Chapter 708

Fire Fighters

The Resistance Terminators silently killed all the Grays who came out to fight the fire. They were ready to support whatever areas needed additional assistance as soon as they were identified. They were still within the 'L' shape of the two fire trucks. It didn't appear as if the enemy knew what happened yet. There wasn't any gunfire so far. The silence didn't last long.

Savannah and Sarah watched the door to the first building where Cameron indicated she was going to go inside of. Seconds later they heard gunfire from inside of it. They both raised their weapons as they searched for a target. Whatever was happening inside there was going down now.

They saw a female open the door. She saw them and went back inside before they could shoot at her.

Savannah recognized what she saw as a threat. More than likely if there was a female with the Grays, she was probably a Terminator. From their past experience, the only females associated with Grays usually were a Terminator or someone who possessed some type of specialty skill or ability to help Skynet. If they weren't a Terminator, they were usually a traitor. Other than either of those options, the rest of the females associated with the Grays were usually tied to a bed naked. They already encountered far too much of it. The female they just saw wasn't tied to the 'comfort bunk'. She didn't want to wait around to see what happened with the female Terminator. It was time for action.

"Let's go." Savannah said. "It wasn't Cameron. It probably was a 'Metal Bitch'. We need to stop her."

Sarah spotted the female as well. She was ready to act.

"Let's do it." Sarah said.

Savannah opened the door of the fire truck and jumped down. Her M4 tracked in front of her. She saw Sarah do the same thing from the fire truck next to her. They moved in conjunction with each other.

They just started to move when they heard the distinctive sound of a minigun fire. They knew their team didn't bring one, so it was bad news. Cameron reported HK Tracks earlier, some must be active now. Cameron said she reprogrammed an HK Track to work for the Resistance team. They needed better identification of where the minigun gunfire came from.

"Sarah, stay back." Savannah said. "We need to identify if it's hostile or friendly fire. We're going to need solid cover if it's hostile gunfire. I've seen what those things can do."

Savannah was in close when HK Tracks attacked before. She knew how deadly they could be. Cameron and Cammy were both almost chewed up on the raid. As far as it went, she almost was too. She still remembered the confined space she was in. It was some type of work trough built into the floor of the building. It could have been for electrical conduit or plumbing at one point. Whatever was in there was gone when she was in it. An HK Track was literally right above her on top of a metal grate. She remembered all the hot shell casings from the minigun which landed around her as it fired. It was like hot 'brass rain'. Each one of those fired casings represented a projectile directed at someone. She knew it would have been deadly to be on the receiving end of the gunfire.

She operated an HK Tread at a Skynet location they took down once. She used it to take out an entire column of reinforcements when they arrived. She used the minigun as well as the rockets it contained to kill with. She didn't want Sarah on the wrong side of a minigun. She didn't want anybody on the wrong side of a minigun on their team.

"We need to use caution, Sarah." Savannah said.

Savannah and Sarah retreated back to the fire trucks. The Terminators on their team all searched for the HK Track as well…. They knew there was more than one there.

They heard it fire a second time. It was followed by a long fading scream.

They knew it wasn't anyone on their team. Savannah and Sarah were the only humans with them, and they were both accounted for. It seemed to indicate the HK Track just fired on a group of Grays, probably more than once.

They didn't know it was a patrol of Grays who thought the HK Track was going to back them up. They never imagined it was going to gun them down.

Everyone needed to keep in mind there could be more HK Tracks roaming the area which might not be under Resistance control. The battlefield was very fluid. From the scream they just heard, it appeared some of the fluid would be blood.

Moments ago:

The 'Metal Bitch' headed outside. She knew they were under attack. As soon as she went out she saw two 'fire fighters' with weapons trying to track her. She figured they must be part of the attack force. It all looked like some elaborate well thought out planned attack. The enemy forces were already inside their compound.

She experienced trouble before with the Gray who was assigned to the gate for the day. She would personally terminate him when she got the chance since he allowed everything to happen. She really didn't like Grays. She actually disliked all humans. They were clearly inferior to machines in every respect. She really didn't know why Skynet fooled with any of them. It would be much more efficient if they just built more Terminators.

She headed back inside to avoid being shot at. She heard the gunfire behind her right before she exited. She knew it came from the area where the 'Metal Whore' was. With the new threat of a large force outside, she would take her chances with the 'Metal Whore' they tried to terminate. She saw a second 'Metal Whore' with red hair assist the first 'Metal Whore'. She thought the new one looked rather young. It made her wonder if she was patterned after someone specific. She saved an image to her files and would see if she could track down whoever it was later on and terminate them. She wouldn't make it a swift termination either.

Since there was a second 'Metal Whore', she decided she would personally deactivate both of them. It seemed to bother her because both of them looked very beautiful. She knew they were both 'better looking' than she was. It was even more of a reason to deactivate them and get them reprogrammed as 'Metal Whores' for the Grays.

She knew the Grays went through human females too quickly. None of the human females seemed to live longer than two days. She did wonder about some of the body parts the Grays seemed infatuated with. There were things which didn't seem to serve any real purpose in the reproductive process. She checked herself out in the same area with a mirror. She concluded there was way too much going on down there. She always looked the other way when some of the Grays took out knives. She really didn't care for the screams which followed. The whimpering and sobbing always irritated her anyway.

As she got closer to where they were, there was now a group of 'men' who entered the rear of the building. They must be even more of the attacking force. There was minigun fire from outside. The 'Metal Bitch' smiled. The HK Track must have attacked the hostile force. The group which entered from the rear were all armed and looked like they were all Terminators. She decided to head back out the front. The HK Track would cover her. Just before she exited, she saw the HK Track on the end became active as well. She viewed it as more good news. It should cover her rear. She felt confident now with two HK Tracks which would back her up.

She was unaware Cameron previously reprogrammed both of them.

The Resistance group at the fire trucks all pulled back at the sound of minigun fire. There was the second burst of minigun fire and the scream. Maybe it was the one Cameron reprogrammed. They were unsure. They knew an HK Track would chop the fire trucks to shreds in seconds if they came under attack. The bulk of the fire truck itself would stop the majority of rounds, but it wouldn't stop all of them. Some of them were bound to get through and find targets.

The 'Metal Bitch' dashed out of the front of the building again. Savannah raised her M4 to fire but an HK Track smashed through the wall behind the female. It was quite a surprise to her.

Savannah ducked back between the fire trucks. The HK Track seemed to face her head on. It appeared to have her 'zeroed' but moved on after the fleeing female. She was aware it must also be reprogrammed. She knew it was another close one. She knew if it would have opened up, she would have been able to dodge some of the gunfire. She also knew she wouldn't have been able to dodge all of it. She would have been hit for sure.

Cammy was still behind the fire trucks when she spied the female exit the building. By the way the female moved, she recognized her for what she was, a Terminator.

"It's a 'Metal Bitch'. I have her." Cammy said. "Savannah, help Cameron. She's inside the building the 'Metal Bitch' just left. Hank and Larry, I need you to follow me."

Savannah headed toward the building Cameron was in. She saw Gail was behind her. She knew Gail was there to back her up.

Sarah wanted to head the 'Metal Bitch' off. She knew she would continue in the opposite direction and maybe try and double back from the far end.

"I'm going to block her path from retreating." Sarah said.

Savannah directed Holly and Hanna to follow her.

Sarah, Holly, and Hanna headed around the other side of the building.

They wanted to try and get ahead of the Metal Bitch if she cut back across the north side.

Sarah knew she was going to slow the Terminators down. She shouted at Holly and Hanna.

"Both of you go ahead at full speed." Sarah said. "I'll catch up. She's a Terminator, so expect to fight someone with your own abilities."

Hanna took off. Holly stayed with her.

Holly knew she couldn't risk Sarah being alone in an area full of Grays with an unknown number of Terminators. She didn't know how many HK Tracks still belong to the enemy. She would do what she could to protect and shield Sarah as much as possible.

Sarah wanted both of them to go. She realized Savannah probably told Holly to stay with her no matter what. There was no point in arguing about it. It did make her feel a little better to have the extra protection and firepower. Either way, she was there to bring the fight to the enemy. She didn't enjoy being in combat, but it was clear she missed it somewhat. She would rather be the one who faced the enemy than either one of her two children. It was her job as their mother to protect both John and Jan. It's what she always tried to do, and would do going forward.

She told John once she would stop it. She tried very hard to do so on multiple occasions. She couldn't stop it. It was a Hydra like Jack In The Box. Every time they cut one head off of it, another one popped back up. She would really like to have sent it to the 'cornfield'. Cameron and the rest of the Terminators stepped up to take her place.

Sarah briefly looked back from the way they came. It wasn't just the Terminators who stepped up to take her place. It was Savannah too. She thought about where she was earlier before they left to go to where they were. She knew soon it would be Young Allison as well. It bothered her a lot to think about it. Holly stayed right by her side and checked all around them continuously for any threats. She watched as Hanna moved ahead and went around the corner. She took one look back before she did to check their progress.

Cameron dodged away as the Terminator turned to face Anna when she shot at him. She grabbed her Taser from the ground and 'zapped' him. She saw Anna already zapped the other one. Both of the hostile Terminators were down. She really wanted to get her hands on the 'Metal Bitch'. She was still very upset about what she said she wanted done to her. She would like to do the same thing to her.

The new problem and immediate threat was the HK drone next to her which started to power up. She lost her Glock and satchel in the struggle earlier. The HK drone started to lift off. She made a jump for it. She tried to destabilize its take off and hopefully cause it to crash. She missed. She sprawled on the floor. Much to her surprise the now soundless drone fell in her direction. She saw the MIKE Force was inside. One of them must have thrown a 'sticky shocker' onto the HK drone to deactivate it. It was now in the clutches of gravity and she was right below it.

Cameron rolled away and the HK drone landed next to her with a loud metallic 'clang'.

She quickly got up to see an HK Track crash through the front of the structure as it went after the fleeing 'Metal Bitch'. She looked at the male Terminators.

"The rest of the HK drones need to be deactivated." Cameron said. "I already deactivated all the HK Tracks. I reprogrammed the one which just left in pursuit of the 'Metal Bitch'. She's the one in charge. I'm going to get her. Shoot first and ask questions later if you encounter anyone else who doesn't belong to the Resistance."

She headed for the front. She wanted the 'Metal Bitch'. She was almost to the hole in the wall where the door used to be when a new problem developed.

An HK drone near the end closest to where the 'Metal Bitch' exited began to power up and started to lift off. It started to track her. It turned to face her. She quickly looked for a place to go to dodge its weapons. There wasn't a good place to go. She heard gunfire and saw Savannah and Gail fire Coltan rounds into the engines. The HK drone wobbled, tilted, and then impacted the floor with a 'crash'. Gail was on top of it in a flash to deactivate its weapons systems. It was clear every HK drone still presented a major threat to the team.

"Gail, help deactivate the other HK drones. I already did all the HK Tracks." Cameron said. "I want the 'Metal Bitch'."

Savannah tossed Cameron her M4.

"Let's go." Savannah said. "I'm going to take your weapon, Gail."

Savannah picked Gail's M4 up from the ground as she passed. Gail dropped it earlier to clamber onto the struggling HK drone. She stayed right behind Cameron.

Cameron really wanted to get her hands on the 'Metal Bitch'. She wasn't sure if it was because the 'Metal Bitch' wanted to make her a 'Metal Whore', or if it was because she wanted to dump acid on her face to destroy it. She wanted all of the Resistance team to damage the 'Metal Bitch' as little as possible.

"I want the 'Metal Bitch' intact." Cameron said over her com. "We need to have a conversation. It won't be a short one."

There were a series of thoughts which flashed through her mind. She would like to deactivate her and chain her down so she couldn't move her limbs at all. She would reactivate her and do everything to her she said she wanted done to her. Before she put her chip back in, she would modify it so the pain receptors operated at the highest rate possible to create the most pain for her. She couldn't let her personal feelings get the best of her. She was still very upset at how close to termination she just was only a short time ago before Anna saved her. She really wanted to get her hands on the 'Metal Bitch'.

Savannah didn't know what Cameron just faced. She would learn about it later on. She could tell Cameron was extremely agitated. She hurried to stay with her as they exited the building.

"Cameron, there may be other dangers other than the 'Metal Bitch'." Savannah said. "Don't get tunnel vision right now. I need you at a hundred percent."

Cameron glanced back at Savannah. She knew she needed to refocus. She needed to think about Savannah and Sarah, along with everyone else. It wasn't about her. It was about stopping Skynet.

Moments ago:

The 'Metal Bitch' heard the HK Track crash through the wall behind her. She glanced back as she ran toward the original sound of minigun fire. The HK Track should give her covering fire and protect her. She knew the 'Metal Whore' was going to follow her.

The HK Track which crashed through the wall after she exited looked over the two fire trucks and the people there. It didn't do anything. It should have attacked them. Instead it turned to follow her. She could see it tracked her to attack her. She took some evasive maneuvering.

'Damn'. The 'Metal Bitch' thought. 'The 'Metal Whore' must have done something to it.'

She saw one of the Grays drag himself on the ground up ahead. A burst of minigun fire tore into him. He was nearly torn in two by the gunfire.

'Damn.' The 'Metal Bitch' thought. 'The 'Metal Whore' must have done something to the other HK Track too. She headed up between the next two buildings to avoid it. She really hoped she could destroy the 'Metal Whore' herself along with the rest of the attacking force. Right now things didn't look good for the Skynet team.

It looked like the enemy Terminators deactivated the two male Terminators she left behind. The 'Metal Whore' and her team seemed to have the upper hand and hold all the cards right now. Since there were so many of them, she was sure they were from another version of Skynet. She really wondered why the different versions couldn't cooperate with each other, instead of battle each other. If she was cornered, she would try to make some type of a deal.

The ground ten feet in front of her exploded in a shower of dirt. The report from a heavy weapon followed. Two more rounds hit the ground in front of her, followed by the reports. It was clear the way forward was blocked. It didn't take her more than a millisecond to figure out any of those shots which landed in the ground in front of her, could have hit her. It looked like the observation posts on the hillside were compromised as well. She realized they were trying to capture her. She knew certain doom was in front of her. She knew the 'Metal Whore' and an HK Track were behind her.

The 'Metal Bitch' turned toward the wall of the third building and crashed through it. She saw the 'Metal Whore' come around the corner after her with two male Terminators, now she was wearing a firefighter's outfit somehow. It didn't make any sense to her why she would put it on. She didn't see how she had time to do it even. She checked her file as she ran. The images she captured showed it was the same 'Metal Whore'. The facial recognition was a complete match.

She again tried to determine why she would put on the firefighter's uniform. Those suits were designed to give the firefighters limited protection against flames in a burning building. It made her wonder if they had something planned for her and were trying to lead her into it. She figured she would deal with the issue when it actually arose. She knew flames would damage her sheath just as much as acid would do. One would just work a little quicker than the other.

There was a lot going on which didn't make sense to her. All she knew was there was some well thought out and elaborate plan the attack force used. They must have spent days perfecting it, based on how well it appeared to have worked. She knew she was going to have to be creative and fast thinking to avoid capture or destruction. She didn't even know how many attackers there were. It seemed like quite a few from what she was briefly able to observe in several locations. As far as she could tell, everyone else was down from her group. There was no one seen anywhere except the dead.

Cammy wanted Cameron and the rest of the team to know where she was at what the situation currently was.

"Cameron, I'm between the second and third building. Hank and Larry are with me." Cammy said. "The 'Metal Bitch' just crashed through the wall into the third building. She knows we're trying to capture her intact."

Cameron quickly evaluated the information. More than likely if the 'Metal Bitch' crashed through one wall she wouldn't hesitate to crash through another one. She didn't know if they would be able to capture her at this point without severe damage. She didn't want her to get away. She wanted Cammy to head her off in case she crashed through the next wall.

"Go to the far side between the third and fourth buildings. I want the 'Metal Bitch'." Cameron said. "We need to stop her. She can't be allowed to escape."

Cammy motioned for Cameron's Terminators to follow her. They knew what Cameron wanted.

"Larry and Hank are with me." Cammy said.

Cameron wanted to give Cammy a heads up about what she would encounter.

"Have one remain on the east side and watch the office windows at the front. There is a second reprogrammed HK Track near there as well." Cameron said. "You can give it new instructions."

Cameron previously left instructions for the HK Track to remain in the area she originally encountered it. She wanted it to act as an ambush point in case she was being pursued. She would lead those following her to where it waited. It would terminate whoever pursued her.

Cammy looked behind her at the HK Track which was there.

"There's an HK Track which followed me." Cammy said. "It must have thought I was you."

Cameron could see there was a new opportunity. There could be an HK track at both ends of the building catawampus from each other. All four sides of the building would be covered with a minigun.

"Have it cover the north end. You can enter the building from there." Cameron said. "Savannah is with me. We're going to enter from the side where the 'Metal Bitch' crashed through the wall."

Hanna already made it around to the north side of the buildings. She saw there was no immediate threat. She heard where Cameron and Cammy were headed and went in the direction herself. It sounded like the only active threat was in the third building.

"We're coming around the north side from the west." Hanna said. "Sarah and Holly are with me. They're a little ways behind me."

Cameron was glad to hear the news. It would give Cammy additional support as she entered the building from the north side.

"Have Holly and Sarah cover the north end and west side. You go in with Cammy." Cameron said. "Be advised the 'Metal Bitch' is a serious threat and very elusive. I don't know what weapons she has, if any. I didn't spot any earlier on her. It doesn't mean she won't have one. It's possible there could be hidden weapons throughout the area as well she might be able to arm herself with."

Hanna looked back at where Holly and Sarah were. She looked forward to meeting up with Cammy. It sounded as if they would face a serious challenge.

"I'm on it. It's what we'll do then." Hanna said. "I'll make sure everyone uses the proper caution."

Cameron thought maybe she would need to do the same thing. Savannah already reminded her to stay focused and not get 'tunnel vision'.

The 'Metal Bitch' knew she needed to get away from the area fast. They somehow placed a sniper to cover the north side, so that way was out. She should have expected as much when they experienced trouble at the one outpost earlier. Obviously both of the outposts were down now. She decided to continue through the building between the empty containers and crash through the wall of the building and through the wall of the next building. It would put her inside the fourth building. It was empty. She hoped to be ahead of her pursuers so she would be able to lose them.

She was aware the 'Metal Whore' followed her. It still puzzled her as to why she wore a firefighter's outfit. She moved between a row of containers and crashed through the east wall. A minigun opened up. It forced her back inside. It looked like she was now boxed in. The time to evade was over. It was time to fight. She still didn't understand how their entire operation was taken down in a matter of minutes, as well as all their HK equipment disabled or reprogrammed.

She wondered if maybe there was a 'mole' inside of their operation. It wouldn't be the first time. It didn't seem like they would receive any help from the other facilities associated with her group. They were unable to reach them earlier. It should have been another warning sign it was all going bad. She would need to keep it in mind for the next time when they reestablish themselves. With her mission to make sure HK equipment was constructed. It was what she would do when she was away from the current situation.

Cameron received the reports from around building three. It appeared the 'Metal Bitch' was contained in building three now. The trick would be to keep her there until she could be deactivated. There were now Terminators at each end and on both sides of the building along with two HK Tracks. It didn't look like the 'Metal Bitch' was going anywhere. The sniper's nest at the observation post would make sure she didn't elude them. Both of them were now manned with Resistance Terminators. They were each armed with an M82A1. The 'Metal Bitch' was confined.

"We have her trapped." Cameron said.

Savannah didn't want the 'Metal Bitch' to double back and exit through the same way she entered.

"I'll remain here and cover this hole." Savannah said. "She might smash another hole through one of the walls on either side as well."

Cameron didn't think so. She didn't want Savannah on her own around the 'Metal Bitch'. She already proved to be very elusive and resourceful.

"Stay with me." Cameron said. "She's very slippery."

Gail and Anna along with the Resistance Terminators were able to deactivate the rest of the HK drones. They pulled the chips on the two hostel male Terminators who were captured. They wanted to reinforce Cameron and Savannah.

"Gail and I are headed your way." Anna said. "The hostile HK drones are all deactivated. The boys have started gathering the goods."

John Henry reported there was nothing in the air other than their drones. Their drone on recon didn't show anything else arrive, or was around the area on the ground.

The Resistance drones covered the entire complex as they searched for any targets. The targets all appeared to be down except the one Cameron was after. It was only because Cameron wanted her intact she wasn't already down. The drones tracked her every time she wasn't inside of a building. She's been locked up by more than one drone at the same time on more than one occasion. They were instructed not to fire a missile at her or use the minigun. If the 'Metal Bitch' somehow was to escape the building, and elude those surrounding it, the drones were instructed to take her down.

John was aware of all the activity. It was one thing after another.

"A lot sure happened fast." John said.

They both were aware how Cameron was almost deactivated and her head almost torn off.

"It was a close one for Cameron." John Henry said.

John didn't agree with Cameron's decision to not terminate the female Terminator. They already experience more than one chance to be able to do so. They had her zeroed when she was between two buildings too. Several of the drones locked her up as well.

"They should terminate the 'Metal Bitch' and not fool around trying to catch her." John said.

John Henry wanted to remind John he was the General.

"You can issue the order." John Henry said.

John knew it would bring Cameron down on him if he countermanded her battlefield decision. He didn't want to reverse Cameron's order, but he considered doing it anyway the next time the female Terminator showed herself. The question now was if any of the Terminators or their drones would obey his order over Cameron's order. Maybe the thing to do was to ask Savannah to give the 'order'. He decided to check on the progress of the additional troops they sent to reinforce the operation.

"How soon until our other ground units get there?" John asked.

John Henry was aware the battle would be over before they arrived.

"It will be at least forty minutes." John Henry said.

John believed everything would be under control by then as well. It was time to start thinking about collecting more captured material. From the body cam footage of the Terminators, it appeared there were quite a few things to be captured.

"Have them pick up some more big trucks along the way. It seems like we need a few more." John said. "This has been a really busy day."

It looked like they were going to score a bounty of HK equipment, and machinery for some assembly lines today. The battle wasn't over yet at the old steel mill and a lot of things could still go wrong.

John Henry kept an eye out for any hostile HK drones. They would be the biggest threat at this point. They knew this group possessed them. They may have another location with stored or stockpiled equipment. Their drones on recon began to expand their search area. If any hostile HK drones showed up, they hoped to be able to track them back from where they came from.

It was too soon to know if this was turning into a victory or not. It seemed like it was, but there were still a lot of unknowns. There could always be more of the enemy show up.

John was very surprised and pleased how well the makeshift operation Cameron put together on the fly seemed to work at the old steel mill. He didn't know if she was just lucky or if she was really as good as it seemed. He wasn't normally able to view everything she was involved with from start to finish. He needed to remind himself it wasn't finished yet.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

It Was A Bummer

Such sweet beauty
How could they dare
Pure sweet charm
They didn't even care

Brighter than the day sky
A ray of pristine sunshine
Unexceedingly the best
More exquisite than fine

The lovable angelical smile
May not always have been present
Dazzling when it gorgeously was
It was much more than pleasant

Our minds still see
Our hearts still feel
No matter how we crave
It can never be real

Our hearts were broken
When they took away Summer
No matter how you cut it
It was a bummer

Nobody