Disclaimer
& Notices
Copyright: The Terminator: The
Sarah Connor Chronicles characters and concept belong to James
Cameron and Josh Friedman. However, I own the plot and other
characters.
Notices: This story contains violence and
sexual content. Additionally, this story will contain grammatical or
other errors. If you're feverish over the errors, feel free to
privately message me about what you find otherwise, just enjoy.
Summary: The sequel to "I, Terminator". It's
been nearly twenty-two years since Sarah Connor met the Omega
terminator, Cameron Philips, who forever altered her life. On a
regular work day, Sarah Connor receives a visit at Cyberdyne Systems
from Cameron, who reveals that Sarah's daughter is under threat.
However, it appears to both Sarah and Cameron that Cameron's exact
mission is unclear leaving them to find the answers.
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Started:
May 28, 2009
Series 2: No Fate, Story #2
I,
Human
by Red Hope
Chapter 2 – The Connor Home
Cameron ran her fingers through her honey brown hair after she just finished getting it trimmed at the hair salon. She wasn't sure how Sarah Connor talked her into it, but she was informed, by Sarah, that her long tresses needed freshening up. Cameron had a couple of inches taken off, which left her hair just past her shoulders. Now that her hair was shorter and less weighted, it caused the end of her locks to curl up past her shoulders in bouncy fashion.
Sarah strolled along side the terminator on their walk back to the parking garage. She amusingly glanced at the terminator, who kept fiddling with her hair. "It looks better."
Cameron resisted a sigh and remarked, "Hopefully more appropriate for 2030." Not only was her hair style adapted to the time period, but she'd already changed into new clothes that Sarah bought her. Cameron was secretly surprised at finding out that in 2030 humans’ fashion style had come full circle and was similar to those in 2000s decade. In many respects, she was glad because her familiar jeans hugged her hips, her black leather belt shined, and her soft pink tank top was covered by her black blouse.
Sarah reached into her pant pocket and retrieved her headset. "Very appropriate," she promised. She adjusted the earpiece then tapped the button, which lit up blue. She softly ordered, "Jean." Her earpiece chirped in understanding and dialed the saved number.
Cameron dodged around a human in the mall and came closer to the older woman. She stayed beside Sarah and easily heard the young voice on the other end of the earpiece. She recognized it too.
"Hey, sweetie," Sarah greeted. "Are you home?"
"I'm almost there," Jean replied over the earpiece. "Are you still at work?"
"Actually, no." Sarah glanced at the terminator then focused on her conversation and walk through the mall. "I'm at the Westfield Mall, but I'll be home shortly." She knew by Jean's brief quietness that Jean was shocked.
"Mom, you never go to the mall," Jean pointed out.
"Well..." Sarah wasn't quite sure how to handle the situation, and she was winging it. Hell she was very use to winging major changes ever since she became the CEO of Cyberdyne Systems. "We actually have a guest that's staying in the house with us. She needed to pick up some things at the mall, and she not really familiar with LA."
"A guest?" Jean quickly shot back. "Who is she? Where is she from?"
Sarah could tell her daughter was very intrigued, but she seriously replied, "Her name is Cameron... Cameron Philips. She's from Nevada though." Her mind was quickly at work on the backdrop story for Cameron's sudden appearance. "I'm old friends with her parents. She's thinking about going to UCLA and wanted to spend some time in LA for the summer." She looked at Cameron. "A little vacation time."
Cameron arched an eyebrow at the smooth grin on the human's red lips. She was amazed how well Sarah fed the story to her only child. She almost believed it herself.
"UCLA, really?" Jean briefly hummed then checked, "Does she know what she wants to major in?"
"We haven't had a chance to discuss it, yet." Sarah bit her lower lip but mentioned, "Cameron will need your help, Jean... with getting use to the city and such."
"Not a problem," Jean promised.
Sarah quirked a small grin at her daughter's catch phrase that Sarah had started years and years ago. She and Jean were the few that used the phrase that Sarah had picked up from Cameron back in 2008. "Great," she softly replied, "I think you'll like Cameron."
The terminator tilted her head at the last comment.
"She's real smooth," Sarah jokingly added.
"Mom," Jean complained, "You're a CEO, not a teenager." She listened to her mother's low chuckle. "Have you talked to Dad?"
"Not since this morning."
"Does he know about Cameron?" Jean sensed what the answer was already since her mother told her everything anyway.
Sarah puckered her lips slightly, but she rounded a corner with Cameron at her side. "No, it's a bit unexpected." She reached into her pocket for her HUG case. "I need to go, but can you have dinner ready?"
"Sure," Jean answered. "Sushi tonight?"
Sarah held her breath at the idea of the terminator eating raw seafood. She quickly replied, "No, let's do something heavier. How do fresh burgers sound?"
"I'll get the grill started," Jean promised.
"Great. I'll see you in a bit." Sarah then said goodbye to her daughter, hung up, and removed the earpiece. She slipped it away as her and Cameron took the escalators down to the parking garage.
"UCLA?" the terminator prompted after a quiet minute.
Sarah scanned the terminator's younger features and remarked, "You're interested in UCLA. Your parents know I'm a prominent graduate from UCLA and asked for my help."
Cameron considered the story's background and sternly nodded. "Sufficient." She said nothing else and followed the human to the already started hover car. Her gaze raked over the car's trunk, which was packed with new clothes for Cameron that they'd bought this afternoon. But the terminator climbed into the hover car, and her boots met the car's all-weather mat. She buckled up.
Sarah put the car into automatic drive this time. She had on her heads-up sunglasses and took time to run through her emails from work. She scanned over them and found an expected email from Miles Dyson. She saw she also had an appointment tomorrow morning with him.
Cameron knew the CEO was busy so she remained silent while the car drove them home. She considered her internal GPS and noticed they were heading somewhat outside of the city. She'd thought that Sarah Connor would live within the city. But they were racing down Route 215 and out into more spacious lands. Finally after a thirty minute drive, they pulled into a community development that was made up of single-family homes that were spread out by a couple of acres.
Sarah took control over the hover car once they approached her house. Earlier the vehicle had slowed from a hundred twenty miles per hour to about fifty and now just merely thirty miles per hour. She spun the wheel to the left and slowly maneuvered the hover car down the gravel lane. Just ahead, the garage door sensed the car's approach and opened the far right bay.
Cameron exited the car after it shut off. She went to the trunk but noticed Sarah's hesitation to get the bags out.
"Let's wait 'til later." Sarah looked over her shoulder and studied her daughter's parked hover car. She tapped the trunk. "Later," she softly repeated and wrapped around the hover car. She guided the terminator through the side door that brought them into a foray.
"Mom?"
Cameron distinctly picked out the familiar voice. She followed Sarah up the steps and headed to the oversized kitchen. She hesitated upon seeing a much younger version of her designer.
Sarah Connor stepped aside once her daughter spotted her and Cameron. She smiled warmly at her child and started, "I want you to meet our guest."
Jean was behind a kitchen island, but she picked up a terry towel. She wiped her hands clean from the faint tomato juice after she'd been slicing one. She warmly smiled at the blue-eyed, dark brunette that towered both her and her mother. She abandoned her cooking and came around the island to meet the newcomer.
"Cameron, this is my daughter Sarah Jeannette Connor III," Sarah properly informed despite the fact that Cameron knew her daughter in the future.
Jean tossed her towel onto the island then held out her hand. "But everybody calls me Jean... not to confuse things." She grinned at her mother, who she was named after along with her grandmother.
Cameron took her designer's petite hand into hers. She instantly had a full reading on Jean's vitals and could tell Jean was somewhat nervous. She broke contact after their brisk handshake.
"Yes," Sarah muttered, "having three Sarahs does make it complicated."
Jean smirked at her mother. "I prefer Grandma's nickname for you."
Sarah clucked at her daughter because she didn't want the nickname brought up. Until her own mother's passing, she had to deal with the nickname because 'Sarah' was reserved to the eldest Sarah in the family.
Jean held her jokes back and focused on the guest. "Mom said you're from Nevada?"
Cameron studied the young woman's features and saw some of Sarah's features in Jean. She also saw other features that were not Sarah such as soft freckles. "Yes," she replied after a beat, "I'm from Vegas." She swiftly recalled that human's shortened the city's name. She did an instant calculation on Jean's age, who would be sixteen this December. "There aren't enough lights here in LA."
Jean chuckled and folded her arms. "Trust me, there's still plenty to do around this city like Vegas."
Sarah had listened to them carry on, and she briefly recalled something trivial from 2008. Cameron had told her that her daughter was a rather serious individual. Yet, Sarah always found quite good humor from her daughter much like the way she use to be, before her life changed.
"You will have to show me," Cameron tempted.
"Totally," Jean swore. She winked at the older woman then focused on her mother. "I'm almost done dinner... just need to throw the burgers on the grill."
"Get to it then," Sarah ordered, "unless you want me to do it."
Jean pointed a finger at her mother, smirked, and teased, "I don't like my food charred." She dropped her hand and went back behind the island again.
Sarah had a thin smile but mentioned, "I'm going to show Cameron around the house, get her settled into the guestroom, and get changed before dinner."
"Sounds good," Jean agreed. She glanced up but went to the fridge for the plate of prepped burger patties. "Dinner should be ready in about twenty minutes."
Sarah just nodded then signaled for the terminator to follow her. She started the tour through the house on the first floor, which comprised of several rooms like a connected dining room to the kitchen, an entertainment room, and a large office that was Sarah's.
But once upstairs, Cameron found the various bathrooms and bedrooms, which one was hers that was right next to Jean's room. Cameron noticed that the house was very plain and simple but rather warm too. She'd expected more technology, but she indeed found it to lack any. She considered why but decided to ask Sarah on the trip down the hallway.
"You do not have many modern conveniences," Cameron noted.
The CEO understood the terminator's statement. "I see enough technology at work... I try not to bring it home too." She stood at the top of the steps. She eyed Cameron, who was the very technology she was working towards today. "You should get those bags into your room." She left it at that and slipped away to the master bedroom nearby.
The terminator listened to the bedroom's door click shut then she went downstairs. She went directly into the garage and was surprised that Sarah's hover car unlocked for her. She retrieved the shopping bags easily and took them to her guestroom. Afterwards, she went to the kitchen and found that Jean was almost done with dinner.
"You want anything to drink, Cameron?"
"Yes," the terminator decided after a beat.
Jean nodded and moved around the island to get a glass from the cupboard. "Water, ice tea, milk, Dad's fruit drink?" She opened the fridge and quickly added, "A beer?" She quickly lifted her head and checked, "Are you old enough?"
"Twenty-five," Cameron supplied. She stood beside the island. "Ice tea, please." Before she'd entered the house, she'd pulled up her infiltration tactics so that she could easily mingle with Jean and Charley. At the thought of Sarah's husband, she asked, "Is your father at work?"
Jean was busy pouring a glass for the guest. "Dad doesn't get home until super late." She put the ice tea back into the refrigerator then handed the filled glass to Cameron. "He's a doctor in the ER."
"Yes," Cameron agreed, "your mother told me."
"Sit down." Jean signaled the stools tucked under the island. "The burgers are almost done." She glanced at the time on the convection oven. "Another three minutes," she murmured. She focused back on the guest. "So what you think of the house? It's pretty old fashion."
The terminator tried staying in the conversation despite she wasn't typically a talker. "Yes, I noticed there is little technology." She now sat rigidly on a stool, the glass in front of her.
"It's so unhype," Jean muttered. She leaned her hip against the island and seriously regarded the older woman. "How can your mother be the big, bad CEO of Cyberdyne Systems... the leading company in technology advancements, and your house is absolutely retro?" She let out a gigantic sigh but seriously mentioned, "Mom swears that technology will be our undoing." She picked up a plate from the counter.
Cameron glanced down at her glass, which had developed a coating of moisture around it. "Perhaps she is right."
Jean also picked up a set of tongs. She started for the glass door that would take her to the outdoor grill. "Technology is inevitable ever since man made the first hammer." She then was gone.
The terminator curiously thought about this, but she drank some of the ice tea. She enjoyed the tea's full flavor that was distinct and unusual because she detected pomegranate in it. She'd never experienced quite a nice flavor from a drink.
"I make it myself," Sarah informed in her husky tone directly behind the terminator.
Cameron had barely detected the human, who had been absolutely silent coming up behind her. She turned her head side long. "There is pomegranate in it and another fruit I cannot discern."
"Passion fruit," Sarah revealed. She too decided to have a glass of her famous tea. "Pomegranate is good for the human heart." She filled her tall glass then put the pitcher away. She came over to the island and stood on the side. "Jean is a good cook... she learned from her father."
At this, Cameron quietly asked, "What will you tell Charley?"
Sarah sipped on the red tea then lowered it near her stomach. "If you mean will I tell him who you really are, no." Her eyes flickered to the windows where she could see her daughter shutting off the gas grill. She focused back on the terminator. "Later tonight I want to go over some rules." Her face was void of any emotions, and her eyes a thick green.
Cameron just dipped her head in understanding and acceptance to Sarah's request. She didn't know how it'd play out, but she could tell Sarah was thinking, hard about Cameron's arrival. She said nothing though because Jean returned to the kitchen.
"I hope you like organic," Jean mentioned to the guest. "That's all mom buys." She set the grilled burgers on the kitchen counter by the sink. "We're a traaaditional family," she joked. She already imagined her mother's smirk behind her back.
Sarah set her glass down on the wood island and remarked, "You'll thank me some day."
Jean shot a sour look over her shoulder at her mother. "I'm not thanking you right now... not when it's too embarrassing to bring friends over to my archaic house." She already had dishes out and started organizing the three plates with food.
Sarah just listened but there was softness to her eyes at her daughter's teasing. Someday her child would come to understand why Sarah didn't let Jean grow so dependent on technology like the rest of humanity. Sarah couldn't let technology invade every aspect of their life including something as simple as cooking.
"You do not own a food maker?" Cameron inquired. She glanced up at Sarah but focused on Jean, who answered the question. She wasn't that surprised because in the future, Jean still made dinners for her family. However, Cameron now understood why Jean was so traditional because Sarah had raised her as such. In the future, Cameron learned that Jean had indeed come to appreciate what her mother was trying to show her years ago.
"No, I'm the food maker," Jean quipped. She turned and handed two filled plates to her mother and their guest.
"A very good one at that," Sarah complimented. She took her plate and glass, like Cameron, and showed the way to the dinner table.
Jean first poured something to drink for herself then followed suit.
Cameron sat down at the old wood table that shined from a thick coat of varnish. She determined it was an oak table that may have been handed down through generations, she suspected through the Connor family. She became comfortable and took in the stacked burger, which contained cheese, a tomato slice, lettuce, and some unknown sauce. She noted there was also corn and noodles mixed in a white sauce. Distantly, she recalled a similar meal in the future with Jean.
Jean was seated but faintly nodded at her mother then bowed her head. She laced her hands together in her lap.
"We always say grace before we eat," Sarah mentioned to the terminator. She mimicked her daughter's posture and sensed Cameron had easily done the same. She was surprised that it came so naturally to the machine, who she wouldn't suspect had any religious knowledge. Sarah set this thought aside and cleared her throat.
"Let us pray," Sarah softly started. "Bless us, O Lord, and these, thy gifts, which we are about to receive from thy bounty. Thank you for another healthy and safe day. Thank you for guiding Cameron to our home." She paused then properly finished, "Through Christ, our Lord. Amen." She listened to both Jean and Cameron echo back the amen.
Sarah raised her head, yet she stared directly at the terminator. Her features were mostly hidden, but her eyes held wonderment in them.
Cameron regarded the confused human and knew what was on Sarah's mind.
"Are you Catholic too?" Jean inquired.
The terminator turned her attention to the teenager on the opposite side of her and Sarah. "I practice some, but I'm not a confirmed Catholic."
Jean nodded at this but picked up her burger. "The Connor side is Catholic, but Dad's side of the family is Methodist."
Cameron only had tidbits on the various religions from what future Jean had taught her. Like history, much of religion was destroyed by the Resistance because the only worship was to the AI, John. But Cameron was mainly taught about Catholicism since Jean Connor often practiced it in the future.
"But you and Dad had a Catholic wedding, right?" The daughter gazed at her mother.
Sarah was eating her sides first before her burger. She paused and softly replied, "Yes." She sensed the terminator's eyes locked on her, but she didn't meet it. She ate slowly because she was mulling over Cameron's earlier statement about practicing Catholicism. She tried discerning whether it was a lie, for Jean's sake, or if it was real.
Jean noticed her mother's distant attitude, but she held back from asking anything especially in front of a stranger. She switched topics and asked, "Are you originally from Vegas?"
Cameron immediately called up the data that Sarah had provided to Chola. "I was born in LA, but my parents moved to Vegas."
Jean just bobbed her head. "Any siblings?" She watched the guest shake her head, and Jean could relate since she was an only child.
Sarah knew she was being far too quiet than normal. She shoved aside her thoughts and paid mind to the present conversation. She warmly offered, "The dinner is good, J."
"Thanks." The daughter beamed at her mother's compliment. She had a fond smile whenever her mother used the nickname.
"You have any tests coming up soon?" Sarah checked.
Jean's happiness instantly deflated, and she sighed loudly. She had her fork in hand, which she poked at the noodles. "I have one on Friday in Lit." She waited for her mother's typical rant.
"Mmmm," Sarah murmured. She stayed stern despite her eyes glowed "Are you ready for it?"
"Mom, you know I hate Lit class." Jean shook her head and peeked up at her mother. "I'm a math wiz... not a Shakespeare idiot."
Sarah still held her stoic expression despite she easily related with her daughter. "But, even a math whiz needs to articulate themselves properly with English."
"Please," Jean debated, "math is a universal language with all humans."
Now Sarah couldn't hide her grin anymore. She indeed was a mechanical engineer first and foremost before she became the chief executive officer at Cyberdyne Systems. "Someday you'll come to appreciate all your English and Lit classes."
The daughter rolled her eyes and remarked, "Just like I'll appreciate a traditional house?"
Sarah smirked and pointed her fork at her child. "Exactly." She finished off her noodles and moved onto her burger.
Jean sighed then smirked at Cameron. "Do your parents band technology from their house?"
Cameron had put the partially left burger down on her plate. She easily handled the question. "My mother works with technology, but is... cautious with it." She then seemed to consider something and further explained, "However, my father thoroughly enjoys technology."
Sarah couldn't help a small snort at Cameron's response, and she bowed her head as a few smart remarks zipped through her head. She imagined that Cameron was using Omega and her future daughter as templates to Cameron's story.
The terminator narrowed her blue eyes at the older human beside her. She then seriously tested, "You do recall that discussion you had with my father about whether machines could have a soul or not?"
Sarah slowly lost her smirk and raised her head up. She suspected the color in her face had drained away. Her memories from 2008 when she and Cameron debated whether machines had souls or not drifted back to her.
Jean hadn't caught any of it because the discussion intrigued her greatly. "I think it's possible." She didn't notice how Cameron and her mother stared at each for awhile. "But mom thinks it's impossible." She now had Cameron's full attention on her, and Jean grinned. "Mom thinks machines are just like the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz." She shrugged and clarified, "Could look and act like a human, but will never have a real heart like a human."
Sarah bowed her head and briefly closed her eyes. She felt her heartbeat accelerate when her daughter just disclosed her thoughts about machines to the terminator, who was her former lover. She slowly opened her eyes and stared at her mostly eaten burger. She now lost her appetite.
Cameron had her hands on the table, and her right hand curled into a first. She gradually twisted her head back to Sarah. "That is not what you told my father... at the time." Her emotions shined true in her eyes for the first time.
Sarah met the terminator's hot stare and her breath hitched at seeing the hidden blue glow behind Cameron's pupils. She hastily gathered her inner strength and coldly replied, "At the time, I was younger and foolish." She stood up and took her dishes. "I've grown up since then and have realized machines just break and cost a lot." With that statement, she walked away from the dinner table.
Jean let out a low breath at hearing her mother's nearly hostile tone. She couldn't quite figure out what'd passed between Cameron and her mother, but it was rather serious. She was confused yet decided it was safer not to ask about it. Maybe later she could find out more from her mother.
Cameron had her head slightly dipped as she gained control over her emotions. She reverted back to what was safe in her programming, her terminator side.
Jean quietly stood up and softly asked, "Are you done, Cameron?" She paused halfway from taking the guest's plate.
"Yes." The terminator lifted her head and politely added, "Thank you."
Jean couldn't read the older woman and just quickly scooped up the plate. She met her tense mother in the kitchen but didn't say anything. She washed off the dirty dishes and helped her mother put them in the dishwasher.
Sarah still had her glass, which she refilled with ice tea. She then placed a kiss to her child's cheek and warmly whispered, "Thank you for dinner."
Jean lost some worry at her mother's appreciation. She gently replied, "Not a problem."
"I'll be in the office if you need me," Sarah quietly mentioned. She drifted out of the kitchen and went to her office to catch up on her work.
Jean let out a low sigh but also poured more tea into her glass. She wandered back over to the dinner table and sat in her chair across from the silent guest. She noticed how Cameron tried remaining passive, but Jean was smarter than that.
"I'm sorry about Mom," the teenager offered. "You're not the first to get into an argument with her about technology, machines, and computers." She took a sip of her tea then set the glass down. "She's funny about technology..." She stared into her tea. "It's like she has a love, hate relationship with it." Jean shook her head.
Cameron finally studied the younger woman. "Why does she hate it?"
Jean shrugged and stayed silent for a few minutes, but she seriously considered it. "I sometimes think she resents how she ended up becoming the CEO of Cyberdyne. Like... if she could have done her life differently, she wouldn't have chosen to follow Granddad's footsteps." She let out a low breath and peered up at Cameron. "But she felt obligated and didn't want to disappoint Granddad. I mean it's a family business, and mom is third generation."
The terminator thought about this, but she better suspected why Sarah Connor hated technology on one side of the coin. She understood it better than Jean. "Will you take over Cyberdyne?"
"I don't know," Jean seriously replied. "I mean, Mom never asks or talks about it with me. I think she just wants me to live my life and not feel like I'm preordained to be the next great Connor CEO at Cyberdyne."
"Do you wish to take it over?"
Jean puckered her lips then slowly grinned. "Sometimes, yeah. I think about the stuff my Granddad told me about. How hype it is to be a big CEO." But she slowly lost her grin. "Then I look at Mom and all the sacrifices she makes day in and day out and think 'fuck no'." She couldn't help a laugh at her own cuss word.
The terminator nodded a few times but at the mention of sacrifices made her think of another aspect. It was something that future Jean had told her, a few times. "But your father supports her through it all?"
Jean swayed her head side to side as she thought about the past years. "Sorta." She leaned her arms on the table. "I mean I know Dad helped Mom initially get started after Granddad died suddenly. Dad was really there for her, but then he became sucked into his job as a doctor." She shook her head and mentioned, "It's not like he doesn't disapprove, but he doesn't approve either because he doesn't have a say in it. Mom is going to do it come Hell or high waters."
Cameron was perplexed because future Jean had told her that Sarah's spouse supported her through the ups and downs at Cyberdyne Systems.
Jean drank her tea then carefully set the glass down. She found it rather easy to talk to Cameron and especially because Jean didn't often have a chance to discuss such topics beyond the house's doors. "Honestly, "she softly confessed, "I don't get how Mom and Dad stay together because they have such opposite work lives." She grumbled and quietly explained, "Mom works all day at Cyberdyne while Dad is home resting. Then Dad works all night while Mom is sleeping... sometimes."
Cameron tilted her head and argued, "But they have been married for seventeen years."
"It'll be seventeen years this August," Jean agreed. But she was still serious and clarified, "Dad is just crazy about her. And Mom will work through any of their fights." She now smiled and admitted, "I admire them."
Cameron partially returned the smile despite Jean's talk about the marriage made her feel bittersweet. She processed both good and bad emotions about Sarah Connor being with Charley Dixon.
"Anyway," Jean brushed off, "I'm sorry for talking you to death."
"I don't mind," the terminator insisted. And it was true because she was use to such talks with Jean in the future but only more recently. She rarely held such meaningful, open chats with Jean when she'd first came online. However, as Cameron developed and grew she started to carry on deeper conversations with her designer. Cameron had learned a lot from Jean, and she could tell, despite Jean's youth, she could still learn a lot.
"I should really get my homework done," Jean muttered. She let out a low sigh. "It must be nice to be graduated from high school."
Cameron quirked a faint grin but seriously asked, "Are you in eleventh grade?"
"Actually," Jean corrected, "I'm in twelfth grade. I graduate in January." She considered her mental calendar and murmured, "January 31 I think... on a Friday."
"Yes," Cameron agreed, "that is a Friday."
Jean slightly felt her eyebrows hike up at Cameron's certainty about the date. "You must have the calendar memorized."
The terminator had a cool expression yet her eyes softened, faintly. "I have a photographic memory." She quickly processed that such an explanation would ease the human.
"Huh." Jean grinned at this and muttered, "That's hype."
"Will you go to UCLA for college?" Cameron prompted after a beat.
Jean released a dramatic sigh. "Of course." She put her arm on the table and slouched forward on her propped arm. "But Mom wanted me to defer the first semester so I can do something. I haven't decided what yet." She picked up her almost empty glass. "I just wish we had summers off from school like Mom use to back in her day."
Cameron considered this piece of information but seriously informed, "When schools instituted classes throughout the entire year it greatly improved academics and scores."
"Mmmm," Jean murmured, "that's what Mom says too. She said public schools had the worse math and science, and that American education was slowly declining compared to other countries like Germany."
The terminator slowly nodded, and she recalled this similar conversation with Jean in the future. "It's best if you do your homework. It is already eight thirty."
Jean glanced over to the kitchen and read the digital clock on the convection oven. "Yea, I better." She grabbed her glass. "We do at least have satellite television with like more channels than a sane person needs."
Cameron returned a faint grin. She picked up her glass and followed the small, petite human into the kitchen. She allowed Jean to rid of her glass since she wasn't familiar yet with how the Connors kept their kitchen. Then she followed Jean upstairs but slipped into the guestroom that would become hers. Cameron needed to organize the clothes that Sarah had bought for her at the mall.
The terminator first removed her hidden handgun from her back waistband. She set it down on the foot of the bed without much thought then shifted to the bags nearby. She noted there was no dresser like there would have been back in the early twenty-first century. But she moved away from the bed and approached a large mirror.
Cameron regarded her reflection briefly then focused on her original task. She detected the mirror wasn't real so she ordered, "Mirror disable." Unlike a human, she was able to see the mirror's millisecond flicker then it was gone. In front of her, the walk-in closet softly lit up and revealed empty hanging space and bins. Cameron collected the bags and went to work.
Just after the terminator finished organizing, she heard a knock at the door then it opened without her permission. Cameron turned and stepped out of the closet upon seeing Sarah Connor in the doorway. She registered the human's more relaxed and slightly darkened eyes.
"Let's talk," Sarah ordered, "down in my office." But her gaze fell on the gun sitting on the bed. Instantly, her features became irritated and centered on Cameron again. "And see that you get that out of sight, now." She started backing out of the bedroom. "I'll meet you down there." Then she was gone.
The terminator watched and heard the door shut quietly. She stared down at the gun she'd taken from the Latino back in the alleyway. With two wide steps, she quickly scooped up the handgun and took it to the nightstand by the bed. She put it away in the drawer for now and would secure it later. She then followed Sarah's cold trail to the office.
Sarah sat behind her desk but was talking on her earpiece. She signaled for Cameron to take a seat in front of her desk. But Sarah stood up and continued chatting for another minute.
Cameron took the right, wood chair but sat rigid. She regarded the human, who softly talked to somebody on the phone.
"Alright... I have to go," Sarah mentioned. "We'll talk more about it tonight when you get home." She'd gone to the window, which had a wood shade halfway down. "Yes, I'll be waiting." She peeked through the window but turned away. "Have a good night." She paused but softly replied, "Love you too." She hit the end button on her earpiece then came back over to the desk. She set her earpiece down on the desk's glass surface.
Cameron didn't comment on the phone call despite she knew it had to be Sarah's husband. She instead waited for Sarah to begin their conversation.
"There are some things we need to go over... rules you need to follow while you're in my house." Sarah sat down again but picked up a short glass that had an amber liquid in it. She first said, "You better commit these to your programming... your hard code." Then she drank the last few ounces of the whiskey in her glass. She set the gently set the glass on the coaster. She focused back on Cameron. "Because I promise you, Cameron if you intentionally break these rules I will have your chips."
Cameron grew tense at the threatening promise, but she civilly responded, "I understand."
Sarah leaned back in her chair and crossed her ankles. She carefully watched the terminator's face and especially those blue eyes. "First, Jean is not to find out about what you are and when you're from. You stick to the story that you're from Nevada and here for college." She laced her hands in her lap. "She is not to know anything about the future or her future. And you do not tell her about what happened in 2008."
Cameron slowly nodded but carefully swore, "If it is inevitable... if her safety is at risk, I will use my superior strength, skills, technology, and programming to protect her." She could already tell that Sarah wouldn't contest her.
"I agree," Sarah finally revealed after a moment. She then leaned her head to the right side and continued her laundry list of rules. "Second, I do not want to see any weapons in the open. You will secure them in my house. If you are with her, she is not to see them." But another thought about weapons came to mind. "Nor do you teach her how to use any weapon... even a pocket knife."
"I understand," Cameron softly promised.
Sarah went quiet for a beat and carefully studied the stiff terminator in front of the desk. She could tell her attitude greatly impacted Cameron, who had found safety in her terminator persona. But Sarah couldn't worry about it because this was about her daughter. It was about the one person that unconditionally depended on Sarah, and Sarah would do anything to keep Jean safe for as long as it was possible until the day arrived, until Judgment Day.
"Charley will not know anything about this." Sarah straightened up in the chair. "Tonight I will talk to him and explain to him that you're here for the summer on vacation. But you may be staying so you can go to UCLA. I know your parents and grandparents through my father, who was in the military with your grandfather." She paused because she could tell the terminator was recording the story's data. "Your grandfather helped my father get a few government contracts back in 2008 and 2009 when times were tough from the recession. So I owe your family this extra help."
Cameron only moved her head in agreement and continued to listen to Sarah.
"Third, you will keep me informed about any threats or leads you obtain." Sarah leaned forward some and tersely said, "This is my loop, and you defer to me." She rested back in the chair. "The fact that you've arrived here utterly unprepared and have asked for my help has me rather unnerved." She narrowed her eyes at her former protector. "You've broken the Timeline Directive by coming to me as your first move."
Cameron kept her eyes locked with Sarah despite how Sarah harshly targeted her. "Jean instructed that I integrate because I could be close to her younger self. It would prove safer than waiting until an agent made an attempt."
Sarah thought about it but murmured, "Funny how that wasn't suggested for the mission in 2008." She didn't wait for remark back and changed topics. "We also need to go over the security system in the house." She straightened up and put her hands on the desk's surface screen. "I have a complex security system hidden in this house that I had built into it." She hastily moved her hands over the touch-sensitive screen. "Nobody but me is aware of this security system." She paused and lifted her hooded eyes to Cameron. "You are not to disclose this to anybody, not even Jean and Charley."
Cameron quietly agreed and stood up when Sarah told her to come closer.
Sarah also climbed up from her chair and came around the desk. She stood beside Cameron but used her hands to control the surface screen. "I've dubbed the security system as Christopher." Simultaneously, she drew out her hands which caused a small diagram of the house to expand out on the surface screen. "Here are the house’s blueprints with the Christopher system in it."
Cameron committed the diagram into her memory files.
"These here," Sarah started, "are sensor cameras at all possible entrance and exit points." She then pointed at the pulsating red asterisks. "Do you see these?" She tapped one asterisk, which caused all of them to blink brightly on the screen. "These are hidden, sealed locations throughout the house where either a loaded handgun or rifle are located." She tapped an asterisk again then tapped a blue square to get them to blink now. "The squares are locations for ammunition."
Cameron folded her arms and looked at the human. "How are they secured?"
Sarah tapped a square to stop its blinking. "They're locked in steel boxes either in the wall or in the flooring depending on the location. They will only open with a verbal pass code." She met the terminator's gaze. "They are also electrified at all times until the pass code is given."
"Will all boxes open if the pass code is given?"
"No," Sarah replied, "only the room you're located in or what's closest." She looked down at the surface screen. "Christopher has voice recognition to help with authentication." She hesitated at an old memory. "But terminators can copy human voices so in that case I added biometric authentication for when the person opens the box. If Christopher doesn't detect it's an authorized individual, it will immediately relock the box and resume the electricity."
"Sufficient," Cameron murmured.
Sarah silently agreed, but she continued explaining the security system. She pointed at the 'w' letter located at the various doors. "At each door, there is a weight sensor that reads each entering individual's weight." She peered up at the terminator again. "I've given Christopher my weight, Charley's, and Jean's. However, if it detects a different or especially an excessive weight then I'll be alerted." She looked back at the screen, circled her fingertip around the 'w' by the garage to kitchen door, and pulled up a feed. "Here's your weight."
Cameron tilted her head at seeing her accurate weight tracked by the security system. She was intrigued by Sarah's comprehensive system.
"But... we'll add you." Sarah kept the feed pop-up screen open. With her right hand, she opened the settings window in the upper right corner of the desk. She moved through the settings until she came to the weight sensor's approved list. She then grabbed Cameron's weight, slid it across the desk, and dropped it into the approved list. Now the approved list requested a name for the new weight.
"Add the new weight as Cameron Philips," Sarah told the system. Once the name populated on the list with the weight, she saved it and closed out of the settings.
"If for some reason," Sarah mentioned, "a terminator gained access to my house when Jean is home alone then..." She pulled up a camera's video feed to a small, dim room. "There is a panic room for her to hide in until I can get to her." She lifted her head and ordered, "Christopher, open the panic room."
"Yes, Mrs. Connor," the security system chirped through the office.
Cameron hadn't expected the system to have a voice in the house like Vicki back at Cyberdyne Systems. But she lifted her head at hearing the loud swoosh behind Sarah's desk.
Sarah stepped around her desk and led the way to the open, secret panic room. "There are enough supplies in here for three days, a small bed and bathroom, and a control center too." She found that the overhead lights were enough. She turned to the open doorway and explained, "The door is reinforced steel with coltan coating. The door is also electrified when it's sealed but will be dead in the brief second it opens or closes for safety reasons."
Cameron scanned the interior of the panic room and was impressed by Sarah's preparation for a home invasion. "Any weapons?"
"In the floor, yes," Sarah answered. She folded her arms. "The walls are steel plates, filled with concrete for reinforcement, and electrified too."
The terminator ran her hand along the wall and casually informed, "A triple eight could rip open the door in thirty minutes." She turned her head to Sarah. "If it was not electrified." She then considered this extra hindrance and decided, "This will take a triple eight an extra thirty minutes."
Sarah couldn't decide whether or not she liked Cameron's assessment about the panic room. There were many times she'd updated and modified the panic room as new technologies became available. "Christopher won't recognize Jean's voice except to open the panic room. Once she's inside of it, it will not open from the outside."
Cameron exited the panic room. "Only she can open it from the inside," she deduced.
"Yes." Sarah moved out of the panic room. "Seal the panic room, Christopher." She listened to it shut behind her as she and Cameron went back to the desk. "The security system has other features and sensors, but I'm not going to go through them all." She started moving her hands on the screen again. "Because you'll see them for yourself." She went into Christopher's security control panel and opened it up wide on the screen.
Cameron curiously watched what the human was doing on the surface screen.
"As you probably know, we have Wi-Fi throughout the house," Sarah mentioned. She placed her left hand on the surface screen now too. "You're welcome to use it but try not to draw attention to yourself by downloading the entire internet."
Cameron tilted her head and couldn't discern whether it was a joke or not.
"Christopher has a secure uplink with one of Cyberdyne's satellites for communication purposes." Sarah pulled opened the communication settings and prepared to make some edits but paused and lifted her head. "Christopher, turn on your Bluetooth. I want you to make a sync in a minute." She focused on Cameron and checked, "You do have Bluetooth, right?"
"Yes," Cameron replied. She took that as an order and switched on her Bluetooth chip. She scanned for the security system's Bluetooth.
"Christopher, pair with Cameron and use the code zero, zero, zero, seven."
"Pairing with Cameron," Christopher agreed.
Sarah turned back to the surface screen and prepared to make the needed changes to the communication settings.
"Paired," Christopher announced.
Sarah was hastily moving her hands over the screen. "Christopher, upload your satellite communication data to Cameron." She heard the system beep in recognition.
Cameron received data on what satellite to communicate with to be able to open an access portal to Christopher.
"Give me a second," Sarah murmured. She made a few adjustments to the satellites communications then ordered, "Alright, try to connect to Christopher through the satellite uplink." She kept her attention on the screen and waited to see Cameron making her attempt. She didn't have to wait long when an unapproved uplink was trying to connect to her security system. She quickly grabbed it on her screen and slid it into the safe uplink box.
Cameron was instantly granted access to Christopher, and she was inundated by security data about the Connors' home.
"I'm giving you super user access," Sarah explained to Cameron. "You'll be able to work with the security system and control it for the most part." She started backing out of the security settings now that she'd setup Cameron as an administrator. However, Sarah made sure she still retained highest administration access in case Cameron somehow became a threat. She then turned to Cameron and mentioned, "When I built this system, I kept in mind that someday you may be back."
The terminator indeed found this to be true because the security system was well designed. She could easily communicate with it and had hundreds of various streaming feeds that told her about the house. She now understood all the sensors that Sarah hadn't bothered mentioning. She finally set her data feeds aside now and came back to the present.
"Your ability to control Cyberdyne's systems back in 2008 was rather handy." The CEO folded her arms and leaned her hip against the desk's edge. She saw how the terminator's distant blue eyes finally centered on her. Sarah revealed a small grin and quipped, "And you can flush the toilets now." She moved away from Cameron and went back behind her desk.
The terminator was caught off guard by the unexpected joke, and she wasn't sure how to respond so she stayed quiet. But she faced the desk when Sarah went behind it.
"I think that about covers it." Sarah crossed her arms and tried thinking if she'd forgotten anything. Her head was slightly bowed. "We'll work out the money situation after you get your identity downloads," she muttered in open thought. She lifted her head and mentioned, "I expect you to always keep your cover as a human. If you do anything beyond humanly possible, you better have a damn good reason." She tilted her head to the side. "Not only may Jean see it, but we could have problems with the public and authorities." She waited a beat but explained, "I can make some things disappear but not everything."
"I understand," the terminator promised.
"Good." Sarah stood behind the desk chair and gripped the backside. "I have to finish some work, but I will let you know how Charley handles this."
Cameron just nodded and remained silent. She quietly left the office but sensed that Sarah watched her until she was out of view.
Sarah distantly stared down at the surface desk. She came out of her thoughts, tapped the chair's back, and picked up her empty short glass. She slowly made her way to the opposite wall that was lined with bookshelves. Over the years, Sarah had started collecting books because they were obsolete by 2020 when the Digital Law was passed by Congress. As years passed, it became harder and harder to find printed books, but Sarah had developed a network.
But the CEO wasn't interested in her books tonight; she instead went to the right corner shelf that was about waist high. She picked up an unmarked bottle that was halfway filled with amber whiskey that was aged to perfection in thirty years. She poured her empty glass nearly to the top then sealed the whiskey bottle. She wearily recalled this was her third glass, and she suspected another would follow it.
After she tucked the Talisker whiskey bottle, she made her way back to the desk in the low lit office. She sat first then took a slow drink from the glass, and she savored the whiskey's brief cinnamon twist then the lingering dry finish. Sarah set the short glass down and returned to her waiting work that'd piled up after she left early today.