Chapter 481

Temporal Trap

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Cameron's Future Timeline:

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There were Terminators and Grays that began to inspect the TDE equipment. Some of the Terminators were in communication with Skynet. Skynet issued orders and commands to everyone. There was no mechanical malfunction that could be detected with the TDE. There was a group of Grays and Terminators waiting on the TDE pad to go. There were several other groups backed up waiting their turn. Everything that Skynet planned was now on hold and disrupted.

The power surged in the TDE room as Skynet blasted as much power as it could to the TDE as it tried to force it to function. This act began to overload a lot of other systems. The encryption created by River was too much for Skynet. No code should be unbreakable. It made no sense to Skynet as to where it came from or how it got there.

A group of Grays and Terminators were directed to check the power couplings. The TDE should be able to function. The group looked around and saw the access panel. They gathered around as one Terminator went to open it. There was a massive amount of heat coming from the wall from all the energy being blasted through the power cables.

One of the Grays questioned the safety from the excessive heat. A Terminator shoved him out of the way.

The Terminator started to open the access panel door as the rest of the group moved forward to look. The Terminator saw the plasma grenade's spoon fly off as he opened the door. He tried to back away from it but knew he would never make it. What struck him as odd was a 'smiley face' drawn in the thick dust inside the floor of the hatch as his world went black.

Savannah worked with Cammy in the hanger, they heard an explosion. Someone apparently opened the TDE access panel and got a big surprise. The question now was, did they realize they'd been infiltrated?

Cammy was sure the Gray that worked at the TDE control station was terminated and not believed that 'someone' came to 'relieve' him. Now after the explosion they may start to wonder. Then again they were running a lot of energy through the cable. Maybe they would think it was an overload from overuse. There was a lot of heat there when she went into the crawlway. She wondered if anyone noticed the 'present' she'd left them. It was something she'd learned from Savannah.

Someone entered the hanger area. They spotted Cammy immediately.

It looked like they were about to raise an alarm.

Cammy needed to think quickly. She wore a complete Skynet uniform so she looked like she belonged there, even if they didn't recognize her.

"Quickly, come over here." Cammy called to the Gray as they entered.

Cammy wanted to draw him in closer. It would make the next part of her job easier.

Savannah disappeared behind another HK drone. She hadn't been spotted yet.

The Gray wanted to see what Cammy thought was so important.

"What is it?" The Gray asked.

There was an open panel on the HK drone she'd started to work on.

"I've just uncovered a plot to sabotage these HK drones." Cammy said. "Look."

Cammy showed him the sabotage done by Cameron earlier. He hadn't moved too close to her yet.

The Gray could see the wiring was disturbed. It wasn't in neat looms any longer.

"We must alert the Terminators." The Gray said. "I think we have an intruder."

The Gray moved closer for a better look so he could report what he'd found.

Cammy moved in back of him.

"There is one more thing." Cammy said quietly.

The Gray moved closer to Cammy

"What is it?" The Gray asked quietly.

Cammy smiled at him.

"I'm a Terminator." Cammy said.

She snapped his neck. She quickly drug him away. She continued with the reprogramming. Savannah rejoined her.

Cameron heard the explosion but felt nothing. That shouldn't alert the Terminators in standby down below, at least not yet anyway.

She made her way back to the hanger deck. She saw a Gray enter in front to her. She increased her speed to go after him.

She reached the hanger door and entered.

Cammy moved the body of the Gray away and started to reprogram another HK drone. She heard the door to the hanger open again. She was aware someone else entered.

Savannah and Cammy were concealed from sight right now. They wouldn't be for long if anyone started to look around.

Cammy heard someone approach. She would try the same trick again.

The outside hanger door began open. This was a new problem.

Cammy prepared for combat. If these HK drones became active, they were in trouble.

Savannah moved too. She also heard the threat. She still carried the Thermite grenade. She was ready to pull the pin and throw it. She tried to move behind the noise that she'd heard. The fact that the hanger door started to open seemed like a new problem.

Cameron was aware there were two people in the hanger deck. She didn't see the Gray that entered just before her either. It seemed unlikely that he would hide. Whoever was there concealed themselves. She wondered….

"Cammy, Savannah, I'm back." Cameron said quietly.

Much to Cameron surprise Cammy appeared in front of her and Savannah from behind her. She noted the Thermite grenade Savannah held ready to throw.

The three quickly and silently embraced.

Savannah was elated that Cameron was back. She'd really started to wonder if she would ever see her again. Her emotional jubilation didn't mask her physical 'readings'.

Cameron noticed in her quick scan of Savannah that she wasn't in good condition. Her clothes were soaked in spots. Her 'readings' were all over the place. This caused her to worry. Savannah must have experienced some type of trauma. She began to wonder if she'd be assaulted. That thought sent a glitch impulse through her hand. That wasn't how she wanted Savannah to become a 'woman'. John was supposed to do that.

Savannah noticed Cameron's glitch. She knew that Cameron scanned her, she was used to it. She didn't want Cameron to get any wrong ideas.

"I'm fine, Cameron." Savannah said. "I was in a hot place for awhile. Cammy took me away from there."

Cammy and Savannah filled her in on what they'd seen and done.

Cameron was pleased that the TDE was disabled. That would mean fewer things to fix. They told her of the various models of female Terminators they'd observed. She too believed that some of what they saw happen right now were events they'd already dealt with in the past. She didn't like what Savannah told her that she'd almost done with the Thermite grenade. That was very disturbing to her.

The hanger door was fully open now. An HK drone arrived and landed. Cammy moved over to it and disabled it before it was completely shut down.

Cameron sent out her burst transmission. The HK drones she kept on standby should be here in a very short while.

Cammy expected there would be more Grays at some point. They needed to be armed.

"We need weapons." Cammy said.

Cameron pointed to a corner.

"There is an arms locker on the far side wall." Cameron said.

Cammy programmed three of the HK drones to operate off of their commands and no one else. That should give them some additional firepower and cover their withdrawal.

"I have three HK drones on our team right now." Cammy said.

Cameron thought that was a good idea. She didn't want Skynet to have control of any of them even for a minute.

"Savannah get the weapons. We must disable the rest." Cameron said.

Cameron went from HK drone to HK drone. She smashed the transmitter and receiver node.

Cammy did so as well. Savannah retrieved three plasma rifles.

Cammy and Cameron converged. Cameron gave Cammy a precise set of instruction and data. Cammy repeated everything back.

Savannah watched them and listened as she handed them weapons. She knew what Cameron wanted to do. It all made sense to her now. She'd told Cameron earlier why she was a little overheated.

"Cameron, I understand now." Savannah said. "Do what you HAVE to do."

Cameron was troubled at how far Savannah almost went. She was very glad that didn't happen. She wouldn't have been able to go forward with her plan until she knew Savannah was out or terminated.

"Thank you, Savannah. From your story, you were going to do the same thing. You were going to do what you needed to do." Cameron said. "I'm going to do the same thing now. There's no other way. It's the only way to be sure. I'll be back."

Savannah believed in Cameron. She always had.

"You're invincible, Cameron." Savannah said. "You're eternal."

Cameron saw that Savannah still carried a Thermite grenade. She wanted it. She thought of a place she could use it.

"Let me have your Thermite grenade." Cameron said.

Savannah instantly handed it to Cameron.

Cameron bent the pin back to keep it from coming out easily. Now that she'd sent out her burst transmission and received a reply she laid out her plans a little clearer to Cammy and Savannah. It was important that they follow her instructions very carefully.

"Two of my Metal associates, 'Bob' and 'Rob', will arrive with two additional HK drones." Cameron said. "One is armed the other has a 'Package' on it. You two will need to leave this area immediately. Once you are away, get to the far side of the next hill quickly. You may have to shut the HK drones and yourself down, Cammy. Otherwise there may be damage…."

Cammy didn't say anything at first. It was clear what Cameron was going to do. She looked at Savannah to see if she understood why Cameron issued that specific warning. There was going to be a massive EMP blast. It was going to be from a nuclear weapon. The giant power cell may or may not add to that effect. It could create a massive energy surge of its own. The specific instructions Cameron gave to her would determine Cameron's fate in the end.

"I understand." Cammy said. "River or I will come for you."

Cameron could see Cammy understood what was about to happen. She stressed the importance of Cammy's instructions again.

"It is imperative you get away, Cammy." Cameron said. "I'm depending on you. Everything depends on you."

Savannah watched and listened to it all. She wasn't happy with what was happening. There was more going on here than Cameron actually explained. She had a pretty good idea what that was. She'd learned how to 'play the game'. She said nothing in protest. Her mind was already made up. She knew what she was going to do.

Cammy double checked the three HK drones that she reprogrammed. They were ready to go. It would give them some extra firepower, create a diversion and cause even more confusion.

"I've programmed these three HK drones." Cammy said. "They will respond to our verbal commands or their programmed targets. Right now they are to protect the hanger."

Cameron was pleased with that prospect. She knew where she wanted two of the HK drones to go. They could hold some key positions to prevent anyone from following her too soon. That was if the Skynet forces figured out what was really happening. She quickly went and gave two of the three HK drones instructions. They now would go after specific targets and hold them.

Cammy understood everything.

"We'll do our part." Cammy said.

Cameron went to leave.

Savannah wanted Cameron to know how she felt.

"I love you, Cameron." Savannah said.

Cameron turned and gave Savannah a quick hug. Their hands lingered before they separated. A lot was 'said' with that silent gesture.

"Savannah…. I love you." Cameron said. "I'll be back."

Cameron departed the hanger deck and headed to where she wanted to be when the 'Package' arrived.

"Drone Units, One, Two and Three, prepare for combat, arm yourselves." Cammy said.

The three HK drones powered up. The noise was loud.

In seconds it grew even louder. There were more HK drones about to enter the hanger.

"Here they come." Cammy said. "It's Cameron's special group."

Rob and Bob arrived on an armed HK drone. The 'Package' and its armed HK drone escort were between them. It was a sight to see all four of them enter the hanger in a neat column.

Cameron was already on her way headed back to the shaft. She decided to take a shortcut this time and smashed through the wall of the storage area where she'd gone through the ducting before. She pulled a large crate over to cover where she'd broken through the wall at.

She ran through the darkness at full speed. She needed to have everything ready before the shooting started. She wanted to disable the Terminator in the elevator bucket at the bottom of the shaft.

When she reached the shaft she armed and then threw the Thermite grenade down. She immediately rolled a large boulder into the shaft behind it. Both items should severely incapacitate the Terminator waiting below.

Cameron heard the explosion of the Thermite grenade followed by the crash of the boulder. It was followed soon afterwards by a second set of explosions as the other two Terminators reactivated and blew themselves up. The Thermite and plasma grenades she'd left behind were tied to their boots. The fuses were shortened for instant detonation.

In a very short time she heard massive firing and explosions back the way she'd come from. She knew the 'Package' was coming and Hell was coming with it.

Cameron wondered if she was Skynet.

She wondered if Skynet was about to meet its maker, either way, she was about to meet her maker.

Moments ago:

There was a loud noise and another door from the hall to the hanger deck burst open. A warning must have been sent to Skynet about the four HK drones that arrived in trail. They would have appeared as one until the last moment when it was detected there were four of them. They were inside the hanger now. A force was sent to intercept them.

A group of Terminators came in with their weapons up and ready to fire.

'HK One' was ready and waiting for them. It opened up on them. The initial group to enter was shredded by its minigun.

'HK Two' was set to go once 'HK One' opened up. It blasted through the wall with two missiles and headed in one direction down the corridor. 'HK Three' followed it through the opening but headed in the opposite direction.

The two unmanned HK drones from Cameron's team were sent on their mission as soon as 'HK Two' and 'HK Three' were away. Each contained pre-programmed instructions from Cameron's 'burst transmission'.

The armed HK drone blasted through another wall. The HK drone with the 'Package' followed it.

One of Cameron Terminator got off his HK drone.

"You two, take this HK drone and go." Bob said.

Bob and Rob got on to the same HK drone. They followed the HK drone with the 'Package'. They disappeared into the hole in the wall.

Cammy didn't see how this was going to end well for any of them.

"We need to leave now" Cammy said.

'HK One' opened up again with it's minigun as another group of Grays tried to enter the hanger area. Savannah didn't want anyone in behind Cameron's team.

"We can't go yet." Savannah said. "We have to make sure they make it."

Cammy knew what was going to happen. The nuclear warhead would be detonated in minutes. She'd seen it herself.

"Savannah, NO!" Cammy said. "We need to get away from here fast."

Savannah already knew what was going to happen and there was only one way to save Cameron. She would need to do it herself.

"'HK One', come here." Savannah said.

'HK One' still held off anyone from entering the hanger deck. 'HK Two' and HK Three' should prevent anyone else from approaching further back.

Cammy was on the HK drone that Bob freed up. She waited for Savannah to join her.

"Savannah, what are you doing?" Cammy asked.

'HK One' arrived and Savannah climbed on top of it.

"Cammy, you go. I'm going with Cameron. I have to make sure she makes it. I love you." Savannah said. "'HK One', follow those 'Friendlies'."

'HK One' immediately departed with Savannah on it. It followed Bob and Rob.

Cammy couldn't believe it. Savannah just signed her own death warrant by following Cameron's group.

"Savannah…." Cammy screamed. "Nooooooooooooooo!"

Cammy's first instinct was to go after Savannah. Her programming kicked in. It was about survival now. She knew she needed to get out with the vital information or all of them would perish.

"I love you too, Savannah." Cammy said towards the direction Savannah just went.

Cammy headed the HK drone out and away at top speed. She needed to be behind the hill Cameron told her about and on the ground. She didn't have much time to do it.

She knew her mission was of the utmost importance. If she didn't make it, Cameron and Savannah were without any hope…. Right now the information that she contained was the only thing that could save them at this point. She pushed the HK drone past the redline.

Trap

One's life can never move forward
If they remain living in the past
The shadow of eternal darkness
Seeps deep, its emptiness is cast

The happiness of living
Is only a cruel illusion
Being lead to believe it
Is only an illusive delusion

There is no freedom
There is no escape
Wounds to the heart and mind
Perpetually tear and scrape

When we have nothing
We want more
When we have more
We still want more

Time will show there is
Something worse than nothing
That is when one realizes
It is - less than nothing

Everyone is pushed
Until they break or snap
To think one can get ahead
That is life's trap

Nobody