Chapter 615
Red
Savannah left Dan to guard the entrance and exit of the tunnel they were in. Cammy was ahead of her with Al. Cameron should be in front of them.
Neither Cammy nor Al was spotted returning so it might be a good sign, unless they were both down. It would mean Cameron was down too.
Savannah knew there were going to be a lot of unknowns. It seemed to be par for the course.
Ed took the lead to guide Savannah's team. Frank was behind him. Savannah was behind him. Tom brought up the rear. They moved along the darkness swiftly. If there were any obstacles or a divergent route, Ed was able to identify the correct route. They figured Cammy or Cameron would have marked it. One of them did.
Savannah urged her team to use caution. She didn't want their teams to start shooting at each other in the darkness. The last thing they needed was for someone to get damaged or worse by 'friendly fire'.
She wanted caution over speed at this part of the operation. She knew circumstances could rapidly change her assessment.
It could turn into a full blown battle in the blink of an eye. In the confined space of the passageway, it could prove catastrophic.
Right now the only thing in front of them was darkness.
Earlier:
Savannah bid Steve farewell so he could return to his duties in Palmdale. She knew he would pass the word to the other Terminators on the Young Detail how important she viewed their task of watching over Young Allison and the others.
The Terminators who waited for the further battle to develop were all pleased to see Savannah return. They knew she was going after Cameron. They all volunteered to accompany her.
They all wanted to accompany Cammy when she left earlier. Al was the closest one to her when she decided to leave. She picked him. She also made sure there was a team to inspect the high tension power lines to look for some type of power tap. It wouldn't be found until after Cammy was in the mine.
Savannah could see everyone wanted to go with her. It wasn't what she wanted. She knew it was dangerous work and wouldn't mind the extra help. There were other duties they needed to attend to secure the surrounding area and prepare for some type of Skynet counter attack. She chose the four closest Terminators. She didn't want to cause any anxiety among the Terminators by 'not being picked'. They would all be good in combat.
If Bob would have been there, she would have selected him as well. She wanted to keep her team small. She was aware she may need to send some of them back as runners as long as they remained out of communication. It was the main reason why she picked two extra Terminators to accompany them. If they would have been able to maintain communications, she only would have went with one.
She previously asked John Henry to remind all the Terminators she was only a team member like all the rest of their group and nothing more. She didn't like all the extra attention everyone seemed to pay her. She didn't view herself as anyone special or different from anyone else. She didn't want the Terminators to do anything differently.
John Henry did notify the other Terminators of what she wanted, it didn't matter. They all saw the files of her in combat. They all knew Cameron 'chose' Savannah. They all knew Savannah was the 'Chosen One'. They saw Savannah took down more hostile Terminators herself than any of them ever did, well, except Cameron. There were video files to prove it. It wasn't something someone just said. It was fact. Savannah held her ground and fought. Her actions saved Cameron multiple times.
Every Terminator there knew Savannah would be the last one standing if they needed to fight. They would all protect her, even if it meant their own termination. They all saw how far Savannah was willing to go to protect Cameron. None of them would do less to protect her.
Cammy spotted Cameron's markers as they moved through the passageway. There were other routes Cameron could have taken, but she didn't. They didn't have time to explore all of them. It was doubtful Cameron did either. She seemed to be headed towards the source of the electrical hum. It was their goal as well.
They did pause at the junction with the passageway which experienced a cave-in. They took a moment to observe it. The indication was, if a connecting passageway collapsed, so could the one they were in. They noted the steel supports on the ground near the pile of rocks from the cave-in. It appeared the passageway wasn't reinforced or, it was reinforced and needed further reinforcement. Either way, it collapsed at some point. It was relatively new.
Cammy moved quickly, Al followed her. She slowed as she detected a new sound. It was metallic. It was something other than the ever increasing electrical hum. There were also voices. There was definitely someone in front of her, they were talking. It wasn't Cameron. They were male voices.
She motioned for Al to fallback to the divergent tunnel which collapsed. They would try to see how many Grays were in the group. It was unknown if the Grays would search for anything on their way to the opening. There was good cover behind the steel reinforcing beams where the cave-in was at. There was also some worry about the stability in the section they were in. The voices grew louder.
Cammy wondered what happened to Cameron. She looked behind where she currently was at the collapsed passageway. No. It didn't collapse today. There would still be dust in the air if it did. Cameron must be down or have taken another route. She wondered where she took the wrong turn. Then again, Cameron may have let them pass because there was something behind them which was a bigger threat. It would mean a Terminator.
She peeked around the corner and saw a light approaching. The men would be there in seconds. There was no sound of an alarm anywhere she could detect. The men didn't seem to be in a hurry, so it might be a good sign. Then again, if there was a Terminator with them, he could be using them as bait.
Cameron watched as the two men went further down the tunnel. Her biggest concern now was the third figure she spotted. She drew her Taser and waited. She knew it would bring down either a human or a Terminator.
She listened and heard the third figure move closer, they slowed. She was afraid she was detected when she was about to make her move on the first two men. The new threat allowed the Grays to move ahead. She wasn't as worried about them continuing on because of how noisy they were. Any other Terminator in the passageway would be able to detect them before the enemy could possibly see them.
The sound of the first two men grew faint. The new threat which was nearest to her went silent. There was no light. It indicated there was only one explanation. It must be a Terminator.
Cameron was glad she held her Taser. She was ready.
John and John Henry wanted to police the area the battle occurred in. The Blackhawk returned. It brought more Terminators to the target zone. They decided to move the burnt out vehicles to the gravel pit where their drones were staged. They left the dead and burnt bodies in the vehicles. The Blackhawk lifted them and moved them there in short order. It took several trips.
There was no movement detected around the quarry. They needed to worry about the enemy, as well as any innocent individuals who might be hiking. There was some indication others visited the quarry. It was probably either for drug use or to party. There was a certain amount of trash left behind from whatever the occasions were. It seemed most likely for those individuals to arrive in the darkness.
John wanted to get things wrapped up.
"As soon as Cameron and Savannah are out of there I want to get everyone clear. I want to blow the place." John said.
John Henry felt John's action was premature. He understood why. He knew John was afraid Cameron would use one of her warheads on the location to eradicate all of it. He sent explosives with the last load of Terminators in the Blackhawk.
"I sent demolition charges." John Henry said. "Savannah has ordered the destruction of the power feed. She hoped to see what the power was used for. Either way, in ten more minutes it will be disconnected. She doesn't want Skynet to be able to use the power for anything which could be used against them, or as he means to escape if there is a TDE located there."
John would like to have been able to communicate with everyone directly. He couldn't. He didn't like the communications blackout. With the Skynet jamming field in place, there were no communications with Cameron or Savannah. It included the others who were with them.
"I really wish we knew what was happening." John said. "I know deep in the hillside, or under the ground, we would lose communication anyway. It would still be better to have communication for as long as we could."
John Henry could only look at the positive of the unknown. It wasn't much.
"There's still been no gunfire or explosions from the area since the initial encounter." John Henry said. "At least there's none we've detected."
John watched some footage from one of the grounded drones as the Blackhawk brought a shot up vehicle into the old gravel quarry. He knew the girls and their teams would be deep in the hillside. They could be hundreds of feet below the ground at this point. It wasn't uncommon for there to be multiple levels in a mine.
"The lack of reported gunfire should make me feel better, but it doesn't." John said.
John doubted anything involved with the unplanned operation was going to make him feel any better. Cameron was right, sometimes she just needed to act. There was no way to plan for what was inside the mountain. One thing was for sure, there was trouble there.
Wherever there was anything Skynet related, there was trouble.
He wondered what reaction the cut in power would bring. The Terminators there indicated there was a lot of power going through the hidden tap. They were in search of additional taps as well. There were a series of different wires on the high tension power lines. Not all of them originated from the same source. It was only logical Skynet would want to have a tap on each power source in case one went out. What were they doing inside the old mine?
Cameron wanted to draw the Terminator in closer to her. She knew, they knew, she was there. She searched around for a few small rocks. She calculated the angle and threw one underhand low to the ground. She heard it impact the direction the men went with a thud.
She heard movement again. It was right around the corner from her position. They were very close. She decided to take the offensive. She held her Taser with her left hand, it was ready. She held her M4 with her right hand by the pistol grip.
Cameron decided to come out around the corner low to the ground. It might give her a fraction of a second advantage. She made her move. Her motion already started. She heard some kind of thrashing and metallic sounds from the way the two Grays went. She hoped the Terminator would look in the direction the sound was.
Either way, it was 'Showtime'.
Ed moved the team forward. He followed the markers Cameron or Cammy left. They were able to bypass any divergent routes so they made good time.
Savannah looked at the divergent routes as they passed them in the darkness. She wondered where they all went. They followed the trail left by Cameron or Cammy. It still left a lot of unknowns behind them. She realized the mine would be like a maze. It was why Cameron and Cammy followed the sound of the electric hum. It must be a location where there was something. Where there was something, there was a good chance there was someone.
Ed heard some kind of thrashing and metallic sounds up ahead. He immediately stopped the team and listened.
Savannah hadn't heard what he did. He leaned and whispered in her ear some type of struggle must have taken place. It worried her greatly. Was it Cammy or Cameron? What if they were down already? She didn't want to wait and see what happened.
"We move forward." Savannah said. "We don't stop until we find Cameron, Cammy, and Al. Pick up the pace. I can keep up."
Savannah was determined to find all of their group and make sure all of them got out. Someone was in an altercation ahead of them and she wanted to find out who it was.
It could be the enemy who was taken down, or it could be the enemy who took their people down. She wondered if she was just seconds away from combat. She was ready. She felt more concern than worry. Cameron needed her and she was coming.
Cammy waited with Al. She identified there were only two men. It was doubtful one or both were a Terminator. They were too sloppy. These would only be Grays. It was possible there was a Terminator with them and he used them to draw attention, while he followed them in the shadows of their light. They may not even know he was following them. A Terminator would have no qualms about sacrificing a few Grays.
She signaled for Al to take the Gray closest to them and she would take the other one. They waited for the men to pass. Cammy moved up to the opening from the collapsed passageway and looked in the direction the man went as well as the direction they came from. There was nothing immediately behind them. It was time for them to act. she motioned for Al to move forward. They both sprang out from concealment and attacked them. One of the men dropped his rifle before one of them could grab it. It made a metallic noise when it hit the ground. They quickly drug the deceased men into where they were hiding. Someone would need to look to find them.
Cammy was pleased with their quick victory. She also felt it was a shallow victory. Cameron was in front of them. The men would have passed by her. She wanted to get moving.
"Come on." Cammy whispered. "Cameron let them pass for a reason. It couldn't have been a good one either. I bet there's a Terminator. It could be more Grays too, but I don't think so. I expect contact soon. Have your Taser ready as well as your M4. Don't hesitate to use either one."
Before she even finished whispering, they heard Taser fire from the direction the men came from. It sounded like several Tasers. It could be Cameron firing more than once too. It was a technique Savannah used against Metal Summer quite effectively. It was possible there were several Terminators.
They looked in the direction the sounds came from.
"Let's go." Cammy whispered.
They both started to run. They held their Taser in one hand, and their M4 in the other.
Cameron was up ahead and most likely in a struggle with another Terminator.
There could be one or a dozen hostile Terminators.
They would meet the threat head on, Terminator style.
Moments ago:
Cameron came out of the blind tunnel low to the ground. The Terminator was right in front of her. He held a Taser and a pistol. He looked up at the noise from the tunnel where the Grays went. There was a distinct metallic sound.
Cameron fired her Taser. She was close enough for a sure hit.
She felt a jolt and her world went blank.
Earlier:
The Skynet Terminator moved silently through the darkness. There was the possibility someone probed and maybe even penetrated their security. They were unable to contact their security detail. They indicated someone violated the 'No Trespassing' zone. It triggered a communications block for anyone on the outside. Now they couldn't reach anyone on their team. Two Grays were set to check on it.
The Terminator was aware how inept humans were. He really didn't know why Skynet put up with them. Machines could do everything so much better and efficiently. If Skynet needed additional assistance, it should build more Terminators. Humans were the problem in the first place. They would always remain a problem.
Now he was assigned to work with Grays. He watched as two of them were sent to find out what actually happened and get the communication and surveillance gear back to work.
He decided to follow them. He hung back and let them move ahead. They needed to use a light to see. How pathetic was that? They were noisy and undisciplined. He doubted they would last long in a firefight.
They were walking for some time now. One of the Grays got too close to the wall and his rifle scraped on the rocks for a second.
The Terminator thought about terminating both of them and dumping their bodies in one of the shafts. He should just take over the operation himself. If he was questioned about it later on he would claim they 'took off' once they were on the outside. It wouldn't be the first time. Grays were as likely to run from Skynet as they did initially from the Resistance.
Wait
What was that?
He replayed his files. He was sure he saw movement.
He did.
There was someone off to the side in one of the blind tunnels.
He needed to end the new threat. Maybe they were penetrated for real after all.
He came to the conclusion it was another Terminator. He wondered if it was the 'Metal Bitch' there was talk of. It seemed impossible at first when the stories were told. The evidence seemed to indicate the stories were real.
He wanted to try out a female chassis. Maybe this was his chance. He pulled out his Taser and moved forward. He knew the other Terminator knew he was on to him. He hoped to get a Taser shot off before they could act. He really didn't want to get shot up. He experienced enough of it in the future. It was more of a nuisance than anything.
The Terminator moved towards the opening. He was ready to turn and fire. There was a noise in the tunnel in front of him. There was some rustling too.
Wait.
It was a trick. He figured the other Terminator was about to spring. There was movement down low.
It was the 'Metal Bitch'.
He fired his Taser as his world went blank.
Cammy and Al moved forward. They heard movement from behind them now. It was probably more of their troops following them, or it could be a hostile force to intercept them from one of the divergent tunnels. It might be enemy reinforcements from the outside. She hadn't spotted any subservience equipment since she was in the passage way. It didn't mean there wasn't any.
They didn't know what was in front of them, or what was behind them. The only thing they knew for sure was two Grays were terminated.
Cammy needed to make a decision. She needed to protect their way out and make sure they didn't end up with enemy troops behind them as well as in front of them. Things could turn bad quickly. She hoped it was Savannah but she didn't know yet.
"Al, you remain back at where we left the Grays and stop whoever is following us." Cammy said. "It may be Savannah so be careful. We passed several passageways we didn't have time to inspect. It could be more Grays or Skynet Terminators too."
"Affirmative…." Al said.
He moved back towards where he was earlier with Cammy. The terminated Grays were where they left them.
Al could hear them coming closer. He still gripped his M4 and Taser. They were hurrying now. Whoever it was must have heard there was some type of altercation. It most likely meant it was a Terminator, or a Terminator with Grays. It could be their troops too. He needed to make sure.
Savannah motioned for her team to stop. She could almost 'feel' there was going to be a 'friendly fire' incident. She honestly didn't believe both Cameron and Cammy were down.
"I think it is Cammy or Cameron who's ahead of us." Savannah said. "I want to signal them."
Frank knew the codes for identification. If it was the enemy, they would know for sure where they were at once they spoke first.
"It will give away our position." Frank said.
Savannah knew it was a risk. It's why there was a 'challenge'. There were risks in combat. The risk seemed greater not to establish who was who and where they were.
"I don't want any 'friendly fire'." Savannah said. "It means in either direction from any of us."
They all nodded. They developed preselected code words to issue for a 'challenge'.
"Red." Savannah called out softly.
The reply was instant. No one needed to think about it.
"Black Panther." A male voice answered. It was Al.
They moved up quickly to his positions.
Savannah was a little dismayed to see he was alone. She knew they needed to be a reason.
"Where are Cameron or Cammy at?" Savannah asked.
He filled them in on all the details as they moved forward.
The fact there was Taser fire wasn't good.
It seemed someone knew there was a Terminator and they knew how to take it down. They can only hope it was Cameron who did the take down.
Seconds ago:
Cammy left Al and hurried forward. There was only silence in front of her. She wondered if Cameron was incapacitated. She knew she needed to hurry but didn't want to get Tasered herself.
She saw two figures on the ground, neither one moved. They were both Terminators, one was Cameron.
Cameron was down!
CamNet contacted Sheila and Ally. There were a few enemy vehicles which were just taken down. Some of them showed the same vehicle registration address. It was different from the ones they visited previously. It was in the same area though.
Ally and Sheila were aware of the current events unfolding in the remote foothills of the Antelope Valley. They expected to be part of it.
"It looks like we'll miss the big shindig." Sheila said.
Ally checked her weapons.
"We've been plenty busy on our own." Ally said.
Sheila looked back and smiled.
"I would have preferred a sex trafficking operation." Sheila said. "It pleases me more to deal with them. It's personal to me."
They were on another 'off the books' operation with some drug dealers. They took down their new den. The back of the SUV was full of cash and captured drugs.
Ally knew they were directed to catch the Blackhawk. The plan changed for now.
"We're about to get redirected to go there until we received this call." Ally said.
Sheila headed for the new address.
"Well, this should be part of it too." Sheila said. "I'm itching to get my hands on some of these blokes. We keep coming up empty."
Ally didn't want Sheila to make it too personal with the Grays.
"Remember, this is a Resistance operation now." Ally said.
Sheila knew she needed to use some restraint. She thought there was an exception.
"Not if I find a 'comfort bunk' with someone in it." Sheila said. "I'll make sure the detainee sees what I do to the Grays before they're terminated."
Ally figured Sheila would take it over the top like she normally did.
"Oh, brother." Ally said. "I can hardly wait."
They drove by the front of the location. They didn't slow as they did.
Sheila spotted something.
"Bingo." Sheila said.
Ally saw a familiar sight.
"I see there's one of those white vans parked on the side." Ally said.
Sheila drove around to the back on the next street over.
"Let's see what we can find." Sheila said.
Ally wanted to find out more.
"Maybe CamNet will update us." Ally said.
Sheila didn't plan to wait. There was a hard target.
"Let's drop in and see if anyone is home first." Sheila said. "I really want to catch a Gray at the location where they have 'comfort bed'."
Ally didn't like what she saw earlier.
"I'll allow you some 'insanity time' if there is one." Ally said.
Sheila didn't think 'justice' was insanity.
"I'll do what needs to be done." Sheila said.
They went over the back wall.
Ally thought they should have done a little more planning. They only carried their pistols and Tasers.
"Maybe we should've brought our vests." Ally said.
Sheila knew they usually didn't for an infiltration mission.
"If anyone confronts us we can act like lost tourists." Sheila said.
Ally looked around.
"Why would tourists be in this neighborhood?" Ally asked.
Sheila smiled.
"See what I mean, we'd have to be lost to be here." Sheila said.
Ally doubted it. She figured if anything, the Grays would try to put the grab on them so they would end up in the 'comfort bunk'.
Sheila planned to show any Grays some 'skin'. A nipple ring usually did the trick.
Wait.
They could run into a Terminator. It would still give them a momentary edge. The Terminator would look at the nipple ring as well. Everyone did. There was no one who couldn't.
Closing monologue by Cameron:
Hear
I want to touch your heart
So very hard I have tried
I have felt all your pain
With you I have bled and cried
An infatuation can occur in seconds
It's the physical attraction
But it's nothing lasting
Just an unsustainable distraction
I know you resist the thought
That real beauty flows deep within
As time erases physical beauty
All that is left is wrinkled withered skin
The love trapped in your heart
Seeks the same returned reaching out
Burnt, stung, abused, used, stolen by some
Fills you with trepidation and doubt
Love is there, you know it is
Without direction or reciprocation
It can bleed your soul, stab your mind
Bestowed genuinely leads to emancipation
I am far yet so near but real
To share I am always here
When your mind needs someone to listen
I open my heart and mind and hear
Nobody