Chapter 346

Low Pass

Cameron was on the platform as it went down to the lower level with the HK Track on it.

She moved around to the backside of the HK Track. She was better shielded from where the workers were at. She didn't want to be spotted yet. She needed to see what else was down there. There were sure to be additional threats.

Cameron quickly moved off the platform and behind some equipment once it stopped. No alarm went off or was sounded. She knew that could change in an instant. If Metal spotted her, they would try to move in on her for the 'kill'.

She looked around the area. There was no assembly line present as she thought there would be, at least not yet. They would have one up soon enough. There was plenty of space in the lower level. The floor plan was set up for that but the large machinery was not present. It appeared that the HK Tracks were either being assembled from parts or each was one was hand fabricated, one at a time. Either way the parts came from somewhere. It wasn't here.

She tried to move away from where there was sound for right now. She wanted to learn as much as she could before she was discovered. There were a lot of wooden shipping crates. She was between several rows of them. From the crates present it confirmed her suspicions that the HK Tracks were being made from parts and sub assemblies. There were most likely several different locations. Each one would make specific parts and then they were shipped here for assembly. It reminded Cameron of a story she read about aircraft parts being manufactured at varied locations in European nations during World War II, then the sub assemblies were brought elsewhere for final assembly. This helped hide what they were doing. She knew Skynet and all of its illegitimate offshoots tried to hide from them.

Most of the crates were empty. She tried to calculate the HK Tracks she'd spotted above and the number of empty crates below. There were more HK Tracks than empty crates to put them together. Some of the empty crates must have been disposed of. That also raised the possibility that some HK Tracks were assembled elsewhere and then brought here for testing or storage.

There were no answers yet. There were only more questions. It was very evident she would need to track down more locations related to this endeavor. They'd tried to track some leads on Coltan over the last few months but always came up short. Maybe this was the end result of that search.

The drones that were on patrol scouted the surrounding area. John Henry compiled the information as it came in. He'd identified a few contacts. He now tracked them. It seemed they were headed for where the team was at. The choices for them to turn off were soon exhausted.

"There are two large trucks headed for your location. Both appear to be fully loaded." John Henry came over the com. "They seem to ride with a heavy look."

John knew they'd lost contact with Cameron. He took over the operation. He wanted some answers.

"We're going to take those trucks." John said. "Whatever is in them, I want to know. I also want to know where they came from."

Savannah was ready to act.

"We have Cameron covered." Savannah said. "We're ready to move in if we hear gunfire."

John Henry was ready to support them with any of the four drones.

"All the drones are where Cameron wanted them." John Henry said.

John knew there were more troops on the way. He wanted the trucks intercepted before they arrived here.

"What about our backup and the trucks?" John asked.

John Henry already put a scenario into action.

"The Blackhawk has touched down." John Henry said. "You have two more teams of Metal on the ground. Each team is attempting to intercept a truck. They have appropriated two vehicles. They are staging an accident now. That should slow or stop the trucks. Our teams will make their move then."

John was worried about collateral damage. The truck drivers might not be a party to what they assisted with. They might be full time truck drivers and not Grays. It could be some guy just making a living.

"What about the drivers?" John asked.

One of the teams on the ground was ready to act.

"We will attempt to take one of them alive and turn them over to Cameron's team for interrogation." Ed came over the com.

That wasn't really what John wanted to hear. The truck drivers knew the location of where they picked things up from and where they took them. They needed that information.

Savannah listened and wondered what Cameron did to the people she 'interrogated'. Savannah figured it wasn't anything good. She decided to follow up on that later and ask to be a part of whatever happened. She wanted to know everything that went on, especially what Cameron was doing. She knew at The Resistance base that nothing 'questionable' ever happened. Cameron's base was a different story. She operated alone and not under the watchful eyes of John and John Henry. When no one was around her, there were no ethics or morals. There was only a Terminator.

Cammy looked at Savannah and figured she knew where her thoughts were headed.

"It's not pretty…." Cammy said. "Cameron does what's necessary to protect all of us."

Savannah knew Cammy watched her and anticipated what she must have wondered. She hadn't actually said anything. Maybe she could get Cammy to say a little more.

"What?" Savannah asked.

Camille felt Cameron's actions were justified.

"Cameron does what is necessary to protect the future." Camille said. "By protecting the future, she protects all of us."

Savannah made sure her com was off. She didn't want John to hear her.

"I want to be a part of it. I want in on the interrogation." Savannah said. "Make sure Cameron knows."

Cammy and Camille looked at each other. That was a serious step. Savannah was hesitant before when Cameron experimented with the females.

"I will inform Cameron when we update." Cammy said.

Savannah knew she'd killed a man in self defense before. Now she would watch and be part of Cameron brutalizing and terminating someone else. This would be in cold blood. It was like an execution. It was what Cameron was constructed for - termination.

Cammy released some additional information.

"She still has the female prisoner…." Cammy said.

Savannah thought about that for a little bit. There was probably some 'Skynet type activity' going on with that. She needed to 'toughen up'. She needed to deal in death to protect John and the future. She was the one that was expendable.

"I wish to be in on that as well." Savannah said.

Camille was a witness to the fact it was not a typical interrogation. It was a little messy at times.

"The 'process' has already started on her." Camille said.

Savannah wondered what the 'process' was. That only seemed to confirm that Cameron was still using 'enhanced' interrogation methods.

"Process?" Savannah asked.

Cammy decided to fill Savannah in. She would be with her in the future. She didn't know exactly when.

"The 'Neural Interface' is the process." Cammy said. "It's a procedure that Cameron has…."

Ron stayed with the operation while the three girls carried out their private discussion. The others needed to get back to what was happening and be ready for any new developments. He also didn't want more of Cameron's operation revealed. Even though they all ran 'Cameron's program' they acted differently on some things. This was one of them.

"Everyone get your coms back on." Ron said. "Don't lose focus."

Savannah knew Cameron must 'go Skynet' on humans. She wondered on how many people Cameron may have already done this to. She hoped Cameron hadn't grown to enjoy it. She wanted to know more about this 'procedure'.

She often wondered if Cameron needed some more humanity or moral guidance at times. This seemed like one of them. She loved Cameron dearly. If she was with her all of the time she would work to 'help' her. She wondered if it would make a difference or not when she wasn't around. She'd learned at an early age she could 'control' Cameron to some extent with her behavior and actions.

Cameron looked for the Terminator that came down to this level earlier as well as the 'Clean Room'. She wasn't sure there would be a Skynet 'main frame' here. This facility appeared to be relative new.

She was able to look at some more of the crates. Parts and sub assemblies were sent here for final assembly. The real target would be where these parts came from. There must be several other locations tied to this. She knew she would need to track each one of them down, deal with them and terminate them.

Cameron continued her stealthy search. She wanted to see if there were any parts here for HK drones, HK Treads or her biggest worry - Terminators. So far everything was HK Track related.

Cameron pulled out her multi shot Taser. She readied the electric pulse device as well. She held her Glock in her other hand, She moved around the crates as she searched for targets.

She moved forward around some equipment and spotted the enemy. There were half a dozen workers down here. They were moving parts around. They seemed to arrange them in some type of order. It was like a manual assembly line.

Cameron spotted the Terminator. Now there were two of them, one was female. She seemed to be the one in charge. The male was doing the heavy lifting. He was literally lifting the large components into place, while two workers secured them. The technicians were Grays to her at this point. They could see what they were a part of. They knew they were working with a Terminator. To her, they'd all just signed their own 'death warrant'.

She'd seen enough to know what was happening in her and to what extent She wanted to tell the others. She tried her com but there was no response.

Cameron would have to do it the hard way…. What else was new, she thought.

Savannah moved her team closer. She didn't like that Cameron was on a lower level. They didn't know where that was or how deep it was. They only knew they couldn't reach Cameron.

"Cameron is below this level, we can't communicate with her. We need to secure this level for her withdrawal when the shooting starts." Savannah said.

Savannah looked at Cammy and she nodded.

It was clear to Cammy that Savannah 'stepped up'. It was what Cameron indicated would happen. It was what all of Cameron's clones thought would happen.

Savannah wanted to be able to hit hard from the start. That would call for using all of the personnel there. She also needed to make sure that John was protected. She wanted to do it diplomatically so there wasn't an issue raised about him being 'sidelined'. Cameron told her of the difficulties she faced when John needlessly endangered himself. This was the main reason she'd moved her team in already to take the lead.

"I want to call in the four lookouts that eliminated the guards and patrol. I want to have John's team ready to reinforce us." Savannah said. "They will be our backup and keep the rear door open for us if it starts to fall apart."

Cammy looked out at the 'test track'. There were other considerations.

"What about the HK Track?" Cammy asked. "At least one is active. It is armed. There could be more. Anything Cameron disabled could be restored."

Savannah didn't know the exact capability of an HK Track but she thought it could be played some in an unknown situation. It may have programming and 'intelligence' but it lacked experience.

"I want the drone that is at altitude to make a move. It can fire a decoy flare to attract the attention of the HK Track. I'd like the other drone to make a low pass from the blind side of the structure and pop up from behind it and use the mini gun on the HK Track." Savannah said. "It won't have time to process the new target. It should arrive unannounced."

There were now two of Cameron's Terminators on each side of the building ready to move in.

Savannah looked over the group of Grays or technicians that was outside with the HK Track.

"I still make only six targets on this level." Savannah said.

Cammy knew they were blind as to what was inside the building.

"Maybe there are more you can't see." Cammy said. "We know there is more than one level."

Camille saw that as the real threat. It was the threat of the unknown.

"Maybe more will come up from the lower level." Camille said. "We don't know what's down there."

Ron pointed out there could be more Terminators here as well.

"How much Metal do they have?" Ron asked. "There could be one or one hundred."

Savannah took some pause. She could lead the group into a slaughter, their slaughter. She wanted a safety factor built into her actions.

"I get it. There are a lot of unknowns." Savannah said. "Don't let me endanger anyone. If I start to mess up, stop me. I don't want any of our team endangered by a mistake on my part. We all need to work together."

Cammy thought maybe they'd leaned too hard on Savannah to slow her down some.

"Keep going." Cammy urged. "You're doing great so far."

Savannah looked at a satellite image of the structure and some recent drone footage. She wanted some 'fields of fire' set up.

"I want the drone that draws the attention of the HK Track to target the east side of the structure. I want the second drone to target the west side and the drone that makes the low pass will turn and target the center." Savannah said. "That way we'll already have selected parts of the building targeted to cover Cameron withdrawal. We can attack any sector that Cameron is not in once she starts to withdraw."

Cammy like the plan.

"It sounds good." Cammy said.

Camille wondered about the last drone.

"What will be the mission of the last drone?" Camille asked.

Savannah wanted one drone in reserve. She wanted eyes on the area around the compound. She also wanted to be able to cover John's withdrawal if it became necessary. She decided to keep her explanation simple.

"The drone that is on long range recon will come to assist where it is needed." Savannah said.

John Henry moved the first three drones into position. He made one final sweep with the last drone he'd dispatched. He ordered it to return.

"It's on the way." John Henry said.

Savannah checked her weapons and her troops.

Bob motioned for John to turn off his com. He was concerned for Savannah's safety. It looked like she was going to lead the assault. He didn't think that should be her job.

"Who put Savannah in charge?" Bob asked. "Did Cameron or Cammy do that? She'll be in great danger."

John felt Cameron made it clear what she wanted to happen and what she expected from him about what was about to happen.

"Savannah put herself in charge." John said. "So far it looks like a good plan. This is what Cameron has trained her for. We will make sure she misses nothing. I want her to 'grow' and get the experience."

Bob wanted Cameron to exit the building or at least contact them.

"We need Cameron to come out." Bob said.

Ronny, a clone of Cameron in a male chassis, watched Bob and John. He didn't like it that John was here to begin with. He didn't think Cameron needed any babysitting.

"Cameron can take care of herself." Ronny said. "There's a copy of her program and a spare chip."

He didn't mention there were spare chassis as well.

Bob and John both looked at Ronny. They knew he was a 'Cameron clone' and would push Cameron's agenda. They turned their coms back on. 'Cameron' was always nearby. It this case 'she' was literally looking over their shoulders.

John liked Savannah's plan. He also saw that she did everything to protect him and take the risk herself. It was clear that she'd acted before he did to keep him where he was. He blamed that on Cameron.

A Gray turned the corner and was right in front of Cameron. She quickly grabbed him and snapped his neck. That may have caused some noise she didn't want.

She decided it was time to get the ball rolling.

The female Terminator moved away right before Cameron emerged from her place of concealment. She headed straight for the Terminator and the Grays that were working.

Cameron fired the Taser at the male Terminator. He went down. The large section of the HK Track he just picked up, fell and landed on top of him. Her Glock fired six times. She scored six hits. She expected to engage the female Terminator at the same time she did with the male Terminator. She looked around again. The female Terminator was gone….

That was a problem.

Burn Baby Burn

I see the dancing fire
I reach into the flame
I know what I am doing
There is no else to blame

I know the pain will come
I will not back away or stop
I want grasp the flaming mass
I refuse to let it drop

Defeat is not an option
I reject any form of surrender
Are they for real
Or just another pretender

So it goes without saying
No matter how many times we are burned
We can not accept the results
Therefore nothing is ever learned

Incinerate my bloody shredded heart
For I am never letting go
Burn baby burn
Who don't think so

Nobody