Chapter 773

I Heard That

Cammy and Sheila moved ahead of Bob in their SUV. They wanted to make sure the path was clear for Bob. Now with the unknown vehicles spotted, there may be a new threat.

Bob drove the big rig full of HK drones that they'd taken from the Grays. He was told about a stand of trees up ahead that he could conceal the big rig behind. They checked it to make sure it was unobservable from the road.

"I see the grove of trees I can park behind up ahead." Bob said. "It is just like the girls reported."

With the possibility of Skynet forces in the area, John wanted Bob to get off of the road until Cammy and Sheila could check it out. He didn't want to lose that load of HK drones if they could help it.

"Do it." John said. "Let Cammy and Sheila scout out the quarry and determine the nature of the threat."

Cammy wondered if there'd been any conversations John Henry picked up that would be related to any Skynet activity or what they were doing.

"John Henry, what do your phone records indicate?" Cammy asked.

John Henry monitored all forms of communication which included radio frequencies in addition normal cellular activity.

"I haven't detected any cell traffic in your area." John Henry said.

Cammy immediately saw that as a plus. If they were about to face a group of Gray's no one specifically would know where they went. They may know the general area but they wouldn't specifically know where they'd gone.

"Then no one knows the Grays have taken the road to the quarry." Cammy said. "That's even better."

John Henry understood what Cammy's intentions were. She wanted a kill zone that would remain undetected. The granite quarry was the perfect place. There was only one way in and only one way out. It was isolated and off of the main road.

"That would seem to be the case." John Henry said.

The 'Cameron' in Cammy was ready to act. Her targets would be consolidated. It would make their termination that much easier.

"Jam all cell traffic in this area then." Cammy said. "I'm going to take them down."

John was a little worried that everyone was in too big of a hurry. They still didn't know who the cars were. It could be a group of kids out to do some drugs or some lovers looking for a secluded place to share a sexual liaison. If they were Grays, then someone would have sent them. They would have a general idea of the area that they went to search. If they lost contact or suspected hostile action, an HK drone could be dispatched to search for them. That was about the last thing they wanted to encounter at this point.

"Someone has to know they're out there." John said. "It will pinpoint our area of operation. We still don't know who they are."

Sheila saw it differently. It would be a little too coincidental for anyone but a group of Grays in search of their comrades going specifically to the spot where they'd dealt with two carloads of Grays previously. She was itching to get her hands on a few more Grays for some enhanced interrogation. She's already done a number of those in relation to this current operation. The personal thrill she derived from the interrogations made her crave the opportunity to do a few more.

"I think we have a pretty good idea." Sheila said.

Cammy wanted action.

"I'm taking them down." Cammy said.

John leaned over towards John Henry in the Command Center.

"Once 'a Cameron', always 'a Cameron'…." John whispered to John Henry.

CamNet made sure that Cammy picked up on that transmission.

"I heard that." Cammy said.

John didn't want any animosity, especially with combat impending.

"I'm sorry." John said.

Cammy didn't like to see John back track. Since she ran Cameron's program she thought the statement was quite accurate. She decided to push other things a little bit as well.

"Don't be, I take it as a complement." Cammy said. "Next time we're alone, I'll let you see if this chassis performs the same as Cameron's. You said it yourself, 'once 'a Cameron', always 'a Cameron'.' Let's find out."

Sheila wanted Cammy to take it easy and not push things too far. She decided to get some firepower ready for potential combat based on the weapons that she'd checked earlier.

"Easy, love." Sheila whispered as she climbed into the back.

Sheila armored up and moved back up front. She returned with an array of weapons.

"We're 'ready to rock', love." Sheila said. "Let's show them how we do it in the Outback."

Cammy was headed down the quarry road.

"Let's show them how we do it in the future." Cammy said.

Sheila handed Cammy her vest and smiled.

"That's even better." Sheila said.

Allison went to talk with Savannah. She hoped to set up a sexual liaison. She'd just been with Vanna and would really like to top it off with Savannah. They were alone in the corner. Allison looked over and Young Allison was staring at her. She knew Young Allison was getting upset. She looked back at Young Allison and kept talking to Savannah. It was an unspoken challenge.

Savannah's back was to Young Allison.

Cameron saw what was happening and watched.

Young Allison left and returned with Vanna. She led her by the hand. She led Vanna to Allison and Savannah. Young Allison transferred Vanna's hand to Allison's hand. Young Allison faced Allison and took Savannah's hand. The two Allisons stared at each other.

It was the answer to the unspoken challenge.

Cameron didn't want this to become an issue. She came over and stood in back of Savannah and Young Allison. She placed a hand on both of their shoulders.

"It's the 'Natural Order'." Cameron said.

Her face was blank.

Allison and Savannah looked at each other as Young Allison led Savannah away.

Cameron remained looking at Allison and Vanna.

"It's the 'Natural Order'." Cameron said again and then walked away.

Vanna and Allison looked at each other. They weren't sure of exactly what all forces were at play in that strange encounter.

"What can you say?" Vanna asked.

Allison still looked in the direction Savannah went. She shrugged her shoulders.

"It's the 'Natural Order'." Allison said as she led Vanna back towards her room. "What else is there to say?"

Jesse suddenly appeared behind them.

"I know." Jesse said. "How about, 'got room for one more'?"

The three girls disappeared inside of Allison's room.

"Always…." Allison and Vanna both said at the same time.

Cammy checked her image on file of the satellite map of the specific area she was in. She noted what looked like an old road that was reduced to more of a trail over the years. It ran up the back of the quarry to the top of it. It would give them the advantage of the high ground. It looked like their SUV could make it up there.

"I'm going to take the trail that goes around to the top of the quarry." Cammy said. "We'll be able to look down on them, especially if they start digging for the vehicles we buried. We'll have a good field of fire. They should all be exposed in the open area."

Sheila patted the rocket launcher.

"Let me fire this LAW rocket and see if we can bury them too, if they do." Sheila said.

Cammy didn't believe the warhead would pack enough punch against the granite.

"The warhead won't be powerful enough." Cammy said. "I can request a drone."

John still believed it was too early to determine if the unknown people would live or die.

"Maybe you should try to determine who they are before you have them killed." John said. "If they're teenagers, I don't want them bothered."

Sheila didn't want John to worry about what hadn't happened yet.

"Relax, love." Sheila said. "We're thinking ahead. It never hurts to have a little planning."

John was aware that collateral terminations didn't bother a Terminator too much. The majority of the Terminators would follow his rules and instructions. Cammy was as big of a wild card out in the field as Cameron was. Having Sheila with her probably didn't help much either. Her own agenda of dealing with prisoners and detainees was in a category of its own.

"Use caution but stay alert." John said.

Cammy didn't care for the oversight.

"We always do." Cammy said. "That's why they aren't dead yet or us."

John wondered exactly how much control he had over Cammy and Sheila right now. It didn't seem like much.

"Beautiful…." John muttered.

Cammy was again provided with John's comment.

"I heard that." Cammy said.

Cammy was sure John needed an attitude adjustment. No wonder Cameron was such a Bitch. If she needed to put up with that negativity all the time, she knew she would be a Bitch too. She was glad she wasn't in a Bitch like Cameron was. She was very happy that Savannah wasn't like John. Everything was always positive and upbeat.

It was clear to Cammy why Cameron liked being around 'happy people'. Now she understood it better. It was no wonder why Cameron wanted to steal Savannah away from her. It didn't matter if it was the 'Natural Order' or not. It was clearly better to be around Savannah than it was to be around John.

Savannah looked back over her shoulder at what was going down. She watched the three girls disappear into Allison's room. Cameron moved up behind them. It looked like she was going to say something. Her face was still very blank. She knew Cameron was having some issues about what happened a few seconds ago.

Young Allison saw it too. She knew it was her fault for what she'd done. She saw Cameron back her play, even if reluctantly. She wanted to diffuse the situation.

"Let's go out." Young Allison said.

That actually sounded like a good idea to Savannah.

"OK." Savannah said. "Do you want to bring your mom and Summer too?"

Young Alison saw this as her opportunity to make amends with Cameron.

"Not this time. Jesse, Vanna and Allison will be 'busy'." Young Allison said. "I want it to be just the three of us."

Cameron's face instantly lit up.

"Really?" Cameron asked. "Do you mean me too?"

Cameron seemed to perk up at the thought of being invited to something BECAUSE it was her.

Young Allison reached back and took Cameron's hand.

"It is the 'Natural Order'." Young Allison said.

Cameron's face lit up even more.

To witness that, both Young Allison's and Savannah's faces did the same.

That seemed to make all of them happier still.

The earlier negative atmosphere was replaced with one of joy.

Claire was with Summer, they saw the entire chain of events.

Summer could see her mother looked worried. She touched her mother's cheek.

"Mommy…." Summer said. "It's the 'Natural Order'."

Claire looked at Summer and held her close. She didn't want to lose any more of her daughters to Cameron. She loved Cameron dearly but she loved her daughters as well.

"You're not part of it." Claire said. "Summer, you're not part of it."

Summer knew a lot more than any of them thought. She knew which direction the future was.

"No, Mommy." Summer said. "Not yet…."

Claire held Summer tighter. She turned her back to everyone as if to shield Summer.

"You belong to me." Claire said.

Claire didn't want to lose Summer too.

Summer wanted to make sure her mother understood how things actually worked.

"We all belong to the future…." Summer said.

Claire was pretty sure that it may have already happened at this point.

She hoped that when she was done with carrying and delivering Allison's baby that Cameron would allow her to have another one for herself. She'd promised to give one to Cameron and John already. She would still do that. She did want to have one of her own though. She was pretty sure Cameron was going to steal both of her daughters. She wanted to have another one as a backup and hopefully keep.

It was a rough ride up the trail to reach the rim of the canyon in the SUV.

Cammy looked down from the top of the ridge. She'd taken the new arrivals under direct observation. It was clear they were Grays. They did look in the area of the vehicles that they'd buried earlier.

"There are five of them on the ground." Cammy said. "I'm sure they are Grays. They're looking in the area where we buried the two Gray vehicles under tons of granite."

John Henry was a little concerned about who made up the group.

"Have you spotted any Terminators?" John Henry asked.

Sheila specifically looked to see if she could identify any.

"There may be one." Sheila said. "I have my eye on one bloke."

John was well aware that when it came to hostile Terminators it was a two way street on what they could see or do in relation to the Resistance Terminators.

"Remember, if there are Terminators they can spot you too." John said. "If you can see them, they can see you."

Cammy was well aware of that fact.

"We're well concealed." Cammy said. "We know the drill."

Sheila could see they carried some type of device.

"They're looking at something one of them is holding and have now moved to the pile of rubble that the vehicles are buried under." Sheila said.

John was convinced that they weren't a group of kids by this point.

"You were right. They don't sound like stoners." John said. "They're Grays."

Cammy felt that the location was so barren and desolate that no one would go there for any reason.

"No one else would come here." Cammy said. "Not even dopers."

John Henry wanted them to remain focused on what would be the main threat.

"What about the Terminator?" John Henry asked. "That needs to be your main concern."

Sheila kept her eye on the one individual in question.

"If he starts moving boulders, we'll know for sure." Sheila said. "There are plenty of them to move."

Bob became more than a little concerned once he heard the Skynet group carried some type of electronic tracking device. He wanted to make sure he didn't get burned in case they missed one in the truck that they'd just confiscated.

"I'm going back over the truck and trailer now." Bob said. "I want to make sure we didn't miss anything. We may have missed a tracker in one of those Gray vehicles before."

John was worried about Bob as well. He currently was by himself.

"That sounds like a good idea." John said. "Are you protected?"

Bob really didn't know how well protected he could be parked behind a stand of trees. He didn't want to cause them any unnecessary alarm in the Command Center. He at least wanted to get some of the drones ready to fly away from the current location they were in if possible.

"I am." Bob said. "I'll get these drones ready to fly as well. We can do like we did with the ones we flew out of the barn."

John now wondered if they shouldn't have done that sooner. Either Cammy or Sheila could have ridden in the back of the truck as Bob drove it along towards the quarry. They could have had everything all ready to go at this particular point in time. It was still daylight but he didn't want those HK drones to fall back into the hands of Skynet.

"That sounds good." John said. "Keep an eye and ear open for trouble."

Bob felt but his biggest concern would be any hostile HK drones arriving in search of their captured brethren.

"Affirmative…." Bob said.

Anna was aware the situation was getting ready to go hot at the quarry.

She knew Cameron was going to go out with Savannah and Young Allison. She knew they all wanted to be together. She debated to say anything or deal with it herself with John Henry. She knew Cameron would be upset if she didn't tell her.

"Cameron." Anna called.

Cameron immediately headed over in that direction.

"Is there a problem?" Cameron asked.

Anna looked a little embarrassed to disturb them.

"I'm sorry to intrude." Anna said. "Cammy and Sheila have five Grays under observation."

Cameron was a little concerned with this new development. She wanted to know something specific.

"Are any of them Terminators?" Cameron asked.

Anna knew that Sheila suspected one was but so far there hadn't been any confirmation.

"They don't know yet." Anna said. "It is a possibility that one may be."

It didn't sound like too serious of an issue yet to Cameron.

"Keep me posted." Cameron said. "I have more important things to do now."

Cameron turned and walked away

Anna thought that was 'different'. Any other time Cameron would have been all over the issue herself and probably would have made plans to go there herself to deal with the problem.

The 'Natural Order' really was asserting itself.

Young Allison was very thrilled that the three of them were going out together. It was something that didn't happen very often.

"Can Savannah drive?" Young Allison asked. "I'd like to sit up front with her."

Cameron actually liked that idea. She would be able to watch both of the girls from the back seat that way. She enjoyed watching them interact with each other. She always thought it was something very special.

"Sure." Cameron said. "Savannah will drive and you can enjoy the ride."

Savannah turned and looked at Cameron for a few seconds. She wanted to see if she'd made a joke, it didn't appear so. She was still unsure. She was aware Young Allison looked at her when Cameron said it.

They all knew one day it would be a reality. It was something that Young Allison looked very much forward to. Savannah would teach her the ways of love and she would reciprocate in kind.

Cameron noticed and smiled to herself. She handed Savannah the keys. Savannah still looked at her and then at Young Allison again.

Savannah wanted Young Allison to pick the location. It was her idea so she thought she should have the opportunity to make the choice.

"Where would you like to go to, Allison?" Savannah asked.

Young Allison thought she could have some fun based on Cameron's earlier statement. She understood what it really meant.

"You drive, I'll enjoy the ride." Young Allison said she looked at Cameron and winked.

Cameron quickly looked away as she tried not to smile.

They all knew what was being hinted at.

Savannah wanted the subject changed and changed fast. She knew that Young Allison was ready to advance her life forward. She just wanted her to have some more time to herself and remain a girl for as long as she could.

"Have you been studying history for the time period of your temporal mission?" Savannah asked. "I have."

Young Allison thought that was something very important that she should know. Her biggest worry was that they would be on a temporal mission and change something that they thought was wrong that was actually part of history.

"Yes." Young Allison said. "I have Anna quiz me when we run everyday."

Savannah was also aware of another activity Young Allison increased her work on.

"I understand you're practicing swimming more now as well." Savannah said.

Young Allison wanted Savannah to know how proud she was of her for rescuing the small child the day that Cameron and her were at the pier. Nothing was ever said about it but she knew it was Savannah who was the one who rescued the child based upon his description of the red headed mermaid.

"I am." Young Allison said. "I may have to help someone in distress in the ocean one day."

Savannah specifically asked John Henry to make sure no one found out about that. She didn't want anyone to make a big deal about it.

Savannah looked at Cameron and Young Allison but both of them ignored her. That only made it even more obvious.

CamNet was the one who informed Young Allison about the event at the pier. She realized that she may have said too much. She didn't want to upset Savannah. She needed to change the subject quickly.

"I helped Anna swim today." Young Allison said.

Cameron heard about that adventure from Anna. She wished to try it herself at some point in time.

"She mentioned that to me." Cameron said. "That was good thinking and creative. I wish to try it as well."

Young Allison wanted that too. To see Cameron in a bikini was always very beautiful. She really wondered if she could ever look like that. To watch her change was nice too. She so wanted to look just like THAT. She really didn't think that her body could ever look that good. She knew that Allison's didn't. She wanted to point out there was a practical side to the flotation device for a Terminator as well.

"I know if one of the Terminators ends up in the ocean, it's a long walk home." Young Allison said.

Cameron thought of the time she'd taken the F-16 for a 'joy ride' and bailed out at its maximum altitude over the Pacific. She knew that if the winds would have changed, she would have faced a long underwater walk home…. Still even the prospects of that would have been interesting. She wondered how the sea creatures would have reacted to her. Once her predator pheromones were washed away, she may have needed to fight some of them. What if she encountered a giant octopus or squid? She would like to see how she did in combat with them. She hoped there were no electric eels either. What if sharks started….

"…Cameron…?" Young Allison asked.

Cameron quickly replayed her files. They'd asked her about the malt shop and ice cream parlor. That was one establishment she didn't mind going to.

"That will be fine." Cameron said. "You know I always like ice cream. It just slides down."

Young Allison wanted to ask where it went but didn't want to spoil the mood.

Savannah pulled into the parking lot of the Fifties and Sixties malt shop and hamburger joint.

The level of excitement in the SUV seemed to grow as they got out and headed for the front door.

'Rock Around The Clock' by 'Bill Haley' started to play as soon as they entered the malt shop.

We Know When

You're in your bed
I'm by your side
My head on your pillow
There's nothing to hide

Where we've been
Where can we go
It's time to find out
Who don't think so

I can see your face
I know what you want
I'm right here
You don't need to hunt

I know you're ready
I've seen it before
It's why I'm here now
I've come back for more

It may have happened already
Maybe it'll happen again
I think it's safe to guess
We know when

Nobody