Chapter 698

Start The Clock

Cameron looked at the Gray she just terminated. Everything which would happen next, seemed would all start here with this incident. It started an invisible timer on all of the events about to unfold. She was aware because she was distracted thinking about John and his negative attitude, is what allowed the Gray to get the drop on them. She should have detected him when he made his first movement towards them. Instead it ended up with him pointing a gun at Savannah and her. It was probably his desire to abuse them later on which prevented them from being shot outright.

She turned her back to the threat to protect Savannah with her chassis. Things played out as she figured they would, because they weren't viewed as a threat. They were viewed as prey instead. Needless to say, the Gray simply bit off more than he could chew.

Now it was time to make a choice. They could turn and run. She could pick up the Gray and take him with them. It would be done to make it look like he ran off. It wouldn't be the first time a Gray cut ranks and ran. She knew when they did, there was a severe penalty to pay when they were tracked down by a Skynet Terminator. They were always made an example of in front of other Grays so they knew what the penalty was for disloyalty. She was sure it was why Skynet allowed Grays to put the grab on females as they desired for their own personal use. As long as the clandestine disposal of the corpse was completed when they were finished, there wouldn't be a problem.

Since Cameron heard the man's voice. They could 'take over' his post. She could try to emulate him. She didn't know if there was a code word, or specific check in times. She could think she fooled the Grays, while they actually sent a patrol up to apprehend or terminate them because they knew there was an imposter. There was a good chance they would determine the imposter was a Terminator if it sounded like the other individual, but failed to pick up on the code words or use them when required.

She also needed to consider the option they might not send a patrol, they might send a Terminator. They might send a few Terminators, especially if they suspected they were about to face a Terminator.

The final option seemed to be, she could go ahead and start the strike now. She was under armed and she would be totally exposed since it was still daylight if she started an attack now. She thought she would let Savannah decide.

"What do you want to do?" Cameron asked.

With the near kiss, Savannah thought of a 'cute' response to her question. She didn't think Cameron was in a joking mood right now. She decided to play it straight. She thought the safest choice would be for them to back off and let their drones do the dirty work. It would put the least amount of risk on the back of their personnel if they did. Obviously any type of assault at any of the locations when the enemy was prepared was a recipe for disaster.

"We could call in a drone strike." Savannah said. "I suggest we retreat back to where Gail is and armor up."

They both knew the drone strike wasn't going to happen while it was still daylight. They couldn't risk a fleet of drones being spotted. It was sure to be reported as an 'alien invasion' of some type, especially if missiles were fired and people could see them streaking through the sky towards their target.

Cameron pointed at the dead guard. The fact he was a 'sell out' disgusted her. She knew how much it upset Derek and Kyle whenever they ran into one. It was usually someone on the Resistance side who got caught and decided to work with the enemy for the easier life it offered. The main perk was the unlimited use of females on the 'comfort bunk'. Skynet was able to control the Grays through food and sex. It didn't take much for someone captured to turn over information about the bunker or tunnel system they were in. If Skynet was able to conduct a successful raid and terminate more humans, they were in. If the information turned out to be inaccurate, the potential Gray and Resistant sellout was terminated with extreme prejudice. It was always done in front of the other Grays to show obedience and loyalty were required to their electronic master. A traitor was a traitor, no matter how it was viewed.

"What about the traitor?" Cameron asked.

Savannah knew if they wanted to wait until darkness to launch a drone strike or wait for more reinforcements to arrive, they needed to buy time. She contemplated how they could do it and not get caught. She tried to think of a method which wouldn't involve them directly, and offer some type of a plausible explanation. She didn't want to get caught up with whatever motivated the individual to turn against the Resistance.

"Let's make it look like he fell." Savannah said.

Cameron tilted her head slightly at Savannah's suggestion. She began to run possible scenarios. It seemed like it might work. She knew the area could get very hot during the day. The rocks around the area would absorb the heat from the sun and radiate it out like an oven.

"Let me take a quick look and find his position." Cameron said. "I want to know what he could see, and who could see him, if anyone."

Savannah re-holstered the guard's sidearm. They might as well make it look like he didn't feel threatened. They wanted it to look like an accident.

It only took Cameron a few minutes to locate the guard's observation post. She checked out the position he was previously concealed in. It was a good spot which overlooked the complex below. If they would have followed the truck in closer, the guard's position would have spotted them as a tail. It wouldn't have been easy to spot them from below unless one knew where to look.

There were some bottles of water where the guard was concealed. Cameron offered a sealed one to Savannah who declined. She then dumped them on the ground between two rocks as she formulated a plan.

They heard what they didn't want to hear. There was a slight crackling noise followed by a voice on the radio the guard carried.

Savannah and Cameron looked at each other.

"Charlie One, report." The radio crackled.

There was a pause.

Savannah handed Cameron the radio.

Cameron was ready to answer. She looked at Savannah and went to speak. A fraction of a second before she did, a new voice came across the radio.

"Charlie One, here. All is well." A voice reported. "Charlie One, out…."

Cameron quickly realized there were a series of outposts. She would need to determine where each one of those was at before moving forward.

"Delta Two, report." The radio crackled.

Cameron waited.

Savannah felt the silence was too long.

Cameron was about to speak when the voice came back over the line with an angry tone to it.

"Delta Two, report." The radio crackled.

She nodded at Cameron.

"Delta Two, here…." Cameron said in the dead man's voice. "All is well, but I don't feel so great. I'm starting to have double vision and I feel dizzy. I ran out of water a long time ago. I think I'm dehydrated. It's really hot up here."

The voice on the radio sounded even angrier.

"Delta Two, grow a pair." The radio crackled. "Save the complaints for the Wastelands. You know it can get a lot worse than this."

Cameron made a cough sound three times into the radio before she responded.

"Delta Two, roger…." Cameron said in the dead man's voice. "I'll try to tough it out. Delta Two, out…."

Cameron made a cough sound several more times before she ended the transmission. She picked the dead man up and moved him back to his post. She returned his radio to its holder and dropped him down a ten foot drop, head first onto a large rock. There was a sickening 'crack' and 'thud' as the man landed. He probably received a skull fracture to go along with his already broken neck.

Savannah made sure all the empty water bottles were scattered where the man's position was.

Cameron took one quick look around the area and decided it was in order. She made sure none of their footprints showed in any of the places where there was soft dirt. She was able to spot the other outpost which was further along on the side of the hill. They weren't in direct view of each other. She believed it was a tactical error on the part of the Grays. They should have been able to offer mutual aid or support to each other as they overlooked the complex and the surrounding area. There were clearly spots where they could have.

"Let's get back to Gail and formulate a new plan." Cameron said. "Charlie One would spot us if we went down this way. We're going to need another way in. We know which two areas to avoid observation from when we do. More than likely this position will be re-staffed at some point. It's possible it will be reinforced as well."

Savannah was ready to leave the area. She collected her underwear and bra.

"I never thought I could use my undergarments in the way we did." Savannah said. "The Gray couldn't take his eyes off of them."

Cameron made her own observation as the man viewed Savannah's undergarments. More than likely he was used to homeless females who would probably lack one or both of the undergarments. She was sure the condition they would actually be in would be a little less than pristine as Savannah's were. Life was hard on the street. There weren't always amenities found in a normal bathroom available to the homeless. To see a very pretty matching pair of them would be a rarity.

"He thought about what they normally cover. I saw him moisten his lips in anticipation…." Cameron said.

Cameron figured he planned to do to them something he wouldn't normally do with a homeless female. Somehow the thought of it disgusted her even more, than the abuse which would be sure to follow.

Savannah was pretty sure about what else he was thinking to do with those parts which were normally covered by her undergarments.

"What a creep." Savannah said. "I'm sure he probably abused plenty of females. I heard the stories about what happened to the females who ended up in work camps."

Cameron kept track of their trail out to make sure there were no traces of it along with their trail in. She used a branch off of a bush. She wanted to remind Savannah what she previously taught her.

"Remember, always offer the target what they want to get close to them, and then finish them off." Cameron said. "He probably wondered which one of us they belonged to…."

Cameron knew what Scavengers did to Vanna and Jesse. From the reports she read about captives in the hands of Skynet and Grays, females didn't fare much better there. Prospects for the future seemed grim on all fronts, especially for females. She would need to make sure Savannah, Young Allison, and all the other females were protected. Most of them were assigned female Terminators for their personal protection. All of those relationships expanded into sexual ones. It was something she didn't have a problem with and actually encouraged. She liked it when everyone was happy. Happy people didn't cause problems. She didn't like when there were problems.

Cam looked around with her eyes just above the top of the crate. She was ready to exit from the crate for a better look around. She was tired of waiting. With the operation about to go hot on Cameron's end, it was time for action there. The better she knew the layout of the interior of the building, and the strength of the enemy, the better she would be able to direct troop placement. She could act as an advance scout as long as she wasn't detected. Her biggest worry was the Terminator she spotted earlier. She knew he was in there somewhere. She hoped to locate him first.

She finally spotted the Terminator looking around. He was looking at the crates which must have been on the far ends of both boxcars. It appeared to be where they hid the real cargo, with the toys in front as decoys. She watched as he opened one crate. It contained one of the new HK drone power plants. There were two dozen crates. There were some other crates which might contain Coltan. She would need a closer look.

Cam knew they needed to capture some of the material as it would save them the trouble of building it themselves. There were enough power plants for twelve HK drones, just with the shipment which arrived. There could be more as well if she could check the crates which were behind other crates.

She was concerned with the closeness of the Terminator to her position. She decided to wait a little bit. She carefully lowered herself back inside the crate and waited. Until she was sure the Terminator left, she would stay put.

Cam concentrated her hearing to follow the Terminator's movements around her. She made sure her Taser was ready to go. She knew they could also get half a dozen Grays with long guns, and have them open up on the crate she was in simultaneously. They could do a lot of damage in a very short amount of time. She also would need to listen for the sound of a forklift. It was possible the Terminator could use it against her and jam it through the side of the crate she was in. It could severely damage her, and even several limbs in the process. If it were the case, she hoped her power cell would rupture and explode. It would take care of everything around her. She wondered if some type of chain reaction would start with the equipment scattered around the area. They were probably be nothing but a smoking hole in the ground where the old newspaper plant used to be.

John dealt with the reports which arrived from all the locations. It was Cameron's report which troubled him the most. When he received the report as to what she actually did to the guard before they left, he knew there was no way around the inevitable.

"Here we go." John said.

John Henry didn't see any way around it either. The clock was running.

"It was inevitable." John Henry said.

John was most worried about the lack of personnel where Cameron's team was. The satellite map indicated the location where she was, was larger and more spread out than the old newspaper plant, it was a giant single building. The buildings at the old steel mill were more spread out. Some of them were very large as well, every time he reached the same conclusion when he looked at it.

"We need to get more people in place." John said.

John Henry kept track of all the locations. He didn't want them to know what the others were going to do, especially once the attack started.

"I'm monitoring all communications from each of the places we're watching." John Henry said. "As soon as I detect one trying to communicate with another, I'll cut their transmissions."

John thought about it for a moment. He wanted to buy some time. He didn't think there were enough personnel to attack all the locations simultaneously. He wanted a way around it.

"Redirect them through your server first to emulate the voices you detect before we go to a total blockage. It will give each place less time to prepare or react. I want to try to take these places down one at a time." John said. "It will free up our people to move to other locations for additional support."

John Henry thought time would work against them the longer they waited.

"It's doubtful we will be able to wait for nightfall." John Henry said. "It doesn't appear drone support will be possible without detection. None of these areas are totally isolated."

John nodded. It was time to act.

"Let's go after the Coltan to start with." John said. "It may be the least defended. There's no way to know until we act."

John wanted to knock down the smaller satellite facilities first, and then redirect more personnel to the old newspaper facility. To get more help to Cameron was going to be a problem. It was going to take time. Once the other facilities begin to fall, they were going to be out of time.

Young Allison was displeased at the way things developed, especially for Cameron's team.

The mood in the Young bunker grew somber.

"This is rapidly falling apart and about to go hot." Anna said.

Young Allison wanted more assistance for Cameron's team. It didn't appear John was going to send any at this time. She understood there weren't a whole lot of Terminators available with all of the various locations under surveillance as they readied themselves to attack.

"Cameron and Savannah need more help now." Young Allison said. "Cammy needs to go and assist them."

Anna knew Young Allison was about to start making decisions on her own. She wanted to remind her what Cammy's responsibility currently was. It was something very important.

"She's responsible for Sarah and Jan." Anna said. "She can't shirk her duty."

Young Allison wanted more help for Cameron's team. It was time to act. The longer they waited to do something, the more danger Cameron's team would be in.

"One of you can remain here. The others need to go to help." Young Allison said. "Sarah and Allison are here. I'm here. I can watch Jan and Summer. I want CamNet to start making things happen. We're going to organize our own backup force."

Anna immediately received an update from CamNet.

It was clear CamNet was ready and anticipated Young Allison's wishes.

"CamNet has already secured the local helicopter which was used last time." Anna said. "It's currently being prepped by the company."

Young Allison was ready to send all of the Metal girls to help.

"Cammy and Hanna can fly. You or Holly needs to go as well." Young Allison said.

They were both surprised by the next voice.

"I can go." Allison said as she entered the bunker.

It appeared Young Allison wasn't the only one who did her share of spying.

"No." Young Allison said. "It's not happening."

Allison felt justified as well as qualified in her request to assist.

"I want to help Cameron and Savannah too. It's not like I've never done all of this before. You need to remember it and not forget it. I've faced down the enemy many times in the past, the future." Allison said. "You know I love them too."

Young Allison could have done without the reminder of Allison's past in the future. Current conditions dictated otherwise as to what Allison should do.

"I do too." Young Allison said. "You're pregnant. You have more than yourself to worry about."

Holly appeared at the bunker entrance. She obviously was keeping tabs on Allison. She knew it was time to act.

"I'll go in her place." Holly said. "It's my duty and responsibility to do so."

Anna looked over at Young Allison and then turned her attention to Holly.

"I'll tell Hanna and Cammy." Anna said. "Holly, let's go."

Young Allison wanted to help. She was willing to commit the reserves. Allison and her could take care of everyone at the Young residence. There was still the Detail as well. This wasn't the first time she was willing to send away all of her protection to assist in an operation. It made more sense to her to prevent a problem from getting worse, than it did to try to pick up the pieces afterwards if it fell apart.

John Henry watched John send troops to fortify the other locations and prepare for the attack. He wanted to point out one location which was neglected.

"We need more people where Cameron's at." John Henry said.

John didn't want to shortchange the operations he wanted to conduct first.

"We need more people everywhere." John said. "We need to start somewhere and take things from there."

John Henry wanted all the help they could get. He contacted CamNet as well.

"I've recalled all our teams and CamNet has alerted all of Cameron's Terminators." John Henry said. "This is a maximum effort."

John didn't want to take any chances.

"I want all the Details on high alert." John said.

Young Allison saw the alert come through. She immediately went and found Summer and Jan. She brought them down into the bunker. Young Allison knew Sarah and her mother needed to come in as well.

"Where is everyone?" Young Allison asked.

Jan was with Summer.

"My mom left with the Metal girls." Jan said. "Only Claire's left."

It wasn't news the Young Allison wanted to hear. It wouldn't have been her choice. She understood Sarah was a fighter.

"Where's Anna?" Young Allison asked.

Jan looked over towards the door.

"She left with them too." Jan said.

Young Allison was disappointed. Right now it turned everything happening into another test for her. It was unexpected and she needed to deal with it. She wanted help for Cameron and Savannah. She knew Anna understood it and why.

She found her mother and brought her down to join Allison and the girls. She advised the Detail of the current situation and to go on to maximum alert. She closed the blast door behind them and secured it.

Allison already started to hand out vests. She handed Young Allison hers. Cameron fabricated a slightly smaller one for her, so it fit her better. She 'outgrew' it more or less, especially in certain areas. It was a tight fit on her.

Young Allison looked at Jan and gave it to her. She helped her put it on.

"This will fit you better than it does me, but not for long either. I don't even think Summer will be able to wear this one for long. Everybody's getting bigger, everywhere. We all grow up sooner or later".

Young Allison noticed her mother's and Allison's concern.

"Relax…." Young Allison said. "I'll wear Anna's vest."

Claire was proud to watch her daughter give her vest to Jan. She also pointed out the obvious.

"Anna's vest is big for you." Claire said.

Young Allison answered with a tad of defiance.

"It won't be for long…." Young Allison said.

Allison and Claire looked at each other. There was nothing to say. There was no stopping it. They knew the future was coming and coming a lot faster than any of them ever imagined.

Young Allison wanted to take the stress factor away from Jan and her mother. She would actually prefer to have Summer sit with her. It wasn't the right setting. It's possible it would change later on.

"Mom, you take the girls to one of the bunker rooms and help them study or play." Young Allison said. "Allison, you're here with me. I want to use all of your experience and advice."

Allison smiled to hear it. She felt a little outclassed looking at all the computer gear.

"Remember, I don't know Tech stuff." Allison said. "We can't plug in like John Henry or Anna."

Young Allison knew it wasn't a problem. She had the world's most sophisticated and advanced computer system to back her up and guide her.

"CamNet will help us see and understand everything." Young Allison said. "She'll filter everything and only show us what's most important for us to see or use. I may want to make changes. CamNet will know what I want to see and where any problems or weak spots are at."

Allison was a little surprised to hear it. She wondered if her younger self could actually be the most powerful person on earth if she wanted to be. It sure seemed like it. She didn't think it would be an issue, but she sure wasn't going to suggest it. She wanted to know a little more about what could actually occur.

"Can you control CamNet?" Allison asked.

Young Allison wanted a working relationship, not control. She knew she could 'order' CamNet to do certain things if she really wanted them done. She hoped to keep her 'orders' to a minimum, the same way Savannah did. She wanted cooperation not domination.

"No. I work with CamNet." Young Allison said. "CamNet is - Cameron."

Young Allison knew it was a test. She would rely on CamNet for maximum assistance. She would also depend on CamNet to strike at her command if she thought it was necessary. She was pretty sure she was going to step on some toes. She currently possessed the ability to do it if she thought it was prudent.

She didn't plan to hold back on anything if the girls were threatened. She quietly indicated to CamNet she wanted a fleet of drones ready to go at a moment's notice. It didn't matter if it was daylight or not if she needed them. She wanted them available anyway. Nobody put her girls in a corner.

Sheila and Ally saw more help arrive.

It was time for action.

Sheila needed to let John know they were ready.

"OK, love." Sheila said. "We have six Terminators here now."

John wanted to be able to strike with speed and overwhelming force.

"Is it enough?" John asked.

Sheila and Ally had the location under observation for some time. They thought they knew all the details. They knew either one of them by themselves or together could take care of the facility. The only trouble would be if they ran into a hostile Terminator.

"It's a small place." Sheila said. "I don't think there are more than a dozen people there."

John Henry wanted to know if there were any 'wild cards'.

"Have you spotted any Terminators?" John Henry asked.

Ally was ready to go. Nothing changed so far.

"We haven't spotted any." Ally said. "We'll neutralize all the targets and take whatever Coltan we can."

John wanted to make sure no Coltan was left behind.

"You need to take all of it." John said.

Ally didn't think it would be a problem.

"We have two Terminators for each of the three entrances." Ally said.

Sheila was a little concerned about the noise level.

"Everyone has a suppressor on their M4." Sheila said. "It will reduce the sound, but not eliminate it."

It was at Savannah's urging, after speaking with Young Allison, they should use silenced or suppressed weapons as much as possible. The events on the mountain top showed silenced weapons helped them keep a lower profile. They used the Gray's silenced MP5 weapons against them quite effectively.

John Henry looked at John who nodded once at him. It was 'go time'.

"If everyone's ready, I'll cut communications in thirty seconds." John Henry said.

Ally and Sheila started forward. They indicated for the other Terminators to advance as well.

"Start the clock." Ally said. "We're moving…."

Ed checked with his team.

"We're ready to go as well." Ed said. "There are four of us."

John stressed what he wanted them to do. He was worried they were short handed.

"I want to make sure we have another truck available." John said. "We want those subassemblies."

John Henry was a little surprised with a new message from CamNet.

"CamNet has indicated they have additional personnel for Ed's team. There are also extra trucks for Sheila's team as well as Ed's team." John Henry said.

John was a little surprised to hear it. It was all the things they needed for those two locations. There was still one more location to deal with for the satellite facilities.

"It leaves Dan and Frank alone at the 'furniture store'." John said.

Frank thought he needed to update the Command Center. He just received some unexpected help.

"The Reese brothers have arrived with Jim." Frank said.

John slammed his fist down on the table. It appeared someone made an end run around him again.

Dan spotted two new arrivals as well.

"There are also two of Cameron's Terminators who just pulled up." Dan said. "The Reese brothers will be protected."

John was a little more relieved to hear there were extra Terminators. He told John Henry to initiate the communications block.

"Cut all the communications, everything at the satellite facilities happens now." John said.

John Henry received information some of the teams were already engaged.

"Sheila's team has already breached and the other two teams are moving in as well." John Henry said. "It is going down as we speak."

There were multiple attacks being launched simultaneously.

After the satellite facilities were taken down. John wanted to concentrate his efforts on the old newspaper plant. After the facility was taken down and secured, he would have to deal with the location where Cameron was at. He didn't know yet Young Allison already took some preemptive action with CamNet's assistance. There was a strike group on its way there now.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Start The Clock

Can something end
If there's no beginning
Maybe it all depends on
What's considered winning

Everything has a shelf life
What it is determines its length
Some things are weaker
Others have more strength

Maybe it's how
The race is run
More so than
The warmth of the sun

The sun provides light
Through life's darkness
Without the warming light
All that's left is starkness

Unless one can find
The one who is a rock
The relationship is limited
Start the clock

Nobody