Chapter 14

2100 Day 639 Afghanistan – 1330 Day 639 Comrie

At Comrie Nancy said, “The suites here are set up with two king size beds. They have an exercise bench, sitting area, bathroom and connecting shower room. Why don’t I show you where the rooms are and let you decide how you want to pair up?”

“We can do that,” replied Eryn. “Are they all together?”

“Yes. Some have interconnecting doors.”

“I need to leave,” said Sabrina. “My group will fly support tomorrow. Star tells me Leann will be down to assist in the morning.”

“That’s fine, as the rest of my clan will be here as well,” responded Nancy.

“Nancy,” said Anna, “we are planning on staying overnight. The women taking care of our babies said they would feed them for us.”

“Great. Now, if everyone is ready, let’s go.” Nancy led them over to where they were going to stay. “Before you break up into groups, there are two things you should know. An hour before scheduled meals a chime will sound in your room. Between now and then, if you need anything, just say, “Donna I need some assistance,” that is the cue for the site AI to respond. Also, later I will be in the room on the end.” As they reached each room a group went inside.

Once everyone had a room, Elsa said, “The rest will do them a lot of good.”

“That it will,” replied Nancy. “What are you planning to do now?”

“We thought we would hang out by the pool. Why don’t you join us?”

“Great idea.”

0600 Day 640 Afghanistan – 2230 Day 639 Comrie

The sun was just rising at the site in Afghanistan where the TTC soldiers and those from Dóchas had spent the night. “Good morning,” said Sarah, Rusty, Tara, Joyce and Terry together. “We trust you have slept well. Breakfast is ready. After we eat, we can review the intelligence gathered last night. As to those at Comrie, our medical staff is impressed with how well they are doing considering their recent experiences.

“We have a group at the bandit’s warehouse. They captured ten bandits who are currently restrained and sleeping. We can transfer the two we captured last night to the warehouse. How to handle them can be decided later. Now, unless there are any questions let’s freshen up and eat.”

“You expect questions to stand in the way of eating,” responded Natalia. “No way.” Everyone laughed.

“Well,” replied Joyce in a childlike voice, “we thought we ought to offer the option.” There was more laughter.

After breakfast, they went over the intelligence gathered by the drones, bots and security teams since arriving yesterday. This included the areas where the TTC teams were supposed to have been sent. In each area, the locations of the terrorist supplies and gathering points were identified. Some areas had common boundaries. As the review drew to a close, many of those assembled had ideas on how to achieve their original assignment.

Sarah tapped on the table, and the room quieted down. “First we need to set our goals for this operation,” said Tara. “Ideally our efforts should focus on removing the obstacles that keep the people who live here from having a secure and peaceful life. For the residents of these valleys, life is hard enough without the added worry of bandits and terrorists. From our standpoint, there are two key obstacles that keep them from that ideal. One is the terrorists and bandits, but by removing them there is a risk of leaving the area in chaos. Why? Because, in a perverse way these two groups provide a degree of stability. How to maintain security after the terrorists and bandits are neutralized is a problem, and one we can’t solve.

“The second issue is the way many women and children are subjugated, abused and treated in this region. From our perspective, the basis for this appears to have roots in the techniques they used for survival in earlier times. Back then it was a common practice to acquire slaves by raiding other tribes. The addition of slaves made it easier for the conquering tribe to prosper. Women and children were favorite targets for the raiders to take as slaves. Surviving tribes found that having their women dress as they do now obscured their desirability as targets by potential enemies. As times have improved, the dress requirements became a cultural tradition. With time this tradition gained a religious connotation as well as being included in law. This, combined with other attitudes, has made this a strongly male dominated culture. Any change that broadens women’s contributions is seen by many men as lessening their importance and control. Older members usually have the most difficulty in accepting change. This is also true of those whose authority is impacted by the change, whether it is real or not.”

“Tara, my name is May. I grew up in a Muslim area. From what I have seen, dominance based solely on gender is an issue that occurs in many cultures. Most, if not all, of today’s problems are where that dominance is male. This is especially true in cultures where men are taught that they are supreme and others are there to serve them. Many times they are taught that women are weak, flighty, deceitful, temptresses and ignorant. These perceptions contribute to them treating women and children as property, especially females. I have to admit that some women act as the men are taught. While I agree a change is needed, it seems well beyond our capabilities, even with your assistance.”

“I agree,” said Todd. “Even though we don’t agree with their attitudes, we don’t want to disrupt any culture by imposing our views. My understanding is their teachings were originally for the family’s protection, as Tara noted. These rules became a part of their religion, thus making them very difficult to change. Unfortunately, many rules to control behavior, especially when given a religious basis, with time often become constraining, limiting and unchangeable. In many cases, these constraints stifle a group and keep it from flourishing. It is unfortunate that religious leaders don’t consider the context of a scripture when teaching it to fit today’s need, rather than blindly applying or bending it through misinterpretation. The incorporation of cultural traditions into religious practice is something that has happened to many religions in many regions.”

“Perhaps,” said Kara, “we are giving the religious leaders too much credit. In many ways religious leaders are politicians. Their teachings are tempered by input from senior members of their religious group, which is usually all men. So, to give women more responsibility in society means they will no longer have almost absolute power over their domain. A change in this must be seen as a pronouncement from God, and even then it will be resisted. We all know that “absolute power corrupts absolutely”, as there are many examples in history.”

“Well said Kara,” said Sarah. “Although the specifics of our discussion were directed toward the Muslims in this area, much of what was said applies to many religions and many regions of Earth.”

“Let’s go back to what we can definitely achieve,” said Sally as she appeared next to her spouses. “Our support systems suggest we split into two groups. One will take the West side of the valley with the other on the East side, using the main road as the boundary. We will camp together each evening just like this.” As she talked a 3D terrain map formed giving them a view from above. “This map will show us an animated sequence of the proposed strategy.” The group watched spellbound as the animation showed both their actions and the expected response from the defenders. Sally played the sequence through three times after she noticed some were initially distracted by how the presentation was made.

“What you have just seen is a proposed plan for the next several days,” said Joyce. “All of our people will wear tactical suits, as will Adam, Todd, Sal, Kurt and Leo. These suits have an AI which assists the wearer, and they provide us with clear communications with everyone else. They also provide protection and weapons. The communication link keeps everyone apprised of updates to the battle plan as well as changing situations.”

“For the soldiers, we want two of you to accompany us at all times. This makes it possible for you to be included our shield. The shield provides you protection similar to body armor. However, no protection system is perfect. Our intent is to operate openly, as if we are the only tactical force in the area. A significant aspect of our communication is that we are telepathic. We will push thoughts to you as needed but will verbalize most of the time. Each of you should try sensing the thoughts of the persons you are working with before we begin.”

“One part we’ve kind of skipped over,” said Rusty. “Our survey indicates that the terrorists have biological agents and explosives stored in caves along the valley. It is our intent to destroy these. Generally this will occur after we are past them. It is believed this will make it difficult for an observer to explain the cause of the explosions. If the question comes up when talking to village residents, try to leave them wondering whether it was the work of a deity. It needs to be left so they answer the question, not you.”

“Does anyone have any comments on the plan?” said Sally. “What have we missed?”

“I am impressed,” said Captain O’Brien. “My perception is that with the tools you have, this could be done quickly and the bandits and terrorists would just disappear.”

“It is possible,” said Rusty. “However, it would have minimal psychological impact on them. From my experience they need to loose, and loose badly, on what they perceive as equal terms. Even then it is not assured that they will change, or even consider it. Attributing the explosions to a deity will likely cause supporters to reconsider the rightness of their cause and seek government assistance.”

“That makes sense,” said O’Brien. “As for the proposed plan, I was initially concerned with our exposure, as there is virtually no cover in this area. It is now clear to me that you are using our openness to draw them out and relying on defensive shields to protect us. The terrorists will take the openness as stupidity or arrogance and probably rush to take advantage of it. Knowing they hold the high ground, they will likely be lulled into thinking they can’t lose.”

“A nice summary of the psychology,” said Sarah.

“Why did you check the other areas?”

“We wanted an idea of what was there. With the plan as it stands, just covering this valley will be stretching your capabilities. We think the evidence will give a clear indication of what happened. It is enough of a stretch that some will discount it while others will make it bigger than it is.”

“As we go through each settlement,” said Tara, “we think it should be in an open friendly manner. So we suggest you carry your weapons stored. Ours will be accessible. Greet people, smile, nod, make sure your name tag is seen, as everyone will be wearing them. Our people will use the names of the other TTC soldiers. We are not sure they will be noticed.”

“In each settlement,” said Sarah, “we have a phone for you to give the village leader and cleric. It will permit them or their family to contact the local security force or army. Although it looks like an ordinary satellite phone, it has some unique features. It will be keyed to work for them or their family members. It will not work for others without their willing permission. The phone contains a recording prompting them in how to use it. Its primary purpose is so they can summon assistance.”

Sally said, “We haven’t heard any objections. So let’s go through today’s segment in detail with the idea that we will begin to move in 3 hours. Now even though we’ve done most of the talking, we see this as yours. So if you don’t like aspects of it, let’s change them.”

“I agree,” said Captain O’Brien. “We should switch off on the squads going into a village. This will let us maintain a screen around the village while they are visiting. The visiting teams should comprise one squad from the East side group and one from the West side group.”

“Good idea, as that makes masking our assistance easier,” replied Briana.

0630 Day 640 Afghanistan – 2300 Day 639 Comrie

The soldiers recovering at Comrie had gone to bed shortly after lunch. All were asleep nearly as soon as their heads touched a pillow. During their captivity, they didn’t get much rest and when they did it was uncomfortable due to their restraints. By going to bed in the afternoon, their bodies stayed on Afghan time. While not stated, they thought they would be returning there in a few days.

When they first split up the suites, the women made sure there was at least one man in each one. Several realized that this was something they never would have considered before, but each felt a need to have their male buddies close to them. Actually, they felt that way about everyone in their group.

When they began to wake, many were surprised to find how closely cuddled they were. They felt very comfortable with the intimate contact of their friends. Several thought they felt as close, or closer, to their teammates as they did their family.

On waking up this time they felt more relaxed. Although they had seen them before, the first up examined the exercise benches. It didn’t take them long to figure out how to operate them and put them to use. The group rotated through the exercise benches and then took a shower. Donna monitored the activities in the rooms just enough to make sure everything was fine.

When Joe woke up, he briefly wondered where he was, then he remembered. He said, “Donna, what time is it here?”

“It is 2300. As tired as all of you appeared to be we thought you would sleep longer.”

“It was the best rest I’ve had in ages. What time is the next meal?”

“Well the next schedule meal time is 0600, however there will be a small crowd in the dining room about 2330 or so. There is plenty to eat but we don’t set up the buffet line. Do you want me to sound the chime then?”

“Sure.”

While Donna was talking, the group in the suite had sat down together on the couch. The autodocs monitoring them were pleased to see they were finding comfort in being with each other. Gail and the EMTs had been concerned about their adjustment to the changes in them and their surroundings.

“Are there any limits on where we can go or do?”

“No. You can roam the whole site, although it is dark outside. There is a lounge and game room off the dining room. From the monitor in your suite, you can access the internet and watch TV. These are also available in the lounge. If you are planning on joining those in the dining room then you might want to freshen up rather than do those activities.”

“Do you know what is happening in Afghanistan?”

“They are close to finishing breakfast. After that, they are going to discuss how to complete their mission. It will likely be late morning before they begin moving.”

“Thanks.”

The group was shocked by quickly the time passed when the chime for the meal sounded as they just finished showering. Shortly after that there was a knock on the door.

When Laurin opened the door Leann said, “Donna said you all were eating with the night shift and noticed you hadn’t left for the dining room yet.”

Turning to the others she said, “Hey, food’s on.”

Laurin was impressed at how much a good night’s sleep had reduced the weary looks of her buddies. Once they were all outside, Leann introduced them to the others with her before they went to eat.

As they entered the dining room, Alison and Claudette joined them. Collette said, “I am surprised to see you all up.”

Alison said, “We’ve been on Afghan time for the last few days. It makes it easier to connect with our spouses. But our days slip at times. This is partially due to the day – night difference not being as great on Dóchas, even though the lighting does change between them so there are visual cues as to the time of day.”

“Well it is good to see you again.” They were standing by the replicator by then and she said, “What are they doing?”

Leann responded, “For this meal, we use the replicators to make our food. All you need to do is make your selections from the menu. After a few minutes out pops your food. Tastes good and looks good, but it is not quite the same as the other meals.”

When they were seated Emilie said, “Leann, what do you do?”

“I am part of the structural engineering group. We have three projects at the moment. One is building new ships. Another is the structures we need to build our habitat on Mars. We are also refurbishing, remodeling and re-purposing Dóchas.”

“Re-purposing?”

“Yep. Dóchas was fitted out as an exploration ship but it has the same basic structure as a warship. So when the project is done, Dóchas will be a warship with exploration capabilities.”

“Why a warship?”

“Primarily, to be able to defend ourselves. The information in our library tells us that there are other civilizations in the universe. Some are space travelers. Among them are some great people to know while some are evil, to use a nice word.”

Laurin said, “What does the ship look like?”

“You haven’t seen it yet?”

“No.”

Alison said, “That is included in the presentations we usually show visitors right after they arrive.”

“Some one mentioned them shortly after we arrived here,” responded Eryn.

Laurin added, “We asked to wait because we were so tired.”

“Not a problem. We can show them after we are done here. They are recordings of presentations we made to our first visitors. They tell of our background, our physiology and our plans for the future. The physiology portion is pretty detailed and points out differences between us and humans.”

“Besides your mane and tail, I haven’t noticed anything I thought was significant,” responded Eryn.

“Our ankle is structured differently so we walk on what you know as the balls of your feet. We wear heels a lot, so that may be the reason it didn’t stand out.”

“I did notice that you all often wear some extraordinarily tall heels, but never thought any more about it.”

When they were done eating, Claudette said, “After we clean up let’s go to the lounge to watch the video presentations, the chairs are more comfortable.”

As they were leaving the dining room Leann said, “You can bring your drinks if you want to.”

Claudette said, “The first presentation is an overview. It is usually given to those considering coming to work on Dóchas. It was made by Siobhan and Conan shortly before Siobhan joined the command staff. The subsequent ones either introduce the speakers or you will know them from previous presentations.”

“These are candid presentations,” said Alison, “meaning they were recorded as they happened and were based on our knowledge at the time. There are some errors in the information, we will correct them at the end.” With that the presentations started.

When the presentations ended, Alison said, “Let’s stretch a bit. There are refreshments available in the dining room. Say 5 minutes, then we will resume.”

“Everyone’s here so let’s resume,” said Claudette. “Based on what we know now, telepathic ability is a must. We’ve been fortunate in that all those who decided to join us had the ability, to at least a limited extent.”

“Questions?” said Claudette.

Laurin stood, and looked around at the group. “You have given us a lot of information in a short time. Some might think you were giving us a sales pitch.” Alison and Claudette started to speak but Laurin continued, “I sense your intent is just to inform us about your society and race. For that, I thank you. The emphasis on telepathic and psionic ability concerns me. As much as I like it here in the short time I’ve been here, I am sure I do not have those abilities. My intuition sucks. Just ask my teammates.” Several chuckled.

At that moment, Aine appeared beside Alison and Claudette startling everyone. She said, “Excuse me for interrupting, but you should not let the concern regarding telepathy prevent you from considering coming here.”

Laurin, Collette and Eryn said, “It’s you. You’re real.” Then looked at each other as they realized all of them had spoken together. Their eyes were filled with tears.

Laurin continued with tears coursing down her face, “Oh. Thank you so much for helping me through those first days.” Eryn and Collette nodded their agreement as they too had tears in their eyes.

“I wish I could accept your thanks, but it wasn’t me.”

“Oh, but you look so much like her,” said Eryn. She looked around the room, sensing not everyone understood. “When we were first taken to the slavers camp, I had a very difficult time. Even though I followed their instructions, I fought every way I could. The more I fought the more they tormented me. My problem was I wouldn’t let them humiliate me or turn me into one of their sex toys. One day when my treatment was extremely brutal I thought it was the end as they kept increasing the severity.

“I began to wish for death while begging for relief. I didn’t care about anything except relieving the pain. They left me until morning, but it was some time during the night that a woman who looked much like you stood before me. She reminded me that my death would sadden many. She told me that I had reached the crossroads, I could either relax and live, or I could just stop breathing. It was then I realized that dying would make my family very sad, but my sisters would be the most affected. If I lived and complied with their demands, I would perhaps live long enough to escape.” Collette and Laurin stepped over to hug her as she quit speaking.

“Again it was not I that you saw. I am sad I caused you to relive that experience. I would think once was enough.”

“Do not be sad. Surprisingly my experiences seem less of a burden now that I have spoken of them.”

“Good. I invited myself into this meeting because of the concern I sensed from this group regarding telepathic ability. Of the breed represented by Alison and Claudette, all are telepathic. Some humans are naturally telepathic and don’t realize it. Others have the capability so it can be enabled. They are simply sharing with you the differences between the two different breeds. The psionic abilities of the humans who have chosen to receive the genetic treatment were enhanced afterwards. Thank you for permitting me to join you.” As soon as she finished speaking she faded away.

“Who was that?” asked Eryn.

“Her name is Aine,” responded Claudette.

“Thank you for telling us about your people and your history,” said Laurin. “I suspect we will only be here a short time before returning to Afghanistan. After we leave will it be possible to return for a visit.”

“Yes,” said Claudette, “but at some point, we will leave this solar system.”

Alison added, “It will likely be several years before that happens.”

“We wish to thank all of you for your attention. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask. Have a great day!!”

“I think,” said Eryn, “I’m going to stop by the clinic to make sure I’ve done everything they asked then I can relax the rest of the day.”

“Good idea,” said several of the group at the same time.

After finishing their physicals and reviewing the results with the medical staff they went back to the lounge. They spent their time relaxing, playing games, reading or perusing the library. The GISS staff joined them at breakfast. When the morning meeting was over Leann said, “We need to return to Dóchas. We’ve enjoyed our time together and may see you before we leave. If not we wish you the best, and look forward to seeing you when you visit.”

“Thanks,” said Collette. “I am sure I will visit once everything is sorted.”

The GISS staff went out with them to the swimming pool. The morning was spent chatting, swimming and playing games. Several times the topic of what they would do in the future came up. Madeline’s and Ursula’s groups offered suggestions on things they might consider. In turn the GISS staff were quizzed about the kind of business they did and how they could operate from the island. They even had a brain storming session on some aspects of their work. It wasn’t long before it was lunch time.

2100 Day 640 Afghanistan – 1330 Day 640 Comrie

Captain O’Brien sat thinking over the day’s activities. It was the end of a long and tiring day. The plan they had defined that morning had gone well, at least until he tripped and broke his arm. He sighed as Éva worked at putting his arm in a cast.

“So, how do you feel?” asked Rusty.

“Besides embarrassed, pretty good. At least it is a clean break. The food was great.”

“Those we’ve rescued are at lunch now, so it might be a good time to have a video conference with them. I am sure some are concerned about their future.”

“I am too, even if we do pull this off. There are questions I would like to know the answers to, but it could put me in the position of knowing too much.”

“From my perspective, it would be better for you to know more. Up till now Terry, Sarah and I are trying to suggest doing things in a way you would if you knew more. To do this we are relying on my experience, but it’s been awhile since I was on active duty. With you more involved it is less likely that something will be done which raises questions you would have difficulty answering. If we enabled your telepathy, we could show you how to isolate or limit access to the information related to us. This would make it easier to respond to questions about our activities and not disclose our assistance. By doing this, your responses would be acceptable by your commanders although some may wonder about the completeness of your responses. We think only someone mind-linked with you could see the isolated area. You could talk about it with someone who was here with you or us, but no-one else. There can be exceptions but it is up to you to allow them.”

“So I am telepathic,” responded O’Brien with smile.

“As indicated by your intuition, you have the capability. Sarah is the best one here to help you activate it.”

“Let me think about it. Was that why you came over?”

“No. It was about the video conference.”

“What should we tell them?”

“As a society we prefer to be very open, so everything we know.”

A little later at Comrie Donna said to those in the dining room, “Could I have everyone’s attention, please? Sarah’s Clan would like all of you to participate in a video conference. This is to include all of those we rescued yesterday. So, it will start as soon as you’ve finished lunch.”

As she was speaking Alison and Claudette walked up to the front of the room. They had just reached it when many in the dining room gasped as they saw the holographic image of Sarah’s Clan form.

“Good afternoon,” said Sarah’s Clan in harmony. “We understand you are finishing lunch. Please continue. We have a couple of things to share with those we rescued, so this shouldn’t take too long.”

Joyce said, “Joining in this conference are our Intelligence Department on Dóchas, those at Comrie and those in Afghanistan.” As Joyce talked those at each location saw the others who were participating.

When Kaelee saw Captain O’Brien she smiled, with tears of happiness flowing down her cheeks, as she softly said, “I love you.” When she put her hands up to her face, she remembered the missing fingers and began to sob, as she was sure he would reject her once he knew. Laurin and Eryn hugged her as she cried. Seeing her crying caused Captain O’Brien’s expression to become a worried one, as he felt helpless seeing her unhappiness and be unable to console her.

“Kaelee, I love you,” he said. “I mean it. I am looking forward to hugging you again. You look damn beautiful from here.” Hearing his voice, her sobs began to diminish. As she looked at him on the screen, she seemed to feel that his love for her was still there.

“Pat, I love you. I hope everyone will forgive me for getting emotional, as I am delaying the conference. I can’t wait to see you again, but I am worried.” Kaelee put her arms around Eryn and Laurin then said firmly, “My apologies to everyone for interrupting.”

“No apologies are needed,” said Terry. “Captain O’Brien is going to outline a plan to get all of you picked up safely by US forces. I believe he is also going share with you the plans for those here to follow while you wait for that to happen.”

“Thank you, Terry.” When the camera focused on him, the change in view made his cast visible. Kaelee gasped. “So far I am the only injury. This occurred in camp this evening. Our mission orders are for us to be picked up at the North end of the valley three days from now. We believe our situation is just like yours, in that we don’t believe headquarters knows where we are. Anyway, in three days your hosts will bring you back to the bandits’ warehouse to meet us. Once we are all there we will initiate a signal that we need to be picked up. It is our intention for it to appear as if we’ve rescued you.

“You are probably wondering how we will get them to pick us up? Before starting this mission, I had some concerns with the way it was being set up. So as insurance I set up an email with a delayed send. In it I cited my concerns regarding our mission plan and stated that I’d brought three air crew rescue beacons with us. Included are the beacon’s ids and a code related to the number of beacons triggered. Currently our plan is to set all of them off once you join us here.