Chapter 36

It was the beginning of the third week at the resort. Sarah’s Clan was finishing freshening up before breakfast when Judy said, “Is everyone ready to go?”

After looking around Aoife said, “Looks that way to me. Let’s do it. I’m hungry.”

Sarah said, “You know we ought to enter a lottery.”

“So you still think it is luck?” replied Jill.

“Not really. I am still amazed that everyone decided to join us. On top of that there are still a few of those we’ve contacted who may join us.”

“They will!” added Aoife smiling.

“I think,” said Judy, “our timing and need dovetailed with their needs and desires. By joining us, they get to live a dream and work with people they love. Plus they will be using the skills they learned in school. Added to that is the potential to travel beyond this solar system. The only downsides are that they don’t know us very well and, maybe for some, leaving Earth. So, overall we placed a very positive opportunity before them.”

“So you think that if we did it again, we would be as successful.”

“With the same selection criteria and effort, I would expect us to exceed 80% without any problem.”

“Okay,” said Sarah with a smile.

“Well, we find it amazing,” said Amy’s Clan.

“We think Judy missed some points,” said Siobhan and Maureen. “The scope of this opportunity is far beyond what any of us had hoped to see. Characterizing it as a dream is a very accurate description.”

Donna said, “Excuse me for interrupting. I would like to meet with all of you after breakfast. There has been an increase in boat and air traffic around the resort in the last few days. In response to this, we’ve increased the number of drones monitoring the surrounding area.”

“Okay. We’d noticed that you increased the drones. Let’s use the Sunset room.”

After breakfast Sarah’s Clan said, “Good morning all. Again we have those on the ship linked in to this meeting. Our activity schedule is the same as it has been for the last few days. Those ready to transfer to the ship can do so, in fact we would like you to do that so we don’t have a last minute rush. Whether you continue to spend your day here is your choice.

“For those sorting through their personal items, we ask that you complete it in the next day or two so it can be transferred to the ship. They will be scheduled for transfer as soon as you indicate they are ready.

“Donna alerted us to an increase in air and boat traffic around us. We suspect they are trying to get a look at all the naked bodies.” Everyone laughed. “Seriously, we will meet with Donna right after this to review the information, as she has some concerns.

“Now, are there any questions or issues for us to address?”

“Once we move to the ship, are we going to have access to the place you call Comrie?” asked Leann.

“Yes. Definitely. We envision using that location for our time off. Actually we have two places. The second is undeveloped but has some distinct advantages.”

“Can we go other places?” asked Gwendolyn.

“Yes. What did you have in mind?”

“Nothing at the moment, I was just curious.”

“When you think of something let’s talk about it. Considering recent events, we would want to evaluate any trip very carefully as your security would be the prime concern.”

“Okay. We agree as we hadn’t considered that.”

“Your new bank accounts should be set up in a week or so. Arrangements are being made with a Swiss bank as this is where our primary accounts are located.”

“If you don’t mind, how are you obtaining Earth’s currency?” asked Wang.

“Not at all. We didn’t hack any banks.” After the laughter quieted, “It is by selling precious metals to various organizations around the globe. The metal composition is adjusted so it doesn’t match any patented processes. We keep quantity low enough that it doesn’t impact the global price.”

“Thanks. One curiosity taken care of.”

A voice said, “Remember what happened to the curious cat.”

After the laughter quieted Sarah said with a smile, “Curiosity can yield enlightenment as well. Any more questions?”

Tori stood and said, “Once we have our new accounts, can we move all our funds there?”

“Good question,” responded Sarah. “There shouldn’t be any difficulty in doing that, however, there are rules regarding international fund transfers so we need to research them. One thing you should not forget is paying any outstanding tax bills before they are past due. We will set up a contact.”

“Thanks.”

“Any others?”

No one responded so Sarah’s Clan said, “We’ll see you at lunch. Have an enjoyable day!”

Once they had gathered in the Sunset room, Donna said, “There has been a distinct increase in activity around us. The most noticeable is the air traffic that I think many have noticed. There is also an increase in boat traffic and this is similar to the increase in air traffic but not as obvious. It is now well above what we observed before renting the resort, or even right after our first guests arrived. Graphically, this shows the air and boat traffic since our arrival by date. It includes a line indicating the number of guests. The arrow is the date our guests possessions began arriving.

“Considering past events at some of their residences, we responded by increasing the number of surveillance drones. From our data we learnt that the additional traffic was not associated with the tour operators. Not only does the air traffic originate from different locations, it also follows different flight paths than the tour planes.” As Donna spoke she had projected images showing the patterns.

“Also, yesterday when the pattern was realized, I asked the Security-AI and Intelligence-AI for an assessment. So, at their recommendation, we initiated an effort to tap two reconnaissance satellites. The focus is on obtaining copies of images they are recording of this island. After a careful evaluation, we chose to put a ferret on each one. The Intelligence-AI is handling this.”

“So what is your conclusion?” asked Rusty smiling.

“Primarily, someone is very interested in us. We found some additional pieces of data that strengthen this view.”

“When you increased the drones, did you increase the intrusion detectors around the resort?” asked Erica.

“Yes. As candidates homes were vacated, we moved those assets here and to the island. The extra drones at the island were put on standby since we had overlapping coverage here.”

“Good.”

“So what did the AIs conclude?” asked Terry.

“In a moment, as I have more. On the island side, a group is apparently scoping out access along both sides of the resort. This group is using a warehouse on this side of town as its base of operations. Currently they have three stake trucks there and each is loaded with small crates.”

“How big?” asked Tara with a frown.

“I don’t know. I think they are about the size we saw at Leann’s. Do you want me to check?”

“No, not now.”

“Another item is that the AIs identified a small cargo ship that was about 300 kilometers from here this morning. Maritime records show that it is headed for Marseille. Yesterday it turned toward this island. The AIs are projecting it to be off shore after sunset today.”

“So if we are paranoid, we could conclude we’ve been discovered,” said Sarah.

After the laughter died down Siobhan said, “While I don’t disagree, that is an awful lot of effort to come after us.”

“Not really,” responded Zoe. “If they average ten thousand for each of those here that would be over forty mil. In an upscale brothel, it wouldn’t take very long to recover the investment.”

“You’re kidding!”

“Not really. My comment was based on what I heard when I was a captive and that is the cheap end of the market.”

“That is just hard to believe.” Siobhan looked at the others around the table then said, “So what do we do now?”

Rusty said, “Simply put, me thinks we should simply vanish, and do it tonight. Sunset is around 1900, so by 2200 it will dark enough to not be seen.”

“We should check out the freighter,” said Zoe.

“Definitely. When we vanish, we should do it very carefully. We do not want to leave any clues. The last thing anyone should see is us going to bed.”

“Donna, send a C&C drone along with a dozen spiders and two ferrets to check out the ship,” said Sarah.

“Already in progress. Besides a C&C drone, I’ve sent two small drones, two ferrets, and twice as many spiders.”

“Fine.”

“One final point, we have identified signals from several locations in the resort. We believe these may have started with the arrival of the candidates personal possessions as the timing fits with the start of the transmissions.”

“OK. We’ll ask the candidates whether anything that arrived that they weren’t expecting.”

When they gathered for lunch Brandan said, “What’s up?” to Maureen and Siobhan as they joined Conan and their groups.

“After lunch,” replied Maureen out loud, then she added to her group and Siobhan’s, “Tonight, we will all be moving to the ship. It is to be announced after lunch.”

Siobhan looked at Conan and her group and nodded confirming what they had just heard. When Eileen looked at Sarah’s Clan they just smiled and nodded. She said, “Good. I’m glad we’ve moved all of our stuff.”

“Doing that will make it easier to work on restoring the ship,” added Tiff.

Lunch went quickly and quietly, as the whole group seemed to sense a change was in the air.

When everyone was nearly done, Sarah stood and tapped her glass. “As soon as the tables are clean, we need to have a short meeting.” With that everyone began to clear off their tables and return the dishes to the kitchen area. “Ann, would you have everyone in the kitchen join us. Donna, is there anyone missing?”

“No, everyone is connected.”

The Command Staff moved to stand with Sarah. “This morning we mentioned an increase in traffic offshore and in the air around this resort. Since then, we’ve reviewed the surveillance and intelligence information. Our conclusion is that it is time to leave the resort.” She paused until the room was quiet again. “We will summarize what we know in a moment. Leaving the resort doesn’t mean your visit is over. We could move everyone to the Comrie but currently it doesn’t have sufficient accommodations unless you want to pitch a tent. In light of this, we have the following proposal. For those who have decided to join the crew, we would like for you to complete your move today. For those who haven’t, your choices are to move to the ship, Comrie or if you prefer, home. Actually the last choice is one that is open to each of you.

“Now the reason for this proposal is based on the analysis of activity around us.” The Command Staff then took turns summarizing parts of the analysis, including the sudden increase in RF signals within the resort. These were primarily from the building where possessions were being sorted. Siobhan finished with, “Now are there any questions?”

Sabrina said, “When we moved our stuff up there, it didn’t seem like there were enough compartments. Will there be enough compartments for us to use?”

“Priorities on the ship are being adjusted to focus on opening more compartments. The biggest issue in reopening sections is removing the previous occupants stuff. The other is validating the services to them.”

“I know we can help with that, so we will go up right after this.”

“I am sure your assistance will be appreciated.”

“I presume the RF is from some kind of transmitter. What would they look like?”

“Based on the frequency, we think they are small radios,” said Terry. “Following this line of thinking, we suspect they are inside something sent to you as a gift.”

“Oh,” said Bobbie of Gillian’s group, “When we went to get our things several of us had unexpected graduation gifts. Mine was a calendar-clock that looked really expensive and very useful. So, I brought mine and I believe several others did a well. Come to think of it, I didn’t recognize the sender’s name.”

“Do you have the package it came in?” asked Terry.

“I don’t think so, but I think some do.”

“If the gifts are cell phones, they may have the find me utility turned on.”

“Why would someone go to so much effort to find us?”

“We don’t have an answer for that. As many of you know, attempts were made to abduct some of those we invited here. We are puzzled by the continued effort.”

“Why are we running? Don’t we have the technology to destroy them?”

“I wouldn’t call this running,” responded Rusty. Several grumbled hearing his response. “Yes, we believe we have the ability to destroy them. However, at this point we don’t have any firm evidence that this activity is a threat to us. We expect to learn more this afternoon. Right now our preparations are based on intuition and we believe it is prudent to heed it.

“Yes, we could arrange for these unwelcome visitors to vanish. However, doing that could give an astute observer a better idea of our capabilities. Considering how few there are of us, we don’t think it is a wise idea to provoke an incident. Also, what about those who sent them? Who are they? What is their motivation? We think we know some answers but ... long term, we think a better choice is to vanish then attempt to determine who is behind this. Right now, our plans are to let them occupy the resort then let local authorities deal with them. We’ve always thought of Comrie as our recreation spot on Earth, as well as being our land base. Expanding those accommodations will take longer than opening up more of the ship, which we need to do anyway. Ideally we would like to move our activity on Earth to our other island.”

“Other island?” someone inquired.

“Yes. We own two islands. The one that we’ve been using is east of here. We own another that is in the eastern Pacific at about this same longitude. I guess we should name the one we haven’t developed so it is clear where we are referring.”

Briana stood and said, “When I first heard the name ‘Comrie’, I wondered if it had a meaning. So with a little searching I learnt that it has multiple meanings. One of them is ‘coming together’ or just ‘together.’ I think both fit the circumstances around us being there.”

“Are there any other questions?”

Hearing none Sarah said, “Enjoy your afternoon. We would like everyone to be here for dinner.”

“Why?” asked Brandan.

“We presume they know roughly how many people are here. After dinner we will go over how we are going to leave, as we plan to use a single exit to board the shuttles. So if you are anxious to return to the ship, you can do so right after dinner. Dinner tonight is a barbecue.”

“Great!!”

They were just finishing their barbecue when clouds began to appear on the western horizon. The combination of clouds and the setting sun provided a beautiful view. Although the sky wouldn’t be overcast until much later, the approaching cloud bank brought darkness several hours earlier than normal. As they finished dinner, they either wandered back into the recreation building or went to gather up their remaining items. Once inside the buildings, they kept all their movements under cover. When everyone was in the recreation room, it was surprisingly quiet. While the mood was somber, there was a level of excitement.

“Muireann’s and Leann’s groups,” said Aoife, “we would like for you to take the lead and go on the first shuttle. On reaching the ship, we would like your groups to oversee everyone getting situated.”

“Okay,” replied Leann with Muireann nodding. “Does everyone know that?”

“They will in a minute,” responded Aoife smiling.

“Attention,” said Sarah, Erin, Erica and Terry together causing the chatter to cease. “We’ve asked Muireann’s and Leann’s groups to oversee getting settled on the ship. Ann’s and Jean’s Clans will do that on Comrie.”

“We suspect you would prefer to travel with your group,” said Sally. “So, with that in mind, please exit as a group. The exit is the door between Jill and Janet. Once outside walk straight toward the shuttle door. They will be counting heads, so they will know when to break for the next shuttle. Those going to Comrie will be in the first groups to leave.” With that, the groups began to move out the door.

“I need to speak with Siobhan’s and Maureen’s groups for a minute?” said Sarah. When the groups were near her she said, “We would like you all to go on one shuttle, probably the last shuttle would be best. Siobhan and Maureen will be with us. Utilizing your mind-link, you can see what we are doing. They will feel your support. Please try not to direct a thought to them that needs a response, as it may disturb their concentration. Yes, there could be exceptions.” They all nodded solemnly, but the excitement of moving to the space ship was there as well. They each exchanged hugs and kisses then gathered together to wait their turn to board a shuttle.

While their guests were boarding shuttles, shield generators ensured their movements wouldn’t be detected. Although the bots were warm to the touch, they did not give off heat like a human did. Just like humans their activities could be seen visually if it wasn’t for the shield. Once all the crew and guests had left, the bots would shut down the shield generators before preparing everything for their delayed departure.

It wasn’t long until only those going to the freighter were still at the resort. Sarah said, “For a group this size, we loaded up very quickly.”

Joyce laughed, “I think everyone was anxious. It is a new chapter to this adventure.”

“Do the bots have everything set up?”

“Pretty much. They still have a few things to do,” replied Tara. “The replicators did a great job producing likenesses of our guests.”

“Good. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out,” said Rusty. “Alison’s group, take Alpha2. We will be along in a moment, we are going to check out the boats on the way.”

“We might as well tag along,” replied Alison before heading to Alpha2 with Jill, Janet, Erin, Tara, Erica, Claudette, Lana, Melody, Trina and eight bots. The rest of Zoe’s group went with the other Command Staff members and six bots to Alpha1.

As Alpha1 and Alpha2 approached the freighter, they reviewed the most recent data from the spiders, ferrets and drones. The map on the chart table showed the freighters path since leaving its last port with a projection of its destination. Included was its current location and direction of travel. This clearly showed its deviation from its initial course. Notations also confirmed that the course changes occurred after possessions began arriving at the resort. Added to this was a recording of the Captain’s phone conversation which indicated that he was quite unhappy about the change in direction. While the change delayed their arrival in Marseille, his primary concern was meeting the commercial cargo delivery time commitments. Another perhaps larger concern of his was that the course change extended their time at reduced speed near the shore. This made them an exceptionally juicy target for pirates.

Nothing in the crew areas was out of the ordinary. From the recorded crew conversations, they learnt that they were exceptionally fond of the recreational facilities on the foredeck. One crewman bragged about the time he spent with two women the night before. Another raved about the blow jobs he received. As he was raving he noted that she didn’t have any front teeth or hands. In all their comments, it was clear that they thought that having women available for them was a great benefit although unusual. One sailor wondered out loud why the forward area of the foredeck was off limits. He had hardly finished speaking when another told him harshly to shut up. Another then added that it wasn’t wise to say anything about that area of the foredeck. He should just enjoy the opportunity since they had only a few restrictions on how they could use the whores and it didn’t cost them anything.

The video tour of the ship shifted back to the structure just aft of the fore-castel. The Intelligence-AI noted the first row of containers was different when compared to similar ships. There was a gap between the first row of containers and the fore-castel. The first row consisted of a structure in the middle of the row and four containers on each side of the structure. The height of the structure was three times that of the containers.

The container doors all faced forward with each container bolted and chained to the deck. Three of the container doors were secured open. From earlier images, they knew that the open containers were where the zodiac boats had been stored that now on there way to the resort.

On the back side of the foredeck structure was a hatch opening to a short hall. On entering there were three doors. The doors on each side of the hall opened into fairly large compartments. Each compartment contained a moderately large bed with visible restraints visible. Each contained a cage and a cabinet containing a variety of sex and bondage toys. There was a warning sign indicating that the compartment hatch need to be secured prior to opening the cage. Neither compartment was occupied.

The third door between the entrances to the compartments gave access to a passage way leading to the deck between the fore-castel and this structure. Both doors required a key to open.

The bow side of the foredeck structure had two doors including the one for the passage way to the stern side of the structure. Entering the structure via the second door placed you in a combination lounge and dining room. To one side was a stair case leading to the upper and lower levels.

Both upper levels were divided into four suites. Each suite consisted of two rooms and a bath. One room contained a large bed fitted with restraints, a couch, and a straight back chair. The second room containing a bondage rail, stocks, pillory, an X frame, and a suspension device. There were two cages. One was the size of a small desk and the other was tall and slender. Both cages had cables attached to them that reached up to the ceiling.

The top of the structure was set up to be a helicopter landing pad.

On the level just below the deck, they found four large rooms with very high ceilings, and equipment for making videos and taking photographs. Two rooms contained a large bed equipped with restraints, a low table, a couch, a low bench, and a chair with a partial seat. Another room was a torture chamber with realistic torches on the walls. In it was a rack, a whipping post, a cross, a fire stand, branding tools, several stocks, pillory, cages, large water tanks and mechanical dildos. Hanging on the walls were whips, paddles and many torture implements. The fourth room was apparently a medical facility with a sectional table, a gynecological chair and other medical equipment. Both the table and chair had restraints hanging from them.

When they saw the views of the second level down, their rage began to blossom. It was already simmering by what they had seen, it was the sight of those in the cages that really stoked their fury.

Initially when their rage began to grow Sarah, Rusty, Sally, and Terry had pushed out calming thoughts. Although they too were shocked by the sight, their experience gave them the strength to convince the rest to be patient. Even so the sight of those in the cages almost overwhelmed their efforts. Once everyone had calmed enough to listen rationally, Zoe’s group said, “Thanks. We didn’t think anything would cause us to come so close to losing control. These animals, vermin, are worse than our captors.”

“We agree,” replied Sally, “but flying off in a raging stampede will likely result in failure as well as injuries to us and possibly some deaths.”

“Agreed.”

Zoe took a deep breath then said, “Let’s finish this so we can get them out of there.”

On the dimly lit second deck down, were rows and rows of cages. In most were women but there were quite a few men. Everyone was naked and wore a collar and cuffs. If not restrained in some other way, both of their wrists were connected by a short chain to their collar. Some were gagged while others wore an appliance that held their mouth open with their tongue forcibly extended. A few were missing hands or even parts of their arms. Those missing hands had a pin sticking out of both sides of their arm near the wrist. At first it appeared that some women were kneeling on their hands and knees. A closer look showed that they were lying on a very narrow bench. Their wrist cuffs and strap over their lower leg were attached to the deck. On the side of each cage hung a large bottle with a nipple, which was apparently their drinking water. Those restrained had a water bottle close enough that they could get a drink.

There was a bit of relief when they reached the third deck down, as most of the cages were empty. On the fourth level down, all they found were many large crates and supplies. The crates resembled those seen at Leann’s and at the lodge.

Everyone sighed after they saw the last of the images. Sarah said, “To me, perhaps us, this is definitely a group of evil vermin. In seeing this, it has triggered in each of us memories that pushed us close to acting irrationally. If we had given in, we would have released our anger in an uncontrollable way. Doing that would have been dangerous for many reasons. I think it is obvious that our empathic connection adds a more intimate sense of our experiences, this added to the rage we felt. Now, by being aware of it, we have a much better chance of acting together, rationally rather than as an angry irrational mob. We think this is very important, considering our abilities and our limited knowledge of their impact and how to use them effectively.”

“Our bond,” said Joyce, “also gives us a means to turn our uncontrolled anger toward a meaningful path. Let’s focus on what we can do now. I have been told that revenge is best served cold. Knowing our strength and abilities, I know we can do that.”

“Wow, this is neat,” said Aoife, causing a few to chuckle as it lightened the moment. “Sorry that I have distracted us. We fell, or backed into this situation for perhaps two reasons. One, this is our first time in this kind of tactical situation with long-term implications. Two, we now have an idea of our empathic sharing.”

Rusty said, “We should have spent more time this afternoon reviewing what we expected to find here and what action to take. I take responsibility for overlooking it. A part of that may be due to me thinking that all of you understood the potential of what we would find. I admit this is even more horrific than I expected.”

“I did see your thoughts,” responded Tara. “I think we all did. I am not sure we grasped the significance of them, or the medical stuff, that we do now.” Everyone indicated their agreement with Tara’s comment.

“I am shocked by how I just responded,” said Erica frowning. “I didn’t react like I knew I should have. If the rest of you had not been here, I could have quickly gotten out of control. We need to learn to manage our rage and direct it appropriately.”

“Okay, we know what we will find on the freighter,” said Sally. “Let’s talk through what we plan to do using the outline we created this afternoon. This group on the freighter has to be only a small part of the operation. It is obviously well funded and probably has a link to those we crossed paths with a few weeks ago, maybe even before that. We need to learn as much about them as possible as we go about this.”

Sally, Terry, and Rusty took the lead, as they considered what else they would find and how to deal with it. Based on their earlier plans, they carefully worked through a series of scenarios, and what their response would be in each case. Considering the number of people in cages, they decided all but Alison, Joyce, Judy and Erin would board the freighter’s foredeck. They would work in groups of threes with the third member of the team being a bot.

Sarah said, “Star, we need as many as 6 shuttles as quickly as you can get them here. Tell those on the ship to expect perhaps as many as 300 people early tomorrow. Many will need medical care.”

“The shuttles will be on their way as quickly as possible. The crew is already responding. Leann’s and Muireann’s groups just arrived.”

After sorting out assignments, the teams stepped off the shuttles onto the foredeck with hardly a sound. Sarah, Zoe, Rusty, Maureen, bot22 and bot23 headed for the area one level down where the videos were made. The other groups went to deal with the staff, search the suites and to the second level where the cages were.

When Sarah, Zoe and bot22 entered the compartment set up like a dungeon, they saw a woman securing the ankles of a woman to the ends of a long bar as she lay on the floor. “What the fuck are you doing?” said Sarah sharply as she raised her stunner.