Chapter 32

Sabrina’s group had just left for registration when the shuttle carrying Gillian’s group, Julia, Alice and June arrived at the resort. When Courtney and Lana saw the shuttle approaching, they decided to wait.

Once the shuttle door opened Julia and June stepped out, followed by Gillian’s group. Courtney and Lana grinning said, “Welcome to the island of opportunity.”

Julia laughed and said, “Who came up with that?”

“We just did. One of those, spur of the moment thoughts. Does the resort have a name?”

“You know, I don’t know. I just never thought to ask.” Then turning to the new arrivals she said, “Meeting us are Courtney and Lana. They are also candidates. However, they have been here a couple of days.”

“Hello,” replied Gillian’s group who then introduced themselves as they shook hands.

After the introductions Gillian said, “I can tell by the smell that we are close to the ocean.”

“There is a nice beach,” said Courtney, “but the pool is more fun.”

“Really. Why is that?”

“It is easier to play games like volley ball.”

June said, “We need to go up to the registration area to pick up your room keys. Julia and I will walk up with you then give you a tour on the way to your rooms.”

“Great,” replied several.

As they were walking up to registration June said to Lana, “How did your trip go?”

“Very well. We have only been back for a few minutes before you arrived. The only excitement we heard of was with Leann’s group, but I believe that has all worked out.”

“That is what Jim told us on the way back.”

When they arrived at the registration area Shirley said, “Good evening, my name is Shirley. My assistants are Thomas and Janice.”

“We are your children,” said Janice with her hands on her hips prompting everyone to laugh.

“Yes, you are. But, aren’t you assisting?”

“Well ... I guess we are.”

“Do you guys help your mom a lot?” asked Mona.

“When we can,” replied Thomas. “Right now, we think we are just keeping her company.”

“So what do you think of the resort?”

“It’s great. Almost as good as the island.”

“Island?”

“We currently live on an island, we call Comrie, which is a few hours east of here,” replied Shirley as she realized how she felt. She then thought, “I wonder if Fred will like it there.”

Shirley was startled to hear Lana say, “Likely, although I don’t know him very well.”

Gillian, Wang and Elle looked at Shirley, then Lana, then each other before shrugging.

Shirley said, “So how many rooms do you need? Remember it is your choice whether you share a room or not. The suites have two king size beds. Three or four will be quite comfortable on one of them. The regular rooms all have two double beds.”

“You sound like you expect us to share,” responded Olivia.

“Not at all, it is your choice. However, many that have come in groups do share.”

Gillian looked around then said, “The six of us will share a suite.”

“Darn,” said Bobbie, “we were hoping to be with you.”

“How about connecting suites?” asked Julia.

“That will work,” replied Mona as she looked around the group. “It looks like we could use three connecting suites if that is possible.”

“I believe so,” responded Shirley then after a moment added, “It is. Give me a minute to program the keys.” After a couple of minutes she said, “Here are your keys for three connecting suites. The keys are programmed to open any of them. If that is a problem, I can change it. Also if there isn’t enough room, please let us know so we can give you more space.”

“Julia,” said Courtney, “Carmen’s group, Nancy and Trina will be here shortly. We can give Gillian’s group a tour and show them where their rooms are.”

“If that is okay with them as I don’t want them to feel slighted.”

“We don’t,” replied Wang. “I think I can speak for all of us this time.” Several nodded their heads as he continued, “We really appreciate the effort you’ve made in reaching out to us with this opportunity.”

“Thank you. We hope it is a fit for all of you.”

“Lana and I are going to tag along with them,” added June.

“Okay. Thanks.”

Gillian’s group had hardly left the registration area when Nancy walked in with Carmen’s group. “You’re back,” said Julia as she ran to hug Nancy.

“Missed me, did you?” responded Nancy.

“Yes, we did,” said Alice as she took Julia’s place giving Nancy a hug.

After a moment they separated and Nancy said, “Shirley, Julia, Alice, this is Carmen’s group.”

“Good evening. I am Carmen.” After she spoke the rest of her group introduced themselves.

Shirley said, “How many rooms does your group need? You can have your own room. Each has two double beds. The suites have two king size beds which we think sleep three or four quite comfortably.”

“Sounds like experience speaking,” said Tori smiling.

“Not mine,” replied Shirley quickly, “but I can get some testimonials if you like.”

Carmen said, “I think four will work to start with. Do they connect?”

After a moment Shirley said, “All I have left are two pairs. I can code the keys to work for all the rooms.”

Carmen looked at her group then said, “That will work. Are they close?”

“Across the hall from each other.”

“Great.”

After Shirley gave Carmen’s group their room keys, Nancy said, “Let me give you a quick tour and show you where your rooms are.”

At the arrival area, Rusty followed Maureen and Brandan out of the shuttle. He hardly took a step before he was hugged by many of his spouses. Maureen and Brandan stood smiling with their arms encircling each other as they watched Rusty’s reception.

A few moments later Sarah said, “Where is Belinda?”

“She decided to stay with Leann’s group until morning,” replied Maureen.

Rusty added, “We expect those on the ship will be here for breakfast.”

Erica said as she joined them, “What do you think of the bots remaining here rather than returning to the ship tonight?”

“I like that idea,” replied Sally. “I know they are needed on the ship but we will need their assistance tomorrow. This would give us an opportunity to learn more about each other.”

“Erica, who manages the shuttles?”

“Normally a flight director. Currently for here it is Donna or us. Why?”

“I think we need to send all but six back to the ship,” said Joyce. “We should keep two here and the others on the island.”

“Why?”

“It gives us more flexibility. With only two here there are fewer chances of them being discovered, besides they take up quite a bit of room.”

“Not sure discovery is a concern, but the rest makes sense.”

“I’ll make the assignments,” said Donna.

“I’m ready for some rest,” said Sarah. “The next two days will be quite busy if we are going to contact all the other people we’ve invited.”

“Sleep sounds good to us,” responded Maureen.

“After breakfast,” said Joyce, “as a group we should review tonight then decide how we want to proceed.”

“That’s sort of what was said at dinner,” responded Brandan. “It would be good to have a summary of tonight’s events.”

“We can’t forget the lodge,” said Erin. “We need to go take a look at it when we are fresh.”

“Maureen, Brandan, thanks,” said Sarah’s Clan.

“We can say the same but perhaps for a different reason.”

After sharing hugs, they headed toward their rooms. Their arms were either around their significant other or they were holding hands.

Siobhan and Conan had stayed with the shuttle when it returned to the resort. They, along with several others, quickly unloaded the personal items from Leann’s group’s home. They were nearly done when Siobhan said, “I am sure glad we were able to get their possessions out of the house before the fire started.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a fire grow that quickly or that intensely,” replied Conan. “I’ve been thinking.”

“I noticed,” she replied as they left the building.

“I am not sure you should take a role with the Command Staff, which I guess is Sarah’s Clan.” Siobhan frowned. “We really don’t know them all that well. It seems awfully fast for them to accept you into a role like that. Besides we’ve only been here, what, two days. Our group has already decided to cast our lot with them. I think we should cool it until we see how things work out. Think about what happened to the last Command Staff. Losing you would be devastating.”

“Why are you saying this now? You saw my thoughts and feelings earlier. Look at my thoughts and feelings again. Are you afraid you’re going to lose me? I love you. I know you love me just as much. There are several others in our group that have strong feelings for the two of us as well, perhaps nearly as much as we do for each other.

“Conan, we have associated ourselves with a society that is different from anything we’ve known. We have joined a society that believes in sharing in a way that has everyone working together. If there is a fight, then we all participate just like any other course we set as a group. In doing this we have accepted new responsibilities that we are only just beginning to understand. The link I have to them is for a purpose. I don’t understand all of it, but I know it is important to all of us.” She saw the fear in his face.

“Relax, you are not losing me, unless you choose to. I sense that our group will likely become one of the special groups they mentioned earlier. There will be other groups similar to ours. I don’t fully understand what’s meant by special, on top of that I don’t understand, how I know this, but I do. Perhaps it is an aspect of my dreams I don’t remember.

“Today when we met to discuss tonight, I felt very close to Aoife, all of Sarah’s clan and another person. I now know the other person is Maureen. In a way I bonded with them this evening.” Conan’s expression showed his surprise at her wording.

“Yes bonded, but it is very different from the bond I have with you and several others in our group. We saw that earlier, but didn’t fully understand the implications.” She leaned over and kissed him. As she did, she shared her emotions. The strength of her love for him shocked him as he had not fully realized its depth. He responded to her by opening up and letting her see his emotions. In doing so they stepped toward a full mind-link.

While Siobhan was speaking Eileen had walked up. She waited as she didn’t want to interrupt their discussion. The love she felt for them showed in her eyes. She felt a connection to them that was stronger than it had ever been. Siobhan pulled back a bit from Conan then together they opened their arms to welcome Eileen into their embrace.

“Wow, this feels great!” they shared as they felt the comfort of touching again, recognizing the love they had for each other. “We need to get our group together and talk about this. Yes, we love one another.”

“How did your visit go?”

“Fine,” replied Eileen. “How was yours?”

“It went well. We weren’t back very long before we went to help pack Leann’s group’s possessions. Thankfully other than losing their home, everyone is fine.”

“I understand all six groups decided to come.”

“Yes. I can’t imagine many of us geeks refusing this opportunity. I suspect some will have second thoughts about it tomorrow. For some the change may be too much. After all, it takes a big leap of faith to make this kind of change, especially when you have to totally trust your judgment.”

Siobhan yawned. “In the morning we talk, now let’s go to bed.” They left arm in arm for their room.

“Siobhan, Eileen, I love you both more than I can ever say. Siobhan please be patient with me. My first thought when I realized you were linked to Sarah’s Clan was that I would lose you. I couldn’t stand to be without you. Really I couldn’t stand to be without any of you,” said Conan.

“Yes, we love you too,” said both Eileen and Siobhan. “We see your concerns and we understand why you are concerned. We have no intention of leaving you. I think that many in our group are just beginning to recognize what we mean to each other. Their reluctance in expressing it is because of not knowing how their feelings will be received.”

With that, the three continued the walk back to their room as they built their mind-link. They were surprised when they reached the room to find the rest of their group waiting for them. Tonight would open a lot of doors between them as slumber would be delayed for a while.

In the clinic area of the ship, Leann looked around as she lay on the bed. She felt fine but unsettled after the scene in their home. She could see each of her friends resting comfortably, even Roger looked fine in spite of the dumb stunt he tried.

She was thinking about this evening’s events when she felt someone beside her. Turning her head she was surprised to discover Belinda. “I thought you left to go back to the resort.”

“No. I thought I might be more help here. You look like you were stewing over this evening.”

“That is a good word for it. Seeing Roger writhing on the floor screaming and wanting to help but...”

“Frustrating?”

“Yes. It was. I wanted to help but couldn’t find the inclination to move. No, that isn’t quite accurate, anyway now I feel guilty, embarrassed.”

“Don’t beat yourself up. That is one reason they gave you the drug. You didn’t respond like you thought you should, which was solely due to the drug. It was done to undermine your self-esteem. Destroying your self-confidence and self-worth would make it easier for the kidnappers to condition you for the future they had planned for you.”

“I not sure I understand.”

“I think my friends and I have experienced something similar to what they planned for all of you. Do you know why the two women sobbed and curled up on the floor when the shooting started?”

“Scared, I guess.”

“Yes. But not scared of being injured. While I don’t know for certain, I believe they were scared of being punished because your capture was not going as planned. They were slaves of the man who held the gun. While he was pretty cruel, he wasn’t nearly as sadistic as the woman holding the other weapon.”

“How do you know that?”

“I saw some of it when I questioned the woman.”

“Saw?”

“Yes. I am telepathic. All the people offering this opportunity communicate telepathically. So far, all the candidates have the ability to communicate telepathically. Although many don’t realize that they have the ability.”

Leann looked at Belinda for a long time before she said, “I hear your sincerity, but it is hard to comprehend.”

“Yes it is. Some believe intuition is a subtle form of it, but having reliable intuition doesn’t necessarily mean you have telepathic capability. Connie or Betsy will talk to you about it when they go over your physicals.”

“Speaking of the doctors and physicals, weren’t we supposed to be given a physical?”

“You were.” Leann looked at Belinda with a frown. “Remember, right before you put these robes on, each of you were asked to stand still on the disk.”

“Yes.”

“While you stood there, your body was being scanned.”

“You’re kidding,” responded Leann with a look of disbelief.

“Not at all. My friends and I were surprised when we had ours too.”

“Well it sure beats having a doctor poke, probe and then send you off for lab tests. I wonder how good it is.”

“Even more amazing.”

As if on cue Betsy and Connie entered the room. Betsy said, “I wonder how they would react if we didn’t wear these robes.”

“That is a strange comment.”

Belinda chuckled then said, “So you do hear telepathically.” Leann looked at her with a questioning look so Belinda added, “Betsy spoke telepathically to Connie.” Leann looked closely at Belinda’s smiling face as she added, “Try it, think back your answer.”

“Oh, well,” sighed Leann then said, “Why would a robe effect how we react?”

“Because they have some unique physical attributes,” responded Belinda speaking softly. “The caution is a reluctance to shock anyone. Earth’s history shows that humans are not very tolerant of physical differences.”

Leann laughed. “I think you understated it.”

“What is that?” asked Betsy.

“Earth’s humans not being tolerant of physical differences between people.”

“Oh, sorry, I shouldn’t have intruded. I am Betsy and this is Connie with me.”

“So, you are the doctors.”

“We are two of them. The others are presently at the resort.”

“I thought I saw quite a few helping us when we arrived.”

“Some were bots. Some were what you know as EMTs or physicians assistants. Nearly all of those living on the ship are qualified to handle almost any medical issue. Of course our Medical-AI is the key to doing that as successfully as we do. I should note that we are not totally dependent on the Medical-AI, but she does enable us to have a nearly 100% recovery rate.”

Leann and Belinda noticed that since they had been talking others in the group had become more alert. Some had even sat up on their beds.