Chapter 751

We Fight

Cameron and Cammy both heard some type of tracked vehicle approach where they were currently at. They were unsure of the exact nature of this threat. Their initial idea was to confront the threat and prevent it from reaching where Savannah was. They'd left Savannah at the bunker. Upon further reflection they decided it was better to retreat back to where Savannah was at, take her and leave the area. If the Skynet forces had tracked vehicles that could respond this quickly, it was surely only a matter of time until HK drones showed up.

Savannah waited at the bunker entrance. She was there in case any of the Grays tried to leave the bunker. It seemed unlikely at this point. They appeared to have barricaded themselves behind the second blast door and waited for reinforcements to arrive. She was a little worried that both Cammy and Cameron went to confront what was possibly those reinforcements about to arrive.

She needed to worry about the Skynet forces having a second exit out of the bunker. It seemed that it was most likely that they did. Not only did she need to watch the inner blast door, she needed to watch behind her to make sure that none of the Skynet forces slipped in behind her. If they did, she would be trapped between the two groups of Grays. She was carefully concealed and waited for a threat to develop from either location.

Events seem to unfold quicker than she'd planned.

Savannah thought that she detected movement off to her side. She raised her M4.

"Purple…." A female voice said quietly.

Savannah kept her M4 up and ready.

"Baboon…." Savannah answered quietly.

Cameron and Cammy came into view. It was clear they were in a hurry.

"It appears the Skynet reinforcements are about to arrive." Cameron said. "It sounds like there are either several HK Tracks with them or an HK Tread. There's an undetermined force with them as well on foot. It appears that some, if not all of them, are Terminators."

Savannah looked at the inner bunker door. There was still a threat there that needed to be dealt with.

"I'll go with Cammy." Savannah said. "Get the Thermite started."

Cameron was still a little worried about being trapped between the bunker and the advancing Skynet forces.

"We may need to retreat." Cameron said.

Savannah felt that the burning Thermite would keep the Grays inside from escaping and weaken the inner bunker door to make it more susceptible to a drone attack.

"Do it anyway." Savannah said. "We can use the outside of this structure as cover."

Cammy wanted to remind Savannah of the threat that actually led them to decide it was time to leave.

"They may still send HK drones." Cammy said.

Savannah knew that two of their drones we're still in the area. Their drones were equipped for air-to-air combat as well as ground attack. So far all of the HK drones that they'd encountered were only set up for ground attack. She felt that gave them a distinct advantage.

"We have our own drones." Savannah said. "It's a calculated risk. Isn't that what everything comes down to anyway?"

Cammy came out from inside the outer bunker wall, she brought Savannah with her. They headed around the corner of the bunker. They could still keep anyone bottled up there if they tried to break out. She listened to the sky.

"There are three drones in the area." Cammy said.

Cameron came out of the bunker. A cloud of white smoke billowed out behind her.

Savannah knew that neither Cameron or Cammy wanted to leave the situation at the bunker unfinished. She knew what their reason for withdrawal was. It didn't sit well with her. She was ready to put her training to use.

"If I wasn't here, you would move to attack the HK Tread." Savannah said. "So let's all do that. Cammy still has one Thermite grenade. We've all trained on how to disable one."

Cameron and Cammy looked at each other. It was what they would do.

Cameron felt the tasks should fall to her. They still needed to worry about the Grays inside the bunker.

"Give me your Thermite grenade, Cammy." Cameron said. "You and Savannah may need to engage any Grays that try to make a break for it."

Cammy looked at Savannah and then at Cameron. She knew what her duty was.

"You stay with Savannah, Cameron." Cammy said. "I'll take on the HK Tread."

Savannah knew how risky that was going to be. If the Skynet forces arrived as reinforcements, they'd be looking for trouble along the way.

"Be careful, Cammy." Savannah said.

Cameron was afraid Cammy wouldn't come back. She wanted to give her some reassurance as to her future if she were destroyed.

"Cammy, we'll merge…." Cameron said.

It was fresh in Cameron's mind what Cammy asked for. She wanted to merge their programs into one or that Cammy wanted to be permanently deactivated. Cammy said she would rather face termination if she was not with Savannah. Now Cammy took the job she would normally do. She was sure Cammy wouldn't use caution. Maybe she should stop her.

Cammy was already gone.

Bob sped towards the area where Cameron's team was at. The van with the Metal girls was in front of them. They both hurried towards the target area.

John was worried about how much time had elapsed since the video footage from the drones that were incapacitated was played for him. He no longer saw the van with the Metal girls in it in front of them.

"How soon until we get there?" John asked. "Where did the Metal girls go?"

Bob checked their location against the location where Cameron was at. They wouldn't be there anytime soon.

"We're still a ways off." Bob said. "The Metal girls are in front of us, even if you can't see them. They're traveling at a very high rate of speed."

Bob didn't want to have an accident with John in the SUV. The Metal girls obviously used a little less caution. They could use their Terminator abilities to push the van to its fullest extent.

"John, I have new information. Cameron's team has emerged from the bunker." John Henry said. "There is heavy smoke pouring out behind them."

That sounded like a bad development to John. He knew Cameron didn't like to run from any fight. He wondered what went wrong there. He was done fooling around with anything. It was time to bring the fight to the Skynet forces.

"I want the drones to engage anything that threatens Cameron's team." John said. "I don't care if it's Terminators or a rattlesnake. Open up on it. Don't hesitate. I want all three of them protected."

John wanted to urge Bob to drive faster but he knew they were way past a safe speed already. Well, a safe speed for a human to drive. Bob wasn't human he was a Terminator.

Young Allison called Anna back into their section of the bunker. There was a new development where Cameron was at.

"Cameron's team has exited the bunker with a cloud of gray smoke behind them." Young Allison said.

Anna studied the images.

"There must be a secondary door inside." Anna said. "They're using Thermite on it."

Young Allison was relieved to see all three of them. She also saw them split up and one figure move off on their own. In the darkness she was unsure as to who it was.

"Is that Cammy or Cameron?" Young Allison asked. "I can't tell from the images. They've pulled out a Thermite grenade."

Anna continued to look at the images. She was unable to make a conclusive determination.

"I'm not sure." Anna said. "Cameron would be most likely to attack on her own but I think it is Cammy."

Young Allison wondered why there weren't any drone images of whatever threatened them. Their drones should attack whatever Cammy was going to attack first.

"What's she attacking?" Young Allison asked.

Anna hoped for a further update or additional images. There were none.

"I don't know yet." Anna said.

This didn't look any better to Young Allison than it did earlier.

They were still fighting the unknown.

If that was Cammy who went to attack the unknown force instead of Cameron, it seems like a bad development to her. It seemed more like Cammy was being sacrificed instead of Cameron facing the threat herself. She wondered if Savannah made that decision the sacrifice her lover for her true love Cameron.

She looked over at Anna and wondered if she would be able to do the same thing on her own if it came down to Anna or Cameron. She swallowed hard and returned her attention back to her monitors. It was clear to her that she would need to make the same choice that Savannah evidently had made. Cameron came first.

A choice like that still bothered her.

Cammy moved forward to engage the threat. She pulled a Thermite grenade out as she moved. She intended to disable the HK equipment where she found it to prevent it from getting any closer to where Savannah and Cameron were. The clanking noise was even louder as she approached. This sounded different than any HK Tread or HK Track she'd ever heard before. It sounded big whatever it was. She could feel the ground vibrate and Shake as it moved closer. Maybe this was a new threat. This might be an APC or even a tank. This area was isolated. Skynet may have developed something new. It didn't matter, she needed to protect Savannah.

She saw movement on the ground ahead of it. It was a group of people. They moved fast on foot. It seemed to be too fast of a pace for humans. They must be Terminators. She knew she needed to act. She also knew she needed to knock out that tracked vehicle. She would concentrate on knocking out the main threat and then engage the troops on the ground. This seemed like it was not going to end well for her.

Cammy was aware of what Cameron said as she left about merging their chips. It was so she would not allow herself to be destroyed in combat if it was necessary to protect Savannah. That was a sacrifice she was willing to make. It was a very real thought. She wouldn't allow harm to come to Savannah. She was painfully aware she wasn't part of the 'Natural Order'. She was expendable.

She was going to let the Terminators pass and knock out the biggest threat first. She would come back for the Terminators after that. The Terminators would actually fallback and concentrate on her. The group of Terminators would hunt her down.

The clanking grew louder. The earth vibrated and shook more under her feet. There was something big and it was coming.

Wait….

This was all wrong.

Cameron moved Savannah to a more secure location. They'd expected to hear Cammy engage the enemy force. For some unknown reason, that hadn't happened yet. That either meant something went wrong or there was a bigger threat that needed to be dealt with. Either one of those prospects didn't sound promising.

There was never any explosion or gunfire in the distance. Cammy should have reached the target by now. Instead they only heard the clanking grow louder. They both could feel the earth vibrate and shake underneath their feet.

"I still hear it coming." Savannah said. "It sounds big."

Cameron was sure Cammy would have tried to knock out the tracked vehicle first.

"Cammy must have something worse to contend with." Cameron said. "There's been no gunfire."

Savannah was aware of their success in deactivating hostel Terminators. The same thing could happen to any of their Terminators including Cameron.

"Maybe she's been taken down." Savannah said.

It was a grim thought for Savannah. She knew how many Terminators she'd taken down. Cammy may have fallen the same way. She knew she needed to fight and try and see if they could recover Cammy. She didn't want her reprogrammed as a 'Metal Whore' to be used for the sexual gratification of the Grays.

There was movement from the direction Cammy went.

Cameron saw this for the threat that it was. It was most likely hostile Terminators.

"There are people approaching." Cameron said. "Get back."

Savannah was upset because she thought something bad already happened to Cammy. She wanted vengeance.

"NO!" Savannah said. "We fight."

Cameron attempted to assess the situation. Something seemed off to her.

"Not yet." Cameron said. "This is something different."

Savannah wondered what could be different. They've been apprised that there was a team of Terminators on the way to back them up. Maybe they drew a lucky break for once.

"Maybe it's our back up." Savannah said.

Cameron was a little worried as much as she was surprised at what she saw next in the darkness.

"I don't know. I see Cammy. She's running." Cameron said. "There are figures running behind her."

Savannah raised her M4. She was ready to give Cammy covering fire.

"We fight." Savannah said.

Cameron put her hand on the barrel of Savannah's M4 and gently pushed it down. She'd been able to identify who else was with Cammy.

"It's our back up team with her." Cameron said.

That sounded encouraging to Savannah. It still didn't answer the question as to what else was moving around out there. She knew that none of their reprogram tracked HK equipment was in the area. The earth continued to shake and vibrate as the clanking grew louder.

"Then what's that clanking?" Savannah asked. "It sounds very close."

They could feel vibrations in the ground from it grow stronger.

"That's currently unknown." Cameron said. "All I can tell you is that it's big."

Cammy ran up to them as the team of Terminators who followed her spread out. They checked the fallen and covered the bunker entrance.

Cameron began to give them instructions immediately. There were things that she'd wanted to do but didn't have the time to do them without leaving Savannah properly protected. Now that the help was here they could assist her.

"Collect any information or phones from them." Cameron said.

The clanking continued to grow louder. They could feel the ground rumbling even more.

Savannah still covered the bunker entrance when she saw it.

It was a massive bulldozer. Even in the darkness she could see that it was painted red. There were markings on the side of the cab area for the fire department.

Cammy directed it to the corner of the bunker. She climbed on it and gave instructions to the operator.

"Savannah, I want you to provide rear security for the bulldozer." Cameron said.

Savannah understood the real nature of the assignment that Cameron gave her. She would be protected from anything that happened from the bunker by the superstructure of the giant bulldozer.

"You want me protected by its mass." Savannah said.

Cameron saw no need to deny that. They still needed to worry about any more Grays popping up around them from an alternate exit out of the bunker system.

"I do. It's still an important function. Someone needs to do it. We don't know if the Grays have more ways out." Cameron said. "The bulldozer is going to start chipping away at the corner of the bunker. It also has a hydraulic hammer on the rear of it. If we can breach the structure wall, the Grays inside are going to try to make a break for it. We're using more Thermite against the bunker door. The new team has C-4 with them as well. Once the door is white hot, we'll place a charge. We will keep repeating the process until one endeavor is successful."

Savannah understood Cameron's reasoning. She still wanted to contribute something more meaningful.

"OK, I get it." Savannah said. "I still want to do more."

Cameron indicated the fallen Grays around the area.

"You already did a lot." Cameron said.

Savannah looked around at the dead Grays that litter the area still.

"I did what was necessary." Savannah said.

Cameron wanted Savannah to understand her concern.

"We need to protect the baby, your baby." Cameron said.

Savannah touched her still flat belly.

"It's Vanna's baby." Savannah said.

Savannah knew Cameron wanted that baby as she did the other two she'd delivered. She could see it in her eyes. She didn't want Cameron to dwell on this.

"I'll have yours next, Cameron." Savannah said. "Nobody else will. I want your baby to be from me."

Cameron knew what she meant. Savannah wanted to 'protect' Young Allison.

Savannah knew she needed to do this before Judgment Day. She was young and healthy now and her body was strong enough to keep having children. She didn't want Young Allison bred. That was her biggest concern and fear. She never wanted Young Allison to feel like she did when she needed to put her child in the arms of another, even if it was 'herself' and leave it behind. It was always a sick feeling that never left her. Every time she remembered the events, she needed to cry.

Cameron knew it was a touchy subject for Savannah. There was no need to go there now.

"We'll discuss this later." Cameron said. "I don't want you hurt."

Cameron was well aware of the risk Savannah took to protect her and Cammy earlier. It was heroic and brave. Savannah put Cammy and her before herself. It's not what she'd wanted to happen. It did and this is where they were now.

Savannah quickly refocused. She didn't want the Skynet forces to pull a fast one.

"Cameron, we also need to watch for them to escape or try to go through another exit." Savannah said. "I know in the mine we were at that they seemed to have another way in or out. We have several ways out with the bunker at the Young residence and at each of the bases."

Cameron could hear at least one drone at work.

"One of the drones is sweeping the surrounding terrain now. It's checking for heat signatures." Cameron said. "I can hear it searching in a pattern."

Savannah didn't like the lack of communication ability that they currently experience.

"Is there any way to get our communications back?" Savannah asked.

Cameron checked all of her equipment several times and the equipment of the group of Terminators that arrived. They all experienced the same things.

"I think our equipment is all damaged. The Grays seem to have a jamming field as well." Cameron said. "I tried to use some of the phones off of the fallen Grays, none worked. That was excellent shooting I might add."

Savannah didn't want to hear about what she'd done. There was nothing to be proud of. She wanted to stress that.

"I did what I needed to do, when it needed to be done." Savannah said. "Anyone of us would have done the same thing."

Cameron witnessed other humans in combat in all the futures she'd been to as well as the present. She'd seen others run and hide. They left their comrades to perish. The only ones who fought as hard as Savannah did and took all the risks, were soon killed - ALL of them. That's not what she wanted to happen to Savannah.

In fighting Skynet there was a price for bravery. It was death. There were always those who rose to the occasion and met the challenge. Cameron knew Savannah would be one of those. She would never abandon her fellow soldiers and she would never abandon her.

Cameron was sure she would be the death of Savannah in some way. The thought troubled her greatly. She suppressed a glitch impulse as she inspected the area and the progress of the two teams at work to breach the bunker. It was clear they were going to enter the bunker one way or another. They still needed to worry about any Skynet reinforcements arriving or HK drones.

John looked at the drone feeds. He was a little surprised at the sight of the giant bulldozer.

"Where did they get that monster?" John asked. "That thing is huge."

John Henry felt they caught a lucky break on that one.

"They were able to get an older fire service bulldozer started and have brought it up to help with the destruction of the bunker. With its older technology it was unaffected by whatever the electrical discharge was that fried everything else." John Henry said. "The drone footage doesn't indicate any damage to our Terminators or Savannah. One drone is running a search pattern to search for a 'break out'. The other two are searching for threats in the air or on the ground."

John was pleased to hear they were doing all that they could. There was still one thought that troubled him in the back of his mind. It was based on earlier incidents

"That's good to hear." John said. "If there is a Skynet there, I think it will be protected by a doomsday device."

John Henry knew it wouldn't be the first time.

"Cameron encountered one before that possessed one." John Henry said.

Bob checked their location against where they still needed to go. With the backup force of Terminators on the scene, he didn't think their late arriving contribution would add anything to the situation except more irritation to Cameron. There were other more productive things that they could do.

"John, with Cameron's situation under better team cooperation, we can go after one of the big rigs like we planned." Bob said. "Cameron seems to have the situation under control. It appears there's plenty of help."

John knew Bob wanted to clandestinely warn him of another 'threat'.

"You're really telling me Cameron is going to be upset if I show up there." John said.

Bob was involved in more than one scenario where everything played out the same way after John arrived.

"Affirmative…." Bob said. "She will direct all her help to protect you."

John knew that would increase the danger to Savannah.

"I'm worried about Savannah and Cameron." John said.

Bob was aware that there were still two more trucks out there that hadn't been identified yet. They had a solid lead on one but that was all.

"We also have a job to do." Bob said.

John understood the full impact of everything that Bob indicated. He still wanted to assist Cameron and Savannah as much as he could.

"I'll let the Metal girls go to help her." John said.

Bob wanted to put everything into context for John.

"I think that will cause a bigger problem." Bob said. "She will see you as under-protected and pull out to come to your aid. She will punish the Metal girls for leaving you."

John let out a long sigh. He knew that he couldn't fight 'City Hall'.

"Tell Gail to turn around and follow us again." John said. "We're headed back to Stockton."

John knew this was a 'no win' scenario with Cameron. She would direct all the help his way. She would strip it away from Savannah and her. He felt a little better about leaving now. There was more help for Cameron's team. There was a team of Terminators and three drones.

Maybe all of that assistance left him with a false sense of security.

I'm Dying To Hear It

Do you only speak to hear
The melodious tone of your own voice
For with each new untruth
You make a bitter stinging choice

What's so difficult
With the truth to say
Everything is another delay
Another way to betray

Here we go again
Go ahead and talk
Then wonder why at you
Everyone will smirk and gawk

Whatever you're saying
Is just so many words
It's nothing I will believe
Save it for the birds

What's the latest story
To what will you admit
Go ahead and spill it
I'm dying to hear it

Nobody