Chapter 452

Temporal Thoughts

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Cameron's Base - Current Timeline:

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Camille took Young Jesse and her family to various sights to see around the local area. Gail and Jesse would fill in for her when she needed to take Young Jesse to the Resistance base. Jesse wanted to spend time with her parents too, especially with her sister. She understood the beauty of seeing those 'back from the dead', alive and well.

Young Jesse wanted to see Cameron before she left to return to Australia. Cameron thanked her before she went on her temporal mission, but she hadn't yet returned. She really got to know Cameron in the future she was in with her for a year. Cameron worked with her to further her education as well as all of her Resistance training. She saw the importance of those things in a Skynet decimated future.

There were times when she previously questioned all the training Camille put her through. It was every day for much of her free time which didn't involve school or her homework. She often was tired but Camille pushed her anyway. It all made sense now. It was about being able to survive in a Skynet future. It was actually a very grim prospect. She wouldn't complain anymore and she would push herself harder without the need for Camille to push her.

There was nothing Young Jesse wouldn't do for Cameron at this point. Cameron taught her so many things as well. Camille did the same things for her in Australia. There was just something special about Cameron, even if Camille was a clone of Cameron. They were identical, but different.

Holly came to speak with Young Jesse. She informed her 'Cameron' would speak to her through her. It was because 'Cameron' was on her chip and it would be updated with Cameron when she returned, if she returned.

Cameron thanked her again. Young Jesse said she saw how bad the future sucked and wanted to do more to help prevent it. She wanted it to act rather than need to react to Skynet. Cameron informed her the 'service' she provided for Duplicate Jesse was more than sufficient. It was something only she could have done, especially the way it was done.

'Cameron' didn't ask her directly, but Young Jesse knew what Cameron wanted…. It would be a little closer to home the next time. It was something she was willing to do.

"I'll do it again for Jesse." Young Jesse said. "I just need to rest my body a little bit. I promise I'll do it again. I'll do it for you 'Cameron', and Jesse."

Holly-Cameron smiled. It was what she wanted for Jesse. She didn't know if she should try to push her personal agenda to have John share with the human females. She might suggest to Young Jesse to attempt a traditional conception. If the timing was right, it shouldn't take more than a few attempts to complete the process.

She was sure once John was with one of the human females, he would want more. She believed Young Jesse would be very enticing to John. It wasn't someone he saw every day, even if he did, or needed to watch grow up. She understood it was part of the problem with John and Savannah. It was a psychological barrier on John's part based on his daily exposure to Savannah from when she was taken into custody by the Resistance. There would be some complications the next time or two.

"Your parents will know…." Holly-Cameron said.

Young Jesse didn't see it as a big deal. It happened all the time in school.

"I don't care." Jesse said. "It's common now for single girls my age to have children."

Holly-Cameron wanted to push her agenda. She wanted Young Jesse to be happy. She thought Savannah could be too.

"I know Camille has trained you and gotten you combat ready. Savannah would like you to come and stay with 'us' to join the fight." Holly-Cameron said. "You two could be closer."

Young Jesse understood everything. She wasn't ready to leave her family yet. The year in the future reminded her how much she missed all of them. Duplicate Jesse told her how much she missed her family. Duplicate Jesse was just glad they were still alive in the past. It weighed on her.

"I understand." Young Jesse said. "I know everything you'd like me to do…. I'll take my place in the future when it's needed. I promise, Cameron. I'll be there for John to protect him. I'll help protect Savannah and you as well."

Young Jesse really hoped to see Savannah again before she left. Her parents hadn't noticed anything different about her, let alone the fact she gave birth in a different future while they were eating lunch for a few hours on the beach. She lived a whole year 'in some future' during lunch time. It was still a mind boggling concept. She did notice her mum checked her out, but she didn't say anything. Logic dictated she was only gone for a 'few hours'. How much could be different? It was actually eight thousand, seven hundred and sixty hours.

Savannah came up to where they were.

Holly retook control of her chassis.

"I have a few things to do with Cammy." Holly said. "'Cameron' has released control."

Savannah took Holly's hand and squeezed it.

Holly smiled at Savannah.

"I understand better now about everything and everyone." Holly said. "I really do. I appreciate everything we shared. The love was beautiful."

Savannah helped Holly expand her sexual horizons in Cameron's future. She was with everyone as well.

"There is so much love to be given and shared…." Savannah said. "It's all so beautiful."

Young Jesse noted the interaction between Savannah and Holly. It was obvious they 'shared'. It probably happened in the future they were in. She couldn't complain. She was with all the girls 'in some future', even herself, Duplicate Jesse. It was one wild ride. She wondered if she would ever be as good, even if somehow she was. She especially appreciated when Duplicate Jesse showed her the things she would like and enjoy the most. Some of them were pretty wild.

"Did I miss something?" Young Jesse asked.

Savannah smiled at Young Jesse and took her hand.

"It was a lot." Savannah said. "I've learned a few new things…."

Young Jesse figured Savannah 'made the rounds' in Cameron's future as she did 'in some future'. Since there were no active battles being fought, she was unable to use her combat skills. The free time left her available to everyone. There was no shortage of takers to help her 'pass the time'. She really couldn't say who she desired the most to be with. She did find Duplicate Vanna to share many personality traits with Savannah. It was always something when Duplicate Allison and Duplicate Vanna would both share with her simultaneously. Duplicate Jesse tried to include herself whenever she could. It made a great 'four way'. She did realize she was always the center of everyone's attention. She figured it was because she was on a timetable.

It was hard for her to understand how the Duplicate set of girls was content to stay 'in some future' rather than return to the past. They all told her they didn't belong there. She could see they all tried to improve the lives of those in the Resistance. She didn't want to think about the future right now. Savannah was there and she wanted to think about her instead.

"Why don't you show me?" Young Jesse asked.

Savannah led Young Jesse to her room.

It soon became apparent they both learned a few new things on their temporal trips. It appeared they learned the most from their future selves…. They also enjoyed their time with the future version of each other as well. Savannah was able to experience multiple versions of all of the girls since she was in two futures and at the Resistance base.

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Cameron's Future Timeline:

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Future John and Cameron currently worked on a bigger raid at a suspected Skynet site. They hoped it was the real Skynet Central. They needed to get some more things into play first. Cameron didn't want to expose the Resistance troops to any unnecessary danger.

Cameron needed to go on a mission. She would check things out first hand by herself. Skynet needed to pay. She came across some new intel. It was time to slip away and act. It would keep her focused on the future.

She quietly left the Connor compound. It always bothered her to leave. She never knew when it would be the last time. Dealing with anything Skynet related was deadly business. It wasn't something which used to bother her as much before. She was fairly certain it was because of Destiny and Joy. She knew she needed to make sure Skynet was defeated for them if nothing else. It was very important to her she made sure they were protected.

Her junket this time would take her in a different direction. Maybe it would lead to a source of Coltan. It troubled her because Skynet was always able to have a supply of Coltan. In the past, she worked hard to control all known sources. She suspected Skynet in this time period found additional sources of Coltan and sent operatives back in time to secretly mine them for use in the past.

Cameron wanted to see if she could identify any of those sources and act on them when she returned to the past and take the Coltan for herself. The more Coltan she controlled through CamNet, the less there was for Skynet to use.

Most of the known sources of Coltan were overseas adventures. She was sure there was a domestic supply as well. She believed there was some in North America. The vast resources of Alaska and northern Canada were still yet to be harvested. Maybe it was something Skynet did. Mexico was pretty much played out as it was. It was a very unsafe environment for anyone to work in, especially in the past. Drug lords ruled the country and simply drove their illegal product across the unprotected border. In many locations there was no type of barrier at all, not even a barbed wire fence.

She scheduled high altitude reconnaissance flights for some of their drones. She wanted to broaden their view of everything and keep track of who was doing what and where. The last 'surprise' by Skynet dictated they obtain some better intel. She also searched for other artificial bodies of water where HK drones might be hidden. There wasn't much she could do about the natural bodies of water.

The drone flights were to be kept random and always approached from different directions. There were 'down on' cameras and 'side looking' cameras. All the data was processed to see if anything could be identified.

She arrived at the special operations base. It was an all Terminator affair, almost Future John insisted there be some human involvement, but it was minimal. Little was contributed to add to what happened by them.

Cameron did understand there was value to human involvement. She viewed them much like the use of canaries in a mine by the Resistance. There were some other advantages as well. A human could still be active after an EMP attack. Terminators were vulnerable to an EMP attack. They could be knocked offline. The fact Skynet needed to operate with the same equipment an EMP could knock out as well, limited their use. The severity of an EMP blast could incapacitate Terminators for various amounts of time.

At large facilities she tried to keep two Terminators in a rotating standby status. One would always be in standby for various amounts of time. In the advent of an EMP attack one Terminator would still be functional. It would aid in determining what Skynet was up to.

She was also aware human intuition was a valuable resource in some situations. Sometimes a human could 'feel' something was off, even if everything appeared to be correct and logical. It was something she experienced in the past with the human Resistance members at the Resistance base. Derek and Kyle were the two who were out on most reconnaissance operations. They always tried to push them a little more if the situation arose.

Cameron inspected the operations at the special operations base. She quietly mounted a drone for its next flight. It would deposit her in the area to be checked and pick her up at a separate location in the general area.

The drone lifted off. It was set with a predetermined flight plan. It operated as close to the ground as possible for the beginning of the flight. It would only seek altitude once it was well away from the special operations base. If anyone was around they may hear it, but they wouldn't see it until it was right on top of them. It would be gone as quickly as it arrived.

She actually liked to ride on top of a drone. It allowed her a chance to 'get away from it all' for a while. The wind would blow through her hair. She was alone and free. There was no one but her and the drone. She was worried she became complacent in her attentiveness in order to enjoy the experience and the view.

The drone overflew the area she wanted to check two days ago. It landed and let her off twelve miles away. It lifted back off and continued its reconnaissance of an adjacent area as if it was a routine flight. Technically it's exactly what it was. She was just an addition for the flight. She ran at a moderate pace towards the area in question. She was there in just over an hour. She slowed to use stealth for the last mile.

The area was in a narrow canyon. It was covered by camouflage netting with shrubbery on top of it. Some of it was living foliage. Some of it was added from cut foliage. It appeared as if the location was in operation for some time.

She could hear a female crying in the distance. It sounded as if she was gagged. Grays were known to abuse captured females when they were brought into the work camps. Most of the females were abused for a week or two before they entered work duty. Usually only the disfigured females were put straight into a work detail. The Grays always got first pick from one of the 'monkey wagons'.

She moved closer and found a pile of bones in a gully. The bones were scattered. Most likely dead bodies were dumped there and coyotes cleaned the remains off down to the bones. They would often take some meat in their stomach for their young. They would come back and feast for themselves later.

There were trip wires set up around the area. She quickly assessed everything she found in the first few minutes. She was a little disappointed. It wasn't a Skynet operation. They were Scavengers.

She spotted two men. One of them just emerged from a tent type hooch. She could still hear the female whimpering in the background. It was less intense, even though she was closer.

The two men looked surprised as she appeared from nowhere. She grabbed both of them and slammed them down hard on the ground. She could hear bones break. She fractured their spines. She bound and gagged them with their own clothing. She tossed them alive and paralyzed on top of the pile of scattered bones in the gully. They should still be alive but unable to move when the coyotes returned….

Cameron approached the hooch. The whimpering was louder now. She entered the makeshift dwelling. There was another Scavenger near the female. He held a knife.

"It's time I'll take what I want." The Scavenger said. "I want to hear you scream in pain."

Cameron rabbit punched him and snapped his spine. She freed the bound and gagged female.

"How many of them are there?" Cameron whispered. "You need to remain quiet for right now. I'm the only one here to help you."

She asked before she removed the female's gag. She didn't want her to scream or cry out.

"There were three of them." The females whispered with terror in her eyes. "They've kept me captive for two days. You don't know what they did to me, and were going to do."

Cameron assured her the three Scavengers were all neutralized.

She checked over the female. She was in relatively good health. Her name was Linda. She wasn't there for very long. They gave her some water, but no food. She found some food and water and gave it to Linda. She also found some clothes for her.

Cameron knew Linda was lucky. They hadn't started cutting on her yet. Their initial excitement about having a new plaything hadn't worn off yet. It would soon enough. She didn't burn the Scavenger camp. She would keep an eye on it. She was sure there were more Scavengers associated with it. She would like to say 'hello' to all of them. She'd be back….

She tossed the paralyzed third Scavenger on top of the other ones. They were all bound and gagged. She left with Linda. In just a short while it was clear Linda was too exhausted to continue. There was also a lot of bruising on the lower half of her body.

"I don't know if I can make it." Linda said. "It's okay if you need to leave me. I sincerely appreciate what you did for me. I would have died where I was at soon enough. If I'm going to die, I would rather die a free woman. I thank you for providing me with the opportunity."

Cameron tilted her head slightly. She picked Linda up to carry her.

"Oh, my God…." Linda said. "You're one of them…."

Cameron smiled.

"I was, but not anymore." Cameron said. "Now I help people. I try to help females whenever I can, in any negative situation they might be in. They don't always like the way I do things. I do them anyway because they're the right things."

Linda relaxed. She was saved and helped by the cyborg.

They talked as Cameron carried her.

Linda spent a lot of time looking at Cameron's appearance. She couldn't help but notice the beauty of her face, even if the rest of her was covered.

"Do you always look this pretty?" Linda asked.

Cameron tried to keep herself plain in her future. Her natural beauty radiated from her.

"I try not to." Cameron said. "It's just the way I look. The human female I was patterned after is very beautiful."

Linda soon realized who Cameron was. She heard of her daring and her beauty. Cameron was a legend.

"You're the one who destroyed Skynet." Linda said.

Cameron knew it was Duplicate Cameron and Future John who thought they destroyed Skynet.

"Everyone helped." Cameron said. "We're all in this together. I'm a member of the Resistance like everyone else who wanted to see Skynet defeated. There's a lot of teamwork involved. I'm just one cog in the wheel. I'm no different than the others."

They carried on a conversation for most of the way. Linda was very enthralled with the more she learned about Cameron. She asked Cameron to put her down several times and she would try to go on her own. Cameron continued to carry her. It was little effort for her to do. The only drawback was it might slow her some to bring one of her weapons to bear if it became necessary.

Cameron could hear people in the distance. She carried Linda for half of a day. It wasn't how she intended her operation to go down. She wanted to help a female and not leave her alone.

"Can you get back from here on your own?" Cameron asked. "A lot of people don't like me, especially in the outlying areas. I don't want any trouble."

Linda was rested now.

"Yes." Linda said. "I owe you my life. I think I owe you a lot of things. Your advice and recommendations are something I need to adhere to. Thank you."

Cameron didn't want praise. All she did was the 'right thing'. It was something Savannah always told her to do. She knew she could always trust Savannah's judgment to do the right thing in any situation. She felt she still had a ways to go for herself.

"Just pay it forward and help those who need help." Cameron said. "You can help watch out for any other females whenever it's possible. You're all very vulnerable. Good luck."

Linda looked toward where the people were. She wanted to thank Cameron. When she looked back, Cameron was already gone.

Cameron returned to the Connor compound. She watched the interaction of Future John, Duplicate Cameron, and the girls. The girls were busy with the babies all the time now. Duplicate Cameron needed to assist them always. Both of the girls picked up lactating, so feeding the infants wasn't a problem any longer.

She studied the larger breasts on Future Allison now. She was still happy with the way hers were. She did have to admit before it Resequenced to her DNA, the plump breast with the very pink nipple from Ginger intrigued her. If she could alter her DNA, she would take the super pinkness over the plumpness. It actually seemed to draw more attention than the larger size. She only saw Savannah and her other future selves who were so adorned with total pinkness. Ginger was very close.

Cameron always saw Future John look at her. She knew he wanted to tell her something. She wasn't sure she wanted to hear it. If Duplicate Cameron wasn't there to share Future John's bed, she knew she would be tempted to. It was John Connor, her husband. She loved Future John before she loved Her John. She also felt quite lonely at times. Savannah always came to her when she was down. Savannah was her angel. Savannah wasn't there anymore.

She really didn't want to know at this point, but she always was afraid Her John hadn't been her 'first'. The fact there was no 'proof' of it on their wedding night always bothered her. Then again, if she'd lived her life several times already, Her John could have been her first, several lifetimes ago. She used her same chassis. She didn't know. She searched her files millions of times as she tried to find out. She wanted to know. She considered more than once to activate a clone of herself she knew was 'unspoiled', and be with John to see if anything was different…. She wouldn't tell him either. Sometimes she didn't feel John deserved such a 'special moment' from her since he chose Future Riley over her. It would just be for her to know what it was like. She was sure the actual experience was deleted from her files.

Other times she wanted to give John what she feared she hadn't. She kept telling herself she must have in her first lifetime there. She knew if she ever found her other chassis from 1999 in New Mexico, she would check to verify the 'question'. Then again, John chose Future Riley as his 'first' over her. She made herself available to him many times at both houses. John made a choice and it wasn't her. Maybe he got what he deserved then from her. It was Future John's 'leftovers'.

Who knows? Future John may have been with her. She didn't know. She only remembered she made herself 'available' to him. They used to talk about everything, especially the past.

Cameron hoped she was never programmed as a 'Metal Whore' when she was first captured. It always bothered her to think about it. She knew people there, before she left, called her a 'Metal Bitch' and a 'Metal Whore' behind her back. It always bothered her. She hoped she would be able to explode her power cell before it ever happened if she was captured by the anti-Metal group.

Now Cameron's hand started to glitch. She started to think of what she did to Holly. It was really what the 'Cameron' in Holly did to Holly. She knew it should have been her, not Holly, who was ruined like she was. If Holly was unrepairable or didn't want a new chassis, she was going to relinquish hers to Holly….

She didn't know what the resolution was in the past. She didn't know of the 'Temporal Termination' and the temporal loop which was created. She only knew Holly was sent back deactivated as a featureless cyborg.

Cameron ran all the 'bad' things through her mind to 'hurt' herself for what happened. She 'punished' herself over and over. She needed to remind herself whatever didn't kill her, made her stronger. Her strength continued to grow. She also knew if she could feel pain, she was still 'alive', even if she was a machine.

"…Cameron…?" Duplicate Cameron asked.

Cameron quickly tried to replay what the question was. She drew a blank. She was too lost in thought and pain.

"What?" Cameron asked.

Duplicate Cameron knew Cameron's pains and fears. She also knew Cameron experienced a lot more of them than she did. She could see Cameron needed 'more'. She remembered what Cameron offered her before she departed for her current future from the past. It was during her temporal pit stop.

"Cameron, I want you to take my place for a day." Duplicate Cameron said. "I want you to know and share what you've given me. It only needs to be with the girls if you don't want more."

Cameron thought about it herself many times. What would one day hurt to be who she really was or would be? No really, what could it hurt? She needed to wait 'her turn'.

"You know I can't do it." Cameron said. "I want it, Cameron. I do. When it does happen, it will be with MY Savannah and HER Allison, Young Allison, in my past timeline."

Duplicate Cameron could see Cameron needed more. She 'punished' herself relentlessly. It was unhealthy in every way.

"Cameron, I want to share the beauty with you." Duplicate Cameron said.

Cameron was tempted again. She could be with all of them once. It was going to happen with the same people in her past. It wasn't like it was anything which wasn't going to happen. It was very tempting in every way.

"I know." Cameron said. "YOU know how much I want all of it. I want everything."

Duplicate Cameron found Cameron in a bad way a few minutes ago. She really understood her pain and dilemma.

"You must move forward with this part of your life. You'll finally feel 'complete'." Duplicate Cameron said. "I know. I do now, I seldom glitch anymore."

Cameron tried to make light of the situation.

"Maybe you only want to switch so you don't have to change diapers for a day." Cameron said.

Duplicate Cameron was in Cameron's debt many times over. She didn't like to owe anyone anything, even to 'herself'.

"There's that too. The gift of life, the children you have provided for John and me is beyond any debt I could ever pay." Duplicate Cameron said. "Please let me do this for you. At least share with Future Allison. I know it's something she very much wants to do, and has since you rescued her."

Cameron felt the urge to take Savannah and Future Allison and 'run' with them. It would be a 'temporal abduction' so they could never find them. She needed to do her job and refocus. There were certain things she needed to know what happened, especially if things went bad for her.

"Cameron…. If I'm ever terminated…." Cameron started. "I want John, MY John, to have a real Cameron as his wife."

Duplicate Cameron understood the pain Cameron needed to experience to say it. She also knew her duty.

"I understand…." Duplicate Cameron said. "I will replace myself here with a clone. I'll take your place as Cameron Prime. John will never know."

Duplicate Cameron held a tether in her hand.

"I'm you and you're me." Cameron said.

Duplicate Cameron didn't want Cameron to be terminated and not know the beauty she missed out on.

"Let me share my files with you if nothing else." Duplicate Cameron said. "I want you to know…."

Cameron wanted all her files from all her Duplicates. They all needed to be the 'same' person.

"OK, Cameron." Cameron said. "If I survive the attack on Skynet I'll take them. I'll firewall them and not view them yet."

Duplicate Cameron wanted what Cameron wanted. They all needed to be the 'same'.

"If you ever get the files of the other Duplicate Cameron and River, I'd like to share them as well." Duplicate Cameron said. "We will all remain the same."

Duplicate Cameron took Cameron's glitching hand.

"You will survive Cameron and return to John." Duplicate Cameron said. "I promise…."

Cameron felt a sense of relief. She also felt a sense of doom. Skynet needed to be stopped or it would try to terminate everyone again. She was grateful there would be a 'real Cameron' for John.

"Thank You." Cameron said.

The two Camerons held each other and cried.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Thoughts

Many believe love begins in the heart
It's actually all in the mind
The answers are there
That one must seek to find

To find the correct answer
One must ask the right question
If things take a wrong turn
It will create a bad impression

Through everyone's mind
Many things are mulled
It remains to be seen
What can actually be culled

It seems many things
Can start out as a wish
One begins the search
As they hunt and fish

One's insides may soon
Be twisted in knots
The sad part about it all is
It stems from one's own thoughts

Nobody