Operation Home Front: The Search, part 1. by Trooper Cecrops, Doberman Empire. Cecrops rolled out the map of Petaluma as the small groups of soldiers gathered around. "Okay, first off, you and you... And you and you... And you two.. Switch your routes today." The groups traded the small maps which detailed their search routes. The first day's sweep had turned up nothing, and now it was time to make up new routes for everybody to follow. In short time all of the groups had their assignments and left. "Okay, Dawson, Adams, we're going out today." Cecrops had spent the first day drawing up reconaissance paths for the next several days. If nothing was found within a few days, then they would have to expand their search further.  "Where we headed?" asked Adams. "Out into the countryside. Unincorporated area. You ready?" "Of course." Adams was confident. "Let's go!" Dawson was glad not to be idle. Adams and Dawson piled into the Jeep, while Cecrops locked the door. Cecrops then walked up to the Jeep and threw its keys to Adams. "Hey, Adams, why don't you drive today?" "Oh yeah, you officer types don't like to drive. Rather just lie back in the back seat." Adams observed. "Sometimes I wonder if the officer even knows how to drive. Do ya?" Cecrops laughed. "I'm not going to answer that." The Sponge Minions testily paced around the room. Not only had those not so nice City Council people refused to let them build their super-de-duper waterfront temple to Lord B'harnii, but that meany Sheriff person was keeping a close watch on them. All this after that meany Jihaddi person had showed up and ruined their party. The door opened, and the Minions all looked up to it in unision. Through the door stepped a Wyrm Minion clad in the nagenta uniform of the followers of the Lavender Lard Lord. "I was told you'd still be here,"the Wyrm Minion stated. Without a leader, the Spongin had lingered around their home base, not willing to go out and do anything on their own. "I need your manpower. As of now you are all under my command. We have a very important mission to complete. Come with me." The obedient Minions followed him out the door and to a caravan of three white nondescript trucks. The Wyrm Minion walked up to one of them and threw open the rear doors. Inside the truck was a large pyrmidial shaped object. The light that shone into the truck reflected brightly off its polished surface. The Wyrm Minion interrupted the Sponge Minions' oohing and ahhing. "This device is one of several. Together, they will spread B'harnii's luv to everyone on earth!" "Even the Jihad?" curiously asked a Sponge Minion who had  only recently been spongified, and therefore still retained a small amount of thought. "Yes!" The Wyrm Minion declared. "Even the Jihad will be seen to realize the luv of Lord B'harnii." The assembled Spongin cheered in a congruent 'Yay!', until the Wyrm Minion waved his hand, and they fell silent to listen to him speak. "This is not something that should be taken lightly. We will have to protect this device until it is activated. The Jihad will come after us. You have to be prepared to defend it at all costs. Are you willing to give your lives for our Lord B'harnii?" Not knowing of any alternative, the Sponge Minions were immoderately eager to die for the Hell Wyrm. "Okay, this is what we are doing now." Cecrops began yet another morning briefing. This search was taking entirely too long. "Nathans and Andrews, each of you pick three units to go with you. Rooker, pick two. Dawson, Adams, get the maps." Dawson and Adams left and quickly returned with a bunch of maps and a folderfull of small map copies. "Okay. Rooker, you are to take your groups and search Sebastapol." Cecrops pointed to the small town to the northwest as Dawson handed them the appropriate maps. "Today's search routes are already marked. Nathans, take your groups down south to Novato. Andrews, you're going to Sonoma." Andrews and Nathans each took four maps and distributed them out to their units. "You know the plan, you're free to move out. After Andrews, Rooker, Nathans, and their squads left the room, Cecrops spoke to the remaining groups. "Okay, while you might not take as active a role in the searching process, you still have a very important job. One of you will remain here in Petaluma. I don't have any specific patrol routes assigned for you, so you can move about at your own discretion. The rest of you will be positioned around here, here, and here.." Cecrops pointed to the locations. "If you noticed, you are being placed in between Petaluma and the other groups' locations. You will act as relays for any messages that come over the CBs. You can do a little looking around if you want, but don't stray too far from your locations. Let's go!" "This is Cecrops to relay Alpha, test, test." ".elay Al..a .ere." "Relay Alpha, come again." "Re... Alpha here." "Relay Alpha, I'm getting some bad static from you. Send test to Rooker through Alpha-2 and move south a bit." "Te..four." Alpha was heard sending the test to Alpha-2. "Cecrops to relay Beta, test, test." "Relay Beta here." "Relay Beta, how's the quality of your communications with Nathans?" ".his is relay ..pha, ...ker says .e's doing f.ne" "Acknowledged, relay Alpha." "No problems communicating with Nathans." "Acknowledged, Beta. Cecrops to relay Delta-" "No problems with Delta two or getting to Andrews, sir!" "Thank you." Cecrops leaned back and laughed. Aždams glanced back and then quickly turned his attention to the road. "He sure was ready for you, sir." "Oh yeah." Cecrops stretched. "Gotta admire the fast thinking on that guy's part." "What I gotta wonder, is how he got the messages through without us hearin'," Dawson reasoned. Cecrops thought about this for a moment, then grabbed a CB and started switching channels. "..." "..." ", so then the guy gets thrown out of the bar again, see, and so he gets up and goes back around the corner, and walks back in through the other door, and, um, damn it, what happens next..." "I believe he says, 'What the hell, do you own every bar in this town?'" "Ah! um, uh, Trooper Cecrops, what the hell, how did you find us out?" "Now you guys ought to be ashamed. Telling jokes on the spare CB radios. And they aren't even dirty jokes!" "Uh, we're sorry sir, are you, um..." "What I would like you is to turn the spare CBs off and  conserve their power." "Yes sir." "At least until you can come up with some better jokes." Adams pulled over as he and Dawson cracked up in laughter. Cecrops put down the CB and chuckled. "Well, I guess that takes care of that little paradox." The three continued laughing for a while, and then Dawson stopped suddenly. "Wait a minute. That was Beta relay." "Okay, we are going to be expanding our search a little today. To do this, I am taking one person from each of the four- person groups, and they will be on foot to relay messages. This is what the spare CBs are -supposed- to be used for." An embarassed chuckle filled the room. "Now, I expect each of you teams to switch who the on- footer is every couple of hours. No one deserves to be out there all day. As for the search, I am leaving only one group in Sonoma for now, I have a feeling that the Array is not going to turn up there. The other groups that were in Sonoma, Andrews is going to be searching the rural area between Sonoma and Petaluma, in this area, and the other between Sonoma and Rohnert Park, over here. "As for the Sebastapol groups, one person will remain in Sebastapol as a relay. Another person will relay between Sebastapol and Guerneville, where Rooker is going. The other group I want to go over to Two Rock. It's a Coast Guard base. I want you to see if there are any strange goings on over there, but don't let them know that something is up and don't get yourselves in any trouble." "Now, as to specifics..." "Oh, the bridge is up again." Cecrops looked up at the bridge as the Jeep came to a halt, then down at the river as the Petaluma Queen passed underneath the drawbridge. "Maybe they've got that sucker on a riverboat," Adams wondered. "It's a possibility," Cecrops accepted. They just might have the Array element on the water. They might have it anywhere. Cecrops hoped that they did not have it in Sonoma or anywhere west of Sebastapol, as he had called off the searches in those areas today. Instead, he now had teams searching in eastern Rohnert Park and Cotati, sweeping the neighbor towns from east to west, and a pair of teams in the southern outskirts of Santa Rosa. "Stationary Relay Gamma, priority message, repeat, this is Gamma, I have a priority message." Cecrops got on the CB. "Relay Gamma, report your message." "I have sighted a convoy of three small trucks. They're plain white, no markings. Moving north along Highway 101. At least one of the drivers might have been wearing purple." "Gamma, your position?" "Between Petaluma and Rohnert Park." "This is Trooper Cecrops to all relays, relay the following orders. To all units in Rohnert Park, Cotati, and Santa Rosa. Cover the exit ramps from 101. Those in Santa Rosa, cover the southernmost exit ramps and be ready to move out if they go past you. Over." This truck convoy could be a coincidence, but it was the closest thing they had to a lead. To be continued...