Chapter 426
Queen
John Henry and Bob were to meet with John.
Kyle came along also.
"I've gone through all the records and it appears it was the Gray who infiltrated the anti-Metal group." John Henry said. "It seems it leads back to the Skyweb group. It was another Skynet offshoot."
It sounded like a solid lead to Kyle.
"OK, so now we have some more targets." Kyle said. "We can hit them hard and clear out."
John wanted more than just to hit them hard. He wanted the 'brain'. It was the only way to stop it.
"I want the computers." John said. "I want Skynet or Sky-whatever."
Bob felt it was what they did in each case. They stifled Skynet's growth and its ability to keep a foothold in the military.
"As long as we can keep Skynet from growing we can contain it." Bob said. "Since they've gone so deep and dark, it's hard for us to track."
John thought it was the whole point.
"It's what we have John Henry for." John said. "We need to find them before they can grow."
John Henry thought Cameron's base did a lot of the heavy lifting. It was one of the reasons why Cameron was usually the one to track any Skynet offshoot down and destroy it herself.
"I get a lot of help from CamNet." John Henry said. "It's a very powerful and far reaching system."
John still believed it was a major problem for Cameron to have her own base. It just didn't sit well with him. There was no oversight or control of anything. He knew it was easy for her to get off on a tangent and lose sight of the big picture at times. He thought of some of the stunts she pulled and could only picture an even more powerful system doing the same things. At what point would CamNet determine humans, or even cyborgs, were the real threat?
Based upon past human interaction with each other, he couldn't really fault Skynet for the conclusion it reached about what the threat to the planet actually was. Humans not only killed each other, they killed other creatures, and left pollution in their wake. Clearly a planet without humans would be a much more relaxed environment for the planet.
He was aware every time there was an identical copy of Cameron's program in another cyborg, there was usually a conflict of some type to follow. Cameron needed to deactivate several other cyborgs which ran her program because of the problems which developed. He was told CamNet was Cameron's program but much more powerful. He didn't see how they would be able to get along. At some point one of them was going to want to terminate the other.
John disagreed with the entire concept of Cameron's base and CamNet as a separate entity from the Resistance.
"Great, CamNet…." John said. "It's just 'Cameron' before she becomes Skynet. We need to contain CamNet somehow."
John Henry was pretty sure it was impossible at this point. He wouldn't want to be the one to try it. He already experienced an attack from his 'brother' before. He was sure one from CamNet would be much more aggressive and terminal for him.
"CamNet is more powerful than I am." John Henry said. "She's more powerful than my servers anyway. I don't think it's going to happen from the outside under any circumstances."
Kyle was surprised to hear it. He thought the Resistance possessed the most advanced system.
"How's it even possible?" Kyle asked. "You have the best of everything. You should be able to match CamNet. You should at least have identical technology and equipment."
John Henry knew he was outmatched already. Cameron's program was more advanced than his was on many different levels. Her long-term exposure to humans allowed her to adapt and blend in better. He believed it also led to irrational thinking on many levels. Somehow everything which should have been a detriment seemed to be a positive for her when events played out. CamNet would have the same ability to adapt and fight better than he could.
"It's Cameron's programming in the system." John Henry said. "When she plugs in full time, it's 'Game Over'."
Kyle didn't want John Henry or his server, JH, to be overpowered again.
"Have there been any more attacks on your server?" Kyle asked. "I understand there was one before and maybe others since."
John Henry found 'probes' by some of the Skynet offshoots before. None of them was ever a real threat.
"Yes there has been. When Cameron, Duplicate Cameron blew the parent Skynet up with the backpack nuke, none of them has ever become strong enough." John Henry said. "As soon as Cameron detects anything, she hits it hard."
Kyle thought about the sacrifice of Duplicate Cameron and the Duplicate set of girls on the 'Day Of Loss'. At the time they believed they were all dead. He found out Cameron, Duplicate Cameron, took the fight to the enemy and destroyed them herself in a very spectacular way.
"Was there any other way Cameron, well, Duplicate Cameron could have destroyed the parent Skynet computer other than the method she used?" Kyle asked. "I know it's something we all beat our brains out for months trying to figure out."
John really didn't want to get into the subject. It was painful to recollect anything involved with what happened. Somehow, when Cameron returned after fifteen months of being in 'limbo', things return to normal like nothing ever happened. The trouble was, it did happen to all of them for a long time. Stranger still, Cameron was able to run temporal missions and rescue all of the Duplicates.
John Henry could see John was irritated by the discussion.
"I don't believe it could have been done any other way." John Henry said. "Duplicate Cameron needed to run down several other Skynet computers before she reached the parent one. She knew what she was doing when she took the fight to the enemy. It was the only way to be sure it was destroyed."
John didn't like the idea of Cameron and nukes. It was always a bad mix. It was still a sore spot with him when she took the four Nike warheads away. It was clear since she used nuclear weapons once to fight Skynet, she would do it again if she felt it was necessary to destroy it. Her past actions spoke for themselves.
"Speaking of what happened, I'm worried about the other nukes, has there been any use of the four others Cameron has?" John asked. "Does anyone even know where they are?"
John wouldn't be surprised if she obtained more of them in the meantime. He wouldn't put it past her. There was no way to know what she did on her own.
John Henry searched high and low for where Cameron hid her nukes. He stopped looking when he found CamNet 'waiting' for him several times. He took it as a 'threat' to back off. He did. He was aware Cameron saw a nuke only as another tool to accomplish a task or get a job done. He understood from a Terminator point of view, it's exactly what it was.
There was never any unexplained 'seismic activity' to indicate a nuclear weapon was used anywhere and reported as some type of earthquake.
"It has to rate a 'no' on all accounts." John Henry said. "She's sitting on them and I have no doubt if she feels it's necessary to use one, she will. I think she will only do it deep underground like she did before."
John felt deflated. He trusted Cameron, but he didn't trust her instincts to 'protect' him. She would follow them and do what was 'necessary' to protect him. It included going after any version of Skynet with a nuke. He already witnessed the proof firsthand as to what she would do. There was no guarantee there would be some type of temporal rescue mission again. He was sure John Henry was right about how far Cameron would go. It was all the way.
"I hope not." John said. "I trust her, but I know she would sacrifice herself again if she thought she was protecting me or protecting us."
Kyle could visibly see John looked beat. The talk of the nukes seemed to depress him.
"You look tired, John." Kyle said.
John was tired. Cameron 'worked' him hard. It was a good time for him and what appeared to be a really good time for her. He hadn't seen her so enthusiastic in a long time about sharing with him. Then again, she did have an ulterior motive this time. He didn't want to get into it.
He didn't know Cameron saw it as a way out of all of her behind the scenes activity she started.
"It was a busy afternoon." John said. "Anyway, we have some targets and new places to watch and see what the cat drags in."
John didn't ask Kyle how he would like being called 'Grandpa' at such a young age. He knew Cameron went off to do her 'dirty work'. He gave his approval and he was pleased at how happy it made Cameron. He wasn't sure if it was because she would be the one to 'deliver' the genetic material to the girls instead of him. He was 'up' to the traditional method at this point. He really didn't think it would hurt anything if it was just for the purpose of breeding. It didn't seem to be something the girls would want to do on a regular basis anyway.
Bob noted the depressed mood. He looked around. There wasn't much activity around the Resistance base.
"This place seems quiet." Bob said.
Kyle wondered about it himself. It seemed as if there were more than a few faces missing.
"I haven't seen many of the girls around." Kyle said. "I've only seen Riley, Jan and Sarah recently."
John Henry received some new information. He now knew where they were at. CamNet kept it from him earlier.
"They went back to Australia, again." John Henry said.
John hoped he could get a little more information out of John Henry about Savannah. He'd try a less overt approach. He didn't want to lead with his impression of her receiving implants. It seemed a little too forward for him to bring up. Maybe if Kyle wasn't there he would have.
"I was worried about Savannah." John said. "She looked a little 'pale'."
John Henry knew John was 'fishing'. He didn't want to break his promise to Savannah or Cameron. She made it clear what wasn't to be discussed.
"She'll be fine." John Henry said. "They can all rest up and get some sun and relax."
John knew what Cameron wanted to do. He doubted it would work. There were two wild cards in the mix with Savannah and Young Jesse. He just didn't know what the outcome would be.
He couldn't help but think about Young Jesse. He always found Jesse, and Sheila by extension, to be rather alluring as well as Hot. He would really like to see what the teenage version of her was like. Somehow the prospect of Savannah and Young Jesse together excited him greatly. The thought of them in his bedroom was even more enticing. Maybe he should have pushed a little harder for the 'traditional method', at least one time with each of the girls, just to see if it made a difference. Maybe it was something he would bring up if there were problems on the next go around when they were ready to try again.
"Somehow I think a lot is going to be different when they get back." John said. "Young Jesse is about Savannah's age, right?"
John Henry already knew what John was thinking.
"Yes." John Henry said.
John was sure it would only exaggerate the 'problem'.
"It's what I was afraid of." John said.
Kyle pictured a younger version of Jesse who was just as hot and enticing as Jesse was. The thought excited him more than a little. He believed it should do the same for John. He wondered what exactly John was afraid of.
"Why?" Kyle asked. "I don't see anything wrong with it at all."
John didn't want to explain. He knew Savannah and Young Jesse were not afflicted by the future. They were who was going to end up pregnant for Cameron. He didn't doubt it at all. He just wondered how events would play out going forward.
"It's just a feeling." John said.
John wasn't sure now if he did the right thing. It just seemed like something which needed to be done at the time he suggested it. Cameron hadn't even talked him into it. Or did she?
'Damn, she's good.' John thought.
Nothing would probably work anyway. There wasn't anything to worry about. Was there?
John tried to determine who her real target was. Maybe it was multiple targets. It could even be Allison's mother Claire. He wasn't sure about it. It would make the child Allison's sibling. He would really like to have a traditional session with Claire.
He now wondered if maybe he should contact Cameron and call the whole thing off. It was the look on her face which made him hesitate. She looked so happy for once, like she hit the lotto jackpot. No, he remembered what it was. It was the look on her face when she thought she was a human female in the 'halfway house'. She looked so happy playing Foosball. He ruined it and told her she was really a machine. The look of joy and happiness faded from her face. It was his fault. He never saw the same look again until earlier when they were together.
John knew her inability to reproduce haunted Cameron. It was probably Future John's fault for whatever he programmed into her. Most of Cameron's problems were Future John related. In reality it was HIS doing in the future.
It seemed everything 'messed up' with Cameron always landed back on his doorstep. He knew his hands, among other things, weren't clean either.
Sheila was able to intercept the flight of girls before it took off. She delivered a small cryogenic vat.
Cameron wasn't going to miss out on the opportunity John gave to her. John GAVE her a way out of her 'manipulation'. She planned to capitalize on it.
Cameron decided she was going with Ally to see Allison, especially now. She wanted to make sure all the girls were 'taken care of'.
Ally wanted to ask Cameron about everything in the two futures she went to on with her latest 'two day' excursion. Cameron filled her in on the way.
Cameron was a little elated at the turn of events which seemed to play in her favor for once. The talk of the future with Ally reminded her of it. It also reminded her of what Savannah needed to leave behind. She didn't think Mrs. Weaver would have tried to stop them if Savannah would have insisted to bring the baby with her.
She already contemplated several ways it could have been done. There was extra sheath material left over when Ginger's torso was repaired with new material. She figured she could open her abdominal cavity, and place the baby inside of it. The extra sheath material would make up the space the baby would take. For all practical purposes she would be 'pregnant'. She would….
"Did you see that?" Ally asked.
Cameron looked around. It was easy for her to get sidetracked sometimes. There was a lot on her mind.
"Did I see what?" Cameron asked.
Ally wanted to make sure herself.
"Go around the block." Ally said.
Cameron did. They only got off the freeway a few minutes ago. They passed a park a short time later. She wanted to know what she missed.
"Fill me in." Cameron said. "I was deep in thought about Allison and what I wanted to do for her to help her."
Ally almost snickered. She knew what Cameron wanted to do with Allison had very little to do with what Allison wanted. It was all about what Cameron wanted.
"I think I saw a female being chased near the restrooms by the park." Ally said. "She was running without pants on."
Cameron immediately increased her speed. Most of the parks were overrun with homeless or future Scavengers. They were unsafe for single females to visit.
"The park is trouble sometimes." Cameron said. "Some of the people from the homeless camp near the railroad tracks go there to try and clean up a little with the restrooms at the park. Other 'riff raff' tends to congregate there."
Ally didn't think it was too big of a deal. There were places set up to take the homeless in if they wanted to adhere to the rules. She saw homelessness as more of a chosen lifestyle. Still no female should be abused for any reason. The 'Allison' in her viewed attackers as nothing more than Scavengers. It's what those people would become in the future anyway.
Cameron looked over at Ally as she neared the park. She could see Ally was worried about the female now. She hadn't been as concerned thirty seconds ago.
They both looked as Cameron drove slowly on the side of the park near the bathrooms.
Ally spotted the female.
"There." Ally said and pointed.
Cameron saw a female running between the trees. She only wore a top and one shoe. Her pants were missing. She immediately pulled over. She didn't like any trouble within a few mile radius of Young Allison.
"If the female's been abused, I want to terminate the perpetrator or perpetrators." Cameron said. "This park has a problem with females getting jumped. They're usually gang members who don't fear punishment from the authorities, especially with the no bail policy now in effect. A few of them can be males from the homeless camp who are out looking for females a little less disease ridden than the camp girls. The abused female's status changes real fast once they get a hold of someone. They're not always female either. Younger males have also been abused. I've cleaned this place up twice so far."
Ally figured a third time would be the charm. She wanted to get started.
"Let's go." Ally said. "I'll make sure the buildings are clear."
Cameron went in pursuit of the female.
Ally went to check the restrooms. It was the most likely place the abuse took place. It was possible a perpetrator could still be inside waiting for the next victim to arrive. If there was, they were about to get a little bit more than they bargained for with her. She entered the restroom and spotted a shoe and a pair of pants on the floor. There was a pair of underwear too, but it was ripped nearly in two. It was clear they were torn off of someone. She could only imagine the female attempting to hang on to them as her last line of defense as the perpetrator made his move. She checked the stalls, they were all empty. She grabbed the shoe and pants off of the floor and headed out.
Cameron moved parallel to the female and got in front of her.
"Run." The girl said as she approached. "You need to run."
The girl was about to pass Cameron. She reached out and stopped her.
"It's OK." Cameron said.
The girl looked terrified.
"No! It's not." The girl said. "They jumped me. There were two of them. This was the second time. They got me last week too. They said they were going to kill me this time. They were upset because I wasn't a new conquest."
Cameron looked down and saw some fresh bruises on the girl's inner thighs. It appeared the abuse occurred.
Two men burst into the clearing where Cameron stood with the girl. The girl fell over backwards when she saw the men. She tried to backpedal and tripped over a root. The men each held a knife.
"We're going to die." The girl sobbed.
The two men slowed but continued towards the female and Cameron with their weapons out. The recent 'catch' appeared to be too good to be true.
"You got that right." The first man said. "I only got one turn so far. Now we're going to get some fresh meat on top of it."
The second man leered at Cameron with deranged lust.
"It sure looks sweet too." The second man said.
The two men approached with their knives in front of them.
"Wrong." Cameron said.
She grabbed each man by the hand with the knife and pulled them together so they stabbed each other. They both fell to the ground.
The girl watched it all happen in a second. It was hard to tell what occurred.
"What just happened?" The girl asked.
Cameron held her foot down on one man's chest until it stopped moving.
"They tried to stab me, but stabbed each other." Cameron said.
Ally arrived with the girl's shoe and pants. She could see the threat was neutralized.
"It looks like I missed the party." Ally said.
She tossed the girl her belongings.
Cameron went through the men's pockets and found some cash and a second knife on one of the men. It was a folding knife.
The girl put her pants and shoe on.
Cameron handed her the cash and the knife.
"You can have these things. Do you want to go to the police or get medical attention?" Cameron asked.
The girl laughed.
"I did that once." The girl said. "The police told me it was my fault. I usually get jumped a couple of times a week in the camp. I'm used to it. Sometimes they give me food. This was the first time someone wanted to kill me for real. They made it seem like it was my fault because they already jumped me before."
The girl looked at the wad of cash. Cameron clandestinely slipped a few hundred dollar bills in among the other low denomination bills.
"You have enough to get a bus ticket back home." Cameron said. "I'll take you to the bus station."
The girl laughed again.
"It's where it all started." The girl said. "I got 'busted' in my own bed by my mother's boyfriend. It hurt like Hell. I told my mother about it on the seventh time he did it. She threw my clothes onto the front lawn and kicked me out. She said I made the story up. She accused me of trying to steal her boyfriend from her. She told me never to come back. I don't plan to."
Cameron and Ally turned to leave.
"Wait." The girl said. "Who are you?"
Cameron glanced back.
"Nobody…." Cameron said and disappeared into the trees.
Holly saw the SUV pull up. She knew they were coming. She loved to see Cameron, but always felt a little insecure with Cameron around Allison. Ally was with her. Ally was a wild card. Anything could happen with the three Metal clones of the girls from the future, and often did.
Ally contained both 'Holly' and 'Allison' through the 'Neural Interface' on her chip. She was wild enough to make a play for 'herself', even though Allison never encouraged it. Maybe it was the 'Holly', herself, on the chip.
Holly often thought of downloading some of the 'Allison' files from Ally. She refrained so far from doing it. She wanted them, but she was very happy with the relationship they shared, even if she needed to share Allison with Vanna, and sometimes Jesse. It was Allison having to be with John which worried her the most. When it happened, Cameron would be there as well. Cameron could have the 'pick of the litter' if she wanted it. No, not wanted it, but if she decided to take it.
She was more than happy if Allison got pregnant, especially with John not directly involved. The method Cameron planned to use was fine with her. Then again, if Allison couldn't produce, there was no need for her to be with John or Cameron. She saw the 'damage' childbirth did to a female body. Most of it wasn't apparent, but a lot of things happened. She was happy with Allison just the way she was with everything high and tight where it belonged, like Cameron.
Hanna grew very protective of Claire. There was now a full blown relationship going on. They no longer hid it from anyone.
Claire said she wanted to be who she was. She wasn't ashamed. She felt sorry for Paul. He was the odd man out now. She was torn over what to do. Hanna and Sheila both offered to 'satisfy' him to keep him around if it was necessary. She wasn't ready to cross that bridge yet. She knew once someone tried Metal, nothing else would settle.
Hanna told her three days a week for half an hour on full programming would keep him happy. Hanna promised to run her programming only and not get emotionally involved. Cameron hadn't signed off on any of it yet. Hanna and Sheila weren't looking to be deactivated for angering Cameron. Claire knew Ally was out of the equation because of the 'Allison' in her. It was what she hoped anyway.
Claire wasn't 'showing' yet. On her last pregnancy, Summer showed earlier than Allison did on hers, and this baby would 'show' sooner is just the way it was. She was still young enough to have a lot more productive years. She was elated because Cameron was there.
Hanna could see the response both Allison and Claire experienced when Cameron was around. She felt it too, she saw Holly as well. Cameron was simply like no other. Claire held Cameron a little longer than she liked and the kiss on the cheek was a little too long also. Cameron just gave her that sort of sideways sly smile. Cameron knew she was Queen. Nobody was going to challenge her.
Young Allison was always thrilled to see Cameron.
The only person more thrilled was Cameron to see little Summer.
Claire saw the interaction of her girls, all 'three' of them, with Cameron. It was really something special, like Cameron was. She knew they all loved Cameron.
Cameron was worried about Summer - Metal Summer. The cyborg she created. She believed it was only a matter of time until she challenged her for John. She ended up creating a more beautiful version of 'herself' with young Summer's DNA sequenced as a teenager.
She wanted to talk to Summer about the request River made for the Duplicate girls. There was a very specific reason. River could feel the Duplicate girl's 'hunger' for Duplicate Cameron - HER Cameron, and even herself for that matter. She knew only a Metal girl could quench such extreme lust. River clearly explained it to Cameron.
With Hanna now hooked up with Claire it left only Sheila or Summer. Cameron knew she could control Sheila, but not Summer. Sheila ran Gail's program with the 'Neural Interface' from Jesse on it. Summer ran her program. Summer should be the one to go. It would still have to be Summer's choice.
Cameron knew she was a Bitch. She just didn't want to be a Total Bitch. To allow everyone to have a choice helped her to not feel like as big of a Bitch anyway.
Maybe it was just a distinction which existed within the confines of her twisted mind. Cameron was pretty sure she was a Bitch. It was probably why Future John banished her and sent her away.
What Mrs. Weaver said about her and Future John always seemed to come back and haunt her now too. What if it were true and Future John ERASED that part of her life? Maybe Future John stole those cherished memories from her. Maybe Future John did it to cover something up.
Closing monologue by Cameron:
Night Knight
Even though I'm not the one
You want to see at night
My armor rusted, bent and dull
You will always be my Knight
When days grow cold and lonely
When the demons and dragons appear
I readily stand beside you
Mutual strength to fight the fear
Life is bitter and agonizing
Each day is empty and hollow
Where you lead
I will always follow
When all seems lost
Hearts shattered so cruel
I will help brush off the tarnish
For I see you as a shining jewel
Every race must run its course
So in the pits I must always wait
When all the backs have turned
I will still think you are great
Nobody