Chapter 627
Cave In
Cameron, Savannah, and Cammy were all reunited. It was touch and go for all of them. They were still far from getting out of the mine.
Savannah did another check on Cameron.
Cameron already rebooted and was back online. She felt she didn't need to be checked again.
"I'm fine." Cameron said.
Savannah could see Cameron was a little irritated about the extra concern for her. She tried to make a joke about it.
"Now you know how we feel." Savannah said.
Savannah referred to the human females always being scanned by Terminators. It was almost like part of saying, 'Hello'. It seemed to cause the Metal girls distress if the humans didn't want to be scanned. Maybe it would be better if they weren't scanned so often. It was a little invasive at times.
Cameron didn't think there was anything wrong with it for her to check the human females and scan them all the time. She knew they complained from time to time about the procedure. She understood a little better what it was like now. She didn't think anything was wrong with her. The extra attention actually bothered her. It was what the human girls often told her when she did it to them. She would need to use a little more consideration going forward. There wasn't much difference with the scans anyway, especially when they were only a short time apart.
Cammy wanted to get moving. The instability of the opening into the area where the mine tracks were located worried her. She quickly led them back to where she hoped the opening was still at. Savannah followed her and Cameron brought up the rear.
Cameron and Cammy could both hear rocks being moved as they approached. It wasn't necessarily a good thing. It could mean the opening closed up again. From what Savannah indicated, it could close up very quickly.
They were pleased to see Tom was able to make an opening large enough for them to fit through with all of their gear on. He needed to work continuously to maintain it.
Cammy went through first. Cameron helped Savannah up the pile of rocks. Cammy helped Savannah down the other side.
Cameron followed them through last. She took one last look at the passageway. Earlier, she wondered if it was going to be her tomb. It wasn't. She came down the rocks and joined Cammy, Savannah, and Tom.
Savannah moved over to Tom and touched his cheek.
"Thank you, Tom." Savannah said. "None of this could have happened without you."
Tom felt the 'electric touch' of Savannah again. There was no actual electricity, but somehow it created a tingling effect. He remembered what Savannah often said.
"I did what I needed to do, when I needed to do it." Tom said. "We're not out yet."
Tom gathered his gear and joined them. As they moved away, they heard the area behind them cave-in again. They could feel the ground vibrate. There was a dull 'rumble' sound. There was a larger cloud of dust as well. It sounded like the biggest cave-in of them all. They quickly moved down the tracks. This time the cave-in was clearly more massive. The new dust cloud pursued them. It was evident if they wouldn't have made it through when they did, just a few moments ago, they never would have. Tom most likely would have been crushed trying to keep the opening open. They would have been on the other side.
They headed down the tracks. There were many more rocks and boulders on the tracks now as well. It was obvious the entire mine was destabilized. A giant rock crashed down between Cameron and Tom. The rails were smashed flat at the impact site. He quickly climbed over it.
They soon reached the trestle. In the light of the two lanterns, it showed a noticeable sag in it now. The tilt seemed to have increased even further.
Savannah urged them ahead. She knew the Terminators would be more agile on the rocking structure. She hoped they could give it more stability at the other side.
"Keep going, Cammy." Savannah said. "Tom, you follow her and help Cammy stabilize the far end. It's where most of the tilt is at. It looks like it's going to break off there. Maybe you can hold it or push it back some when we cross."
Cammy made it across and Tom followed her. There was another loud 'crack' sound and a large timber fell from the trestle. It shattered into splinters as it hit the other wooden supports. More timbers fell from the aged trestle as they crossed. At the far side they both stabilized the trestle. They hoped to keep it from tipping over sideways. It seemed it may collapse in on itself first with the additional sag which developed.
Cameron moved up behind Savannah. She didn't want her to delay any longer.
"Go, Savannah." Cameron said.
Savannah went across. She could feel the trestle rock and sway. She didn't even want to turn her head to make sure Cameron was behind her. She made it across and looked back. She was a little worried Cameron hadn't followed her. She hadn't. She saw Cameron knelt down and tried to stabilize the end of the trestle she just left from. It made her wonder how wobbly it was going to be without anyone stabilizing it for Cameron.
"Come on, Cameron." Savannah said.
Cameron waited until Savannah was off and followed her. More wood fell as she ran across. From the bottom of the trestle there were loud 'crack' sounds. She almost fell over the side of the leaning trestle as it dropped down two feet. She kept her balance and footing and made it to the other side.
As soon as Tom and Cammy released the end of the trestle, a section fell out of it in a shower of rotted splinters. The sagging rails hung unsupported in the air for a twenty foot section. It was an eerie sight. The rusted bolts holding the rails together would probably snap soon. The extra strain on them now would cause metal fatigue.
Cammy led the team down the tracks to where the steel tubing was where it protruded into the tunnel. They were almost out. They should be able to scramble through and be out the other side in just seconds. She looked down the pipe and couldn't see through it. She held the light up to look again. The far end was blocked by dirt….
What the Hell?
Somehow, their way out was now blocked.
Earlier:
The bulldozer and 'skip loader' turned on their lights to make things easier to see for those in the Command Center. One thing the extra illumination seemed to highlight was the instability of the hillside. Being able to see everything in detail, somehow made it worse.
Bob noticed small rivulets of dirt coming down both sides of the hill around the pipe. They seemed to get bigger. He motioned for the 'skip-loader' to pull back. He didn't want it buried. He took one last look through the steel pipe and saw or heard nothing. He was tempted to go through it and take a look. 'Cameron's order' was in effect. He looked back at the side of the hill. He did see the rivulets of dirt were much wider and seemed to move faster now. There was only one conclusion he could draw.
"This section of the hill is going to come down." Bob said.
Rocks started to roll past those on the ground. The deactivated Terminators were quickly removed.
Bob didn't see any way to stop the inevitable. If they lost the pipe into the mine, it was over with. They would need several more days to dig everything out. He called for the bulldozer to lift its blade and touch it against the end of the pipe to hold it in place. He hoped it would also keep it from being filled with dirt. Maybe everything would be swept away. Landslides could generate a lot of force as tons of earth and rocks moved. They would obliterate everything in their path. Avalanches did the same thing with snow. The dirt and rocks in a landslide would be even worse.
No sooner than the operator reinforced the pipe with the bulldozer, there was a rumble of the ground and everything shook some. A large section of earth on the hillside broke free. It cascaded down over the area where they were working. Terminators scrambled in all directions. The exit was now blocked with unstable dirt. The bulldozer was about two thirds buried. It appeared to have been pushed backwards as well by about ten feet. It didn't look promising. The entire landscape around them was now different. It actually seemed even more unstable now, than it did before the landslide.
In the Command Center, they all saw the frantic scrambling of Terminators in the gloom of the lights from the skip-loader and bulldozer. There was some confusion as to what happened. Then there was only a large cloud of dust and the image was obscured.
John wasn't sure what was going on. It looked like bad news, whatever it was.
"What just happened?" John asked.
John Henry received an update from Bob. It was very preliminary as to what occurred. He knew it could be much worse once they started to look further. He decided to stick only with what Bob indicated. It was all they actually knew anyway.
"There's been a small landslide." John Henry said. "The extraction point has been buried under tons of earth."
John was on his feet again. The team needed an exit. It was the only route.
"We need to get the pipe opened up." John said. "It's their only way out."
John Henry didn't want John to get worked up.
"Perhaps they've found another way." John Henry said.
They both knew they hadn't. They would have used it long ago if one existed.
John paced back and forth.
"I need to go there." John said.
John Henry knew it would only slow and delay the rescue effort. John's presence would actually endanger the people inside.
"You being there will change nothing." John Henry said. "It will only endanger you and endanger those around you who will protect you. You'll draw off the help the girls need."
John felt frustrated and powerless.
"I just feel I need to…." John said.
John Henry received a disturbing report. It was their worst fear. The timing was just as bad.
"We have enemy contact." John Henry interrupted.
John felt his heart sink even lower. He didn't think it was possible. Evidently it was.
"Not now." John said. "What is it and how many? Is it related to the collapse of the hillside?"
John Henry was pleased the listening post or LP technique Cameron suggested to protect the Connor camp in the future, played out here as it was intended there.
"The northern LP has detected two HK drones flying at tree top level." John Henry said. "They didn't have time to fire on them. They were low and fast. They only heard them and calculated the direction. It seems unrelated to what occurred at the mine earlier. They are still some distance out. We need to consider there may be other things occurring simultaneously."
John was glad there were two drones near the mine.
"Scramble the two drones in the gravel pit." John said.
John Henry checked the current flight path the HK drones were on. They might draw a big break. In essence, there were already two 'anti-aircraft batteries' set up.
"The current path of the hostile HK drones will take them almost over the top of the gravel pit." John Henry said. "I suggest we leave our drones there and they can fire on the HK drones without being detected first. They are both hot and ready to fire. The hostile HK drones won't have time for evasive maneuvers. If the HK drones take a different route at the last minute, our drones can still scramble and intercept them within seconds."
It sounded like the only 'plus' to John. He doubted there were only two HK drones headed to the mine. More than likely it was only the first batch detected.
"There has to be more." John said. "There must be other things too. We need to check everything on the ground and in the air. If the HK drones are right on the deck, there's a good chance anything else in the air is as well."
John Henry received new information. It wasn't good news either.
"There are." John Henry said.
John looked at the monitors.
"Beautiful…." John said.
John Henry was prepared for what their drones on patrol just found. He wasn't sure about the two which appeared from nowhere right on the deck.
"The drones on patrol have made contact as well." John Henry said. "It is what was expected."
John looked at the satellite overlay. Everything looked confusing.
"Which ones have made contact?" John asked. "Everything is lit up."
John Henry was very worried. It was worse than he imagined.
"It's ALL of them." John Henry said. "It looks like a full on assault."
They all knew this would effectively end the rescue efforts as the Resistance Terminators now prepared to defend themselves. Where the new threat would lead was unknown. It looked even worse for the girls and Tom now.
It was unknown why the enemy waited until now to launch its effort. It was possible they might have eyes on the rescue operation. Everything was in the dark until they made contact with those inside. It was only then when the bulldozer and the skip-loader turned on their lights to illuminate the area as the rescue occurred. It would seem the attack needed to be launched prior to those events actually happening. It appeared to be a coincidence, a bad coincidence.
There seemed to be a lot of setbacks involved with the procedure.
At the rescue scene they received the bad news.
Bob was dismayed things just went from bad to worse. He needed to get his troops ready to fight. They were all armed, all of their weapons were nearby.
"We have incoming HK drones." Bob said.
They all heard the reports.
The Terminators traded their digging equipment for weapons and dispersed. They were ready for an HK drone attack. Everyone moved away from the nearly buried bulldozer and skip-loader. They were sure to be targets.
Bob thought about trying to move the bulldozer further away from where the steel pipes were into the hillside. He didn't even know if the pipes were still in the same place or not. If he moved the bulldozer away, it would help keep any missiles from the area where the steel pipe was last located. It appeared to him to be currently unmovable. Any attempt to clear the dirt away from it would only attract the attention of the HK drones. Perhaps since it was half buried, it wouldn't give off a thermal heat signature. The skip-loader was out in the open, but it was away from the immediate area.
They waited in the darkness as they searched for the enemy. The only sound in the quite dark night was the sound of dirt and rocks still sliding down at the rescue site.
They all knew if the site was attacked. Half the hill could cover the escape route, Tom, Savannah, Cameron, and Cammy would be doomed….
It actually seemed as if they were already. No one was going to give up hope. The events would need to play out.
Things in the Command Center seemed to take a note for the worse.
"Drone Three has detected a UH-1 Iroquois. The 'Huey' is on an approach course for the mine." John Henry said. "It is traveling low to the ground as well."
John figured there was a force of Grays about to arrive.
"It means troops." John said. "What else do you have?"
It looked like the Grays planned more than one approach.
"There are two vehicles headed for the mine from the north entrance on the road." John Henry said. "It's most likely more troops."
John still saw the HK drones as the biggest threat for his troops. Their mobility would allow them to strike multiple targets in a very short period of time. HK drones were designed for ground assault. All of the weapons they carried could be directed at their troops on the ground.
"Have there been any more HK drones spotted?" John asked.
John Henry just confirmed a radar hit.
"There is one coming in at high altitude from the south." John Henry said. "It may be doing reconnaissance. If the enemy knows something is happening, they may want to see exactly what it was, and what we're up to. With the side of the hill down over the rescue site, and the bulldozer mostly buried, I don't think they're going to get a good picture of what we were up to. As unlikely as it seems, there's a chance they have eyes on what we're doing from someone on the ground. It's still something which must be considered."
John knew missiles could travel for miles.
"It's still a threat." John said.
A new report arrived in the Command Center.
"The security detail covering the drones in the gravel pit just reported our drones have taken down the two low flying HK drones." John Henry said. "They have both crashed into the gravel pit and our drones have scrambled. They are now airborne."
John believed their drones were their biggest asset right now. They were very close to the mine. It was a good idea to stage them in the gravel pit earlier. It served as a forward tactical base. He needed his ground troops to be ready.
"Has anything slipped by on the ground?" John asked.
John Henry still showed only the two vehicles on the northern approach to the mine.
"Nothing else has been detected." John Henry said.
John wanted to continue to strike first. They already scored first blood with the two HK drones which were shot down over the gravel pit.
"Bring down the chopper and the remaining HK drone now." John said.
More assets already were scrambled from the Resistance base.
"The remaining HK drone has been neutralized." A female voice said. "I'm searching for more targets."
John was a little surprised to hear the pilot's voice.
"Gail?" John asked.
Gail wanted to go to where Savannah was at earlier. She was restricted from going. She would have dug with her hands if she needed to. John was strict on only ten of their troops at the rescue site. She thought of a way around the restriction where she could still offer direct support.
"Affirmative…." Gail said. "I took the manned drone up. I asked John Henry. Savannah needs my help. The others do too."
Everyone knew Gail was 'sweet' on Savannah. It seemed to be even more so than the rest of them were. It was more of an infatuation than anything. Gail was always much more reserved than the other female Terminators. It was no longer the case when it came to Savannah. It was apparent Jesse didn't do anything to dissuade Gail either.
There were still three targets. It left the two vehicles on the ground, and the UH-1 for John to deal with. He needed to think about the clean up which would be needed later on. They needed to recover the HK drone Gail just flamed. She gave instructions as to where it was shot down at. She made sure it would go down in a secluded spot.
He knew it would be a little more risky for their drones to move in close, but he would rather have them use bullets instead of a missile if it was possible. He didn't want to put them at risk either if there was opposition.
"Take the hostile vehicles with miniguns." John said. "If they start to receive any gunfire, they can use missiles. We're going to shoot first and ask questions later."
They watched the footage of their drones as they stalked each vehicle. The vehicles were both 'lit up' at the same time. The two vehicles both went out of control and crashed. The drones waited for any targets to emerge from the shot up wreckage. None appeared.
John wanted to make sure.
"Hit them again." John said. "It's the only way to be sure."
Both vehicles received additional minigun fire.
John Henry noted a new development
"The hostile helicopter has turned to run." John Henry said.
Gail already closed on the target she was high over its six.
"I have it locked." Gail reported. "I'm going to flame it. I need to make sure it will go down in a remote area."
John hoped to come up with a location from where the Grays came from. They needed to have a base or staging area. He was made aware earlier Sheila and Ally took down several Gray locations and a crew sent out to attack them. They were busy.
"Let it go for now." John said. "Follow it from altitude. Watch all around sure you don't get 'painted' with anything."
John hoped the helicopter may lead them back to where it came from. It would give them additional targets. If they found a base, he would call in a full drone strike. He asked John Henry to have the drones in storage at the outlying areas be ready to participate. It would be a 'maximum effort' response. They were to hold until a target area was identified.
John Henry wasn't surprised to see there were twenty ready to go. CamNet anticipated the strike. He wanted to give Gail some 'protection' as well.
"Gail, I'm sending a drone to accompany you." John Henry said. "I'll have the drone fly two thousand feet directly below you. If it's a trap, they should target the drone first. You should look like a radar echo if they're using any."
Things seemed to be wrapped up in just a few minutes. It almost seemed too easy to John. It was three different threats all at once, well, four if they counted the HK drone at altitude on reconnaissance. He was left with the feeling there was more than met the eye. In their case it was quite literal. All of the threats they could identify were dealt with. What else was there?
"Have all the threats been neutralized?" John asked. "Are we looking in the wrong direction? Maybe what we've detected wasn't the only play."
There was no way to know for sure what Skynet would pull. John Henry could only go by what they knew and speculate some.
"Everything I've detected has been dealt with." John Henry said. "There should be hostile Terminators involved in whatever has been set into play. Ally and Sheila reported at least two Terminators have eluded them and their efforts to track them. They were reported to have a RPG launcher and maybe a LAW rocket. The last location they followed up on was booby trapped. There was a massive explosion there. They were able to avoid any damage."
John checked all the monitors.
"I agree with your assessment." John said. "We're missing something. They weren't in the two vehicles we 'lit up'."
They were sure there were Skynet Terminators out there waiting to strike. It was possible they were on the UH-1 which ran. There was no way to know.
Bob and his team were ready for an HK drone attack, and a helicopter assault. Both were stopped along with the vehicle attack. None of the assault force made it to where they were at. The Skynet HK drone doing recon probably tracked them before Gail flamed it. Somebody knew where they were.
Something streaked across the sky toward them and then two more followed.
"Incoming." Bob shouted.
Three RPG type rounds were fired. They weren't fired at the Terminators on the ground, but at the hillside.
Someone attempted to cause a bigger landslide.
"We're under attack." Bob reported.
Earlier:
Cammy thought about the massive collapse when they entered the section of the mine with the tracks. It all added up now.
"There's been a landslide on the outside." Cammy said. "There could be a lot more dirt and rocks in front of where the opening was."
She looked down the length of the steel pipe.
Tom moved forward.
"I'll dig us out." Tom said.
Cammy could see it would be a lot of work in a confined space. The blockage appeared to be all at the far end. It didn't appear to be the best method for them to get out. They would need to tunnel through loose soil and rocks at the end of the steel pipe. It would probably continue to collapse down on top of itself.
"I think we should wait." Cammy said. "They know we're in here and where we're at. They will have better equipment and tools than we have. They're probably working on it right now."
Savannah didn't have a very good feeling about any of it. Maybe it was more than just a landslide. They were pretty deep in the center of mine earlier. They were basically on the other side of the hill. There were rocks falling all around them when they tried to get Cameron out of the passageway. The opening Tom made kept collapsing. Maybe it was something else.
"Have they been attacked?" Savannah asked. "What if there were rockets or missiles impacting into the side of the mountain if they were under attack?"
The Terminators all thought the same thing. No one wanted to 'say it'.
Cameron put it all together too. There was no actual proof of it. The hillside may have been destabilized with all the digging. The explosion of the Terminator's power cell didn't help the interior stability any.
"It's unknown." Cameron said. "It's also a possibility."
Savannah looked around the small chamber they were in. She saw a lot of trickles of dirt falling from many places. It was much worse than it was earlier. Where did the dirt actually come from? Was it in between the rocks? How much dirt could fall out before the rocks began to fall with them? The old wooden supports which held everything up didn't appear to have much strength left in them. It was all very worrisome.
"This area's going to cave-in." Savannah said. "We need to get out from here."
Cameron looked around. Their options seemed limited. She could see dirt coming loose from the sides of the passageway they were in. It was more than just the upper part of the passageway they needed to worry about. The mountain appeared it was going to reclaim the space which was dug out of it.
"It will cave-in soon." Cameron said. "We can withdraw."
Savannah thought their best bet was where they were at. Even if there was a hostile force out there, it was still the closest way out. It was probably the easiest too. She wanted to point out their grim prospects to go elsewhere. There weren't a whole lot of places they could withdraw to.
"The trestle is down." Savannah said. "The way out to the main passageway is blocked by more rocks. Even if we did reach it, the other tunnel it's blocked by tons of earth and rock in both directions. Every direction is a 'dead end'."
There was a loud 'crack'. A giant boulder fell from the ceiling. It landed on the furthest mine car. It was crushed almost flat.
Everyone looked at the rock and smashed the mine car. They all knew if would have been any of them, they would've been terminated.
The ground shook and then shook again two more times in rapid succession.
Cameron recognized what just occurred for it was. Those were explosions.
"They're under attack." Cameron said.
Another large boulder crashed down. It struck the section of earth filled pipe they roll off to the side earlier. It dented it, but didn't crush it. It did much better than the old ore car did. The fact it was full of soil probably helped it take the blow. The steel was modern and not ravaged by time. The circular shape helped deflect part of the impact rather than absorb it. It gave her an idea.
The ground and walls around them began to rumble and vibrate.
"Cave-in…." Cammy shouted.
Their world began to fall apart. There was nowhere to go.
The end was upon them….
Closing monologue by Cameron:
Conundrum Of Chaos
Many think they have all the answers
Before they have all of the questions
They are prone to error and failure
They don't listen to suggestions
Which way is up
Which way is down
Does any fool's actions
Show they are more than a clown
Everyone wants the power
They think they are in control
No matter how much they gather
It never makes them whole
Confusion is more than a state of mind
It propagates illusions and delusions
Leaving a mind full of contusions
Forward progress faces an occlusion
Such is the jumble of existence
It befalls each and every one of us
Indecision breeds contempt
In life's conundrum of chaos
Nobody