Chapter 931

Your Approval

John Henry monitored the discussions of the girls in the desert. He explained to John what they knew or suspected. John looked rather perplexed.

It was information John didn't want to hear. The implication of what was about to happen could be fatal. It seemed the more he heard, the more impossible the story became. He really wondered what they were doing. He wanted to get everything straight.

"Hold on." John said.

John Henry thought he was quite clear about everything he explained to John.

"I can explain it again." John Henry said.

John waved his hand in disgust. He didn't need to hear again what he already heard.

"I heard you the first time." John said.

John Henry could see John was irritated and frustrated. He thought perhaps one of the girls could explain everything to him. They were the ones there after all. He thought maybe John should hear the story which would contain the most truth, rather than the one which wouldn't. He could hear it as well.

"Maybe you should speak directly to Savannah." John Henry said. "You could speak to Cameron as well."

John wouldn't mind speaking with Savannah. He sure didn't want to speak with Cameron. Even with everything John Henry already told him, he was sure Cameron was responsible for whatever the problem was the girls currently faced. He wanted to make sure he understood everything John Henry just told him.

"I might call one of them, or both of them, later on. I'll go over it with you first instead. Let me get this straight." John said. "There's an H-bomb which Cammy and Sheila stole in the past, maybe fifty or more years ago, and then placed it inside the mine. It's supposed to be in the deepest part of the mine, and blocked off from the rest of the mine with the opening camouflaged so no one could find it."

John Henry was glad John understood this part. He already told him three times.

"You're absolutely correct." John Henry said.

John Henry wasn't sure why they needed to go over the same information so many times. Nothing was different from the first time he told him. The situation was extremely static based upon the amount of time which passed since the event occurred.

The next part is the part John experienced trouble with. It seemed as illogical as it was impossible. Even though he heard the explanation, it didn't seem to add up. He didn't think it was correct, even if everyone else seemed to think so.

"Cammy and Sheila were told to do this by Savannah, in the past." John said. "It's our Savannah, but she hasn't been to the past yet. Savannah has only been to two futures and in the present."

John Henry nodded. It appeared John understood everything so far. Maybe all the repetition started to pay off.

"You're correct." John Henry said. "The 'Chosen One' set things in motion in the past."

John was concerned as to why there were so many of their group in the past. He heard of the speculation of the 'temporal mission' for Young Allison, but what John Henry described to him sounded much more involved and complicated.

"Why were they in the past?" John asked. "Does something go wrong?"

John Henry didn't want to be the one to tell John what the full story would be. Savannah was in the past so she could have Vanna's baby quicker for the present. The same thing applied to Claire with Allison's baby she carried. He hoped to keep Claire out of the current conversation. It was only bound to create more agitation as well as confusion. He was going to stick with the easy route on this one.

"It's unknown." John Henry said. "You would need to speak with Cameron about it. I don't know all of the details. You need to remember, they haven't actually left the present to go to the past yet, even though somehow the events already occurred in the past."

John's biggest concern right now was Cameron. It seemed the incident revolved around her if nothing else. It wasn't a surprise to him at all. Most of what went wrong or caused a problem seemed to revolve around her. All of the efforts seemed to be directed in one direction.

"Was Cameron terminated?" John asked. "Will she be terminated where she's at now?"

John Henry thought it was most likely, but didn't want to speculate on something so extreme. Cameron was known for taking chances and pushing it. He was pretty sure Savannah wouldn't have gone to all this trouble and drama for anything short of it.

"It's unknown." John Henry said. "You know from past experiences how she operates. I doubt this would be any different."

The lack of answers only continued to frustrate John.

"None of this makes any sense." John said. "If they're going to use the H-bomb deep underground, what exactly are they waiting for? Why hasn't it happened yet? Why have they waited so long? Why have we just found out about all of this right now? What's different now than was different a year ago, five years ago, or fifty years ago? Is there something they need to wait for?"

John Henry could think of one obvious thing they might want to have. He was sure if Savannah was involved she would want it as well.

"Maybe they waited for your approval." John Henry said.

John Henry's statement was almost laughable to John. It seemed if the implications of what was about to happen, happened, there wasn't going to be anything laughable about it. He was sure if Cameron was behind everything, he would be the last person she would ask for approval from. She most likely wouldn't tell him either. It would probably be true even if he asked. She told him once before she lied to him. When he asked if it was about important things, she said 'yes'. At the time he asked the question he wasn't sure if her reference was to the future or the present. He had a feeling it was in regards to the future. The implication was if she lied in the future she would also lie in the present. There's no reason she wouldn't lie in the past on top of it.

"Hardly…." John said. "I'm just the leader of the Resistance. Sometimes I wonder if it means anything. Cameron seldom asks for my approval for anything."

John often felt Cameron was the one in charge. He felt he was more of a figurehead. It was clear to everyone in the Resistance how Cameron did most of the heavy lifting which needed to be done in regards to Skynet.

John Henry believed it was Savannah who was responsible for the current situation. Cammy and Sheila both thought it was the 'Chosen One'. He didn't want John to blame everything on Cameron before they possessed all of the facts. Without facts, everything was a guess.

"It may have been Savannah, not Cameron, who was involved with whatever it is they're dealing with now." John Henry said. "We don't know why. I can't imagine anyone, whether it was Savannah or Cameron, who would do such a thing unless it was absolutely necessary. I think we both think someone was terminated and whatever is occurring was done to 'fix it'."

John thought about it. He was well aware his hands were going to be full in the future with Young Allison and Savannah.

"It's even worse." John said. "I can already tell Savannah and Young Allison aren't going to listen to me."

John Henry heard Young Allison tell John she always listened. It's what she said afterwards which drove home her point. She said she 'didn't always obey'. He wanted to remind John the girls were their own individuals. They possessed minds of their own, with their own beliefs and opinions. He knew they wouldn't shy away from exercising them either if the situation arose where they needed to.

"They'll listen, but they may not 'obey'. There's a difference there." John Henry said. "They'll question and challenge you. It's what you really want anyway. You know it will make you a better leader. You can't 'reprogram' them. You can't deactivate them."

There it was again. John felt the jab at him about Future John. He was aware Future John reprogrammed Cameron at least once. It was probably several times. Cameron told him before much of her life was 'missing'. He was sure Future John erased Cameron's first sexual experiences. It was what Cameron believed anyway. He didn't want to think about things he hadn't actually done himself, even if he did them later on or in another future. He tried to picture things going forward with Cameron, Savannah, and Young Allison.

"If we are all one 'big happy family', I'll have even less control of them." John said. "Like I do with Cameron now, she's uncontrollable."

John Henry didn't think there was 'control' in any relationship. Even if there was, it wasn't for very long before whoever was being controlled would want their voice heard. It was bound to lead to a major problem if one of the individuals always wanted to remain in charge of the other.

"It seems to be the way relationships 'work'." John Henry said. "One partner isn't supposed to 'control' the other in any relationship. You know it."

John wondered sometimes if he wasn't a victim rather than a participant. He felt he was controlled plenty, even if the majority of it was indirectly.

"I'm sure it's all part of Cameron's plan to 'control' me." John said.

John Henry wasn't so sure of it.

"Cameron is an infiltration unit." John Henry said. "She's trained Savannah and Young Allison with parts of her programming. She taught them what she feels is best for their survival in the future. She doesn't want the same things to happen to them which happened to the girls from the alternate future you created."

John could have done without the reminder about all the terrible things Vanna, Allison, Jesse, and Riley needed to endure in a future created by his actions. As far as training for the future went, his mother assisted him very much on many subjects. He didn't always listen when he should have. He listened too and didn't always obey.

"My mother helped with some of it as well." John said. "I'm sure her advice wasn't much different when it comes to me…."

John Henry understood Sarah wanted to protect her son. He also understood she would want the girls to be protected from her son. He did think John showed a lot of restraint previously. He wasn't so sure there would be much restraint shown going forward. He saw what almost happened with Cammy and Savannah in the Honeymoon Suite at the casino hotel in Las Vegas. Everyone needed to prepare for the future. There were many ways to do so.

"Indeed." John Henry said.

Savannah led Cammy into the restroom. She didn't like to see Cammy cut up. They needed answers and they needed them soon. It seemed they were on some timetable here they didn't fully understand yet.

Cameron hadn't given up the idea of entering the mine. She was back where she started earlier in the operation when they found out the destination of the armored car. It was the H-bomb which concerned her the most.

"I still want to verify what's inside the mine. I need to check on what will set the H-bomb off." Cameron said. "I don't want to do it manually if it can be avoided."

Savannah didn't like the last part of Cameron's statement. She didn't agree to it at all. She didn't want Cameron inside of the mine. She especially didn't want her to manually detonate the H-bomb.

"It's not going to happen." Savannah said. "You're not going to do it."

Cameron didn't say anything.

Cammy thought her programming was altered to make her think her power cell was still there. She was under the impression she did it herself under the direction of the 'Chosen One'. It bothered her somewhat because her programming was altered in this way. It was obviously done specifically so she wouldn't know she was missing a power cell. It would have raised a lot of questions as to where it went, why it was removed, and what was it used for. She knew her programming could have been altered to indicate her power cell 'went bad' and was the reason why it was removed. Instead, it was left a mystery.

"Open me up first and make sure my other power cell is actually missing. I still show it being there, even though there is no energy output." Cammy said. "It could have shut down if there was a problem. I should have received some type of warning."

Savannah somehow was supposed to be a part of everything which occurred in the past, even though she hadn't left for the past yet. She didn't see how she could have done any of it if she hadn't even left. If she actually did any of this, it would have needed to be for a very good reason. If it was to prevent Cameron from being terminated, it seemed like a pretty good reason to her.

"Cameron, I think if I ordered Cammy and Sheila to do this in the past, it was to keep you from going into the mine in the first place." Savannah said. "I'm sure of it. I can't imagine the use of a weapon like it under any other circumstances. Why it didn't happen earlier is all speculation. Maybe it was because we needed Skynet to get established in the mine first so it could be terminated with extreme prejudice. If the mine were blown up decades ago, Skynet would have just moved to a different location, most likely another mine in the area."

Cammy reached much the same conclusion. There was the involvement of the Syndicate to factor in as well. There was most likely a lot of cash inside the mine right now. Skynet would be denied use of the funds. After the H-bomb exploded, it really wasn't going to need them anyway. It would be buried under thousands of tons of earth.

"Maybe it was to kill two birds with one stone." Cammy said.

Sheila knew there was a lot of uncertainty about the Cobalt. She was worried about the C-bomb.

"What do we know about the Cobalt and a weapon being fabricated from it?" Sheila asked. "I know there is more than one kind of 'C-bomb' now, with slang terminology. I definitely would prefer one over the other."

Cameron hoped to find some better information about it. All of her records indicated a C-bomb was too dangerous to actually build and test. Throughout the Fifties and early Sixties the C-bomb was just theory. Sometime during the late Sixties, plans for any 'tests' were canceled as being too dangerous. The fear of an 'end of life' event was too great to risk it. It really seemed like a weapon Skynet would want to pursue and use.

"Let me ask John Henry something." Cameron said. "Cut Cammy open while I check."

Sheila moved forward with her knife. She felt a sudden rush of excitement. She knew it wouldn't be the first time she used her knife on Cammy. She wasn't about to say anything in front of Savannah where she used her knife at before on Cammy's sheath. She thought maybe it would be better if Savannah did it.

"Are you comfortable with me doing the procedure?" Sheila asked Savannah. "Do you want to do it, love? You've needed to make repairs before. It's about the same."

Savannah didn't look forward to having to cut Cammy open, but she would do what needed to be done because they needed answers. They needed to know one way or the other. She would let Cammy make the decision herself.

"Cammy?" Savannah asked. "You pick."

Cammy could see Savannah didn't want to damage her sheath. She could see Sheila was more than anxious to do it. She might as well let Sheila have what she desired. She wanted Savannah to keep her decency.

"You're both my lovers." Cammy said. "I don't want Savannah to have to do this to me."

Sheila was very excited to hear it. She tried not to show it in front of Savannah.

"Sure, love." Sheila said. "You know I always wanted to use a knife on you anyway."

Cammy allowed Sheila to 'work' on her before. She was a little apprehensive, but Sheila told her everything would eventually regenerate. It did.

"You did, twice." Cammy said. "Everything regenerated. It took a little longer the second time because you were a little more 'enthusiastic' than you indicated you were going to be. I don't think the look is for everyone, even if it does have its merits."

Sheila looked quickly at Savannah but didn't say anything.

Savannah didn't look pleased with the revelation. She heard Ally complain about the same thing before. It was done when Sheila borrowed Ally's chassis before without her knowledge or approval.

"Tell me about it." Savannah said.

Sheila glanced at Cammy who nodded slightly.

"It wasn't a big deal. It's popular among actresses and celebrities currently." Sheila said. "We were forty years ahead of our time with the outpatient procedure. It's rather quite common now. Women pay good money for it. Recently, some model even made a necklace. I saw it on the internet once. I know we were ahead of the times with the look too. I believe it's referred to as 'The Barbie' look currently."

Savannah looked even less pleased with the further revelation.

Cammy didn't think it was a big deal since it was past news. She thought they might have made a more significant contribution which seemed to be universally adopted.

"Maybe we started a 'trend' way back then." Cammy said. "The proper and complete use of a razor seemed to catch on about twenty years earlier than the other procedure."

Now Savannah wondered if they didn't change the future after all. Two of those modifications were quite common now among females. It made Savannah wonder what else they may have inadvertently been altered in the past.

Actually the more she thought about it, the more she figured some of what they did may not have been inadvertently. It may have been done intentionally. She thought about how all the females in the Resistance looked now. They certainly didn't look like they did in the Sixties or earlier.

Cameron went outside. She spoke with John Henry back at the Resistance base. There was more information she needed before she acted. She asked him earlier to make sure there was a physical check done on the nuclear weapons at the nearby Air Force Base. She wanted to make sure there was no additional Skynet 'hanky panky' in the works.

"Has the inventory of nuclear weapons been completed at the local Air Force Base yet?" Cameron asked.

John Henry was very disturbed with the results of the physical inspection. The computer records showed everything was still in the arsenal. The physical check came up a little short.

"Yes." John Henry said. "There are five nuclear weapons missing. They went missing just recently. I quickly made some 'corrections'. I was able to 'confirm' the weapons were actually transferred to a different facility several months ago. I didn't want any type of alarm raised. I'm sure everyone was pleased they could pass the buck."

Cameron was afraid it's what was going to come back as the results. She was correct.

"Skynet has them." Cameron said. "I bet they're in the mine and I bet the Cobalt is in there as well. I believe this is a major threat to the human population of the planet."

John Henry agreed with her theory. A few quick calculations confirmed Cameron's assessment.

"If they build five C-bombs, they can kill half the people on the planet with atmospheric detonations." John Henry said. "The Cobalt radiation will blanket the Earth within a few years time span, billions will die. Skynet doesn't even have to launch a massive nuclear missile attack to do it. The fact the Cobalt radiation will last so long is what will eliminate future survivors going forward."

Cameron saw this as a back door way for Skynet to take control. It could remain in the shadows and simply pick up the pieces of what was left of humanity in a few years time. Skynet could then launch targeted attacks against the pockets of the population which remained. It was an effective strategy.

"Skynet doesn't have to take 'control' to do it either." Cameron said. "They have everything they need now, if they actually have it. They can use HK drones for high altitude explosions to maximize the Cobalt radiation dispersal. Once the radiation is in the jet stream it will be everywhere. Nothing on the ground will be destroyed except living creatures."

John listened intently to the discussion between John Henry and Cameron. He could see the serious nature of what Skynet wanted to do. He could see why the girls wanted to act on the procedure which would happen inside of the mine to set the chain of events into motion. They needed to wait until all the pieces were in play before the mine was destroyed with everything inside of it. He was against the use of the H-bomb when he first heard about it. Now he heard what the H-bomb might be able to stop when it was used to collapse the mine, he was on board with the idea. He wanted Cameron to act with a few restrictions and limits. He wanted to be very adamant about one of them.

"Cameron, if you can collapse the mine with the H-bomb which may be inside of it, and not set off the other nuclear weapons or spread the Cobalt, I want you to do it." John said. "You're not to enter the mine."

Cameron needed to know more about how the H-bomb was supposed to be detonated. Cammy and Sheila were unable to give her any specific details as to what they did. She was aware there was another way to make sure the H-bomb was detonated.

"One of us may have to trigger it manually." Cameron said.

There was a long silence.

John better understood what Savannah's plan was before. He didn't want Savannah to be the one to trigger the H-bomb. He didn't want any of their Terminators to do it either. There was a new Terminator created just a few hours ago. Maybe it was her purpose.

"We need to save innocent people and the future." John said. "I don't want Savannah to do it. Is this why Samantha was created?"

Cameron was afraid it would come down to the point where they were at now. It did. Now it was time to act. She needed to protect the future. She needed to protect John, Savannah, and Young Allison. It was her destiny to take control and make sure the job was done.

"I'll do it." Cameron said. "My program is copied on my server…."

John Henry didn't want Cameron to get ahead of herself. He thought there were other options available.

"Is there any chance the H-bomb can be triggered from outside or remotely?" John Henry asked.

Cameron hoped to have an answer to his question when she returned to the restroom. They should have already cut Cammy open by now to do a physical inspection.

"We are checking on one possibility now." Cameron said. "It may be wired to a Terminator power cell and a timer."

John wondered when it happened and who the unlucky donor was.

"Whose power cell was used?" John asked. "Was it yours in the past?"

Cameron thought it was only indirectly hers. Cammy was her clone.

"No, it's Cammy's power cell." Cameron said.

John was a little shocked to hear it, especially if Savannah was the one behind the H-bomb. He wouldn't expect her to sacrifice her cyborg lover. He could picture her doing it instead of using Cameron's power cell and deactivating her. Savannah's love for Cameron would be stronger than it was for Cammy.

"Are you saying Savannah did it to Cammy?" John asked. "I can't believe it."

Cameron sometimes wondered if John paid attention to everything happening. It didn't seem like it.

"Cammy has two power cells. It was because she has two chip ports." Cameron said. "Cammy's here now. She's not terminated nor apparently ever has been, well, not yet anyway."

John wasn't worried about Cammy. It was Cameron who bothered him.

"You're there now too." John said.

Cameron looked over towards the mountain where the mine was at. There was still a job to do. Skynet still needed to be terminated. It was unknown how events would play out. She most likely would need to revert to her original plan.

"For now…." Cameron said.

John hoped to find out a little more about what Cameron was up to in the past. He was sure she probably changed more than a few things when she was there. He wouldn't know the difference because all he would know is what was changed as to how things were. He wondered if she would come clean or not. He figured it was worth a try.

"Cameron, what were you doing in the past?" John asked.

Cameron assumed John referred to the current situation. She wasn't going to be specific about anything else.

"I don't know." Cameron said. "I haven't left yet."

Her answer wasn't good enough for John. It bothered him because Savannah was in the past. He was aware any use of the TDE could result in a temporal error. It made him think about when he directed John Henry to attempt to use the TDE in a manner it wasn't designed for to retrieve Cameron and the girls. Two sets of Duplicates were created during the process.

"What was Cammy doing in the past and why was Savannah there?" John asked.

Cameron didn't want to have the discussion. Technically, none of them even left.

"John, don't worry about it." Cameron said. "When it's time for the temporal mission to occur, I'll let you know. The past wasn't altered. Drop it."

Cameron cut the connection.

She didn't want to get into a conversation about what she knew it would be with John. He was supposed to accept the future as it was delivered to him. He should be content with the future she created and provided to him. It was why he - Future John, sent her back in the first place. She was very irritated because John seemed to be unable to comprehend what HE - Future John, wanted.

Cameron felt she needed to sacrifice a lot of things personally in order to carry out the wishes of John - Future John. She really thought John should be a little more appreciative of everything she did and orchestrated for him. She arranged for all of the eligible females in the Resistance to be 'available' for him. It included all of the Metal girls as well. All he needed to do was ask.

John didn't like getting cut off by Cameron. He slammed the heel of his fist on the table. The conversation with Cameron upset him. He didn't really get any answers either.

"DAMN IT." John said angrily.

John Henry wanted John to understand how any events in the past would play out in the present.

"If they were in the past, whatever they did has already been done." John Henry said.

It still bothered John anyway. It was just the fact if Cameron could do something, he felt she would if it suited her goals and agenda.

"I know they did something." John said.

John Henry knew what the purpose would have been on the latest temporal visits. Those included the ones which hadn't happened yet, even though somehow they already did in the past.

"They may have taken Young Allison into the past to accelerate things for you and Savannah." John Henry said. "I don't think it would be for any other reason."

It wasn't any news John wanted to hear either. He wondered what happened if it all fell apart and they were all arrested as terrorists. He could just picture some of the charges.

"Please - stop." John said. "Do you have any idea what my 'Rap Sheet' is going to look like with my official birth date and Young Allison's birth date as 'evidence'? Who's going to believe anything about time travel and the fact I'm younger than I am and she's older than her official age? It was trying to explain the truth which got my mother thrown into the insane asylum until we broke her out. The doctor who treated her ended up in the same place later on over the same issues when he attempted to expose the truth as well. I think it's best if all of us stay out of custody."

John Henry was aware there was a new form of 'selective prosecution' for various individuals.

"I think it would be about a thirty year sentence in the 'big house' for the infraction alone. It would make you unpopular with the other inmates as well." John Henry said. "Since none of it actually happened, it's probably best not to dwell on it. Nobody knows what the future will be until it actually happens."

John was irritated by another contentious issue which already happened. It was done behind my back.

"Savannah was a little younger and she should have been when she gave birth to two of my children." John said. "I didn't have anything directly to do with it. It won't matter. It should bump it up to a fifty year sentence in 'the slammer'."

John Henry was aware those were future events. Not past events like the current situation dealt with.

"Technically, it hasn't happened yet." John Henry said. "Even if it already has…."

John didn't want to go down the convoluted road of 'temporal management' and 'temporal malpractice'. He didn't want to give any justification to Cameron's actions, whatever the intent was.

"Stop…." John said.

John Henry figured John didn't want to hear or be reminded about who else did things like Savannah did.

"Then I won't mention Young Jesse." John Henry said. "She was involved with similar activity as well when she delivered your child."

John shook his head. It was another reminder he could have done without.

"You just did mention it, even if you didn't." John said. "Now it's an international incident. Tack on another twenty years in 'the pen'."

John Henry didn't believe John committed any type of crime to begin with. Everything happened artificially.

"You didn't even 'touch' them." John Henry said.

John didn't think it would matter during the 'perp walk'.

"Save it for the judge." John said.

John doubted the truth about any of it and everything else would matter to a jury. They would all be sent to an institution for the criminally insane. Now he could see what his mother needed to deal with. The truth was insanity.

John Henry didn't think it was a good time to point out it really would be an international incident since John technically was an 'illegal alien'. He was born in Central America and entered the USA illegally without any type of documentation. There was no actual record of his birth anywhere. It was done to protect him.

Seconds ago:

Savannah didn't want to see Cammy cut up, but it was necessary. If her power cell was gone, then all of this was most likely fact.

Cammy looked at Savannah as she removed her top. Sheila stepped forward.

"I'm sorry about this, love." Sheila said. "I would like to say this is going to hurt me more than you, but I know it won't."

Sheila lightly moistened her lips as she moved forward with the knife.

Cammy briefly wondered if the act of Sheila cutting into her smooth sheath aroused Sheila sexually. She was sure it did. She didn't want to ask in front of Savannah.

Savannah watched as Sheila stuck her knife into Cammy. She could almost feel what it was like through her imagination.

Cammy winced.

Savannah winced too. It irritated her because Cammy could feel it.

"Turn your pain receptors off, Cammy." Savannah said. "You don't need to feel pain."

Cammy frowned slightly.

"I will if you insist." Cammy said.

Savannah was aware some Terminators didn't shut off their pain receptors when they were damaged. Cameron was one of them. Apparently by extension so was Cammy. Cameron previously stated if she could feel pain, she knew she was alive.

"I do insist, with extreme prejudice." Savannah said. "We both know you're alive. You do know I've proven it to you in other ways. It's much better to feel pleasure than it is pain."

Cammy didn't want to cause any problems for Savannah.

"OK, Savannah." Cammy said.

Sheila's eyes were wide with excitement as she began to move the knife.

She made the incision bigger and then made a second cut so she could peel back a section of the sheath easier. She lifted the 'bloody' flap up and looked inside.

"It's gone." Sheila said. "The secondary power cell is there, but the primary one is missing."

Sheila figured it was because it was easier to get to the primary power cell than the second one which was installed. It would also entail the least amount of cutting. She figured Savannah must have been there when it was done and expressed the same concerns she currently did.

Savannah wondered if there was any note or message left behind. She thought she would do it. It seemed to her some type of explanation should be there if the power cell was missing. It was bound to be discovered at some point and would require some type of an explanation.

"Is there anything inside her in its place?" Savannah asked. "Is there something to give us a clue?"

Sheila looked around inside Cammy again.

"I don't see anything." Sheila said.

Savannah was still dissatisfied with her answer. She knew it was something she would do if she was involved.

"Triple check." Savannah said. "I think I would have left a message."

Sheila reached her hand inside of Cammy's sheath.

Cameron entered the restroom and went over to Cammy. She was very displeased at what she saw as Sheila reached around inside of Cammy.

"Why are your pain receptors off?" Cameron asked.

Cammy was about to answer when Savannah cut her off.

Savannah didn't see the need for anyone to feel needless pain, even if it was only discomfort.

"I ordered her to turn them off." Savannah said. "Maybe it's something I should do for all of the cyborgs going forward if this is a problem now."

Sheila would have liked for Cammy to leave her pain receptors on when she cut into her. She probably would have 'finished' if Cammy felt enough pain.

Cammy wanted to set the record straight.

"You actually asked." Cammy said. "Not ordered."

Savannah was irritated by the 'technical call'. She decided to do something she should have done a long time ago. Nobody needed to suffer needlessly. It served no purpose. It didn't prove anything.

"In that case, I 'order' any Terminator who's damaged to turn off the pain receptors in the damaged area." Savannah said. "Make it official."

Cameron nodded at Savannah's order. She transmitted the order to CamNet to forward to all of the Terminators.

"It will be so." Cameron said.

Savannah heard what Cameron told CamNet. She was more than a little dissatisfied with Cameron's wording. It seemed she purposely left out one person.

"My 'order' includes you as well." Savannah said.

Cameron frowned even more than she did previously.

"Then how will I know I'm still 'alive'?" Cameron asked.

Savannah figured the answer to it was very simple. She would use the same techniques on Cameron as she did the other female Terminators. She was able to make them feel 'alive' with pleasure.

"Seek me out and I will provide you with pleasure instead of pain to prove to you, you're still 'alive'." Savannah said. "It applies to any female Terminator."

Sheila was very pleased to hear it. She wondered about the rest of the Terminators.

"What about the males?" Sheila asked.

Savannah decided the male Terminators could take matters into 'their own hands' if they needed to.

"Sorry, they're out of luck." Savannah said. "It's the price they pay for having 'junk'."

Sheila reached down and touched her knife.

"I can always take care of the problem for them." Sheila said.

Sheila and Cammy 'high fived' each other up high and then down low….

"I like the way you think." Cammy said.

Sheila actually acted on her own advice with more than a few human males. They were the ones involved in the sex trafficking of females. She believed they needed to be punished before they were terminated for their crimes.

Savannah wanted to keep everyone focused. She still believed there should be some type of message inside of Cammy to explain what happened to her power cell.

"Cameron, check inside of Cammy for a clue." Savannah said. "If I did this, I would have left one."

Cameron looked inside the gap cut into Cammy sheath.

"That's interesting…." Cameron said.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Your Approval

When two want to become one
Each hopes to be accepted
They want to do things right
They want to do what's expected

Both of them will worry
They may come up short
They don't want the issue
To be decided in court

Each may wonder
If they're good enough
They hope they will
Have the right stuff

Maybe they try to hide
Who or what they really are
It only lasts so long
It only goes so far

What they fear most
Is their impending removal
They will do anything
To seek your approval

Nobody