Chapter 5

The Command Staff and the Beyond the Stars choir of the Golden Amazons were just sitting down to eat lunch in Clifden, when Pat O’Brien stepped out of a shuttle on a SAS base located in England’s Midlands region. He looked around for a moment and then walked over to where Calvin stood waiting with Duane. Kaelee and Cathan’s clan had followed him out of the shuttle. “Hello Calvin,” said Pat, “I am Pat O’Brien. It is good to meet you.”

“Same here,” said Calvin as they shook hands.

“Yes. The image that Briana provided of you was perfect.”

“Image?”

“Yes, it is one of the aspects of our telepathic abilities.”

“Pat, this is Duane,” replied Calvin.

“It is good to meet you Duane,” replied Pat, after which he proceeded to introduce the others on his shuttle. “Is this the group going to Fuda?” he asked, gesturing to the people coming out of the building behind Calvin.

“Yes, there are 40 of us.” Calvin replied, and looked worried. “That is more than we would normally involve, but less than I would like to have, considering the number of people to rescue. Briana said you could provide transportation, assistance and some support for us. I don’t see how all of us, with our gear, can fit into your aircraft.”

“We won’t, but our five ships should give us more than enough room for your group and our five teams,” said Pat, smiling, as the four additional shuttles and security teams dropped their cloaking. The sudden appearance of another four teams standing next to their shuttles startled the SAS soldiers. “Ladies and gentlemen,” said Pat, in a friendly voice that carried through the crowd, “my apologies if you are offended by the way we presented ourselves. We thought it was probably the easiest way to demonstrate one of our capabilities. We only have a short time to review our plans, get acquainted and walk through some situation simulations. This will be a unique situation for all of us. For us to be successful, we need to trust one another as if we had been working together for years. We are aware of your capabilities by reputation, but suspect you have little knowledge of ours.”

After a pause he continued, “We have brought updated information concerning the location where the captives are held, which we will review in a bit. But first, there are several things you should know about us. We can see as well in darkness as we can in daylight, and our vision rapidly adjusts to sudden changes in light level. Our hearing is very sensitive. We can attenuate it so that loud noises are not overwhelming and don’t obscure the important sounds. Each of us is now wearing a personal shield, which offers us minimal physical protection. For the operation, we will wear what we call a tactical suit. This suit adds to our capabilities because it provides full body armor, holds our weapons and accentuates our natural abilities. Between now and the time we arrive at the estate in Fuda, we will acquaint all of you with our array of support systems. The appearance of the last of our group was a small demonstration of our cloaking ability. Finally, we are all telepathic and we believe all of you can hear us if we speak this way. Would everyone please raise their hand?”

Everyone in the group raised their hands before realizing how they had processed the request.

“From your expressions, I am sure each of you now realizes that the request to raise your hands was expressed telepathically, not verbally.”

“Calvin,” said Cathan, “can we go inside. We have an updated 3-D rendering of the estate that we would like to show.”

“Yes, but before we do, let me ask a question that is on everyone’s mind. Why are you supporting us, rather than just taking care of the problem yourself?”

“For two reasons, first we are outsiders,” replied Cathan, “and second, our prime directive governs the way we interact with other worlds. Basically, it tells us not to meddle in another world’s cultural and political issues. This is even though we would not tolerate something like what is going at in Fuda within our own society. If any of our family were threatened, we would respond without hesitation, and probably only ashes would remain. Our prime directive gives us some latitude when aid is requested by the inhabitants of another world. As you know, both the UK Prime Minister and the Irish Prime Minister made such a request.”

“Why would being an outsider affect your actions?” asked Duane. “The activities at the estate are objectionable to any civilized society, for many reasons.”

“Yes, they are objectionable to us and would not be tolerated in our society.” Cathan paused for a moment, and then continued, “We became aware of this group because they had targeted our choir for kidnapping. They had hired a group in Ireland to carry out the kidnapping, but they were arrested yesterday by the Irish National Police.”

“Enslavement to satisfy greed and power,” said Ciar, “will sow the seeds of a culture’s self- destruction. That destruction proceeds like a slow cancer. The end is often violent, resulting in a loss of knowledge which leaves the survivors struggling. Just look at the different regions of Earth and how they flourished and then declined. Who knows the true cause of that self-destruction, since the information was lost.”

“Ciar,” said Calvin, “that is an interesting way of looking at Earth’s history. I am sure many scholars would be quick to disagree. You’re right though, every revolution results in a loss of general knowledge which is sometimes never recovered, the more violent the revolution, the greater the loss.”

“We should make it clear,” said Máiréad, “that we find slavery acceptable when it is voluntary and between consenting adults. What is required in those situations is that the persons who are in the superior position act in the best interests of those who agree to serve them. Are there gray areas? Nearly always, but these can be resolved by carefully weighing the interests of the parties involved.”

“Interesting,” said Duane. “Your comments raise many questions in my mind and I would like to continue the discussion, but we have more immediate issues. When all of this is over, can we hear some more about you, your group and your culture?”

“Sure. Just ask.”

As they were moving toward the building, a booming voice was heard to say, in a very heavy Irish accent, “Hey Calvin, I brought some of m’lads with me, as I hear you needed some help. Again!”

Calvin jerked around at the sound of the voice with an irritated look on his face. As soon as he saw the individual he began laughing, then said, “O’Malley, how the hell did you get here?”

“With these fine folks, and it looks like it’s a good thing we came, as you look a bit light on seasoned men.” As O’Malley finished his response, the two shook hands and hugged. It was clear from their actions, and the look on their faces, that they thought well of each other.

Seeing the expressions on some of Cathan’s team Calvin said, “I think we now have the perfect team for this operation. O’Malley and I have been together on some outings before.” As Calvin spoke, O’Malley had his arm on his shoulder. Turning to O’Malley, he continued, “Who did you bring?”

“My core group, plus a few others. We had the good fortune to spend the last several days escorting these people around Dublin, and then to Clifden. Someone was concerned about them being in Dublin. It has been like a vacation. I can tell you these people are top drawer. It is uncanny, the way they sense the activity around them.”

“Yea, I heard that from Eric, too.”

“Eric’s here?” queried O’Malley.

“No. But I understand that he, Cathal and the others in his group have decided to retire. Eric told me that someone outed them after their last assignment, so they opted to disappear. When they did that, they asked these people if they could move to the spaceship. I have the impression that they have joined their crew.”

“So they put the intelligence together for this operation?”

Calvin looked at Pat and nodded, indicating that he should answer. “Well, it was really a combined effort,” replied Pat. “Our Intelligence group had gathered quite a bit of information regarding threats to us on Earth, but was having trouble separating the potential threats from real ones. When Cathal’s group arrived, they told us of their concerns about one of the group’s that was on our list. They shared their analysis techniques with us. Combining those techniques with what we had already done, and using our data, enabled us to clearly identify which threats we should concentrate on. Two primary groups were identified. Interestingly, separately, both teams had identified a group of wealthy individuals as being a threat to us. This analysis also identified the group in Fuda. The group in Fuda had planned on capturing some of the choir so they could sell them at their slave auction tomorrow night. The other group wants to kidnap some of our family as a means to gain access to our technology, using both torture and ransom.”

“Let’s take care of the slavers first,” said O’Malley, “then I would like to know more about the other slime balls.”

When the group had settled in the large open building, Cathan turned on the holographic display to show the estate in Fuda. Cathan, Ciar and Máiréad went over the details of the estate and its surroundings. Máiréad covered the areas where the captives and the estate’s slaves were held in considerable detail.

Lasairfhiona said, “We want to emphasize that we see this as your operation. We are here to provide as much support and assistance as you want, even to the point of participating in the operation. The degree of our participation is your choice. Several days ago we saw a situation developing that would have put some of our people within the grasp of these slavers. In preparation for that possibility, we created a plan for rescuing them. We would like to show you the plan, as we think there are some aspects you may want to include in yours. We think including these aspects will reduce the chances of a firefight or casualties. It also utilizes some of our strengths.”

“I’m all for reducing risk,” said Calvin, “as we will certainly have our hands full, just rescuing that many people.”

“The plan we put together begins with us entering from the dock area,” said Cathan. “Our initial effort would be to release all the captives and slaves, and move them all out of the facility as quickly as possible. This leaves the reception hall and auditorium till last, which is where most of the attendees for the auction will be. Just before entering the complex, the monitoring system for the areas where slaves and captives are located will be compromised. The feed to the monitors would change so that the staff monitoring those areas would see recordings made during the last auction, about two weeks ago. This would give the appearance that everything was normal. As we go through the facility, we planned on leaving the primary staff in the dungeon cells, lightly bound and sedated. The captives for the evening’s auction are expected to be held in this room. While waiting, they are gagged and kneeling with their wrists and ankles bound together. The reason we left the reception hall and auditorium until last is that our information indicates that there will only be a few people monitoring the captives and the slave areas during dinner. By getting the captives and slaves out first, we will be able to focus all of our forces on those in the reception hall and auditorium. Just before entering the reception hall, the lighting would fail, letting us quickly overcome the staff and remove the slaves from that area. The staff in the reception hall would be stripped and left secured in the devices that once held the slaves. At this point, we expect that they would be aware of our presence. Once the reception hall was secured, the lights would come back on and the lights in the auditorium would fail. With the lights out in the auditorium, we will remove the slaves held there. When the auditorium lights come back on, we are not sure what will happen, but we will be gone from view so will not be seen.”

“How will you know who the slaves are in the auditorium?” asked a soldier.

“By their dress and adornments, we will also look at their thoughts.”

“Why do you think that would work?” said another soldier. “How will we manage in the dark?”

“The estate is laid out as a series of rings. It took us a while to see it, what with all the twists and turns in the corridors. The estate’s slaves and the captives reside in separate areas. Those two areas only have one common connection to the outside, which is the loading dock. The estate slave area also connects to the exhibition hall and to a common area. The captive area also connects to the common area and also to the auditorium. The rooms attached to the common area are where medical treatments are given, punishments are administered and the captives are conditioned in preparation for the auction. Just because a captive is sold, doesn’t mean they leave immediately. Some are held at the estate for an extended time, so they can receive further medical treatments, or special conditioning, as the buyer requests.”

“I am hesitant to ask this,” said a soldier, “but what is meant by ‘medical treatments’.”

“Breasts enlarged. Teeth removed. Tongue lengthened. Addition of body jewelry, such as rings to the nose, nipples, clit or labia, sometimes including a bell. Fingers or hands removed. Feet and legs altered, requiring those altered to walk or stand on their toes. Men are castrated or have their testicles replaced with steel spheres. There is more, but that gives you an idea.” As the question was being answered, they could see the soldiers’ anger grow by the change in their expressions.

“Don’t forget the special private rooms off the exhibition hall,” said Enya.

“Right, but we are expecting everyone to be at the banquet, as the host has promised them exceptional entertainment during the meal.

“In answer to an earlier question about seeing in the dark, we will provide each of you with glasses that will let you see with the lights out. By wearing them, it will improve your vision so that it is more or less the same as it is at dusk, but with better contrast. This effectively brings your vision closer to ours in the darkness we expect to find in the estate.”

“Oh, he is going to have an exceptional show alright,” said a soldier, causing everyone to chuckle. “But since we are rewriting his script, it’s going to be a bit different than he planned.” Several chuckled at her comment.

“What about the guy running the estate, and the President?”

“The Master, al-Sharghi, will be in the auditorium and so will President el-Ohssa, along with his personal security force.”

“If we can get everyone out before they realize we are there,” said Pat, “it should minimize the potential for a firefight. We don’t think it will take them very long to determine the extent of their losses, which should add to their rage. When they find our tracks leading away from the site, it is expected that their rage will cause them to follow with all the available staff, rather than wait for help. The tracks will lead them to a watering hole, which is a place where they like to leave people to feed the animals.”

“You’re kidding,” exclaimed a soldier. “They actually put people there for animals to kill?”

“Yes. The victim usually has limited mobility, so they can’t run away but can put up a struggle.”

“Why are we leaving a trail?” asked a soldier.

“The trail is fake. By the time they begin following it, all of us will already be out of the area. The trail is simply to get them to the watering hole. While all of this is taking place, we expect most of the guests to use the turmoil as an opportunity to leave.

“As for the group going to the watering hole, well things could happen, such as, vehicles quit running and catch on fire. Weapons might explode when used, or fail to fire.” Many laughed as they realized the implications. “There has been a shortage of game in the area, except around this watering hole, so the number of large predators is quite large. Considering the number of predators and the terrain, it is likely that few of them, if any, will survive.”

“Let’s take a break,” said Duane, “but before we do, I would like to toss out an idea. First, I like many aspects of this plan. We had considered going in the back door, but we felt that the labyrinth of halls and connecting rooms would unnecessarily increase our risk. Before reworking our plans, I would like to propose that the first thing we consider is for us to pair up. We are pretty evenly matched in numbers. Think about it, while we are on break.”

While the group made for the refreshment table, Calvin stepped over closer to Pat. “Pat, I don’t think any of us were really offended by the way you arrived. Surprised, yes. Apprehensive, yes.”

“Perhaps we could have done it another way, but we really don’t have much time to sort things out.”

“I like Duane’s idea. Think it would work?”

“Dam right it would,” said O’Malley, as he joined the group.

“Most likely, it would,” replied Pat. “By raising their hands earlier, your entire group indicated that they could hear us telepathically. This fits with Rusty’s and Eric’s friends’ impression, that people in your line of work are partially telepathic, if they survive. It is not an active telepathic ability, but is manifested as a telepathic sense or intuition.”

“I think I could agree with that concept, even before your little demonstration.” While they were talking, Krystin had brought over cold drinks for them.

“This telepathic connection worked well for us in Dublin,” said O’Malley. “It made things easier, since we always felt like we knew where each other was, this let us focus entirely on the crowd and our surroundings.”

“Duane, call the base MP CO, and tell him to put this area on full alert,” said Calvin. “Also, no one is to enter or leave the base until this operation is over. We don’t need anyone going into town and inadvertently talking about space ships and the like, and we don’t need unexpected visitors.” Then in a loud voice, he said, “Everyone listen up, we will resume in 5 minutes. We will all take our breaks together, so no one misses anything.”

Five minutes later, the group quickly reformed their circle around the holographic display. Calvin and Pat noticed immediately that everyone had melded together. They nodded to each other and smiled.

“Troops,” said Calvin, “Duane posed a question. Do we pair up?” The room was quiet. “I could tell you ‘we will’, because that is the military way.” Many laughed. “Okay, let’s do it this way ... We will pair up. Any team member that doesn’t feel comfortable doing that can opt out. If you opt out, your name will be removed from the mission. You will be restricted to base until this is over, since the base just went to full alert.”

“Also, you will not remember being here,” said Pat firmly, which drew some strange looks.

Two soldiers in the back shouted, “Sir, if you are trying to get rid of us, you need to try harder!” His comment caused many to laugh.

“I really wasn’t trying. This is truly a voluntary mission, and we don’t get many of those. As such, I thought you should have another opportunity to bail out. Now, I understand that with this holographic display we can run mission simulations?”

“Yes,” said Cathan, “while we were on break, our systems merged the two plans together. It will run through the revision, first with minimal detail, as there are some conflicts that need to be resolved. What we have done before is to run through a virtual mission several times, and with each pass add more detail. This is all done in fast time, or at about 6 times normal speed. The last run-through will show where we expect to find the slaves and captives, along with their egress to safety. Now, take the head pieces being handed out and put them on. Through these, you will see the simulation from your own perspective. Each of you may want to move away from those around you, so you have a free range of motion without hitting anyone.”

With that, they began to hone the plan for the mission. It took until the third pass before the SAS members were comfortable with the virtual mission concept. Several hours later they had the plan completed and began loading their equipment onto the shuttles.

Calvin said, “After dinner we will finish loading the shuttles. Although we are on alert, this evening is time to relax and rest, unless something changes. Tomorrow morning we will review our plans and practice. Our planned departure is set for tomorrow afternoon shortly after lunch.”

“Pat,” said Muireann, “we have confirmed that President el-Ohssa will be at the estate this afternoon, rather than at his home.”

“What about his head of security?”

“He will also be at the estate, along with a select group of bodyguards.”

“Fine, we still need to send a team to Mr. el-Ohssa’s home,” replied Pat.

“Agreed. Someone will need to get the documents regarding the captives from their legal system’s files as well. We have confirmed the locations where they are holding the captives and estate slaves. They will be on the operational displays.”

“Good.”

It was the afternoon of the second day at Abbeyglen Castle Hotel when the shuttles lifted off. Two flew out over the ocean before turning south and then east, then turned toward England, while the others headed for Dóchas.

It was shortly after they turned east that Siobhan contacted Heathrow ATC for approach instructions. Doing it this way made it easier for ATC to work them into the flow of traffic, as it wasn’t until they were near the English coast that they approached an air traffic corridor.

“Are you the aircraft from the space ship?” asked the flight controller.

“Affirmative,” replied Maureen.

“Radar echo is showing two aircraft, flying in close formation.”

“Correct.”

“We are going to handle you in a manner similar to helicopters, since Irish ATC indicated that you really don’t need a runway.”

“Fine. If you give us the direction and altitude you want us to fly, your plan should work very well.”

“Good. Now I want to verify your echo. Please turn off your transponder.” Then, after a few moments, the controller said, “now on. I have your position confirmed. Come right to a heading of 85 and maintain altitude.”

“Turning to 85. Maintaining altitude.” With that, they followed the ATC instructions as they brought the two shuttles toward Heathrow, safely outside of normal air traffic corridors. Once they passed the airport perimeter at 200 meters, both Siobhan and Maureen thanked ATC, before switching to Heathrow Ground Control, who guided them to the VIP ramp. Once they were over the VIP ramp they thanked HGC as they followed hand signals from the ramp agent. When they were just above the ramp, the ramp agent gave them a thumbs-up, indicating that they should come to rest.

When the doors to the shuttle opened, Rusty and Sarah stepped out of one, while Cass and Adam stepped out of the other. Both pairs were surprised to see a small honor guard outside the door. While each group was exiting the shuttles, Mr. Bartlet, Briana and Aoife walked across the ramp toward them. Aoife introduced Mr. Bartlet and members of his staff to those from Dóchas.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” said Mr. Bartlet, “we have an unusual situation, or perhaps I should say another unusual situation. We will be having a small reception in the VIP lounge, as the Queen and Prince are waiting to meet you.”

Sarah linked an arm with one of his as Aoife took the other, and said, “Well let’s not keep them waiting.”

Adam and some of the Security team went to transfer bags and equipment from the shuttle to their buses. As they were doing this, four British soldiers came over to assist them. When everything was on the bus Cindy drove it up next to the hanger. As they traveled the short distance they each introduced themselves.

One of the soldiers said, “Adam, we have been assigned to assist you, although scuttlebutt has it that you don’t need very much help.” The sergeant’s comment provoked several to chuckle. “We will watch the area until you are ready to leave. So relax, and go meet the Queen and Prince.”

Cass looked at each of the soldiers for a minute and then said, “Any time you are with us and think you need assistance, just mentally call for help, directing the thought toward one of us.”

“What?” said one soldier.

“Yes, we will hear your mental request,” said Anita. “You know we are telepathic? Right?”

“That is what we were told,” said another soldier, without much conviction.

“We assure you it’s true,” said Abaigeal, “and thanks for the compliment about how nice we look.”

Adam enjoyed the range of expressions that played over the soldiers faces after Abaigeal’s comment. “Now that you believe us,” said Adam, “we will go meet the Queen and the Prince.”

As the Security team went into the lounge, the two shuttles quietly lifted off, with Siobhan and Maureen, along with Joyce and Maeve, at the controls.

“I really enjoyed the trip to Ireland,” said Siobhan, “but now I am ready to go home. Did you notice Claudette’s comment?”

“You mean about the shared experience,” replied Joyce, who was riding with Siobhan in Alpha1. “I expect that after these trips we will all have a much better understanding of how our mind-link functions when there is a significant distance separating us.”

“You know, I didn’t sense any difference in our family link while we were here.”

“Neither did I,” replied the other three.

“I just hadn’t thought of it,” continued Siobhan, “before Claudette mentioned it. I am so glad we are together and that I’m with all of you. I am really looking forward to seeing and cuddling with my spouses today.”

“Have you noticed that we lapse more quickly into exchanging our thoughts telepathically,” said Maeve. “I wonder how far we will go in that direction.”

“Each mode has its strengths,” replied Siobhan. “Sometimes we are doing both at the same time.”

“Yes. The first time it happened it was confusing, since it seemed like there was an echo in my head. Since then, I have found I like it.”

“Guys, it seems to me that circumstances will determine the balance. In many ways, exchanging thoughts telepathically is like conversing in a second language.”

“Good point, Joyce. Oh look, we’re almost home!” exclaimed Maeve, as Dóchas came into view. “There certainly is a lot of activity around the ship.”

“It probably has to do with the mission this evening,” said Joyce.

As Maeve and Joyce had made their way back to Dóchas, they had experienced the reception in the Heathrow VIP lounge through their link with their spouses. In many respects, their sense of the reception was as if it was a vivid dream, only better. Being separated from the location let them see all the activity from each spouses’ view, without the distraction of physical contact or interaction with others.

“Joyce,” said Maeve, “I wonder if the Mentors understand how much clearer our mind-link is now. The strengthening of our family bond, as represented by the collars, has really made our dynamics more intimate. I’m not sure I expressed that very well, but you know what I mean.”

“You mean because our mind-link is now in living Technicolor, rather than souped-up monochrome?”

“Yes” replied Maeve, as they both laughed.

“What’s so funny, ” asked Maureen.

“Maeve and I were sharing how much our bond with our spouses has grown. It is much easier to join them from here, or at any distance.”

“I noticed my bond with my spouses seemed to grow on this trip as well, ” replied Maureen.

“So did ours, ” added Siobhan. “I wonder if that is because the mind-link has been our sole connection.”

While they had been talking, their ships had settled into their respective cradles on Dóchas. Maureen’s and Siobhan’s Clans were waiting to greet them as they exited the shuttles. Joyce and Maeve were surprised to see their children waiting to meet them. Sam, Grace, Kelsey, and Karmen were with the children, assisting the nannies and their spouses.

It was late in the afternoon when the Command Staff, the Choir and Briana’s clan gathered in front of the elevators in London’s Radisson Edwardian Mountbatten Hotel. “We have about 2 hours to relax before we need to be back down here for dinner,” said Claudette. “Does our security detail know the schedule?”

“Yes,” replied Cass. “We extended an invitation to join us upstairs, but they thought it would be better to be dispersed down here. They feel we can handle anything on our floor, and all of us are in contact with each other. Apparently, our friends in Ireland have shared some information with them about our abilities.”