Chapter 999

It Is Now Static

There was no apparent activity which seemed imminent at the port. The follow up attack by the Syndicate, or the counter attack by the Skynet forces, never materialized. It was decided the teams would head for home. Savannah asked if they could drive over the big green suspension bridge at the port.

Cammy led the caravan of three SUVs. She headed for State Route 47 and was on the Seaside Freeway. The Vincent Thomas Bridge loomed ahead of them. It was very large, impressive and very, very green.

They drove up the semi steep approach to the bridge itself. Soon they were on the bridge. It offered a panoramic view of the port area on both sides of the bridge.

Savannah was very impressed. It was the first time she went over the bridge.

"This is a really big bridge." Savannah said. "The view is fantastic."

Cameron scanned everything in her field of view. She searched for anything which looked out of place, or caught her eye. She thought about driving back over the bridge in the other direction for a second look at everything. She decided to make the offer to Savannah.

"We can go over the bridge in both directions so you can get a better look." Cameron said. "I don't mind. You will really be able to see everything better on each side of the bridge if we do."

Savannah really liked to see everything. It was night when they arrived in the port area. It was daylight now. To see everything new to her was refreshing, exciting, and educational. There were ships in the harbor channel below the bridge. There were container ships, a very large Navy ship, and something somewhat exotic caught her eye. There were passenger ships almost below them. There were two or three pools on the upper decks she could see. It seemed like something which would be fun 'to get away from it all' for a few days or a week. She wondered how it worked to be a passenger on one of them.

"I see some big passenger ships down there." Savannah said. "They look very nice and fancy."

Cameron knew exactly where they were. She actually studied the area previously. She wanted to get an overall look at the container traffic which came in and out of the port. There were often cruise ships parked at the terminal. They all used the same channel to reach their destinations.

"It's the Cruise Terminal down below us." Cameron said. "Several different cruise line companies dock there at different times of the year. On the satellite photos I reviewed for this operation, I've noted many of the ships come and go."

The fact there were a lot of ships and different cruise companies seemed to offer a lot of opportunity.

"How long do they stay in port?" Savannah asked. "Where do they all go?"

Cameron was actually surprised with the quick turnaround. The ships spent most of their time at sea and only a few hours in each port they visited. The passenger complement usually changed on what was the temporary home port for the ship.

"Other than when they embark and disembark passengers, they are usually in the ports they visit for around six to ten hours." Cameron said. "One cruise ends and the next one begins. The ships are away for different amounts of time because they go to different destinations. Most of them return to the same port and run the same schedule again. The routes vary with the season. Some ships go from country to country as they make their way to a different part of the world, or even around the world. There can be a world cruise where some of the passengers will literally be on the ship from the beginning to the end as the ship goes around the world. There are other passengers who will embark for various segments of the around the world cruise and not actually visit every port."

The passenger prospect seemed alluring to Savannah. There was a practical concern in her mind as well. She always learned not to concentrate on the obvious. When someone wanted to pull a fast one, they wouldn't do what was expected. They would try to slip it by unseen to get away with it.

"I know we're watching the ocean shipping lines for containers, can the cruise ships carry cargo?" Savannah asked. "I don't think it would be a container, but it might be palletized loads of some type. I remember your report about the first load of Coltan you intercepted with Sarah and John. It was several pallets which were loaded into the back of a box truck. I think some were enclosed with wood to actually be small crates. Anything shipped in a crate would be unknown, until someone actually looked inside of it."

Cameron tilted her head slightly. She thought only supplies for the cruise ship were carried on board at any given port. Most of the items loaded onto the ship were food items. There was a very big turnover of food on the ship. Supplies for the ship itself were much less common.

"They could carry very small shipments only. They're set up for passengers and are usually on a seven day cruise cycle. They're designed to work in conjunction with most people having a week of vacation." Cameron said. "They also do three and four day cruises sometimes. There's a lot of luggage which needs to be unloaded and then loaded for each new cruise. Often there will be upgrades, or work being done in small sections of the ship on a continual basis. They would need to have supplies to do so. There are probably various crates which are loaded on the ships from time to time in some type of scheduled manner."

Cameron quickly realized it wouldn't take too much juggling of the 'paperwork' to have something loaded on the ship as part of a scheduled repair or upgrade. The records could be changed again to have it unloaded at another port as if it was something being sent off the ship itself. It seemed to her it was something CamNet and John Henry could do rather easily, as far as the electronic records went. It wouldn't take much for some version of Skynet to do the same.

Savannah was intrigued by the size of the cruise ships. They were mostly painted white with colored attributes and trim. They were impressive to look at and radiated glamour and glitz. There was an aurora of excitement and intrigue involved with what went on inside of the cruise ship. For someone who never experienced a cruise before, there were an awful lot of unknowns. For someone who cruised a lot, it would be nothing new. For her it was something new. It was something she read about from time to time. She knew it was something which was usually scheduled in advance.

"Can we go closer?" Savannah asked. "I'd like to see the ships up close. I don't want us to create a problem for anyone either. It's just a visual look. I don't want John Henry or CamNet to do anything which is different from normal for the cruise ship for us."

Savannah didn't think it was something they could go on to take a look. She remembered she read somewhere it used to happen before all the trouble started with fanatical groups and terrorists. Those days were long gone when a cruise line could show off their product to those curious while it was in port. It would still be nice to get a little closer look.

Cameron told Cammy she was taking the lead. The other two vehicles would become chase vehicles now. She wanted to be able to respond to Savannah's directives in a timely fashion. The threat level seemed very low at the time. She would still need to be vigilant, but any attack on them at this point seemed rather remote.

She exited off the bridge and took some side streets and came back around at ground level to the Cruise Terminal. She found the road signage rather confusing and didn't follow them. She called up past satellite images and 'dead reckoned' towards the objective. Using real images, she knew exactly where she was at and where she was going.

Savannah looked around at Cameron, Gail, and herself. They were all still dressed in combat gear. There were weapons in plain sight. She didn't think it would go over very well if there was some type of checkpoint when they approached the Cruise Terminal. She remembered once she read about an incident somewhere in the Mediterranean where some terrorists took over a small cruise ship and killed some of the passengers. She didn't want to get pegged for some type of extremist. She was aware there were already references to Sarah as a 'domestic terrorist' which also implied to John as well since he was with her on some of the endeavors.

"We need to stow all the hardware." Savannah said. "Have the other girls do the same thing."

The long guns and vests disappeared into the back and were covered over.

Cameron communicated to the other SUVs to 'button up' as well. She also wanted everyone to make sure they were presentable. If they were to encounter any checkpoints they wanted to look like a group of girls who were going somewhere, or who were 'lost', depending upon what the situation was. A smile and a lot of cleavage went a long way to smoothing over problems.

There was a large street which ran right in front of the Cruise Terminal and seemed to parallel the shipping channel. Savannah was a little surprised when she spotted something between the main road and the Cruise Terminal. It was something she knew existed at one time in the Los Angeles area. She saw them in various TV shows and movies which were generally set in an earlier time period.

"Hey look, there's a streetcar." Savannah said. "I didn't know there were any of those left. I bet Kyle would like to see it and check it out."

The streetcar was lettered 'Pacific Electric' on the side of it.

Savannah knew Kyle was interested in railroads, and Derek was interested in aircraft. It was sort of their hobbies in the past, the present.

Cameron knew the streetcars were long gone from the Los Angeles area thanks to the once largest vehicle manufacturer, a large tire producer, a giant oil company, and a set of corrupt officials, who effectively eliminated street car service in the Los Angeles area. Everything was replaced with bus service and a major increase in pollution throughout the area. She was aware what they viewed was simply a throwback to the past for local visitors. It was more or less a tourist attraction.

"It's part of the tourism industry along the waterfront here." Cameron said. "It doesn't go anywhere else other than back and forth along the main channel of the port. Everything in the port was originally served by the various rail lines. There were ships coming from all over the world long before there were any roads or trucks to haul anything. The goods were loaded into freight cars and shipped around the country. It was all done by private enterprise."

Savannah thought it was a shame the street car wasn't part of a larger network. Maybe sometime she could revisit the area and ride on it. She didn't think anything like it would happen today. There were still other things they needed to do. There were other things she needed to do.

Gail double checked the interior of the SUV.

"Everything is stowed." Gail reported. "I feel under armed now."

Cameron felt they were adequately armed for the current threat level. They carried the weapons they normally carried.

"We each have a Taser and M9." Cameron said. "Don't forget you're a weapon too. All we're likely to encounter at this point would be some local gang members, street punks, or some of the belligerent homeless who infest the area. It's nothing you haven't dealt with before on a regular basis."

Gail noticed Cameron specifically looked at her when she made the statement. She was sure it was to indicate the activities Jesse and her conducted during their 'free time'. She thought anyone should be able to do what they wanted in their 'free time'. Jesse wanted to make the future safer for females. Dealing with potential future Scavengers was one way to do so. It also protected the females better in the present.

Savannah figured their group was a sizable force, especially of what it consisted of.

"There are eight Terminators." Savannah said. "There are three SUVs full of weapons. We could probably take over a small country if we wanted to. Don't get any ideas. We don't want to do anything so extreme."

Cameron knew the traffic level would pick up significantly around the Cruise Terminal in a very short while. With more than one ship at the Cruise Terminal, there would be five to six thousand people who got off of the ships, and then a very short time later there would be the same number who would board the ships. There were a lot of people in and out in a very short period of time. There would also be a certain amount of the crew who was allowed to get off in the port as well. It would probably be a few thousand more between the ships.

"There will be a lot of passengers coming and going soon." Cameron said. "The parking lot looks full. It will become very crowded and chaotic for a short period of time. There will be a lot of buses which will come and go. There will be car rental vans as well as vans from some of the bigger hotels in the area. There are a lot of private automobiles as well."

Savannah could see more clearly now what was going on along the side of the ship. She couldn't see it from the bridge.

"I see they're loading large pallets into the side of the ship." Savannah said. "Some of them are actually crates, others are pallets wrapped with plastic."

Cameron could look and see what some of the pallets were being loaded. They were marked on their plastic coverings. She figured it would determine what part of the cargo hold they were sent to depending upon what they were. Obviously any perishable goods would need to be dealt with as soon as possible and moved to refrigerated sections of the ship.

"It's mostly food and supplies." Cameron said.

Savannah was still worried there could be some type of clandestine activity which could occur. She thought if something was done in plain sight, no one would pay any attention. Things which were routine were boring to people and no one would be concerned with them at all.

"If someone knew how to game the system, they could transport other things disguised as food and supplies." Savannah said. "I bet no one gives them a good going over. Everyone's used to doing the same thing and probably pays little attention, even if it's something they're supposed to do. There could always be people paid to look the other way as well. Probably the only thing which is searched for are some type of illegal narcotics. I would think those would be coming into the country."

Savannah could see Cameron think about it. Customs would probably not even look at items 'labeled' as some food product on the ship. It would be the same thing which occurred every single time the ship was in port. The same trucks would bring the same pallets of consumables and supplies. She figured the port authorities would be more concerned with some of the passenger's luggage and whatever contraband they would smuggle in from any other ports they visited.

"No, I don't suppose they do." Cameron said. "They would be worried about people bringing in illegal drugs more than anything."

Savannah thought about what Cameron said earlier. It would do Cameron and John some good to go on a cruise for a week. They could leave everything behind and spend a peaceful time together. She thought it would be a good bonding experience for them. She didn't like seeing them less than pleased with each other at times. She understood all relationships went through different phases. She still thought it was something they should do. There were plenty of other individuals who could fill in for both of them. Cam and Cammy would both be there, so 'Cameron' would be well represented. John Henry and CamNet could take over for John. Some of the other members of the Resistance could sit in the Command Center and help with the decisions as well.

"You and John should go on a cruise." Savannah said. "You could 'get away from it all'."

Savannah saw Cameron's head tilt slightly to the side.

Cameron was intrigued by the idea, and Savannah's choice of words. She said something she wanted to do for a very long time. She didn't think it was possible, now it was possible. If they were on a ship, she would physically be separated from everything else. It really would be a chance for her to get away from it all.

"I always wanted to 'get away from it all'." Cameron said.

Cameron often wanted to be someone different as well. Maybe if she went on a cruise she could be someone different.

Savannah could see Cameron was captivated by the idea. She wanted to encourage it.

"Now is your chance." Savannah said. "You can have fun and have a good time. You wouldn't have to worry about anything else for an entire week. You could go on board as an architect and a dance instructor. Nobody would know who either of you were or what you really did."

Cameron looked over at Savannah. She wondered if just Savannah and her could go. She didn't say it, but the look in her eyes indicated it.

Savannah picked up on Cameron's desire. She wanted to direct Cameron in the proper direction she believed she needed to go. She wanted Cameron and John to be together.

"You know I mean with John, Cameron." Savannah said. "I want you to be with your husband. I want both of you to reaffirm your closeness to each other. It would be without all the outside influence and pressure. There wouldn't be any of the negativity of what is normally dealt with on a daily basis. There wouldn't be terminations, there wouldn't be Skynet to worry about. It would be just John and you on the high seas on an adventure of your own. I really think it's something you should consider. The short trip to Las Vegas showed everything would still work without John and you dealing with things directly. There were others who stepped up to fill the voids."

Cameron quickly tried to make a 'workaround'. She could still go with John but if Savannah was there too, maybe something else could happen. It just seemed like more than two of them should go. It would be better security for John with an additional Terminator and Resistance fighter.

"Cammy and you could go with us." Cameron said.

Savannah would like to do it. She would like to go, but it wasn't the right time. She wanted the trip to be about Cameron and John. It wasn't about her. She wanted to keep Cameron and John focused on each other. It was her desire to see it as such.

"I wouldn't want to be a distraction for either John or you." Savannah said. "I really mean it, Cameron. I want it to be something special for the both of you."

Gail was confused by the whole concept of using a ship to go from point A to point B, and several other locations, and then return to point A. She thought flying would be more efficient to get from port to port if they couldn't drive there. Maybe there was something else which happened on the ship.

"What's there to do on board?" Gail asked. "Why would such a time consuming process be used?"

Cameron hadn't really looked into everything a cruise ship offered in detail. She knew there were plenty of blogs and online videos she could view, even of a specific ship, to get the gist of what was available.

"I think it is all about leisure and luxury." Cameron said. "There's on board entertainment and activities. There's a lot of food too. It's about the closeness of a couple and all the things they can do together. No one needs to drive, no one needs to fly, people only need to unpack once until it's time to leave."

Savannah didn't know everything Cameron did in the past, present, and future. Somewhere along the way Cameron may have already done some of it.

"Have you ever been on a cruise, Cameron?" Savannah asked.

Cameron hadn't actually gone, but she did think there could be a special time for two people to go. It would give them the excuse to go anyway.

"I've thought about it." Cameron said. "It seems like it would be a nice thing to do for a honeymoon."

Savannah thought it was a wonderful idea. It actually sounded very romantic. It could be just two people alone by themselves with their own private room and a waiting bed twenty four hours a day. They didn't need to drive anywhere or pack and unpack. The ship did all the 'driving' and their clothes were always in the room. There was room service for food if they wanted it. They could even stay in the Honeymoon Suite for the entire voyage if they didn't feel like doing anything else.

She wasn't sure if there was a Honeymoon Suite or not, but it was a pretty good bet there would be something like it anyway. There were bound to be a few fancy rooms on the ship the same as there were in any hotel. She thought about it a little bit more. The ship really was a floating hotel for all practical purposes.

"It's even the more reason you and John should go." Savannah said.

Cameron was a little worried about their security. She remembered seeing a movie one time about a newlywed couple on a cruise ship. It was based on a true story. The honeymoon turned deadly for one of them. Things ended badly for the groom. She couldn't help but think of John in a similar scenario. For some reason it made her wonder about herself. What would happen if she malfunctioned or if she went bad again? Would John end up in the 'drink' with a snapped neck? If it was just the two of them, would John end up in Davy Jones's Locker? Would she be the one to do it? She remembered the female on the ship was a very manipulative Bitch. She didn't think she was anything like her.

"I don't know. I'm afraid John might not be protected well enough. I don't want it to turn into a - Deadly Honeymoon." Cameron said. "Maybe we're going to be involved in more combat operations. If I was on the ship, I wouldn't be able to assist."

Savannah didn't think there was any way out of it for the Resistance. There would always be a new challenge in the past, present, and future for them to face. They couldn't deal with 'what ifs'. They needed to play the cards they were dealt. Not all the players needed to be on the field at the same time all of the time. She really wanted John and Cameron to spend more time together. She felt it was important. It was important to her. It should be important to them as well.

"It's always going to be the case." Savannah said. "People need time to connect and stay connected to each other. Keeping and maintaining a close personal relationship is very important for individuals who care about and love each other."

Cameron still looked skeptical.

"I don't know." Cameron said.

Savannah looked at Cameron.

"Everyone can, Cameron." Savannah said.

Cameron could tell Savannah was very sincere with what she said. She still needed to think about Skynet. There were so many things which could happen or go wrong.

"We would be tied up for a few days if anything went wrong." Cameron said. "It would be hard to get off the ship when it has a sea day."

Savannah looked at her phone. She called up some of the sailings from Los Angeles and Long Beach. There were multiple departures from both locations along with different destinations and routes. There were several different Cruise Lines available.

"A California Coastal Cruise makes port almost every day." Savannah said. "Look, it goes right up and down the coast. Remember it's more about the cruise itself than what the port destinations are. It's about the experience, not the destinations."

She showed her phone to Cameron.

"Everything is still close to our operations. We could have the Blackhawk meet the ship in a few hours if needed." Savannah said.

Cameron wasn't sure how it would play out if they were at sea and couldn't wait to make port.

"I know we could always use the Blackhawk, even if we were at sea, but it would be noticed by everyone and recorded on a bunch of phones." Cameron said. "It would be sure to bring unnecessary attention to us."

Gail didn't think the security of the ship would be hard to provide for.

"You could have drone support as well." Gail said. "Any vessels which approached yours could be sunk before they could reach it."

Savannah looked at Gail for a moment. She didn't think such extreme measures would be necessary. She looked at the itinerary for the California Coastal Cruise and tried to point out some of the ports of call to Cameron and what she could see.

"One of the ports is San Francisco." Savannah said. "You get to go under the Golden Gate Bridge."

Cameron visited the Bay Area before. She felt the entire Bay Area was plagued with homeless people and crime. The crime along the East Bay was very much out of control. She thought about the green suspension bridge they just crossed over twice.

"I've driven on the Golden Gate Bridge before." Cameron said. "It's much bigger than the one we just traversed. The views from it are much more majestic than the working port we could see from the local bridge"

Savannah thought it might help Cameron unwind some to be away from everything for a week. It would be nice for John to spend time with her and she would be undamaged. She didn't want it to make it seem like it was something Cameron needed to do. She just wanted to make it an option available to her. She thought Cameron needed to think about John as well. He didn't get out much. He would be much more secure on a cruise ship at sea almost every night, and only in a port for a few hours a day.

John could do some of the things he never was able to do. She understood there were more things he wanted to do in Las Vegas he couldn't do. Many of those same things were available on the cruise ship. There was a lot of live entertainment, stage shows, gambling and a whole host of other events.

"It's something I want you to think about." Savannah said. "You need to think about your husband as well. Nobody likes to look at four walls all of the time. It doesn't matter who they are."

Cameron looked at Savannah.

Savannah needed to remind Cameron again it would be for John and her. She could tell Cameron still wanted to go with her. It just wasn't going to happen. Well, it wasn't going to happen before Cameron went with John. She needed to make it abundantly clear to Cameron.

"I mean for you and John." Savannah said. "It's something you and John would need to do first, before I would even consider going myself later on."

Cameron frowned slightly. She wanted to go with Savannah but she heard everything Savannah said. She would need to go with John, before she could go with Savannah.

"I'll think about it." Cameron said.

Cameron did think about it. There was an idea in the back of her mind. She thought about what Savannah said. No one likes to look at the same four walls every day. Maybe it's how John felt about her sheath at this point. Everything was the same on it every day and every time he saw it. It was the same face, with the same body. Maybe it wasn't exciting for him anymore. There was a way to offer him some variety. She was her program. She would like to bring the Metal girls along. She could swap chips with a different one of the girls for each day of the cruise. It would give her a chance to be 'someone different', yet still be herself. She would just be in a different chassis.

It would be great for John. Not only would he have the excitement of her with a different sheath everyday, he would be able to claim the virginity of each of those sheaths with her inside and in control of them. She would relive her wedding night over and over and reset her programming for each encounter. She didn't think the Metal girls would mind her losing their virginity for them with John. She would offer to share the file with them when she returned their 'broken in' chassis. She might even allow them the freedom to have male sexual partners afterwards. Nobody cared about a used chassis. It was old news.

She decided not to share the thought with Savannah. She didn't think Savannah would like her plan for John and what she would take from each of the Metal girls with him. She would still try and get Savannah to go along. She still wanted John to 'break in' Savannah and have her close for his protection. The anti-Metal threat always loomed in the background. The threat of assassination was a real possibility. One of the human girls needed to step up.

Cameron felt very worried about John now. Maybe she needed to make sure he was restricted to the base at all times. If he wasn't out anywhere, nobody could get to him.

John watched the caravan of the girl's SUVs from some drone footage. It didn't look to him like they were headed back to the Resistance base where they should be headed.

"What are they doing now?" John asked. "It's not the right way home. Did they pick up a lead?"

John Henry thought he knew what they were up to. The fact their coms were off indicated a little more was going on than they would like to have known in the Command Center.

"It appears they are cruising around the port area." John Henry said. "All their communications are off. I don't think it's anything 'official'."

John looked a little more intently at the drone footage. He couldn't see much. None of them currently wore their vests so he couldn't see anything from their body cams or hear anything from the body cam itself. If their coms were off, he couldn't hear anything at all. He believed it could only mean one thing.

"Great." John said. "It probably means they're planning something. It must be something questionable or objectionable for them to cut the link."

John Henry thought it could also be something personal. The girls may not have cut their coms at all. It could be CamNet who decided to block everything for her own reasons. He wasn't going to even inquire to find out. It was most likely a can of worms he didn't want to open.

"There's not much around them." John Henry said. "I only see the two cruise ships at the dock. The container terminal is on the other side of the channel."

From the drone footage, John could see one of the large container terminals was right across the channel from where the cruise ships were docked. He wondered if it was their objective.

"It looks pretty close to me." John said. "Are they checking out the containers on the large green ship?"

John Henry looked at a wider drone image.

"I don't know." John Henry said. "I see a second container ship has entered the harbor area now. It just passed the breakwater."

John checked on some of the other drone footage. There were even wider views from drones at higher elevations.

"There are even more cargo ships and a couple more cruise ships just over a ways to the east." John said.

John Henry could see exactly what John referred to.

"It's Long Beach. One of the ships there is the Queen Mary. It is more of a tourist attraction. It is now static."

John Henry actually viewed recent reports indicating the Queen Mary was in bad condition. One proposal was to tow it out to sea and sink it rather than attempt to keep it as an attraction. It was all about money. It was cheaper to sink it than fix it. The main problem with taking it out to deeper water was it might not make it. The ship was parked for more than half a century as the hull slowly rusted away.

John started to receive locations with dates on one of his screens. He was very confused as to what he viewed

"What's this?" John asked. "What's going on?"

John Henry received the same information on one of his screens as well. He quickly determined what they were.

"It appears to be cruise ship itineraries." John Henry said.

John began to look them over, it seemed rather confusing. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to be looking for. He wondered if it had something to do with what they thought they were waiting for at the port facility. He couldn't make a connection with anything.

"Why are they showing?" John asked. "Did something happen? Are we supposed to do something?"

John Henry was a little surprised at the source of the transmission.

"CamNet sent them over for you to view." John Henry said.

John quickly glanced up at the security monitor before he turned his attention back to the screen before him.

"Why?" John asked. "Am I missing something?"

John Henry hoped there would be some elaboration from CamNet. There wasn't.

"I really don't know." John Henry said.

John and John Henry were confused as to why CamNet would send the items directly to John.

Anna watched Young Allison ask CamNet to forward some specific items directly to John. She wasn't sure if it was appropriate. She didn't think so. If the actual Source were known, it was bound to create a problem with more than one individual. The implications would seem very specific.

"What are you doing?" Anna asked.

CamNet provided Young Allison with Savannah's and Cameron's audio transmissions about the cruise industry. She thought it was an excellent idea.

"I'm helping John and Cameron out." Young Allison said.

Anna believed it was more meddling than it was helping.

"I don't think you should be involved with doing it." Anna said. "It's not your function, not yet."

Young Allison was a little irritated with Anna's response. She believed it was appropriate.

"I asked CamNet to send him some information." Young Allison said. "It's no big deal."

Anna wanted to know what Young Allison was after.

"Why?" Anna asked. "What are you trying to do?"

Young Allison felt she only took the ball from Savannah and ran with it.

"It was Savannah's idea." Young Allison said.

Anna wasn't sure what Young Allison referred to. She wasn't privy to the same transmission from CamNet as Young Allison was.

"I didn't hear anything about it." Anna said.

Young Allison shrugged her shoulders. She didn't think now was the time to tell Anna she wasn't part of the 'Natural Order'. She decided to keep it simple. She was the one who was made privy of the conversation.

"I did." Young Allison said.

Anna didn't think Young Allison should eavesdrop on Savannah or anyone else either.

"Maybe it's something else you shouldn't be doing." Anna said.

Young Allison felt defensive. She only heard what came through her com. She hadn't initiated anything on her own. She didn't think it should be an issue or big deal.

"It came over my com." Young Allison said. "I didn't do anything."

Anna thought there was a basic principle which needed to be followed.

"Everyone needs privacy sometimes." Anna said.

Young Allison still didn't feel she did anything wrong. She wanted to make it clear to Anna.

"I didn't do anything." Young Allison repeated. "CamNet sent it to me. I only thought it looked like something John and Cameron could share so they could take a break for a while. They could 'get away from it all' for a few days and reconnect."

Anna believed dealing with Skynet came before pleasure and recreation.

"What about operations?" Anna said.

Young Allison glanced quickly at Anna.

"I think we both know a couple of people who could fill in for John." Young Allison said.

Anna wondered if Young Allison did it so she could 'step up'. She wondered now if maybe it wasn't just meddling. Maybe it was actually manipulation on Young Allison's part.

She knew Young Allison was ready to step up and ready for everything. She just needed to wait to catch up. At this point Anna doubted she was going to wait for anything. She was going to need Cameron's and Savannah's help to slow things down. She was sure the blame for anything deemed inappropriate by some, would have the fingers pointed at her. She remembered Sheila equated Young Allison to a nuclear bomb. She was pretty sure that was an accurate assessment at this point on about three or four different levels.

Jesse finished up with Precious and returned back to bed.

Claire looked over at her and smiled.

"How did it go?" Claire asked.

Jesse was very pleased with the experience.

"It went fine." Jesse said. "Everyone is happy and satisfied."

Claire reached over and gently touched Jesse's cheek.

"I know I am." Claire said. "I need to check on Summer and Allison - Young Allison."

Jesse figured it was time they got started anyway. She spoke briefly with Vanna earlier.

"We can get cleaned up and dressed and then head out." Jesse said. "Vanna said she would cover the rest of the day."

Claire was worried about her daughters. She wanted to do more herself.

"Can you take me to the armory?" Claire asked.

Jesse quickly looked at Claire. It wasn't something she expected to hear from her.

"I can." Jesse said. "Are you sure it's where you want to go?"

Claire wasn't sure what the right move was. She just felt the need to do more. To do more, she was going to need to learn more.

"I've received some training." Claire said. "I want more if I move here."

Jesse experienced a few close calls since she was in the past, the present.

"Be careful what you wish for, love." Jesse said. "I've experienced a few close ones."

Claire felt some tightness in her gut.

"Were you almost killed?" Claire asked.

Jesse thought of her love for Cameron.

"Yes." Jesse said. "Cameron saved me more than once."

Claire felt the tightness in her gut worsen.

"Has Allison almost been…?" Claire asked. "I don't even want to say it."

Jesse was aware their business was 'death'.

"Yes." Jesse said. "All of us have come 'close'. I'm not talking about the future either. I think you know it."

Claire overpowered the tightness in her gut. A mother was supposed to protect her children. She failed to do it in Allison's future. Everything which occurred to Allison she blamed herself for. She wasn't going to let it happen again.

"I don't want Allison - Young Allison, to have to do this." Claire said. "I would rather do it myself for her."

Jesse didn't want Claire to get in over her head.

"It's not the way any of this works." Jesse said.

Jesse and Claire were both in the shower now.

The girls washed then dried each other off.

"I have something I need to show you." Jesse said.

They dressed. Jesse checked with Samantha one more time and they left.

"I have a file about Savannah." Jesse said.

Claire imagined Jesse might have a lot of compromising files about others. She knew some of Jesse's sexual exploits were rather extreme. It was actually one of the things she liked about Jesse. Jesse was the 'bad girl'. She didn't want to intrude on anyone's privacy.

"If it's personal, I better not see it." Claire said.

They arrived at Jesse's room.

"It is something personal, but not in the way you're thinking. It's Savannah on operations." Jesse said. "It's a combination of body cam footage, surveillance footage, drone footage, and Terminator video files."

Claire swallowed hard. She remembered watching the bullet impact next to Savannah's head the other day. It was just the other day.

"I have seen some of it." Claire said.

Jesse didn't think some of it was enough.

"This is the entire compilation." Jesse said.

Claire felt 'goose bumps' on her skin.

"I don't think I want to see it." Claire said.

Jesse held Savannah's actions in awe. She didn't know if she would have been able to make some of those same choices the way they were made.

"She's remarkable." Jesse said. "I think it will cure your quest to want to see action. Savannah has seen some real action. You could find yourself in the same exact situations. You would need to make some hard choices if you did."

Claire remembered some of the things she saw with her own eyes on a live operation. The bullet which smashed into the wall right next to Savannah's face still haunted her. It was only a few seconds after it when Savannah was almost killed again. Gail took the damage for her. The damage would have killed Savannah.

A mother was supposed to protect her children. There was no reason she couldn't take over all of the things Young Allison was supposed to do. She was ready, willing, and able to step in right now. She would need to remind Cameron again her body was available to be used in any manner Cameron wanted it to be used in. If it was in John's bed, so be it. If he could get her 'there', he could have as much as he wanted.

Now it was time to watch the video presentation.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

How We Work

From day to week
We can work side by side
What do we really
From each other hide

Our feelings can grow
They can expand out of control
Will they make us whole
Or leave a gaping bleeding hole

We don't know
We are afraid to engage
Will we open a heart
Or only someone enrage

If we roll the dice
The odds say we'll lose
Don't we have a right
For our heart's love to choose

Sometimes we gamble, sometimes not
Be careful where you lurk
I don't think you understand
How we work

Nobody