Chapter 361

Safe Bet

Cameron advanced toward the battle. She moved off to the side from Dan and Summer. She hoped for a better angle on the targets. She wanted to make sure John was protected. If she eliminated the threat herself, then he was.

She saw there was a hostile Terminator down near Summer. He attempted to reboot. Summer hit him again with her Taser. She was incapacitated and unable to stand. One of her legs was all but destroyed.

The targets were focused on where Summer and Dan were.

Cameron moved up close to the enemy unobserved. She pulled her Taser and fired twice. Both targets went down. She wasn't sure if the modified Taser would kill humans, she was about to find out. It didn't really matter to her. They tried to hurt John. They were going to pay. They were going to die anyway, one way or another. If they were lucky, the high powered Taser would kill them. She planned a brutal interrogation session for them if they survived.

Dan moved to the Terminator which Summer fought and brought down. He removed the chip from it. He could see Summer's leg was severely damaged. She stayed in the fight nonetheless.

Cameron checked the two Grays she took down. One of them was terminated. The other one was still alive. She moved to Summer to check her injuries. She didn't like what she saw. There was more to see yet.

"I'll be fine." Summer said. "I only need some repair to my leg."

Cameron was glad she possessed plenty of spare parts.

"It looks more like you will need a new leg." Cameron said. "I have spares."

Summer was self conscious about some additional damage. It was private. She made sure only Cameron could hear her. She didn't want to get too explicit.

"There is another problem. It is pretty high up." Summer said. "I can feel the damaged. Some things are severe. There's not much left."

Cameron became even more concerned. She moved in close to look at the damaged and missing sheath tissue. She was a little shocked at what she saw was damaged. She was horrified, but tried to downplay the issue. She was fairly certain it wouldn't matter to a male anyway. The section they would most desire to use was still there. Anything which would actually benefit the female wasn't.

"Most of it is still there. I think it will regenerate." Cameron said. "It will still be functional. It will still be what they want anyway. It's something you get used to after a while, even if you don't want to. Hopefully you'll get a few scraps every now and then along the way. Don't count on it."

Summer wondered what it meant. It was the least of her concerns. She was more worried about her face. She touched the injuries to her face.

"How bad is my face damaged?" Summer asked.

Cameron looked at Summer's face and back to her private area. She would rather have the face damage over everything else damaged a little lower on Summer. She hated face damage. She felt it said something. There was no need to make Summer worry. There were various sections of female Terminators she could use to speed things up. More than one Terminator was pieced together from several other damaged Terminators. It wouldn't be anything new in reality, even if the area in question was.

"I've had worse." Cameron said. "You'll be fine."

Cameron knew it always bothered her when her face was damaged. She was always afraid her face would end up how her damaged breast was for so long and not properly regenerate. It still bothered her to see her breast finally get back up to size, but it lacked the nipple. After she re-infused her DNA with a fresh sample from Allison, everything corrected itself. She knew if she was 'ugly' John would replace her, again. She was aware her appearance was very important to John. Without her appearance, she didn't believe there was anything she could offer John which he would desire.

She didn't want to think about how easily he turned away from her to another. She didn't think Future Riley was better looking than her, even if some of her female attributes may have appeared larger by the way they were displayed. He knew the real draw for John was Future Riley's willingness to use her female attributes in other ways. Future Jesse may have been the one behind everything. She orchestrated what would happen and instructed Future Riley what she would need to do. Future Riley would have learned long ago what was required of her female attributes in the Wastelands. She didn't want to get sidetracked. The current issue was Summer.

Summer touched her face as she tried to look down below. She looked very worried. Her leg was a mess. It would need to be replaced. She hoped everything else would regenerate fine. She would be functional, she hoped she wouldn't be disfigured.

Cameron could see Summer running every worse case scenario going forward. It wasn't a healthy thing to do. She possessed plenty of experience in the same regard.

"You'll be fine, Summer." Cameron said to reassure Summer.

Maybe it was really to reassure herself. She wasn't sure if any of it was fine once it was in her head. It never went away. She could picture every bit of damage to her body, especially in her private areas. They were the ones John would concentrate on when they were alone. Her face may have been the draw, but it was the parts which were normally covered John desired the most. It was what everyone desired.

Bob and John arrived.

Cameron wanted to wrap things up.

"Bob, take the Terminator." Cameron said. "Dan, get the Gray. I've got Summer."

Cameron carefully picked Summer up and carried her away.

"You're hurt too, Cameron." Summer said. "You need repair."

Cameron brushed it off. She didn't want John to start in on her.

"I'm replaceable, you know I am." Cameron said. "I'm taking you to get repaired."

John wanted to look Cameron over more, but she would have none of it. He watched Cameron carry Summer away. He noticed some bloody sheath material on the ground.

'I'm glad Cameron wasn't damaged.' John thought.

He looked at it. There was a mess there. It reminded him of some of the damage to Cameron actually. He thought he spotted something very specific on the ground, but tried to disregard it. He was sure he recognized part of it. He'd spent a lot of 'close up' time in the same area on Cameron. He started to reach down to touch it. It seemed like a bad idea when he actually did.

He bent down and looked further. He remembered he could look the same way. He was hopeful there was no major damage to Cameron's sheath. He doubted they would make love any time soon if there was. He wiped his hand on his pants. He tried to push the thoughts from his mind. He looked at Bob and moved away from the area. He didn't want his 'what if' thoughts to get the best of him.

Bob noticed what John looked at. He didn't say anything. It was clear the female Terminators was severely damaged. None of their Terminators were usually damaged in the same area he was aware of. It included both male and female Terminators. It was probably something no one wanted to talk about. He couldn't blame them. He wouldn't want to either.

Ronny and Ron collected the destroyed parts from the HK Tread and Terminator. They loaded them into a box truck which was parked at the dock. It sustained minor damage from shrapnel but was fully functional. There was no damage to the cooling system and the windshield was intact. They found nothing else of value inside the building. There was no version of Skynet set up there. They torched the building and left.

Al moved up to the damaged HK Tread and pried the hatch open, it was empty.

The helicopter departed with Derek and Jim on board once it was clear there were no additional casualties. Cameron wanted Jim attended to first. She would bring Summer later.

Kyle looked around the area.

"OK. We have some tidying up to do and some vehicles to collect." Kyle told the five Terminators.

Al stood with Kyle. It was his new assignment.

"I'm to remain with you at all times." Al told Kyle. "It's Cameron's orders."

Kyle nodded. He just saw his brother saved by a Terminator again. He also saw the damage to Jim. It could have been on Derek instead. Derek would be dead. It could have been him too. It still could be. He was glad Al was there. The current battle may be over, there was no guarantee what they would face going forward. The battlefield was always fluid.

"It's understandable." Kyle said. "Keep an eye on my back."

Kyle knew to keep his guard up so it didn't happen to him either. They weren't done there and Skynet already tried to get the equipment back once. It still left a lot of unanswered questions about where things were being constructed.

The other truck, which another Cameron clone commandeered, was now at a secure location. They weren't going to take any chances. John Henry was to come and inspect the cargo himself when they were able to free up some more Terminators.

It was a half constructed HK Tread with all the parts. The power source was not yet installed. More help arrived. They could get it unloaded and assembled soon. There were some suggestions made to improve the design if they were going to keep it. Cameron reaffirmed she wanted it. They previously made modifications to the four drones they captured. They weren't large drones. They were modified to act as if they were when necessary. They would modify the HK Tread to use their weapons and meet their standards.

Ally and Sheila were drafted to assist. They didn't like doing manual work.

"How did we get stuck doing this?" Ally asked. "We're lovers, not mechanics."

Sheila would rather be elsewhere too.

"Cameron needed more help." Sheila said as she looked around. "We can still be lovers too. We're still entitled to our alone time."

They saw a Gray captive was also deposited.

Ally looked over at the detainee with disgust. No doubt there would be another mess for her to clean up once the interrogation was over. Her clothes would need to end up in the trash again.

"Dan dropped us off a new 'toy' for Cameron." Ally said.

Sheila perked up some. She liked to interrogate Grays. She actually liked to interrogate anyone. It didn't matter if they were criminals or future Scavengers. The pain she inflicted excited her. It was almost a sexual response to her, but different. It was hard to say which event stimulated her the most.

"I want to question him." Sheila said. "I enjoyed 'interacting' with the last one."

Sheila planned to carve this one up good. Cameron was displeased with her actions dealing with the other Gray. She blamed it on the 'Neural Interface' with Jesse. It was actually something she thrived on and magnified herself.

Ally didn't like any of the prospective work conditions laid out for her.

"I liked our other assignments better." Ally said.

Sheila was a little jealous because Hanna was still at the Young residence. It was an assignment she hoped to get herself. She wanted to make it a situation where it would be easier to share with everyone.

"Hanna is still on her assignment." Sheila said. "They need to have Claire and her girls move to the base."

Ally saw a problem with it. She was sure Cameron wouldn't want another male around Vanna, Jesse, and especially Savannah.

"What about Mr. Young?" Ally asked.

Sheila thought males were only good for donating what was necessary for reproduction. There are other ways it could be administered rather than the traditional method.

"He's unnecessary." Sheila said. "His function was completed long ago."

Ally thought Sheila missed a major component of a 'family' and how it worked. She thought of her files from her 'Neural Interface' with Allison. Family was very important to her, all of her family.

"Try and tell Allison that." Ally said. "Remember, I'm 'her' also."

Sheila didn't want to argue the point. Mr. Young already served his purpose. For Cameron's plans he was redundant and unnecessary. There was no need to upset Ally. She planned to spend some alone time with her when no one was looking. Wait. She didn't care who was looking as long as it wasn't Cameron. No one else would make a big deal about it. They would all want to watch.

"Start laying parts out." Sheila said. "We can get out of here sooner."

Ally was still a little miffed at Sheila for what she said about Mr. Young. She knew Allison loved her father. She didn't know about the painful images in Sheila's files from her 'Neural Interface' with Jesse. The initial loss of Jesse's family was a very traumatic event for her. It left her all alone, and forced her into the nightmare which soon followed.

"Whatever…." Ally said.

Derek and Jim got back to the base first. Everyone made sure Derek was taken care of. Riley and Sarah were at his side.

Derek only received a few scrapes and bruises. There was one small piece of shrapnel. He pulled it out of his leg on the flight back. The ringing in his ears was gone. It was Jim he was worried about. His back looked awful. He still felt it was his fault. He dumped some disinfectant on his minor leg wound. He tried to brush everyone off.

"You can all help Jim first." Derek said. "He looks bad."

Vanna and Savannah went to work on Jim along with the Metal girls.

Cameron arrived with Summer later on. She timed her arrival so it would be after the work was done on everyone else.

Savannah and Vanna went over to work on Cameron.

Cameron was worried about Summer. She looked at the damage closer. She doubted it would regenerate properly.

"Vanna, I need you to help Summer." Cameron said. "She's going to need some 'special attention'."

Savannah went to follow Vanna. Cameron didn't want her to see the damaged private area on Summer. She didn't want the image in her mind. She touched Savannah's arm.

"You can tend to me." Cameron said with a smile.

Savannah smiled back and went to work. She did look over at where Vanna and Summer were. She figured what the damage really was.

Vanna could see Summer's leg was a mess. She wasn't sure what Cameron indicated. She looked at the other damage. It was a first in the specific area. She sucked in her breath. It looked like Scavengers got a hold of Summer. There was a lot missing. She wasn't sure she could come up with a solution. She tried to put a brave face on it.

"Cameron has some extra parts to get you fixed up." Vanna said to Summer.

Summer could feel the damage was extensive. She was unable to turn her pain receptors on without risking a shutdown. The pain level was intense. She didn't buy Vanna's optimism. She was 'Cameron' after all, a clone of her program anyway.

"How bad is it?" Summer asked. "I want you to tell it to me straight."

Vanna thought a new chassis would be a better solution.

"It's bad." Vanna said. "I've never needed to fix damage like that. I don't know if it's fixable. I suggest we Resequence your DNA processor again. It should help. Cameron faced similar issues elsewhere. The new infusion of DNA resolved them. You actually are damaged quite a bit in one area."

Summer only started to Resequence in the last few days. She still looked like the Terminator whose chassis she inherited. She wondered if she could make her own choice for the new DNA sample. The choice was made for her before by Cameron.

"Do I get a choice of DNA?" Summer asked.

Vanna wasn't sure where the conversation was headed.

"You're 'Cameron', right?" Vanna asked.

Summer was proud of it, as much as she was appalled by it.

"Yes. I'm a copy." Summer said.

Summer thought it was a warning from Vanna. Maybe she should stick with the young, Young girl's DNA, Summer.

Dan arrived for repair as well. He'd picked up some spare 'parts' when he met Ally and Sheila. It was when he gave them the Gray. They were waiting for him. He was sure Sheila did something inappropriate, but he didn't know for sure.

Ally let Sheila get 'everything' Cameron requested. It was more attuned to her programming from Jesse. It was quite disturbing to watch everything she did. It was as perverse as it was exciting. She was just glad the same type of damage hadn't occurred to her.

Vanna looked at the replacement leg and complete pelvic area. It was interesting in itself.

"I'll inform Cameron." Vanna said. "I'm going to get started."

John came in as soon as they got back and he checked on everyone and Cameron.

He was pleased to see Savannah assisted Cameron.

John asked Cameron how she was. She told him she was fine. He strongly doubted she would have said anything else. She always said she was 'fine', even when she clearly wasn't.

He gave her a long hug. He was about to leave when he saw where Vanna was at. He moved a little closer for a better look. He didn't like what he saw. Summer looked worse now than she did out in the field. He knew it could be Cameron on the table waiting for the replacement area. He gave Vanna a nod and silently walked away.

Vanna wasn't sure what it was all about.

It was time to get to work.

John passed by Cameron on his way out but was silent. He was actually a little sick at what he witnessed. He wasn't in a mood to argue or fight with anyone. The extent of the damage spoke for itself. All of their team made it. It was the only thing which mattered in the end.

Cameron expected a fight. Not a word was said about her. She didn't berate John for being out in the first place.

Maybe it was time they tried to understand each other better.

Cameron wondered how long it would last. She also wondered what John did over by Vanna. Maybe he wanted to check out Summer. She bet he wouldn't say anything about her different pigmentation in the same area again. At least everything was still there on her. She smiled to herself to know it was all in good working order too. She couldn't help but look over where Vanna worked on Summer. It was time she went over and assisted.

Kyle and the Terminators picked up all the parts they collected and brought them to the area where the unassembled HK Tread was.

Ronny already left the truck with the parts of the two destroyed HK Treads. Ron and him returned to Cameron's base for minor repairs. They both received minor shrapnel damage when Cameron did. It didn't take long to get everything repaired.

John showed up with John Henry later on. They started to go over every part, piece by piece. They wanted to see exactly what they were dealing with and make sure it wasn't a Trojan Horse. Anything questionable was destroyed with Thermite. They would fabricate anything they needed themselves to get one HK Tread up and running. It would be upgraded to their standards as well.

"We can use the programming from the drones along with any additional programming we may need from Cameron and myself." John Henry said. "This large type of HK can also hold an operator."

It sounded intriguing to John. He pictured himself out on the battlefield in an HK Tread.

"Who gets the job as the operator?" John asked.

John Henry thought anyone could. It only took some instruction. He wasn't sure it was preferred to autonomous control. The machine should be able to operate more efficiently on its own, with a quicker response time. It would also afford good cover and protection to a human, or a Terminator, operator on the battlefield.

"Anyone who is trained can control it, or it can operate on its own. It's the same way the HK drones and HK Tracks work." John Henry said. "They work on their own, but we can redirect them as necessary."

John knew their drones were usually controlled by John Henry. If the HK equipment operated on its own and independently, no one was really in charge of them, they were pure AI at that point. They could start to do whatever they wanted without any regard for anything. It was possible things which shouldn't be targets, would be targeted.

"It sounds like Skynet." John said.

John Henry didn't see it as a problem. It was a plus to him.

"It is all about control and survival." John Henry said.

John was well aware Cameron liked control and was able to survive quite a bit.

"We both know Cameron is excellent at both of those fields." John said. "She likes machine against machine."

John Henry knew how the final battle would take place.

"Yes." John Henry said. "She will have to fight Skynet on its own terms one day."

It was information which always bothered John. He wanted the 'final battle' fought without Cameron if possible.

"Can't you beat Skynet?" John asked.

John Henry thought he could hold his own, but he wasn't sure he could beat it. He thought about the encryption placed on the Resistance TDE.

"I don't know." John Henry said. "The two individuals who could combat it are Cameron and River, each would use different methods. Together they would be unstoppable."

John didn't want to involve River. It was hard enough to keep her from assisting them before. He didn't want anything to happen to her because of Skynet. The encounter with the bikers was bad enough.

"This isn't River's fight." John said. "She hasn't even been born yet, nor will be for several more centuries."

John Henry was deeply disturbed by something he dared not question, or even mention. He was aware the new Young daughter, Summer, was extremely gifted and highly intelligent. He was worried Cameron may have conducted some 'temporal malpractice' and traveled to the future. She could have taken River from her mother, which would most likely result in her mother's termination, and brought her back to this timeline. She then could have implanted the embryo into Claire Young since they were genetically compatible. He would need to monitor her development. It was possible she could be River's sibling, offspring, or even a clone from River's future. He needed to refocus.

"River will be in contact with Cameron again." John Henry said. "I'm sure of it."

It sounded like a recipe for disaster to John.

"Why?" John asked.

John Henry knew what Cameron was obsessed with currently.

"Cameron wants to find the other set of Duplicate girls who went into 'some future'." John Henry said. "I think she can only do it with River's help, and be able to get back here."

John was aware it was a possibility, but since none of the Duplicates ever returned, it seemed to be a slim possibility. The implications were still quite intriguing. The reminder about Cameron being able to 'get back' was disturbing as well.

"Then there would be another 'Cameron, Allison, Vanna, and Jesse'." John said.

John liked the prospect of having a second 'Cameron' in his bed. If she was a Duplicate, she was Cameron too. He adjusted his pants slightly. He was actually pleased he was able to be with the other Duplicate Cameron. The only trouble was, none of them knew it at the time. They all thought Duplicate Cameron and the Duplicate set of girls were the same girls who left the Resistance base before the TDE incident.

"It seems it would be most likely, if any of them are still alive." John Henry said. "It's hard to know since none of them have ever returned. We're not aware of any of them ever having returned, anyway."

John Henry wasn't sure why any of the Duplicates would want to remain in the background if they did return. He was aware when Cameron and the girls returned from their part of the TDE incident, they were unsure of which timeline they were in. If it was a different timeline, they were going to disappear and not disrupt what was currently there. It's most likely Duplicate Cameron and the Duplicate girls would have made the same choice.

There was still another worry for them. John didn't see it as the threat Cameron and the others did.

"What about Mrs. Weaver?" John asked.

John Henry would like to know where she was at. He wanted to know what she was up to. He couldn't imagine her resting idly somewhere on the sidelines.

"Unfortunately, it is another unknown." John Henry said. "We have no idea where or when she is, or if she still exists."

John doubted Mrs. Weaver could be easily terminated by anyone, including Skynet.

"I would bet she does." John said.

John Henry knew how ruthless Mrs. Weaver was. He was sure he only saw a fraction of it. He really didn't think he would want to see all of it.

"It would be a safe bet." John Henry said.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Safe Bet

One can't make someone love them
No matter how hard they wish or try
The end result of such a failed attempt
Is sure to make one cry and want to die

Perhaps the easier way to go
Is with the one who wants them
Maybe the rough uncut stone
Will turn out to be a real gem

A person's appearance is transitory
True beauty is more than skin deep
Once the beauty within is found
That's the one to want and keep

It all comes down to one question
Will the love grow and last
The way it unfolds over time
May be dictated by the past

Don't concentrate on the dreamboat
It's sure to make one fret
Take the gamble out of it
Stick with what is the safe bet

Nobody