They agreed to meet in Wisconsin at Bertrand’s home. There was no one else present. They did not want to frighten anyone. There seemed to be a renewed outside interest in their Wisconsin homestead. Strangers were stopping by for arcane reasons. Directions. Requests for donations. Someone looking for work. Sounds harmless. But it was suddenly new. There also seemed to be renewed interest in their Minnesota property. Flyovers seemed more frequent. Helicopters mostly. They all could feel the change. Who could it be?
The Warrior Clan had seen an increase of activity since they started taking in refugees from Solana. They were experienced and not easily roused to action. The colony lived under a dome in Wisconsin and was well guarded by an army of drones keeping watch over their growing population.
Bertrand was the explorer and adventurer who bought huge swaths of property in Wisconsin and Minnesota and around the world at a time when it was normal to do so. The 1800s. No error in the dates. Mutant BlueStone lived for many centuries.
There were fewer of them then. Ahmed was the first mutant BlueStone. He settled in Baghdad about 1200. He was there in time to visit the House of Wisdom and he was there when the Mongols swept in and burned the collection of human knowledge to the ground.
Each member of the Warrior Clan had his own story. Thomas, as a teen, saw the murdered bodies of his parents including the love of his life. He had been a young teenager at the time. Bertrand rescued him. He spent his high school years on Solana. Then he became an engineer at the University of New Mexico. He loved to fly with or without an airplane. He was Bertrand’s number one.
Martha, a family practice doc and good friend of Bertrand had raised Matilda when her parents had been murdered by the evil Cyrus Pettibone.
Jasmine trained all the mutant BlueStone. She knew what skills they were capable of and wanted them able to protect themselves with those skill sets .She had been a member of the underground on Solana. She lived with her mate Professor John who was a research librarian at the New York Public Library.
Jack Randall was a Professor in Oxford until his parents, Sandy and Peter, introduced him to Bertrand and Ahmed.
Matthew, their computer expert, and Julian were rescued from the meatpacking plant basement on Granville.
Dr John , a trauma surgeon from South Africa, became the colony’s chief physician.
Homer is Bertrand’s second android and a close friend who helped build the colony. Timothy was their first big furry guy, the irreversible result of a failed experiment.
They were an unusual collection of aliens, all from the same planet. Some have lived on Earth for centuries. They were refugees from a planet that no longer wanted them . They were happy in their secret colony.
Now they were worried that they would be unwanted on Earth. They wanted to remain a secret at least for the time being. The sudden interest from the Americans caused then great anxiety. They just were not ready to announce themselves to the Americans.
Matilda had arranged for a generous, impressive buffet. Julian, an escaped baker from Solana, was in charge of managing the dining halls. His work was amazing. He loved it. He knew there was something going on. He was quiet about it. He would wait and see. He left Matilda and returned to his office. He knew the Colony was in a precarious position. He would do everything in his power to help it survive. He loved it here.
Ahmed saw no problem. Bertrand was listening. Thomas worried about the exposure of the Wisconsin homestead was not well protected. Was it a good idea to have it so exposed?
They needed to know why someone was interested in them. They were exchanging points of view. Suddenly there was a loud banging on the screen door. Everyone was startled. Bertrand went to the door.
Willie was standing there unshaven, black hat, impatient. Twinkling green eyes.
“let me in. Bertrand. Why is your screen door locked?” Bertrand was glad to see his old friend, Willie. He smiled as he unlocked the screen door.
What are you doing here , Willie? I thought you were in Mexico with Sal.
No more. We came back to help you. There are rumors everywhere. The aliens have landed and are living in Wisconsin or Minnesota or both.
“Wisconsin needs to be insulated. The entire property is fenced.” Matthew said, “We need to check the integrity of the perimeter daily.”
“Access is still too easy. We need a gated system. Bertrand and Thomas will build it tomorrow. There will be a locked gate. We will need someone to answer requests for admittance. That way, no one will be able to just stop by. Professor Quincy would be a good gatekeeper. Good idea.
Willie joined the group, tall beer in hand. They all wanted to hear about Willie’s adventures .They were revealing.
