Chapter 3: Shades of Grey
The MRI of Sarah's spine clearly showed the bone fragment pressing into her spinal column. Sam asked for and was given the operating room and assistance to remove the small chip. Though such surgery wasn't her normal specialty, she pulled off the extraction perfectly.
After recovering from the latest surgery, Sarah made progress almost daily, and was soon up and walking, though she needed to use a walker and sometimes a cane.
Ben and Tasha's trip to visit her other children resulted in all three families packing their clothes and taking the limousines provided by Ben. The families were taken to a remote location to get on aircraft for their trip to the island. Their belongings were either stored, sold, or would be shipped to the island in a couple of days.
During the almost hectic trip, Tasha and Ben got to know each other better. The history that Ben had related to Dale had intrigued the woman, as well as Ben's current outlook on the world. She found that she felt the same about many things he told her. The seemingly forced situation aside, she found that she was beginning to develop a strong respect for him. Though she still felt it was only her lack of recent sex, she was also falling in love with him.
Ben was entranced by the beautiful woman that looked so much like his daughter's chosen life mate. She seemed to honestly listen to him when he spoke, and contributed intelligently to the conversation. She wasn't afraid to disagree with him though, and he found himself being swayed to her way of thinking as often as he seemed to convince her. He truly liked spending time with the woman, which was something he had missed since Linda had passed on. He was extremely pleased that she had listened to him, and agreed to move to the island with him. He was beginning to wonder if he could convince her to live with him on the island.
The evening before they were to visit her oldest child and his family, he took a chance. "Tasha, would you like to come to my room for a night cap?"
He was intently watching her face, so he didn't miss the small smile on her lovely lips. "I would love to, Ben." She took his arm and they walked to the elevators to his hotel room.
His room was actually a suite, just like the one he had gotten for her, which was next to his. It had a wet bar, and a balcony overlooking the Dallas night skyline. He knew what she liked to drink, but asked if she wanted her usual before moving to the bar to make the drinks. She slid open the glass doors and stepped out into the warm evening.
"The skyline is beautiful tonight isn't it?" Ben asked as he came out behind her.
"I think it's probably beautiful every night, Ben," she teased. "I've been wondering something though. What are we going to do if someone recognizes you? We've been seeing your picture on TV the last couple of nights; someone is bound to notice."
"Actually, I think I was recognized last night. That waitress we had was staring at me most of the night, and there was a TV van pulling up when we left the hotel yesterday," he confessed.
"She was flirting with you! If she had unbuttoned any more of her blouse we would have had her breasts for dessert!" Tasha laughed.
Ben joined in her laugh. "Now, there's an interesting thought!"
The shared laugh slowly died out and Tasha looked up into Ben's eyes. "Ben, I know it may seem forward of me, but I don't want to be alone tonight."
Ben smiled down at her; "Tasha, you have a wonderful way of reading my mind." He bent down and softly pressed his lips to hers. Very shortly, the half full drinks were sitting on the coffee table where the two new lovers had left them.
The day that Sarah was released from the hospital was one of celebration for Dale. Though still too weak to make the walk without a wheelchair, Sarah was in excellent spirits as well.
Dale had spent most of her time at the hospital with Sarah, talking. A couple of times, Sam took Dale away for an MRI or some other test, followed by a session of questions that tested Dale's patience. She got so frustrated with the seemingly endless questions that she caught herself reading the doctor's mind in order to answer the questions faster. What she found in Sam's head surprised and impressed her.
What Dale had thought to be the same question asked many different ways was simply a means of isolating specific areas of Dale's brain that might have been affected by this change. Sam was building a three dimensional color picture of Dale's brain in her head. Sam also held a private theory that the accident might have triggered an evolutionary change in Dale's genetic make-up. Sam believed that what were once Dale's eyes were now totally different organs serving an entirely different purpose. Dale started to feel somewhat guilty when Sam started looking for some other basic change as well. Granted, Dale had greatly increased hearing, but that was often the case when a patient's eyes were damaged. What Sam was looking for was something far more pronounced and totally different from any other brain damaged patient. Sam was looking for signs that Dale's brain now had a function that other humans just didn't have. That ability would do much to either prove or disprove Sam's evolutionary theory.
Dale stopped Sam's questions then. "Sam, stop a moment, please."
"What's wrong, Dale? Getting a headache again?" Sam asked with concern.
Dale smiled at the true concern in the woman's voice. "Not yet, but I can feel one coming on. I'd rather not spend my first real night with Sarah doped up though. Do you think we can continue this tomorrow?"
Sam grinned; "That I can understand! Sure, this can wait until tomorrow. You know, with Karen staying at your place, and your Dad away with Mrs. Rogers, there sure isn't much for a girl to do around here."
Dale read what she really meant, surprised that Karen and Sam had gotten together so quickly. Though Sam did care for Karen, it was more like one would care for a special friend. Sam was in love with two men; Ben and Pappy.
Dale learned that Sam had indeed talked to Pappy about renewing the relationship, but he refused. He told her, yes, he did still love her, but it still brought back too many painful memories; he just wasn't ready yet.
She'd accepted Pappy's explanation, though it hurt, and focused her attention on Ben Connors. She suspected that Ben and Tasha were probably getting to know one another quite well on this trip, but she didn't mind. Tasha seemed like a nice woman, she was definitely attractive, and from what Sam remembered of the conversation that day in Ben's study, probably bisexual. Sam only hoped that they would allow her to become a part of their relationship.
Word had arrived earlier that Ben and Tasha should be arriving later in the day. Sam had been hoping to distract herself with the mystery of Dale's new ability. She hadn't stopped to realize that Dale might be excited about taking Sarah home. She felt embarrassed about that.
"I'm sorry, Dale. I should have realized that you would be preoccupied with getting Sarah back to your new apartment."
Dale put her hand on the pretty older woman's shoulder. "That's alright. I imagine you didn't have much of a chance to renew your acquaintance with Daddy back at the mansion. How about we go get my love out of this place, take her home, and plan a nice welcome home party for our two travelers?"
"That sounds like a great idea, Dale! We can use that big area outside your apartment building, and set up a grill! It'll be a great party! Let's go!" Sam said, getting excited about the distraction.
Sam did what was necessary to get Sarah discharged to outpatient care, while Dale went to see her lover and tell her about the party. Very shortly Karen appeared with a wheelchair to take Sarah home.
"Well, we can finally get you out of here, sweetheart," Karen said. "We all have a party to get ready for."
"I'm all for that. I'm so sick of being in these damn hospitals you wouldn't believe it. A party sounds just wonderful."
Karen locked the wheels on the chair; "We'll take you back to the apartment so we can change. Sam has already called the store to order up the grill, food, and drinks. We might need to recruit a few people to help carry things and get set up. So we kinda need to hurry. Now let me help you."
Sarah gave the woman a mock frown. "I am so looking forward to the day that I don't need help getting out of bed. This sucks. At least I don't need help going to the bathroom anymore."
"No, you don't. Very soon you won't need help getting in and out of bed either, but for now we need to make damn sure you don't pull any of those stitches out." Karen helped Sarah stand, turn around and sit in the chair. Sarah moved a little stiffly, but she could move on her own.
"Wait until you see some of the outfits we got for you, Sarah. Casual dress on this island would be scandalous on the mainland! Some of the stuff is pretty comfortable though," Dale said.
"I've seen some of the outfits you've been wearing. I really love the way you look in them. You look really hot in that outfit you've got on. I bet you're breaking hearts all over the island. You should be on the cover of the sports illustrated swim suit issue."
Dale got a pouty look on her face. "Karen is supposed to be wearing the same thing. I didn't want to feel too out of place by being the only one wearing something like this."
"Don't worry, Dale. I'm wearing my thong under this lab coat. I'll put the sarong back on when I take it off before we leave. Since the weather here is so warm, it was agreed that we could wear whatever we wanted to, but we had to put a lab coat on over it," Karen explained.
Dale was wearing what amounted to a one-piece swimming suit with a sarong style skirt. With the lab coat on, it looked like Karen was nude under it; which, really wasn't far from the truth.
"See?" Karen said, and took the coat off. Dale heard Sarah's breath catch as the beautiful older woman revealed herself to them. To Dale, it looked like Karen was nude; the thin materiel did little to hide Karen's most private areas from her enhanced eyes.
"Do you shave, Karen?" Sarah asked. "Because I don't see how you could have pubic hair and still be able to wear something like that."
Karen looked down at herself. She slowly pulled a hand over the tight strip of cloth covering her pussy. "Yeah, I do. I've found I feel cleaner, and I'm way more sensitive down there." She pushed her hand back over her mons, almost moaning as she did. She seemed to remember herself then, and where she was. She blushed, turned and quickly pulled a thin piece of materiel out of the coat pocket. She hurriedly tied it around her waist before she turned around; both Sarah and Dale were still watching her. "Sorry," she said, still blushing. "Let's get you back to the apartment, Sarah."
The three women made their way out of the hospital. Karen stopped at the nurse's station to drop off her lab coat.
"Oh! Karen, there was a message that just came in for Dale and Sarah." She pulled the note off of her computer monitor. "Ben Connors' flight will arrive at approximately fourteen-forty five at the north helo-pad. A shuttle has been sent to bring him and his party back to the residence area," the nurse repeated.
"I wonder why he couldn't land here?" Dale asked.
"I don't know, Miss Connors. Control didn't say. You'd have to ask them," the nurse said.
"So, what time is it now?" Dale asked, chuckling at the nurse.
"Fourteen-thirty."
"Well, we can't get there in time to welcome him, so let's just get ready for the party," Dale said. "We also need to call your sisters, love."
During the last week, both of Sarah's sisters and their families had arrived and been in to visit her. Cathy, her oldest sister, had been shocked when Sarah introduced Dale as her wife.
"You!... You're gay?" the woman asked. "But I always thought..." She didn't finish her sentence.
"No, Cathy, I'm not gay, I'm bisexual. However, I've fallen in love with a woman. This woman," Sarah said, taking Dale's hand.
"I'm sorry, Sarah, Dale." Cathy smiled at the two lovers. "I just never thought Sarah would swing that way." Dale heard the slight emphasis on her wife's name. Then Cathy hugged them both. "Welcome to the family, Dale," Cathy said, smiling.
The younger sister, Cindy, who was just a couple of years older than Sarah, didn't even hesitate when introduced to Dale. "Wow, you have excellent taste, Sarah, she's beautiful! Welcome to the family, Dale," the woman said, pulling Dale into a hug. Dale however, quickly became a little uncomfortable and pulled away when the hug turned more intimate. Cindy let go of Dale and smiled. "Very beautiful. What did mom say when you told her?"
Sarah rolled her eyes; "Down girl, she's mine and you can't have her." Turning to Dale, Sarah jokingly explained that Cindy was the family slut.
Cindy, with a fake pout on her face, answered, "I am not a slut. I'm just not afraid to admit I like sex. Now, tell me what Mom said."
The next hour was spent talking with, and ignoring flirts from, Cindy. What surprised Dale the most was that Cindy was flirting with Sarah just as much as her. Sarah simply ignored the flirts too.
After her sister had left, Sarah sighed deeply, "I love her dearly, but I wish she wouldn't do that. Now I need a cold shower, and I can't have one."
"She does seem to be rather... amorous," Dale said, thinking a cold shower was a very good idea. Cindy had a way about her that could get a room full of priests turned on.
"If she wasn't my sister..." Sarah finally said.
Smiling, Dale rose, walked over to the door and locked it. "Well, I'm not your sister," she said in as sexy a voice as she could. She was still smiling as she turned the lights off.
"This is going to be a very interesting party," Sarah said, looking up at Dale.
Karen finally caught their meaning, and groaned. "Oh gods! Cindy! How does her husband tolerate her doing that all the time?"
"By doing the same thing. Usually, they work as a team. I need to warn you, he is just as handsome, and just as good at it as Cindy is." Sarah chuckled; "We're going to need help simply making sure they don't turn this into an orgy."
Unknown to the rest of the world, American troops and aircraft had begun to arrive in Saudi Arabia. Vendors, sensing easy money in the arrival of so many soldiers, gathered and set up their shops and stalls just outside the gates of the temporary base. They were disappointed however, when no soldiers came through the gates to spend the American dollars.
The gates of the base remained closed. Those few shop owners stayed, believing that any moment the gates would open, and hundreds of rich Americans would come out and buy their wares. For days they watched as planeloads of soldiers and supplies arrived. They watched as tanks and armored transport vehicles were unloaded. Finally, after a week of sitting in the hot desert, waiting, one of the merchants decided to approach the gate guard and ask what was going on.
The merchants gathered to watch as the wiry little man walked up to the gates. They all jumped as they heard a single shot ring out and watched, too scared to move, as the small man slowly fell to the ground.
The men, finally realizing what happened, broke and ran. As if the little man's approach had been a signal, suddenly the air was full of the sound of turbine engines starting up. The men that had been guarding the gates and fence-line moved back as the tanks and armored transports all started moving toward the gate. Five of the tanks leading this mass movement fired their guns, blowing a huge hole in the fence. Then the vehicles poured through the gap. Headless of the shops and stalls the vendors had set up, the heavy vehicles simply drove through anything in their path. Once clear of the debris, they turned slightly and headed for the nearby Iraqi border.
In the camp, several bulldozers and heavy construction machines moved forward and began to push out long, deep trenches in the sand. Into those trenches, the bulldozers pushed the remains of the shops, as well as the shopkeepers that hadn't made good their escape. Three hours after the American forces left their base in Saudi Arabia, no trace of the vendors, or their shops, remained. However, small man-made hills lined the inside of the newly constructed fence around the American compound.
The party was in full swing. Ben and Tasha had arrived with Sarah's oldest sibling, and only brother. Tasha seemed to be hanging around Ben a bit more than Dale would have thought, considering the rest of her family was here as well. She briefly wondered if those two had gotten together, and felt a pang of sympathetic jealousy because of Sam. Sam had been waiting for Ben and Tasha to get back. Now it looked like the pretty older woman might be out of luck here too.
Sam had been watching Ben and Tasha also. Their actions toward each other only confirmed for Sam what Dale only suspected. However, though she felt a bit jealous, she wasn't surprised. Tasha was a very beautiful woman, and seemed a very nice person as well. Steeling her resolve, she approached Tasha and Ben. "Welcome back. Did you have a good trip?"
Ben grinned, and winked at Sam. "Yes, I would say it was a great trip."
"Well, I see this pervert took advantage of you, Tasha," Sam said, grinning.
"Yes, he did. It sure took him long enough. I was beginning to think I was going to have to take advantage of him!" the blonde woman answered. "I want to thank you for taking such good care of my daughter. She looks so happy now." The woman glanced over to where her daughter and Dale were sitting, hand in hand, watching people dance to the impromptu band that had set up.
"I think that has more to do with Dale's love than anything I may have done for her. Still, it is good to see her out of the hospital," Sam replied, also looking at the couple. "Tasha, can I talk to you privately for a moment?" She turned to look in the other woman's eyes.
The smile on Tasha's face changed into one more sensual. "Of course, Sam. Let's take a walk."
Sam was wearing a bikini but had a long t-shirt over it because she burned easily. Sometimes she really hated having red hair and fair skin. Tasha had worn an outfit similar to Dale's with a one-piece swimsuit and a skirt. It was hot and both women were sweating.
"I'm sorry to take you away from the party, but I really need to ask you if..." Sam paused and sighed. "I know you and Ben are getting together. I don't want to interfere or come between you two, but I've been in love with Ben for years, and... well, I miss him."
"You want to know if I will mind if you sleep with Ben?" Tasha clarified.
Sam hung her head, "Yeah, I talked to Pappy, but he isn't interested in getting together again, and Ben is the only other one of us left alive. I... I've never loved anyone else. I've had sexual partners, but it just wasn't the same. Now that I've seen him again, I really want back into his life, but like I said; I like you, and I don't want to come between you and him."
They were now in front of the residence building where Ben and Tasha's whole family were living. Tasha took Sam's hand. "It's hot out here, and I need to use the bathroom. Let's go inside."
Dale and Sarah were watching people dancing and trying to guess which people Cindy would hit on, and which ones would accept. They were chuckling over the assumed fate of a trio of nerdy looking young men that were watching Cindy with that 'deer in the headlights' look.
"Hey, do either of you two beautiful woman know where Tasha or Sam went to? I promised Tasha a dance, and I'm sure Sam would like one too." Ben had walked up behind the pair. He also smiled at Karen, who was sitting close by.
"I saw them walk towards the residence building," Sarah offered.
"Daddy, I think you might be in trouble. I bet they are comparing notes on you right now."
"Oh, brother! Then I really am in trouble." Ben got serious for a moment. "Sarah, I would never do anything to cause you and Dale any problems, so I need to ask you; would it bother you if I asked your mother to move in with me?"
Sarah smiled at him and chuckled. "Ben, I don't know why you think you need my permission for that, but no, I don't mind. I do hope you have a really big bed though."
"Huh? Why?"
"Daddy," Dale said like he was a slow child. "Are you completely blind about Sam? Where do you think Tasha and she are at this very moment? They are talking about you. Sam has been waiting for you to get back, so she could get to know you again, if you know what I mean. I bet that tonight, Sam will be with you, but from then on; it'll be both of them."
"But, Pappy..."
"No Daddy, Pappy doesn't want to renew his relationship with Sam. That leaves the only other man she has ever loved: you. Daddy, she still loves you. You can't just turn your back on her."
"No, I would never do that to her. I still love her too, I never stopped, but she made it clear that she didn't want to be in our lives, so I tried to let her go. Now she wants to come back, and I think I'm falling for another woman." He sighed, "I need to think about how to handle this."
"What's to think about? Ben, be honest with yourself, be honest with them. Just relax, and it will all work out. Don't think about it; just let your heart guide you. If you stop to think about it, you might kill something beautiful," Sarah said.
Karen looked thoughtful, but kept her thoughts to herself.
Just then a golf cart style shuttle pulled up to the party, and two security guards climbed out. They headed straight for Ben. Ben noticed and left the girls to meet them.
"Have you noticed that the female guards' uniform's shorts are very short, and skin tight?" Sarah whispered to Dale.
"It's not just the women, love," Dale answered. "The men are just as scantily clad; the only difference is that the men actually wear underwear."
Sarah giggled, "You mean that those two are..."
"Bare as a newborn baby. And I do mean bare, they are both as clean-shaven as our lovely nurse is. By the way, when we were at our apartment, Karen took her bottoms completely off. All she is wearing is that see thru sarong."
"Dale! I'm horny enough! I don't need to know about all this! As it is, I doubt that we're going to get much sleep tonight."
"Hmmm," Dale purred. "Now that sounds like a good plan."
Sarah bit her lower lip as she glanced at Karen. "Dale, what are we going to do about Karen? The poor woman is going to hear me screaming all night long."
"Well, we could always just invite her to join us; after all, she has made no bones about what her preferences are."
"What do you mean?" Sarah asked.
"Well, she is a wonderful woman, you know that, right?" Dale waited while Sarah nodded. "Now, I'd never do anything without either you being with me, or at least without your permission, but our little nurse over there has been very naughty. Normally, she is pretty much naked around the house. Except when she would cook dinner; she would put an apron or a long t-shirt on. At night, when she would lay out the sweats that I like to sleep in, she would guide me to them, then say she was leaving, except she wouldn't. She would stay by the door and watch me, with her hands busy on her own body. She's asked a couple of times if I would like help bathing, and I would have accepted, but I wanted to talk to you about it beforehand. She's done other things too."
"Dale, she was taking advantage of you!" Sarah hissed.
"Not really, sweetheart. She never once touched me. Oh, she thought about it, but she didn't do it. She won't. She wants far more from this relationship than just sex, so she doesn't want to risk our anger. At least not our real anger; she's a submissive and a lesbian. She wants to serve us, both of us."
"Wow, what are we going to do about it? I mean, she is pretty, and she's a nice person. Do we really want to let another person join us? We don't even really have an 'us' yet," Sarah said.
"I know, love. I'm not sure either, I do like her; I like her a lot. But I do want to spend more time with just you right now. Why don't we just follow your advice to Daddy? Let's talk to her about it, then let it work itself out?"
Sarah smiled at her mate. "Okay, when do you want to do it?"
"Let's head inside. It's getting kinda late anyway, and there is a certain young blonde I want to take to bed. Oops! Daddy is coming back, and he doesn't look happy."
"Girls," Ben began, when he arrived. "I'm sorry, but something has come up, and I need to head over to the control center. Could one of you find those two wonderful women and let them know I might be late?"
"What's wrong, Daddy? You look really worried," Dale said.
"The United States is invading the Middle East. We need to see if there is anything we can do. So far they have leveled damn near every village they have encountered in Iraq. From what our security analysts are telling me, they are either looking for something, or are waiting for something. Either way, they need to be stopped."
"Sure Ben, we'll find Sam and Mom to let them know. Could I drop by the control center tomorrow?" Sarah asked. "I feel kinda worthless right now, and maybe there is something I can do to help."
"Of course you can stop by, but the only thing you need to worry about for now is getting better. I'll need you and Dale to get situated and hopefully back to work as soon as you can. I'd like you to oversee the creation of that new fabric you've come up with.
"Now, I really do need to get going. Please give Sam and Tasha my love, and apologies," he said by way of excusing himself.
Dale watched him walk away. "How does he think I can get back to work? I can't even look at a computer monitor. It looks like a huge blob of light to me."
"I don't know, love. We'll talk to Sam about it tomorrow. But for now, let's go home. We'll need to find Sam and Mom also."
The lovers got Karen and headed inside.
"What do we got?" Ben asked as he entered the mission control style command center.
"Sir, we have two situations developing. The first is in Iraq; it looks like we have the hundred and first airborne, and most of the seventh infantry division moving into Iraq. We have a new situation and threat analysis since we sent for you."
Ben nodded to the man, "Go ahead, Commander."
"We have located an unusual amount of mobile radar sites traveling with the invading forces. Far more anti-aircraft weapons have been assigned to this operation than would normally be required for an operation like this. American intelligence has also assigned three spy satellites to the area. American air forces assigned to this operation are mostly being held in reserve, and from intercepted communications, most of the craft are set-up for air-to-air combat.
"The ground forces are being extensively and unnecessarily brutal to the civilian populations they are over-running - and in most cases that is meant literally; they simply run over an entire village.
"Information gathered from intercepted communications, the equipment these folks have with them, and the ways they are acting all make us believe that this is a trap. A large, very expensive trap, to be sure, but we believe it's meant for us."
Ben took a seat and pondered the briefing. He knew that the intelligence services would really want to know who stopped the invasion of Saudi Arabia, but Ben and his analysts hadn't expected something like this. Iran and Iraq were supposed to be puppet governments of the United States, just like Saudi Arabia was. This move made no sense, unless, like Commander Rau had told him, it was a trap.
Trap or not, those troops had to be stopped before they killed more innocent people. "Do we have control of the satellites?"
"Only one of them, sir; the other two were built by Raytheon. However, we do have one of our own birds within line of sight," Rau answered.
"Okay, team Alpha is still in the Middle East, right?" Ben asked.
"Yes sir. They've been sitting in Iraq near the Turkish boarder."
"Good, let's try this; I want them to circle around behind the frontline troops, and take out those mobile radar sites and any ground to air missile batteries. But first we should drop those satellites. Use the self-destruct on the one we built at the same time you shoot down one of the Raytheons; that'll eliminate two out of the three. I want the third bird scrapped just before our team starts to move.
"Once we've blinded them, they can begin to disable as many of the invader's vehicles as they can. Be sure to jam enemy communications, and those fighter planes should stay on the ground. However, if something happens, and those planes are launched, we're going to have to destroy them. I don't want to take the chance of any of our people getting hurt. What is the second situation?"
"There seems to be a build up of North Korean forces along the DMZ. American and South Korean forces have been brought to full alert."
"Is the whole planet going crazy? Dispatch team Delta to the area. They are to keep anyone from crossing that line. Be sure to remind them that North Korea does have nukes."
"Yes sir," the commander said, and turned to give the orders.
The man's footsteps echoed in the almost deserted hallway, not the slow footfalls of a tired man, but the precise, measured cadence of purpose. Underlings, scurrying around on their myriad tasks, scrambled to get out of his way. This man was power.
Nominally, he was the head of small but profitable multi-national conglomerate, but these people, in this place, knew him for what and who he truly was; The Grand Master of the council of the 'enlightened ones'. The council had co-opted the name from fiction, but made the organization very real in the world. They controlled everything and everyone. There was nothing too trivial for them not to control. One hundred and fifty people sat on the grand council, but only eleven sat on the inner council. With the exception of the fifty members of the special services group, only the people in this bunker, and those members of the council that were allowed to leave, knew of their existence. Membership included heads of state, military leaders, and corporate moguls. They had banded together to control the forces of war that threatened commerce. Granted, there was considerable profit to be made from war, but at this point, they already controlled most of the money and resources on the planet. The problem arose when they realized that if the wars were allowed to continue uncontrolled, there simply wouldn't be enough people to sell things to, or to do the menial work that the lower classes should do.
In another hundred and fifty or two hundred years, they should be ready to get rid of national governments totally, and take their place as the open and undisputed rulers of the planet. Society as it was now would become more clearly defined into the worker class, the military class, and the ruling class.
However, their grand plan would never be realized if there was an armed force loose on the planet that they didn't control. A group like this, capable of stopping the invasion force, had to have the backing of either a nation, or a large, wealthy corporation. One way or another, all the nations were under their control, so that left one of the large corporations. That is itself was troubling, since all but a few corporations where members of the organization, and the non-members were watched closely.
The man's name was Micale Stenbeck, and for all practical purposes, the most powerful single person in the world, at least for his tenure as the Grand Master. On his word alone, he could launch every warship and nuclear missile of every nation. He could order the kidnapping of twenty virgins for use as his private harem (though he wasn't finished with his current ones, and had no need for new ones yet). Members of the council, as a mark of their station, had certain rights and privileges. If young boys were to the member's liking, then why not indulge? Besides, Micale had enough females, with the ones his harem kept producing; it's not like they were actually meant for anything better.
Micale entered the main command and communications center. This whole underground facility where he lived and worked had been built under the wheat fields of Kansas. It was supposed to be, and on paper was, the new secret location of the US Space and Missile Command. It had all the latest in electronics and intelligence gathering equipment.
He walked to the observation gallery and took one of the comfortable seats. No one seemed to know exactly when or even if the mystery forces would strike, but he had a few hours to spare, so he though he would come down here to watch. He knew his presence always made his people work more efficiently.
As he took his seat, a nude fourteen year old girl brought him a martini, and sat at his feet to await his needs. He didn't even notice the girl, but took a sip out of the martini as he watched the status boards and satellite displays.
It came as a total surprise when two of the screens receiving satellite transmissions suddenly went blank. A few minutes later, the last one also turned to static. Curious, Micale stood, dislodging the girl from his feet, and strode into the control room. "General, what happened to the satellites?"
"We are still trying to find that out, sir. My techs think they've been destroyed, but have not confirmed it yet. I don't see how our friends out there could take out our satellites without our at least seeing them launch a weapon. So I would have a hard time believing this to be a hostile action."
Micale fixed the rotund man with a stare; "Do not ignore any possibility, General. If they have the ability to take out our satellites then we are in serious shit. I want to know what happened to those satellites by tomorrow morning. Now, what's the status with the operation?"
"So far, there is no sign of the enemy. Everything is progressing according to plan."
"I doubt that, General. The plan was to capture at least one of their pilots or aircraft. Since we don't see them anywhere, then the plan was not even begun yet. Is phase two ready?"
"Yes sir, the north has been amassing troops along the DMZ for the last three days, and the south has been put on full alert." The general noticed a technician that had approached. "Report."
The man nodded; "Excuse me, sirs. General, you wanted to be notified as soon as we had any information on the satellites."
The general nodded; "Yes, continue."
"Tracking has two of the three satellites beginning reentry in the next twenty minutes. Neither is expected to survive to impact intact. The third satellite apparently has disintegrated in orbit. It did have a self-destruct built into it in case of catastrophic systems failure. Its current status is consistent with that occurrence. One satellite failing we could see in the realm of possibility. It's rare, but does happen. Two failing at almost the same time and position is statistically impossible. Since three failed at almost the same time, while on the same mission, there is only one situation that we can find to explain it. Intentional attack."
"How do you explain the fact that we didn't detect the attack before it happened?" the General asked, not willing to accept the man's explanation.
"Sir, we would only detect the attack if it came from below the satellites. If it came from the side or above, we wouldn't see it," the tech explained.
"So how do you account for the fact that the only satellites in orbit are controlled by us? Are you saying we shot down our own assets?"
"No sir. We don't even have anything up there that could shoot them down. However, something had to have done it. There is simply no way that three satellites can fail at the same time."
"I agree. Thank you for the report," Micale said before the general could berate the man.
The tech, being dismissed, returned to his duties. The General looked at his superior. "Sir, the possibility suggested by that man is totally preposterous. Do you think our quarry is extra-terrestrial in origin?"
"General, at this point we simply don't have enough information to rule out anything. The simple fact that they didn't want us to be able to observe them seems to indicate that they are vulnerable, which suggests a terrestrial origin. However, the fact that they could take out three of our satellites without us detecting the attack gives us more of an idea of their capabilities. Now, if you were commanding those forces, what would be your next step?"
"I would eliminate any threat to my aircraft, then strike the supply lines to slow the advance until I could contain it," the General answered.
"Then assume for a moment that is what is happening now. How do you counter it?"
The General thought for a moment, and then turned to his communications officer. "Priority flash: have our forces stop where they are and await further orders. Reposition the spotters for the attack choppers. Set up the three-D targeting system around each of the anti-air assets, and have those helicopters protect the missile sites until we can get our jets into the area. Get our fighters into the air and co-ordinate with the helos and their spotters." He glanced at Micale. "What about Korea?"
"Get them ready, but don't send them yet. I want to be absolutely sure about what's going on. Since we can track those satellites coming down, can we track what's going on here with those stations?"
The same tech that had gave them the report answered from his computer console. "No sir, we can track high altitude targets, but anything below about seventeen thousand feet reads as ground clutter. We get nothing at all below fifteen thousand. The distance to the tracking station is just too great."
"Can we get another satellite into position?" Micale asked.
"Not for about two hours, sir. We've already issued the commands to reposition the nearest. It'll need servicing a lot sooner because of the shift, but we determined you would need the eyes on the area, so we shifted its orbit."
The general snorted and scowled; "That's his way of telling you he just spent a billion dollars based on his assumptions. He'll be dealt with after this crisis."
"Good work." Micale nodded to the tech. "No, he will not. He showed excellent foresight in assessing the needs of his superiors, and initiative by executing what options were available to him to fulfill those needs. I want him commended."
"Sir! We are losing communications with our forces. The local command center is reporting commo loss with most of the supply and air defense units."
"Son of a..." the general began.
Micale interrupted him. "General, now you can tell the forces in Korea to begin. I think we just received our confirmation."
"Sirs! The North Korean forces are moving south, they'll be entering the DMZ in twenty minutes!"
Ben sighed; "Commander Rau, you take the situation in the Middle East. I'll take the Far East. All you need to do is stop them, but I know eventually there'll be casualties. I have faith in you, and more importantly, our people have faith in you. Just do your best." He turned to the people in the center of the room. "Folks, we have two separate situations to deal with. I need each department to split in two. The Alpha team will be helping Commander Rau, and the Delta team will be helping me. Place Bravo and Charlie teams on alert. Security; please have Lieutenant Commanders Erickson and Smith report to the command center. Communications; get me in contact with team Delta. Let's do this, people." Ben picked up a headset and put it on.
The big, main status boards split into two sections, two big monitors to each section, and several smaller ones. In addition, the force commanders and their assistants had separate computer terminals to pull up any information that they might need.
A commtech had moved closer to Ben to serve as an assistant until the other commanders arrived. Ben told him, "Please get me an estimate of the North Korean forces and their disposition."
The tech nodded as he spoke quietly into the headset mic at his mouth, then pointed to one of the big monitors where a topographical map of the Korean Demilitarized Zone appeared. Quickly icons representing different units appeared and slowly shifted as they moved. The icons representing the South Korean and American forces were fixed and unmoving. This attack looked like it was going to take the southern defenses by surprise.
Ben's earpiece crackled. "Commander Connors, this is Major Evans with Delta. We're on station but still hot from the trip. Their infrared sensors will be able to pick us up if we get too high or too close."
"I understand, Major. However we only have about fifteen minutes before North and South are exchanging fire. I suggest using the terrain to surprise them, hit and run tactics. At least until your craft have cooled enough to risk them getting a lock on you. We have to stop them now."
"I don't think we'll be able to pull this off in only fifteen minutes, sir. If we use the terrain as you suggest, and split the team into two wings, we can 'leap frog' our attacks. But that will still be too slow. This is gonna get messy no matter what we try to do," Evans replied.
"Just do your best, Major. That's all any of us can do."
"Will do. Delta out."
The next morning found Dale and Sam in Sam's new office. "Okay, Dale, you need to completely level with me. If I'm going to help you, I need to know everything. I think you should know by now that I would never do anything to hurt you."
"I know you won't, Sam. It's just that some of this is pretty freaky to me. Being able to see like this is so different from everything I've ever heard of that it's almost impossible to explain. Daddy wants me to go back to work, but I can't look at a computer display because all I can see is a big bright spot. I can read written words, but I have to really strain to see them. It's not black and white or grayscale either, there are a lot of colors, but I have no idea what they mean, if anything," Dale sighed.
"Can you see details? How do you know who's who?" asked Sam.
Dale hesitated here; even though she trusted Sam, this was a touchy topic for her. She decided to approach the subject from a different angle. "Sam, what do you know about telekinesis and telepathy?"
"Are you trying to tell me that you have also developed some kind of mental power?" When Dale refused to answer, she sighed, "There have been some documented cases of elevated brain activity coinciding with the bending of a spoon or the movement of an object, but they are so rare that the authenticity of the examples has been called into question.
"Perhaps the methods used for testing or the machines used for recording simply couldn't do the job. There is also the possibility that the true data was repressed in an effort to discredit any research in this area. Whatever the reason, no creditable therapist believes in the existence of Extra Sensory Perception. There simply is no proof."
Dale smiled sarcastically. "What proof would you need, and how would you go about getting it?"
"Well, to start with I'd want an EEC to go with the CAT scan, then there is a new test that has been gaining credibility. It creates a three dimensional image of the brain by monitoring the flow of blood to certain areas. This can tell us what areas of the brain are active at what time. The technology involved is pretty simple, it just wasn't until recently we have been discovering how to interpret the results. Then, of course, I would want to see the supposed ability in use before I make any decisions. What do you think you can do?"
"Well doc, right now you are wondering how this has anything to do with the original question you asked me, of how I knew who was who. Now, you're thinking that was a good guess, but are slightly creeped out. Now, you're trying to think of something I wouldn't know about, like the fact that my mother liked to shave herself. She convinced you to try it, and you still are. Had enough?"
Sam stood there with her mouth hanging open. "Uh, yeah, that's plenty. You're not doing that all the time are you? I mean, suddenly I feel a little scared of you."
"No, Sam, I don't look unless it's very important. I feel like it's a violation of the person's privacy to peek. Besides, most people don't have anything I really want to see in their heads. This is the real reason I was afraid of becoming a lab rat, well the fact that I can see as well as this. I know my father loves and trusts you completely, and, since you're going to be working with me on this, I need you to know the whole story. Daddy, Sarah, and you are the only people who know all this," Dale admitted. She took a deep breath, and continued, "I can read a person's memories, but I have to concentrate to do it. Surface thoughts I have to actively try to keep from hearing, especially if those thoughts are aimed at me."
Sam looked at Dale, confused. "Surface thoughts?"
"Those thoughts that you are actively having at any given moment are what I call surface thoughts. Some of them I can't block out if I try; which can be a bit awkward. Karen has some very loud thoughts at times."
"Then you're aware of how Karen feels about you and Sarah?"
"Yes, I told Sarah about it, but she'd already guessed it was something like that. I just have no idea how three horny women are going to live together. I'm still new to this relationship stuff, and this is starting to get weird."
"Well, we're getting off track here; back to the matter at hand. Have you tried to send your thoughts to someone else? Speak to the other mind?" Sam asked.
Dale smiled ruefully; "Yes, I have tried. It's like my switch is set to 'receive only'. Hearing other thoughts almost seems... feels natural to me. Trying not to listen into someone is like trying not to think about a subject after you've been told not to think about it. However, if I try to 'push' a thought, or even simply 'speak' to the other mind, nothing happens. I got a nice headache trying to talk to Sarah's mind in the hospital."
Sam added some notes to the pad she was writing in. "Well, I think you should try again, but we'll worry about that later. Right now, we need to first understand and define the new senses you have. Second, you want to be able to return to your research, but can't see the computer screens.
"We'll have to be somewhat careful about testing your limitations, since we don't want anyone else to find out about them. So, I suggest we try to get together every other day for a while and try to figure out the hows and whys. For the time being though, I suggest you use Sarah's eyes for your research work. We'll need to figure out exactly how your eyes are working now, before we can design a computer display that you can use. How does that sound?"
Dale frowned slightly, "I'd prefer faster answers, but as a scientist, I know better than to expect instant answers. We'll try it as you suggest."
"Good evening, I'm Bill Jones filling in for Diane Smith, and this is NBC nightly news." The immaculately groomed man glanced at the monitor built into his desk. "North Korean forces under the command of General Shin Ping Tsu attacked across the DMZ and into South Korea earlier today. American and South Korean forces repelled the attack, but as yet we have no word on casualties for either side. North Korean officials publicly denounced General Tsu's actions, claiming he was acting on his own, without orders from the government. However, the North Korean government did not issue an apology to either the United States or the South Korean Government. The United States has ordered that our troops in the region remain on high alert.
"In other news, American forces have been sent to the Persian Gulf area to assist in the rebuilding and to help Saudi officials maintain peace. The vast public outcry over last month's attack by forces of the Divine Alliance has spurred widespread unrest in the area. Riots and acts of terrorism are becoming common once again as old clan hatreds have been suddenly rekindled. The appearance of American peace keeping forces has resulted in the Divine Alliance once again massing troops along their border with Saudi Arabia."
The man glanced at his monitor and then back at the camera. "A federal warrant to appear has been issued for missing multi-billionaire Benjamin Connors. He failed to appear before the senate last month shortly after the attempted kidnapping of his daughter, Dr. Dale Connors. Whether or not Mr. Connors himself has been kidnapped is unknown, since all attempts to reach anyone associated with the Connors family have failed.
"In related news, employees of the top secret Connors Aerospace research facility outside of Barstow, California were denied entry this morning. United States Marines blocked the gates and told the arriving employees that the facility was now under the control of the United States Government pending an investigation into supposed security violations. Again, attempts to reach a spokesman for Connors Aerospace failed.
"Still to come: the trial of Sky Thompson, the supposed Wiccan
Priestess that was arrested for performing illegal same-sex marriages,
after these messages."