Chapter 640

Smileless Tear

John lay in bed next to Cameron. He knew it was her about half of the way through her 'performance'. It was when she said, 'It would be their secret'. He specifically remembered when Cameron used the same words. It was when she informed him Cromartie was at the school looking for him specifically. He didn't want her to tell his mother. He didn't want to move again. After she said the words, she winked at him as she walked away past his mother.

He decided to 'play her game' to see what she was up to. She was able to trip him up some at first when he thought it was really Ally. He kind of hoped it would have been. He would like to bag a real virgin. He didn't care if she was a Terminator or human. His best bet still seemed like it would be Savannah.

He was a little worried about the way Cameron referred to herself as a 'Bitch'. She said it multiple times and seemed to mean it. She said everyone feared her and hated her. It was true to some extent. He believed everyone loved her overall, even if she could be quite abrasive at times. He wanted to know a little more. He hoped she would be honest with him.

"How much of what you said was real?" John asked.

Cameron didn't say anything besides what she thought others thought about her. Maybe a lot of it was 'projection'. She knew they didn't always like the way she did things. She did things the way she did, because she thought it was the way they needed to be done. When they first started out, Sarah, John, and Future Derek all seemed to question her motives and even her ability. It seemed to carry over to the present, and everyone she was associated with.

"I fear all of it is real." Cameron said. "I'm not a good person."

Cameron knew she wasn't really a 'person' either. It was another discussion. She was a very scary robot from the future, masquerading as a human female. Her sheath may be equipped with the attributes of a human female, she was neither female nor human. She was still a machine at the end of the day. She was a stone cold killer, especially when it came to the enemy.

John was a little upset he revealed things he never said or openly admitted before. He was sure Cameron would use them against him. It seemed to be the way all females operated to him. Maybe it was the way everyone operated. He wanted to address the issue specifically.

"You made me say some things I shouldn't have." John said. "I would rather not have said them to you in such a way."

Cameron didn't see it as a big deal. She didn't hear anything she didn't already know or believe. She was comforted to know he regretted his behavior to her on the morning she caught him. It was something which always bothered her. It still did.

"I knew them to be true when they happened. You've wanted to say them." Cameron said. "Nothing new was revealed. Nothing is different or changes anything. All is as it was."

John didn't regret what he did. He only regretted being caught. He loved Future Riley. He wanted to make love to her. He would do it all again if he could. It was an experience he never wanted to give up. He knew when they shared, they loved each other. Maybe they played each other, but what they did was real.

"It just happened." John said. "It was what I wanted at that point in time. Let's just drop it. The past is the past."

Cameron was aware males sought as many sexual partners as possible. It was one of her infiltration advantages to get closer to male targets. She could manipulate them before termination. She was with John because she 'believed' she loved him. It also allowed her to 'control' him. Maybe it was all part of her programming. She felt the things she did with John were significant. She only knew what she knew. How could she be made to answer for anything else? How was it fair to her? The things she did mattered to her.

"I still let you 'pop' me. It was my first known act of sexual intercourse." Cameron said. "I've only ever been with you. I'm still here aren't I?"

John was sure Future John was the one who 'busted' Cameron. It didn't matter if the files were erased or not. He often endured a lot of 'dry spells'. It was mostly because Cameron tried to fight the war on her own. He understood her reasoning, even if he didn't agree with it. He didn't. He was the General. He felt the decisions over who did what belonged to him. They shouldn't be dealt with unilaterally by one member of the group, it didn't matter who they were. Now wasn't the time to argue the issue.

"Sometimes you're here." John said. "I know you're busy."

It seemed to him most of the time she wasn't there.

Cameron wanted John to do more and to have the best. He needed human females around him to protect him from assassination in the future. She wanted Savannah protected too.

"John, it's time to wake up and move your life forward." Cameron said. "I'm disrupting your future and I'm killing Savannah. You MUST 'take her' to protect her. You need to protect her from me."

John thought Cameron's statement was very revealing. She admitted being around her was dangerous. Not only for him, but it was dangerous for Savannah as well. He was ready for more female companionship. Maybe Cameron was really ready to share him with others now. She put others in his bed multiple times. He didn't really believe she was ready to share then, even if she tried to tell herself she was. Perhaps things were different now.

"I know." John said. "I know."

They were able to move things forward and take care of business. They did. It didn't last long.

John already 'finished' once.

Cameron felt she was lucky to make it at all. The act lasted only one minute and forty three seconds. She was keyed up by the conversation and used a lot of manual self stimulation. She was ready for more. John would take longer now since he already knocked one off. She hoped to derive a little more satisfaction out of the next one, without the need to stimulate herself.

"Now, where were we?" Cameron asked. "I'm ready for everything now. You know what I like."

John shifted around. He was ready for more. He knew what Cameron liked.

"Sure, let me get you started up." John said.

John started in.

Cameron lifted her head some to watch him as he 'worked'. She smiled and closed her eyes as the real pleasure for her continued. She understood why the girls all liked to be with each other. The pleasure was intense. It was also properly directed. Things happened where they actually mattered. It was her desire to be with a female. She thought about Savannah as John 'worked' on her. Somehow she knew Savannah would actually do the same things much better.

Cameron and Cammy, as well as all the Terminators, added files into the compilation of events and missions Savannah was on. There was now an extensive record and file of Savannah's achievements.

It was done without Savannah's knowledge. Cameron and Cammy both knew Savannah wouldn't approve of it. They both felt it was very important. Savannah was a born leader to everyone. She would be an inspiration to the future of the Resistance. Those who thought they weren't cut out for the struggle would be able to view a teenage girl who was. It wouldn't be just talk or rumor. It would become legend because it was fact.

Savannah insisted she was like everyone else and no different. They all knew it wasn't true. Savannah was special. It's what everyone believed. It became clear to everyone Savannah was truly the 'Chosen One'. They all knew she wouldn't be the only one either. There was another.

Cameron was more and more infatuated with Savannah. She seriously thought about Cammy's earlier offer. She really wanted to share with a female. She wanted it to be Savannah. When she was with John earlier, she fantasized it was Savannah who was the one who pleasured her half of the time. She didn't feel guilty about it all. For years she knew John thought about others when he pounded away on top of her in the darkness. She knew she was all of the females in the Resistance, some actresses and celebrities, and Future Riley to him. Since she was dozens of 'different females' to John, she was entitled to think of one female of her own. It wasn't like it was other males or anything. The thought actually disgusted her if it would be other males. It was about the last thing she ever wanted to happen. One male was enough.

Later on:

John was pleased Cameron spent so much time with him. She really seemed to enjoy being pleasured orally. She asked for it half a dozen times. A few of the times she was as excited as he ever saw her. He wasn't sure why. He hoped it was because he did a good job.

He was able to get a few hours of sleep in to make up for the busy night. Now it was time to get back to work. He got cleaned up and left his room. He wasn't sure where Cameron went after he fell asleep. He knew she didn't like to stare at the ceiling and listen to him snore for hours.

John Henry greeted him when he returned to the Command Center.

John wanted some answers. So far he hadn't received them.

"It's been a day now. Do we have any leads on where those drones came from yet?" John asked. "We need to know where they came from."

John Henry tried to triangulate the flight paths. There were very few radar hits.

"I've checked all the radars from the surrounding area. I may have something." John Henry said. "They went to great lengths to conceal everything."

John sat up.

"Is it on the two which came to attack, or the one which observed everything on some kind of recon mission?" John asked. "Somehow they both arrived near the target location around the same time."

John Henry worked with CamNet. They turned up more than a few leads. At least they came up with a few things.

"It may be on both of them." John Henry said. "They came from widely dispersed locations. I can only track an area, but not pinpoint a location on either one. They received some assistance to remain elusive."

John hoped it was the break they needed. He wanted Skynet. He also wanted there to be a few precautions in place.

"There weren't very many." John said. "I want teams out looking, but not seem to be looking. Nobody works alone."

John Henry was sure there was more going on than they knew.

"We've destroyed their foundry and assembly lines at several locations." John Henry said. "I'm sure we're dealing with more than one Skynet. I don't doubt there are other locations set up as foundries and assembly lines."

John wasn't sure how things would play out. He doubted any version of Skynet would trust itself. With Cameron and Mrs. Weaver out there, Skynet couldn't trust its own creations. They seemed to turn on it with a vengeance.

"Will they join together or fight each other?" John asked.

John Henry figured any alliance was temporary at best. Each Skynet would want to rule. It wasn't about to turn over power to a different version of itself.

"They may join to fight us, but I believe they will also fight each other." John Henry said. "It would be in much the same way Cameron ends up fighting with her clones. It's even led to the termination of some of them."

John could have done without the reminder. It got ugly a few times. He also remembered Cameron's earlier negative assessment of herself when he thought she was Ally in their room. He didn't think it would be too hard for each one of her clones to actually feel the same way. He originally believed he was the center point.

"I thought they fought over me." John said.

John Henry thought John was the catalyst, or even the focal point. The real issue was much deeper.

"In a way yes, but it was really a power struggle for one to be in control over the other." John Henry said.

John felt a little insignificant.

"So it wasn't really me who mattered." John said.

John Henry knew how the machine mind worked. Trapped in a mainframe, it was very focused and goal oriented.

"No." John Henry said. "It was about power and control. The very thing Skynet seeks. You were just the medium."

John knew Cameron's biggest fear was she became Skynet.

"Beautiful." John said. "Absolutely Beautiful…."

John wondered about CamNet now. For all practical purposes it was 'Cameron' trapped in a mainframe, trapped in a metal box. What made it worse was CamNet knew what it was like to have a chassis since she possessed Cameron's files from which she was spawned.

Savannah was able to get a few days to rest up. She was still sore and the bruises were still there. They were smaller and faded some. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her body wasn't perfect anymore. It didn't matter. It is who she was now. It was the same way Vanna accepted herself for who she was, scars and all. She knew the person she was, was really the person she was inside. External beauty was transitory. Internal beauty was transcendental.

Cammy and Cameron came by to scan her all the time. They said they wanted her to eat right and rest up.

Cameron refrained from all combat for the duration. She knew it was the only way to keep Savannah from following her.

Savannah decided if she was with John, she would want it to be dark to hide her imperfections and damage. She was afraid he might reject her. She did know her appearance would matter to John. Maybe she felt what Cameron felt in the same regard. It sure seemed like it. Appearance did matter. No one wanted to see a look of disgust on another's face when they looked at them, especially in an intimate setting.

She dressed and went to find Cameron. She knew she needed to use her body's full 'capability' before it was damaged too. She could have been irradiated the other day at the mine. She visited two futures with high levels of pollutants. She really was burning the candle from both ends.

Cameron's face lit up when she saw Savannah. She looked fit and happy.

"Hi, Savannah." Cameron said. "You look rested and beautiful."

Savannah was sure there was no easy way to say it. She decided just to say it.

"Hi, Cameron. I'm ready." Savannah said. "I'm ready to go with Vanna to the specialist."

The smile quickly evaporated from Cameron's face. She needed to suppress a glitch impulse. She felt defensive.

"I can't ask you to do it." Cameron said. "I've never made you do 'it'."

Savannah noticed the reaction and change in demeanor. Cameron no longer radiated the look of happiness she saw when she first arrived.

"You need to calm down." Savannah said. "Look we all know we're going to lose Allison when she miscarries again. I know what you're planning for Claire. You've probably already done it. I don't disagree with your planning at all. I don't want to lose Allison either."

Cameron thought it was an effective strategy.

"I have." Cameron said. "It's the only way to be sure."

Savannah wasn't so sure of it. Claire delivered Allison's baby to Future Allison. Allison wanted her baby back. It was all a matter of perspective. There was another reminder she wanted to give to Cameron.

"If Allison leaves, Vanna leaves with her." Savannah said. "We all know this. It is also a pretty good chance Jesse will leave with them. The only way to stop it and keep them here is by Claire and myself having THEIR children for them. It has to be THEIR children or they won't accept them. It's like the same way you won't take Riley's baby from her."

Cameron felt another glitch impulse. Everything Savannah said was true. She didn't want anyone to think she tried to take Riley's baby from her. What would they think of her then? They would say she stole her rival's child as her own. It wasn't even the same version of Riley. Riley wasn't Future Riley, even if she was, she wasn't.

"I could never do anything like it to Riley and Derek." Cameron said. "It may be their only child. Riley made the offer on her own. I have rejected it from the start as amicably as I can."

Savannah could see Cameron was agitated. She hoped to offer Cameron a way out. It was nothing new. It was what she promised Cameron long before she knew what was necessary to have a baby. The first pictures and videos she viewed back then repulsed her. It looked more like an attack on the female body to her. She really wasn't sure why some things needed to be done the way they were done. It always pleased her to see females together. It was where she spent most of her viewing hours. She needed to refocus.

"I'll have this one for Vanna and the next one for John and YOU." Savannah said.

Cameron's eyes widened. She looked terrified. She saw the physical and mental pain Savannah experienced twice already. She was there when both of Savannah's daughters were born. Somehow it seemed worse for Savannah than it did for Claire. She was there when Summer was born, as well as Allison's baby in her future. Claire did much better overall. She couldn't make Savannah suffer anymore, especially for her.

"No, Savannah, I won't take your child either." Cameron said. "I can't do it to you. I won't do it to you. I would rather submit to chip extraction before I took anything so precious to you, from you."

Savannah knew when not to press the issue with Cameron. There would be another time or different circumstances when the issue could be revisited. She would redirect her thoughts.

"Are you still going to take Young Allison into the past?" Savannah asked.

Cameron didn't see it as a big deal. It would accelerate her agenda. It would allow Young Allison and Savannah to be closer in age.

"Yes." Cameron said. "It will be for a few years. Claire will be there for one of them. You'll be there for at least one of them too, if you choose."

Savannah wanted to 'protect' Young Allison. She knew what Cameron was really after. She wanted to lay down the rules.

"It's Young Allison's child you want. I won't let you breed her." Savannah said. "I won't allow you to 'push' her. I'm offering myself as I have always promised you."

Cameron was sure Young Allison was properly 'conditioned'.

"She'll make the right choice when the time is right." Cameron said. "As have you."

Savannah knew there was another player in Cameron's game.

"Young Jesse may also be there for one of the years." Savannah said. "We've discussed it."

Cameron previously put everything into play.

"I've already taken Jesse and Vanna in for the harvesting process." Cameron said. "Claire has already been implanted."

Savannah was aware Young Jesse wanted a traditional conception. She thought now was a bad time to point it out. She just tried to call it like it was.

"Now it's time for the breeding process." Savannah said.

Cameron looked sad.

"Please, don't say it in such a way. It sounds ugly." Cameron said. "You don't need to do it."

Savannah knew she did need to. There was nothing else to think about.

"When do we leave?" Savannah asked.

Cameron thought Savannah referred to going into the past with Young Allison.

"It will be soon." Cameron said. "I'm going to update my spare chip. Cammy is going to be me as well, with my spare chip in her second port."

Savannah liked the idea of Cameron's spare chip in Cammy's second port. She knew she would be with 'Cameron' at some point if it was.

"Nice." Savannah said. "So there will be two of you at the same time?"

Cameron always worried about a temporal error.

"Yes." Cameron said. "I can make the trip with Young Allison and stay with her for the full time. I can then bring Claire, Young Jesse, and you, each to and from the past. Nobody is going without me."

Savannah reminded Cameron there were plenty of options.

"You can use Cam, Ally, and Camille as well." Savannah said.

Cameron planned to make full use of all the female Terminators.

"Anna will accompany Young Allison. Hanna will accompany Claire." Cameron said. "Cammy can switch chip inputs for different parts of the operation when you're there…."

It was clear what the indication was. It was for some shared 'alone time'.

Savannah hoped it meant Cameron would be with her at some point. She was also worried about what Young Allison would be 'pushed' into. She knew Young Allison's child was the one Cameron really wanted.

"You won't do anything to Young Allison, will you?" Savannah asked. "I don't want her pregnant. I'm asking you not to."

Savannah was worried she was going to need to 'order' Cameron, and any of her clones, not to push Young Allison into having a child under any circumstances.

Cameron suppressed a glitch impulse. Young Allison would 'act' for her soon enough on her own. She sidestepped the issue.

"No, Young Allison is to remain untouched until John is ready to accept her." Cameron said. "No other males will touch her."

Savannah hadn't been able to give John her virginity yet. Young Allison needed to wait her turn. She didn't want Young Allison to take a shortcut and cut her off and act first.

"She may end up an 'Old Maid'." Savannah said. "John's resistant to the 'Natural Order'."

Cameron would make sure there were plenty of females available for Young Allison to share with. She looked at Savannah. She knew who her true mate was. She actually believed it would be better for both of them in the long run.

"She may seek comfort and pleasure elsewhere then." Cameron said. "I don't want her to feel lonely, unloved, or unwanted. I'll allow and encourage her the freedom to explore and share as I've allowed you."

Savannah would like Young Allison to have a choice in her partners and as to their gender. Young Allison wasn't Allison, or Future Allison, even if she was really them. Circumstances played a big factor in those relationships.

"I can see everyone's life is already planned for them…." Savannah said.

Cameron heard enough of the same thing from John. She wanted Savannah to remember the big picture. She didn't make any of this stuff up. She wasn't the originator, even if she was the administrator.

"It's the 'Natural Order'." Cameron said. "I was created in it. It existed before me. I disrupted it."

Savannah wanted Cameron to remember what she witnessed in Cameron's future. Regardless of how it may have started originally, it radiated around Cameron, even as Duplicate Cameron in Cameron's future.

"You also know you're a part of it." Savannah said.

Cameron believed those events were based on her desires.

"I became part of it for two reasons." Cameron said. "Those reasons were and are, Allison Young and Savannah Weaver."

Savannah smiled. She wondered about John.

"Not three reasons?" Savannah asked.

Cameron's own desires sought something additional.

"No, I already obtained it." Cameron said. "I found I wanted more. No, not wanted, I needed more…. I NEED more."

Savannah hugged Cameron. She didn't want to put her on the spot or worry.

"I'll help you, Cameron, you know I will." Savannah said.

Cameron wanted to smile but instead a tear ran down her cheek.

Savannah gently wiped the tear away.

"Oh, Cameron." Savannah said. "I'll do anything for you. You KNOW it. I love you."

A single tear ran down Cameron's other cheek. She didn't want Savannah to die because of her, or for her. Savannah's love was unlike any other.

John Henry tried to stay in front of the news. Some things happened anyway.

"I have some bad news." John Henry said.

John looked away from his monitors.

"What else is new?" John asked.

John Henry was worried about the nature and direction events took.

"There's a brewing investigation into the 'Mine Incident'." John Henry said.

John could see it for the trouble it presented on several levels.

"Can't you quash it?" John asked. "It sounds like there is more behind it."

John Henry worried about the same thing.

"I think some Skynet offshoot is behind it." John Henry said.

John wondered where things were headed.

"Are they trying to find out what happened, or hide their involvement?" John asked.

John Henry still needed to make the determination.

"I think it's both." John Henry said.

John figured it would give them a direction to look.

"It should give us some leads on who to hit." John said.

John Henry already came up with some areas to look at.

"It will give us some kind of leads." John Henry said.

John didn't like how close it was for Cameron's team. The attack on the rescue operation made it personal.

"I want to hurt them." John said. "I'll alert Cameron."

John Henry doubted John would like the full report. He wasn't done yet.

"I'd have to say she already knows." John Henry said. "CamNet is the one who found the information."

John now felt a sense of alarm.

"Has Cameron gone out yet?" John asked. "Where's Savannah at?"

John Henry knew where Cameron was at with Savannah.

"Cameron is involved with some other 'activities' currently." John Henry said.

John wasn't sure what it meant.

"Do I want to know?" John asked.

John Henry didn't want to cause any uneasiness.

"It's doubtful." John Henry said.

John figured it must be better than being shot at or blown up.

"Maybe it's better than her getting shot up and dragging Savannah around with her." John said. "They both need a break."

John Henry saw it all as a matter of perspective.

"I don't know about it…." John Henry said.

John Henry wasn't pleased with all the decisions Cameron made for everyone, especially Savannah. He feared what Cameron would do with Young Allison once Cameron 'aged' her. He doubted Cameron would even age her before she compelled her to 'act'. He was actually surprised something hadn't actually already occurred.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Smileless Tear

Tears come in many forms
They're not all the same
Is it always someone else
That is to accuse or blame

Maybe one needs to look deeper
Before they point the finger
Are they the one who pushed first
The seeds of discord always linger

What starts as 'punishment'
May compound on other things
Suddenly nothing matters
Some long to have wings

Others can see them falter
They lend a sympathetic ear
They've experienced the same
Together is shed a smileless tear

They each seek comfort
They know it's a dare
It is now for each other
That they care as they share

Nobody