Chapter 782

I Bet

Hanna took Claire, Young Allison, and Summer out for dinner. Holly came along as well. They noticed two of the Detail outside when they got to the restaurant. The Detail made sure everything was in order before they arrived. There was no reason it wouldn't be. The Terminators in the Detail just liked to make sure there wouldn't be any problems. There seldom were.

Holly needed to give Allison and Savannah some 'space'. It wasn't what she wanted to do, but it was what Allison wanted. She saw Allison's other 'friends' visit earlier. Sometimes love is about sacrifice and she knew Allison needed real people to be with, not just a machine. Cameron told her the same thing as well. It almost seemed like a 'threat' when she did. She knew not to argue with Cameron about it.

She knew she was protective of Allison. All the Metal girls were protective of their human lovers. Like all the Metal girls, she learned to share with others, not just one person only. Allison often told her how beautiful it was to share the love. She found out it was true. 'Dessert' went well with the 'meat and potatoes' of a steady partner. She liked to share with others whenever she got the chance. Hanna and her always switched at least two nights a week. Holly loved Allison, but she knew Claire was a better lover. It was always more exhilarating and fulfilling to be with Claire. Her love was for Allison. It was what really mattered.

She figured Allison still carried a lot of baggage from the future with her. She was also aware Future Allison was more like Claire in bed. Future Alison grew up in a different future than the one Allison did. In the future Allison was from, all the females suffered horrendously, especially Vanna and Jesse. Even if they went into the other future and changed things, it wouldn't help the girls there. They were already out of the future. The events already happened to them. All of the Metal girls knew it was John's fault, but no one ever said anything. Cameron threatened to 'punish' them if they ever did.

They didn't know exactly how Cameron felt about the alternate future.

Cameron couldn't entirely blame John for what happened when he went into the future. He believed he was going after her chip, and Cromartie, now John Henry, who took it from her. It wasn't how the events actually played out in reality. It was part of her mission. If John wouldn't have wanted her to go after his mother in jail, she wouldn't have been shot up and would have been able to use her own chassis. Maybe John was responsible after all. She didn't want anyone to speculate or talk about it. She just told them they would be punished if they did.

The punishment was never specified, but they were all aware Cameron punished Cammy and sent her into the past for eight years with Sheila. It was to keep her away from Savannah for the entire time period. No one was sure what the actual infraction was Cammy was punished for. Eight years was a long time to be kept away from someone they loved. For Savannah all she knew was Cammy was gone for two days. It was all the longer it was for Savannah. She didn't need to suffer for eight years like Cammy did. Sometimes Cameron could be very cruel when someone rubbed her the wrong way.

Young Allison was aware her phone received an 'urgent' signal. It was CamNet. She asked to be notified when Savannah or Cameron were out on an operation. She didn't expect it would be tonight. She left Savannah in Allison's arms and expected her to stay there until they got back. Now this was a new development. New developments often turned out to be bad. The current one probably wouldn't be too different.

She was jealous of Allison and Savannah when they wanted to be together earlier. Now there was the threat Savannah would need to face danger where she could be injured or killed. She wished right now Savannah would be in Allison's arms instead. Something she dreaded earlier, is something she would gladly have right now instead. It only took a little perspective to see how quickly things could change for the worse.

The girls from the future all told her things happened fast. People need to be able to share whenever they could because they never know when it's going to be the last time. The words they told her earlier really resonated right now. She felt very guilty for intervening previously. She hoped she amended it before they left to go out currently. Now it didn't really matter, but at least she did her part.

CamNet showed her Savannah enter into the bunker naked as she held her clothes.

Young Allison smiled seeing it. She always liked to see Savannah naked. They were usually at the pool when it happened. She didn't like others to view Savannah naked. It made her jealous then too. She learned she could show a little more. They would look at her instead of Savannah. She didn't want things to go too far.

'You need to respect her privacy.' Young Allison typed.

'Oops!' CamNet responded.

Young Allison frowned slightly at the response.

'I bet.' Young Allison typed.

They both knew CamNet did it on purpose.

Holly and Hanna both picked up on Young Allison's activity.

Claire went to the restroom with Summer.

Holly and Hanna both wanted to know what was happening and checked their phones as well. Their phones showed nothing. It was only because she told CamNet what she wanted, why she received the feed. Cameron was responsible for keeping everyone else out of it.

Young Allison quickly filled them in. There was one part of it which troubled her more than the rest. Allison was going with them by her own request. She was made aware how both Cameron and Savannah protested. Allison insisted she be allowed to go. Eventually Savannah and Cameron relented. She was a little reluctant to inform Holly but she felt she should. Decisions in the future weren't always going to be easy. She figured she better get used to it.

"Holly, Allison went with them." Young Allison said.

Holly instantly became alarmed and agitated. She was very upset.

"I left her alone to 'share', not get killed or hurt." Holly said.

Young Allison couldn't help but think it was exactly what she thought a few moments ago. She didn't think there would be a problem for Allison.

"Cameron and Savannah will protect her." Young Allison said. "Allison is ME."

Holly thought the same thing many times. She was glad her power cell would last a long time…. She also knew she could replace it with a fresh one.

She was a little calmer now. She still felt if Allison was going into a potential combat zone, she should be the one who accompanied her. Technically there was only one Terminator for Savannah and Allison. It seemed like a very low ratio.

"I should be with her." Holly said.

Young Allison moved over and took Holly's hand. It started to glitch. It stopped instantly.

Holly looked at Young Allison and smiled at her.

Young Allison believed if push came to shove, she would be able to have a few cards to play to 'fix' things if there was a problem.

"It will be OK." Young Allison said with a wink. "I know where there's a time machine. I'm acquainted with someone who knows how to use it. I won't let anything happen to ME."

Young Allison could feel Holly relax. She sensed Holly's entire mood changed somewhat the more they interacted.

"I won't either." Holly said as she looked at Young Allison. "I promise."

Young Allison was sure there was another button undone on Holly's blouse now. At least there was certainly more cleavage visible than normal. There was another message on her phone. She looked at it.

Hanna leaned over and swatted Holly's other hand. She could see Holly attempted to hit on Young Allison. She was worried she was going to unbutton another button on her top. No doubt Claire would see it upon her return. It wouldn't be too hard to figure out what was actually occurring.

Holly looked a little upset because Hanna interfered but she got the message. She didn't want to cause a problem. She didn't know all the details about the problem caused by CamNet with Young Allison previously. She knew it bothered Allison but every time she asked Allison about it, she didn't want to talk about it. She only told her it was about Young Allison and it was very personal. Allison also said it was very personal to her. She knew Allison was very troubled by it.

When Young Allison looked up from her phone again, Holly's blouse was buttoned like it was earlier. She wondered what it was all about. She wasn't about to ask. She wondered if it would have happened when her mother was at the table. She doubted it.

Both Hanna and Holly looked guilty.

Moments ago:

Cammy didn't look forward to having to face or avoid any HK drones. It would be hard to avoid two of them working together. Whatever the Skynet forces put into play didn't appear to be some half baked plan to check out the location by the Grays. It seemed there was some planning behind it, along with some coordination. It wasn't a good thing for them.

She needed to worry about the three vehicles which were spotted in addition to the HK drones. There was a strong possibility there could be more vehicles as well as more HK drones on the way. There was another thought which popped into her head. There could very well be troops on the ground already. They might not just be Grays, they could be Terminators.

Cammy was aware all wasn't 'right' very quickly. She knew she was being hunted. She was getting ready to speak when she saw movement very close by and quickly shut her com off. She might have only caught the movement because she just thought about the possibility of troops on the ground. She was more worried about avoiding the HK drones than anything else. Right now the HK drones weren't her immediate problem.

She was positive there was a Terminator stalking her. He must have seen her move to the position she was in now. Hopefully he didn't see where she came from. She didn't want to endanger Bob or the captured HK drones. She could hear the two HK drones coming to search for her. The Terminator must be directing them. The new development didn't look good for her. He may have called in additional ground troops as well.

Cammy was sure she could avoid one HK drone. It would be harder with one HK drone and a Terminator. If there were two HK drones searching for her, and a Terminator, it was only a matter of time until they would have her zeroed. She wasn't sure if the Terminator would try and 'take' her himself once her position was pinpointed, or if he would let the HK drones do their thing and attack her. It would be the safer bet for him. Then again, not all Terminators like to play things safe. Some of them liked to be at the center of the action.

The Terminator needed to go around a chain link fence to avoid the noise of climbing it, or tearing it apart. It's when Cammy moved. He was close so she needed to be quiet. She was unsure if there was more than one Terminator. If it was the case, and there were two of them, she was in real trouble. Even if there were Grays with him, it would still be very problematic. More bodies meant more people to avoid. She would also have an easier time terminating Grays than she would a Terminator.

She held her Taser ready to fire and readied the 'shocker' in her pocket. She didn't pull her Glock so she would have one free hand. The Taser would be more effective against the Terminator anyway. It would be the only thing which would actually bring him down if she were to use it. She needed to find out more about what was going on immediately around her. She didn't want to go after one Terminator while a second one moved in to deactivate her. HK drones weren't the only thing which liked to operate in pairs.

It was cat and mouse right now.

Cammy didn't plan on being the mouse….

Bob was concerned because Cammy went 'dark'. He wanted to go help her but one of the HK drones was now very near him. He needed to keep shifting his position to avoid detection. They were the new quieter drones so they could operate much lower and not draw attention, at least as much anyway. Operating lower allowed them to search better, and in more places. It made hiding from them more difficult.

Terminators could hear them operating this low, but not humans. Maybe the Grays didn't know they were dealing with Terminators. If they found any of Sheila's dirty work, they wouldn't suspect a Terminator was behind it. Normally activity like it was only done by deranged human beings. Most groups of humans viewed it as acts of insanity. Terminators weren't known for being insane. If any Terminators would have shown any type of questionable activity, they would need to submit to chip extraction and termination.

Sheila moved away from the SUV. She knew if there were enemy Terminators on the ground already stalking Cammy, they probably identified the SUV as well. It was a target she wanted to get away from. She didn't plan to return to it anytime soon, if at all. There were still weapons inside of it. She didn't have time to take more of them out of it before she abandoned it. Once she no longer had eyes on it, it would need to be thoroughly inspected to make sure it hadn't been booby trapped in her absence.

She tried to avoid the drone which arrived in her area. She was able to keep the trees between her and it. If they sent Grays or a Terminator after her, she would be located in short order. She would need to fight her way out. The easiest way for her to do it would be to attack the Grays and avoid the Terminator. Whatever occurred on the ground was sure to attract the HK drones. They would be much more difficult to deal with.

She hoped when the Grays went into the building they would trigger her booby trap. It should create a distraction and give her time to get to a better position. It should also thin the herd on the overall number of Grays which would still be in the fight. They would probably all use considerably more caution after the initial booby trap was tripped. It would benefit her and slow them down.

She was simply too exposed where she was. The new HK drones proved their effectiveness by 'sneaking up' on them. They didn't have time to sufficiently react. It would be something to keep in mind going forward with their operations against the Skynet forces.

Sheila was sure her current predicament was partly her fault. It was only because John Henry mentioned two of their drones were on the way why she didn't react immediately when she detected the sound of drones. She should have made the time calculation and figured they weren't actually their drones. It was only when John Henry sent out the warning when she immediately reacted and realized the peril of her situation. She wasted precious seconds abandoning the vehicle. She didn't know if she would be able to help either Cammy or Bob. She knew Bob's general location. She didn't know where Cammy went to when she went 'dark'.

John wanted more help sent to where his troops were trapped and being stalked. The current events weren't a contingency any of them planned for. The Terminators in the surrounding areas were all out searching for boxcars. None of them were directed to be in a position where they could support other groups of Terminators. He was glad there were more drones on the way, including the manned drone with Ally as the pilot.

He hoped it would give them a better overview of what exactly was going on and what would be necessary to do. They still didn't know how many more HK drones would arrive, or how many additional Skynet troops would be on the ground.

"What's your ETA, Ally?" John asked.

Ally berated herself for not leaving sooner. It was clear every minute counted right now. They needed to keep their response to a minimum where the team was currently at. If they didn't, there was bound to be a big investigation as to what exactly went on. It was something they didn't need. It was also something Skynet knew it didn't need either.

"I'm still a ways out." Ally said. "This thing isn't supersonic or I'd be there already."

John didn't point out the fact if it was supersonic, there would be a sonic boom to go along with its progress. The sonic boom would be heard far and wide throughout the area. He wanted to give her some positive reinforcement.

"All you can do is your best." John said. "Right now you're doing a great job. You'll be able to help the team out shortly."

Ally was very worried about her fellow Terminators on the ground, especially Sheila. She didn't want them to wait for her if they could see there was going to be a problem. She thought of other ways her drone might be useful, even if it was late to the fight.

"John Henry, if you need to bring down the Skynet drones, don't hesitate." Ally said. "This thing should be able to lift an HK drone, if you shoot one of them down."

John Henry was aware there were currently two helicopters on the way. Neither one of them would probably arrive before whatever battle was going to take place was over.

"Cameron's bringing a second helicopter now." John Henry said. "She's still more than an hour away. The Blackhawk is ahead of it."

Ally checked her current position.

"I'm over the Central Valley now." Ally said. "I'll hug the foothills up to their location. I should overfly the quarry."

John Henry wanted to make sure she didn't get trigger happy if she spotted any drones.

"There should be two drones in front of you very soon." John Henry said. "They're ours."

No sooner than John Henry spoke, Ally picked up two 'blips' on her equipment.

"I'm receiving their transponder codes." Ally said. "I have them spotted. I'm overtaking them."

John Henry was able to determine the manned drone was faster than the standard drones.

"It means you'll be faster than the HK drones with the quieter power plants." John Henry said.

Ally wasn't sure yet how she would be able to use it to her advantage. She sure hoped it would be useful at some point if she needed to engage them. She was aware jet fighter pilots viewed 'speed as life'. It really made her wonder how they viewed the fact many of the new jet fighters weren't even Mach 2 capable. It seemed to her like a backward step in progress. Right now she needed to worry about her situation.

"I'll keep it in mind in case I want to 'drag race' one of them." Ally said. "I'm picking up our other two at altitude now as well."

John Henry wanted to make sure she'd be on the lookout for one more drone which belonged to them. He figured he better give her the direction it would approach from so it didn't get targeted.

"There will be one more of our drones arriving from the north in a few minutes. It's still out a little ways." John Henry said. "They are all squawking our current transponder code."

John could see they were about to have five drones, along with the manned drone, over the target area in a very short time. He was very worried about collateral damage. He didn't want one of the drones to end up in somebody's living room with the occupants of the house crushed underneath it. He knew the battlefield was always fluid. He wanted his troops protected as well as the equipment. He also needed to think about the big picture.

"You need to be careful where you bring anything down at." John said.

Ally thought about what John Henry said with her speed advantage. She already passed over a location they used as a kill zone previously she wanted to run a few thoughts by the Command Center.

"I passed over the granite quarry a few minutes ago." Ally said. "I didn't spot any type of activity down there. I didn't spend any time to make a thorough investigation either. I have an idea since I know I'm faster than the drones with the quiet power plants. I might be able to sucker one or more of the HK drones to follow me. It could be to our advantage if I can get them into a more remote area before they're dealt with."

John Henry was aware of another advantage the Resistance drones should have over the HK drones.

"Bob reported the HK drone stalking him doesn't appear to have air to air missiles." John Henry said. "HK drones were originally designed for ground attack. We changed it with ours. So far none of the HK drones we've encountered have been equipped with anything other than ground attack equipment. It doesn't mean there could be a change at any point."

None of the HK drones they captured were set up for air to air combat, other than being able to use the minigun. It would have to be fairly close to its target to be effective. It also meant if they could use their minigun against an HK drone, the HK drone could use its minigun against them as well.

John believed Skynet focused on the future and provided them with an advantage. It built the HK equipment in the present, the same way it was constructed in the future.

"Maybe this version of Skynet thinks like it does in the future and not in the present, or the past to it." John said. "Skynet was confident it ruled the air in the future. This isn't the future, not yet anyway."

Ally was ready for some cat and mouse action too. She thought about what she wanted to do and what she would need to do it. It seemed like the best thing to do would be to 'introduce herself'.

"I guess we'll find out." Ally said. "It's time for the 'cat' to offer the 'mouse' some cheese."

Ally neared the target area. She was more than willing to make herself the bait to take the heat off of the other Terminators there.

'I'm coming Sheila. Just hang on a little longer.' Ally thought to herself.

There was no way to know how events would play out going forward. There never was in a combat situation. The battlefield was always fluid. Things could change in an instant. When they did, it wasn't usually for the better.

Earlier:

Allison was very pleased they let her come along. She wasn't sure why she insisted, or why Cameron agreed. She didn't like the idea of Savannah being pulled from her arms and into danger. She just felt a need to go with Savannah. How could she stay in the safety of her house, or her bedroom afterwards, while she knew Savannah would be out risking her life somewhere? It just wasn't fair. It just wasn't right.

She never held back in her future when a patrol was needed, or an operation needed to be conducted. She was always the first one to volunteer. It prompted everyone else to volunteer as well. She used to do her part. She felt somewhat ashamed she was a long way from doing the same thing now.

"Are we going to fly in a helicopter?" Allison asked.

Cameron looked back at Allison and smiled.

"Yes." Cameron said.

Allison looked forward to the flight, but not so much to the danger she knew they were headed into.

They pulled up and parked and entered the airport.

Cameron pointed out which helicopter was theirs.

Allison looked the helicopter over. She saw ones like it in war movies. It seemed to be very popular in war zones. She knew the same type of helicopter was also used in search and rescue and for firefighting duties. She knew there were newer versions which looked similar. She really didn't know what version they would be in, as compared to any other one.

"It looks big." Allison said.

Savannah knew it wasn't nearly as big as the Blackhawk. It was still a very capable helicopter and 'time proven' on top of it. It was a relatively simple design and easy to maintain.

"It's not too big." Savannah said. "It will do the job we need it to do."

Cameron, Allison, and Savannah arrived at the UH-1. They did the preflight inspection. Savannah quickly checked everything. She told Allison what she was doing as she did it. They noticed Cameron open the engine compartment and make a few adjustments.

Allison knew Savannah could fly. She didn't know she could fly this particular helicopter.

"You can fly this thing, Savannah?" Allison asked. "It's impressive."

Savannah knew she needed to work on her proficiency. In her communications with Young Jesse, she knew she got in a lot of flight time Down Under. She was very proficient in dozens of aircraft. Young Jesse complained to her all they did was train Down Under. She told Young Jesse she'd take the training any day over the combat operations. She knew how risky combat could be and how she needed to face death more than once. It did give her a little confidence to know when she did face death, she did her job and didn't buckle. She didn't want Allison to think she was a top notch pilot or anything. She was just a pilot who needed a lot more experience.

"Yes, I've flown one before." Savannah said. "I need more practice."

Cameron wanted to make sure the credit was given where it was due.

"Savannah is perfect." Cameron said. "She'll do fine. I'm very proud of her. Her abilities have far exceeded her actual training."

Savannah felt a little embarrassed by what Cameron said. She was worried about Allison coming along. She wanted to make sure she was as safe as possible.

She checked over Allison's gear and vest to make sure everything was in order and Allison was protected.

Allison didn't like all the fuss or attention. She knew how to protect herself.

"Oh brother, I used to dress you, now you're dressing me." Allison said.

Savannah moved her mouth close to Allison's ear.

"No. Now we undress each other." Savannah whispered as their eyes lingered.

Cameron was in the pilot's seat and got the turbine ready to fire. Savannah made sure Allison was secured and then slipped into the copilot's seat. The rotor was soon spinning.

Savannah put her helmet on and checked the controls and gauges.

Cameron felt everything was in order. She glanced over at Savannah.

"Do you want to lift it off?" Cameron asked.

Savannah checked over all the instruments. Even though it was dark, she didn't think she'd have any trouble taking off. It was the landing she was a little shaky on. If the LZ wasn't lit, the night vision goggles messed with her perspective and made her a little unsure of herself. She would let Cameron do the landing when they approached wherever they were going. She would follow whatever heading Cameron told her to use.

"Yes." Savannah said. "I think I can do it."

Allison watched Savannah's every move. She was totally fascinated.

Cameron glanced over at Savannah.

"You got it?" Cameron asked.

Savannah nodded.

"I got it." Savannah said.

Savannah made a quick look around her and up as well.

She kicked up the power.

The Iroquois lifted off and swung around as it gained altitude.

As always, Savannah wanted Cameron to alert her of any danger the instant it was seen.

"If you see anything I don't see, tell me." Savannah said. "The night vision can mess with my perspective. If you need to take over, just do it. It won't hurt my ego. We have some very important cargo on board right now, in more ways than one."

Cameron glanced back at Allison. Allison was still pregnant, even if it wasn't going well. There was important cargo on board. Earlier she made a quick upgrade to the helicopter during the inspection.

"Roger." Cameron said. "This bird has the governor readjusted. I did it myself. It's something we do with all of the helicopters. It's well within the design capabilities of the aircraft."

Savannah was pleased to hear it would give her two advantages over a standard Huey.

"Good, we'll have more speed and greater lift." Savannah said. "Help me watch the gauges as well. I'm going to push the redline."

Normally Savannah wouldn't push it. She wanted to get to the area to help her team out.

"Roger." Cameron said.

Savannah checked her heading and altitude as well as her GPS.

Everything was dark around them. There were scattered lights here and there on the ground. Every now and then a vehicle could be spotted.

"Is this a long flight?" Allison asked.

Cameron knew they were going to be away for a few hours. Exactly how long everything would take was unknown. She didn't think things would happen quickly.

"It will be." Cameron said. "The duration is open ended."

Allison touched her headset.

"We can play some tunes." Allison said.

Cameron looked over at Savannah and she nodded.

"I'll keep my volume down." Savannah said.

Allison couldn't help but think about the others she left behind. She was fairly certain she wouldn't be where she was right now if Holly and her mother would have been at home when she made the decision to go. She hoped they didn't take it out on Anna when they got home from dinner.

Cameron took a moment to look at the two human females who were with her. She thought they were both fine examples of what Humanity should be. Somehow it made their efforts to defeat Skynet seem even more urgent. She continued to monitor the sky around them in the darkness. John Henry made sure there wouldn't be any other flights anywhere close to them.

Allison could see almost nothing outside as they flew. She watched Savannah and Cameron instead. Right now she was on a rendezvous with the unknown. It didn't really matter to her. It filled her with a new sense of purpose to know she may enter a combat zone soon. The music seemed to enhance her sense of awareness.

'Matchbox' by 'The Sunset Trio', blasted through Allison's headset as the Huey thundered across the night sky.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Was That Bad To Say

We know what we feel
We know what we think
We take it to the edge
To the very brink

Sometimes we may get
What is really TMI
Other times we wonder
And just ask why

We hide what is real
Pretend it doesn't exist
As we run from the one
That we can't resist

Open your heart
Open your mind
Be honest with yourself
Embrace what you find

Try being truthful
Each and every day
Don't look so upset
Was that bad to say

Nobody