Chapter 21

Rusty, Alena, and Joyce had just finished preparing the wine, cheese, and bread when the three women were close enough to be acknowledged. Sarah’s Clan said, “Hello,” and bowed toward their visitors.

With a smile the three said, “Good afternoon. May we join you?”

Sarah’s Clan responded as one, “Most definitely. We are most honored by your visit.”

Cabd said, “Judging by your actions we presume you know of us?”

“While we aren’t certain, we suspect that you are the Goddesses of this System,” responded Aoife. “Our mentors advised us shortly after our arrival that the deities here were from a different family than those in the System we left. We refer to that system as Sol.”

“You are correct. We know them, but not very well. There aren’t many families of deities who oversee more than one solar system.”

Sarah said, “We don’t know your customs for a gathering like this so we hope that the offering of wine, bread, and cheese is acceptable.”

“Oh ... this is very traditional and very acceptable. We also appreciated the offering you left for us shortly after your arrival. I am known as Cabd and with me are two of my sisters. On my right is Ariu and on my left is Iodla.”

Ariu said, “Our mother’s name is Canu. Our father is known as Laghdha.”

While her sisters were speaking Iodla took a sip of wine and then said, “This is excellent.” After placing a slice of cheese on a slice of bread she took a bite. “This is also very good. Mom and Dad would like this. Please join us as this should not go to waste.” She then began pouring wine into the other glasses as Ariu handed them round.

“So our presumption was correct,” said Sarah as she accepted the glass of wine.

“Yes,” responded Ariu with a smile. “I sense some discomfort. Please relax. While what we are doing is fairly unique, it is also a way for us to express our thanks to you. You’ve taken the initiative and welcomed us in a tradition that has been around for ages. We are thankful that destiny has guided you toward settling here.”

Once everyone had a glass Cabd said, “Let us share this wine and food as we begin to follow the path that destiny has laid before us as friends, while mutually respecting our roles during the journey.”

“Amen,” responded the others.

After everyone had tasted the wine and sampled the food Sarah said, “I think all of us have seen you at Tara Ardchlár at one time or another. The times I caught sight you, you were interacting with various people. I didn’t recognize you and wanted to meet you as I thought I’d met everyone in our family, but whenever I had the opportunity to do so I was distracted before I could start toward you. By the time the distraction was resolved you had disappeared again.”

“We know,” replied Cabd, Iodla, and Ariu with a smile.

Ariu continued, “That is because we weren’t ready to disclose who we are. The interactions you saw have given us multiple opportunities to learn more about your family. At times we have offered advice on solving the task at hand, or helped them find a solution to an issue they were having. Our goal was to gain a sense of your family before we met you and your sister clans.”

Iodla added, “When we heard that you were expecting visitors we decided to wait until after they had departed before introducing ourselves. We were considering when to arrange a meeting with you all when we heard of your intention to visit here. On learning that only your clan was coming and that only a few would know of your destination, we thought this would be an excellent opportunity to meet you.”

“Several of you are wondering about our desire to meet you, and we will share that in a moment,” said Cabd. “Like you we are telepathic. Also like you we avoid looking at another’s memories unless there is a specific reason to do so. The link I have with my sisters is similar to what you have with each other. Although normally our link is not as open as the links you have with your spouses, it can be as dynamic when the situation calls for it.

“We understand that the members of your clan were the first of the Órarduine breed. Although we have learnt a lot from those at Tara Ardchlár, there are many aspects of your people that we don’t fully understand. Your presence will add to the natural changes occurring in this planet’s environment. To make sure those changes don’t adversely impact you or the planet we need to know more about each other.”

Interrupting her Ariu said, “Wait Sis, I think we need a different approach as I sense that we are not giving the impression we intend.” Shifting her focus to Sarah’s Clan she continued, “Simply put, our desire to become better acquainted with you is due to the fact that you didn’t evolve here, so you don’t know us. We know that you honour and respect deities, and that the ‘Old Ones’ have seen fit to provide assistance via those you call mentors. As my sister mentioned, while we’ve learnt a lot about your family all of it is generalities, which leaves a lot that we don’t know. This lack of awareness and knowledge can lead to misunderstandings by us and by you. To resolve this we’ve chosen to become better acquainted with your clan and the other Councilor Clans. We chose to meet with you first because you were the first group to come together and form a clan. While you don’t see it this way, we see your clan as the nucleus of the Órarduine family.

“The reasons behind us being proactive in this regard stem from incidents that have occurred in other Systems when people from another System settled on an uninhabited planet. From our perspective those deities, our peers, mishandled the way they let the mortals know of their presence and of their expectations. Not knowing the new Solar system was overseen by a different deity family, some mortals continued to worship the deity they knew. In most instances this resulted in a relationship that was weak and full of misunderstandings. A few have developed a symbiotic relationship with their new deity, but it wasn’t as strong or vibrant as it should be.

“So, with this in mind, we’ve had many discussions with our Parents regarding ways to build a good relationship between us. Although they have some concerns with our strategy, they’ve agreed to let us take a direct approach and here we are. Although we’ve interacted with quite a few of your family, this is the first time we are disclosing who we are. Our goal is to meet the other Councilors in similar circumstances, and then for all of us to get together. This future gathering could be for a day or two, with us arranging it so that the rest of your family wouldn’t realize how long you were with us.”

Tara responded, “You used the word ‘symbiotic’ in describing how our relationship could be. Could you expand on what you meant?”

“A part of our strength and relevance comes from mortals having faith in us and their acknowledgment of us. We return that honour by responding to their requests for advice, guidance, or assistance. In addition to our inherent capabilities we have a view of the fabric of time which is similar to the precognition that some of your family has. While we can respond to prayers from all mortals in this System, the request from those who have a defined link with us will reach us faster. In some situations a delay can effect whether we will be able to intercede as circumstances often control what assistance we can provide. In general we believe that being more visible, or tangible, will strengthen the faith aspect of our relationship. Having observed you all since you arrived we have come to the conclusion that being more visible would benefit both of us. We think there could be issues with that, which is why we want to spend a couple of days with all of you.”

Smiling Maeve said, “Based on what you’ve said I gather that you assisted Jodie and Leisl several weeks ago.”

“Why do you say that?” queried Ariu.

“Primarily because outside assistance is the only logical explanation for how they managed to survive and their lack of serious injuries contributes to that belief.”

“Between us, you are correct. We were surprised both by their plea, and the fact that we heard it, as it had been a long time since any of our family had heard such a plea. By the time we realized its significance, it was almost too late. As a result, we took a more direct approach than is normally permissible.

“In time we suspect that they will remember more of the events, and possibly their contact with us. As for the others that died, we didn’t hear any pleas from them. If there had been an established relationship with them then it is very likely that we would have heard them. However, to be honest, hearing the plea only increases the likelihood that we can arrive in time. Even so, circumstances will determine whether we can actively intervene.”

Iodla said, “The whole incident surprised us as we hadn’t detected anyone with the character traits or intent of the perpetrators in anyone we had been near, although there are many that we haven’t met.”

“No disrespect, but neither did we,” responded Sally. “We’ve been somewhat selective in who we’ve welcomed into our family. Well that isn’t quite true as we’ve never rejected anyone, but typically when people indicate an interest in joining us they are interviewed with the goal of understanding why they’ve asked. Another objective is to make sure they understand all the implications of making that step. This initially began as a way to assess whether the person could adapt to living in a spaceship’s environment. Then, because of security issues, we began to use it as a way to look more closely at an applicant’s character and other personality characteristics. On our trip here we learnt that our approach had flaws, especially when the people were from a different breed and a different culture. Different languages within a culture can be an obstacle as well.”

“We gather that you’ve respond to pleas before,” commented Joyce.

“Yes, but not here. Those occurred when we were living with friends in other Systems. In those cases we were assisting our friends. Back many years ago this planet was populated by an intelligent breed who had developed an advanced civilization. When we were very young they made a series of decisions that led to their demise.”

Seeing the expressions on the faces of the Órarduine Cabd said, “When those people were evolving we understand that they had a good relationship with Mom and Dad, but as the people grew more knowledgeable the relationship weakened. From our perspective, this was due the way their interaction with Mom and Dad was described by the person with whom they interacted. Initially these were oral histories. When they developed a written language, their oral histories were recorded. When a new copy was needed, it was done by hand until the printing press was developed. We see slight errors between what was initially said and that which was printed. While the errors are not significant if it is read with a broad view. Unfortunately some did not do that and drew the conclusion that the guidance Mom and Dad gave them was no longer relevant, which may have been fine if not for subsequent events.

“These began with the arrival of aliens who became their good friends due to them assisting in further advancement of their technology. Before the aliens arrival Mother and Dad had advised the few that still listened that predators in the form of visitors from space would soon arrive. Their advice was not only ignored but derided. Many who spoke out against the close relationship with the aliens died. Once the aliens had established a strong relationship with the leaders, they began stripping the planet. From what we’ve read they were able to do this without alarming their victims enough for them to resist. In stripping the planet they took nearly everything that was easily packaged. This included animals, grains, food, people, raw materials, etc. By the time they left, the planet was pretty barren.

“Why didn’t Mother and Dad intervene? Well they felt that they had no justification in stopping the harvesting due to the vehemence with which their advice had been rejected.

“A century or so later the aliens returned intending to repeat the harvesting as the planet had pretty well recovered without the presence of a sentient species. This was due to Mother and Dad spending a lot of time guiding it. The planet was beautiful. Our parents made it very difficult for the aliens. There were side-effects from the methods they used to stop the harvest. We saw this when we returned as we were away at the time. While the aliens were still able to harvest quite a bit, it wasn’t nearly as much as they took the first time.

“As we expected they came again after about the same time span. Based on what my parents had learnt from other deities their return was anticipated. We were now old enough to help and we had a plan. This time they were not able harvest anything, and lost a lot of people and equipment in making the attempt. The damage to the planet was much less than the previous times, but it was still significant. Our parents can give you more details but you should only ask if you really need to know as it is something they really don’t like talking about.”

“Do you expect these aliens to return?” queried Terry.

“It is a possibility. However, based on the time between previous visits they should have been back at least three times since then, and they haven’t.”

“Will you know beforehand?”

“Yes. But actually we think your detection system would give you sufficient warning, and you would perhaps know before we do. When you began setting up your system it puzzled us, but now that we understand it, we are impressed.”

Cabd added firmly, “If they do return it would be beneficial for all of us to share the details on how we intend to respond.”

“These aliens sound somewhat similar to a group that entered Sol System not very long ago. At the time, we were a considerably smaller family than we are now. Anyway, a group arrived with the intent of harvesting the planet Earth, or 3^rd planet in Sol System. When they learned of our presence they became very interested in taking possession of us as they wanted our ships. They didn’t succeed, and actually never got very close to the planet either. We are certain that they didn’t launch any couriers after they entered the System.”

“In any case, we should compare notes because the tactics we used then would not be appropriate now.”

“Should we remind you of the need?” queried Jill.

“That is acceptable to us,” replied Ariu. “It is a discussion topic that should wait until after we have met all the Councilor Clans.”

“Good idea,” responded Rusty. “When the event occurred in Sol we had 5 Dóchas class ships fully operational but were light on crew. We also had no real experience in space battles.”

“Are those the large ships?”

“Well the Dóchas class ships are the 6 lined up along 3 perpendicular axes, plus the one alongside 1 axis. The others consist of two passenger ships and 4 cargo ships along with a lot of smaller ships. The passenger ships are leased from the Atewa and Monque.”

Iodla said, “Ah ... now the differences we saw in the ships and the activity surrounding them makes more sense.”

“I am not sure whether I should ask this question.”

Cabd said, “Why not, it is a reasonable one. But before you do, we like the guideline you have regarding answering questions. So, like you, there are some questions we won’t answer but we will give you a reason for not doing so. Your question?”

“When the Durale attacked us here their plans indicated that they were attempting to destroy the planet’s biosphere. Do you know if they would have succeeded?”

“Not to the extent they intended, but it would have taken the planet a long time to recover from the damage. As to the people that were on the island, most would have survived as we would have actively intervened. Even so, it would have taken them several generations to recover, and longer still to be space travelers again.

“As to the battle, from our perspective, you all did a fantastic job in countering it. Your strategy was not one we had heard of before but it worked.”

“Fortunately we discovered their approach when we did. If they had been closer, things would have been considerably more difficult.”

Ariu said, “Thank you for holding the prisoners on that island as it gave us an opportunity to carefully examine them. All the crew members knew the mission’s intent even though they weren’t formally told. We also learnt that these people have done this before, and we have confirmed that.”

“If we had known that we wouldn’t have sent them home.”

“After consulting with those of our peers who were affected, we gave them several presents to take home. They aren’t obvious but will have an effect on others like them. Enough said.”

“Yes. So we shouldn’t be concerned about them returning?”

“Let’s just say the probability is reduced but...”

“So we will continue to be watchful.”

Iodla said, “When you were at the beach with your children you were wise in not allowing them to swim unless there was a barrier. While a barrier is probably not needed for the beach on this island’s bay it is a good precaution. Now, the Iridiens currently on the remote island are not as wise, but we already knew that.”

Sally said, “They were cautioned about entering the water.”

“Well some never learn until it is too late.”

Sarah said, “I get the impression from what you’ve said that you can’t, or that it is hard for you, to visit our spaceships.”

“It is no more difficult than coming here. Our hesitation is because our presence would be more obvious as the ship’s crew is a smaller group.”

“Well we can solve that issue as we have set aside a compartment on each ship that we use when we transfer between them telekinetically. Tell us when you are coming and either we will show you around, or we will have some of our key Security Team members do it. Then, when you visit the crew, your presence will seem normal. While we think our ships are pretty nice, we really like being on this planet.”

Cabd looked at her sisters then said, “At some point we will take you up on your offer.”

“Our conversation has sort of gotten off track,” noted Iodla.

“Well sort of, but only because it is not what we had in mind,” responded Cabd.

Ariu said, “I meant to ask this earlier, am I correct in thinking that those you refer to as Mentors are the agents for the ‘Old Ones’?”

“That is our understanding,” responded Sarah. “We first met Aine and Creidne in circumstances very similar to the way we met you today. We have interacted with eleven of them and are glad to have them as friends.”

“So you know what they do?”

“Sure, they coach and advise.”

“Excuse me?”

“Well that is true of their role with us. However, we don’t know the details of their tasks when they are gone, or where they go, or who they see. We do know that they like using our location and see it as a place to come back to. We do interact with them socially as we consider them to be good friends. Not long ago they asked if they could move their home to be with us. Of course we said ‘yes’, and they have. Did I clarify my response?”

“Yes, definitely. So did they tell you anything about us?”

“Only that this System was overseen by a family of deities and your Parents names. Aine did indicate that she thought your family would contact us at some point.”

“Have your visitors seen them?”

“Yes.”

“Was anything said about their presence?”

Erin said, “Our family knows them as our Mentors. Several who joined us during our voyage here said that one Mentor resembled a deity on their home planet. I don’t remember any of the visitors asking about them. Is there an issue here?”

“No. We’ve seen them at Tara and wondered how your visitors had reacted to seeing them as their appearance is a little different from everyone else.”

Rusty replied, “True. I know at times we’ve referred to them as ‘our mentors’. Actually, in thinking about it, we may also have introduced them as that.”

“I am puzzled by your questions,” said Joyce.

“As you should be,” responded Cabd. “If we continue to wander around Tara it is likely that we will be noticed by those from the Atewa and Monque Worlds. While we think we should be noticeable, we don’t want to stand out or draw attention.”

After glancing at her spouses Sarah said, “We don’t see a need for you to change or alter your appearance. If you feel a need to change then it should be done soon, as waiting will likely lead to issues in the future. We suspect that more people have noticed you than you realize, well maybe not. However, if you significantly change your appearance it could complicate things when it is realized that you are Goddesses. Some will draw the conclusion that the people they saw with your current appearance were different Goddesses and this would likely result in you having multiple names, each would likely have different attributes as people only remember certain things.”

“So you don’t think our current appearance will be confused with any of the mentors.”

“No. Anyway, what if you are? If it was me, I would just tell them I wasn’t then thank them for the compliment. However, if you don’t want to correct that impression, ask them a question to distract their train of thought. I think the reason we noticed you was because we sensed that you were different, or special. Others in our family may do the same but I doubt if any of them will suspect that they are speaking to a Goddess.”

“Good point,” responded Iodla. “I think my sisters and I need to discuss how we want to approach this.”

Joyce said, “Again, we don’t think anyone will confuse you with one of the mentors. They may think you are one, and you are, just not in the way they are thinking. I don’t see any harm in not correcting them.”

“I think we’ve drifted again,” said Ariu. “But we should discuss this again when we are all together.”

“Agreed. We gather that you would like to know more about what we are doing, so how much detail should that include?” queried Claudette.

The Goddesses looked at each other and then Cabd said, “We don’t know the answer to that. Enough so we can comprehend what is taking place and the direction you are headed.”

“Why don’t we add that to the discussion topics when we all get together?”

“Good idea,” replied Iodla. “I think it should be toward the top of our list.

“Now we would like to get back to learning more about each of you. So let’s put Sarah on the spot and ask her to go first as she seems to be a key factor in all of you being together, and here. We would like to know more of your background before you became a member of Sarah’s Clan, along with how it formed.”

Sarah responded, “I am not sure I agree with me being the key factor in us arriving here. Also, considering that there are fifteen of us, I don’t think I should go into any great detail. So interrupt me if you want me to provide more information.”

Cabd, Ariu, and Iodla nodded indicating their agreement.

Sarah then described her background, beginning with when she moved in with her grandparents after her parent’s death, followed by attending college and on through to the time during which she met Sally and Rusty. With that lead in Sally followed her and used her outline as a guide. After that each spouse followed in the sequence that they had joined the clan.

When Alena finished Ariu said, “Thank you. Sarah, we find it interesting that you believe that intuition and telepathy are similar attributes.”

“I think they are related as I remember having good intuition even when I was very young. It was during the first time that I was forced to receive body modifications that I began hearing thoughts. At first I attributed this to my intuition, then as they became clearer I realized that I was actually hearing another’s thoughts. From this I got the idea of trying to project my thoughts to others. Initially each increase in my telepathic capability seemed to be induced by extreme stress. At some point, my use of it increased enough that it became easy. Before we arrived at the Connemare location on Earth Rusty, Sally and I were able and comfortable with exchanging thoughts. After the treatments that resulted in us becoming Órarduine our telepathic capability increased to the point that telepathic conversation was just as easy as verbal conversation. Telepathy does have some distinct advantages in a spaceship.

“Our Clan, as well as some others, gained additional psionic abilities when we became Órarduine, although not everyone has the same skill set. These additional abilities are also something we don’t say much about. Like any skill they need exercise so on Mars we set up a special place for that well away from our settlement. Since arriving here we have established an area on Carey, near the weapons range, where we exercise them.”

“We noticed you going there,” said Iodla. “With your weapons range there we presumed your visit was in relation to that.”

“It was, but not in the way you thought.”

“True.”

Ariu said, “It is getting late so we should be going so you can have dinner.”

“You could join us,” said Maeve with the others nodding.

“Thank you, but we have things we need to attend to, so perhaps another time.”

“Should we suggest to the other Councilor Clans the idea of spending a few days here?”

“That would be helpful,” responded Iodla, “now that we’ve spent some time with you, I am quite anxious to get to know the others.”

Ariu said, “Our approach in getting to know all of you is unique, as we don’t believe any of us have taken this approach before. So would you like for us to be more visible than the Gods and Goddesses that have been in your past? If so, is it a wise thing to do? Mother and Father have some reservations about our approach and this degree of interaction with you all. While we think the likelihood is small, there is some potential for them to place constraints on it.”

Rusty responded, “To me the underlying question you are asking is ‘which is better?’, ‘blind faith’ or ‘faith in a deity that I know’.”

“Are you thinking of it in terms of your field experience?” queried Cabd.

“Well ... not really. As you probably know all of us believe that there are deities, but that is completely different from knowing that there are. It is sort of like my feelings regarding Aine and her sisters. Knowing and interacting with them has been good for all of us but in the beginning we weren’t sure how it would work out.”

“So you would like to know us and be able to meet and chat with us?”

Rusty glanced at his spouses then replied, “Yes. As long as we can do it with respect and we all recognize the difference in our roles in fulfilling our mutual destiny. There are only a few of you but a growing number of people on the planet.”

“We have some thoughts on how to accomplish that, but let’s have that discussion another time.”

We will be on our way for now,” said Ariu as she stepped beside Sarah and pulled her into a hug, with her sisters following her example with Sarah’s spouses until they had hugged everyone.

Before leaving Ariu, Iodla and Cabd said, “Thank you for a very pleasant visit and we are looking forward to the next time.”

“We are pleased to have met you and spent this time together. We are looking forward to interacting with you and your family in the future,” responded Sarah’s Clan.

With their arms around their spouses they watched the three Goddesses start across the field. They had only gone a few meters before they simply vanished from sight.

Alena said, “Did we just spend a whole afternoon with three of the most beautiful individuals in the universe?”

“Yes,” replied everyone.

Sarah said, “We need to sleep on their proposal and then discuss the implications of following the path they’ve proposed.”

“Agreed.”

Joyce added, “From my perspective, I think all of us are excited about their proposal as I think it is something we’ve all wished for at times. A different way to state Rusty’s response is ‘how do we make it work?’”

“I was trying not to be quite that blunt.”

Just then Siobhan said, “So, are you guys back?”

“No not till tomorrow or the next day, why?” said Terry.

“Well you must have been really relaxed today because our link to you virtually disappeared, but now it’s back like it normally is.”

“We have had an extremely pleasant afternoon. You all should spend a few days here and unwind as it is really a great place.” On hearing Terry’s comment her clan looked at each other and smiled, knowing that the idea to visit the site had been planted.

“We just might take you up on that idea,” replied Siobhan’s Clan.

Eileen added, “Let us know when you are back so we can catch up. Have a great time!”