Chapter 345

Use Caution

Jesse was upset about what occurred. She blamed herself for what happened. She knew it was the fault of Skynet. Skynet is what created the death and destruction it unleashed upon the world. Skynet was the one who introduced the chemical and biological warfare. Skynet created the living conditions which allowed Scavengers to thrive on the fringes of society. She wanted to strike back at the groups which created her problems. There wasn't a whole lot she could do about it.

Gail was bothered by the way Jesse currently felt emotionally. She understood the severity of emotional problems. Emotional problems could also lead to physical problems if they weren't dealt with properly. Cameron already warned her how it worked. She wanted Jesse to do things to move her life forward.

"We can go out and do something." Gail said.

Jesse looked over at Gail from the bed.

"I would have to get dressed." Jesse said.

Gail went over and sat on the bed next to Jesse.

"I would too." Gail said. "It won't take long. I think some fresh air would do you good."

Jesse reached up and fondled Gail.

"Did I ever tell you how beautiful you are?" Jesse asked.

Gail's immense size excited her greatly.

Gail reached over and fondled Jesse. She spent some extra time on her jewelry.

"You have." Gail said. "I only wish I was as beautiful as you were."

Jesse blushed a little. It was hard to tell with her darker complexion, but it still happened.

"You're just saying it to make me feel good." Jesse said.

Gail tilted her head slightly.

"I said it because it's true." Gail said.

Jesse pulled Gail down and kissed her. Things quickly escalated. In just a matter of seconds the two females begin to pleasure each other.

It wasn't long before Gail used her Terminator abilities to drive Jesse towards the 'edge' with continual finishes, one after another.

Jesse was thrilled at how far Gail could take her. She thought about the state of her life and what the future offered her. She didn't have to think too hard about the future since she already lived in it. The future didn't have anything to offer her more than the past, the present did. She could feel the pleasure overwhelm her. She knew she would cross over to the 'other side' soon.

"Don't bring me back." Jesse whispered as she neared the edge.

Gail didn't like what Jesse said. She didn't slow or cease her efforts. She intensified them. Jesse told her the same thing several times before. She began to think about them. It was easy to get caught up in past memories. They usually led to a distraction.

Soon she realized Jesse was no longer breathing. She checked her heartbeat. There wasn't one. She attempted to determine how long Jesse was out. She was a little alarmed at how long it was. It was already passed two minutes.

She moved back up and gently touched Jesse's cheek. Technically Jesse was terminated right now. She waited thirty more seconds. Jesse wanted her to leave her on the 'other side'. The time neared the three minute mark. She knew there would start to be brain damage soon. If she waited six minutes, the brain damage which occurred would be irreversible.

Gail loved Jesse dearly. She wanted her pain and suffering to end. She wasn't sure if she wanted Jesse's existence to end. She figured she would most likely be deactivated when Jesse's termination was discovered. She could try to run to the future to escape punishment. She could go to River's future where Duplicate Jesse was at. Duplicate Jesse was her first beloved. She was still traumatized by what she believed was her termination. Duplicate Jesse's banishment to the future by Cameron didn't help anything when she was rescued.

She bent down and kissed Jesse. If she didn't do anything very soon, Jesse would remain terminated. She believed it was a better form of termination to go out the way Jesse did. Jesse told her it would be much better to go out in ecstasy, than it would be dying on the battlefield or at the hands of Scavengers.

It was past three and a half minutes.

Gail held Jesse and her arms now. Her lifeless form was still warm, just like it was a few minutes ago. She decided she would self terminate instead. She would go to the arms locker and remove a Thermite grenade. She would hold it up to the side of her head and detonate it.

No.

It wasn't the right thing to do. None of it was. She quickly began to resuscitate Jesse. it was close to the four minute mark. Her initial attempts didn't produce any results. She increased her efforts. It was now passed the four minute mark. She began to worry.

She began to feel Jesse's heart beat again. In a few more seconds Jesse began to breathe. Everything was slow and faint at first. It rapidly increased. It wasn't long until Jesse's eyes began to open. It was just a little bit at first. One eye actually opened slightly before the other. She could see Jesse's mouth try to move. She was going to need to use caution when she took Jesse to the edge.

Jesse was aware of her surroundings. It was very hard to breathe. She could see Gail look at her with tear filled eyes. She realized where she was just a short time ago. It was oblivion.

"Thanks…." Jesse managed to say.

Gail was very relieved. She wasn't sure if Jesse actually thanked her for bringing her back, or was being sarcastic for bringing her back. It didn't matter, Jesse was back.

Cameron and Savannah arrived at the target location. Cameron set things into motion as she wanted them to be. She was worried about the safety of John and Savannah.

Three of Cameron's Terminators, Camille, Cammy, and Ron were assigned to watch over Savannah. Ronny was assigned to watch over John. They were all 'Cameron program' clones. Bob was with John as well.

Cameron wanted the drone on 'close in recon' to be able to make a strafing run if she needed it. She wanted to use the missiles as a last resort. She wanted to keep the heavy destruction to a minimum until she could check everything out. She knew HK Tracks could engage aerial targets as well as ground targets. If she could disable some of the HK Tracks before the battle started, it would help. First she needed to find out what was there.

She advanced toward the target structure. Their various groups took up stations around the facility. They were all assigned to strategic locations as determined by her.

Savannah was pleased Cameron assigned a few Terminators to assist her. Cameron assigned three of her clones to her. She was ready for a little deeper involvement in the operation at this stage. She informed her team of 'Cameron clones' they were in the fight as well if one started. She told them they weren't observers but participants. She knew she was about to be tested. She hoped her training would guide her. She conducted dozens of simulated assaults and scenarios under Cameron's direction. She experienced one live episode where she killed a Gray. Cameron asked her to 'step up' if she felt confident on the operation. It was time for her to get some command experience, with direction from John and Cameron. She was ready.

"It's our duty to protect Cameron and make sure she gets out of there if there's a problem." Savannah said. As an afterthought she added. "And John too, it's also important."

Cammy felt a little different about it. She was 'Cameron' as far as her program went but she was 'assigned' to Savannah and it was the only thing which really mattered to her.

"It's our duty to protect you." Cammy said. "You need to think about your own safety as well during any operation."

Savannah wasn't about to back down. Cameron taught her to be assertive. It's what she planned to do. She wanted Cammy to understand what she was willing to do.

"Then be ready to move with me if Cameron needs us." Savannah said. "If she ends up in a jam, we're going to get her out. I'll go on my own if I need to."

The three clones looked at each other. It was a bold statement. They would give Savannah some leeway to use her initiative and training, but only so much. The events from the last 'outing', which turned deadly, hadn't made Savannah squeamish or afraid. They'd made her stronger and better….

The 'Cameron' in all of her clones was proud of Savannah.

The HK Track ran through some maneuvers. It made a series of turns and rapidly pivoted or turned to attack targets behind it. It conducted a simulated response to an aerial attack as it made some defensive turns. Something happened and it abruptly stopped. It sat there and nothing happened. Two men exited the building and went out to it. One of them opened a panel on the back of it.

Cameron was able to 'zoom in' with her vision and obtain some images of the interior and its layout. It gave her an overall view of what was inside of it. She noted several ways to disable it given the time allowed to do it. If the HK Tracks attacked in a group, which they normally did, they could prevent anyone from climbing on another one. She watched the two men make some adjustments on the HK Track. It started moving again.

It repeated the same maneuvers as it did earlier without a malfunction this time.

John and Bob watched the HK Track try to move as well. It seemed to operate erratically as it started and stopped since they'd first observed it on their arrival. Now it was moving freely. It returned inside the building after it seemed to get everything smoothed out.

Bob told John if the HK Track even started to turn in their direction, they needed to get down and remain undetected. They were within its kill zone.

John wasn't sure he liked being in the kill zone of anything. He combated Skynet equipment in the alternate future. He also combated it in the present. It didn't really matter what type of equipment it was. The majority of it so far consisted of Terminators. The discovery of HK drones was bad enough. Now there was a new threat they needed to face.

It seemed there was always a new threat. There didn't appear to be a shortage of them. If anything, there were more and more of them. It seemed the more stuff they destroyed, the more stuff they ran into.

John and Bob observed it for about an hour before the others arrived. Now Cameron was down on the ground about to attempt to enter the building. Nobody was happy about it.

There was security around the parameter, but it was lax. The Resistance team, which was really Cameron's Terminators, moved in and terminated the threats. They manned the two outposts with the Terminators who followed Bob and him.

John was critical of Cameron for originally having four of her Terminators 'shadow' Bob and him. He saw it was the right move. They were able to conduct the operation now because there were additional personnel on the ground.

He would have been content with an air strike, but maybe they could find out a little more first.

Cameron was about to enter through a side door. She paused and dropped back a little. She noticed there was a Terminator looking over the HK Track after it entered the building. It apparently stopped again. Everyone seemed to be focused on the activity or lack of it by the errant HK Track.

She waited until everyone was clustered around the troublesome HK Track. She made her move and made it inside. It appeared she was undetected. There was no alarm raised. She took a moment to look around. She didn't like what she viewed.

There were a dozen HK Tracks parked inside. They were arranged in two rows. There was no apparent assembly line. What she could see was something different. There could be more to this facility too. The building reminded her a lot of the one John invaded with Jim and Bob. It was one of the times when her face was shot up and she didn't want him to see her. She went with Allison and Sarah to back him up. It was when they tried the 'Double Play' on John, The 'Double Play' eventually turned into a 'Triple Play'.

The technician there told her they were about to set up an assembly line for 'large appliances'. She knew what those 'large appliances' were now. It appeared they were going to start to assemble HK Tracks there. Once they started with those, they would expand into HK drones and HK Treads. They would probably start building Terminators too. There were Terminators there as well protecting the operation. They nipped it in the bud before anything really got underway. She also found a lot of computer equipment which was about to be set up. She destroyed all of it as well.

Cameron quietly relayed the information to John Henry. He forwarded it to the team. It allowed everyone to know what part of the building she was in and what she uncovered so far. She wore her body cam.

She was sure there would be some computer banks around there. There could be a fledgling Skynet under construction right where she was at. It would probably be underground. The thought of it made her think of Duplicate Cameron and her one way 'mission' to destroy another version of Skynet.

Cameron still possessed four nukes…. She'd stashed the Nike warheads away where only she knew where they were at.

If there was any major underground setup there, she was prepared to use one. It needed to be deep, and she needed a way out. Then again, she needed to protect John and the future. There were several clones of her now….

Savannah followed the information relayed by John Henry to all of them. She didn't like the wait. There was little new information. She felt the need to do more.

"Cameron's been inside there for too long." Savannah said.

Cammy could see Savannah was antsy. It didn't appear there was a need to worry about Cameron right now, at least not yet anyway.

"There hasn't been any shooting, or even a commotion we can detect." Cammy said. "Cameron may be in close to the enemy. She may have spotted something which could detect her."

Savannah could have done without those last two references.

"I don't like it." Savannah said.

Cammy could see the concern Savannah expressed for Cameron. It was more than about the 'job'. She wanted Savannah to express herself a little more.

"You really care about her, don't you?" Cammy asked.

Savannah looked directly at Cammy. She wanted her feelings to be clear to everyone and why. She was aware Cammy was a version of Cameron, but it didn't matter. Cammy wasn't Cameron, even if she was.

"I love Cameron." Savannah said. "She's the most special person on Earth. I'll do anything to help her and protect her."

Cammy and Camille looked at each other. They both knew River wasn't on Earth, at least not now, or yet. They knew everyone loved River too. They were aware how River and Savannah got along with each other. It was a special bond.

The Cameron clones knew River was everything Cameron was, and everything she was not. It covered a lot of ground.

Savannah could see the clones seemed troubled after her proclamation. She wanted to lighten the mood some.

"Don't take it so literally." Savannah told them. "I'll act only if it's necessary."

Cammy looked at Savannah. She wanted to ask something but didn't.

Savannah picked up on the hesitation right away.

"I know you're 'Cameron' too, Cammy." Savannah said. "Cameron is Cameron. You're 'a Cameron'."

Cammy understood the statement for what it meant. 'She' was 'Cameron' to Savannah. There would be limitations and restrictions placed on her by Cameron going forward.

"Cameron will insist I share another program." Cammy said. "There can only be one Cameron Prime at a time."

Cammy was well aware of what happened to other clones of Cameron which didn't yield to her. She didn't plan to make the same mistake. If anyone challenged Cameron Prime, they would be deactivated and terminated.

Savannah thought Cameron may have acted a little extreme.

"Right now there are at least five of her. They run her program and are updated to a day or less of her. They're all 'Cameron'." Savannah said. "They are all Cameron to me. So are you."

Cammy liked to 'hear' her line of thought. Savannah was entirely correct. There was one minor point and one major point which needed to be reaffirmed. She wanted to spell it out to Savannah in no uncertain terms.

"Cam is out of date." Cammy said. "She will need to run her combined Ally programming again, soon. You must always remember Cameron is 'Cameron Prime'. We all face deactivation if we cross the line."

Camille let Savannah and Cammy interact. She wanted to point out a few things as well. It was about what Cammy said. They all needed to run a second program and then merge them. The act would effectively make them a 'new program' and no longer 'Cameron'.

"I'll share Gail's program." Camille said. "I'll become unique once our programs are combined."

She also hoped it would give her better 'stability' than Cameron often exhibited.

Savannah didn't mention she would also set a 'restore point' to be able to be 'Cameron' again, even if she would be out of date. 'Cameron' was still 'Cameron' either way.

Ron hoped for a female chassis as soon as one was available. No version of 'Cameron' preferred a male chassis. Every time she was in one, she seriously considered removing the 'junk'. It could regenerate over time for the next owner of the chassis once it was relinquished.

"My chip will be transferred to a female chassis or reprogrammed." Ron said. "I won't stay long in this male chassis as 'Cameron'."

Cammy thought all the talk would distract Savannah.

"You need to stay focused." Cammy told Savannah.

Savannah tried to follow Cameron's position from her description of the layout of the building. She was able to make a few visual spots as well. The body cam helped.

"I have been." Savannah said. "Cameron's now in the office area. I've been following her visually with the body cam and from the com."

Savannah moved her team so they could see in through the large roll up door into the interior. Cammy earlier identified one of the men as a Terminator. The Terminator made a sudden abrupt move and headed in the direction Cameron last reported she was in.

"Cameron, the Terminator is moving in your direction." Savannah said over the com. "He seems in a hurry."

John and Bob couldn't see the latest development from their position. They pretty much remained in the same location since their arrival. It offered the most concealment and cover if an altercation took place. They were impressed at Savannah's reports. Cameron was 'silent'. The Terminator was probably near her position. It could go hot real fast.

Cameron took a good look at everything she could see from her position in the building. It was a start, but she knew there must be more. She wasn't exactly sure what else there would be. She could only look around to find out for sure. She was now in the office area. She searched for the entrance to the 'Clean Room'. So far it appeared to her the location was more of a storage or staging area. There was no assembly line there unless it too was underground. It was always the things Skynet chose to hide underground which were the deadliest.

She knew the Terminator was headed her way. She readied her Taser. She would attempt to capture him. She developed a repeating 'pulse shocker' to keep a Terminator down until the chip was removed. They would be unable to reboot. She hoped to test it under real conditions soon, real soon. It would render them inactive for as long as it was on. There wasn't always time to pull a chip in a battle. She could come back and remove the chip later. It should allow the capture of another chassis, rather than its destruction or damage.

Cameron watched the Terminator open and enter a door. She could hear him go down some stairs or a ladder. It was one way down to a lower level. She was sure there was another way.

Right now she wanted to even the odds up a little bit for the team on the outside. The best way to do it would be to deactivate the HK Tracks.

She slipped out of the office and went from HK Track to HK Track and disabled them. Based on her earlier scan she knew how to put them offline. They were soon all shut down except the one they were trying to get to operate properly. She would need to be out in the open to reach it. She was about to make her move.

There was a hydraulic noise. A section of the floor dropped down. There were some clanking sounds and the hydraulic noise again. Another HK Track came up to her level and rumbled off the lift platform. It was like an elevator. This confirmed her suspicions about a lower level. It was probably more than a 'clean room'.

She relayed the information to John Henry as well as the footage from her body camera.

Cameron needed to check downstairs and see what was there. There was a good chance she would lose communication with the team once she was below the ground level. She wanted to make sure everything was in place.

"Have two drones ready to strike from altitude. I still want one ready for a low pass." Cameron said. "Keep one on recon around the area."

John could see things were heating up fast. He didn't like it because Cameron was alone.

"Cameron, I want to send in more Terminators to help you." John said. "Bob wants to assist you."

Cameron tried to assess the best way to move to the lower level. She didn't need John's interference at this critical stage of the operation.

"No, it's a negative at this time on any additional assistance." Cameron reported back. "I need to look downstairs first."

The technicians got the first HK Track moving again and onto the hydraulic lift. The one that came up on it earlier went outside. The technicians followed it out. It was all except for one. He was about to send the stubborn HK Track down to the lower level for further work. She was able to move over to it. She disabled it. The platform started down as she was on it…. She'd hoped to be off of it before it happened. She didn't want the technician to spot her and raise the alarm. She didn't make it. She needed to remain where she was at. She was worried she would be spotted once she reached the lower level. Down the rabbit hole she went.

Savannah watched Cameron's body cam images on her phone. She saw how critical it was for Cameron right now. She also understood the nature of the threat. It would put Cameron at a major disadvantage with the rest of the team.

"If Cameron goes to a lower level, we're going to lose communication with her like the last time." Savannah said. "We need to move closer to be able to assist her."

Camille knew it was about the last thing Cameron wanted, especially if it put Savannah in increased danger.

"Cameron doesn't need assistance." Camille said.

Savannah saw it a little differently.

"Sometimes it's nice to have help." Savannah said.

The three Cameron clones looked at each other. Cameron told them it was how it would play out with Savannah. She wasn't going to remain passive this time.

"Let's go." Savannah said.

Cammy needed to issue a warning and some advice.

"If one of us tells you something, you must follow those directions immediately." Cammy said. "It may mean life or death."

Savannah silently nodded. Right now it was for real.

They were going to give Savannah some freedom, but make sure she didn't get trapped or hurt. With three 'Camerons' there with Savannah, it shouldn't go bad too fast.

John picked up what Savannah was about to do on the com. He thought it was a good move. He also worried about her safety.

"Use caution, Savannah." John said.

Bob, John, and Ronny, Cameron's male clone, moved down as well to assist them.

John knew Savannah was about to 'step up'. He knew she was ready.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Use Caution

When does one use caution
When do they forge ahead
What happens if they're misled
Or if their actions are misread

How far does one go
Should they act fast
Or take things slow
To make things last

What one thinks they want
May not be their true desire
Once they've ended the hunt
There may be no lasting fire

People will grow and change
They seek something different or new
They want more or maybe some 'strange'
But it's what everyone already knew

Here's the warning in advance
Relationships are random chance
Through life everyone must dance
Everyone is a victim of circumstance

Nobody