Chapter 521

Promise ME

Earlier:

Jesse could get to her M9 or Taser in a second. Right now she chose to carry her knife in her hand. It was personal to her. She followed a few hundred feet behind the Asian female. She was going to make sure the female didn't become a 'woman' in the weeds along the side of the trail. She would also make sure the female didn't end up dead.

She caught a flash of some movement off to her left side. She moved into the brush on the other side of the trail. She paused for a moment and waited. It was what she thought it would be.

A man moved out onto the trail. He looked back and around and started off after the Asian female. He was totally focused on his target. He rapidly closed up on her. He didn't check behind him or to the sides again.

Silent footsteps closed up on him.

Jesse could see the man carried a knife in his right hand. There was a revolver stuck in the rear of his pants. There were a half a dozen zip ties sticking out of his right rear pocket. There was some type of handkerchief hanging from the left rear pocket. It would probably be used as a gag. It was the standard method used on the other females who were abused in the vicinity. Once they were bound and gagged, they were abused several times. One of the females was further abused by a local gang. After everyone took several turns, they moved on and left her as they found her. It would be another group they would deal with at a later date.

She didn't want to take too big of a chance since the man held the knife in his right hand. His normal MO was to come up behind the female, place his left hand over her mouth, brandished the knife in front of her face, and hold it up against her throat. The abuse would start soon afterwards.

Jesse moved up right in back of him. She kicked him in the back of the right knee. He collapsed to the ground on his knees. His knife flew from his hand. She moved up behind him and slammed her knee into his back as she put her hand over his mouth. She brought her knife around so he could see the blade before it found his throat.

"This is how it's done in the Wastelands." Jesse said quietly.

It all happened in a matter of seconds. She took the revolver and moved away from the body. It was over a quickly as it started.

The Asian female knew she shouldn't have taken the shortcut through the park, but she wanted to get home. Her friends lived in the other direction and they parted after the movie.

There was a 'grunt' and then the sound of leaves rustling behind her. There was a dull 'thud' a second later. She turned back and looked. There was nothing there. She started to run. She wanted to get out of the park. She wanted to get home. She decided she wouldn't go through the park again at night, even if she could save a few minutes. She was worried she was the only one in the park. She slowed down to a walk when she spotted some movement ahead of her. She wasn't sure who it was. She wanted to be able to run to one side or the other if she needed to.

She didn't want her imagination to get the better of her. Not all of the people in the park were bad. There was a large woman in front of her when she came around the corner. She noted she was extremely well endowed. They smiled and nodded as they passed each other. She felt she needed to issue a warning.

"It's really dark the way I came." The Asian female said. "I would recommend a different route, or to go along the lighted perimeter."

Gail previously followed the blonde girl out of the other side of the park and ran back to where Jesse should be. She only spotted the Asian female. She looked unharmed. She didn't see Jesse.

"Thank you." Gail said. "I'm just going to go up to the bench and turn around."

Gail started back along the trail. She picked up a figure with a thermal scan. They were in the foliage alongside the trail.

Jesse stepped out of the bushes. She took one quick look around to make sure it was only Gail.

"Hello." Jesse said as she brushed her clothes off.

Gail scanned the area behind Jesse. There was another thermal image. It was prone on the ground. It didn't move. She knew the other two females were away from the park and unharmed.

"Both girls are out." Gail said. "There were no other issues."

Jesse looked in back of her. There wouldn't be any other issues tonight.

"Everything is finished here." Jesse said. "There won't be any more trouble."

Gail nodded. She could see there was no movement on the prone figure. She also noted the thermal image was less intense. The prone figure no longer continued to develop body heat.

"Were there any problems?" Gail asked.

Jesse smiled. Her hand dropped down and brushed against the hilt of her knife.

"None, everything worked out fine." Jesse said.

They headed back to the SUV. It was the end of the discussion. It was just another chapter in many. There would be many more as well.

Events took a turn for the worse in the Command Center.

It was the 'glitch' Cameron feared. She felt it begin to happen. She was about to lose control. She was about to become 'Skynet'. She always KNEW she was, or would be. Now it was about to happen. Her anger and rage would destroy the world. She knew she was unable to stop the events as they piled up inside her. Nobody could stop her now.

Savannah saw what was happening. It was time to act. The consequences didn't matter. She would trust her love over her own safety. To stop 'Skynet', no sacrifice was too great. It was something she learned from Cameron. Sometimes it might involve termination. It didn't matter when the job needed to be done. She didn't want the others in the room to escalate things further than they already were. She believed their actions to protect John only made things worse.

"Jim, STOP." Savannah said. "Everyone stand down. I have this."

Savannah quickly headed for Cameron. She handed her M4 to Bob. She slipped her vest off as she approached Cameron, it dropped to the floor next to her. She knew she needed to unplug Cameron. Nothing else mattered. It needed to be done now without further damage to Cameron. It needed to be done before Cameron became Skynet.

"John - go away." Savannah said forcefully.

Cameron saw Savannah coming for her. It was what she WANTED. She saw Savannah send John away, reject John and come to her instead. Savannah replaced John with HER. It was all the things John did to her, now Savannah did them to him…. Savannah redeemed her and validated her. She KNEW she mattered to Savannah.

Savannah closed up on Cameron. Just a little further….

John heard what Bob said and what Savannah repeated. He didn't want to leave the Command Center yet. He wanted to know more.

"Keep checking everything." John whispered to Bob and Jim. "Make sure there's no attack."

John looked at Cameron and what Savannah attempted to do to confront it and fix it. He thought maybe being in there wasn't such a good idea now. He didn't like being sent away. He did understand his presence seemed to agitate Cameron on multiple occasions. The current situation was probably much more so.

Kyle could see Savannah was confident in her actions. He didn't want John to negate those actions. It seemed as if anyone could have any type of influence over Cameron, in a meaningful way, it was Savannah.

"Savannah has it under control, John." Kyle said. "Trust her to do the right thing."

They all watched Savannah, as Jim and Bob searched for threats.

Savannah wanted to keep Cameron focused on her. She wanted to get as close as possible to her so she could unplug her from the server. It should end any type of a further threat to anyone else if she did. She knew what everyone wanted to see. She brushed open the front of her shirt, John's shirt.

The shirt opened up, most of the front of Savannah was visible to Cameron.

Savannah saw Cameron look at her breasts and focus on her nipples. The super pink pigmentation made everyone look. Cameron was no exception.

She didn't want Cameron to feel threatened in any way. She decided to tell Cameron everything she was about to do. She didn't want it to seem like she was going to pull a fast one. She wasn't. She wanted to be open and direct about everything.

"I'm going to walk right up to you, Cameron." Savannah said. "I'm going to unplug you. It's all I'm going to do. I can give you a hug too if you want. You decide what you want me to do. It's what I'll do. No one here is a threat to you. You know I'm not a threat to you in any way. I never will be, no matter what."

Cameron still looked combat ready. The intense red began to fade from her eyes as she looked at Savannah's very pink nipples. Savannah near her, calmed her. Savannah's voice calmed her. She believed everything Savannah said to her. Savannah never lied to her. Savannah was never mean to her. Savannah only ever showed her one thing. It was love. There was something deeper inside her. It called to her. It was her love for Savannah. Savannah was the one person she could trust for anything.

Savannah used her training and instinct. Cameron taught her to offer the target what they wanted. It allowed her to get closer, and then move in for the 'kill'. She wanted to keep Cameron focused on her. She knew what Cameron wanted. It was what she wanted as well.

She slid the shirt off. It fluttered and drifted to the floor. She was topless now. She only wore her underwear as she moved closer to Cameron. She wanted Cameron to concentrate on her and nothing else. She would remove her underwear next, unless Cameron's eyes returned to normal, or at least continued to lessen the glow of red.

Everyone looked away from what was happening. They all wanted to watch, but knew of the sacrifice Savannah was going through right now to help Cameron. They gave Savannah her dignity. Savannah could do what none of them could, with the same results, without resorting to violence.

Savannah moved up to Cameron and embraced her. She didn't make any rash moves. Not yet anyway. She didn't think she needed to. It was clear by her lack of attire she was unarmed and didn't carry any type of weapon, including a Taser. She wanted to give Cameron one more thing to think about. She knew what Cameron wanted. She looked Cameron in her eyes.

"Cameron, I'm going to unplug you." Savannah said. "I don't have anything on me, except my underwear. I can remove them if you want. Think about it, tell me what you want."

Cameron tensed up. She was filled with a rush of 'joy'. It quelled the anger inside of her. She wanted what was right in front of her. She wanted it more than anything. She knew she better not do anything to upset Savannah or she would turn away from her. She wanted something in return.

"Kiss me." Cameron said. "I want a kiss, FIRST."

Savannah wanted to remain in control. She would give Cameron what she asked for. She wanted something else first. She wanted to make sure she was where she needed to be to disconnect Cameron from the server. She wanted Cameron to know what was going to happen and when.

"I will after I unplug you." Savannah said. "I don't want any wires in the way."

Cameron was confused but she knew Savannah could be trusted. She could trust her life to Savannah. Savannah would never fail her. Savannah always kept all of her promises. She wanted to make sure.

"Promise ME." Cameron said.

Cameron's eyes glowed blue now.

Savannah felt the situation was under control, but she still needed to unplug Cameron. She planned to do what Cameron asked for.

"I promise, Cammy." Savannah said.

Savannah thought back to when she was still a young girl. She promised Cameron everything she asked for. She used to call Cameron, Cammy, back then. The words just slipped out of her mouth like they did when she was younger. It was what she always said when Cameron wanted her to promise her something.

Cameron hesitated. She wasn't 'Cammy' any more. There was a new Cammy and she was Savannah's cyborg lover. Cammy was a cheap imitation of her for Savannah's 'pleasure and comfort'. Cammy was a placeholder for her. She was troublesome and very irritating most of the time. The blue started to fade from her eyes. Cammy reminded her of someone she didn't like. She remembered it was her.

Savannah recognized her mistake as soon as she made it. She corrected herself and offered an explanation.

"I promise, Cameron." Savannah said. "I'm sorry. You know I always liked to call you by our special name for you. Those were our special times together. It was where you planned my future for me. It was where we planned our future together."

They both knew Savannah always referred to Cameron as 'Cammy' before there was a Cammy.

It actually pleased Cameron to be 'Cammy' for Savannah. It was their own special way to connect and feel close. She felt that closeness again. It was beautiful. She did plan Savannah's life for her. She plans Savannah's life for both of them. As an afterthought, she remembered John too. She glanced around the Command Center. She was very pleased to see John was gone after Savannah sent him away.

"I liked it too." Cameron said. "I understand. It always connected us deeper to each other. We both know what the future holds for us."

Savannah still looked into Cameron's eyes. Her promise was good no matter what Cameron was called.

"I promise - YOU." Savannah said. "I promise you everything…."

John was outside the Command Center door. He stayed out of where Cameron could see him directly. He heard what was happening but he didn't look, none of them did. He knew he 'lost' Cameron at this point. He knew he should have listened to Cameron YEARS ago about what SHE wanted. He should have listened to what Cameron told him hundreds of times. He knew he disrupted the 'Natural Order'. Now it was he who would be left behind.

Savannah reached up to Cameron's neck to unplug her at the same time she went to kiss her. She wanted Cameron to know exactly what was going to happen and when.

"First the cable will be disconnected, and then the kiss will follow." Savannah whispered. "I promise, Cameron."

Their lips were about to touch as the cable came out of Cameron's neck.

Things happened a little unexpectedly as soon as Cameron was disconnected.

Cameron collapsed when the cable was unplugged.

Both Cameron and John Henry were now shut down in the Command Center.

Savannah immediately followed Cameron down to the floor and broke her fall. She didn't want Cameron further damaged. She hoped to be able to reach her before she was gone. She wasn't sure how far gone was gone in this case.

"Cameron." Savannah said, and then shouted. "Cameron!"

John glanced around the corner at Savannah and Cameron. It looked like Cameron was unplugged. He reentered the Command Center and then returned his attention to what was happening. They still needed to know more.

"Is there anything about to happen?" John asked as he looked for himself. "Is there any sign of an attack?"

Bob and Jim were both plugged into the server. They were in direct contact with CamNet.

"I have nothing." Bob said.

Jim double checked everything himself as well.

"I see no changes either." Jim said.

Kyle and Derek both checked too.

Savannah guided Cameron to the floor as best as she could.

"Are we clear? Is there an attack?" Savannah asked over her shoulder as she straightened Cameron out on the floor.

Bob could detect nothing.

"There's none as of yet. CamNet reports nothing as well." Bob said. "CamNet has inquired about Cameron…."

John looked over at John Henry, Savannah and Cameron. He could see the loving way Savannah tended Cameron. There was nothing to report but the facts.

"Tell CamNet both Cameron and John Henry are currently incapacitated." John said. "We don't have any idea why, or what went wrong to start with. If anything is uncovered there, we need to know."

Kyle was a little worried about hitting the 'Panic Button' earlier. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time. Now maybe he caused more problems.

"Maybe I overreacted." Kyle said.

Derek looked at Cameron and John Henry. Both of them were now inoperable.

"Does it look like it?" Derek asked. "It isn't normal to have two Terminators in the Command Center who are currently offline for an unknown reason."

Kyle looked at them and frowned. It looked almost catastrophic.

John looked too.

"Something happened here." John said. "Stand down the imminent attack alert, but have everyone stay on their toes. We don't know what's happening yet, or if there will be an attack. There just isn't one right now."

John picked up his shirt and tried to hand it to Savannah.

"Here you go, Savannah." John said.

Savannah glanced back.

"It's your shirt." Savannah said. "Wear it."

Savannah turned away from John and went back to tending Cameron.

John tried to look at Cameron too. Savannah seemed cold to him right now.

Kyle came over and touched John's shoulder. He could see the stiffness in the air. There was no need for John to push anything right now.

"John, maybe you better tend to the operation here and take control." Kyle said as he looked at Savannah and Cameron. "This looks like something you best deal with later on…."

Kyle looked at Savannah clad only in her underwear talking softly to Cameron. He remembered when Vanna looked just like she did. There wasn't a whole lot of privacy in the tunnels. He saw Savannah was even more beautiful. Her body was pristine compared to any female in the future. There wasn't a scar, sore, or blemish on her.

He wasn't sure what 'happened' between John and Savannah, but he knew whatever it was, it was. There was no turning back the clock on everything. They all knew what Cameron wanted, or thought she wanted. It looked like it may have just happened….

Kyle didn't have a clue Cameron was outside Savannah's room earlier, or how she must have felt about it. He might have been more worried if he possessed the information.

John touched Savannah's shoulder as he stood behind her. He felt he needed to make amends of some type. They were so close to sharing the love they felt for each other. Now there was this mess. Just like that, in an instant everything changed.

Savannah reached up and took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. None of this was John's fault. She didn't want him to feel it was. Right now Cameron was the high priority for her.

She didn't look back at him but stayed tending Cameron. John understood his place, and his order, in Savannah's heart. He was behind Cameron.

John took over the Command Center. It was time to do his job. John Henry and Cameron were currently out of the picture. There were others to assist him. They trained for all scenarios, even though this wasn't one of them specifically. It was close enough.

Cammy, Cam, and Vanna soon arrived after the alert was lifted.

Cammy saw Savannah clad only in her underwear and immediately took off her own shirt and handed it to Savannah to wear. She didn't know why Savannah was dressed, or undressed, as it looked in this manner.

Savannah gladly took Cammy's top.

"Thanks, Cammy." Savannah said.

Cammy still wore her bra. She started to remove her pants. She wanted Savannah properly clothed. She didn't care if she was in her underwear. She wouldn't care if she was naked either. It was more material than most of the bikinis she wore at the pool with Savannah. She liked to wear the skimpiest one possible. It kept the eyes of others off of Savannah and on her. If someone still looked at Savannah she managed a 'nip slip', or her top would 'fall off'. It always brought the wandering eyes back to her. It was something she learned from Cameron.

Savannah didn't want Cammy to look too indecent.

"The shirt's good enough, Cammy." Savannah said. "It's all I need. I appreciate it"

Kyle went over everything with everyone there again from the start to the present. He was worried about his 'call'.

John glanced over at Cameron and John Henry again.

"It was the right decision, Kyle." John said. "Something happened here which wasn't normal. We need to find out what it was. There still could be a threat which hasn't materialized yet."

Cammy and Cam talked quietly. It was time for action.

"We'll take Cameron and John Henry away." Cam said.

Cam picked up Cameron. Bob unplugged and picked up John Henry. They headed off to the lab as Savannah and Vanna led the way.

Cammy hung back and pulled John off to the side. She saw the way John's eyes looked over her bra and what it contained. She knew what he wanted. She was there to offer it to him, more or less.

"John, I have access to Cameron's spare chip." Cammy said. "I'll have Cam install it in me and become 'Cameron Prime' from a week ago if you desire. None of this will have happened for me, well, her then. You know Cameron's program is her. This chassis and sheath are identical to hers. You won't notice any difference as you 'use' it."

John wasn't really sure he liked the way her statement was framed. He did want to 'use' it. He thought it might come to it. He would rather have Cameron back. It was his current worry.

"What about, Cameron?" John asked.

Cammy didn't see any need to mince words. She went straight to the point.

"Cameron may need to be deactivated." Cammy said. "It's probably for the best at this point anyway, for everyone."

It seemed like there could be a better solution on several levels to John. Cammy shouldn't need to sacrifice herself either.

"Can't you put the spare chip in her then?" John asked.

Cammy didn't want to 'split' Cameron up. There was a chance she could be reactivated at a later date.

"No, Cameron Prime must remain intact." Cammy said. "We will try to repair her along with John Henry."

John hoped so but he wasn't so sure.

"And if you can't fix her?" John asked.

Cammy thought about taking her bra off to make a point. She knew it would get John's attention.

"I'm here." Cammy said. "I'll be 'Cameron'. I'll only be one week out of date. John, I am 'Cameron'. Everything will feel the same. You won't know the difference."

John didn't want to go there right now, even if he did. There were others to consider as well.

"What about Savannah?" John asked.

Cammy felt a little indignant.

"Everyone sacrifices for John Connor." Cammy said.

Cammy turned and walked away.

Kyle watched the exchange. He wasn't sure what Cammy was going to do. It seemed like a workable solution for John. It seemed too early to make any type of decisions or determinations about anything.

"John, it will all work out in the end." Kyle said. "It always does."

John watched Cammy walk away. He saw the sway to her figure. He knew she WAS 'Cameron' already. She was a clone of Cameron. With Cameron's spare chip she would be Cameron. Cameron always said her program was her. He was tired of fighting everything. With the threat which almost materialized today, he knew his personal comforts were irrelevant. The future of the world depended on him.

He KNEW Future John wouldn't let his personal life get in the way of saving mankind and running the Resistance. Maybe it was time he took a lesson from Future John and started pushing people away from him too….

People, and cyborgs who'd become 'people', were all too painful to deal with. He understood why it was better to be alone. If no one was around him, there wasn't as much pain.

Maybe it was time history should repeat itself….

John knew Cameron wasn't supposed to be his 'wife'.

He was supposed to be a leader, not a lover….

It was clear many times over he corrupted Cameron's mission by asking her to marry him. He knew she loved him, like he did her. Maybe she only married him because she thought she needed to because he asked. She may have taken it as an 'order'. He went over the thought a thousand times in his head.

John still wondered about the Duplicates which were created. Maybe it was all Cameron's doing. So she could be with Future John and River and have it really be HER.

Then he remembered it was John Henry and him fooling with the TDE which created the aberration. There was no way Cameron could have orchestrated it or could she have?

Kyle thought John displayed 'the thousand yard stare'. It was never a good thing. They still needed to find out what happened and if there was a threat. He could understand how John was distracted. He wanted John to push through the personal issues and be the General he was supposed to be.

"John." Kyle said. "You need to focus."

John still had the image of Cammy with her bra on in his mind. He'd like to 'break in' her chassis as well. Now he really needed to focus.

"I know, Kyle. I'm sorry." John said. "I know."

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Promise Me

People do many things
They will say even more
Do they do what they swore
Or do they end up as a word whore

Actions speak louder than words
Maybe it's the real proof
It may determine what is a spoof
Or what develops into a goof

Spoken words are often just noise
Indicating that talk is cheap
It determines what one throws away
Or what they may decide to keep

Everything in reality
All boils down to trust
Trust becomes a must
Or one is only left with dust

Always keep in mind many things
Are not always what one will see
It comes down to what one will believe
Is the other true when they promise me

Nobody