Chapter 472

Temporal Target

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Future Timeline - Undetermined Error:

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Cammy carried Savannah so they could cover the distance more quickly to the suspected Skynet location. She was concerned about Savannah's well being. Since the outfits she fabricated were very crude, along with the fabricated footwear being equally crude, she didn't want any injuries to occur to Savannah.

Savannah held the handmade weapons Cammy made. She appreciated the level of concern Cammy exhibited towards her. She also became more concerned about their destination as they neared it. She suggested several times for Cammy let her walk, so Cammy could be combat ready. It seemed as if they were in the enemy's backyard. Cammy needed to be ready when Skynet wanted them to 'get off its lawn'.

Cammy wanted to get as close to the Skynet facility as she could first. She hoped to find an out of the way location where she could secure Savannah when she went to take a closer look.

Savannah didn't want to be a burden or endanger Cammy. She thought they were close enough to the location now where extreme caution needed to be employed. There could be sensors or other things set out to detect intruders.

"Cammy, I can walk for a while." Savannah said. "You need to be on guard for the unknown. We are very close to enemy territory."

Cammy took a long look around her. The area seemed relatively secure for the moment. She set Savannah down. She carried her for fifteen miles so far. They made good time. They covered quite a lot of ground rapidly this way. She didn't run, but took long and fast Terminator steps. It gave Savannah a smoother ride. It also left a distinctive set of footprints. She tried to avoid any soft soil when it was possible. It wasn't always possible. She kept track of what happened behind her. She didn't think anyone was behind them. She hoped they wouldn't need to be in the area for very long.

They neared the area where Cammy saw the HK drone disappear. They should start to encounter Skynet sensors soon, if they hadn't already. None were detected or observed so far. It was possible she could have missed some.

They tried to be very careful. They didn't know if they already were detected, or were being watched. Cammy again said she thought Skynet would try to capture them if possible. Their unusual 'clothing' was bound to raise some questions with anyone they encountered.

Cammy looked at a location not far off to the side which looked like a more promising location to stash Savannah. She needed to worry about Skynet patrols, Terminators, and HK drones.

She gave the area a closer look and was satisfied. She secured Savannah in a small ravine surrounded by rocks and small trees. There was even a small spring there. The water would drip out, one drop at a time, from the rocks. It disappeared as quickly into the damp dirt below. There was probably some subterranean branch of the spring as well based on the increased vegetation in the area. There was a line of greenery alongside the ravine. Unfortunately there was no liquid water present, other than the small drops from the rock.

If Skynet was there, they probably tapped into the water source as well for the Grays. They could use the water too for other things. Cooling something would be one of them. If there was any type of manufacturing done, water might be part of the process.

Maybe the spring was unknown to Skynet. It could be Skynet disrupted something in the side of the hill, and redirected part of the underground spring to come to the surface where it did. It might even be something which would be blocked by mineral buildup in a very short time. It could be gone a week from now.

Cammy checked the water. It was consumable. It would take several hours to fill the canteen. She asked Savannah to drink the water in the canteen now. Savannah hadn't used any yet. She knew it took a lot of willpower not to drink it all right away, let alone not to have taken a drop. She wedged the canteen into the rock to let it fill. It was going to take some time to fill, one drop at a time.

She was worried Savannah wouldn't use any. Savannah needed the water to re-hydrate. She wanted to make it clear, but not make it an issue. She already noticed Savannah's breasts all but stopped producing the more her body was taxed.

"Let it fill an inch, then you can drink half of it. Try to let it fill as full as you can." Cammy said. "You need to drink some. Don't neglect yourself. You need the water. I don't want you to get sick from dehydration or have any adverse complications. The water is some of the least contaminated I've seen in the future. It's probably better than some of the water distributed by cities with ancient wood and lead pipes. As strange as it sounds, there are actually quite a few older cities with such equipment still."

Savannah could see Cammy was concerned and reluctant to leave. She felt she was in a good hiding place for now. She didn't want Cammy to worry. She would drink some of the water.

"I will, Cammy." Savannah said. "Go scout around. I'll remain here. I have my spear and rock knife. There are several places I can conceal myself if necessary to avoid detection by an HK drone."

Cammy needed to get started. She needed to probe the Skynet facility if there actually was one there. She stood before Savannah, their eyes locked. They both thought the same thing.

Savannah didn't want to make it emotional, even if it was.

"I know, Cammy, I do too." Savannah said and gave Cammy a quick kiss.

Cammy hesitated. She reached out and touched Savannah's arm.

"I don't know what I'll find." Cammy said. "I don't know when I'll be back."

They both knew it could be the last time they saw each other.

"We both love each other." Savannah said. "We don't need to say it. We live it."

Cammy handed Savannah the revolver. She didn't want to say what she needed to say, but she said it anyway.

"There are only two rounds. I don't know if either will fire." Cammy said. "If you encounter more than two Scavengers…."

The unfinished sentence said it all, with finality.

Savannah understood the 'option'. It was something to think about. If there were more than two Scavengers they would be able to capture her.

"I know, Cammy." Savannah said. "Save the last one for myself…."

Both of them felt the weight of the world on them.

Cammy moved out wordlessly. A single tear slid down her cheek. She didn't want to look back. She was sure if she did it would be the last time she ever saw Savannah….

Cammy quickly regained her composure. She needed to be what she was. She needed to be a Terminator. She spotted some surveillance devices as she moved closer to where she thought the Skynet base or outpost was at. She carefully avoided them. She knew if she disabled them, a Terminator would be sent to investigate. It could actually be something worse. Skynet might dispatch some HK drones. If the HK drones came, they would spot both her and Savannah in short order. There was really no hiding place to hide there from an HK drone. She would rather face another Terminator rather than an HK drone. With only a bow, arrows, a few spears, and rocks, she didn't stand a chance.

If the HK drone hadn't been out searching for them earlier, Cammy never would have known to come there. Everything was too well hidden. She placed her ear to a flat rock on ground. She needed to listen for machinery or any other sounds. She was unable to detect any at first. She remained where she was and concentrated. It took a while and then she heard it.

The closer she got, the more she could hear it when she listened to the ground. She could now detect minute vibrations as well. There was a power source inside somewhere. She wasn't sure how. The location might be a Skynet mainframe, or at least a major hub. There was probably a TDE inside of the location as well. There was certainly some type of underground activity.

Cammy was sure Skynet must have been using a TDE when they came through time and they were drawn there because of the temporal activity. Skynet must have detected them, or some error or anomaly occurred in their transfers. It was significant enough to make Skynet blow their cover and search for them. The fact the TDE was on may have acted somewhat like the beacon, 'in some future'. There was always a major surge of energy when it was used.

Now she was there. It was time to say 'hello'. She was 'Cameron', just not updated. She was going to look for her, Father. She hoped Savannah was going to be safe out there. She didn't think she would come back….

Cammy knew if she could reach the parent Skynet computer. She was going to terminate it no matter what it took or cost. It would protect Savannah, both Johns, every Allison, and the future. It should also help protect the past if Skynet was using its TDE. The longer it ran, the more damage they could do to the past. She pressed ahead with grim determination.

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Resistance Base - Current Timeline:

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Gail and Jesse headed back to their SUV. The building they just left was a roaring inferno behind them. They ended up with more questions than answers. The operation they brought down was only a satellite facility to a larger operation.

"It looks like we have a bigger target." Jesse said.

Gail was a little worried. They normally dealt with small time future Scavengers. The operation Jesse pursued right now was more in the scope of what Cameron did with Sheila and Ally most of the time. They were always provided with the full backing of CamNet and Cameron's Terminators if needed. Drones were also available to them. She didn't want Jesse to get too wrapped up in the operation without additional resources.

"I need to worry about your safety on what we're doing." Gail said. "I can take the punishment, you can't. A larger organization is going to be more difficult to deal with."

Jesse could see Gail was genuinely worried about her. She wanted to let Gail know she didn't intend to endanger either of them needlessly. They would at least need to probe the target to make a better determination as to what they faced.

"I appreciate your concern." Jesse said. "I also know you wouldn't say anything to me about this under normal conditions."

Gail didn't like to upset Jesse.

"I always do what you want." Gail said. "I also need to warn you of excess danger. It would be negligent on my part if I didn't do so. The current circumstances we're about to face warrant the warning."

Jesse knew it was true. Gail always did what she wanted them to do. It applied from what they were doing now, to anything in the bedroom. Gail was always very receptive to her desires.

"I know you do." Jesse said. "I don't want to abuse you in any way."

She didn't want to cause a problem with Gail. Maybe things were a little more involved this time. They didn't usually do a frontal assault. She needed to rethink her position and evaluate what needed to be done going forward.

"Maybe we need to take a step back." Jesse said. "Maybe I need to take a step back."

Gail could tell she upset Jesse some. She could think of a few options available to them.

"I can ask some of the Metal girls to assist us." Gail said.

Jesse liked to keep what they did low key. If they started to involve others, it could turn into a problem. She didn't want to attract attention to her 'free time' activities. She was aware when someone pushed too hard on something, there would always be some type of push back.

They were back at the SUV now.

"I don't want to push it and get 'banned' from what we do." Jesse said. "We're helping people, and taking future Scavengers off of the street. You saw how they treat females."

Gail was aware Jesse needed to endure such abuse before for many years on and off. It was always done under the threat of further abuse and termination.

"I know you want retribution." Gail said.

Jesse did want retribution. She wanted it against the men who 'took' her when she was younger. There was no retribution for it. There were dozens and dozens of them over the years as she grew up. She couldn't turn back the clock, even if it was in the future. She could help spare other females going forward by making sure there would be fewer future Scavengers. She couldn't let her anger and hatred consume her.

"I'm losing my perspective." Jesse said. "Thank you for pointing it out."

Gail could see Jesse was upset.

"You can drive." Gail said.

Jesse knew Gail asked her to do it to keep her mind off on things.

"Sure, love." Jesse said.

Gail planned to take down the operation on her own later on once Jesse was asleep. If she eliminated the threat herself, Jesse wouldn't need to go.

She opened the roll-up door and Jesse drove out with the SUV. She closed it behind them.

"I'm not trying to cause a problem." Gail said.

Jesse was sure she knew where Gail 'learned' to speak up from.

"You've been talking to Savannah." Jesse said.

Gail didn't see anything wrong with it. Savannah was the greatest. She made her feel comfortable. They could talk about anything. All of the Terminators felt the same way about Savannah. She seemed to understand them better than everyone else. It actually seemed to include other Terminators.

"I enjoy her company." Gail said. "She loves Jesse, Young Jesse very much."

Jesse knew where the conversation was headed. She could see things a little clearer now the more she thought about them. Her vision was clouded earlier.

"Savannah is 'protecting' me right now isn't she?" Jesse asked.

Gail didn't see it as a problem. She saw it as an extension.

"You are Her Jesse." Gail said. "You know it. It's why she shares with you."

Jesse loved Savannah very much. It was her biggest thrill in a long time. No, it was her biggest thrill ever. She was like a lost school girl when Savannah was with her the first time. The shame she felt for her past haunted her. Savannah kissed her and said the past was done and gone. Life moved forwards, not backwards. Savannah, like Cameron, allowed her to believe in herself again.

Maybe she started expanding her 'free time' activities to protect Savannah and her younger self. Killing was something she could do. It was something she was good at. Cameron kept them sidelined most of the time. She did understand Cameron did it to protect her and the other girls. Cameron was the one who faced the threats. Maybe she was doing the same thing in her own way.

She thought about it further. Maybe they needed to focus their attention on something which protected everyone else. It was more relevant to the future, than future Scavengers were. It was something which affected everyone, not just females, specifically younger ones.

"Let's go back to where we picked up the Gray." Jesse said.

Gail tilted her head slightly. She was a little surprised.

"OK." Gail said. "Do you want to go back on the grid?"

Jesse thought about it. She thought about what needed to be done.

"We're out here already. John Henry said there was more temporal activity." Jesse said. "We accomplished what we set out to do already. We freed some girls from sexual slavery. I don't know for how long, but they're free right now. We need to do what I came back for. I came back to stop Skynet."

Gail was pleased because she was from the same future as Jesse.

"I was sent back to help you, well, the Resistance anyway." Gail said. "It is who I was sent to help."

Jesse knew Skynet was the root of all her troubles.

"Sometimes I forget where the real problem arose from." Jesse said. "Get us up to speed."

Gail contacted John Henry and told him they were in the hunt as well. She also told him not to protest. They were part of it. They were already out, and their hands were already dirty.

John Henry was actually pleased to receive the additional assistance. If he would have uncovered something more concrete, he would have contacted them again. Now he didn't need to. They contacted him.

"I have some suspicious activity near where you picked up the Gray you terminated." John Henry said. "I'll send you a 'burst'."

Gail listened to everything. John Henry transferred a mass of data to her in a 'burst transmission'. It wasn't something Jesse could follow. She was able to process and separate out what was important to them right now but also have the background data.

Jesse didn't get the same information Gail did. They were able to isolate the coms to specific individuals. They could all receive general transmissions too.

Gail filled Jesse in and gave her some directions.

Jesse thought about what the activity might indicate

"It sounds like we might have a cell of Grays." Jesse said.

Gail was aware of the flip side to it. It could be more than just Grays.

"It also means there can be Terminators." Gail said. "We don't know what we're facing."

Jesse thought they did know. It was the same thing they always faced.

"We're facing the enemy." Jesse said. "They're the ones who blew up the world, not us. They're here to do it again. We're here to stop them."

Gail was glad Jesse wasn't upset at her. She just needed to refocus her a little. It's what she did.

"We can deal with future Scavengers anytime." Gail said. "We can also prevent them from becoming real Scavengers by preventing Skynet from launching Judgment Day."

Jesse smiled and touched Gail's leg with her hand.

"It's what we'll do." Jesse said. "Get us some targets."

The more Skynet resources they could destroy now, the safer the future would be going forward. She didn't have any qualms about facing down the enemy. Since they chose to be her enemy, she would be more than happy to return the favor and kill them first.

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Cameron's Future Timeline:

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Cameron closed to within thirty miles of where she was told to look. A Resistance patrol of Terminators found a group of Scavengers. One bargained for his life with information on Skynet activity. He told them how previously one of their party went out and never returned from the location he revealed to the patrol. He reported they saw an HK drone in the area so they stopped looking for him. They thought it was unusual to encounter an HK drone in such a remote and unpopulated location.

The other Scavengers were terminated. He was to be emasculated and allowed to live. Cameron issued the order herself, all Scavengers were to be terminated. Any who were spared because they provided useful information were to be emasculated. The genderless few were allowed to live to spread the word of what was going to happen to ALL Scavengers, sooner or later. The Scavenger stated there was one more thing to trade if he wasn't completely emasculated. It was the location of a hidden entrance. He was told if the information was false, he would be emasculated and then terminated.

Cameron received the information and moved on foot to the location. It was in an area she already suspected. It seemed to corroborate what she already knew. It seemed like the most positive hit so far. She knew what to look for now. By definition a hidden entrance was going to be hard to locate. With the specific information he provided it might be a little easier for her. She needed to find the hidden entrance before she was discovered. The two drones which brought her to the area were concealed and left in standby. They were ready to respond to her call. They could arrive within a few minutes. The unarmed one would fly in first to draw fire. The armed one would follow it. It would engage the targets the first one caused to react and identify their positions.

She communicated with both machines. She previously copied part of her program into both of them. They both thanked her for repairing them and not being scrapped. She knew they were both machines like her, even if they were different. The machines with parts of her program copied onto their chips would act as she would act. She seemed to build loyalty wherever she went. She didn't understand it.

Cameron only did what she thought was the right thing or the correct thing to do. It always made people love her and build loyalty to her with both humans and machines, even the 'lesser machines'. She never treated them as 'lesser'. They were like her but different, it's how she saw it. Now they both shared parts of her programming on them.

She followed the information to the location. She was on the lookout for traces of someone else. She soon came across a campsite someone tried to cover up. She almost missed it. It seemed recent, not from when the missing Scavenger would have been lost. It was more than a week ago. There was the possibility there could be another group of Scavengers out there. She wasn't sure why they would try to hide their presence. It shouldn't be anyone from the Resistance. There were no Resistance units operating in the area where she currently was at.

There was some noise off to her side. She was surprised to see a group of birds nearby. They were all squawking. She went to investigate them as well. She noted two dead birds near a dead Scavenger. The birds both showed fresh puncture wounds through their necks. They weren't gunshot wounds. She figured the wounds were inflicted from a spear or an arrow. It seemed highly unusual. Nobody used those implements anymore. She noted the site was contaminated. It must be why whoever killed them didn't eat the birds.

Cameron continued on her way. She soon came across the tracks of a Terminator, she could tell by the spacing of the footprints. It was heavy, but with small feet. They seemed about her size based on the depressions in the dirt compared to hers. It didn't make sense to her. She lost the tracks but found them again. She knew whoever she was tracking was good. She increased her guard.

She wondered if she was being set up. Maybe she wasn't tracking a Terminator, maybe it was stalking her. She slowed and scanned the area around her even more carefully. There was something there she 'felt' was off. It just wasn't right. She was a machine, but she developed a 'feeling'. It wasn't a good feeling either. It was because the tracks were too 'heavy' for the foot size. There was definitely something off about it.

Cameron went back to scout behind her in a broad circle. She wanted to find the Terminator and take it down before it took her down. She checked her gear again. She carried plasma and Thermite grenades, a plasma rifle and a sidearm. The pistol was for any Scavengers or Grays she ran across. She would prefer to terminate them by hand when it was possible.

She left word among the Resistance Terminators, which were now HER Terminators. All Scavengers and Grays were to be terminated quietly if possible and unobserved. They were a problem and their enemies. They would forever pose a threat. She didn't want it done where humans in the Resistance could observe it. She didn't want to make them feel uneasy or as if it might happen to them. In reality, it only happened to the Scavengers and Grays because of who they were and what they did. It was their actions which determined their fate, not any of the Resistance Terminators or her.

Sure, everyone knew General Connor was in 'charge', but Cameron was back, the Real One, and the Terminators knew it. In fact everyone knew it. Even Skynet knew it, she made sure of it. There was only one downside to it.

Cameron hoped it didn't cause the anti-Metal faction to return because she returned. Her time there was limited. She tried to use Terminators for anything which would cost human lives. She hoped they could see it. She wasn't sacrificing human lives. It was just the opposite, she was trying to save them. It was Future John who didn't listen to her before. It was one of the reasons why she didn't answer to him now. Once he sent her away, she was done answering to him. She knew what needed to be done, even if no one else did.

Skynet created Cameron. In doing so, Skynet signed its own death warrant….

Cameron was ready to enforce the warrant. She wondered if it was herself she would face. She was sure it would be. It only reinforced her belief it was a one way ticket. It seemed to matter less and less the closer she drew to her destiny. The madness needed to end one way or another. It was exactly what she planned to do.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Target

What happens when
One becomes possessive
That character flaw's nature
May soon become obsessive

One plus one with people
May not always equal two
Not everyone is thrilled with the other
They would rather bid them adieu

Some people just can't let go
The harder they hang on
The worse things become
Even more animosity they spawn

To be or not to be
Means it's usually not to be
It just takes a little longer
For some people to see

What does one do when they
Attract another like a magnet
It's a pretty good bet
They will end up a target

Nobody