Chapter 834

Is That Safe

Vanna looked forward to when she would be able to nurse Precious. She remembered watching mothers in the future do that. It looked so beautiful to her to watch that happen. She also saw the terror in their faces when they started to have trouble or even worse, stop being able to produce. There was no formula for an infant in the future to supplement or feed them with.

Most of the people in the future were malnourished and suffered from all types of ailments. The radiation seemed to have its lingering effect. The chemical and biological warfare that was used also left their damage behind. Everyone with pre-existing medical conditions or diseases all died in the first year after Judgment Day. Only the strongest and the fit were left behind. Even at that, the warfare that Skynet unleashed took its toll.

Many people were covered with open sores that took forever to heal, if they ever did. Everyone seemed to have a few.

Vanna needed to remind herself that was in the past, even if it was still in the future. She would look forward to helping Riley out. She was still elated that her body would be able to do one of the female functions it was designed to do by nature. She also worried that she may suffer some type of trauma as she nursed Precious and knew that she would be forever childless herself. She knew that no matter how much she wanted it that she couldn't take a child away from Savannah.

Riley was glad there were others to help her. She felt very overwhelmed about taking care of Precious. She felt like a nervous wreck. She was unsure if she was going to be able to do it. If there weren't others to help her, like there currently was, she was sure she couldn't do it. She looked forward to when Vanna could help her. Maybe she would let her 'take over'.

She was sure that Precious would get much better care if someone else were to take care of her other than herself. It was all too overwhelming for her to deal with on her own. There were times when she felt so frustrated that she wished Cameron would ask to take Precious from her as her own. She loved Precious dearly but she knew that she wasn't cut out to be a mother. She wondered if maybe she should go to where her family was now and see if she could move in with them like Allison did with her family. She was sure that her mother would help her take care of Precious and her younger self as well. Wait. What was she thinking? All she would do is expose them to danger them if she did that. They would probably find her story hard to believe anyway. Everyone knew that time travel was impossible.

In the Command Center they were very worried about the 'four by four' truck that attempted to check on the boxcars. They didn't need active Grays or a Terminator this close to Cameron and Anna. They were both trapped in the boxcar at this time. This group of Grays was known to have HK drones and they could call for a HK drone strike if they suspected anything was amiss.

John Henry could see how concerned John was about the 'four by four' truck.

"I don't believe that the truck will be able to follow them without having to take a detour." John Henry said. "The canyon the bridge goes over is a formidable obstacle."

John looked over the satellite maps. He wasn't so sure about that. He wouldn't put it past anyone to try to take a few shortcuts.

"They may wait and try to follow the train across the bridge." John said.

Savannah listened to John's concerns. Young Allison and her already over flew the bridge several times on their wide orbit. She'd looked at its construction.

"It doesn't look like a vehicle can cross that bridge." Savannah said.

John Henry called up construction plans of the bridge. He reviewed its construction.

"I don't think even with a 'four by four' that they can follow the train across the bridge." John Henry said.

John wasn't so sure that they wouldn't at least try.

"Based on their aggressive behavior so far, I wouldn't put it past them." John said.

John Henry called up some more maps and schematics of the bridge.

"It's an open deck bridge." John Henry said. "The four wheel drive vehicle will get stuck on it if they try."

John was very concerned about Cameron's and Anna's safety.

"Are you positive?" John asked.

John Henry currently looked at a detailed zoomed in satellite image of the bridge.

"I'm one hundred percent positive." John Henry said. "It's a mathematical certainty."

John just hoped they didn't call in an HK drone strike once they couldn't follow the boxcars.

Savannah asked for a secure line with CamNet with no exceptions. That meant that neither Cameron nor the Command Center would be able to hear what she wanted done.

"Hello, Savannah." CamNet said.

Savannah couldn't help but think about Cameron when she heard CamNet's voice.

"Hello, Cameron – CamNet." Savannah said. "I have a few ideas."

"It's CamNet. It must always be CamNet. I know why you're calling." CamNet said. "I can't allow that."

Savannah was a little taken aback. She hadn't even suggested anything yet. She wanted CamNet to know her concern.

"I need to help Cameron and Anna." Savannah said. "I don't want the mission compromised if they need to break the latch to get out."

"It's too risky." CamNet said. "That will leave Young Allison alone. You may exceed her abilities. What about YOUR safety?"

Savannah wanted to know how CamNet could possibly know what she wanted to do. She still hadn't presented her proposal yet. She wondered if she'd become too predictable in her actions.

"How do you know what I want to do?" Savannah asked.

"IT is what Cameron would do." CamNet said. "You want to have Young Allison fly over the train and let you off on top of the boxcars. You want to open the latch when the train stops so Cameron and Anna can get out."

Savannah was surprised CamNet hit the nail on the head and stated everything that she wanted to do.

"I do." Savannah said. "I make it at about an eighty six percent chance of success."

"I calculate a ninety three percent chance of success." CamNet said. "The problem is Young Allison. I can't allow either of you to be harmed. She'll be on her own then, next to the moving train. Is that safe for her? Do you think she will just leave you there? You wouldn't leave her there."

Savannah felt CamNet could read her like a book.

"No, I wouldn't. I have another choice." Savannah said. "I'm afraid that there may be too many variables to control though."

"That may be even more dangerous for both of you." CamNet said. "You think you can land on top of the boxcar by matching its speed, touch the roof and then cut the power."

Savannah actually thought that proposal might be more dangerous. There were factors that she wouldn't be able to control.

"That's correct." Savannah said. "I'm worried about wind shear."

"A gust of wind could put you over the side or cause the plane to 'buck up'. Maybe even a 'ground loop' could occur as you set down." CamNet said. "These are all stunts Cameron would pull; in fact she already did the first choice, twice."

Savannah was a little confused by CamNet's statement.

"How was it twice?" Savannah asked.

"It was both Cameron and Anna." CamNet said. "Cameron is Anna's base program. They both did what you suggest."

Savannah was pretty sure that Young Allison seemed to come up with that idea first. She actually wondered sometimes how much of Cameron's extreme behavior emanated from the 'Neural Interface' with Future Allison. She was sure a lot of that came from Young Allison herself even as the version that ended up its Future Allison. She wanted a way out once she was able to get Cameron and Anna out of the boxcar and re-secure the latch.

"I saw. That's how I know I could do it as well. How far is a paved road from where you can stop the train with proper signal management?" Savannah asked.

"It's less than a quarter of a mile from the railroad tracks." CamNet said. "There's a dirt road that leads to the work site."

Savannah wanted to stay out of the dirt if possible.

"That may be problematic…." Savannah said.

"The satellite images show the dirt road to be rutted and uneven." CamNet said. "You're correct to determine it was unsafe to land the plane on the dirt road. The big rigs will have to traverse it very slowly."

Savannah hoped for some better eyewitness information from the other aircraft.

"Give me Dan, please, on a secure line." Savannah said.

The response was quicker than Savannah anticipated.

"How may I help you, Savannah?" Dan asked.

Savannah previously heard them mention there was other construction equipment at the location that they'd found.

"Hello. Is there a bulldozer or 'road grader' at the work site?" Savannah asked.

Savannah figured there should be one or the other if they were laying down double track. They would need to make sure that the roadbed would be smooth and level.

"Yes." Dan said. "There are both pieces of equipment there. They are working on extending the double track that starts after the bridge."

Savannah wanted to know what the options were and if they were safe or not.

"Can you set down safely on the paved road?" Savannah asked. "I need a ninety five percent chance of success or greater and I need it accurately."

"Yes. We 'cut the grass' and checked it out already." Dan said.

Savannah wanted to speed up what would happen once the train was stopped when their other team members arrived with big rigs.

"If it's safe, I want you to land and park the plane at the junction to the dirt road." Savannah said. "I want both of you to run to the construction site. One of you will remain there to assist Cameron and Anna. The other one will use the piece of construction equipment best suited to improve the dirt road and get the dirt road ready for any big rigs our team can bring in."

There was a pause.

"What about the plane?" Dan asked.

Savannah was pretty sure what his concern was. It was also their concern.

"How's the fuel?" Savannah asked. "We've done a lot of loitering."

"It's past 'bingo', unless a smaller, closer field is used." Dan said.

Savannah wanted to take the risk and get things started. Time mattered in what they were about to do.

"Set it down and get started." Savannah said.

Young Allison and Savannah looked at each other.

Young Allison listened to the entire conversation. She'd already determined what Savannah was going to do. She wasn't so sure now.

"You're not going to get out on top of the train?" Young Allison asked. "I can do it. I can fly above and next to it. I want to try."

Savannah didn't want to expose Young Allison to that level of danger. She didn't doubt Young Allison's ability to be able to do that or fly on her own. She was afraid that something would go wrong and harm or worse would happen to Young Allison.

"That's not happening." Savannah AND CamNet both said at the same time.

Savannah would be concerned about Young Allison no matter what they did going forward. She tried to think what would be the best way to keep her out of harm's way.

"Are you ready to solo?" Savannah asked.

Young Allison's face perked up. She thought that she was ready for a lot of things. She decided to use some moderation and tact in her answer.

"Of course I am." Young Allison said. "I'm ready for multi engine as well."

Savannah wanted to make clear what the first part was going to be for Young Allison and her.

"We're going to set down on the paved road and taxi up next to the Beechcraft that will be parked there at the junction of the dirt road." Savannah said.

Young Allison checked her map, instruments and landmarks. She headed off in that direction. She firewalled the airplane.

Savannah knew they were past 'Bingo' fuel at this point.

"Try to save fuel." Savannah said

Young Allison cut back on the throttle.

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to get there." Young Allison said. "That's what Cameron would have done."

Savannah cringed a little at Young Allison's remark. She felt she needed to point something out. She felt it was something important.

"You're not Cameron." Savannah said.

Young Allison looked Savannah straight in the face.

"Not yet." Young Allison said.

Savannah needed to wonder about that. It really seemed like that was going to happen. It was apparent Cameron was working more closely with Young Allison than she knew. She wondered about that a little more. There were probably a lot of things Cameron was involved with that she didn't know about.

All was not well at the Young residence

Allison looked very distressed right now.

Holly sat next to Allison as she tried to comfort her.

Allison looked at Holly with wide eyes and desperation.

"I need to see Savannah." Allison said.

Holly was very frustrated about the request.

"Savannah's flying right now." Holly said. "I checked again with John Henry. We shouldn't disturb her."

Holly didn't think now was a good time to tell Allison about the semi peril that Cameron and the girls were in. That would only worry and upset Allison even more.

Allison really wanted to be able to spend time with Savannah. There was something else that was almost as good. It was her longtime lover. She should be able to work a package deal out of it.

"Take me to see Vanna then, please." Allison said. "We can see Riley and Precious as well."

Holly thought some of the others might like to go if they were going to the Resistance base.

"Can we take Claire and Summer?" Holly asked.

Allison wanted to offer something to Holly as well.

"I can go with Hanna and Summer." Allison said. "You can stay and watch over my mother."

Holly and Allison looked at each other for a long moment. She knew what Allison really meant. Allison just indicated to her it was fine for her to be with Claire if she was away with Hanna to see Vanna.

Holly was first with Claire in Cameron's future. Her chassis was only supposed to have Hanna's chip in it. Instead she asked that a copy of Hanna's program be placed on her chip and that her chip remain with her chassis. Claire was able to tell in the first few seconds that she was in control of her chassis and not Hanna the first time they made love in the future. It was then that Holly found out that Claire was a more passionate and better lover than Allison. She soon found out Future Allison was too. She didn't want to seem too presumptuous.

"Maybe we should ask them first." Holly said.

Allison didn't think it would be a problem. Holly and her mother always liked to share. They just didn't like to do it in front of her. It was never an issue if Hanna and Holly switched. That was fine with everyone. It seemed to happen more and more. The variety was good for everyone. Allison knew it gave Young Allison more chances to spy on everyone, she was aware she was doing it. It's what she'd done in the future too. There was little privacy in the tunnels or bunkers.

Her mind drifted into the future as she thought about it. She wondered what it was like there now and what was going on. She actually thought about going back a few times. She was out of her time and sometimes it weighed heavily upon her. She knew that the future was an ugly place. From everything that she'd heard, it seemed every future was an ugly place.

Maybe it was just another way to 'run'. She'd run away from her past before in the future. Cameron made sure that she found a whole new world here that was better than it was there. That wasn't hard to do.

John didn't like being in the dark. There was no drone footage or body cam footage to see or review. There was no overview for him to study. It was almost as if all the technology that was available in the command center was useless. It was currently useless to him anyway.

"Savannah, what happened with the 'four by four'?" John asked.

Savannah kept a careful watch on the four wheel drive truck. She knew that it was a threat and she knew the bigger threat that it represented. She was a little surprised at what it appeared they were about to do.

"They checked the other side of both boxcars and fell back. They didn't really have a choice. The dirt road they were on ended when they reached the bridge. They stopped at the canyon." Savannah said. "I think they are going to try and cross the bridge."

John Henry knew with a mathematical certainty that the truck wouldn't be able to go far if they attempted anything as foolish as that.

"That vehicle will get stuck as soon as the tie spacing has a wider variation to it." John Henry said.

John thought that might be good for the girls in the boxcar if they did attempt such a foolish maneuver. The downside was if they lost track of the boxcar, they may call in an HK drone strike.

Within a few minutes they received word from Savannah.

"They just tried to cross on the railroad bridge." Savannah said. "They got stuck about a fifth of the way across. It doesn't appear that they can move forward or backward at this point. We left them behind."

Young Allison currently flew the Cessna. She'd watch the foolish maneuver by the Grays in the 'four by four' pickup. It appeared that particular problem took care of itself for now. She wondered how big the next problem would be at the location that Dan and Frank found.

"How is everything going to be moved or transported if the train is stopped there at the work site?" Young Allison asked.

John felt it was more about the time it would take to get their troops there with the appropriate equipment, more than it was about being able to move the equipment.

"We're in the process of appropriating any empty big rigs that our teams converging on the area are able to locate." John said.

Savannah was worried about everyone's safety.

"I'm afraid there may be hostile HK drone activity if the 'four by four' reported anything amiss." Savannah said. "Since they tried to cross the bridge, I'm afraid they may have."

John Henry purposely hadn't blocked anyone's communications yet. He wanted to see who contacted who and then determine where the other party was located. He would also know what they were up to and hopefully be able to alter or change their plan.

"Nothing has been detected." John Henry said. "I haven't picked up any transmissions from them either. I haven't started any jamming yet."

Savannah wondered about some of the Skynet related communications. At various times they'd run into the Skynet jamming field which blocked their communications. When they did that to Skynet themselves, they were still able to communicate with each other. It seemed logical that would be a two way street. She'd noticed a series of communication towers along the railroad tracks.

"Could they communicate on a secure channel as we do somehow?" Savannah asked. "There are no cell towers out here. The railroad uses microwave, point to point transmissions, as well as satellite. Maybe the Grays are doing the same thing. They may possibly hijack or piggyback on one of those signals."

John and John Henry looked at each other. They now wondered if they'd missed something.

"That's a good point, Savannah." John said.

Savannah and Young Allison talked over various aspects of the operation they were on amongst themselves. They wanted to present ideas to each other and make each other think.

"I did some 'brainstorming' with Allison. Those are some ideas we discussed." Savannah said.

John and John Henry looked at each other again.

"We will look into it." John said.

John Henry already did some calculations of his own. It was in regards to the girl's aircraft.

"How's your fuel?" John Henry asked.

Savannah was aware there were various options open to them in regards to that. Young Allison and her made the decision to stay with Cameron for as long as they could.

"We're past 'Bingo'." Savannah said. "We'll need to set down at a smaller field on the way back and tank up. We will stay with Cameron and Anna until we reach the point when we need to set it down. I don't want to 'dead stick' it in if I don't have to."

John was a little uncomfortable with the term 'dead stick'. The name alone conjured up danger. He noticed that she didn't sound too worried about it. It made him wonder why.

"Have you done that before?" John asked.

Savannah felt that she was very well trained. Much of the training that Cameron provided to her and Young Allison was 'hands on' training. There were still a few aspects of it that were based on theories.

"Yes. Cameron has trained me for all emergencies and contingencies." Savannah said. "We haven't actually done the 'auto rotation' in a helicopter yet but I know what to do."

John Henry was a little appalled at Savannah's last statement. That didn't sound like anything that they should attempt.

"That's a semi-controlled crash." John Henry said.

When Cameron told Savannah about the procedure and how it worked, she told Cameron that she didn't want anyone's helicopter destroyed. It was only a few weeks ago when she thought that she might have to turn her training into reality. That was when Cameron and some of the girls 'fell' out of the side of the helicopter after they'd experienced their inflight emergency.

"That's why we haven't done that yet." Savannah said. "I thought I was going to have some practice at that not too long ago. If anything develops, keep me posted."

John checked to make sure his communications were only between John Henry and him currently. He'd learned a few new things during his last conversation with Savannah.

"She's amazing." John said. "Everything new I learn about her is really special."

John Henry always believed his 'sister' was gifted.

"Savannah is amazing." John Henry said.

John was very awestruck right now. He glanced over at John Henry and wanted to make a slight correction.

"Savannah is too but I meant Young Allison." John said. "Do you think she'll really be like Cameron and Future Allison when she returns from the past?"

John Henry believed that Young Allison's training and instruction was far from over.

"Yes." John Henry said. "Cameron will not stop until she creates what she 'wishes' she was – a human female."

The more John thought about that. The more he liked the idea. It was what Cameron said she wanted. If it really was, he was ready to let it all happen. At this point in time it all seemed like it would be a 'plus' for him even if it was a 'negative' for Cameron. There were times that he didn't care for the rut that he felt his life was currently stuck in. He wanted what the 'Natural Order' could offer to him. Everything it offered seemed to be true beauty to him. He really wanted to be the 'first' with Savannah and Young Allison.

No One Is Ever Safe

In fear of love we fear
We attempt to build a wall
An impervious impenetrable fortress
That never really exists at all

What love has chosen
We can't reject
Even from ourselves
We're unable to protect

We say it's not true
Just a passing feeling
Loves lesson remains bloody
There's never any healing

Emotional feeling is a weakness
From the past to the future
The wound it creates
Only love can suture

We cast them aside
Think we are safe
In our own heart we know
No one is ever safe

Nobody