Chapter 28

After breakfast the three clans traveled further inland, following the stream to the southeast until they reached another large meadow. This meadow was flatter than the one they had visited the day before. There were fewer areas covered with trees and brush and it was, for the most part, open range covered in tall grass. Along one side of the meadow there was an abrupt change in elevation due to a line of low cliffs. In the distance the meadow rose until the line of cliffs disappeared. In many places the cliffs were obscured by trees and brush, but these didn’t extend very far into the meadow.

It was mid-day when Erin said, “Joyce, your suggestion to use this knoll as our gathering point was a great idea. It provides an excellent view of our surroundings so is an excellent place to have lunch and relax. I wonder how long it will be before the others return?”

“Ah ... you loosened your link with everyone, didn’t you?”

Erin nodded with a smile. “Not for long, but probably long enough for us to get everything ready.”

“I do that sometimes to see if it changes my perspective. I also do it when I meditate.”

“I think all of us do occasionally. This is a lovely location.”

“It is. What did you think of those watching us today?”

“I suspect we were being sized up as a possible protein source.”

“Is that because there were several of them stalking us?”

“Only those that were downwind of us. They probably see us as herd animals due to the way we move around. If any of us were by ourselves and they were hungry an attack wouldn’t surprise me.”

“I agree. Currently I don’t sense any of them nearby, however I did set up a shield.”

“I noticed it and was glad you thought of it,” responded Erin as they set out the rest of the lunch items. “So what term should we use for the way we transfer between locations? I’ve heard it referred to as ‘teleporting’ but the action is also similar to way the term ‘transfer spell’ is used in stories about witches.”

“Although we don’t use glyph symbols to initiate the transfer, to me the result closely resembles my perception of a witch’s ‘transfer spell’.”

“You know, this would be a good topic to discuss during lunch.”

“Agreed. I’ll leave it to you to bring it to the table.”

“Abandoning me, huh?”

“Absolutely not,” laughed Joyce drawing Erin into a hug.

When they finished they stood together, arms around one another, admiring the scenery. Only a few moments passed before the other members of their clan begin arriving.

Sarah said, “The food smells great.”

“Yes, it does,” responded several others as they materialized nearby.

As they greeted each other Maeve said, “As much as I would like to begin, we should wait for the others to return.”

Keriann said, “We will be there in a few minutes.”

“So will we,” added Tiff of Siobhan’s Clan. “Hope there is lots to eat because all of us are very hungry.”

“Looks like it,” replied Aoife. “We have a shield up.”

“Thanks,” replied both Keriann and Tiff.

When everyone had selected what they wanted for their lunch and was seated Erin said, “Shortly before everyone returned Joyce and I had a brief discussion regarding the appropriate word to use when describing the way we transfer between locations. I’ve heard ‘teleporting’ and ‘transfer spell’, along with a few variations of the latter. So what do we think is the best term to use?”

Keriann said, “Describing our ability to transfer as ‘teleporting’ is incorrect. When I’ve heard ‘teleporting’ being used it has been associated with using a special device on a spaceship. To the best of my knowledge we’ve never used that technique, although I think we have the knowledge to do so.”

“You are correct,” responded Claudette.

Siobhan said, “To me it is a psionic ability. When we first started using our psionic abilities it was necessary for several of us to work together in order to be effective with some of them. In many cases that is no longer necessary, but we can still increase the effectiveness of some by working together.”

“I remember the first time we transferred to a different location as a group,” said Kelly. “It took all of us, along with a mentor, to accomplish it. Now we can do it as individuals, provided the distance is not too great, and we can go a significant distance when we transfer as a group.”

Judy said, “Even for individual transfers I suspect we are drawing on everyone in the clan, it is just not an active assistance.”

“Well I do know that my appetite increases when we exercise our psionic abilities,” added Melissa of Siobhan’s Clan as she filled her plate again.

The discussion continued until Conan said, “This morning we practiced nearly all the exercises that we planned too, so either we are better than we think, or we didn’t plan very well.”

Chester said, “I think that is true for us as well. However, I don’t think either of those reasons is valid. I am fairly certain that all of us have frequently practiced our abilities mentally. From my perspective that shows up by how well we performed during today’s exercises. Which leads to the question I think Conan intended, do we want to continue exercising our abilities or is there something else we should focus on?”

Conan nodded in agreement.

“Before we get to far away from our lunch time discussion,” said Sarah, “I have a suggestion regarding terminology. We should refer to our ‘transfers’ as that, with no modifier. We know what we mean by the way we use the word and its context so we should leave it at that.”

“Agreed,” replied the group.

Kendra added, “What about the other clans?”

“Well since we are loosely linked they are probably aware of our discussion but may not realize it yet,” responded Amber. “We could also revisit this discussion when more of us are together.”

“From our perspective that is not necessary,” replied Maureen. “I think you have all done very well in covering the topic. However several of the Security Teams have the transfer ability, so we should bring them into that discussion.”

“Hmm ... I didn’t sense you all in our link.”

“Not to the degree we usually are, but enough to be comfortable with the choice you’ve made. Although circumstances in the future may change how we choose to refer to the ability.”

Grinning Jill said, “Oh, my. Are you saying that the definition of words changes with time?”

“We can see your grin all the way from here and as a teacher you know that it does.”

“True. Since you are linked in, how are things?”

“Everything seems to be moving right along. There have been a few issues but nothing significant. We do miss you all being nearby. As to the terminology discussion, I suspect Kathryn’s and Amy’s Clans will notice it this evening.”

“We miss you all as well. We will let the Security Teams know of our discussion.”

“Good. Enjoy your outing.”

“The one thing we could do after lunch is take a dream-walk around this area,” said Janet. “Although we do use that skill quite a bit this could expand its utility as exercising it in this way is different from the way we usually use it. It would also let us evaluate a larger area than we did this morning.”

“Let’s have each clan take a separate journey, we can then compare notes afterwards,” suggested Oriel. “I know we haven’t decided on activities for this evening, but I hope we are still planning on having a fire.”

“Suits us,” responded several of the group.

Sally added, “A few of us should keep an eye on our surroundings while we are on our dream-walks.”

“Good idea. We could stagger our walks to accomplish that,” responded Brigid. “We probably want to limit a walk to less than 2 hours.”

“We agree.”

Aoife said, “With that kind of energy expenditure we will probably feel like taking a nap afterwards.”

“Well with all we ate, I could do that right now,” responded Eleánóir smiling and rubbing her tummy.

“We are coming back to this area tomorrow so why don’t we limit our dream-walks to an hour or so?” queried Tiff. “Then after everyone has returned, we can compare notes. That way we won’t be as exhausted.”

“That is a good idea,” responded several as the others nodded in agreement.

“If you all are agreeable, we will go first,” said Rusty.

“Suits us,” said Siobhan. “The second group can begin their walk about 30 minutes after you start.”

Everyone said, “Fine.”

Later, while Sarah’s Clan waited for the other two clans to return from their dream-walks, they relaxed. To a casual viewer they appeared to be two groups resting on the grassy knoll. One group consisted of the two clans involved in a dream-walk, who appeared to be sleeping, the second group moved occasionally as they sat relaxing or cuddling with one of their spouses. While not obvious this group carefully observed their surroundings.

It was nearing time for Keriann’s Clan to return when Maeve asked, “Why don’t we return to our base camp before reviewing our dream-walks with each other?”

“We could. Do you see an advantage in doing that?” queried Alison.

“Well we need to go back at some point. By waiting until we are back at camp, we could relax as we review them together. After our review is done I suspect we will want to look at some areas again, which we can do tomorrow. By being at our camp site we can also do other things, as well as dinner preparation, before dusk. For instance, if we are going to have a fire tonight firewood needs to be gathered.”

“Good point. I noticed that several of us are pretty keen on having a fire, and I am among that group as I’ve always enjoyed a camp fire. Watching the flames dance is a good way to relax”

Joyce added, “It is. As to our exercises today, I think we did pretty well although we had a few rough spots. I am glad we are going to practice again tomorrow.”

“Why?” asked Sarah with a smile.

“Because, as Sally keeps telling us, practice is essential to maintaining our abilities and we probably don’t practice them enough. At the same time I think the 6 or so hours of we practiced today is enough for one day, especially if you include our dream-walk.”

“Agreed,” responded her spouses.

“I like Maeve’s idea of us returning to the camp site once everyone has completed their dream-walk.”

Alison said, “Either this evening or tomorrow some of us should take a dream-walk up the other stream. This morning before we left I looked toward the meadow we crossed yesterday and it looked like it was still flooded, however it was still fairly dark.”

“Think the area is still flooded?” asked Tara.

“Don’t know, but we should look as that will give us an idea of how fast the area drains.”

“Well I’ll bet the meadow is now very marshy, probably swampy,” replied Terry.

“The bank on the other side was pretty soft when we crossed it yesterday.”

It was a little over half an hour after Sarah’s Clan had returned from their dream-walk that Keriann’s Clan began to stir as they returned from theirs. They stood and stretched then gave their spouses a hug before sitting down near Sarah’s Clan.

“How was your dream-walk?” queried Aoife.

“Nice. We noticed some items that we didn’t notice earlier but no surprises.”

“Sounds like ours.”

Maeve said, “What would you think of going back to camp before we compare dream-walks?”

Kelly looked thoughtful for a moment then replied, “That seems like a good idea. Any particular reason?”

“Well going back now provides us with more flexibility in what we do between our return and dusk. For one we could take a dream-walk up the other stream and perhaps see what the meadow across the stream looks like. We could relax and snuggle up with each other, which is an idea I like. If we are going to have a fire then wood needs to be gathered before dark, but that shouldn’t take very long.”

Keriann smiled as Maeve suggested the possible benefits.

Emma followed Maeve with, “Actually, based on the tidbits I saw of your dream-walk I think the differences we find will be due to the time difference and perspective. We are agreeable to doing the review here or back at camp, but we like your reasoning.”

While waiting for Siobhan’s Clan to return Keriann’s and Sarah’s Clans began packing for the return and then checked the area for trash. They were chatting when Siobhan’s Clan began to come out of their dream-walk. Keira was the first to open her eyes and looked around. It wasn’t long before the rest of her clan were again active.

Tiff of Siobhan’s Clan said, “Wow, it looks like you all are anxious to leave. Were we gone that long?”

“No, just a little over an hour,” said Sally. “About the same length of time each of us took.”

Maeve replied with a smile, “Well while you all were out gallivanting around, we decided to take care of housekeeping. It needed to be done anyway, so we can now leave whenever we decide.”

“So how was your journey?” queried Keira of Siobhan’s Clan.

“Well from my perspective, it wasn’t very different from the brief views we had of yours before we left, however Caitlyn was our scribe,” replied Emma.

Kendra said, “I sense that you have a proposal?”

“Well sort of,” responded Maeve. “We were talking about returning to base camp before we share what we saw on our dream-walks. What is your preference?”

After a pause Keriann replied with, “It doesn’t matter to us. In either case, by the time we share our dream-walks it could be pretty close to dinner time. We don’t think it would be very wise to be here at dusk, so let’s head back.”

“It does give us more flexibility in how we sequence our other activities this afternoon and evening.”

Tiff added, “Relaxing would be great as I think all of us would welcome it, perhaps even a nap.”

“Well we can leave as soon as you all are ready. There are drinks on the middle sled.”

Sally said, “Before we leave, what do we want to do about the approaching predators, if anything?”

“Did you have something in mind?” queried Kelly.

“Tossing some blue energy balls toward them to see how they react. Causing some rocks to explode is another option. We could touch them telekinetically to see how they respond.”

After looking around Kelly noted, “Well they are now considerably closer than when I noticed them earlier. So are they curious, or are they considering attacking?”

“Not sure. They are moving slowly toward us, so them stalking us is a possibility.”

“Seeing them reminds me of an observation we noted on our dream-walk.”

“What was that?”

“There doesn’t seem to be enough large game in this area support as many predators as we’ve seen.”

“Good point,” responded Conan. “We noticed the ratio as well, but hadn’t considered the consequences.”

Chester said, “Rather than tossing energy balls at them, why don’t we wait and see how they react to us leaving?”

“Good idea,” replied Sally. “Although let’s be prepared anyway.”

“Agreed.”

It wasn’t long before they were ready to depart. They stepped aboard their IPTPs and lifted off. As they began to rise the predators began barking and howling as they ran toward the top of the knoll. The first few ran into the shield and bounced back into others. When the clans were several meters above the ground they collapsed the shield letting the animals swarm over the area. The three clans circled the knoll several times observing the predators’ reaction to their movement before turning toward their base camp. Not surprisingly some of the predators followed them.

Sally said, “I am curious as to what would have happened if we had stayed. Were they planning to attack? Did our departure indicate that we were afraid of them?”

“We won’t know until we are near them again, ” replied Melissa, “and maybe not then.”

“Some of them are following us.”

“Yes,” responded several.

“Well not very many and we will soon be out of sight. Since we are not on the ground they shouldn’t have a scent to follow either.”

Chester said, “Well we can add to that by not heading directly toward camp until they are out of sight. It’s likely that we will come across them tomorrow. If we do then we should watch them to see how they hunt.”

“I wonder if Zoe’s team is interested in placing cameras here?” asked Caitlyn.

“I’ll check after we reach base camp,” responded Janet.

“Except for the training area, I think this is the farthest anyone has ventured into Carey’s interior,” noted Conan. “We were told that the wildlife on the other continents was more aggressive than we’ve found on Gaillimh.”

“Good point,” responded several of the others.

When their camp came in to view Kelly said, “It looks like we have visitors.”

Several of the group chuckled on hearing Kelly’s comment. It was clear that their path would take them between two small herds. On one side was a herd of cattle and on the other was a herd of animals that resembled Earth’s horses.

Tiff, Kendra, and Siobhan were leading the group. Siobhan said, “Unless someone objects, I don’t see any reason to alter our path.”

“Well, they’ve seen us, and haven’t moved,” said Kendra.

“It might be different if we headed toward them,” responded Brigid. “However, I am not suggesting we do that.”

“Quite a few appear to be watching us,” noted May of Siobhan’s Clan.

“Well this may be the first time they’ve seen any of us and are attempting to determine if we are a threat. I would’ve expected them to be more wary of us, but there isn’t any indication of that.”

“Is it my imagination or are those horses taller than those on Gaillimh Island?”

“Not sure. We could try to get a closer look later today.”

“Okay. When we do that, let’s take some photos of the animals.”

“Any particular reason?”

“Well I thought those setting up farms and ranches could be interested in them.”

“Hadn’t thought of that.”

As they passed the herds Kelly said, “They are further from our camp than they appeared to be.”

“Well we aren’t between them and access to the lower meadow or water, so I think we are fine,” noted Joyce.

“We also have a shield up so none of that should be an issue,” said Eileen.

“True. I had forgotten that we have the shield up as I didn’t notice its usual slight shimmer.”

After storing the IPTPs and other items the clans sat down and shared what they had seen in their earlier dream-walks. Once they reviewed their observations, Joyce, Oriel, and Melissa took turns noting the positions of each observation on a virtual terrain map. When they finished Keriann said, “I wonder what we overlooked.”

Rusty replied, “Well we have another chance tomorrow. However, from my perspective, we’ve accomplished a lot today. Certainly there are details that we’ve missed. Since I presume we will be in that area tomorrow we will undoubtedly notice more then.”

“Are we going for an early start in the morning?” queried Emma.

“We can,” replied several.

“It may be a good idea,” added Sarah.

“Why?” asked Conan.

“If we arrive before dawn we will likely see more wildlife than we did today and perhaps get an idea of their habits.”

Siobhan said, “That is a good idea but we should use a different knoll. In fact there is a taller one several kilometers south of today’s that appears to be a good choice.”

“Are you referring to the one with several smaller knolls around it?” said Erin.

“Yes. It was the highest and had a few trees on it. The smaller ones had only clumps of brush scattered among the tall grass.”

“Let’s check it out in the morning.”

Joyce said, “I contacted Zoe and she asked for the meadow’s coordinates. They intend to place several cameras around it either tomorrow afternoon or the following morning.”

“Great,” responded a number of people.

“Does anyone want to change our plans for tomorrow?” queried Sarah.

“Why?” asked Eleánóir. “From my perspective, our exercises today went very well but we didn’t do any of those we planned for the second day.”

“I was simply raising the topic.”

Sally said, “While I haven’t discussed it with my spouses, I think there are several exercises we did this morning that we should run through again. Taking the time for the extra practice I think will help us with the newer exercises.”

“Good, I could use more practice with those abilities we used today,” added Eleánóir.

“As my spouses know, I think we should exercise them more frequently.”

“How frequently?” responded Brigid.

“Frequently enough that their use comes naturally, or at least without much, if any, forethought.”

“I like that.”

“Being able to use them instinctively is a definite benefit,” added Chester.

“So are we set for tomorrow?” asked Eileen of Siobhan’s Clan.

Amber said, “To me the only difference is that we will try to be there at first light or a little earlier. Agreed?”

“Yes,” replied everyone.

Casidhe said, “You know we could eat breakfast there.”

“Good idea,” responded Eleánóir of Keriann’s Clan.

“Let’s plan on having a camp fire again tomorrow,” added Melissa.

“We still have quite a bit of time before dinner,” said Kelly, “so we are going to take a dream-walk upstream. Does anyone else want to join us?”

“Go ahead,” said Alison. “While you are doing that we will gather firewood and begin to set-up for dinner.”

Tiff said, “Some of us are going to take a closer look at the cattle and horses.”

Siobhan queried, “Do you want us to wait until you are back before we take our dream-walk?”

“Not really.”

“Before we go our separate ways, are we planning on sleeping under the stars?” queried Keira.

“Well the sky is clear,” responded Siobhan, “so I don’t see why not. We should inflate the habitats so they are available if we need them.”

“Which style did we bring?”

“Those that are a little more elaborate than tents,” replied Chester.

“Oh that’s right. We were talking about setting them up last night before it clouded over. At least we don’t need to worry about the weather tonight.”

“True. Even so, I suspect that the dew will be pretty heavy in the morning so anyone sleeping under the stars should do it under something that is water repellent.”

“I plan to,” responded Keira. “Waking up cold and wet is not my idea of fun, especially when it can be avoided.”

Chester laughed then added, “It is definitely not fun to be cold and wet anytime.”

“I agree!” exclaimed Rusty.

The next morning the three clans arrived at the knoll just as the sky began to lighten. Soon after arriving they set up a shield around their location. While the shield didn’t obscure their presence to a careful observer, it did make them more difficult to see. With a perimeter established those not involved in breakfast preparation took positions around the knoll to observe activity in the meadow.

The sun had just begun illuminating the tops of the highest trees on the west side of the meadow when Sarah spread out a map on the sled they were using for a table. Before she could say anything Chester said, “Wow. A printed map, I didn’t think they were allowed.”

After the laughter quieted down Sarah said, “There are times when they are very practical.”

“True. Especially when your electronic gadget runs out of power or loses signal.”

“Last night we noted some features of this valley on a virtual map. Those were based on our observations during our dream-walks, but we don’t really know how accurate our perception of distance is when dream-walking.”

“True,” replied Chester.

“So you are suggesting that we establish actual distances for the different features we noted last night,” said Conan.

“Yes, I thought of this as I was drifting off to sleep last night. It wasn’t till breakfast that I remembered it. My only concern is whether it is worth the effort.”

“Oh, now that you’ve raised the issue, I think it is,” responded Chester. “We could divide the valley into sectors with each of us covering one sector.”

“Why?” asked Kendra of Siobhan’s Clan.

“In this case, the data would give us a more accurate survey of this valley. If we tune the distance we sense in a dream-walk, then the information we gain becomes more valuable. This is especially true when it involves a strategic issue. It could assist us when planning to inhabit a new area.”

“So it is like the exercises we’ve been doing?” queried Keira.

“To some extent,” responded Kelly. “So far most of our exercising has focused on control of the abilities we use to defend ourselves. It is something we must learn to do well. Can we use those abilities in other ways? I think so and I see this as a step in that direction.”

“True.”

They discussed the idea until Sarah said, “It sounds like we agree with the proposal. Let’s divide the area into four quadrants like this then we can finish before lunch.”

After looking at the annotated map Amber noted, “But we only have three clans.”

“True, but our clan can split up so it functions as two groups. That will give us about the same number of people covering each quadrant.”

“We can certainly finish by lunch if we use our IPTPs,” Keriann commented.

As they were getting ready to depart Alison said, “I think I will monitor you all from here as I don’t feel comfortable leaving this area unattended.”

After a moment Claudette said, “I agree and I will also remain here as I think it is unwise for Alison to be here alone.”

“Okay, let’s be about it,” said Sarah. The Órarduine hugged each other before going their separate ways. Rusty led half of Sarah’s Clan and Sarah led the other half. After the four groups left Alison and Claudette sat down with their backs to each other. They positioned themselves so that their presence wasn’t readily discernible from a distance.

Meanwhile on a ridge west of the Órarduine camp three people wearing clothes similar to the Atewa Special Ops members were resting in the shade.

Two days earlier they had set up an observation post so that they had a good view of the location where Órarduine usually camped. It had been close to the projected time for the Órarduine to arrive that they had learnt that they were in the wrong location. They were given new coordinates and told to move their equipment to the new location by proceeding south along the ridge. To minimize the chance of being spotted they had traveled along the west side of the ridge.

It was just before daybreak when they arrived at the new location. The rain and slippery footing had delayed their trek. On reaching the new location the leader had walked up to the ridge and scanned the area east of them. When he saw the flooded valley floor he had wondered ‘now where did they go’. It was then that he noticed the Órarduine camp on the far ridge at nearly the same elevation as he was. As a result his view was limited to activity on this side of the Órarduine encampment. He had hoped that the group further south had a better view due to their higher elevation.

It was after dawn by the time the three of them were set up. Using their telescopes they had slowly scanned the Órarduine camp and had been surprised to see two shuttles there but no other activity. Taking advantage of the lull they had decided to sleep in 2 hour shifts until they saw any activity in the other camp.

Siobhan’s Clan was about half way through their quadrant of the valley when PSTA01 said, “Siobhan’s Clan, this is PSTA01.”

“Aye, PSTA01. This is Siobhan. What’s up?”

“There were four unknown people examining the outside of the ship. One attempted entry using the interface posing as an Órarduine. Phoenix FOC has been advised.”

“What are these people doing at the moment?”

“They are gathered around four large bags talking. While I can hear them it is not a language on file.”

“Okay. Move to where we are camped. When you leave there do a vertical rise to 500 meters, then go east about 100 km then head south. Contact DSTA01 when you turn south as she can give you our coordinates.”

“Any special precautions here?”

“What is your current status?”

“All systems are flight ready, have been since their entry attempt as that activates all defensive resources.”

“Good choice. When ready sound the external alarm as you begin to lift off.”

“Aye.”

“Advise when you reach DSTA01 location.”

“Aye.”

Looking at Melissa she said, “What did you learn from FOC?”

“The pot is bubbling,” she replied with a smile. “It turns out that two Badb cruisers were en route to Carey when our shuttle AI contacted Phoenix FOC with the issue. They’ve been diverted to check the landing area we used and will likely arrive before our shuttle lifts off. On the cruisers are 4 Spec Ops teams, 4 lions, and a forensic team.