Chapter 706

What Just Happened

The Metal girls were at two secure remote locations as they went over captured equipment to make sure none of it was tagged or would present a later 'problem' for the Resistance team. They wanted to make sure Skynet couldn't activate it again at a later date to use against them.

They wanted to join the impending action where Cameron and Savannah were at. None of them were happy about not being there with Cameron and Savannah. Most of the other Metal girls were there already. They'd all been caught up in the operation at the old newspaper plant.

Cam was at one location. She wanted to check to see how Sheila and Ally were doing. She could tell that her progress was a little slower than anticipated. She felt the need to act anyway.

"There's no way we're going to make it to the 'party'." Cam said.

Sheila and Ally we're at a separate location. They didn't like being sidelined either.

"That really grinds my gears." Sheila said.

Ally could see that there were other Terminators there. She thought they could take over what they were doing. It didn't seem like a big deal to her.

"I think we're finished here." Ally said.

Cam caught their drift. There were more Terminators that could take over for them.

"I am too." Cam said. "There are others here to go over this stuff and make sure none of it is tagged."

Ally could see that they were going to break away from the routine.

"It's the same here." Ally said. "Let's go."

The girls would need to join up since they were in two separate locations.

"We can still hook up." Cam said.

Sheila hoped that they could link up at the helicopter. They were going to need one first.

"Should we meet at the helicopter?" Sheila asked. "Does CamNet have one ready for us?"

Cam was updated by CamNet.

"Yes she does." Cam said. "It's a Jet Ranger."

It was a helicopter that their group hadn't used before. Sheila referenced the military designation.

"It's a 'Kiowa'?" Sheila asked.

All Cam knew was that it was a former executive transport.

"No. It's a civilian bird." Cam said.

Sheila much preferred the Huey that she flew before. It was larger with more power and greater lift capability.

"I liked the Iroquois." Sheila said.

Cam wanted to point out that time wasn't in their favor. They needed to get moving.

"Look, the party starts in thirty minutes." Cam said. "We're still well over an hour and a half away, even with the Jet Ranger. We still have to get to it and then get together."

Ally didn't like to be late but she did want to get there.

"It's better late than never." Ally said.

Cam actually thought it was better to never be late. She wanted Sheila and Ally to get started.

"OK, we're in then." Cam said. "You're the closest. CamNet will tell you where to go."

Sheila and Ally were already on their way to an SUV.

"See you soon. We'll pick you up." Sheila said.

Cam told one of the other Terminators she needed to take care of some personal business and left. She hoped CamNet would cover for her. She figured because it involved Savannah that she would. She believed that more so than because it involved Cameron.

Cameron was able to enter the second to the last building. Anna and her avoided a roving ground patrol around the last two buildings. Those were the only ones that contained anything. They'd checked all the others. They were all empty, except the one with all the empty containers. If all the buildings were ever filled to capacity, that would be a lot of equipment for Skynet.

The building they were in contained several big rigs parked inside, including the one that they'd followed there. It was much like how things were stored at the old helicopter base location that they'd taken down.

Anna was a little worried about the lack of spotting many personnel. She figured at least the driver should be around.

"Where's the driver?" Anna asked. "We haven't seen anyone leave."

Cameron looked around the interior. She was disappointed. Things still weren't as she'd expected them to be on several levels.

"I don't know." Cameron said. "I expected more stuff than this."

Anna knew that they weren't done yet.

"Maybe it's in the last building." Anna said.

Cameron quickly went over the positions of the seven Grays that they'd spotted in the building they were currently in. She thought it was close enough to 'game time' to start to thin the herd.

"We have thirty minutes until the HK Track starts 'hunting'." Cameron said. "I make seven Grays in this building. I want to start taking them out."

Anna wasn't convinced that there wasn't a Terminator in the building with them. That would be their biggest threat and the most opposition if they weren't taken down first. If they acted too soon it could negate the additional thirty minutes until the time Cameron planned for the attack to start.

"There has to be a Terminator here." Anna said. "We need to identify them first and take them down. That's our main threat."

Cameron would concede that a Terminator now would be a threat. She didn't feel that was what their main threat would be. She figured it to be various types of HK equipment. She wanted to act and she wanted to explore the other building. She knew the other building was going to be the main threat to her. She decided to leave Anna there because it would be less dangerous for her. She came up with a good excuse why Anna should remain in the second building.

"That's until a dozen HK Tracks roll out or a group of HK drones gets airborne." Cameron said. "I want you to remain here and start taking these Grays down one at a time, silently if you can."

Anna looked at Cameron for a moment. She understood what she was doing. She wanted to sideline her from the main threat. Either way the Grays or possible Terminator in this building all needed to be taken down anyway. She thought that was something that she could do without too much difficulty.

"Savannah gave me her silenced pistol." Anna said. "I have my Taser as well."

Cameron didn't know what the Terminator threat was yet. She thought that Anna should conserve the use of her Taser for a greater threat than Grays. She was aware that things didn't always go smoothly if she ended up in hand to hand combat with another Terminator.

"You better save that for any Terminators." Cameron said. "You can get banged up real quick fighting one."

Cameron knew that from personal experience. Terminators were designed for killing humans, not fighting other Terminators in hand to hand combat. They could really smash each other around and through walls. It was always hard to get an advantage when fighting another Terminator hand to hand. Some of the male models of Terminators were quite large and were very difficult to gain an advantage over. They were often more powerful than she was.

Anna could see that Cameron started over towards the last building.

"Are you going in there alone?" Anna asked. "Are you going into the last building?"

Cameron didn't see it as anything new or a big deal. It was just part of the job.

"Yes." Cameron said. "It's what I do."

Anna thought that was a bad idea.

To Cameron it was perfectly 'normal'.

In the Command Center they followed the unfolding operation. John was aware Cameron was going to enter the 'hornet's nest' alone - again. They were aware of the other empty buildings and the building Anna was left in with very little in it.

It's irritated John immensely to see Cameron go off on her own again.

"DAMN." John said. "That last building is probably the powder keg."

John Henry thought the same thing. If the other building didn't have a substantial quantity of equipment in it, this whole site contained very little.

"That's most likely." John Henry said.

John understood Cameron's reasoning; he just didn't agree with it.

"I hate when she does this." John said. "She doesn't want anyone endangered but she risks herself."

John Henry knew that Cameron could only isolate herself so much. There was one person near her that wouldn't allow her to do that. It was the only person who could make her understand.

"She cares about everyone." John Henry said. "That's why she's tried to distance herself from her Terminators. Savannah won't let her."

It reminded John of the stories of Cameron and Future John in the future before Cameron was sent back.

John saw it all as history repeating itself.

"Savannah is 'Cameron' and Cameron is 'Future John' in this time period." John said.

That seemed to be the metric that developed. Cameron became more and more like Future John and his isolation. Savannah always followed Cameron around, like Cameron did with Future John. Savannah did much of the troubleshooting and resolved problems that arose. That helpful act in reality allowed Cameron to become further isolated. The same way Cameron dealt with everything for Future John. It allowed him to become more isolated. The main difference here was Cameron was willing to conduct every operation herself and alone if possible. Savannah prevented that from happening most of the time. In doing so, Savannah put herself at great risk to try and 'protect' Cameron. He figured that he should be out there to do some of the duty. Cameron simply wouldn't allow it. She would call off an entire operation if she found out that he was going to go. The few times that he did make it out, he ended up getting sent all of her help. That was to watch over him to make sure he remained as safe as possible. It upset him to know that by him being out in the field it actually endangered Cameron even more than if he'd been in the Command Center.

John Henry attempted to communicate with any of Cameron's Terminators whenever he got the opportunity. He hoped it would give him some insight as to what actually went on at Cameron's base when no one was around.

"I've communicated with most of Cameron's Terminators. They all hold Cameron and Savannah in the highest esteem." John Henry said. "Especially Savannah, I think Young Allison as well."

John was aware he had little control over what happened at Cameron's base.

"Do they hold her higher than ME, their LEADER?" John asked sarcastically.

John Henry decided not to point out the Terminators at any base held the 'Chosen Ones' in the highest regard. He just decided to keep his answer simple.

"Yes." John Henry said.

John frowned and shook his head from side to side slowly.

"Beautiful…." John said.

John Henry kept this conversation private. It seemed that Savannah picked up that Cameron was in peril. She was now in contact with them.

Savannah knew that Cameron was going off on her own also. She figured the last building was the biggest threat as well. She wanted the Command Center to know that they were available to move right now if they were given the order.

"John, we can move now." Savannah said. "We don't need to wait."

John Henry wanted to give Savannah some reassurance.

"We'll try and contact her." John Henry said. "John's doing that now."

John was aware of the conversation in the background between John Henry and Savannah. He currently attempted to contact Cameron. He really hoped that he could reach her. If she was still upset at him from their previous discussion, which he no longer remembered what it was about, she may not respond.

"Cameron?" John asked.

No response.

Savannah figured what the problem was. She also made it known why she'd turned the team over to Cammy from her control.

"She's gone dark because she anticipates Terminators." Savannah said. "I appointed Cammy as team leader so I can go in on my own. I'm going to do that."

John could see right away that was a maneuver like Cameron would pull. He probably shouldn't have expected anything less than that because Cameron was Savannah's teacher. It was obvious that the apple didn't fall far from the tree. He didn't think that he could stop Savannah but he did want to see if he could get her some assistance.

"NO." John said. "Anna, can you back up Cameron?"

Anna currently had her hands full. She's also gotten a better look around the interior of the building that she was in. She could see they were going to need additional help.

"Negative." Anna said. "I'm terminating Grays right now. I've taken four down and have three to go. We're going to need some drivers when the Mike Force gets here."

John Henry hoped they could get a supply of HK equipment, he wondered what it was.

"What's in the trucks?" John Henry asked.

Anna needed to take a step back from where she currently was. Danger approached her.

"I haven't been able to look yet." Anna said. "Hold on, here comes another Gray."

They could hear the silenced pistol cough twice.

"Actually, it was two Grays." Anna said. "There's still one to go and then I can inspect the cargo."

John Henry sent out an update on the force of Terminators that was on their way there in the Blackhawk.

"The Mike Force is fifteen minutes out." John Henry said. "They will take out the observation posts first and set up a sniping nest with a Stinger defense."

If John couldn't get the additional help to Savannah he wanted it to go to Cameron.

"Anna, keep us posted and then go help Cameron." John said. "I mean when you're done there."

Anna actually needed to take care of a few things before she could do that.

"I will." Anna said. "I need to do everything Cameron asked me to do first. She's depending on me."

John Henry initiated a test program Ally and Sheila used earlier at the building that they took down. He again heard the advantage with the two Grays that Anna just took down.

"John, other than the belt fed machine guns and other heavy weapons, I think we should silence and suppress all of our weapons. This was an issue I was contacted by CamNet about. It was a suggestion originating from the Young bunker." John Henry said. "I believe this was from a 'brainstorm' of ideas by Young Allison and Savannah. It would give us an advantage. I tested the concept today at several locations."

John was for anything that could give their troops an advantage.

"We've seen that." John said. "Obtain what you need."

John Henry checked to see what was available for shipment to one of their dummy companies.

"I'm doing so now." John Henry said.

John was surprised that John Henry did it right now.

"That was fast." John said.

John Henry was surprised at what he'd found.

"CamNet seems to have everything ready to be procured." John Henry said. "It was all being held for your 'order'."

John looked around. He knew CamNet was 'everywhere'. He also knew it was Young Allison that prompted CamNet to address the issue.

It was clear that Cameron was going to try and make Young Allison the human version of herself. John knew Cameron would steal Young Allison's life from her to do this. Then again, it seemed Young Allison attempted to accelerate the process herself. He didn't know if this was something he should look forward to or fear it. He did know that he would prefer to have Young Allison the way she looked now as opposed to if she looked like Cameron in a few years, however that was done.

Young Allison was aware she 'challenged' Allison earlier. It seemed to have a negative effect on Allison. That wasn't her intention. She felt defiant and confident earlier. Now she was worried about Allison.

"You don't look so hot." Young Allison said.

Allison looked a little pale.

"I don't feel that well either." Allison said.

Young Allison nodded in the direction Jan, Summer and her mother were in.

"I think you should rest." Young Allison said.

Allison looked at the array of monitors that surrounded her.

"What about the operation?" Allison asked.

Young Allison knew it wasn't a problem. Things would go on without them, they were just there for the 'human input' and perhaps restraint at times.

"It will still happen even if we turn everything off. CamNet has everything covered." Young Allison said. "I don't think you need to hear it."

Allison looked at the younger version of herself.

"And you do?" Allison asked.

Young Allison gave Allison a faint smile. She felt it was her fate.

"It's part of my life, my future." Young Allison said. "I'm embracing my future. I want what Future Allison has. I want all of it. As I've promised what I'll do, I want those promises fulfilled to me in return also."

Allison knew exactly what that statement meant, every part of it. Allison knew there was no stopping any of this. She felt she needed to rest.

"Do you want me to send mom here if I go?" Allison asked.

That sounded more like a potential problem in the making. She could do without any more problems currently.

"NO. She doesn't need the stress and worry." Young Allison said. "You should all rest. Have Jan and Summer clean up. Then you and mom can. I don't think we're at risk. It was just a precaution because we're low on Terminators."

Something bothered Allison. It was clear Young Allison wasn't - her. Not any more anyway. She felt Cameron may have intervened a little more then she'd admitted to in Young Allison's life.

"I could never do ANY of this at your age." Allison said. "What has Cameron DONE to you?"

Young Allison was offended somewhat by the question. She understood the future needed to be protected as well as John Connor. She'd known that all of her life. That's all she'd known ever since she could remember.

"She's done whatever she needed to do to protect the future." Young Allison said. "It's what I want."

Allison didn't believe any of this was natural. She was sure Cameron must have done something to Young Allison. She asked her directly.

"Did she take you to River's future?" Allison asked.

Young Allison wondered how that could affect anything currently.

"Would it make a difference now?" Young Allison asked.

Allison felt some pent up anger inside of her.

"YES." Allison said.

There were times when her studies were hard or some things seemed more difficult than others that she wished there was a shortcut that would help her. None was ever offered to her.

"I'm unaware if she ever has." Young Allison said. "I would go in an instant if she offered it to me."

Allison didn't like to hear that.

"It would change who you are." Allison said.

Young Allison didn't see it that way at all.

"No, I would become what I want." Young Allison said. "I could improve myself and become a more effective weapon against Skynet."

Allison was shocked to hear that.

The computer screens all flickered.

"What just happened?" Allison asked.

Young Allison quickly looked over everything.

"I'm not sure." Young Allison said.

Actually Young Allison did know. CamNet didn't want her 'altered'. They'd discussed it at night before, more than several times. CamNet told her she was the only human she interacted with everyday. She'd asked about Savannah. CamNet said they were unable to share time as often and as much as she could with her. She made time every night, no matter how tired or sleepy she was to interact with CamNet. It was all done in secret. It was very hard to work around Anna at times.

Allison looked at Young Allison and then the security camera. She shook her head and walked away. She didn't realize CamNet was on her side. Neither one of them wanted Young Allison physically altered in any way.

Allison left to get the girls ready to sleep. It was getting late for them.

Young Allison made sure Allison was gone. She then glanced quickly up at the security monitor.

"I'm sorry." Young Allison said quietly as she caressed her touch screen.

Young Allison touched the touch screen with her hand and a 'hand' appeared under hers on the monitor.

"I'll only go into the past." Young Allison said.

She was a little surprised that her statement drew a verbal response.

"Promise me." The voice said.

It was 'Young Allison's voice' - her voice.

Young Allison moved her fingers gently on the touch screen.

"I promise, CamNet." Young Allison said.

Allison had crept back up and listened from around the corner.

Allison heard everything, she cringed. She felt sick. This normally only happened in the mornings sometimes. She knew this was the kind of 'control' Cameron used to 'influence' Savannah with growing up. Now it was a different MACHINE doing it. It was a different version of 'Cameron'. She needed to tell Vanna. No, Vanna wouldn't be able to help, Savannah would.

Allison really wished Savannah was there now to comfort her. It wasn't the sharing in bed as much as it was she sharing of herself. There was a beauty that emanated from within Savannah. That was the beauty that captivated Cameron as well. It was the beauty of her true self that shined through to everyone.

She really didn't know what path Young Allison was headed down but she didn't think it was a good one and she didn't see any good conclusion coming out of it in any way. She felt there was a lot of heartache coming for both of them if they continued this. If CamNet had a physical body she could offer herself instead. She wanted Young Allison to be able to choose for herself. Whatever this was, it wasn't the right choice.

Cameron entered the last building. She knew there would be at least one Terminator there. The question now was, how many? She knew the more damage she could do now alone, would make it safer for the rest of the team.

She entered through a restroom window. The lights were off but the window was left part way open. She'd opened it more and slipped inside. A roving patrol passed by the location ten seconds later. That was a close call.

Cameron peeked out the door. There was a short wall in front of the restroom door. She moved out and looked around the wall. This was more like what she'd been expecting….

It was clearly 'bad news'.

Something Is Happening

Everyone wants to reach out
They want someone to reach back
Seldom does the one wanted reciprocate
Maybe mistaking it all as an attack

People go and they try
They soon strike out
No one ever walks away
As long as they still can shout

That's never the path forward
It's only the path to doom
It's never going to spark
It was a mistake to even presume

But some don't give up
They stay and they try and try
Maybe through persistence
The can slowly a heart pry

Suddenly one day there's a crack
The unending resolve has paid off
Something is happening
The fuse is lit like a Molotov

Nobody