Chapter 32

Once everyone was seated in the Clans’ compartment on Dóchas Aoife asked, “Would you describe what you consider to be special abilities?”

Maz replied, “I am not sure where to start. I think that what you call telepathy we know as mind reading. I don’t know of any of us who’ve admitted to having that ability, but I think we all know some who are very good at knowing someone’s intent.”

“We consider telepathy and mind reading to be slightly different abilities. However the difference may only be true for us. For us telepathy is conversing without verbalizing, while mind reading is accessing another’s thoughts, and possibly memories. We are also aware that, at times, it may seem as though someone with strong empathic abilities can read someone’s thoughts.”

“Interesting. I hadn’t thought of that difference.”

“Do you have special abilities?” queried Jill.

“Well I am not sure. I was evaluated for special abilities in my fifth year of school, which is the traditional time for that. My family and I were told that my abilities were insignificant, my siblings and cousins had similar results. Needless to say my family was both disappointed and surprised as it was not consistent with our family history. However, as I got older it became apparent to me that I definitely had some ability. For instance, I know when someone is not speaking truthfully, and why. Also, I can locate someone quite easily. There have even been times when I thought I’d influenced others. As to whether these instances are an indication of me having paranormal abilities, I don’t really know.”

“Winz?”

“My experience is similar to Maz’s. I was actively discouraged from developing what abilities I do have as the reviewer didn’t expect me to be able to control them. The abilities I’ve discovered myself are similar to those Maz described. When I tried to get assistance in managing what I knew I had I was rebuked for challenging the evaluation, and told to behave or risk suffering dire consequences. Based on what I’ve seen I think all my family have abilities that they do not admit to. I am not aware of any of them receiving any training or assistance in perfecting those abilities, although I’ve overheard some of them claim that the secret to effectively using such abilities is to practice them. The training is supposed to teach you how to do that. I’ve tried to use my abilities but it was difficult to find a place where I wouldn’t be disturbed. The few times I had the opportunity I didn’t have much success. It was hard to focus due to fear of being caught.”

“Blee?”

“It is the same for me. So far Maz and Winz have avoided saying that not everyone is treated the same. The family members of the ‘in group’ didn’t like it when others had abilities that they didn’t, or were more proficient in using their known abilities.”

“That is not an unusual trait. Jar?”

“My evaluation was similar to the others. Like Maz, there are moments when I think mine are active. As to adding anything further, I think they’ve covered it pretty well.”

“So why the interest?” said Winz.

Tara said, “First, please rest assured that we believe what you’ve told us. However we sense that you are more capable in this regard than you realize, in spite of what you have been told. If you would like we may be able to assist you in learning more about what abilities you do have and how to use them.”

“Yes, please,” quickly responded the four youngsters.

“We have some concerns about what to expect from the passenger representatives at the meeting tomorrow. While we do have offensive and defensive capabilities, we prefer not to reveal this unless necessary. Based on the reports we have we suspect that they have already tried using their paranormal abilities on our people.”

Winz said, “I don’t know whether any of them can cast spells but I have heard that they can. To me it seems that they just use a form of hypnotism to get people to do their bidding. In doing this they appear to override how a person feels about an assignment or issue. Dutzcak has attempted to use that technique on me more than once without success.”

Joyce said, “I presume that each of you have observed events that you believe were the result of someone using special abilities.” The four nodded their agreement. “Would you describe some of these events?”

Blee, Maz, Winz, and Jar then took turns describing some of the things that they had noticed. After each of them had described several such events Winz said, “Being curious, what can you do besides exchange thoughts telepathically.”

“This is one,” replied Sally. A small blue translucent sphere appeared then floated above her hand. She then added several more. “These are really good to throw at something as they give a shock on impact.”

“Or this,” said Maeve. Winz gasped as she floated up then slowly settled back down.

Alison added, “Like the four of you, we can sense intent. There are other things we are capable of but demonstrations are best done outside or in a much larger room.”

“So you can create lightning and thunderstorms?”

“We don’t know. For those you need an atmosphere or biosphere and we haven’t often had that luxury so we haven’t attempted them.”

“Would you evaluate us? Well at least me.” asked Winz

“Remember it is your choice whether to proceed or not. When you return to your ship we suspect that some passengers will notice a difference in you, but they may not realize why.”

“I am not concerned, so what do I do?”

Maeve said, “Come sit between Tara and I.”

“Can we observe?” asked Moya.

“Sure, but through your link with us, and don’t push out any thoughts to us.”

Blee, Winz, Maz, and Jar moved so they were sitting between Maeve and Tara. When everyone was positioned Maeve said, “First you want to hold hands with the person on each side of you. Our first step will be to see if we can communicate with you telepathically. Once we cross that bridge we should be able to help you assess what your natural talents are, then we will show you how to control them. Using such abilities is a skill, so it takes practice to be able to use them effectively. There is a possibility that how your talent functions is significantly different to ours so we may not be very much help. If that is the case, we have friends that we will ask to assist you. Okay?”

“Yes,” replied the four.

The next morning Sarah’s Clan smiled as they saw their children and visitors enter the dining hall. They were pleased to see the smiles on their visitors’ faces as they were almost radiant. When the group joined them after getting their food, Sarah’s Clan said, “Good morning all,” as they continued eating.

“Good morning,” the group replied. Sarah’s Clan could sense and tell from their expressions that Blee, Winz, Maz, and Jar were pleased to be there.

Smiling Winz said, “This is fantastic.”

“Yes it is,” added Blee, Maz, and Jar.

“When do we need to be at Tara?” queried Jar.

“Can we come along?” added Moya.

“Well it is scheduled to begin at 12:00 hours, so about 11:30 or so would be fine. Yes, all of you can come. Typically when we have off-world visitors we wear the Salwar Kameez style clothes, for at least the first official meeting. So today we prefer that you wear them as well.”

“I think I know the answer but why the difference?” queried Winz with a smile.

“We want a more formal atmosphere as some see nudity as uncivilized and informal. Besides, when we are naked some people have trouble looking any of us in the eye when conversing.”

“We are not surprised. You all are very lovely.”

“At the meeting we want you to sit together where Molly’s and Jackie’s Clans usually sit. That way there will be plenty of room for other observers.”

“Great.”

The group was just finishing breakfast when several of their mentors joined them. Those with Sarah’s Clan said, “Good morning.”

“It is always a good morning when we see you all,” they replied.

Sarah looked toward their guests and said, “This is Aine, Brigit, Creidne, and Deidre.” As she spoke their name, they waved.

“We are especially pleased to see you here this morning,” said Aine as her sisters nodded and smiled.

“It is a pleasure to meet you,” softly responded Winz, with her friends nodding. “I am Winz and with me are Blee, Maz, and Jar.” Each gave a slight bow as they were named.

“We heard that Sarah’s Clan assisted with understanding your abilities last night.”

“They did,” they replied with a smile.

“If you don’t mind we would like to review them with you after breakfast.” Seeing worry begin to creep into their expressions she added, “There is nothing to worry about. We just want the opportunity to give you a few tips that you might find useful.”

Moya said, “Their tips and advice are always the best.” Several of the children nodded in agreement.

Iris added, “These are some of our parents’ special friends that we mentioned last night. As far as we are concerned they are a part of our family, a very special part, so we consider them to be our aunts.”

“We appreciate that,” responded Deidre with Aine, Creidne, and Brigit nodding.

“Sorry to be hesitant,” responded Winz. “Last night was quite a revelation in that ... well it opened doors that we had never imagined were there. Now that communicating this way has been enabled, I think I see a strong link between all of you and our hosts. So yes, I greatly appreciate your offer to help me adjust to the changes.”

“What she said,” added Jar obviously uncomfortable. Several of those present chuckled.

“We agree,” said Maz and Blee.

“Where do you want to meet with them?” queried Corey.

“The conference room off the bridge would be good.”

“Cool,” said Jar causing many of Sarah’s Clan to chuckle, even the mentors joined in surprising the four young guests.

Kennith said, “You are welcome to join us for breakfast.”

“Thanks, but it looks like you all are done.”

“Nearly so, but I suspect some of us would like seconds. If we went up with you we will have an excuse to go through the line again. We have the time but I believe our parents need to leave fairly soon.”

“Come on, let’s see what our choices are,” responded Brigit.

The children and the mentors were about half way through their meal when Sarah said, “We need to be going, so we will see you at Tara about 11:30. Remember to wear your Salwar Kameez.”

“Can we lend some outfits to Winz, Blee, Maz, and Jar?” asked Marnia.

“I don’t see a problem with that, just don’t be look-a-likes.”

“What did she mean ‘by look-a-likes’?” queried Blee.

“She was suggesting that we vary the design and colour of our clothes,” replied Keri. “Due to the differences in our eye and hair colouring, we each look better in some colours than others. While the designs are subtle, they can give an indication of your personality.”

“I never thought of that. At home we wore mostly earth colours, and there wasn’t a wide variety of those.”

On WZA9000 Cathan said to the passenger representatives, “It is time for us to board the shuttle.”

Each of them picked up a large bag and followed Sorcha into the shuttle. When everyone was on board Todd said, “Since we have extra room you should strap your bags into the seat next to you. While we aren’t expecting any sudden moves it is safer to have everything secured during the trip. If there is a loss of air pressure there are suits underneath your seat. If the alarm sounds immediately begin putting them on, which is very easy to do provided you don’t panic. As soon as we have ours on we will assist you.”

“Has that happened?” queried Nuqarz with a worried expression.

“We haven’t used them due to a mechanical emergency to date. We have used them for other reasons.”

“How do we put them on?”

“First place them on the deck, then open the package. Place your feet on the indicated places then pull it up with the handles. Once you’ve initiated the process the suit will automatically enclose you, provided you don’t interfere with it. Here is an instruction card.”

“Thank you.”

As the shuttle shifted away from WZA9000 Cathan said, “On our trip down to the planet we will be passing some of our ships. They can be seen out the view ports, alternatively the monitor on the front wall shows the pilots view.”

Cathan said to the shuttle AI, “You’ve activated your shield, correct?”

“Yes, as are my links with you all. I gather you are expecting problems.”

“Cautious. There are indications that they have psionic like abilities although they seem to be different than ours. We haven’t hidden anything and our telepathy should be obvious.”

“So there is no objection to them looking at our systems?”

“Not to looking, but if you sense anything else let us know.”

“Definitely.”

Cathan’s mental activity had drawn the attention of Girluzk and Utezc. Krystin of Cathan’s Clan smiled when she saw them smile and nod to those next to them while making hand gestures. Girluzk relaxed in her seat and then reached out mentally to probe Cathan’s thoughts. They had all tried this at one time or another on their ship without success. While a few of them thought the difficulty was due to the Órarduine actively blocking them, others scoffed at the idea and instead suggested it was because their thought associations were different. Based on their observations they were certain that the Órarduine were telepathic. From their perspective this was an ability that appeared to be very rare for their breed. It was a capability that they wished they had as they felt it would make it easier to manage and direct their family members. Although Girluzk could sense Cathan’s mental activity, she couldn’t see any detail. When she shifted her probing toward the other Órarduine she had the same results although she did notice that Krystin’s mental activity appeared to be quite different, but again she couldn’t see any detail. As she pulled back from her probing she wondered whether the actions Tcque, Wurzick, and Dutzcak planned to take were a mistake.

While Girluzk probed the Órarduine Utezc scanned the activity in the ship’s systems. She had been able to do this on WZA9000 and in some cases gain access. She soon spotted activity and reached for it. On connecting she moaned and stiffened in her seat as her mind was flooded with multiple sources of raw sensor data. The flow was so overwhelming that it took her several minutes before she could break the link. By that time she was so exhausted she could hardly think. She struggled to summon the energy so that she could warn the others.

Wurzick noticed Utezc slump down in her seat then become very still. He went to nudge her but a moan by Girluzk drew his attention. When he looked over he noticed that she had also slumped down in her seat. He smirked as it was obvious that neither woman were up to the task of gathering any data. From his perspective this was not unexpected. Now that it was just this small group of escorts he could tell that they had a connection between them. While he wanted to know more, he was now certain that they would notice any probing by him.

“Cathan,” said the shuttle AI, “one of them accessed the sensor data. It had no effect on operations.”

“Aye. Two of them are slumped in their seats and look rather pale. We believe it was Utezc who tried to read the sensor data. Girluzk attempted to probe us mentally.”

“I’ve noted it in the log.”

“Good. I don’t expect them to give up.”

By the time their shuttle approached Tara Ardchlár both Utezc and Girluzk had recovered. They were awake and looking around. The shuttle’s approach provided them with an excellent view of Gaillimh island. Then when the shuttle began its descent to the Spaceport they were again provided with a view of activity at the settlement and the surrounding area. The East Tara Pavilion was also visible during the descent. Its beauty surprised the passengers while at the same time its presence puzzled them. It was obviously a special place, possibly even sacred, but they weren’t sure what it represented.

As they walked from the shuttle to their ground transportation they could see Monque and Atewa Space Fleet ships across the ramp. Besides the fleet ships there were several small cargo shuttles with Atewa and Monque insignias.

Cathan’s Clan was pleased by the expressions on the faces of their guests. The lack of questions surprised them, but perhaps having their mental hands slapped made them cautious. On the ride to Central Square they took the long way around. This gave their visitors an opportunity to see more of the activity, but from ground level. Sensing their earlier interest in the pavilion they slowed down when it came into view.

“What is the building in the distance with the dome over it?” queried Victurcz.

Sorcha replied, “We refer to it as the East Tara Pavilion. It is a place for meditation. Our Councilors take their oath of office there.”

“The pavilion is very beautiful.”

“My first impression was that it was a temple,” noted Wurizck.

“Isn’t a temple a place to meditate?” responded Lasairfhiona.

“In a broad sense, yes.”

When they reached the entrance to Central Square Ciar said, “Here we are.”

“Are we late?” queried Tcque with a worried expression.

“No, actually we are a little early.”

By the time the group started toward the building Sarah, Siobhan, Maureen, Keriann, Kathryn, and Amy were waiting at the entrance to greet them. Together they said, “Welcome to Tara Ardchlár. We hope you had a comfortable trip down from your ship,” as they gave their visitors a slight bow.

Parqz replied, “It was very comfortable. This is a very beautiful island.”

“We agree,” responded Sarah. “The rest of our clans are waiting inside to meet you.”

Inside the room she added, “We’ve set up this section for your use. If you need more space for your bags we can remove some of the chairs. Take your time getting settled; once you are ready we will begin by introducing ourselves. There is an assortment of snacks, with tags describing them in Standard and Coschenz, on the sideboard along with refreshments. Please help yourself at any time as there is no need to wait for a break.”

Nuqarz said, “Thank you. This is very nice. It should only take us a few moments before we are ready.”

Dutzcak bristled when he saw Blee, Winz, Maz, and Jar sitting with a group of young Órarduine. From his perspective they were an indication of how far off course this move had gone. It just added to his displeasure as he hadn’t been pleased when he woke up and found the Órarduine on board and in control. Seeing those four helping the Órarduine just magnified his displeasure. It wasn’t how things were supposed to be. Waking up naked in the shower area had been a shock, especially with all the women around. Most of his colleagues saw the arrival of the Órarduine as fortunate; he didn’t however as it wasn’t what had been planned. For now he was stuck in a supporting role and it rankled him. He should be the one dealing with these people as he represented the largest family. With Parqz as their lead spokesperson he was certain that this meeting was well on its way to being a disaster. The situation would be much better if they had a single leader with the others as assistants or advisers, rather than acting as a group. They would be in much better position to deal with these heathens if he was the one in charge.

While he couldn’t find a flaw in the evidence the Órarduine provided them, he still didn’t understand why the ships they had been expecting weren’t waiting for them. Well there had been ships waiting, but they were obviously pirate ships not what they had been told would be there. The other issue that bugged him was ‘who was behind sedating them and the crew’.

Refocusing on where he was he scanned the faces seated across the table trying to get a sense of them. The Órarduine were certainly different to any other species they knew about. While they were fairly certain that the Órarduine had magic abilities, they hadn’t been able to determine what they were. Looking over the crowd again he noticed four sitting in the back row who were obviously different. While they looked familiar, he couldn’t place them. After a moment he decided that the familiarity must be due to them resembling someone he knew.

Chuckles across the room drew his attention back to Winz, Maz, Blee, and Jar. He didn’t understand why their ship’s AI chose to wake them. It rankled him that the Órarduine were going to them for information rather than the Elders. Since recovering from the sedative he had made several attempts to gain control of them. They didn’t respond to his nonverbal commands, which surprised him as they had always worked with others. After carefully scanning them he realized that it would likely require subjecting them to severe corrective methods. In their current situation he was limited in how forceful he could be in controlling them and correcting their aberrant behaviour. However, he was certain that after a few days treatment they would become model family members. His thought brought forth a recollection of other times that corrective measures were applied to troublesome family members. Afterward the person was quite willing to do anything an Elder asked them to do. Only a select few knew of the tools they used, or the extent of the pain induced, to bring about the model behaviour as there were never any visible scars.

Looking again at the four young adults he thought he would try once more to command them. When he reached out to them, he was shocked. Their paranormal blocks were gone. He knew they were there when he scanned them on the ship. While he could sense their mental activity, it was not the same as it had been. After several tries his frustration turned to anger and his thoughts returned to the corrective methods he would soon use on them. After a moment he realized that he could begin now and prepared to throw a pain inducing mental jab at them. He gathered the energy, but before he could release it his thoughts clouded up as his head began to pound and his vision blurred. The throbbing increased quickly and was so intense that he closed his eyes as tears streamed down his cheeks.

Aine, Brigit, Creidne, and Deidre were sitting in the back row monitoring all the passenger representatives. While they weren’t very impressed with several of them, it was Dutzcak’s actions that had drawn their attention. That was when they saw his plans for the 4 young visitors, and his previous actions to correct what he saw as unacceptable behaviour. Although their appearance did not show it they were angered by what he had done both to members of his family and to others in his group. It was clear to them that he got a considerable amount of satisfaction from administering the severe corrective measures.

“Aine,” said Morrigan, “are you all okay?”

“Yes. We just had a look into the mind of a very sick individual. It was almost like a fermenting garbage pit. Having said that, it is not the worst we’ve seen.”

“If you need assistance I can be there in a flash.”

“I think we will be fine. Besides, we don’t want to distract you as it will delay your return.”

“Aye, but we are pretty close to finishing up here.”

Victurcz said to Dutzcak, “Are you okay?”

“Except for having a throbbing headache, I am fine. Did you see our four sitting over there?”

“Yes, they look fine. It also appears that they have made friends with people their age. Seeing them there really answers the question we asked about them.”

“I wonder why they are sitting over there.”

“Apparently they’ve made friends and chose to sit with them. That would seem to bode well for us. Are you ready for the meeting to begin?”

“Not quite. It won’t take but a minute.”

Victurcz frowned as she watched him move with slow jerky motions.

The other Elders watched Dutzcak with concern as he arranged the items he had brought. When he finished Parqz looked at each of them before he stood and said, “I believe we are ready, so we can begin when it is convenient.”

“The honour is yours. Please proceed,” said Siobhan.

“First, on behalf of everyone on our ship, thank you for discovering our situation and the subsequent rescue. The passengers belong to five families and prior to beginning our voyage they chose us to represent their interests until they were released from hibernation. There are two of us from each family and we fill the role of Elder in our families. Since our ship can only support a limited number of active people during a voyage the majority of us were placed in hibernation. While there could have been a few more people not in hibernation we decided to limit those active to just us and crew. One benefit of having fewer active during the voyage was that it increased the life support reserves once at our destination. After our meeting we hope that we will have time to mingle.

“My name is Parqz.”

“I am Nuqarz. Parqz and I represent the same family. For us the word ‘family’ is often used in two ways, which I believe is similar to your usage. We use it to identify a large number of people who are directly related. At times it is also used to refer to the smallest unit which we normally refer to as a ‘pod’. The word ‘Sep’ refers to a grouping of pods. Thus a Family is a grouping of multiple Seps who are comprised of multiple pods. Members of a Family are related by birth or marriage.”

The Coschenz introductions went smoothly until it was Dutzcak’s turn. With an angry scowl and a red face he stood and said, “My name is Dutzcak.” Before he could say more, Victurcz stood and introduced herself. In response to this his face turned an even darker red. His posture changed as he turned toward her and his hands clenched as he stared at her. Everyone held their breath. When the two sat down everyone started to breathe again as the tension ebbed away.

Earlier during the time the Coschenz were arranging items on their table Cathan’s Team moved to stand along one side of the room while Zoe’s Team moved to a position on the other side. Both Security teams could sense that the dynamics of today’s meeting were vastly different than yesterdays.

Winz noticed Cathan’s and Zoe’s Teams and said, “Good morning, Cathan’s and Zoe’s Teams.”

“Is that you, Winz?” responded Sorcha.

“Yes, Sorcha. We were taught how to enable our telepathy last night. It was surprisingly easy once a couple of things were fixed.”

“Zoe’s and our clan noticed that you had a link with Sarah’s and Siobhan’s children.”

“Yes, we sorted it out this morning. We’ve really enjoyed our time with them and everyone we’ve met. This is so different to...”

“We understand,” said Zoe. “Dutzcak doesn’t seem too pleased to see you.”

“He is only pleased if he is treated as a deity and you do exactly as you are told. Some in our family avoid being anywhere near him when they can. This avoidance even extends too many of his own family. We try too, but it isn’t easy on the ship...”

Todd said, “Your feelings seem to indicate a stronger emotion about this than your words. As to his opinion of himself, that seems to be a trait for all of them.”

“Some are more human than others,” added Maz. “Victurcz is a nice to work with, especially when Dutzcak is not around.”

“It looks like all four of you are telepathic,” noted Blanche.

“We are,” they replied.

“Are they telepathic?”

“Possibly,” responded Maz. “After what we learnt about ourselves we presume that they have paranormal capabilities, and that probably includes a form of telepathy. To offer an opinion based on the little we’ve learnt about psionic and paranormal abilities, theirs may be different to those that your family has.”

“Thank you. That is what I was sensing.”

The confirmation of what Blanche had sensed regarding the representatives’ abilities was quickly shared with the Councilors and Mentors present.

Aine said, “Thanks. Dutzcak attempted to contact the four of you. He is now quite angry that he didn’t succeed.”

“So that is what I felt?” questioned Winz.

“Your shields are set to block external commands, and anyone you haven’t talked to since putting them in place. He was trying to command each you to join them. When he failed it made him angry, apparently angry enough that it induced a severe headache. However, remember that shields are never perfect, so be cautious.”

“Thanks,” replied the four.

When the Coschenz representatives finished their introductions Sarah stood. “We aren’t certain that you’ve had an opportunity to see the videos that describe our World, so I will now provide a few facts about us. Our World is governed by eight clans. They are elected by the citizens and serve staggered terms. We refer to them as Councilor, whether the reference is to a member or to a clan. Today only six Councilor Clans are here as two are visiting another solar system. Based on Nuqarz’s description of your social structure, it appears to be similar to ours. For us the smallest family unit is a clan which typically consists of 8 to 12 spouses, although it can be smaller or larger. Our largest clan is Sarah’s Clan which has 16 spouses. The children sitting with your young adults Winz, Maz, Blee, and Jar are from Sarah’s and Siobhan’s Clans. Also among that group are several very close friends.