Chapter 527

Mission Unchanged

Savannah opened her eyes. She was in the lab.

Where did Cameron go?

Cameron was still lying next to her on one side. Cammy was on the other side.

Neither one of them moved. They both still lay there lifeless.

Savannah sat up and looked around.

She quickly checked Cameron's chip port. It was still empty.

'NO.' Savannah thought.

That couldn't have been a dream. It was real. It must've been real. It seemed so real. It was everything she wanted and Cameron said she was the 'decider'. Everything was still the same. Nothing changed.

Now Savannah wondered if the encounter with John was real….

No, she was sure that was real. She'd felt John 'bump around' on the outside of 'her' down there. He'd almost made entry and then the alarm went off. She'd been so close. It all happened so naturally and felt so right. She'd anticipated what it was going to be like to be with John. She'd asked Vanna what it was going to be like to be with a male. She thought back on that conversation.

Vanna told her there was going to be discomfort at first, maybe some pain as things were 'stretched' out some. She said after having two children there may be no pain at all, she didn't know. Vanna said her experiences were all against her will and when there were a few months between them, they always seemed to hurt more. Vanna told her to ask John to 'go slow', at least at first. She thanked Vanna for being honest. Vanna reminded her, she was her.

It disturbed her some that Vanna recommended she put off 'giving it a try' as long as possible. She wasn't sure why since it was what people did all the time. It didn't seem like a big deal really. She'd listened outside of their rooms when she was younger. She heard John and Cameron, Kyle and Sarah, Derek and Jesse and Derek and Riley. They didn't seem to have any issues. She didn't see why John and her should.

What she didn't know was that Vanna still hoped to be with John before her. Vanna was afraid if John was with her first he wouldn't want or need to be with her. Why would anyone choose older and used over younger and new?

Savannah needed to refocus on events here. This was what mattered now. This is what was important.

She tried to talk to Cammy and touch her. Cammy was functional until she put Cameron's chip in her second port. It all fell apart in a few seconds after that. She'd hoped that Cammy and Cameron were in deep communication inside Cammy. Now it looked terminal for both of them. She tried everything for awhile.

There was nothing.

This looked like it was on her now. She'd done what Cammy asked. She never thought it would end up like this.

Savannah removed Cameron's chip from Cammy.

Nothing happened. It was worse than she'd imagined. She at least hoped that Cammy would reboot. She was worried she'd 'killed' Cammy as well now.

She looked at the chip she held in her hand. That was 'Cameron'. She remembered that Cameron told her she'd held her chip in her hand just like she did now and wanted to crush it. Cameron was plugged into the server with a tether at the time. Cameron wanted to terminate herself. She never did.

Savannah told Cameron she could never do that, even if she wanted to. She remembered the conversation.

"You can't self terminate, Cameron." Savannah said.

"Is than an order?" Cameron asked.

"No." Savannah said. "It's what I've asked of you."

"You can order me not to do it." Cameron said. "I've given you that power."

"I won't use it like that." Savannah said.

"Why not?" Cameron asked.

"You already know the answer." Savannah said.

"Your love is more powerful than any order." Cameron said.

"My love is my love and it's for you, Cameron." Savannah said. "Never forget that."

"I haven't" Cameron said.

"I'll wait for you forever." Savannah said.

"Forever is a long time." Cameron said.

"I'll come for you." Savannah said. "I'll find you."

"It can be dangerous." Cameron said.

"I'll never leave you." Savannah said. "I'll never abandon you."

"That's why I am still here." Cameron said. "I do know that."

Savannah needed to refocus. She took one more look at Cameron's chip. She gently kissed the back end of it. She then placed Cameron's chip back in her port and sealed the cover.

Nothing.

She looked at Cameron and then at Cammy. They both remained lifeless.

They were both dead – terminated.

That wasn't something that she could accept. There were other things she could do. Maybe it was time to talk with CamNet herself. There were solutions. She might end up creating a new timeline. She'd better save that option.

Savannah silently looked over them. She talked to them and touched them. She talked to both of them for a long time and said EVERYTHING she wanted to say to both of them.

Nothing.

Savannah knew the only thing to do now was get Cameron's spare chip. It was time to see if that worked. Nothing else seemed to. There was one more thing that popped up in the back of her mind. She would try it….

John received the reports as John Henry processed everything. They were able to take down the facility with minimal effort. It wasn't what they'd expected. Someone else already did the 'heavy lifting'.

"There's been a Terminator through here before us, maybe a day or two ago." Steve reported.

That sounded like trouble to John.

"Was it Skynet Metal?" John asked.

"No. It looks like someone took out everybody here, including some Metal." Steve said.

John Henry found that report troubling. None of their operations were involved in that area.

"There've been no operations at that location since we hit it the first time a few weeks ago." John Henry said. "It wasn't us."

John quickly understood the implications of that attack. He hoped CamNet was involved.

"Was it Cameron's Metal?" John asked.

John Henry was often notified belatedly when things happened from Cameron's base. This wasn't one of them.

"I've checked with CamNet. They report no activity in that area. I'm usually notified." John Henry said.

John hoped for some better coordination. Cameron always maintained her operation operated outside the scope of the Resistance and any control from Mrs. Weaver.

"Usually?" John asked.

John Henry was aware of a potential problem.

"Yes. Unless Cameron is conducting an operation on her own." John Henry said. "She doesn't want it advertised."

John looked at the images the team sent out from the location. The area was a mess.

"Cameron!" John said. "She must have done this as well. No wonder she was so badly damaged."

John Henry couldn't say Cameron was involved for sure. There was no indication of this operation in the files she shared with him earlier. There were also many blank spots mixed in with it all.

"It's possible." John Henry said. "There were a lot of blank spaces and missing data when we interfaced."

John needed to know more. He tried to call Savannah. There was no answer.

'That can't be good news….' John thought.

John called Vanna and asked her about Cameron.

Vanna wished she knew more. Things looked bleak when she'd left earlier.

"I don't know John." Vanna said. "It doesn't look good."

Vanna gave him a quick run down on everything up to the point she left and since he was last by there.

John didn't like the fact that Cammy was also afflicted by whatever ailed Cameron. It didn't sound good for her either.

"So Cammy's terminated as well at this point?" John asked.

Vanna didn't want it to sound so terminal, even if it was.

"Yes. They're both shut down." Vanna said. "It's hard to say what will or won't happen.

Vanna wanted to ask John about Savannah and if Cameron 'caught' them in the act of making love. Both Allison and Savannah indicated John was with Savannah a dozen times. Vanna still didn't know it was Savannah and Allison that were with each other that many times, not Savannah and John.

She hoped to get some information out of John. She would try to probe him over accuse him.

"Maybe something 'happened' or has been 'happening' that sent Cameron into a 'Death Wish' mode again." Vanna said.

Silence.

"John?" Vanna asked.

John didn't want to indicate what almost happened. Nothing actually happened. He believed the current issue started a few days ago. Not a few hours ago.

"This all seems to have started several days ago." John said. "I'm unaware of anything at that time that could or would have initiated that."

Vanna knew he didn't want to talk about whatever he'd done with Savannah. She was aware Savannah recently asked her about what 'it' was like or would be like to be with a male, Translation - John. She didn't sugar coat it or lie. She could only tell Savannah her personal experience. None of them were pleasant.

She was worried about what she'd said to Al earlier. She couldn't get back into the lab either.

"I'll go back again and see if Al will let me in." Vanna said. "I told him to keep everyone out but Savannah. He wouldn't let me back in after that."

John wasn't sure he wanted to relate his story. Even as General Connor he wasn't allowed to pass.

"Nice." John said. "I thought that was just for now."

Vanna was still miffed about the encounter.

"Once I told him it was 'Savannah's order', he said only Savannah could change that order." Vanna said. "I asked him if he knew who was in charge and he said 'yes'."

John pondered that question himself. Everyone knew the true story, even if no one spoke of it.

"So who is in charge now?" John asked. "We all know it is supposed to be me but Cameron really runs things."

Vanna thought there was a real and valid distinction there. She wanted to point that out. It mattered in the overall function of the Resistance.

"When she is around she may overstep." Vanna said. "You're around all the time, she isn't."

John wanted to conclude the current operation. He would deal with the lab issue later on.

"Let me get this operation wrapped up and I will come with Bob and Jim and see if Al will let us in." John said.

Vanna thought a warning was in order. When she'd sought help from any other Terminator they all said Savannah's orders couldn't be violated.

"You might want to ask them first if they will go against 'Savannah's orders'." Vanna said. "They might not."

John thought it was just Al.

"Why?" John asked.

Vanna could see how it all fit together.

"All the Terminators know that Savannah speaks for Cameron in her absence. Cameron told them speaking to Savannah was the same as speaking to her. The same rule applied if Savannah told them something or gave an 'order'." Vanna said. "They all know Savannah is the 'Chosen One'."

There was something about that wording that rang a bell in the back of his mind. It was a story about Cameron and Jesse – Future Jesse.

"Since when?" John asked.

Vanna was able to review the files that Cameron made available to the Terminators. She was very traumatized by what she saw. Savannah could have saved herself and she chose to stay with Cameron and what was certain doom.

"Since Savannah saved the mission in Cameron's future to destroy Skynet. Since Savannah stayed with Cameron and faced certain termination and then used her own body to save Cameron and bring her back. Cameron has shared those files with all the Terminators to show them Savannah is the 'Chosen One'. Cameron showed them that without Savannah she would have failed - lost." Vanna said. "Cameron told me without Savannah there that day the mission would have remained uncompleted and she would have been terminated. Savannah was there on her own. Cameron didn't make her come with her. Savannah stayed on her own to perish with Cameron or save her."

John thought back to when he'd first met Cameron. Everything was different back then. He relied on his mother completely.

"Savannah's a teenager." John said. "When I was her age I could do very little on my own, let alone all that. I tried to push everything off on my mother. I really didn't want to deal with it. I didn't think I could. I was afraid."

John was also aware Savannah already gave birth to two of his children in the harsh living conditions of the future. That took a lot of courage to do that. He was sure that child birth at that young age was hard on her growing body. Then again that was the age females reproduced at two hundred years ago because everyone died at about thirty five years old. It happened all the time in the inner city now. There were grandmothers that were only twenty-five years old.

Vanna knew the big difference between John and Savannah was their mentor. It was just that simple.

"You didn't have Cameron controlling your life for nearly a decade to allow you to become who you were then." Vanna said. "You had Sarah, not Cameron."

John knew without his mother's training, guidance and protection he'd be dead.

"My mother did a good job." John said. "I should have done better."

Vanna was aware that Savannah was very different from her in many regards. That was all Cameron's doing and influence.

"John, Savannah is like no other. The next closest person to her is Future Allison." Vanna said.

John remembered there was someone else.

"You forgot to mention another one…." John said.

Vanna knew it was something Cameron thought about. She was glad she never acted on it.

"No, I didn't." Vanna said. "If Cameron could enhance Savannah like River, she would."

John hoped that idea remained in the past.

"Thank goodness Savannah's too old for that now." John said. "I think she is safe from that."

Vanna frowned. There were still two other 'candidates'.

"Young Allison and Summer aren't." Vanna said. "If Cameron ever takes them to River's future…. I believe Summer is most at risk for Cameron's 'enhancements'."

Cameron told John of her desires to 'help' the girls become more than they could be on their own. He'd told her it was a bad idea. He thought that was out of the picture. Maybe it wasn't.

"I have heard talk of Cameron taking them into the past or future for a few years before. I didn't think about River's future." John said.

Vanna watched Mrs. Weaver operate for a year. She was always kept in the shadows. She later watched Cameron do the same things. They were both goal oriented. The rules didn't apply or matter to them. Getting the job done did.

"She's thought about it, John." Vanna said. "She is a machine. I know it is easy to forget sometimes. She will do whatever she thinks will best protect the future and you no matter what it is. There is little difference between her and my 'mother'. Ethics and morals mean nothing to them. It is about getting the job done. For Cameron it is about 'winning'."

John would like to think of Cameron as being refined by now. Maybe it wasn't the case at all.

"Would Cameron destroy those two girl's lives if she thought it would help me or save me?" John asked.

Vanna watched Cameron operate for years. She didn't think Cameron would even blink.

"Yes." Vanna said. "In an instant."

John felt that was just cruel. He thought Cameron cared out the girls.

"How could she?" John asked "Why?"

Vanna saw it for what it was. It was always Cameron's mission to protect John.

"To save your life." Vanna said. "Her mission has never changed even if it has taken different directions and approaches."

John didn't talk shop often with Cameron. She didn't like to. He figured that was so she wouldn't reveal to him that she would sacrifice everyone to protect him. It seemed Vanna knew a lot.

"Have you talked with her about these things?" John asked.

There was a far off look in Vanna's eyes. She wanted to make sure John understood her position clearly.

"Yes, many times." Vanna said. "John, I love Cameron. I love your wife…."

Vanna wanted to say she loved him too.

There was one question that nagged at John for years. He didn't want to ask it but he did want to know.

"Did she only marry me to stay close to me or control me?" John asked. "Was she programmed to do that?"

Silence.

"Vanna?" John asked.

Vanna knew Terminator love was different that human love. It revolved around closeness and association. It was a matter of importance to them as to how another felt about them and how much time they would spend with them, especially when there was a choice that involved others.

"I don't know, John." Vanna said. "I know she can love and the other Metal girls can as well. That's not programming."

Sarah told John later on how Vanna loved Cameron and how she struggled over what to do about it. Vanna sacrificed her love so Cameron could remain focused on him. It was very touching.

"You were her first friend." John said. "You loved her knowing she was a machine and not real."

Vanna still felt the love and the pain in her heart. It seemed to be love that would never be fulfilled in physical form.

"Yes." Vanna said. "I've never stopped."

John could tell the anguish and heartbreak still stalked Vanna. The love still burned in her. With nowhere to go it slowly burns a hole in a heart.

"Cameron has been able all these years to shape, influence and guide Savannah, the younger version of the first woman or first person she may have loved on her own." John said. "Cameron made Savannah into the human she wanted to be. She made YOU better as she made Savannah better."

Vanna knew Cameron was influenced by the 'Neural Interface' with Future Allison in her future. The whole point was to make her as much like Future Allison as possible.

"I don't know, John. Neither does Cameron. She's afraid she loves who Future Allison loves." Vanna said. "River was the first person she may have actually loved on her own."

John remembered the timeline.

"That was Duplicate Cameron." John said. "Not Cameron Prime."

Vanna almost laughed. There was a lot of speculation on that subject.

"Do we really know who Cameron Prime is?" Vanna asked. "I believe 'The Cameron' who loved River is really Cameron Prime. She went through all three time transfers. Cameron only went through one."

John pondered that. Maybe that was the root of so many problems for everyone.

"That means you're a Duplicate and not the real Vanna then." John said.

Vanna knew the Duplicates were identical in every way. The locket that Cameron and Duplicate Cameron carried as their heart was proof of that. There were still things that bothered her.

"I've often felt that." Vanna said. "My love for Allison should never have wavered or been strained. We all know that was due to Cameron's meddling by trying to 'protect' you."

John would rather avoid that subject.

"Does River know which one is really Cameron Prime?" John asked.

Vanna let out her breath, she didn't like what she thought.

"Where is 'Duplicate Cameron' now?" Vanna asked.

John was aware that River told Cameron, 'You're not MY Cameron.'

"With River." John said. "River would have known Cameron wasn't the 'real' Cameron. That's why River rejected her."

Vanna wondered if life just sucked. Things just happened from time to time.

"I don't know, John." Vanna said. "I don't believe we're ever going to know. We should all be identical. River could tell Cameron wasn't Duplicate Cameron."

John could tell Vanna was deeply depressed now.

"Let me finish here." John said. "…Vanna…."

"Yes?" Vanna asked.

John appreciated their conversation.

"Thank you for being honest with me." John said. "I love you, whatever version you are…."

Vanna really wanted that three-way with John and Savannah.

"I love you too, John…." Vanna said. "Please always remember that for whatever happens in the future."

Mission Unchanged

The world would be beautiful
If everything was in black and white
It's more various shades of gray
With a lot of sleight and slight

The honest and true people
Are the ones often left behind
Many want danger and adventure
They don't like being confined

Those that are proven steady
Don't have appeal to the young
They're brushed off as boring
They're the first to be stung

Some actually say to another
You'd be good when I'm old
What the Hell does that mean
What is the story just told

It only dives those that are focused
Even though it sounds deranged
They continue the pursuit in love
Their heart's mission unchanged

Nobody