Chapter 943

Two Things

Cameron assigned Ally, Sheila and Samantha to physically inspect the area of the blast for any traces of Skynet technology left behind. They didn't think any would be found. The entire mountain was down on top of where the mine used to be. Drone scans indicated nothing was present. Everything should be buried deep in the earth with the remains of the mountain on top of it.

Ally wasn't pleased that they needed to do a physical inspection.

"Why do we have to do this?" Ally asked. "We're lovers, not ditch diggers."

Samantha wanted Ally to concentrate on getting the job done. She didn't need to hear her complain.

"It's our assignment." Samantha said. "We must complete it."

Ally looked at Sheila and Samantha. They were the only ones left.

"Everyone else was able to go home." Ally said. "We should too."

Sheila was very aware of the reason for that. It was something that never sat well with Ally or her.

"We're the only ones without 'permanent assignments'." Sheila said.

They both knew that meant without full time human lovers. They had plenty of part time human lovers as they made the rounds with all the human girls.

Ally didn't see any reason why they couldn't alternate 'duty assignments'. It didn't seem like it would hurt anything. What would be the big deal anyway?

"I think we should rotate." Ally said. "That would be fair. There's no reason we can't take turns having a full time human lover."

Samantha didn't have any personal experience but she did have the programming that established the nature of a relationship. It was normally two people that were involved long term with each other. Usually it was an exclusive arrangement between those two but not always. In the case of the girls at the Resistance base, all of the relationships were open.

"I think you're missing the point of a relationship." Samantha said.

Ally knew how things worked. That didn't change the fact that she still felt short changed.

"I'm just missing a human relationship." Ally said.

Samantha thought Ally and Sheila seemed to have a pretty good relationship, even if they bantered back and forth ALL the time.

"You two seem to do OK." Samantha said. "You both make the rounds."

Sheila knew they were both very active.

"We do sort of 'get around' with all of them, both Metal and human." Sheila said. "It's still different. We just make booty calls."

Ally knew that was true. There were still two human girls without protection.

"Summer and Jan don't have 'personal Terminators'." Ally said.

Samantha understood the statement for what it actually meant.

"You mean Metal lovers." Samantha said. "I'm available. I can fill one of those positions."

Sheila didn't like the idea of another Terminator cutting in on them. Samantha was new on top of that and she was to be deactivated after the current mission was over.

"Get in line." Sheila said. "They're too young anyway by some misguided human standards. Some of them are really hung up on numbers. I can tell you right now that Sarah won't like it. If you try anything with either of those two girls, she will personally deactivate you."

Ally agreed with Sheila. They didn't need any new interlopers. Sheila and her were up next to be assigned to any human females that were available. She wanted to remind Samantha of her place.

"Yeah, who asked you, Samantha?" Ally asked. "You'll be deactivated as soon as we get back and your sheath will be Resequenced. Your deactivation and termination is imminent. Don't push your luck or it will happen sooner than you think. "

Samantha didn't wish to be terminated. There was still value to her existence, especially on this operation. There were still loose ends that would need to be cleaned up.

"I think I could be useful in the casino." Samantha said.

Sheila thought they were about a day late and a dollar short for that endeavor to go forward.

"That operation is blown." Sheila said. "If they get their hands on you, you will end up as a 'Metal Whore' or terminated."

There was something about that statement that bothered Samantha. It seemed to hit close to home.

"I think I already was." Samantha said.

Ally didn't think that was how the Skynet or Syndicate operation was run.

"I thought the 'Metal Bitch' only rounded up girls that were fresh into town. That way no one missed them." Ally said. "Did she turn tricks too?"

Samantha was able to find some file fragments on her chip.

"She did round up young females." Samantha said. "I've found other files that were not fully erased to that regard."

Ally and Sheila looked at each other. They didn't think that that was good news. Now they wondered if they needed to watch their backs. They knew that sometimes reprogrammed Terminators went bad and nobody knew why. Maybe this was one of the reasons. All of Samantha Skynet programming should have been erased. From her latest revelation it was apparent that it wasn't.

Sheila wanted to find out a little bit more without seeming too invasive.

"Aren't you running a mostly 'Cameron' program?" Sheila asked.

Samantha felt her files left a lot to be desired.

"It's very limited." Samantha said. "I don't think Cameron trusts me."

Sheila was aware of the incident on top of the elevator at the casino hotel where the Resistance team had stayed.

"You did try to terminate her." Sheila said. "Any episode like that is bound to leave a bad impression on someone else."

Samantha didn't think that was her fault. Things were different on her chip.

"That was the previous chip. It wasn't me." Samantha said. "I do have some information off of it. I have her association files."

Sheila and Ally wondered exactly what all was contained in those 'association files'. It seemed to them to be a little bit more than recognition and interaction files with other individuals associated with Skynet and the Syndicate. They would need to watch her a little more closely. They didn't want a negative surprise on their hands.

Ally turned her attention to where they were currently at. She looked around at the landscape they were traversing.

"Why can't they have the drones do this from above?" Ally asked. "I feel like we're walking around on the surface of Mars."

Sheila looked around where they were at and needed to agree with Ally's assessment of what the area looked like. It did look like pictures of the surface of Mars that they'd viewed before. There was reddish dirt and rocks. There was no vegetation.

"The drones are up." Sheila said. "You know that they need to remain at altitude during the daylight. There's been too much low altitude use of them already. They will need to wait for nightfall to do more."

The Metal girls all thought about their low altitude drone ride from their previous locations to the rallying point behind the ridge where they were at when the H-bomb actually went off.

Ally knew that was true. She thought that there was another obvious question related to all of this.

"Don't they think people are going to wonder what happened to the mountain?" Ally asked. "The landscape is clearly altered."

Sheila was well aware how the Resistance team dealt with things that they were involved with. This case would be no different.

"There will be reports of everything from a UFO crash, to a giant 'sinkhole', to unexploded ordnance from the Cold War or even just an earthquake." Sheila said. "You know John Henry and CamNet will flood them with misinformation and suppress the truth, even if anyone gets wind of it. There is a lot of 'fake news' out there. We just add to it."

They were aware that the wilder the information that was 'leaked', the less credence any factual information would have. It would all be tainted no matter what it was. With so many things reported. No one really believed any of them. Most people would just accept the idea that it was an earthquake.

Ally couldn't detect any significant increase in radiation levels for any type of radiation from the area. She wanted to make sure that the others experience the same thing.

"What do you show on radiation levels?" Ally asked. "I don't detect much."

Samantha hadn't detected a change in radiation levels from when they first arrived in the area before the hydrogen bomb went off.

"There's no increase over anything more than it was before." Samantha said.

Sheila looked at the crumbled dirt and rock that they climbed over.

"That is because the entire mountain is down on top of all of this." Sheila said.

Ally didn't see how they were supposed to find any trace of Skynet activity with the mountain on top of the mine. The mine ended up deep in a cavern that was created in the Earth when the H-bomb and most likely a giant power cell exploded. She really would have preferred to have been elsewhere currently. Besides, she didn't want to get 'crapped up' and need to go through some type of the decontamination process. It sounded like a total hassle.

"Why do we have to do this?" Ally asked. "We're lovers, not walking 'Geiger Counters'."

Sheila started to get irritated with Ally's incessant complaining. It didn't matter how much she complained. Nothing was going to change. They still needed to do the job.

"Not this again." Sheila said. "We've gone through this seventeen times."

Samantha made a few quick calculations based on Ally's past frequency of complaints about the same issue. If they remained with their current task, it would take some time to finish.

"I calculate before our mission is over it will be one hundred and seventy six times." Samantha said. "She is very persistent and predictable."

Sheila was already irritated. She was irritated with the job. She was irritated with Ally and she was irritated with Samantha.

"That's it then. I can't hear it that many more times." Sheila said.

Samantha thought there was a quick fix to quiet Ally down.

"We can deactivate her sound module." Samantha said. "She can complain in 'sign language' all she wants after that. Nobody will care nor need to hear it."

Ally and Sheila looked at each other. It was clear Samantha wasn't joking.

Sheila didn't want any trouble. It was obvious that the search was pointless. Anything Skynet related was buried under tons of dirt and rock.

"There's nothing here. Let's call John." Sheila said. "This place is boring."

Samantha's programming indicated that they should finish the mission they were on. It was a breach of protocol to not complete an assignment.

"We should finish our search first as we were directed." Samantha said.

Ally was thoroughly irritated by Samantha's single minded attitude. All of the other Resistance Terminators had advanced beyond the ability to do only as instructed.

"Yeah, right…." Ally said. "I'll call him myself."

Sheila was all for that. She was ready for a change of scenery as well. 'Mars' didn't appeal to her.

Ally and Sheila quickly 'high fived' each other up high and then down low….

Samantha was irritated. She felt that both Ally and Sheila needed to be reprogrammed.

Ally didn't feel there was any more that could be accomplished where they were at. She gave her report to John.

John went over all the information so far. All the data that came into the Command Center was negative. He looked over at John Henry.

"The Metal girls have been there for a few hours. The drones aren't picking anything up either." John said. "I've seen nothing to indicate anything, have you?"

John Henry thought they would have to wait until darkness to do a thorough low level drone scan. They would literally be able to check every square inch of the terrain around there if they did that. If there was any radiation that was going to leak out, it should have started by that point in time.

"There's no indication that anything has been detected anywhere. The drones are unable to locate anything." John Henry said. "The Metal girls can return now. Give them the word."

John figured that the confirmation was good enough for him.

"Ally, bring your team in." John said.

Ally was relieved to hear the news. She looked at Samantha triumphantly.

"Thanks, John, I knew someone there was on our side." Ally said. "We're headed back to the SUV."

John was glad to hear that they were going to leave the target area. He wondered where the other teams currently were at.

"Where are the rest of them at now?" John asked.

John Henry didn't think John was going to like the answer.

"They're on their way back, except for Cameron's team." John Henry said.

John let out a long sigh. He wondered why things couldn't be simple.

"Now what's up?" John asked.

John Henry was actually a little surprised at the recent developments.

"They've retrieved the Cessna from Holly. Holly and Cammy are to return by vehicle now." John Henry said.

John shook his head in disgust.

"Besides Savannah, who's Cameron dragging around?" John asked. "Wait, don't tell me."

John Henry remained silent.

John looked at John Henry and frowned because he didn't reply. He didn't need John Henry to reply anyway, he already knew the answer.

"I bet it's Young Allison." John said.

John Henry didn't think it was a big deal. It was where the girls started out yesterday.

"Anna is with them also." John Henry said. "They're actually following up on something Young Allison requested."

John wondered about that.

"I think Young Allison and Savannah can request anything." John said.

John Henry didn't like John's insinuation. He knew that neither of the girls ever took advantage of their position. They took their future obligations very seriously and lived their lives around it accordingly.

"You know they don't." John Henry said. "It's a personal mission for Young Allison."

John wondered how Young Allison could have a personal mission in all of this.

"I don't understand." John said.

John Henry as well as all the other Terminators were informed as to what Young Allison's mission was going to be. He found it to be a very admirable act. It was the fact that she wanted to do it on her own that made it even more honorable.

"Young Allison has requested to personally inspect the two drones that received minor damage in the attack on the warehouse." John Henry said. "She wants to help repair the damage herself that was done to the two drones that rammed the doors. She's been very concerned because she asked them to do a task they weren't designed to do and operate beyond their design parameters."

John thought that operation ended very well because of her involvement from the direction things had been headed previous to her suggestions.

"She's the one who saved the day for the girls that night…." John said. "She feels bad about ordering the two drones to ram the doors, instead of blowing them open."

John Henry thought it was very forward thinking on all levels from Young Allison.

"She didn't want to endanger the girls on the ground with shrapnel." John Henry said. "She made the choice for them to ram the doors instead. They didn't know where Ally's team was at inside of the building."

John thought about how he would have handled the situation or even how Cameron would have handled it. Neither one of them actually handled it but if they would have, it would have been with much less finesse.

"That shows a lot of thinking and thoughtfulness on her part." John said. "I don't think Cameron would have used that same restraint."

John Henry believed it was all in the girl's upbringing. Terminators were part of their lives.

"Would you expect anything less from Young Allison or Savannah?" John Henry asked.

John understood the importance of the girls going forward in his life. It was more than just their 'duty' in the bedroom. He was aware that he was a hothead sometimes and he knew like everyone that he made mistakes. He wanted to be a better person going forward. He would need help to do it.

"No, I wouldn't." John said. "I can see they will make me a better and stronger leader. They'll make sure I remain a compassionate leader as well. I need them to 'check' me when I overreach. I need them to speak up and challenge me if I'm wrong."

It also made John very aware he didn't personally follow up on all the damage done to Terminators or any of their equipment. Savannah always did that and now Young Allison was going to do it too. This would further instill a sense of loyalty to the two girls by the machines, all of the machines. This was further proof why he would need them around him in the future.

Cameron, Savannah, Anna and Young Allison flew mostly in silence. They all reflected on the events and what the different outcomes could have been. They all wondered if someone perished previously. There was no way to know why the action that was taken, was taken. There was also a big question as to why everything that they found out only happened with very short notice. It shouldn't have been like that.

Young Allison looked over at Anna and smiled. She looked at Savannah and then at Cameron.

"I think we should have brought Cammy." Young Allison said.

Savannah glanced at Cameron and knew why Cammy really wasn't there. She thought that she would deflect the issue.

"Cammy knew it would be crowded and we would have to leave some of the weapons behind." Savannah said. "Things are fine the way they are now."

Anna felt a little self conscious about the whole thing.

"I offered to go with Holly." Anna said. "I would've traded places with Cammy."

Cameron didn't care for the direction of the discussion. She felt Cammy what redundant and unnecessary.

"I made the decision." Cameron said. "I don't want to discuss it. It doesn't matter now anyway."

Savannah and Young Allison were in the two front seats of the Cessna. She could see Cameron was a little on edge. That bothered her. She didn't want Cameron to feel that way. It was time to do something about it.

"Anna, I want to switch places." Savannah said. "Hold it steady, Allison."

Young Allison currently flew the plane. She quickly glanced at Savannah.

"Check." Young Allison said.

Savannah moved from the front of the plane into the back seat onto Cameron's lap, as Anna moved forward.

Young Allison tried not to concern herself with Savannah and Cameron. She looked into the distance ahead. She'd followed a heading given to her earlier by Cameron.

"What's my new heading going to be?" Young Allison asked. "I'll be in a canyon soon."

Savannah moved next to Cameron in the back seat and took her glitching hand.

Cameron was pleased at Savannah's concern for her. She wanted to reassure Young Allison she was on the correct heading. She needed to give her some landing instructions that were going to be somewhat unusual.

"Your heading is correct." Cameron said. "Set down on the dirt road. It's two miles in. Use the three parallel rocks as your runway marker. Stop one thousand feet past that."

Cameron looked over at Savannah and smiled.

Savannah squeezed her hand gently. She wanted to give Cameron some reassurance about everything that happened recently.

"Everything worked out today, Cameron." Savannah said.

Cameron was pleased that everything worked out in the end. It was the fact that the timing seemed off that bothered her. It shouldn't have been like that at all.

"It was close, several times." Cameron said. "I don't think it was intended to be so close."

Savannah had been troubled by the same group of facts.

"So you're saying if this was something that Allison hasn't done yet, even though she apparently has, the timing shouldn't have been down to only seconds, without us really knowing what we were doing." Savannah said.

Cameron was unsure of the exact cause but it seemed there'd been some Skynet involvement somewhere along the way. She did understand everything was set up a half century ago when Cammy and Sheila were in the past.

"Yes." Cameron said. "That shows Skynet has changed or is changing things in the past and the present."

Young Allison wondered what would happen if when she actually did this in the past, that was still somehow in the future, if she could change the timing.

"I'll tell Cammy to notify us sooner." Young Allison said.

Cameron was sure that already occurred.

"I believe you did." Cameron said.

Savannah had given the issue a lot of thought herself based upon the close timing of events. She didn't believe that that was correct either. She actually wondered if they were even supposed to be there. They'd followed the armored car from the Syndicate run casino into the desert to see where it would end up at. The fact that everything was set up to detonate automatically further made her wonder about their presence. It was completely unnecessary.

"Maybe we weren't supposed to even be out there." Savannah said. "Everything was set up on a timer with Cammy's other power cell. We didn't actually contribute anything."

Cameron was very dissatisfied with the danger that Savannah and Young Allison had been put in. She wanted that changed.

"I want to speak with Cammy in the past myself." Cameron said.

Savannah didn't see what good it would do at this point. The event had already come and gone. They weren't going to relive that same event again. The only way to do that was with an alternate timeline. That sounded like an even worse idea.

"You will change even more things." Savannah said. "I don't think it's a good idea."

Young Allison brought the plane in low and touched down next to the three parallel rocks and completed her roll out for one thousand feet. She looked around at the rocky landscape on both sides of her.

"We're here." Young Allison said. "I don't see anything."

Savannah looked around as well. She determined whatever they were to look for was hidden. The trick was to determine where the hiding place was. It was certainly not evident.

"I think that's the idea." Savannah said. "See those tailings over there."

Young Allison looked where Savannah pointed.

"I see the piled up dirt and rocks." Young Allison said.

Savannah thought about the entrance to the complex where Skynet was hidden in Cameron's future. The landscape reminded her very much of that area. She knew where the hidden access was to get into the Skynet complex because she saw Grays and a Terminator come out of it.

"I bet there is a concealed entrance near there." Savannah said. "Let's go see if we can find it."

Young Allison was up to the task. She looked over and Anna. It looked like Cameron and Savannah needed some 'alone time'.

"OK, whoever finds it first wins." Young Allison said. "Anna and I will look first."

Young Allison and Anna hopped out and went to look.

Cameron and Savannah were now alone. It wasn't an accident.

"Is there anything we need to talk about?" Savannah asked.

Cameron felt very troubled by the earlier events. They continue to eat away at her.

"I almost got everyone terminated today, again." Cameron said.

Savannah didn't think it should be a problem. Everything worked out.

"You didn't." Savannah said. "Not yet anyway."

Cameron thought about the various operations that they'd experienced since yesterday. She felt she'd run up quite a list of errors. Most of them were errors that shouldn't have happened. She looked at Savannah with her big doe eyes.

"You and Young Allison have needed to make decisions that prevented me from making foolish or rash mistakes." Cameron said. "I've made some bad calls recently."

Savannah felt Cameron already possessed the solution.

"Maybe you need to think things through a little longer or ask yourself what we would do." Savannah said. "That's what we do. You're the one who's trained both of us."

They could hear Young Allison and Anna off to the side.

"I found it." Young Allison said in the distance. "I won."

Cameron looked over in that direction. There were things she needed to do.

"Maybe we better go in." Cameron said.

They exited the plane and started to walk in that direction.

Savannah could see that Cameron was still troubled. She wanted to give her some positive reinforcement.

"I'm always here to listen to you and help you, Cameron." Savannah said. "It's my function to assist you with 'everything'."

Cameron was aware how she altered and changed Savannah's life. It didn't leave her with a good feeling. It left her with an even worse feeling to know she was going to do it again and had progressed along that avenue quite a ways.

"I know, Savannah." Cameron said. "Now I'm going to do the same things to Young Allison. I have already started on most of them."

Savannah wanted to remind Cameron that they were both on board with everything that was happening.

"It's what we want." Savannah said. "We want to learn and be better."

Cameron still felt a sense of guilt.

"I have stifled and controlled both of your lives." Cameron said. "You both should be at the mall shopping or out with friends. You shouldn't need to face Terminators, death or nuclear explosions."

Savannah knew that life was about choices. There was nothing to stop her from doing any of the things another females of her age were doing.

"I'm free to do that at any time." Savannah said. "This is the life and future I've chosen. I'm with the people I want to be with. I'm where I want to be."

Cameron wondered if she hadn't leaned on Young Allison even more disproportionately.

"What about Young Allison?" Cameron asked.

Savannah had been very watchful over Young Allison to make sure she was never pushed beyond what she could handle.

"I've made every option known and available to her." Savannah said. "She's doing what she's chosen to do as well."

Cameron was worried she'd made it an 'obligation' to the girls more than a choice.

"You're doing it out of duty." Cameron said.

Savannah knew that was only part of the reason. There was a much deeper calling involved.

"That's part of it." Savannah said. "You know the real reason."

Cameron understood that reason as well. It didn't bother her any the less.

"You're risking everything repeatedly, out of love." Cameron said.

Savannah wanted to reassure Cameron of her commitment.

"I'll never abandon you." Savannah said.

Cameron could see how deeply Savannah was committed to her. It bothered her immensely.

"Even if it kills you…." Cameron said.

Savannah looked Cameron square in the face. She wanted Cameron to know that what she did was her choice.

"Even if it kills me…." Savannah said.

It was clear to Cameron that both girls would die for her out of love. Her existence could never be worth their lives. These girls were too special to die because of her.

Savannah held Cameron's hand as they walked. The two times she went to release it, it started to glitch again.

Cameron made a decision that would determine her fate. She thought it was necessary for the survival of the girls going forward. She was simply too dangerous to be around.

"Savannah, I want you to do two things for me." Cameron said.

Savannah smiled at Cameron to reassure her.

"You know I will." Savannah said. "Name it."

Cameron turned and looked at Savannah with total seriousness. She'd already made up her mind.

"I want to share everything with you and make love with you one time." Cameron said. "Then I want you to deactivate me…."

What If I Did

I see you smirk
I see you smug
I'm not the one
That you always hug

You don't know the pain
Of watching someone steal
The one that you love
The one who is ideal

You almost laugh
To you it's a joke
How can you not see
How my heart you have broke

Blame it on another
It was still your move
Did you care who you hurt
Whatever you wanted to prove

It would seem like a knife
As into your heart it was slid
Ask yourself how it would feel
What if I did

Nobody