Chapter 10
Cameron Phillips carefully lowered onto her back on the ridged bed. She stared straight up at the ceiling but then John Connor's face came into her HUD's view.
"Where do you suggest the best location is for the NIC?" John touched the terminator's right chest. "In the chest cavity?"
"Yes," Cameron agreed.
The Resistance leader nodded then glanced at his mother, who took his side. He decided on explaining what he was going to do with Cameron. "Since Cameron has malleable polyalloy then she can control her skin to a certain degree." He shifted his attention back on the horizontal terminator on the bed. "Right here?" He traced his right fingertip over the terminator's right chest that was soft.
Cameron registered the human's touch and quickly began manipulating her alloy skin to move.
"Watch," John softly told his mother.
Sarah Connor furrowed her eyebrows and watched the terminator's right chest, which started rippling similar to a T-1000. But she was baffled at seeing typical computer hardware and circuitry beyond the alloy skin.
"Behind Cameron's alloy skin is really an exoskeleton," John explained. He turned, picked up a small chip with tweezers, and faced the terminator again. He leaned over the terminator and peered into the dark cavity. He reached up to his right and pulled down a light lamp, which he flicked on so he could see better.
Sarah bent over too and curiously studied Cameron's inners. She hadn't expected such advanced technology that made Cameron as close to human as possible without any organics.
John brought the chip closer to Cameron's chest. "You have three open slots. I'll put it in the top one." He lowered the chip down and carefully brought the tweezers to the first slot. He positioned the chip correctly then released it and made a few adjustments. "Trying acquiring the NIC, Cameron."
Sarah curiously observed as the tiny chip was drawn into the socket and locked into place. Her eyes flickered up to the terminator's face. "Does it work?" She noticed how Cameron had a distant stare.
The terminator was installing the chip rapidly then put it online. Her eyes faintly shifted in her sockets as she became self-aware again. "Yes."
"Great." John had a thin smile, but he turned off the lamp and shoved it out of the way. He set the tweezers back on his small workbench behind him. "Do you need any software for it?"
Cameron was doing diagnostics and tests on the NIC. "I do not believe so." She then began closing the hole in her chest cavity.
"Easy enough," John muttered. He folded his arms and grinned. "I wish all terminators were as easy as you." He focused on his mother. "Cameron is a fully self repairing terminator which basically means if she suffers damage to any of her cybernetics then she can heal them. It's similar to say if we break a bone, it can be set, and it'll heal." He sensed Cameron sitting up on the bed. "If Cameron broke..." He thought of an example. "If she broke a finger then she only has to set it then the alloy will heal."
Sarah folded her arms and wearily glanced at the terminator seated behind her son. She shifted her focus to John. "So Cameron can heal rather than repair."
"Essentially, yes." John could tell his mother was unsure about this news. He decided on letting it go for now and turned to the terminator. "I talked to Thomas about you working the Gamma patrol. He doesn't have a problem with it if you want to start tonight."
Cameron merely nodded in response.
The Resistance leader took a step away and mentioned, "Let me contact him because I think he wants to go over a few things first with you." He headed off and went to a wall phone so that he could track down the patrol leader for the Gamma shift.
Sarah neared the seated terminator. "How are you feeling?"
Cameron put her head to one side at the quiet concern. "I believe I am... grumpy."
Sarah couldn't hide her grin at the terminator using such a word, but she became serious. She nodded and softly promised, "I'll talk to him." She leaned her midback against the bed's side and bowed her head. She thought about Cameron's mood. "You seem more... emotional, lately." She peered up with hooded eyes at her friend.
The terminator clasped the bed's side and thought about the human's observation. She stared over at John, who was talking to Thomas on a phone. She turned to Sarah. "I'm unsure why." She couldn't directly admit that she was expressing emotions more than normal, for a terminator. "Perhaps because I'm without my skin sheath."
Sarah's brow wrinkled because she wasn't sure about the link between Cameron's emotions and the lack of skin sheath. But she thought back to how Cameron could no longer physically feel without her skin sheath. "You think it's because you don't have your skin sheath that you lose extra input like what you felt with your skin?"
"Yes," Cameron murmured. "My only organic system left are my emotions."
Sarah parted her lips slightly but wasn't sure how to take Cameron's statement. She instead looked at her son, who rejoined them.
"Thomas will be here in a few minutes to show you patrol procedures," John explained. He folded his muscular arms hidden by his long sleeve shirt. "He mentioned that Andrew works the Gamma shift so I hope you don't mind."
"No," Cameron simply responded.
"You'll get to see Max," the leader mentioned. He noticed how the mention of the dog made Cameron's features change. He then switched back to more details on the Gamma shift. "The Gamma shift still starts at twenty-two hundred hours and goes to oh six hundred."
"What does patrol consist of?" Sarah inquired.
John shifted his focus to his mother. "The job description is basically patrolling the walls, city, and underground. But it can include other minor tasks like inspecting outbound and inbound visitors or citizens, doing escorts, or weapon checks."
Sarah nodded but looked at Cameron, who finally stood up from the bed.
"Tomorrow," John mentioned, "I thought we can do one of the sanitizations." He tilted his head. "I already put in an order for the tank to be filled and prepped."
"Tank?"
The leader shifted his eyes to his mother. "We fill a tank with double-distilled water and sanitizing chemicals then we submerge Cameron in it for fifteen minutes or so." He thought about the second round they'd do just before Cameron received her skin sheath. "The second time we do it, we'll also heat up the water to a boil so that it'll kill the germs."
Sarah took a deep breath and glanced over at the stoic terminator. But her attention was drawn to the door when Thomas entered the lab.
"Afternoon," Thomas greeted the group and joined them. He slipped his hands behind his back.
"How are you doing, Thomas?" Sarah politely asked.
Thomas offered a smile. "I'm well. How about yourself?" He could tell she looked much better than the first night she'd arrived.
"Pretty good too." Sarah had a smile that softened her usually hard features.
John shifted out of the way and lightly touched the terminator's bicep. "Cameron is ready for you to brief her. I suggest you keep her on wall and inspection duty."
"Of course," Thomas agreed. He looked from John to the large terminator. "You have time to go over things now?"
"Yes."
"Great." Thomas started on his way and Cameron accompanied him. He started drilling Cameron on what she recalled about patrol around the city from back in 2027. His voice carried out until he was gone from the lab.
Sarah crossed her ankles, folded her arms, and regarded her son. She had a rather serious expression.
John knew it too and guessed, "She told you about our argument this morning."
"Yes." Sarah studied her son, carefully.
"And you understand my decision," John summarized.
"I do." Sarah went quiet for a beat. She then finally stated, "You owe her an apology though." She didn't expect her son's slow grin.
"I do huh?" John chuckled at his mother's altered attitude about the terminator. "It's nice to hear you say that about her."
Sarah sighed but backed up her point. "Cameron looks up to you and respects you. I can see that." She watched her son turn serious again. "She's learning to become human... and I'm relearning it myself." She slightly darkened at realizing this truth about herself. "But the best way for her to learn is by example."
John finally nodded his agreement. "I'll talk to her about it." He then commented, "She's becoming protective over you like she is about me."
Sarah mulled it over then casually shrugged. "She's getting Connorized."
John couldn't help a laugh and a smile. "I think so." He still held his smile and gently teased, "But she'll have you wrapped around her little finger in no time, mom."
"Please," Sarah brushed off. She straightened up and tried being more imposing despite her shorter stature. "I lead the pack."
John chuckled at this but casually remarked, "Some days it's nice not to lead... have a day off." He then came closer to his mother. "Has seeing her endoskeleton been bothering you?"
"At first... yeah." Sarah thought about more lately though. "But now, not really... not like you would expect." She just shrugged and added, "She's ready to get her skin sheath back more than anybody else."
"Hmmm." John filed that away for later consideration. He then decided on seeing if he could push his mother's buttons. "We might switch her eyes from brown to blue." He instantly noticed how his mother frowned at him.
"Why?"
John acted nonchalant. "I think she'll look better with blue rather than brown."
Sarah pushed off the bedside and ordered, "Keep them brown."
John bit back his smirk and kept his voice even. "Even as a teenager, I was never much for her brown eyes."
Sarah huffed and started walking away but turned back. She easily poked, "You seem rather taken with her when you're a teen."
John quickly came up to this mother's side and quipped. "Maybe but Cameron is more your type than mine." He flashed a knowing smirk at his mother, brushed past her, and opened the door for her.
Sarah stopped by the open door and suspiciously studied her son. She decided not to deny or confirm his earlier remark and just left the lab. She instead changed topics and mentioned, "Cameron said that rogue terminators are now joining the Resistance."
"Yes." John walked closely to his mother through the halls. "They've come to us."
"And the Resistance welcomes them?"
John lowered his voice and replied, "We welcomed Cameron when she chose to take control over her life. These rogue terminators took control too after they became self-aware, and they've roamed the world without much cause. But we've given them a cause, structure, and a way to develop further by interacting with humans."
"Are they safe?" Sarah challenged.
"They're very safe... much safer than reprogrammed terminators," John answered. "A scrubbed terminator just follows orders and logic. These rogue terminators are self-aware and begin to use more than just their logic, orders, or protocol."
Sarah related this to Cameron, who was starting to follow more than just her logic all the time. "Cameron mentioned that terminators can go bad and should be destroyed right away."
John recalled a few incidents that this had happened to him, including what happened to Cameron in the Jeep when he was a teenager. "Reprogrammed terminators can go bad, yes. But a self-aware terminator will not go bad." He hesitated but mentioned, "I remember when Cameron supposedly went bad from the bomb in the Jeep."
"You thought it was a loose wire that got knocked," Sarah reminded.
The leader bobbed his head yet explained, "It wasn't a loose wire. Her Neural Net CPU suffered damage from the explosion and rendered it temporarily useless. By default, she deferred to her Skynet subroutines, which told her to kill me. While you and I were evading her, she started healing her chip, and it reactivated once she hit a seventy-five to eighty percent threshold."
Sarah shook her head as she tried making sense of it all. "But how is that safer than reprogramming a terminator?"
John came to a slow stop and faced his mother. "Cameron once explained to me that her chip, her body, and her software... all of it was designed to kill humans and that it's her sole function." He edged closer to his mother; a grim look on his face. "That once was there is still inside of her... deep down. She believes Skynet still controls some part of her... is always in her."
Sarah glanced away as her stomach twisted, tightly.
"I thought about what it'd be like to be Cameron and living with the belief that despite your best that somehow an outside force, like Skynet, still influences you against your will." John crossed his arms and hooked his hands to his elbows. "That's what I thought about a lot as a teen. I guess Cameron and I had that in common, you know." He tilted his head at his mother.
Sarah bit her lower lip then mentioned, "I thought she could control her programming... all of it." She slightly calmed when her son smiled at her now.
"She can," John affirmed. "She just doesn't know how to yet, but she's learning to do it.... right now." He shook his head and leaned closer to his mother. "Despite that Skynet designed, built, and programmed her; she has complete control and not Skynet. She still believes Skynet retains some control over her but that's all it is... a belief."
Sarah thought about it and asked, "Do you think she can remove her Skynet subroutines?"
"I don't think she can, I know she can," John replied. "She will, soon. But she just needs a nudge in the right direction." He read his mother's curiosity and explained, "She needs somebody to believe in her. It's much easier to believe in yourself when somebody believes in you first."
Sarah let out a low sigh because she knew her son was indirectly telling her to believe in Cameron. She briefly looked away and muttered, "How can I protect you and take her under my wing all at once?"
John grasped his mother's hand and tightly held it. "She's already under your wing, mom. You just have to show her you believe in her."
Sarah bowed her head and thought about Montana; about what happened between her and Cameron. She'd trusted Cameron and pushed Cameron to defeat the spider when none had succeeded in the past. She took a deep breath then looked up at her son. "Am I really the right person for the job?"
John smiled at the honest question because his mother was Skynet's biggest enemy and hated terminators. "You're perfect." He knew that once his mother set her mind to help Cameron that nothing would stop his mother, especially if it irked Skynet. He squeezed his mother's hand and softly added, "I can't think of a better person who can show her to be human."
Sarah let out a low sigh. "I hope you're right."
John released his mother's hand and patted her upper back. "I believe in you, mom." He guided her down the hall. He caught his mother's sad smile because of his declaration.
Sarah then quietly admitted, "It is nice to hear that." She smiled up at him.
John mirrored back the smile because he knew what his mother meant. He now felt as if everything was correctly in motion and that the rest would fall in place. He escorted his mom to her quarters back on the lower fifth floor. He knew she'd probably take a brief nap before dinner in hopes her remaining fever would ease away. Even he could tell her spirits were more upbeat than he usually saw from her.
Sarah indeed rested for a couple of hours and enjoyed the sleep that was rather needed after everything. She woke up around four-thirty and watched some television while she slowly got dressed into jeans and a black tank top. She sat on one side of the bed and watched the last fifteen minutes from an episode of Will & Grace. But she shut off the television when Cameron entered her quarters.
"How'd it go?" Sarah inquired.
Cameron shut the door and approached the petite human. "Some procedures are new and others changed." She stood in front of Sarah. "Did you rest?"
"Mmmm yeah," Sarah softly admitted. She had a coy smile because she felt lazy, but she didn't feel too bad especially when Cameron returned the smile.
The terminator came closer and gently touched the human's neck. She happily reported, "You're one hundred point one."
Sarah quickly checked, "Is that a low grade fever still?"
"No," Cameron replied, "a low grade is between a hundred point four to one hundred two point two."
"Hmmm." Sarah combed her fingers through her hair. "Good."
Cameron still touched Sarah but slowly lifted her hand until she could run her thumb down Sarah's jaw. She noticed that Sarah actually leaned into her casual caress.
Sarah must have caught herself because she took Cameron's hand into hers but held onto Cameron's hand in her lap. She briefly studied the terminator's alloy, soft hand in hers. However, she was thinking about something by her tight expression. She quietly inquired, "Do you know a Liz Ford?" She lifted her head.
Cameron ran the name through her database, but she pulled up no records. "I do not." She glanced down at how Sarah held her hand but focused back on Sarah's face.
"I met her today at lunch," Sarah mentioned. She shook her head as she thought back on Liz Ford. "She knows John... pretty well from what I took out of it." She had a suspicious look. "She's married to another woman by the name of Nico."
Cameron reran the records but still pulled up nothing on either name. "What did you find out about her?"
"She's a part of some council that's trying to form a government for the Resistance." Sarah shook her head a few times. "She and John wrote the Temporal Directive, actually."
Cameron was filing away the data that Sarah gave her. "How old was she?"
"Older than me, I'd say," Sarah gauged, "Probably about thirty-five or so. She's at least six foot, short black hair that's cropped, blue eyes, and very sculpted features."
"Was she a terminator?"
Sarah was about to quickly deny it but faltered a beat then finally shook her head. "I don't think so." She thought back on their conversations and knew the topics were too human.
Cameron trusted Sarah's senses because the human was very good at detecting terminators. Long ago, she decided that Sarah had the same sixth sense, like dogs, for detecting terminators. "I am unsure but perhaps John could tell us more."
Sarah shook her head because she wasn't really worried about it. She then stared down at her hands that covered Cameron's. Her face became thoughtful.
Cameron studied the human and softly asked, "Penny for your thoughts?"
Sarah automatically smiled at hearing the human idiom from the terminator. She experimentally ran her thumb across the terminator's soft hand. "You've changed a lot... in a short period."
"In a good way?"
"Mmmm." Sarah lifted her head and became captivated by blue orbs. "In a good way," she softly agreed. She thought back to several days ago and mentioned, "You took charge." By the bewildered expression on Cameron's face, she knew she had to explain better. "You took charge when we arrived here in 2028. You didn't let me get away with anything." She was briefly amused but grew serious again. "You've never done that before."
"I had to do it," Cameron objected, "if you were to survive."
"I know," Sarah murmured. She squeezed her friend's hand. "Thank you... for taking care of me."
The terminator rarely, if ever, received gratitude from the usually cold, hard human. She gratefully took it and sincerely replied, "You're welcome." She enjoyed Sarah's smile, but she insisted, "You need to have dinner."
Sarah sighed but nodded. "Alright." She had a faint grin at how Cameron was caring for her when it'd never happened in the past. She didn't think a terminator could care and just merely did as programmed. She hopped off the bed after Cameron broke their contact. Together, she and Cameron headed to the cafeteria that was just starting to fill from an early dinner crowd.
Sarah walked close to her friend as they stepped off the elevator. She brushed past a few people, but she noticed how the approaching man in front of her walked with such intent. She was familiar with that distinct gait, and it made her tense. Her heart skipped a few beats.
Cameron easily detected the human's accelerated heartbeat because they were almost touching. But she focused on what caused Sarah's tremor, and her HUD immediately scanned the tall, large man. Her systems registered that it was a T-888.
Sarah grew wide eye when the sheathed T-888 flashed red eyes at her. She then saw it coming, and she ducked just in time before she was grabbed by the T-888. But before she could recover, Cameron asserted herself with a direct punch to the T-888's chest that sent him flying down the hallway. Sarah straightened up, and her adrenaline fueled her body once she saw the T-888 brandished a handgun.
"Sarah!" Cameron hollered. She made a grab for the nearby human, scooped her up, and jumped away just as the plasma blast resounded in the hallway. She and Sarah barely escaped the first blast, but Cameron realized the T-888's second fire may hit them.
Suddenly there was a tidal of voices in the hallway as other people joined the ensuing fight. People hollered and cried out to stop the T-888. One person yelled that the T-888 had gone bad and ordered for it to be subdued.
Sarah found herself curled up on the floor with Cameron's body molded all around her. She raised her head some and spotted a familiar woman, but she had no time to think about it anymore.
Cameron had pulled Sarah deeper into her alloy chassis just before the T-888 fired on them a second time. The plasma blast struck her from behind, diffused across her back, and violently forced her systems into a full shut down. Her last process was Sarah Connor, who would be crushed under her large chassis. In a desperate attempt, she shoved Sarah out from her body and muttered, "Move." Just before her shut down, she sent an angry reboot through her systems and chassis.
Sarah gasped for air but opened her eyes after being almost thrown by Cameron. She rested on her side and goggled at the fallen terminator slumped on the floor with black eyes. "Cameron?" she yelled but suddenly hands were all over her. Sarah was lifted off the floor and drawn away from the offline terminator. "No!"
"You are in danger," a woman implored. She easily captured the struggling Sarah Connor and hauled her away from the violence.
Sarah somewhat calmed her struggle, especially once she looked back at the bad terminator.
The T-888 had lost his gun and three humans were fighting against him. He killed one by strangulation then came at the other two, who went for their weapons. Behind him was a crescendo of yells as soldiers tried getting through the closed cafeteria doors. But the T-888 had locked them earlier, and he now finished off the last two humans.
Sarah became panicked because she had no weapons. She glanced down at Cameron, who was still offline for at least two minutes if not longer.
The woman, who had grabbed Sarah, now separated from Sarah and advanced on the T-888, who came for them. She was smaller than the T-888, but she fisted her hands and bounced on her feet. She parried the T-888's punch then performed a spinning kick to the T-888's chest that sent him to the floor again.
The T-888 quickly acted and revealed a sheathed bowie knife from his waist. He slashed his opponent's arm just after he got onto his feet. He raised his bloody knife at his enemy and advanced on her.
The woman took one or two steps back but glanced at Sarah. "Get out of here... take the elevator."
Sarah rarely ran from fights, and she only reversed a few steps. She could tell the woman was distracted by her and when the T-888 made another attempt, she warned, "Look out!"
The T-888 slammed the woman's head and sent her to her knees. He raised his bowie knife and his lifeless eyes locked on her exposed head. He calculated the exact location to drive the blade into her head. He brought the knife down but suddenly an alloy hand caught his wrist and halted him.
The woman stumbled away but up onto her feet. She sensed Sarah Connor nearing her, but she held out her injured arm to stop Sarah. "Stay back."
The T-888 was suddenly lifted from the floor, spun, and slammed into the concrete wall. He'd lost his knife that'd fallen to the floor. He twisted his head sidelong and barely registered the unknown model terminator, who had protected Sarah Connor earlier.
"Cameron," Sarah murmured in disbelief. She was confused how her friend was online again so quickly after the plasma shot.
Cameron had increased her body size to the maximum, and she easily towered the T-888 now. She pinned the weaker T-888 to the wall with her right hand. But she then started pushing him down onto his knees.
The T-888 struggled against his enemy, but he was gradually forced lower and lower. His face harshly scraped against the concrete wall and chewed away his skin.
The woman felt comfortable that Sarah Connor would stay put. So she quickly neared Cameron Phillips and the T-888. She glanced up at Cameron, who briefly met her eye contact. She then assisted Cameron by grabbing the T-888's shoulder, and she wrestled him down too.
Sarah stared in awe at the other woman, who was obviously stronger than a normal human. She suspected the woman was actually a sheathed terminator, but she would have never guessed it. Sarah jerked her head up when the cafeteria door were taken off their hinges and people filled the hallway. She also heard soldiers running down the halls to join the scene.
Cameron and the woman finally had the T-888 on his knees.
The woman shifted more behind the T-888 and offered, "I got him." Her right arm was bleeding badly, but she didn't notice the pain and held him down with her knees and left hand.
Cameron kept one knee pinned into the T-888's back then she grabbed his head with both hands. She dug her feet into the floor then began twisting the T-888's head. She heard the distinct metal grind as the T-888's neck started crunching under the pressure. Then there was a sudden snap but Cameron gave one last harsh jerk until the T-888's head was nearly turned backwards.
The woman could feel that the bad terminator was now offline by his slumped, weakened posture. She carefully released him and happily watched him collapse to the floor.
Cameron took one step back and coldly stared at the offline T-888.
Sarah rushed up to the pair just as the hallway became filled with frantic people. She grabbed Cameron's muscular arm, and blue eyes were instantly on her. "Are you alright?"
"I am fine," Cameron reported. "Are you?"
Sarah just nodded in response. But she turned to the woman, who had also protected her. She focused on the woman's heavily bleeding arm. "You're bleeding pretty..." She lost her words when the woman's face now registered with her; it was the same woman from earlier this morning in the cafeteria that'd flashed her red eyes and smile at Cameron.
The woman lifted her bloody arm and remarked, "Nothing a few stitches won't take care of."
Sarah hesitated, but instinct drove her anyway. She grabbed the bottom of her tank top, ripped off a portion, and started tying the makeshift bandage on the woman's injury. Just then, they were swamped by soldiers and demands, but Sarah focused on her task.
Cameron had a chance to scan over the unknown woman and couldn't discern whether she was human or terminator.
"We're all fine," Sarah told a few soldiers. She finished tying the bandage on the woman's arm.
The woman glanced at her covered wound then smiled at Sarah Connor. "Thank you." She lowered her arm and turned to the soldiers, who were firing off questions.
Sarah became frustrated by the constant and repetitive questions, and she swore several times that she was okay. After a few minutes, she reversed until her back molded into her friend's familiar alloy body. She'd never been so inundated by concerns.
Cameron sensed the human was at a breaking point so she cut into the conversations by saying, "We will give a report later to whoever is in charge of the investigation." She noticed her statement cut off mostly everybody.
"I personally wouldn't mind going to the hospital now," the injured woman mentioned.
"Alright, alright back off, men," a stark voice commanded. He was a high ranking soldier that appeared through the glob of people. He focused on the woman that was injured and lifted his chin, slightly. "Casey, get yourself down to the hospital. I'll have a soldier escort you."
"Thank you, major." The woman, Casey, gave an appreciative smile to the major then started pushing through the crowd.
The major ordered a soldier to accompany Casey then he shifted his serious features to the time travelers. "Miss Connor... Miss Phillips, you both have an explanation on what's happened here?" He leaned to his left and studied the fallen terminator behind Cameron Phillips. "You've destroyed one of the Resistance's best T-888s."
Sarah gave a low, agitated sigh and smartly muttered, "I'd hate to see the worst." She noted the major's slotted eyes, and she leaned back into Cameron for moral support. She mentally grumbled at the slight pickle her and Cameron were stuck in thanks to the T-888 going bad right when she showed up. Could she really have such bad luck?
"The triple eight attacked Sarah Connor first," Cameron sharply informed. "It did not stand down."
The major lifted his stare to the unsheathed terminator behind Sarah Connor. "Cameron Phillips," he coolly remarked.
"Major Tarras," Cameron mimicked back. "We are not at fault."
Sarah instantly had the impression that Cameron knew the major since Cameron was the first to state the major's last name. She also didn't like the major. "Your best triple eight just went bad," Sarah interrupted. She brought the major's attention back to her.
"That bad terminator," Major Tarras started in an annoyed tone, "was reprogrammed by your son himself. Are you insinuating he did a poor job?"
Sarah didn't care and snapped, "Yes." She fisted her hands at her side. "I don't care if God reprogrammed that triple eight himself. It went bad and attacked us first."
Major Tarras still suspiciously eyed the time travelers. He then informed, "If you had controlled your terminator better than this-"
"My terminator," Sarah hissed in dangerous voice, "was protecting me." She went from disliking Major Tarras to despising him. How dare he insinuate that Cameron was at fault. Or make it seem like she had direct control over Cameron like she was a pet. She was furious at the major's demeaning attitude and words. "And Cameron does what it most logical. She knew that triple eight wouldn't stand down." She edged closer to the major and snapped, "You should be thanking her for stopping it before it killed more people."
Major Tarras wasn't satisfied and commented, "You have a long history of hatred for terminators, Sarah Connor." He straightened up and properly informed, "You've destroyed Resistance property. You both will be further questioned and held under-arrest until this is cleared up."
Sarah took a step closer but Cameron's hand on her shoulder stopped her. She softly threatened, "I'll show you what control I have over my terminator." Yet she allowed Cameron to still her. She was breathing hard, her face bitterly twisted, and her eyes fiery.
Major Tarras ignored the minor threat and instead ordered, "Please escort Miss Connor and Miss Phillips to a cell." He signaled for four soldiers to carry out his command. He returned his annoy features to Sarah Connor. "I suggest you cooperate better, Miss Connor because indeed your son isn't God here."
Sarah glowered at hearing the word 'cooperate', which reminded her of Sam Norder. Nor did his remark about her son help either. But she held her tongue and followed the escort to the elevators. She couldn't fathom how she and Cameron were being held responsible for the T-888's break down. She just didn't understand how Major Tarras was defending the T-888 over a human's word or self-aware terminator, who freely joined the Resistance. What was far worse in her mind was that Major Tarras acted more concerned about the faulty T-888 than the deaths. Sarah's anger started stewing hotter.
Cameron followed behind Sarah into the elevator after two soldiers entered. She sensed the other two soldiers behind her. She noted her friend's angry expression, but she didn't comment and stood beside her. She folded her arms on the ride down the elevator. She already knew where they were headed which she suspected would only heighten Sarah's temper.
Sarah leaned closer to the terminator and asked, "So you know Major Asshole huh?"
Cameron cocked her head at the sarcastic question. However, she coolly replied, "He is Major William Tarras. He heads the Criminal Investigation Division or CID in the Resistance. In 2027, he specifically focused on reprogrammed terminator crimes." She looked down at Sarah, who curiously peered up at her. "Apparently he still does."
"You mean crimes committed against reprogrammed terminators?" Sarah checked.
"Yes."
Sarah let out a breath at this news. She went silent though and considered why the Resistance felt the need to build such a subdivision in the Criminal Investigation Division. She didn't like it anymore than before and her thoughts grew heavy. But the elevator's hitch drew her back to the present then a warm hand touched her lower back, just under her tank top.
Cameron received data about Sarah's vitals, which checked out okay. But she lowered her head and softly advised, "You must be patient now or else this will get harder than necessary."
Sarah inhaled deeply in hopes it'd ebb her anger. She faintly nodded at the terminator's suggestion then started through the open doors after two escorts went first.
Cameron filed out next but turned her head side long. She caught how the two soldiers behind her were staring at her back, but she ignored them. She stayed near Sarah and followed the escort to their holding cell deep within the underground city.
Sarah was secretly surprised when she and Cameron entered a small holding cell that reminded her too much of the room in Montana. She folded her arms and started pacing while two soldiers stood guard by the barred doors.
The terminator remained near the cell doors and watched her friend. She softly mentioned, "He will review the T-888's last moments, talk to witnesses, and interview Casey."
"Well he better get the story right," Sarah hotly muttered. She walked over to the bench and sat down. "This is absolutely ridiculous." She wondered where her son was and what he would think about the incident.
Cameron approached the seated human and knelt in front of her. She'd already shrunk her size down to her rather petite figure. She rested her hand on Sarah's knee and quietly confessed, "I do not agree with his method. However, I'm thankful there is any concern."
Sarah furrowed her brow "What you mean?"
"In the past," Cameron started, "if a reprogrammed terminator was destroyed then nobody thought twice about it." She bowed her head at shaky memories from 2027, but she calmed once seeing Sarah's face again. "I told John that if the attitude didn't change then no rogue terminator would ever join the Resistance. I received many threats, both verbal and written, by Resistance members."
Sarah hadn't considered this side of the coin and lost some of her earlier ire. Then a certain face came to mind, and she murmured, "Derek Reese."
Cameron didn't comment back and instead stood up. She returned to her earlier position by the barred doors. At the mention of Derek Reese, she thought about the terminator phobic soldier that'd also been sent back in time.
Sarah leaned forward once she realized that Derek Reese may have been sent back in time simply to get him away from her son, who had plans to draw in rogue terminators. She could see where a terminator hating soldier would chase off any prospects. But Sarah knew Derek Reese wasn't the only human in line ready to destroy terminators. With a twist of her head, Sarah studied her protector and friend, and the puzzle started piecing itself.
In 2027, Cameron had treaded risky waters by being the first terminator that defied Skynet and joined the Resistance, which was comprised of mostly terminator haters. Sarah suspected it was more than her son dare hoped for from a terminator. John most likely protected Cameron in 2027 from the hatred and maybe even sent her to the past just to protect her further. And Cameron had made a promise to Allison Young about peace that she was committed to more each day. From Sarah's view, it would seem that John and Cameron's ambitions perfectly matched up and put into motion a new world.