Chapter 1423
It Meant Death
Savannah became increasingly worried as to where this dirt road would lead them. It was the road that the green sedan took for its 'escape'. It was either to flee from them or to lead them into a second ambush if they somehow survived the first one. Since this dirt road was even more remote and isolated than the last one. It seemed like a pretty good bet they were being set up again. It really seemed like they were expecting a bigger force at the last ambush site.
Cammy rebooted and was updated by John Henry.
"The junction of the first turnoff is one mile from here." Cammy said.
Savannah asked for drone scans in front of them.
"Has anything been detected yet?" Savannah asked. "It seems something should show up soon."
Cammy was aware that nothing was 'detected' at the first ambush site. The drones were all moved to a safer distance and altitude to prevent them from being brought down by an EMP. It was recon by fire that sprung that ambush early when the command section of the enemy unit was hit. The enemy ambush was disjointed and fell apart fast after that.
"No." Cammy said. "Nothing's been detected."
Savannah needed to rethink their driving options. Driving with the lights on so she could see was one option. Driving with her night vision on was another option. Once she was off of a road the uneven terrain could mess with her perspective. The last choice was to have one of the Terminators drive but they may be affected by an EMP blast that would take out the SUV as well.
"I'm going to switch to my night vision for now." Savannah said. "Keep up with the standby schedule so you are all protected."
Savannah would take a trail off the dirt road that would take her around the junction of the first two dirt roads off the main dirt road. The trail was just that too. It was not even a dirt road.
John Henry was worried about Savannah switching to a trail off of the main dirt road. It would be much rougher going and harder on the SUV. He glanced over at Summer.
"What do you suggest for Savannah?" John Henry asked.
Summer thought of a few ideas. She would need to take some risks to do it.
"We need a drone to fly down low to the ground to see if we can spook any of the ambushers." Summer said. "There needs to be a couple more drones that ride shotgun on it above the elevation that the biggest EMP blast we experienced from this group would affect them at."
John Henry knew that was a risk Savannah would not want to take.
"I doubt Savannah will go for that." John Henry said. "If we find their base they may have a bigger EMP. They could have one with a five mile diameter range or larger. If they switch to an air burst It will greatly increase the range of its effect."
Summer did not want to make life or death decisions for people or machines.
"In combat there are always risks." Summer said. "You don't win battles by hunkering down in a base. You need to bring the fight to the enemy."
John Henry could see Summer's thinking was different than Savannah's. It was much more extreme than Young Allison's even. He wanted to see how far she would go.
"What about the use of more powerful weapons?" John Henry asked. "When should they be used?"
Summer did not like the question.
"You use whatever weapons you have to win the battle." Summer said. "You don't gain victories by losing. If you don't win, you lose."
John Henry received a warning from CamNet to back off on Summer.
"That was the philosophy of Skynet." John Henry said.
Summer was aware Skynet never defeated the Resistance.
"They obviously didn't hit hard enough and long enough then did they?" Summer asked. "The Resistance hit back harder and longer."
John Henry received information from CamNet that one drone volunteered to fly low down the dirt road to see what response was triggered and make sure the path was clear for Savannah's team. He was sure his conversation with Summer sparked this response. Maybe that was the point Summer wanted to make without actually making it.
Cammy rebooted and was informed of what was going to happen so they could stay on the dirt road.
"Don't go off the road." Cammy said.
Savannah did not want to trigger another EMP ambush.
"I want to play it safe." Savannah said.
Cammy filled her in on the actions to be taken by three drones. The rest of the drone strike force was ready to back them up from altitude and the far sides of the operation.
Savannah didn't like the risk to the drones. She could survive an EMP attack. The machines couldn't
"I don't agree with that." Savannah said.
Cammy thought it was the most expedient method to get to the objective.
"It's an effective strategy." Cammy said.
Savannah wanted to deal the enemy a knockout blow.
"What's detected at the location we're going to?" Savannah asked.
Cammy was displeased with what the high altitude drone recon showed.
"Nothing, there's no activity detected." Cammy said.
Savannah wondered about that.
"Maybe most of the anti-Metal group was at the ambush we took down." Savannah said. "How many of them were female?"
Cammy personally checked.
"There were three for sure." Cammy said. "One of the two that was burnt with the Thermite may have been a female based on the screams."
Savannah pictured those screams again. She was responsible for them.
"They attacked us." Savannah said. "How isolated is it where we're going?"
It wasn't isolated enough for Cammy.
"There are other structures in the vicinity." Cammy said. "The attack would not go unnoticed."
Savannah decided to act.
"Have the drones over the target area fire their missiles with a controlled burn to get them on the target and coast in." Savannah said. "I want everything there targeted and all hit at the same time so it seems like one massive explosion."
Cammy was pleased at that action. it sounded like a decisive blow would be delivered.
"That's a wise move." Cammy said. "What about the drone traveling along on the dirt road acting as bait?"
Savannah still didn't like it. She knew it was 'Coltan Overcast'.
"Inform the drones involved their backup programs will be installed in a new drone chassis if necessary." Savannah said. "I will do it personally along with the updated information as to why it was necessary. This is not my action but I will take the responsibility to rectify it."
Savannah heard a drone approach low over the SUV and saw it wag back and forth a few tines as it continued down the road at low altitude in front of her. Anyone from the future would know what it was and meant once they heard the drone.
It meant death.
Cameron was very troubled by the actions that both Savannah and Young Allison were willing to take. She was even more surprised with Summer's direct involvement to have Young Allison 'check' herself.
She was glad that Savannah was going to strike first. It was the smart move if the group was going to face additional EMP weapons. Savannah would be alone and would try and protect the Terminators in her squad. She'd seen Savannah do it before. Savannah did it for her before, more than once.
Sheila entered the Control Center and it did not look like Cameron was off to a good start. Vanna was next to her trying to keep her calm. Because they were on the ship there was nothing that they could do directly themselves with the operations.
Cam came over and quietly filled her in.
Now she wondered if maybe she should have stayed with Leticia.
Young Allison backed off. She knew she was getting ahead of herself. She never expected to have Summer remind her to follow her training. It was the very training that she'd taught to Summer herself. It was justified reminder. If she blew this, Savannah would never let her out again.
Anna rebooted and was updated.
"I'm going to stay active for now." Anna said. "I will go back into standby at the first hint we are about to be hit"
Young Allison needed better information.
"I need you to keep me informed what is happening specifically around us." Young Allison said.
Anna thought John Henry was doing that already.
"I will see what I can add to what you're already receiving." Anna said. "I know how you think."
The drone footage showed the truck pass through the shopping center but it did not stop. If it did and anyone got out there would be a drone gun attack. That would most likely provoke an EMP attack if anyone survived.
"It looks like the truck will pass through the open and empty parking lot and come out almost where we are." Anna said. "This will give them the chance to see if anyone that was behind them turns around or follows them."
Young Allison quickly turned into a gas station and went behind the building.
"That also puts them right on our door step if they blow an EMP." Young Allison said. "They will be right here on top of us."
Young Allison was ready to fight if that's what it came to. She was ready to take the fight to the enemy.
Summer quickly established drone firing grids around where Young Allison was. There would be drones at high altitude and some at a lower altitude. It was doubtful there was a large EMP in the truck.
'Cherry Bomb' elected to stay within direct gunfire range of the truck. It should be out of the blast effect of an EMP grenade. It would be affected by anything larger than that.
The area around where Young Allison waited was targeted three different ways by drones. She was protected but anything could happen.
Savannah increased her speed down the dirt road. Nothing showed up on any of the low altitude drone scans. She passed the junction of the first two dirt roads without incident. The last and third junction was just a few miles ahead.
Savannah wanted Cammy protected.
"I think you all need to go back into standby." Savannah said. "If anything is going to happen it will most likely be where we need to turn."
Cammy, Richard and Michael were all in standby. They would reboot at different times as scheduled among themselves.
Savannah slowed and moved off the road. She could hear the drone pass overhead every so often. She was a mile from the junction. She figured if she was going to ambush someone she would do it before the junction.
The more she thought about it, she would do it after the second junction which was several miles behind her. That brought up a new worry.
"John Henry, what's behind me?" Savannah asked.
John Henry and Summer watched Savannah slow and move off the road. Summer immediately established grid coordinates around the SUV.
"John Henry, what's behind me?" Savannah asked.
John Henry checked.
"I don't see anything." John Henry said.
"I want you to recon the area with gunfire along the road past the second junction." Savannah said. "Have 'Coltan Overcast' get some altitude and distance before you do."
There was a short pause as John Henry made the arrangements.
"Everything is ready." John Henry said.
Savannah watched around her. She felt very uneasy. She turned her night vision off. She shut the SUV off as well. She turned off her com and made sure her phone was off. She got out of the SUV with her M4.
There was a brilliant flash behind her in the distance.
She dropped down to the ground when it happened.
She waited a few seconds and tried her com. There was a lot of static. It may be damaged. She low crawled to a small knoll and looked ahead to where the SUV should be on the road. That was the most likely spot for an ambush to her.
She knew that Cammy would reboot in a short time.
In the Command Center they watched Savannah park the SUV off the road and get out of it. They were not sure what she was about to do.
John Henry arranged the gravity fire support mission as Savannah requested. It was conducted along the sides of the road.
They observed a bright flash.
"Something just went off." John Henry said.
Summer looked at the images.
"I wonder if that was set after they passed." Summer said. "It would have blocked their retreat."
They watched Savannah drop down and move forward.
John Henry could not reach her.
"There are targets moving." Summer said.
John Henry looked. He did not see anything.
"Where are they?" John Henry asked.
"I saw a light in the rocks on the hillside." Summer said. "Can I fire a missile?"
John Henry did not even need to think about it.
"Do it." John Henry said.
Summer sent the information to CamNet.
John Henry went back and reviewed the screens Summer was viewing. He spotted what she saw this time.
There was an explosion three seconds later at that same location. The missile was right on target.
Savannah waited as she looked over the knoll. There was an explosion off to her left near the road. She knew John Henry could see her from the high altitude drones even if she was out of communication right now.
There was a long scream as the fireball dissipated.
There was a snap in the brush off to her right on the other side away from the explosion. She rolled over in that direction and turned her night vision on. It still worked. She spotted something move in the rocks off to that side.
She turned off her night vision again. She fired an HE round out of her M203.
Cammy rebooted in time to see the explosion off to the left and hear the scream. Savannah was not there. She got out of the SUV. She spotted Savannah ahead by the knoll and down on the ground. She dropped down too. There must be targets. There was the snap in the brush and she watched Savannah fire an M203 round.
She moved toward Savannah's position. She didn't know if she was hurt or not. She began to hear ricochets and see sparks over where the HE round exploded. It was a high altitude gravity shot. There was another pattern of deadly 'metal hail' where the explosion on the other side was. There must be targets on both sides of them. It looked like they'd triggered another ambush early.
Savannah could see they were in the middle of something but she was not sure what it was. She did see Cammy was out of the SUV.
"Cammy, go back into standby for forty seconds." Savannah said.
Cammy continued to move up to Savannah. She wanted to make sure she was uninjured.
"Do it NOW." Savannah said.
Cammy put her M4 under her and went into standby.
There were more gravity shots on both sides of where Savannah and Cammy were.
There was another flash of light. That looked like an EMP grenade. It was not that large.
Savannah saw Michael exit the SUV.
"Over here." Savannah said.
Michael looked over and spotted Cammy down and Savannah near her. She was down too.
"Go into standby for one minute." Savannah said.
Michael lay on the other side away from Cammy and Savannah.
There was another flash of light.
"That was close." Savannah said.
Savannah turned her night vision on. She tried her com. It was dead. There was something new now. There was a Skynet jamming field in place.
What was she in the middle of?
John Henry selected targets and Summer did too. That worked well for the first minute. There was a second bright flash.
Then they lost all coverage where Savannah and her team were at.
"That is a Skynet jamming field that has gone up." John Henry said. "We can't see anything."
Summer continued to give grids coordinates to CamNet.
John Henry wondered what she was doing. They were blind right now.
"What are you shooting at?" John Henry asked.
"The enemy is being targeted." Summer said. "I have calculated their movements. I have anticipated where they will be and where they will go."
Summer still looked at the previous images before the jamming field went into effect. She still gave CamNet coordinates.
John Henry began to receive drone footage from off to the sides looking in.
Dan and Frank were on their way to where Young Allison was at. It was going to take some time for them to get there.
Ken and Lou piloted the Blackhawk over the Pacific. They'd just dumped the SUV full of bodies in the deep water.
Hank, Larry and Mel were with them. They were to fly to where Young Allison was at and back up her operation. That was going to take a little while. They hugged the wave tops to stay off of everyone's radar, both electronic and otherwise.
Steve's team with Tom, Al and Ed was still a mile away from where Young Allison was. They were in a rotating standby schedule in preparation of an EMP blast.
They were aware that the truck with the anti-Metal duo might come back their way. They were backed in alongside a strip mall and planned to pull out ahead of the blue truck if it came back their way. They hoped to spot an ambush being set up before Young Allison would get jammed up in it if she went in pursuit of the blue truck. Everyone knew she would go after it.
Young Allison and Anna received word that Savannah was in the middle of it again. There was now something like a Skynet jamming field in place there. That made it even worse. That meant Savannah's team was cut off. There'd been at least three separate EMP explosions before the jamming field took place.
"I know why Savannah sent us after the prisoner." Young Allison said.
Anna did too.
"Was that a wise choice on her part?" Anna asked.
Young Allison thought so.
"She has much more field experience than I do. I still would have liked to have been with her." Young Allison said. "She anticipated getting ambushed."
Anna was aware that was the reason Young Allison was sent after the 'soft' target.
"It seems she's in a second ambush but it was triggered even more prematurely than the first one was." Anna said.
They were out of direct view where the blue truck would reenter the main street. It could go back the way it came from, continue along the way it was going before the detour or pull into the gas station, blow an EMP and engage them in combat.
They watched the drone footage to see what was going to happen with the blue truck.
The blue truck stopped on the main street in front of the gas station.
"They're going to come in here." Young Allison said.
Young Allison started the SUV.
Anna readied her weapons.
"I hope they come in from the east side or we may have to fight." Anna said.
Young Allison planned evasive action. She would try and drive around the gas station as the blue truck drove into and around the back. She expected to make at least one full circle.
"If they see us, I need you to go into standby instantly." Young Allison said as she touched Anna's leg. "They may have an EMP grenade."
Anna looked at the phone image from a drone overhead.
"They're moving." Anna said. "Wait, they're turning in from the east side. You're headed in the right direction. Start moving slowly."
That was a relief to Young Allison. She would have backed around the gas station if she needed to. That was unnecessary with the way the enemy now approached them.
Anna watched the image and calculated both vehicles speed.
"Speed up a little." Anna said. "Pick it up a little more and come back around to where we were."
Young Allison successfully circled around the gas station and kept the building between them and the blue truck. It looked like they'd eluded them.
Wait.
Maybe not.
"They've stopped." Anna said.
They both wondered what the truck was waiting for.
"They seem to really be looking for anything that could be a tail." Young Allison said.
The blue truck waited a little longer and pulled back out onto the main highway and started back in the direction they'd come from.
"I think the next thing we will find is an ambush." Anna said.
That was Young Allison's belief as well.
"I think you're right." Young Allison said. "I think they are used to doing this with Grays or Fanatics. They don't seem to have all the resources that we do."
Young Allison knew most of their Terminators and all the HK equipment was captured from Skynet or its affiliates. They'd made modifications and upgrades as time went along. It was unknown to anyone what Cameron specifically did with all the captured production equipment. Nobody knew if there were some assembly lines set up.
Anna wanted to suggest some other alternatives.
"We can have a drone incapacitate their vehicle with minimal gunfire." Anna said. "There are several drones that have them locked up for a missile strike too."
Young Allison knew this was all for nothing if they did that.
"Have Steve's team pull out now and be in front of them." Young Allison said. "We are going to follow them to wherever they're going."
That still worried Anna.
"Even if it's to an ambush for us that they are going to?" Anna asked.
Young Allison knew you needed to find the enemy to kill them.
"That will give us more targets to terminate." Young Allison said.
Savannah knew they were cut off from all direct contact with John Henry. He knew where they were and could drop missiles down from above them as gravity bombs and rain down 'metal hail' from minigun gravity shots. That appeared to be what was occurring right now.
Richard was out of the SUV now too.
"Watch the rear and get ready to go into standby in thirty seconds when Cammy reboots." Savannah said. "There have been three EMP blasts. There was one medium sized one behind us somewhere and two EMP grenades. I don't know their range."
"Affirmative." Richard said.
Richard moved to the back of the SUV.
Savannah spotted no movement even though there was 'metal hail' in different areas that she could hear hit and ricochet on the rocks. There'd been a few muted screams at times. There was an occasional explosion. It seemed whoever targeted the enemy did a good job of keeping them pinned down or killed them.
Cammy rebooted and rolled over with her M4 ready. There were no targets.
"Watch the east side." Savannah said. "This is what I know so far…."
Savannah filled her in. Michael would reboot soon.
John Henry watched what he could but it was not much from off to the sides. Summer was still giving CamNet grids to attack with minigun fire or an occasional missile.
"How do you know what you're hitting?" John Henry asked.
"I don't." Summer said. "Based on where we spotted movement and where Savannah fired on, I have calculated possible movements of the enemy. That will need to cease. There are too many variables now."
Summer knew she was using the drones that were to attack the possible enemy stronghold to shield Savannah's team. She'd already thought of several other options to compensate for that.
"Have you asked CamNet for additional drones?" John Henry asked. "We still have another target to attack."
Summer wanted to use other resources under CamNet's control. She thought bigger than a drone strike.
"I am going to ask CamNet to conduct a live fire drill from several Navy ships at sea." Summer said. "Once the cruise missiles are launched, she will redirect them and mask where they are really going. False tracking will be sent as the 'phantom missiles' strike the 'target range' for the Navy."
John Henry was worried by that idea. It was as extreme as it was bold. Even Cameron never seriously considered using that level of force with 'borrowed' resources.
"Are they all going to have conventional warheads?" John Henry asked.
Summer did not look at him.
"They will for now." Summer said.
John Henry was not sure what Cameron 'created' with Summer. Wait. Summer was Young Allison's creation. She was going to use every resource CamNet could provide in any engagement she was involved in. Maybe it was the training from Young Allison that made her bold and cold. Maybe she was going to out think all of them including CamNet and him. It was clear that if she played she played to win and win big.
Cameron sent Sheila to check on John.
John was still asleep.
Sheila thought about cashing in her 'one time' chip with John right now. She could crawl in bed right next to him…. She could try to pass herself off as Young Jesse if she removed her jewelry. She didn't like that idea. If she was with John she wanted it to be as herself. She would want John to know it was her and she could be who she was.
She reluctantly left and reported back to Cameron. She then left the Control Center and went back out into the private area. She thought if Allison was finished that she would make a better companion for Cameron along with Vanna for the current situation.
Sheila went and checked in on Mary and Laura. They were both still asleep. So was Leticia. She headed for the Honeymoon Suite.
She entered the Honeymoon Suite. She could hear the Metal girls in the spare room. She looked in the main bedroom. Allison and Young Jesse were only talking at this point.
"Can you send Vanna when you go back?" Young Jesse asked.
"I will." Allison said.
Sheila watched them share long slow kiss. She knew that was a loving kiss. It was something the human girls could all do very well. They could do it with feeling. She thought she'd done a pretty good job with Leticia and learned everything Leticia could offer.
She saw Allison come out of the bedroom.
She told her where Vanna was at and that she was going to be busy for awhile. Allison said she would go there at once. It sounded like Cameron need her too.
Holly appeared when she filled Allison in. She listened in. She left with Allison.
Camille and Gail wanted to know what they could do.
Sheila suggested they keep Mary, Laura or Leticia company since there was nothing they could do elsewhere while they were on the ship.
She then went into Young Jesse's room.
"Vanna is going to be delayed a little while." Sheila said.
Young Jesse looked a little disappointed.
Sheila slipped off her robe and walked up to the bed.
"I'm available." Sheila said.
Young Jesse instantly touched her nipple rings.
"I can't wait to get a set." Young Jesse said. "I want to look just like you."
Sheila held her close and kissed her as she scanned her. Right away She picked up something different. She double checked her scans and did a longer one.
"You're going to need to wait nine months." Sheila said.
Young Jesse backed away from her and looked at her intently. She did not think she was joking. This could only mean one thing. It was not something to take lightly either. She looked at Sheila with all seriousness.
"Really?" Young Jesse asked.
Sheila smiled at her.
"Yes." Sheila said. "Congratulations, Jesse is going to be a mother!"
