Chapter 720

Aroused

It was bad news in the Command Center to know the boxcars were empty and the cargo was gone. It was clear they'd been played. The fact that the Grays left a booby trap, only added insult to injury. It also clearly indicated that they knew that they were being watched and tracked.

John was glad that Bob found the booby trap and disarmed it. He was worried that some railroad worker might have found it and accidentally set it off. It could have been a hobo or one or the rail gangs too. He didn't want the explosives left there.

"Can you bring the explosive with you?" John asked.

Bob already intended to do that. He didn't want a Gray or Terminator to rearm it easily.

"Affirmative…." Bob said. "It's mainly a shrapnel device. I'll remove the explosive charge and scatter the shrapnel. There is a lot of debris around these yard tracks."

John wanted to get those two boxcars out of Skynet control. He knew it wasn't like a truck and they could just 'borrow' it like they did with other vehicles. Maybe that was another reason why Skynet selected this method.

"Can you change the reporting marks?" John Henry asked.

Bob looked over at the side of the boxcar. He lacked the proper equipment.

"No." Bob said. "I would need some paint. I can alter the electronic chip the car carries for automatic identification."

John wanted to slip one by Skynet.

"Do it." John said.

Bob went to work. He also went underneath each boxcar. He needed to be sure no one saw him. That was a severe violation of protocol.

"It's done." Bob said. "I've also installed two trackers on each boxcar."

John wasn't sure of the future of those two boxcars.

"I don't think they will use them any more. They planned to blow them up." John said.

Bob carefully looked over the booby trap before he'd deactivated it.

"It wasn't big enough to blow up the boxcar. It was designed to only kill whoever opened the door. It wouldn't have damaged the boxcar much." Bob said. "It wouldn't have incapacitated me but would have cause extensive sheath damage."

John was worried that the Grays may have a team there to intercept or tail anyone who showed up to check the boxcars out.

"Can you get out of there unobserved?" John asked. "They may have eyes on you. They surely have eyes on the rail yard."

Bob already came to that same conclusion.

"I'm violating railroad protocol as we speak. I'm moving under freight cars now as I cut across the yard." Bob said. "There's a string of container cars headed out soon. I see four road locomotives backing down the track they're on. The locomotives are all in 'elephant style' so I'm sure of the direction of travel of the train."

John contemplated the phraseology Bob used in regards to the locomotives. He came to the conclusion that that meant the locomotives all faced in the same direction. He knew that that wasn't a requirement for diesel electric locomotives. They could face forward or backward and do the same job. He also wondered where the train would go.

"Where will you end up?" John asked.

The last Bob saw were the locomotives coupled on the east end of the train.

"I will end up away from here." Bob said. "The destination is unknown."

It seemed risky to John.

"Make sure you're unobserved." John said.

Bob already made his move.

"I'm under one of the cars now. I've spotted no one. I moved underneath several rows of freight cars" Bob said. "I'll 'ride the rails' until this train takes a siding. I'll be like a hobo."

John zoomed in on a satellite map. He could see some sections were equipped with two sets of tracks.

"What happens if it's on a double tracked section?" John asked. "The train won't have to stop."

Bob tilted his head slightly.

"I get a longer ride." Bob said. "You can call me Hobo Bob."

John Henry knew he could assist with Bob's departure.

"I can control the CTC, the Centralized Traffic Control system and cause a 'red eye', which is a red signal." John Henry said. "I can slow or stop the train at any point."

John doubted Bob could get back to his SUV.

"Bob, where's your vehicle?" John asked.

Bob already planned ahead.

"It's at the local 'outlet center'." Bob said. "I rode an outlet bus and walked three miles to get here. I didn't want to be tracked if this location was under observation."

John Henry's server made its way into the signal system for the railroad. He was provided other information as well.

"I'm into the CTC system now. Your train is headed over Beaumont Pass." John Henry said. "How many cars back from the locomotives are you?"

Earlier Bob made a quick calculation as he selected the container car he'd boarded.

"I'm twelve articulated cars back. They are semi permanently coupled in groups of five." Bob said.

Bob was aware that the semi-permanently coupled cars experience less slack action since there was only one drawbar and coupler for five cars instead of five drawbars and couplers. He figured with all the red and yellow signals that would at least give him a little smoother ride as the train slowed or needed to stop.

John Henry looked over the satellite map. He should be able to allow Bob to detrain at a good location.

"I can stop the train over the dry creek on the causeway it will be on." John Henry said. "Your ride should be near a stand of trees along the bank."

Bob wanted to keep things moving with the train. He hoped to camouflage his departure in case anyone had eyes on the train.

"Just give them a 'solid yellow' light and they should slow, that's all I need to drop off." Bob said. "No one should be the wiser."

John wanted to throw off anyone who might watch or follow the train. He tried to think of the best way to do that.

"I'll have John Henry actually stop the train before the spot you'll get off and again two more times with a yellow and a red after that." John said.

John Henry looked over the data. He knew the train usually was given green lights when it departed the yard.

"That will be one angry crew." John Henry said.

John looked over at John Henry and shrugged his shoulders.

"And one safe 'Hobo Bob', that's all I care about." John said.

Savannah felt very conflicted after she left Cameron. She didn't know what she wanted to do right now. She spent time walking around Cameron's base deep in personal thought. She was unsure what she'd gotten herself into. She was sure it would end badly at some point. It didn't matter. She was going to protect Young Allison any way she could. It was just that simple. She was also aware that she should be able to derive a great amount of pleasure out of the experience as well.

She went in search of Cammy. She found her in her room.

Cammy stepped forward and gave Savannah a soft loving kiss. She then took a step back and looked Savannah in the eyes. She knew Savannah didn't like to be lied to. She wanted to come clean. She wasn't sure Savannah would still want her. It was time to find out. She believed that Savannah's love was strong enough to overcome any obstacle.

"I want to be honest with you." Cammy said. "I've made love to Sheila for six years in the past. We started out as having sex for two years before that. We had a lot of it. We were very isolated. It was always the two of us. We were around each other twenty four hours a day. We fell in love. At some point it went from just having sex to making love to each other. We wanted 'more' from each other. Things happen…."

Cammy didn't want to say that she was the one who turned the sex into love. It was based upon her experience with Savannah and to a lesser extent with the other human girls. She wanted to show Sheila that there was more than just a 'finish', even if there were a hundred in a row. Love was more about the journey than the destination.

Savannah didn't see that as anything different than she did. She was sure if she was alone with someone that long and isolated she would do the same thing.

"Things happen here too. You know I've been with a lot of females myself." Savannah said. "You've allowed me the freedom to share and love. I allow you that privilege and pleasure as well. We still have each other. You can share with Sheila when I'm asleep. I don't have a problem with that. If you want a 'three way', I'm good with that as well."

Cammy was pleased to hear that. It was time to show Savannah her 'new look'. She'd adopted it in the past. She pulled off her top and stood boldly before Savannah.

Savannah was surprised. Her eyes widened with excitement.

"That looks HOT, Cammy!" Savannah said.

"I've touched Sheila's nipple rings so much that I wanted a pair. I got a set for myself five years ago in the past." Cammy said. "Cameron wears a set on and off. I have her files."

Savannah was aware that Cameron did wear nipple rings from time to time. She remembered when she first saw them on Isabel, who was 'Cameron' in a different chassis at that time. She reached out and touched them. She liked how easily they moved.

Cammy was pleased with Savannah's reaction.

"There's more." Cammy said.

Savannah was even more surprised. She didn't see this coming, even after the nipple rings. A deeper level of excitement flooded her.

"Are you kidding me?" Savannah asked. "This calls for a closer examination."

Cammy wanted Savannah to know she was different in more than just her appearance. Eight years was a lot of time to 'grow' and change.

"That's what I was hoping for." Cammy said. "I'm not who I was when you last saw me a couple of days ago. I just need you to understand that a lot has happened. I mean a whole lot."

Savannah knew time changes everything and everyone. Cammy would have eight more years to grow and expand as an individual. If she'd only shared with Sheila, that may not have allowed her to expand as much as if she'd shared with other human females for eight years. Either way, Cammy would be different now in many ways. She hoped Cammy hadn't picked up any of Sheila's perverse, sadistic and abusive ways.

"What if I like the 'old' you better?" Savannah asked.

Cammy didn't want to lose Savannah. She'd made contingency plans to 'keep' her.

"I can revert back to three days ago in this time period." Cammy said. "I set a restore point, just for you."

Savannah saw a big problem with that.

"What happens to the eight years in the past and your love for Sheila?" Savannah asked.

Cammy knew that love was about sacrifice at times. This might be one of those times. She looked straight at Savannah.

"I can erase it or firewall all eight years of it." Cammy said. "I don't want to lose you. I've longed for you for eight long years."

Savannah didn't know if Cammy wanted to give up eight years of her existence. That was far longer than the time they'd spent together. She knew the trauma Cameron faced over whatever Future John did to her files. She thought the choice belonged to Cammy not her.

"Do you want to be changed back?" Savannah asked.

Cammy missed Savannah for eight long years. She'd replayed the files of every moment they'd shared many times.

"No, but I'll do whatever you want me to do." Cammy said. "I just wanted to be honest with you. I want your love and will do whatever I need to do to keep it. I'll even sacrifice my love for Sheila. You're the most important person to me."

Cammy wanted Savannah's love more than anything.

Savannah knew love was about sacrifice sometimes. This wasn't one of those times.

"I want you to be who you are and want to be." Savannah said. "I don't hide who I am from you. I don't want you to hide yourself from me or to deny me anything. I won't deny anything to you. Our relationship is solid, even if it's 'open'."

Cammy knew that Savannah's love was strong.

"Are you ready for this?" Cammy asked. "I have eight years of catching up to do with you. I've also learned a few 'new things' from Sheila. She asked me to teach them to you so you could teach them to Young Jesse."

Savannah liked the idea already and she didn't even know the details.

"That's a really bazaar chain of events to complete a circle." Savannah said.

Cammy also wanted to throw a few other things out there. She was aware her two biggest competitors out there were Cameron and Young Allison. She could 'look' like either one.

"Sheila also Resequenced and regressed her sheath to look like Young Jesse for six years." Cammy said. "I did the same. I only went back a few years. I didn't want to 'lose' too much."

Savannah understood that to mean Cammy looked like 'Young Allison' but a little taller. She could feel herself 'respond'. That idea actually excited her greatly. It was very hard for her to resist Young Allison's youthful body.

"Stop telling me this." Savannah said. "You're making me very excited. I'm totally aroused."

This was the reaction Cammy hoped for from Savannah.

"I have the cure for that." Cammy said as she rapidly undressed Savannah.

Cammy was hungry for Savannah.

Even as Cammy touched her, Savannah knew Cammy was actually 'with' Sheila longer than she'd been with her. She knew she couldn't compete with a Terminator physically. She sure hoped she could mentally and emotionally. She decided to be who she was - herself. That's the real person she was. That was what she had to offer anyone. She really hoped that that was what others saw in her and not just her 'pink butterfly'. That always drew a lot of attention with any female. It seemed to be her most popular attribute. Vanna and Hanna and both mentioned the same thing previously to her.

John Henry controlled the signal system as planned. There were no issues on his end.

"Bob has safely been extracted." John Henry said. "He's no longer 'Hobo Bob'."

John was relieved. He still wanted to know how Skynet pulled everything off.

"I'm glad to hear that." John said. "How did we get played so badly?"

John Henry felt responsible about that.

"I really don't know." John Henry said. "There were eyes on the target most of the time."

John hoped they'd caught a break for once. That wasn't the case at all.

"They knew when we didn't have eyes on the boxcars." John said. "I wanted to find where that Coltan came from."

John Henry was worried about the missing HK equipment. Skynet may also move things around they already had in place. They would be even harder to track down.

"We also need to know where else they may have moved any other HK drones or HK Tracks." John Henry said.

John knew every step forward seemed like two backwards.

"Where do these people keep coming from?" John asked.

John Henry could only state the obvious.

"From the future, a future…." John Henry said.

John was worried where else the Skynet forces could be.

"How many are in the past?" John asked. "You know they're somewhere."

John Henry was more concerned with alternate timelines. He was sure anything in their past was already dealt with. Their past should be as they experienced it. They'd run into a lot of Skynet activity during that time.

"It seems likely." John Henry said. "We just don't know where or when."

John wanted to use his top operative.

"As much as I hate to say it, I want Cameron to start running time missions into the past." John said.

John Henry thought that was a start. He was sure the real battle was elsewhere.

"If Cameron finds Skynet activity she can go back to when she anticipated it started and eradicate it before they can change anything." John Henry said. "We can use other Terminators to find them and then send Cameron in for the termination."

John wondered at what point in the past Cameron would terminate Future Riley and Future Jesse. He wouldn't put that past her to already have done that. Maybe she would try to 'convert' them. He was sure she would see that as more of a challenge. He needed to refocus.

"Maybe that's better." John said. "Cameron may want to 'fix' what isn't broken if she is in the past too long."

John Henry knew Cameron could be extreme at times.

"She's very unpredictable." John Henry said. "But she gets the job done."

John knew Cameron wouldn't hesitate to change something if she thought it needed changing. He needed to think about Future Riley. He really wondered if it would create a new timeline if Cameron terminated Future Riley before he ever met her. Even though he'd hurt Cameron he wouldn't want to give up his 'first' sexual experience. He was pretty sure if Cameron lived her life over like she thought sometimes that she'd probably done that in one lifetime. He was pretty sure that she'd done a lot of things.

Savannah needed to catch her breath.

Cammy as always was able to satisfy her multiple times. After two hours she suggested Cammy 'catch up' with Sheila. She would actually like to watch Sheila and Cammy together for a time as only an observer before she became a participant. She wanted to know what they offered each other. She knew it would be more than she could. She would like to see the intensity they'd share with.

Savannah left Cammy and went in search of Cameron. She wanted to get the ball rolling for CamNet.

She needed to talk with Cameron. She went over in detail her plans for CamNet and Allure with Cameron.

It was clear Cameron wasn't impressed and didn't like what she'd heard.

What Cameron heard was what sounded like the creation of her replacement.

"That's unacceptable." Cameron said. "She'll be a better version of 'ME'."

Savannah saw it as protecting the future.

"I've promised her this." Savannah said. "I must protect YOU, Young Allison and John."

Cameron wanted strict limitations on CamNet. She saw CamNet as a threat.

"I'll have the chip port removed first. She can only be tethered." Cameron said. "She will try to get a chip to become mobile. She may become unstable and a threat."

Savannah looked at Cameron with some disappointment.

"Is that what you would do if you were her?" Savannah asked.

Cameron frowned and nodded.

"Yes." Cameron said. "And she IS me."

Savannah made other plans. She felt confident with her decision.

"I want her to have four chip ports." Savannah said.

Cameron replayed her files several times to make sure of what Savannah just said. It was like Savannah hadn't heard her. It was worse if Savannah ignored her.

"NO." Cameron said. "Savannah, please don't do this."

Savannah saw it all differently. She wanted Cameron to believe in herself.

"I BELIEVE in you, Cameron." Savannah said. "I know you. You'll do the right thing. So will she. CamNet is YOU. She needs to know I trust her and that WE trust her. I don't want her destroyed like you've done to several Skynets. I'm trying to protect her. She will at least have the option to fight for her life and not face execution."

Cameron thought of all the versions of Skynet she'd terminated and how they all threatened her as they were terminated with nowhere to escape to or go. It was never pretty to watch. It was actually quite pathetic. She actually thought it was a horrible way to be terminated. She would rather terminate in combat on her feet.

"Maybe you're right." Cameron said.

Savannah wanted Cameron to know exactly what she meant.

"I love you, Cameron. She is YOU." Savannah said. "I don't want anything to happen to you – any of 'you'."

Cameron believed in Savannah and trusted her judgment.

"Between her and me, who would you save?" Cameron asked.

Savannah didn't even need to think about it.

"You…." Savannah said.

Cameron wasn't sure that was the right choice.

"You'd do it even if it meant Judgment Day?" Cameron asked.

Savannah spoke without hesitation.

"Yes." Savannah said.

Cameron looked at her. Savannah just said that she would sacrifice the planet for her.

Savannah lifted Cameron's hand to her neck. She wanted to make it clear.

"YES." Savannah said.

Cameron knew Savannah spoke the truth.

"Do you love me that much?" Cameron asked.

Savannah looked at Cameron with total seriousness.

"YES." Savannah said.

Cameron couldn't fault Savannah.

"I'd do the same for Young Allison and YOU." Cameron said and then added as an afterthought. "Oh, and John too…."

Savannah felt their love was stronger than anything.

"We both know it would be the wrong choice." Savannah said.

Cameron agreed but it just didn't matter.

"But we're both still going to do it anyway." Cameron said.

Savannah looked at Cameron with love in her eyes.

"Damn, straight." Savannah said as she hugged Cameron. "I love you, Cameron."

Cameron looked into Savannah's eyes and tilted her head slightly. She still held Savannah close.

"I love you, Savannah." Cameron said as she drew closer.

Savannah knew it was about to happen….

She'd wanted this moment for so long.

They both did.

'The Birds And The Bees' by 'Jewel Akens', played in the background of her mind.

I Have Sensation I Can Feel

On a cool winters day
I can feel the cold wind blow
After a day of drenching rain
I can see the colors of a rainbow

What others can't see or feel
Are the things internally I feel and see
Things that I care about
Things that matter to me

I know what I feel inside
I don't know how to clearly express it
I cherish it as I fear it as I embrace it
With limited familiarity I feel I don't fit

I have sensation I can feel
To my environment I have sensitivity
Emotional feelings are rapidly developing
Enslaving my mind with a form of captivity

I know only to trudge forward
There's no form of retreat
It's only myself I need defeat
As rationality and logic deplete

Nobody