16154/Getting rid of the evidence.

Getting rid of the evidence.
Date of Scene:	30 March 2024
Location:	In the woods, off the beaten path.
Synopsis:	Jacen gets an up close look at the future with Sarah and Cameron acting as tour guides.
Cast of Characters:	Cameron, Jacen Masters, Sarah Connor

---

Cameron has posed:
After the events at the park, the trio had made a hasty retreat. Sarah and Cameron were in synch in a lot of ways. In terms that Jacen would get more than perhaps most, this wasn't their first rodeo. So many machines sent after them and so many of them thwarted. All to keep John safe.

They had brought Jacen along for the ride. He deserved to hear the truth. He'd been a friend and ally to Sarah for a time now. After seeing what he had? There was no doubt of questions being involved.

Cameron had loaded the body into the bed of the truck, covering it with a tarp and making sure it was well hidden. Then she had opted to take the driver's seat. Her reflexes were faster than that of the humans. All weapons were in the hands of Sarah and, if he chose to participate in the insanity, Jacen. On the trip there was a single stop at a gas station where a couple of gas cans and the fluid to fill them were purchased with cash.

They eventually reached a spot they had used a few times now. There was even a charred spot on the ground where they often did the burnings. If anyone ever did find it, they would presume it was a probably someone camping as it was well off the paved roads. At least four dirt roads and then something that might be considered a trail that maybe once had been used regularly but now was completely overgrown.

Cameron set about unloading the body and adding it to the blackened circle on the ground. Then she moved back to the bed of the truck to grab a small toolbox. After all, she needed some parts to have for times when she was broken. The skin would heal but the machine beneath needed maintenance. Her hands were currently hidden in a pair of gloves so the metallic skeleton wasn't visible to the naked eye. Her face? Not so much. The metal was still visible through a few cuts there but at least most of it was still in place. More than she could say for the now defunct machine she was about to begin dismantling.

She set the toolbox on the ground and opened the top, reaching in for a utility knife to begin the dirty work.

Jacen Masters has posed:
Curiosity. The great cat killer. Jacen agrees to go along for the trip and opts to mostly study the situation. He listens to the way the two do or don't interact with each other.

Occasionally he glances the pile of scrap in the back of the truck. There is a lot on his mind and finally he does say,"Ah'ight. I ain' much more'n a cowboy'n paramedic. M' grandfather taught me ta be within th' magical world. This beats th' hell outa anything I ever seen. I've seen heroes flyin' an' fightin' th' bad sorts, but this's...."

He looks back at the cover again and at the gas can,"Will gasoline get hot 'nough ta burn all tha'....evidence I suppose."

Sarah Connor has posed:
Sarah got some cans out from the back of the truck. "Make sure John sees that." She nodded with her chin at whatever it was that Cameron was prying out from the head. "Damn things. Sometimes I think it would be better to hit the road. I know, right now it's better to know where they are than keeping John out of sight."

Speaking of John.. Where was he??

Sarah watches Cameron strip the body of various things that she can use.

A low laugh comes from Sarah. "You are a weird man. Most would be appalled that we have dragged a body out here. No, gasoline isn't hot enough. We've come prepared though." She holds up a can. "And no, it's not a human. And Cameron isn't my daughter. And I go by at least a dozen aliases, but Sarah is my real name."

Cameron has posed:
That gets Cameron's attention and she glances over at the duo. She's opened various pieces and parts of the machine to take out items which are placed into an empty duffle bag for now. Chips, motors, transponders, wiring, backup battery system. "He's the weird one?"

And there is a hint of a smirk. Which seems very not machine like. Then she goes back to what she is doing. After all, they rarely get a terminator that is a model close to her own. More often it's a T-850, which only some of the inner bits are usable for her smaller frame. She couldn't salvage an entire arm from one of those. This one? She had both arms from elbow down stripped, uninstalled, and stowed away quickly. Fingers were always in the most danger so better to have plenty to choose from should it become necessary. She wouldn't finish until the duffle was practically full and the 'body' was no longer recognizable as such outside the head.

"No, I am not her daughter. I am also not human. I'm a cybernetic organism: living tissue over a metal endoskeleton. It allows us to blend with humans in order to terminate their existence more efficiently."

Which probably was not the best sentence to end on but that's where Cameron paused to see if he comprehended.

Jacen Masters has posed:
He listens to the two women interact without comment at first. He watches Cameron take parts and makes a note in his mind. For a moment he glances at Sarah and replies,"Mos' people wouldn' notice th' fact that th' body's a machine. Got ta see th' internal components up close." he tells her,"It ain' hard ta buy inta th' idea of super mechanical beings'n a world full aliens, mutants, magic tossers, vampires...." he leaves the list at that.

He looks back at Cameron and nods,"I wasn' terribly convinced she w's y'r daughter ta b'gin with. People gotta have their secrets." He considers Cameron's words and raises a brow,"So y'r like them, only not. Somethin' programmed different." He considers the comment about terminating humans and he raises a brow. His hand rests on the medicine pouch for a second and he says,"Y'all plannin' somethin' extra f'r th' fire t'day?" Instantly stepping to where he can watch both and calling upon something. Not that either can see, but a spirit cougar appears in front of him, screaming silently into the ether.

Sarah Connor has posed:
Sarah narrows her eyes at Cameron. "Whose side are you on, and what's with the humour?" Apparently John had tweaked her programming.

The fact that they had found a terminator so close to Cameron was a bonus. And not.. Skynet was up to. But what?

"Cameron was once one of them." Hey, she almost said a good thing about Cameron. "This one is a close match for parts. Normally we take out the CPU to shut it down, then we burn the fuck out of it. Back at the park you might have say Cameron open up a compartment behind its left ear. Otherwise we would still be fighting it. They have a 90 second reboot before any part of it that is still able to be controlled keeps on fighting. They have been known to arise from their ashes days later and fight again."

"So far? The only way we have found to stop them is to take out the CPU. Which means close quarters, and a really short amount of time."

She looks over to Jacen. "When they are trying to get me or John, you, and others, don't matter. You are the same as a tree, a tire, anything..And.."

Here she sighs. "You might be in danger for knowing me. I've tried to keep you away for that reason. Now? It's irrelevant."

Cameron has posed:
Cameron looks confused for a moment at the question of which side she was on. She had thought it was obvious at this point yet there was the question. She didn't answer though as she waited for Sarah to explain that bit more information. "We can be destroyed in other ways but we are very resistant to most things humans can achieve. High explosives. Crushing weights. Temperatures high enough to melt metal. Things of that sort. For a human, the easiest way is to remove the chip from our heads as that stops us entirely. We are resistant to EMF but can be shut down shortly with enough electricity. Though that starts the reboot cycle mentioned by Sarah."

She moved to put the duffle in the back of the truck then turned her attention to the humans once more. "We were created to terminate humanity, at the command of Skynet. In that future, this world is dust, rubble, and the remains of most of humanity. Though Skynet has found heavy resistance from a small group of humans." She paused a moment to let that sink in. "Skynet will continue to send terminator machines to try to destroy John Connor at all costs. I was sent by John to protect his younger self." There were the seeds though she hadn't said outright until she added, "That is the future that you face if we fail."

Then she added. "My suggestion is once we take you back to the city, you never speak to any of us again. For your own safety. But I have found humans rarely are logical."

Jacen Masters has posed:
Jacen listens to both of them and frowns. His mind is working over things. This is a lot to process. A lot. His tongue rolls across his upper teeth and he asks,"So these things come fr'm th' future? They got all kindsa advanced tech I reckon. So if one sees me, do they all see me?"

He glances to Cameron and nods,"Yeah. I hear what y'r tellin' me. I jus' wonder'f by gettin' inta it with th's one I ain' already marked by them anyway." he tells her,"M' own safety's right out th' winda if them computers passed m' face ta somethin' else. I ain' thriled with th' idea o' fightin' th' things, but even less thrilled on m' own with no real understandin' of these things."

Sarah Connor has posed:
A short laugh comes from Sarah. "You have to admit that I am a bit paranoid when it comes to John. Would you have me any other way though?" Thinking about John and how he was the hope for humanity.

Looking at Jacen, "She's right though. Your best bet is to forget meeting me, and all this stuff. They will kill you to get at me, to reach John."

To answer his question, "It all depends. Up until today you weren't a person of high priority. After tonight? Maybe. If she managed to download her observations, then, yes, a certain portion of them will automatically know of you. They are, essentially, high powered computers with a whole deck of special features."

Cameron has posed:
"She did not transmit her information before she was terminated."

At least that would hopefully be reassuring for Jacen and Sarah. Though that also brought up the fact that Sarah would've gotten the message just like any other killing machine.

"She also was not the one we learned is actively hunting John. This was a chance encounter. Thus, the machine we were warned about is still active. John must remain in the bunker until it is found and removed from the scenario."

She looked back to Jacen. "My kind are sent back for various reasons, not always just to hunt for John Connor. Skynet will do whatever it feels is necessary for its own protection. And Creation." Which was enough to make one's head explode if they tried to think about it too much.

"Though in this world, there is technology that was not existent in the history that I remember. Leading me to suspect that history has already been changed in some manner. We cannot presume Skynet is defeated though until there are no more terminators active." Which she included herself in that number, despite her different programming at the hands of the adult John Connor in her time.

Jacen Masters has posed:
"Hmm." he grunts. Not a thoughtful sound, more an annoyed sound. He looks over the side of the truck at the cassis of the mechanical monster. His tongue clicks once and finally he says,"So these bastards move forward'n back in time. When they do, they screw up th' time line'n th' process. Future ain't static, it c'n be changed fr'm day ta day."

He frowns at Cameron and asks,"So ya know f'r sure that thing didn' send nothin' out? Ah'ight. F'r now let's get th' thing d'stroyed'n get back ta my truck. I gotta think 'bout this f'r a bit. I ain' real big on abandonin' somebody jus' b'cause they're 'n bad spot."

Sarah Connor has posed:
Handing one of the cans to Cameron, Sarah begins to douse the body. iF Jacen wants there is another can.

"You really aren't. This has been my life since before John was born. His father sacrificed everything to make it so that I could get away. I'm used to this life. This is much more than a bad spot. And frankly you don't want to. Your life would change. And probably for the worse."

Cameron has posed:
"If you become known as an associate, you could be used to try to influence Sarah to give up John's location. You should be aware she will never do so and you will die should that happen."

Cameron laying it out there. But Jacen seems the type who would understand. It's the reason she felt it should be said. He would know what he was signing up for.

"Though..." She tilted her head slightly. "You are three inches taller than John and approximately 15 pounds lighter. Yet you have the same type of build, hair colors similar. With the right clothing. The right setting. We might be able to draw out the hunter machine."

Bait?

Jacen Masters has posed:
Taking the other can, Jacen goes about getting the thing ready to burn. He makes a trail of fuel away from the thing so they have a means to get out of the way. Cameron might or might not enjoy being in a fire after all.

He is thoughtful,"God knows I hate ta be bored." he grumbles. Once the trail is made he puts the rest on the maching,"I'm gona hafta do somethin' I ain' really known more. Gonna hafta give it some thought."

He looks to Cameron and winks inspite of himself,"You're right. Ya gotta be a machine ta suggest that one. I like ya inspite o' m'self. I'm guessin' John's just a run o' th' mill human sort."

Sarah Connor has posed:
"John is a genius. But.." Here, Sarah has to admit, "He's just a human, like me. No magic. No mutancy. Just plain old run of the mill humans." Except for his genius. To this day Sarah didn't know /how/ he was going to beat Skynet, but given the amount of money and resources spent trying to stop him? She had no doubt he was the one.

She snaps around to Cameron. "You've got to be kidding?! I'm trying to save his sorry ass, and you go and tell him /that/?"

Cameron's got a point though.. no. She won't. No.

Cameron has posed:
"He is a human who has been well trained thanks to Sarah. He has proven to be a tactical genius, in addition to his abilities with technology. He has been able to outthink Skynet at every turn, despite the many inherent advantages Skynet has had through the variety of terminating machines."

She looked at Sarah, not bothered in the last by the reaction. After all, one had to be human to care, right? "It would be efficient by drawing out the machine for elimination. He likely will be choosing to stay in danger anyway as that seems to happen often." Though if one thinks about that fact a lot of those allies are no longer there, they might catch on what a bad idea it was. Yet Sarah drew allies. She also had many resources and contacts she has established through the years, who had their own tree of connections. Throw in the resistance fighters in this time as well--which she had not mentioned to Jacen because she didn't want to cause him an aneurysm--and they might have a chance.

"It is his choice of course. Once he has time to think about it. For now, we should get this finished and I need to get to the garage for some self diagnostics."

Jacen Masters has posed:
A time of consideration and then asks,"So how are they? Couldja trick'm like that?" Curious + adrenaline junkie. What could possibly go wrong. He rubs his jaw thoughtfully. Is it dumb to even think about? Of course it is.

"Let's get th's done'n let me think on th' other. I think we might be able work somethin' out'f ya want. Even if it's only th' one time. If th' kid's that important, don' reckon it'd be good ta let'm die. Still...reckon I gotta get a few things'n order if I agree ta do this after all."

Sarah Connor has posed:
Sarah shakes her head. Cameron knew that if it became John or anybody else? She would throw them on the ground as a buffer, no questions asked. She wouldn't like it, but she would do it.

"They are smart. And quite likely would detect the ruse. But there is always a small percent chance that they might be confused thinking we tried to make John not so in their face."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. John wasn't a little boy - he had to know that? Maybe he said like that to bolster his decision?

Sarah looked at Cameron. "Do you think we could do it? And would we get some vital information for the Resistance?"

Cameron has posed:
"It is a small percentile chance. But if they thought he was John and he was out in a vulnerable location with the two of us..."

Cameron gave that oh-so-human shrug. "It is possible they would be confused long enough to give up some information. Or they may give up nothing but if they can be removed, that would allow John to return from hiding." Which she knew that would appeal to Sarah as it likely was driving the woman mad not having her son in line-of-sight.

She did think to add something that might appeal to them both. "If things go poorly, we can simply reveal he is not John and that should keep him safe. The will focus on you and I," she looked at Sarah. "Likely allowing him time to escape. Or help with his abilities which are something Skynet and terminators have no concept of: Magic."

Jacen Masters has posed:
"Let's get th's over with'n let me get some things lined up." he finally says and moves to the end of the trail of fuel he made,"I ain' sayin' yes'r no either one right now. B'fore we do anything I'm gonna make sure m' affairs're in order. Y'all got me convinced o' one thing. This's big enough ta at least do that much.

He nods to Cameron and adds,"Might's well see'f they c'n adjust ta it. Y'all don' like assimilate folk like th' Borg'r nothin' right?"

Sarah Connor has posed:
Cameron was right. Damn. She was right.

Double damn.

And without knowing where John was.. sure he was safe if they captured her. But she hates not being able to protect him the way she has done so for the past 20 years. With the exception of when she was in the mental hospital.

Damn, damn, shit, fuck, damn.

"Right then. If he agrees, let's do it."