Chapter 1389


Withering Figure


Savannah turned off her body cam, com, night vision and phone prior to the first EMP blast. She waited to turn them back on. She was not sure if there would be a second EMP blast.

She lifted her silenced M9 and pointed it at the backs of the two men from the anti-Metal group. She hesitated to shoot them in the back. She remembered those eyes of the female Gray she strangled. It still bothered her.

There was an explosion in front of her. She felt something strike her vest. One of the Grays must have tossed a grenade before or during the time he was shot by her.

He evidently tossed it where he heard the two men laugh. Her night vision was off. She dared to turn it back on. Nothing happened. It didn't work.

Damn.

She needed to rely on the moonlight.

One of the men in front of her began a sobbing type scream. It was very unnerving. She spotted his withering figure. It looked like his head was trying to tear itself off of his unmoving body as it jerked around in every direction. He must have been paralyzed below the neck somewhere. The man next to him didn't move at all.

She aimed and fired one silenced round. His head jerked forward and stayed there. The screaming stopped at the same time.

Savannah tried her night vision again. It still did not function. She turned her com on. It worked.

"I lost my night vision." Savannah said. "I need to know what's happening around me. I want John Henry to tell me where things are in relation to me. Use the hours on a clock for reference based on the direction my body is facing."

Savannah switched to her M4. She might have to do 'recon by fire'. If she was told there was a target that she needed to engage she would have a good idea where to shoot.

John Henry got her up to speed on everything. She'd preselected several other locations to move to if she needed to fight. She moved to one of those now.

"Cameron has requested to assist you, two drones have as well." John Henry said.

Savannah was still unsure what was happening as far as a second EMP. After listening to the anti-Metal group talk about what they'd done, she did not want any of their Terminators captured.

John Henry assured her it was clear around her. Two of the anti-Metal group went out to check on the Grays that'd tripped the two Claymore mines.

That move only left only one man anywhere near her in the ditch and the one by the vehicles.

She carefully moved toward the one man in the ditch. She stopped when John Henry informed her she was one hundred feet from him.

"Two of the Grays have regrouped." John Henry said. "The two men from the anti-Metal faction are moving towards where the two dead Grays are that tripped the mines. I don't think they know there are two more Grays still in the fight."

Savannah didn't want the Grays to kill any more of the anti-Metal group.

"Can the Grays be taken down with a missile that won't affect the other men?" Savannah asked.

John Henry did the math.

"No." John Henry said.

Savannah wanted to warn the anti-Metal group.

"Fire a missile in back of the Grays so that they are silhouetted by the explosion behind them. They may even catch some shrapnel." Savannah said.

A few seconds later there was another explosion followed by gunfire.

"The Grays are down." John Henry said. "One of the other men looks wounded. They are headed back to their position."

Savannah waited and watched. The two men arrived back at the ditch. Both of the men worked on the injured man. The man by the vehicles came over to assist. They wondered where the other two men were at. They sent one man to check on them.

She tried her night vision again and it worked this time. She put it back on.

"My night vision started to work again but keep me posted where everyone is." Savannah said. "It may go out again. I think it is damaged."

The two men that worked on the third man suddenly stopped. The wounded man must not have made it.

The third man soon rejoined the other two.

"Ramsey and Ski are wasted." The third man said. "They took down two Grays in the process. It looked like one of the Grays threw a grenade."

Savannah saw him set down some weapons that he'd collected from the dead.

"Well, at least they took them out before they died." The second man said.

"Maybe we better clear out." The first man said.

"What about our people?" The second man asked. "We just can't leave them."

"Get over it." The third man said. "That's how it is."

"What was that explosion that was behind those other two Grays?" The first man asked.

"I don't know." The second man said. "They must have set off a booby trap they tried to set for us. We saw them plain as day silhouetted with the explosion in back of them. They still got Teddy though. I have his EMP."

They debated whether to go back and strip the other four dead Grays of weapons. They were afraid of tripping a booby trap if the Grays may have set any more. They decided to pull out instead.

They took the collected weapons and headed back to their vehicles. The first two men got into one of them and the third man who'd uncovered the vehicles got into the other one. He started his car and drove away a short distance while the other two men loaded the weapons in their trunk.

The third man stopped about fifty yards away. The first two men entered their vehicle and it blew up when they started it. The third man got out of his car to observe them better. He walked about twenty feet from his car to watch. He was most likely a Gray or a Fanatic who'd infiltrated the anti-Metal group.

Savannah watched as the driver's door opened on the car that exploded and a burning figure emerged. There was a ghastly scream coming from him as he rolled around on the ground. Savannah was about to raise her M4 and shoot him. She saw the dirt around him fly up in a couple of dozen places. She knew what that was. It was 'metal hail' from a high altitude gravity shot from a drone. They were still being held at a safer distance in case there was a second EMP detonated.

"A drone is ready to disable the Gray's car." John Henry said.

Savannah wanted that.

"Do it." Savannah said.

About seven seconds later there was the sound of metal hitting metal as another high altitude gravity shot was fired. The man looked back at his car. He was puzzled by what happened to the burning man and even more so by what just happened to his car. There was no sound of gunfire. It sounded like metal hail. The car started to burn.

"The team can move up." Savannah said. "This last guy only has a pistol on him."

Savannah could hear the sound of running after a short while. Cameron and Cammy showed up on each side of her.

"Ally and Hanna are on our left flank and Bob and Sheila are on our right flank." Cameron said.

They all moved toward the last man.

He knew someone was out there. There was a burning vehicle on both sides of him. He thought about trying to find one of the Gray's vehicles until he saw that there were figures all around him now. He knew he was cornered.

At this point they did not know which group this man represented.

Cameron did not want Savannah or Hanna to approach him in case he was a Fanatic. She did not want him to taint Savannah in front of the other Terminators. She asked Bob to move up some but not to get too close.

Savannah removed her night vision. With the two burning cars there was enough light to see fairly well. She raised her M4 and sighted in on the man.

"Do you want to talk or do you want to die?" Bob asked.

The man looked defiant.

"You'll never defeat SkyMaster." The man screamed. "Ascension!"

He made a frantic grab for his pistol.

That was all Savannah needed to hear. She fired one shot and struck the man in the chest. He toppled over backwards. As soon as he hit the ground the dirt around him flew up in a dozen places. He was hit with another high altitude gravity shot.

Bob started to move towards him.

"Stay away from him." Savannah said. "I want everyone to fallback some right now." Savannah said.

They'd encountered exploding Fanatics in the past. It seemed they liked to play with bombs.


Seconds ago:

Young Allison and Anna were concerned with Savannah out there alone. They were pleased that none of their team was affected by the EMP.

They watched every thing play out.

"I want drones to target both of those vehicles for a missile strike or a high altitude gravity shot." Young Allison said. "Have it ready and calculated."

They watched the explosion and the burning man tumble out of the flaming car.

"Fire a burst into him." Young Allison said.

Anna received conformation.

"It's done." Anna said.

They were glad Savannah indicated it was OK for the team to move up and reinforce her.

"Hit the Gray's car the same way." Young Allison said. "Target the Gray too."

As soon as Young Allison heard the SkyMaster reference she acted.

"Take him down." Young Allison said.

Anna went over the drone footage.

"All the targets are neutralized." Anna said.

It looked like this leg of the operation was concluded.


John Henry watched Summer as the events unfolded. She did not seem phased in any way.

"Does any of what you just saw bother you?" John Henry asked.

Summer looked at the screens one more time.

"No." Summer said. "They were the enemy. We won and they lost."

Those sounded like words he'd heard from both Cameron and Young Allison before.

"What would you have done differently?" John Henry asked.

The answer was easy for Summer.

"I would have taken them all down sooner." Summer said. "I would have liked to track one of them back to their lair if possible."

John Henry hoped that could happen sometimes. It often did not.

"They all come from someplace." John Henry said.

Summer was sure just about everyone from the future could turn into a problem.

"The three different groups all thought they held the upper hand at one point." Summer said. "They never understood they were always locked up with a missile for each of them."

John Henry was proud they stayed off the 'radar' of the other groups.

"We try to operate in the shadows." John Henry said.

Summer thought that was a good thing.

"Darkness helps hide the shadows." Summer said.

John Henry knew it was getting late.

"I think you'd better wrap it up soon." John Henry said.

Summer agreed for a different reason.

"Samantha will be out soon now that Jesse is back." Summer said.

John Henry wondered if Summer did not want Samantha to know she was manipulated.

"Are you trying to cover your tracks?" John Henry asked.

Summer thought about it for a second.

"No." Summer said. "CamNet will do that for me if she thinks it's necessary. I trust her judgment."

John Henry worried again about how deep Summer was 'in' with CamNet.

"You need to use discretion." John Henry said.

Summer smiled at him as she left. He was sure she winked at him before she disappeared. He quickly replayed the file. She did.

He looked at the security monitors and he did not see Summer on any of them. He looked around the Command Center to make sure she was not still there. He did not see her. Then again, he never seemed to see her either until she wanted him to.

He remembered Summer said she was like a leaf in the wind. He thought she was more like a shadow at night. She did mention that darkness helped hide the shadows. Now he wondered if that was meant as a literal statement or a metaphor. He'd observed a lot of darkness in Cameron and Sheila. It didn't have anything to do with illumination either.


Savannah took Cameron off to the side. She appreciated the fact she was here. She did not like the fact she was here though. This took away from her time with John. It also allowed unfettered access to other thing that didn't need to happen. At least not now they didn't.

"I know why you came here." Savannah said.

Cameron felt based on what happened that she was justified.

"It was as I feared." Cameron said. "I've moved to rectify that problem for John. He must have human companionship."

Savannah knew that was Cameron hinting at her again. She remembered what Young Allison told her was occurring on the ship, probably at this very moment.

"It seems he already has." Savannah said.

Cameron looked at Savannah for a long moment. She was still not sure what would happen with either Vanna or Allison. There was a better than even chance that one or both of them would 'blink' and not go through with it. There was a lot of emotional baggage for them to carry.

"Has he?" Cameron asked. "I don't know that for a fact. What happens on the ship says on the ship. You heard these people. I want John protected. What would they do to him? What will they do to me? What will they do to you? You'd better think about it. They were serious."

Savannah was not going to get involved with that. She wanted to rectify something else.

"I want you back on the ship tonight." Savannah said. "You can go back now. This operation is concluded and your assessment of the anti-Metal group was spot on."

Cameron wanted to make a point.

"Will you come with me?" Cameron asked. "John would appreciate that as much as I would."

Savannah thought maybe John already experienced enough virgins on the ship even if Cameron was behind all of those endeavors so far. There was one thing that still worried her.

"Are you going to take Cammy and Samantha back with you?" Savannah asked.

Cameron smiled.

"They will allow me to be with John in their chassis soon enough." Cameron said. "I really want you to come back with me."

Savannah knew they still had three cars of Grays to deal with that were headed up the coast.

"I'm not done for the night." Savannah said. "Cammy and I still have a few more things to wrap up."

Cameron wanted to stay.

"I can assist you." Cameron said.

Savannah did not like the dance. It was time to get firm.

"You are going back to the ship tonight." Savannah said. "We can use the cars the Grays arrived in to get everyone back to Van Nuys."

Cameron wondered how far Savannah would take it. She could stay here if she wanted. There was no 'order' given.

"Will you order me to go back?" Cameron asked.

Savannah smiled. She knew Cameron would think this through.

"If needed to I would." Savannah said. "I don't need to."

Cameron already made plans and there was a helicopter enroute. She also knew if she did not go back on her own that Savannah would order her to go back. She also might order her not use anyone else's chassis either. That was not a chance she was willing to take. She wasn't done yet.

Savannah was a little surprised to hear the distinctive sound of a Huey approaching them.

"I take it that is for you?" Savannah asked.

Cameron smiled.

"It is." Cameron said. "We can all fly back to Van Nuys and then Cammy and you can use the Iroquois to catch up on the other operation."

Savannah wondered about their SUV.

"I take it there are a few extra Terminators on board to shuttle the vehicles back." Savannah said.

Cameron checked.

"There are two Terminators that will police this site and gather any intel that they can. They will return with Cammy's SUV and one of the vehicles that the Grays arrived in."

Savannah was worried about one thing.

"Have them check twice for any hidden tracking devices in the car they take." Savannah said.

Cameron wondered if they should just torch the two cars instead.

"I will have them burn both of the Gray's vehicles." Cameron said. "These groups were infiltrated. They may have something hidden for such an eventuality."

The Iroquois came in low and set down in back of them. Two Terminators exited. Savannah went over and greeted both of them. Cammy gave them her keys after Savannah was done.

Savannah rejoined Cameron.

"Do you want to fly it back?" Cameron asked.

Savannah liked that idea.

"Yes." Savannah said.

She spotted the pilot was Ned. That was one of Cameron's Terminators. She'd met and named him on a prior occasion. He was very pleased at the name the 'Chosen One' gave him.

Savannah moved around to the copilot's side and entered through the door. She was not surprised to see that everything was already set up and adjusted for her. She reached over and touched Ned's cheek and greeted him. That seemed to please him immensely. He offered to let Cammy or Cameron replace him as pilot. She told him that was unnecessary. He appreciated her confidence in him.

Cameron watched the interaction. She could see Savannah was always comfortable around Metal and they all were around her. She asked CamNet and John Henry for a report on Savannah's most recent sexual contacts and both of them refused to give her that information.

It worried her that maybe Savannah did not want to be with John and only would be if she was pressured into it. She would need to find out what Vanna did, if she did. If Vanna was with John and did not enjoy herself, it was doubtful Savannah would either. Maybe she was being selfish by trying to have John claim Savannah's virginity. She was not bothered by it but very pleased that she'd been able to deliver the Metal girls virginity to John as herself.

She would back off on Savannah for now but there were still a few of human females for her to deliver to John. She'd heard everything the two anti-Metal troopers discussed and laughed about. She was glad they were killed or severely wounded by a grenade. She hoped it was not Future John and Duplicate Cameron that they spoke of. She thought of conducting a temporal mission to check things out after the cruise. Maybe all of the futures needed a visit.

Savannah strapped in the UH-1 and went over all of the instruments. Everything looked good. She checked in the back and everyone was seated and ready to go. She looked around and then looked up. She lifted smoothly off of the ground and took it up to five thousand feet. She'd checked the map and set her heading.

John Henry confirmed that he'd cleared the air space around her and on her heading.

'Coltan Overcast' and 'Cherry Bomb' would accompany her at a higher altitude. If anything entered Savannah's airspace, they would 'take care of it'.

Savannah was pleased to get some night flying time in. Van Nuys should be lit well enough for her to land on her own. She would ask Ned to be ready to take over once she started her descent. They should be on the ground in less than a half hour.

Cameron checked with Lou and Dan. The 727 was refueled and serviced. It would be ready for takeoff as soon as they boarded. CamNet already made sure they would be given priority status for takeoff and landing. Once they'd landed in the Bay Area, Ken would fly them back to San Francisco. They should be back on board the ship in less than two hours from now.

She thought about checking in with Jim to see how it went with Vanna and Allison. If nothing happened the girls from the ship would be cycled through the Owner's Suite. John was going to have a human female at his side before this cruise was over.

Cameron was very irritated about what the men laughed about. That was not going to happen to John and her. She wanted the girls to help her.


Earlier:

Young Allison tracked the Iroquois as it neared the combat zone. She would like to see Savannah returned to the Resistance base as soon as possible.

"I want Savannah to fly back to Van Nuys." Young Allison said. "She can wrap it up for the night."

Anna knew it would not stop there. Savannah would stay with the operation until it was concluded.

"That is doubtful. Cammy and Savannah will fly to join Steve and Al's teams and probably get there ahead of Richard's and Hank's teams." Anna said.

That was a good Terminator count unless the Grays packed an EMP themselves. They'd only encountered the anti-Metal group using those besides the ones Cameron used herself.

"That will be nine Terminators with Savannah." Young Allison said. "I hope she lets someone else lead this time."

That seemed unlikely to Anna.

"Even if Cammy leads, Savannah will be at her side." Anna said.

Young Allison did know that. There were other issues.

"I know." Young Allison said. "Keep 'Coltan Overcast' and 'Cherry Bomb' with the helicopter and send two with Cameron and her team. Two can remain at the combat site with Cameron's Terminators. The rest of the drones can proceed to where the other Terminators are waiting up the coast."

Anna did not want to cut in on John Henry. They'd already intruded further on his operation.

"Do you want me to inform John Henry what you have decided or make it as a suggestion to him?" Anna asked.

Young Allison wanted to be a team player.

"Send it as a suggestion to CamNet." Young Allison said. "She can review it and forward it."

Anna knew if CamNet contacted John Henry that he would implement the plan as presented. It would have the same impact as if Young Allison 'ordered' it herself.


Vanna was very pleased to be with Leticia. She found her to be much more exciting than either Mary or Laura had been and they were great. Vanna thought Cameron should use their DNA for any more female Terminators that she needed to Resequence in the future.

Being with Leticia took her mind off of her time spent with John. Now she started to think about it again. She began to wonder how Allison was doing. She did not know if she should join Allison after another hour or so. Maybe Allison would come and join her. Gail-Cam got into bed with Leticia and her. She soon forgot about anything other than where she was at that moment. She really liked Cam in Gail's chassis.


Savannah approached Van Nuys airport. She was given instructions on where to land.

"Ned, if you think anything is off or I am doing anything wrong I want you to take over." Savannah said.

Ned nodded.

"Affirmative." Ned said.

Savannah smiled at that.

She made a clean approach. She set the Iroquois down smoothly and everyone in the back got out except Cammy. She watched them go up the airstair of the 727 and it closed behind them.

Dan and Lou had the 727 running. It started to taxi even before the airstair was all the way up. Savannah sat on the tarmac and waited to see the 727 takeoff. She watched it thunder down the runway and lift off.

Cammy traded places with Ned for the next leg of the flight. He moved into the back.

Savannah wondered if any more Terminators would board their flight but none showed up. She waited until Cammy checked over all the instruments. She looked back to make sure Ned was secure. She looked over at Cammy.

"Are you ready?" Savannah asked.

Savannah did not think Cammy would say 'affirmative'.

"Yes." Cammy said.

Savannah looked from side to side and then up. She lifted off smoothly and headed for the 101 freeway. She would parallel it off to her left side.

"I don't want Cameron and her team to jump from the 727 when they are over the ship." Savannah said. "It won't take her much longer to land and use the Blackhawk to fly back there."

Cammy passed on the suggestion to CamNet. She received a positive response.

"It will be as you wish." Cammy said.

Savannah thought maybe that would be but other events did not seem to be as she wished on the ship. That was out of her hands. What was done was done. Everyone involved had the right to choose. She wanted to try it one time with John too just to see what it was like. Maybe she would like it maybe she would not. That would all have to wait. She was in no hurry to be a 'woman'. She enjoyed being a carefree girl with a lot of 'friends'.


Earlier:

Once Cameron boarded the 727 she moved to the cockpit and took the pilot's seat. Lou had already started to taxi before she arrived. Dan was in the third position.

She was strapped in and had checked all the instruments before they made the turn to line up with One Six Right. She ran the power up and then moved onto the runway.

She started down the runway and glanced over at the Iroquois sitting on the tarmac near her hanger. She would probably think about Savannah for the rest of the fight. Maybe Savannah did not want to be with John but she did want to be with her. Maybe she should have made that the offer. They could be in the cargo area of the jet right now and join the 'mile high club' together.

Lou thought Cameron lifted off fine but she hadn't changed her heading.

"You need to make your turn, Cameron." Lou said.

Cameron looked around and brought the 727 over sharply. She better concentrate on flying for now. For a small medium size jet, she liked the handling of the 727. It was very quiet with all three engines at the rear of the fuselage. There was plenty of room inside of it and it had good range. She really liked the airstair feature. She might stage some of these around just for the extra room they offered. She could put up some partitions inside and make a few 'private rooms'. Everyone could join the mile high club on 'Cam Air'.

Cameron smiled.

She pushed the throttles forward.

She'd briefly toyed with idea of jumping out over the Bay Area and landing on the ship with the parachute. It would be a spectacular boarding. It was a thought anyway.