Chapter 798

Scrap Heap

Cammy and Ally dodged out of the way of the falling door as the boxcar was being shoved through it by an HK Track.

Sheila emerged from under the boxcar and joined Ally.

Ally checked her side of the boxcar.

"The door is welded closed on our side." Ally said.

Cammy could see inside of the boxcar from her side. She could definitely hear equipment becoming active inside of it. She was going to need to act immediately.

"The door is missing on my side." Cammy said. "You two take out the HK Track when it comes out. I'll deal with whatever is inside the boxcar.

Sheila wanted to prevent the HK Track from getting outside in the first place. They would need to stop the forward progress of the boxcar. The only way to do that was to derail it. The wheels should burrow into the soft earth and stop the forward progress.

"Let's derail the boxcar." Sheila said. "Maybe we can jam it. We might be able to keep the HK Track trapped inside. If it gets out we will be at a disadvantage with the weapons we have, we're going to be in trouble.

Cammy wanted to get inside of the boxcar but if they moved quickly they could get the front truck off of the railroad track.

"Lift the front truck." Cammy said. "We just need to get your side over the rail and onto the ties. It should end up in the dirt soon enough."

The three Metal girls moved to the front truck where the wheels were. There were two of them on one side and one of them on the other side. They lifted the front truck off of the track. The boxcar was still being shoved. The front truck now bounced along the wooden ties as the flange on the wheel tore them up. One set of wheels was on the outside of the rail. They soon bounced off the ends of the wooden ties and were in the softer dirt. They instantly sank into the dirt. The progress of the boxcar slowed dramatically but didn't totally stop.

The noise inside the boxcar continued to get louder.

In the Command Center they watched the body cam footage.

It was a little hard for John to follow everything that happened as it happened so quickly with the three Metal girls. The events seemed to unfold one after another with no pause in between them.

"This is incredible." John said.

John Henry would have liked to be able to do more to assist them. Until the drones arrived or additional troops in the two helicopters, there was nothing they could do but watch.

"We're powerless to help them." John Henry said.

John was worried about everything that was going on and it being spotted and reported by someone.

"I sure hope you can suppress any 911 reports related to this." John said. "With everything that keeps happening, there's bound to be more than a few."

Even though the area was remote and mostly isolated, John Henry didn't plan to take any chances.

"I've cut all communications for ten miles." John Henry said. "Nothing is getting in or out."

John was worried about the low flying HK drones that were on their way there through the valleys of the Coast Range. That was actually his biggest concern right now. It was unusual for the Skynet forces to take a chance like that during the daylight.

"What about those two HK drones headed there?" John asked.

John Henry was able to track them on radar as he masked that radar from being tracked by anyone else. It appeared that the HK drones just split up. That was probably a bad sign.

"They're still hugging the valleys of the Coast Range." John Henry said. "One of them appears to have diverted."

A sick feeling grabbed John's insides. Danger signals went off inside of his head.

"Where's it diverted to?" John asked.

He already knew the answer before he heard it.

John Henry already calculated the new trajectory. It wasn't good news. He sent out a warning along with new flight instructions to both of the helicopters.

"It's headed towards the helicopters." John Henry said. "I've alerted them both. The Blackhawk is diverting toward the ocean as per your order."

This sick feeling remained in John's gut.

"What about the Huey?" John asked.

John Henry expected what the radar images in GPS tracking showed.

"The Iroquois is holding course and still headed for Cammy, Ally and Sheila." John Henry said. "Their speed has increased as well."

John shook his head in disgust.

"Beautiful…." John said.

John was afraid Cameron was about to lead the Metal girls and Savannah to their doom.

John Henry was sure he knew what John was thinking.

"Savannah is the pilot." John Henry said. "It's not Cameron."

John was even more disgusted that Savannah would act just like Cameron.

"Absolutely beautiful…." John said.

Cameron was made aware of everything that happened by John Henry and CamNet.

The Metal girls were busy and seemed to be able to hold their own against the HK Tracks and HK drones at the attack sight. That was good news. It sounded like touch and go a few times. The Metal girls' quick actions and thinking were what kept them one step ahead of the Skynet equipment.

The bad news was that one of the two hostile HK drones headed for the attack site was now headed toward the Iroquois. It was headed towards them on an intercept course.

Savannah flew the helicopter and didn't receive all the information like Cameron did.

"What's the latest update?" Savannah asked.

Cameron gave her a brief synopsis.

"Cammy's team is holding. The Blackhawk has broken off and has headed for the coast." Cameron said. "There are still two HK drones on their way there. The bad news is that one is headed for us now. We can break off if you choose or continue on. We have limited offensive capability. Even if we break off, the HK drone may still pursue us."

Savannah kept her course and heading unchanged.

"What is the range and expected ETA?" Savannah asked.

Cameron filled Savannah in as she checked her map. Based on her personal experience and the offensive capabilities they possessed, she decided to engage the HK drone on her terms.

Savannah saw they were near a location where she remembered the landscape and some unique features.

"I'm going to push it." Savannah said. "If we can get to this spot here, we will have an advantage."

Savannah showed Cameron something on the map.

Cameron looked at the spot indicated and recalled the landscape features. She could see it was an effective strategy.

"It looks like a plan." Cameron said.

Savannah wanted Cameron to know her past experience with the landscape feature. It was different from what they would experience with the Huey.

"I saw it before when we went flying in a twin engine plane." Savannah said. "It was from a higher altitude and I didn't look over the area in detail. I just remember the overall setup and how it was."

Cameron remembered the flight. It was the first time Savannah did some limited aerobatics in a twin engine plane.

Savannah explained her plan in detail to Cameron.

The more Cameron heard about the plan, the more she liked it.

"Let's try it." Cameron said.

Savannah wanted her copilot to know she was about to exceed the safety limits of the aircraft as it was designed. With the modifications to the UH-1 it should be able to take the punishment for a limited time. If they failed to bring down the HK drone, the existence of the Iroquois was limited anyway.

"Holly, I'm about to use all of the extra twenty percent performance this bird has to offer." Savannah said. "Keep an eye on the instruments. Everything is going to be in the red and stay there."

Holly tilted her head slightly and she looked at the instruments carefully.

"I thought it was only fifteen percent more performance." Holly said.

Savannah was confident in her equipment. She also knew how things were constructed.

"It is." Savannah said. "I'm going to push it to make it give an extra five percent more. Everything is built to exceed its rated 'maximum' safe level for a short time. The Huey will take the punishment."

Cameron smiled to herself. The modifications were good for twenty percent or more. Savannah was very measured under pressure. Everything Savannah currently did is what she would have done herself. She was very pleased Savannah would emulate her in a combat situation. It always came down to doing what needed to be done, when it needed to be done. It was just that simple.

She felt proud of Savannah and was pleased at everything she did. Her plan on where to confront the HK drone to give them the advantage was sound.

Cameron made sure they were ready in the back of the helicopter. Everything was going to count on her. She hoped it didn't come down to the circus act but if it did she was ready to perform. The sky would be her 'Big Top'. She hoped that the ground wouldn't it be their final resting place. The combat between the two aircraft would be fatal to one of them. There would be one winner and one loser. She really hoped that they would be the victors. There was no guarantee.

Previously:

As soon as the Young family reached their residence on their return from the airport, they all headed down into the bunker.

Currently the Young family all crowded around the monitors in the bunker.

Young Allison was able to operate everything expertly. It was as seamless as if Anna was sitting right next to her. She was in total command. CamNet made sure that everything happened so that everyone could interpret it as well.

"CamNet, I want everything unfiltered. Back me up with everything I need to know before I need to know it." Young Allison said.

Claire looked at all the monitors. There were multiple video feeds. There was the footage of the three body cams from the Metal girls at the target location as well as body cam images from both helicopters.

"There's a lot happening." Claire said.

Young Allison would concentrate on the feeds that were relevant to any current activity.

"CamNet will assist me with everything." Young Allison said.

Young Allison saw that Summer watched everything. She felt there were going to be things Summer didn't need to see. Not yet anyway. She actually wondered if Summer would be able to do everything herself. Maybe if her mother wasn't standing right there she would have allowed Summer to stay and sit next to her. She would actually like to see what Summer could do and what her calls would be to the various situations. She knew that Summer was the most gifted individual that she'd ever known and was also going to be the most intelligent of them all.

"Summer, it's study time. Mel, can you take Summer outside, please."

Mel nodded at Young Allison.

"Yes, Allison." Mel said as he led Summer away.

Claire and Allison were glued to the monitors as Young Allison ran everything.

Since Young Allison asked for everything unfiltered. She saw a lot, especially on Ally and Sheila.

Young Allison saw everything John and John Henry viewed. When she saw Sheila on the ladder she looked at Allison but she made no comment. She'd seen things like that before on the internet anyway, plenty of times. In fact she'd seen a lot of 'things' on the internet. There were some things she liked more than others….

Claire tried to figure out why Sheila and Ally were naked. They only wore their vests and carried weapons. It reminded her of the time Hanna sent her into the bunker like that. She knew what she was doing at the time when she needed to hurry and get armored up that way. She'd been sharing intimately with Hanna.

"Where are their clothes?" Claire asked. "They're naked."

Alison figured she knew why but offered another possible explanation.

"They have their vests on and their firearms." Allison said. "There must be a reason. Maybe something chemical was spilled on them."

Young Allison couldn't help but point out the obvious and most likely scenario.

"Maybe they were doing 'something' else." Young Allison said. "They could have been surprised or ambushed before they had time to get ready and dress."

Allison knew that was exactly what it was. She tried to redirect the conversation.

"This is like a battle from the future." Allison said. "I've been in battles like this. Except there were things happening all around me and in the sky."

Allison left out the part about all the people dying around her or being horribly maimed. Those images were forever burned into her mind.

Claire moved over and took Allison's arm. She felt very guilty for not being there for her daughter in the future. She somehow felt that the things that happened to Allison were her fault.

"I'm sorry." Claire said. "For 'everything' that happened."

Allison was familiar with survivor's guilt. She'd experienced plenty of it as she grew up. As far as her mother went, there was nothing she could have done for her because she was no longer there.

"It's not your fault, Mom." Allison said. "You were dead."

Claire looked at Young Allison. She knew this was what Young Allison wanted to do.

"This is what you WANT?" Claire asked Young Allison.

Young Allison wanted to make her position clear. It was about survival and protecting the ones that she loved. She understood exactly how Savannah felt about the same things.

"NO. I don't want it." Young Allison said. "If Skynet ever wins I'll have no choice. This is why we must defeat Skynet now and in the future. I never want Summer to have to face ANY of this. I will face it for her, instead of her."

Claire hugged Allison and Young Allison. She understood that since Allison already had done many of these things that Young Allison would be able to do them as well and probably better.

"You girls are more than special." Claire said.

Allison believed that the foundation for her life that included her values, were set by her parents, especially her mother. She believed being in the situation is what determined what any individual would do to survive that situation.

"We're who we need to be, when we need to be." Allison said. "We're who you guided and helped us to be."

Young Allison looked at Allison and then her mother.

"I want to protect you, Mom and Dad as well Summer. I need to protect the future." Young Allison said. "No power in the Verse can stop me."

Young Allison was pretty sure that she picked up that last term from Summer. She believed that actually said a lot.

The derailed boxcar was still being shoved forward but at a much slower rate. They could hear the HK Track straining behind it as it kept pushing. The HK Track still tried to get out of the building. There were times when they could hear the tracks spin on top of the concrete of the interior floor as the HK Track continued to shove the boxcar.

Cammy moved to peek inside the boxcar. She wanted to see what the noise came from inside the boxcar. She was a little surprised at what it was and that it appeared to have some type of problem.

"It's another HK drone." Cammy said. "Something's wrong with it."

Sheila figured there were a few more things inside of there as well.

"What else is in there?" Sheila asked.

Cammy saw the boxcar was almost out of the building when she looked inside the boxcar.

"There's nothing else." Cammy said. "The HK Track is about to come out of the building."

Sheila wanted to prevent the HK track from exiting the building. It was going to be much harder to fight once it had room to maneuver. She wanted to take some type of pre-emptive action.

"Do you have another Thermite grenade?" Sheila asked.

Cammy was more worried about the HK drone being able to fix itself and fly out of the boxcar. That would be an even bigger threat than the HK Track was that attempted to exit the building.

"No." Cammy said. "I'm going to disable this HK drone. It can't initiate its take off procedure for some reason."

Cammy climbed up inside the boxcar and carefully approached the HK drone. It was still trying to power up. Something must have gone wrong with it. It was probably defective workmanship. It was probably one of the ones assembled when there wasn't a Terminator around to supervise the procedure and make sure everything was done correctly.

The derailed front truck of the boxcar hit the softer earth of an embankment where a culvert ran under the track. The wheels outside the track dug in deeper. It caused the boxcar to lean at a steep angle.

Cammy was inside the boxcar as she tried to disable the HK drone. She was on top of it when the boxcar leaned. As it leaned the load shifted. The HK drone slid all the way to the side the boxcar was already leaning. Cammy slid right along with it as she worked to disabled it.

When the sliding HK drone hit the inside of the boxcar it caused the boxcar to lean even more. The HK Track was still pushing on the boxcar but it was stuck now. They could hear its tracks spin on the concrete inside of the building. There was probably a rooster tail of sparks to go along with that effort.

The pushing of the boxcar stopped.

The HK drone was soon offline. Cammy climbed out.

Sheila didn't think that the HK Track was going to remain in the building very long once it finally figured out it couldn't push the boxcar any further. She gave the other girls a heads up.

"The HK Track is going to come out on the other side of the building. There's an automated door where it can get outside." Sheila said.

Cammy wanted to keep the HK Track confined to the building.

"I'm going after it." Cammy said.

She went underneath the boxcar to try to come up inside the building.

The rear truck was right at the entrance and the leaning boxcar made it so she couldn't squeeze through.

"This way is blocked." Cammy said.

Sheila went around one side of the building and Ally went the other way after passing underneath the leaning boxcar. They would try to contain the HK Track in the building to keep it from getting out to fight them.

"Cammy, the hostile HK drone will be at your location in six minutes." John Henry reported.

That was news that Cammy felt she could have done without. She still needed to know what the situation was and what they would face. It was actually good that there is a timeline associated with what the next threat would be. Currently it seemed to be one threat after another without any break in between them.

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

Cammy looked at the way the boxcar was jammed currently. She saw that there was a way in. She went back to the boxcar door and hopped up. She then jumped up and caught the lip of the roof and pulled herself up on top of the boxcar. She was able to make entry into the building that way on the roof of the boxcar. The angle of the boxcar made the trip a little slippery. She had to duck low when she went in where the opening into the building was at.

When she spotted the HK Track it was about to go out the automated door. She wanted to get its attention. She fired her M4 at it. It stopped and turned in her direction and fired its minigun.

Cammy ducked down as the projectiles slammed into the side and end of the boxcar. The angle of the boxcar gave her protection and a double layer of metal between her and the projectiles. The HK Track turned to exit. She fired again. She dropped down from the roof of the boxcar to the floor of the building. The HK Track turned and fired. It saw her enter the building and came back. It began to look for her. Now that it had a clear target, it wanted to terminate it.

She quickly moved along the dock, past one disabled HK Track to the tipped over boxcar. She thought that was an impressive sight on its own. She figured that must have been what the big thud they heard and felt earlier was. She could see where the boxcar initially impacted the wall and severely damaged it before it slid down to its current resting place.

The crushed HK Track that was up against the dock by the tipped over boxcar still tried to operate, in the crushed condition it was in, it wasn't going anywhere but the scrap heap.

A burst of projectiles ricochet off the dock over her head. The HK Track already zeroed her in from the sound of her movements.

She could hear it coming closer. She really wished she would have had a LAW rocket with her.

Sheila and Ally both came around their last corner of the building and spotted each other. They expected to see the HK Track emerge. Instead they heard the firing inside the building. They heard Cammy's M4 and the answering minigun fire.

Sheila quickly deduced what was going on inside the building.

"Cammy has engaged the HK Track to try and keep it inside." Sheila said. "It's going after Cammy now."

Ally looked at the automated door.

"Lets force the door open and go help her." Ally said.

Cammy could hear the HK Track as it neared her position. She didn't think it could depress its angle of gunfire down far enough at her position but didn't want to find out the hard way.

She moved silently below the level of the dock to a new position. She heard noise from where the HK Track attempted to exit before. She popped her head up and down in a flash. The HK Track was headed to go back to the door and exit to the outside.

Cammy fired another burst from her M4 at it. She knew Sheila and Ally were out there. She wanted to keep the HK Track inside the building. They would have better luck taking it down if it was confined. There were plenty of obstacles in the building that would hamper the movement of the HK Track as well as provide them with cover if they needed it.

She hoped to be able to capture it intact so they could reprogram it and use it against the incoming HK drone. She also looked over at the other HK Track that was laying on its side. It hadn't done much since she'd entered the building. She hoped to be able to reprogram that one as well.

I Need To Know

Send me away
Cast me adrift
So to another
You can easily shift

The feelings you had
Exist no more
So it's with another
You now choose to adore

I haven't changed
I'm still the same
It's not my fault
I'm not to blame

Think before you push
Feel before you run
Deep in your heart
You know I'm still the one

I see how the game is played
Pull up roots and with another sow
Is there anything
I need to know

Nobody