Chapter 1087

Thrilled

Derek was thrilled beyond belief. He was in the TF-51 with Ally as the pilot. It was a dual control P-51 Mustang.

Ally stayed right at five hundred feet and hugged the terrain. She pushed the big Merlin V-12 engine.

Derek really liked the low level high speed flight. He knew there wasn't much room for error if something went wrong. With a Terminator at the controls it was highly unlikely. He was sure if he wasn't along for the ride that she would probably fly fifty feet over the terrain.

"This is really exciting." Derek said.

Ally thought so too. She didn't have the opportunity to fly earlier.

"This is my first flight." Ally said. "Sheila hogged all the stick time on the way out."

Derek was surprised to hear that it was her first flight but not alarmed. He wanted to verify what he understood she indicated.

"Do you mean that you've never flown like this before?" Derek asked.

Ally hadn't been in a fixed wing aircraft at that altitude before for the flight.

"No." Ally said. "Not in this plane. I have flown a UH-1 Iroquois, a Huey before."

It always amazed him some as to what a Terminator was capable of. He wondered if her programming was aircraft specific.

"Are all types of flying or aircraft in your programming?" Derek asked. "Do you know how to fly a particular aircraft before you get into it?"

"The basics are there." Ally said. "The rest just comes as part of our 'natural ability' to learn and adapt. An aircraft is simply another machine. It doesn't take much training for us to learn how to operate another machine, no matter what it is."

Derek wondered if he could try to fly a little. He wasn't sure if he could ask her or not. Nothing had been offered so far. If it was Cameron or one of her clothes he probably wouldn't ask. Since it was Ally, he felt a little more comfortable. She was just like Allison to him.

"Can I try?" Derek asked. "Is it something I can do about causing a problem?"

Ally was aware that he'd just watched the girls fly. Young Allison and Savannah were very gifted. She didn't want him to be overconfident. Someone who was overconfident could end up as a smoking hole in the ground.

"It's not as easy as Young Allison makes it look." Ally said. "Both her and Savannah are 'seat of the pants' flyers. They have great 'feel' and 'ability'. I can tell you what to do."

It seemed to Derek that they should be up higher before he tried it.

"Get some altitude so you can recover from whatever I screw up." Derek said. "I don't want to 'auger' us in."

Ally checked with John Henry. There was nothing around them.

"Hang on." Ally said.

She firewalled it and went into a maximum performance climb.

Derek felt the 'G force', both positive and negative, as Ally did some maneuvers when she reached eight thousand feet.

Ally instructed Derek what to do once they were in level flight.

"I'm going to let you try now." Ally said. "Are you ready?"

Derek was as nervous as he was thrilled.

"I'm ready." Derek said.

Ally checked all the instruments one more time.

"It's all yours." Ally said.

Derek took the second stick and made a few slight movements.

"Am I doing that?" Derek asked.

Ally figured that he would do a little more. She could see he was being very cautious. She wanted to help him out.

"Yes." Ally said. "Tell me what you want to try and I will assist and instruct you."

Derek did a few small maneuvers and returned control back to Ally. He didn't want to push his luck but enjoyed the experience. He didn't think there were too many 'non pilots' that could say that they'd been in control of a P-51 Mustang.

"Thanks, Ally." Derek said. "I'll let you get us back in one piece. I just wanted a little taste of flying."

Derek wanted to get back and check on Riley. He knew that they'd sidelined him in the most gracious way possible. He understood Riley's trepidations that there might be something wrong with her on a deeper level.

"Is there anything else you want me to do?" Ally asked.

Derek thought going faster than five hundred miles an hour would be an experience. Anna said that Sheila did that on her high speed passes. This wasn't a jet or anything but it could still move.

"I think to break five hundred miles an hour would be nice. That's moving for a piston engine." Derek said.

Ally knew that wasn't a problem in a dive. She just needed to make sure she didn't start the dive at too low of an altitude.

"We did that earlier, twice." Ally said. "Sheila did anyway."

Speed would be nice but it needed to be done safely.

"I only want you to do it if it's safe for both of us." Derek said.

Ally wanted to reassure Derek. She didn't think it would be a problem.

"There were no time bubbles on the tarmac earlier." Ally said. "I think we'll make it."

Derek wondered about the time involved.

"How long will it be until we get back?" Derek asked.

Ally made a quick calculation based upon her position and current speed.

"It will be about twenty three minutes if I stay at this speed." Ally said.

Ally was in charge of this flight. He'd let her make the decisions.

"You're the boss." Derek said.

Ally liked that he'd said that. Normally when she was with Sheila, Sheila was the boss.

"Sit back and enjoy the flight. I'll push it once before we get back." Ally said.

John Henry still tried to track the B-25. His attempts were unsuccessful. It was a surprise when he began to receive information again from CamNet.

"We're getting drone footage again." John Henry said. "It appears there are a couple more events we will be allowed to witness."

John was worried what they might be up to now. He felt Cameron was a bad influence on the girls.

"Great, what is it this time?" John asked.

John Henry was mildly surprised. He quickly replayed the file in his system and cross referenced it with other information.

"One is a very short take off with the B-25." John Henry said. "It is actually a new record, even if it's unofficial."

John didn't like Cameron showboating with Savannah and Young Allison aboard.

"That's Cameron showing off." John said.

As soon as John spoke, there was a zoomed image of the cockpit.

John saw 'Cameron' sitting in the pilot's seat.

"See. I told you so." John said. "Wait…."

John Henry could see John caught his error. He wanted to reaffirm it.

"That's Young Allison." John Henry said. "She was the one in control when they went under the two bridges too. She was in the copilot's seat at that time."

John thought back on the stunts he'd pulled and the trouble he was in and caused at that age. He was actually little more than a juvenile delinquent when he was in foster care. He wanted to cut Young Allison some slack and place the blame where it actually belonged. He believed the fault rested with her current guardian.

"I was doing stuff at that age that I shouldn't have been." John said. "Even though this is more extreme and dangerous, I can't get too upset at her. I know it's all Cameron's 'fault' anyway."

John's statement seemed more like a 'domestic' issue to John Henry. He wanted no part of it and the 'punishment' that was sure to follow. He wanted to let John know that he wasn't going to get involved in any way.

"I'll let you discuss that with her." John Henry said. "I'm out on that one."

John thought John Henry mentioned another incident on top of what he'd just found out.

"What's the other 'incident'?" John asked.

John Henry wasn't sure how the information would go over with John once he learned all of the details. Maybe it was better to show him.

"This is." John Henry said.

There was some footage of the P-51 doing some aerobatics and then a cut away to it making a high speed pass.

John remembered that Sheila was the pilot of the P-51 when the B-25 flew under the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay Bridge.

"I see Sheila is at it again." John said.

John Henry figured it was time to let John know the real story.

"That's Derek and Ally." John Henry said.

It was well known to John and everyone else that Derek seemed to have a passion for Warbirds. For him to be able to fly in a B-25 and then in a P-51 was probably totally exhilarating for him.

"Derek must be in heaven." John said. "Is all of this 'activity' safe?" John asked.

John Henry wanted to point out that it was safer than being in the future. There were also other things in their own timeline that were very dangerous that shouldn't be.

"It's safer than crossing the street at night." John Henry said. "There are a lot of hit and runs now."

John was aware the 'hit and run' problem was due mainly to the influx of illegals that had flooded the Southland. They were allowed to operate without licenses, insurance or car registration. If they were involved in an accident, they were afraid that they were going to be deported and simply drove away if the vehicle would still operate, if not they left on foot. Since nothing was traceable back to anyone, the victim of the accident was left to fend for themselves. He knew that there were worse things out there.

"It's safer than fighting Skynet." John said.

John Henry hadn't wanted to bring that up. It was a reality that haunted all of them.

"There's that too." John Henry said.

John always wanted Savannah and Young Allison to have more of a 'real life'. It was obvious that was never going to happen. Maybe in the past and free from all of this, Young Allison could have a few years or a taste of a 'normal' life. Then again in the company of Cameron anything could happen…. He was pretty sure that she would get 'popped' before he had the opportunity to do that.

John even wondered what a 'normal' life was anymore. Was there even a 'normal life' to begin with? He'd never known one. He did have to admit his mother tried to give him one. That caused a lot of pain for everyone. There were a lot of dead people that were left in its wake.

It made him think of Charlie and Riley – Future Riley. They were two people who didn't need to die because of him.

Vanna wanted to make sure everything was nice for Riley. She thought about trying to straighten things up but everything was perfect. The dishes were done and put away. The laundry was done and folded.

She wondered how much of it Riley was responsible for and how much Samantha did for her. There was a stack of books laid out too on various educational subjects. It looked like Riley was trying to further her education.

Vanna went and checked on Precious.

"You're really changing your mother's life." Vanna said to Precious. "For the better too, you really are precious, Precious."

Vanna wondered how having a baby would change her life. She seemed to be able to deal with Precious without too much trouble. She was sure she would be able to help Allison with her baby, their baby.

Maybe there would be no babies. Maybe Skynet would blow the world up again. What if there was a baby for Allison and her and it died because of Skynet? What would that do to her or to them? She didn't even want to think about having to go through Judgment Day for a second time. She was older now and was ready for whatever would happen. She hadn't been the first time. She was just a girl. She didn't remain a girl for very long. She'd become a 'woman' against her will as a group of men held her down and took turns. Why did they have to flip her over as well?

Vanna really wondered what the future held. She reached down and gently touched Precious on her cheek.

That was then, this is now.

Cam was afraid she'd taken Allison a little too far. Allison looked a little worse for the wear.

"Maybe we should take it easy for awhile." Cam said.

Allison's breathing was a little labored.

"I'm fine." Allison said. "I was enjoying the 'moment'."

Cam was afraid there might be some fallout with Vanna.

"Maybe I kept it going a little longer than I should have." Cam said.

Allison didn't think it was a big deal. It was what she wanted.

"It was perfect." Allison said.

Cam was up next to Allison now. She was alongside of her.

Allison thought how pretty Cam was. She knew that is what she 'looked like' but it didn't seem that way to her. She never tried to make herself 'pretty', especially after her first assault. Vanna was there to comfort her afterwards. It made everything easier to deal with and move forward.

She knew it happened to ALL the females at some point. She wanted to look as plain and unattractive as possible. That didn't really work either. Vanna told her that her natural beauty seeped out no matter how she looked.

She'd asked Vanna how she dealt with it all. She knew that Vanna had been assaulted numerous times since she was younger than her. Vanna told her to not fight it and just 'let it happen'. It was going to happen anyway. There was no need to have teeth knocked out or other physical injuries for something that couldn't be stopped. Once they grabbed you, there was no stopping what followed. The main goal was to try and avoid the Scavengers. They always left their mark. They liked to keep 'souvenirs' too off of their victims. Few of which ever escaped.

It seemed that people were too easily turned back into animals. That was an unintended victory for Skynet. Mankind stopped evolving. Instead they'd begun to devolve. Maybe that was the true nature of humans.

Kyle and Bob shared some small talk on the way to the recon. Bob wanted to make sure nothing happened to Kyle under his watch. He's been out with the Reese brothers numerous times. He knew they both always wanted a little bit more. Cameron and John always warned him not to let it happen.

"Remember, this is recon only." Bob said.

Sometimes Kyle felt like they were being sidelined. He'd seen plenty of fighting in the future. He knew how risky it all was. Nevertheless, it still needed to be done.

"I know." Kyle said. "They keep all the low risk ones for Derek and me."

Bob thought it was about risk management as much as it was about efficiency. Terminators were much more survivable in a combat situation than humans were. They needed to follow all of the leads to see where they went and if anything panned out. The purpose was to find anything Skynet related.

"They still need to be checked out." Bob said. "Someone still has to do it. Maybe it's better if the combat is left to those without children."

That was a reminder that Kyle could do without. He wanted to do more but he needed to think of his family now too. It wasn't just him and Derek fighting with the Resistance. He wanted to protect Jan and Precious. He wanted to protect all of the human females. He wanted to protect all of the humans from a Skynet future.

"Either way, if we find a target, we'll hit it." Kyle said.

Bob was all for that. He knew that's what any of the Terminators would do. He knew that things didn't get done thinking about them.

Samantha wanted to cheer Riley up. She didn't want Riley to hold back because she was along.

"I really think Jesse and you should get something, Riley." Samantha said. "You don't get out that often. I think that you should do something. You don't need to worry about me."

Riley thought maybe they could bring back some food for the rest of the group. That seemed like a nice gesture that would make everyone happy. They'd done that before with very positive results.

"That sounds like a plan but I want to get something for everyone." Riley said. "I don't want my problems to be anyone else's problems."

Jesse thought that was a good idea.

"Do we call them or surprise them?" Jesse asked.

Riley thought about it for a moment. She thought maybe a surprise would be better.

"We can surprise them." Riley said.

Holly thought of a way to expedite things.

"I can contact John Henry and have him order everything." Holly said.

Jesse wondered if John Henry was the only one who could order for them. She was sure that Savannah told her that CamNet took care of things for them before.

"Can you contact CamNet and ask her to do it?" Jesse asked.

Holly tilted her head slightly.

"I think so." Holly said.

Before Holly was able to do that, CamNet contacted her.

It was a reminder that Cameron, through CamNet, was everywhere.

Holly asked Riley and Jesse what they wanted done and she relayed the information on to CamNet.

"Everything will be ordered and paid for." Holly said. "It will be waiting when we arrive."

Jesse was a little surprised at how quick everything happened.

"Now that's service." Jesse said.

Samantha wanted to play a part as well.

"I can drive." Samantha said.

Jim didn't want there to be any problems.

"Cameron doesn't want you spotted." Jim said. "You must remain in the backseat."

That reminder really hit Riley. It made her feel bad inside. She knew how it felt to be treated 'different'. It wasn't a good feeling at all. She understood a little better what it was like when people were told they needed to 'ride in the back of the bus'. The situation was different but the feeling was the same.

"I'm really sorry about that, Samantha." Riley said. "I wasn't thinking."

Samantha smiled and she looked to her left side and then to her right side.

"I don't mind sitting between two beautiful ladies." Samantha said.

Jesse and Riley sat on each side of her.

Samantha couldn't wait for her Resequencing to progress further. Her physical features were in the process of changing. Her face would still need some more time. The face was always the slowest.

Sarah took over for Bob when she'd entered the shooting range. She currently worked with Jan. She would like to work with Claire but wasn't sure how that would go over with everyone. Every time she looked at Claire it stirred feelings that were buried inside of her. Claire 'called' to her from somewhere deep within her.

She looked over to see how Hanna was doing. She noticed Summer look at her as she did. It made her wonder about her previous thoughts.

Sarah decided maybe it would be better if Hanna worked with Claire. She told Hanna she could work with both Jan and Summer if Hanna wanted to work with Claire.

Hanna thought that Sarah would have done just the opposite. She noticed the way that Sarah always looked at Claire. She also noticed Claire looked at Sarah the same way. They always tried to do it when they thought no one was looking. Not much got past any of the Terminators. It was her observation that even less seemed to get past Summer. She thanked her and made sure Summer and Jan knew Sarah was now in charge.

Hanna moved over to Claire.

"Are you ready?" Hanna asked.

Claire quickly glanced over at Sarah and then returned her attention to Hanna. She'd received some basic instruction and training before. She'd wanted to pursue it more but she didn't. Now maybe it would be easier. She wanted to see how she did on her own, at least to start. She wanted to see how much of her training she remembered.

"Yes." Claire said. "Let me start on my own but stop me if I'm doing anything wrong or unsafe. I want you to stop me BEFORE I do it."

Hanna glanced over at the girls. She understood Claire's concern. It was her concern as well.

"OK." Hanna said.

Claire took one of the pistols that was on the rack and checked it. She made sure it was clear as she locked the slide open.

Hanna wanted to see if Claire remembered what specific type of weapon it was.

"What firearm is it?" Hanna asked.

Young Allison previously worked with Claire on firearms recognition.

"It's a Beretta M9." Claire said.

Hanna noticed that Claire made a choice between two firearms.

"What about the other one you didn't take?" Hanna asked.

Claire glanced over at the other weapon.

"That one is a Glock 17." Claire said.

Hanna wanted to give Claire a quieter option. At Savannah's urging most of the weapons that they used could be fitted with a silencer. The Beretta M9 was the easiest of the pistols to retrofit. The end of the barrel protruded past the end of the slide. On most of the other pistols it was flush with the slide.

"Do you want to use the silencer on the M9?" Hanna asked. "It has a threaded barrel."

Claire remembered that to truly silence the weapon, it needed a different type of ammunition than normal.

"Don't I need special ammunition for that?" Claire asked.

Hanna was glad that Claire remembered that.

"We have subsonic ammunition." Hanna said.

Claire looked over at the boxes of ammunition that Jan and Summer used.

"The girls are using that now." Claire said.

Hanna wanted to point out the effect of that ammunition.

"There is a big difference in the sound level." Hanna said.

Claire wondered if anything could be quieter.

"Is anything completely silent?" Claire asked.

Hanna knew of the 'assassin's weapons' that Cameron was able to procure. They were very compact because the barrels themselves contained the silencer. It wasn't an attachment on the end of them.

"We have a few vintage .22 pistols with silenced barrels and special springs to make sure the action works smoothly." Hanna said. "When they're fired, all you hear is the action working. Those are best for 'close in' work."

Claire wanted to give them a try later on. She wasn't so sure about the 'close in' work that they were designed for.

"We can try one of those later." Claire said.

Claire started to load the magazine for the M9. It was a little difficult for her after she had the first ten rounds inserted.

Hanna watched Claire struggle a little bit.

"Do you want me to load the magazines for you?" Hanna asked.

Claire knew she might not always have the luxury of a Terminator near her. She would need to rely on herself.

"No." Claire said. "I may need to do it on my own one day. I need to be able to do it."

Claire went ahead and did everything she remembered. It was all correct. Everything she did with the firearms was all very clear in her mind. She wasn't really sure why she was able to remember everything so clearly. She didn't know it was part of her nightly 'conditioning' to learn how to operate all of the firearms that the Resistance used.

There were a lot of other 'thoughts' in her mind from her nightly 'conditioning' as well. They were 'thoughts' that she believed were her own. Some of them may not have been. It didn't really matter at this point. She liked all of her thoughts and all of the people that she thought about.

The B-25 thundered across the sky.

Savannah was in the copilot's seat. She could see that Young Allison really enjoyed being able to fly the Mitchell.

Young Allison noticed Savannah look at her. She didn't want to hog all the flight time.

"We can switch off every fifteen minutes." Young Allison said.

Savannah wasn't going to say anything but she would accept the offer. She liked to fly too.

"That's fine." Savannah said.

Savannah looked back at Cameron.

"Is there anywhere else you want to go, Cameron?" Savannah asked.

There were a lot of places Cameron wanted to go. She didn't want to do it with Savannah and Young Allison along. She didn't want to endanger them. She wanted to see where the girls wanted to go.

"We can go anywhere you want." Cameron said. "CamNet will give us clearance through any airspace, military or otherwise."

That gave Young Allison an idea.

"Can we go to 'Area 51'?" Young Allison asked.

Cameron could see no need for that. It wasn't what people were led to believe it was by the media. Its heyday for secret operations was long over.

"There's only testing going on there." Cameron said. "I've been there and looked around the base on my own. That was a while back."

Young Allison hoped to see something else there. She figured it was all a myth anyway.

"So there are no aliens?" Young Allison asked.

Cameras wanted to point out the reality of aircraft design and advancement.

"No." Cameron said. "There was never any revolutionary jump in any aircraft or rocket development to indicate that. There was no advanced computer development either. Everything was a simple progression."

Savannah thought Cameron was a pretty good product of progression. Maybe some of what people saw were really Skynet incursions. She remembered that Sarah looked into something about them at one point. She'd read the report that was in the files but never ask Sarah about it personally. There were some negative events that were associated with all of that. They seemed personal.

"Could any of what we heard about UFOs in the past, actually be Skynet related?" Savannah asked.

Cameron thought about some of the reports John Henry and CamNet needed to squelch.

"Yes, some of our drones have been reported as UFOs." Cameron said. "We erase any footage anyone has and prevent most of it from ever even being reported."

Cameron didn't mention that people that were persistent usually ended up in a 'bad' place.

Young Allison thought they had a pretty good insight into the distant future.

"Were there any aliens in River's future?" Young Allison asked. "I've read all the reports. I never saw proof of any."

Cameron was made aware what the real threat was in the distant future. It was really no different than the threat that existed in the Wastelands. Instead it existed in the 'Black'. It was on the far reaches of space in River's future.

"No. There were no aliens. There was something worse than Scavengers there." Cameron said. "They're still there in some areas."

Young Allison was aware that the reports she'd been able to access in regards to some of the things in River's future were restricted in detail.

"They were worse than Scavengers?" Young Allison asked.

Camera was aware of everything that River knew about the 'Reavers'.

"They are much worse." Cameron said.

Young Allison heard the Scavenger stories, some of them anyway. Allison would never tell her very much. She asked Hanna to tell her about them when no one was around. She was able to relate some of Vanna's 'experiences' to her. They were very violent and invasive. She hoped her body was never taken and used like that. It made her concentrate her internet searches to only females. That's where her true desires were anyway. She still felt when she viewed a male and female together that it looked more like an 'attack' on the female body than anything.

She knew Scavengers were a threat to everyone, the Resistance and all females. Maybe it was time to have CamNet start acting against possible future Scavengers. She was already working on the Syndicate and the Cartel. What other groups could she have CamNet target? She knew they would have to keep it off the books. CamNet would do her bidding for her.

'Why wait for the problem to come to them?' Young Allison thought.

She'd been able to get a good look at what some of the 'scum of the earth' was like now. It seemed to her the best way to play the game would be to have those groups attack and eliminate each other. It seemed to work for the Syndicate and the Cartel.

Thrilled

Some thoughts warm us
Other ones leave us chilled
What is it exactly we have
In our hearts allowed to build

There are many questions
Over which we are grilled
How many can we pay for
For how many will we be billed

There are not many things
In which everyone is skilled
Does that make it harder or easier
For us to be abused or killed

Things should remain simple
They don't need be fancy or frilled
What do we really need to feel
To be complete, whole and fulfilled

Why does everyone wait
For another's blood to be spilled
Isn't there a better way
To feel joyful and thrilled

Nobody