Chapter 39

While the events in the Admiral’s office were taking place, Dóchas and its escorts were monitoring the approach of AHCF19 and her escorts. While it would be several hours before the approaching ships reached the rendezvous the Órarduine ships began moving toward the rendevous.

Several days earlier the Órarduine ships departed Atewa 5^th Fleet’s base. They moved to a location that was near their planned rendezvous with the Atewa ships led by AHCF19. The position they chose was well beyond space station traffic control and also placed a field of debris between them and the station. The position was such that their vector to the rendezvous would not be the same as that of AHCF19. On reaching their holding position, they inspected the exterior of all the ships. They removed the transponders and other devices from the exterior of their ships. After examining them, they were placed in a metal box.

To be sure they found all the bugs in side their ships, they released a modified version of their spiders. It was a couple of days before they were certain that all had been found. A puzzling aspect of the bugs was that they would be ineffective inside the ship due to fact that the hull acted as a shield. This prompted them to look for a relay transmitter for the bugs and a closer look to see how they were made. If the bugs were on an Atewa, or possibly an Alliance of Worlds ship, it was possible that they could have used the ship’s systems to communicate. For a distraction during the trip the Engineering group decided to design a special detector for them. While the special spiders were successful, the Engineering group thought they could find a better approach and now had the time to do so.

Shortly after the Órarduine departed the space station they held a general meeting with their passengers. After introductions, they showed them their orientation video. This was followed by a presentation on what to expect during the trip such as dining, facilities, available activities and emergency procedures. Toward the end of the meeting the passengers were asked how many had received farewell gifts. Sarah’s Clan wasn’t surprised when most indicated that they had. However they were surprised by the purpose of many of the gifts. Most of these were emergency beacon transmitters, which was a typical travel gift. Atewa travelers carried them as a backup in case, they had to abandon ship or became stranded. Learning this Sally told them of the transponders they had found on the ship’s exterior and the implications. She followed this by asking them to let the crew examine the gifts to ensure that the items were what they thought they were.

They had been waiting a little over two days when they began moving toward the rendezvous location. As the approached the Atewa task group Sarah said, “AHCF19. Dóchas here. We’re just moving into position.”

“Aye,” replied Laonize. “Based on our sensor readings, it looks like you removed the transponders.”

“Yes. They are presently boxed up along with a few other gifts.”

“We have a little over 4 hours till we reach the FTL transition point.”

“Why don’t you visit us? I think the dependents would appreciate it.”

“Okay. I’ll be there in about 15 minutes.”

“Fine.”

Sarah, Sally, Aoife, and Maeve were waiting by the hangar when Laonize arrived. After greeting her they walked toward the recreation area. Sarah said, “Did you get Meynote to deliver the package?”

“Yes. It turned out to be easier than I expected. I received a message just as I was leaving that simply said, ‘I got it.’ As to Meynote, I think he is more than just an MP.”

“He is. Rusty thinks he was in Spec Ops in the past but didn’t have the opportunity to talk to him for any length of time.”

“I would like to have a joint staff meeting after FTL. We can host it as we now have more room.”

“Fine.”

“Standard Atewa jump points?”

“Sure, at least till we leave the mid-point.”

Twenty three clock cycles later AHCF19, Dóchas and their escorts emerged from FTL in Celia System. They had hardly finished their system checks when they heard, “Dóchas. Celia System Control, welcome home.”

“Celia System Control. Dóchas is glad to be home. Thank you.”

“AHCF19. Celia System Control. Welcome back.”

“Celia System Control. AHCF19 is glad to be back. We will be heading to Ananu first.”

“AHCF19. They are expecting you.”

On Dóchas, after exiting FTL most of the Atewa dependents were watching the large monitors in the common areas. Even though the view shown on the monitors was better there were still a number of the passengers on the observation deck.

Anaonize said softly, “This is an amazing sight.”

“How so?” queried Sam.

Anaonize glanced over her shoulder and smiled at Sam. “It looks so different to how it looks on a monitor. I haven’t sorted out our orientation to our destination.”

“Well our destination is not really visible yet. In about 6 hours you will be able to see it. Looking out over the front of the ship will give you an idea of our bearing. During our approach Celia will be on our port side, but will gradually come closer as we near Ananu’s orbit. I am not sure of the current relative positions but we may have a glimpse of the new Atewa – Monque base on the way.”

“Cool.”

Sam chuckled, “I see you’ve picked up some of our slang.”

“Yes. Do you know when I can file a story? How do I do it?”

“Does the Fleet let you include messages on their couriers?

“Sometimes. Why?”

“That would likely be the quickest way to send your story. Sometime in the next few weeks we are planning on having a weekly courier run to our groups in the Atewa and Monque Worlds, that would be another way.

“So how did you like the trip?”

“Much more than I did the trip to 5^th Fleet Headquarters.”

“In what way?”

“That ship was much more Spartan, or basic, than this ship so it was boring, besides being a longer trip. The presence of the families also really changes the atmosphere.”

“I would expect so, but I’ve never traveled far in space without children around. However, the atmosphere on our cruisers does have a different feel to it.”

“The other thing I’ve noticed is that the Atewa children are ... well I guess ‘acting more grown up’ is the appropriate phrase. They seem to be more aware of their surroundings than they were right after our trip began.”

“So how about this. While they are more responsible, they still have fun.”

“I’ll go along with that, but it still seems that there is more to it than that.”

“They rose to the adults expectations when necessary while not sacrificing their fun,” said Ariu standing beside them holding Aine’s arm. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have intruded.”

“Don’t be,” said Anaonize quickly. “You made a valid point.”

Looking out the window Ariu said, “This is a perspective I’ve not had of this system before. It is good to be back.”

Anaonize looked out the window, when she turned back only Sam was standing next to her. After looking around she said, “Where did they go?”

“Too the bridge I suspect.”

“I’ve seen them several times. Who are they?”

“Advisors. They spend a lot of time with our Command Staffs, but that is not the only place you will see them.”

“Interesting.”

“How so?”

“Well whenever I’ve been near them, I feel ... different. I don’t know quite how to express it but it is a positive feeling.”

“Aine and her sister Morrigan are very interesting people.”

“I’ve heard comments about finding transponders attached to your ships. Is that true?”

“I can assure you that there aren’t any now, and if there had been, I am fairly certain they would have been left on an asteroid or two. I don’t think it would be wise to repeat that.”

“I have no reason to but thanks for satisfying my curiosity.”

“Have you heard the saying about curiosity?”

“You mean the one that says too much can shorten your life?”

“Yep.”

“Yes. But that is difficult for a reporter.”

“Agreed.”

It was shortly after breakfast on the 44^th of Secmonth when Sarah’s Clan greeted Keriann’s Clan in Iarracht’s bridge conference room. Their arrival was quickly followed by the other Councilors. After exchanging greetings, Sarah queried, “How are preparations?”

“On schedule,” replied Keriann. “We plan to leave late on the 45^th and meet Reyonte just before transitioning to FTL.”

“Do you think this staggered move to the departure point is necessary?” inquired Crystal of Maureen’s Clan.

“Probably not,” responded Kelly. “It does add some challenges to planning. Outbound we will probably use new intermediate jump points but a decision won’t be made until the last moment. Both Laonize and Reyonte like the flexibility it adds to the trip. Of course, it helps that the alternate jump points shortens the trip without giving away the trips origin.”

Eileen of Siobhan’s Clan added, “The AHCF19 crew has sorted out the emergency beacon. They found that when the ship was pinged in a specific way it would automatically respond. Buried in manual it was claimed that this was an optional feature that was being enabled by default.”

“Well, so much for stealth,” grumbled Chester.

“Well after some adjustments, it is no longer enabled and difficult to restore. Reyonte’s crew is aware of the issue and the fix.”

“Seems like a wise choice.”

Erica of Amy’s Clan said, “From what we’ve seen the Atewa dependents are comfortably settled at Tara.”

Amy added, “Those I’ve talked to are very pleased with their housing, especially the access to the dining area. According to them even though the housing here is relatively primitive in terms of having a full range of features, it is better than the full featured residences at some Atewa locations. Depending on the length of time they live on Ananu we may need to consider setting up some form of schooling. While the Learning Centers could be modified so they are suitable for them, they probably should have something closer to what they are familiar with as they may still be in school when they move again.”

Tara suggested, “Why don’t we ask them how they want to handle schooling?”

Amy replied, “We had planned to. Now, to shift topics a bit, the ship carrying the grain is in-system and will arrive over Ananu tomorrow. Unloading should start shortly after that as everything is ready.”

“Did getting storage set up impact the other building projects?” queried Claudette.

Jim responded, “Short term yes, but long term it won’t be significant. We are on schedule to move into the Towers 1, 2, and 3 at both locations on the 19^th of Foumonth. We will continue to have accommodations in the Residence Hubs. There will be a suite on the top floor for joint use by the Command Staffs.”

Seeing several start to speak Erica said, “The Command Staff suites are to serve two purposes. One is to give you a place to stay when at Tara. The other is that it gives you a virtual bridge to your ship with very little communication delay. The suite in Tower 1 2E 1S faces northeast which compliments the suite in Tower 2 1E 2S which is facing southwest. While we aren’t sure doing that is necessary, it seemed to be a prudent arrangement”

“Interesting,” responded Calvin of Kathryn’s Clan. “I don’t see us doing more than using it to keep ourselves current with a situation.”

“If they are not useful then when we remodel the floor we will pull them out.”

“Even so I am not sure we will stay there very often,” cautioned Sarah.

Aoife added, “Well we’ve stayed at Tara more often than I expected to.”

Tara queried, “What about the facilities we use now?”

Jim noted, “As soon as your stuff is moved, they will be reassigned. We will continue to have about the same number of people living in the temporary area since more people will move down from the passenger ships. It will be a while before everyone has a suite in the Towers to call home. There are times when I feel like we will never reach that point, especially each time more people arrive.”

Alena asked, “Are we trying to do too much in our first stage of settling here?”

It was quiet for a few moments then Kelly of Keriann’s Clan said, “I think we’ve all considered that question at one time or another. From my perspective, considering our resources and situation, I don’t think so. While we didn’t expect to have additional people joining us, we did establish our settlement plan as a Family.”

“We’ve also made some adjustments to it as a Family,” added Molly. “Your question is a good one to occasionally revisit though.”

“Okay,” responded Alena. “Contrary to the impression my question may have given you, I am pleased with the path we’ve chosen.”

“Will the new housing be far enough along that we can show it to our up-coming visitors?” inquired Tara.

“Yes,” responded Amy. “We might want to show them more than just that though.”

“Agreed.”

Erica said, “Have you heard any more regarding the incident at 5^th Fleet Headquarters?”

“Not specifically,” responded Sarah. “Captain Laonize and her staff were more jovial the last time we met on their ship. It seems that this was due to a recent successful engagement by one of their task groups. Due to better intelligence, they were able intercept and destroy a group as it was preparing to ambush them. They didn’t offer details and we didn’t press. We did get the impression that their success came about as an outgrowth of the incident involving us at 5^th Fleet Headquarters and the information we left Admiral Pentalia as our response.”

“So we may hear something while we are there,” noted Keriann.

“Perhaps,” responded Rusty. “However, I wouldn’t probe for details.”

“We won’t. Heard anything regarding the transponders?” asked Kelly.

“No. Don’t really expect to,” replied Terry. “All but a few were left with a demolition charge in a crevasse of an asteroid at the first jump point. It was timed to go off about a clock cycle after we departed on the next leg of our trip back. We did bring a few of each type of transponder back for further study. They were transported in faraday cages even though they were disabled.”

“I am puzzled as to why there were so many placed on the ships. It seems like someone wanted them to be found.”

“That is a good possibility. This could have been an attempt to sour our relationship with the Atewa. However, there were three different types so does that mean that there were three different groups involved?”

“It looks like I missed the fact that there were different types. Even so, the conclusion that it was intended to disrupt our relationship makes more sense than anything else.”

“I believe that many of us have come to that conclusion,” said Rusty. “If that is the case, who benefits? I don’t think we can answer that question until we are more familiar with the Atewa World. But, that presumes it was Atewa who were behind this. It would be interesting to hear Sargent Meynote’s thoughts.”

“You may have the opportunity to ask him,” responded Aoife with a smile prompting Rusty to nod.

“Been reading tea leaves again,” chided Kathleen of Molly’s Clan.

“Perhaps,” Aoife responded with a grin.

Kriss of Molly’s Clan said, “Keriann, do you know if Cabd or Iodla intend to go with you?”

“No, but Brigit and Fidelma are going with us, so it wouldn’t surprise me.”

“I find it amazing that they are interacting with us as much as they do. I think it is unfortunate that more of Them don’t interact with their people like They do here.”

“Could it be the difference in the way mortals and immortals view events?” queried Elana of Kathryn’s Clan.

“You have a point,” responded Sarah, “but that is a discussion we should have at another time.”

“Spoilsport,” grumbled Elana with a smile. “Always waiting to stay on topic, oh so boring.”

When the chuckling subsided Maeve said, “The other day Melinda asked if we had any objections with Anaonize writing general interest articles and doing short videos about us. She would offer them to various Atewa news media.”

“Not from us,” responded Jackie of Jackie’s Clan. “I’ve met her and her associate. She is inquisitive but not pushy or intrusive. Best of all she listens to your comments.”

Calvin added, “It is fine with us. Do we know her long term intentions?”

“I think she is still searching,” said Joyce with a smile. “It will be interesting to see how she interacts with our Atewa agents as they should be here in a week or so.”

Jill said, “On our trip back she floated several ideas for promoting the choirs in the Atewa World.”

“Chester, has Captain Reyonte said whether they are taking the prisoners back to Fleet Headquarters?” asked Terry.

“I believe so.”

“Good.”

It was mid-afternoon by the time they had covered all the items on the agenda, plus a few others, when Amy said, “I thought we would take longer than this.”

“Well we didn’t stray too far off topic today,” responded Elana and then stuck her tongue out at Sarah before smiling.

“It’s a dirty job and someone needs to do it,” declared Sarah. “While our drift in discussing agenda items often brings forward important issues I felt we needed to stay on track today. I am certain Keriann’s Clan will find the extra time useful as they prepare to depart.”

“I was just giving you a hard time.”

“Me too.”

Before the Councilors went their separate ways Sarah invited them all to Dóchas for dinner the next day, which would be the day prior to Iarracht departing.

Early on the 46^th day of the Secmonth the crew on Iarracht were busy preparing to depart from their position over Ananu. An unusual aspect of their departure was that it would take place while they were in the shadow of Ananu. As they prepared to leave Dóchas began shifting its position so it could quickly take Iarracht’s place. The selected departure time was in part due to the distance they needed to travel before joining the Atewa Task Group commanded by Captain Reyonte.

“Celia System Control,” said Oriel of Keriann’s Clan, “Iarracht requests departure along route AB91.”

“Iarracht, you are cleared to depart. There isn’t any other traffic near that vector. We at System Control wish you a relaxing voyage. We are looking forward to your return. May the Gods and Goddesses bless you with a safe journey.”

“Aye,” replied Keriann from Iarracht’s bridge as they began moving away from Ananu. “Thank you for the blessing.”

“If she only knew,” said Brigit standing with Cabd and Fidelma at the back of the bridge.

Smiling Chester added, “Even if she did know, or suspect, she wouldn’t say anything about it over the air. Besides, we are blessed by having you all join us on this excursion.”

Cabd said, “I’ve heard many of you say something similar quite a few times, but I am not sure that I understand the meaning behind it. At first I thought you meant that you were expecting Us to monitor you and keep you safe. However, I’ve been around you all long enough that I am not sure my understanding is correct.”

“It is a variation of a phrase that has been around since ... well for a long time in the world that we came from,” responded Kelly. “You are correct as to the original meaning. Many centuries ago, at a time when mortals thought their Deity was omniscient and would hopefully protect them from harm, your initial thought was what they meant. To us, however, it is an affirmation of our belief in You and that You will give us the guidance, strength, wisdom, and patience needed as we travel. We see the strength of our belief in You as helping us make the right choices as events unfold during our journey. If that is not enough then we hope You hear our frantic prayers when a situation has unraveled and that You can provide us with guidance, if not more.”

“I see that you are having difficulty putting its’ meaning into words,” observed Cabd. “Even so, and sensing your intent, your explanation gives me a better understanding of its purpose. I can assure you that We will do the best We can for you all. Based on the thoughts you’ve expressed, I believe all of you realize that. Destiny and the fabric of time can confound the best of intentions, even for Us.”

“Aoife has commented on the complexity of the fabric.”

“I believe that her perspective of it is different than Ours. I also had the impression that she doesn’t look very often.”

“I believe you are correct. She has said that when she does her focus is just for general trends or future possibilities.”

“That is a good approach, ‘cause it is in a constant state of flux and the lines are only probabilities. How about a tutorial on what I am seeing?”

“Certainly,” beamed Kelly with a smile.

Seven members of the Councilor Clans waited in the Tara Space Port operations building for the arrival of the Atewa representatives. Waiting with them was Cathan’s Security team. The Councilors had greeted Secretary Sagnoite via video link shortly after the Atewa ships had settled into an orbital position over Ananu.

Molly said, “System Control Center was contacted by a group of Monque ships who’ve just exited FTL. So it is likely the delegation we were expecting.”

“A reasonable assumption,” responded Kathryn of Kathryn’s Clan. “There are significantly more ships in that group than were in Sagnoite’s group.”

“True. SCC is indicating that the Monque’s first destination is the cluster of their ships near their base.”

“Interesting,” replied Jackie. “Kathryn, when will your ship return?”

“We are expecting it back early tomorrow morning. Currently, their exercises are essentially complete. Today they are conducting a debriefing for the exercise. Once that is complete they will begin their return. I think our alternate Command Staff decided to have the debriefing first to be sure that all the objectives were covered as they got a bit side-tracked.”

“Sounds interesting.”

“Well they spotted a group of ships traveling near their operational area and opted to stalk them as an exercise. Apparently it went well. It will be interesting to see how the Command Staff responded to the various issues.”