Chapter 882

Smashing

Earlier:

John Henry received information from one of their drones on long range patrol. They were at the fifty mile radius Savannah asked for earlier. He initially only sent the long range patrol out at twenty miles distance. Savannah wanted it doubled and then increased to the fifty mile radius. It appeared the additional distance just paid off.

"We have enemy contact." John Henry said. "There are incoming HK drones."

It was the last news John wanted to hear now with the girls about to go hot. It already looked like there was a big enough problem on their hands. This was certainly more bad news on the way. He sat up a little straighter in his chair.

"How many hostile HK drones are there and where are they?" John asked.

John Henry looked at the information on a satellite overlay map.

"There are two. They're hugging the ground." John Henry said. "They are forty eight miles out and closing."

John didn't need to think about it too long. He decided it was time to act since the engagement already started at the warehouse. There was no point to allow Skynet to get the upper hand if it could be avoided. Right now they held the advantage. He would definitely like to know their source of origination. It would be a high priority target he would strike when it was identified. It appeared there were still multiple locations associated with the current group of Grays they dealt with.

"Take the HK drones down as soon as it's clear around them." John said. "I don't want to chance it. We can worry about recovering them later. I don't want any witnesses either. Since they are still out some distance, there should be an area of landscape where there isn't much around, especially in the Nevada desert. See if CamNet or you can determine where they were launched from."

John hoped it wasn't from Area 51. It would mean Skynet was entrenched with the Air Force at their top secret base. There was no indication it was where they came from. He didn't think he should mention it.

John Henry wasn't sure how many HK drones there would be. It seemed if there were two of them already, there would probably be additional ones as well.

"There may be more." John Henry said. "I'm keeping the other five drones on recon, all except the one which has the Skynet HK drones locked up."

The long range HK drones weren't the only drones John was concerned about. There were four drones which were very low and traveling fast. They were headed right for the target area.

"What are our other drones doing so near the building?" John asked as he looked at his monitor. "They're going to be detected by those inside of the building, even if there's not a Terminator present."

John could see they were very close and in pairs. They trailed each other. It was highly unusual. The two pairs were on opposite sides of the building. They were traveling at a fast rate of speed too.

John Henry noticed the unusual pairings. It would appear to be in an 'in trail' formation of two sets of two drones. It wasn't his doing. He couldn't tell what they were about to do. He could see they rapidly neared the building at low altitude.

"I'm not sure, CamNet is controlling them." John Henry said.

John looked at the drone footage from overhead. It showed the action unfolding below. He wanted a better explanation. It was something different than usual. It wasn't a fluke or happenstance. It was a deliberate act.

"I can see one drone following another drone. They're right on the deck." John said. "There are two sets of them doing it. What is really going on?"

John Henry quickly checked with CamNet to see what was happening. He hoped for a better update. He didn't receive it. He found it a little concerning. It was clear she was up to something, but he didn't have a clue as to what it might be. Based on her answer, he didn't think she was actually the one behind what was going on, even if she was the one doing it. Without any further proof of his hypothesis, he decided to keep his response to John simple for now.

"CamNet has assured me they're following specific commands." John Henry said.

John wondered where the commands came from, and exactly what someone attempted to do. It appeared more like the drones were out of control. Two of them seemed to exhibit very unusual behavior. It appeared as if they rotated around so the rear was now in the front. He didn't see any way they would be able to use their weapons if they were going backwards, unless the threat was behind them.

Was one drone chasing the other drone? He briefly wondered if any of these were any of the recently captured drones, and they reverted back to some type of Skynet programming. It wouldn't be the first time he saw a Skynet machine do it. He still remembered when Cameron pointed her Glock at him when he was in the bedroom at the first house with his mother. It was right after he killed the thug who was beating and torturing his mother.

John focused his attention on the current situation with their drones

"They're coming in too low. They're headed right for the building." John said. "The first one of each set has turned backwards while still traveling in the same direction. They're not slowing down. Something seems off. This is all highly unusual. Are they going to attack each other?"

John Henry tried to get some more information as to exactly what was happening. The only feedback he received was to 'not worry about it'. CamNet informed him everything was taken care of. It was some experimental pre-emptive action. Since the outcome of the action was indeterminate, she didn't want to elaborate anymore.

"I don't know what's happening." John Henry said. "CamNet told me not to worry. She said it's a new combat technique. She told me to let it play out and stop bothering her about it."

John leaned forward in his chair and moved his head closer to the screen. It was all done subconsciously. It was an anticipation of what was about to happen. It was clear the drones were going to impact the building. As to why one followed another one, it was still a mystery. It didn't appear anything was going to stop them or cause them to change directions. What made it worse was his screen also showed Cameron was about to enter the building. When the roll up door opened it appeared Cameron's team was about to be ambushed. The drones were now right at the building.

"They're going to pile up against the building." John said.

John Henry noted the ambush Cameron walked into, and the apparent drone impending impacts into the north and south sides of the building. None of it made any sense to him.

"I don't know…." John Henry said. "It looks like they'll plow into the building."

John Henry wondered if CamNet lost control of them being so near the building. It sure looked like it. Maybe the jamming field caused them to lose control. He still wasn't sure why the lead drone of each pair had rotated around backwards, yet maintained its same speed and direction. None of it made much sense to him at all.

John felt there was already enough to worry about. It appeared to be another layer added on top of everything. Not only did his troops need to battle the unknown. There was a lot of unknown to him with their own forces. He didn't want to rock the boat. It didn't appear he would be able to either. The time was gone. It was the moment of truth. There was no stopping whatever was about to happen on several different levels. It was 'go time'.

Ally, Al, and Steve all heard the drones close in on them and saw the ambush about to be triggered.

They weren't sure of everything going on. They were going to need to play everything by ear. They were still unable to communicate with anyone.

Ally was worried about the girls in the back of the truck. She needed to act now to take some of the heat off of them.

"Let me get their attention." Ally said. "Maybe I can draw off one or more of the HK Tracks."

Ally moved a short distance away from Al and Steve. She fired one round at each of the HK Tracks. One of the four turned around to face her. It happened much quicker than she anticipated. It appeared it was about to open fire on her position.

"Great, it has locked me up." Ally said. "Spread out, we're about to get lit up."

They all saw the minigun track Ally.

Dan and Steve each moved further away from her.

It looked like there were about to be projectiles fired at Ally. She was the dedicated target of the HK Track. She wanted to get its attention. It looked like she succeeded.

Cameron saw the ambush and heard four shots. A single round struck each of the HK Tracks, one turned to face the new threat. She saw it was Ally who fired the shots. She watched as an HK Track spun around and locked Ally up.

The sound of the drones outside intensified. Something wasn't right there. They were right outside the loading bays and not powering down.

A fraction of a second after Ally's last shot, there was a giant 'crash and a tearing' of metal sound very near them, and from the north side of the building at the same time as well.

Cameron and Cammy were out behind their HK Track. The second HK Track followed them out of the back of the truck to take up its station on their left. The exit of both HK Tracks from the back of the truck took only a second. So far the HK Tracks facing them hadn't fired a shot yet. They seemed to be searching for targets. The HK Tracks targeted all of them but didn't fire.

She was aware they should've been cut to ribbons by now. She looked over at the unexpected arrival of the drone which just made a 'smashing' entrance into the building.

The metal crashing noise was one of the roll up dock doors as it was smashed inward into the building by an HK drone traveling backwards. The door was partially tangled with it.

Cameron thought the drone crashed. She didn't hear any gunfire or explosions outside.

Right behind it a second drone entered the building through the now missing loading bay door. She realized the first drone created a large unobstructed opening by its unorthodox action.

Cameron saw the same thing happening at the back of the building. Two of the doors were knocked down with a drone and a second drone flew inside the building. It was clear at this point none of it was an 'accident'. It was pre planned and orchestrated. It appeared as if it was an attack to be conducted inside of the building.

'What the Hell?' Cameron thought.

Savannah saw the threat of the HK Tracks and moved in back of the HK Track with Cammy and Cameron. She wasn't sure why they weren't being cut to pieces yet. Now there were four drones INSIDE the building. The one closest to her maneuvered to free itself from the door it smashed through.

Cammy, Gail, and Sheila were as surprised as everyone else. The Skynet HK Tracks just sat there. They tracked them but didn't shoot at them. One turned toward a side wall, but hadn't fired either. They'd heard four shots from the direction seconds ago.

Now there were drones inside the building. The nearest one to them tried to untangle itself from the door it crashed through, the drone which followed it inside continued past it. It went further into the building. A few seconds later it fired a short burst from its minigun. They heard the one in the rear of the structure fire a short burst as well. The drone tangled in the door freed itself and turned towards them, not to fire, but to search for targets near them. They were THEIR drones.

Cameron needed to quickly think about everything. She thought she understood and tried to put it all together. She realized two drones were used to knock the doors in, rather than blow them off. Any missile strike might have damaged their team from the explosion or shrapnel. They knew Ally was inside somewhere and didn't want to chance hitting her, or Steve and Al. The drone which followed it was ready for combat if the drones which rammed the doors were incapacitated. The one closest to them was incapacitated for a few seconds until it was able to free itself from the door it knocked down to clear an unobstructed path. Strangely enough, the drones seem to know where they were going once they were inside of the building.

Everything happened incredibly quickly. It was less than ten seconds from when the rear door of the box truck went up and the first HK Track drove out of it.

A few seconds later, there was a third burst of mini gun fire near a row of HK Tracks by the sliding doors for the rail cars.

It was clear their drones were inside the building searching for enemy targets. So far the only things which posed any type of a threat to them were a few Grays.

Cameron was very pleased about what could have been a nightmare, wasn't.

"We need to get moving." Cameron said. "Follow our previous plan and look for any enemy targets. Our drones have already terminated some. There's a strong possibility there may be other Grays hiding. There can also be an enemy Terminator inside the building, even if it's unlikely."

Cameron and her team fanned out to search for targets. The four HK Tracks there to ambush them, stayed where they were. They still waited for 'enemy' targets to appear. So far they only encountered 'Friendlies'.

The Resistance team all squawked the current Skynet transponder code, as well as the Resistance code. The Resistance teams all appeared as 'Friendlies' to all of the active HK and Resistance equipment. It was clear somebody wanted to give them a big advantage as to what happened inside of the warehouse proper. The task was accomplished several different ways.

The Grays discovered so far lacked the Resistance transponder code and were dealt with accordingly. Their drones were also capable of visual recognition of individuals when they were encountered.

Seconds ago:

Dan and Frank jumped out of the truck as soon as it stopped. They heard four single shots fired from inside the building somewhere. The sound volume from the HK drones increased.

They heard them close as they backed the truck up to the dock moments ago. They currently moved along the side of the truck to reach the back of it so they could enter the building through the narrow gap between the truck and the opening in the wall for the loading bay.

"HK drones." Dan shouted.

They saw there were two drones closing in on them. One turned backwards as it continued its forward motion. The other drone followed it closely. It was two seconds behind it. None of it made sense.

They didn't seem to be the targets of the drones, nor did the truck. Based upon where the drones were headed they didn't appear to be under any control. They were headed right for the building and hadn't slowed, at least the lead drone hadn't slowed. The drone which followed it did slow slightly to increase the distance between them.

"They're going to hit the building." Frank said. "They must be crashing."

As they ran toward the building, they saw the backward facing drone slam into the roll up door two slots over. It made quite a racket as it slammed into the top of the roll up door. It ripped it loose from its mounts and knocked it down into the interior. The drone which followed it flew inside the building. They weren't sure of everything they just witnessed. They still needed to get inside of the building.

'What the Hell?' They both thought.

A few seconds later they heard two short bursts of minigun fire.

They both squeezed between the rear of the truck and the open door of the building to join the others, both of them searched for targets.

They were a little surprised to see the HK Tracks still sitting there in a semicircle pointed at the rear of the truck. They were briefly tracked, but not for long. They didn't show up as the enemy because they squawked the Skynet code as well as the Resistance code.

There was a third short burst of minigun fire off to the east side.

They each joined one of the two teams. They saw the drones which entered the building were theirs. It was a new approach. If the building was tall enough, they could have drones enter with them or before them in the future. They didn't know if the drones were being controlled or operating autonomously. They seemed to know where to go on their own to very specific locations. They also easily avoided any obstacles which made up the structure of the building.

John Henry still tried to process everything he just witnessed. He quickly reviewed all the data he possessed so far and what CamNet previously briefed him on. He tried to make sense of it all.

It was evident the lead drone in each pair purposely targeted a roll of door to knock it out of the way. He saw it was an effective strategy. There were no stray rounds or shrapnel if the drone would have used its weapons to remove the door from its path. The drone which followed it was able to enter the building unscathed and fully operational. He wanted to give John a quick update.

"I've lost communications with everyone and the drone cameras inside the building as well. John Henry said. "CamNet informed me they're our drones."

John watched as all the current live footage pixelated and disappeared. There was no footage from inside of the building currently from the personnel or the drones already in there. The screen replayed what just occurred from a drone overhead. They recorded everything. He could see what a bold and brilliant move was just carried out to aid the personnel inside without risking damage to anyone with shrapnel from using a missile to blow open a door and enter the building.

"What maneuver was it?" John asked. "It got at least two functional drones inside the building, if not all four. It was accomplished without blowing the doors off and endangering our personnel inside."

John was sure this was going to be known as the 'Vegas Maneuver' in the future. He would need to get more information as to what went down and who planned the tactic. He was sure it originated in the Young bunker. He wondered if the update with the Skynet transponder code originated from the same location. Everything seemed to happen rather quickly. He realized it was more than John Henry and him were able to do on their own to assist those inside the building.

John Henry was impressed with what he just witnessed. He understood since it was a new concept, and hadn't been tested, it could have all gone horribly wrong. He figured it was why CamNet hadn't provided him with more information ahead of time. He was sure John would have tried to prevent them from testing the theory. It was probably the main reason they weren't notified as to what was going to happen, before it happened.

"It's definitely a new concept." John Henry said. "It was very bold and daring."

John wanted to know more about what went into the planning of all of it. He hadn't thought there was very much time to get everything into play after they were informed to have the Resistance team squawk the Skynet code in addition to the Resistance code.

"It's obvious someone definitely 'thought outside the box' on all of this." John said. "I mean for the drones to enter inside a large building, and our troops to be able to squawk the current Skynet transponder code. Being able to come up with the Skynet code right before an attack was clearly a luxury. Our drones making their way into the building was very inventive. The only damage to our troops would have occurred if they were directly behind the doors which were smashed in."

John Henry knew they were lucky to have three sources to verify the current Skynet transponder code. Normally it wasn't something they would be able to have and verify before any operation. He believed the tactic would come in handy in any of the futures where they battled Skynet.

"We need to adopt this tactic when we can in the future." John Henry said. "They needed to adopt this tactic in THE Future. It will need to be in any of the updates we send to any of the Futures when we communicate with them again. It's definitely something the enemy is not going to expect."

The two drones orbiting over the building and surrounding area, only recorded four rifle shots and three short bursts of mini gun fire. It was unknown if any of their troops were damaged or not. The way the things played out they were able to witness before they went dark, seemed to indicate their troops were very fortunate.

John was aware what happened inside of the warehouse wasn't the only thing which needed to be addressed.

"What's the status of the two hostile HK drones approaching on the deck?" John asked. "Have any others been detected? It's possible they could be at altitude coming from a different direction."

John Henry kept a careful eye out for any additional HK drones which might be on their way there. So far there were only the two they picked up earlier. He was very wary of HK drones coming in from different directions as well as different altitudes.

"The two we previously identified are both locked up." John Henry said. "They will be brought down in a secluded area which will aid in their recovery by our forces. No more HK drones have been detected. We are on constant lookout for any more at any altitude and direction."

John was more than aware the current Skynet group possessed a vast amount of HK equipment. He knew things might be quiet now, but there was a good chance it could change. He figured he better throw a qualifier out there as well.

"Yet…." John said.

John could see the battlefield was fluid. The 'battle' for the Skynet building looked more like a turkey shoot, at least so far. They didn't know what else would develop inside, or even what was in there. They were still waiting for some type of communication from inside the building. If the jamming field could be knocked out, they could get a report from inside. If not, someone would need to come outside and tell them what occurred so far.

Seconds ago:

Young Allison followed everything. She saw the threat Cameron's teams faced. From the Resistance drones which remained overhead, she was able to watch two of their drones turn around backwards in flight and slam into the roll up doors on the building to knock them out of the way. So far it looked like the first part of it worked. The drones behind them were able to fly right into the building unopposed. One of the drones appeared to be tangled in the wreckage of the roll up door for a while, but was finally able to free itself. She really wondered what kind of trouble she just brought down on herself for doing it on her own. She was prepared to face any repercussions which would most likely follow.

"I'm not sure about all of this." Young Allison said.

Anna wasn't sure about it either. As soon as the drones were inside of the building, CamNet no longer was able to control them. They needed to rely on their Resistance programming. It was supplemented with the complete blueprints and layout of the interior of the building. Each of the four drones was given specific areas to search for the enemy. She still believed it was an innovative concept.

"We don't know if it's going to work." Anna said. "We may lose two drones or all four. So far the fresh Skynet transponder codes have worked. I think it was the biggest factor in assisting our troops on the ground as they entered the building."

Young Allison asked for CamNet to take 'volunteers' from their drones for the 'battering ram' mission. What she didn't know was CamNet asked for two volunteers for a dangerous mission from one of the 'Chosen Ones'. CamNet informed them the mission may end up as a 'termination mission'. There was a good chance the drone would be destroyed conducting the mission. Every drone in the theater of operations volunteered for the assignment. She picked the two closest ones for the task. It was clear every machine would follow the 'Chosen Ones' on their own initiative without an 'order' to do so. They were willing to conduct the mission, even if they were terminated doing so.

She was bothered to see two of the drones need to use themselves as battering rams. It was her idea. It was clear there must be some damage to them, especially to one of them. She made the decision to work on the repairs herself with one of their Terminators. It would show she cared about ALL of their machines, even the 'lesser' ones. She was the one who wanted the drones to possibly sacrifice themselves to complete the mission. It troubled her greatly to make the decision, but she made it anyway. She felt the issue needed to be addressed as soon as possible.

"I'm sorry for the damage I may have caused to two of our drones." Young Allison said. "I want to personally see them when the current operation is over. I'll assist in their repair myself. It's something I need to do. If any of the drones is too badly damaged to be repaired, I will personally place its chip in an undamaged drone chassis which we acquired. All of our machines are very important to me. It doesn't matter if they walk, fly, or operate on the ground. They are all members of the Resistance like everyone else. They are all like Savannah and me."

She knew every action created a reaction. It was what she did. She didn't want to order troops into combat. Those troops could be either human or Terminators. She was prepared to order four of their machines into combat, if no volunteers came forward. She knew two of them could possibly be destroyed in the initial action. She was unsure what would happen to the other two which followed them into the building. She would have picked the four closest drones to carry out her order if it was necessary. It was a calculated risk. Everything was a calculated risk. Seriously enough it was the four closest drones who volunteered for the task which were chosen anyway.

Anna could see Young Allison was troubled. It looked like more than just worry.

"We still don't know what's happening inside." Anna said. "The jamming field has blocked everything. The drones are operating on autonomous control now. There's been some minigun fire but I believe it was from our drones. I don't know for sure."

Young Allison felt the drones entered the building as prepared as they possibly could be.

"All we know is there were four shots fired and then two short bursts of minigun fire. There was a third short burst of minigun fire afterwards." Young Allison said. "The drones have their programming and plans for the building. They weren't to engage anything which didn't pose an immediate threat. The transponder ploy was to cover it. The goal was so none of the enemy equipment would see them as a threat as well as our personnel on the ground and from in the back of the truck."

Anna hadn't heard any negative feedback or calls for help.

"It was a brilliant suggestion." Anna said. "It looks like both ideas worked."

Young Allison was mindful of the other threat. She gave it some thought and felt they needed to do something specific.

"So far…." Young Allison said. "There are at least two incoming enemy HK drones approaching. The real threat is if there will be more. Have our drones watch for any at altitude too. I don't think things are done yet where our team is at."

Young Allison recollected a naval battle in the Pacific where the enemy fighters all dropped down to the 'deck' to shoot down the attacking torpedo bombers. While all the enemy fighters were down on the deck, the attacking dive bombers showed up in formation at altitude. The pilots reported later it was just like in 'practice'. They peeled off one at a time as they selected targets and sank many of the enemy ships. The battle was decided in that moment. She didn't want to develop target fixation or to be caught off guard. She wanted to make sure they checked every altitude as well as every direction.

"The HK drones are locked up." Anna said. "They'll be flamed as soon as it's clear. Savannah and you were both correct on everything you called. If the transponder codes on our team hadn't been modified, it would have a very different outcome. You made two excellent calls."

It pleased Young Allison she was able to come up with two options on short notice. They just popped into her head and they were able to act on them. There was no pre-planning or forethought. It all happened in the spur of the moment.

"I just thought of it all of a sudden when I heard Savannah's concern." Young Allison said. "I wanted to help. CamNet was able to provide the assistance we needed, when we needed it. She is the one responsible for making it happen. I want it recognized as such going forward."

Anna received an update from CamNet. The enemy drones were 'dispatched' with extreme prejudice.

"CamNet reported the two hostile HK drones were flamed when they entered a small canyon." Anna said. "They're no longer a threat."

Young Allison was pleased the HK drones were down. She also tried to plan ahead. More of their Terminators were sent to the Las Vegas area. She asked CamNet to have them do some very specific things.

"Let's hope there are no more." Young Allison said. "Are the big trucks you called for on the way?"

Anna was pleased to see the request was taken care of. What they still needed to find out was what all was inside of the warehouse. It would determine how many trucks they would actually need in the end to capture everything.

"Yes." Anna said. "CamNet directed the other Terminators headed to the target site to acquire some. It was a very good suggestion on your part to get things in order as soon as possible. With the threat of HK drones, the operation to remove the captured equipment needs to be dealt with as soon as possible."

Young Allison thought along the lines of Anna on her own.

"We don't know how many we will need and what is inside exactly." Young Allison said.

Anna was pleased when she received word the communication jamming field was down.

"We will shortly. All communications have been restored." Anna said. "Everything is back to normal. Everything looks good."

The monitors all showed the body cams and drone footage inside the building. All team members were accounted for and undamaged. Three Grays were terminated. The drones headed back outside from inside the building as Cameron's teams secured the building. Reports indicated it was a storage or transfer facility of some type. It wasn't a factory or an assembly line.

It looked like a win - so far….

They all wondered if things were winding down, or about to ramp up.

Young Allison was very relieved to find out the two drones used as battering rams weren't severely damaged and fully functional. Cameron, Cammy, and Savannah looked both of them over before they released them. They would have been loaded into the back of the box truck immediately if the damage was anything but minor. She would still personally deal with their repairs.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

So I Should Apologize

In every relationship
There are many highs
There are even more lows
Some issues will even polarize

On some of life's choices
We must all compromise
What was once written in stone
We can evolve and revise

Sure we all can ridicule
Demean, insult and chastise
That will only speed
The relationship's demise

There's always something to hide
It should never come as a surprise
That everyone one can wear
Some type of inner disguise

If I want to feel comfortable
Keeping secrets is not wise
For lying to you
So I should apologize

Nobody