23 Battle Plan
Soon after Mira had been debriefed, Terry Sideman arrived. He hugged Pru warmly, then turned to the others asking to be brought up to date.
“You’re late, boss,” Pru said. “You’ll have to catch up as we go.”
“The real issue is,” Terry said, “do we have a right to do anything here? Is this a real Special Ops assignment?”
Zahlman began. “First, as you said before, it’s illegal to be without implants, and removing implants from your own body is a felony. Removing implants from someone else is also a felony, only worse. That’s Number One.”
“Agreed,” Terry said.
“On the other hand,” Pru continued, “religious freedom is respected. They have a right to worship – and to live, I suppose – as they please.”
“Not without implants, Pru,” Terry said. “That’s been established by the International Court.”
“Right. And with implants, they can’t have children without mutual consent.”
Isabella said, “But consent can be coerced.”
“True,” Terry agreed, “but that’s down the road. The children need their med implants, that’s top priority. And, the IDs and fertility implants for the adults. We can send in a Special Ops team to take care of that.”
“Terry, that won’t do the job,” Pru retorted. “You aren’t thinking. First, these guys are perfectly capable of tearing those implants right back out. And, there are pregnant women and children there. Did you leave your head in Nyack?”
Terry shook his head vigorously. “Sorry. Pru, let’s change this process. Tell me what you think needs to be done. Then, I’ll tell you if we can do it.”
Pru began, “We need an augmented Special Ops team. Mira, Isabella, can we get Bravo Force together again?”
“I’ve talked to all of them,” Isabella said. “They’re ready for whatever you need.” She turned to Mira. “You too?”
Mira nodded.
Pru went on. “We need an SO team – that’s 50 troops, right?” She looked at Terry, who nodded agreement. “And we need a medical team, too, to replace the implants and give primary care.”
Zahlman looked to Terry, “Are these medical teams all male?”
“Yes. Is that a problem?”
“The women must be treated only by women. Here in the CA, it’s the individual’s option, but these people have religious attitudes, and I’ll bet anything they’ll go nuts if a man touches one of the women, especially to install a med implant on the inside of her thigh.”
“Absolutely, Zahlman,” Pru said, turning to Terry. “A mixed med team, 50/50 at least. And Terry, do we have an SO team that speaks Arabic?”
Terry shrugged, then said, “I’ll have to see what we’ve got. I don’t know if we can get women medical techs. That is, we have them; I need to check availability. And, Arabic speakers could be a problem.” He went on, “But what then? Do we leave them there in the village? I don’t think so.”
“No, they’d just begin all over again,” Mira said. “And, it would be worse than it is now.”
“Well, then, what’s the legal position?” Terry asked. “The men who started this, and those who went along with them, are felons. The women, most of them, and all the children, would probably be considered victims.”
“Not all of them, Terry, as you say,” Mira said, “some of those women are as bad as the men.”
“Well, the usual for most non-violent criminals is Expulsion, but that’s not what’s needed here. And, it’s complicated by the fact that there’s religion involved.”
“Can’t we just turn this over to OSG and let them worry about it?” Zahlman asked.
Terry thought for a moment. “Of course, that’s what we should do, but we all know the state of OSG forces here in North Africa. Depending on who’s involved, they might just turn them all loose to start over, put them all in jail, or anything in between. No, we need to find a better solution.”
“How about condemning them to a year of Neo-Tantra training?” Zahlman chuckled. “That sure changed my outlook.”
Terry looked at him speculatively, then grinned. “Well, you might have something there. I’ve got a lot of confidence in Neo-Tantra; maybe I can develop a Sufi method for this situation.” He grinned, and shook his head. “No, that’s speculation.” Terry, his face thoughtful, began coding into his remote, then excused himself and left the room.
Mira ventured, “Is there some way of tagging them and restricting them to a limited area? That way, those who wanted to leave could do so. The rest could stay and have all the fun they want. We’d have to monitor the area – not let the wrong supplies or wrong people get in, but …” She trailed off.
Pru agreed. “We might be able to do that, but we need to know what we’re doing before we start. Can we commit to long-term surveillance of that sort? Can we get the Court to authorize it? And, who’s going to run the program? Not Neo-Tantra; we’re not prison guards.”
They discussed the possibilities at some length without coming to a useful solution. Terry came back into the room and brought up the com screen.
A man’s face and upper body appeared. He was dark-skinned and gray at the temples, with a lean, hard-planed face. He wore an anachronistic moustache, neatly trimmed. His uniform was perfectly tailored – for some reason, military types usually wore tunics, real ones, above their kilts, and this man was no exception. Terry said, “This is General Ishmael Khan of OSG headquarters. He has some experience you may be able use, and he has a possible solution to the problem of what to do with these people.” Terry introduced everyone.
Khan looked about the group. His stern visage and piercing eyes seemed to size each of them up and store the information for future use, without appearing to be judgmental.
He looked at Pru. “You are the Bravo Force commander, or am I mistaken?”
“Yes, sir, I am.” Pru answered, wondering as she did so why she had responded in military terms. ‘But,’ she told herself, ‘it just seems the right thing.’
“Terry has given me an overview of your situation. Please allow me to summarize so you may correct any misunderstanding.” General Khan stated the situation in a few accurate words. “I agree with your need for a mixed force of native speakers, and you are correct in your evaluation of the need for female medical techs.
“I take it,” he went on, “that you are attempting to determine what to do with these people once you have taken control.” Pru, taking the role already assigned, nodded assent for all of them. Seeing his eyes narrow slightly, she said, “Yes sir. But we haven’t found anything very practical so far.”
Khan replied, scanning them all, “I have had some experience with people like these in the Hill Country.” Somehow, it was clear he meant the mountains of the Indian subcontinent. “I think you might be able to apply it in Algeria.” He went on to outline a plan whereby all members of the group who chose to stay would have their PIDs replaced and detectably modified. Anyone joining the group voluntarily would have to agree to a similar PID modification. OSG would maintain high-level surveillance, with monitoring of implant traces. Anyone found without both required implants would go to prison immediately and without appeal.
“I think this approach will meet your needs,” he finished. “Do you agree?”
“Yes, sir,” Pru said again. “New members of the group would not be subject to imprisonment?”
“Only if they remove their implants.”
Pru looked at her friends. “Yes, sir. That sounds appropriate.”
Pru turned to the General again. “General Khan, we need an SO force that includes Arabic speakers. Can you help us with that? Terry says he doesn’t know if he can supply them.”
“I can make such a force available immediately, Commander. You will want to train with them for a day or two before you launch your operation. As for a mixed medical team, I can help put that together. What is your time frame?”
Pru looked at Mira for confirmation. “Our scout indicates that one of the women may give birth within two weeks, sir. I’d like to launch the operation no later than a week from now. I’m hoping we can get them in custody before she goes into labor.”
“You will be operating by daylight?” Khan asked.
“Yes sir. We’ll try to use stunners on all the men, and on any women who resist. The med team can replace their implants. We’ll try not to stun the pregnant women or the children. The med team will give them their implants using med stunners.”
“They are armed with slug-throwers,” Khan stated.
“Yes, sir. We’ll try to stun them before they can shoot.”
“Is your Bravo Force trained with slug-throwers?”
“Yes, sir. All of them are experts or sharpshooters.”
“Very good.” The General looked at Terry. “I’ll have an SO team at your location in two days. Our people will contact your case operator for coordinates. The medical team will take another day.” He turned to look at the others again. “Good luck,” he said and, with a nod at Pru, he blanked the com.