Chapter 652

Observations

Previously:

Vanna finished up with Claire and moved on. She passed Holly on the way out. It was clear Holly and Claire were both about to share. She checked on Allison. There was the customary small gap in the door. Any door not closed tight was always an open invitation for anyone to enter. When she looked in, Cam and Allison were both together. She watched both of them share with each other at the same time. It excited her greatly to watch Allison together with 'herself'.

A voice startled her.

"We can do the same thing." Hanna said. "It will be just like them, but it will be us instead."

Vanna was a little surprised Hanna moved up silently behind her. The Metal girls all liked to do it. She was so focused on Cam and Allison she didn't hear her.

"You startled me a little bit." Vanna said. "I'd like to do what they're doing. I think we can do it better."

Vanna liked being with 'herself'. She was with Hanna any opportunity she could get. It excited her immensely to be able to service 'herself'. She liked to see what other people saw when they looked at her. She knew she looked different from anyone else, except someone who was a DNA clone of her.

Hanna looked at Allison's bedroom door. She wanted to give Vanna a choice going forward.

"Do you want to make it a four-way, or keep it a two-way?" Hanna asked.

Vanna could be with Cam anytime. She usually was multiple times a day. She wanted to keep it personal right now with Hanna. It would really give her some time to look at 'herself'.

"I think we can start out with a two-way." Vanna said. "I like what you have to offer. You know all the things I like."

Hanna smiled. Of all the females she was with, what she enjoyed most was what Vanna or Savannah could offer her visually. She was pleased she shared their DNA. She would like to have the same younger appearance as Savannah, but she didn't. She looked like Vanna. Since Anna was created, she never would have Savannah's appearance, well, not until at least Savannah was older.

"It sounds good to me. Let's get started." Hanna said.

Hanna led Vanna off to the room where Holly and her kept their clothes. She often shared the bed with Holly once Claire and Allison were asleep. Young Allison would sneak up and watch them. They always positioned themselves so Young Allison could see and learn the most. Anna would quietly make Allison go to her room after four or five minutes. She allowed Young Allison plenty of time to see everything.

Anna would return and watch them for two minutes every time before she left. They always wondered if she would join them, but she never did. She told them before she wanted to 'save' herself for Young Allison. Since Anna ran Cameron's program, with the 'Neural Interface' from Savannah, they figured it was something Cameron programmed into her or it was a very strong suggestion from Savannah.

Vanna turned on the overhead light. She intended to make the most of the encounter. She wanted to see everything in detail. It was a lot different to view things when they were in front of her face, than a reflection in a mirror.

Hanna couldn't help but notice Vanna's scar. It bothered her to look at it. She attempted to recreate the same scar on her. She could do the damage, but it always regenerated and healed within two days. She attempted it multiple times so she could be identical to Vanna. Vanna asked her to stop doing it so she did. Maybe if she would have left her pain receptors off, Vanna wouldn't have said anything about it. She didn't know one thing, she was certainly 'alive' whenever she tried to recreate the damage.

She noticed Vanna touched the area on her where there was no scar. She brought the subject up from time to time. Now seemed like a good time to bring it up again. It was clear Vanna wanted it to go away.

"Cameron found all the top plastic surgeons in the country if you want to use them." Hanna said. "Everything could be taken care of in one or two visits."

Vanna noted Hanna didn't mention the actual damage itself. It wasn't something she liked to talk about. She received the scar to free Allison from a horrible fate at the hands of Scavengers. She was always worried Allison would move on without her if she didn't have the scar anymore. Sometimes she thought it was the only reason why Allison stayed with her in the past, the future.

"I thought more about it." Vanna said. "I want to go back in time for a couple of months and have the procedure taken care of so it will have time to totally heal. I want to arrive back in the present before I actually leave to go on to the mission to have it done. I will be able to show myself what it looks like if I have it done. I may decide not to do it."

Hanna tilted her head slightly.

"If you didn't go, then there would be two of you." Hanna said. "It would be bound to create some type of problem."

Vanna thought of something else.

"I could actually be with myself." Vanna said. "There really would be two of me, even if it was for a brief time."

Hanna tilted her head slightly in the other direction.

"If I was the one with you, then there would be two of me as well." Hanna said. "I would like to try the same thing you would like to try. It really would be two of me too."

Vanna was very excited with the thought.

"We can pretend right now it's what we just did and we are actually each other." Vanna said.

Hanna was as thrilled as Vanna was with the thought.

They took another moment to look at each other over and thought of themselves. As soon as they hit the sheets, they started in on each other. They were each 'themselves' in their own minds. It was a wild ride for both of them.

Young Allison and Anna finished up in the bunker. The operation was concluded.

"You need to get cleaned up for bed." Anna said. "We're done here for the night."

Young Allison was tired. She yawned and nodded. She headed up the stairs to return to the main part of the house. As soon as she cleared the door to the bunker, she could hear 'activity' occurring in multiple rooms. She felt a surge of excitement. Her tiredness didn't bother her right now. Her curiosity and desire were what compelled her.

She stopped by each of the three rooms with the partially open door and watched the two girls together on the beds. She found it quite fascinating to watch Vanna and Hanna together, and then Cam and Allison together. It was hard to tell who was who at first. It didn't take long see the human girls were able to derive more pleasure and excitement out of the sexual acts.

Young Allison wasn't able to achieve anything close to the same level of excitement and pleasure Allison exhibited. She knew Future Allison and Allison shared when Future Allison visited. She wondered if it was something she should do. Allison would already know everything she would like and how she would like it done. There wouldn't be any guesswork or learning involved. It would be straight to the pleasure of everything going forward.

She shook her head to clear it. She wondered where she got such thoughts from at times. They just seemed to pop into her head.

She stopped by the third room. She was a little bothered by the fact her mother seemed to enjoy everything the most. She watched her mother for a minute before she moved on. She knew everyone liked to be with her mother whenever they could over any of the other girls.

It made her wonder which of the human girls she would most be like when Savannah finally 'took' her. Logic dictated it would be Allison. It was a disappointing prospect. Vanna, and especially her mother, seemed to enjoy everything more. She tried to tell herself she would be different. She would be like Savannah taught her.

Young Allison checked on Summer and made sure she was OK before she entered her own room. It was late and it was time for bed.

Anna quietly watched everything from just inside the door to the bunker.

She listened as Young Allison pleasured herself several times once she was in bed. She wondered which room Young Allison imagined she was in. It was probably all of them. She would need to report to Cameron it was evident Young Allison was ready for more. She already made the report multiple times. Cameron still didn't take action and encourage Savannah to step up.

Cammy was still upset when she started down to see what was happening inside the old packing sheds. She knew she should use more caution than she did. She was more focused on the goal to check on the enemy. It was where she was headed.

She spotted the positions of three sentries. She moved sideways from where they were. She hoped to avoid them for now. They would need to be dealt with soon enough. Steve followed her down from their observation point. They set up some surveillance gear. Cameron sent a team of Terminators. They did the same thing at several other locations.

Steve was right behind Cammy now. He thought she seemed a little off and reckless. He was about to say something but didn't know if it would cause a problem.

Cammy wanted to take the risk herself. It was the same thing Cameron would do.

"I want you to wait here." Cammy said.

Based on Cammy's current state of mind, it seemed like a bad idea.

"I should go with you." Steve said.

Cammy didn't think it would be a problem. There was additional help nearby.

"There are two of Cameron's Terminators close to where we are." Cammy said. "If you hear shooting, you will know to come, so will they. You don't need to worry too much about me. I don't plan on having my sheath damaged."

She was worried about her appearance as much as Cameron was. She did know Savannah would still have her, even with the damage. It never seemed to bother her at all. Savannah told her she was the same individual inside as she was before the damage on the outside.

Steve worked with several of Cameron's Terminators before. He felt they were very 'primitive'. Their interaction with humans was very limited. They all looked like Terminators. They wouldn't blend in well if someone looked over them in detail. The enemy would be able to spot them easier.

"I don't care for them." Steve said. "They're so mechanical."

Cammy understood what Steve meant. it was all Cameron's doing in her misguided attempt not to get 'too close' to them. Cameron believed by keeping some distance, their destruction would affect her less. She doubted it was the case.

"They're all business and no play." Cammy said. "The only time they're different is when Savannah comes to see them. They all change when she's among them. I can see it. I can actually see them come 'alive' as Savannah interacts with them. They do their jobs and follow orders. They're good fighters."

Cammy knew Cameron brought Savannah to see them to instill personal loyalty in them to Savannah. Savannah always seemed to have a way with cyborgs and humans. She was sure Cameron would do the same thing with Young Allison more and more as well. The two girls, Savannah and Young Allison, would have an army of Terminators who were loyal to them before any other cause. They would also have protection better than anyone else. It was an effective strategy to protect the two girls going forward. It would always give them an 'ace' in the future. She thought it was a good idea no matter how one looked at it.

Cameron gave and provided power to Savannah like no other, other than Cameron herself. She knew part of the reason. Cameron knew if she ever went 'bad', Savannah would have the ability to stop her. Savannah was Cameron's 'fail safe'. Young Allison would be as well.

She wanted to move into the target area by herself. There was no need to endanger Steve. She understood his concern for her. She was fine.

"I need to go in alone." Cammy said.

Steve knew she shouldn't, but it would cause a problem if he didn't obey her. He could reach her quickly if she needed help. He would act on his own anyway if he thought it was prudent. He didn't plan to wait for Cammy to end up in a terminal situation. He wanted to make his position clear to her.

"I'll wait here for now." Steve said. "I'll come for you if you need assistance."

Cammy knew it was a tactful way of saying if she got into a firefight. She still didn't know for sure if it was all some type of 'Sucker Play' by Skynet. It didn't look like it.

"I'll stay in contact with John Henry and CamNet." Cammy said. "Watch your back."

Cammy moved further down toward the objective. She spotted what looked like several men moving an HK drone with a pallet jack from one packing house structure to another. It was covered over with a tarp. There appeared to be another one inside of the building they were about to take the one they were moving. It was covered as well. There were several points in her scan, two separate times, which showed what it might be. She understood the lack of sophistication with what they were doing.

It could be the HK drone was assembled there, or brought there for testing, or maybe even storage. If she saw two of them, there was bound to be more. It certainly needed to be destroyed. She wanted to see if there was any way they might be able to capture some of the equipment. She understood whenever they tried to do something so bold, they needed to worry about the equipment actually being used against them. The location needed further reconnaissance.

She saw enough already to make a determination about the location. She wanted to see more. It was exactly what Cameron would do.

Cammy slipped past the first sentry. She made it to the first building of the complex. The windows were blocked. They were covered over from the inside. She tried a door, it was locked.

She came around the back of the first structure. There were several white vans parked there. They were the same type they encountered with the same group over the past few weeks. She knew she was at the right place. The tarp covered HK drones and identical white vans were proof of it. It was definitely some type of base of operations. She wondered what else they were up to.

Cammy moved to the second building, the one where the HK drones were moved into. It was the same story as the first building. She carefully moved around to the large opening where they moved the HK drones through. It was closed now. It would call for a closer look. She hoped to find a way inside. She didn't want to make too much noise or give away the fact the enemies defenses were penetrated.

She started to move up and stopped in her tracks. There was a slow moving upward arc. It glowed red. It stopped and suddenly grew brighter. It was another sentry who was smoking. He was directly ahead of her. She carefully backed away. She didn't spot him earlier. It was a close one. If he hadn't been smoking, she would have missed him. He was in-between some old packing crates. She wondered if he was trying to hide. It wasn't from her. It was probably from whoever was in charge. If it was a Terminator, she didn't think he did a very good job.

Cammy quickly concealed herself between some old rotting crates further back. They looked very unstable. The guard moved and was now almost directly in front of her. She checked behind her. The crates in the back seemed to have fallen together as they rotted and collapsed. It was clear the way out to the rear was blocked. It would make a lot of noise if she crashed through them. Taking out the guard wouldn't be a problem. She just needed to do it before he sounded an alarm. She was sure the early hour of the morning would delay any type of response, unless there was a Terminator with the group. It seems highly likely there would be.

She checked through a tiny gap in the crate on the east side. There was a faint brightness starting on the horizon. It was the first sign of sunrise. She didn't want to be stuck there when it was daylight. She might be able to hide in the darkness, but in daylight, she knew she would be spotted.

Cammy contemplated her course of action. Something suddenly appeared and landed in front of her. Grenade! It was her first thought. It wasn't metallic and lacked bulk or size. It was the still barely glowing cigarette butt. The guard tossed it away when it was smoked down to the filter. As she looked at it, the rotted wood splinters it landed on started to smoke. A fire was about to start. She couldn't see any good in it happening, especially where she was stuck at. It was exactly the area everyone would concentrate on to attempt to put the fire out.

She carefully moved her foot over and crushed out the embers before a fire could start. If she wasn't there right now, exactly where she was to extinguish it, there would have been a fire burning in the old wooden crates within a few minutes. It was clear it quickly would have spread out of control as the old rotted crates caught on fire one by one. Based upon their dilapidated condition, she figured the dry wood would burn instantly. She doubted they possessed any easy way to extinguish a fire burning in old dry wood. The burning embers would probably have landed on the old packing sheds. It was most likely that they all would have caught fire as well. It was something to think about anyway as a parting gift when she left.

She was startled by a long loud deep toned sound. It was followed almost immediately by another shorter one. The second one wasn't quite as loud. It was the sound of flatulence. Her olfactory receptors detected the odor soon afterwards. A warning flashed in her HUD it was an 'unpleasant smell'. She needed to act appropriately with unpleasant smells as part of her infiltration programming. She couldn't stand out as not reacting, when humans reacted to an unpleasant smell.

Cammy hoped it would prompt the man to move away. The warning in her HUD was quite persistent. She turned off her olfactory receptors for a few minutes.

"I've got to cut back on the beans." The man muttered.

He moved off as he waved his arm around him. It was a failed attempt to dissipate the unpleasant smell.

She came out from between the collapsing crates and followed him as far as the next structure. She watched him check his watch and move on. It appeared he was supposed to be on patrol. It seemed he just took an unscheduled smoke break. She saw he carried a rifle as well. The guard clearly wasn't motivated and slacked off. She hoped they were all as sloppy.

It was unknown if the man was a Gray, or a 'contract employee' hired by them. As long as he worked for anything Skynet related, he was a collaborator. He may not know it, but he would need to suffer the consequences for his actions. He could see what the enemy was up to and what they possessed. If he was ever at a location with a 'comfort bunk', he was as guilty as the rest of them regardless of the time period they were from.

Cammy doubled back and went down the side of the third structure. It was sealed like the first two. On this one however, the large door was still open. There was a faint dimness of light coming out of it. She thought about crossing over to it and trying to slip inside.

She just started to move when she heard it. It was the sound of an HK drone approaching. It was very quiet. It was unlike any she heard before. All of a sudden it was right there and almost on top of her. She wondered if it was part of a new generation, or a new design altogether. Either way she wanted the technology so they could modify their drones. She knew the location couldn't be destroyed by a drone strike until they could get a hold of the advanced technology.

John Henry already made modifications which lowered their drones sound output by twenty percent. The new drone power plant would seem to reduce it by another fifty five percent. The modification would allow their drones to operate at a much lower altitude in the darkness. She wondered if this group of Skynet sympathizers was from a further future. It wouldn't be the first time they encountered it.

Cammy wondered if maybe she was targeted by the HK drone. If she ran, she would be a target. She was next to some old packing equipment which was shoved outside to rust away. It looked like they were old conveyor belts and sorting machines. She decided to hold her position. She hadn't seen any energy bubbles since she left Steve, so she knew she must survive. She was sure of one thing, Savannah wouldn't let her perish. Cameron on the other hand might just do it to her. So be it. She would take the roll of the dice no matter what it was.

She chanced a look at the HK drone. It sounded like it was about to land. It was. As she watched, it set down on a metal pallet and powered down. Two men came out and threw a tarp over it. They used a pallet jack to move it inside.

Cammy knew she needed to get inside the structure. The horizon was brighter now in the distance. Now wasn't the time to head inside. She would be trapped inside for the entire day if she did. It would increase her chances of discovery. All she would need was another Gray who wanted to slack off and try to hide in whatever hiding position she was already in. It would be a surprise to both of them, especially the Gray.

She decided to slip back out of the compound for now. The complex would be kept under surveillance. They would set up some more equipment and wait. She moved out past the white vans. She placed a tracker on each one. She didn't have enough for the other cars which were parked there with her, or she would've tagged them also. The white vans seemed to handle the 'official' business for Skynet. It's why she tagged them. In a sparsely populated area they needed to be careful about being spotted. With the vehicles all tagged, it allowed them to track every location they would visit. The more targets they could identify, the more damage they could do to Skynet.

Cammy headed back for the spot where she left Steve. There was a flash of light which caught her eye from the top of a nearby mountain. It was the tallest mountain in the area. She stopped and looked back at the complex. There was a large circular dish of some type exposed now. It faced in the direction the light came from. The setup wasn't there earlier. There was a flash of light which seemed directed back at the mountain top. What was it?

She needed to get past the last sentry and back to Steve. It would all require further investigation and observation. Whatever they stumbled on seemed to be a little bit more involved than they first thought.

Cammy wondered if Cameron would have come to the location, if everything would be a flaming mass by now. It seemed Cameron felt less regard for her safety and well being than she did, which made no sense. They were the same program. What if they weren't the same program? Either something was 'wrong' with Cameron, or it was 'fixed' in her programming. She made it back to where Steve waited for her at. She wanted to make sure he saw the same things she did.

"You saw everything, right?" Cammy asked.

Steve was as puzzled as her about what actually just happened. It seemed to be some type of optical communication.

Cammy wanted to take some direct action. Something was going on up there and she wanted to know what it was. She calculated the distance and height and knew it would be quite a hike to reach the location. It would take several hours.

"I need to find out what's on the mountain top." Cammy said. "I better get started now. It looks like it's going to take a long time to climb up there."

Steve believed there was an easier way to at least get close to the top of the mountain. It would save a lot of time. It was something he spotted but didn't think much of at the time. They weren't there to sightsee.

"There's an aerial cable car which goes closer to the top. It's located on the outskirts of Palm Springs." Steve said. "I saw the signs on the way here."

Cammy figured the aerial cable car would save them quite a bit of time to reach the objective at the top of the mountain. They would be able to blend in with some of the tourists, and hopefully not stand out as someone specific going after whatever was up there to go after. It was going to limit the firearms they could bring with them. She quickly formulated a new plan.

"We'll leave Cameron's Terminators here for now, along with the surveillance equipment." Cammy said. "We'll take a trip up to the top and see what we find. Let's get started."

Steve didn't want to seem like a killjoy, but there were specific operating hours the aerial cable car ran.

"It doesn't open for a few hours." Steve said.

Cammy looked up at the mountain and frowned. CamNet quickly updated her. There were other potential targets in the area to check out.

"We can do some recon at another location by the Salton Sea first." Cammy said.

Steve was a little surprised. He figured Cammy would want to return to the base by now. He was aware there were other things she could be doing. The girls all seemed to stay busy, cyborg or otherwise, with each other.

"Don't you want to go back?" Steve asked. "There are others who can do this."

Cammy wasn't in a hurry to return to the base. She would find out soon enough what actually happened in her absence. She honestly doubted it would be anything good. She felt she made an important discovery where she was at. The mystery on the mountain top was one of them. The much quieter power plants on an HK drone was another one. She didn't want anything destroyed until she could get her hands on one of them.

"No." Cammy said. "I don't feel like it right now. Let's go ride the cable car. I want to see what's on the mountain top. CamNet wants us to check a few other things out first."

Steve nodded. He'd received the same transmission.

Cammy looked up at the mountain. Its elevation was over two miles in height. There could be numerous things on it, or inside of it. She wondered if what was on the mountain top was really just the tip of the iceberg.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Know NO

The thrill of victory
The agony of defeat
The stab in the heart
The smoothness of the sheet

Feelings, emotion and confusion
They surge through the mind
We think we can see
Yet we're stone cold blind

It all happens in our head
It's only all make believe
All they can give is to use
Maybe say thanks and leave

Rather than forever wonder
It is better to know
That we're 'not good enough'
To know the answer is eternally NO

All may seem small and lost
Nothing any longer matters
How could they do this to me
My shredded heart in tatters

Sex need not be physical
In a cold dark room at home
Sex comes in many forms
Maybe even as a poem

Nobody