Chapter 20

After the morning meeting on their ships and at Tara the Command Staffs headed for Iolar. Keriann’s Clan was the first to arrive in the compartment that was used for telekinetic transfers. When they entered the corridor Kaitlin and Eibhlin greeted them with, “Good morning.”

“Good morning,” they replied.

Kelly added with a smile, “Wow, a welcoming committee.”

Kaitlin stuck her tongue out then said, “We thought we should be here to guide you to the conference room ‘cause we wouldn’t want you to become lost in our maze.”

As they hugged each other, Eibhlin noted, “Actually, we wanted to be the first to greet you all.”

“So is this a special occasion?” queried Chester.

“Your visits are always a special occasion and we feel a bit neglected as it has been a while since your last visit. Kidding aside, the reason we’re here is to tell you that we’ve moved our meeting to the conference room adjacent to the Medical Center. Mother Mégane thought it was best.”

“Hey, I heard that,” responded Mégane.

With a smile they replied, “We knew you would. However, you can’t complain as we all agreed with your suggestion.”

“So the births are that close?” queried Brigid of Keriann’s Clan.

“Within the next day,” replied Mégane. “Our current projections indicate early tomorrow, but as always the babies make the final decision.”

A few moments later Keriann’s Clan said, “Good morning,” to the Clans already there as they entered the conference room.

“Good morning,” replied Maureen’s Clan as they greeted one another. During this the other Command Staffs began arriving, with Kaitlin and Eibhlin coming in last.

As everyone was taking their seats Maureen said, “While we don’t expect the birthing to start before late this evening, we thought meeting here was a prudent precaution. Besides, when we are done here we plan to use the birthing baths for a while.”

“That seems different,” commented Mirial of Molly’s Clan.

Mégane replied, “In the past expectant mothers haven’t entered the bath until labor was well underway, in only few cases did they enter the bath just as labor started. However, when we reviewed the birthing records it seems that this latter group had an easier time delivering, and their babies didn’t seem to be quite as stressed. Over the last several months we’ve improved our ability to predict the onset of labor, so we thought this was a good time to determine whether the extra bath time affects delivery. While this is Courtney’s second birthing it is Maureen’s, Colleen’s, and Crystal’s first. With our tighter link, due to us being spouses, we think we will gain a clearer understanding of the bath’s impact than we have through our link with other mothers during birthing.”

“That could mean that they would be in the bath for a long time,” commented Kathy.

“Yes, that is a possibility and a concern. If the extended time in the bath is as beneficial as it appears, then we need to establish the criteria for taking this approach.”

“We are looking forward to seeing your babies,” responded Judy, “as well as your assessment on the impact of birthing bath residence time on baby stress.”

“In any case, we are all anxious to greet the new babies,” added Kaitlin with a smile. “I think our children may be even more excited than we are.”

“If I remember correctly, they are 4,” said Sylvanna of Jackie’s Clan.

“Actually they are almost 5 by our current calendar.”

“It certainly doesn’t seem like it was that long ago that they were born.”

Conan of Siobhan’s Clan coughed and then said, “So, is this a meeting of the Ananu Councilors, or Fleet Commanders?”

“Both,” responded Sarah with a smile.

“Good, as that was our impression, but I thought we ought to clarify it.”

“Do we need to explicitly state that when we meet?”

Angie of Kathryn’s Clan responded, “Many times, but not always, the topics we’ve discussed affect both aspects of our roles. This is also true for our decisions, so we could add a line at the top of our meeting summary indicating which applies, or perhaps we should do that for each topic.”

“That is a good idea,” noted Alissa. In seeing the puzzled expressions she added, “In the future when these records are read, this notation will give the reader a clear indication of our perspective on the discussion and decision. We already note the date, where we met, how we met, and who was there.”

Jill said, “We think that is a good idea.”

Moncha, Iolar’s AI, responded, “A note to the minutes has been added. The other AIs are aware of this change.”

“Thanks,” said Maureen. “Shall we begin with the Lonstradaze visit?”

“Aoife, what was your impression of the Lonstradaze?” asked Kathryn.

“Just why am I first?” Grumbled Aoife as she tried to keep from smiling.

“Oh that is easy. You often see things, and subtle relationships, quicker and much more clearly than the rest of us.”

With a smile Aoife responded, “Well in that case, my impression is that they seem to be quite reserved. Actually, shy might be a better descriptor. Many of my conversations with them seemed to border on being formal, but perhaps that is their culture. They seemed very intent on learning all they could about us and our thought processes. They were very interested in why and how we do things, as well as our reasoning for that approach. To be honest, after a while I found this tiring because at times seemed almost like giving a deposition. The only way I found to learn about them was to turn the question back at them by asking how they would do it.”

Oriel of Keriann’s Clan noted, “I agree. Although, I characterize them as guarded rather than reserved, but if shyness is the issue then reserved seems appropriate.

“As to conversations with them, due to the way they were asking questions there were times when I thought I was back in school taking an oral quiz or defending a dissertation. Many times a question was repeated with a slightly different wording. Eventually I began using a tactic similar to Aoife’s just to take a break from explaining things.”

They spent the next couple of hours reviewing their interactions with all of their visitors. Siobhan summed it up with, “It seems like we’ve covered this topic and are bordering on beating it to death. With the Atewa and Monque Worlds we seem to be building a mutually beneficial relationship. One indication of this is their interest in coming here for a ‘working vacation’. Another was that they encouraged us to establish a presence in their World by setting up an office there. Added to this is our ongoing interaction due to the base they are building here. Our joint use of the recreational areas on Tara and joint fleet activities will add to our knowledge of each other.

“We seem to have a friendly relationship with the Iridiens, however it isn’t clear whether that extends beyond those that we’ve met. Their representatives did commit to sending us a large amount of grain as a gift. At the same time they disclosed the need to obscure its funding for what sounded like valid reasons but ... the apparent need to do that causes some concern. The idea of us employing an agent to represent us in their World was never brought up, but they did invite us to visit. However, to keep the agent issue in perspective, we need to remember that the Monque and Atewa almost didn’t bring it up. Another concern is that there were some personnel issues during their visit here. While we don’t know for certain, these seemed to be due to Durale activity in their World.

“While we now know more about the Lonstradaze it is not nearly as much as we think we know about the other three groups. It will likely take more interaction before we begin to understand them and their interests. None of us saw any indication that they were predatory toward us. From our perspective, we think they are measured in their approach to establishing trade arrangements. A counter to this is that we don’t have a variety of goods to offer at this point, although we can offer services.”

“An excellent summary,” responded Sally. “Unless someone wishes to comment we should move on to our next topic, which is the delegations going to the Atewa and Monque Worlds? Who do we want to make the trip? What are our objectives? What role do we want the agents to fill?”

Brandan said, “As to who goes, we should send two Badb2 cruisers with 2 Security Teams on each cruiser, which means sending 4 teams to each World. That way two teams can return with the agents we’ve hired for their ‘working vacation’. The teams selected should be experienced.”

“I like the idea of two teams on each cruiser,” commented Calvin with Kelly, Chester, and Rusty nodding in agreement. “Think a flight of Star Fighters is sufficient?”

“Yes.”

They spent the rest of the morning creating plans for the delegations’ visits to the Atewa and Monque Worlds. They were based heavily on the information Lasmrina and Merraize had provided before they left.

Once that was complete Paula of Maureen’s Clan said, “It is lunch time. Do we want to eat here or go to the dining room?”

“I think going to the dining room would give us a nice break,” suggested Colleen.

“We agree,” replied the rest of the group.

Courtney said, “The real reason you suggested the dining room is so that we could walk around.”

“Yea, I thought a walk would quiet down the occupants of my baby bump.”

“So how do you feel?” queried Caitlyn.

“Actually, pretty good. Before the Lonstradaze arrived I was concerned that meeting with them would be too tiring. However, that turned out not to be a problem. Although I haven’t heard anything, I think some were surprised by how active we were this far along in our pregnancy.”

Joyce said, “Could some of the reactions we interpreted as shy or guarded, really be due to the differences between our cultures? Especially the presence of pregnant working women.”

“That’s a possibility,” responded Eleánóir of Keriann’s Clan. “While I never sensed any hostility from them, it seemed like my interactions were always at arms-length.”

“We didn’t note that in our earlier discussion.”

“Yes, we did. Although it wasn’t quite that explicit.”

“The food smells good. Let’s eat,” said Joyce as her stomach growled.

“Hurry up, feed it,” responded Courtney as she acted like she was protecting her babies, prompting several of the group to laugh.

As they were returning to Iolar’s conference room Niamh of Keriann’s Clan saw Colleen pause as they were walking down the corridor. She said, “Colleen, are you okay?”

“Yes. Why?”

“Well you seemed to hesitate as you took a step.”

“‘Cause two of them were kicking. You would think they would be nicer to me since I am carrying them around.”

“They probably just want out.”

“Oh ... that is very true. In fact, they’ve even told me that.”

“Have you picked names yet?”

“Yes, but I’ve decided to wait and share them after they are born. They will be 3 girls and a boy.”

Judy of Sarah’s Clan said, “Our next discussion is on ways to improve people’s telepathic skills. One suggestion I’ve heard was to limit communication to just telepathy on certain days.”

Kathy of Kathryn’s Clan responded, “I am not sure that usage is the problem. I think the issue is that they have the idea that, ‘Great, I am now telepathic so I will always detect people who bear me ill will.’ As we know that is totally wrong. I’ve told people that, but it doesn’t seem to register.”

“Even so, becoming more skilled and reliant on telepathy should increase the probability of someone using it to summon assistance when they’re in peril,” responded Maeve. “But in the recent cases it appears that the victims didn’t sense any danger until they were under the influence of their captors. How that occurred is still being assessed. Another major contributor to their situation was that their disappearance was not known about for several days.”

Maureen asked, “True. Presuming Leisl and Jodie would do it, we could ask them to give a talk on their experience and what they would do differently?”

“That is a good idea and I think they would be willing,” responded Judy, with Kathy and Mégane nodding in agreement.

Emma said, “Them not being missed for several days really surprises me. Logging out with Security when you leave Tara settlement for other than work has been a rule almost since we’ve been here. I don’t understand why none of them did that when they left on their outings.”

“That was because they had the impression that you only needed to log out when you went exploring,” responded Aisling. “That has since been clarified.”

“Do we know why no one sought them out when they didn’t appear for their shift?”

“We’ve heard several of what seem to be valid reasons. Their outing started just after they finished their last shift before their 3 day break. While they all had groups of friends, they weren’t tightly associated with a particular group so their absence not being noticed until the break was over is not surprising. Additionally, at Tara, when someone’s work moves to a different location it takes longer for the documentation to be updated. This is much different to how things occur on our ships.”

Brittany of Kathryn’s Clan said, “Since the incident Tara Ardchlár’s Security Center has indicated that more people are notifying them when they leave the settlement area. The SC is now complaining about vague itineraries and not being informed when they return. The latter has been partially addressed by reaching out telepathically to ask their location. If there is no response, then a search is initiated.”

“Do we know if any of the other Iridiens have been harassed because of the incident?” queried Alissa of Molly’s Clan.

“Nothing has been reported,” responded Mairia of Jackie’s Clan. “Since the incident Intelligence has been monitoring them fairly closely. In the most recent report it was noted that the people they socialize with hasn’t changed and that they all appear to be comfortable here. It is hard to assess whether they feel like they are a part of our family from their actions as they’ve spent most of their time in the learning centers.”

“It can take quite a while before a new place feels like home. When you add in a significant change in cultural environment, it can take a lot longer.”

“True, but I am surprised by the amount of time they are spending in the learning centers. Do we know why?” asked Violetta of Kathryn’s Clan.

“Skills assessment is one reason as without telepathy it takes longer. Also, our procedures and terminology are significantly different from what they know. Since we are on a planet the training on procedures and terminology may not be absolutely necessary because some of it is specific to our ships. However, knowing the additional terminology should aid them in understanding coworker’s comments. Thus they will be able to fully contribute sooner, with fewer mistakes and accidents.”

Jill said, “Some have opted to learn a different skill, as the skill assessment results indicated a significant strength in that area. Others took the opportunity to review our training session for their skill set.”

“For those who’ve completed a course, their final evaluation was very good.”

Calvin said, “Well that is good to hear. To me that indicates that they are positive about being here. Building new relationships takes time, and the opportunities will increase as they become more involved.

“We touched on exploring Ananu earlier. To me the environment on Ananu is quite different from the one we left, while at the same time it seems very similar. The variety of wildlife is one significant difference. Have there been any comments regarding interactions with wildlife? In particular, predators?”

“All I’ve seen are reports on the sightings of different species,” said Brigid of Keriann’ Clan. “Many included photographs along with comments on how the animals responded to our presence.”

“So, for many of us the animals seem to resemble those that inhabited Earth at one time or another,” added Terry of Sarah’s Clan. “However, the assignment of species names is based on their resemblance to other World’s species.”

Kriss of Molly’s Clan added, “I am surprised by the similarity between the species of the different Worlds. As we get to know more about them it will be interesting to see if there are any significant differences.”

Sarah said, “Molly’s and Jackie’s Clans have indicated they would like to make the next trip to An Clochán. When do we want that to happen?”

Mairia of Jackie’s Clan responded, “We think departure on the 44^th of Tenmonth would be a good choice.”

“Why is that?” queried Kelly.

“Well it is a week after we are scheduled to begin occupying the temporary quarters in the Residential Hubs. This will result in emptying one of the passenger ships and trim both our Dóchas class ships back to a normal size crew. The latest projected number of arrivals at An Clochán indicates that there will be enough people to fill a passenger ship. If there are more than that then some can travel on Marthanóir and Fiontar. If that occurs, then we need to be sure they have the appropriate skills.”

“Do we want to rotate staff with those at An Clochán?” queried Brandan.

Kathleen of Molly’s Clan said, “I think they would like to do that.”

“Can we do a full An Clochán staff exchange?” asked Angie of Kathryn’s Clan.

Alissa of Molly’s Clan responded, “Only if we spend a minimum of 2 weeks there. That should be enough time to ensure that the switch goes smoothly. That is a little longer than we intended to stay, so we need to discuss it as it could take even longer.”

Mairia said, “One benefit for us is that a longer stay would make it easier for us to arrange visits with our friends on Earth. This presumes that it is still possible, and that they are interested in visiting with us.”

“You might want to consider having the visits at New Comrie,” noted Chester.

“We are considering that.”

“So is everyone comfortable with the preliminary An Clochán trip plans?” asked Siobhan.

“What if there are requests for a meeting by one of Earth’s governments?”

“Not to be flippant, but you have the ‘Prime Directive’ to guide you, and you are there so the decision lies with you all. If you want to discuss it, I am sure we can mind-link.”

“You aren’t being flippant. I guess the issue for us is that we will be on our own.”

“We are certain that you’ll do just fine,” responded Joyce.

“Let’s move on to the next item,” said Molly.

Siobhan said, “Next is a review of our defensive plans followed by our progress at Tara.”

Jim of Amy’s Clan said, “For defensive plans, we are currently projecting that it will be at least 18 months before the first two forts are operational. Current plans are to build a total of 6. The first two will be placed at Ananu’s L5 and Alpha Luna’s L5. These will be followed with forts at the L4 positions for Ananu and Alpha Luna. The last two will be placed in an orbit around Celia that is larger than Ananu but with the same orbital period. One will be above Ananu’s orbital plane and the other below. We expect that this positioning will require more station keeping capabilities than the others. At this time we don’t have a firm plan on how to manage that. It is theoretically possible. The alternative is to outfit the asteroid so that the position control is similar to our ships.