Chapter 481

Temporal Trap

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Cameron's Future Timeline:

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Terminators and Grays began to inspect the TDE equipment. Some of the Terminators were in communication with Skynet. Skynet issued orders and commands to everyone. There was no mechanical malfunction detected with the TDE. There was a group of Grays and Terminators waiting on the TDE pad to go. There were several other groups backed up waiting their turn. Everything Skynet planned was now on hold and disrupted.

The power surged in the TDE room as Skynet blasted as much power as it could to the TDE as it tried to force it to function. The act began to overload a lot of other systems. The encryption created by River was too much for Skynet. No code should be unbreakable. It made no sense to Skynet as to where it came from or how it got there.

A group of Grays and Terminators were directed to check the power couplings. The TDE should be able to function. The group looked around and saw the access panel. They gathered around as one Terminator went to open it. There was a massive amount of heat coming from the wall from all the energy being blasted through the power cables.

One of the Grays questioned the safety from the excessive heat. A Terminator shoved him out of the way.

"Skynet is the one in control." The Terminator said. "You will not question its authority."

No one else wanted to raise the issue of safety again, even if it's what they all thought.

The Terminator started to open the access panel door as the rest of the group moved forward to look. The Terminator saw the plasma grenade's spoon fly off as he opened the door. He tried to back away from it but knew he would never make it. What struck him as odd was a 'smiley face' drawn in the thick dust inside the floor of the hatch as his world went black.

Savannah worked with Cammy in the hangar, they heard an explosion. Someone apparently opened the TDE access panel and got a big surprise. The question now was, did they realize they'd been infiltrated?

Cammy was sure the Gray who worked at the TDE control station was terminated and not believed when he claimed 'someone' came to 'relieve' him. Now after the explosion, they may start to wonder. Then again, they were running a lot of energy through the cable. Maybe they would think it was an overload from overuse. There was a lot of heat there when she went into the crawl way. She wondered if anyone noticed the 'present' she left them. It was something she learned from Savannah. A happy face was supposed to cheer everyone up. She wondered if whoever opened the access panel terminated happy.

Someone entered the hangar area. They spotted Cammy immediately.

It looked like they were about to raise an alarm. First there was the base alert, and then there was the explosion. It left a lot of people nervous.

Cammy needed to think quickly. She wore a complete Skynet uniform so she looked like she belonged there, even if they didn't recognize her.

"Quickly, come over here." Cammy called to the Gray as they entered.

Cammy wanted to draw him in closer. It would make the next part of her job easier.

Savannah disappeared behind another HK drone. She hadn't been spotted yet.

The Gray wanted to see what Cammy thought was so important.

"What is it?" The Gray asked.

There was an open panel on the HK drone she started to work on. She figured she might as well make good use of what she was actually doing.

"I've just uncovered a plot to sabotage the HK drones." Cammy said. "Look, you can see it's been tampered with. Do you see how the wires have been altered?"

Cammy showed him the sabotage she did just seconds earlier. He hadn't moved too close to her yet.

Gray could see the wiring was disturbed. It wasn't in neat looms any longer.

"We must alert the Terminators." The Gray said. "I think we have an intruder. It seems there are a few things going wrong right now."

Cammy wanted him to move a little closer.

"Make sure they know exactly what you've discovered." Cammy said.

The Gray moved closer for a better look so he could report what he found.

Cammy moved in back of him.

"There is one more thing." Cammy said quietly.

The Gray moved closer to Cammy, it seemed important.

"What is it?" The Gray asked quietly.

Cammy smiled at him.

"I'm a Terminator." Cammy said.

She snapped his neck. She quickly drug him away. She continued with the reprogramming. Savannah rejoined her. They discussed what happened just moments ago.

"I didn't think he was going to come to you." Savannah said. "I was ready to intercept him if he bolted."

Cammy was aware of Savannah's position as she moved around the back of another HK drone when the man started towards her but stopped. She didn't want Savannah to experience any unnecessary risks.

"I think everything worked out fine the way we did it." Cammy said. "I don't want you to get hurt. I'm going to need to get you out of here very soon."

Savannah wasn't going to have any of it.

"I'm not going anywhere without Cameron." Savannah said. "It's probably only my presence here right now which has prevented her from doing something drastic already. I think we both know what something drastic actually means."

They did both know what it meant.

Cammy needed to point out the reality of the situation.

"We got lucky with the last guy." Cammy said. "It may not happen with the next one. There may be more than one person. There might be a Terminator. At some point they're going to form search parties and begin searching for intruders. We're the intruders."

Savannah figured they better get back to work.

"Let's just do this for now so we can have some backup." Savannah said.

Several minutes ago:

Cameron faintly heard the explosion, but felt nothing. There was no shock wave or vibrations she could detect. It shouldn't alert the Terminators in standby down below, at least not yet anyway. She thought about going through the false wall. She wasn't sure at what point there might be search parties. She didn't want to tip her hand as to where she wanted the action to be.

She quickly made her way back through the ventilation system into the room with the boxes. She was just about to open the ventilation hatch when she saw someone enter the room. They briefly looked around the area. They even glanced up towards the ventilation cover. They left the room and closed the door behind them.

Cameron was aware she was under armed currently. She was still a weapon because she was a Terminator. She needed to get her updated information out. She made her way back towards the hangar deck. She saw the Gray who looked in the room ahead of her. She tried to close up on him. It appeared as if he was headed for the hangar deck as well. He was about to enter the hangar in front of her. She increased her speed to go after him. He went inside before she could reach him.

She could hear voices around the next corner. She didn't think she would have time to enter the hangar deck before they came around the corner. She didn't want to encounter an armed patrol. She saw the lights which indicated the base was already on alert. The explosion was only going to make things worse. There was another door on the other side of the hall. She quickly moved over to it and tried the handle. The door was locked. She forced it open and quickly passed inside. The room was dark when she entered. She didn't detect anyone in there.

She spied two armed Grays come around the corner. It looked like they were headed for the door into the hangar area. It was going to give her at least three targets to deal with now. Some of them were already armed.

'Damn.' Cameron thought.

Much to her surprise, they stopped right before they reached the door and ran back the direction they came from.

She made her move and headed for the door to the hangar area. She reached the hangar door and entered.

Cammy moved the body of the Gray away and started to reprogram another HK drone. She heard the door to the hangar area open again. She was aware someone else entered.

Savannah and Cammy were concealed from sight right now. They wouldn't be for long if anyone started to look around.

Cammy heard someone approach. She would try the same trick again.

The outside hangar door began to open. It was a new problem.

Cammy prepared for combat. If the HK drones became active, they would be in trouble.

Savannah moved too. She also heard the threat. She still carried the Thermite grenade. She was ready to pull the pin and throw it. She tried to move behind the noise she heard. The fact the hangar door started to open seemed like a new problem.

Cameron entered the hangar area. She was aware there were two people in the hangar deck. She didn't see the Gray who entered before her either. She wondered why he was in the storage room earlier. It seemed unlikely he would hide. Whoever was there concealed themselves. She wondered if there might be a little bit more going on than met the eye. Time was of the essence right now. She decided to chance it.

"Cammy, Savannah, I'm back." Cameron said quietly.

Much to Cameron's surprise, Cammy appeared in front of her and Savannah from behind her. She noted the Thermite grenade Savannah held ready to throw.

The three quickly and silently embraced.

Savannah was elated Cameron was back. She really started to wonder if she would ever see her again. She thought she was going to have to try to look for Cameron inside the Skynet facility. It seemed like it would be a grim prospect. Her emotional jubilation didn't mask her physical 'readings'.

Cameron noticed, with her quick scan of Savannah, she wasn't in good condition. Her clothes were soaked in spots. Her 'readings' were all over the place. It caused her to worry. Savannah must have experienced some type of trauma. She began to wonder if she was abused. The thought sent a glitch impulse through her hand. It wasn't how she wanted Savannah to become a 'woman'. John was supposed to be the one.

Savannah noticed Cameron's glitch. She knew Cameron scanned her, she was used to it. She didn't want Cameron to get any wrong ideas.

"I'm fine, Cameron." Savannah said. "I was in a hot place for a while. Cammy took me away from there."

Cammy and Savannah filled her in on what they saw and did.

Cameron was pleased the TDE was disabled. It would mean fewer things to fix. They told her of the various models of female Terminators they observed. She too believed some of what they saw happen right now, were events they already dealt with in the past. She didn't like what Savannah told her she almost did with the Thermite grenade. It was very disturbing to her.

The hangar door was fully open now. An HK drone arrived and landed. Cammy moved over to it and disabled it before it was completely shut down.

Cameron sent out her burst transmission. The HK drones she kept on standby should be there in a very short while. Everything was going to play out as she planned. What was unknown was the level of opposition she might need to face going forward.

Cammy expected there would be more Grays at some point. They needed to be armed.

"We need weapons." Cammy said.

Cameron pointed to a corner. It was something she spotted when she was in there the first time.

"There's an arms locker on the far side wall." Cameron said. "It's the one with the orange door."

Cammy programmed three of the HK drones to operate off of their commands, and no one else. It should give them some additional firepower and cover their withdrawal.

"I have three HK drones on our team right now." Cammy said.

Cameron thought it was a good idea. She didn't want Skynet to have control of any of them, even for a minute. She wanted to take care of the problem immediately.

"Savannah, please get the weapons. We must disable the rest." Cameron said. "I don't want Skynet to have any type of control of any of the drones."

Cameron went from HK drone to HK drone. She smashed the transmitter and receiver node. The time for stealth was over. Protecting their backs was much more important.

Cammy did so as well. She wondered if maybe they should try to program at least a few more HK drones for their team. Cameron didn't want it done.

Savannah retrieved three plasma rifles.

Cammy and Cameron converged.

Cameron gave Cammy a precise set of instructions and data. They both glanced at Savannah as the instructions were given. It appeared as if they expected her to say something. There was no interruption.

Cammy repeated everything back.

Savannah watched them and listened as she handed them weapons. She knew what Cameron wanted to do. It all made sense to her now. She told Cameron earlier why she was a little overheated. She thought about what she almost did to further hurt Skynet. It was the right thing to do, even if she didn't end up doing it. Cammy got to her first and prevented things from going 'too far'. She understood now when dealing with the enemy, there was no such thing as 'too far'. There was only one thing which needed to be done.

"Cameron, I understand now." Savannah said. "Do what you HAVE to do. The enemy needs to be stopped. Skynet needs to be stopped. We need to protect the past to protect the future. We need to protect the future too."

Cameron was troubled at how far Savannah almost went. She was very glad it didn't happen. She wouldn't have been able to go forward with her plan until she knew Savannah was away or terminated. She was afraid she may have gone berserk if Savannah was terminated. She appreciated Savannah's candor and approval.

"Thank you, Savannah. From your story, you were going to do the same thing. You were going to do what you needed to do." Cameron said. "I'm going to do the same thing now. There's no other way. It's the only way to be sure. I'll be back."

Savannah believed in Cameron. She always did and always would.

"You're invincible, Cameron." Savannah said. "You're eternal."

Cameron saw Savannah still carried a Thermite grenade. She wanted it. She thought of a place she could use it.

"Let me have your Thermite grenade." Cameron said.

Savannah instantly handed it to Cameron. She was actually glad to get rid of it based upon her earlier experience.

"It's really yours." Savannah said. "Thanks for letting me borrow it. I'm glad I didn't need to use it."

Cameron bent the pin back to keep it from coming out easily. It wasn't a problem for her to pull a bent pin out. Since she sent out her burst transmission and received a reply, she laid out her plans a little clearer to Cammy and Savannah. It was important they follow her instructions very carefully.

"Two of my Terminator associates, 'Bob' and 'Rob', will arrive with two additional HK drones." Cameron said. "One is armed, the other has a 'Package' on it. You two will need to leave this area immediately. Once you're away, get to the far side of the next hill quickly. You will have to shut the HK drones and yourself down, Cammy. Otherwise there may be damage…."

Cammy didn't say anything at first. It was clear what Cameron was going to do. She looked at Savannah to see if she understood why Cameron issued the specific warning. There was going to be a massive EMP blast. It was going to be from a nuclear weapon. The giant power cell may, or may not, add to the effect. It could create a massive energy surge of its own. The specific instructions Cameron gave to her would determine Cameron's fate in the end.

"I understand." Cammy said. "River or I will come for you."

Cameron could see Cammy understood what was about to happen. She stressed the importance of Cammy's instructions again.

"It is imperative you get away, Cammy." Cameron said. "I'm depending on you. Everything depends on you. You're the only one with the instructions on what to do."

Savannah watched and listened to it all. She wasn't happy with what was happening. There was more going on there than Cameron actually explained. She had a pretty good idea what it was. She learned how to 'play the game'. She said nothing in protest. Her mind was already made up. She knew what she was going to do.

Cammy double checked the three HK drones she reprogrammed. They were ready to go. It would give them some extra firepower, create a diversion, and cause even more confusion.

"I've programmed these three HK drones." Cammy said. "They will respond to our verbal commands, or their programmed targets. Right now they're to protect the hangar."

Cameron was pleased with the prospect. She knew where she wanted two of the HK drones to go. They could hold some key positions to prevent anyone from following her too soon. It was if the Skynet forces figured out what was really happening. She quickly went and gave two of the three HK drones instructions. They now would go after specific targets and hold them.

Cammy understood everything.

"We'll do our part." Cammy said.

Cameron went to leave.

Savannah wanted Cameron to know how she felt.

"I love you, Cameron." Savannah said.

Cameron turned and gave Savannah a quick hug. Their hands lingered before they separated. A lot was 'said' with the silent gesture.

"Savannah…. I love you." Cameron said. "I'll be back."

Cameron departed the hangar deck and headed to where she wanted to be when the 'Package' arrived.

Cammy watched her go. She knew she was on a very dangerous and most likely terminal mission. With the information she now possessed it may prevent the mission from becoming terminal. There was no guarantee what would happen once the shooting started. There could be a number of different variables occur. She wanted to get her new combat partners ready.

"Drone Units, One, Two, and Three, prepare for combat, arm yourselves." Cammy said.

The three HK drones powered up. The noise was loud.

In seconds it grew even louder. There were more HK drones about to enter the hangar.

"Here they come." Cammy said. "It's Cameron's special group."

Rob and Bob each arrived on an armed HK drone. The 'Package' and its armed HK drone escort were between them. It was a sight to see all four of them enter the hanger in a neat column. They already knew what their instructions were.

Cameron was already on her way headed back to the shaft. She decided to take a shortcut this time. She smashed through the wall of the storage area where she went through the ventilation ducting before. She pulled a large crate over to cover where she broke through the wall at.

She ran through the darkness at full speed. She needed to have everything ready before the shooting started. She wanted to disable the Terminator in the elevator bucket at the bottom of the shaft. She mentally went through the countdown of what was going to happen as she ran.

When she reached the shaft, she armed and then threw the Thermite grenade down. She immediately rolled a large boulder into the shaft behind it. Both items should severely incapacitate the Terminator waiting below.

Cameron heard the explosion of the Thermite grenade followed by the crash of the boulder. It was followed soon afterwards by a second set of explosions as the other two Terminators reactivated and blew themselves up. The Thermite and plasma grenades she left behind were tied to their boots. The fuses were shortened for instant detonation. As soon as they took their first step, they unwittingly terminated themselves.

In a very short time she heard massive firing and explosions back the way she came from. She knew the 'Package' was coming and Hell was coming with it.

Cameron wondered if she was Skynet. It was always a thought in her mind whenever she confronted every version of Skynet she destroyed.

She wondered if Skynet was about to meet its maker, either way, she was about to meet her maker. She felt she needed to settle a score. She felt it was actually a score of scores. There were a lot of things she needed to suffer from over the years.

Moments ago:

There was a loud noise. Another door from the hall to the hangar deck burst open. A warning must have been sent to Skynet about the four HK drones which arrived in trail. They would have appeared as one HK drone until the last moment when it was detected there were four of them. They were inside the hangar now. A force was sent to intercept them.

A group of Terminators came in with their weapons up and ready to fire.

'HK One' was ready and waiting for them. It opened up on them. The initial group to enter was shredded by its minigun.

'HK Two' was set to go once 'HK One' opened up. It blasted through the wall with two missiles and headed in one direction down the corridor. 'HK Three' followed it through the opening but headed in the opposite direction. They were to engage and interdict any Skynet forces they encountered.

The two unmanned HK drones from Cameron's team were sent on their mission as soon as 'HK Two' and 'HK Three' were away. Each contained pre-programmed instructions from Cameron's 'burst transmission'.

The armed HK drone blasted through another wall. The HK drone with the 'Package' followed it.

Savannah was able to get a good look at the package. She knew exactly what it was now. She knew the danger it represented to everyone. It wasn't just Skynet.

One of Cameron Terminators got off his HK drone.

Bob was given specific instructions by Cameron through the burst transmission earlier.

"You two, take this HK drone and go." Bob said. "You must leave immediately."

Bob and Rob got on to the same HK drone. They followed the HK drone with the 'Package'. They disappeared into the hole in the wall.

Cammy didn't see how this was going to end well for any of them.

"We need to leave now." Cammy said.

'HK One' opened up again with its minigun as another group of Grays tried to enter the hangar area. Savannah didn't want anyone behind Cameron's team.

"We can't go yet." Savannah said. "We have to make sure they make it."

Cammy knew what was going to happen. The nuclear warhead would be detonated in minutes. She saw it herself.

"Savannah, NO!" Cammy said. "We need to get away from here fast."

Savannah already knew what was going to happen and there was only one way to save Cameron. She would need to do it herself.

"'HK One', come here." Savannah said.

'HK One' still held off anyone from entering the hangar deck. 'HK Two' and 'HK Three' should prevent anyone else from approaching further back.

Cammy was on the HK drone Bob freed up. She waited for Savannah to join her.

"Savannah, what are you doing?" Cammy asked. "We need to go."

'HK One' arrived.

Savannah climbed on top of it.

"Cammy, you go. I'm going with Cameron. I have to make sure she makes it. I love you." Savannah said. "'HK One', follow the 'Friendlies'."

'HK One' immediately departed with Savannah on it. It followed Bob and Rob.

Cammy couldn't believe it. Savannah just signed her own death warrant by following Cameron's group.

"Savannah…." Cammy screamed. "Nooooooooooooooo!"

Cammy's first instinct was to go after Savannah. Her programming kicked in. It was about survival now. She knew she needed to get out with the vital information or all of them would perish. There was no way for anyone to know what she knew and what Cameron requested.

"I love you too, Savannah." Cammy said towards the direction Savannah just went.

Cammy headed the HK drone out and away at top speed. She needed to be behind the hill Cameron told her about and on the ground. She didn't have much time to do it.

She knew her mission was of the utmost importance. If she didn't make it, Cameron and Savannah were without any hope…. Right now the information she contained was the only thing which could save them at this point. She pushed the HK drone past the redline. She needed to get back to the Connor compound with the information. Nothing else mattered.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Trap

One's life can never move forward
If they remain living in the past
The shadow of eternal darkness
Seeps deep, its emptiness is cast

The happiness of living
Is only a cruel illusion
Being lead to believe it
Is only an illusive delusion

There is no freedom
There is no escape
Wounds to the heart and mind
Perpetually tear and scrape

When we have nothing
We want more
When we have more
We still want more

Time will show there is
Something worse than nothing
It's when one realizes
It's - less than nothing

Everyone is pushed
Until they break or snap
To think one can get ahead
It is life's trap

Nobody