Chapter 554

Practice

Cameron was concerned about the five big rigs full of HK drones. She was satisfied the HK drones wouldn't leave on their own. She wanted to commandeer everything in the hangar which was Skynet related. There were more of their Terminators on the way so they would have enough drivers. It was IF they could commandeer the big rigs. She really wanted the HK equipment. It was a rare find, especially the quantity. It was almost 'gift wrapped' package for them.

She knew they almost were attacked before by 'Skynet associated' groups of some type with HK drones. If they weren't located there, then they were kept somewhere else and posed a threat. There were still two hangars there to check. She needed to remember they dealt with more than one version of Skynet from different futures. The only comfort they could take from the fact of multiple versions of Skynet in the past, was they would combat each other. Each version of Skynet wanted to rule supreme. Even if there was some type of temporary alliance between any of them, it would soon devolve into infighting among some cells as each Skynet attempted to terminate the other versions.

The HK drones which came to attack them yesterday came from someplace. She hoped it was this place. If it wasn't, she still needed to track down where the other location was at. It seemed no matter how much she destroyed, there was always more.

Cameron went over the details as to where they were now as a group. Cammy reported seeing a Terminator and then went 'silent'. Bob was 'silent' as well. Gail was sent after a group of Grays who went to search for another group of Grays. The other group of Grays was in the area where Jesse and Savannah were. The last reports from them were they engaged several targets. Ally and Sheila silently entered the HK drone facility she failed to breach earlier. They reported there was a Terminator outside and about to return. She hadn't received any further update from them after their last report.

She couldn't see anything overwhelmingly positive for all their current efforts.

'Great job - Cameron….' Cameron thought sarcastically to herself.

Cameron saw it as how all the operations seemed. Everything was disjointed and fluid, with repeated unknowns thrown in. It often reminded her how little control any of them actually could exert. Her main concern was for Savannah and Jesse right now. They were seldom without a Terminator near them or at their side. They were usually never 'alone' in a combat situation.

It did cause her some grief to remember when she was incapacitated yesterday, Savannah was shot three times in her vest and needed to fight three Terminators by herself. It was a remarkable feat no matter how it was looked at. Savannah never ceased to amaze her. She loved Savannah dearly.

She experienced a slight glitch impulse to know she wasn't just incapacitated yesterday. She was almost terminated twice by the Skynet Terminators in the facility. She needed to blame herself for what occurred. She was in too big of a hurry to put the grab on the Metal Bitch. She basically ran right into an ambush by two of the hostile Terminators. Savannah protected her from allowing either of the two attacks to be successful in her termination. It wasn't the first time she owed her existence to Savannah.

John Henry and John thought about the great discovery Cameron came across. They decided to stop talking about it and move the discussion forward.

"That's a great find by Cameron." John said.

John Henry knew the value of such a find. They didn't need to set up their own production line if they could take the finished product from Skynet and then destroy their manufacturing capability. There was still a lot up in the air on the operation.

"If we can get those trucks out, we'll deny Skynet the use of the HK drones and hopefully gain the future use of them by us." John Henry said. "It will help all of our operations greatly. I think it's imperative we make sure they're not destroyed if at all possible."

John was more worried about his troops than capturing HK equipment. Sure it was a bonus, but his troops were in four locations or unaccounted for. It was the most worrisome part.

"I would rather blow all three places and get our people out, ALL of them." John said.

John Henry knew there were a few solutions available to them. Cameron made a point of reminding everyone. He believed it was an effective strategy.

"We have copies of all their programs…." John Henry said.

John was irritated whenever he was reminded of it, especially when Cameron reminded him. There was one thing he always needed to remind them about. Humans didn't have the same luxury. Right now two humans were in combat.

"Is there a copy of Savannah's and Jesse's 'program' too?" John asked.

John Henry could see he hit a 'sore spot' with John. John was correct too to remind him humans were irreplaceable. There was no need to get into it with John. He probably shouldn't have mentioned anything about it earlier. Because of Savannah and Jesse's involvement, it seemed to make John's response worse than usual. It was time to move on.

"No…." John Henry said. "They are both highly trained for any obstacles they may face. It's the whole purpose of training. Jesse has a lot of experience from her future. Savannah has experience as well."

John knew there was a big battle coming. The initial engagement with the enemy troubled him deeply. So far the only reported armed contact was with Jesse and Savannah. Both of them were in a location they didn't need to be. It was only so Gail could observe the old helicopter base they were even there. It was to provide Cameron with a 'heads up' when she arrived. The patrol they encountered wasn't sent out after them. It was already there. It was clear Skynet wanted to protect its assets. There was a second patrol headed in the same direction now with Gail on their tail. They didn't know how many other patrols were out there.

"Savannah and Jesse are my main worry." John said. "It's where the heat is right now."

John still couldn't get the images of Savannah taking down three Terminators on her own out of his head. Savannah was the greatest. He loved her more than ever.

John Henry wondered what else John thought about when he thought of the human females. He could only imagine. It was actually something he thought about more and more as well.

Cammy spotted an enemy Terminator enter the hangar. Once he was inside the building, she couldn't see him. She was worried about what she couldn't see. She rapidly changed her position.

The Terminator crashed through the hangar wall. He was surprised he was unable to grab the female. It looked like a human female to him too. It should have been an easy catch. He spotted her as she moved towards the next hangar and went after her. Right now she was in the open space between two of the hangars.

Cammy contemplated the new threat. She could run or fight. It was a big brute of a Terminator. It actually appeared to be an older model. It could also be an upgrade of an older model. Either way it was a powerful Terminator. One on one she would not fare well in a fight. She wanted to avoid a gun battle. There were other techniques she could use. She knew how the enemy thought. It wasn't the same way the Resistance Terminators now thought. Their long term exposure to humans, who were laced with illogic, allowed them to think differently than standard programming on a Terminator would normally allow. It was time to lure him closer so she could use her Taser on him. She was ready to give him a 'sucker punch'.

She went to move and grabbed her leg and drug it behind her some. She took several steps and fell. It was all an act to draw the mark in closer for an easier Termination. She needed to make sure she didn't get overconfident and the termination would be hers instead of his. She looked back as the Terminator slowed and approached her. He didn't need to use his weapon. He was ready to reach for her.

He was about to grab her….

Gail already took down two men and moved up on the third man. Her thoughts of what happened to Duplicate Jesse seemed to overwhelm her. It didn't matter if Cameron 'fixed it' or not. Jesse was out there dealing with one enemy patrol along with Savannah. She was behind the second patrol which was in search of the first patrol. She was very focused on what was in front of her. It was the enemy. The enemy was headed for Jesse and Savannah. The enemy needed to be stopped.

She saw the third Gray didn't look from side to side. He didn't look behind him either. The men were all complacent because they just left a secure area. They already knew what was behind them. They were all wrong. They didn't know they were already three Resistance Terminators who infiltrated the base.

The third man paused for some reason. He turned around and froze.

Gail was right behind him. His eyes went wide as he saw her reach for him.

Moments ago:

The Gray 'felt' something and decided to turn around. He wasn't sure why. What he saw as he turned around were two red eyes. They were right behind him. He opened his mouth to scream in terror but something clamped around his neck. It felt like a vise. His world went dark at that moment. He found peace in the nothingness of darkness.

Gail already started to reach for the Gray when he suddenly turned. She wondered if she'd been careless. She didn't think so. She was worried about Jesse and the 'Day Of Loss'. She was bothered by the fact she sought self termination because she believed Duplicate Jesse was terminated. She couldn't let anything happen to Jesse. She couldn't let anything happen to Savannah either.

She grabbed his neck and flipped her wrist. His neck snapped like a rotten twig. The scream died along with him. She tossed him off of the trail. There were two more Grays left to go.

Gail closed up on the next Gray. She moved closer to him but was still a ways behind him. She was ready to take down the fourth man when she heard something behind her. She'd already added the third man to the bushes. She knew it wasn't him. She was worried about Jesse being hurt or killed again. She quickly realized she was as careless as the Grays were. It was a mistake. It might prove to be a fatal mistake.

She saw something move behind her. The speed at which it moved, and the stealth indicated it was another Terminator. It was stalking her!

She was focused on her targets. Now there was a Terminator stalking her. She hadn't been careful. Now she would have to fight or evade. There was an even bigger threat to Jesse now. She was afraid she led the hostile Terminator right to Jesse and Savannah.

Gail knew Jesse was going to die because of her, again.…

Ally and Sheila stayed together as they entered the facility. They both knew they could fight the Terminator on their own, but what if there were more Terminators inside? Cammy reported the other facility was being run by a 'Metal Bitch', maybe this one was too. The male Terminator may have only been the 'troubleshooter' or something. He was clearly the muscle, even if it was a 'Terminator thing'. They didn't know. Their primary function was to gather intelligence as to what was happening inside of the facility.

Both of them carried Thermite grenades in case they needed to cause a distraction to get out. Once those were thrown, they would start a fire inside the structure no one would be able to put out easily. Thermite didn't just melt metal, it actually burnt and consumed the metal. The intense heat it generated would burn metal as if it were hardwood in a fire. It only left ash behind.

They rapidly moved away from the door as they knew the Terminator would return soon. It was clear he dumped the body in the box truck. It made them wonder exactly how full the back of the truck was. There was more activity happening on the other side of the building. They spotted the big rig which was backed up at the dock being unloaded. It looked like it brought some sub assemblies. It appeared they just finished the procedure. There was also a row of HK drones ready to be loaded onto it. There were eight which were complete. As they watched, a forklift brought over another one. It was clear there was a full blown assembly line at the location for HK drones.

They moved further into the building. They heard the Terminator return and lock the door. The forklift which just set down the new HK drone started a new task. It then moved to the closest HK drone to the truck. It picked it up and drove into the back of the trailer with it. They assumed it was fully operational. It probably wasn't flown into the back of the truck because of the intense noise it would generate as it moved from the staging area into the interior of the truck.

The Terminator moved to the location to observe the loading.

Ally and Sheila took some photos to transmit to John Henry. They found out what Cammy did at the other location. There was an electronic dampening field in effect. There didn't appear to be any communication whatsoever.

"I don't have any reception here." Sheila said.

Ally checked her equipment.

"I don't either." Ally said. "I bet it's to keep the workers off their phones. Cammy indicated the same thing where she was at. Half the time we catch a guard or sentry with his face down in his phone when we snap his neck."

Sheila thought there was an upside to what Ally indicated.

"It's usually porn they're looking at." Sheila said. "At least they can terminate happy."

Ally wasn't sure there was any way to terminate happy.

"I think a better way would be in the act itself with another willing participant." Ally said. "I wonder what the thug Terminator will do next."

Sheila knew Skynet ruled with an iron fist, so to speak. It seemed to apply both literally and figuratively.

"We saw what happened to the last guy who didn't do a good job." Sheila said. "Some individuals are just lazy, others don't seem to care."

Sheila looked Ally over from head to toe and back again when she said it. It was clear to Ally what she indicated without saying anything specifically.

Ally didn't see the need to look Tight. Her 'Neural Interface' was with Allison. Allison didn't like to be 'noticed'. Bad things happened when Allison was 'noticed'.

"Why are you looking at me?" Ally said. "Are you going to start in too?"

Sheila suppressed a smile.

"I didn't say anything." Sheila said.

Ally made a face.

"Maybe you don't like how I look elsewhere." Ally said. "I can take the 'goods' to someone who will appreciate them."

The goods were what Sheila liked the best about Ally. She did like Hanna more though. There was no pigment variation at all on Hanna. She didn't want Ally to feel self conscious about herself, at least in one area."

"It's the best part about you, love." Sheila said. "You give me something to do in my spare time."

Ally looked insulted. She didn't care for the insinuation.

"Maybe you need a little more spare time then." Ally said. "I wouldn't mind a little privacy, especially when there's a degenerate around."

Sheila smiled.

"There's nothing private about your parts, love." Sheila said.

Ally frowned.

"Look who's talking now." Ally said. "You don't even wear clothes half of the time."

Sheila shrugged her shoulders. It didn't seem like a big deal. Clothes was actually more of an inconvenience than anything else. She liked others to see her. She liked it even more when they could watch her perform.

"I just need to take them off again." Sheila said.

Ally suppressed a snicker.

"Oh, brother…." Ally said. "Maybe you should try a short skirt instead."

Sheila did it sometimes when she was out. She never wore underwear either. It excited her to have people notice her. The skirt was usually so short, any type of movement would provide a 'view' to anyone who looked. Between the 'view' and her rings, no one ever looked at her face. She doubted half the people could even identify what her ethnicity was based on.

"If you got it, flaunt it." Sheila said.

They moved through the building to scope everything out.

Ally touched Sheila's shoulder to stop her. There was more trouble ahead.

"Look." Ally whispered and pointed. "There's a 'Metal Bitch'."

Sheila looked the 'Metal Bitch' over. She checked her Taser. She liked what she saw. The sheath was Hot looking. She thought a closer 'exam' was in order once they brought her down. She liked how every female was 'different'. She actually possessed thousands of images to prove it. She would like to add a few more soon.

"I hope we can take her into custody." Sheila said.

Ally knew Sheila always 'examined' all the females who were captured, it didn't matter if it was a Terminator or or a human. If the human female was an enabler for the sex trade Sheila 'worked' on her first before termination. Sheila always made sure the detainee understood what her punishment was for. It was for everything which led up to the ruined lives of the individuals they traded or sold to others. Maybe it was the way Sheila laughed and taunted them as she did it which was the most disturbing part. They all knew it was behavior she' 'inherited' from Jesse through the 'Neural Interface'. Jesse did warn Cameron there was a lot of darkness in her. It was very prevalent in Sheila. While Jesse tried to reform herself, Sheila seemed to thrive on the darkness. It actually seemed to excite her as much as a sexual encounter. She didn't want Sheila to get side tracked.

"Oh, brother…." Ally said. "Here 'feel me out' for now and get over it."

Sheila didn't see what the big deal was. It was just part of her 'job' more or less.

"What?" Sheila asked. "You know Cameron wants every 'Metal Bitch' she can get a hold of."

Ally knew how Sheila 'rolled'. She would do more than get a hold of the 'Metal Bitch' when she inspected her.

"She's not the only one…." Ally said.

Sheila ignored Ally and pointed. The male Terminator approached the HK drones.

"Look, the Terminator's inspecting one of the drones to be loaded." Sheila said. "He doesn't look very content. I bet he's still irritated about the last person he needed to deal with."

The forklift exited the truck. The Terminator went over to it and yanked the driver off of it and drug him over to one of the HK drones and pointed. It appeared the HK drone was slightly damaged by the forklift when it was transported.

It seemed the Terminator was about to terminate the man. The 'Metal Bitch' hurried over and stopped him. She talked to the forklift driver. He looked very scared. He got back on the forklift and took the damaged HK drone away. It most likely would be repaired before it joined the departure line again.

There were other parts of the building they hadn't seen yet.

"Let's see where he goes." Sheila said.

Ally thought they pushed their luck already. With two Terminators around, one of them might notice them. It was only a matter of time until one of them did anyway.

"No, we've seen enough." Ally said. "Let's get out of here. Our drones need to flatten this place."

Sheila realized they were distracted. Their playful banter earlier didn't help any to keep a good focus on everything. Now she was worried.

"Where did the other Terminator go?" Sheila asked. "I only see the 'Metal Bitch'."

Ally quickly looked around too.

"Beautiful…." Ally said.

Ally took out her Taser and readied a Thermite grenade. Sheila checked her M4….

They were afraid they may have been spotted and were about to get jumped. They both blamed the other one for being careless. They would openly accuse each other once they resolved the current situation. They knew when it was time to do their job and when it was time to play. Right now it was work time.

Jesse was secure behind a tree, with a bigger tree behind her. Savannah thought it looked like the safest place for her. The trees should be fairly bullet proof because of their size and there shouldn't be many ricochets.

Savannah looked at the approaches to where they were at again. She was still sure the Grays would come up the trail because there hadn't been shooting yet, well, shooting they could hear anyway.

The new group didn't know everyone in the first group was terminated. They only knew they couldn't communicate with them. It was all they suspected. They never thought an 'attack' would happen.

Savannah moved down the slope parallel to the trail. She watched around both sides of her. She paused often and waited. She moved like a deer, move, pause, listen, observe - move…. She was aware humans moved in a very rhythmic pattern. It made them quite predictable when they would arrive at any given location, especially if there was an ambush setup.

She listened as she paused again. She heard some movement in the brush right along the trail. There was a thud and a soft curse. At first she thought Gail terminated someone. It wasn't the case.

"Get up and shut up." Someone said quietly.

"Where are the others?" One asked.

"They were behind us a few minutes ago." Someone said.

Savannah knew Gail followed the squad up. She figured they were dead.

There was no sign of Gail. It wasn't good. It indicated there was another threat of some type. Savannah went on the alert even more. She quickly warned Jesse.

"Jesse, I think we have a hostile Terminator up here with us." Savannah whispered.

The movement of the men was close to her.

"Let's wait here for a few minutes." One man said. "They should catch up. We went right up the trail. I don't see how those morons could get lost. How hard is it to follow a trail and the person in front of you? Do you want me to go back and look for them?"

"No, you wait here and don't go anywhere." The other man said. "I want to look ahead then come right back, don't leave here in case the others finally show up. I don't want you to get lost too. I don't want any 'friendly fire' incidents either. The "Man' is going to be upset about everything as it is."

"Maybe we should stick together." One man said.

"Relax, you know it's nothing." The other man said.

One man continued up the trail. The other man waited. He looked around nervously as he did.

"Jesse, you have one moving toward you. Try to take him with your pistol. Anything else after that, consider it a hostile Terminator." Savannah whispered. "The Terminator will be able to search for you with thermal imagery. It may be best to try to avoid it."

Savannah moved closer to the remaining man. He kept looking up the trail and back down the trail. He never looked to either side of the trail. Savannah advanced with her silenced pistol out….

Jesse waited. Nothing happened yet. She wanted to change her position but Savannah was adamant she shouldn't move from her specific position until she needed to use one of her weapons.

Now Savannah reported a possible Terminator threat. She hadn't heard anything from Gail recently. It worried her. With the new information it worried her even more. Maybe it's what happened to Gail. The Terminator may have taken her down. Gail could be lying alongside the trail with her head ripped off.

If the Skynet Terminators and Grays came out on top of the current situation, she could only picture what they would do with Gail's headless body when they took it back to their living quarters. She imagined it would suffer non stop abuse.

Wait.

She should be worried more about what they would do to Savannah and her if they were captured. For Grays in the future, it wouldn't make a difference if they were still alive or not. It would happen anyway. She actually witnessed it first hand in a Scavenger camp before. It was further motivation for her to do whatever they wanted her to do, as many times as they wanted her to do it. It was clear it was going to happen by force, and happen again after they killed her.

Jesse's M4 was ready, but she now held her silenced pistol and her Taser in her hands. She wondered why she was even out here. Cameron and Sarah kept her in training along with Gail. She was in shape but hadn't been in the field too much.

She now began to question her ability and fitness. Maybe she was soft now. Paradise took the killer instinct out of her.

Jesse looked down and touched her knife. If anyone hurt Gail or Savannah she was going to carve them up. It was the only thing she was out of practice on….

She looked back up and seemingly from nowhere, there was a figure moving towards her….

Where did they come from?

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Practice

If someone wants to be good at something
They need to practice everyday
There are no shortcuts to this rule
No matter what people may say

Many people want to take a shortcut
That doesn't serve them well
When things don't workout
Upon their failures they dwell

Nothing in life comes easy
There is no free ride
There are rules and restrictions
By which all must abide

Life is often easier
When one has a goal
To accomplish what's desired
Can leave one complete and whole

Not all in life is fair
It is full of injustice
Do the right things
Lead by practice

Nobody