Chapter 804

Rash Moves

Sheila was left at the helicopter to watch over it and to be ready for a fast extraction if necessary. She reflected on the fact that she'd really set Cameron off this time. It was foolish of her to do what she'd done and send the photos of herself to everyone. She was caught up in the moment with the dare from Ally. For whatever reason, she didn't think about the younger girls or even some of the adults either. It just seemed like the thing to do at the time. She actually thought that everyone would get a kick out of it. She liked the way that she looked and she was more than willing to show whoever she could. It was a compulsion that emanated from deep inside of her. She didn't want to blame Jesse because Jesse made a point to warn her before the 'Neural Interface' that there was a lot of darkness. There were evidently a lot of other extreme behavioral characteristics as well. Those extreme characteristics would be learned to survive in the Scavenger camps. The way to survive, be given food and water and not hurt as bad was to do whatever the Scavengers asked when they asked for it. It didn't matter what it was. It wasn't long before they wanted to test her and see how far she was willing to go. Wait. What was she doing? She didn't need her mind to go into someone else's life. Those weren't her own experiences. She needed to refocus. She needed to have that helicopter ready to fly in a moment's notice. The team depended upon her. She wasn't about to let them down.

She was very pleased with how Savannah came to her aid several times over this matter. Those actions made her love and respect Savannah even more. The real kicker was when Savannah said she would take her 'punishment' instead. She saw the Metal girls mass and unite to back Savannah up. They didn't unite for her but they did for Savannah. That really said something.

Now she needed to wait here in case there was a call for assistance. That was a call she hoped she wouldn't hear. That would mean the girls were in a jam. That would mean Savannah was in danger. Nobody liked to see the danger that Cameron continually put Savannah in. They would all gladly take Savannah's place if they could.

Sheila also knew Cameron wasn't done with her yet, it was a 'Metal thing'.

Cameron's team left the UH-1 behind. The SUV headed toward the target area that was under direct observation by Steve.

Steve's team covered it until they needed to procure transportation for the girls, which they did and left it for them at the prearranged landing site.

Cameron's team parked their vehicle near Steve's pick up truck. Cameron directed the girls to form up in two's. Hanna and Ally were together, as were Holly and Anna. That left Cammy to join Savannah and Cameron. That also most likely meant Cameron was about to become a team of 'one'. Maybe there was more to leaving Sheila behind at the helicopter than it first seemed. It was now what would give Cameron the opportunity to be on her own.

Savannah was sure Cameron was going to try and go off on her own. She wasn't about to have any of that. She decided to use herself as part of the reason to keep Cameron with Cammy and her. She knew how Terminators thought and she knew how Cameron thought and behaved. She would use that knowledge to her advantage to try to rein Cameron in.

"We'll remain together, the three of us. It will provide better protection for me." Savannah said to Cameron and Cammy.

They all knew what Savannah really 'said'. It was to protect Cameron from any rash moves.

Savannah could see Steve's face brighten some as she approached. She greeted Steve with a quick hug. Now he sported a big smile.

The Terminators, both male and female, craved physical contact with Savannah. She was always nice to them and joked with them. What they liked most was that Savannah would ask what they wanted or needed and if there was anything that needed to be resolved or taken care of. She always followed through on everything. The Terminators never felt like machines or tools when Savannah was around. She made them feel like individuals and that they mattered. They were all aware that was better than how some of the other Terminators treated them at times.

There was one drone with Steve's team for recon support at altitude. It watched for hostile HK drones or any approaching Grays. John Henry diverted it there at John's insistence.

Cameron wanted a full report as to everything that was going on around there.

"Have you spotted more Grays on the ground?" Cameron asked.

Steve didn't have a whole lot to report. They'd only been able to observe a few things in the limited time that they were there.

"We saw two arrive and then another one depart in their vehicle." Steve said. "None appeared to be Terminators. We don't know the strength inside. We don't know exactly what's inside."

From what she just heard from Steve, Savannah wasn't sure what they would face at this location. Maybe it was something, maybe it was nothing. After what Cammy's team experienced at the other location, she didn't want anyone to take any chances. It was touch and go more than once for Cammy's team. It seemed that Skynet was the one who controlled the narrative at that location. She didn't want that for this location.

"You did the right thing by getting additional assistance." Savannah said. "The girls experienced a rough go earlier. Skynet was able to make the first move there."

Cameron looked at the structure. There was a rail siding that went into the building but there was nothing visible. They couldn't see inside of the building. She was a little worried this might be nothing.

"What makes you think this structure contains boxcars or HK equipment?" Cammy asked.

Steve didn't know for sure about the boxcars but he did know what he'd heard at one point.

"We could hear an HK Track moving around inside." Steve said.

Cameron frowned at the news. With the take down of the three trailers and the location where Cammy's team was at, it was more than likely that the Skynet forces would attempt to take a more defensive posture. It was clear whatever the Skynet forces attempted prior to now, hadn't worked for them.

"They've probably gone on the defensive at all these locations." Cameron said. "More than likely whatever was inside the boxcars is out now. It is probably ready for combat."

Steve was unsure what the equipment inside the building would consist of.

"We haven't heard any HK drones yet." Steve said.

Cammy saw that this facility posed a bigger threat than the one that she'd taken down along with Ally and Sheila. If there were Gray's or Terminators there on the ground, everything from the boxcars could be put to much better use without the calamity that they'd witnessed at the other location.

"The HK drones may be inside the boxcars still, ready to go." Cammy said. "It didn't take long for everything to become active at the unmanned facility. If they were given time to prepare, there's going to be much more of a fight on our hands."

Savannah was aware that Terminators liked to go in the front door. The Skynet forces would know that and expect that. She wanted to make it clear to all of them that wasn't going to happen.

"There can be no frontal assault." Savannah said. "Not if they're ready and expecting it."

John listened to the updates in the planning in the Command Center. He wanted to remind everyone that there was another option that they could use that would get the job done as well.

"We can always fallback and call in a massive drone strike tonight." John said across their coms. "We can flatten the place and sort it out later."

Cameron wanted to start assembly lines for years, CamNet and her controlled most of the known Coltan reserves in this timeline. John and Sarah were both against her doing that. Through her association with the Resistance, she'd never initiated that procedure. What she did through CamNet or her base she kept secret from everyone else. The more Skynet equipment she could capture, the easier it would be to mask whatever her extracurricular activities were.

"I want to capture more Skynet resources." Cameron said. "We don't know how many they have or where. We will need more equipment to combat them in the future."

Savannah looked around. She seemed to have a distressed look of concern on her face. It was clear something bothered her. This seemed 'off' to her. She wanted to know a little more background information. If this turned out to be 'low hanging fruit' it was definitely going to set off a red flag for her.

"How did you discover this location?" Savannah asked.

Steve thought it was a pretty straightforward discovery. It was mainly due to carelessness on the Skynet force's part.

"We tracked the Gray who left when the other two arrived here." Steve said. "He led us here, before."

Savannah just felt it was all wrong.

"Cameron, I don't like this." Savannah said. "Look around."

Cameron looked around. She'd done that when they arrived as well. Nothing had changed since then that she could see.

"There's nothing." Cameron said. "Everything is the same since we arrived."

Savannah didn't like the layout of the land. It was almost as if this place was chosen for its openness.

"There's no cover or any place of concealment for our force." Savannah said. "Everything down there is wide open. There are no defensible positions."

Cameron looked at everything again. She became alarmed. She knew this was one of the 'warning signs' that humans felt when something seemed off. Humans could 'feel' it, even if it looked 'normal' to the Terminators. What appeared logical to her set off red flags in Savannah's mind. She knew to trust Savannah implicitly.

"What do you 'feel'?" Cameron asked.

Savannah was a little worried they might already be compromised. If this was a setup, so far everything that they'd done played into that narrative. It was the narrative that the Skynet forces laid out for them to follow.

"I feel that this is a sucker play and a death trap." Savannah said. "I recommended our people pull out, now."

Cameron learned to trust these 'feelings', especially if they came from Savannah. She knew when to act and when to reconsider. It was clearly time to act and act immediately.

"I need everyone to fallback right now." Cameron said. "Do it immediately. Don't delay or hesitate."

The troops all immediately responded to Cameron's order. There was no hesitation because they all knew that Cameron acted under the advice of the 'Chosen One'. Savannah always knew what was best for all of them. Cameron told them that often.

The news from Cameron's team didn't sit well in the Command Center.

The nature of Savannah's worry made John and John Henry take notice. They were both more alert now, John was anyway.

"Savannah's recommended everyone fallback." John Henry said.

This looked like 'bad news' to John. He wanted a little more information.

"Savannah, what do you see?" John asked.

Savannah looked over the area again. The more she looked at it, the surer she was of her original assessment.

"This looks like a trap to me." Savannah said. "It's too easy and convenient. It is like low hanging fruit waiting to be picked. They're all but inviting us to attack."

John didn't want to take any chances. Savannah's call was good enough for him.

"Withdraw all the teams in that area." John said.

John Henry verified that plan was already into effect.

"Cameron has already made that call." John Henry said.

John hoped that the single drone there might have picked something up.

"What's the drone showing?" John asked.

John Henry was displeased with the results.

"It has detected nothing." John Henry said.

John figured there must be something.

"What about any communications?" John asked.

John Henry was even more displeased with those results.

"I haven't been able to pick up anything." John Henry said.

John was concerned about the safety of their troops.

"Steve, do you have any Stingers?" John asked.

"Negative…." Steve said.

John didn't think Cameron's team packed a lot of punch.

"What does your team have, Cameron?" John asked.

Cameron knew that they were light on firepower. She'd personally used both of the Stingers that they'd brought with them. Their anti-aircraft capability was severely lacking.

"We only have a few LAW rockets, an M60 and everyone has an M4." Cameron said. "We were diverted here without obtaining additional heavy weapons. Many of our resources were expended at the last location or on the way there."

John looked over at John Henry.

"Get more drones there." John said.

Savannah wanted to make one thing perfectly clear before anyone acted.

"Don't pull them off the operation we recently left." Savannah said. "They need protection too. I don't want anything there changed or reduced."

John saw things a little differently, he was about to remind Savannah.

"It doesn't…." John started.

Savannah spoke instantly. She didn't want John to make a serious blunder.

"JOHN! Don't say it." Savannah interrupted him.

John was about to say, 'It doesn't matter, they're all Metal.'

Savannah was right. They all mattered too, Terminators or not.

John was aware that Savannah prevented him from saying something that might have caused a problem. No wonder Cameron wanted her around ALL the time. No wonder Cameron said, 'an ORDER from Savannah would stand over hers or countermand hers'. He also observed that Savannah never 'ordered'. She only needed to ASK for compliance or alternative solutions. Her suggestions carried a lot of weight with the Terminators. He could see why Future John wanted Future Savannah and Future Allison at his side.

He'd asked Cameron about it several times before. Cameron told him Savannah would always do the right thing. Cameron also asked him again to start 'visiting' Savannah in her room. Cameron assured him it is what SHE wanted as well as what Savannah was ready for. It almost happened recently anyway at Avila Beach. They'd been so close….

"…John…?" John Henry asked.

John was lost in his thoughts as he thought about Cameron and Savannah.

"More drones…." John quickly said.

John Henry tilted his head slightly.

"OK, but I wanted to know if you want the enemy communications cut." John Henry said.

Savannah heard the question twice. She decided to answer it for what she wanted for her team.

"No." Savannah said. "They'll know we're on to them or think we're about to attack. They may spring whatever they are planning. We need to save that card. We need to be ready."

Savannah was right. They needed to get a better plan in play first.

They were the ones who should control the narrative and not be forced to respond to the Skynet forces actions.

It seemed Savannah was ready to offer a plan.

Savannah studied past military battles as part of her training. Something popped into her mind. She remembered a tank battle in the desert. One side dug pits to conceal armor. They covered them with tarps with a little sand on them. The other side waited until it began to cool and the concealed armor showed up as a 'hotter' heat signature with infrared imagery. That allowed them to know where every piece of the enemy armor was concealed.

"It was hot today." Savannah said. "Scan the surrounding area for heat signatures below ground. This may have been in the works for the last few days since we've been hitting them. This is why they may have only sent a token force at the last location. They wanted us here."

John was a little confused. He needed to think about what Savannah just said.

"So we're looking for something that's buried?" John asked. "Do you believe that there are things hidden below the ground?"

Savannah could understand John's confusion. Without the background information it sounded rather bizarre.

"They may be in a pit and covered with netting or even a thin layer of earth. I've studied plans like this before with concealed armor on a battlefield." Savannah said. "That battle was in the desert so things really heated up during the daytime. This area gets pretty hot as well. Our drone should have superior detection capabilities in that regard over what the military possessed at the time of that battle."

It all made sense to Cameron. She'd actually experienced this before. It was in her future.

"She's right, John." Cameron said. "You used a plan like this in the future; Future John did. It was based on several historical battles."

John thought if that was the case, he'd better start reading some more and lay off the internet porn. He needed to stop searching for 'genital piercings', 'redheads' and 'close ups'.

Savannah was aware of a few other Skynet tricks. Some of those might depend upon how accurate the maps were that she'd viewed. She was aware that some bodies of water could be seasonal. They might be there in winter and spring but gone during summer and fall.

"Are there any bodies of water around?" Savannah asked. "I saw some 'blue spots' on the map but they may be dry now. If not, we know an HK drone can be hidden in a small body of water as well. I've read those reports."

John Henry could see it all coming together as Savannah laid it out. He was a little concerned that none of these things were thought of by him or CamNet.

"She's correct on all those assumptions." John Henry said.

John and Cameron both remembered an incident like that.

The more John heard, the more it seemed like a set up.

"Is it a sucker play?" John asked.

Savannah didn't know. They were very few facts to work with.

"It's something." Savannah said. "I don't know what. I want to play it safe."

Cameron hoped John was going to listen to Savannah. She was sure going to.

"We will follow Savannah's intuitions." Cameron said. "Savannah is able to read this battlefield better than I am or anyone on my team."

Cameron's statement packed a lot of punch when they heard it in the Command Center.

The drone scans for heat signatures in the surrounding area turned up what appeared to be four HK Tracks and three drones. That was like the complement of equipment at the previous location, especially if they were using an HK Track inside as bait.

John looked over all the information as it was laid out on the satellite image by John Henry for him. It was a little hard for him to believe but he looked at the proof that they'd been able to uncover. None of this was anything that he would have even considered. It now made him wonder how much damage could have been prevented to Cameron if Savannah was by her side all of the time. Then again she was a very young girl at the time of some of Cameron's most horrific damage. He didn't know that Savannah always told Cameron, no matter how badly she was damaged, how much she loved her. He didn't know when Cameron wouldn't see him for days or weeks that she would secretly see Savannah and they would interact together in her room. Savannah always embraced Cameron's mechanical construction as something special. She'd never looked down on Cameron because of it nor made fun of her and insulted her because of it. Those things all mattered to Cameron. They were things none of the rest of them thought about or cared about. Young Allison was the same way later on as she got older. It was clear to Cameron that the 'Chosen Ones' were different from all of the rest of them. They were the ones who were worthy of her companionship. They'd earned it through their actions and behavior, that all meant something to Cameron. He was clueless to it all.

He hoped to strike first since they now held the upper hand.

"We know where they have the equipment." John said. "We can strike them all where they're hiding as soon as we get a few more drones there."

Savannah was willing to bet what they knew about wasn't the only thing, especially based upon what happened at the location Cammy's team took down.

"It's a pretty good bet we will get more hostile HK drones and Gray troops as well." Savannah said. "I would have to think a few Terminators are likely too."

John Henry made John aware of a new development at the location where Cammy's team scored a win.

"We know they sent out a recon team to the previous location." John Henry said. "They checked the building and left. We have a drone following them."

That new information sent up another red flag for Savannah.

"They may be expecting that." Savannah said. "Use caution with our drone. They may try and track it back to us. That may be the whole purpose of them visiting the area. Don't let them turn our own equipment into a Trojan Horse."

Cameron and John devised a plan with Savannah and John Henry. It was bold and daring.

Allison was with Young Allison in the Young bunker.

"I've been watching you." Allison said.

Young Allison noticed Allison had been studying her. She tried to downplay it.

"Is it like looking in the mirror of time?" Young Allison asked.

Allison actually believed it was just the opposite. It wasn't looking back in time; it was more like looking forward in time.

"No, it's like looking into the future." Allison said. "I see you making almost all the same calls as Savannah, Cameron, John and John Henry."

Young Allison wanted to point out that Allison forgot to mention CamNet. Based upon what Allison 'caught' her doing before, she thought maybe it was better not to mention it at all.

"I've done this for a few years." Young Allison said. "Savannah told me to go over every incident report and see what I would do differently or maybe better. She told me to develop a plan as events unfold with backups. She told me to study past battles where the underdog should have been easily defeated but turned out the victor instead."

Allison was painfully aware that her upbringing through these years was a little more harsh.

"I needed to worry where the next garbage pile was at when I was your age. I hoped I could find something to eat." Allison said. "All the while I hoped I wouldn't be assaulted again. It happened to all the females at some point and many of the young males as well."

Allison wanted to tell Young Allison it was very traumatic to have her innocence stolen from her. No it wasn't stolen, it was forcefully taken. She still didn't have it as bad as Vanna and Jesse did. Their loss of innocence was much worse. Hers was just one individual with a knife flashed at her. She could still feel the cold steel that pressed forcefully against her throat if she thought about it. She cringed at the thought of it all. She needed to push the past out of her mind. What was done was done. Life moved forward not backwards.

Young Allison saw the far off look in Allison's eyes. At one point, one of hands reached up and touched the side of her neck. She wasn't sure what happened but it didn't seem the right time to ask based upon her last statement. She could only imagine what that meant.

"That's what I'm trying to prevent." Young Allison said. "That's what WE are trying to prevent."

Allison refocused her attention to the new chain of events as they unfolded.

"I'm glad mom went to be with Summer." Allison said. "She would be going nuts if she saw what looks like is about to happen. I'm worried to death about all of them myself."

Young Allison knew that she needed to face the fears of the future.

"I am too." Young Allison said. "That's why I do this. I want to help. I'm going to help them."

Young Allison was determined she was going to start playing a bigger role. It didn't matter to her if it was on the battlefield, in the Command Center or in John's bed. She knew her duties. She was ready to embrace all of them. She didn't need to be older for any of them. She was already old enough for all of them.

It Seems She Never Told You

It's better to have loved and lost
Than to never have loved at all
Whoever thought or said that
Has never taken true love's fall

It may be possible
To love more than once
But there's only ever one true love
To think otherwise takes a dunce

To watch and feel true love
Slowly slip from your grasp
You cling, you hope and gasp
Soon there's nothing to clasp

What makes it worse is when
It happens before your very eyes
They can see the damage done
Feeling but ignoring your cries

Then when it happens to them
You can say that you knew
A lot of things
It seems she never told you

Nobody