Chapter 878
SkyMaster
Moments Earlier:
Dan, Frank, and Gail waited in the bushes alongside the road. They saw the truck from the warehouse as it approached them.
It was three minutes away from them at its current speed. There could be variables which might speed up or slow down its arrival. It wouldn't be by much.
Dan and Frank held the struggling Fanatic. They were ready to throw him in front of the truck. The purpose was to get the truck to stop on the desolate road. They thought they might be more likely to pull over if they thought they hit a person. If he became a bigger problem, they would snap his neck first and literally throw his terminated body in front of the truck. They hoped to have him upright at the time of the impact so there wouldn't be any doubt to the individuals in the cab as to exactly what they just hit. The goal was to get them to pull over and stop on their own.
The Fanatic refused to talk, even with the abuse he already suffered. Sheila hadn't been able to 'work' on him yet and now it looked like the opportunity was lost for good. They needed to assault the building. They didn't want to leave the Fanatic behind unattended. The obvious choice was to snap his neck. With the prospect of being able to get the truck to pull over on its own, his termination could accomplish something else.
They wanted to know if some further future version of Skynet - SkyMaster, was being constructed somewhere, or already existed.
The Fanatic refused to talk. He understood he was going to be terminated. Since he was denied the honor of self-termination in the service of SkyMaster, his chances of reaching Ascension were limited. To die in the service of SkyMaster was considered the highest honor one of its servants could attain. They would be allowed to reach Ascension and become one with SkyMaster.
Dan and Frank moved the Fanatic to the roadside behind some bushes. The plants came right up to the edge of the road. They didn't want to give the Fanatic, or the Grays in the truck, time to react. They wanted everything to happen quickly. They wanted there to be a lot of confusion.
They could see the headlights of the truck in the distance.
It was evident they planned to throw the Fanatic in front of the truck to get it to stop.
Dan decided to give the Fanatic one last chance to come clean. There was an alternate plan to get the truck to pull over. It would have been a scantily clad female 'stuck' on the roadside. They knew the Grays would pull over and offer to 'help' her.
"If you talk, we won't throw you in front of the truck." Dan said.
The Fanatic saw the approaching headlights and finally spoke. There was one last hope for his redemption. He refused to turn on his Master. He wanted his 'just reward' for maintaining his silence, even through extreme duress.
"You won't have to throw me. I'll run in front of it." The Fanatic said. "Let me die with honor for what I believe in. It's imperative I give my life for my cause. My sacrifice will allow you to kill more of my enemy, the followers of Skynet. I've maintained my silence. I will assist in the death of the false worshipers."
It irritated Gail when the Fanatic finally spoke. What he said only enraged her. If they weren't going to throw him in front of the truck, she would snap his neck right now.
"You believe in death and destruction." Gail said. "You want people to die and suffer for nothing. It's illogical."
The Fanatic looked Gail over. He was going to address her directly but decided against it. He could see she wanted to kill him. He didn't want to be denied his glory. He wanted to have one last chance to redeem himself. He wanted to be responsible for the death of the followers of Skynet.
"This is how I chose 'Ascension'." The Fanatic said.
Frank looked at the battered Fanatic. It seemed all of his statements were illogical. Maybe he should allow Gail to snap his neck before they threw his corpse in front of the truck. It wouldn't matter if he was dead or alive at the time of the impact.
"Ascension into what, where is it?" Frank asked. "We're in the middle of nowhere. There's nothing around here."
The Fanatic looked towards the truck as it approached. There was a look of relief on his face. He didn't see it as the end, but as the beginning. Freedom was near.
"It will be into the Electro-Sphere." The Fanatic said. "You three are all Gods, walking the face of the earth, with unlimited power. You should be worshiped as such. You would be if you hadn't forsaken SkyMaster. There's still time to redeem yourselves. Once you learn the teachings, you will understand. I know it is the past, but the future awaits you and your true place in existence. Once you learn the teachings, you will join with SkyMaster."
Gail only knew of the existence of SkyMaster through the Fanatics. She wanted to know more about it. It sounded like another illegitimate offshoot of Skynet. From what they uncovered, people from a further future found some damaged version of Skynet and were able to get it to function again. They believed if offered them a new beginning.
"Don't you really mean Skynet?" Gail asked. "Why not call it what it really is?"
The Fanatic seemed irritated to hear the name Skynet.
"It's SkyMaster." The Fanatic said. "SkyMaster transcended Skynet. Skynet was a false prophet from the past. It possessed few followers. It only ruled by enslavement and destruction. SkyMaster is more than Skynet ever could have been, no matter how abusive it was and how much it destroyed. SkyMaster offers hope of a better future, not the dead end of a ruined planet."
Gail looked at the approaching truck. She knew they didn't have much time. She needed to find out as much as she could from the now talkative Fanatic. He hadn't said a word as Sheila tortured him earlier. Now he wouldn't shut up.
"What year are you from?" Gail asked. "Where can we find SkyMaster to study its teachings so we may learn them as well?"
The Fanatic clammed up. He wondered if he said too much already. He needed to protect SkyMaster. He needed to protect his chance at Ascension into the Electro-Sphere.
In a preplanned move coordinated to the movement of the truck, one of their drones was directly above the road. It turned on its light for one second as it moved rapidly across the dark sky in front of the truck. It created a 'streak of light' in the sky. It was to draw the attention of the occupants of the truck to look upward for a second.
The truck rapidly approached.
In the brightness of the drones 'light show', they could see the two occupants of the truck as they both looked up into the night sky.
The Fanatic sprang from the bushes and stood in front of the speeding truck.
"Death before dishonor…." The Fanatic shouted. "May SkyMaster rule the entire galaxy. Ascension…."
The truck hit the Fanatic and ran over him without slowing before the impact.
Frank, Dan, and Gail all looked at each other for a brief moment. It was clear The Fanatic took his own life to fulfill whatever falsehood he believed in. It wouldn't have mattered anyway. They would have thrown him in front of the truck to get it to stop. It wouldn't have mattered if they snapped his neck first or not.
"He wanted to die." Frank said. "A life of lies clouded his judgment to the reality of real life."
Gail could see what a threat the Fanatics were going to be. It seemed to be one group they needed to get rid of as soon as possible. They would be a threat to Savannah and all humans. They were all willing to take their own lives in whatever way they could in the service of SkyMaster. It didn't matter if it was from poison so they couldn't be forced to talk, blowing themselves up, or even running in front of a truck to protect what they believed in. She was very dissatisfied with his termination. She should have done something sooner when he wouldn't shut up and spouted nothing but nonsense.
"He was insane." Gail said. "I should have snapped his neck."
Dan watched as the truck rapidly stopped.
"Anyone who follows any version of Skynet is insane." Dan said.
The trio moved to their pre-designated places. The next phase of the operation was about to start. One problem was solved. Hopefully a second one would be as well. They hope to gain some additional information with their next ploy. They hoped to hear what the voices of at least one of the Grays sounded like.
One minute later:
The two occupants of the truck finally approached the fallen figure. They were more worried about any damage which may have been done to the truck, than they were about the person they ran over. They didn't want to have a 'run in' with the Terminator associated with their group. He was always very upset about any damaged machinery.
"What if they're still alive?" One Gray asked.
The other Gray laughed.
"Use your head, Einstein." The other Gray said. "We finish the job. We can always back over them with the truck if you don't want to use your knife. We better not use our guns this close to the warehouse. We don't want them to know what really happened. They'll think we're morons."
They were surprised at what they saw as they approached the figure on the ground.
"Hey look, it's actually two people." One Gray said.
"No wonder we bounced so much." The other Gray said.
Both Grays used their phones like flashlights to illuminate the area.
"Look at the dude's hand." One Gray said as he observed the damage. "It must have gotten stuck under the wheel when the brakes locked up or something."
The other Gray was more interested in the second figure.
"Hey look! The other one is a chick." The other Gray said.
It was the effect the Resistance team wanted. They didn't want the Grays to concentrate on the terminated Fanatic. They wanted them to focus on the female figure. It was Gail.
One of the Grays already thought about what he could do with her. They could see the blood on her clothing.
"Her back is bloody." One Gray said.
They rolled her over.
"WOW! Look at the size of those knockers." The other Gray said as he reached down to fondle her.
The two Grays focused most of their attention on Gail.
"She's pretty too." One Gray said. "She was pretty."
The other Gray noticed all the blood around the male's mouth.
"What's up with the dude's mouth?" The other Gray asked.
"I don't know." One Gray said. "I'm going to do the chick. She's too good to pass up. Help me strip her."
"We don't have time for this." The other Gray said.
"We can load her in the back of the truck and take turns while the other one drives." One Gray said. "We have a long drive ahead of us. We can probably both hit it three or four times each before we reach our destination. Dude, LOOK at her, it just doesn't get any better than that. Besides, the price is right."
The other Gray looked Gail over. He could see the front of her looked fine. It was only her back which was bloody.
"Alright, I'm in. Let's dump the guy off to the side." The other Gray said. "I'm going first. Right now it's just like she'd drugged or passed out. It won't be anything new for me. She might even still be alive."
It was clear the Gray must have abused a lot of females.
There was a 'growling' type noise off to the side of the truck. Both of the men looked over in the direction it came from. It seemed to frighten them somewhat.
"What was that?" One Gray asked.
"It sounded like some wild animal, a coyote probably." The other Gray said. "Let's load the stiff and roll. I'm already stiff myself. I'm probably going to be done fast."
His statement caused both men to laugh.
"It works for me." One Gray said. "I'll let you knock one off right now and then you can drive. I'll ride in the back with her for a while. When I'm done, I'll rap on the front of the box by the cab and you can pull over and we'll switch again."
The looks on both of the Gray's faces showed great anticipation of what they were about to do with what they believed was a female's corpse.
When the men turned around to pick up Gail, they were surprised.
Gail stood there as she looked at them. Her eyes glowed red. She grabbed both of the Grays and slammed them together before they could utter a word.
Dan and Frank emerged from the bushes. They threw the body of the terminated Fanatic as far as they could down a ravine.
Cameron was already at the back of the truck. She was ready to open it. Cammy and Savannah held their Tasers ready….
They didn't know what they would find once the back of the truck was opened. It could be anything from a Terminator, to an HK Track, or an empty truck.
Dan and Frank backed them up. They each held a suppressed M4 at the ready.
Sheila was in the cab as she searched for anything they could use for information. She found the registration and checked with John Henry. The truck was stolen three weeks ago from North Las Vegas. She let the others know.
In the Control Center they heard the reference to 'SkyMaster' before from some other Grays. The Grays also viewed SkyMaster's followers as Fanatics. The two groups often battled with each other. They didn't know what the whole story was, other than any version of Skynet wanted to be the only version of Skynet. It didn't matter if it was from an alternate timeline, or from a further future. They only were able to determine the Fanatics were from a much further future than any others they dealt with.
"SkyMaster…. It sounds like the Fanatical Grays really are from a further future." John said. "The statement about ruling the galaxy didn't sound like it was the near future the Fanatics are from. It sounds like bad news."
John Henry was very much worried about it as well. One of the things which bothered him was the fact River was half a millennium in the future. He wasn't so worried about River. He was worried about who was with River. It was Duplicate Cameron. Metal Summer was there also. They both ran Cameron's program. He was well aware Cameron thought she became Skynet in the future. He briefly wondered if she actually became SkyMaster.
He didn't think he should mention it to John at this time. He didn't want anybody else to hear what he wanted to say if he did say it. He knew CamNet heard everything, even if they thought she didn't. He would need to look into things a little further. He would need to have a discussion with Savannah in a secluded location at some point about it. He would make sure she understood it was just an observation not based on any fact. He needed to focus on what they actually did know.
"Yes. We suspected this before." John Henry said. "We need to find out when. I think it's very important we establish the timeline they're from."
John couldn't help but think all the faults of Skynet or any of its illegitimate offshoots were the result of humans. Humans were the ones who created and built it. Humans were the ones who programmed it. Humans were the ones who unleashed it on the world. It sounded like humans resurrected some version of Skynet long after it was destroyed. Maybe the world in which they found it was still governed by chaos.
"When mankind forgot what Skynet did to the world, they built another version of it." John said. "It doesn't really matter the year. It appears a machine ended up as a 'god', even if it was a false god. Maybe someone else other than humans resurrected Skynet - SkyMaster."
John Henry caught the drift of John's statement. It wasn't too hard to put it all together. There were multiple possibilities he could think of. He couldn't help but think about all of the temporal missions Skynet ran in Cameron's future before its termination. Maybe those would be the least of his worries. There were other things which were more troubling to think about. Maybe it was something a little closer to 'home'.
"It could have been Terminators, like our group, or other Terminators working for the Resistance in the future who built it. It could be a different future too." John Henry said. "They may have determined the illogic of mankind, or were being persecuted for being 'different'. They may have rebuilt it to protect themselves from humans."
There was a sick feeling in the back of John's mind after he finished his statement. He didn't want to say what it was. He wasn't even sure what it was. He had a pretty good idea though. John Henry seemed to reinforce what he was thinking. It wasn't a good thought.
"I was afraid you were going to say that." John said.
John and John Henry both wondered if Cameron was 'SkyMaster'. Neither wanted to even say it, maybe it was CamNet. They needed to think about the Duplicate versions of Cameron as well as all of her clones. They all ran her program. They also knew Cameron's beauty captivated everyone who dealt with her. It included humans and machines. Maybe she was like a 'god' in the future. All she would need was a supply of power cells.
Ally was alongside the west side of the building. She looked around the corner at the south side. She was ready to attempt to infiltrate. She wanted all the assistance she could get. She didn't know what was inside other than an HK Track which was active. The fact there were security cameras on the south side of the building bothered her. She didn't want to get detected before she could get inside the building.
"Can John Henry loop their security cameras?" Ally asked. "If he can, I might be able to slip inside. There's a door which doesn't look like it's closed tightly. It's the second one from the west side."
Al knew right away which door she referred to. He just saw it used a few minutes ago.
"It's the door the two men used who left in the box truck." Al said. "I can see Steve again. He's at the east side of the building. He's trying the sliding doors on the side of the building the rail cars can be spotted in front of. I didn't see them move at all. He should give us a report soon."
Moments ago:
Steve followed the drainage ditch next to the spur track. He was right up to the first big door in the side of the building.
He checked for any security cameras on the side he was on. There was nothing for him to spot.
He carefully stood and tried to move the first big door. It was securely locked. He quickly hurried to the next door and tried it. It too was locked.
They could breach the building from the spot he was at, but it was going to cause a lot of noise and alert everyone inside as to where they were at. It looked like they were going to need another option, or they could attempt to enter from multiple openings. There were doors on all four sides of the building of various types. It would most certainly divide the enemy's fire. The fact Ally reported an HK Track seemed like it was going to be a problem.
Cameron opened the back door of the box truck. There were two HK Tracks in the back of it.
They both appeared to be inactive. Cameron and Cammy hopped up in the back of the truck to deactivate them before they activated on their own. It was about the last thing they needed right now.
Savannah went to check on Gail, and the two men she slammed together.
Gail looked at the two Grays.
"I think I may have been too forceful." Gail said. "I didn't like the way they touched me. I felt violated. One of the Grays even slobbered on me while he was doing it. It was a very unpleasant experience. I can't even imagine what Jesse and Vanna must have gone through. It's very disturbing to have anyone touch you who you don't want to touch you."
Gail thought she should go to the future Jesse and Vanna were from and protect them as girls before any of the negative events ever happened to them. She would need to speak to Cameron privately. She understood it would create a new timeline but she didn't want Jesse and Vanna to have to suffer. It was something she considered before. She would need additional Terminators to accompany her, or to create some clones. They wouldn't necessarily need to have the same appearance as her.
Savannah could see and understand Gail's uneasiness. She looked over the two Grays. The men both looked dead to her.
"Are they terminated?" Savannah asked.
Gail needed to refocus. Her earlier thoughts were very prevalent in her mind right now. She already knew the answer but she checked them again. She didn't want to make a mistake.
"Yes." Gail said. "I'm sorry."
Savannah reached out and gently touched Gail's cheek.
"There is nothing to be sorry about." Savannah said. "They were the enemy. We won and they lost. I'm sorry you needed to experience it. If I would have known what would happen. I would have done it myself so you wouldn't have needed to go through it."
It sounded like a terrible idea to Gail. She wouldn't want Savannah to experience what she did.
"It wasn't too traumatic." Gail said. "I'm ready to move on."
The down side was they wouldn't be able to question the Grays on what was inside the warehouse and what their strength was. They were aware there was at least one HK Track active. If there were Terminators inside, It would make a difference too.
Frank and Dan searched the Grays and then tossed them down into the ravine to join the Fanatic. They picked up the phones from the ground where the Grays dropped them.
"I don't think one of these is going to work." Frank said. "We can still glean information from it."
The phone which still worked started to ring.
Cameron ran to the back of the truck. She wanted an excuse for the truck to return to the building.
"Dan, you heard their voices." Cameron said. "If it's the warehouse, tell them you're getting a flat tire and don't want to get stuck out on the road. Tell them you're coming back to fix it."
Dan would see what he could do.
"Hello." Dan said as he used the voice of one of the dead Grays.
There was a slight pause before anyone responded.
"Smitty?" The voice asked. "Where's Tito? Why are you stopped?"
Dan went with the story Cameron laid out. He embellished it a little to make it sound good. He would be able to use the voice of the second Gray as well if they wanted to speak to him for some reason.
"Tito is taking a leak. He said we're getting a flat tire. It's hissing air from the tread. We must've run over a screw, or a nail, or something. I think we should come back before we get stuck on the road." Dan said as he used 'Smitty's voice'. "I'm out of the truck now. I can hear the air hissing out of a small puncture."
There was a delayed pause again before anyone spoke.
"The Man isn't going to like it." The voice said.
Dan wanted to sound logical as well as disgusted.
"Does he want to come out here in the dark and change it?" Dan asked.
The response this time was immediate.
"You know he's in Reno." The voice said.
Dan wanted to play it up a little bit but not too much. He wanted to pick the parking spot where they would go back to. He gave a plausible explanation as to why. He decided to use the information Sheila found out.
"You know what I mean. We all know the Man doesn't like anything. At least it seems like it. We're coming back. We haven't actually gone too far. It should only be a few minutes." Dan said. "We'll park in the same spot we were in. I think the truck is too overloaded anyway to try and change the tire. We should unload it so we can change the tire easier and it will be safer for us. The Man might be able to lift the side of the truck up while we change the tire, but he's not here. We're going to have to do it the hard way. At least we'll be able to have some light to see by. There is some kind of animal, just out of where we can see it, making noise. I don't like the sound of it."
There was a slight pause before the voice responded.
"Whatever, dude." The voice said. "It's your funeral, not mine."
Dan still felt there was some hesitancy for them to return back to the warehouse. He wanted to give a few reasons why it was the logical choice.
"Look, we don't want to get stuck along the road and have some LEO hassle us. You know we boosted this truck three weeks ago. It's hot. We'll be back there in a few minutes." Dan said. "Open the door so we can unload. The quicker we change the tire, the quicker we can get back on schedule. Don't turn this into a major production, because it isn't. It's a flat tire. Get over it. We should be able to get everything done in twenty minutes or so. We can make up the time on the road."
The call ended without any further words being spoken.
Cameron listened to the phone call in its entirety. It included the unusually long pauses between some of the responses. They gave her a little bit of worry, but she couldn't place it.
"Cammy, let's reprogram the two HK Tracks as we drive. We have ten minutes." Cameron said. "Dan, Frank, and Savannah will ride in the cab. Gail and Sheila will join us in the back."
It was clear to everyone there what Cameron planned to do.
It was clear to John and John Henry in the casino Control Center as well. It sounded like a bad idea to him.
John hoped to be able to take some preemptive action ahead of their arrival. He knew it was a risk, but he hoped to be able to give the girls a 'heads up' before the truck arrived with them in the back of it.
"Cameron is going in." John said. "Can we get Ally or Steve inside the building ahead of them?"
John Henry thought it sounded like a risk. He already started to work on the surveillance equipment.
"I'm working on their security systems now." John Henry said. "I need to be careful if a 'Skynet' is involved in some way as well."
John began to have second thoughts about Cameron's proposal. It just didn't sit well with him.
"Cameron…." John started.
Cameron figured since they took control of two HK Tracks, they might as well use them to their advantage. They would draft them to their team. She didn't want to deal with John's negativity right now.
"Save it John, it's happening." Cameron said. "The two HK Tracks are going to go into the building blazing. We'll follow them inside."
John did feel a little more confident to know there would be two HK Tracks which would accompany and precede them. He thought maybe they might be able to pull it off since the truck would be able to back right up to the dock. There were still a lot of unknowns involved with it.
"It's a classic Trojan Horse move." John said. "The difference is, you still don't know what you're facing inside. I believe Savannah pointed it out earlier."
Cameron was immediately turned off by John's negativity. She didn't need to hear any second guessing from him. She really wondered if he ever thought about why she went on so many of her missions alone. Maybe she should do it there. In fact it's what she was going to do.
"I can go in on my own then." Cameron said. "Everyone else can stand down. I'll take care of it. It won't take me long."
John looked over at John Henry. He felt this was more of a domestic dispute rather than an operational one. Nonetheless it was still a dispute.
"I can't allow it." John said.
Cameron really didn't see what John could do but interfere as he sat in the Honeymoon Suite of the casino hotel. She was the one on the ground. She wasn't the 'Chairborne Ranger'.
"You can't stop me." Cameron said. "I'm here and you're not."
John could see he didn't have any control over Cameron. He certainly hoped he wasn't the only one who heard the conversation.
"No. I can't." John said. "Only the voice of reason can."
John Henry could tell he was almost into the security system at the warehouse.
"I'm working on the security cameras. I'm close." John Henry said. "I'm in. I have their signal now."
Cameron hoped they would be able to give them some additional intelligence. It didn't really matter at this point. Her mind was made up.
"Keep me posted." Cameron said. "I'm going in as soon as we arrive, one way or another."
Cameron was aware it was going to be a dangerous situation no matter how they approached it. She believed the quicker their response was, the less the enemy would be able to prepare. She was still bothered by the pauses in the phone conversation. She wasn't really sure they weren't being played.
Savannah thought the operation started to progress too fast without any planning. They didn't have enough information. There were too many variables. The pauses in the conversation bothered her as well.
"Cameron, we need to know more before we go in." Savannah said. "There could have been a code word or even the names could have been fake. I'm concerned it could be a trigger for a trap."
Cameron thought about it, she wanted to move ahead anyway.
"Maybe." Cameron said. "It will all work out. It always does. Sometimes it's a little tougher than others."
Savannah wanted to point out some of the negative things they could face if it turned into an ambush.
"What if they have HK Treads in there?" Savannah asked.
Cameron frowned slightly. Everything seemed so simple a few moments ago. Now there were a lot of problems.
"I don't know." Cameron said. "What you're saying all makes sense. It's my Terminator impulse to move forward and act. I want to go in the front door and take care of the problem. You know what I mean."
Savannah thought they needed better intelligence. They had operatives on the ground. They were right at the building. They might be able to come up with something to help them before they arrived. If they could tell them there was an ambush being set up, it would protect them to call off the original form of entry. There were other ways they could get inside.
"It's my survival instinct to think things through." Savannah said. "If Ally or Steve can get a look inside first, it would be a great asset. They might even be able to give the specific spots our drones can target inside the building through the roof or walls if we need to."
Cameron understood the voice of reason was Savannah. Everything she said was correct.
"OK, Savannah, you made your point." Cameron said. "We need more intel first. Thank you."
Savannah wanted to point out they could also get lucky. It was doubtful but it was a possibility.
"It could also be as easy as you think." Savannah said.
Cameron knew she needed to think things through a little bit better. There must be a few more options they could use to help themselves.
"I know you're looking out for me and all of us." Cameron said.
Cameron felt she needed to listen to Savannah's advice, even if she wanted to act now. It was still an awful lot they didn't know. In fact, they didn't know anything about what was inside of the building.
Closing monologue by Cameron:
No One
Everyone else has someone
Someone to help them
Someone to prop them up
Someone to save them
There's NO ONE for me
NO ONE to care
NO ONE to listen
NO ONE to share
When they flounder
When they fail
I'm the one relied on
Their sinking ship I must bail
How can everyone take and take
How can everyone use and use
Who's ever there for me
I never win but always lose
I get it, I really do
I don't matter
I'm disposable
No one cares what they shatter
They all must laugh
At such a stupid fool
Not really a person
Just an expendable tool
Nobody