Chapter 1565


A Slice Of The Action


Previously:

Summer contacted Young Allison.

"We're going to have a problem." Summer said.

Young Allison thought they already had a problem, several of them in fact. Based on the current events, she felt she had a pretty good idea.

"Don't tell me, you want to send Kyle, Derek and Sarah to the hill complex." Young Allison said. "They may need more human assistance there."

Summer didn't know the time table.

"We can't gut the Resistance if something goes wrong." Summer said.

Young Allison was ready to go herself.

"I can go." Young Allison said.

Summer thought it was a bad idea. She wanted to give her sister something to think about.

"So can I." Summer said. "If you go, I'll go as well."

At this point, both girls knew it was a bad idea.

Young Allison already told CamNet to prepare for a temporal mission. She could pull everyone out, or prevent the whole thing.

"Such action won't be necessary." Young Allison said. "I have an alternative plan ready to go."

Summer was aware of the temporal mission. She'd already arranged one herself, several in fact. She liked to cover all the bases.

"I know of the contingency." Summer said. "We have another group who can be there in a much shorter time who are combat trained and experienced. We need to act now."

Young Allison realized Summer wanted to use Jesse, Allison and Vanna. She knew Cameron didn't like the girls in combat.

"It's a risky proposition." Young Allison said.

Summer didn't think so. She may have given them a little nudge.

"They're ready to go." Summer said. "The Blackhawk is running."

Young Allison knew Summer bypassed John Henry on this one to be this far into a plan like this.

"Did you call me to take the heat for this if it goes bad?" Young Allison asked.

Summer didn't second guess many of her decisions.

"No. I just wanted you to know what was going to happen." Summer said. "This one is on me. It's actually already in play."

Summer also knew where there were two Duplicate sets of the girls from the future if things went badly. She believed the best choice would be the girls from River's future. Technically, nothing would happen there for half of a millennium yet.


Earlier:

Jesse, Allison and Vanna were all up when Ned and Wes left the jet to prepare the helicopter. They knew they 'checked them out' as they'd passed by.

Allison didn't like the way the Metal girls left earlier. Now it looked like an escalation if they were about to get the Blackhawk ready. The Metal girls must be in trouble.

"Does anyone else have a bad feeling about this?" Allison asked.

Vanna felt it too. They wanted in on some operations earlier. There was a lot of bloodshed and destruction involved. This looked like more of the same. The business they were in bred death.

"I do." Vanna said. "It's the price for a slice of the action."

Jesse was worried about Young Jesse.

"Me too, and it's a real bad feeling." Jesse said.

The girls decided to get ready. They were combat trained. There were some vests and weapons in the Blackhawk. Look at them now. Life had devolved into one big endless orgy.

They tried to be quiet as they got ready. When the Blackhawk started up, it was loud, even if Ned and Wes already pushed the Blackhawk further away from the 727.

Soon all the girls were up. They all sensed a change in the atmosphere. Everyone was ready in a few minutes. They began to ask questions. They'd watched the 'special girls' all bail out of the jet earlier. They knew they went on a combat mission.

"Are the girls OK?" Leticia asked. "Did something happen to Sheila?"

The fact the Blackhawk fired up was bad enough. No one provided them with any extra information yet.

"It's just a feeling." Jesse said.

Mary felt it too, the 'special girls' all mattered to them. This seemed related. She felt the need to do more. Maybe it was time to pay the piper.

"The helicopter running is a pretty good indication it's more than a feeling." Mary said. "Are you three getting ready to go? It seems serious. We know you're connected to the 'special girls' by more than just appearance. What can we do to help?"

Leticia didn't want Sheila or the other girls to get hurt either. She felt a 'calling'.

"I'm in." Leticia said. "I'll go along to help."

Laura was driven by an urge to do more. She'd felt it earlier. She really felt it now.

"Me too, I'll go." Laura said.

Jesse, Allison and Vanna all looked at each other. Was this for real? They wondered why the girls wanted to get further involved. Their lives were all in serious danger before. Maybe it was the reason. It appeared they wanted payback. It still wasn't their fight. Not until Judgment Day anyway.

Allison didn't want them to get too far ahead of themselves. She wanted to make things clear.

"We can't risk your lives." Allison said.

Leticia looked out the window at the running helicopter. It 'called' to her.

"You're willing to risk yours." Leticia said. "I can help. Life wasn't always easy."

Vanna thought they were victims of circumstance, not choice.

"It's how we grew up." Vanna said. "Life was very rough."

Jesse knew there was no choice from their future. It was just the way it was.

"It's not the same thing." Jesse said. "This is our job. It's our life. Death stalked us daily in the fut..., where we came from."

The Resistance girls all received an alert on their phone. They actually expected it to come sooner. It was soon enough.

Mary, Laura and Leticia all looked over the shoulders of the Resistance girls. Summer filled them in. She spelled it out in no simple terms. There were eight Metal girls and Young Jesse who were in peril.

Allison thought they should have left earlier.

"How much time do we have?" Allison asked. "Let's get crackin'."

Summer was worried there were no updates from 'The Hole'. There were a lot of energy fluctuations.

"I don't know." Summer said. "Young Jesse wasn't supposed to set the timer on the 'package' for less than thirty minutes when she sets it."

A new fear gripped Vanna. She knew both Savannah and Young Allison took it 'all the way' recently. The 'package' sounded ominous.

"What's the 'package?" Vanna asked. "What is it exactly?"

Summer didn't want to mince words.

"It's just what you think it is." Summer said. "It's a backpack nuke. Young Jesse has it now. She went down into 'The Hole' where Skynet is located with it. The last reports we had were of gunfire. She's going to destroy Skynet one way or another."

Allison was surprised to hear it.

"Are you saying Young Jesse has a nuclear weapon and is going to use it?" Allison asked.

The girls from the ship knew Young Jesse as 'Stephany'. They were as surprised, as they weren't surprised, to learn the 'special girls' had access to nuclear weapons.

"Yes." Summer said.

Jesse felt the need to go there even stronger now. She needed to take Young Jesse's place if she could.

"Let's go." Jesse said.

Summer gave them some details about the energy field and how it could affect the Metal girls. They would be incapacitated at some point if it got bad enough.

Jesse, Allison and Vanna heard enough. They headed for the airstair. They wanted to be on the helicopter.

Leticia could see the girls were about to leave.

"What about us?" Leticia asked.

Jesse knew life was rough in the future. Maybe the girls wanted to step it up some.

"It's up to you, love." Jesse said. "Plain and simple, there's a chance you may die."

Vanna thought about the nuke.

"It's a pretty good chance too." Vanna said.

Leticia fell into line behind them. She needed to help Sheila.

Mary and Laura looked at each other.

"How long do you want to live anyway?" Mary asked.

Laura thought about her life and shrugged her shoulders.

Mary and Laura fell into line behind Leticia.

They were surprised to find Wes in the galley and the airstair down. The three girls from the ship were a little worried.

"Who's that?" Laura asked.

Allison didn't want to get into the details.

"He's the pilot." Allison said.

They hurried down the airstair and over to the Blackhawk and started to get in.

Wes closed up the jet and ran after them.

He closed the side door as soon as Laura entered the helicopter. He climbed into the cockpit. Ned was ready to go. He lifted off as soon as the girls were seated. They put headsets on.

Mary couldn't believe this. She was jacked with adrenaline.

"Is this for real?" Mary asked.

Cameron's Terminators were very predictable. They were all around humans less than the Resistance Terminators.

"Affirmative…." Ned and Wes said as they both looked back.

There were six vests laid out in front of the seats. There were long guns for Jesse, Allison and Vanna. They already carried their pistols and Tasers. The Resistance girls geared up.

"Do we get guns too?" Leticia asked.

Vanna glanced over at Allison. She looked as worried as she felt.

"No." Vanna said.


Earlier:

Gail and Camille received instructions from the Command Center to hook the alternator electrical output of the big forklift to the hoist controls for the elevator. It would give them an alternate power source. They got it hooked up and ready to go.

Camille was very upset there were no further communications from down below. What was worse, was both Gail and her began to feel a mild impact of the massive pulse from below which already incapacitated the other Metal girls.

John Henry contacted them as soon as they reported the first notice of the electrical impulses. They started out mild and produced little effect, they were still troublesome.

"You need to go into standby for alternating periods of time with a five second delay before the other one comes out of standby." John Henry said. "If you are both active at the same time, there's a risk you may both become incapacitated."

Gail and Camille were both aware of the risk.

"We understand." Camille said.

Summer suggested they could send in more drones to free up the HK Tracks so they could return to the interior. They might be needed to actually pull the cable of the elevator up at some point. They were somewhat shielded against the impulses but not immune to big pulses. They were most likely to lose the forklift's electrical output before an HK Track shut down.

Two more drones were set into the hangar to replace the two HK Tracks at the two blast doors.

Gail went out to get the HK Tracks, one at a time. She ran out and returned with the first one three minutes later. She ran out to retrieve the second one.

Two of their drones flew in and took their place at the blast doors to provide the communications link. They didn't think the blast doors would close on their own at this point.

'Cherry Bomb' remained near the shaft. 'Coltan Overcast' remained in the hangar and watched over the UH-1 sitting outside the hangar as well as the hangar itself.

Camille was alone at the controls of the elevator and held the communication's line. She waited for the call when they were ready to go and come up.

Gail and the second HK Track clanked into view.

Camille still wanted to go down on the cable to assist Young Jesse. She knew she would be just as incapacitated as the other Metal girls were. She wanted to try anyway. She felt the need to do more, even if she couldn't. It was the 'Cameron' in her.

Gail joined her again as the HK Track turned around and stopped in front of the other one. They both faced away from them.

They decided to start the alternating periods of standby. Gail shut down first. She would be offline for ninety seconds. There would be a thirty second gap between the time Camille went offline and she rebooted.

Camille always pushed her time online past when she was supposed to. They needed to make a few adjustments as the pulses began to get stronger and the times varied. It was clear at this point they were both going to have a problem soon.


The Blackhawk thundered toward the hillside complex at full speed.

Jesse, Allison and Vanna geared up as the other girls watched.

Laura could see they all knew what to do and were used to it.

"You've done this a lot." Laura said.

Allison knew most of it was in the future. Cameron shielded them from the majority of it now. It was dirty business wherever it was.

"I have." Allison said. "We all have."

Mary watched the 'special girls' kill earlier. They'd killed for them to free them. The girls here looked just as tough right now.

"Have you killed people before?" Mary asked.

Jesse thought most of the people deserved it. It wasn't a big deal really.

"Yes." Jesse said. "I've killed a lot of them."

Allison killed in the present and the future.

"I have too." Allison said. "It was a lot also."

Vanna was always a little more shielded from combat. She'd still done her share.

"I've killed." Vanna said. "It wasn't too many."

Leticia grew up with guns in the neighborhood. She'd been with people when they'd used them. They'd showed her how use them.

"I can use a pistol." Leticia said. "I know how to shoot."

Jesse picked up a spare M9 from weapon's stash on the helicopter.

She took out the magazine and made sure the weapon was clear. She handed both of them to Leticia.

Leticia placed the magazine in the pistol and made sure it was seated. She pulled back the slide and chambered a round. She worked the decocker to make sure the safety was on. The pistol only needed to have the safety released to be pointed and fired through double action for the first round at this point. The rest would be through single action.

"I grew up in a rough neighborhood." Leticia said. "There was always gang activity nearby."

Mary and Laura looked at each other. How hard could it be? None of them mentioned their earlier escapades with the 'special girls' in San Francisco. They were part of the killings which went on there.

"I can do it." Mary said.

Allison helped her out. She took out another M9.

"Me too, I think." Laura said.

Vanna showed Laura.

The sun was just about to come up as the Blackhawk neared the hill complex.

Mary looked over to the east.

"It will be sunrise soon." Mary said.

Jesse nodded.

"Enjoy it, love." Jesse said. "You never know when you won't see one again…."

Her statement carried an ominous overtone. The three girls didn't know if it was a revelation or a prediction. Maybe it was both.

The Blackhawk came into the LZ hot. It flared up and set down smoothly next to the UH-1 which was captured earlier.

Leticia was assigned to Jesse. Mary was assigned to Allison. Laura was assigned to Vanna. They were to remain with their girl at all times. They were to stay in back of them whenever possible.

Summer fed them instructions and updates through their coms up until this point.

Wes and Ned both exited the Blackhawk. They looked both helicopters over. They wanted to make sure they were good to go.

Ned entered the UH-1. He would have it ready to leave when the girls came out.

The six girls headed for the open hangar.


John Henry didn't like the turn of events at the shaft. It looked like there was going to be a problem. He was sure they were going to need to take some additional action. He'd delayed implementing it as long as possible.

"I think we need to call John and put Derek and Kyle on alert.

Summer felt John Henry should have done it earlier. She figured it was time to come clean.

"It's already covered." Summer said.

John Henry began to check his monitors. He was surprised somewhat at the action Summer put into play. CamNet got him up to speed. He understood the unspoken 'warning'. He looked over at Summer. He still felt he needed to say something.

"John would never agree to this." John Henry said.

Summer didn't think it was a big deal. She knew the full extent of everyone's sexual activity. She was actually behind some of it.

"John and the others are – busy." Summer said.

John Henry saw a different metric.

"This is still highly irregular." John Henry said. "You're endangering strangers."

Summer didn't see it that way. The girls from the ship weren't strangers to anyone….

"Life is about choices." Summer said. "They all made the choice to help. They wanted a slice of the action. Well, here it is. Vanna, Allison and Jesse all warned them of the consequences of what could happen. They made it very clear to each of them. The girls decided to go with them anyway. They will either shine or fold. I believe they will all shine. The future won't wait for anyone. Think of it as them getting a head start."

John Henry was sure Cameron would deactivate him over the new development.


Young Jesse looked up through the open hatch. It was total darkness. There was a blinding flash of light from below and the elevator slowed and stopped with a jolt. There was a loud roar and the elevator shook wildly. It was buffed back and forth against the rock walls of the shaft. A panel fell off of the ceiling. She didn't think it was the 'package' which exploded. She was sure there would be a little more heat when it did.

She took out her M9 and fired five more shots up through the open hatch.

Bam-Bam pause Bam-Bam-Bam

Nothing happened.

The pulses of energy resumed at a much slower rate and were less intense.

The Metal girls began to stir.

Maybe this was the calm before the storm.


A short time ago:

Camille continued to push her time online past when she was supposed to. They needed to make a few adjustments as the pulses began to get stronger and the times varied.

She heard the gunfire.

Bam-Bam pause Bam-Bam-Bam

It was the signal. She tried the communications line again. There was nothing. She started the hoist winch. She needed to open the throttle up all the way on the forklift. The high RPM was going to tax the engine. It wasn't intended to operate indoors and spewed out a steady stream of exhaust. The engine held and it delivered the electricity.

The elevator was on its way up.

Camille overstayed her standby time. She wanted to make sure Young Jesse and the Metal girls made it.

There was a vibration and a strong energy pulse.

Camille was knocked down by the energy blast.

The forklift stalled and the winch stopped hoisting the elevator.

Bam-Bam pause Bam-Bam-Bam

The signal was clearly audible at the top of the shaft. The problem was, no one was online to hear it.

Gail hadn't rebooted yet. Camille was sprawled on the ground.

The clock continued to tick.


Cammy tried to rise. She was still very sluggish. She could at least slightly move again.

"What happened?" Cammy asked.

Young Jesse didn't have much to offer.

"We're in the elevator. I think it's about halfway up." Young Jesse said. "We have all the Metal girls and the two Skynet Terminators. They're deactivated.

Sheila looked around.

"We're not moving." Sheila said.

Young Jesse wasn't sure what happened.

"The elevator stopped after a big blast of energy." Young Jesse said.

Cam was worried about something specific.

"Where's the package?" Cam asked.

Young Jesse pushed the buttons on the elevator. They were still stopped. She knew the clock was running. It seemed every time they'd used a nuclear weapon, there was always a last minute glitch of some type.

"I left a present for Skynet. It's in the 'clean room' and set for a thirty minute detonation." Young Jesse said. "The clock is ticking."

Ally wondered about the timing. The stalled elevator seemed like a problem.

"How long ago was it?" Ally asked. "How much time do we have?"

Young Jesse didn't like the answer.

"It was started about seven minutes ago." Young Jesse said. "Hang on. I needed to signal the top of the shaft again. Mind your ears."

Young Jesse pointed her M9 up at the opposite side away from where the elevator doors were propped open at the top.

Bam-Bam pause Bam-Bam-Bam

The Metal girls were all aware but could still barely move.


Gail rebooted. She saw Camille was sprawled on the ground. She could see about half of the cable was reeled in. The forklift was stalled and the winch wasn't moving.

"No!" Gail said.

Bam-Bam pause Bam-Bam-Bam

It was louder this time. They were closer.

Gail immediately went to the forklift and got it to start. The engine ran rough now. The winch began to move but slower this time. She went and looked over Camille. She was offline.

Her movements were noticeably slower now. It wasn't a good sign.

She decided to close the inner blast doors when they left. It should help them recover as they left the area. She wondered how they could do it. There was no longer any power. There were only a few dim emergency lights here and there.

There was the sound of running footsteps coming from the inner blast door. They weren't hindered by the energy field either. She realized her com was out. What if it was more Grays?

She didn't see 'Cherry Bomb' react much. She wondered if it was damaged. She looked for a weapon. She could tell she was a little confused too. She didn't realize she'd caught the tail end of the big energy blast when she'd rebooted.


Seconds Ago:

John Henry took over the operation from Summer at this point. The girls all realized she'd set this up on her own.

Jesse looked back at Allison.

"I thought you were a firecracker." Jesse said.

Allison always liked the comparison.

"I am." Allison said. "Summer's a nuclear bomb."

John Henry gave them instructions on where to go.

Jesse led the girls into the hangar. Leticia was right behind her.

'Coltan Overcast' tracked them.

"What's that thing?" Leticia asked.

Jesse looked over.

"It's an HK drone." Jesse said. "It's one of ours."

Mary could see the multi-barreled gun on it along with four small missiles. The name 'Coltan Overcast' was marked on the side of it with several drawings that looked like hearts with initials.

"What does it do?" Mary asked.

Allison didn't see any reason to mince words.

"It hunts and kills people." Allison said. "It's what the 'H' and 'K' stand for. They're very efficient as well."

She didn't point out they'd been backed up by their drones in San Francisco previously. She was unaware of all of the additional activity involving the girls which occurred without them being there.

Vanna knew the transponders in their vests were important around HK equipment. She wanted to give everyone a very important reminder.

"Make sure you keep your vests on at all times." Vanna said. "There's a signal they send out to let the robotic equipment know you're a 'friendly'.

The girls neared the inner blast doors.

"Look alive." Jesse said.

The girls saw the shredded body of the Gray. There was a little bit of hesitation.

Allison wanted them to push through it.

"Keep moving." Allison said. "It happens."

Mary was a little shaken.

"This is like some creepy for real video game." Mary said.

Allison made sure Mary stayed with her.

"It is." Allison said. "The difference here is when you lose, you're dead."

It was a sobering thought for all of them to think about.


The Terminator was displeased he needed to allow the other two men to drive away in one of the box trucks. A drone currently tracked them. Hopefully they would return to wherever they came from and lead them to more Skynet equipment.

Right now it was time to question the truck driver, 'Terminator style'.

The truck driver soon came around. It didn't take him long to realize he was now in the custody of a Terminator. The usual threats and curses were issued by the detainee. A few sharp blows quieted him down.

"Why is the Terminator known as Ajax?" The Terminator asked.

The truck driver laughed.

"It's because he needs to clean everything up." The truck driver said. "If you weren't such a 'circuit brain', you'd be able to figure it out."

The Terminator didn't care for his attitude or his answers. Some more well directed blows were delivered.

The questioning went on for a few minutes. It was clear he wasn't going to get any new information out of the truck driver. The drone which tracked the other truck would provide them with the answers they needed.

The Terminator was updated by CamNet as to the progress of the other truck. He was advised to finish up where he was at in order to start his pursuit. He wouldn't come within visual range of the box truck. The drone would provide all the information.

He snapped the truck driver's neck and left him with other terminated Grays for now. It was decided not to torch the building at this time. The bodies were moved out to the other box truck and loaded in the back of it.

The Terminator went back through the building and made sure everything was secure. He went to the interior roof access and exited onto the roof. He bent the metal of the roof access over on top of the lip. Someone would need tools to unbend it, or another Terminator. Some additional surveillance equipment was left inside. He drove the box truck away and parked it in back of a couple of the buildings near the main street. It was left on a cul-de-sac. It was out of sight for anyone casually looking for it. He made his way back to his SUV and started off after the box truck.


The two men who'd left the building in a hurry, and their fellow Gray behind, continuously looked around them and checked their mirrors.

"I don't see anyone behind us." The second man said.

The first man didn't think they should take any chances.

"Make sure you take evasive action." The first man said.

The second man wondered what happened to the other truck driver.

"Do you think the other guy got out?" The second man asked.

The first man didn't have a clue.

"We made it out." The first man said. "I'm sure he did as well."

The second man still felt like they should have done more or given him a warning.

"We should have at least said something." The second man said.

The first man looked in the passenger side mirror behind them.

"If there would have been a Terminator still inside the building, we wouldn't be here right now." The first man said. "He would have done what Ajax does and cleaned up the mess."

The second man didn't care for the Terminator associated with their group.

"The guy gives me the creeps." The second man said.

The first man didn't care for him either.

"He's not a guy." The first man said. "He's a machine designed to kill humans."

The second man was aware of some of the individuals in their group who didn't perform up to the standards of the Terminator disappeared. They were usually 'taken for a ride' and never seen again.

"What do you think happened to the boxcars?" The second man asked. "It's going to take some explaining as to how they disappeared, especially since they were fully loaded."

The first man thought about it a little bit.

"Somehow the railroad company needed to be involved." The first man said. "Maybe Ajax can hack into their system and find out when they were picked up and where they went. None of it can happen by remote control. There needed to be someone on the ground involved."

The second man wasn't sure if it was something he even wanted to fool with.

"All we can do is report what we found, or in this case, didn't find." The second man said.

The first man felt they've been on the same street for too long.

"Switch to a different route." The first man said.

The second man quickly checked his mirrors. He wondered if he'd miss something.

"Do you see anyone?" The second man asked.

The first man continued to check his mirror as well as what was in front of them and on his side of the truck.

"I just don't want to be the one who leads the enemy back into our camp." The first man said.

The second man was sure it would be an offense which would result in termination by Ajax.

"Do you think we should try and call them and warn them about what happened?" The second man asked.

The first man took out his phone. It still didn't work.

"I can't reach anyone." The first man said. "My phone hasn't worked since we entered the building."

The second man took out his phone and looked at it too.

"Mine is still out as well." The second man said.

The two men continued their circuitous route back to their base.

The Terminator followed behind them out of visual range as the drone tracked then.


The female Fanatic and Jill made their way down to the railroad tracks. They could hear an air horn in the distance.

Jill looked at their position near the tracks.

"Are we going to try to get on the train?" Jill asked.

The female Fanatic wanted to get out of the area before any of the HK drones returned. She was pretty sure they were able to make a clean break or they would have been targeted by now. She'd kept watch in back of them as they went down the access road for the high tension power lines. She never spotted anyone behind them.

"I don't know if we'll be able to or not." The female Fanatic said. "If it's going too fast, we're not even going to try. There is a slight uphill grade with the hills here. It sounds like the air horn we heard is coming up the grade. It should cause some type of slowing. I really don't know."

The female Fanatic was aware it depended upon the type of train. She didn't think it would be a passenger train. If it was, there was no way they were going to be able to get onto it. It could be a container train, or a 'oil train', which consisted of all tank cars. There could be auto racks, which carried automobiles. Those cars were generally locked up at both ends to keep vandals out of them. It might be a mixed merchandise train which carried all types of cars. There could be hopper cars, or flat cars loaded with lumber or some other bulky commodity. There could be refrigerator cars or boxcars mixed in with them.

The type of train concerned her but there was something else which concerned her more. It was some of the rail gangs which rode the rails with frequency. Most of those consisted of groups from different Latin American countries. They often battled with each other. Their initial goal would be to rob them of any valuables they carried. The second goal would be to provide sexual comfort to the gang members as the train traveled down the tracks. It would most likely end with them being thrown off after they were dead. She didn't intend to take any chances if they encountered anyone on the train, or even near the tracks. The area they were currently in was isolated. Other than the service road for the high tension power lines, there were no other roads in the vicinity.

They moved a little bit off to the side below the embankment the railroad tracks were on. They wanted the locomotives to pass before they ventured out. The goal was to prevent anyone from knowing they were on the train.

Jill heard a buzzing type of ringing noise.

"What's the sound?" Jill asked.

The female Fanatic heard it before

"The rails are 'singing'." The female Fanatic said. "It's a harmonic reaction to the stress being put on the rails further down the track. It causes them to vibrate."

A few seconds later they could see the headlight come around a corner. There were two headlights horizontal to each other, known as 'ditch lights', below the level of the walkway. The actual headlight itself was located In the nose of the locomotive.

The female Fanatic and Jill could feel the ground begin to shake. It reminded both of them of a mild earthquake. The rumble from the locomotives working at full throttle was very loud and throaty as well.


The two female Terminators drove the trucks towards their assigned location. They were notified there would be a drone to escort them shortly. When more became available, they would do reconnaissance of all the areas they'd visited in the last few days to determine if anything needed some additional follow up.

They specifically wanted to know what happened to the location they'd taken the trucks from. They wanted to know if there were any stragglers they'd missed. They wanted to know what happened to the female Fanatic and her associate. There were two vehicles which were left behind. It was the vehicle they'd arrived in, and the vehicle the female Fanatic arrived in. If either one of those were gone, it would most likely indicate someone had been able to escape. If both the vehicles were still there where they'd been parked, it most likely indicated no one survived the attack.

Before they left the area, they'd given everything a thorough search as they went through the outbuildings. No one else had been found alive. All of the buildings had been burned. All of the vehicles, except the two big rigs they took, located in the compound were destroyed.

Lena and Tina continued their trek. They would be at the location soon enough where they would deposit the trucks. Someone would be dispatched later on to collect them and go through them. There were a number of trucks from the Resistance operation which also needed to be inspected.


XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Temporal Mission:

Past Timeline:

November 26 1963

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX


Young Allison looked around as Cameron and Tiny got the horses ready. She could see more than a few people begin to pay attention to them. She moved closer to Cameron.

"It looks like we're drawing more than a few casual looks." Young Allison said.

Cameron continued to put the saddle on Black Magic as she followed Tiny's example with Big Red. She tuned in her hearing to pick up some of the scuttlebutt from the bystanders.

"They think we're actresses." Cameron said. "You should feel flattered."

Young Allison wasn't sure flattered was the right word.

"It makes me feel a little uneasy." Young Allison said. "Allison always told me bad things happening when men start to notice you."

Cameron didn't think it would be an issue under the current circumstances.

"It's possible there may be some rude or suggestive comments made." Cameron said. "I don't think it's anything to worry about. I'm here with you, we're both armed, and I doubt Tiny will allow anyone to do anything inappropriate with either of us."

Tiny finished with Big Red's saddle. He looked over at 'Cindy' with Black Magic.

"Wow! You're really good." Tiny said. "You look like a pro. Are you sure you've never done this before?"

Cameron emulated everything Tiny did to Big Red with Black Magic.

"This is my first time to saddle a horse." Cameron said. "I'm a fast learner. I want you to double check everything to make sure it's done right. I don't want to create any problems for Black Magic or anyone who rides him.

Tiny was very pleased 'Cindy' cared about the animals. A lot of the people on the set just treated them like they were props. He checked over Black Magic and saw everything was done perfectly.

"Everything is exactly right." Tiny said. "Can you ride as well?"

Cameron noticed Young Allison glance over at her. Maybe now was not the time to get too descriptive.

"I've ridden before." Cameron said. "I think I can hold my own."

Tiny collected both of the horses.

"Things are going to start happening soon." Tiny said. "Remember to stay out of the way and follow all of the instructions. If anyone has a problem, tell them to talk to me. I need to go."

Tiny led Big Red and Black Magic away.

Cameron and Young Allison watched as they began to film different types of shots. Some of them were of horseback riders riding in the distance with a camera car in front of them, and a repeat of the scene with the camera car in back of them. The riders also passed by several fixed camera locations in different directions.

They watched as a buckboard wagon was rolled off of a trailer. A team of horses was hooked up to it. The two females in Western attire were near it. It appeared one of them was an actress and the other one was a stunt woman. They were dressed identical. They both had blonde hair. The stunt woman wore a wig.

Young Allison noticed right away Cameron was dressed almost identical to them. Her own outfit was very similar but different.

The wagon went out with the actress on it. There was a wrangler on a horse who went with them. There were some shots made of the wagon traveling at slow speed much the same way as the riders on horseback had done earlier through the same locations.

Young Allison took it all in. There was a certain amount of excitement to watch everything happen. There was also a certain amount of boredom with the repetitive procedure of everything. She understood filming wasn't just done in one shot with one camera.

The stunt woman replaced the actress. There were a few more scenes where the horses ran very fast with the stunt woman in control.

Young Allison watched everything and paid attention to what was happening around them.

"It looks like they're going to make it seem as if the horses are running wild with the wagon." Young Allison said. "I think this is the era before anyone was concerned about the safety of the animals."

Cameron watched many westerns on late night TV when she'd first arrived in 2007. She knew there were things done to make horses 'throw the rider' or fall down.

"In some of those scenes where you see the rider and the horse go down, it happened because there are wires connected to the horse's front hooves and the rider pulls up on them causing the horse to trip and fall. More than one horse ended up with a broken leg and needed to be terminated."

Young Allison hadn't really thought about how some of the stunts were performed. She did understand during filming some horses would need to fall at the proper time to get the shot in where the director wanted it to be.

They watched the scene repeated several times. The stunt woman was supposed to be rescued by a cowboy with an extra horse. She was to jump from the 'runaway wagon' onto the back of the horse.

The filming came to a halt. There seemed to be some additional tension on the set. The wagon headed back towards the trailers. The stunt woman went inside one of them.

Tiny was nearby with some other stunt men.

Cameron motioned for him to come a little closer away from the others.

"What's up?" Tiny asked.

Cameron asked for a brief description of the scene and what needed to be done.

Tiny explained it to her. It was as she thought it would be. The stunt woman was having trouble doing the scene. The director was upset they were losing time. He was worried the stunt woman would need to be replaced.

Cameron tilted her head slightly. She knew she could do it.

"I can do it." Cameron said. "I can replace the stunt woman in the same way she's replacing the actress."

Tiny looked at 'Cindy' for a moment to see if she was joking. It didn't appear she was.

"Have you ever done any stunt work before?" Tiny asked. "It's dangerous work."

Cameron smiled at him.

"I do much more dangerous things on a daily basis." Cameron said. "I'm a gymnast. I spend a lot of time in the air. I know how to dismount and mount without a problem."

Tiny thought about it.

"There are a lot of rules involved." Tiny said. "Gladys is the stunt woman. I don't want her to get a bad reputation."

Cameron wanted to operate in the shadows.

"Nobody will know. It will be our secret." Cameron said. "I'm willing to help someone out who needs it."

Cameron quickly ran a plan by Tiny. They went over to the trailer where the stunt woman currently was at.

A few minutes later Tiny emerged from the trailer. He went over and spoke with the director. He would be the rider who approached the 'runaway wagon'. He re-entered the trailer and emerged along with the 'stunt woman'. Her flowing blond hair looked beautiful in the sunlight. It covered much of her face. She quickly got on the wagon. Tiny led it away with Big Red. Black Magic was in tow.

Young Allison was aware of everything which was about to occur. She didn't agree with it, but it wasn't anything she hadn't seen before. She'd actually witnessed the 'stunt' performed last night. It may not have been the identical stunt, but it was close enough.

She watched as the scene was recreated again. The wagon came around a series of rocks. It was clear the horses couldn't be stopped. It was how the scene was supposed to look. A rider came alongside the wagon with another horse. The stunt woman jumped from the wagon onto the back of the horse as the wagon went off on its own. The horses separated from the wagon. The wagon went out of control and rolled over and broke up. It was clear if the woman hadn't been 'rescued' at the last moment, she would have met with an untimely demise.

Moments ago:

Cameron took the place of the stunt woman. They switched some of their clothing inside of the trailer. She now wore the blonde wig and same hat as the stunt woman. She looked the same as the actress who did the close up shots.

She'd already watched the scene performed multiple times. She knew exactly what to do and when it was supposed to happen. When she left the wagon, she pulled a release which disconnected it from the horses. The way the terrain was sloped, the wagon should go out of control and roll over.

She could see Tiny approach with Black Magic in tow. They rode up alongside of the 'runaway wagon'. She easily jumped from the wagon onto the back of Black Magic. She believed it was even easier than what she'd done the night before when she'd jumped from the window sill of the panel truck onto the back of Black Magic as he ran down Devonshire Street.

The director was very pleased the scene was completed. The actor and actress took over for stunt man and stunt woman. They returned back to the dressing room. Cameron emerged a minute later in her original attire. Tiny and the stunt woman exited the trailer.

Young Allison wasn't surprised by any of it. Cameron was full of surprises. It appeared everyone was able to get a slice of the action.


A Slice Of The Action

It doesn't take too much effort
To cause a major distraction
It can all stem from
An improper transaction

When the wheels of life start to slip
It is easy to lose traction
The easiest way for it to happen
Is through some form of inaction

When things are misinterpreted
They may be viewed as an infraction
Someone gets rubbed the wrong way
There's a negative overreaction

Strangers become acquaintances and then friends
Through various forms of interaction
They need to make sure
Additions don't become subtractions

Everyone strives for more
They all want satisfaction
The quickest way to achieve it is
To get slice of the action

Nobody