Chapter 12

0500 Day 634 Afghanistan – 2130 Day 633 Comrie

It was 0500 hours when Platoon A of Company C 9th Tactical Team C stepped off the trucks and gathered up their gear. Nearby were four helicopters waiting to take them to their insertion point for this reconnaissance mission, with a pick-up in ten days. This would be their fifteenth and one of their longer missions since arriving in Afghanistan some eight months earlier.

Adam watched as the four squads followed Todd, Kurt, Sal and Leo to the helicopters. All five of them thought the mission was strange, but only slightly stranger than the last one. Their training had given them the impression that they would be assisting locals in taking responsibility for their own security, and strengthening it. Instead, their last mission focused on trying to locate a team that had been designated as ‘missing’. When it was over, they all thought ‘vanished’ was a more accurate description. While they were able to assist some villages, they didn’t add any additional knowledge as to what happened to the other team. They didn’t find any evidence that the team was ever in the area. None of the residents they talked to had seen them, which in a perfect world would be true but it wasn’t, and they weren’t on a recon mission. On the plus side, their interaction with the residents seemed to go well. They was likely due to some of them speaking the local language. Another plus was that most of them could understand the basics of the local language. However, the women in battle gear drew some hard stares from some, especially the older men.

As Adam carried his communication gear to the lead helicopter he noted that Captain was talking with a Colonel and a civilian. Waiting by the helicopter he saw the Colonel hand Captain O’Brien an envelope. The Captain saluted then jogged over. Once they were on board, the helicopters lifted off. Adam was surprised when they turned north rather than southwest as stated in the mission plan. A few moments later Captain O’Brien gestured for the mike. He said, “Squad leaders, when we land we want to occupy an area just North of the landing zone, which according to the maps appears to be defendable. Squad D establish a perimeter. Once secured there will be a meeting of the Squad leaders. We need to review our mission before we move out.” Seeing Adam’s puzzled expression he then added, “Our mission orders were changed. Similar mission. Different area.”

Adam thought to himself, “This doesn’t feel right,” not realizing his anxiety would be noticed by the rest of his clan. Although they were aware of his activities, since they actively shared thoughts virtually every day at some point. The women typically left it to Adam to reach out to them to begin their sharing. Even though they often thought of initiating it, by letting him choose the time, when it would not cause him a problem. His four friends had a similar arrangement with their ladies.

Just as the helicopters began their descent, the Cobras escorting them made several low passes over the landing zone. Their landing zone was just South of a small rise to one side of a fairly wide valley. From what they could see, a narrow road ran the length of the valley. In the distance several small clusters of buildings could be seen alongside the road. There were areas of green near the groups of buildings, and at other locations, but the valley was mostly devoid of trees, grass or brush. A few words to the lead pilot had the helicopters set down near the location where they were going to assemble.

Adam said softly, “Certainly doesn’t look like home.” Those around him chuckled.

Theo said, “It makes you wonder how they manage to survive.”

“It’s all in knowing your resources.”

Their escorts hovered off to the side when Squad D’s helicopter’s skids touched the ground. The squad exited quickly. They paired off as they began moving cautiously toward the hill. Once everyone else was out, the helicopters lifted slightly then turned to fly back the way they had come. Their escorts hung about until the designated assembly area was secure then departed.

Captain said, “Adam, send CC confirmation of arrival.”

“Yes, Sir.”

When they were assembled on a slight rise in a copse, Adam smiled. This was a good spot for them to review the change in orders as they could see all the approaches. The shortcoming was that there weren’t many places to take cover. When he thought about the toys his friends had, he sighed as he felt the warmth of their love. He quickly refocused his attention on where he was and chided himself for daydreaming. Glancing at Todd, they smiled at each other, as they had both lost their focus momentarily.

Captain O’Brien said, “Gather round so you can hear me while keeping an eye on our surroundings. The area we are to cover is different but our mission hasn’t changed significantly. We are to head North up this valley with the same objectives. The terrain is similar, except the valley narrows in a couple of days. While your squad leaders and I go over the map, we need for Squads A, B and C to send out a team to recon directly North and each flank. Stay in sight and let us know if you see anyone or anything unusual. Everyone else, stay close and keep an eye on our surroundings. We will move out within the hour.”

1900 Day 638 Afghanistan – 1130 Day 638 Comrie

They were getting ready to eat when Captain O’Brien said, “Adam transmit this before we eat.”

“Yes, Sir.”

The last three days had varied between interesting and nearly boring. Both today and yesterday, they had caught bandits. In two cases the bandits chose to resist, resulting in a decrease in the bandit population, although they thought that a few had escaped. When the victims were going in the same direction as they were, they walked with them to the next village. In each village, they stopped to talk to the elders. All of them had noticed a lack of males between the ages of about 14 and 50 or so in each village.

Adam said quietly a few minutes later, “Captain, we have a problem. I am not getting any response on the radio. I’ve checked the batteries and run self-tests. All are good. The report was sent digitally and a confirmation was received. I added a comment about the radio.”

“Good thinking,” he replied as he frowned.

After they finished eating Captain O’Brien motioned Adam, Todd, Leo, Sal and Kurt over by him. When they sat down he said, “Let’s plan on leaving here by day-break, perhaps a little earlier.”

“Aren’t we suppose to meet another team in 2 days?” asked Todd.

“Yes, and I think we should make it sooner rather than later. Adam just told me that our radio does not appear to be working.”

Adam’s friends looked at him with a raised eyebrow then each softly said, “Shit.”

Captain O’Brien looked at all five then said, “Yes. Beyond that, we need to be at the pickup point on time. This may have other implications as well.”

“Like we are the next team to vanish,” responded Kurt grimly.

“At least this time, we’ve seen signs that there is another team in front of us,” added Sal.

“But we shouldn’t have seen those,” responded Todd. Then seeing the anxiety in the Captain’s expression he asked, “Captain O’Brien, is the team we’re following the one your friend is in?”

“I am fairly certain it is. If it is, I am surprised they were sent out on something like this.”

“Why?” asked Sal.

“For the reason you just mentioned. Her team recently added a lot of new arrivals, and I believe this is only the second time they’ve been out together. She has wondered at how a couple of them made it through training. I have an uneasy feeling when I think of her, which is really unusual. I had that feeling before I learned about the radio.”

“What do you mean by uneasy?”

“Well, you could call it a premonition.” When he saw their expressions he added with half a smile, “Other people have those too.” Many of those around them smiled on hearing his comment as several of them were well known for their intuition or premonitions. After a pause he added quietly, “The officer’s rumor mill has it that several TTC teams have vanished. Each was presumably operating in a different area when it happened. This has led to some officers questioning the effectiveness of the TTC concept. Their attitude is that the techniques used by Special Forces, LRP and advanced infantry patrols could not be effectively combined and function successfully in the field. Part of this is driven by the view that they don’t think any woman has the necessary long-term stamina to be useful, or should even be in any combat situation. The other oddity is that not much has been said about the missing at briefings.”

“We could leave at first light,” said Adam. “I don’t know that we can make up a whole day, but we should be able to cut it down some.”

“Okay. Remember, all we have are suspicions based on weak circumstantial information and rumors. I do however have a hole card in my pack. There are three emergency air crew transmitters in it. Before we leave in the morning we’ll spread them out. If something happens to me, set them off.”

“Yes, sir,” they replied.

“From now until then we need to stay very alert.”

“What can we say to our squads?” asked Leo.

“Just what you know, be frank when you answer any questions.”

After his friends left them Adam said, “Captain, can I asked why you brought the emergency transmitters?”

He smiled before saying, “An active imagination and too many nights wondering what happened to the others.”

While they rested, Adam and his friends connected with their girlfriends who were either at Comrie or on Dóchas. They shared their thoughts relating to their recent activities. The ladies were careful to not pry very deeply into the concerns they felt or their views of the officer’s rumor mill.

After sharing thoughts for several minutes Briana said, “While I like this, perhaps we should let you sleep since you are up early tomorrow.”

“Yea, I believe this is going to get interesting. I love you.”

“I love you,” replied those in his group, giving him a warm pleasant feeling. Then Cass added, “Be careful and remember to draw on us if you need to.”

“I will,” he responded with a smile as he thought ‘this is simply amazing’.

“Yes, you are!” Their last response resulted in a big smile on his face as he drifted off to sleep. It was shortly before first light when he felt a nudge and looked up to see Todd.

2200 Day 638 Afghanistan – 1430 Day 638 Dóchas

Briana stewed over what she had sensed when they were sharing with Adam. She took great pains to keep her concerns abstract to minimize alerting him. Her friends knew of her stewing and understood her effort not to alert Adam. This was difficult, as the strength of their clan link had grown considerably since he returned to duty. She gave in and went looking for Rusty. When she found him, he was with Sarah, Sally, Zoe and Belinda.

Sensing she was looking for him he said, “What’s up Briana?”

“Well I am not sure but...” she responded then told them what their group had learned during their recent sharing with Adam. This included information from their earlier exchanges. She finished by adding, “I haven’t said anything to the others and I’ve tried keep my anxiety at a low level so Adam doesn’t pick up on it.”

“Well you probably don’t need to tell the others,” replied Rusty smiling as he nodded. When Briana turned around, she was slightly surprised to see several of her clan entering the compartment.

Cass said with a smile, “When we saw you looking for Rusty, we thought we should join you.”

“First, you all need to relax,” said Sarah. “By doing that it is less likely that you will alert Adam or the other guys.”

“Okay. So...”

“Well, we can wait until what is anticipated begins,” responded Rusty, then paused to watch her expressions change, after a moment he continued with, “or we can prepare by doing a little reconnaissance. My preference is the latter.”

Briana said, “You did that on purpose.”

Rusty gave her a wink then glanced at Sarah who nodded. He said, “Star, raise alert to level two. Advise all departments of our imminent departure for Earth orbit. Joyce prepare course for Earth. Destination is a geosynchronous orbit over Afghanistan above all satellites. All departments confirm to bridge that departure in 60 minutes is possible.”

Star said to Command Staff, “All have acknowledged. However, Engineering is assessing how long it will take to secure their projects.”

“Briana, I did that so I could get a better sense of what you felt,” said Rusty. “Actually, I felt the anxiety from all of you. Now to minimize the chance of alerting any your friends there, we will have Zoe’s group take the lead with the reconnaissance of the valley. Edana’s, Darcy’s and Caoilinn’s groups can go with them. They’ll take two shuttles with a half dozen security bots and an EMT on each. Briana’s and Cathan’s groups will go with a few of us, and a similar compliment of support, with another two shuttles.”

“Okay,” said Briana, “that makes sense. Three of us are currently at Comrie.”

As Briana was speaking Aine joined them then said with a smile, “Is it okay, if we tag along?”

“Definitely!” replied everyone.

“Zoe, you may want Creidne to ride with you, at least at the start.”

“She is welcome, although we don’t know her very well, we do know of her reputation.”

Creidne appeared next to Zoe then said, “I hope my billing was good.”

“Oh! Yes,” responded Zoe and Belinda as the others in their group arrived.

Melody rushed into the compartment and said, “What’s up?” Then when she saw who was there added, “Wow.”

Rusty glance at Briana, who nodded, then outlined how they should proceed. After discussing the proposal and laying out contingencies, those going with Zoe’s group and Creidne left for the hangar.

0400 Day 639 Afghanistan – 2030 Day 638 Comrie

On Earth Captain O’Brien smiled as he watched the squad leaders checking to make sure everyone’s gear was secured. When they were all ready, Todd, Leo, Kurt and Sal looked toward the Captain. He said, “As you know we are supposed to meet another team in two days’ time. We are leaving early this morning so we can make it the morning of the second day. At the same time, we need to continue doing what we’ve been doing. Any questions?” When no one responded, he said, “Let’s move out then.”

The day was uneventful. They passed through three villages which were similar to those seen previously. In each they were welcomed and visited for a short time with the residents while the Captain, Adam and a translator spoke with the elders.

1000 Day 639 Afghanistan – 0230 Day 639 Comrie

It was mid-morning when Zoe’s, Edana’s, Darcy’s and Caoilinn’s group began their reconnaissance of the valley. They started where Adam’s platoon had begun their trek and followed it north. One shuttle focused on the East side while the other monitored the West side. It wasn’t long before they saw Adam’s unit approaching a village. It wasn’t very long after that when Zoe’s shuttle spotted a fairly large group walking along a narrow path single file. They continued on up the valley until they reached the outskirts of what was for the area, a large town. Zoe had the shuttles turn around and head back down the valley at a slower pace. All the other groups they saw were small and appeared to be traveling between villages.

They were near the large group again when Belinda said, “There is a truck approaching the large group we saw earlier.”

Melody said, “The total number is a few over what would probably be in the unit we are looking for. All but six have their faces covered.”

“It’s the unit Adam’s group is attempting to meet,” said Zoe.

“Are you sure?” asked Darcy.

“Sure, look at their feet. They are either too light or dark too be natives. Besides, what better way to hide Caucasians or others than to use burkas with the full face covering. Hey, look at their hands.”

“Bastards,” muttered several.

Creidne said, “How do you want to do this?”

“I can think of a lot of fun ways to do it,” responded Zoe. “They aren’t paying very much attention to those we think are their captives. So let’s do this.”

A few moments later the truck pulled off the road and turned around to stop a little way in front of the group. Creidne and Zoe’s group exited their cloaked shuttle and moved so that the bandits were between them and the captives. The other shuttle dropped off four lions and four cloaked Security bots behind the captives.

The two bots moved quietly up behind the captives who were now standing still. Each bot said softly but firmly to the captive next to them, “Don’t speak. Walk backwards slowly. Don’t make a sound.” They stepped to the side as the two began moving backward. They went to the next two and repeated the instructions. It took only a few minutes until all the captives were a considerable distance behind the bandits.

As expected, the bandits soon noticed and one hollered at them in his own language. Before he could correct himself, Zoe said, “Drop your weapons scum,” in his language. As she spoke, those with her dropped their cloaking. Creidne wore her traditional warrior suit while the others were in tac suits with the clear helmets.

While this was taking place on one side, Darcy’s, Edana’s and Caoilinn’s Clans had reached out to the captives to push calming sensations to them. The captives had continued walking backwards, obeying their last command. This was aided by the sensation of increasing tranquility that accompanied each step. With the whole group walking backwards, the soft rattle off their chains was obvious.

One bandit looked back at the captives and exclaimed, “They are getting away!”

The bandits glanced back toward captives just as Zoe said, “I said drop your weapons. NOW!”

“No!” screamed a bandit as he raised his weapon. When it reached his shoulder, the lions roared. He jerked round toward the sound as his finger tightened on the trigger. There was a bright flash of light. The weapon exploded and followed by a scream.

The two who were in the truck began to quickly move away. They had only taken a few steps before two lions started after them at a fast walk. When they saw the lions coming toward them they began to run.

At the truck, another bandit pointed his rifle at the captives and said, “Make another move and I’ll shoot all of them.”

“Only scum lower than pig dung would shoot unarmed women,” said Creidne. “Or is that the only way you can feel like a man? Big man can only beat and abuse children and women.”

The bandit cursed her as he pulled the trigger. The weapon exploded. His expression turned to one of horror when he didn’t see his hands, then screamed as the intense pain registered. The four remaining bandits stood paralyzed with fear as they watched blood drip from the man’s arms.

“Take them,” said Zoe.

The four men screamed when their arms were pulled behind their backs then lifted up, forcing them to bend forward.

Off to the side there were two thumps as the lions knocked down the two running away. This was quickly followed by muffled screams. Two of Zoe’s group went to assist the lions with handling their capture. Before they could reach them, one of the bandits reached for his pistol. The lion let him pull it out before knocking it away with his paw. The man screamed as the claws tore the pistol from his hand, along with his index finger.

Zoe said to those on the shuttles, “I think you can help the captives now. Security team, set up a screen.”

With those few words, the whole scene became invisible to any onlooker. From the inside looking out, they could see everything; it just appeared to be a bit hazy.

Darcy said to the captives, “We are here to rescue you. Once your restraints are removed our EMT will evaluate you. We suspect all of you have been drugged to block any will to resist.

“In order to remove your restraints we need to remove your covering. The quickest way is to cut it off. Is that okay?”

Seeing several nod affirmatively, those assisting Darcy began removing the captives’ burkas and head covering. When the first head covering was removed they discovered that the captives’ mouths were also covered.

Kaelee’s first words were, “I am not sure who you are, but I think we are lucky you found us.”

“You are?” asked Darcy as Kaelee’s restraints were being removed.

“Lieutenant Allen.”

“Is this everyone?”

“No. Two stumbled and fell. Apparently the bandits thought that they were trying to knock them down. When they tried to stand up, they were kicked and their legs were stomped on. Based on how their legs looked, I suspect they are broken.”

“We are on it,” said Creidne, as she and Melody started back down the trail at a trot, along with two lions. Caoilinn’s group boarded a shuttle to follow them. The sight of it quietly lifting off and following those on the ground grabbed the attention of the group.

“Okay,” said Darcy drawing their attention back, “let’s remove your chains, that is unless you want to keep them.”

“No!” was the most prevalent response and there were several ruder ones.

“We know you all have questions. Please hold them for a bit. Our EMTs need to check your injuries. Once that is complete we prefer to take you to a place where you can all receive the medical care you need. That will include dealing with the drugs you have been given. The reason we are here is that some friends were concerned about activities in this valley. Neither your military people nor the locals know of our existence, and we prefer to keep it that way. So while we work out a way for your military to find you, you can stay at our facility. Once your restraints are removed please board the ship.”

“Lieutenant,” said Delphine, “while we don’t know them. It seems like a good thing to do.”

“I agree, but was concerned whether the drugs were affecting my judgment.”

Brid said, “We believe the drugs were to block your will so you would do what you were told without any resistance. It makes it easier for the bandits to control you. This approach is used to condition people for a life of slavery as they have you do things to undermine your self-esteem.”

While they were talking, the shuttle returned with the two wounded men, Creidne, Melody and the lions. When Kaelee saw the shuttle she said, “How are they?”

“Both have broken legs and possibly a few other broken bones,” replied Melody. “The EMTs would like to leave.”

“Which ship?” asked Kaelee.

“The one they are on is fine.”

Kaelee looked at each of her unit, then said, “Let’s go.” With that she started toward the ship. After a moment’s hesitation her unit followed her. Caoilinn’s group decided that since they were on the shuttle, they would take the group back to Comrie and get them settled.

Just before Delphine boarded she said, “What is going to happen to the vermin?”

Zoe said, “We haven’t finished quizzing them yet, but one choice is to leave them here wearing the restraints they forced you to wear, no clothes and no little fingers.”

“Good!” replied several.

Melody said, “We found these strange pliers in backpacks along with some drugs and syringes.”

“What are you going to do with them?”

“Let Caoilinn take samples of the drugs back to Comrie. We could inject then with what is left.”

“An interesting idea.”

“Let’s go,” said Caoilinn prompting the group to finish boarding. “Guys, we’ll be back as soon as we can.”

“Take your time,” said Zoe. “When we are done here, we’ll go looking for their base. We’ll likely leave the truck alongside the main road with them in the back.”

1700 Day 639 Afghanistan – 0930 Day 639 Comrie

Later that afternoon two cloaked shuttles began hovering near what they believed was the slaver’s building. It was an old dilapidated structure that appeared to have seen a multitude of tenants and little up-keep. One oddity was the long, wide, flat stretch of land nearby. It almost looked natural, as the area was largely devoid of vegetation. Earlier when they passed it, they weren’t sure it was the building they were looking for. Although it did fit the description Zoe’s group obtained from the bandits, they had seen others that were similar. So before continuing their search, they released a few spiders along with a cloaked drone to monitor them.

After searching further down the valley, they turned back and began reviewing the intel from the spiders placed in the different locations. It quickly became obvious which building was used by the bandits. The shuttle carrying Darcy’s team was sent to retrieve the other spiders and drones while those on the other shuttle went to the building the spiders showed the bandits were using. When Edana’s and Caoilinn’s shuttle arrived outside the building, they began carefully reviewing the feed from the spiders.

“How can they get away with this?” exclaimed Edana when she realized the extent of the facilities.

“Easy when justice is not evenly applied and corruption is a way of life,” replied Abbie. “Anyway I count sixty-two captives, forty-nine females and thirteen males.

The feed from the spiders gave them a good view of the interior. The captives were naked, wearing cuffs and collars similar to the ones on those rescued earlier. Their collars were connected to a cable hanging from the ceiling. These were spaced far enough apart that they couldn’t touch anyone else. The cables length limited them to either standing or sitting in one small area.

Christine said, “I don’t think they are all military.”

“Agreed,” responded Edana. “All of them have a fairly light complexion. A few of them appear to be from this region with a light complexion, and all the women are good looking. Some of the men are pretty handsome.”

In one corner of the room were two narrow tables with restraints. Nearby were cabinets containing what appeared to be medical supplies.

While waiting for Darcy, they watched the monitors. Once they were sure no one was outside, several Security team members exited wearing tac suits with cloaking enabled. A physical search of the surrounding area confirmed that there weren’t any sentries. The drone hadn’t detected any electronic sensors around the building and spiders hadn’t found any security monitoring.

“Do they think they are so immune to intrusion that they don’t need to take any precautions?” asked Caoilinn.

“Apparently,” responded Darcy as her shuttle joined them. “Perhaps the terrorists overlooking this area are sufficient.”

“Did you see any?”

“Not really. An intel survey will be done a little later.”

“We saw that.”

“My count on the bandits is six men and four women.”

“Do we want to try to hear what they are talking about or just quiz them?” asked Caoilinn.

“If we can get better sound pick up, then we could listen,” said Edana. “It would be nice to know what those women think of these activities.”

Brid said, “Why don’t we just walk in there and do what needs to be done?”

“What do you mean?”

“First, there is nothing wrong with what you proposed. However, based on the intel we have on this location, there is nothing to stop us from just walking in there, cloaked of course. Their weapons are some distance away from them. We could grab them and put them to sleep before they knew we were there. With them down, we can release the captives and send them to Comrie so they can get the medical care they need. If we do this then we need to monitor our surroundings and take a few other precautions.”

“Okay,” replied Caoilinn. “I am game. It sure beats dragging this out, and releases the captives sooner. Let’s detail what we intend to do.”

It wasn’t long before Edana said, “Are you ready?”

“Just about,” replied Darcy, “we are about finished with checking our tactical suits.”

A few minutes later Edana, Darcy, Brid, Caoilinn and Abbie, along with several others, stepped out of their cloaked shuttles. With their suit cloaking enabled they knew the location of the others, but were essentially invisible to anyone else. This was their first real experience with the suits, even so, they felt very comfortable. As they moved toward the building, they could sense Sarah’s Clan loosely linked with them.

While Edana and Brid walked to the main entrance, the others headed toward the loading dock. When Brid pulled the door open, it gave a loud squeak. The sound drew the attention of the bandits causing a pause in their conversation.

One bandit said, “I wonder if that is Chuck. He isn’t supposed to arrive until just before the plane does.”

The door squeaked again as it closed. When no one appeared another said, “It must have been a gust of wind. Someone needs to fix that door as it doesn’t always latch.”

A few moments later a bandit was startled at seeing others collapsing around him. He said, “What...” He didn’t finish as sleep overtook him.