Chapter 1094

Shut It Down

Cameron and the group were ready to leave the remote base.

Savannah was ready to take off in the UH-1.

"Where to? What else is up?" Savannah asked Cameron.

Cameron looked at Savannah and Young Allison.

Savannah saw a slight glitch in Cameron's hand.

"I'm not sure…." Cameron said.

Savannah wondered what was wrong with Cameron. She was fine earlier. She noted the earlier hesitation when she asked Cameron where they were going to next. She pondered if the current mission which seemed it was about to conclude, was actually about to get started. It was clear there was more going on.

Young Allison leaned forward and took Cameron's hand. The glitch stopped. She was sure something was up.

"Cameron, is there something wrong?" Savannah asked.

Savannah remembered the conversation Cameron and Cammy conducted with the Terminators in the 'hangar' when they left. She didn't think any of them were very pleased with whatever they discussed. She knew something must have happened.

She decided to call John and get an update on the other operation which was unfolding. She found out Cam withdrew without incident and they were waiting for darkness so a drone could do a low altitude scan. There was nothing new there as of yet. Everything was on hold for now. She didn't think it was the source of Cameron's current problem.

Cameron assured them she was fine and nothing was wrong. She still hadn't told Savannah where she wanted to go.

Savannah began to wonder about their location. She made a clandestine request to Gail before about where the new nuclear weapons Cameron acquired were at. She asked to be shown their location and how to use one. She wanted to know how one could be set off with a timer, or detonated manually in person. She wasn't sure if Gail told the request to Cameron or not, she didn't think so. It may have been relayed to Cameron by CamNet. They all knew CamNet was always listening and watching. It was her job.

She noted the concern on Gail's face when she asked about what she wanted done with the nuclear weapons. She understood every Terminator would attempt to carry out the function first before she could. It wasn't her intent. She needed to know herself if the situation ever arose. If she ever needed to face down Skynet, she would. There could be things go wrong which no one could control or foresee. Action would still need to be taken. Skynet would still need to be brought down. The enemy needed to be destroyed completely to prevent it from rising up again.

Savannah decided to push it a little. It would be better if Cameron showed them to her, herself. She wasn't sure Young Allison should be along for this. She knew Young Allison would be more inclined to use one than she would. She didn't plan on using one unless it was the last resort. If there was some version of Skynet which needed to be taken down and there were no other options, she knew what needed to be done. She was there for it before. She was with Cameron for one of those.

It was time to spell it out and see where the cards fell.

"Cameron, I'm ready to learn to use a nuclear weapon." Savannah said. "You know what I'm referring to. You know the method I need to know."

Young Allison looked at Savannah and Cameron. It was news to her. She was unaware of Savannah's request to Gail about the nukes. She wasn't exactly sure what it meant. She was just about to mention she evidently already did, even if it took two thirds of a century to do it. She still wasn't sure it was actually her who was behind it. She noticed something happened before she could speak. Now wasn't the time for joking around.

Cameron's hand started to glitch again.

Young Allison once again took it.

"I'm right here, Cameron." Young Allison said. "Savannah and I are both here for you."

Savannah maintained her look at Cameron. She was sure they were on the same page. She didn't think Young Allison understood what the implications were of what she wanted to do. She would like to think she didn't know what the implications were, but she did. There was an absolute finality to them if they were carried out to completion. She still needed to know.

"You know it's necessary, Cameron." Savannah said. "I need to be able to cover all of the bases if the situation ever arises. I've actually been there before when you did the same thing. The goal is to use the timer. There are situations where more decisive action might need to be taken."

Cameron didn't say anything at first. She really could have done without the last part of Savannah's statement. Her earlier indecision was based on the very subject. It was actually the reason why they were there. She knew the drone wasn't damaged other than a few new scratches cosmetically. She already asked one of her Terminators to check it out right after the incident to make sure it wasn't damaged in any type of serious or critical fashion. It wasn't. She wanted to make sure it would be able to return to its base without any problems.

The girls could have checked it at any remote location, including her private airstrip. The whole purpose of going to where they were at now was because one of the recently appropriated nuclear weapons was there. She didn't want Savannah or Young Allison to terminate if they needed to use one. She pointed at the turning rotor.

"Shut it down." Cameron said. "I have one here."

Savannah checked over everything on the helicopter and shut the turbine down. She figured it was why they were at the location in the first place. It was clear Cameron developed 'second thoughts' about it. Before they got too involved, she wanted to make sure it was safe to be around the weapons. She was unsure if there was any residual radiation which could emanate from the device. She didn't think so based on the fact servicemen needed to deal with them all the time in bomb form which would be used with aircraft. She wanted Young Allison protected.

"Is it safe for Allison?" Savannah asked. "I don't want her to have any radiation exposure. I need to make sure she's protected in every way."

Cameron was a little disturbed when Savannah didn't ask if it was safe for herself. It proved to her Savannah was willing to go 'all the way'. It also indicated Savannah didn't think her life span was going to be very long. She wasn't sure if it was because of her two trips to the different futures she went to. She checked on all her nuclear weapons personally. The weapons were very well engineered. They were designed to do a job and they could do the job very efficiently. She wanted to put her reply into context.

"Yes." Cameron said. "It's safe for both of you, radiation wise."

Cameron knew if they were anywhere in the vicinity of the nuclear weapon when it exploded, radiation would be the least of their worries. They would most likely be vaporized.

Savannah and Young Allison glanced at each other with Cameron's response. They understood it for what it actually meant.

Young Allison wasn't sure exactly what Savannah must have arranged at some point. With the talk of radiation, she felt it narrowed down the choices to only one thing. Whatever she was part of in the future, which occurred in the past, she was willing to do much the same thing as Savannah indicated. She was about to find out it was actually going to be a little bit more.

They exited the UH-1 as the rotor spun down to a stop.

Ally arrived where Gail and Sheila were at. She went and got into their SUV.

"So where does this go from here?" Ally asked.

Sheila looked back at Ally.

"You tell us." Sheila said.

Ally and Sheila exchanged a long look with her statement.

Gail offered her assessment based on previous past experience in dealing with the Fanatics.

"It will most likely go from bad to worse, I think." Gail said. "The Fanatics are insane."

Sheila wanted to comment there was a lot of insanity involved with most humans. She actually believed it applied to some of the machines as well. She was sure some people would point the finger at her and say the same thing.

Ally watched the other building explode. Cameron and Cammy were both on the roof of the auto body shop seconds before it exploded. Savannah made her get out of the SUV and drove forward to collect them. She watched it all go down. It was only a few seconds after Cammy jumped onto the hood, and Cameron onto the roof of the SUV, when the building exploded. If Savannah hadn't done what she did, Cameron and Cammy wouldn't have made it. She didn't know if their chassis would have survived the blast, but certainly their sheaths wouldn't have. She was glad Cam was safe from the immediate threat now. It made her want to bring the Fanatics down along with their false god SkyMaster even more.

"At least Cam is away from the building." Ally said. "I saw how the other building exploded. Savannah took a very big risk to get Cammy and Cameron away from it before it exploded. I would have driven the SUV myself but she told me to get out. It still bothers me to think about it."

Ally knew if she was terminated, she could be given another chassis and her program on file with CamNet would be installed in it. She would just be a few weeks out of date. The point is, she would still survive. Savannah wouldn't have. They would have needed to initiate a Temporal Rescue Mission to get her back.

Sheila didn't think anything was going to happen at the location they were at until after dark. She wanted some blood. She wanted to check on the female prisoner that was captured. They were told she was dealt with. She wasn't so sure about it. She wanted to verify it for herself.

"Let's go interrogate the Bitch we captured." Sheila said. "I feel like doing it now."

Ally figured Sheila would revert back to her true nature in time. She actually wasn't opposed to the idea. It didn't seem to bother her very much either. She wanted Sheila to rethink her choices before she made them.

"It seems the 'good' feeling didn't last long." Ally said.

Sheila felt it was about protecting the team, not personal pleasure. It could come after the information was obtained. She wanted to hear the female prisoner scream. She wanted to hold her hand out in front of the female prisoner's face and show her what she did to her.

"We need answers." Sheila said. "We need to know who hit the Fanatics, or who the dead were left behind if they weren't the Fanatics."

Sheila wanted to know who to punish for almost terminating Cameron, Cammy, and Savannah. Someone was responsible and they needed to pay. She intended to collect.

Ally took a good look at the area they took under observation. She agreed with Kyle's earlier observation.

"The area is too clean." Ally said. "Someone seems to have been able to carefully clean everything out. There must be a reason for it. I think it was more than just to draw us in. I don't think it was the Resistance they thought would arrive here. I think this is the work of two different groups of Grays and one of them is the Fanatics."

Gail felt it was a sucker play. If someone went to all the trouble to police the area so thoroughly, it meant they had a lot of time on their hands. With so much time, they could have set an elaborate trap for someone. She didn't want the Resistance to get caught in the trap. It still seemed as if there might be a specific reason.

"It means they could have set a bigger trap for whoever came to check it out." Gail said.

Sheila began to look around them. New alarm bells started to go off. The entire area around them appeared to be in very tidy condition. Industrial areas didn't normally look like it at all. She thought about their location and where anyone who came to observe the area would conceal themselves. There were only so many places to be able to do so and remain unseen.

"Maybe everything around here is part of the trap." Sheila said. "We're all in spots someone would 'hide' to wait or to observe the area."

Ally now wondered if it was a good idea to have come back there. Her friends were there, she decided it was the right choice if not the most intelligent one. This OP didn't seem like it was going to end well. She could understand why Cam wanted the Reese brothers away from the location. It seemed like a pretty good idea they all should be away from the area.

CamNet fed the Command Center the conversation relevant to the operation from Gail's SUV. There were a lot of parts omitted about personal things or what would happen after the operation.

John thought it was a little unusual to be able to hear a conversation of such a nature. He understood why then. It only made his apprehension grow.

"It seems everyone has a bad feeling about this." John said.

Vanna was worried about Cam and the others. The more she heard, the less she liked it.

"I know I do and I'm not even there at the location." Vanna said.

Allison tried to put all the pieces together.

"From the description of it, it seems the location was cleared out before the previous operation at the Fanatic's other location." Allison said. "It's my take on it anyway."

John Henry agreed with Allison's assessment. He wanted their troops safe.

"Since we have surveillance equipment in place, I recommend all our personnel withdraw from the area." John Henry said. "There's no need to be there now."

John thought about what Sheila said. Maybe it was to draw them out and identify them. There currently were a lot of personnel on the ground. They were all in the locations where someone would attempt to conceal themselves at around the area. He wanted to take a further precaution once the operation was done.

"I think maybe all the vehicles being used in this operation need to be replaced." John said.

Vanna liked the idea. Cameron was able to supply them with many more vehicles.

"I think it's a good idea." Vanna said. "They should all dump them and replace them."

Allison thought of a better idea. If the building was bait for some other group, or even them, there was no reason they couldn't use some bait on their part.

"Maybe we can use some of the vehicles to set a few traps of our own." Allison said. "If someone is watching them, we can sucker them."

John and John Henry looked at each other.

It reminded John Henry about what Savannah taught him before about rules. They didn't need to follow any set pattern or plan.

"Yes, we can change the rules." John Henry said.

John Henry watched the operation start out as a recon. It morphed into surveillance with the potential for combat. There were plenty of Terminators on the ground and there were a lot of drones in the area or on their way there. The drones all needed to remain at altitude because it was still daylight. It would only delay the travel time of a missile by a second or two if one was needed. The option to use the gun was out until darkness.

He wondered if Young Allison would violate the hard deck again if she needed to and bring a drone down into gun range if it was what was required. He realized she would. She was willing to step further out of the boundaries and cross the lines to make sure their troops were protected. Maybe it was something John should have done all along. Maybe it was something he should have done all along. Maybe Cameron wouldn't have suffered as much damage if Young Allison watched over her rather than John and him.

They weren't pleasant thoughts to think about. Nothing related to Skynet or the future was. He understood there was a need for caution. He understood there was a need for action. They needed to stay out of the media spotlight. They wanted to keep off the radar of any of the other groups. They also needed to protect their troops. Even if it was only one trooper in the form of Cameron, she still needed to be protected.

He glanced over at John and wanted to say something. He really didn't know what it was, nor how to say it. He knew John thought he did the right thing.

Cam withdrew from the immediate area and was now with Bob and Jim.

Bob also developed an uneasy feeling about the area they were in. It was based upon the earlier apprehension by Derek and Kyle. He wanted to prompt Cam to withdraw a little further.

"We have enough surveillance in place." Bob said. "We don't need to be so close to monitor anything. It's the whole point of putting the surveillance in place."

Jim couldn't see the need to remain in the area either.

"We don't need to do anything else here." Jim said. "There's nothing else we can do at this time. We need to withdraw for now. If we stay here needlessly, we become targets."

Cam was reluctant to withdraw. She wanted some more information first. She didn't see how they were going to get it if they weren't actually there.

"We still don't know what's happening." Cam said. "I want to know more."

Bob could see it was going to be a problem. He pointed out the obvious.

"Nothing of any relevance is happening." Bob said. "There's nothing more to know until we can get some drone scans in later on.

Jim thought they were a 'day late and a dollar short'.

"It is clear whatever was here is gone." Jim said. "We need to move away from the area."

Cam still didn't like it. Something was there, now it wasn't. What was it and where did it go? She soon received the call she didn't want to get.

John was worried about everyone's negative feelings in regard to the operation.

"Cam, maybe it's time to call this off for now." John said. "There's too much risk for no known payoff. If there was some type of activity, it would be a different story."

It wasn't what Cam wanted to hear. She wanted to stay at the location. She didn't want it to become a problem.

"I don't know." Cam said.

John could sense her hesitancy. He felt they just needed to give it some time until they could do a drone scan after darkness. Standing around and being exposed accomplished nothing.

"We will have a drone take a look later on and then decide from there." John said.

Vanna didn't want to become directly involved but she wanted to make her feelings known.

"The building isn't going anywhere. We can have the drone hit it with a missile at three AM." Vanna said in the background. "We'll teach them about the 'Witching Hour'."

Cam was pleased Vanna was there. It showed her concern and her love. She knew it wasn't something Vanna normally did. Vanna didn't try to interfere with any of the operations. Normally Vanna was asleep if she was out.

"I can hear I have a fan club there." Cam said.

John didn't want Vanna or Allison to be criticized. They may have expressed a few opinions, but there was no interference in the operation.

"It's just people who love you and care about you." John said. "It's not a bad idea either."

Cam didn't want to make Vanna worry. She reluctantly shut the manned operation down.

"Alright, break off." Cam said somewhat disgusted. "The recon is now unmanned surveillance only."

John wanted to make sure the vehicles were changed.

"All units disengage and dump your vehicles." John said. "We don't know if any have been identified. We don't know how extensive of a ploy it is. I don't want anyone to take any chances. Leave the windows down to make the vehicles enticing targets for someone else to steal."

They would run them through an ambush site to see if anyone followed any of them. It was standard procedure after an operation to routinely get rid of the vehicles used. Some of the vehicles would be abandoned with the keys in them and the windows down. They usually were taken by gang members within a few hours. Some of them were jacked within a few minutes. Other vehicles would be parked where they set up 'drop zones' to leave one of the vehicles on a street and see if anyone paid any special attention to it.

Cameron always kept them stocked with a fresh supply of vehicles. They were changed frequently anyway. She often 'borrowed' vehicles from a drug operation or a sex trafficking operation she took down. Since all of those involved were deceased, they didn't need their vehicles any longer. As soon as she gave John Henry the vehicle information, it 'disappeared' from the system. She procured a group of license plates from a junkyard in the Central Valley during the night one time. Those license plates would be whatever they needed to be when they were placed on a vehicle. John Henry made sure all the information matched up if anyone checked. Surprisingly enough, no one ever did.

Claire and Hanna were off with Jan and Summer to one of the rooms set up for the 'arts'.

Holly waited there for them.

"It's time for some practice." Claire said. "Do you want to dance or play music?"

Summer didn't see why they needed to limit their activities. They never did in Palmdale. It shouldn't be any different here.

"We can do both." Summer said. "It's always the best part of the day."

Jan looked uneasy. She was painfully aware Summer was better at everything than her. It included both physical and mental activities.

"I'm not very good at either one." Jan said.

Her exposure to those activities was very limited. Her mother's home schooling left a lot to be desired. She learned all the basics but nothing was really learned in depth. There were some things she liked to read about on her own. Those were the subjects she would always do better in because they actually interested her.

Summer wanted to give Jan some positive encouragement. She didn't want her to look at it in such a way. She wanted her to look at it as a learning opportunity.

"If you want to be good at anything, you have to practice every day." Summer said. "I'll help you."

Claire knew if she stayed at the Resistance base, Hanna and Holly were going to have a lot more 'free time' than they did at the house in Palmdale. There was simply a bigger selection of females for her at the Resistance base, as well as Allison. They would both have less time for their 'Metal lovers' as they made 'the rounds' with all the available females.

"Hanna and Holly can work with both of you too." Claire said.

It seemed to make Hanna and Holly happy. They liked to work with the girls and they liked to have 'purpose'. Neither one of them wanted to contemplate where their new abundance of free time would come from. It would most likely cause them to glitch.

Kyle watched Sarah as she undressed him.

"Isn't this better than getting shot at?" Sarah asked.

Kyle wanted to undress Sarah.

"I think so." Kyle said. "Now let me undress you."

Sarah was already good to go.

"I'm ready." Sarah said.

Kyle looked around.

"Jan won't walk in on us will she?" Kyle asked.

Sarah made the 'facts of life' clear to Jan at an early age. She knew being at the Resistance base, Jan would observe all of them soon enough. She wanted the control of a mother to tell and show her what happened and how things worked. She covered both traditional and same sex relationships, as well as human and machine. She also included machine on machine relationships which were abundant around the base. She knew the girls always liked to leave their doors slightly ajar. She was sure Jan observed every type of 'hook up' possible at some point in time. She didn't see it as a big deal if she did. She was sure Jan observed them on multiple occasions. The internet was full of everything anyway. She told John Henry to allow her limited access.

John Henry asked her if she wanted to know what any of the images, videos, or websites Jan visited. She thought about it a moment before she answered. She told him Jan was free to view anything she wanted and make her own choices as to what she wanted. She felt Jan would respect their privacy as well. She was sure Kyle and her were observed more than a few times. She knew it didn't really matter.

"No she won't. She's old enough to know what happens around here." Sarah said. "She knows everyone needs 'alone time', sometimes."

Kyle really didn't know what he was worried about. All he needed to do was think back to the future and how things went down. There wasn't too much everyone else didn't know about those around them in a very short time.

"In that case, where were we?" Kyle asked.

Sarah arched her back and thrust her still covered breasts into Kyle's face.

"You were about to unbutton my shirt, one button at a time." Sarah said.

Kyle started in.

"Like this?" Kyle asked.

Sarah felt her anticipation level grow.

"Yes." Sarah said.

Kyle soon slipped off Sarah's shirt.

"The top is off." Kyle said. "Now what should I do?"

Sarah was ready for anything at this point. She didn't care if it was kinky or not. She actually liked the idea.

"You decide…." Sarah said. "I'm up for anything. I'm a blank check, fill in what you want."

Kyle contemplated the offer for a few seconds. Maybe he could try a few things she didn't normally go for.

"Things might get interesting." Kyle said.

Sarah glanced over at Kyle.

"I hope they do." Sarah said. "It appears you are ready too…."

Kyle looked down at his groin area.

"I'd have to agree." Kyle said.

Riley attempted to nurse Precious. It was a failure. She was thoroughly disgusted with herself.

"Look, I'm already out." Riley said. "I'm not even sure one side is working at all. It seems all I can offer Precious are a couple of pacifiers attached to my body."

Jesse reached over and touched Riley's face.

"No worries, love." Jesse said. "It's what I'm here for."

Riley felt more than a little upset with herself. There wasn't really anything she could do about it.

"You heard the doctor." Riley said. "I'm never going to get better."

Jesse could see the frustration on Riley's face. She wanted to put it into perspective.

"It's not your fault." Jesse said.

Riley looked at her breasts, one at a time. She grasped each one with both hands and lifted it as she examined it.

"I feel like it is." Riley said.

Jesse opened her top.

"I have it covered." Jesse said.

Riley took in Jesse's exposed breasts and their larger size. It made her think of the times Jesse and her shared. She wanted to experience those times again. There were times when she was pregnant and felt so down. It made her long for the way Jesse used to make her feel. She really didn't think it would hurt anything if Jesse would have touched her then. She really didn't think it would hurt anything now either.

She really missed those times. She really missed being with females. There was just something about the love shared between them. Wait. Maybe it was really about the sex. The best sex she ever experienced was from other females. The best sex she experience from anyone, male or female, was with Jesse. Wait. It wasn't entirely true. She was with Hanna one time. It was her only encounter with a Metal girl. It was the wildest sexual experience in her life.

Riley remembered her priorities.

She handed Precious to Jesse. Her daughter came before her desires. Her daughter needed to come before everything.

"Thank you, Jesse." Riley said. "I think Precious really needs you."

Jesse could see the way Riley looked at her. She actually looked at Riley the same way but controlled herself. It was very hard to do. She promised Cameron she wouldn't do anything to interfere with Derek and Riley. Unless Cameron freed her from the promise she would honor it. A person was only as good as their word.

She didn't want to do anything to endanger her privilege to be able to tend to Precious either. It was something very special for her to do. She was very pleased her body could do at least one 'female function'.

'I need Precious too.' Jesse thought.

Samantha was at a computer terminal. She showed Derek all the medical terms discussed and what could be done about anything. It wasn't much. He was able to look at diagrams, cutaways, and even some animation in regards to Riley's problems.

Derek wasn't very pleased with the diagnosis.

"So what she's been able to do is all she can do and it will never improve?" Derek asked.

Samantha wanted to remind Derek it wasn't Riley's fault. She was a victim of circumstances.

"She'll never be able to improve. It's how her body developed, or in this case didn't develop properly." Samantha said. "It's unchangeable at this point. She lacked the proper nutrition growing up. She may soon stop altogether. I think one side may be close to ending production, if it hasn't already."

It was another thing to make Derek hate Skynet even more.

"Damn Skynet…." Derek said.

Derek was very grateful Cameron provided Vanna and Jesse to assist Riley and Precious.

Samantha wanted to remind him Riley was very fortunate to even be able to have a baby. The other girls from the future weren't so lucky. She decided not to mention it. It seemed to be a sore point for all of them.

Cameron led the group back to the hidden hangar complex.

This time Young Allison opened the hatch.

Cameron led them inside to the back of the area.

Savannah looked to where Cameron led them. She looked in the location previously.

"I didn't see anything here before." Savannah said. "I looked."

Cameron thought it was the whole point. It was something very terminal.

"It's hidden." Cameron said. "I have several locations like this all with the same thing."

Young Allison wondered about the earlier weapons. She was aware Cameron possessed other nuclear weapons previously. It appeared several were used in the future. She wanted to know the disposition of all of them.

"Do you still have your Nike warheads?" Young Allison asked.

Cameron checked on the Nike warheads on a regular basis.

"I have everything." Cameron said. "I have what we captured from Skynet and the Grays. I also have things I 'borrowed'."

Savannah wanted to know where the nukes were physically located. She would want a detailed report from Cameron as to exactly what she possessed, what type of weapon it was and what its yield was. She didn't think now was the time for all the details. She just wanted the basics.

"What do you have here and where are the other locations?" Savannah asked.

Cameron didn't like to keep all of her 'eggs in one basket'. She wanted to make sure everything was dispersed in case any location was compromised.

"I have a couple of things here." Cameron said. "The other things are dispersed."

Young Allison deduced it was the true nature of their visit there.

"Is this why we came out here?" Young Allison asked. "I know the drone wasn't badly damaged. I did like the personal interaction Savannah and I were able to share with it."

Cameron was aware of what Savannah wanted to know. It was her original plan. The drone was just an afterthought. It was still something important. There was something else which bothered her when she saw the girls interact with each other.

"I still wanted you and Savannah to see the drone." Cameron said. "I became unsure if I should show you this part as I watched both of you together. I didn't want to be the one who destroys it."

Young Allison didn't see why Cameron would be the one to interfere with anything.

"Why?" Young Allison asked.

Cameron told them the truth.

"One day you might use one." Cameron said. "You may be killed."

Savannah saw it differently.

"If we need to use one, then it needs to be used." Savannah said. "Don't worry too much about it. I don't plan to use one unless it is absolutely necessary."

Young Allison was on board.

"I'm in." Young Allison said. "If we can stop Skynet and save the world. No sacrifice is too great. Everyone sacrifices for John Connor."

It's what Cameron was afraid of. It's why she hesitated earlier. She pushed the girls to face any threat. It was evident they would do it. She pointed at a specific location.

"It's behind this section of the 'wall'." Cameron said.

Cameron showed them how to open the 'door' on the wall.

There was one of the nuclear weapons they captured very recently. It was strapped to a drone. There was now a control box attached to it. She was aware of what the girls would want. It was done with great hesitation on her part.

Cameron showed the girls how to enter the code and set the bomb off with a timer. She also showed them what to do for an instant detonation.

The mood was very somber.

Savannah was surprised how well Young Allison took the information. Young Allison seemed a lot less affected than she thought she would be. She didn't know the full extent of Young Allison's training of Summer to 'take her place' in the 'Natural Order' if she fell.

"What's the other item?" Savannah asked.

Cameron felt a slight glitch impulse and she looked at it.

"It is a 'backpack nuke'. It's what I blew up a version of Skynet with once." Cameron said. "Well, Duplicate Cameron did anyway. She is me, even if I'm not her. I have all of her files. They are the same as my own right now."

Both girls understood Duplicate Cameron was really Cameron. She wasn't a clone or a copy. She wasn't from an alternate future or reality. Both Duplicate Cameron's were really Cameron.

Young Allison didn't think there was anything to worry about. She was always told when it was time to make the hard choice it wouldn't be hard at all to make. There would only be what needed to be done at the particular point in time. The cards would land where they fell. There was something very real to view an implement which could lead to her own death. It would simply occur by entering in a few numbers on a keypad in a certain sequence. She didn't think her mind could even register what happened afterwards because it would happen so quickly. She realized it really wouldn't matter.

"It's the same thing." Young Allison said. "Show us how it works."

It wasn't something Cameron looked forward to. Nobody knew what the future would be.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Shut It Down

If things start off slow
Will they grow and last
Maybe go for the gold
And see what happens fast

Is it about the chemistry
Or what each will allow to grow
Will one need to carry the other
Does one want to pull or tow

It takes one step at a time
To reach the top of the mountain
Not everyone will find
The location of love's fountain

When one strikes out
Do they bat again
Perhaps the only one that knows
Will be a wise man

If one makes them frown
Or feel like a clown
The answer is easy
It's time to shut it down

Nobody