Chapter 11

It was 0300 hours at An Clochán when Breacadh woke up Briana's Clan with, "Sensors are detecting unusual activity between us and the ravine on the NNW side."

"Did you alert Amy's Clan?"

"Yes. Erica wants all of you to meet them in the Security Control Center."

"Okay. Wait, all the cruisers are on that side of An Clochán."

"Correct."

"Then have Súsanna's and Caoilinn's Clans join us there. Tell them to wear tac suits. Is there any activity among our visitors?"

"Our visitors are all sound asleep. I'll advise Súsanna's and Caoilinn's Clans to meet you in the Security Control Center wearing tac suits."

"Erica, what's up?" said Briana when her clan entered the SCC where several of Amy's Clan were watching the consoles.

"Our activity scans began showing some odd readings beginning around 2200 hours. We ran system diagnostics which showed that the sensors were functioning correctly. After that we made some adjustments to the scanners' and sensors' coverage so that they overlapped. Backups were brought online so we didn't create any holes with the adjusted scanning. Perhaps the most puzzling aspect is that the odd readings are sporadic. Just after we had Breacadh wake you, we overlaid the odd readings on our site map and as you can see their seems to be a pattern."

"Can you add terrain features to the map?" asked Adam.

"Crap," said the group when they saw the string of events that progressed toward An Clochán from a ravine some 10 km NNW. The breaks in the events were when the terrain obstructed line of sight from An Clochán.

"Add the site grid around the cruisers and show activity for the last 4 hours," said Cass.

"Damn, it looks like we have intruders," said Charlotte. "So where are they now?"

"Well based on these latest readings, about three kilometers from the parking area heading back toward the ravine."

"Let's look closer at the time sequence for their activity in the parking area," said Briana.

"We need air support," said Adam. "Any FOC, we need Star Fighter support, now!"

"Adam, this is Iarracht FOC. What's up?"

"We believe there are intruders on the ground between An Clochán's parking area and the ravine NNW of An Clochán. From our sensors, it appears that they are moving back toward the ravine."

"Two flights are responding. Raven and Osprey will be on station in less than 20 minutes."

"Acknowledged."

"They will contact you shortly."

"Thanks."

"This is a time lapse activity report for the parking grid," said Amy.

It showed twelve objects come onto the grid then divide into groups of two before approaching the Iridien cruisers. Each group went to three locations under each ship and stayed there for a few moments before going to the next before leaving.

"That is strange," said Súsanna. "Why would you go to all this trouble to just walk up to the ships and then leave?"

"Our cruisers have a tamper sensor that alerts the crew if someone has tried to enter the ship," replied Caoilinn. "If someone manages to get the ship to fly once the sensor has been tripped, it will self-destruct. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that the Iridien's have something similar."

"Well considering the events of yesterday, my guess is that someone in the fleet must want to kill off the Iridien Spec Ops teams in a way that causes us to be blamed."

"Yvonne, there is a lot of conjecture in your statement," said Sal of Caoilinn's Clan. "But it makes sense if you believe that the Iridien Spec Ops units are ones that the Dutsuz would have the most trouble subverting."

"Adam, this is Raven1. We are several minutes out. What's the situation?"

"You guys are quick. Can you see our map?"

"Yes."

"Good. We are pretty certain we were visited earlier by at least twelve intruders. Currently they are heading toward this ravine." As Adam spoke, he highlighted the map to indicate the areas. "Can you do a low level recon of the area? Based on the information we have, I would suspect that there is at least one cruiser in the ravine, and probably two."

"Okay, beginning a run now."

Those in An Clochán SCC and Iarracht FOC watched the progress bar move across the map.

"Sloppy," said Charles as four blips showed up on the screen. "Those appear to be four man terrain transporters, but we only saw twelve people on the grid."

"Raven1, confirm four groups."

"Affirmative."

"Can you put spiders down along their apparent path to the ravine?"

"Osprey2 is preparing to do that now. We are going to check the ravine."

"Good. We will be sending two teams out on IPTPs."

"Which teams?"

"Súsanna's and Caoilinn's. Can Osprey flight scan the area outside the habitat for thermal anomalies?"

"Sure. Why?"

"Those transporters you identified carry four people. There were only twelve people shown entering the parking area."

"Adam, copy your request," said Osprey1. "There will be a lot of data clutter around the habitat making looking for people tricky. Breacadh should be able to screen against the normal data so we will make several passes. If they move between passes it should make them easier to spot."

"Osprey1, that is what we had in mind. Thanks."

"Breacadh, are the activity sensors still active in the sections we've mothballed?" said Briana.

"They were activated when you identified intruders on the parking grid. Some have not validated and they should have by now."

"Hmm ... set alarms on all exterior doors to sound silently," said Briana. "Increase the sensitivity of motion sensors in halls leading to exits and mothballed sections."

"In progress. Will advise if they don't validate or there is activity."

"We're ready," said Súsanna. "We will go out through the large air lock and circle around to the right. Caoilinn is going to go the other direction. Our IFF will be on once we get outside."

"Okay," said Erica. "Be careful. The Star Fighters are there to support you. Use them."

"Yes, mother," chorused the groups. "If you see something on the map you think we missed, tell us right away."

"We're going out through corridor 19," said Briana.

Erica watched anxiously as the three teams left. Everything they were doing they had practiced over and over again, only this time it was for real. As Fidelma came into view she placed her hand on Erica's shoulder.

"Erica, relax. We've done all we can to prepare for this. This time we have a little more of an advantage than we could hope for."

"Advantage?"

"Yes. These intruders apparently don't respect their enemy."

"Briana's Team," said Breacadh, "exterior door 5 of Section 42A is being opened."

"Copy," replied Cass. "Eltha, Cindy, would you approach from the inside. Ellie and I will come in through the door. Breacadh, once we are inside, seal the doors and slowly pressurize the section."

"Okay."

The group of transporters was just entering the ravine when Súsanna's and Caoilinn's teams approached them from both sides. Caoilinn called out to them in standard language, "Halt! Lay down your weapons and raise your hands."

All the intruders jerked when they heard her voice in their head sets. The driver accelerated as the others looked around. Seeing the Órarduine on both sides of them one said, "Take 'em out." They immediately began firing in the general direction of the Órarduine. It was all they could do due to the bouncing of the transporter.

After Súsanna's and Caoilinn's teams ducked for cover and began firing at the bouncing transporters. They quickly realized that it was more effective to aim at the rocks on either side of the transporters. This threw rock fragments toward the intrucers. They carefully followed the intruders toward their waiting ships. On arriving at the first ship, the driver jumped off his transporter and ran toward the access panel intending to open its entry ramp. He was hit as finished entering his access code which resulted in his entry not being confirmed. When the ramp did not begin to open, another entered the code again and confirmed it. Once the door opened, he quickly dragged the injured driver up the ramp while the others continued firing at the approaching Órarduine Security teams.

The Órarduine laser fire hit all four ground transporters rendering them useless, with many of the intruders wounded as a result. The Órarduine intent was not to kill the intruders, but to demonstrate that they could. Several shots also hit the edges of the ramp before it closed.

"Súsanna's, Caoilinn's teams, pull back," said Raven1. "We will take it from here."

"Ravens, shields up. Raven1, Raven2 disable cloaking."

While Raven was giving his commands, the Órarduine Security teams moved rapidly away from the two Iridien cruisers. They moved a safe distance away, but where they could still watch the ships. While they were slightly exposed, they were not easily seen due to the tac suites altering their appearance to blend into the surroundings.

"Intruders in the Iridien cruisers," said Raven1 in standard language. "Stand down, now!"

"Here is your answer!" screamed a voice over the radio just as their laser fired at the two visible Star Fighters. Their shields deflected the beam toward nearby rocks causing them to explode.

"One last time," said Raven1 to the intruders. "Stand down. Exit the ships and surrender."

Raven1 and Raven2 shifted so that if they were shot at again, the beam would be deflected toward the other intruder. They had just made the move when one of the intruders fired again. The deflected shot hit punched a large dent in the side of the adjacent ship.

"Raven flight, engage enemy." As he spoke, Raven1 and Raven2 peeled off to the right and disappeared as they resumed cloaking.

The two cruisers lifted off the ground and turned toward the two Órarduine security teams. The teams were wondering if they had made an error when laser shots hit the back of both cruisers. The cruisers quickly began to rise and turn. They had only risen a short distance when another volley of laser shots hit them. This time bright flashes came from both of them as they began to gain altitude.

"Erica," said Osprey1, "we are being scanned by a targeting system."

"We see it."

"It has locked onto me," said Osprey2. "Shields on max. I am cloaked and it still has a lock."

"ACFC, fire when ready."

"Target acquired," replied An Clochán weapons control. "Fire!"

Outside the habitat, there were four brief flashes of light upward toward the NNW sky. They were quickly followed by four more flashes. All the flashes seemed to converge at a point well above Mars.

"Erica, lock is broken."

"Copy." Just as Erica spoke the An Clochán lasers fired again for the third time. Shortly after they fired a large ball of fire erupted in the sky high above Mars.

Meanwhile, on the ground Súsanna's and Caoilinn's Teams were hastily making their way back to An Clochán. Their paths across the Martian surface could only be traced by the small swirls of dust they stirred on their passing.

Overhead Raven flight was joined by Osprey and two other flights as their engagement with the fleeing cruisers continued. The cruisers' shields were minimizing the damage from the laser fire of the Star Fighters until suddenly the lead cruiser slowed, and then exploded. The debris struck the left side of the second cruiser almost eliminating its shield. The Star Fighters pumped multiple rounds of laser shots into the remaining cruiser until it disintegrated.

"Erica, both cruisers destroyed," said Raven1.

"Copy. Good work."

"Well, I am not sure we can take credit for the first one."

"Why?"

"It just seemed to explode. It is possible a shot crippled an internal system that caused the explosion. We need to evaluate our tapes first."

"Whatever. As far as we are concerned, you did it. Thanks to all of you."

"Iarracht FOC, we are returning."

"Copy. Raven and Osprey cleared for return. Condor and Hawk flights continue recon on An Clochán."

"Copy. Approaching An Clochán. Alert the AIs, we will be doing repetitive recon runs."

"Copy. Do them with nav lights on."

"What?"

"Turn your nav lights on when making a run. It should make anyone on the ground edgy."

"Good point. Hadn't thought of that. Will add shields."

"Affirmative."

While the activity was taking place overhead, Eltha and Cindy were waiting to enter Section 42A. They had paused so that Breacadh could restore the atmosphere to the Section that they were in. The rest of Briana's Clan entered Section 43A just before Breacadh began restoring the atmosphere.

"Based on the marks outside," said Cass, "it looks like all four came in the same door."

"Breacadh, you still detecting only two people, correct?"

"Yes. Several of the sensors are in an unknown state so the accuracy is not known."

"We are going in without our tac suits," said Eltha.

"The sensors are detecting a faint trace of the Dutsuz spice."

"Okay, we are inside," said Cindy.

Cindy and Eltha carefully checked out each room as they moved down the corridor. Just before they entered the fifth room, Eltha said, "They are in here."

"Yes, I can sense all four. They are expecting us to find them."

"I see that as well. Let's do it." With that Cindy eased open the door and carefully looked inside. Seeing no one, she slipped through the door, with Eltha close behind her quietly closing the outer door. They waited a few moments until their vision had fully adjusted to the low light before easing the inner door open. Inside they could see two men standing next to a table covered with packages. They were opening the packages while apparently paying little attention to their surroundings. Eltha and Cindy moved quietly into the room.

"The other two are behind us."

"Yes. I feel their presence."

"Put your hands up," said Eltha as the lights were turned up. The two men reacted by reaching for their weapons as they dropped the package they were opening. The packages bounced off the table on to the floor. On hitting the floor they broke open spilling the spice.

"Touch that weapon and you're dead," said Cindy in standard language. The two men stopped moving and just looked at them. "We told you to put your hands up. Do it now!"

At that moment, the two men behind them yanked their heads back by pulling on their hair. When Eltha and Cindy opened their mouths to scream, a lump of spice was shoved into their open mouths before they were covered by a hand. At the same time, the two men they had confronted knocked their weapons away. Their wrists were then pulled behind their back and fastened together.

"Hmm ... didn't expect it to go quite this way."

"Just relax girls, we won't hurt you. The candy we gave you is good for you as it will help you relax. Once you are relaxed, we will remove the restraints. We only used restraints so you wouldn't hurt yourselves."

The two holding the women smiled when they felt them stiffen slightly and nodded to the others. After a few minutes, the two holding their heads slowly released them to let them stand on their own. Their wrists were still fastened behind their backs.

"Guess, we did that part correctly," said Eltha.

"Yea, the spice has pretty good flavor but it sure has a strong taste. It is different to what Sarah's Clan described."

"But, they took theirs with food which would mask the taste."

"They said the drug would be effective after ten minutes," said one intruder.

"Yes," replied another. As the four men waited, they inspected the two women, felt their bodies, and ran their fingers through their hair and mane.

When one of the men found their tails he said, "Would you look at this?", as he pulled Cindy's tail from between her ass cheeks. Each of them then took a turn fondling her tail and ass.

"These people sure have nice bodies," said another intruder as he ran his fingers between the lips of her cunt. "Nice warm cunt. Damn, the lips move too," he added as Cindy's labia grasped at the finger stimulating her cunt causing her natural juices to flow. "Shit, she is getting wet already."

Another intruder was squeezing and caressing Eltha breasts when milk began to ooze from her nipple. "Look at this," said the man as he pulled on her nipple releasing more milk.

"Time is up," said Briana. "We are just outside the door."

Hearing Briana, Eltha and Cindy pretended to wake up. "What are..."

"We are here to help you," said one intruder in friendly voice. "We are your friends and have brought you a gift." Pointing to the boxes he said, "In those boxes is some very special spice that offers great benefits to those who consume it. It is a very precious gift that we freely present to you. We encourage you to share with your family."

"Why did you come in this way?" asked Eltha with a puzzled look on her face.

"We came on some Iridien cruisers. We wanted to surprise you this morning with these gifts, so we came in here to prepare them for distribution while the others sleep. Now that you are here, you can help us distribute these gifts to your friends."

While they were talking, the rest of Briana's Clan entered the room unseen and surrounded the group.

"Your spices do have a very good flavor but the taste is rather strong," said Cindy. "I don't think anyone will like them once they know this is what you fed Sarah's Clan."

"We wouldn't do that..." said the intruder just as his arms were pulled behind his back. His eyes bulged at seeing the others with him struggling as their arms were also pulled back. Both Eltha and Cindy watched the four men struggle as restraints were fitted around their wrists. A restraint was also placed between their elbows tight enough to pull their shoulders back.

"What's going on?" stuttered one intruder, his expression beginning to show a bit of fear.

"We're preparing you for a trip to interrogation. What else do you think we would do with an intruder?"

"We came on an Iridien cruiser. We came as friends with presents that will make your life more enjoyable."

"You are full of shit," said Cass. "The stuff in those packages is the spice the Dutsuz gave Sarah's Clan in hopes of enslaving us. You were obviously sent by them to try it again, here."

"Those spices really enhance the flavor of food."

"Yes, they do," said Eltha. "For some species, they also have a secondary effect. For some, consuming the spice turns it into a drug as it is digested. The impact of the drug is to make the individual very receptive to suggestions and distort rational thought. Why else would you stuff some in our mouth?"

"You can't hold us," smirked another intruder. "Others will come to rescue us, and they will destroy this place when they do."

"Who knows you are here? Three Iridien cruisers were destroyed this morning." Just as Cass finished speaking more people arrived. Photos were taken of the prisoners and packages of spice. All four prisoners were stripped and then placed in long rectangular boxes, in spite of their struggling. Their struggling and fear grew as they saw a clear cover placed over the top of the box, leaving barely enough room for them to move. During the whole time the Órarduine did not say a word. Once the boxes holding the men were sealed, they were stood up so that the men could watch the next events in the room. Each package was placed inside a glove box. A probe was inserted and after a few moments a green light flashed as the display showed the composition. The contents were then poured into a liquid where it quickly dissolved. The whole sequence was filmed. Periodically the liquid was placed into a bottle and sealed.

When they finished, Briana looked at the four men and said, "We just turned your threat into a spice that is acceptable to us. Now let's go to somewhere you can tell us more about yourselves and who sent you." None of the four men realized that they had heard Briana telepathically as she had also spoken verbally.

The boxes holding the men were stacked onto a trolley and covered with a heavy cloth. A box containing their clothes was placed on top. Once everything was out of the room, two Órarduine began spraying it down with a solution to neutralize any residual spice.

"Well that screwed up a good night's sleep," said Briana as they watched the prisoners being taken to the holding area.

"I wonder how they will like their new home," said Ellie.

"Well at least they will get a daily bath," replied Anita.

"But, they won't realize that for a while."

"Eltha, Cindy," said Erica, "are you guys okay?"

"Yes, I am," replied Eltha.

"We plan seeing one of the doctors after breakfast," replied Cindy. "I think our spouses are planning on hovering over us until then."

"You really didn't need to take that risk."

"True, but I didn't see it as much of a risk considering the circumstances. When does the questioning start?"

"Probably tomorrow. We want them to experience a full day in the box. Shitting and pissing on yourself is humiliating, but when others see you do it, the impact is greater. That is why the boxes will either face each other or stand behind the one way mirror on the hall wall. To accentuate the impact of the odor, about the time it gets cold, the box will be flushed with hot then cold water. If they try to injure themselves, their movement will be restricted even more."

"Let's go eat," said Adam. "I am hungry."

"Cathan said that we don't need to join them with the visitors for a while," said Abaigeal. "So why don't we take a short nap after Cindy Eltha are done with the doctors?"

"Sounds like a great idea," responded several of her spouses.

Adam said, "Do we want to eat before or after?"

"Well let's decide that after we see how long we are in Medical.

"Sounds like a plan," responded several.

As Sarah's Clan was leaving for breakfast Terry said, "Amy, are you planning on upgrading An Clochán's perimeter sensors?"

"Yes. A group will start programming them this morning. Once it is dark they will be placed so that we have three sensing rings around us at 2, 5 and 10 km."

"Will these detect any intrusion?"

"Yes. We were lucky last night that the sensor scans were setup the way they were. Our teams did a great job of noticing the pattern in the data and its implication. The additional sensors will be placed to give us a 10 km circular grid. While the resolution won't be as fine it will yield results similar to what we have in the ship parking area."

"Okay. Any more prisoners?"

"No. Security teams are combing the deactivated portions of An Clochán now. The section where Briana's Team captured the four has been completely neutralized and washed down."

"Everyone is going through the wash station on return, correct?"

"Yes. Connie told me that they checked out fine."

"Briana's, Súsanna's, and Caoilinn's teams," said Terry, "congratulations, you did a great job this morning."

"Thanks," replied the three teams.

"Were there any injuries?"

"No," said Súsanna. "However, we didn't think far enough ahead, so when the intruder's cruisers lifted off we were in a rather exposed position. Our camouflage was active, but the cruisers have big guns."

"How do you think your visitors will react on learning of the intruders?"

"I suspect they will be pissed, especially if their ships were tampered with. Cathan's and Kara's teams were going to be with them today. I don't know if they have been told yet."

Over breakfast Sarah's Clan conferred with the other Command Staffs, using their mind-link. The intelligence report indicated that there were three Spec Ops cruisers missing from the Alliance of Worlds fleet.

Chester said, "Well we know that the intruders were from the Alliance of World fleet. Our four prisoners are Dutsuz. At least two of the cruisers appeared to be Iridien Spec Ops ships. The curious thing is 'what were they doing around the Iridien ships'? It seems pretty clear that this was initiated by the Dutsuz."

"We don't have any reservations in telling our visiting Iridiens about the attack," said Tiff of Siobhan's Clan. "We could have Cathan or Kara tell them, and ask if it makes any sense to them."

"We're agreeable," replied Molly.

"Agreed," said Maureen. "We need to know more of Olua's people and government. Wait, did we place Ferrets on their ships?"

"Yes," said Star. "They were fully activated when the intruders were detected. All the Intelligence departments are monitoring the incoming data."

"It is almost time for our morning meeting," said Sarah. "Let's link all locations and let Amy give a run down on this morning's attack. We have a lot to do today, so Amy should ask to limit discussion to only those points that need to be addressed today. The Iridien visitors are at breakfast at An Clochán."

"Well in that case, either Cathan or Kara will need to tell them," said Kelly.

"Agreed," replied all the Command Staffs.

"Star," said Sarah, "see if we can schedule a connection with Egulle and Orgaine to begin in three or four hours. I think we ought to look at the data from the Ferrets before we talk to them."

"You may want to push it out some."

"Okay. See if we can set it for around six hours from now. That should give us enough time to get a sense of what is taking place on the two Dutsuz ships."

"Agreed."

Just then the holographic image of Amy, Erica and Dorothy on An Clochán appeared in all ships' dining rooms. "Good morning," said the three in unison. "Today our meeting includes all locations as we want to tell you of an event that occurred on Mars earlier this morning." With that the three described the engagement with the intruders in some detail, but without getting into specifics. They closed by explaining that the defensive perimeter was currently being augmented by Star Fighters with ground support scanners and that the perimeter was being reconfigured so that it could detect a broader threat which would be in place over the next 24 hours.

Amy said, "We would like to hold our normal question and answer session until dinner as there is much that needs to be done today. However, if there are any questions, now is the time to ask."

A loud deep voice from the back of the room said, "I say we get to work. Questions can wait."

"Yes!" came the loud response.

"Cathan," said Antopolis, "could we check our ships? Only two of each team will need to go out."

"That is possible."

"Actually, we should only need to inspect the outside as the hatches were sealed. The entry pad will show if the team login was over ridden."

"Let's get the group together first. We need to know more and prefer to have everyone participate. Besides, there isn't any rush in checking your ships, is there?"

"No. Based on what was said, I suspect the entry pad had the intruder trap tripped. If those on the ship do not verify their identity to the ship within a short time after departure it will automatically self-destruct. The purpose is to keep them from being hijacked."

"Interesting. What happens if you are on them?"

"There are a couple of resets, but you have to know the situation in order to use them."

"Clarence," said Sarah's Clan late that morning, "what have you learned from the prisoners?"

"They don't like their accommodations. They do not appear to be Spec Ops team members. We are certain they are from the Dutsuz world, but apparently there is more than one species. The boxes are doing their job. We are using the visual stimulation to learn the thought process of their language."

"Good. Let us know as soon as you learn something."

"Will do."

"Shannon, what have you learned from the Ferrets on the Dutsuz ships?"

"We haven't sorted all the details yet, but it is definite that the attack was a Dutsuz plan. The slow-down is because we are still sorting out their language, but that is now progressing fairly rapidly. Currently it appears that they intended to sabotage the six Iridien cruisers at An Clochán. This was to be done by tripping the unauthorized entry sequence. Their intent was as you suspected. They would claim that we destroyed the Iridien ships, along with the teams, without provocation and demand retribution."

"Oh, wait. Blaming us for destroying the cruisers was a backup plan. The prisoners were sent to compromise our Security teams with the spice drug then use them to drug everyone else. They certainly are persistent bastards. Based on their phrasing there may be others we didn't catch."