always some give and take
What becomes the real issue
Is what is real or fake

Everyone has their own will
That others may try to bend
What is the real purpose or goal
What message do they really send

When one is who they are
They are who they should be
That's the real person
Who everyone should see

Before one pounces on another
And causes their heart to blacken
They won't get away without repercussions
That's not going to happen

Nobody