Chapter 996

Dinner At The Diner

Cameron took Team One out of active service. She wanted Savannah to attend to her needs. She would make sure it happened. Her decision was prompted by CamNet forwarding Young Allison's concern for Savannah. She was aware she should have acted on it before CamNet prompted her. She was focused on the port facility and what else may show up. It could have been whatever the attack force seemed to be waiting for. It could be more reinforcements, or a recon crew, to find out what happened to those in the sedans. She was pleased Young Allison wanted to look out for Savannah.

It was something she wanted both of the girls to do for each other. She wanted each of them to hold the other as their top priority. She was aware she got in the way of Savannah doing it for Young Allison. She wasn't really sure how to get around it. Maybe once the girls were together it would happen. She didn't want to be first on anybody's priority list. She wanted the girls to care about each other and John. She wanted John to care about the girls. She still didn't know how long she would be able to remain in service before she was terminated. She also remembered Savannah's warning. Savannah told her before unless she was there, it would never be just the three of them without her. She understood Savannah's warning to her. It was she was part of the 'Natural Order', or there was no 'Natural Order'.

She thought both of the girls would honor their promises to her and be with John to protect him from assassination by the anti-Metal faction. She also understood the true desires of every Savannah Weaver. It wasn't for males. Savannah would focus on Young Allison. She was fairly certain Young Allison would focus on Savannah for fear of losing her. John would be left out in the cold with no female companionship. He could always ask one of the female Terminators, or even the male Terminators, to be with him, and they couldn't say 'no'. It was something she programmed into all of them. Originally it was only the female Terminators. She wanted John to have a choice and some variety if he wanted it. She eventually included the male Terminators as well.

Cameron was worried she was pushing Savannah too hard. Savannah never complained about any hardships she experienced. She did know Savannah missed plenty of meals on her accord and went far too long between restroom breaks when she needed to have them.

It was Vanna's baby Savannah now carried Cameron was worried about too. Savannah pushed it pretty hard these last couple of weeks, more so than usual. They saw a lot of activity and experienced more than one close one. Savannah was close to being killed several times. It was more than just being killed she needed to worry about. Savannah could suffer severe trauma and lose the baby without being killed.

There was always a lot for her to worry about. Somehow it seemed there is even more to worry about. No matter what she tried to fix, it seemed there were two more things which popped up for every one she thought she could control. There was no control. Everything was random, even if it wasn't. Something caught her eye up ahead. It was something she actually saw quite often.

Cameron activated her turn signaler and moved over. She stopped at a local restaurant. It was a one of a chain of diners with twenty four hour service. There was a big yellow sign in front with red lettering. They were based on a male's name. There seemed to be a lot of the restaurants. They were often, but not always, located very near a freeway. Usually the sign could be seen by travelers as they approached. They could exit the freeway and stop at a familiar food chain, for some familiar food. There was usually some signage alongside the freeway to indicate what was coming up.

Savannah noted Cameron seemed a little preoccupied. She felt a little guilty she took Cameron away from the operation. The only trouble was, they didn't know what the issue was, or would be, at the port facility. Without any survivors from either side, there was no one to question as to exactly what was going to happen later on, or if anything was going to happen later on. It was all speculation on their part.

She didn't like to distract from an operation. It's exactly what she felt she was doing right now. She wanted them to know she would keep it to a minimum amount of time.

"Are you both going to go in with me?" Savannah asked. "I won't be long. I'll order something to go and then use the restroom. It should be ready soon after I'm done there. I won't take up much time."

Cameron looked around and into her side view mirror. She didn't think it was a good time to leave the vehicle. They still wore their combat gear. It shouldn't be a problem for Savannah to go inside and use the facilities after she ordered some food.

"We can wait out here." Cameron said.

Gail didn't like the neighborhood. She was in plenty of neighborhoods which radiated trouble. The area around the current location was one of them. She didn't want Savannah to go in alone. She knew Savannah would stand out from the local population. She knew being 'different' could cause a problem.

"One of us should go with her." Gail said.

Savannah was a little surprised Cameron didn't want to go inside with her. She tried to blow it off as no big deal. She decided to give them one more chance.

"I'll be fine." Savannah said. "If one or both of you want to come with me, I won't mind. I'll hurry back if you don't."

Savannah slipped off her vest. She only took her M9 and Taser with her.

Gail could see Cameron wasn't going to go with Savannah. She thought it was highly unusual. Cameron seemed preoccupied about something. She wondered what it was. She hoped Cameron wasn't about to have a problem of some kind. She knew Cameron was stressed out about the female earlier. Maybe all of it caught up with her. She didn't like the surroundings. It looks like a rough neighborhood. She didn't want Savannah to go alone.

"I'll go." Gail said.

Gail started to get out.

Cameron looked over at Gail. She knew there were times when she didn't think things through and got a little ahead of herself. It appeared as if Gail was about to experience a similar moment. She didn't want any problems.

"Take your vest off first." Cameron said. "You look like you're ready for combat with all your gear. You're going to set off a panic if you walk inside the restaurant wearing everything."

Gail was ready for combat. It was the whole point. She also understood it would cause panic and fear among some of the people they would encounter in the restaurant. She wanted to hurry to be with Savannah.

"I'm sorry." Gail said. "I wanted to stay with Savannah."

Gail slipped off her combat gear and hurried to follow Savannah in.

Savannah was a little surprised Cameron didn't go in with her. She figured there must be a reason. She entered the establishment and looked over a menu. She was ready to place a 'to-go' order. She wanted to get something as a gesture of appreciation for Cameron. She was pleased to see Gail follow her in. Since Gail was there, she would ask her.

"I'm going to get some ice cream for Cameron, what would you like?" Savannah asked.

Gail was about to say she didn't need anything, but could see Savannah was trying to include them in by sharing. She liked the fact Savannah thought about both Cameron and her. She never tried things when she went out with Jesse. Jesse seldom got much of anything when they went out. There were other matters they usually needed to attend to. She thought maybe she should get the same thing Cameron was going to have.

"I'll have some ice cream too." Gail said. "It sounds nice. Thank you."

Savannah could see Gail was hesitant at first to try anything to eat. It made her wonder what Jesse and Gail did when they were alone. It seemed their entire relationship was centered and revolved around sex. She was aware Jesse lived for the 'finish'. Those were the few moments where she could escape from reality. She was able to live in her own world during those brief moments. She was very pleased she was able to provide Jesse with some of those moments.

She remembered she tried for a long time to get Jesse to be with her. She always believed Jesse would be her first sexual experience. It turned out it actually was. The only difference was, it was with Young Jesse, not Jesse. She shared a deeper emotional connection with Young Jesse than she did with Jesse. It was something she knew was inside Jesse. She always worked on trying to bring it out. It worked, but only a little bit at a time. She wanted Jesse to have the same emotional connections as Young Jesse.

The thought made her wonder about John and Cameron. Cameron seemed to indicate sex was the true nature of her relationship with John. It seemed to lack the deep 'emotional' bond Cameron and her shared. She honestly didn't think a relationship based on sex would be very rewarding for anything other than the sex. She didn't want to start thinking about it now. It was time to include Cameron and Gail in what she was about to do.

"What flavor of ice cream would you like?" Savannah asked.

Gail was unsure about what flavor to pick. It wasn't something she would usually try. She felt Savannah would know what was best for her.

"You can pick it for me." Gail said. "I'd like it if you would."

Savannah thought Gail's response was much like when she discussed a name for one of Cameron's Terminators. They always appeared very pleased when she chose one for them. She decided to cover all the bases.

"I'll get strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla." Savannah said. "There can be one for each of us. We can all switch and share."

Gail looked around the restaurant. There were warning signs which popped up on her HUD as she scanned the customers. She usually was only around people like the majority of the customers when she was out with Jesse. It was a very different environment during those outings. It was only ever Jesse and her who walked away from those encounters.

It usually didn't take very much for an incident to occur. If it didn't occur on its own, it took only a little prompting from Jesse to make things escalate. Once they started to escalate, they never ended well for the perpetrator. She wondered if they ever realized they were 'set up' and became a victim of their own actions.

Savannah noticed Gail seemed to tense up.

"Is something wrong?" Savannah asked.

Gail decided to pass along the warning to Savannah.

"Some of the customers look like gang members." Gail said. "It's unsafe in here."

Savannah noticed the same thing when she entered the eating establishment. She was aware the people were in there to eat, not fight. As long as no one issued a challenge, there wouldn't be any problem inside the restaurant. What happened outside might be a different story.

"They probably are. They need to eat too." Savannah said. "We're on the south side of the city. There is heavy gang activity on the south and east sides of the city."

Savannah knew it was one of the areas Cameron often dumped vehicles used in her 'off the books' operations. They were left with the windows down and the keys in the ignition. It wasn't long until somebody would 'take it' and start driving it. Oftentimes they were used in other crimes by the 'new owner'. When the perpetrators were caught, whatever Cameron used it for previously was pinned on them as well. It was a way to get more criminals off the street, even if it was briefly.

Gail understood the root cause of the problem. She knew it was mainly because of the 'open border policy'. Gang members from third world nations flooded the country. Nothing was done to stop them. Once they took hold in a community, they took over it and ran the area as they did in their Third World country. She wondered if maybe she shouldn't get the Metal girls together and head down to the border and do something about it. They would most likely encounter drug runners and smugglers. It was very common without any type of border enforcement. Illegal drugs killed thousands every week. The drug runners pedaled death. They should be given the same in return. It wouldn't take them long to rack up a body count of the undesirables as they crossed illegally into the country with their poison. A row of heads on pikes would send a message to all those who chose to cross in violation of the rules. What good were rules or laws if they weren't enforced?

She was aware the same situation arose from other nations around the world as well. If the people could make it into one of the nation's south of the border, they could make their way into the country illegally and try to reestablish the same policies they left behind in whatever Third World country they hailed from. She couldn't understand why they would leave a location, only to try to make the new location like the location they left. It was illogical.

Gail didn't like the way the male patrons stared at Savannah. In a different setting those types of looks would lead to a more provocative response. If she was with Jesse, they would lure those individuals to a more secluded place and teach them a few lessons. Most would end up dead. Any left living wouldn't be a 'man' anymore. Jesse always carried away what she took from them. Those were the ones she wanted to suffer. They would usually live in misery until they used enough alcohol and illegal drugs to cause their own termination.

"I see them looking at you." Gail said. "I don't like it. It's very rude to stare at someone. It's even ruder because I know what they're thinking."

Savannah smiled at Gail. She was used to people staring at her. She knew what they were thinking too. It was the same things everyone thought when they looked at other individuals which attracted their attention. It was simply the nature of the beast. It was what people did with those impulses which determined their character.

"I don't think there are too many natural redheads in this part of town. Blue eyes seem to be a rarity as well." Savannah said. "They may be checking you out too. You're really 'stacked'. I know. Some of the local girls may be big too, but the main difference is theirs hang down to their belly buttons. They're not high and tight like you are. You don't have any droop or sag and never will. It's something most human feelings will need to deal with, especially as they age. A lot of things happen as humans' age. None of them are good."

There were times when Savannah wondered if 'old age' was something she would ever need to worry about. She didn't believe it was something she would ever achieve. It wouldn't be by her choice. It would simply be the way it was with the battles she needed to fight to protect the future.

Gail looked down the front of her sheath and stood up straight. She arched her back slightly. It made her bust line more prominent. She wanted to draw the attention off of Savannah. She decided to make herself the 'target'. She undid a few more buttons to show a lot of cleavage. It was actually quite impressive.

Savannah could see Gail was uneasy. She really wondered again what Jesse and Gail did when they went out. She wondered if Gail ever got to pick what they did. Maybe she would ask Jesse about all of it.

"I don't like it." Gail said. "I don't like them."

Savannah looked around and spotted the restroom.

"I'll be out in a few minutes." Savannah said as she headed for the restroom.

Gail nodded at Savannah.

"I've seen Jesse before." Gail said. "I'll wait here."

Savannah wasn't sure if Gail's statement needed a response or not. She hoped Gail referred to field operations or survival training. Somehow she doubted it. With Jesse, one never really knew. Now she was unsure what to ask Jesse about. Maybe she should just discuss it with Gail. She headed into the restroom to take care of business. She hoped no one confronted Gail in a negative way. She didn't hear any gunfire when she was in there, so she hoped it was a good thing. She was out a few minutes later.

When she returned, Gail seemed preoccupied as she looked out the window toward the front. The group of suspected 'gang members' just left a few seconds ago.

Savannah could tell Gail wanted to terminate them. She was about to say something when Gail spoke.

"They paid their bill and left a tip." Gail said. "They thanked the waitress. They were very nice to her."

Savannah thought it was best under these conditions to de-escalate the situation.

"It's good gesture." Savannah said. "They probably live in the area. They don't want any trouble in their own neighborhood."

Savannah thought most people were nice, especially in a one on one setting with someone else. There was no reason for anyone to be mean or treat anyone else with disrespect for no reason. She understood the environment individuals were subjected to tended to shape the way they did things. They simply learned what happened around them and emulated it. It was a self perpetuating cycle of failure.

They waited a few more minutes and the food was ready. Savannah gave the cashier a fifty dollar bill and told her to keep the change. The cashier was thrilled to get such a large tip. She smiled and said she would be able to buy some clothes for her daughter now.

Gail noticed the excitement the cashier seemed to derive from receiving the paper with the green ink and numbers on it. She always found it strange humans placed value on something which was actually valueless, other than in their own minds. At the end of the day, it was still a piece of paper with the green ink and numbers on it. She noticed the cashier also stared at Savannah a lot.

Savannah collected the food and they exited to the outside.

They headed back to the SUV. It was empty. It wasn't what Savannah expected or wanted to see. Now Cameron was gone.

It set a few alarm bells off in Savannah's head.

"Where's Cameron?" Savannah asked.

"She's gone." Gail said

"Where did she go?" Savannah asked.

"She's just gone." Gail said.

Earlier Savannah wondered why Cameron didn't go in. She thought Cameron wanted to stay with the weapons in the back of the SUV. Now she wasn't there in the SUV. She remembered Cameron looked in the mirrors a lot when they parked.

"I think she is close by." Savannah said.

Gail scanned around them in the darkness.

"I don't see her." Gail said as she continued to look around.

Savannah started to get worried. She was getting ready to contact CamNet directly to see where Cameron was at. CamNet would know, even if John Henry didn't. She also didn't want to alarm John, not yet anyway.

Gail remembered Cameron's earlier reluctance to go into the diner with Savannah. Normally she would have done it any other time. She remembered Cameron tried to get her to stay with her. She was sure there was a reason for it now. She knew something was up.

Young Allison took the lull in action to get cleaned up and have a bite to eat. She was aware by her asking about Savannah, it prompted CamNet to have Cameron take Savannah somewhere to get some food and use a restroom.

She knew she needed to take care of herself too. She was afraid while she was away something would happen. It seemed to be what usually happened anyway. There always seemed to be a lot which occurred when Cameron was out in the field.

Right now Cameron's team was away from the potential threat at the port area. She wanted Savannah to have some of the same comforts she shared. She was glad it was done without her actually having to say anything.

Earlier:

John was tired and felt a little bored as they waited in the Command Center. Waiting for the unknown was also part of the job. John yawned. He was hungry too.

"Now is the waiting time." John said.

John Henry felt it was what most of the time in any operation was spent on. It was spent on waiting. He was aware the ratio time of wait to action was always considerably less when Cameron was on an operation. She didn't wait around for things to happen. She made them happen. He imagined the same thing would happen where she was at if she could get a lead. He didn't want to worry John.

"It happens." John Henry said. "I can handle things here for now. You can take care of anything you want to."

John didn't like to wait for things he knew were going to happen. It wasn't the case at the current location.

"The trouble is, we don't know what we're waiting for." John said.

John Henry thought it was quite clear what the troops were waiting for.

"We're waiting for something else to show up at the port facility, or more troops to attack it." John Henry said. "When they do, our troops will engage and terminate them."

John was about to respond. He could see John Henry was serious. It was better not to comment on it. He knew it was just one of the differences between humans and cyborgs. They saw things differently. He was sure it was one of the reasons why Cameron and him experienced so much trouble, especially over little things. It wasn't what he wanted to think about. He thought now was a good time to take care of some personal business.

"I'll be back." John said.

John headed out to use the restroom and grab a bite to eat.

John Henry knew the waiting was harder for the humans. Then again, Cameron didn't like to wait either. When nothing happened for Cameron, she made it happen. He was sure Cameron would have gone to the port facility on her own if she knew about it previously, and dealt with everyone herself.

He monitored the drone feeds. There were still eight drones in the area. Savannah insisted one should go with the girl and her father. Two other drones went with the refrigerator truck. CamNet sent those.

CamNet was very actively involved in the operations the last few weeks. John Henry was aware Young Allison was behind it. She used CamNet and Anna in the same manner as John used him and his server. He was impressed by her bold actions and willingness to make the calls John and him didn't, or wouldn't. If she saw something needed to be taken care of, she took care of it. He understood problems didn't fix themselves. Young Allison liked to take care of the problems and make them go away.

He was aware Young Allison was Cameron's 'special project'. Everything was done since she was a very young child to allow her to become all she could become on her own, with their help. Claire, Allison, and Savannah kept her human, while the Metal girls all instructed and mentored her to make her as 'Terminator like' as possible, for a human.

John Henry knew John couldn't 'control' Cameron or Savannah. He was pretty sure none of them were going to be able to 'control' Young Allison. He wished to meet with her again and discuss her thinking and planning process. He wondered if she could help him to make better calls quicker. He wanted to run some morals, scruples, and ethics by her as well. They seemed pretty lacking at the Young residence. He noted they weren't too strong around the Resistance base either. It made him wonder about asking Young Allison to do the 'Neural Interface' with him. He was sure it would improve his ability to do 'everything'.

Several times Sheila offered to switch chassis with him for a short period of time. He would like to do the 'Neural Interface' with Young Allison before he did it. He figured he could get more out of the chassis swap if he did. The only reason why he hadn't already done it was because Ally told him there would probably be a couple of things 'missing' when he got his chassis back. He didn't want to have to go through the same thing again.

John returned a short time later and looked at one of the drone cams. He could see Savannah and Gail clearly, but it was all. They seemed to be looking around the area.

"What are Savannah and Gail doing?" John asked. "It looks like Savannah is holding food. What are they looking for?"

John Henry figured it would come out sooner rather than later. He might as well get it out in the open before it turned into a bigger deal later on.

"They're looking for Cameron." John Henry said. "She remained with the vehicle when they went inside to order the food. When they returned, she was gone."

Now John needed to wonder what he missed in his brief absence. He couldn't help but think there were multiple times when he waited hours for something to happen. Nothing did. When he would get up for a restroom break, or a food break, it seemed something always happened then.

Claire and Jesse checked with Vanna and Allison. They decided they would spend the night in the 'nursery'. It would keep them close to Precious without a disruption to everyone.

Vanna and Allison would take care of Summer.

Samantha stopped by to check on them and reported Riley and Derek were doing very well tending to Precious.

"You may only need to attend to Precious one time tonight." Samantha said.

Jesse looked down at herself.

"It won't be a problem." Jesse said.

Claire wanted to make sure what was happening with Precious.

"Is Riley nursing Precious now?" Claire asked.

Samantha didn't know how things would play out for sure. With Vanna and Jesse she could tell when their breasts were engorged. With Riley, it was impossible to tell. There was never any change in size one way or the other. She was sure there was something wrong with Riley physically. It more than likely was related to the damage done by Skynet to the future she was from. It could be something genetic, but based upon where Riley grew up at, she doubted it. It was almost impossible for anyone to be properly nourished during the years they grew up in a Skynet future. Various deficiencies in the diet could create many problems going forward. She didn't want to give a complicated answer.

"Yes, Riley is with her now." Samantha said. "I'm unable to tell if she will have enough."

Claire wasn't around Riley very much. She could only go by her personal observation. She didn't think someone Riley's size would have any difficulty nursing an infant.

"Why's that?" Claire asked. "She's naturally larger. I was never anywhere close to her size for Allison, Summer, or Destiny. I think every female would like to be her size. I know I would."

Samantha was a little surprised by Claire's answer. She was going to share Claire's DNA. It meant when her sheath was Resequence, she would have smaller breasts than she did currently. It wasn't a whole lot of difference. It was only a cup size. Now she pictured herself to have Claire's appearance with Riley's breast size. She found the thought quite appealing. She saw what people looked at on a female. She was aware females spent as much time looking at other females as men did. She was sure it was to size of the 'competition'. It was probably a carryover from the evolutionary time period. She needed to refocus. Precious was the issue there.

Jesse felt she possessed some first hand knowledge about Riley before and after her pregnancy.

"Riley didn't get much bigger during her pregnancy. It's the size she always was." Jesse said. "She ended up with some pigmentation changes, but no real increase in size."

Samantha found Jesse's insight fascinating.

"You seem well informed." Samantha said.

Jesse didn't think it was a big deal. She was with most of the females in the Resistance, both human and Terminator.

"I get around." Jesse said. "We shared a 'thing' before she hooked up with Derek."

Samantha didn't want to get into personal issues. She was sure Riley's problems stemmed from the future. All of the people from the future at the Resistance base showed residual effects from being in a Skynet polluted environment. She didn't think any blame should be assigned to Riley.

"I believe her inability to properly nurse is related to damage from the future." Samantha said. "It's something beyond her control."

Claire visited Cameron's future. She knew firsthand how messed up things were. She knew they were actually 'good' when she was there. Not only did she have to worry about her daughters being abused after Judgment Day, it appeared she needed to worry about their bodies being ruined as well. She wondered if any of it was going to change.

"Will it happen to my girls too?" Claire asked. "Will they get messed up if Judgment Day happens?"

Samantha could only use logic to answer Claire's question. It all seemed pretty straightforward to her.

"Based on current observation, it's most likely." Samantha said. "All the females from the future are affected in some way. The males seem to have some trouble too."

Claire really wondered what Cameron tried to tell her about it. She told her Young Allison and Summer would be better prepared as older teenagers than as younger ones when Judgment Day happened. Cameron explained if their reproductive tracts were fully developed and operational before Judgment Day, they would have a better chance of producing offspring in the future.

It was a sobering thought to her. When she visited Cameron's future, she was able to witness first hand the trouble all of the females experienced. Very few of the younger females had children. It was only some of the older females she saw with children. She was there to deliver a baby for Future Allison. Savannah was there to deliver one for Future Savannah as well.

Claire knew Young Allison WANTED to go into the past to grow older and then return to the present. She knew it was going to happen. It was now her worry about Summer. She wanted Summer to be her 'little girl' as long as possible. Would her desire for it doom Summer in the future from becoming a mother herself? Would Skynet ruin her body as well? Would she be ravished by Scavengers and other predators in the future because she was younger?

Samantha said she was going to go back into the baby's room and go into standby. If Riley and Precious needed their assistance she would come and get them, or bring Precious to them there.

Claire said it would probably be better if she were to knock first, and wait a few seconds before she opened the door.

Jesse suggested she should knock loud.

The girls planned to be together. Sometimes it was hard to hear when some things were occurring. What was happening made it hard to focus on anything other than what was happening in a particular spot.

Life was good in Paradise.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

There's A Storm Coming

In our mind rages a gale
A tempest of thought through our brain
Feelings and emotions and desires
All seemingly impossible to attain

In our heart looms a tornado
It twists everything that touches it
The heart is violently shredded
The cost more than we can remit

In our soul ignites a typhoon
A hurricane quashing our self within
Without knowing where to race
How can one ever expect to win

In our consciousness rumbles a blizzard
An avalanche burying our psyche
Entombing our real inner being
No longer will anything glow brightly

There's a storm coming
And it's not in the sky
We foolishly reopen the wounds
As love's bloody tourniquets we untie

Nobody