Chapter 689

Tip Of The Iceberg

Three Resistance teams followed the Skynet truck. The truck recently left a suspected Skynet facility where they'd spotted an HK drone subassembly being loaded onto it. They wanted to find out where it was going. They'd also like to know where it came from. They always changed position so they didn't give away the tail. It didn't appear it was a Terminator who drove the truck, which would make spotting the tail even harder. If there was a Terminator involved, they would be 'made' very quickly. If combat operations broke out too soon, it could endanger team members and the rest of the operation. In order to get as much of the Skynet related material and Grays all at once, the attacks, when they came, would all need to be at the same time and coordinated.

Bob leapfrogged into position and followed closest to the bobtail truck at this point. It was near a very large and empty looking structure. Right away as he looked at the structure, he knew they could build any kind of HK equipment, from HK drones to HK Treads in a structure that big. If it was an assembly line, they could have setups for everything, it was big enough. He wondered how they moved the HK equipment and to where after it was assembled. The building was big enough that they could store them there too. He was pretty sure they were at the target location, at least one of them anyway.

"The truck is about to stop." Bob said.

John looked at the satellite overlay map. He could see that there was some type of large structure.

"We're tracking you." John said. "What's there?"

Bob looked over the building. He could see where a sign had been removed. There was a faint outline of the sign with the name that was once on the building

"It's a closed newspaper facility." Bob said. "It looks abandoned. It's very big."

John thought it was a sign of the times. Technology long ago passed the print industry by. They'd come up a day late and a dollar short.

"No one reads yesterday's news anymore." John said. "Newspapers died more than a decade ago."

Bob quickly made some external observations around the building.

"They have a rail connection along the east side. It's a dead end spur track." Bob said.

John Henry was aware of how the giant rolls of newsprint were shipped.

"That makes sense, paper used to come in bulk shipments." John Henry said.

Bob looked at the siding as he passed near it. He could tell that the siding was in active use.

"Yes. There are boxcars there now." Bob said. "I can see the tops of the rails are shiny, not rusted. They're moving things in or out of here by rail now."

The fact that Skynet would use the rail system was somewhat of a surprise to John. He would have thought of it as archaic as newspapers.

"That's different and unexpected." John said.

It was a concern to John Henry. He immediately wondered if this operation wasn't much bigger than they'd first anticipated.

"That would indicate a heavy volume of something going in or going out." John Henry said. "A boxcar could hold considerably more than a trailer or container. It would bypass inspections on the highways. There wouldn't be any traffic cams to track the trucks by. They could keep the 'goods' in motion and never stay in one place for very long. They wouldn't tie up manpower or personnel this way either. They could send boxcars all over the country to remote locations. There are a lot of closed factories with rail access. At some of those locations the siding goes inside the building, which would shield it from satellite imagery. This is a new dimension and aspect we hadn't considered before."

Sheila's team moved into position.

"We're taking over for Bob." Sheila said. "He's gone over to the far side. We've crossed the spur track and are passing the truck loading bays. There's one big rig and two bobtails parked at the dock now."

John was a little more concerned with each new revelation.

"This indicates a large operation." John said. "What do you see Gail?"

John wondered how big this was going to get and at what point it was going to get away from him. Most of these events were all spur of the moment and not planned in advance.

Cameron directed Gail to take a different route once they knew the truck reached its destination. She wanted to look at a different side of the structure from where Bob and Sheila would be able to view.

"We're circling around the side. The south side is blocked by the mainline railroad tracks. There's a cross street about a half mile in either direction." Gail said. "There is also a small flood control channel that runs along the main street and angles into a bigger flood control channel that parallels the railroad tracks."

Cameron recalled a previous encounter with a 'Metal Bitch.' through a flood control system. She'd blown her in half with a Thermite grenade at the conclusion of the chase.

"They may use those as escape routes." Cameron said. "We've seen that before."

John Henry looked at the details of a zoomed in satellite map.

"I'm looking at the satellite map." John Henry said. "The flood control channel that runs along the west side of the building is paved for two miles to the north. Before that it's a dirt wash that comes from the nearby hills. Once it joins the larger channel that parallels the railroad tracks, it runs east and west. The flow direction must be to the east because it keeps getting wider with feeder channels running into it. They're all angled in an easterly direction as they join the main channel."

Sheila spotted some movement near the end of her drive by.

"The box truck is backing up to the dock." Sheila said. "Another truck is leaving."

John wanted to know where that truck was going.

"Follow it." John said. "Keep your distance. Try to get a tracker on it."

"We're on it." Sheila said.

John noticed that Bob's team moved to a different location.

"Bob, what are you able to see from your new position?" John asked.

Bob thought they were in a good location to view fifty percent of the structure.

"We've moved around to the south side of the railroad tracks. We can watch the west side of the structure with the trucks and the south side that is blocked by the flood control channel and the railroad tracks. The east side is the side for the boxcars. We can't see that side or the north side from here." Bob said.

John didn't want any blank spots.

"What's on the north side?" John asked.

Cameron already directed Gail to move to that side for a closer look.

"I think it is office space." Gail said. "It appears to be unused."

John was aware that there were more trucks to watch than they had teams available right now unless he split them up. He wanted to keep eyes on the building too. He wanted to know where everyone of those trucks went to and preferably where it came from as well.

"Keep us updated on the truck traffic." John said.

It was clear to those in the Command Center that this operation was way bigger than they'd first anticipated.

John looked over the satellite images.

"That's a very big place." John said.

John Henry was concerned as to what exactly was going on inside of it.

"There can be a lot happening in there." John Henry said.

John needed to find out what was going on inside of the building. It seemed it was going to be problematic in order to pull that off. They were still going to need to find out what exactly was happening in there sooner or later.

"Assembling HK equipment is bad enough." John said. "If they can start making Terminators, that's really bad news."

"Is any news ever good?" John Henry asked.

"Not really." John said.

It never seemed to be anything good. Whenever they were done taking down an operation, there was always another one waiting to pop up in its place.

John often wondered what they were missing and when Skynet would make a power grab and try to end the world. Maybe only CamNet being on every computer system prevented that. CamNet was there because of the 'backdoor' that the Grey operative, Charles Fisher, first set into motion. CamNet was there and stopped it. She now controlled that system. He wondered if maybe that wasn't all some type of manipulation by Cameron in the future. Who really knew the full extent of what Cameron and Future John did or were planning? Maybe they were all pawns in some convoluted drawn out scheme. There's been more than a few times where he was pretty sure that he was a pawn in Cameron's game. He knew she played the game to win but he wondered if she really knew what the game actually was. Future John did erase a lot of he files before he sent Cameron.

Jim's team of Derek and Kyle arrived back at the Resistance base.

Derek went to see Riley immediately when they returned.

Jesse greeted him as he came in. They exchanged pleasantries and then talked about Riley, she was in the bedroom.

"Vanna's with Riley now, she's sleeping." Jesse said.

Derek felt a little uncomfortable this close to Jesse and alone.

"Thanks, Jesse." Derek said. "I really appreciate this."

Jesse could see that Derek was uneasy. She didn't think that he needed to be.

"Anytime, love." Jesse said with a broad smile. "We go way back."

Kyle entered the room soon afterward. He could see right away that his brother looked very nervous on top of the worry that he already felt.

"Hey, Jesse." Kyle said.

"Hi." Jesse said.

Vanna just exited out of Riley's room as Kyle entered.

Vanna filled Kyle in on everything.

"So what happens next?" Kyle asked.

Jesse didn't think it was anything severe, just a combination of a lot of little things.

"We wait. Nature will dictate what happens next." Jesse said. "She just looks tired and doesn't feel good. There are no harmful signs we can detect."

Vanna knew that the infirmary was fully stocked and ready for any emergency. She thought they could take advantage of that facility just to make sure everything was OK.

"I think we should move her to the infirmary when she wakes up." Vanna said. "I'll ask John Henry to check her out. We have all the medical gear now. He has access to all the medical procedures."

Kyle didn't know much about medicine. He didn't think any of them did.

"There is nothing we can do." Kyle said.

Vanna noticed how Jesse's top looked.

"Jesse, your top is inside out." Vanna said.

Jesse looked down at it and pulled it off. She was topless as she turned it the correct way. Her nipple rings bounced with the movement of her arms.

Derek tried to look away but he still saw plenty.

Kyle couldn't help but watch. It made him wonder how Sarah would look with a set of nipple rings. He thought that she would look pretty Hot. He figured Sarah would go with a larger diameter or heavier gauge.

Jesse smiled at him as she put her top back on. She thought about asking him to make sure her rings were centered before she slid her top down over them. She decided that would best be better left for another time.

Nobody said anything.

Jesse knew they all enjoyed the 'show'. She'd enjoyed giving it. An audience always excited her. In fact she missed them sometimes.

Anna was a little upset with Young Allison's proposal to do some 'testing' on her.

Young Allison saw the tear on Anna's cheek

"What's wrong?" Young Allison asked.

Anna quickly wiped the tear away.

"Nothing…." Anna said.

Young Allison was sure it was about what she'd suggested earlier.

"It was about testing my 'Neural Interface' on you, wasn't it?" Young Allison asked.

Anna didn't want to be altered.

"It would change who I am." Anna said. "I don't want to change. I like who I am now. I don't want to be different."

Young Allison could see she'd overstepped. She didn't mean for it to be this traumatic to Anna. It was more of a thought than a request. Her original intent was to do something to help Cameron.

"It was just an idea, please forget about it." Young Allison said.

It started to bother Young Allison now at the 'pain' she'd caused Anna. It wasn't intentional. She was only trying to think of a way to work around problems that others experienced. It certainly wasn't to create a problem.

Anna felt it was her duty to serve Young Allison and do as she requested.

"If it's what you want, I'll do it." Anna said.

Young Allison was very upset about the pain that she'd caused Anna.

"No. I don't want you changed." Young Allison said. "I'm sorry."

Anna was crudely reminded of her actual place in Young Allison's life. One thing was for sure, it wasn't first place. The sad part was, is that it never could be.

"Remember, I'm a 'placeholder' for Savannah." Anna said.

Young Allison sighed. She understood some of Cameron's frustrations better now. There was what she was supposed to do and expected to do and what she wanted to do. They didn't always correlate with each other.

"I'm well aware of my place in the 'Natural Order'." Young Allison said. "I know my future, I know my duty. I have promises to keep. I intend to keep them, all of them."

Anna was deeply in love with Young Allison. She knew her place but she also offered an alternative if they could change the future going forward. She didn't want to be specific about what choices Young Allison could make on her own at that point.

"If we can change the future and prevent Judgment Day, you can have your own life." Anna said. "You'll have the freedom to choose something different."

Young Allison was ready to accept her future. She was ready to accept it now. She wanted to have it now. Future Allison was very clear to her about what the future would offer her.

"I want what I already 'have'." Young Allison said. "I've talked with Future Allison about it. I asked her if my destiny was something to look forward to or dread."

That statement sounded a little ambiguous and open ended to Anna.

"What did she say?" Anna asked.

Young Allison felt a slight flutter to her heart and she remembered what Future Allison told her.

"She told me to get close to Savannah and Cameron and never let them go." Young Allison said.

Anna could see that one person was left out of the equation.

"What about John?" Anna asked.

Young Allison swallowed hard. She knew what she would have to do to protect John going forward. She'd promised Cameron that she would and that's what she would do. Future Allison told her it wasn't too bad as long as she had a choice to be with a male and wasn't being forced by one of them.

"Future Allison said it is something I would have to 'accept'." Young Allison said. "Everyone sacrifices for John Connor."

Young Allison already knew it was the female body that excited her, not the male body. Maybe that would change with more hormones as she grew older, maybe not. Maybe both were in her future. Either way she knew her destiny and was ready for it. She would do what was necessary to protect John and the future. She knew that Savannah would always be there for her for whatever she needed and whenever she needed it.

Sarah pulled up at the Young residence with Jan and Cammy.

Kyle called Sarah, right after she'd arrived and filled her in.

Sarah was very dismayed by the news. She knew how she tried to get Riley to go with her. She didn't know if it would have been better to have Riley with her or the fact that Riley was still at the base, either way she felt sort of guilty right now.

"Do you want me to come back?" Sarah asked.

Kyle didn't think the situation looked too serious but he didn't know medical stuff.

"I don't think it's necessary." Kyle said. "I do know Jan wants to see Summer and Young Allison."

They finished their conversation.

Cammy saw the concern on Sarah's face. She called John Henry for an update to see if anything was wrong. Cammy thought she may need to return to the Resistance base with Sarah. She would ask her. She knew that there were enough Terminators at the Young residence to more than adequately protect Jan as well as the other girls.

"I can return with you, Sarah. Anna will be responsible for Jan until she returns." Cammy said. "Anna is 'Cameron' and 'Savannah'."

That gave Sarah a lot of comfort to know there was a 'Cameron' close by other than Cammy who was right next to her. She did know that all the children really enjoyed being around Cameron, then again so did everyone else.

"I know she's great with kids." Sarah said.

Anna walked out with Summer and Young Allison.

Jan was thrilled to see Summer.

Cammy went in with Anna, Summer and Jan.

Young Allison decided to meet with Sarah on her own.

"Hello, Allison." Sarah said.

"Hi, Sarah." Young Allison said. "I've been briefed by CamNet on everything."

Young Allison went over everything that was happening with Riley and the current operation.

Sarah was left with the distinct feeling that she was speaking to 'Cameron' right now and not Young Allison. Based on her youthful physique, it was clearly Young Allison who she currently spoke with. She did take in that youthful appearance and could see the fascination John would have with it. Young Allison was simply a younger version of 'Cameron' for all practical purposes.

"Why do I have the feeling I'm talking to an adult and not a young woman?" Sarah asked.

Young Allison wanted Sarah to know that she was ready to step up. She wanted her to know that she was ready for everything. She felt justified in her feelings.

"My education and metal development has far exceeded my physical development." Young Allison said. "I have great responsibilities I must fulfill."

Sarah needed to check herself. She was getting caught up in Young Allison's philosophy.

"That's Cameron's doing." Sarah said. "I don't agree with it."

Young Allison didn't like the rebuff. She wanted to remind Sarah as to who put everything into motion and made everything possible.

"Don't blame her." Young Allison said. "It's your son who's put all this into play. He sent Kyle back, Derek back and Cameron back. He must have known what he was doing and wanted. I've been in training all my known life. It's all I remember. It's all I know. I know everything."

Sarah closed her eyes and shook her head. She knew Cameron was making a 'human version' of herself with Young Allison. She wanted to blame John but it was Future John who did this indirectly through Cameron. She needed the reminder that Future John also sent Kyle back. He'd sent Kyle back for her. Maybe he wasn't the jackass that she'd earlier accused him of being.

Young Allison took Sarah inside.

It was very clear to Sarah that Young Allison was definitely the equal of Savannah. It also appeared her potential would be even greater as well. She would soon enough discover that Summer actually possessed the greatest potential of everyone.

John waited for more to develop. He'd begun to wonder why Cameron was so quiet. He was pretty sure he didn't want to know the answer.

"Do we have a new target?' John asked. "Where's Cameron?"

Gail figured she better tell it to John straight.

"We have another truck leaving." Gail said. "Cameron's gone to procure additional transportation."

John knew what that really meant.

"You mean steal another car." John said.

Gail knew that was a normal source of procurement when a vehicle was required immediately.

"Yes, I said that." Gail said. "Savannah is with me currently."

John knew it wasn't a big deal. What they needed to do was get some trackers placed on some of the trucks. It appeared that that was going to take a little more work and ingenuity to pull that off.

"OK. We may need to borrow a few more unless we can get trackers on some of these vehicles." John said.

Savannah was made aware by Cameron that the trucks weren't the only thing that they needed to keep track of.

"Cameron wants to tag the boxcars also." Savannah said.

John Henry knew the railroads already possessed a tracking system for their equipment.

"We can follow the manifest to see where they've come from and where they go." John Henry said.

Savannah's discussion with Cameron led her to believe that it was actually all a big 'shell game' for Skynet. She was aware at the end of the shell game that the 'mark' always picked the wrong shell. The shell they picked was always empty underneath.

"What if they're diverted or unloaded in route?" Savannah asked. "There may be other railcars used in their place. It all depends how many Terminators they have on it and what form of Skynet is backing them up. We could end up with nothing but false information."

It all sounded like another headache John could do without. He could see that they really didn't have any control over anything or any idea at what was actually occurring, even if it was happening right in front of them.

"This operation is spiraling out of control." John said. "A few weeks ago, I thought we'd curtailed everything, now it looks like we've only previously found the tip of the iceberg."

Cameron listened to the entire conversation and decided it was time to put forward a plan of what needed to be done. She thought she'd formulated a pretty good plan.

"Apparently…." Cameron said. "This is what I want to do…."

Tip Of The Iceberg

Take a good look
At the one you're with
To think the love will last forever
Is nothing but a cruel myth

What's there now
Can evaporate in an instant
In the blink of an eye
Two can become very distant

Things will often devolve
To little more than coexistence
The gap slowly widens
As does the personal distance

Because change is very hard
Each accepts mutual toleration
That's the slow road to nowhere
Before a complete deterioration

When the first signs of another are noticed
The game is already long over
That's just the tip of the iceberg
Anything received then is only a leftover

Nobody