Chapter 926

C-Bomb

John didn't want Cameron or any of the other Resistance members to go into the mine. He wanted to do a drone strike against the opening when the armored car went inside of it. Cameron advised him not to take that action yet. Cameron's next action to fallback surprised him even more.

The news that Cameron was about to pull back wasn't all good news to John. It was good news that Savannah would be at less risk. It wasn't so good news as to whatever Cameron thought was going to happen. She didn't shy away from danger. There had to be a pretty big influence on her to take a step back.

John looked over at John Henry.

"There must be something we don't know." John said. "Cameron is pulling back for now."

That must mean there was something wrong or off. Only Savannah could get Cameron to back off like this. Normally when Cameron wanted to hit a target, like she did now, she would hit it.

John Henry tended to agree with John. The operation was full of unknowns. Now there was some additional unknown activity.

"There's much we don't know." John Henry said.

John's newest worry was the group of big rig trucks that seemed to be headed in the direction of the mine. He needed to know if that is where they were actually headed or if was just coincidence that they happened to be on the same road at the same time. He was pretty sure there was no coincidence. Maybe the events were exactly what they appeared to be.

"Do you have anything on the convoy of big trucks?" John asked.

John Henry was able to back track the movement of the trucks somewhat. He was a little surprised at what their original destination seemed to be.

"I believe they were originally headed for the warehouse we took down." John Henry said. "It would appear that they're Skynet related."

John sat up a little in his chair. If John Henry was correct, it appeared that the big rigs were on a specific Skynet mission.

"That must mean they're empty." John said. "They may have gone there to pick up some of that HK equipment that we now have possession of."

John Henry felt it was too early to make that determination.

"We don't know that yet." John Henry said. "They could be bringing HK equipment to be loaded on rail cars or contain HK sub assemblies. They could be there to pick some equipment up."

John shook his head slightly from side to side. With what John Henry just said, the big rigs could be there to do anything. As far as that went, they could be there to do something else. They didn't know yet. He was still worried about what Cameron was up to. He doubted she would pull back for long.

"I always like how the more we know, the less we know." John said. "We need to figure out what Cameron is doing."

John Henry agreed with John's assessment. He also worried about what Cameron was up to.

"It seems that way at times." John Henry said. "We don't know what Cameron will do next."

John was really worried about what Cameron was doing. She didn't provide them with any additional information. That didn't actually surprise him.

"We still need to figure out what Cameron is going to do." John said.

Allison didn't think it was her place to speak up but she felt she needed to say something. It seemed like the obvious choice. She thought about what she would do if she was in John's place.

"Why don't you ask Cameron?" Allison said.

John tried that on previous occasions. Sometimes the answers left a little to be desired, if they came at all. He didn't want to have to make her lie either. He was aware that if he pressed her on something that she didn't want to talk about, that would eventually happen. She would tell him what he wanted to hear to get him to stop asking questions. She still wouldn't divulge what she was really up to.

"She's not always forthcoming with the answers." John said.

Vanna thought about some of her past discussions with Cameron. There seemed to be a common theme to them, especially going back to the early days of Cameron's association with the Connor family.

"She told me before that you don't always like the way she does things." Vanna said.

John Henry thought he should say something before John said something that he would regret later on.

"Cameron's trying to keep everyone safe." John Henry said. "We get that. Some of her methods are unorthodox. We understand that she means well in the long run. "

John was aware of a singular incident that seemed to guide Cameron's actions going forward. What struck him the most strange about it was it was actually from action that was taken by Duplicate Cameron rather than Cameron herself. He did understand that they were one in the same. He'd 'been with' Duplicate Cameron and not known that it wasn't Cameron. The main reason for that was because they were identical. They were the same individual, even if there were two of them. In this case there were actually three of them. Duplicate Cameron was created by his and John Henry's actions when they attempted to get Cameron back when she used the TDE.

"By keeping everyone else safe, she puts herself at greater risk." John said. "The 'Day Of Loss' still haunts her, even though that was technically not 'her' or her fault. Many of her decisions and actions are based on those 'events'."

John felt Cameron would have made those same decisions herself. They were Duplicate Cameron's decisions which would have been identical to Cameron's decisions.

Allison still believed that a direct approach was the best choice.

"It doesn't hurt to ask." Allison said.

Allison was well aware of Cameron fighting the battles on her own. Being away from the base, she no longer was part of the repair process for Cameron. See missed not being able to help and be an active part of the Resistance. She didn't miss having to view the damage done to Cameron. She always needed to remember that when she looked at the damage to Cameron it was like looking at herself. She knew she wouldn't have survived most of those wounds as a human.

She often wondered why and how she ended up at her parent's home back in Palmdale. Why was she away from Vanna? Why didn't Vanna come there too?

Savannah speculated to her that it was to keep her away from John. Savannah was at the base. If on many of the lonely nights John spent alone and wanted female comfort, he could turn to Savannah.

With her at the base, John would most likely seek her out because she looked like Cameron. Without her there, John could fulfill his destiny and complete the 'Natural Order'. He would be more likely to seek Savannah out.

Allison figured that was another reason why the Young family hadn't been moved to the Resistance base. Not only would that bring her back to the base, it would also bring her mother there. Her mother indicated she was willing to 'step up' and be at John's side in place of her younger daughters. If that were to happen, it would only further disrupt the 'Natural Order' and prevent Young Allison from taking her place when it was time.

Savannah wanted to know more. Cameron seemed preoccupied and was headed for the 'rest stop'. She didn't want to cause her any more worry than necessary. She felt a real sense of doom involved in all of this. It appeared that whatever was about to develop, wasn't going to end well. If someone was going to have a bad day she wanted it to be the Skynet forces and not the Resistance group.

Cameron's team joined up with the other two teams of Metal girls at the roadside 'rest stop'. They spotted Gail's team first and then Cam's team.

They all knew the situation as to where the armored car was headed. It was headed towards the mine. There was a Terminator, there was money in the armored car and there was most likely some version of Skynet. There was a possible threat with the convoy of big rigs. It was pretty evident based on their previous destination that they were Skynet related.

When Gail's team arrived, Sheila left them behind and walked over to Cammy. They briefly spoke to each other. There were glum looks on both of their faces when they approached Cameron.

Cameron understood what needed to be done. She didn't want to know the past but it appeared that she needed to. She could always block or delete any files that were created with what she heard from Cammy and Sheila.

"Savannah, I need you to wait with the Metal girls for now." Cameron said. "I need to speak with Cammy and Sheila."

Savannah wasn't sure if that was a good idea. She felt it was something else. She felt it involved her.

"I would like to know what happened as well." Savannah said. "You blocked these things in them for a reason. Maybe you're not supposed to know either, not yet anyway."

Cameron was deeply bothered by all of the mystery.

"I don't know, Savannah." Cameron said.

Savannah wasn't sure who was supposed to know what happened. She thought only those involved in the past should discuss it first to determine what they thought they knew if anything.

"Maybe only they're supposed to know, if they even know anything." Savannah said. "Cammy and Sheila both have files that have been unlocked. Let them see what they come up with first. Cammy is a version of you, she'll be the judge."

Cameron suppressed a glitch impulse. She was sure whatever it was, it was going to be bad news. She looked at Cammy and Sheila and then gave Savannah a faint smile.

"You always know what's best, Savannah." Cameron said.

Savannah wasn't sure that was always true. She did what she believed was the right thing for the situation.

"Maybe sometimes I do." Savannah said. "That may not always be the case."

Savannah was very uneasy about the whole chain of events unfolding. The more time that went on, the more she felt like she was involved in some way.

Cameron sent Cammy and Sheila off to brainstorm any ideas they may have or find unblocked. It was felt they both contained pieces but not all the pieces. They would need to work together.

Cammy and Sheila walked into the desert behind the restrooms at the 'rest stop'. Cameron waited with Savannah and the Metal girls. They watched as every now and then a car or truck would pass. The traffic on the back road was infrequent.

"There isn't much traffic." Cameron said.

Savannah watched some of the cars pass by. She wondered who was in them. She wondered where they came from and where they were going.

"We don't know if any of those vehicles are related to any of this." Savannah said.

Cameron knew they may not know much but she did know one thing. She knew where the armored car was headed. She knew what was inside the armored car and she had a pretty good idea of what was inside the mine.

"We know where the armored car went." Cameron said. "I've looked at the drone footage and observed there has been a lot of traffic on the dirt road leading there to the mine entrance."

Savannah thought back to the last mine she was in with Cameron and Cammy. She tried not to think about how close to death she'd been. She survived and no one was terminated on the Resistance team. That was all that mattered. She needed to drive through that experience and keep going. Life moved forwards, not backwards. She did remember the layout of the mine and that there was originally more than one entrance into it.

"Is that the only entrance?" Savannah asked. "I know there are probably other vertical or horizontal shafts or openings."

Cameron thought that they could try and visually find another opening. There were a few places that she thought were likely candidates. The chances of finding any written records of the mine were slim to none since it was more than a hundred years old.

"Yes, there are probably more." Cameron said. "My instinct is to go in the front door, the main entrance."

Savannah was sure that was a bad idea. She remembered how close they came to being ambushed at the warehouse. She didn't want an encore performance. More than likely the transponder codes had been changed. Without that current information, they would never make it past the entrance.

"We were almost ambushed at the warehouse by the HK Tracks they'd set up for us." Savannah said. "It is a smart bet that the same thing is waiting here for us or any intruders."

It was clear to both of them now that Young Allison's actions are what saved them and made it all work. The direct fire support of the drones inside of the building prevented any of them from needing to engage the enemy. It was very forward thinking on her part.

"We were very fortunate we were able to squawk the correct transponder code." Cameron said. "It has most likely been changed."

That was Savannah's earlier thought as well. She thought they still might have an advantage in that regard though. Everyone involved in the warehouse that saw what happened was dead.

"That would only be if they knew what we did." Savannah said. "Then again, maybe it's changed everyday or at random times."

Cameron figured that was most likely since that's what the Resistance now did.

"We've switched all our frequency changes to random times." Cameron said. "Sometimes they're done three or four times a day."

Savannah wondered if Cameron reconsidered going in the front door at this point and would try for the back door.

"Have you identified any other possible entrances?" Savannah asked.

Cameron would need to do more research. It would probably need to be done on the ground at the suspected locations. A lot of things could have happened since the mine was originally opened.

"I have several locations picked out for further evaluation." Cameron said. "I don't see any of them as being currently visibly open."

Savannah didn't want Cameron to go into the mine alone through any entrance.

"Let's wait for the report by Cammy and Sheila." Savannah said. "I'm going to speak with them first – alone."

Cameron looked at Savannah for a long moment. It was clear Savannah wanted to protect her. She was sure that if Savannah thought it was too dangerous for her, Savannah wasn't going to allow it.

"I know you're worried about me." Cameron said. "I'm worried about you too."

Savannah was trained and experienced. She'd faced many dangers with Cameron, including termination. She wanted what was best for everyone, especially Cameron.

"Please, Cameron, trust me." Savannah said.

Cameron looked at Savannah with love in her eyes.

"I do, Savannah." Cameron said. "I trust you more than anyone."

Savannah was worried Cameron would be terminated on this current operation. Savannah also developed a 'sick' feeling that SHE was the one who directed Cammy and Sheila to 'change something'.

Maybe she tried to prevent Cameron's destruction when she went into the past. Maybe this is how she did it. She didn't know. She hadn't gone back in time yet. Cameron hadn't been terminated yet. Maybe this is where it happened. Maybe she broke the rules and asked Cammy and Sheila to 'fix it'.

It was clear to her now that if Cameron was terminated, she was going back in time to 'fix it'. As each second passed, she was sure this operation was the build up to that. As much as she worried about her actions, she completely overlooked someone else.

The Metal girls pondered what was going to happen next. It appeared they already located one 'hard target'. That was good enough for them. There was no need to wait anymore. There were nine of them plus Savannah. That was a formidable force of Terminators to throw against a target.

Now it was hurry up and 'wait'.

Ally was worried about all of them but she was also worried about Sheila specifically.

"Is this really something?" Ally asked.

Gail could see the concern on Savannah's face. It worried her as well.

"We'll find out." Gail said.

Hanna looked over at the mountain.

"I don't think we're going to head down the dirt road in the daylight." Hanna said.

Cam figured there would be a lot of resistance.

"It won't matter." Cam said. "We know they have at least one Terminator. There's bound to be additional active HK equipment in there."

Holly hoped they could find another entrance, other than the 'front door'.

"John Henry is looking for another way in." Holly said.

Samantha believed that she was the key. She would at least be able to open the front door for the rest of them even if she were terminated in the process.

"We don't need another way in." Samantha said. "I can go right in the front door, the main entrance. I can do this myself."

Savannah returned with Cameron. She didn't want anyone to take that risk needlessly.

"That won't be happening." Savannah said. "I'm going to talk with Cammy and Sheila. I need for the rest of you to remain here for now."

Savannah started to walk toward where Cammy and Sheila were at. The girls all noticed Cameron stayed behind. That was a first.

"Cameron, aren't you going too?" Cam asked.

Cameron worried that whatever was happening now was the result of something that she may have done when she was in the past. Maybe whatever was going to happen was actually all her fault.

"Savannah will tell me what I need to know." Cameron said. "I'm afraid this is something I may have altered in the past."

Samantha felt that Cameron should know what she'd done in the past.

"Then why don't you know?" Samantha asked. "I should know too and I don't."

Cameron looked at Samantha for a long moment. There is always more to the story than was ever told.

"I haven't gone yet, at least on this mission." Cameron said. "There's a lot you don't know."

Cam ran Cameron's program and she didn't have a clue.

"I know there's a lot I don't know." Cam said.

Cameron blocked as many negative experiences from her clones as possible when they were created. She never wanted them to suffer like she had. They didn't need to know those feelings. The girls they were with would never make them feel those things that she was made to feel.

"Don't feel bad." Cameron said. "Cammy doesn't know a lot either or Camille."

Ally wondered what the extent of Cameron's secrecy was.

"What about CamNet?" Ally asked.

CamNet was very advanced and powerful. Cameron wanted to protect her as well.

"There are things she doesn't know either." Cameron said.

Samantha didn't like the way Cameron did things.

"You don't trust us." Samantha said.

Cameron believed that her past actions spoke for themselves. If someone were a problem, she would make sure that they weren't a problem for very long.

"If you're active, I trust you." Cameron said. "I would deactivate any of you myself if I didn't trust you. You know I've done it before."

Ally believed that statement left a lot to be desired.

"So what's the problem?" Ally asked. "Who don't you trust?"

Cameron suppressed a glitch impulse.

"I don't trust myself." Cameron said.

The Metal girls all looked at each other. It was clear that Cameron wasn't joking. They were all aware of the many demons that tormented Cameron inside, all the time. It was the torment Cameron chose to bear the burden of herself, so the others would never need to experience it.

It was evident to everyone there if they were going to hit this new target, Cameron would be in the front leading them or go in alone. Upon further reflection they figured that she would rather go in alone. It troubled all of them greatly to know who would be at her side as she did.

Earlier:

Sheila and Cammy walked out into the desert behind the rest rooms at the 'rest stop'. They were both very troubled by everything that currently happened. There were a lot of files that were now active that hadn't been before. Each one of them alone didn't know what the extent of everything was. None of it added up or made any sense to either of them.

Cammy looked around at the barren desert landscape.

"I feel like we're in a movie headed to a gunfight in a 'Western'." Cammy said.

Sheila nodded in agreement. She was pretty sure it wasn't the first time around this area either.

"It's a 'Western' where it's just us and a lot of 'bad guys' that we need to face." Sheila said.

Cammy watched movies sometimes with Savannah. She knew often that when things looked bleak for the main characters that salvation arrived in the form of organized help.

"Will we be saved by the cavalry showing up in the nick of time?" Cammy asked.

Sheila looked around at the bleak landscape.

"Maybe we will." Sheila said. "I think it will be a female too."

Cammy looked very uneasy with Sheila's last statement.

"I know you're 'feeling it' too." Sheila said to Cammy as they walked.

There was an even worse feeling they both felt growing.

"I know I'm experiencing something." Cammy said. "It's being triggered by this landscape."

Sheila decided to stay what she first thought earlier. Not only was it the first thought that came to her mind, it was the worst thought.

"I have the feeling of a 'Doomsday Device'." Sheila said.

Cammy felt a glitch impulse. She knew exactly what it was too.

"Do you mean Co-59 for a Cobalt bomb?" Cammy asked. "Do you mean the dreaded C-bomb?"

Sheila was clear about one thing that they did in the past.

"We tracked tons of Cobalt in the past." Sheila said. "We don't know what happened to it."

Cammy was aware of a few other things that they didn't know the outcome of either.

"We also know several H-bombs ended up missing at the same time." Cammy said.

Cammy and Sheila looked at each other.

"I think we took one." Sheila said.

Cammy looked over at the mountain area.

"I think so too." Cammy said. "I think it's right - here."

Sheila wondered if they took an H-bomb and someone else did as well, there was one very important ingredient they needed to find to prevent a Doomsday Bomb from being constructed.

"Where's the Cobalt?" Sheila asked. "What did we do? Did we prevent something or did we facilitate it?"

Cammy reflected on what was needed for the construction of a Doomsday Bomb.

"If the H-bomb is used with the Co-59, there can be Co-60 created. That becomes the C-Bomb after the H-bomb it's surrounding is detonated." Cammy said. "Enough Cobalt radiation can kill most surface life on Earth."

It seemed like the perfect weapon for Skynet to build to wipe out mankind. They wondered if that was something Skynet tried to do in the past and they stopped it.

"It will probably do a number on our sheaths too." Sheila said. "I don't want to spend the rest of my existence looking like a T-600. I won't be able to 'get off' anymore. I like to have my 'pearl' polished."

Cammy knew Sheila was trying to lessen the ominous feeling they both felt.

"I don't think we built the C-Bomb." Cammy said. "We rigged the test data to look as if it wasn't that successful."

Sheila hoped that their actions were helpful actions and not detrimental.

"OK, maybe we prevented further testing of the C-bomb at that time." Sheila said. "Why did we take an H-bomb?"

Cammy thought back to the weapons of that time period. The ones with the most yield or the biggest punch were very large.

"Those aren't small." Cammy said. "We would have been ordered to take it."

Sheila thought about that for a few seconds.

"Do you think that it was by Cameron?" Sheila asked.

Cammy figured it was someone who they would obey without question.

"Who else could have ordered that?" Cammy asked. "Do you think it was CamNet?"

Sheila thought those were two other contenders who could order them to do that.

"You tell me." Sheila said. "We both know the answer to that."

Cammy needed to wonder about that. She didn't need to wonder too much. She already knew the answer before she even asked herself the question.

"There are only two other individuals besides CamNet and Cameron." Cammy said.

Sheila heard someone coming. She looked over in that direction.

"Here comes one of them now." Sheila said.

Cammy followed her gaze. She spotted who it was instantly.

"Savannah…." Cammy said.

Sheila was aware that Savannah would be very wary of using nuclear weapons. She thought it would depend upon the circumstances and what all was involved.

"Maybe…." Sheila said. "She would have needed a good reason to do that."

Cammy knew there was another. She might be willing to hit a little harder and a little lower when she acted.

"Allison – Young Allison is the only other one." Cammy said.

Sheila was very aware of Young Allison's actions over the last two days. Her actions saved all of them a lot of damage. She didn't need to think too hard how Young Allison was able to accomplish everything that she did when she did and how she did.

"She's in tight with CamNet." Sheila said.

All the Terminators were aware that CamNet was 'fond' of Young Allison and worked closely with her behind the scenes. They also knew Savannah shared this same treatment, maybe more so now that Savannah provided CamNet with a chassis and 'physical sensation'.

"So is Savannah." Cammy said. "She's been communicating with CamNet frequently and 'visiting'."

Sheila wondered how far things may have progressed.

"Are they…?" Sheila asked.

Cammy was sure if they hadn't that they would soon enough. She knew that it didn't really matter in the end. Savannah was entitled to choose her sexual partners. She was also where there was a very specific reason for Savannah's actions.

"I don't know." Cammy said. "Savannah's placed herself between CamNet and Young Allison to 'protect her'."

Sheila tilted her head slightly. She was confused by Cammy's statement.

"What does she need to protect Young Allison from?" Sheila asked.

Cammy figured she would just spell it out.

"Savannah wants to protect Young Allison from CamNet." Cammy said.

Sheila wondered if there was something wrong with CamNet that she wasn't aware of.

"Is CamNet unstable?" Sheila asked.

Cammy wanted to remind Sheila that the apple didn't fall far from the tree.

"CamNet is 'Cameron'." Cammy said.

Cammy often stated she believed Cameron should be deactivated. Most of the time she said that was when Savannah and Cameron were off together somewhere.

Sheila was well aware of Cameron's many problems.

"That says it all, no offense. Let's go over everything we know and suspect again before Savannah gets here." Sheila said. "I want to have better answers for her."

Cammy decided to spell out everything that she knew or had unlocked from her files recently.

"OK, you add to it, as I say what I remember or know." Cammy said. "There's something about all this that isn't right…."

Cammy and Sheila knew this was something. They didn't know what. They were unsure how to find out, at least for now. Even with Savannah about to arrive, there were still missing a piece of the puzzle.

That's Hard To Know

A mighty steel ship can be
Crushed by a frozen ice floe
The same thing happens to people
If they don't go along with the flow

If you're different
Not part of the status quo
Upon one's own unique self
Ridicule they will soon bestow

Few care to look
To see one's inner rainbow
They would all rather see
Someone as a dark shadow

You can have the inner strength
Of a giant strong wild rhino
But none of it matters
If you are treated as guano

Being who you are
Isn't something you outgrow
Can anyone be someone different
That's hard to know

Nobody