Chapter 37

On New Year’s eve Sarah’s Clan was just finishing dinner on Dóchas when Briana said, “Captains Reyonte and Laonize sent us a message that they would meet you at 29:00 this evening at your favorite place. They thought that Captains Tuska and Marika would be there as well. We said we would pass it on.”

“What do you mean by ‘favorite place’?”

“Well you all always seem to spend time at Earls.”

“Well they do have good music that isn’t so loud you can’t talk, besides, the dancing is good. So what are your plans?”

“We haven’t decided when to go down. We could go as soon as you come back, although it is more likely that we will wait till after breakfast tomorrow. There are a couple of choirs performances tomorrow that we want to attend. So, take your time this evening, we don’t see any reason for you to hurry back.”

“We’ll keep your offer in mind.”

Later that evening Jill said, “Its approaching 29:00, so we should think about returning to Earls.”

“Good,” replied Sarah, “as I am about danced out ... well for a while.”

“I am glad you added that last part,” chided Sally, “‘cause otherwise it didn’t sound like you at all.”

“Yesh, so now I can’t pause to catch my breath and quench my thirst.”

“So that is your excuse. I thought being ‘danced out’ meant you were tired.”

“‘Could mean a lot of things,” taunted Sarah.

Sarah’s Clan was part way to Earls when they saw Reyonte waving. With him were Laonize, Tuska, Marika and several others.

When they were near Laonize said, “It looks like you’ve already started celebrating.”

Laughing Alison said, “Certainly. We were at Earls earlier. We just came from Saoirse’s.”

“I don’t think I’ve been there,” responded Marika. “What is their speciality?”

“The music is more like the traditional Irish that many of us grew up with and includes pipes and whistles. It is excellent for traditional dancing styles and a lot of us like to dance in soft shoes. There is another place further down that is almost all hard shoe dancing and that gets kind of loud at times.”

“So what would you like to do?” inquired Joyce.

“Well we heard that the choirs were performing tonight,” answered Laonize.

“Several different choirs are performing and are scheduled into late tomorrow.”

“What is the difference between them?”

“Style and type of music. Since we now have the amphitheater the larger choirs are performing there. I suspect you’ve heard some of them, as they often perform as small groups at the various entertainment venues.”

“We’ve enjoyed listening to the groups that performed at Earls,” added Reyonte.

“Well in that case, let’s go there first and get some refreshments,” said Sarah. “While we are doing that we can check the performance schedules and plan our evening.”

“I am not sure we have time as the performance of the choir we enjoy listening to begins at 29:30 hours.”

“How long is the choir’s performance?” queried Reyonte.

“Usually about 45 minutes to an hour.”

Erin said, “Well there should be refreshments either at the amphitheater or on the way. So let’s head that way and come back to Earls after the concert.”

“That works,” replied Aoife as the group began walking toward the amphitheater.

Marika, Tuska, Reyonte, Laonize, and Sarah’s Clan had just sat down when the choir began assembling on stage. Once they were in their places Sorcha said, “Welcome to our last concert of the year, and it will also be the first of next year. A sincere welcome to those joining us for our first New Year’s celebration on Ananu. Just before midnight we will begin singing a song titled ‘Auld Lang Syne’. As it will be new to many of you the words will be shown on both sides of the stage. Feel free to sing along with us.

“Also, there will be a light display overhead at midnight, so do not be alarmed.”

With that the choir began their first song of the evening. The song was an upbeat tune which told of the beauty of sunrise. After each song the singer, and any musician who had a solo piece during it, was introduced.

Several minutes before midnight Chelsey, Sam, and Mairia stepped to the front of the stage and together said, “Our next song is ‘Auld Lang Syne’. When you see the words we think you will see how appropriate they are for this time of year. It will be sung at least twice so that all of you have a chance to participate.”

She nodded to the musicians to begin and after a few bars the choir joined in with, “Should auld acquaintance be forgot...” When the choir began singing the words appeared beside them as if floating in air.

They were on the second verse when the light show began. Even though they had been warned it still surprised many in the audience including, surprisingly, Reyonte and Laonize.

When the song ended Chelsey said, “Even with the light show you all sounded very good for a first time, so now let’s do it again.” On the second time through the audience did very well in harmonizing with the choir. Those in the seats near the top could hear the song being sung at other venues. As soon as the song ended everyone said, “Happy New Year!” and many hugged those around them.

After a few moments of celebration Sorcha began urging the choir and musicians back to their places. Once they were in place she nodded and they began their next song. Nearly all of their remaining songs were new. Some were ballads describing adventures they had heard about, others offered praise and thanksgiving for finding Ananu and its deities.

It was approaching 01:00 hours when Marika, Tuska, Reyonte, Laonize, and Sarah’s Clan made their way back to Earls. They found several tables near the back and sat down. After ordering drinks Joyce said, “So what did you think of the show?”

“I don’t believe I’ve heard a group with such a refreshing sound,” responded Tuska.

“I agree,” added Laonize. “They sounded a bit different to the other choirs, but I think there were more singers.”

“There were,” agreed Aoife.

“I would love to have recordings of the music we heard this evening.”

Smiling, Alison said, “Well recordings of much of the music will soon be available in the Atewa and Monque Worlds.”

“What?”

“Our Atewa and Monque agents, whom I think you met, took a selection of our music home with them with the intention of distributing it.”

“Did it include tonight’s songs?”

“No, the choirs don’t feel those are quite ready yet.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Nope. They still have a few tweaks to add. While some of us join them at times we often have difficulty detecting some of the changes they feel need to be made.”

“So they like perfection?”

“Yes,” responded Jill. “Since they all fill technical roles, we like it that they are perfectionists.”

“However, they understand the limits of current knowledge so being perfectionists doesn’t keep them from completing their projects,” added Janet.

Later Tuska said, “While I’ve had a grand time visiting with you all and dancing, I need to be getting back so others can come down.”

Laonize said, “Wow, time has really flown by. I need to return for the same reason.”

“I suspect we all do,” added Rusty. “We’ve really enjoyed visiting with you.”

“I feel the same way,” responded Reyonte. Tuska, Marika, and Laonize nodded indicating their agreement.

Laonize said, “This is the most fun and relaxation I’ve had in a while. Thanks for coaching my dancing.”

“You picked it up very quickly,” assured Maeve.

“Well hopefully I won’t be sore later.”

“Since we are all headed back to our ships, shall we walk to the spaceport together?”

“I wish it wasn’t so far,” complained Marika, “as I’ve just realized how tired I am and I still have duty to pull.”

After checking with her spouses Sarah said, “Well I don’t know that we can do anything about your fatigue, but we can speed up the trip to the spaceport.” Then in a very serious tone she added, “There is a catch however.”

“With that tone, I’m almost scared to ask, but now my curiosity is overwhelming my restraint. So what is the catch?”

“Only that none of you can ever share what takes place.”

Sally added, “That condition will not affect your current role or the commitments you’ve made.”

“You’re including all of us, right?” inquired Tuska.

“Yes,” said Rusty.

“This is almost like one of the training trust exercises.”

“Sort of, but it is not meant that way.”

Laonize looked at the other three then said, “We will take you up on your offer.”

“Okay,” responded Maeve. “Each of you needs to walk between two of us so we can link arms.”

Once the four intertwined arms with Sarah’s Clan they barely took another step before they found themselves in a room at the spaceport terminal.

“Wow!” the four captains exclaimed when they realized where they were.

Laonize said, “Now I can think of at least a thousand questions to ask.”

Laughing Sarah said, “No doubt.” The rest of her clan was smiling. “They probably aren’t much different than ones we had after our first experience with that. To put it simply, there are constraints, and we are not sure we know them all.”

“Interesting, I think I need to do a search of literature outside my normal range of interests.”

“That may help,” replied Sally. “When you do, I would suggest doing it in a secure area that is not monitored.”

Turning to the four to Sally said, “A visit to our ship could meet those requirements if you choose to go down that path. Nothing you find should cause either of us any security issues regardless of our future.”

“This needs some careful thought,” cautioned Reyonte.

“I agree,” added Tuska. “I understand you all were planning on visiting Captain Reyonte or Captain Laonize’s ships.”

“Yes. We haven’t sorted out arrangements or timing yet,” replied Sarah.

“Would it mess up plans if we were involved?”

Reyonte replied, “Well we really hadn’t sorted out any details. Our primary reason for the invitation was so they could see what our ships are like.”

Laonize added, “What prompted this was the fact that they haven’t visited our ships or the station. Their stature could be a problem in some areas of our ships but it shouldn’t be an issue on the station.”

“From what I remember, your operational areas are as compact as ours.”

Laughing Laonize responded, “They should be since they are designed and built by the same people.”

“Really,” said Sally. “They look different.”

Sighing Marika said, “It would be more correct to say that they are based on the same core elements.”

“Agreed,” responded Laonize. “While all the details haven’t been worked out we intend to show them as much of our ship as we’ve seen of theirs. To do this we will need to make it a virtual tour of some areas. While setting this up our trainers realized that this would be a great addition to their syllabus, so it has sort of gotten out of hand.”

After the chuckling diminished Marika said, “We understand as some of our crew heard about it, and our trainers are doing the same thing.”

“The Iridiens used video to show us some sections of their ships,” added Sarah. “At times our stature has been an issue in accomplishing some tasks on our ships.”

“I suspect all of us have that problem in some areas,” said Marika.

“Ahh...” said Laonize, “I remember now. Your first visit to an Iridien ship was a disaster in terms of establishing good relations.” Her comment elicited puzzled looks from Reyonte, Tuska, and Marika.

“You must have done well in the diplomatic classes,” responded Aoife laughing.

“It is also an event I would prefer not to repeat,” added Alison.

“Sorry I brought it up,” said Laonize. Seeing the puzzled looks she gave a brief synopsis of the incident.

“It is good to remember missteps like that, so you don’t get overconfident,” noted Rusty.

“Yes,” assured Reyonte. “Let’s discuss your visit later this week.”

“Agreed,” replied both groups.

With that Claudette led them out of the room into the main waiting area. As they moved toward the ramp exit they expressed ‘Happy New Year’ greetings with those they passed.

It was a little over a week later that Keriann’s Clan met Sarah’s Clan in the hanger on Dóchas. “Good morning,” said Keriann, along with her spouses.

“Good morning,” replied Sarah’s Clan.

“Are we ready?” inquired Chester.

“Yes,” replied Terry, “now that you are here and your gear is onboard.”

Kelly said, “I noticed that the cargo ship with the grain will arrive next month.”

“Yes. The message said the 16^th. We think that means ‘in system’ so it will reach Ananu a few days after that.”

“Good, that way we should have our storage facility finished.”

“Yes,” added Jill. “There are several issues that still aren’t clearly sorted. One is, do we need to immediately unload the cargo bins or do they stay?”

As their shuttle made its way toward the Atewa space station Crystal said, “I was a little surprised by our invitation.”

“Why?” queried Joyce.

“Well they’ve mentioned visiting as something to do in the future, and I took it as something they were saying just to be polite. I admit that I saw no fault in their reasoning as we are considerably larger than they are. We knew that they were discussing a visit with you all, but were surprised when we were included.”

Aoife said, “I think your initial assessment is a true reflection of their intentions when they first arrived for a couple of reasons. One is, accommodating all eight clans would be a challenge to their guest resources. The other is that they felt inviting only one clan would cause them difficulties with the rest.

“Since then they have gotten to know us better, and they have come to realize that they can entertain us separately without creating issues. Why us? It could be that we have had more interaction with Reyonte and Laonize than our sister clans. It could also be that they now think of us as friends in addition to our professional relationship. So since you were included, they may feel the same about you.”

Keriann said, “Well they certainly seem more relaxed around us than Tuska and Marika are. We’ve attributed that to culture. Will they be joining us?”

“Yes, for the tour of the station and at least dinner on Laonize’s ship. Tomorrow morning we tour her ship.”

Three hours later their shuttle was entering the space station. Once it had settled into its berth Sarah waited until everyone had their personal shields on before opening the port. Waiting to greet them were Marika, Laonize, Tuska, and Reyonte, along with the two construction supervisors. Nearby they could see Cathan’s and Darcy’s Clans monitoring their surroundings.

Laonize and Reyonte said, “Welcome to Atewa Celia Station.”

“It is a pleasure to be here.”

Alison added, “I thought...”

Tuska interrupted offering, “we can discuss that later.”

“Sounds like an excellent idea,” she responded with a smile.

Laonize said, “We thought we would split up into six groups for the tour. We expect to reach the dining area toward the end of lunch period. From there the tour will loop around bringing us back here. So that you can see as much as possible the path each group takes will be a little different. Let’s begin. Reyonte lead off.”

It was late afternoon when Sarah’s and Keriann’s Clans reached the berth where their shuttle was waiting. In the adjacent berth was the shuttle that Cathan’s and Darcy’s Clans were using.

Sarah said, “Baodnize, Nelimria, the station is quite impressive. We look forward to seeing it when it is finished.”

“Thank you,” they both replied.

Baodnize added, “We are this far along because of your assistance in removing the ... shall we say, dead weight, in the construction group.”

Smiling Nelimria noted, “Even the spies are now qualified construction workers.”

Eleánóir queried, “Do you have any issues with the quality of their work?”