Chapter 36

While the Command Staffs were getting their lunch Kathleen went to the clinic to have blood samples taken. Since she was there they decided to give her a full body scan. She then stopped by the clan’s suite on Marthanóir to let her milk down.

“Kathleen,” said Mirial of Molly’s Clan, “I’ll take your lunch to the conference room, so you can just meet us there.”“Thanks. I won’t be much longer. I’m almost finished letting my milk down. I would have been there by now but the Medical AI told me it would be best if I stayed so they could do a full body scan.”

“Okay,” replied her spouses. “Take your time.”

On returning to the conference room, the Command Staffs began reviewing the plans for the settlement that Amy’s Clan had presented earlier. As they went over each item their questions were mostly directed toward clarifying their understanding of the proposal. In some cases they discussed alternatives but only a few minor changes were flagged for consideration. It was late afternoon by the time they were wrapping things up.

They were nearly done when Kathleen got a funny look on her face and then Kathy, Betsy and Judy said, “Holy shit.”

“What?” responded several of the others.

“They just gave me the tests results,” said Kathleen. “My hormone levels for those that regulate milk formation are 5 times their normal level. What does that mean?”

“That means the feedback loop regulating your milk isn’t working correctly,” said Betsy of Amy’s Clan. “Your medical group would like you to be evaluated as soon as possible as they’ve never seen this situation.”

“Is it serious?”

“Not likely, but it is unusual. It will take only a few more tests to determine what is causing it. It could be your body, or it could be due to something you’ve had contact with.”

Kathleen said to her spouses, “Ok guys, help me do this.”

Sensing her intent Molly’s Clan formed a circle around her on Marthanóir. Together, using their abilities, they assisted her in transferring directly to Dóchas. Kathleen said, “Okay, I’m here. What next?”

“Concerned?” asked Connie of Amy’s Clan chuckling.

“Well, yes, a little. If the quantity of milk continues to increase it means that my cup size will increase as well. I am comfortable with their current size and really wouldn’t like for them to be any larger.”

“Until we get it sorted, one way to keep the increase to a minimum is to express your milk more frequently.”

“I thought of that, but was afraid that would just result in more milk being made.”

“It will. Once your hormone levels are normal, you should have control over your output again.”

“Kathleen,” said Sarah, “is there anything you’ve been doing differently, beginning around when you noticed the increase?”

“Well, when I’m not on the bridge, I’m usually in either the Intelligence or the Security departments. But, I’ve been doing that for a long time, well ever since this voyage started. Like the rest of you, we frequently roam around the ship to see how everyone is doing. Since J3, we often go over to FLDC-3.”

“Well you go a lot more than any of us,” said Molly.

“You’re right. Since we decided to have some Órarduine in the area for the J3 people all the time, I spend some time there nearly every day.”

“Y’all are going to think I’m crazy,” said Tara and Aoife. “Star, we monitor a crew member’s position in our fleet at all times, correct?”

“Yes. We can sort out fairly quickly where a person has been and who they’ve been with. I’ll ask, even though I think I know your intent. What do you have in mind?”

“There is a group of J3 people that worked for the company that did the recruiting, well fuck, let’s be honest, abducted them. There are about 24 in the group if I remember Molly’s comment correctly. We want to know where they go and who they have the most contact with.”

“This request will be fairly easy to comply with.”

“Why?”

“When there was the commotion in the J3 area of FLDC-3, Security flagged the instigators as being individuals to monitor. At the time there were only a few of them out of hibernation, however the monitoring expanded to include all that Tigsuma group. We are now actively monitoring 29. Three of them don’t really associate with the rest. Let me reword that, those three are seldom anywhere near anyone not in their group.”

“Great,” replied Aoife and Tara. “We’ve all wondered about the story this group told of their celebration after loading the initial freighter at its origin. All of us are certain that some of them didn’t tell us everything, and likely embellished what they did tell us. We think we have an idea of what the missing pieces are.”

They saw perplexed looks on some of the Command Staff. “Bear with us for a bit and we will sketch out our thoughts. From what we know about how the J3 people came to be on the freighter, we think it is a safe bet that the company doing the recruiting were Tigsuma slavers hired in some way by the Durale. These 29 Tigsuma didn’t enter hibernation on the originating planet but at the location where they turned over their cargo to the Durale. Either earlier, or at the transfer location, some of this group learned of the drug the Durale used to turn some people into their ardent servants. At some point they stole some of it and hid it in their personal possessions. Some of their hibernation chambers are the only ones that contained any personal items. Based on their actions, some, perhaps all, twenty-six in the group were likely key members of the recruiting company. The odd three we would guess are technicians they needed to get the freighter and cargo safely to the transfer point, and they wouldn’t interfere with their plans.

“The first time we met the Durale, they slipped us a drug through food and drink. It was very effective and we came very, no, damn close, to being their toys because of that. Thanks to our medical staff our bodies now either block or alter this family of drugs. If it is blocked, it ends up being excreted. If it is altered into a substance already in our body, then it could upset our body’s balance, so Kathleen’s increased milk yield could be due to these altered drugs.”

“I’ll say this, you two certainly know how to read tea leaves,” said Betsy with a chuckle. “The resulting effect is quite possible. It is also a source that we may have never considered. I wonder if there are other Órarduine with increased milk flow. I’ll run a check while this continues.”

“So, what would be the end game?” asked Jackie.

“Gaining control of us and our fleet,” replied Chester of Keriann’s Clan.

“Wouldn’t they need more people in order to do that?”

“For full control, a lot more,” said Keriann. “However, if they gained control of the communications, security and propulsion departments on all ships, they could make things very difficult for us. Considering our psionic abilities, it is likely that we could block their attempt and regain control. I suspect that the cost would be high though.”

“You wouldn’t need a lot more people to initiate that, if you had assistance coming while limiting our ability to move or defend ourselves,” added Rusty. “One of our strengths, and weaknesses, is that we are very reluctant to leave anyone behind. You’re right in that our abilities would be of considerable assistance in countering their efforts.”

“Even with a disabled ship or two, I don’t think taking us would be as easy as it appears.”

“True. If we couldn’t stop those coming to assist, then it would be close-in fighting, unless they think they can put us down without a fight. Remember the Durale were going to gas the Emprika.”

“It won’t get near that point,” said Tara and Aoife.

“Okay,” said Betsy, “the Dóchas Medical AI has surveyed all the ships. There are 5 including Kathleen who are showing a significant increase in milk output. They are now querying all the bio-sensors for an update. Those will be scanned for odd readings. Our normal procedure is to have anyone with an odd reading visit their clinic for a check-up.”

“Makes sense,” said Jackie. “I’ve made a few trips myself.”

Star said, “We are still collating data on the Tigsuma group. One item stands out. All of them frequently visit compartment D283 on FLDC-3 which is unused and out of the way. There are nine that spend virtually every evening there. One of the nine goes to where the hibernation units are stored every day. He spends a lot of time in the hibernation recovery area. It will probably be late tonight before we have a full list of their associations.”

“The unused compartments are not monitored nor do they have any sensors,” said Kathleen. “Sally, can you have Clarence’s group put spiders in all of them?”

“Sure. Your group could do it as well.”

“This is better. One of the Tigsuma is very friendly with two J3 people in our Security group. While I trust them, I don’t want to create an opportunity for a leak.”

“Done. He told me they have some new models with expanded capabilities. Considering what the spiders have done in the past, I didn’t think that was possible.”

“With our group, anything is possible.”

“It is approaching dinner time,” said Rusty. “Let’s stay closely linked until this is resolved. We should keep this to ourselves and only bring in other crew members as necessary. From my perspective, this is for the same reason Kathleen gave a minute ago.”

“We agree,” replied everyone.

“Before we go back to regular stuff,” said Sarah’s Clan, “we would like to commend Amy’s Clan and those assisting them for a well thought out settlement proposal.”

Everyone together said, “We agree.”

“Thank you, again,” said Amy’s Clan. “To us this is the easiest of the three key elements we need for the settlement. Both the type of economic model, and government, are more difficult to develop. If we wait a few years until we begin implementing them, we should be able to make an easier transition. Also, an item to think about is compensation. Moving away from us functioning as a group focused on a single purpose to a more diverse focus creates the need for a currency to handle transactions.”

“We’ve thought about that,” said Sarah. “One thought was to base each person’s compensation rate on what we paid our contract workers. The total amount each received would vary based on the length of time with us and responsibility.”

“That would be similar,” said Kelly, “to the standard grade/time service pay chart the navy used. We don’t have nearly as many levels, but the concept gives us a place to start.”

“I take it you are equating rank with responsibility,” queried Rusty of Sarah’s Clan.

“Yes, as a concept. We need to consider the spread between high and low as well as making sure the minimum amount is sufficient.”

Amy’s Clan said, “A good start as we just wanted you all to think about the topic. I guess we should have realized that you already have.”

Just then the dinner chime sounded.

“Let’s go freshen up.”

“Good,” said Kathleen, “I’m full again and leaking.”

“Kathleen,” said Betsy, “let’s stop by medical so you can do that. While we are there we can do some additional tests. Why don’t you have dinner with us before you go back to Marthanóir?”

“Sure. It’s been a while since we’ve visited. I must say it feels really strange without the others close by.”

“Hey,” replied Molly’s Clan, “we aren’t that far away but hurry back, we miss you.”

Erica, Betsy and Kathleen left the conference room arm in arm.

The morning chimes sounded waking the crews in the Órarduine Destiny group. As soon as the Command Staff of each ship was awake, their ship’s AI informed them that the data on the Tigsuma group’s activities was ready for review. The AIs recommended reviewing the data before leaving their suite for breakfast.

When Sarah’s Clan heard Star suggest they review the data immediately, they said, “That bad?”

“Not really. We think we have a plan to deal with this. It really needs to be implemented as soon as you are all in agreement on a course of action, preferably before breakfast.”

“Okay. Then let’s all link together,” replied Sarah’s Clan.

Sarah’s Clan then said, “Good morning everyone.”

After everyone replied Donna the Primary AI on Phoenix said, “Star, take the lead on this briefing and we will fill in our bits as necessary.”

Star said, “First let’s talk about the area on FLDC-3 where the J3 people recover from hibernation. Every day one of this group is there; he usually arrives after breakfast and then stays until at least lunch. One common element is that they always offer a drink to those just becoming active. This is usually within a few hours of that occurring. A short time after the person consumes the drink there is a whispered conversation between the two people. Often they go off by themselves. The location for this varies but generally they are only alone for a short time. Not everyone who accepts the drink goes off with the person offering the drink. So for this review, let’s call those who go off for the private chat Tigsuma agents, or just Tagents. Later, once these Tagents accept a crew member position, one of the members of this Tigsuma group visits them frequently. It is usually the person who initially gave them the drink. These Tagents are working primarily in the three key departments that were mentioned yesterday, and they are on all Dóchas class ships.

“Several Tagents working in Communications departments have tried to send a message to a distant star system. Each time the message was rejected. This is because it couldn’t be sent while we are in an FTL envelope. The message appears to be nonsense, which is likely because it is coded. We can come back to this.

“The Medical AIs have identified some thirty Órarduine with an increased lactation rate, but none are expressing quite as much as Kathleen. You may have guessed at the common thread. All of them frequently help out on FLDC-3 in the J3 compartments. The degree of increase in lactation volume corresponds with the frequency of their visits there. Several of them remember being offered a drink every time they go there. So from these two bits of information, we are fairly certain that they are giving certain J3 people a drug which makes the recipient easy to manipulate and means that they do not remember the conversation that follows. For the Órarduine, this is consistent with the results from Kathleen’s hormone evaluation and subsequent tests.

“In compartment D283 the spiders found some modified bondage equipment. All the modifications effectively increase the intensity of a victim’s pain and cause irreversible tissue damage. After the Tigsuma left the area last night a forensic team went in to retrieve samples, but they were careful not to disturb anything. Tissue samples were obtained from some of the bondage devices. Currently they are running a DNA analysis on them and the results will be immediately compared to our master file. Also, the forensic team found a significant amount of dried blood in the deck plate joints, and on some cabinets and furniture. This was mostly at deck level. Samples were taken.

“In collating the movements of the groups’ members, we found four instances where an Órarduine or a non-Tigsuma J3 person entered D283. We cannot find any indication of them exiting and there is no trace of them on any ships. A disturbing piece of information is that the recycle log on FLDC-3 shows one of the Tigsuma group recycling waste the day after each of these individuals entered D283. The recycle input record indicates that it digested several kilos of biological waste on the same day. The forensic team has also taken sample swabs in the recycling area.

“That pretty well covers what we have so far.”

“Well it is pretty clear that we have four cases of homicide on our hands,” said Erica of Amy’s Clan.

“Are there still three outliers?” asked Casidhe of Siobhan’s Clan.

“Yes. There doesn’t appear to be any intended association between them and the others. In some instances, going by their movements, it appears that they’ve made an effort to avoid any contact.”

“So it is pretty certain that this group of Tigsuma have drugged an unknown number of J3 people,” said Siobhan. “They have attempted to drug some Órarduine and circumstantial evidence indicates that they murdered four of us.”

“We agree,” replied the other Command Staffs.

“So how do we confirm this?”

Betsy said, “We can determine who was drugged by having all the J3 people visit our medical departments. All need to be tested for their sensitivity to A-Celia antigens. Actually, we were holding off on this until they were all out of hibernation, but we can just move it up.”

“We talked about putting these Tigsuma back in hibernation.”

“Yes,” said Sarah, “and that is definitely not an option now.”

Chester said, “This Tigsuma group seems to have nine of what I would call ‘key individuals’, the rest are just followers.”

“Okay.”

“So let’s arrange for the nine key individuals to receive a note after breakfast telling them that there is a meeting in D283 on FLDC-3. Actually, rather than a note, maybe it would be better if someone told them that someone was looking for them in reference to a meeting on FLDC-3. The others we can just have go to a specific compartment on their current ship. There, a security team member will meet them and put them to sleep before securing them. Initially a straightjacket with a hogtie seems sufficient, but they do need to be monitored until moved to the interrogation compartment.”

“Okay, Chester, we suspect that you have something planned for those going back to the compartment on FLDC-3.”

“Well we now have video and audio recorders in there. Once they are all there it shouldn’t be very long before they realize that none of them called the meeting. This should start a discussion, or perhaps an argument, on whether their plot has been discovered or not. Once the tension grows, we can have two people who resemble two of the missing persons enter the compartment. The intention is for them to pretend to be the missing people, and that they have come back to even the score. That should result in us learning a lot about what happened to the missing people, and perhaps what their plans were.”

“Why not send them thoughts about the four who died?” said Jill of Sarah’s Clan.

“Good idea. That’s better than sending someone into the room. I guess I wasn’t clear, we weren’t actually sending people in there alone. We were just going to project their images into the room as it would give them a ghostly appearance.”

“Ghostly images would have a greater psychological impact than us trying to do it in person, even in TAC suits.”

“Why TAC suits?”

“Remember what happened before?”

“Fuck!” replied one.

“How could we forget that?” asked several.

“Because, we still aren’t fully evaluating a situation’s risks. Do you think the ghosts will be convincing enough?”

“With some of us supporting them with our psionic abilities, we should be able to make it real scary.”

“Star,” said Sarah, “when will forensics have their results.”

“After breakfast.”

“Does anybody have a better idea than Chester’s?” asked Sarah. After a few moments she added, “I presume by the fact that there are no comments that we like the idea and are in agreement with doing it.”

“Yes!”

“Chester, how about taking the lead on that aspect? Cathan’s Clan can assist you. Pull in another team for backup. Several of us can participate as well.

“Okay, each ship will task some of their Security Teams to take custody of any of the remaining members of this group that are on their ship. It should be done right after our morning meeting as we are going to duty stations. Once they are asleep, secure them, and watch them. Putting them in strait-jackets until they can be moved to prisoner boxes sounds perfect.

“At the end of breakfast, the senior medical officer on each ship will make the announcement requesting all J3 people to stop by medical on their way to work for an antigen test. Anyone testing positive for the drug will be sedated and admitted.”

“Star, do we have two women who strongly resemble the two missing Órarduine?”

“Yes. Actually there are six possible candidates.”

“Are any Security Team members?”

“Hmm ... Yes. And they are the best matches.”

“Tell them Chester wants to see them before breakfast.”

“Let’s try to get these activities all taken care of well before our FTL window arrives.”

“That is still 21:30 hours, right?”

“Yes,” replied Joyce.

“I’m hungry,” said Kaitlin of Maureen’s Clan.

“Well breakfast has started,” replied Aisling of Siobhan’s Clan.

“So let’s keep our link more active than we usually do and go to breakfast,” said Kelly of Keriann’s Clan. “Seeing the time we will be a little later than usual, but not many will take much notice of it.”

Chester, Cathan’s and Alana’s Security teams were in compartment E284 on FLDC-3 watching and listening to the Tigsuma in D283.

It wasn’t very long after the morning meeting that the core members of the Tigsuma group began arriving in D283. During their wait, they kibitzed about the purpose of the meeting. A couple thought the request at breakfast for the J3 people to stop by medical for antigen testing was strange. Two laughed. One remarked that it was typical of these dumb Órarduine animals. Everyone knew that Tigsuma were never bothered by the antigens on other worlds. Several mentioned that they had completed all of their tasks in preparation for the event.

Lunch was just beginning when the last Tigsuma entered D283, he said, “Why are we all here?”

Several said, “What?”

“We thought you called this meeting.”

One said, “Some of us have been here over two hours waiting for you to start this meeting.”

“I didn’t call any meeting.”

Another said, “Wait, do you think they figured out we are planning on taking over their fleet?”

“No fucking way,” replied several.

“They are too simple, trusting, and open,” added another.

“That may be the case, but getting navigation to provide us with the location of J4 was a pain in the ass. Too bad none of our agents are working in navigation. As to Serarck, I can’t wait to take her off her high horse. She’s just like the others of her breed, the damn bitch.”

“Let’s make her one of the first we turn into pleasure toys.”

“Sounds good, but I’d rather use her another way. After all the shit she gave me, it would be a pleasure to hear her scream. I know just how to inflict pain so the bitch will soon be begging for relief, between shrill screams. Once she agrees to submit, then we can still torment her both physically and mentally.”

“Well I’m more interested in playing with the Órarduine. We need to reinforce those restraints; those last two nearly broke free. They are some of the strongest animals I’ve ever seen, and that we’ve ever dealt with.”

“True. Once we get hold of the stunners and have control of the armory, we should have the upper hand.”

“This looks to be one of our easiest projects,” replied one man firmly. “Has everyone completed their tasks?”

Each of the men nodded affirmatively.

One said, “The messages are set to be sent once we leave FTL. I would have been here sooner but I couldn’t find any of our agents. After checking all the ships, I decided to just ask the first person I found in the Communications department. The one I asked accepted my request without any hesitation, so I went to back to each ship and made the same request. Based on that, I don’t think they have a clue about what we are up to.”

“Have any of our agents noticed any unusual activity?”

“I haven’t seen any of them since I left the medical section after breakfast. Most of the time I’ve been here waiting for a meeting to start.”

“You went?”

“Of course,” was the sharp reply. “Even though we know it isn’t necessary, I didn’t think it was wise to skip it. While I was there I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. They identified each of us before taking a tissue sample and then we were sent on our way. I didn’t see any of our agents after breakfast, which isn’t surprising.”

The others in the group nodded their agreement with his comments.

The leader said, “Okay. Let’s go over our plans again to make sure we haven’t missed anything. You are right, this seems to be an easy project, but it can go to hell in less time than you think. The way it stands at the moment, we will have roughly 6 to 8 days to kill before our help arrives. The equipment failures will begin a day before departure is scheduled.”

“So what are we going to do in the mean time?”

“Perhaps we could invite another Órarduine to visit us here.”

“Good idea. I think I know a couple that could be lured here. Neither is tightly associated with a group.”

“Well I would really like to get Serarck and her sister in here.”

“Forget Serarck,” replied one sharply. “I already claimed the bitch, so pick one of the other cunts for your entertainment.

“So I’ll take her sister. They are both arrogant bitches but have exceptionally nice bodies. Those bodies were made for men to enjoy using.”

“Oh, I agree, they are meant for us to enjoy.”

“We have a few customers who would pay a very high price for them as sex addicts. Best part is we can take our pleasure with them until we can sell them. Well, as long as the rest of you don’t get too rough.”

“You mean like the other night.”

“Yes.”

“Well there was no point in keeping any of those four around after some people got carried away.”

“Enough of that for now.”

“Sorry, boss. Those Órarduine bitches just irritate me.”

“By the way, one of our agents in Security told me that they were sending a third of their tactical forces ahead. They are to leave just before the fleet departs for Celia system.”

“Why is that?”

“They are setting up an array of sensors in Celia system. This is to detect anyone coming toward them. They apparently have a similar one in the system they came from.”

“You would have thought they had learned that those are a waste of time. They promote complacency and once known about they are easy to get around.”

“However, that is good information and something we can sell.”

“Just more evidence that they are dumb animals. The technical knowledge they control is wasted in their hands.”

In E284, Chester said, “I damn well don’t believe they are sitting there talking like this. This is just too fucking easy.” He was shaking his head as he spoke. “Cathal, have you ever seen anything like this?”

“Rarely,” replied Cathal of Alana’s Clan. “In fact the last time I remember something like this the group was in a secure area. It doesn’t appear that they have even checked the room. Are we still going to send the ghosts to visit them?”

“You betcha,” replied Cathan. “Two of the four they killed were damn good friends of ours. The two J3 people were well thought of by everyone who knew them. I think all of us would like to go in there and take them apart, one little piece at a time.”

“I fully understand,” said Chester with Alana’s Clan nodding in agreement.

“The one who was just raving about turning Serarck and her sister into sex toys has drawn the attention of the ghosts.”

“The compartment’s doors are secured, right?”

“Yes,” replied Cleo of Alana’s Clan. “The exit to the recycle center in D383 was left so that it can be forced open. The main entrance would require something akin to a cutting torch to open it.”

“So you want to scare some of them into recycling themselves?”

“Now that is a thought. We didn’t think of that. There are several other doors into the recycling center so it would now be difficult to arrange, but perhaps an opportunity will arise.”

“Well, we need to interview them first.”

As the Tigsuma reviewed their efforts to take over the Órarduine fleet, those with Chester in E284 telepathically listened to their thoughts. When a thought seemed incomplete, the Órarduine were usually successful in pushing suggestions to the thinker, so that they went into more detail.

The Tigsuma had just finished their review when the freighter’s bell sounded. This indicated that there was only 15 minutes until transition out of FTL began.

“Shit, that was their FTL alarm,” said the apparent Tigsuma leader. “We should be observing their FTL procedures.”

“Fuck, it’s too late to transfer to another ship. It won’t be quite the same but we could observe them on this ship’s bridge.”

“That’s better than nothing,” replied several as they headed for the door.

A few moments later Chester, Cathan, and Alana’s Security teams began laughing as they watched the Tigsuma trying to open the compartment’s door. The release handle turned freely in their hands but none of them could get the emergency releases to budge.