Chapter 19: The Enclave is Discovered

The next morning the AI reported that the tunnel would be completed in three hours. Once it was complete the wall section at the colony center that concealed the growing passage would open permanently. Unfortunately only one of the three planned pressure doors would be complete immediately. The other two would take one and two hours respectively to complete. There was a definite time window where protection would be limited. The only good news was that the armory in the colony center was still locked down.

I held a quick meeting with my ladies and it was decided to send them out again. This time Brittany and Bethany were to visit with Louis and his children, while Tina and Janice were to visit with Linus, his concubines and the two children who were part of his household. I was going out to check in with Terrence, Donna and Brad before arriving at the pressure door to see how it held up.

The early meetings were mundane. Terrence was all smiles, as his two ladies seemed to be hanging on his every word. The smile on his face was one of shock and wonder, and I finally had to get Ingrid to admit that after returning from the sponsor's meeting and deciding to treat them with a bit more respect, they had decided to prove to him that a pair of old broads could still drain a man. They had been spending their time since the meeting showing him that if trust and respect was there, they not only wanted, but also desired his touch and care, and he seemed giddy with the prospect of having their loving affection.

Brad was calm, although on this day his concubines were dressed as Ohio State and Michigan cheerleaders. I paused and he just laughed. "Its no fun if they are both rooting for the same team!" he said. The two young ladies giggled and then kissed him obviously happy with the situation. Brad then surprised me by promising to show up at the door when the tunnel was completed, just in case something went wrong.

Donna was fine, although Lindsay was feeling more than a bit sick, thanks to her pregnancy. She was more cheerful though, as the prospect of keeping her body looking young and vibrant was of vital importance to the young former model. Donna actually stepped into the hallway to whisper to me. "I can't get her to believe that I would love her no matter what she looked like. Please, can you get Tina or Janice to talk to her later? She thinks people only care about her looks, but she's always been so sweet and caring. I just want the trust to be there, like you have with your ladies."

I had nodded and then had to rush off as the AI warned me that the tunnel was complete and the connection between our tunnel and the colony center was about to open. I passed my ladies returning to the pod and had them take Meiko with them, warning them that the pod would remain closed until I returned, and then I found the entry to the corridor leading to the colony center.

The first thing I noticed was that the tunnel itself was poorly lit. Shadows seemed to jump and play in the feeble lighting. I could not see the one closed door, as it lay deeper down the passage, which had limited visibility due to the darkness. The AI reported that the first of the remaining doors would be appearing right at the juncture where I was standing, and then the third door would appear about twelve meters past the currently closed door, creating a small chamber that could be used like an airlock.

The AI somehow anticipated that monitoring of the tunnel would be necessary, and there were three screens next to the tunnel entrance. Two were dark, but the third showed an empty piece of hallway shrouded in shadows. The passage obviously was empty, but I stood there quietly as the opening to the tunnel slowly changed. After an hour of waiting, during which Yvette and Brad joined me, a new door slid quietly closed, blocking the passageway, and one of the remaining two screens lit up with a picture of the area just on the other side of the door.

"Cool!" Brad shouted. "You can see who's at the door anytime."

I nodded as several more sponsors wandered over. One of the twins was there and walked over to Yvette and me to ask. "What's happening?"

Yvette snorted as I watched the screens. "Not much; our tunnel to the colony center is open now, but only two of the three barrier doors are operational. We're just watching to see if any problems occur until the final door closes," she said.

"Oh," was the twin's response. "We expecting?"

I sighed. "We haven't heard from either Ruth or Manuel, and I'm sure they have noticed the fact that not all one hundred sponsors are together. And I was warned that when the first door became operational our tunnel would be visible in the colony center."

The growing crowd stood in silence and watched for about another forty-five minutes. I was going to suggest an end to the vigil when the screen watching the formed middle door flickered and five large people walked into view.

Ruth, or someone who had the same face, because the body had changed greatly, led them. The woman had a body resembling some Eastern European woman weightlifter from the Cold War period. Three of the accompanying figures were large men, obviously benefiting from the standard marine physical enhancements. The only surprise was the final member. It was a tall and slender woman with an athletic build more resembling a volleyball player, than a marine. She frowned slightly as the leader came to the door and pounded on it.

"The mice have a barrier," we heard the leader say nastily, through some speaker set up behind the viewscreen. "Greg, Hector, get up here, and find the gap, let's crowbar this open, it worked on the pod doors earlier!"

One of the male sponsors near me shouted. "It what?!"

The AI spoke quietly. "Ruth and her friends forced their way into the pod of one of the neutrals last night. They believe it was the crowbars that opened the door, but actually the sponsor inside panicked and asked for the door to be opened."

The male sponsor gasped. "What happened to him?"

Ruth's friends were investigating the door and banging on it with some rather hefty crowbars they had with them. They appeared to be searching for a weak point, but were having little luck while the AI answered the question. "The sponsor was crippled and is currently being kept locked up in Hector's pod. His property has been shared around among Ruth's followers. One of his two concubines shows signs of distress and will probably commit suicide later tonight."

The gasp behind me made it clear how that news was received. I thought for a moment. "AI, is the final door ready to close?"

"No," the AI replied. "It will need another five minutes before it can close."

I smiled. "AI, I'd like to establish a rule on these doors, the two that are currently closed can only open to the commands of Yvette or myself unless I authorize others to give the command. The last door I have special rules for. For now, just let me know when it can be closed and I'll give a command to close it. Once we chase Ruth off that door should allow up to two unarmed sponsors and any unarmed concubines and children with them to pass freely, but should require Yvette or my command to open for larger groups."

"Command accepted," the AI said as we watched Ruth's minions attempting to drive the crowbars into the junction between the door and the wall. Ruth seemed quite upset and I noticed that the other woman had backed off quite a bit from her angry companions.