An Clochán

By Cainneach McEinri

 

Description: The Golden Amazon settlement on Mars grows as more humans seek to join them. Beyond the Stars choir’s performances lead to greater interaction with Earth. The search for a habitable planet succeeds and an in depth evaluation of the planet is initiated. They are threatened by those desiring control of their technology. Bandits and religious extremist unsuccessfully target their family and friends. 

 

Published: 2024-02-02 

Size: ≈ 271,300 words 

 

 

 

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An Clochán

‘Stepping Stones’

 

 

Sarah’s Saga IV

 

By Cainneach McEinri

 

Copyright© 2014, 2024

 

An Clochán is a Celtic phrase for stepping stones.

This is a work of fiction.  All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be submitted to the author.

 

Cover photo derived from photo 197861802 | Mars Planet © Planetfelicity | Dreamstime.com and used with permission. 

 

Please be advised that this story was created for mature audiences for their entertainment thus many of the sexual interactions are often explicitly described.  The sexual interaction occurs between women as well as between men and women.  Some characters participate in a polygamy style relationship.

 

Editing and comments were provided by Just_passin_through and several others.  Their comments and suggestions significantly improved the story and are greatly appreciated. 

 

Note:  When the conversation is a telepathic exchange, it is indicated by italics font. 

 

 

---

 

 

Sarah’s Saga Series

Mistaken Identity

Comrie

Dóchas

 

 

- Chapter 1 -

Note:  When the conversation is a telepathic exchange, it is indicated by italics font.

In their suite on board the spaceship Dóchas, Grace and Carl were alone cuddling on the couch.  Grace’s children were with Sam and Kelsey.  It was a little over five weeks since they arrived on Dóchas.  Initially their visit was to last only a week or so.  The purpose was to acquaint Grace and her children with life on the spaceship which was potentially Carl’s new assignment.  Carl was the cameraman for Melinda a TV reporter for the Grand View, who was now based on the space ship.  After their first week, Grace, a graphic artist, often did graphic art work for the Communications department.

Grace let out a long sigh then said, “Carl, you would like to stay here, wouldn't you?”

“I want to be with you and the children, so it's whatever is best for all of us.  To me all three of you are like a breath of fresh air.”

“You want to be with us, even though you don't know very much about me?  You have told me a lot about you and what you would like to do.”

“Grace, what is important to me is who you are today and all of us being together.”

Grace drew a deep breath, before saying, “You are the first person in a very long time with whom I feel totally at ease.  Well, that is until I came here with you.  When we arrived here, I was shocked at how comfortable I felt in these surroundings.  There are some things you need to know about me.  However, I’ve hesitated as I am afraid I might loose you once you hear them.”  Carl started to speak.  “Wait, let me finish.  At the same time, I am more afraid of what not sharing this will do to our relationship, especially if we stay here.”

Grace paused for a few moments, and then began, “When I finished high school, I didn't know what to do.  I didn't have any real goals.  I was good in art and liked it, but there aren't many jobs for high school graduates in art.  So I went to work waiting tables while attending night school.  It was tough, especially when all of my friends were playing around and having a good time.  Several girls I knew slightly always seemed to have money and nice clothes.  They were different in that I never saw them mix with the others from high school.  Once, when they were in the restaurant where I worked, they made an off-hand comment that they knew where I could make much more money and not work nearly as hard.  Several weeks later, I saw two of them going into a fancy restaurant with two men.  They were really dressed to the '9's.  They looked fabulous.

“To make a long story a bit shorter, I later found out that they were working part-time at a dance club, and as call girls or escorts.  They met me one day as I was leaving classes and asked me to join them for a drink.  Well, we went to their place and we talked for a long time.  My visit evolved into a sexual encounter that lasted all night.  It wasn't my first experience with another woman however with them it was a very good experience.  The next morning I was surprised by my response to our activity as I couldn't deny that I enjoyed it, all of it.  They encouraged me to stay and I spent the next two days with them, except when I had classes or we had to work.  By the end of the week, they asked me to move in with them.  It wasn't long after that I quit my job at the restaurant and began working with them as an escort.  It all happened so easily and really I have no regrets.  Since my evenings were usually needed for work, I switched to day classes.  I danced as a stand-in for them a few times, but I didn't care for it.  The companionship of going out as an escort was more intriguing and satisfying.  Not many realize that being an escort involves more than just sex.

“I continued working as a call girl all the way through college.  During that time, I moved to my own apartment, away from where we had our 'official' apartment.  Soon after college, I found a job as a commercial artist and began working there.  One evening, I met a man I had known while I was working as a call girl.  We had always had a good time together.  We chatted for a while then he invited me out, as a friend.  We dated for a long time.  Both children are his.  One day, after Ashley was born, he simply disappeared.  I was hurt.  I soon realized that I didn't have any real solid contact information for him.  Well, that is until his picture showed up in the paper a couple of weeks later.  He had died in a plane crash, and the police thought that it was homicide.  I read the story and discovered that he had a family and several children.  He had never said a word about them.  I felt used.  Thinking about our children’s future, I considered trying to get some inheritance for them.  However, the subsequent stories about his family in the paper convinced me that it was not a good idea.  If the stories were close to being true, I sort of understand why he did what he did.

“Carl, you would make a great father for my children.  The real question is do you really want a well-used slut for a spouse?”  Grace had tears running down her face as she finished her story.

Carl pulled her into his arms and held her tight as she cried.  He caressed her as he comforted her.  Grace was surprised at how relieved she felt now.  As she cried, Sam's words came back to her.  She thought, “I love him so much.  For the life of me, I hope this works out as Sam indicated.”

“I love you, Grace,” said Carl, with a gentle firmness that made her feel warm inside.  “What you did, you did, but it does not affect the love I feel for you.  I can see from the way you treat others, your children, and me that you would be a wonderful spouse.  I sense that you love me as much as I love you.”

Hearing those words, Grace threw her arms around him and began kissing him all over his face.  She thought, “Oh Sam, thank you.”

“Grace, what has Sam got to do with us?”

“Sam?”

“I thought I heard you mention Sam twice in the last few minutes.”

“But, I didn't say...oh.”  She looked at Carl for a long moment, holding his head in her hands and studying his face.  “Carl, we are going to ask to stay and join this breed, aren’t we?  I am certain that you want to, and I think it is the best thing for us to do.”

“I never said that.”

“You didn't need to.  As for Sam, right after I arrived here, she told me I needed to open up and share my past with you.  She told me that if I didn't, it would eventually drive us apart.  Her comments shocked me, but I also knew she was right.  I like it here.  Ashley and Baird love it here.  We should ask medical to enable our telepathic ability and schedule a session in the incubators.”  Carl shook his head as he had never seen Grace this focused and relaxed.

“You are sure?”

“Yes, and I know you are as well.”  With that, they wrapped their arms around each other as they shared a kiss.  Removing the wall between them had opened them up to one another.  They grew closer as they began to express their love in caresses and kisses.  As their cuddling intensified, they began to build a new, and stronger, bond between them.  Each caress and kiss they shared further enhanced their love for each other.  

Grace pushed Carl back on the couch and began kissing his neck.  She alternated between kissing and licking his neck.  Her kisses moved to his face and then to the other side of his neck.  He caressed her back and sides with his hands.  Gradually, she began to kiss her way down his chest.  She stopped at his nipples, to nibble and suck on each of them until they were hard.  His cock slid over her bare chest as she planted kisses down his body.  When she reached his crotch, she moved to kiss and lick the insides of his legs while she caressed his balls with her fingers.  Before long, her kisses moved to his ball sack.  She licked this before sucking each orb into her mouth and caressing it with her tongue.  Then, holding his cock upright, she licked it like a Popsicle before slipping her mouth over it to stroke its head with her tongue.  Her caresses caused Carl to groan.  She squeezed his balls slightly to ease his arousal before she began to suck and bob her head up and down on his cock.  With each stroke, she eased him further into her throat.  She halted his climax twice before she let him cum down her throat.  Grace shivered as she swallowed the cum and had a small orgasm as she felt his cock pulse.  Carl moaned loudly as he felt his cum explode into her throat.  While he recovered, Grace licked his cock clean causing it to partially swell again.

Carl reached down and pulled her up on top of him.  When they were face to face, he kissed her with all the passion he could put into it.  He held her tightly to him, as he planted kisses on her face after licking her lips.  After a few moments, he said, “That was wonderful.  You can do that just any time your heart desires.”

“Thank you, kind sir,” replied Grace, before kissing him again.  She was startled, as she felt as though she was falling.  It took her a moment to realize that Carl had slid them off the couch and on to the floor then rolled them over, so that he was on top.  He then began to repeat the worship of her body, as she had done for him.  He started by covering her face with kisses before moving to caress each side of her neck with his lips and tongue.  He moved his kisses slowly to her throat and then to her breasts.  After they were covered, he sucked a nipple deep into his mouth.  Holding it in his mouth, he caressed it with his tongue while gently sucking on it, this added to her arousal.  Her labia were rapidly moistening as they swelled.  Although neither noticed it the air in the suite was now heavy with their pheromones.  After a few moments he continued kissing down her body.  When he pushed his tongue into her naval she shivered as more cream flowed from her cunt.  Carl shifted, to caress the inside of her thighs.  The sensation of his tongue and kisses caused Grace to spread her legs, which separated her labia so that they soon resembled a flower.  With her flower open her aroma grew stronger as copious amounts of cream began to collect in it.  When the odor reached Carl's nose his cock throbbed and swelled even more.  Lifting her hips up slightly, he began to dine on her cream.  As fast as he licked more cream appeared.  Grace began to gasp for breath as her arousal became more intense with his continued caresses.  When her muscles started to spasm, he placed his mouth over the center of her flower and drank her cream as her orgasm crested.  Her body became very stiff and she let out a long wail before slumping to the floor.

Sensing that she had passed out, Carl licked the moisture off her labia and then slid up over her, licking and kissing as he did so.  It took only a few moments before he felt her breathing begin to increase and he moved to kiss her face and her lips as she woke.  The crown of his cock was now fully nested between the folds of her labia.  He continued, alternately lightly kissing her face and her neck.  When she was fully awake, she startled him by crossing her legs behind him to pull him further in.  She moaned and opened her eyes, as she felt him slide in.

“How long have you been awake?” asked Carl.

“Did I pass out?”

“Well, you were certainly still for a while.  You surprised me when you pulled me in.”

“I'm not sure I passed out.  It was more like being in a twilight zone.  It was the most wonderful feeling I have ever had.  Now fuck me.”

With that, Carl began to stroke her pussy with his cock.  The sensations they felt were intense, much more than they ever remembered.

“Faster,” she cried, as she pushed her hips up to meet each of his thrusts.  It took only a few moments until he released his cum and their orgasms crested.  This time both of them became light-headed and rigid as this feeling washed over them.  Afterward, Carl rested on his elbows to keep most of his weight off of Grace.

He watched her face as her eyes gradually opened and her breathing returned to normal.

“I love you with all my heart,” said both at the same time.  She reached up and pulled his head down so she could kiss him.  They shared kisses for a few moments.

“I have never had such satisfying sex with anyone else,” said Grace.

“I can say the same.  You are a blessing to me.  I love you.”

“I love you.”

Carl lay down closer to Grace and then rolled them over so she was on top.  Both were surprised that Carl's cock was still hard and tightly filling her.  They lay there together enjoying the closeness they felt for each other.

“I like being this close to you,” said Grace after a few moments.

Just as Carl opened his mouth to speak, the door to the suite opened.  Grace looked up to see Ashley, Baird, Sam and Kelsey enter.  She began to blush.

“What are you guys doing?” said Ashley.  “It smells in here!”

“Ashley,” said Kelsey, “your parents have been demonstrating their love for each other.  Why don't you and Baird go freshen up for bed?”  Kelsey went to the bathroom with them and soon returned with a couple of towels.

“Thanks,” said Grace, as she took the towels.  She held one under her as she lifted off Carl's still partially swollen cock.  It surprised her that very little cum leaked out.  She had risen up onto her knees when Carl said, “Hold still a moment.”  He quickly turned around and pressed his mouth to her pussy.  The shock caused her to relax, letting their cream flow into his mouth.  There was so much that she saw him swallow once before he broke the seal against her labia.

Carl rose to kneel in front of her.  As they kissed, he shared their mixed cream with her.  At first she was surprised, but she was also pleased.  They had just finished kissing when the children came back into the room.

“Mom,” said Ashley, “are we going to live here now?”

Grace looked at Baird, and he nodded, looking a bit apprehensive.

“Carl and I have been talking about it.  Would you like to?”

“Yes!” shouted both Ashley and Baird.

“We think we will but we need to talk to some people first.  Now it's time for bed.  So tell everyone goodnight.”

They watched the two children give everyone a hug and kiss before going to their room.

“You two looked like you had a good time,” said Sam, grinning.  “We enjoyed their company.  They are welcome to hang out with us again.”

“Thank you,” said Grace with Carl nodding his agreement.  “Actually, Sam I am deeply indebted to you.”  Her comment caused a puzzled look to appear on Sam's face.

“We both are,” added Carl.

“You don't remember,” said Grace.  Sam shook her head.  “When I arrived, you gave me some advice.  Although in thinking about what was said, you may not have realized it.  Anyway, I took it.”  As she said the last, she looked at Carl and smiled.  “It has given us a new sense of each other.”  With that, both Carl and Grace stood up.  Grace pulled Sam to her and kissed her, pushing thoughts of thankfulness towards her.  When she released Sam, Carl hugged and kissed her as well.

Seeing Kelsey looking a little lost, Grace pulled her into a hug and kiss.  When their kiss finished, Grace pushed her into Carl's arms, since he and Sam had just separated.

“Wow,” said Kelsey, “with that kind of thanks we will watch your children any time, although, if it becomes too frequent we may raise our fees.”  As she said that, she ran her hand over Carl's slightly swollen cock and her fingers through Grace's cunt.  Kelsey was surprised at how wet her fingers were.  She started to wipe them on the towel, but licked them clean instead, saying, “Tastes good, too,” as she wiggled her eyebrows.  Her antics caused everyone to laugh.

“She does taste good,” said Carl, as he pulled Grace tightly to him.  He looked at Sam and Kelsey for a moment.  “If you want to raise your fees, then we need to talk about it.”  Kelsey started to speak.  “I know you intended it to be a jest.  I think Grace agrees with me.  We like both of you, in fact that is true for all four of you.  We would like to build on that friendship.  How deep our friendship becomes, that we will have to see.”

Kelsey and Sam stepped toward them and pulled them into a group hug.  Sam looked at Kelsey, sensing her thoughts and said, “We would like our relationship to be as close as is comfortable for all of us.”

“We need to go,” said Kelsey.  “We'll see you tomorrow.”

“You sensed something,” said Grace, as she watched the two women leave.  She was surprised because she felt like she wanted them to stay.

“Yes, I did,” replied Carl, “and so did you.  I think it will take some time for all of us to figure this out. Perhaps it will be clearer once we enable our telepathy.”

“We're telepathic?”

“I would be very surprised if we are not.  Whether we have any other psionic abilities is another question.  I don't have a clue as to the answer.”

“Hm...I think I will like sharing thoughts with you, and I am looking forward to doing it for a long, long time.”  They put their arms around each other as they walked back to their bedroom.

---

Judy had just entered their suite when Aoife said, “Good you're here.  I think we need to go to the clinic.”

“I was wondering when you were going to notice,” replied Judy with a smile.  “How long do you think it will take the others to?”

“Not long, as I am going with you,” said Maeve.

“Do you think all of us will deliver today?” asked Aoife.

“I am not sure, but the probability is high,” responded Judy.  “If not, then I suspect it will be within a day or two.”

As dinner was starting that evening Siobhan said, “Donna, will you initiate a conference with all locations?” 

The screens suddenly coming to life at each location brought conversations to a halt.  Everyone looked up to see Siobhan smiling.  After a moment she said, “It gives me great pleasure to tell you that Aoife and Maeve delivered their babies earlier today.”  She paused to wait for the cheering to die down before adding, “Right now Claudette, Alison, Tara and Erin are delivering theirs.”  After the cheers, she continued with, “Everyone is healthy and doing great.  We expect Sarah's Clan will be a bit distracted for a few days.  Enjoy your dinner, we will begin our evening discussion afterward.”

---

Communications worked out a list of provisional itineraries for the Beyond the Stars choir and Command Staff's visits to Earth.  It had the concerts in one group of countries taking place over two weeks then a break of a month.  The first trip was to Ireland, Scotland, and England.  They would be in Ireland for six days, followed by two days in London, and then three days in Glasgow.  In Dublin, there would be five concerts at The Mahony Hall spread over three days.  This was followed by a two days in Clifden to relax and sight-see.  In London they would give two concerts in the Royal Albert Hall.  In Glasgow, they would perform three concerts in the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.

The second trip would include the US and Canada.  Although they had many requests for concerts in North America, it was decided to be selective for the initial tour.  Boston's Bank America Center, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center and Roy Thompson Hall were chosen as the locations.  At each venue they scheduled three evening concerts and gave the theaters the option of adding an afternoon concert, if needed.

A third trip would be to Norway and Sweden, for three days each, with two evening concerts in each country.  China was to be their fourth trip, with concerts in Beijing and Shanghai, where they would give three evening concerts at each stop.  The fifth trip would be to Australia, where they would give four concerts in Sydney and then two in Perth.

Before committing to firm dates in Ireland and England, Intelligence sent surveillance equipment to each location.  At each of these they evaluated both the people and the physical layout.  The survey compared recent employee changes to an earlier survey, since they believed this would be an ideal way to place someone inside of any security shield.  With their resources, Security was able to quickly agree to the locations.  They did note some concerns that they thought were resolvable.  With Security's agreement, Communications committed to the dates and soon contracts were signed.

With the dates and locations set, the Intelligence department placed surveillance devices in the hotels and concert halls that they would use.  More detailed checks were made into the backgrounds of all employees.  It was only because of their technology that they could cover all of this without seeking outside assistance.

Once the concert dates were set with the first one a little over four months away, Chloe scheduled a review with the Command Staff.  The attendees included everyone working in Intelligence and Security.  The choir was represented by their members in the three departments.  When everyone was in the room, Chloe said, “We are here for two purposes.  We’ll begin with a general review of the scheduled concerts, and an in depth review of the first two locations.”  With that, Orla went over the general details of the five concert tours.  Next Brenda reviewed a detailed itinerary for the Ireland and England dates, including current security arrangements.

“Excellent,” said Tara, with the rest of Command Staff nodding in agreement.  “Maeve and Aoife have kept us posted on your progress, and most of us have peeked at the schedule from time to time.  Seeing everything together, we can see that you have done a great job in preparing for this trip.  Several of us had some concerns about different aspects of the schedule, but seeing it all in context, I don't think that is now the case.”

“Our intelligence data indicates that several organizations are quite interested in these trips,” said Muireann.  “In conjunction with Security, we are proposing a defensive approach.  We are placing drones with any organization or group that appears to be hostile toward us.”

“How are you planning on handling one that actually initiates a threat?” asked Jill.

“First priority is our safety.  This will likely lead to eliminating the threat,” said Cathan with Todd nodding.  “We plan on everyone wearing a personal security device which, upon activation, provides a protective force shield around them.  If several of us are close together, the personal shields merge, creating a stronger combined shield.”

“In our testing,” said Todd, “we found that this gives a Security team additional time to respond and contain any threat.  Telepathically you will be directed toward an egress.  Can things go wrong?  Yes.  We think that everything is manageable.  The personal shields help but they are not perfect.  Virtually all the choir members are martial arts proficient.”

“Cathan, Todd,” said Cass, “you haven't told them that we want to do a walk through with everyone before we leave.  This is so that all of us know how everything works, in particular the choir members.”

“I think we will be fine,” said Natalia, with several of the other choir members nodding.  “We are carrying a very dynamic message through our music.  Our music conveys the benefits gained by building a society on common strengths while compensating for differences between individual capabilities.  It also tells of our culture and history.  This should give those on Earth a better idea of what kind of people we are.”

“You really think they can overcome focusing on differences and begin to work together?” inquired Marge.

“Hopefully,” responded Caitriona.  “If it does, it will probably begin with the younger generation and the very old.  Besides, within three years I suspect we will be preparing to leave this solar system, and it would be nice to leave this concept as a present to them.”

“If the request for concerts continues,” said Sorcha, “we could do them live, either from here or An Clochán.  From the audience's perspective, the difference would hardly be noticeable.  One concern I think all of us have is of a group trying to kidnap us, thinking that that would give them access to our technology.”

“You're right,” responded Shannon.  “There will be some groups who will go to great lengths to gain access to our technology.  We have information that indicates a group of wealthy individuals are plotting just such an effort.  Their purpose seems to be focused on protecting their wealth and increasing their power over others.  Surprisingly, a few of those involved appear to be supporting some of the various terrorist groups.  Not because they support the cause, but because they feel they benefit from the chaos.”

“So, you think there will be incidents on these trips?”

“Yes, there are likely to be some.  As we mentioned earlier, our Security teams are working very hard to make sure anyone looking to harm us are stopped before they become a problem.  Again, our strategy is to neutralize a group just at the point they are initiating their attempt.  That works well for groups we can identify.  We need to be vigilant, as we may only minimal warning.”

Seeing the concern on the faces of several in the group, Sally said, “We don't think the risk to any one will be any greater than it is for living in space.  Our intention is to ensure that any aggressors die for their effort and that there are no collateral injuries.  The Security teams have been evaluating different techniques to ensure that.”

“It sounds to me like Communications and Security have the details completed for Ireland, England and Scotland,” said Sam.  “So, let's go practice our music and let them do their thing.  I find our practices to be the most relaxing time of the day.”

“I think these trips will work out just fine,” said Aoife.  “We may have a few moments of unexpected excitement, but that will pale beside many memorable sights, and other activities.”

With that the choir members began to leave for the practice room, while the others returned to their work areas.

---

Sarah's Clan had just sat down to relax after putting their children to bed, when Aoife said, “Seeing Sarah's clit bar sparkle in the light reminds me that we once spoke about wearing some type of visual token of membership in our clan.  Since we seldom wear any covering, jewelry seems to be an obvious possibility.”

“I remember that discussion,” replied Tara.  “It was quite a while ago.”

“Whatever we do,” added Judy, “we need to make sure it doesn't interfere with anything we do.  I am hesitant to wear anything that could catch on something, such as a ring.”

“What about a collar?” asked Erin.  “It is something we could all easily wear all of the time.”

“You're thinking about a permanently locking collar, then,” replied Alison.

“Well... I hadn't considered that aspect, but I would have no problem with that.”

“I agree,” said Joyce, “that a collar is probably the best choice for all of us.”

“How about a flat collar, 5 centimeters wide with rounded top and bottom edges?” said Maeve.  “The rounded edges would keep it from irritating our necks and shoulders.  It could be either snug-fitting or fairly loose.  I like the idea of a snug fit, but I am not sure how that could be done while not restricting our movements.”

“The only way I can see it being snug,” said Jill, “is if it could be made of some kind of woven mesh.  I wonder if Star has any information along these lines.  Star, we need some assistance.”

“Yes.”

“Do you know of a metal mesh that we could use for a collar?  We are thinking of wearing one that fits snugly around our necks.  It would need to be something we could wear all the time, and be flexible enough that it doesn't limit our movements.”

“There is information on collars in our library which includes several styles,” responded Star.  “All of these go back to our home culture, although they weren't very common.  There are two styles that I think fit what you have in mind.  One style is a wide band with rolled edges.  It’s width is about half the length of the neck and is loose enough that a finger can easily fit between it and the wearer's neck.  It can be made so that it either locks closed or is permanently closed.  A second style is formed from a finely woven mesh.  It is made from a finely woven wire.  It has considerable elasticity, so it can fit tightly against the neck.  It typically covers almost the full length of the neck.  Both of these styles can have a design on them.”

“Would our skin tolerate the woven mesh without irritation?” asked Sarah.

“Yes.  It is also the best choice when wearing a tactical suit, or involved in any activity where something loose could cause a problem.”

“Could the woven mesh be permanently closed?”

“Yes.  Even permanently closed it could be removed, if necessary, but it would be destroyed in the process.”

“If this woven mesh doesn't make us more detectable, then I would prefer that,” said Rusty.  “Ladies, if you want to each have a unique piece of body jewelry besides this, go for it.”

“Considering our activities,” said Judy, “we should limit the choices of adornment, for safety reasons.  Studs through the clit, labia or tongue would seem to be reasonably risk-free, except for the risk of infection.  Infection is also a concern with a tongue stud, although neither Jill nor Janet has had a problem with theirs.”

“Star, can we get a woven mesh collar made, so we can see it and perhaps test how they feel?”

“I can have one ready for you to evaluate tomorrow.  Are you going to want a design on them?”

“Yes,” came a chorus of voices.

“I will pull up the designs from our archives, so you can see what has been done in the past.”

“Thanks,” said Sarah.  “You know, I wasn't sure about this collar idea when we first started the discussion.  Seeing how all of you feel about the idea, I like it.  I think I'm ready for bed.”

“Sarah,” said Aoife, “I don't think the fact that you had a collar before is pushing us into doing this.  I like the symbolism of the collar, as a sign of our relationship to each other, and to our larger family.”

---

The members of the Command Staff were surprised when they received a call from Cathal as they hadn't heard from him in several months.  He asked if his group could join them for the upcoming trip to Ireland and England.  When asked about their other commitments, he told them that all of their commitments had been fulfilled.  The Command Staff sensed that there was more to his request than he was saying.  After a brief consultation with Intelligence, they told him that they were looking forward to seeing him and his group again.  Sensing some urgency, Sally asked him when and where they should meet them.

Late the next evening, under a new moon, two cloaked shuttles took up positions over an isolated farm in the mountains of Virginia.  After a few moments of monitoring the area, Alpha4 settled down until it was just above the ground near a group of farm buildings.  It then eased slowly toward the large open door of an equipment shed.  As it glided toward the buildings, a careful observer might have noticed a slight rippling of the grass.  Upon reaching the building, the shuttle eased into the door at a slight angle, so that it was partially inside and also in the buildings shadow.  Once in position, the shuttle door quietly opened, revealing Briana and Adam wearing their tactical suits.

“Don't move yet,” said Briana, as she pushed her thoughts to the group.  “Give us a moment to place a shield between you and the field.  As soon as it's in place you will see a thin red line around the door.”  

“Okay, we are ready,” continued Briana, as she motioned them toward the ship.  “Do you need any assistance with your gear?” 

“No,” came the response. 

“Excellent!  You just think your answers.  Set your bags in the door and we will move them back into the cabin, since we can see better than you can in these low-light conditions.”

Cathal, Casey, Brad, Charles and Eric quickly passed their bags through the door.  After the last bag was lifted inside, Briana took Cathal's hand.  “The opening maybe a bit deceptive.  You will need to step up about a foot to clear the bottom of the door.”  She pulled him up and into the shuttle.  She then helped each of the others enter. 

As soon as the group was inside the door closed while Muireann eased the shuttle back out of the shed.  Once clear of the building, they quietly rose, before turning toward Dóchas.  Alpha5 stayed to observe the area for a short time before it departed.

“Why the cloak and dagger stuff?” asked Briana, smiling.

“Cloak and dagger?  Us?  What about that pickup technique?  You guys would make some people very envious if they saw what you just did.”  Several of them chuckled at his response.  “To answer your question though, someone has been monitoring our movements.  We are not sure whether it relates to our contact with you, some data we recently ran across, or some thing in our past.  The monitoring is so subtle that we haven't identified who's doing it, we just know it is there.  It is strange, as we can see the traces of their work.  They are either very good or we've become exceedingly paranoid.  It is also possible they are someone we know and wouldn't suspect.  There is more.  Most of it, unfortunately, is circumstantial.  We need to share it with you soon, and would like to do so with every one, when we reach Dóchas.  Can Shannon's group, a couple of Security teams and Command Staff be a part of our discussion?  Is it possible to meet soon after we arrive?”

“They are all waiting for our return.  Your sudden request has tweaked everyone's curiosity.”

“We are all connected, aren't we?” said Casey suddenly.

“Well, not actively,” said Cass, “since we weren't sure how you felt about telepathic communication.  However, based upon how you responded to Briana's instructions, we believe you are quite receptive to us.  We also suspect that you have pretty strong links with your girlfriends.  Would you like us to start the discussion now?”

“I think that would be a good idea, as we can cover part of the information before we get there.  What we are going to tell you isn't urgent yet, but we think its importance is growing.”

“We are now connected,” replied Cass, after a moment.  “Since none of you are fully active telepaths, our group on Dóchas will listen in through their connection with us.  All of you seem a bit more tense than we have seen you before.”

“Yes, we are,” said Cathal.  “First, all of you have wondered about us and our backgrounds.  At the same time, you have trusted us.  I am certain that none of you have peeked at our minds to gain more information than we have shared.  To us, that is very impressive because I am not sure whether I could have held back if our roles were reversed.  I'm reasonably certain that is true for the rest of us.  Since our visit to Dóchas, we are all more sensitive to our surroundings, actually, a lot more sensitive.  At first it bothered us, but now we are thankful for that.  Should we take this sensitivity to mean we are partially telepathic?”  Both Adam and Briana nodded in agreement.  “Back to our circumstances, we are fairly certain that our identities are no longer secret.  This greatly complicates our lives, since there are quite a few on Earth that would like to see us dead or at their mercy, and there would be little mercy.  After careful deliberation, we have decided that the safest course is to vanish.  The simplest and cleanest way to do that is by being an accident victim where there are no bodies, and none would be expected to be found.”

“Your increased sensitivity is related to your telepathy becoming more active,” said Cass.  “This change is likely due to your growing relationship with your girlfriends at An Clochán.”

“You know,” exclaimed Charles, just as he felt his lady friends reach out to him.

“Know is a broad term,” replied Briana, with a bit of a smile.  “We knew that each of you had developing friendships with several groups of women at An Clochán.  Those relationships are not our concern, unless they endanger our family.  From our experience, we know that a close relationship between telepathic people tends to strengthen all of their abilities.  Command Staff discussed approaching the five of you to enable your ability, but decided to wait until the next time you visited.  They believed that your women friends would sense it if you were in critical need of assistance.”

“That explains some things we have experienced since being with you all,” replied Eric.

“Back to the immediate situation, having you picking us up was a critical part of our disappearance,” said Cathal.  “Let me outline what we started, then we can get into the details and perhaps make some adjustments.  Late tonight, there will be a gas explosion in the farm house.  By the time the volunteer fire department reaches the farm, they should only need to deal with a few grass fires.  That was the only way that we knew we could effectively avoid being assassinated, or worse, in the future.  We could have set this up without you picking us up but that leaves at least one loose end.  The group monitoring our activities won't believe the explosion was an accident.  By departing this way, there won't be any hard evidence to the contrary.  It would be interesting to see who comes snooping around.”

“Beyond that what are your plans?” asked Ellie, with a smile.

“We've created new identities.  There are several women at An Clochán that we would like to spend more time with.  Each of us has grown rather attached to our respective group of friends.  We find the rapid growth of our friendship unusual, and quite surprising.  If our being on An Clochán is an issue then, we know of a couple of places on Earth where we could disappear and live quite safely.  They are rather isolated, and perhaps our friends would be willing to join us.

“The reason we asked to go on the trip to Ireland and England is that we believe a group will attempt to kidnap some of you.  Their goal is to force you into giving them some of your technology in exchange for their assistance in getting your family members released.  This is based on our analysis of some recent data.  We think our interest in the data was what triggered the monitoring of our activities.  One scenario under discussion was to stage it so it appeared that those missing were killed in an accident.  This would probably occur as your visit to Scotland was ending.”  While Cathal had spoken, the group with him had remained edgy.

“Cathal, there is no need to hold back, so why don't you tell us all of it,” said Sarah.  “You need to say it.  We can sense what you are likely to say.  We could read your thoughts, but we won't, not under these circumstances anyway.  You know how open we are with each other.  So, relax and lay it out.”  As she spoke, the five men looked at each other and nodded. 

“You're right.  There are personal parts that I played down.  Quite frankly, each of us have grown very attached to the women we met at An Clochán, so attached that we can't seem to get them out of our minds.  We really don't want to either.  We really want to join them at An Clochán, since we don't think they would be happy living anywhere else.  My feelings for my group are very strong.  Is it love?  I would like to find out as that is something I have never felt without some doubt.”  His friends nodded as he talked.

“Guys, we love all of you,” came the thought full of emotion and love from their girlfriends.  Their comment caused the men's eyes to fill with a bit of excess moisture. 

Just as Alpha4 settled into the hangar on Dóchas, Star said, “Cathal, Casey, Eric, Brad and Charles, the farm house is now ashes and dust.  The fire department only had a few grass fires left to put out when they arrived.  The buildings around the house were severely damaged by the blast.”

“Just ashes and dust?  I hope we didn't overdo it!”

“Yes, it is dust and ashes, and no, you didn't overdo it.  We contributed to the destruction you planned, but kept it well within the realm of a realistic accidental explosion.”

“Thanks.  Can you help us with other demolition jobs?”

After everyone had quit laughing, Star said, “Maybe...”

---

Command Staff and Shannon's group from Intelligence greeted them as they stepped out of the shuttle.  After greetings were exchanged, Shannon said, “Let's go to the conference room and talk a bit before we get some rest.  This will allow the AIs to follow up on any ideas we have while we sleep.”

“When did you all eat last?” Joyce inquired of the group.

“Hmm...probably not since lunch...we have been rather busy.  It is hard trying to keep your activities hidden, when you know you are being watched but don't know how or by whom.  Some people would call us paranoid, but we know we are being watched.  The last couple of weeks were worse than some of the worst missions we have been on.”

“Ann, are you still in the dining area?”

“Yes.”

“Would you bring sandwiches and drinks for five to the Intelligence department's conference room?”

“Sure, it will take me a few minutes.  They are for Cathal's group, right?”

“Yes.”

“Ann will bring some sandwiches and drinks up here in a few moments,” said Joyce, as they entered the conference room.

“Cathal, Casey, Eric, Brad and Charles, why do you think your activities were being monitored?” asked Rusty, very quietly.

“There are a number of possibilities.  Our familiarity with Afghanistan and other active terrorist areas was because we were tasked with trying to track their funding.  The Afghani slave operation was funding part of the terrorist's activities.  It netted the sponsoring group quite a bit of money, which was then distributed among several terrorist groups.  The bandits/slavers initially started out obtaining women from Central Asia and Eastern Europe to turn into private pleasure toys or new stock for brothels.  They made pretty good money from it.  When the military sent female soldiers and staff there, they quickly discovered they could sell western female soldiers for substantially higher prices.  One of their customers arranged a source for the growth factors, so that they could augment their captives' appearances.  By taking this path, they increased their income even more.  When the bandits/slavers operations were shut down, we expected it to have a significant effect on terrorist activity, due to the loss of funds.  Surprisingly, it didn't.  So we started looking at anyone who had very large accounts in multiple banks.  Two things helped us stumble across a potential scenario that is very scary to even consider.  If our analysis is correct and events continue in the direction that they are, then civilization on Earth will probably take a step backward, to something similar to the Middle Ages.  I could say the results are planned, but it doesn't appear that those effecting events are working together.  Those supplying money seem to be taking advantage of opportunities that give them an immediate benefit with no consideration of the long-term consequences.”

“Is it really that dismal?” said Terry.

“Well, that would depend on where you are in the global social structure.  There are a few dozen extremely wealthy families that contribute to various causes around the world.  These are families that are so wealthy you never hear about them, unless they want you to.  The people who work for them never talk about their employers, because the consequences would impact their whole family.  Many of these wealthy families do truly help a lot of people better their circumstances.  However, there seem to be at least six or eight rotten apples in the bunch, that we know about.  On a global scale that is not many numerically, but in terms of impact, it is a lot.  Within these eight families, one or two individuals control the family's wealth.  The others are just followers and are only interested in enjoying the benefits of their circumstances.  Each of these families' financial resources rival many mid-size countries.”

“One key element was a series of intercepted phone calls,” said Eric.  “On the surface, the conversations were normal business discussions, unless you interpreted the words used in a slightly different way.  The occurrence of these conversations happened to coincide with several large fund transactions.  It is difficult to tell now, why our analysis linked these conversations to the fund transactions.  One thought is that it was possibly because of the way we do pattern recognition.  By studying the conversations and the actions that took place, we began to understand the hidden meanings of the conversations.”

“So, what conclusions did you come to?” asked Siobhan.

“The most recent thread we have been following, we believe, concerns your family.  We think a small group is underwriting an effort to kidnap some of you, either during your visit to Ireland or your visit to England,” said Casey.  “This will most likely happen at the end of the trip, in Scotland, so it will be less obvious.  Those kidnapped would be taken to a very remote lodge in the mountains along the US - Canadian border, which is approximately an 8 to 9 hour flight from either Dublin or Glasgow.”

“Little is known about the lodge.  The acreage is located on both sides of the US and Canadian border, however the documents in both countries indicate that it is in the other country.  How they get away with that is something we did not pursue.  The lodge is nearly always accessible by air, but only at certain times by land.  From the information we have, the main building is connected to rooms in the nearby mountain.  It is not clear how far underground the complex goes, or its true size.  It could conceivably connect to a series of natural caves.  We have circumstantial evidence that indicates that the eight we believe are involved recently visited the estate.  The estate has a very sophisticated security system for a location that remote.  This is based on comments from natives of the area who have been near it.  There are also reports of natives disappearing after entering the property more than once.  In some cases, a body was later found, with markings indicating an animal attack.  The natives are very skeptical of the evidence.”

“Once we had identified this group, we went back over some earlier data, using the key elements of this suspected plan,” said Charles.  “We were able to connect some of the group to inflows of funds to terrorists and to gang or criminal activity.  The inflow of funds, in every case, had the effect of strengthening a political group that favored one of their business interests.  Sometimes the beneficiary was a key government official directly linked to a country's leader.  Another aspect is the significant contributions made to all political parties in many western governments.  In all cases, the companies they control are key recipients of contracts growing out of the unrest that they create.  So, they benefit financially by maintaining and increasing the level of unrest.  It also gives them more political influence by which they can increase their power in the world.”

“So, you think our technology and openness is a clear threat to them?” said Sally.

“Yes.  Although they don't seem to recognize your openness as a threat.  They see your technology as a great source of additional wealth and power, once it is in their hands.  We believe the leaders in this activity will stop at nothing to get their hands on it.  Based upon the satellite photos, the one that owns the lodge appears to favor corporal punishment as a means of keeping his staff in line.  The photos show a whipping post, several beams for suspending a person, stocks, and several other similar implements located in a central courtyard.  In a few photos, it appeared that there was a person in the stocks and two others hanging from the beam by their ankles.”

“What do you mean by corporal punishment?” asked Maeve.

“Based upon what could be seen in the photos, their activity appears to be mainly whipping, or flogging and exposure.  There were other structures in the yard, but the photos would have needed enhancement to determine their purpose.  Although we could make out a naked woman in the stocks, we couldn't determine how she was being tormented.  Two others were hanging by their ankles, with their legs widely spread.  From the position of their arms, they may have been tied to the ground or had weights attached to their wrists.  Hanging free like that puts a lot of strain on the hip and shoulder joints.  If someone is left in that position very long, it becomes very painful as the joints separate, especially with their legs so widely spread.  It is also a position where many of the body's more sensitive parts can be easily accessed.”

“If he is so smart, why would he do it outside?  Doesn't he know about satellites?”

“There could be a couple of reasons,” replied Cathal.  “The weather in that region would add an element to the torment.  The mosquitoes and flies are very aggressive.  Yes, he does know about satellites.  We didn’t take much notice of the photos the first time we had them.  Now I am not sure why we didn't pay more attention to them initially.  A short time later we wanted to revisit that group of photos as a part of a large investigation for another project.  The second time, we had all kinds of difficulty gaining access to them.  We persisted until we got everything we wanted.  Once we had the photos, we studied all of them very carefully, as our curiosity had been raised by the difficulty we had in accessing them.  When the report was written, we noted that the batch of photos turned out not to be relevant to the project after all, however, the difficulty in gaining access had delayed the report.  I can assure you that we mentally noted everything in those photos.  It was shortly after our second view of them that we noticed that we were being monitored.  Sometime later, the photos disappeared from the log.  So yes, he knows the satellites can see his activities, but his minions apparently monitor what is photographed in that area.  It is likely we saw the photos because someone made a mistake.  Another possibility is that he wanted someone to see the activity, to underline the result of not following instructions.

“Going back to our analysis.  It indicates that a plan is underway to kidnap some of your family, as we noted earlier.  We just don't know exactly when or how.”

“Look, we are very interested in taking this group down,” said Brad, with a hard edge in his voice that caused several in the room to shiver.  “We believe they were directly responsible for the deaths of several of our friends.  Some of them were very close friends.  Yes, our interest is revenge and our intent is to serve it to them cold.  The only downside is that we aren't capable of causing them the suffering they caused their victims.”

“Gentlemen,” said Tara, “if you agree, you need to fully activate your telepathic abilities before we go further.  This will enable all of us to fully share all the information we have, and our opinions concerning that information.  The advantage is that sometimes the member of a group will see things an individual has missed.  Once you have merged with us, I can assure you that we will act as a group and we will resolve the situation together.  Our strength comes from sharing.  If you seek to act alone, then we will have to exclude you from everything relating to the group's activities.”

“You can do that?” exclaimed Charles.

“Very definitely,” said Maureen, with considerable hardness, “and if it came to that, you would not know or remember anything regarding us when you woke up somewhere else, alone.”

Cathal, Charles, Eric, Brad and Casey all looked at one another.  Their looks told a lot about what they were thinking as they weighed the implications.  They did trust this group; on the other hand, they had never worked this openly with anyone before.  In fact, they knew they were not as open with each other as their new allies were with each other.  The situation was unsettling for all of them.  The sandwiches arrived while they were still thinking about the implications.

“Sorry it took longer than expected,” said Ann, after she set the food on the table along with refreshments for everyone there.

“You timed it perfectly,” replied Tara.

“Thanks, Ann,” said Cathal's group.

Once Ann left, Tara said, “I am sure you realize that we will do everything possible to ensure that no harm comes to our family.  We will even act preemptively if appropriate.”

The room was quiet while the men ate their sandwiches.  Just as they finished, Sarah said, “If you would like to sleep on this, we can continue later today.”

“I don't think that will be necessary for all of us,” replied Cathal.  “For the first time in a long while, I think each of us needs to decide their future for themselves.  All of you can see my answer.”  He sat back and smiled, as he thought about his four friends on An Clochán.

Eric, Charles and Casey quickly followed Cathal's lead and telepathically conveyed their answer to Command Staff.  Brad was still very hesitant.  From their change in appearance he suspected that his buddies had agreed.  They knew a part of why he was so intent on revenge.  However, they didn't know much beyond the basics concerning the disappearance of his girlfriend, family and the others living in the company's expatriate housing while he was in college.  As his painful memories of that time started to return, he suddenly felt love flow around and envelope him.  It took him a few minutes for it to register.  Visions of his three friends seemed to flow into and around him, calming his thoughts.  He felt their warmth and love grow as they just telepathically cuddled with him.  He jerked when he sensed their voices, in part because there were more than three.

“Brad, we love you.  We apologize for inviting ourselves into your mind, but we felt that you wanted us here.  We can't take the place of your first love, nor your family, and we wouldn’t try to.  Together though, we can create a family they would have sought to join.  We understand your long-held desire to settle the score, but don't let that fixation destroy you.  Once you have enabled your telepathic abilities, we will be much closer, closer than you have ever been to another.  If you choose not to join us, we will still love you.”

“Okay, I'm in,” said Brad, as he relaxed.  “If I fail to live up to your expectations, then do what needs to be done.”  He drew a deep breath.  “My view of our analysis indicates that this small group greatly benefited from upheavals in a number of countries around the globe.  Some of those upheavals reoccur, with the same group benefiting, once the dust settles.  In one of those upheavals, my girlfriend and our families, along with the rest of the residents in a company town, disappeared.  None of them were ever 'officially' found.  As best as I could determine, there was no real effort to either find them or recover their bodies.  There is circumstantial evidence that they were all abused or tortured before they died.  After the incident, tales were told of men being staked out as bait for wild animals, sometimes along with a small child.  The women were used by the captors until they were worn out, then buried up to their necks in holes they were forced to dig and left to die.”  As he spoke, large tears ran down his cheeks.  He cried.  It was the first time he had let his emotions show.  As he cried, he felt his friends sorrow as they comforted him.

Once Brad had recovered, he said, “Let's get to it.  Times a-wasting, and we have a lot to do.”

“Okay, guys, in a few moments you will sense a couple of us in each of your minds,” said Janet.  “Listen to your thoughts, while we guide you in enabling your telepathic abilities.  While we are there, we will look to see whether you have any other potential psionic abilities.”

When Sarah's Clan had finished assisting Cathal's group, Rusty said, “I think all of you will find some familiar aspects to this form of communication.  I did not notice it until we were at Comrie, probably because Sarah, Terry, Sally and I were using it on a casual basis.  Our telepathic ability seems to be very similar to what we experience when on a mission.  Some refer to it as sensing something or a sixth sense.  You will find that this is much deeper than that, and adds a very efficient way to communicate, as well as a wider view of your surroundings.” 

 

 

- Chapter 2 -

Note:  When the conversation is a telepathic exchange, it is indicated by italics font. 

In the conference room on Dóchas, several of Sarah's Clan had just finished assisting Cathal, Charles, Brad, Eric and Casey in fully enabling their telepathic ability.  With them were Muireann's Clan from Intelligence and several Security teams.  Those on the bridge were linked to them telepathically.

Muireann said, “To give you some experience with telepathic communication, let's use it to review what you've told us already regarding the lodge along the US – Canadian border.” 

“Good idea,” responded Terry of Sarah's Clan.  “Bear in mind that it is now early morning, so do we want to continue or wait till later.”  

Cathal said, “Let's keep the review brief and then finish, presuming we can sleep later.” 

When they finished the review Shannon said, “Brad, you indicated earlier that a different group was involved in several incidents.  Could you elaborate?  If you are comfortable with communicating this way, then it will likely take less time.  It is your choice.” 

“I'll try it this way,” replied Brad.  “In some ways it is like dreaming while being aware of your surroundings.  I've outlined what happened to Lisa and our families, would it help for you to see my memories.” 

“I don't think so,” replied Muireann.  “However, if we run across someone you know was involved, be sure to tell us.” 

“I suspect we will, because many of the rebels are now government officials and I don't think the conditions have changed.  Anyway, I spent several months trying to find them and trying to get the government to take some interest.  It ended when one of those assisting me told me it was time to leave, or I wouldn't be in any condition to help anyone.  It was on my flight back to the states that I began to really put together all the pieces of information I had acquired.  I did many 'what ifs', and didn't like any of the conclusions.  During one flight, I struck up a conversation with a Marine returning to the states.  During our conversation, I shared some of my story with him as he told me about some of the places he had been.  By the time I arrived back in the states, I had decided that joining the Marines would be a good first step toward avenging the deaths of my family and friends.  ‘Avenge’ may not be the best word.

“I joined as an enlisted man even though I could have probably been commissioned.  It took a couple of years before I joined a special ops unit.  Once in, I always did my best to see that the bad guys paid the price.  It was shortly after joining them that I started working with these guys, and others who aren't with us anymore.

“Initially we simply accepted the provided intelligence analysis to plan and carry out the mission.  It didn’t take very many missions before we decided to give the provide intelligence a closer examination.  In doing this we learnt very quickly that we could be more successful if we did our own analysis before planning a mission.  By doing this, our success rate quickly rose to be one of the highest.  Once this was recognized, we were given more difficult assignments.  With this change, we became more aggressive in gathering the intelligence we thought was needed for planning a mission.  This pushed us more toward intelligence analysis, as well as ruffling a few feathers.  Using our analysis we were able to guide mission planning to achieve a resolution that was more than just a short term solution.  In each of those missions, I felt that there were clues indicating that the chaos might have been directed by an outside interest.  At first, I was hesitant to share it with these guys.  We were working on a particularly difficult problem when I raised the idea during a brain-storming session, looking at the clues from different angles.  When I laid out the scenario they didn't laugh, but it was clear they had their doubts about it.  Those doubts disappeared when the pieces began to fit together for that project.  We laid it out in a report, along with a proposed solution.  The evidence was all circumstantial and the report closed with an assessment of what would happen if the proposed resolution wasn't taken.”

“Let me guess,” said Danny, “your report hit the nail on the head, while at the same time, causing the politicians, elected or otherwise, to be wary of your future analysis.”

“Yes, on that project no action was taken, and our predictions were correct,” replied Casey.  “It was so close one would have thought we had written the script.  That project was the first time we used our new approach.  From then on, we would choose that approach if we couldn't find a simpler combination of interests.  It only took a few projects before we were moved to doing intelligence analysis almost exclusively, with very few field forays.  We did manage to go on some missions, by not being totally frank about how a resolution should take place or which resources should be employed.  Each time we were criticized for taking the risk, while also being thanked for getting the job done.”

“I presume it was one of these missions that brought you to the attention of the President,” asked Lydia.

“Actually, it was likely our analysis on the dynamics driving the Afghanistan turmoil, and why the same scenario was taking place in other countries in that region.  Afghanistan just happens to be front page news.”

“It is very early in the morning,” said Sarah.  “Let's get some sleep, and then go over what we have tomorrow afternoon.”

“That is an excellent idea, as I am beat,” replied Cathal.  “Once we have done that and decided on an action plan, the five of us want to receive the genetic virus treatments.”

“Why?” responded Judy, with some concern showing in her expression.

“We want to go with the Security teams to Ireland and England.  To do that safely, we understand that we need to be able to wear and operate the tactical suits.”

“We think it is imperative,” said Charles, “that we are included with the teams.”

“In the short a time we have, your changes won't be far enough along.  This will lead to some problems in integrating you with the suit's AI functions.”

“In spite of that we would like to try it.  Our motivation is that we think our field experience will be useful.”

“Your field experience will likely be very useful,” said Judy, “but you won't be.  The structural changes in your body won't be ready for the stress.”  All five men started to speak.  “Wait, let me finish.  There are alternatives to how you participate.  There is time for you to do the incubator element, which is a plus.  Your bodies will still be changing when the trip to Ireland begins.  So you will be quite susceptible to injury, so physically engaging is out of the question.  We don't want you or anyone else injured.  The best choice is for you to mentally link with a bot.”  The five newcomers now sported puzzled expressions, as Judy paused for a moment.  “This is where you mind-link with one or, possibly, two bots.  The bots will be in tactical suits at the scene with our teams.  You will see, feel and sense everything they do while you are in a nearby shuttle.  In the shuttle you will be suspended.  This will give you freedom of movement and can share that input with them.  As a result, the two of you will act together.  Although we haven't done it, our data shows this to be very effective, when preceded by the appropriate training.  We probably have enough time for that to work.”

“All of us agree that you being on site would be very beneficial,” said Rusty.  “We also know that acting remotely through a bot has been as effective as actually being on the ground.  On the other hand, we have not needed to implement this approach before now.  Success is very dependent on the closeness of the bond you and the bot develop.  Are you willing to try?” 

“I wouldn't say we agree, but we don't object, either,” said Brad.  “We do fully understand Judy's concern, and your reasoning behind this approach.  My hesitation is based upon not fully understanding how this combined capability works.  It seems to imply that this mind-link with a bot would be very similar to the one that I appear to be developing with my female friends.” 

“Brad, you're right, it would be very similar to a spousal mind-link but it has a different feel to it.  Through your link with the bots, you will sense and feel everything they do.”

“What happens to the bot after all this is over?” asked Eric, with a concerned look.

“It depends very much on what the two of you and your family want.”

“Are you saying they can become part of our clan?”

“They can.  There are quite a few mixed clans at An Clochán.”

“So that's what I saw,” replied Eric.  “I knew something was different with some folk, but that never occurred to me.  I don't know about these other dinosaurs, but I'm in.”

“Just what the hell do you mean calling me a dinosaur,” exclaimed both Cathal and Casey.  The room erupted into laughter.

“I know what Eric was referring to,” said Cathal, “and, in that light, I think Judy's proposal will work just fine.  It also seems to be our best choice.  Ladies, I know you're listening, so I hope you agree with my thoughts.” 

He smiled when he felt their positive response,  “Why haven't you used this technique before?” 

“First,” replied Sarah, “it is better to actually be there in person since responses can be quicker and are usually more precise.  Second, because fully integrating your minds is a challenge, so much of a challenge that only a few can do it effectively.  All of us think the five of you definitely have the potential, and you have the motivation.  Also, our society makes no unnecessary distinctions between biological and robotic entities.”

“Oh, my.  My comment wasn't meant to infer a difference.”

“We understand your intent, but felt that this was a good time to make the point.  You have offended no one.”

“Brad,” said Shannon, “can you quickly tell us the key elements of your analysis?”

“Sure, but now you have me curious as to why.”

“Once we understand the key elements your group uses, we can task our AI with analyzing the data she can access on Earth, along with what we already have.  It could give us a broader view.”

“Good idea.  Why don't I just share it with the group now?  The AI can pick up from that, correct?”

“Yes.”

With that Brad began running through his memories of each of the events he had flagged as having had an outside push.  As he shared his memories, his team members added various details that they thought would help.  It didn't take very long until the key elements were shared and the AI had a full description of the information.

“Now, let's get some rest!” said Judy.  “Let's get back together late this afternoon.  If you can't sleep, just relax.  Your girlfriends will be here later this morning.  Based upon what we just learned, we are going to need the rest.”

“Before we go,” said Rusty, “we initially thought the Chosen Ones were behind the kidnappings in Afghanistan.  Were we mistaken?”

“Sort of,” replied Brad.  “They don't appear to be directly involved.  Their activity looks like skimming.  The embassy employee who was assassinated was being used by both, but had strong links to the Chosen Ones.”

“So it would be easy to draw the wrong conclusion.”

“Yes.  However, the recent deaths among the Chosen Ones has had an impact on those we think are behind the chaos.”

---

 “Well hello, Cathal, Casey,” said Pat O'Brien when the two entered the conference room late in the afternoon, “It's been a long time.  This is Kaelee, one of my significant others.”

“It's good to see you,” they both responded.  “Hello, Kaelee.  It is nice to meet you.  We heard you were here, but didn't see you the last time we visited.”

“I think we were gone part of the time then.  We heard you came to stay this time.”

“Yes,” said Cathal, and then added uneasily, “if they will let us.”

“Why would you think they wouldn't want you to stay?”

“It just seems too good and so different from what we are used to.  I spent most of the day becoming better acquainted with my girlfriends.  I am amazed by everyone's openness.”

“You've just done too much cloak and dagger stuff on Earth.  Kaelee and I came here as a couple.  Our TTC experience in Afghanistan brought us very close together.  Once we were here, we never contemplated going back to Earth.  We thought it unlikely that we would add other spouses to our family even though, when we came here, we knew that there were six to ten adults in most families.  Our family now consists of six adults.  It is wonderful.  The mind-link makes many things so much easier.  I know our family is much closer than Kaelee and I were before we arrived.”

“We've noticed,” replied Casey.  “While we were renewing our acquaintance with our girlfriends, we also need to mind meld with a bot.”  Pat and Kaelee laughed.

“You're letting your experiences on Earth color your thinking.  You will probably not know you are working with a bot unless they tell you, well maybe not in this case.  The mind-meld is a total sharing.  It includes your senses, thoughts, reasoning and everything except the essentials, like eating or breathing.”

“So are you saying one of my girlfriends could be a bot, and I might not know it?”

“Yes,” said Kaelee.  “It is not our nature to keep a secret like that, but yes, and it could be a long time before it was apparent.”

While they had been talking, the rest of the group had begun to gather for a short briefing before dinner.

---

“Would everyone take a seat?” asked Shannon, as she tapped on the table.

“Thanks, we don't think this will take very long,” said Lydia.  “Some of you may already have looked at what has been accomplished by the Als while we were resting.”  Several in the room nodded their heads.  “Let's cover the key points.  Our AI requested assistance shortly after we left here last night so we are now using three AIs, working as a neural network, to collect, organize and analyze the data we have.  The data I am referring to is what we had already acquired, plus what we added using the techniques Cathal's group brought us last night.”

“The additional AIs are those that have been installed in our two sister ships,” continued Muireann.  “They are nearly identical to ours.  With the addition of Brad and his buddies' insight, they have identified two groups who are likely to be a threat to those going to Ireland or England.  These groups appear to be acting separately, with different agendas.”

“There are some other potential groups,” said Shannon, “but these two seem to be the most active threats.  The first group we will call W4.  The name is based on the fact they have sufficient funds or wealth to buy many countries outright.  Four people comprise W4's core group.  They may be the only active participants.  There are links between these people and the group Brad mentioned earlier this morning.  We don't know how active the links are, but the other group doesn't seem to be actively involved.  Based on their position in society and other factors, we believe W4 group will promote an attempt to kidnap some of our choir.  We concur with Cathal's analysis that their primary purpose is to gain access to our technology.  They will likely try to make the kidnapping as invisible as possible.  By assisting us in their release, they believe they will gain unlimited access to us and our technology.  Based on their background, we think they will renege on any deal made to obtain the return of our family members.”  While Shannon was making her points, Brad, Casey and Cathal were nodding in agreement.

“We were already aware of this group as a potential risk,” continued Danny.  “However, until Cathal’s group provided their information, we didn't have them noted as a significant threat.  Due to them primarily using electronic communication, we are sure that we will know their plans well before our group leaves for Ireland.  Sometime today or tomorrow we will place one or two drones, along with spiders, in their estate.”

“The second group will be referred to as S1,” said Lydia.  “Learning their plans will be difficult due to its isolated location.  We are sure that we can get the information we need, but how we do that isn’t fully sorted.  This group is labeled with an S, indicating that their prime purpose is enslavement.  The one just indicates that it appears to be led by a single individual, with significant assistance by the country's president.  The man we suspect as being the leader has a strong alliance with the leader of the country.  The country is in the eastern region of Africa.  This also happens to be the same country where Brad's family were taken captive and apparently died.”

“How did you sort that out?” asked Brad.  “I, or should I say we, hadn't identified anyone in that area.”

“It is an outgrowth of the data views you brought, supplemented with data we already had.  A major contribution stems from knowing about the disappearance of people that we had approached to join us.  In virtually every case, these people were very interested in joining us, but were already set to leave on an extended vacation.  Many indicated that they would contact us when they returned.  None of the vacations seemed to have the same itinerary.  The reasons these people never returned covered the gamut of possibilities.”

“Using your methodology, and our combined data,” continued Muireann, “we think we may now know the real reason many didn't come back.  One key element is that the local tours the groups used were all owned by the same group of people.  It is all very circumstantial, but now we have a place to look for more information that we hadn't noticed before.  While we haven’t established a link to S1, the locations are in the same general area.”

“Do we have enough time?” said Cathal.

“Yes.  We have about five weeks, perhaps a little more, which should be more than enough.”

“What about mission objective, planning and practice runs?” asked Casey.

“We know the objective,” replied Muireann, in a voice so cold it chilled the room.  “We will eliminate the threat!”

“Casey, Cathal,” said Pat, “by tomorrow we will know what both sites look like from the outside.  Our training can begin using 3-D simulators.  All of you will start working with us through your bot presence.  Based upon our previous experience, we can be fully ready for a new mission in less than 72 hours.  If necessary, we can go without prior practice, but that obviously increases the risk.”

“Wow.  How can you do that?”

“Many reasons, such as our telepathic links, virtual site practice, full visualization of our objective and our suit AI to name but a few.”

“You said we would practice with you, through bots,” said Casey.  “I don't understand.”

“Tomorrow you will meet a group of bots that have worked with Security teams before,” replied Adam.  “Together, we will determine which ones seem to fit well with each of you.  It is kind of a ‘get to know you’ time.  Each of you will tell Pat which three bots you would like to work with.  The bots will tell Pat which of you they wish to work with.  From then on each of you will spend all your time with your combat partners, except while you are in the incubators.  I would expect our first run-through to be tomorrow afternoon.”

“Together, all the time?” queried Brad.

“Yes, meals, sleeping, working and relaxing, except while you are in the incubators.  Don't worry, your girlfriends will understand.”  The five men blushed at the comment about their girlfriends.  “Your girlfriends will also assist you in becoming more adept with telepathic communication.  This will help you and the bots in building your link with each other.”

“Boy, this will be different,” commented Charles, with the others nodding their agreement.

“Pat,” said Danny, “we would like to plan on conferencing just before lunch and just before dinner for the next week or so, to go over any new information.”

“Good.”

“We may cut back on frequency,” said Lydia, “but thought we ought to start meeting more often.  Once we begin working with one another, our telepathic exchanges will increase, speeding up the discussion of new findings and how they fit into the overall scheme.”

“How are you going to get more information on S1?” asked Brad.

“By monitoring the people who visit his estate and the president's home.  Many will be followed, to see where they go.  We are placing drones and spiders in both locations.  These devices have sound and video capabilities.  We are using similar devices with the W4 group.”

The dinner chime sounded.  “Wow, that time went fast,” said Sarah, “let's get ready for dinner.  I know all of you are very interested in resolving this.  Remember, you need rest in order to do your best.  If you don't, you will put everyone at risk.”

---

As Aine and the other five mentors walked toward Sarah’s Clan's suite they were mentally linked, reviewing the information the ‘Old Ones’ had sent them.  They had been surprised when Sarah asked them to join her clan in their suite that evening.  She had sought them out to tell them that the clan had asked Star to make a set of collars for them.

The Mentors knew that none of Sarah's Clan were aware of the collars’ potential significance.  Even they were not fully aware of the impact wearing one would have on the members of the clan.  After Sarah's invitation they had gathered to discuss what they remembered about clan collars, along with its impact on a clan.  All of them vaguely remembered that there was something unique about a group collar, but it had been such a long time ago that any of them had thought about it that none of them could remember the specifics.  Only Aine had seen a clan wearing them, but she remembered little else about the collars or their affect upon the group.  In their clans, prior to becoming mentors, they had been as tightly bonded as Sarah's, but none had chosen to wear a collar.  In fact, no one could remember even considering it as a clan.  As a group, they queried the 'Old Ones' about the wearing of collars, and why they were interested.  In searching Dóchas's library, they had found quite a bit of information on collar designs, but almost nothing else.

When the mentors arrived at the suite, the door slid open and the children loudly greeted them as they entered.  This was followed by a warm welcome from Sarah, her spouses and the nannies.

“Aine,” said Maeve, “have you ever seen anything like this?”  Maeve pointed to the fine mesh metal collars lying flat on the table.

“No,” replied Aine.  “We have never seen anything like them.  A long time ago, I saw a group wearing collars, but it was so long ago that I barely remember it.  In fact, it was quite a while after I talked to Sarah before I remembered it at all.”

“Have you looked into the history or background of clan collars?” asked Brigit.

“I did,” responded Aoife.  “All I could find was the design information, and a couple of vague references to wearing them.  One comment indicated that, once fitted, they were permanent.”

“You did better than us,” said Creidne.  “We only found the design information, along with instructions concerning how to put them on.”

“We consulted with the 'Old Ones',” continued Aine.  “As most of us had a vague memory that there was something unique about a clan wearing collars.”

“Your clan is probably the most unique one we have ever met, and we mean unique in a very positive sense,” continued Eithne.  “We can see all of you growing closer together.  From our perspective, we now see your group as a single entity with 14 faces.  Each facet of your clan has distinct edges, while at the same time it is very evident you are one.”

“Based upon what the 'Old Ones' told us,” said Aine, with a bit of envy in her voice, “once a clan closes all the links on the collars, the distinctions between each of you blurs even more.  Or, as we see you, the edges of your individual facets of the clan entity will blur.  Aoife, your information was correct, once the collars are latched on each of you, they cannot be removed.  Why?  Because, within a short time they physically become a part of you.  Their primary impact upon you and your clan will be to bind you more tightly into a single entity with 14 bodies.”

“How can that be?” asked Maeve.

“Believe it or not, that is something even the 'Old Ones' don't fully understand.  What you are planning to do is very rare.”

“So what you are saying,” said Sarah, “is that once we have sealed our collars, we will have a continuous mind-link, and, to an extent, the collars while visible will be absorbed by our bodies.”

“That is what we understand,” said Deidre.  “We think the reason it is rare is that it can't be undone in this life, and that you will all fully share each other's knowledge, memories etc.”

“So, it is like baring our souls to each other and we should consider it carefully,” said Joyce.

“Oh, yes,” replied Fidelma.

“The 'Old Ones' were not surprised by this,” said Tara, “were they?”

“No.  They weren't.  We are, nonetheless, apprehensive as to whether this is the right time for your clan to take this step.”

Aoife asked, “What happens if we have another join our clan?”

“What?” responded her spouses while drawing questioning looks from their mentors.

“My sense is that we may gain at least one more spouse.”

“I believe it would proceed in the same way,” responded Aine.  “Until they put on a collar, their relationship to all of you would just not be quite as strong.  But they should not receive a collar until they are as close as you are to each other now.  That will take time.”

“Okay, that makes sense,” responded Sarah's Clan.

“The 'Old Ones' provided more details than was in the library regarding putting the collars on,” said Brigit.  “You probably noticed that the collars have 14 latches on them.  You will only be able to close a latch in the middle of your collar.  Each of the others must be closed by a different member of your clan alternating above and below the first one.”

“We understand your concern,” said Sarah's Clan, “but we believe this is the perfect thing for us to do.”

As they finished speaking, each collar rose up off of the table and floated toward them.  Many of the children murmured at the sight of the collars floating in air.  As the collars floated up to their necks, each spouse reached up to assist the telekinetic handling of it.  They gently pressed the collar around their neck so that the ends met at their mane.  With almost perfect timing, they each closed the middle latch on their collar.  Once the first latch was closed, they formed a circle to close the remaining latches.  As each latch was closed, they shifted within the circle so that they were behind another spouse.  Once all the latches were closed, they kissed and hugged each other before forming a ring, holding hands, with the mentors in the center.  Seeing the ring form, the mentors joined hands with each other to stand facing them.

“You came to us as our mentors,” said Sarah's Clan, “and we are very thankful for that.  Beyond that, you have given us love and much, much more.  From our perspective, all of you are family, now and forever.  We will always be there for each of you.”  As Sarah's Clan had spoken, tears filled each of the mentors’ eyes and rolled down their cheeks.

“Thank you,” said the mentors, in unison.

“Oh, I already like this,” exclaimed Alison.  “Our link is so much clearer now, and I thought it was clear before.”

“Yes, it now appears as if all of our individual abilities are now our personal abilities,” said Claudette.

“This gives 'we are one' a new meaning,” said Terry.

“Your collars look very beautiful and chic,” said Eithne.  “You may want to consider mentioning something about them at dinner.”

“Good idea,” replied Judy.  “I suspect some of the other clans will also want collars.  I sense that if the circumstances are not right for wearing them, the wearer will have difficulty with them.”

“Judy,” said Alison, “I don't think that will happen because it seems we are less prone to the 'me to envy' syndrome.”

“You're right Alison, some things are hard to forget.  Mentors, are the collars a reflection of our previous depth of bonding, or of how well we fit together?”

“We would suspect it is related to all aspects of your link, and perhaps more,” said Creidne.  “The significance of bonding at this level seems to be as well-documented as how leaders in our society come to fill their role.”  Several chuckled at the way she worded her response.

“Yes,” said Brigit with a smile, “no one knows the specifics, only that it works.  I have seen others attempt to document the history of a group who became leaders with the idea of mimicking them.  They were surprised by how quickly their attempt failed.”

“So, does that mean there is a guiding hand behind all of this?” asked Maeve.

“It would seem so,” replied Eithne, “but calling it the guiding hand of a deity, as many of those on Earth would be inclined to do, is flawed.”

The group sat and chatted for several hours, sharing visions and experiences, as the children sat around watching very quietly.  It was quite late when Karen and Theresa noticed the children nodding off.  The two of them, along with the other nannies, began gathering them up for bed.  Their movement caused the discussion to pause as everyone began assisting.

---

Cathal and Eric were surprised by the crowd in the conference room.  Both were expecting a normal update and review of the intelligence information relating to the visit to Earth.  Cathal sat back and immediately began reviewing everything they had seen since they arrived.  He had just finished sorting through the information, when the Command Staff entered the room.

“Everyone is here, so let's begin,” said Shannon.  “We have asked all of you to attend because we believe we now have sufficient information regarding the groups S1 and W4 to add substance to a plan.  Many of you have seen the data we will be discussing, however we think it is time to actively review it together.

“Group W4 intends to kidnap part of the choir while they are in Glasgow.  Their intent is to take as many of them as possible and still ensure success.  The kidnapping is to take place in the hotel, on the last night we are scheduled there.  They will start by filling our rooms with a gas containing a mind-altering drug.  This drug makes victims very compliant and relaxed.  By using this approach, the kidnappers intend to have their victims to walk out through the service entrance into a waiting truck.  Once in the truck, they will be taken to a local airport and from there flown to the group's retreat along the US – Canadian border.

That was a preview of An Clochán. To read the rest purchase the book.

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