Chapter 1

Officially, the first meeting of the delegates ended Friday afternoon. But unofficially, my wives and I met with a few delegates on Saturday to discuss various topics. After that, my wives and I were tired and went to bed early Saturday evening. The meeting was commonly referred to as the First Meeting by the delegates and media, so my wives and I eventually adopted their First Meeting designation.

Sunday morning the breakfast club met for breakfast. We were all aware that Ship Commander Shimlt was going to replace the Altairian contingent currently at the farm with a platoon of assault troops, but we were not aware of when or the details of the replacement.

We had just started eating when Simon said, “I was contacted by Ship Commander Shimlt early this morning. She informed me that Vert, Relpt, and I are to remain here on Earth to assist the Facilitators, as required. The remainder of our people will return to The Seeker this morning.

“Nick and his people will be replaced by a platoon of assault troops, which includes the platoon’s support personnel. They will arrive in two assault shuttles, and the assault platoon’s commanding officer will report to me. Later in the day, two additional assault shuttles will arrive, unload the platoon’s supplies and storage sheds, and then return to The Seeker.

“The monitoring system will remain in place, and one of the two assault shuttles has been configured with the equipment required to monitor and control the system. Mike’s people will retain the armor and weapons they were issued.

“Nick’s people are currently packing their shuttles and preparing to depart. When the shuttles are packed, I will notify The Seeker that the Patrol Group is ready to leave. At that time, the assault shuttles will launch from The Seeker and make landfall here at the farm. Our shuttles will remain on the ground until the assault shuttles arrive over the farm. Then the four shuttles will depart for The Seeker, and the two assault shuttles will land.

“I was told that The Seeker will leave in a couple of days, and it will not return until shortly before the next meeting begins.

Simon continued, “The assault platoon and its equipment may create a problem here on Earth, Jeb. Assault shuttles are armed spacecraft and the assault troops replacing us will be armed with their offensive weapons. I have been told that President Kelt is aware that the assault shuttles are armed and the assault platoon’s personnel will be armed with offensive weapons. I was also told that she agreed with the arrangement.

“Jeb, it would be advisable for you to contact Johnathan to confirm what I have been told and find out if the local agencies are aware of what is occurring.”

I agreed with Simon’s suggestion and decided to call Johnathon as soon as I finished eating.

Simon said, “Jeb, Vert, Relpt, and I packed our belongings this morning and left them in the command shuttle. Do you and your wives have a problem with us storing our belongings here until we can arrange for other living quarters?”

Alicia responded with, “That won’t be a problem, Simon. We can put your things in the office for now.”

The members of the breakfast club went their separate ways to attend to the activities they had to address today. Simon, Vert, and Relpt returned carrying their packed belongings. They needed two trips to move everything to our office. While they took care of that, I called Johnathon.

“Morning, Johnathon, it’s Jeb. This morning, Simon told us his people would be leaving this morning and they will be replaced by an assault platoon and its commander. The shuttles and platoon are armed with offensive weapons.

“Simon, Vert, and Relpt will remain here in the role of the Facilitators’ interface with the Empire. I was also told that President Kelt was aware of this arrangement. Is that correct, and were the local authorities briefed?”

Johnathon said, “Betty was briefed by Ship Commander Shimlt late yesterday afternoon. Late last night, she briefed me on what would happen today. I wasn’t aware that the exchange was to happen this morning, so I decided to wait until after you had time to eat breakfast before calling you and informing you of the arrangements.

“Betty did not mention the offensive weapons or anything about her alerting the local authorities, so I doubt she briefed the sheriff. I think it would be a good idea for you to do that. I don’t think Betty would be happy if the local law enforcement took an aggressive stance on an armed assault platoon staying at your farm.”

“Thanks, Johnathon. I was confirming what I had been told, and wanted to know what actions Betty may have taken in response to the arrangement.”

Johnathon said, “As far as I know, Jeb, Betty hasn’t informed anyone besides me of the arrangement. I think she is taking a hands-off position and will react to any media publicity that may occur. My guess is, she will treat the exchange of Altairian personnel as an unimportant event.”

I thanked Johnathon and once we ended our call, I immediately called the sheriff. I explained the situation to him. He took the new situation in stride and told me he would alert his deputies to the current situation. He said he had no problems with the situation as long as the new soldiers did not carry their weapons with them when they left the farm. He also thanked me for alerting him to the new situation.

The assault shuttles were approaching the coast line. We said our goodbyes to Mark and Nick. Then they boarded the command shuttle, and the Patrol Group’s pilots started their engines and prepared to lift off. Simon, Vert, and Relpt stood on the porch with us and watched the assault shuttles approach. They had to be more than twice the size of the shuttles that had been on the farm. Once they were overhead, the four shuttles departed and the assault shuttles landed.

Simon and I had discussed Nick’s replacement. Simon explained that there was a fundamental difference between Nick’s people and assault troops.

He said, “Nick’s people are equipped and have trained to be soldiers, but their primary duty is to support the exploration of the universe. However, the sole purpose of assault troops is to engage in combat with whoever threatens the Empire.”

I said, “Simon, it seems to me that using a platoon of assault troops to secure the farm is overkill.”

Simon responded, “I agree with you, Jeb. But Ship Commander Shimlt is in a difficult position. She has to provide the First Offspring with the best possible protection available during her absence without sending too many soldiers down to the farm.

“Ship Commander Shimlt briefed the assault platoon’s commander. He is aware that the First Offspring is on the farm, but not where. He also knows that your US Army security detail is guarding the farm, and that he and his troops will have to fit in with us, so they won’t attract the attention of the locals.

“That will be difficult for assault troops to do, Jeb, for they are taller, bigger, stronger, and more aggressive than Mike’s people.”

The rear ramp of one of the assault shuttles opened and a single figure walked down the ramp and headed in our direction. Simon left us on the porch and went to meet the assault platoon’s commanding officer. Simon would explain the situation they would be living in and that his troops and Mike’s troops would form the farm’s security force. Simon would also address the issue of carrying offensive weapons on and off of the farm.

Simon and the officer spoke for a good fifteen minutes before they headed in my direction. Damn, but he was big compared to Simon. He was even bigger than some of the professional football players I had seen up close.

My wives, Vert, and Relpt talked while Simon met with the assault platoon’s commanding officer.

I was aware of their conversation but not focused on what they were saying, until Alicia asked, “Will the two of you be quartered with the assault platoon?”

Vert said, “We aren’t sure. A full division of assault troops boarded The Seeker before we came here. They didn’t mix with us very much, so we aren’t sure if we will be welcome to live with them. But right now, it looks like we will be living with the platoon.”

Alicia said, “Not if I have anything to say about it.”

Alicia’s comment grabbed my full attention.

“Jeb, we need to invite Simon, Vert, and Relpt to stay with us until The Seeker returns.

“I overheard your discussion. We have enough room for them, so we can make the offer. It will be up to Simon to make that decision, but I agree with you. It seems to me that the assault troops and their support people would resent Vert and Relpt intruding into their group. Simon would have a similar problem, although his rank and position would minimize his problem.”

My wives and I stepped off the porch to go meet the new officer. Vert said she and Relpt would remain on the porch for they were not part of the official welcoming party. That seemed appropriate to me for they were both enlisted ranks. They would meet the new officer later.

Simon said, “Jeb, I would like to introduce you to the assault platoon’s commanding officer, Lieutenant John Zant. John, this gentleman is the Lead Facilitator, Jebidiah Connor.”

I extended my hand and said, “Good morning, Lieutenant. It is nice to meet you.”

John said, “It is nice to meet you also, Facilitator Connor. Simon told me you prefer first names, so you may address me as John.”

“Thank you, John. I prefer Jeb to Jebidiah or Facilitator. Let me introduce you to my fellow Facilitators, who are also my wives, and to the officers in charge of my US security detail. They are also my interface with President Kelt.”

I introduced John to Alicia, Madge, and Phyllis. I then introduced him to Paul, who in turn introduced him to Aaron and Mike. Once introductions were finished, Simon suggested that John should have his troops and support people disembark and set up their camp. John thanked Simon and left to give his people the necessary orders. Simon went with him to discuss what he and his people would need. They would return once John got his people started on establishing their new home. We went back inside the house.

Later that day, two additional assault shuttles landed with food, medicine, and other supplies for the assault platoon and the storage sheds in which the supplies would be stored. Once the storage sheds were set up and the supplies moved into the sheds, the two assault shuttles returned to The Seeker.

Simon and John eventually returned and joined us in the house. I wanted to discuss several items with John. The two most important of the items were his troops carrying offensive weapons on the farm, and how he and his people would interact with Mike’s people. I decided to start with the issue of offensive weapons.

I said, “John, my wives and I are very much aware that The Seeker is in orbit around Earth because Ship Commander Shimlt was tasked with retrieving the First Offspring from Earth and returning her to the Supreme Royal Zldat on Minnus.”

John’s body language changed to that of a cautious person.

“The Ship Commander’s mission changed when Mary gave her predictions to the Zldats who were on The Seeker, and they conveyed the predictions to the Supreme Royal Zldat. Now the Ship Commander’s task is to support and protect the First Offspring. That is why she sent your platoon here to replace Nick Thelt’s Patrol Group, since The Seeker would be gone for about a year leaving Nick and his people without support.”

John asked, “How is it that you seem to know so much about Ship Commander Shimlt’s tasking and my assignment?”

“John, the First Offspring selected me to be her Bearer, and that led to me being selected as a Facilitator. She has viewed the Time Continuum and has seen that Earth will become very important to the Empire. She has seen me playing a major role in preparing Earth for that future. Therefore, she tells me some of what she sees of the future, and briefs me on what I need to know to perform my duties.”

I noticed that John’s demeanor changed when he learned that I was Mary’s Bearer. I needed to talk with Simon about what it meant to be a Zldat’s Bearer. Evidently Mary did not understand the human perception of that position.

“Mary knows that The Seeker will not return until shortly before the next meeting, which will determine if Earth enters into an Alliance Agreement with the Empire. She has seen that there will be an agreement, but we still have to conduct the meeting.

“The Seeker will be gone for almost a year, so Ship Commander Shimlt left your platoon on Earth to protect the First Offspring. Since there is a possibility of the farm being attacked, she authorized offensive weapons to be available to your people while you are on Earth.

“Personally, I do not have a problem with you and your people being armed with offensive weapons while on the farm. If you or your people leave the farm, you will have to leave all of your weapons on the farm. Our citizens and local authorities would be very upset with anyone carrying what appeared to be a weapon in public, and you would be detained by our local law enforcement personnel. At least they would attempt to detain the individual, and if that attempt fails, there would be a diplomatic incident, which I and President Kelt prefer to avoid.

“Some of our more sensitive citizens come to the farm for a variety of reasons. If they were to see armed off-duty soldiers around them, that would unsettle them. They would then talk to others about what they saw and that could create problems for us. Therefore, I would appreciate it if your people leave what is easily recognizable as an offensive weapon in your assault shuttles to the maximum extent possible.”

John said, “I am uncomfortable with doing what you ask, Jeb. But, I also don’t want our presence to create problems with your people. I will talk with Simon and see what we can do to meet your expectations without impairing our ability to respond to a hostile situation.”

“Thank you, John. I would like to confirm my understanding of your situation. Mary, the First Offspring, informed me that you are the only member of your platoon that is aware of Mary’s presence here on the farm, and that your task is to protect her. Is that correct?”

“Yes, you are correct. Ship Commander Shimlt has left it to my discretion to determine if circumstances here on Earth necessitate my informing other members of my platoon of that fact. The second reason for our presence is to protect the Facilitators.”

“It is also my understanding that Ship Commander Shimlt agreed to your platoon sharing the responsibility for the farm’s security with Captain Lovett’s company of US Army soldiers.”

“Yes. It was explained to me that Captain Lovett and his soldiers are here at the orders of your President. My people and I are to coordinate our activities with the Captain’s people.”

I said, “Good. It appears that we are all headed in the same direction. Now all we have to do is work out the details of how we are to coordinate our activities.”

Paul said, “Simon, if you and John will join Aaron, Mike, and me, we can discuss the details of what needs to be done to meet Jeb’s needs.”

Simon said, “That sounds like a good idea to me. I suggest we head to the mess tent and talk there.”

As they were walking to the mess tent to talk, I turned to my wives and said, “Hopefully, that situation will be taken care of. Simon, John, Mike, and Paul can fill us in on how they will handle the situation.

“We need to have a brief meeting. I see that Phyllis has her laptop, so she can take notes.”

We all helped ourselves to coffee, or another beverage, and then took our places around the dining room table.

I said, “The first thing we need to do is identify the remaining activities we need to accomplish before the next meeting. I know we need to clean up the farm from the first meeting of the delegates, and determine what we need to do to prepare for the second meeting.

“I will identify what I can think of that we need to do, and then the three of you can tell me what I overlooked. Phyllis, please make a list of what we identify as needing to be done. We will need to convert the notes into tasks and enter the tasks into our schedule. I think of these tasks as action items, which can be assigned to specific people with completion dates.

“Madge, we need to buy or lease a warehouse or other building to use as a storage location for our tents, flooring, and other things until they are needed for the next meeting. We need to ensure there is enough warehouse space to store our current equipment with at least an additional thirty percent capacity for the things we will buy and store between now and the second meeting.

“For the next meeting, we will have a larger group of delegates and support personnel. That means we will need a larger meeting tent, additional tables and chairs, more porta-potties, and a larger dining facility.

“I’m going to start with our meeting and media tents. We need to determine the number of square feet of space needed to support us as the Facilitators, our support people, and to support the Altairian and Earth delegations. We will need to order additional tent sections and flooring from Alibaba to increase the size of the meeting tent. Edgar will need to prep a larger area for the tent. I don’t see a need for increasing the size of the media tent, but its area will likely need some prep work in order to reinstall the tent and flooring.

“That reminds me, we need to contact Alibaba and arrange for them to disassemble our two tents and flooring, prep the items for storage, and make arrangements for them to set up the tents and flooring before the next meeting.

“For the dining facility, the field kitchen may need additional people to prepare and serve food, and we will need a second dining tent. Edgar will have to prep a larger area for the additional dining tent, and possibly for a larger field kitchen.

“We need to place a larger order for the rental of tables, chairs, porta-potties, and the other things we rent due to the increased size of the nations’ delegations. We will need to place that order early, so our vendors can order any additional items that will be needed to fulfill our order in addition to the orders from their other customers.

“I admit that I wanted to create an uncomfortable environment in the meeting tent for the delegates during the meetings. I want to maintain that basic approach, but I believe we went too far in what we did during the last meeting. The meeting tent was significantly colder than I thought it would be. I also think that without air conditioning the tent will be too hot during the summer and fall months.

“Therefore, I think we need to provide a heating system for the dining, media, and meeting tents that is adequate to take the chill off of the winter temperatures, and an air conditioning system to reduce the summer’s temperature. We may also want to consider some type of insulation for the PVC material that makes up the tent and its sidewalls.

“The air conditioning and heating systems will result in a greater consumption of electricity and gas. I am assuming that gas will be used for the heating system, and electricity for the air conditioning system. Once we determine the total gas and electricity loads we will need for the tents, we need to contact the Public Utilities Department, and if necessary, increase the capacity of our gas and electric service.

“Okay, ladies, what have I overlooked?”

Phyllis said, “You forgot our support staff, Jeb.

“Dani and Kiara supported the first meeting of delegates and they will be supporting our business efforts until the next meeting. By the time that meeting starts, they will be too busy with our business affairs to support the second meeting of delegates. We need to find and train replacements for them.

“The workload of our support people for the meeting is likely to be greater, and the duration of the meeting will be far longer than the last meeting. So we will need to hire at least four support people for the meeting in the near future. They can assist Dani and Kiara until the second meeting starts. By the time the meeting ends, we will need people to help us with our business activities and the meeting support people will fill that need.

“I should clarify what I said about the number of people we need to hire.

“Dani and Kiara will require at least two people to assist them during the next meeting to support our business activities. We need to determine how many people they will need to support our business activities during the meeting. We may need to hire and train more than four people to support the next meeting. That is one of my concerns, but my main concern is, how many people will Dani and Kiara need to support our business activities?”

Alicia said, “Mom’s right, Jeb. If we do what we are planning to do, then JAMP is going to go through a growth spurt during the coming year. By the time the meeting ends, we will have hired the managerial staff for the divisions and departments we will create in JAMP’s organizational structure. The managers will have also hired people to support our current LLCs and the LLCs that we will be creating.

“JAMP Leasing and Minnus Enterprises will be engaged in business activities, and we will need to hire people to run and operate those two companies. That means JAMP’s divisions and their departments will have to hire people to support the increased work load caused by creating new LLCs.

I said, “Phyllis, add a note to determine the number of meeting and business support people needed to support our activities before the start of the next meeting and hire them now. Have Dani submit job requests to the HR Department, once we create one, for additional help when needed. Add a second note to hire people for JAMP’s organizational structure and for its subsidiary LLCs.”