Chapter 574

Not One Hundred Percent

Ed and Steve went down to the lower level where Cammy, Gail, and Savannah were at. It was time to move the operation along.

Steve needed to notify them John ordered them to pull out. He wasn't so sure how the order was going to go over. It was only up to him to deliver the message. He wasn't going to argue the point. He wasn't the one who needed to enforce it. He could see Gail and Cammy working intently to move debris.

"John ordered us to withdraw now." Steve said.

Gail and Cammy didn't look at him. They continued to move rubble. Their pace didn't slow.

"I don't think so." Cammy said.

Steve noticed someone was missing.

"Where's Savannah?" Steve asked.

Cammy glanced back as she worked. It was clear she wasn't going to stop.

"Savannah is on the other side of this pile of rubble with Cameron. Cameron currently appears inoperable." Cammy said. "I'm not going anywhere. I need to move this debris. I can't let anything happen to Savannah."

Ed told them they would only have about nine more minutes until the fire reached the area where they needed to escape.

The four Terminators went to work.

Two of their team were currently trapped on the other side. They all knew they weren't leaving without them.

With four Terminators working, the pace picked up. They needed to work methodically and with extreme caution. They didn't want to create a bigger cave-in than what they currently dealt with. The fire which continued to burn towards their exit was of major concern to them. They needed to hurry. They would be able to survive the fire, even if they sustained sheath damage. Savannah wouldn't be able to.

Sheila and the drones remained on station over the now burning building. One drone was sent with the big rig for protection.

"Tell us what you see." John said. "We've lost contact with the teams."

Sheila told them the big rig already left, the two SUVs were being collected, and Cameron's Terminator was about to arrive as well. She updated the spread of the fire. She also wanted to make something clear to John.

"John, they're not going to leave Cameron." John Henry said. "You know this."

John couldn't help but think about the 'Day Of Loss' and the footage he saw of the 'Doomsday' situation in Cameron's future. It was always the length everyone was willing to go for everyone else. It was all the way.

"I do know it. I've seen it happen before." John said. "I'd hoped to never see it again."

John Henry surmised what John was most concerned about. It wasn't Cameron or the others, as much as it was someone specific. He wanted to try to put his mind at ease some.

"They won't let Savannah perish, John." John Henry said.

John was aware of it, he also was worried nonetheless. He already knew how far Savannah was willing to go.

"Savannah won't leave without Cameron." John said. "We've seen the files where she stayed to be with Cameron when Cameron was unable to leave. She stayed to perish with Cameron and not abandon her. She's going to do the same thing again."

John Henry could see John's anger and disgust. He saw it all differently. It was all a matter of which foot the shoe was on. It wasn't about an individual's specific actions. It was about what motivated the individual's specific actions.

"Would you leave her?" John Henry asked.

John thought John Henry referred to Cameron. It could have been Savannah too. He needed to think like a leader. It was what he tried to tell himself anyway. He didn't think he actually believed it. It did seem like the thing he should say though.

"I don't know." John said. "I have a bigger role to play in the future. I don't know what I'd do."

They both knew John would stay and do the same thing….

They all would. They all watched Savannah lead by example. If there was any doubt in anyone's mind, the image quelled it. They were all as devoted.

A short time ago:

Savannah squeezed through the opening Cammy and Gail made. As soon as she was through, more debris fell and blocked her retreat. Some of it landed on her legs but she kept going and made it clear. She wasn't injured. It wouldn't have made a difference anyway.

She was there for Cameron.

Cameron was down and unmoving.

Savannah took in the scene. There was a computer bank running. A series of wires were ripped loose. No, they were blown loose. The blast didn't look big enough to be a satchel charge. It was a smaller explosion. Some type of grenade exploded there, and it wasn't Thermite. The confined space would be thick with acrid smoke if a Thermite grenade would have been used.

She took in what else was there. There were two dead Grays which Cameron killed with her hands and part of a Terminator sticking out from under more rubble. It wasn't one they previously knew about. Another one was removed earlier from on the other side of the debris pile. Savannah would have to keep an eye on it. She checked her Taser. If it became active, she would need to use her Taser. She was sure if it could become active, it would have by now. Unfortunately, she thought the same thing about Cameron.

Savannah noted a pair of shredded bloody pants on the ground. One of the Grays was missing his pants. The bloody shredded ones didn't look like his. There was no blood on his legs. It didn't really make any sense to her. If Sheila was there, maybe it would. She didn't see any blood on his underwear. She didn't check further for anything else. She wondered if there was another Gray buried under the rubble. Maybe someone attempted to pull him out, but all they ended up with was his pants, before he was buried further.

The sparking wires on Cameron were her main issue right now. She needed to get them off of Cameron. She needed to do it without taking an electrical shock herself. Depending upon the severity of the shock, it could cause her to black out and even for her heart to stop. Without anyone to resuscitate her, she would die before anyone could help her. She worked with live wires before. She needed something which was non-conductive to electricity. She looked for something to assist her to move them. She moved a piece of metal and found a piece of wood. It was a broken table leg.

Savannah made sure she wasn't in contact with any other metal when she made her move to free Cameron. She didn't want the electricity to arc through her body as it passed from one piece of metal to another. She used the piece of wood to push the wires off of Cameron. The electricity already burnt holes through her clothes and sheath. The area around where the sparking occurred was all blackened. She was glad Cameron's clothes hadn't caught on fire. The sparking went on for so long it burned through the sheath material in places. There was now metal showing in those spots. The sheath material itself still smoked in the same places. She was sure the section of sheath material was going to need to be repaired by replacement after having been burnt to such a crisp in those specific areas.

She looked at some of the other damage done to Cameron. It appeared the grenade also damaged Cameron. She was lying in a small pool of blood. Her pants were blood soaked, but no holes were visible in them. There were holes in her shirt in addition to the ones the sparking wires burnt through. It appeared to her Cameron was in very close proximity to the grenade when it exploded.

Savannah was aware when Cameron rebooted, she may revert to her older programming. It didn't matter. She knew Cameron would never hurt her. She believed her love was stronger than any programming. It was a gamble she was willing to take. She pushed the last wire off of Cameron. She figured she would know her fate within one hundred and twenty seconds.

She wasn't going to wait idly by and see what happened. Once the sparking wires were off of Cameron, she removed some of the other debris which covered her. She pulled Cameron away from the sparking computer. She didn't know if the sparking would get worse or not.

Cammy led the team on the outside. She wanted Savannah to know they were making progress. She debated whether to tell her of the advancing flames or not. She was sure if she did, Savannah would 'order' them out to prevent any damage to them. It would seal Savannah's fate if she did. She decided to wait a little longer before she mentioned the advancing flames.

"Savannah, we're moving the rubble." Cammy said. "There are four of us now."

Savannah was pleased to know it. She could hear them working. They never stopped.

"I have Cameron." Savannah said. "I'm waiting for her to reboot."

Cammy was aware of past incidents after an explosion where Cameron was confused and reverted back to her original programming.

"Have your Taser ready." Cammy said.

Savannah checked her Taser but didn't draw it. It was only ready in case the other Terminator who was mostly buried started to move. She knelt next to Cameron as she brushed small plaster chunks off of her face.

Cameron opened her eyes. She'd been trapped between reality and the unknown as the electrical wire shocked her. She wasn't sure if she terminated when she first saw Savannah's face and red hair. It was what she would want to see if there was a machine afterlife.

"Savannah…." Cameron said.

Savannah gave her a big hug.

"Oh, Cameron…." Savannah said.

Savannah felt a sticky slickness to Cameron's back. She knew what it was.

Cameron sat up. There was a look of pain on her face.

Savannah knew something was wrong right away. Cameron's back was a bloody mess. She moved around in back of Cameron to look. There were chunks of sheath missing and metal showing.

Cameron assessed her damage. It was extensive. She took in all of her surroundings with a quick look. She was satisfied she terminated everyone who was around her. They tried to prevent her from deactivating the Skynet computer. They failed.

Savannah didn't believe Cameron would be able to use a temporal extraction in her current condition.

"Let's hope we don't need an energy bubble." Savannah said. "There's a lot of metal showing. I'm going to need to fix you up when we get back."

Cameron stood. She looked a little wobbly.

"I'm not one hundred percent." Cameron said.

Savannah hoped it was only function wise and not mental capacity. She hoped Cameron's chip wasn't compromised. She didn't want to make a big deal about it.

"I can see you aren't." Savannah said. "I'm here to help you. There are four Terminators attempting to free us now."

Cameron noted Savannah's concern. Her chassis was sound. It was just her sheath which wasn't.

"I'm still operationally functional." Cameron said. "I only look a little worse for the wear."

Savannah smiled and touched Cameron's cheek.

"You're good enough." Savannah said.

Savannah started to remove the debris from her side on the blockage.

Cameron didn't want Savannah to injure her hands.

"Let me do it." Cameron said. "I'm still good."

Cameron started removing the debris which blocked their escape. She could hear the others working on the other side.

Savannah worked alongside of Cameron.

She didn't know everything wrong with Cameron, but she did know her sheath was heavily damaged. It was bound to cause Cameron grief soon enough. Right now they needed to escape. They didn't know of the threat of the fire which stalked them. The clock was still running and the seconds were counting down fast.

The four Terminators worked frantically as they tried to move the fallen debris and shore up the sides to prevent further collapse of the area.

Cameron and Savannah worked from the inside as well.

"I need to destroy Skynet before we leave." Cameron said.

Savannah looked back at the mainframe computer. There were still lights blinking and flashing on it. It was clear it was still active. She was a little concerned.

"It's disconnected from the outside world isn't it?" Savannah asked.

Cameron tilted her head slightly. She remembered she did it before the explosions.

"Yes." Cameron said. "It called for help before I could do it. We may face an attack. Maybe the others need to go back up and prepare for it. I can finish up here."

Savannah was pretty sure the attack already happened. She needed to consider the possibility there might be a second attack. If troops or HK drones were sent from multiple locations, some of them may have arrived before the rest of them.

Steve filled them in earlier about the battle outside. It sounded like those were the reinforcements. It didn't end well for them.

"As long as it was the one group, I think we're OK." Savannah said. "We do need to consider there could be more."

Cameron didn't know what the computer may have done. She only remembered she ripped everything loose before the explosions. There were several of them.

Savannah asked Cameron about her damage three times already. Cameron always told her she was 'fine'. She knew it wasn't the case. She didn't want to make an issue of it. It wasn't the right time or the right place. She didn't want to make Cameron self conscious about her damage.

Cameron was delayed by an additional Terminator which appeared from the back of the room when she made her move. She glanced down at his inactive form, mostly buried under the rubble.

"I don't know what the computer did." Cameron said.

They watched as a small opening began to appear. It got larger from both ends.

Cameron looked back at the flashing lights. There was unfinished business she needed to deal with.

"I need a Thermite grenade." Cameron said.

The response was immediate.

"I have one." Steve and Ed both replied.

Soon there was a larger opening and two Thermite grenades were passed through.

Cameron handed one to Savannah.

The computer didn't have a voice interface.

In a minute, the opening was almost big enough for Savannah and Cameron to slip through.

Savannah watched as Cameron moved to the mainframe. She looked at the camera.

'You lose, AGAIN'. Cameron typed into the monitor.

Cameron held up her Thermite grenade so Skynet knew what was coming. If she would have possessed more time, she would have constructed a voice interface so she could taunt it as she destroyed it. It always struck her how it seemed as if Skynet went insane when it knew it was about to be terminated. She sometimes wondered if she didn't feel the same way.

Ed and Steve made an opening big enough and then they used their bodies to keep it open.

Cammy wanted them to get moving. She knew the flames would be very near their exit by now. They hadn't exceeded the time, but there was no way to know if the rate of expansion of the flames was greater than anticipated.

"You're clear." Cammy said. "We need to get going."

Cameron and Savannah both armed and left a Thermite grenade on the hard drives and related equipment.

They slipped out through the opening and it collapsed behind them as soon as Ed and Steve moved. The Thermite grenades exploded as the group moved to the upper level. The burning Thermite showered the downed Terminator as they incinerated the mainframe. There was a good chance it would cause his power cell to rupture. It should collapse the entire lower level. They didn't want to be down there when it occurred.

They heard firing as they came out of the opening. The air was thick with smoke. They spotted Cameron's Terminator fighting a running gun battle with two Terminators. They didn't have a clue what happened or where the two Terminators came from.

Savannah coughed. It was hard for her to see. She wanted the help where it was needed.

"Go help him." Savannah said. "All of you."

Cammy and Cameron hesitated.

Savannah wanted to get out of the burning building. She wanted all of them to get out together.

"Finish it and we're leaving." Savannah said.

Cameron and Cammy reluctantly left to join Steve, Ed, and Gail as they pursued the two Terminators. They left Savannah alone near the corner. The air was a little better there, but not by very much. The two hostile Terminators could tell the battle was no longer in their favor.

Savannah waited where she was for now. There could be other Grays or more Terminators. She looked over to where she was earlier. The big HK Tread was still there. They needed to destroy it before they left. The others hadn't been able to take it with them when they left. She hoped they could overload its power cell. It would destroy it for sure. She didn't like waiting around. She thought about starting the procedure. She debated whether to wait or not.

Gail was enraged to see Cameron's Terminator in a battle with two hostile Terminators. It made her think of her recent encounter with two Terminators. She was determined to even the odds. She led the charge followed by Steve and Ed.

There was the distant sound of minigun fire. Seconds later, there was a loud crash. Chunks of the roof fell in as a burning HK drone crashed through. Everyone scattered in all directions.

When Cameron and her group looked around, Savannah was nowhere in sight. The smoke was thick now. The fire started by the HK drone crash was an inferno. It was right by the opening near the lower level. It was right where Savannah was at.

Cameron and Cammy turned to go back into the area where Savannah was last seen. Ed and Steve stopped them. It was clear no one could have survived in the area, not even a Terminator.

They noticed Gail was headed there anyway.

Steve and Ed ran and stopped her. They were all very close to the flames. If the HK drones power cell exploded right now, they were all going to be terminated.

"I need to get to Savannah." Gail said.

Cammy and Cameron looked at each other. Gail was as traumatized as they were, if not more so. They needed to recognize the reality of the situation.

Gail pleaded with them to let her try.

The intensity of the flames grew. It was clear it was a fruitless effort.

"Cameron, we can go back and use the TDE." Gail said.

The same thought already crossed Cameron's mind. There was also a grim prospect to it. It should already have happened.

"If we did it, we would have seen it." Cameron said. "You three go help my Terminator."

Gail looked back at the raging inferno. She acted on what Cameron said. She started out again in the lead for the two hostile Terminators. Steve and Ed were right behind her. Her eyes glowed bright red. She was out for vengeance right now. Someone needed to pay for what happened to Savannah. She knew Savannah deserved better than to be crushed and burnt alive.

Cammy and Cameron looked at the area where Savannah went. It was a raging inferno. No one could have survived for long there. It looked like Savannah was gone.

They both began to glitch. They gave each other a quick hug. They weren't about to let things end like this if they could stop it. What Gail said earlier haunted them.

"We need to get out of here to fix this." Cameron said.

Cammy knew it was true.

"You go. I'll stay here with - Savannah." Cammy said. "I think we know what it means."

If there was no time bubble, it must mean all of them perished in the fight…. If one of them survived, they would have given CamNet the information to send an energy bubble for Savannah. It never happened.

"Let's finish it." Cameron said.

There was more firing going on now as well. Cameron and Cammy with tears in their eyes needed to join the fight. Now the fight was for their lives.

"Why not…." Cammy said.

They were all going to fight hard to avenge Savannah.

"Everyone dies." Cameron said.

Cammy nodded.

"Everyone…." Cammy said.

They were both sure it included them.

It didn't matter now. Nothing did. Without Savannah there was no future. There was nothing to live for.

They both looked back at the raging inferno.

Nothing would stop either of them until everyone was terminated.

Several minutes earlier:

Sheila resumed her patrol of the area overhead. She spotted a new threat soon enough.

"There are more HK drones coming." Sheila said. "We're running low on ordnance."

John Henry calculated the ammunition usage based on each drone's gun cam footage. It looked bleak.

"All of our drones are going to run out of ammunition at the beginning of this new engagement." John Henry said.

John told the team to get out of the building. There hadn't been any communication with them yet. It meant they were all still in the interior or worse, they could all be on the lower level. The HK drones seemed determined to destroy the building.

"How many HK drones are there?" John asked.

Sheila looked around. She spotted two HK drone squadrons. She already headed for one group. There were six of their drones with the manned drone. They would need to divide the targets. A third target presented itself a few seconds later.

"There are two groups of five I can detect. There appears to be more vehicles arriving as well." Sheila said. "There are only a few missiles left for an air to ground attack among our drones."

John hoped to stop the convoy away from the building. The best bet was to try and contain the vehicles some.

"Target the lead and rear vehicles." John said.

The drones which were still armed with missiles fired on the convoy.

"All the missiles have been fired." Sheila said. "I'll make one strafing pass through the trapped vehicles and I'll be out. There are still the two sets of HK drones to deal with."

John realized Sheila would be a spectator at that point. She could still send information and act as a spotter.

"Get some altitude after you do and keep us informed." John said.

Sheila wasn't sure where they came from, but there was a group of Grays on the ground near the building. They must have come from a different direction. She didn't see any vehicle other than Cameron's Terminator arrive. They took him under fire and he was on foot now. His SUV was disabled.

"There are troops on the ground headed toward the burning structure." Sheila said. "Cameron's Terminator is fighting them alone."

Sheila looked over at a dust cloud which approached the building from the area of the dry wash. At first she thought it was a new threat.

The two SUVs two of their team went to retrieve came barreling out of the dry wash and raced through the crowd of Grays and two Terminators which led the attack. The men flew in all directions. The SUVs took heavy fire and disappeared around the side of the burning building. One now pushed the other. It smoked badly. It was clear those two SUVs were finished as well.

The SUV attack broke up the advance of the assault force. The two Skynet Terminators made it inside of the building. Cameron's Terminator was right behind them. There were burning HK drones littering the area. One HK drone smashed through the roof of the building. Another one slammed into the other side of the building which wasn't already burning. It was now. The building was burning in three sections and starting to collapse from the fire and structural damage of the HK drone impacts.

Time was running out.

Cameron was aware of the battle raging outside. She now took command. Another drone had impacted the building. It was burning from three places now. Dan and Frank were at the side entrance. They brought more weapons with them after abandoning the two damaged SUVs. The two SUVs were both burning now. Gail, Steve, and Ed helped Cameron's Terminator out. The four of them fell back from the side of the structure as it started to collapse as it burnt. Regular vision was impossible now due to the smoke. The air was no longer breathable. No human could survive in the building at this point.

The group of eight Terminators regrouped and prepared to advance outside of the burning building and engage the attacking force. They all were damaged at this point. Cameron didn't think any of them would survive. It didn't matter, they all were determined to avenge Savannah and take as many with them as possible.

The building was unsafe to be in. The odds would be better outside.

There was a loud 'clanking' sound. The big HK Tread suddenly became operational and advanced from behind them. It knocked the burning wreck of the HK drone out of the way. The new threat was behind them. It effectively boxed them in.

Cameron turned to fight the new threat. She saw its weapons systems were online.

"Concentrate fire on the weapons targeting systems." Cameron said as she raised her weapon. "We're trapped."

It was clear to all of them at this point why there was no energy bubble to save Savannah. The earlier fear was now a reality. This was where they would all terminate.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

I'm Not One Hundred Percent

Into your lonely heart
I know I have made a dent
With my very being
Love's capitol I have spent

It is to you my sweet one
All my love I have sent
It is given freely
Not borrowed or lent

I have meant what I said
I said what I meant
It is as real as anything
Even if there is no scent

Nothing is meant to take away
Only your life to augment
The depth of my feelings
Is beyond the mind's extent

I know the feelings of discord
How they can cause one to resent
To be sure you still want me
I'm not one hundred percent

Nobody