Chapter 29

Sarah’s Clan was just getting ready to turn in when Muireann in Intelligence said to them, “We need to discuss a developing situation with you all.”

“What’s up?”

“Those three satellites we’ve been tracking have made some odd changes to their orbital parameters in the last 24 hours.”

“What do you mean by odd?”

“These are supposed to be communication satellites. They are still in what is essentially a transfer orbit, but with a 48000 km maximum and an 8000 km minimum. Normally they would have moved to their intended geosynchronous orbit by now. Their paths have shifted so that they will cross ours in about 18 hours unless more changes are made. We are currently projecting them to all cross our path at the same time, and pass within 10 km.”

“Who launched them?”

“We don’t know. Two were launched from Hainen, China and the other from Tyuratam, Russia. They were contract launches but we haven’t been able to determine the identity of the contracting party.”

Rusty said, “Send a flight of Star Fighters to track each one. They should take several spiders and a ferret. Deploy the spiders after scanning the satellites. They need to keep us updated with what they find. While that is taking place, we will come to your compartment.”

“Siobhan’s and Maureen’s Clans,” said Sally, “would you join us for a conference regarding a concern by Intelligence?”

After a few moments Siobhan said, “Can we do this by video? We can teleport there if required.”

“It is up to you. I think we can handle this with video and our telepathic link.”

“Okay.”

“We are fine with that,” said Crystal of Maureen’s Clan.

“So what is the issue?” said Conan.

“Intelligence has identified three communication satellites whose current orbits will intersect ours simultaneously. With no further changes they will be within 10 km of us when they do cross our path. These satellites significantly larger than other similar satellites.”

“Siobhan, I think some of us need to go to Dóchas,” said Aisling. Her comment caused raised eyebrows on several spouses. “It should be at least Amber, Eileen and me.”

Amber said, “You’re thinking the satellites are controlled by the Council of Brothers.”

“It is a possibility. Enough time has elapsed for them to acquire satellites and con the Russians and Chinese into launching them.”

“We agree.”

Siobhan said, “Go. We should be on our bridge for this.”

Moments later Muireann said, “Good evening,” when the three from Siobhan’s Clan appeared in the Intelligence compartment on Dóchas.

“Good evening,” they replied.

Then Aisling added, “It will be morning before long.”

“Yes, it will be,” said Sarah’s Clan as they entered. After greeting each other, Sarah said, “Let’s get this show on the road, so we can get some rest.”

With that comment, holograms of Maureen’s and Siobhan’s Clans formed. Sally said, “Muireann, why don’t you review the information we have on this apparent threat?”

“Okay, the short version is that three satellites were launched three days ago. They are reported to be communications satellites, however they haven’t moved to a geosynchronous orbit. They are still in what is considered a transfer orbit which normally lasts for about 5 to 7 hours. Since reaching orbit, their orbital path has shifted several times. The last change has them crossing ours within a few minutes of each other...” She closed her review with, “that covers the facts we have. Since asking for this meeting, we’ve sent Star Fighters to check them out. They are carrying spiders, ferrets and imploder missiles.”

Amber said, “As all of you know, I’ve been watching the Council of Brothers activities pretty closely, or at least those we can detect. Shortly after these satellites launched, the Council of Brothers’ offices received calls from both China and Russia. The phone numbers were from the general area of the launch sites. The traffic volume at the crossroads near the high security research site has increased significantly in the last few days.”

“So you think the Council is setting up to attack our ships.”

“Yes.”

“Why not Comrie? It is a much easier target than us.”

“It wouldn’t surprise me if they didn’t do both. Attacking us here and at Comrie would change the balance of power between the governments on Earth. While I was their slave, they were very careful in what they said when I was present. In thinking back over all the bits that I heard, and what I’ve seen since coming here, I believe the road from the crossroads going into the mountains leads to an advanced weapons site. Why? There are a lot of large trucks traveling that road.

“Going back 15 years the topo maps only show a deep valley a short distance west of the crossroads. When I look at the current maps, there doesn’t appear to be anything there, but it does look different. There is no indication of any roads or settlements in the valley. So where do the trucks and cars go?”

“Let’s presume Amber is correct,” said Sarah. “To me a secret research site implies advanced weapons with nuclear as a strong possibility. We can handle that kind of attack but as things now stand Comrie can’t.”

“In that case, let’s evacuate Comrie to either An Clochán or New Comrie,” responded Kylie of Maureen’s Clan.

Siobhan said, “As far as we are concerned, let’s pull everything out of Comrie. We have enough improvements at New Comrie to satisfy our recreational needs. An Clochán could be used as the first stop for new candidates.”

“Suits us,” said Maureen’s Clan. “You know we should include Keriann’s and Kathryn’s Clans in this, although we realize why they weren’t initially.”

“Good point,” said Sarah. “Keriann’s Clan. Kathryn’s Clan, we need you to join us for a brief conference.”

“What?” responded Keriann groggily.

“What conference?” asked Kathy.

To Keriann’s and Kathryn’s Clans Sally said, “Intelligence believes that there is a threat toward us in near Earth orbit. We are currently in their department on Dóchas reviewing the information. Since this appears to have broader implications, we thought we should include your clans.”

Maureen said, “We’re participating remotely from our bridge.”

“We’ll do that as well,” said Kelly of Keriann’s Clan.

“We’re headed for the bridge now,” said Brittany of Kathryn’s Clan.

Sally said, “Once you are there, Muireann will give you the briefing we just heard.”

“While we are waiting, let’s call our contacts in the space agencies in Russia and China and ask about the strange orbits of the satellites they recently launched,” said Terry. “We should indicate our concerns.”

Those making the calls had just returned to the compartment when Keriann said, “We agree with the assessment and the responses you’ve discussed.”

“So do we,” added Brittany. “Did the two space agencies know anything?”

“Not really,” said Sally. “They did confirm that there were contract launches of commercial communications satellites. We should know more by breakfast. They are aware of our concerns.”

Erin of Sarah’s Clan said, “Let’s send a couple of drones and spiders to look at the location on Earth that we have concerns about. If they are really building rockets and handling nuclear weapons there, I am surprised the Israelis haven’t done something about it. Although the country this is in has not actively sought to antagonize them.”

“Agreed,” responded all five clans.

Stacey of Muireann’s Clan said, “We should have data back from the drones around breakfast time.”

“Good,” replied all.

“Are we in agreement with evacuating Comrie?” asked Sarah.

“We agree with evacuating,” replied Chester of Keriann’s Clan, “but what do we want to leave behind, if anything?”

“The island,” said Aoife causing several to chuckle.

“I was thinking more in terms of the buildings and the technology they contain.”

“We have an evacuation plan for that,” said Star. “It removes all residents and all working technology items. Once that is accomplished, or time runs out, the choices are, leave the buildings, destroy them, or wipe the whole island clean. If the buildings are left they would need extensive remodeling before they could be used. I am not sure everyone realizes it but Chantel resides at New Comrie now.”

“In that case, let’s leave the buildings standing,” said Kelly of Keriann’s Clan.

“We agree,” replied everyone.

Sarah said, “Star, inform Chantel to initiate evacuation of Comrie and target completion by 1000 hours local time.”

“Let’s get some rest,” said Sarah, “and we will meet back here right after breakfast unless something changes.”

“We’ll send most of our shuttles to Comrie,” said Brandan of Maureen’s Clan.

“So will we,” added Tiff of Siobhan’s Clan.

“Arrivals and departures at Comrie should be cloaked,” said Maeve.

Keriann said, “Wait. While we are in agreement with evacuating Comrie, do we really need Dóchas and, Phoenix to be in Earth orbit. Moving back to Mars orbit has significant operational benefits especially for the crews who are assisting us.”

“An excellent idea,” responded the other Command Staffs.

Calvin suggested, “If we cloak and depart now, it will leave those controlling the satellites in a difficult position.”

“Suits us.”

“Well that only addresses one aspect of this,” said Maeve. “Amber suspects that the Council of Brothers, have a secret advanced weapons development site. We’re sending spiders and drones to check the location. We should have information later this morning, so why not shift our position up 1000 km and 2000 km further along our orbital path. This has two benefits. It will make an intercept more difficult for those controlling the satellites. If the satellites contain weapons, we will have more time to respond. As to Ambers suspicions, we will be close enough to quickly respond if appropriate.”

“Maeve, that is an excellent alternative,” responded Eileen of Siobhan’s Clan.

“We agree,” said Rusty. “The only reason we were loitering this close to Earth was to assist the ISS computer repairs. Since that is essentially complete, let’s move back to Mars orbit once this satellite issue is sorted.”

After a moment Sarah said, “I sense everyone agrees with Maeve’s suggestion.”

“Yes,” replied everyone.

Muireann said, “When the information from the Star Fighters is received, I will send it to each Command Staff before we start analyzing it.”

“Okay,” responded everyone.

It was right after breakfast that Sarah’s Clan met with their children’s visitors. At the same time, Melinda was briefing Lorelei’s group about the potential threat.

Sarah looked around the conference room to check that everyone was there, before saying, “We asked to meet with all of you because earlier today our Intelligence group alerted us to an anomaly in the orbits of three recent satellite launches. These are purported to be communications satellites and their current orbits have them passing near us in 9 to 12 hours.

“Since then we’ve learned that the satellites belong to the Council of Brothers. We are concerned about the satellites for several reasons. The orbits have been shifted several times since launch to bring them closer to us, and we are well above the normal orbit used for such satellites. Another reason is that we severely disrupted a Council of Brother’s plot to destabilize several of Earth’s governments. This, along with several other bits of information, indicates to us that they intend to attack this ship and Comrie. All of this is circumstantial, but as a caution we are evacuating Comrie. It will be completed in a few hours.

“With that in mind, we thought you should have the choice of where you are when this event unfolds. You are welcome to stay here since we believe their attack will fail, however there is a risk. The alternatives are An Clochán, our settlement on Mars, another ship, or we can take you home. With respect to going home, one thing to consider is that we aren’t sure we can return you home as unobtrusively as we picked you up. So there could be questions raised by acquaintances about where you were that could be difficult to answer.”

“Who are the Council of Brothers?” asked one of the women.

“They are a terrorist organization that operates primarily in North Africa, the Middle East and into West Asia. They are a group who believes that they should have a greater role in world events but have been kept down by other world governments, in particular Western ones. There is a religious aspect to this as you’ve probably guessed. They are Muslim and promote a very strict view of how to live in order to be in good standing with God. In many ways they are no different than other religious groups who seek to impose their view of God on others.”

“Why did you let us come?”

“When arrangements were make, we did not know of this potential threat. It is only since late last night when the potential threat was identified. The Council of Brothers has previously put communication satellites containing weapons in orbit. About a year ago one of them launched missiles at us, and a second one was preparing to do so when both were destroyed. They don’t have launch capability so they’ve contracted with others to launch them.”

Maeve watched Alena as she looked at each of her children and then nodded. They responded by smiling. When Alena saw Maeve looking at her, she just winked and smiled.

“Alena, I see you are going to stay.” Alena gasped when she recognized Maeve as the source of the voice in her mind, and then smiled. “We should not have any difficulty in dealing with this.” Maeve reassured her.

“We are not concerned. I feel my husband, Scott, would think staying here was an excellent choice.”

“We shall see.”

Sally continued with, “There is a shuttle waiting in the hangar where we arrived. It will take you to either An Clochán, another of our ships, or your homes. Now, we need to go to the bridge. If you have further questions, either the children or the nannies can get the answers for you. The children and nannies will be with you while you are here. If you do choose to go home to Earth, then they will ensure you have an escort for the trip.”

“We will stay,” said a couple, which caused their children to smile. “Where can we help out?”

Terry smiled, “Since you are not telepathic, it would be best for you to stay with the children. You can then team up with them and the nannies when assistance is needed.”

“But, they are children,” said the woman.

“Yes. However, our children and the nannies are telepathic, so they can pass along any commands or information to those around them.”

“Oh, that makes sense.”

At that point Star sounded the alarm for Readiness Level 3. Sarah’s Clan headed for the door, waving to the group.

Kennith said, “Mom, go with them. We will be okay.” Alena hesitated for a moment before dashing out the door to catch up with Sarah’s Clan.

When Alena caught up with Maeve and Tara, Maeve said, “I thought you would be joining us,” as they gave her a hug.

“Yes! I felt a really strong push to join you, but I was concerned that it wasn’t the correct thing to do.”

“We are pleased you chose to follow your instincts.”

“So, what is your opinion of the other families?”

“They are a very nice people. The couple who spoke up will inquire about joining the Órarduine family. The other two couples will eventually seek to join, though it may take them some time to decide. The difference is that the family who spoke up is at a crossroads in their life and realize it. The others aren’t, yet. In any case, I don’t think you will need to make a special trip to Earth. In all three cases, the children will play key roles in their decision to stay.”

When they arrived on the bridge, both Star and Aine were waiting for Sarah’s Clan. Aine immediately went to Alena and gave her a welcoming hug as the others went to their consoles.

“Alena,” said Maeve, “your actions earlier indicated that you could hear us telepathically. Do you think you’re picking up all the conversations?”

“I think so.”

“We have some time, could Aoife and I look at your telepathic ability with you?”

“I guess so, but I am not real sure I understand your question.”

“It is easier to show you. Don’t hesitate to tell us to stop or ask questions.”

Alena was startled when she sensed Aoife and Maeve in her mind, but she quickly relaxed as they began coaching her. Alena soon picked up on what they were showing her about the way the different areas of her mind functioned. As they had already suspected, she was already close to being a fully functional telepath. They showed her how to make the necessary adjustments to fully enable her telepathic ability. Next they coached her on managing her telepathic links, and how to protect herself from intrusion. She also learned to identify each telepathic source, so that it could be quickly recognized.

“This is neat,” said Alena. “Your thoughts are much clearer now.”

Aoife and Maeve then shared with Alena the differences between casual telepathic exchanges and the more intimate exchanges within a clan. When they had finished, Alena said, “When Scott was alive, there were many times it seemed like we were sharing thoughts. I knew when he was shot and had a brief glance at the scene just as he died. That experience is something I never shared with anyone before now, and I do not want to experience it again. This will sound strange, but earlier, when you asked us whether we wanted to stay, it seemed like he was encouraging us to agree.”

“Alena,” said Aine, “pardon my intrusion into your discussion with Aoife and Maeve, but I think I can help you understand why you felt the way you did today.” Alena looked questioningly at Aine. “Without looking at your memory to be sure, I think you and your husband were, in fact, mentally bonded. It is unusual for people who are not active telepaths to do that. The effect of this is that when a serious decision is being considered, your analysis draws upon your combined knowledge. You could think of it as a part of him being still alive within you.”

“I will need to think about that. Are you always around, as I may have some questions?”

“Not always, as my duties require me to leave from time to time, however you can always reach me telepathically. I think you can now see a link.”

“Yes, I do. I would much rather talk in person, as there is more to a discussion than words.”

“True,” replied Aine, “but telepathic exchange has the benefit of including a lot of the concepts that are hard to verbalize. You overcome part of that with body language, but it is still an approximation.” Alena looked doubtful. “Give it some time, then you will understand.”

It was early afternoon when Fatin the Executive Director for the Council of Brothers left for the Council’s secret launch site. During the last week, he had begun to relax. The stress over the last six months had been intense. Initially, he was certain that after the debacle in Tangiers they would kill him, and that it would be a brutal death. Instead they had promoted him and he had worked hard to slip their satellites past the Chinese and Russians. He smiled as he thought of the looks of terror on the Órarduine’s faces when the bombs detonated and reduced their precious space ship to dust.

The Órarduine had twice embarrassed the Council of Brothers by exposing their activities. While the response to the attack by their satellite was expected, the Council viewed the disruption of their Tangier operation as a clear interference in Earth’s affairs. Fatin wasn’t sure that now was the appropriate time to retaliate, but considering that it was originally his idea, and his insecurity, he decided not to say anything. Destroying the Órarduine’s space ship and their island would, if nothing else, tell the world, that they, the Council of Brothers, were not to be trifled with.

As he traveled toward the launch site, four of the Council of Brothers entered a radio station in the country where they were members of parliament. Shortly after entering the station they began broadcasting their speeches. The four speeches were very similar as each sought to convince the listeners of the evil the Órarduine represented. This was because of their culture and their non-human appearance. They justified their claims by linking them back to their interpretation of scriptures. Their rant against the aliens and the unwillingness of their country’s leaders to stand up to these barbarous acts by the Órarduine infidels lasted nearly an hour. As their speeches drew to a close, they announced that a consortium known as the Council of Brothers had decided to act on behalf of their governments. They stated that within hours their heroic Brothers would blast the Órarduine back to hell where they belonged. The four parliament members closed their broadcasts by praising Allah for giving them the power to annihilate the agents of the devil, the Órarduine.

While they were speaking Fatin had reached the launch site. He was surprised to be met by the head of the Council. After the usual greetings he said, “Fatin, you have worked very hard for our cause. As a reward for your effort, we have a special place for you to watch the next step in achieving it. Come with me.”

His gesture shocked Fatin as so many things had not gone as they had planned. It was a long walk through many underground corridors. During their walk they chatted about up-coming events and future plans. During this Fatin thought several times, “I hope someone shows me how to get back.”

When they entered the room he was shocked to see his whole family there. When he recovered he said, “Your Excellency, I am deeply humbled by this kindness. This is something we will long remember.”

The Chairman nodded and said, “Considering your contributions we thought that seeing this event with your family was a reasonable reward. Now go and greet your family. I would stay with you to enjoy this event but the others have insisted that I join them to watch the launch. This location will give you a much better idea of the power we will use to finish them off.” He nodded and left the room.

After greeting his family Fatin looked around at the large monitors. He was in awe of the events about to take place. Around him, the members of his family excitedly watched and talked about the views. Some monitors showed multiple images of the rocket being readied for launch. On others were graphics showing the three satellites’ position in relation to the Órarduine ship. The noise in the room was loud enough that he didn’t hear the doors to the corridor close or the latches sliding home.

When the Council Chairman reached the control room, Hatim said, “Was he surprised?”

“Definitely. Tomorrow, we shall meet to discuss whether we should go forward now or rebuild.”

“We need solid information before we can make a decision.”

“Yes, but we need to discuss our options. Our core plan was good. Perhaps there is another way to initiate the chaos to our advantage.”

“Excellent. We need to carefully evaluate our choices.”

“Yes, we do,” he replied as he turned to look at the monitor showing their rocket bathed in the bright lights. He could just barely make out the workers leaving the area surrounding them. “Soon,” he thought and smiled.

It was 1700 hours on Comrie, or 2100 Zulu, when the Command Staffs were advised that the rocket was within 60 minutes of ignition. As they watched the monitors on Dóchas Sally said, “Their satellites are set to cross our orbit in 65 minutes. It is fortunate that they decided to use satellites in this manner to attack us.”

Alison added, “Yes, if they had just eased them close to us we may not have noticed them until they were very close. The drones and spiders have again played a key role in obtaining the information we needed.”

“True, but we are far enough above the normal orbit that I think they would have been noticed as soon as they arrived.”

Sarah said, “Star, confirm status.”

“FCSs are manned and active. Shields are 85%. All fighters have launched. Cruisers have launched. No one is at Comrie and all critical equipment has been removed. Phoenix and Eagle are at RL3.”

“Dóchas Macha, operate uncloaked,” said Rusty.

“Aye,” replied the four cruisers.

A little later Sally said, “The rocket from the Council site is rising.”

Terry said, “FCSs, you have your assignments, advise when you have target acquired.”

“Aye.”

Tara said, “Fighters. Cruisers, Plan 1 Option A.”

“Aye.”

A few minutes earlier at the Council of Brothers launch site, the rocket motors ignited. When they did the viewing room where Fatin and his family were watching was suddenly filled with a loud roar. The intensity of the vibrations and deafening noise shocked him. Everyone covered their ears as the roar increased to the point of being painfully loud, then a wall gave way. He then saw the fear as mouths opened around him screaming in terror. In the microsecond before the intense heat of rocket gas flowed over them he realized the deception.

The rocket rising from the Council of Brothers site immediately drew the attention of many spy satellites. It was only a few seconds before the information was passed to their respective control centers which, in turn, sounded the alarm. Dóchas Intelligence watched as the alarms triggered changes in readiness levels, bringing virtually every country to a wartime status. The satellites provided a constant stream of positional data on the unknown rocket rising into the sky and turning west.

On Dóchas the forward looking FCS said, “Target coordinates acquired for each,” to Dóchas CIC and Command Staff.

Dóchas monitoring was focused on the rocket, and watched as it rose and the stages separated.

Sally said, “Reentry vehicle has projected trajectory to arrive at Comrie in 20 minutes.”

Tara said, “Star Fighters, intercept war head right after it peaks and starts its downward path. Fire when ready.”

On the monitor they saw four Star Fighters close rapidly with the warhead. Just after its trajectory peaked and its destination was clear, they released their imploder armed missiles. Once released, the Star Fighters veered off and went to maximum acceleration. Anyone looking in that direction a moment later would have seen a brilliant white flash of light, that was considerably brighter than a shooting star, appear and then vanish.

“Well done,” said Tara to Sabrina’s Flight.

“Thanks. Sensors are indicating that it was a dirty bomb.”

“Okay. We’ll monitor the debris field.”

CIC said, “Satellites 1, 2 and 3 are approaching A-beam range. FCSs are ready to acquire and fire.”

On Dóchas’ bridge the fire control monitor showed their FCSs had locked on to the three satellites. When the range became optimum, each FCS fired their A-beam. Then fired again as the core wasn’t completely destroyed.

“FOC, have the fighters and cruisers take out the rocket stages and any other debris.”

“Aye,” replied Emma.

Sarah said, “Navigation, plot course to move us to an orbit 6000 km directly above launch site.”

“Aye,” replied Joyce. A few moments later said, “Course ready.”

“Initiate move.

“Dóchas FCS, prepare to initiate Plan 2 on my mark. We will wait until move is complete.

“Navigation, prepare a course for Mars.”

“Aye. Aye,” came the reply with a smile.

While the Órarduine were dealing with the satellites and the missile warhead, the Council was in their command center watching the monitors. They were very pleased by the successful rocket launch. The response by many of Earth’s governments to their missile launch was as expected. Many smiled when they thought of the panic that they had caused. Soon the whole world would know of their capabilities.

The monitors were showing their three satellites were nearly in position to launch their missiles at Dóchas and Phoenix. When the rocket began descending toward Comrie many of those in the control room began cheering.

Not realizing the significance the Council leader said, “What happened?”

“Your Excellency the recent data on the rocket indicates that it will hit their island in a few moments. The satellites will launch their rockets at the space ships shortly after that.”

“Very good, but perhaps we should wait to celebrate.” He had just spoken those words when the room became quite as the engineers began frantically working at their consoles. Looking up at the monitor showing the trajectory of the war head targeting Comrie, the symbol showing its position had stopped moving and was flashing red. “What does the flashing symbol mean?”