Chapter 703

Go Dark

The fighting seemed to be almost over at the old newspaper plant. There was only an occasional suppressed shot fired every now and then. It looked like the 'clean up' was just about finished. The last action still ongoing was with Cam and the Metal girls at the site where the two HK Treads were.

Cam wanted to open the HK Tread's door and see what was inside of it.

"Let me try it." Cam said.

Sheila held her Taser at the ready to fire. It would take down a Terminator or a Gray. She reached up and absent-mindedly touched her cheek where the stitches were. She hoped it was a Gray so she could take them alive for a 'personal interrogation'. It would be a very enhanced 'personal interrogation'. Someone needed to 'pay' for the damage done to her.

"Be ready to move away from the door." Sheila said.

Ally still held a Thermite grenade. She didn't want to take any chances.

"I say we burn them out." Ally said.

Sheila liked the idea.

"I hope it's a Gray." Sheila said. "I want to watch them burn."

Cam saw the HK Tread was in perfect condition. It had a few scratches on it from the bullets she fired at it to get its attention earlier.

"We can capture this thing intact if there's no one in it." Cam said. "It will be a valuable asset to add to Cameron's stockpiles."

Ally wondered exactly what all Cameron acquired by now.

"Does anyone even know how much stuff she has?" Ally asked.

Sheila thought it was better if they didn't know.

"She has what she has." Sheila said. "Let's get this thing open and see what's inside."

Cam knew she still needed to use some caution. They didn't know what was inside, if anything. She felt she already experienced a close run in with it earlier when she was fighting with the Terminator. It was right before Sheila deactivated it with the 'sticky shocker'.

"If I can't open the door, Ally can use the Thermite grenade on it." Cam said. "I'm not going to take any chances with this thing."

Cam ventured forward and tried the door after a new electric pulse was shot through the HK Tread. The door opened when she tried it. There was no one in it. It was empty. She figured she should send an update to the Command Center.

"John, we have two Terminators deactivated and both of the HK Treads are under our control." Cam said. "The second one attempted to act autonomously in conjunction with the first one. There was no one inside of it."

Ally could see the HK Tread was no longer a threat. She turned her attention to Sheila.

"I need to look Sheila over." Ally said.

Sheila moved her hand up to her face to cover some of the damage.

"It isn't a big deal." Sheila said.

Cam and Ally both looked Sheila over anyway.

"It is to me." Ally said with the look of love in her eyes. "I want to help get you fixed up."

Cam could see both Ally and Sheila shared a close 'personal moment' without any other spoken words. Normally they would try and blow it off as no big deal. There would usually be some type of verbal sparring.

The Command Center reviewed all the reports as they came in. It appeared to have been a very successful operation with minimal damage to their troops. Now it was time to collect the spoils. There were half a dozen trucks on the way.

"Good work. No one was seriously damaged." John said. "Start loading the trucks. More trucks will arrive shortly. The perimeter looks secure and nothing is in the air. We're still jamming all communications. Cam, how's Sheila?"

Cam was a little surprised John asked her. He probably figured she'd give him the straightest answer. From what she observed it was nothing serious.

"It's only cosmetic damage." Cam said. "She'll be fine in a few days."

Ally was glad Sheila wasn't severely damaged. She tried to make light of the situation.

"At least none of the 'good parts' were damaged." Ally said. "They're all good to go. I'll need to give them an inspection later on."

Sheila was upset she was damaged, but she also realized she could have been damaged a lot worse. She tried to add to what Ally already said. She figured whoever she was with would have their head in a different spot most of the time anyway. The damage to her face shouldn't matter too much. They didn't spend much time kissing each other's lips. There was no need to fool around, when there was business to attend to. Things happened elsewhere.

"It looks like I drew the short straw today." Sheila said. "You haven't inspected those areas yet. I'm good to go, with anybody. All they need to do is ask."

It seemed Sheila directed her last comment at John.

Ally wanted to reassure Sheila she was fine no matter how she was to her. It appeared she thought along the same lines as Sheila in every detail.

"Relax. I'll give you a complete inspection soon enough." Ally said. "When we're together, we seldom see each other's face…."

Sheila knew Ally was right. She didn't see why they couldn't have a little action when everything was taken care of.

"I'll take you up on it, love." Sheila said. "Now you've made my nipple rings stand out."

Ally started to reach out. She was going to reach inside of Sheila's vest and see what she could get a hold of.

"Let me give one a twist." Ally said. "It will send a message."

Cam was a little irritated with their banter. She wanted to make sure the building was secure and there were no additional threats which might pop back up and strike at them. There was still plenty of work to do as well.

"Enough…." Cam said. "Let's finish the operation. We need to make sure everyone is terminated and start the material collection process. It's going to take some time."

She was worried about Cameron's operation as well. Currently it was only a recon even if things appeared to have taken a turn for the worse. There was a team there to back her up. She figured they would end up there before the day was done anyway. It was time to find the most valuable things they could take with them before they torched the building

Allison noticed Young Allison listened intently to the conversation between Ally and Sheila. She believed the subject matter was inappropriate for Young Allison.

"That's big girl stuff, you don't need to hear it." Allison said.

Young Allison suppressed a laugh. She was well aware of every sex act two females could do with each other. There weren't a lot of choices. There was a lot of variation.

"Please, I'm educated on a college level." Young Allison said. "I know what goes on all around me. I hear it. I see it. I know everything. Everyone else was already younger than me when they started doing things with other females."

Young Allison looked at Allison, until Allison looked away. She was ready to get descriptive of some of the things she witnessed personally if Allison wouldn't have backed down.

She was a little worried by her statement. She knew there were other things which happened to all the girls from the future when they were younger than her, which weren't with females. None of it was by choice.

Allison didn't want to have THIS conversation with Young Allison. She already told her enough about how things work. It was no secret Young Allison spied on all of them every chance she got. She was pretty sure Young Allison did know everything. She saw it all enough times. She actually hoped some of it helped her out later on. She wanted to change the subject.

She knew she didn't have the same abilities for learning as Young Allison did. She often wondered if Cameron did anything to 'enhance' Young Allison. She knew Cameron was to a further future, River's future. They all knew River was 'enhanced'. It was in addition to her extreme intelligence. She didn't know how many times Cameron may have gone back since the time they were all there. She wouldn't put anything past Cameron to achieve her goals. She even confronted Cameron about it. Cameron told her Young Allison's 'abilities' were all her own and from hard work. It was time to focus on the current operation which was yet to go down.

"How's Cameron doing?" Allison asked. "Anna and her are in the next battle zone."

Young Allison knew a lot was going to happen before the evening was done. She didn't want Allison to lose focus on what her current assignment was. It was on the old newspaper plant. Until they left with everything and torched the building, they weren't done yet.

"It may start to get 'hot' for Cameron's team soon." Young Allison said. "Stay focused on the old newspaper facility. There are dozens of things which can go wrong. It's never over until it's over. There's still the possibility enemy reinforcements could arrive, or additional trucks. HK drones can't be ruled out either. It's very important everything is monitored."

Young Allison was aware it could fall apart fast. It only took missing one hostile Terminator. It could result in a lot of damage to their team. As of right now, they really had no idea what they were dealing with at the old steel mill. They didn't know what the enemy troop strength was, how many Terminators there were, or how much HK equipment was there, and able to become active in a moment's notice.

In other words at this point, they really didn't know anything at all. So far Cameron and Anna checked one building which was empty. In the meantime the guard who was terminated on the hillside was discovered. It sounded like things were going to get a lot tougher going forward.

In the Command Center they felt the old newspaper plant operation went better than expected. They were able to use the element of surprise and infiltration to their advantage. Because Cam was able to make her way inside of the building, it gave them a big insight as to what they would face and the best way to launch the attack.

John was worried about Cameron. She was at a much larger and spread out location. There were only a few Terminators to assist her along with Savannah and his mother. He still couldn't believe she was there. It was something he certainly wouldn't have allowed to occur. It was only because she was in Palmdale at the time it happened. He didn't know she 'invited' herself when she saw what was happening.

"I want to send some of our personnel to assist Cameron." John said.

John Henry didn't want John to get ahead of himself. They needed to keep everything under control and remove everything from the old newspaper plant first. He still viewed the location as one of extreme danger to their troops. There was no way to know what would happen next.

"We need to focus and remove as much material as possible before the Grays counter strike." John Henry said. "We don't want to be there if they send HK drones. They may not wait for nightfall if they know we're still there. We need to do everything with extreme urgency."

John was dissatisfied with the answer, even if he knew John Henry was correct. He wanted to use more of their resources once they were done at the current location to get some help to Cameron's team. He didn't want to endanger any of their other troops to do it either.

"As soon as we get the other trucks which are on the way to the old newspaper plant loaded, I want to use the Blackhawk to ferry some help to Cameron." John said. "I want to get them there the quickest way possible."

John Henry already took some preemptive action for the very eventuality. He wanted to make sure everything was ready to go in a moment's notice.

"I already have it on standby and loaded with munitions." John Henry said.

John wanted the team to hurry but he knew it's exactly what they were all doing. He didn't want to make an issue of it. He just wanted to get things wrapped up.

"Good work." John said. "Lets strip the place clean and get out."

They still hoped the jammed communications prevented the Grays from sending reinforcements, or a drone attack, their way or to any of the other locations they took down. He didn't want the location where Cameron was alerted to what actually occurred.

It was where Cameron was at which would be the hard one now. All the action should focus there now. They just needed some more time to finish up at one location, before they could commit in force to the other location. Normally things weren't so spread out over such a large geographic area with as many individual locations. The physical size of the old steel mill presented additional problems in itself. It seemed to him they needed a lot more Terminators.

Cameron and Anna carefully moved to the next large building. It was locked like the first one was.

Anna looked at the door.

"Do you think we'll find anything?" Anna asked.

Cameron noted the dust build up around the door as it had been on the first building they entered. She was sure it would be the same thing. They still needed to check it.

"This one will be empty too." Cameron said.

She removed the latch as she did on the other building. It was empty as she suspected it would be. She wondered how many of the buildings would actually contain anything. Maybe the operation wasn't as big as she thought.

There was a far off sound. It started to get louder.

Anna went to investigate. She was now at the far end of the building.

"There's a Jeep coming." Anna said.

Cameron got the last screw back in and motioned for Anna to come to her.

"We need to hide for a few minutes." Cameron said. "We need to see what they're doing."

Anna looked around where they were.

"Where are we going to hide?" Anna asked.

Cameron spotted something earlier.

"Follow me." Cameron said.

Cameron took off at a fast run. Anna was right behind her.

Anna was sure they were going to be spotted. She wondered why Cameron ran and didn't fight. It was very uncharacteristic of her. She really didn't see any other option at this particular point in time.

The rest of Cameron's team was still at the temporary staging area. They were waiting for the word to advance.

The news they received from John Henry and CamNet was very troubling.

Savannah was sure she should have gone with Cameron like she wanted to.

"I don't like how this operation is developing." Savannah said.

Sarah was antsy waiting around doing nothing.

"I don't either." Sarah said. "These outfits we're wearing are getting hot as well. We should be ready to roll so we can respond in a jiffy."

Gail could see both Sarah and Savannah were worried about Cameron and the latest turn of events. She thought the decision belonged to Savannah since Cameron left her in charge of their group.

"We can move as soon as you give the word, Savannah." Gail said. "Everything is ready. We can leave in a moment's notice."

Savannah wanted to get closer to where Cameron and Anna were now. She wanted to wait for Cammy to get back to join their team. She also contemplated what she would do if they ran into further trouble. She was aware it was going to take a lot of cover from John Henry and CamNet to fix. It's what she was willing to do.

"Cammy will return soon." Savannah said. "If Cameron and Anna have to start shooting, we'll go in. If we can't get in, I'm calling a drone strike."

Sarah looked up at the sky.

"It will be dark soon." Sarah said. "It is not dark enough yet for it."

Savannah already made up her mind what she was going to do. She was going to risk it. She saw how big the entire complex was. They would need the ability of the drones to cover the entire area. There was a good chance they would encounter HK equipment as well. It was probably going to turn into a total Donnybrook.

"I won't wait." Savannah said. "We can spin any fallout if we need to. I'm not leaving the two of them in there alone and under attack."

Sarah looked at Pete and RePete.

"What do you two think?" Sarah asked.

Cameron's two Terminators briefly glanced at each other. They knew what their mission was there regardless of anything else. Only a direct order from Savannah could change what they were going to do, if they needed to do it.

"We will do as Savannah or Cammy instruct us." Pete said.

'RePete' wanted to be a little more specific.

"We'll go in alone if we have to." RePete said. "We won't leave Cameron and Anna to be terminated."

Sarah figured it was something Cameron programmed into them to make them obedient. She knew Terminators were good at following orders. Well, most of them anyway.

"Does Cameron have you programmed to face termination to rescue her?" Sarah asked.

'Pete' looked at Sarah; he wanted her to understand how it really worked.

"No. It's what she would do for us." Pete said. "We'll do the same for her."

Holly spoke for the Metal girls. They already agreed on what they were going to do if things went bad.

"Every Terminator here will face termination to help Cameron." Holly said.

Savannah wanted to let Sarah know it wasn't just a Terminator thing. She wanted Cammy to return so they could get moving.

"I will as well." Savannah said. "Cammy, how soon will it be until you're back?"

Cammy was aware of the current situation with Cameron and Anna. She didn't want to be the reason they showed up late to assist them if it was necessary. She could get there on her own with no problem.

"I'm still five minutes out." Cammy said. "If you need to roll, I'll catch up to you."

Savannah decided they needed to be ready to go in an instant.

"We are going to mount up now." Savannah said. "I'll have your outfit with me."

Sarah looked at their ride with a little apprehension. She really didn't see how the enemy was going to let them into the compound unopposed without some type of confrontation. She wanted to go over Savannah's plan again.

"So we're just going to drive up to the gate?" Sarah asked.

Savannah knew Cameron would do something to make it happen. She was sure they'd be able to drive right up to the front gate, and the enemy would open it for them.

"Yes." Savannah said. "Hank and Larry, you'll each drive."

Sarah looked at Cameron's Terminators. It was the first time she heard anyone refer to them by a name. She didn't care for what she heard the other female Terminators refer to them as. She wasn't sure if it was because they were Cameron's Terminators, or because they were male Terminators.

"They have names?" Sarah asked.

Savannah was proud of her efforts to 'humanize' all of the Terminators, including Cameron's.

"I've asked them all to pick names to use." Savannah said. "I want everyone treated the same way. I want them all as friends too, not just workers or machines. I want them treated how I would want to be treated. We are all on the same team together. Every one of us is an individual no matter how we came into being."

Hank and Larry were very proud of the names they asked Savannah to pick for them. They felt honored to be named by the 'Chosen One'. Savannah treated them very differently than Cameron did. Savannah treated them very differently than anyone did.

Sarah thought back about the cruel way she treated Cameron in the past. It made her feel guilty. She didn't understand Cameron fully then. She was here now for Cameron. It was what mattered. She realized she too would face termination to get Cameron out if she was in a jam and needed help, people change and times change.

The Terminators all heard what Savannah said and respected her more. They knew it's what she believed and how she would act. It's how she always treated all of them. Their devotion to Savannah was equal to their devotion to Cameron.

The group climbed up into the two trucks.

Sarah took another good look at their ride.

"I still don't feel good about this." Sarah said.

Savannah didn't either, but she knew Cameron was good for what she said she would do to take care of any problems or damage. She decided to give Sarah her personal guarantee she would follow through on it herself if it was necessary. It assumed she survived the encounter they were sure to be involved in.

"I'll make sure Cameron replaces anything we damage." Savannah said. "I know this equipment is important. Cameron does too. Right now we need it. It will allow us to drive right up to the compound, unopposed."

Cammy arrived just as the second truck pulled out of the structure. She closed the doors to the building and climbed in next to Savannah.

Cammy looked at Savannah's helmet and smiled

"Where are we headed to, 'Chief'?" Cammy asked.

Savannah looked a little confused.

Cammy pointed at her helmet.

Cameron gave it to Savannah to wear before she left. She hadn't looked at it in detail.

Savannah took off her helmet and looked at it. She traded it with Sarah. She knew it would make Sarah feel better about everything.

The act seemed to amuse Sarah if nothing else.

"Thanks, now I feel old." Sarah said. "Since I never will be 'Queen For A Day', I guess 'Chief For A Day' is a start."

Savannah liked to see everyone happy. She wanted Cameron to know she was about to move the team nearer.

"Cameron, we're moving closer to support you." Savannah said.

Things played out a little differently than Cameron anticipated.

"We're trying to find a hiding place." Cameron said. "I expected a foot patrol. Instead we have a Jeep patrol. It will be harder to avoid. They can cover a lot of ground a lot quicker. It actually makes more sense since the entire compound is so large."

Savannah would feel more confident once the team was closer. They could act almost instantly to Cameron's request.

"Tell us when you want us to breach." Savannah said.

Cameron didn't think they would need too much of a formal invitation.

"When you hear gunfire or see smoke." Cameron said.

Sarah was a little concerned about the last answer. She wondered if they were going to act on 'smoke signals'.

"I take it, it's not a joke." Sarah said.

Cameron hoped to be able to give Savannah's an open invitation.

"No. It's not." Cameron said. "If you see smoke, I want you to roll in."

Savannah motioned for Hank and Larry to move the team closer to Cameron's location. The two big trucks started out.

"We are rolling now." Savannah said. "CamNet can track our position and inform us where to go, either to hold or to advance."

Cameron didn't think Savannah's team would have much trouble with traffic.

"If we need you in a hurry, everyone will pull over for you to pass. You have the option to clear the streets." Cameron said. "I think CamNet selected a good choice for your vehicles."

CamNet contacted Hank and Larry directly with Savannah's approval.

"We're moving to the location CamNet has provided." Savannah said.

Cameron knew the patrol was approaching her position.

"I need to go dark." Cameron said. "Watch for our signal."

Savannah expected to see smoke sooner rather than later. She would rather see smoke than hear gunfire. She knew the gunfire would happen soon enough.

"We'll do it." Savannah said. "Use caution."

Savannah was aware this operation was about to go 'hot' in more ways than one.

In the Command Center they needed to refocus their attention. Things seem to wrap up nicely at the old newspaper plant. Now they needed to worry about Cameron and her team.

John didn't like the fact Cameron and Anna needed to avoid a patrol.

"Cameron's going to be in a jam soon." John said.

John Henry could see Cameron and Anna weren't John's only concern. It was very understandable under the current conditions.

"She isn't yet." John Henry said. "I know you're worried about Savannah and Sarah as well."

John was very worried about all of them. Both of his parents were out there.

"I am." John said.

John Henry hoped Cameron could provide them with as many advantages as possible.

"If Cameron can disable any of their equipment, or even let us know what we're facing, it will be a big help." John Henry said. "She might be able to make the same type of report Cam was able to make. We will know where to send our troops when they arrive."

John was worried about the time. It wasn't too dark yet.

"How soon will it be until you can give her drone support?" John asked.

John Henry was aware Savannah already bypassed them and dealt directly with CamNet. He understood the reason why.

"Savannah already has some on standby." John Henry said. "They're from CamNet. If Cameron needs help, Savannah isn't waiting."

John didn't like the idea, at least until it was dark. He also knew Savannah was going to try and protect Cameron and Anna. He wanted them protected too. He was glad Savannah was there with Cameron. He knew Savannah would do everything she could to help Cameron. He also knew she dealt directly with CamNet to take the heat off of him if she needed to make a questionable decision.

Neither John nor Savannah knew Young Allison already took matters into her own hands through CamNet. Everything was already on standby when Savannah contacted CamNet.

Cameron led Anna back the way they came. There were piles of rubble from a torn down building. It was left in the location they were working when the steel mill folded. All work stopped and never restarted when the money ran out. Everything was left exactly like it was.

She tried to move in unobserved from being spotted by the observation posts on the hill. They reached the pile of rubble and concealed themselves. Moments later the Jeep passed by.

The Jeep patrol moved between each of the buildings and then came back. They were careful and covered everything twice. They did it from different directions to make sure they didn't miss anything. Nothing looked out of place and all the buildings were still sealed.

Cameron saw them check.

The Jeep drove off.

"Let's move." Cameron said. "We need to see what else is here."

Anna figured they could at least drive out the truck Cameron, Savannah, and Gail followed to the location. The hillside outposts indicated a much bigger operation than the one truck they followed.

"If nothing else is, we can take the truck with the drones away." Anna said.

Cameron hoped to spare Anna from being in a gunfight.

"You haven't been shot up yet." Cameron said. "I don't want you damaged."

Anna was there to make sure Cameron didn't get shot up.

"We both know why I'm here. It's so you're not damaged." Anna said.

Cameron knew it was Savannah's doing to send Anna in her place. It was done so she could protect Sarah. Sarah was along when she shouldn't have been. She did understand Sarah wanted to do her part to protect everyone as well.

"Savannah is always watching out for me." Cameron said. "She'll come for us when we need her."

Anna spotted something and pointed.

"It may be sooner than we think." Anna said. "Look…."

Next to the building the big rig entered was an HK Track.

"I see it." Cameron said. "It's not a good development."

Anna expected to see it move or do something. It didn't.

"It looks inactive." Anna said.

Cameron knew where there was one HK Track, there were always more.

"There are going to be more of them." Cameron said. "We didn't spot it earlier."

Anna wondered if it was sent out when the Jeep patrol was dispatched.

"I never heard it." Anna said.

Cameron wanted to get closer to it.

"We will try to approach it from the rear." Cameron said.

"We can deactivate it." Anna said.

Cameron wanted to do something better than deactivate it. She wanted it to help them.

"I want to change its programming if I can." Cameron said. "Cammy did it before and it helped us greatly."

Anna was aware Cammy used the same method at the old helicopter base.

Cameron and Anna headed around the back of the third building. The operation was still in the early stages for them. There were a lot of unknowns and HK Tracks roaming around were about the last thing they needed. They would present a problem for their drones when they arrived as well.

She wondered what would be next. She sure hoped it wasn't an HK drone. If there were any HK drones, the prospects of their fate looked very dark.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Dark Fate

What does the future hold
Hopefully it's something great
Nobody knows for sure
I guess we'll have to wait

Some events in life
Will cause our ego to deflate
Others things will pick us up
Our hopes and dreams will inflate

We may need to work hard
Seldom through life can we skate
We may even find some
With whom we can relate

Not everything will be
Someone else's mandate
It is we ourselves
Who hold the power to dictate

It's time to clean the slate
Our accomplishments are first rate
There is no fate to gravitate
We are free from a dark fate

Nobody