Chapter 5

Note: When the conversation is a telepathic exchange, it is indicated by italics font.

It was after breakfast when Sarah’s Clan entered the Dóchas Communications department. On seeing them Chloe said, “I was just going to contact you all.”

“Shannon told us earlier that Grand View TV and newspapers were asking for an interview regarding the IC engagement,” replied Sarah.

“Dog-gone, I was hoping to surprise you,” she replied with a big smile. “To answer your question, yes they have. However we haven’t made any commitments. Are you interested in doing it?”

“We think we should. What is the optimum time for them?”

“Well,” said Melinda, “about six hours from now, as that is the beginning of their prime viewing time.”

“Think it can be setup that quickly?” asked Aoife raising her eyebrows.

“I would think so, but I need to talk to them. You seem anxious to do this.”

“We are. Current projections are that our next visitors will arrive in this solar system tomorrow, but it could be earlier. So we think it would be wise to try to get the correct information about the IC engagement circulating on Earth before their attention is drawn elsewhere.”

“Okay. Let’s call them now.”

“Before you do that,” said Sarah, “do we know why it has taken so long for this to become a significant news item? We were under the impression that it wasn’t really a secret, although little was initially said about it.”

“Not really, but we can ask,” replied Brenda. “From what I have seen, it looks like someone in the US is trying to make this a campaign issue, although we are seeing news stories in virtually all regions of Earth.”

“Let’s not ask that question. We do want to know how widely they are going to announce this special news event however.”

Everyone listened as Melinda called and talked to Darren, the program director at the Grand View TV station. The Grand View newspaper editors, Rob and Paul, were soon added to the phone connection and Melinda switched to using a speaker phone. Darren’s initial proposal was to have the interview in a panel format similar to that used by other news programs, with it being broadcast from their studio. After considerable discussion the program evolved into a presentation on the engagement by Sarah’s Clan for the first hour, with perhaps a few questions by the program moderator. The presentation would include videos, photos and maps so that events could be clearly described. Following this would be the question and answer segment, with the questions being asked by group of invited news reporters and analysts. For logistical and security reasons it was decided to have the show originate from New Comrie. As they were finalizing the details Darren asked if the starting time could be an hour later than originally planned.

After looking at those around her Melinda said, “Yes we can do that. I take it you want to move it further into prime time.”

“Yes. But to be honest, it is really to make sure we have enough time to get all the pieces lined up. We may not be able to get our first choice of correspondents or analysts to participate.”

“I don’t think participation will be a problem. We have no problem with either time,” said Paul.

“We can have our staff handle the shows logistics, if you all are agreeable.”

“Melinda, that makes a lot of sense,” said Darren. “We have been very pleased with Lorelei’s and Earl’s shows. They draw a large audience and the production quality is super. I will bring a couple of my staff with me.”

“Fine. A shuttle will pick you up at the airport when you are ready. While you are at New Comrie, you will have full access to phone and Internet.”

“We should set a time now, so let’s plan on us meeting you at the airport in four hours,” replied Rob just before the phone disconnected.

Melinda looked at the group for a few moments before saying, “I can’t believe we just agreed to go live with a TV show in a little less than seven hours.”

“The crew we use for Lorelei’s and Earl’s show is currently moving that equipment to a shuttle on An Clochán,” said Sam. “Lorelei and Earl will be traveling with them.”

“The whole crew is coming?”

“Yep,” replied Sam.

“Is the shuttle big enough?”

“Worry about the show. They know what needs to be done.”

“You’re right. I do that all the time.”

“Guys,” said Sarah, “we will meet you there about an hour before show time.”

“Do you need anything prepared?”

“No. A couple of us were just running through what we sent to Earth’s governments and decided to use that as the basis for the presentation. We will take care of it, and will have it to you before we arrive.”

As Sarah’s Clan left the Communications department, Siobhan said to them, “Do you think the incoming visitors saw our engagement with the IC ships?”

“That is a possibility, but Shannon’s group doesn’t know for certain that they were looking this way at the time. It could be a lot of data to sort through, and how would you know the significance of the content. To me, the purpose in showing the facts about the engagement is to make it more difficult for politicians to stir people up using misinformation.”

Erica said, “Video media is pretty similar between cultures. News programs all look similar. Entertainment programs are pretty easy to figure out as are educational programs. The problem with entertainment programs is how to interpret them without a hands-on reference.”

“That is good to know,” said Jill, “but I don’t remember seeing that in the library.”

“It probably isn’t. I was speaking from our experience,” replied Erica.

The TV special for the Órarduine engagement with the IC ships was filmed in the enclosed patio at New Comrie. Sam had arranged the set so that the participants had their backs to the windows on the north side. She had Chantel, the AI, increase the tint level in the windows so that the external light was balanced with the room lighting. By doing that, the viewers would see the Pacific Ocean in the distance behind the participants.

When the group from Grand View arrived, Melinda introduced Darren to Sam, Kelsey and some members of their studio crew. They chatted for a few moments as his eyes wandered around the set before he said, “This is the crew that does Lorelei’s and Earl’s show, right?”

“Yes, this is most of them,” replied Sam.

“Well in that case, I think I will just watch. I may have a few suggestions, but you know what needs to be done. Either my two associates or I can help out anywhere you want us to, but it is your crew, so lead the way.”

“Thanks,” said the three and quickly resumed working on the set.

Darren watched the group work together setting up the set, checking the lighting and sound. He would have done some things it a little differently, but smiled as he realized that Sam’s group actually had a better arrangement. With their arrangement, they would only need spots and a little fill lighting for the participants. They were nearly done when he thought, “I wish my crew was this good.”

Samantha’s crew were just taking care of the finishing touches when Sarah’s Clan, Rob, Paul and four of the panelists entered. Darren gasped when he saw Sarah’s Clan enter the room. He knew that they were tall and beautiful, but to see them in the flesh was still a shock. He walked over in response to Paul’s wave.

After everyone met, Lorelei had them gather in a circle so they could go over the plan for the program. Lorelei and Rob would share the moderator duties. Earl and Melinda would sit with the four panelists. Two panelists were news reporters with past assignments in several major capitals. One news analyst was from North America while the other was from Asia. Both analysts had worked in several regions. There would also be several correspondents remotely connected to the program from countries around the world.

Lorelei raised her hand for quiet, “Let me outline how we want to do this then we will take suggestions.” She looked around the group before continuing, “Sarah’s Clan will present the background data on the engagement. This data will be available in the Grand View newspapers tomorrow with the same caveat that other Órarduine releases have had. Once the presentation is done, there will be a short commercial break. After the break, Sarah’s Clan will answer questions.”

A correspondent raised his hand and said, “Are there any restrictions on topics?”

Lorelei started to respond then looked at Sarah, who said, “Not really. We expect the questions to be about the engagement, but we have no problem with responding on other areas of interest. There is always the possibility that we may decline to answer a question. If we do that, we would give you a reason.”

“For instance,” added Aoife, “if someone asked us what the differences were between our bodies and those of humans, we would decline to answer. This is for two reasons. The first is that this program is in prime time and some viewers would find nudity offensive. The second is that that information is already on our website, as are the answers to similar questions.”

“So you don’t want to rehash stuff that is already published?”

“Correct. But don’t be reluctant to ask any question. Let us be the ones to redirect it if necessary.”

“I can see that this will be a little different to what I’ve done before.”

“Oh, it will be,” said Melinda and Lorelei in unison causing many to laugh.

“Could we ask some questions now?” asked a news analyst.

“Sure, if everyone is comfortable with what we just ran through.” Lorelei looked around and not seeing anyone wanting to make a comment said, “Looks like we have time for a few questions.” She then nodded to the news analyst.

“I think I know the answer to this question,” said the analyst, “But why are you doing this now as the engagement took place several weeks ago?”

“Because we were approached about doing it for one,” replied Sarah. “Another reason is that much of what is being said in current articles about the engagement is ... to be polite, fantasy.”

“So the Grand View papers approached you?”

“No,” replied Darren, “we did. Our station thought it would be good to hear what the Órarduine knew of the engagement as that viewpoint had been absent from everything we had seen.”

“Rob and I,” said Paul, “had discussed visiting them to get the story, but hadn’t asked about it before Darren called us.”

“That’s right,” said the news correspondent, “you guys work pretty closely together.”

“Yes, when we can complement each other we do so.”

Several more questions were asked before Lorelei told them they had fifteen minutes to get ready for the show.

“Good evening,” said Rob looking toward the TV camera, “my name is Rob O’Brien and this is Lorelei McFahlen my co-moderator for tonight’s broadcast. For tonight’s special broadcast, we have invited representatives of the Órarduine to tell us about their meeting with the group calling themselves the Imperial Council.” After introducing Sarah’s Clan, Rob introduced the panel members and gave a thumbnail sketch of their backgrounds. He followed this by introducing the correspondents with remote connections.

When Rob finished he looked at Lorelei who then said, “Tonight’s show will begin with a presentation by Sarah’s Clan showing highlights of their meeting with the Imperial Council and the events that followed. Following their presentation there will a short break for commercials, then panelists will have the opportunity to ask questions. There will only be the one commercial break, on the hour after the presentation. A one minute pause will take place on the quarter hour and half hour for station identification.”

“Sarah’s Clan.” As Lorelei said their name the camera showed Sarah’s Clan sitting together to the right of the moderators.

“Thank you Lorelei and Rob for the invitation to make this presentation,” said Sarah’s Clan in unison. “About 60 days ago, a group of space ships arrived in this solar system. They were from a culture that is at least 600 light years from here. They identified themselves as being from the Imperial Council which was consistent with the markings on their ships.” As they began describing the events, a map of the solar system appeared on the TV screen. “Their FTL transition to normal space was in the vicinity of Uranus’ orbit on the other side of the sun from Earth. Immediately after the transition, they split into two groups. One group turned toward us and the other headed for orbit around Earth. The group headed toward us consisted of 22 war ships while the group headed toward Earth consisted of 6 warships and 25 cargo ships. Each cargo ship was the size of several super tankers.”

Sarah’s Clan spoke either in unison or in round robin fashion as they continued the presentation. After describing where the groups of ships were positioned, they showed videos of the ships coming out of hyperspace along with close-up views of each type of ship. This was followed by a recording of their verbal exchange with the Imperial Council Commander and a description of the aliens’ appearance. Following this was a description of the battle, with locations shown on a map of the solar system, interspersed with video of the actual combat. They wrapped up by disclosing the intelligence information gained from the IC command ship before its destruction, and during cleanup operations.

When Sarah’s Clan finished, Rob said, “We have a little time before the commercial break. I would like to clarify a couple of points in the presentation.” Sarah’s Clan nodded their agreement.

“Was this an exploration group?”

“Not in the least,” replied Sarah’s Clan in unison. “They were marauders, but perhaps ‘pirates’ is a better description. Their business was to harvest planets, Earth in this case. All the harvest would be taken to worlds controlled by the Imperial Council and sold.”

“You said ‘harvest’ rather than ‘buy’. What do you mean?”

“From the information we obtained, they harvest a planet by pacifying the inhabitants, if necessary. Once done, the harvest begins. They would take everything, animals, crops, minerals and etc. Essentially anything they could sell. Once the harvest started, the cargo ships would depart in small groups for their solar system and more would arrive. This would continue until they had taken everything they wanted.”

“How would they subdue a planets population?”

“By giving them something that would alter their perceptions, so they wouldn’t resist and would readily comply with any directives.”

“What about the people in the area?”

“From their standpoint, humans are just another protein source. We don’t understand how their pacifying scheme works, but apparently it does as their records indicated that they had harvested several planets. We should note that this part of the universe is not where they usually operate.”

Rob started to ask another question but noticed a cue from Sam and said, “Please stay tuned as we will now take a short commercial break.”

Kelsey brought refreshments around to the participants. When she reached Sarah’s Clan she said, “Nice job. The presentation was as smooth as any documentary that I have ever seen.”

“Good, that is what we wanted.”

Sam said, “Places everyone.” Then she began the countdown to going live again.

Lorelei began with, “You are watching a special news program. We have with us Sarah’s Clan from the Órarduine ship Dóchas. They’ve just finished a presentation on their meeting with a group of pirate ships from the Imperial Council. For this section of the program we have a group of correspondents and analysts to ask Sarah’s Clan about their experience. Let me introduce the panelists again.” With that, Lorelei introduced each of the correspondents and analysts in the studio again, and then those connected by video link.

“Doug, let’s start off with you.”

“Sarah’s Clan, why didn’t anyone on Earth see these events?”

“Well we think a few did but chose not to say anything about it. Several governments were provided with the information that was in our presentation. Why not a wider audience? Well from our standpoint there were three reasons. One, the group of ships headed for Earth orbit never got far enough past the sun for you to see them, except by satellites in the highest orbits. Second, our engagement with the warships was near Mars, which is currently on the other side of the sun. The third reason is that the whole incident lasted less than 9 hours. A couple of astronauts on the ISS did see indications of our engagement, but they didn’t have time to confirm their observations.” As Sarah’s Clan was talking, the solar map indicating relative positions of the participants, including Earth, was shown again.

The second hour went very quickly. All the questions were very probing, but showed an interest in the answer rather than trying to embarrass or trip anyone up. As the time approached the half hour mark the direction of the questions began to shift toward the Órarduine and their future plans. In answer to one question, pictures of Dóchas, a Badb cruiser and a Star Fighter were shown. In each case they were compared to an Earth ship that had a similar function. This led to a question about what the interior of their ships looked like.

Sarah’s Clan responded with, “You could visit and see for yourself. We don’t believe any of the stories about us have overstated our accommodations. This doesn’t help our audience though. We brought a short video that shows some of Dóchas’ interior. Lorelei can narrate.”

“Thanks,” replied Lorelei smiling before beginning to narrate the video. The video began with a view from a shuttle approaching Dóchas, then the view as if stepping out into the hangar, followed by the opening tour that every visitor receives. It ended with a view of the bridge with Sarah’s Clan at their stations.

“I have seen scenes of Dóchas’ hangar before,” said Douglas one of the correspondents, “but I find it difficult to believe it is real.”

“You’re looking for some kind of suit or air lock, aren’t you?” said Earl. Douglas nodded. “I can relate to your doubts. I had similar ones before I visited there. I don’t know how they do it but the pictures are real.”

“Putting it simply,” added Claudette, “we establish an environmental envelope around the ship. It reaches out for about 150 meters and rapidly disappears beyond that. In combat, the envelope ends at the ships skin.”

“Doug, it looks like you have another question,” said Lorelei.

“Yes. Are there other civilizations out there, or aliens as some would say?”

All of Sarah’s Clan smiled, then Sarah said, “We expected this question much earlier. The simple answer is: Yes, there are others.” She paused for a few moments to let the curiosity build. “The information in our library that was last updated over 200 Earth years ago indicates that there are many others. Unfortunately, we don’t have a time frame on that information due to the way the ship arrived in this solar system.”

Just as Sarah finished, Sam indicated that time was nearly up, prompting Lorelei to say, “Would anyone like to make a two minute closing comment before we say good night?”

“I would,” said Zhao from Beijing. Lorelei nodded. “Órarduine thank you for a very enlightening evening. Much of what we have seen and heard is very hard to grasp, but I do not believe there are as many doubters now. I know that I no longer have any doubts and humbly thank you for your intervention and your patience with my questions.”

“Thank you,” replied Sarah’s Clan. “We think all of you asked some very thought provoking questions.”

After hearing comments from the other panelists Lorelei and Rob together said, “We wish to thank everyone who participated in the show for altering their schedules on short notice.” The camera came in close on them as they added, “Thank you all for taking the time to join us this evening. We hope that our guest’s answers helped with your understanding of this event. Good night from all of us.”