Chapter 23

When Sarah’s Clan arrived at their quarters on Dóchas, they were mobbed by their children as they entered. The children had been getting ready for bed while anticipating the return of their parents. The older children were now walking. The younger ones followed the older ones by scooting across the floor to greet their parents.

Each spouse was able spend some time with each child. In some cases, it was only a few moments of contact, with others it was much longer. The spouses let the children come to them as they wanted attention. It was late for the children and they were tired, so it wasn’t long before they began to take their bedtime snack from their mothers’ nipples. For many, it was only a few moments before they were sound asleep.

“You know,” said Aoife, “it is really a grand feeling to be met at the door that way.”

“Yes, we agree,” responded her spouses.

“The older children have become very adept at walking on what we think of as the balls of our feet,” said Judy. “I think they will be considerably more agile than we are walking that way. I need to talk to Connie or Betsy about the leg segment we are all used to thinking of as feet. It does not seem right to call that segment a foot, now they are used differently.”

“It seems they still function the same way,” said Claudette. “The only thing that seems to have changed is the orientation.”

“True,” said Judy, “maybe it’s just a perception thing. I still find it amazing that the change increases our agility.”

“I think I’m going to lie down,” said Rusty, “I expect tomorrow to be very busy, perhaps more so than the last two days.”

“Guys,” said Aoife, “we should tell James and Clarence that we need to move the stuff out of their houses early tomorrow, regardless. The bots should come back to either Comrie or here. They can help in the offices and with James’ and Clarence’s families in getting orientated to Comrie.”

“Should we let them figure out where the five women came from?” said Sarah.

“Yes, but we should tell them if it takes more than a day,” said Sally as they went to freshen up before retiring.

It was just as the morning chime sounded that Star said, “Command Staff we have a problem developing at the armory. I have raised our readiness to level 3.” Just as she said that, three loud tones were heard on the ship, at Comrie and at the Mars settlement.

With those words, the Command Staff was up and on their way to Dóchas’ bridge. On entering, they greeted Maureen and Siobhan with a quick hug and kiss. They hadn’t seen either in several days, although they were in constant contact.

“Star, give us a view of the armory.” With that, a 3-D projection of the armory and its immediate surroundings became visible in the center of the room. They could see several groups of people moving up the streets from different directions, toward the armory. It wasn’t quite light yet and the groups were moving so they stayed mostly in the shadows.

“All Security teams to ready status,” said Sally. “Deploy Darcy’s and Caoilinn’s teams immediately to the armory. On arriving, they are to await further instructions. Edana’s and Cathan’s teams suit up.” On the security console, they could see the status lights changing for each Security team.

“Donna, are James and Clarence up?” said Sarah. “If not, wake them, ask them to go to the conference room immediately.”

“I am surprised at the ‘flesh peddlers’ agents mounting an assault on the armory so soon,” said Terry.

Just then, a view of James and Clarence appeared on the monitor, looking like they had just awakened. “What a way to ruin the first good night’s sleep I have had in weeks,” said James, smiling. “What’s up?” Several chuckled at his comment.

“Well, we were up, but not by much, when Star alerted us to activity around the armory, and it looks like we have some work to do before breakfast,” said Rusty. “You should have a view of the armory and several of the surrounding blocks. We are concerned about the groups of people moving toward the armory while keeping in the shadows.”

“That’s not enough people to take the armory,” said Clarence.

“So, why do this?” said Terry. “Except as a possible diversion. It still doesn’t make sense.”

“James, contact the MP Commander and alert him.”

“Clarence already is.”

“Clarence probably should keep the line open,” said Sally. To which Clarence nodded his agreement.

“Doing something from the air would attract a lot of attention,” said Rusty. “So, if it was a diversion to draw attention to the outside, the only other option is if it would aid in the attackers gaining access through underground tunnels. It still doesn’t make a lot of sense. Oh, shit, unless they intend to just blow it up.”

“We can have them evacuate.”

“No,” said Terry, “our surveillance shows all exits covered by groups on each street. They are positioned so they can block all the choke points within two blocks of the armory. By the way they are positioning themselves it has the characteristics of a terrorist operation.”

“James, Clarence,” said Aoife, interrupting the conversation, “are you okay with us emptying your houses now?”

James and Clarence looked at Aoife for just a moment, as her comment startled them. “Do what you think needs to be done. But, please make sure the women are alright. The rest of it can be replaced.”

“Edana, Cathan,” said Aoife, “take your teams and help the decoys at James’ and Clarence’s homes transfer their possessions to storage at Comrie, NOW!”

“We have the utility maps for the area around the armory,” said Star bringing the focus back to the armory. “The only unusual item is a very high pressure gas line that passes under the armory.”

“Let’s presume they have some way to rupture the line under the armory,” said Terry.

The clan began to form eSarah without explicitly initiating the change. It formed in a slightly different way than before, as they each continued to interact with those around them. Tara’s facet said, “James and Clarence, you may want to focus on what is said and ignore who is speaking.”

“Now, let the attackers plan continue with no interference,” said eSarah, through the individual facets. eSarah this time linked directly to the network of incoming data and overlaid it with the clan’s experiences and logic.

“The most likely effort is to blow the gas line, as there aren’t any large vehicles in the area that could contain explosives. We should be able to project the attackers timing in a few minutes. In the meantime, have the MP Commander gather everyone, along with the evidence, into the vehicles in preparation for evacuation. Tell him we think that the attackers plan on blowing up the building with a gas-main break. It will be important for them to be very quiet as they prepare their escape. They should assume the attackers can hear what is going on inside the armory. He shouldn’t start the vehicles until either he is ready to make a move, or the attack starts. We will tell him when to exit, and the path to take as he leaves.

“From what we can tell, the building will blow up about ten minutes after those on the street initiate the attack. The attackers seem to be unaware that the building will be blown up. They have nothing with them to protect them from the blast.

“Tell Major Crowe not to worry about the attackers. Just focus on getting ready to leave. Event sequence suggests the MPs should make the run 7 minutes after the attack starts. Once out of the armory, they should move away as fast as they can.”

Clarence relayed the information to Major Crowe as the plan developed. “Sal, Leo,” said eSarah through Tara, “your groups are to make sure the Guard unit gets out safely. Do whatever is necessary!”

“We are in position and ready,” said both Sal and Leo.

“You knew,” said eSarah with Alison’s voice.

“Yes, as soon as Sally activated us. We have been observing events. We have also been anticipating your plan.”

“Good.”

“Here comes the attack,” said eSarah with Sally’s voice. “Mark!” On the monitors, they could see the RPGs hitting the sides of the armory compound. As the attack began, the attackers moved more aggressively down the streets toward the building, pausing every few steps to fire another rocket. They were within several hundred feet of the compound when eSarah said, “Now!”

Within moments, the MP’s vehicles pushed through the front gate. The suddenness startled the attackers at that location, breaking their focus. A few started to raise their weapons, only to have them explode in their hands before they could aim.

“Now,” said eSarah, with that, the Command Staff fully merged into a single entity. While Star was not a part of the group, her whole focus was on them. Donna, with the assistance of the on-board AIs, assumed monitoring responsibility for Dóchas. The other AIs in the network shifted responsibilities, so that everything was covered.

eSarah projected an energy barrier around the armory compound, reaching a couple of hundred feet into the air. The barrier would protect the surrounding area from the blast, by forcing the explosive energy upward. A few openings were left at ground level, coinciding with the attack routes. While the shape of the barrier would direct all the energy from the explosion up, it did have the effect of increasing the intensity on the structures inside.

“James,” said eSarah, “call 911. Advise them of a gas-main explosion and fire at the armory compound.”

James picked up the phone and dialed 911. Just as the operator answered, he saw a flash on the screen then a fireball rise above the armory. The visual shock almost caused him to drop the phone, but he managed to tell the operator of the explosion. He had hardly finished speaking when he heard the sound of the explosion over the phone.

Both James and Clarence watched, spell-bound, as the fireball rolled up into the sky. They were distracted momentarily, as they long tongues of flames flashed from the armory down the streets in several directions. The flames flashed down the streets and over the attackers before they could react. Several small explosions occurred around several attackers apparently their munitions exploding due to the heat. A few other attackers rolled on the ground, trying to put out their charred burning clothes. Quite a few lay, unmoving, on the sidewalk.

James and Clarence were startled when they heard several people behind them say, “Wow.” They looked around to see the reporters who had just entered the room, with their families right behind them. “What was that?” exclaimed Evelyn.

“A group just attacked and blew up the armory,” said Clarence. “All the soldiers got out before it exploded.”

While Clarence was speaking, eSarah drained off the excess energy she had absorbed from the explosion then separated back into her individual entities. “That was interesting,” said Maeve. “Now I have an idea where our psionic energy well is located.”

“It is usually transparent,” said Aine, “but all of you used an exceptional amount of energy to build the barrier, and then received that, plus several times as much, back. Well done.”

“Thanks,” responded all of them.

The group in the conference room at Comrie watched the activity around the armory spellbound. The group had grown to include Eilene and her sisters, Beth, and the staff who had assisted in the office the day before.

The first company of fire fighters and police responding to the fire alarm almost hit the MP convoy as they turned a corner. When they halted, the MP’s convoy of Humvees was blocking the fire trucks. As Major Crowe quickly stepped out of his vehicle, several soldiers piled out and established a defensive perimeter. The police Patrol Sergeant saw the reaction of the soldiers to an apparent minor stop, and decided that this was bad. Realizing more assistance was needed and quickly he told the dispatcher that he needed every available unit, soonest. Just as he finished his request, Major Crowe told him that some people were attacking the armory. He wasn’t too sure how many as they left just before the explosion.

Operating on instinct, the Patrol Sergeant told the dispatcher of the attack and that they needed to immediately establish a restricted area. It needed to include at least four blocks on each side of the armory compound. As soon as the dispatcher began to understand the request, she linked the Watch Commander into the conversation. On hearing the request, he signaled the dispatcher to give them everything they needed. The Watch Commander sent a message to another dispatcher to issue a recall for all available off duty officers and to activate reserve officers. He then called the Police Chief, to alert him to the explosion, and to advise him that he had activated a recall of all officers.

While the City Police were reacting to the requests, the Fire Company Captain with the first engine company, saw the size of the gas-fed torch, sounded a general alarm. With her arrival at the scene, she became the Incident Commander. She told the Fire Dispatcher to activate the Emergency Management Center. As she issued commands, she watched the flames leap high above the buildings. They soon stabilizing into single column of flame. The roar of the flame made conversation difficult. Even though they were several blocks away, they could feel the wind caused by the air drawn to the flame.

When the Police Patrol Sergeant stopped talking to the dispatcher, Major Crowe said, “Can you spare enough cars to escort us to the Air Guard base?” Before the Sergeant could object, he pointed out that a good number of the unit could then assist. The lead officer hesitated, so he added, “The material in these vehicles has to be safe and secure before we can do anything else. We just need someone to run interference at intersections as we head for the Air Guard base. If you could do this, then I can stay, with quite a few of my unit, to assist you in dealing with those attacking the armory.” The police officer quickly agreed, as it registered what the Major had said earlier about the attack on the armory. He advised the police dispatcher that an MP convoy was moving toward the air base and that they needed a clear route and an escort.

The MP Executive Officer took command of the convoy and left immediately. A police escort joined them within several blocks. A call was placed to the Air Guard OIC alerting him to expect a Guard MP convoy shortly, carrying all the classified material they had been able to load from the armory. He advised the OIC that the armory had been blown up; apparently by people wanting to destroy what was in the trucks. The OIC told the MP Commander that they would be waiting.

The Police Shift Supervisor and Firefighter’s Incident Commander quickly worked out a plan to respond to the disaster and attackers. Even as they worked out the details, the soldiers were dispersing to join policemen at each designated entrance to the area. Once the soldiers had joined up with the policemen, without waiting for instructions, a number of them began moving toward the remains of the armory. The additional arriving fire companies positioned themselves some distance behind the police and soldiers. All of this took place while the IC and Patrol Sergeant reported their status to the dispatchers and EMC, which was now manned.

As the IC talked, she moved with her fire company toward the fire, following the soldiers and policemen at some distance. As they moved, she reviewed in her mind what was in the area and where the greatest risks would be. There were not many buildings over 2 stories near the armory, and, fortunately, most of the exteriors were brick or masonry. The armory grounds covered four square blocks, with a park on the far side.

On each approach, the soldiers walked along-side slow moving police cars, as they could not easily enter and exit the cars with their gear. As the soldiers and policemen approached the downed attackers, the scene they saw was much different than what they had expected. Except for many broken windows and roofs starting to smoke from the heat the surrounding buildings had suffered little exterior damage. The attackers had not fared as well. Many of them had died when the explosives they were carrying had exploded. Others were relatively untouched, except for being stunned and their clothes scorched. The attackers that were still breathing, were disarmed, hogtied and secured to a nearby light post or parking meter, so they were out of the way.

As soon as the soldiers and police had secured the streets, the firefighters moved their equipment as close as they could. As the first fire trucks began to spray water, steam rolled off the buildings’ faces and roofs, initially obscuring the view. Escorted by two water cannons, the IC moved past the corner, so she could clearly see the situation in the area where the armory had stood. Even in her Nomex suit, it was very hot this close to the torch. She quickly directed the individual firefighting units to concentrate on keeping the adjacent buildings wet, once the attackers had been removed and they had clear access. By this time, the EMC had communications linked between all responding units, using a new system that had just been installed a few months earlier. They focused on providing support and left the site management to the MP Commander, Incident Commander and Police Sergeant.

As more water was sprayed on the adjacent buildings, it added to the steam cloud being drawn up by the gas torch being fed by the broken gas-main. This greatly increased the size of the plume of smoke rising from the armory. As the buildings cooled, the steam cloud began to dissipate, allowing the armory complex to be seen. The armory building had all collapsed over the broken pipeline. The escaping gas came out of the debris at several points near the top of the pile. The oxygen requirement for the flame was sucking air through the rubble, adding a whistling sound to the loud roar created by the burning gas.

Darcy’s security team followed the convoy to the air base, while Caoilinn’s security team split up into small groups to shadow the police and soldiers. They didn’t think any of the attackers would be able to put up any kind of resistance, but felt it was wise to be cautious. A drone was placed near each group of attackers, so the Intelligence department could monitor them as they recovered.

From the time the attack started until the time the area was secure, a little less than two hours had elapsed. With the area secure, the police and soldiers began moving the prisoners to a common holding area. Both groups knew the attack on the armory would be under the jurisdiction of the FBI, and possibly the Army Criminal Investigation unit.

With the situation around the armory now stable, those at Comrie and on Dóchas turned their focus back to their video conference. James said, “This certainly adds a new dimension to this investigation.” Pausing, with a thoughtful look on his face, he then continued, “Aoife, why did you ask about our houses?”

“As I watched the events at the armory unfold, the view of the armory was suddenly replaced by a view of your homes. Sometimes, I anticipate events.” James and Clarence looked at her thoughtfully as she spoke. “The security teams we sent to your houses have placed your possessions in storage on Comrie. We can show you where they are after breakfast. The furniture was left in the homes. I hope that is all right.”

“Where are the women?”

“They are at Comrie getting cleaned up,” said Sally. “We expect that they will be with you at breakfast.”

“Good.”

“Let’s eat,” said Sarah, “I am starved. This early morning exercise has really made me hungry. We will join you at Comrie after breakfast. James, Clarence, Donna will have an update on the arrests at our morning meeting.”

“I am comfortable with that,” said James, and then chuckled, as his stomach grumbled. “Sarah’s right, it’s time to eat.”

At Comrie, the group with James had just sat down to breakfast when the women who had been the decoys at James’ and Clarence’s homes arrived. James rushed up to Celia and Jenna and gave each a hug before Sue and Sam could greet them. Clarence was just as fast greeting Genevieve, Jasmin and Faith. The five ladies were invited to join them for breakfast.

Just as Celia and Jenna sat down, James said, “Clarence, we need to make sure some of our staff are there when the FBI and the Army investigators start questioning the attackers.”

“James,” said Celia, “Marie and Trudy have already made arrangements.”

“What? How could they know so quickly?”

“Ever since you were abducted, they have been manning the office around the clock. They heard the explosion and saw the fireball from the office. Marie said that it really shook the building. They queried Dóchas’s Intelligence department to find out what was happening, and then acted on what they expected would be needed.”

“Good. We were very lucky to have them join our staff. I have never worked with paralegals as good as they are, and that includes many lawyers. They have been a godsend to us.”

“Command Staff,” said Celia, “I think we need to tell them that we are bots, and preferably now. Otherwise, if too much more time elapses I am concerned about how they will feel.”

“Do it,” was the quick response.

“I consider all of you to be good friends,” said Celia, “perhaps more than good friends. I think many of you feel the same way about us.” Several of the group had a look of confusion on their face, as they weren’t sure why the topic had changed. “Before our relationship develops any further, we feel you should know more about us.” She paused. “First off, we are bots.”

The group’s mouths dropped open. The area around the table was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.

“We will,” began Celia, before she was interrupted.

“You are not moving, not unless you want to!” said Sam, with a firm but caring expression. “Whether you are bots or not makes absolutely no difference to me. We, well, at least I, welcome your company any time, any place. No Mom and Dad, I’m not sure I am telepathic, but Celia and Jenna are wonderful people. I would hope we have a chance to build on the friendship that I think we already have. I expect we will be very close friends.” Everyone around the table nodded their agreement. The reporters were a little surprised, as they hardly knew any of the women who had been decoys.

“The paralegals in James’ and Clarence’s offices are bots too, aren’t they?” enquired Marge, as some pieces began to fit together.

“Yes,” said Jenna.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” said James and Clarence together.

“I would never have guessed,” continued Clarence. “I agree with Sam’s comments. All of you are welcome in my home any time. You are welcome to stay as long as you want. I would consider it a privilege to have all of you as close friends.”

“I agree with dad, besides, none of you seem any different than anyone else I’ve known,” said Kelsey.

“The simplest way to describe us is that we are very much like you, except our activities aren’t biologically supported. We are powered by an energy cell, and some would consider us to be a walking computer. We tend to be more fact and logic driven than biological units. We do communicate telepathically. Our logic and fact driven reasoning usually compensates for our lack of intuition. We have all the senses, etc. that a biological unit does, except for emotions. You probably think that we do have emotions, but our feelings have a different basis. They are just driven by a different kind of system. In terms of health, we have component breakdowns rather than the health issues you experience.”

“Can you tell the paralegals in the office to take care of themselves? They are a very key part of our efforts and we want them to stay well.”

“They already know as we are mentally connected, we have been continuously linked for about the last week.”

“Are you interested in working in our office here?” said James. “Although I am not sure how long that will it will continue. I expect today will be busier than yesterday, so we could really use the assistance.”

“We would love to,” said the women, together.

“There are several others from the Intelligence department who have been working with us as well.”

Just then, Sarah, Rusty, Tara, Sally, Alison, Terry, and Joyce entered the dining room. Rusty tapped on the table to get everyone’s attention. “We will start our morning meeting in about 15 minutes. All four sites will be participating with us today.”

“Good morning,” said the group with Sarah. “James, Clarence, we feel we owe you an explanation. We sent the paralegals and these ladies to assist you with the ‘lodge incident’ investigation. This seemed to be the best way for us to help you, in a low key way. They were not there to spy on you. However, the paralegals did advise us of critical events in your office, but only when they thought we needed to know, such as when you received the videos of Dale and Larry. We have held off on saying anything before now, because there was so much else that needed attention. We sincerely hope we have not damaged our relationship.”

It was a few moments before anyone spoke. “Sarah’s Clan, and really all of you,” said James. “I am very comfortable with what has occurred. We would have all preferred not have experienced some events. Perhaps I am speaking out of turn, but we are very lucky you have looked over our shoulders during this investigation. I agree with Sam’s comments regarding our friendship, and feel Sue does as well.”

“I second that,” said Clarence. “Thank you all. We feel that all of you are good friends and are welcome to be with us wherever we are. The possibility that some of you are bots is not important.”

“Since we are opening doors,” said Tara, “we know all of you are telepathically-capable. Marge, Evelyn, Fred and Chad have already enabled their ability. Right after breakfast, and before we get distracted by events, we can, and should, show you how to enable yours. When you return to Earth’s society, we suggest you limit it so that it only works in times of danger, as that will help you protect your family, as well as yourselves. Although, you could use it actively within your family if you wish.”

“You mean we have to return to Earth,” said Sam, with a sad look.

“Sam, that is a decision for James, Sue and you to make together and individually, as it has many implications.” As Tara spoke, Sam looked at James and Sue. “There is no hurry.”

“Sam, we will definitely talk about it,” said James. “It will be awhile before we get to that point. So, can you be a little patient?”

“Sure, but I do like it here.”

“We noticed,” said Sue. As Sue looked around the table, she sensed that many of the others were thinking along the same lines as Sam.

Sarah stepped to the front of the room, and everyone quieted down. “Good morning, all. This morning has started early and at a fast pace. For our conference this morning, we have all four locations linked together. We hesitate to say this, but we would like to again keep this mornings meeting short. At the same time, we do need to address all issues requiring attention.”

“Donna, Star and the Intelligence department AI’s will be giving a summary of the activity around the ‘flesh peddler’ organization, and the arrests that are underway. After that, there will be an update on events at the armory earlier this morning.”

Donna began with a briefing on the efforts by law enforcement officers in the US and other countries in arresting those involved in the ‘flesh peddler’ operation. A couple of key councilors could not be found by law officers. Several times, the officers were met by gun fire when attempting to make arrests. In all of those cases, the person being sought died in the gun battle, along with some of their staff. A few officers were injured in the gun fights, but none of the injuries were serious.

Star gave a brief rundown on the attack and explosion that leveled the armory. “In summary, all the evidence in the armory has been preserved. All the soldiers are safe. The news networks are still scrambling to gather the information. Their broadcasts can be seen on the monitors in the lounge area. Equipment is on its way to Frank’s island and should be set up in time to see most of the news reports.”

“Thank you, Donna and Star,” said Sarah. “The news feed will be recorded, so those unable to see them live can view them later.”

“Does the Mars settlement have any issues we need to discuss?”

“Nothing that can’t wait until next week,” said Amy. “We are approaching a point at which we can begin construction of a new, Dóchas class ship. Star Fighters are being assembled at the rate of 1 to 2 a week. Additional shuttles are being assembled, as well. At this rate, we should have the full complement of support ships for Dóchas completed in about 10 months. Generally, the settlement is growing quite nicely, and quickly, as we have begun using the cave. Our only shortage is staff. Any questions?”