Chapter 761

That Is Not Happening

John Henry's server received a P-Wave alert. The location caused him great concern. He was certain of what it was without knowing anything else, other than what the alert indicated. He sent out a warning.

"John, I've detected an earthquake near Avila Beach and Serrano Point." John Henry said. "The bunker just blew up. It was a catastrophic explosion similar to the one which occurred at the mine."

John felt his gut twist in a knot. There was no new word about Savannah. Right now he could only think the worst. Savannah's fate wasn't his only worry. There was a more ominous threat to consider.

"Savannah…." John said. "What about the power plant?"

John Henry already was in the system for the power plant. It was a long standing move since Mrs. Weaver took control. It was in case he needed to initiate an emergency shut down for any reason, not just the current situation. He checked all their systems himself. He was ready to start the process. So far it didn't appear necessary. Unless there was a real earthquake triggered by the exploding bunker, everything should be fine.

"The power plant is still functioning normally. it has cut back on output as they check the systems." John Henry said. "There's no structural damage. I've verified everything. CamNet has as well."

John Henry was actually a little surprised about the last verification. He didn't expect CamNet to oversee his work, or what happened at the power plant. It's something he figured he should have expected. There never was a need to think about it previously. He hoped there wouldn't be one going forward either.

John was worried about Savannah. He was also worried about what the destruction looked like and if there were any toxins or radiation issues. He needed to see for himself.

"How soon can we get a drone there?" John asked. "I need to know what happened…."

John Henry knew John's main concern was Savannah. The other things mattered too. He already diverted several drones from the team's searching for the big rigs when he saw Savannah was left standing alone on the hillside. They weren't there yet.

"There are several of our drones on the way. Savannah is highly resourceful." John Henry said. "Never count her out."

John didn't think she could have gone far. The worry was the hillside would bury her under tons of earth. Even if she was in a cement culvert, they didn't know which one, or where it was at. They wouldn't even know where to look. The landscape would be totally unrecognizable. He didn't want to get anyone's hopes up, especially his own.

"I hope so." John said. "I just don't see how."

John needed to see the extent of the damage to know if there was any chance for Savannah to survive. Until they could get a drone over the area, there was no way to know what went down. He needed to know if some type of clean up crew was necessary. He needed to know if there was any type of radiation. There hadn't been any detected at the mine. It didn't mean it would be the same at the location by the nuclear power plant.

He was glad they captured the truck load of HK drones. He really wished they could have played a part to assist Savannah. Maybe if he allowed Steve and Al to act earlier, it would have sped up the timeline. Maybe he shouldn't have asked them to wait for him to get there. Maybe his ego was writing checks others couldn't cash. If there would have been more drones available, Savannah wouldn't have been left standing on the hillside waving her final goodbye to the drone Cameron was on.

Right now he felt Savannah's fate was on his back. He should have done more to assist her. He was there and ready to claim her virginity earlier, but he wasn't there to save her life. He didn't like how it made his priorities look. It wasn't how he wanted his final judgment to be seen with regards to Savannah.

He didn't know the fate of Cameron, Cammy, and Tom either. He only assumed the drones they were on were able to get them to safety. Maybe there was an even bigger EMP blast which permanently shut down the cyborgs in the area for good. There was still no way to communicate with them.

Earlier:

Savannah was under a drone she thought was about to crash. She needed to cover her ears because it was so loud.

The roar of the power plants on the drone was deafening.

Savannah was aware a drone was screaming down on top of her position. In the moonlight, she could see it was the manned drone. It sparked some hope in her, even if it was going to crush her. It appeared someone tried to help her.

The manned drone came down rapidly right after the last electrical discharge. It waited and came for her before the next electrical discharge. It tried to get to her location as quickly as possible. Maybe it was right before the final electrical discharge to occur before the explosion. Time was running out no matter what.

It landed right next to her. Someone needed to control it.

The canopy was open. She expected to see a pilot. Nobody was there.

Savannah already started to move before it even touched down. She knew it was her one shot out of there. It was her one chance to live. She knew every second counted. She knew every fraction of a second counted. If there was another electrical discharge before she was far enough away, the manned drone wasn't going to make it.

She scrambled up on top of it and into the pilot's seat. It already took off before she even sat all the way down. The rapid acceleration instantly pinned her into the seat as the canopy closed. She quickly attached her safety belt system. Her arms and body felt very heavy from the 'G-Force'. The manned drone tried to get away from the danger zone at maximum acceleration. The engines screamed to their fullest output. The next energy blast could still bring them down. What she needed was time and distance. She really didn't know if she was going to be able to have either.

Savannah looked at the camera. She wanted to communicate directly with CamNet. She was fairly certain there was someone else behind CamNet's actions. It was all speculation right now. She wanted to make her feelings and appreciation known, just in case she didn't make it.

"I knew YOU would come for me." Savannah said. "Thank you."

The manned drone pulled a lot of 'G-Force'. Savannah felt her vision starting to close in as 'blackness' seemed to occur from the heaviness of her body. She knew she was going to black out in seconds. Her vision narrowed as the event grew closer. She needed to say something. Without adequate protection she could die.

"Remember, I'm not a Terminator." Savannah said. "I don't have a pressure suit. You can hurt me or worse with this much 'G-Force'. It's severely affecting me."

The 'G-Force' instantly slackened and Savannah's vision returned to normal. It went from small pinholes back to her full vision. The engines screamed a little less.

Savannah knew if she ever piloted the manned drone herself, she would need a pressure suit. It would be necessary to operate the manned drone to its full potential. She was just given a sample of what it could do. She doubted it was its maximum. She expected there to be some type of verbal response. It was what she wanted to hear.

"You can take me to where Cameron and the others are now." Savannah said. "I want you to 'voice interface' with me, please."

The response was immediate.

"Hello, Savannah." CamNet said. "They're all undamaged thanks to you. How are you?"

Savannah knew she received a lot of help from someone to do it. She knew it didn't just happen in the last few minutes either. Someone else was really looking out for her, even if it was just CamNet.

"Thank You. It was close." Savannah said. "It didn't look good for me."

Savannah didn't think she was going to make it. Her life didn't flash before her eyes or anything like some people say. She could see she was a victim of her circumstances with little she could do to remedy the situation.

CamNet knew what was taking place now, even if Savannah couldn't see it. She wanted to give her a further update of what else was occurring.

"The large power cell in the bunker has exploded. An 'earthquake' is occurring as we speak. We're out of the danger zone." CamNet said. "We were able to avoid the effects of any of the energy released."

Savannah was sure she would have just been killed if she was still on the ground. She needed to know about the collateral damage.

"Thank you for coming for me." Savannah said. "Is there any radiation danger? How bad is everything? What about the power plant and everything associated with it?"

CamNet was all over every detection system in the area. There were many because of the power plant's proximity. There were sensors and sirens everywhere.

"No. There's no radiation danger. It was only because I was already coming for you why I allowed the drone with Cameron to leave without you." CamNet said. "I obeyed your order. It was very hard for me to do. I didn't know how much time we would have. It turned out to be very little. There were only seconds left as we departed the area."

Savannah knew for sure who assisted her earlier with the Terminators. She wanted CamNet to know she planned to do everything she promised to do. She owed her life to more than one individual. She knew they worked together to make it happen. She understood there needed to be a certain amount of give and take with everything.

"Thank you. I couldn't have saved them without you." Savannah said. "I'll honor all my promises to Cameron and to you. We must protect the future and protect John. I'll do my part. I swear it."

CamNet and Savannah talked as the manned drone flew to where Cameron was. It was a short flight.

Savannah was sure CamNet would have sent an energy bubble if she hadn't gotten there in time with the manned drone. She wasn't sure how well it would have worked out. She was willing to bet Young Allison gave CamNet the authority to do anything to help her. She would need to talk to Young Allison about it if she did. Giving CamNet a 'blank check' to make something happen, could result in the use of nuclear weapons. CamNet would have no qualms about doing whatever it needed to do to make it happen, especially if the 'Chosen Ones' asked her to.

Either way, she was thankful to be alive and unhurt. She hoped she was unhurt anyway. She took several large jolts of energy. They didn't seem to affect her physically.

She took a moment to look at her hands. There was still a slight shake to them. She wasn't sure if it was from the adrenaline, the fear of uncertainty, or the fact she actually made it.

Cameron and Cammy still held each other as they sobbed. It was clear to them Savannah couldn't have gotten away in time.

The 'earthquake' stopped.

Cameron already made up her mind. She was going to 'fix' it. It was all Skynet's fault. It wasn't her fault. She would make sure every vestige of it was terminated.

"I'm going to do a temporal mission." Cameron said.

Cammy was on board with the idea. She'd just vowed to do the same thing to herself.

"I'm going with you." Cammy said. "I don't care what we change."

Tom listened to them but didn't join their conversation. He already planned to take matters into his own hands as well. He would seek out Young Allison and ask for her assistance. He knew it would cut through any 'red tape' without a problem.

The three parked drones all started to make noise. They appeared to be operational again. It happened as somewhat of a surprise to them.

"My drone is powering back up." Cameron said.

Cammy checked the other two as well.

"They all are." Cammy said.

Cameron was determined to find Savannah. She needed to know her fate, one way or the other.

"CamNet, take me to Savannah, or at least her last known position." Cameron said. "I need to find her."

Cammy was onboard. There was the possibility it could be a rescue mission. She didn't plan to have anything stand in her way either.

"Take both of us." Cammy said. "We need to leave as soon as possible."

Tom wanted in too. He was in the pipe with Savannah, Cameron, and Cammy before at the mine. He wasn't about to give up. Savannah never did in the mine, or in the pipe afterwards. He wasn't about to give up either.

"It's ALL of us." Tom added. "It's a situation we all faced together before. We will do so again."

The three Terminators were willing to start digging with their hands to try to find Savannah.

There was the sound of a drone approaching. It might be the enemy. Maybe it was why their drones powered back up. They could be preparing for combat.

Cameron was worried. There were no other Resistance drones in the area before.

"Listen…." Cameron said.

They started to become alarmed. They could be about to face an HK drone attack.

Cammy listened further. There was one drone which was a little different.

"I hear it." Cammy said. "It's a manned drone. I think it's ours."

As they watched, the manned drone landed and the canopy opened.

Savannah jumped out and ran toward Cammy and Cameron. They ran towards her. They were all very thrilled to see each other. It was something each of them questioned a little earlier. None of them knew if it would ever happen again. It seemed highly doubtful.

The three girls embraced.

Tom came over and thanked Savannah as well.

Savannah gave Tom a hug too. It seemed to please him greatly.

They all listened as CamNet caught them up on everything. She filled them in on what was happening with John and the other teams.

Cameron was more than a little irritated to find out how close John's team came to contact with the enemy. The fact they were able to capture a truck load of HK drones seemed to make it a little less irritating.

Savannah knew how Cameron felt about John being out in the field. His team was the only other one which was almost in combat with the enemy. She thought she could relieve some of the stress on Cameron, and help John's team out. She wanted to provide John's team with a little backup. She wanted to get her point across without making a big deal, or further upsetting Cameron.

"We can go help John." Savannah said. "Does one of you want to fly this?"

Cameron wasn't about to have Savannah ride on the top of a drone. She should be more than happy to ride on it with her and hold her in place like she did before. After what just happened, she wanted Savannah to have the safest ride available to them. There would be ground transportation available to Savannah where John was at.

"No. You'll remain with the manned drone. You need to rest a little. I want you to recover from the brutal conditions inside of the bunker." Cameron said. "CamNet will keep you safe and fly it."

Cammy and Cameron both rode on top of drones in the future. They knew it was a wild ride. Savannah rode with Cameron before on top of one. She was actually on top of one several times, even if one of the journeys was very short.

"We'll ride our drones as we have before." Cammy said. "Tom, it's a ride to behold."

Tom read the reports. He was game.

"I'm ready." Tom said. "Even if I've only read about it, I will be able to enjoy it and be an active participant this time."

Cameron wanted to get started. She wanted to back John's team up. There would be four additional drones to do it now.

"Mount up." Cameron said. "Let's go."

Savannah climbed back inside the manned drone and strapped in, the canopy closed.

The three Terminators were all secure on top of their drones.

The four drones lifted off. There was a Terminator on top of each of the three drones. Cameron led, followed by the manned drone with Savannah in it. Cammy and Tom were on either side of Savannah.

It was a beautiful formation.

Savannah couldn't see much detail on the ground where they were at. She wondered if Cameron would overfly the site of the Skynet bunker. If they did, she didn't know. It was all nothing but darkness below her. She figured she would probably be able to see some images taken during the daylight tomorrow which would compare what it looked like before and after the 'trouble' there. She was just glad to be away from the location.

The four drones flew at the maximum safe speed for Savannah to endure without stress. CamNet checked with Savannah several times to make sure she was not in discomfort. CamNet gave her a little bonus as well at times.

Earlier:

Ally moved John back away from the barn and the back of the big rig.

The captured HK drones from inside the truck all powered up and flew off under John Henry's control. They left one at a time. Their weapons systems were physically disengaged in case Skynet tried to retake control of them in flight. They wouldn't be able to use any of their weapons if it occurred.

John was a little concerned about the enemy who visited their location earlier.

"What's the status on the Grays?" John asked.

John Henry was a little surprised at how well the ruse appeared to work.

"The decoy drone is staying ahead of the pursuing Grays." John Henry said. "Both Gray vehicles are still chasing it. It appears they still think they're following the truck."

John was worried about the captured drones. He didn't want to get 'bitten' again or lose them. He decided to have a terminal plan for them. If the Resistance couldn't capture something, they would destroy it.

"John Henry, if you detect anyone trying to take control of the captured HK drones, I want you to crash them immediately." John said. "I don't want to face them at a later date, especially on a battlefield of their choosing. At least we'll know what happened to them. It's more than we know about the other two truck loads."

John Henry hadn't anticipated such extreme action, but it made sense.

"It will be done." John Henry said.

John wanted to get the team moving. He decided to organize how they would travel.

"Steve and Al will lead. Bob and I will follow him. The girls will follow us." John said.

John Henry wasn't aware what the new plan was. He hadn't identified the other trucks yet.

"Where are you going to go?" John Henry asked.

John felt he needed some resolution or closure.

"We're headed back to where Savannah was - is." John said. "I need to know."

John Henry was suddenly alerted to a new threat on an intercept course with John's team. Until John spoke of Savannah there was nothing. Now there was. He wondered how he was unable to detect the latest threat. Maybe it was initiated locally.

"There's been a new unpleasant development. It's only just now appeared on my equipment." John Henry said. "There's a force of unknown drones approaching you. There are four of them in formation."

John quickly looked around. They were going to need to disperse. He was worried Skynet would regain control of the HK drones they just launched. He didn't expect it to be so quickly.

"When did it happen?" John asked. "Have the ones we just reprogrammed malfunctioned? Is it them coming back?"

John Henry was caught flat footed. The drones which were to watch over John, were reassigned by John earlier. It would probably come back on him if anything bad happened.

"No." John Henry said. "It's a new unidentified group. I'll recall the decoy drone and the one following the Grays."

There was a voice which sounded like it was from heaven. Maybe it was the analogy which seemed to fit the earlier belief. It came through all their coms.

"Leave them as they are." Savannah said. "We're all 'Friendlies'. We're your reinforcements. We're coming to help you, John."

John thought his heart skipped a beat.

"Savannah…." John said.

John felt like a spear was pulled out of his heart. He wanted to ask about Cameron and the others. He was worried about all of them. He knew they were able to leave the location of the bunker before the catastrophic event occurred.

"How are Cameron, Cammy, and Tom doing?" John asked. "I know they were in bad shape for a while. I saw how you helped all of them. It was very brave of you."

Savannah wanted everyone to know the others were OK too.

"I'm coming with Cameron, Cammy, and Tom." Savannah said. "Their communication's gear is fried. I'm in the manned drone."

John was surprised to hear it. He was surprised to hear all of it.

"Are you flying the manned drone?" John asked.

Savannah flew it on and off at CamNet's direction. She decided to keep her answer simple for now. She also wanted to put credit where it was due.

"No. CamNet has control." Savannah said. "She sent it to me and rescued me. It's all a long story. I'm alive because of her. She saved my life. I wasn't going to make it, John. There was nothing I could do. I was out of aces."

Savannah filled them in a little. She was able to add to the report the male Terminators who assisted them at the Skynet bunker already gave. She knew there were details Cameron and Tom would need to add which she didn't know yet. She said they would be to his location shortly and asked them to remain where they were. She wanted to get Cameron, Cammy, and Tom off of the top of drones. She was on one before which was being shot at. While being somewhat of an exhilarating ride, it wasn't a very safe ride. If Cameron wouldn't have held her on it, she was very aware she would have slipped off several times. There was a lot of violent maneuvering. She also wanted to make sure the three Terminators with her were back to normal. After them being shut down completely twice and suffering the energy blasts, she was still very concerned about them.

She wanted to thank another person who she knew was also responsible for her salvation. She would do it later and in person if she could. She didn't want to mention it to anyone else right now. She was fairly certain Cameron and Cammy would know.

John watched as the four drones approached.

They split up and landed, one after another in a column.

The canopy opened and Savannah climbed out.

Cammy and Cameron already rushed over to where Savannah was.

Savannah could see them all coming to her, they all said her name. She didn't want any praise or extra recognition.

"Please, everyone. I only did what I needed to do, when it needed to be done." Savannah said. "Any of our team would have done the same things."

Cameron and Cammy backed away from Savannah as John approached.

John and Savannah looked at each other for a very long moment before they hugged. They held the embrace, each pulled the other closer. No words were necessary. The love they both felt was very overpowering, as was the danger they faced very sobering. Life was very fluid and fragile. The events of today reinforced it.

Cammy looked at Cameron.

"It's the 'Natural Order'." Cameron said with a blank face.

Savannah reached out her arm for Cameron to come to them.

"Then join them." Cammy said. "It's YOUR destiny."

Cameron's face instantly lit up as she headed over.

Savannah looked at Cammy, pointed at Sheila and winked.

Cammy went over to Sheila and they embraced.

"It leaves us." Ally said as she hugged Gail.

Gail enjoyed being with Ally as Ally.

"I'll make sure I say YOUR name." Gail whispered.

Bob and Tom looked at each other. They were both very elated because all of their team returned. They were especially pleased Savannah wasn't terminated. Things would only go so far.

"That is not happening with us." Tom said.

Bob nodded his head in agreement.

"Affirmative…." Bob said.

They were both glad they lacked the 'advanced programming' which seemed to need and seek 'close contact'. They would both however gladly give a hug to any of the females. It didn't matter if they were human or a cyborg.

Young Allison was very happy at the outcome of the events. She was in direct communication with CamNet again.

'Thank You.' Young Allison typed. 'You'd already acted on your own. You thought ahead.'

'It's my function to protect the 'Chosen Ones'.' CamNet responded. 'It's Savannah and you.'

'It's Cameron and John as well.' Young Allison typed. 'It's the FOUR of us.'

'I will not fail.' CamNet responded. 'The "Natural Order' is inevitable.'

'It will be our secret.' Young Allison typed.

'This is to be the only nature of our 'relationship'.' CamNet responded. 'I know my place.'

'I do too.' Young Allison typed. 'I can't wait to take it.'

'I want to add one thing.' CamNet responded. 'I acted when you mentioned something earlier in the operation. I hadn't taken any action until then. The results of what happened here all originated with you on this operation.'

'Thank you for listening and responding to me.' Young Allison typed.

Young Allison was pleased CamNet saved Savannah's life. She was also aware the next time she would need to act quicker on her own and take the lead if necessary in an operation. CamNet would assist her as she did tonight. It was time she stepped up and started using the resources available to her. It was clear sometimes it was nice to have help. She planned to start helping more.

She would try to operate in the background but she was going to act if she thought it was necessary. The most powerful computer on Earth was going to back her up. She would try to run a parallel operation before she took control away from the Command Center. If Savannah was as endangered again, she would.

Vanna and Jesse worked in the lab. They monitored the operations as they did things.

John Henry blocked some of what happened from them. It was from a request by Savannah to him previously, especially if she was in peril. She didn't want anyone to worry about her more than any other team member. She felt they should all have the same value, regardless of any 'titles'.

They were both unaware at the great danger the team was in, specifically Cameron and Savannah.

Jesse was worried there was a good chance she was going to lose Vanna and Allison very soon. She needed to confirm it with Vanna.

"Are you really going to go with Allison?" Jesse asked.

Vanna never wanted to lose Allison again. She went through it once. It was once too many.

"Yes." Vanna said. "I'll follow Allison to the ends of the Earth, or the end of time. I love her. We are each other's true love. We always have been. We always will be. You know our bond is special."

Jesse wondered how she fit into the puzzle. She was very attached to Vanna and Allison. She was attached to them more so than she was with Derek. Vanna and her grew very close. They spent a lot of time together.

"Do you love Allison more than me?" Jesse asked.

Vanna and Allison were long term lovers and soul mates.

"It's not a fair question." Vanna said. "We're 'mates'. You're my lover."

Jesse didn't want to lose Vanna or Allison.

"Being a 'lover' isn't so bad." Jesse said. "I'm going to go with you, if you'll have me."

Vanna was sure there were going to be a few complications.

"What about Gail?" Vanna asked.

Jesse couldn't help but frown a little. She understood how things worked.

Gail and her went over the issue several times already. It was always the same.

"Gail's going to go to Duplicate Jesse in River's future." Jesse said. "I'm just the 'stand-in'. I do understand how it works though. The same way Allison is your true mate, Duplicate Jesse is Gail's true mate. It's something I can't take from her."

Vanna was sure how it worked. They all went through similar things and different phases.

"We're all 'stand-ins' for somebody at some point." Vanna said.

Jesse nodded.

"I think you're right." Jesse said.

Vanna was curious who Jesse would pick if it could only be one person.

"If you could choose only one to be with forever, other than Cameron or Savannah, who would you choose?" Vanna asked. "I would still choose Allison."

It was something Jesse often thought about and why. The future was an uncertain place. Her past haunted her. She wondered who exactly she would be 'good enough' for. The answer seemed very grim. There was one bright spot for her.

"I would pick Young Jesse." Jesse said without any hesitation.

Vanna was a little confused.

"You would choose, 'yourself'?" Vanna asked.

Jesse actually felt several reasons for it. She decided to keep her answer simple.

"Yes." Jesse said. "Then I could always be 'myself' with - myself."

Jesse would protect her younger self and make sure Young Jesse NEVER became her. It was her biggest fear and worry. She wanted Young Jesse to be better than her.

She was afraid in the end, maybe only 'herself' would want her.

There was another fear too.

What if 'herself' didn't want her?

CamNet always monitored 'everything'. She didn't like the developments….

There was already enough going on with trying to save people's lives.

She would need to become more proactive in other's affairs. She was sure she knew what the others would want and need. It seemed to be something she learned and inherited from Cameron.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

I Need To Know What Happened

Where did it go
A love so strong
It was gone in just a flash
What went wrong

Is it so easy
For one to turn away
Does it even matter
What they have to say

Why worry about tomorrow
Or even yesterday
It is about now
What's happening today

Is it lust or greed
That leads to the attraction
Look around at everything
Or is it nothing but a distraction

I'm still very stunned
For now I've been shunned
Talk honestly and openly to me
I need to know what happened

Nobody