Chapter 1093

Where To

Cam was at the target location. She wanted to take the risks herself so the others didn't need to. She was aware of the imminent danger. She was willing to take the heat. The call from Young Allison made her rethink her decision to enter. The recent episode with the building the Fanatics were in that exploded was a painful reminder. Things could go wrong and go wrong fast. It wasn't just one Fanatic location either, it had been several. It seemed that the Fanatics took poison if they couldn't blow themselves up. Sometimes they actually did both.

On that last operation Savannah was there to whisk Cameron and Cammy away while a drone used itself to shield them. It was a drone that Young Allison previously used to assist the girls. It was damaged slightly. Young Allison assisted in the repairs previously with Savannah. Now they were on their way to repair it again. She appreciated that level of concern for machines from humans. It was apparent that the 'Chosen Ones' were exactly what the name implied.

Cam could clearly see the implication of what could go wrong where she was at now. She moved away from the door she was about to force open and continued along the side of the building to the front. When she reached the front she looked like she was going to pass in front of the building. Instead she moved rapidly off to the side and away from the structure. It took her out of the immediate blast zone if the building detonated.

With the warning that she'd received earlier, she was very worried it might blow up. It made her wonder what she'd been thinking earlier when she was going to force it open. She knew that was the 'Cameron' in her. The seconds seemed like hours as she moved away from the building. She wanted all the others to get some distance as well.

"I'm clear." Cam said. "I want everyone else to fallback."

Cam gave instructions that they would all take up new positions and wait for darkness. It wouldn't be that long. The drone scans would give them some better insight as to what was inside.

She also hoped they would be able to detect anyone hiding in a nearby building that was waiting to command detonate the explosives in the building. That's if there were any explosives in the building. They had no idea what was in the building now or previously.

Cam looked over the building and tried to determine what it could have been used for. There was really no way to tell. Skynet and its offshoots could be up to anything. As far as they knew, the Syndicate could have used it as a drug lab and the Grays found out about it.

Ally left Derek and Kyle off at the Resistance base. She decided to return to the area where the recon was conducted. It was actually surveillance at this point. She went over what she knew so far. It started out as a recon but seemed to have evolved. It stemmed from a report that Kyle made that the area looked sanitized. She could understand why Cam wanted to look inside to see if she could tell what happened in there.

She wanted to join up with Sheila. She was almost back to the location where they'd observed the structure from earlier. She contacted Sheila and Gail. They set up a rendezvous point. They'd moved to a different location.

Ally thought maybe she should grab Sheila and head to Cameron's base and interrogate the female prisoner. Maybe she was already dead at this point. They were under the assumption that she was. That may just be something they'd been told so they didn't feel obligated at the time to stay. It seems very unlikely that CamNet would allow the prisoner to be terminated that quickly. If the prisoner was still alive, she wanted some answers. She would encourage Sheila to carve her up good. She didn't like Fanatics. They actually didn't know what group she was from for sure. They would need to check first.

Vanna was glad that Cam was away from the structure for now. After what almost happened to Cameron and Cammy, she was glad that Cam didn't need to face the same thing.

"It seems the risk is very great for what appears to be a small payoff." Vanna said. "Maybe someone needs to rethink everything."

John Henry was aware that they had nothing but a text message to work from. It was the only reason they'd done the recon.

"We don't know how any of this is connected or if it is even related." John Henry said.

It was more personal to Vanna. She didn't see any value to the current target. She wanted to make it clear to both John and John Henry what she was worried about.

"I don't want Cam to be damaged for nothing." Vanna said.

John didn't either. He was pleased with the call from Young Allison. He was even more impressed that she made it and not Savannah. She was stepping up. It was only a matter of time until there was going to be a teenage version of her in his bed. He didn't think that was a bad thing at this point. He really hoped that she might 'visit' him before she went into the past. He wanted to make sure he was the one to 'bust' her. He was sure that once that was out of the way, the sexual activity would pick up. He hoped it would really pick up when she returned from the past. He was pretty sure he was going to be with Young Allison before he was with Savannah.

He understood Vanna's main desire was for females. He doubted Savannah's was any different. He was sure once Young Allison was in his bed, Savannah would be there soon enough as well. He needed to refocus on the current operation.

"I agree." John said. "Sometimes it's hard to get people to listen."

Vanna knew how Cam thought. She wasn't done yet. Normally Cam wasn't on combat operations. She knew this was a recon that it turned into surveillance. It had all the makings to turn into combat. She did know that Cam went out with Cameron sometimes when she conducted some of her 'off the books' operations.

"I want to know what Cam does next." Vanna said. "She's not even supposed to be out there."

John Henry wanted to give Vanna some reassurance.

"Gail and Sheila are there. Ally is on her way." John Henry said. "Bob, Jim, Al and Mel are all there as well." John said.

Vanna saw a bigger threat with that many Terminators.

"That's eight Terminators for a simple recon." Vanna said. "There are six drones for support to boot. This is more like surveillance that's going to go hot at this point."

John could see how the operation kept expanding in scope.

"That's a little more than normal." John said. "There were a lot of resources available for this operation. Don't forget we had a little outside assistance to make sure of that.

They all knew that Cameron and Savannah would be there too at this point if they weren't out of the area. It would be Savannah next to Cameron taking the risk. Just the thought of that bothered him immensely.

Cameron gave Savannah the heading where to fly. It was the same location where they'd landed in the Cessna before.

Savannah didn't know for sure how many locations Cameron and CamNet controlled. She was aware of all the Resistance hiding places for stockpiling equipment and supplies.

"I think that Allison and I should know where all of your caches of equipment are at." Savannah said.

Cameron didn't have a problem with that. It would be a little complicated for them to know where all of them were.

"We'll work on that later on." Cameron said.

Savannah took an indirect route there. She looked the area over before setting down in a cloud of dust. She checked over all the instruments before she shut the turbine down.

They all exited the helicopter. Savannah took Young Allison and made a brief inspection of the aircraft to look for anything loose or leaking. Everything looked good. That was normally the case. She never found a problem on any of her inspections. She didn't want to get complacent and cut corners. Whenever she had the opportunity she would do the inspection herself. If a Terminator had done the inspection for her and she needed to do something in a hurry, she would trust their judgment and ability. She liked to do things herself when she could. They would give it a full inspection before takeoff as well.

The group headed for the concealed opening.

Savannah remembered the greeting that they'd received the last time. It'd been a little more than they'd anticipated.

"Are we going to see a couple of HK Tracks waiting for us again?" Savannah asked.

Cameron hoped that was the case. It would indicate that everything was secure.

"Yes." Cameron said. "It wasn't that long ago we were here. Not much has changed. It was just the other day."

They could hear the whine of a drone as it approached them. It caught Savannah and Young Allison off guard.

Cameron didn't want them to worry. She remembered their reaction to the HK Tracks last time.

"It's our drone." Cameron said. "It's the drone that we're here to see."

The quietness of the drone impressed Young Allison. She'd always kept some distance between the drone and what she wanted it to observe or attack. She really liked the new power plant design.

"That drone was almost on top of us before I could hear it." Young Allison said. "It's good to know. They can be used real close at night."

Savannah wondered about the progress of the drone retrofit program. It had been a big boost to their operation to get the new design.

"Have all of our drones been modified with the engine upgrades to be this quiet?" Savannah asked. "I know the program was started."

Cameron understood the advantage the quieter drones would give them on operations. It had been a top priority among her Terminators to retrofit all of their drones. That included all of her drones as well. She controlled a substantial amount of equipment at this point. Well, CamNet did.

"It's complete." Cameron said. "There have been personnel working on it nonstop since we obtained the quieter power plant design."

Cammy moved ahead of Savannah and Anna moved in back of Young Allison. Cameron was between Savannah and Young Allison as they walked.

Savannah entered the code and the 'rock' opened in front of them. There were two HK Tracks that guarded the entrance. The girls didn't back away this time when they encountered them. They waited for the drone to go inside and power down. The sound level was still pretty intense in close quarters. The group entered the 'hanger'. Savannah and Young Allison greeted the two HK Tracks before they approached the drone.

Young Allison felt a little guilty about the abuse of the HK equipment. She did what needed to be done, when it needed to be done, both times. The drones followed the mission plan each time. They were willing to take the damage to complete their mission for her. She knew of the saying that, 'everyone sacrifices for John Connor'. She was pretty sure that carried over to Savannah and her when it came to the HK equipment that the Resistance and CamNet controlled.

Young Allison approached the drone.

"Is this the one I damaged?" Young Allison asked.

Cameron could see Young Allison was bothered by her actions. She also knew that Young Allison did what needed to be done. That was what she would need to do in the future. There were casualties in combat. People died, machines were destroyed.

"Yes." Cameron said. "You gave it a choice."

Young Allison noted the name 'Cherry Bomb' on the side. It was the drone that Savannah named for her. It saddened her a little more to know she'd abused the same drone previously.

"This is the one I damaged before." Young Allison said. "It has the markings we put on it."

Cameron was informed of the drone usage from each location. The current location she was in now saw the most drone usage. It was by the same two drones even if other ones accompanied them. They had a very high sense of personal loyalty to anything related to Savannah or Young Allison.

"This drone always volunteers when any from this storage area are needed." Cameron said. "This one and the other one you repaired too, 'Coltan Overcast', are always ready for every operation."

Young Allison wanted to name the other one 'Pink Butterfly'. Savannah felt it was too suggestive of her anatomy. She changed the name before it was applied to 'Coltan Overcast' instead.

Savannah saw the same two drones support her before. She couldn't tell any of the other ones that were part of a mission from each other. She could only identify the two drones that Young Allison and her worked on and repaired before. They were the two drones that risked termination to protect her out in the field.

"Why do they volunteer for a mission?" Savannah asked. "Because of the personal attention we paid to them?"

Cameron knew that it was deeper than that. She was aware of what the drones had done on their own. Whenever they were active they communicated with other active drones as well as any active HK Tracks that guarded them. They made sure that all of the Resistance equipment understood what was done.

"Yes." Cameron said. "The two drones you helped repair have communicated with the other drones when they are called to service and have spread the word."

Young Allison wanted to know more.

"What word?" Young Allison asked.

Cameron was very proud as to why. It was something that the girls had done on their own. It wasn't done through any prompting by her or any suggestions by her. It was what the girls wanted to do because they knew it was the right thing. It was the right thing too.

"The word that the 'Chosen Ones' will make sure they are repaired if damaged and not scrapped. If they are destroyed and their chip is recoverable, they will be given a new chassis." Cameron said. "The drones and other equipment are all personally loyal to both of you."

Cammy wanted to stress that all the machines were personally loyal to Savannah and Young Allison.

"That goes for all the Terminators too." Cammy said. "Not just the female ones either."

Savannah wondered what would happen if Young Allison or her decided to start a 'Skynet' of their own. Then again, it was to prevent that very thing. Even if Skynet was started by anyone in the Resistance, the machines would be loyal to Young Allison and her. It would prevent Cameron's fear of becoming 'Skynet' from ever happening.

Young Allison went over and gently touched the drone. She carefully looked it over.

"It doesn't appear damaged other than a few new scratches." Young Allison said.

Cameron wanted to point out why the drone landed shortly after they'd arrived.

"That's why it was still operational and shadowing us." Cameron said. "It volunteered for that duty as well."

Savannah came over and touched the drone too. She remembered her recent personal interaction with it.

"Thank you for watching out for us." Savannah said. "Thank you for watching out for me. I saw you 'look out' for me at the port. I appreciated that."

Young Allison saw some rags and started to clean the drone off. There was some grime buildup on it from its recent service. Savannah helped her. It was a personal 'thank you'.

They both drew a heart shaped smiley face on it again.

"My mom always used to give me a kiss on any area I scraped, bruised or got a small cut on." Young Allison said.

Young Allison gave the drone a small kiss on several of its damaged areas. She repeated what her mother told her.

"There, you're all better now." Young Allison said.

Cammy, Anna and Cameron all watched.

So did the two Terminators that were there and the HK Tracks standing guard. It was clear the "Chosen Ones' truly cared about the machines.

Savannah greeted the Terminators on duty. They were two that she'd seen at Cameron's base before. They were different from the two that were there the last time.

She wanted Young Allison to meet and interact with both of them. She indicated each one in turn.

"This is Richard and Michael." Savannah said to Young Allison.

Young Allison shook their hands and touched each one on the cheek like Savannah did.

They both visibly reacted to the two girls. They smiled and shared some small talk. They were clearly charmed by Savannah and Young Allison.

Cameron noted the blank looks on their faces fade and soon smiles appeared. It happened very quickly as they interacted with the girls. The very presence and attention of Savannah and Young Allison caused a notable physical response in the Terminators.

Savannah and Young Allison made the rounds and physically touched the HK Tracks and other drones. All of them came out of standby so they were active as the girls interacted with them.

Cameron was pleased with the effect on all the machines. It was clear that the girls were special to everyone. They were the most special to her as well. She didn't like what she needed to do next. She thought about not doing it but she knew it needed to be done. She had second thoughts and hesitated.

Savannah noted that Cameron seemed reluctant about something. That wasn't usually a good sign. She decided to prompt her.

"What will we do next?" Savannah asked.

Cameron looked at the two girls a long moment before she responded. She didn't think she could go through with what needed to be done. Maybe they should just go.

"I think we're done here." Cameron said.

Savannah wondered why they actually came here since there was no significant damage to repair. She wondered if it was to keep her away from the area where Cam and her team were conducting the recon that looked a lot like the one that went bad. Well, almost bad. They'd all made it out of there in one piece.

Young Allison wasn't sure what they were doing out there in the middle of nowhere. They didn't need to be there for this. Maybe it was to meet the new Terminators she'd never seen before and to interact with the equipment. Then again it could be so Cameron could spend more time with both Savannah and her at the same time. Usually when Cameron spent time with either one, they weren't normally with the other one.

They exited the 'hanger' and headed for the Iroquois. Savannah did a once around with Young Allison and Anna. Cameron and Cammy were still talking to the Terminators there.

Cammy saw them look at them and came down to where they were getting ready to enter the helicopter.

"It looks like we're all set." Cammy said.

Savannah wondered even more about what this was all about. She wanted to ask but felt Cameron wouldn't be in a talkative mood about it.

Cameron finished up with her two Terminators and headed back down to the helicopter.

The drone they'd 'inspected' powered up and took off. It went almost straight up to a high altitude.

Cameron watched the drone disappear into the sky and turned towards the girls.

"The drone has requested to return to its assignment of watching over us on our return flight." Cameron said.

Allison looked towards the western sky.

"It will be almost dark when we get back." Young Allison said.

Savannah knew the visibility wouldn't be as good at that point. She could wear night vision goggles but they tended to mess with her perspective. She'd gotten a little better used to them over time.

"I've flown in the dark before." Savannah said. "Three people here have really good vision at night if I need it."

The Metal girls smiled. It never mattered if it was dark or light with their various vision spectrums.

Savannah and Cameron strapped in and started the takeoff procedure.

Anna sat with Young Allison as Savannah prepared to do everything again.

"Allison, you tell me what to do for the start up." Savannah said. "Do you remember?"

The procedure of what to do was already in Young Allison's mind.

"I remember everything." Young Allison said. "I feel like I could do it in my sleep."

Anna looked away and saw Cammy smile at her.

In a short time the Huey was burning and turning.

"Where to, what else is up?" Savannah asked Cameron.

Cameron looked at Savannah and Young Allison.

Savannah saw a slight glitch in Cameron's hand.

"I'm not sure…." Cameron said.

Savannah wondered what was up. This mission, that seemed over now, may actually be just about to begin.

Everyone headed out from the commissary. The meal was over. They'd caught up with each other. They'd shared a good time of fellowship together.

Jesse went with Riley and Precious while Samantha filled Derek in on everything that happened at the doctor's office. He already received a preliminary report but she gave him a detailed one. It was almost word for word as to what the doctor said. She'd heard everything through her com.

Claire cleaned up the commissary with Jan and Summer. She would instruct them on some music and dance lessons afterwards. Hanna and Holly would assist them.

Kyle and Sarah headed back to their room.

Sarah decided to 'reward' Kyle since he'd stayed out of a potential and needless combat situation.

Once Kyle found out what was waiting for him. He didn't feel so bad about missing out on the operation. He knew if he'd stayed on the operation and it turned hot. What they were about to do wouldn't happen for a week or more. He followed after Sarah.

Sarah used positive and negative reinforcement to keep him out of harm's way as much as possible. She didn't like to play the 'sex card' but it did serve as a reminder to Kyle to think twice about some things. She never minded a little alone time to polish her pearl.

She wondered if Kyle had stayed out at the recon site, which now appeared to be surveillance, if she would have done something with Claire instead. It didn't necessarily need to be anything sexual. It could be just the two of them hanging out and interacting together. She was pretty sure once their personal relationship expanded a little further that other things might happen as well.

Sarah looked over at Kyle. She was ready for that interaction with Claire. She was actually ready for it with any of the girls. She always thought it would be Vanna first but it never happened. She was good to go with Allison or Jesse. So far that hadn't happened yet either. She was even willing to give it a try with Riley.

When she thought of Riley she felt a little guilty. She remembered the time that she held Allison's Model 66 in her hand and thumbed back the hammer. She was going to go into John's room and kill Riley. That was when Cameron was away for several months and they didn't know what her fate was. Riley had just gone into John's room after making numerous overt sexual overtures to him.

She didn't want Cameron's memory soiled with Riley again. Bob and John Henry were there to do the same thing. They would've just snapped Riley's neck. She was going to blow Riley's brains out. Now if the opportunity ever arose for her to be with Riley, she was going to take it. She didn't know which one of the girls it would be but she felt it would be one of them and it wouldn't be that long from now. Her best prospect seemed to be Claire. She needed to refocus.

Right now she was with Kyle and she intended to please him in every way possible. She was glad he wasn't injured or worse from his recent experience out in the field. She would urge him to please her as a female would. She wouldn't mention that specifically. She really didn't think that he would mind too much if she were to have a girlfriend on the side. Right now she needed to be with him. It was something to look forward to. She still couldn't get the girls out of her mind as she started in. Claire seemed to be there the most of all in her thoughts.

Vanna was still very worried about Cam being out in the field. Normally Cam did anything like that when she was asleep so she couldn't worry about her. The Metal girls all did things at night. If there was no Skynet related activity, future Scavengers would be targeted.

"I would like to stay here for awhile, John." Vanna said.

John could see Vanna was very concerned and still apprehensive. Unless something changed, he didn't think there was going to be any action at that site for a while.

"I understand." John said.

Allison joined Vanna in the Command Center. She sat next to Vanna and held her hand. The long time lovers shared a bond deeper than sex. She looked over the monitors to see what else was happening.

"Is there any other Skynet related activity?" Allison asked.

John Henry didn't want to cause the girls any more worry than necessary.

"No. It's been a quiet day." John Henry said. "Unlike the last few days have been."

Vanna thought about the last few days.

"Is that normal?" Vanna asked. "Cameron and the girls just went through an episode like this. That's why I'm so worried."

John Henry thought the main uptick inactivity was because of the Syndicate. It was the Syndicate's interaction with the Grays that involved them. It was their interaction with the Grays that brought them into contact with the Fanatics.

"They may be related." John Henry said. "We need more information."

Allison would like to have a little more concrete information to work with herself.

"How do you know?" Allison asked. "When will you know?"

Vanna believed she knew the answer to that one.

"We'll know when the building blows up." Vanna said.

It was evident that Vanna wasn't joking.

John hoped they would have a little more control over that.

"When it's dark, we'll have a drone do a low altitude scan." John said.

Vanna didn't think this operation was even started yet. She was sure that the main reason Derek and Kyle were sent away from the area wasn't so they could enjoy the meal with them. She thought it was a sign of impending combat. It was at least a dangerous situation.

"Is the building big enough for one drone to blow the rear roll up door off and go inside?" Vanna asked. "I have a bad feeling about this. I know that's why Derek and Kyle are back."

Allison wasn't sure that was a good idea.

"It could damage the drone." Allison said. "If it's a trap for anyone on the ground, it will be for a drone as well if it goes inside of the building."

Allison was aware the drone could operate autonomously if necessary. That meant they could 'think' and make decisions. She wondered if it would make a difference who gave it instructions to do that.

Vanna knew that too. It would be damaging one machine to protect another machine. The difference was, it wouldn't be HER machine that was damaged. She thought that might seem a little selfish but she didn't want any Terminator damaged.

John Henry felt they all needed to wait. It was too early to make any determinations or take any action.

"We'll come up with something once the drone makes its scans." John Henry said.

John could see that Vanna was deeply concerned about Cam. It made him think about Cameron. He felt that way too when Cameron was out.

Now it made John wonder what else Cameron was up to at this time. It worried him more now Savannah and Young Allison were with her.

He wanted her to protect all of them.

Maybe they were there to protect Cameron.

Maybe they all needed to protect each other.

Where To

There are many paths in life
Some are a new avenue
Others are a dead end
A few are even taboo

Will one of them lead
To our own Waterloo
Or leave us stranded
In a far off place like Timbuktu

When do we know to run
Or who to or not to pursue
We can read it wrong
With a simple miscue

Maybe the trouble is
That no one thinks it through
It doesn't seem to take much
For anyone to misconstrue

There are many things
We think are overdue
When we obtain them
They are things we overdo

Maybe it's now the time
To make a special rendezvous
When they are ready
Ask them where to

Nobody