Chapter 52

It was the 45^th of the Sixmonth at 20:15 hours when Golden Knight, Princes Manria, and IGN404 reached their assigned orbital position over Ananu. This placed them 3000 km below and 500 km ahead of the Dóchas ships. Once they had settled into position Star said to the Command Staffs, “Alana’s team is now on board IGN404. All passengers are gathering in their respective ballrooms and dining areas.”

Alana said, “Good evening Command Staffs. It sure is nice to be home.”

Aoife responded with, “We can certainly understand that feeling.” Sarah, Siobhan, Melissa, and the others who had traveled to An Clochán added, “Yes, we do.”

“While we are waiting for everyone to get settled, we have a couple of items,” said Alana. “After the passengers are moved some of our staff, along with two Security teams, will remain to assist Zyworki. The other Iridien Spec Ops teams will be assisting as well.”

“That is a lot of man power, is there that much of a threat from the crew?”

“We don’t think so but we are being very cautious. Zyworki’s team is the lead in dealing with the them. Zyworki has sent a courier to his Command Center with a report outlining the issues with IGN404’s crew. When we offered continued assistance, he immediately accepted. We indicated that the offer included assistance from our Security and Intelligence groups.”

“Good thinking and yes,” replied Sally. “Clarence and Muireann have identified a group who can assist them. They probably shouldn’t come over until the passengers are relocated.”

“Good. We’ll let Zyworki know of their availability. As to manpower, we will likely reduce it in a few days.

“We think we can cut back on the number of cruisers near us but thought we ought to talk with you all before releasing them. Four cruisers should be more than sufficient.”

“That is fine. Release those not needed back to their ships,” said Melissa of Siobhan’s Clan. “We’ll probably start rotating cruisers through those slots.”

“Even though we’ve only had time to skim your report, it appears to be very thorough and we are certainly impressed,” said Sarah. “Let’s plan on reviewing it tomorrow or the next day, depending on how the relocation of the passengers progresses. All the Security and Intelligence departments have a copy, so they may contact you about it.”

“Okay. There is one piece missing, which is the Spider data. Since we’ve been in system we received some, so we’ve started rotating them and downloads have begun. We started with those in areas that we thought would have important information.

“It looks like the passengers are all here so we can start when everyone is ready.”

“Good. Unless you need assistance before then, let’s shelve this discussion until we get together.”

“Fine.”

Edana said, “We are ready on Princess Manria.”

Vanessa said, “We are ready on Golden Knight.”

Together the Command Staffs then said, “Good evening everyone and welcome to Celia System. We are very pleased that you’ve arrived safely. You are in time for our first Landing Day celebration which will be in 8 days. We had hoped that all of you would’ve had a pleasant voyage. Unfortunately we learnt this morning that those on IGN404 had to put up with some unpleasantness. For that we apologize. Although it was unpleasant, we hope you feel that our Staff and Security teams did everything they could to remedy the situation. Having heard about the conditions on IGN404 we believe all of its passengers should be moved to another location. Doing this creates some issues but they appear to be solvable. As was indicated before, it will be at least 6 months before we have permanent residences at Tara Ardchlár.

“We do have temporary residences there, but there is not enough room for everyone on IGN404. However, there is room on Princess Manria, Golden Knight, and our 7 Dóchas class ships. This gives us more than enough space to accommodate everyone from IGN404.

“Now before we explain how we intend to do this we should tell you a bit about the facilities at Tara. These are under very large dome tents which is divided into living areas. These areas are similar in size to those we have on our ships for sleeping and relaxing. For your other needs, there is a community toilet and shower area a short distance away. There is a covered walkway between the two. A dining area is nearby which is also where those working at Tara eat. Meal service is very similar to what you experienced on the ships, in that it is open around the clock and has four scheduled meal times.

“The first step in the move is for those on IGN404 to tell our Staffing department your preferred choice of where to live. If you are on Princess Manria or Golden Knight and wish to move, please tell the Staffing department. Since we would like to begin moving people off of IGN404 in the morning, please make your preferences known this evening. Some of you are probably thinking ‘what if I don’t like where I have chosen?’; well if that is the case then you need to talk to staffing at that time as it may be possible to move again. You can contact the Staffing department using your communicator or iPad.

“Today is the 45^th day of the Sixmonth. We would like have all the moves completed by noon on the 47^th. We have a family meeting planned for the evening of the 47^th. No doubt some are wondering what we mean by a family meeting. It will be similar to the meetings that you’ve been having during your journey. Here, each ship has a crew meeting nearly every day. Note that we consider everyone living on a Dóchas class ship to be a crew member. A ‘family meeting’ is when the meeting includes all ships as well as those at Tara. We suspect some of you find this concept hard to believe. You are not alone in that as others thought the same until they experienced one. We believe that telepathy plays a significant role in making it possible and effective.

“If you haven’t noticed, we are speaking verbally as well as telepathically. We’ve chosen to speak this way as we are not sure that everyone is comfortable communicating telepathically. Between now and the time we have a family meeting our communication equipment will be set up on Golden Knight and Princess Manria.

“One last item. Once all the moving is complete there will be regular shuttle runs between ships and to Tara Ardchlár. Our learning centers are on the Dóchas class ships, there are also a few at Tara, however these are not set up for instructional use.

“If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to ask any of us. Again, we are glad you chose to join us on this great adventure. That is all we have for now. Good night.”

“Well done,” said Kara and Alana.

“How did the passengers react to it?” asked Jill.

“I would say that they are pleased,” responded Alana.

Maeve said, “Hello Kenshin, Mark, Egan, this is Maeve of Sarah’s Clan. How did the passengers react to our announcement?”

“This is Mark. They were somewhere between quite pleased and ecstatic.”

“Good.”

“Did Alana indicate that I was going to assist Zyworki with interviewing the crew?”

“Not explicitly. We don’t have any objections, but you should still let Staffing know where you want to call home. As to our interest, we see this as a way to gain a better understanding of what occurred, its contributors, and what we missed.

“There is also a need to establish the true cost of using the ship. It was obviously less than the contracted amount. What is your interest?”

“I agree with your goals. I’m interested in seeing what occurred here and hearing some of the conversations, I think there is more to this than we suspect. Zyworki seems to agree. While some of the crew’s comments are reasonable some are not. It is quite possible that this involves others, so how, why, and what is their interest?”

Rusty said, “Sounds like old times, and it will be interesting to hear what you learn.”

“Well only in the sense of my involvement in this operation. At least here I feel like I am on the team. That wasn’t always the case before.”

“Understood. Along with what it will cost us for the use of the ship we need an idea of the costs for transporting a passenger in terms of Iridien currency. To go along with that, it would good to know the value of a metric ton of cereal grain and a metric ton of steel in Iridien currency.”

“Good points. Much of that information should be here on the ship.”

“We agree. Keep us up to date.”

“Maeve, this is Kenshin. The passengers on Princess Manria seemed pleased with the announcement. Based on questions they asked afterward, I think quite a few are interested in moving to either Tara Ardchlár or one of our ships.”

“Please remind them that learning centers are only available on our Dóchas Class ships so they will need to go there to use them. Based on what I’ve heard, they will find these terminals to be much more effective than those they were previously using. They will also have more solo time using them. We need to make sure everyone has completed the skills inventory. Many have been surprised by the results, and that is in a good way.”

“Maybe I ought to complete the inventory so that I can speak from experience.”

“It typically doesn’t take very long. Ask one of the Security team members to arrange it for you.”

“I’ll do that. Thanks.”

“Maeve, this is Egan. The reaction of the passengers on Golden Knight was very positive. I’ll pass on the other tidbits I’ve just heard. A quick question. Carine is anxious to see your children again. How can I set that up?”

“In part you already have. I now have a fresh telepathic link to you, so when we see the children later I’ll have them contact you and you can bring Carine into it. There are other ways to do it, but in this case that is the easiest.”

“Mark, Kenshin, Egan, thanks for the feedback,” said the Command Staffs. “If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact us. This exchange should have refreshed your links with us.”

“Yes,” replied Egan. “They are much clearer now.”

“We agree,” added Mark and Kenshin.

“It’s dinner time, so we will chat with you again soon,” said Maeve.

“Bye.”

Several days after the family meeting Sarah’s Clan was leaving the dining area at Tara Ardchlár when they heard, “Sarah’s Clan, do you have a moment?” Since they didn’t recognize who was speaking they paused to look around, and saw several people coming toward them waving.

“We have some time,” they responded as they turned and walked toward the group not noticing that Ge and Lil were following them.

“We’ll be right there.”

“No hurry,” responded Janet.

When the group reached them Rosina said, “Good afternoon,” then introduced herself and the others with her. She then added, “I hope I wasn’t being to forward by reaching out to you telepathically, especially since I hadn’t met you.”

“You weren’t,” replied Joyce. “Our hesitation was because we weren’t sure who called to us.”

“That is understandable since we’ve only been here a few days.”

“So, how do you like it?”

Li Yan said, “It’s great being here and better than I dreamt, much better. The first few days of the trip were great, but then the attitude of the crew seemed to change. Once the Security teams took control it was better but still a little unsettling. Thank you for arranging for us to move. We are on Taiséalai now and really like it.”

“Do you know what was behind the crew’s actions?” queried Rosina.

Sarah’s Clan laughed and then Sally said, “Some of it, and it seems to be a rather complex set of interactions.” With that she gave a short summary of what they knew. “Basically, their scheme didn’t work because the drug they used has no effect on many of us. When our people noticed it many passengers were already partially under its influence. It was at this point that our people took over the kitchen facilities, and then the ship. You are likely familiar with what happened after that.”

“Sort of,” responded Rosina. “To me events are clear, then cloudy, then clear again with no sharp transitions. We are thankful that they were caught. What will happen to them?”

“The Iridien Spec Ops have sent their Command Center the information they’ve gained from the crew. With it they’ve requested guidance on what to do with the crew and ship. So it may be a month or more before it is sorted out, but it could be quicker as it is tying up three of their units.”

“Isn’t it unusual to use Spec Ops like that?” queried Gavin.

“Yes, for some that is true,” said Rusty. “For us and those from Alliance of Worlds, Spec Ops teams have a broad set of skills. They command their ships, and depending on the ship there could be additional crew under that command. Those ships serve as either a tactical weapon in space or transportation to a planet to resolve a tactical situation. For instance, our Badb cruisers are designed for Spec Ops operations although we use them in many other ways. The Badb-2 cruisers are designed to be more of a tactical weapon and typically have a larger crew. With those additional capabilities they provide more defensive support for Dóchas class ships. However, being larger they aren’t as stealthy as the Badb ships. Besides escorting our ships the Badb-2s can serve as escorts for commercial ships. So, a Spec Ops team operating a passenger ship is unusual, but it is within their skill set. Operationally, in open space the two types of ships are very similar, the main difference being their response time to command. This difference is similar to the difference between operating a small boat and a large ship.”

“That makes sense. Were all the crew members involved?”

“We don’t think so. Some seem to have had suspicions about what was happening but their duties kept them fairly isolated, or at least it appears that way.”

“We didn’t intend to delay you this long,” said Rosina. “When we saw you we saw it as an opportunity to personally offer our thanks for giving us, our friends, and family a path to get here and out of harm’s way.”

“Well we are glad you all remembered its availability when you needed it,” replied Terry. She then added with a smile, “As to being ‘out of harm’s way’, saying that is almost tempting fate.”

“You may not believe this,” responded Li Yan, “but when I went back to Earth for that ‘job of a lifetime’, I almost didn’t take it. However, knowing I had it gave me a warm feeling. It was like a link to the good times I had with you all. A very good friend and I went back to Earth to work for the same company. We were close and spent a lot of time together. With both of us working at the same company we planned to continue our relationship. After a few months the company sent us to different sites. Even so we stayed in almost daily contact with each other. This lasted for several weeks, perhaps a month or so, then her emails suddenly stopped. Those I sent were not answered nor returned. I didn’t have any other way to contact her. It was only a short time after that that we were told to cease all off-site communication. All outside communication had to go through our supervisor. With this change the job slowly became a nightmare for all of us, especially those of us who had had any contact with you all. Then one night I had a dream about when I was working for you. This dream reoccurred several times until the part about a safe harbor made sense. Before I invoked the safe harbor request, and because I didn’t know what would happen after I initiated it, I was especially friendly with a few obnoxious overbearing supervisors in the hopes that they would take the blame for whatever happened.

“After I arrived at An Clochán I learnt that a similar request had been used to rescue my friend and quite a few others. Anyway, I think all of us consider ourselves very lucky to be here. Our intent today was just to express our thanks to you personally.”

“We are glad to have you back with us,” responded Sarah’s Clan both telepathically and verbally.

Aoife followed this with, “Li Yan, have you found your friend here?”

“Yes. I had a chance to speak with her yesterday. We talked for a few minutes and she seemed very different from the person I knew. I am glad she is safe and well. Perhaps we will become close friends again.”

“The activities taking place at some of the sites on Earth were shocking to see, and living with them was likely a real living nightmare,” responded Judy. “It is taking some a lot longer to heal and put those memories behind them. We think all of them will fully recover. As to those running the sites, they are no more.”

To shift the focus Janet asked, “What did you think of our family meeting a few days ago?”

The group laughed and Rosina said, “At the time we thought it was the most amazing thing we had ever seen. After thinking about it, it really reminded me of the meetings we had when I worked at An Clochán. As for those experiencing it for the first, I think all were pleasantly surprised.”

“Did you think it helped with understanding the direction we are taking?”

“Yes,” responded Li Yan, “definitely. I see us becoming a large extended family before spreading out. For me, by taking the approach we are we maintain our security while growing our technical knowledge base as we build a home. I am not sure we could accomplish all of that if we split into small groups spread across the planet.”

“I agree,” added Gavin. “The attack you repulsed several weeks ago sort of highlights the security issue.”

“Oh that reminds me,” said Rosina, “congratulations on being elected to the Council of Celia.”

“Thank you.”

“What do you think of the learning centers?” asked Janet.

Gavin replied, “Now that my telepathy is fully functional, I think they are great. There were some aspects of my skills assessment that surprised me, but after thoughtfully considering the results, I can’t find any fault with them. In fact it is likely that I wouldn’t have noticed some of the points raised. I was surprised by my knowledge weakness in areas that I thought I was pretty strong in. Guess it just means I need to study more.”

Several of Sarah’s Clan chuckled before Sarah said, “We still have those surprises.”

Erin said, “What are you all doing this afternoon?”

“We came down to help prepare for the Landing Day Celebration,” replied Rosina.

“I am glad we arrived before it took place,” added Li Yan.

“We need to find the group we are here to assist,” said Gavin.

Li Yan said, “I’ve enjoyed chatting with you all and again, thanks for assisting us in reaching a safe harbor.” As she spoke the others in the group nodded in agreement.

“We are pleased to have you here with us.”

After they exchanged hugs, the group watched Sarah’s Clan head for their shuttle. They had only gone a short way when Rosina softly said, “May the Gods and Goddesses walk with you as you lead us into the future.”

“What did you say?” asked Gavin.

“I asked the Gods and Goddesses to walk with them as they lead us, although I didn’t say it quite that way.”

“So you think that there are deities here?”

“Yes! This is a beautiful location, as is the whole island. While a God or Goddess probably didn’t get into the details, it is easy for me to believe that they guided its development.”

Before Gavin could say anything more Li Yan said, “We need to find the group we are to help.”

“You know, now that I think of it, the Órarduine have always referred to deities as Gods and Goddesses.”

“Sometimes the Mentors almost seem like Goddesses, but that is based on what I think a Goddess should be like.”

“You’ve raised some interesting questions,” added Li Yan. “So, who are the deities here? Are they the same as Earth’s? If they are different, is there more than one? How will we learn who they are? How do we show thanks? I could go on.”

“I think that is enough for now. With respect to Earth, some read more into the commandments than is stated. Ah ... there is the group we are to help.”

“We thought you all would be here earlier,” said Eyna.

“We saw Sarah’s Clan and stopped to give them thanks.”

“Thanks?”

“Yea,” replied Li Yan, “we thanked them for getting us out of the craphole we willingly fell in to.”

When the laughter died down Rosina said, “An accurate description for an episode in our lives that hopefully will not have reenactments, or even reruns.”

“Not sure what you mean but we’ve a lot to do during the next few days.”

It was approaching 05:00 hours on the 3^rd day of the Sevmonth in orbit over Ananu when Alison muttered, “Wow.”

“What?” asked a startled Alena.

“Well, we went to bed a little on the late side, shared our love, had a good night’s rest, and we are still up early.”

“It wasn’t all that late when we went to sleep, and I did sleep very well even though I dreamt about us.”

“The same for me,” said Joyce.

Alena said after a moment’s pause, “Do you realize that our dreams were almost identical? Well they were identical apart from the fact that I think each of us had a different perspective.”

“I agree,” added Janet after a moment. “This is the first time I can remember each of us having essentially the same dream.”

“We’ve had similar ones before,” mentioned Claudette.

“Yes, but I don’t remember them being nearly identical except for perspective.”

“True.”

“We should wait and see if it happens again,” said Aoife, “before we draw any conclusions or try to determine if there is a reason behind them.”

“Agreed,” replied everyone.

“I’m going to exercise,” said Sarah as she moved toward that area along with Rusty and Alison. “We need to be in the hangar at 06:00 hours as dawn is at 06:50.”

“We’re coming,” replied several spouses.

They had just finished putting on their formal ceremonial robes when Aine arrived. “Good morning, Aine,” said Sarah’s Clan.

“Good morning. You all look great.”

“So do you,” said Alena.

Aine was wearing a silvery white robe that was identical to the rich purple coloured robes Sarah’s Clan was wearing. As she moved the material of her robe shimmered. It was very similar to the way the Órarduine’s robes shimmered when they moved.

“Thanks. It is really comfortable although it does feel strange to have something constantly touching my body. Our stay with you this time has been much longer than previous visits so I suspect I’ve adapted to being essentially naked most of the time. In spite of that all of us really like the way this fabric feels and looks. It is so comfortable that we may wear it on some of our trips.”

“We agree with you, it feels strange to be wearing a covering and not working. The soft way it slides over our legs when we walk is a bit arousing. I think once the ceremony is over we will likely opt for our normal appearance.

“So, your sisters are wearing robes as well?”

“Yes. I suspect we will put them away right after the ceremony.”

“We plan on doing the same.

“That robe really gives you a regal appearance, so much so that some may think you are a goddess.”

“The same is true for you all. For some groups we meet being thought of in that way would be a concern, so we will likely continue wearing our traditional costumes. I like the way you’ve placed the Órarduine mark on the back of your robes.”

“We considered putting just one large mark on the back, but with the opening for our mane it didn’t look right.”

“It looks great. The way it is shaded the 3D aspect of the symbols embedded in the octahedron really stand out.”

“Thanks.”

“Are we ready?”

“Yes.”

“Are the children going with us?”

“They told us that they would meet us there,” replied Sarah.

“Sarah, I think they actually said that they would meet us later on Ananu,” added Alena. “In any case, they either left before we woke up or they didn’t come back last night.”

“They are up to something,” said Joyce. When she noticed Aine’s expression change slightly, she added, “I’ll bet Aine knows something.”

“Well, not really.”

“Okay then, you have a suspicion.”

“That may be closer. If it is what I suspect then you will like it. It is time, let’s go.”

They met Amy’s Clan and Morrigan at the entrance to the hanger bay.

After greeting each other Rusty looked around and said, “It’s been a long time since the hangar was this empty. Now, it looks strange and also a bit unsettling.”

“Yes, it does,” replied Jim of Amy’s Clan.

“See you on the island,” said Jill of Sarah’s Clan as the two clans moved toward their shuttles.

“Yes,” replied Amy’s Clan.

One after the other the shuttles carrying the Command Staff Clans slowly moved away from their parent ships. Each then turned toward Ananu’s North Pole as they moved into a chevron formation before beginning their descent toward the planet. The shuttle carrying Sarah’s Clan led the formation, with subsequent positions being in order of acceptance of the Command Staff role. Once they were well north of Gaillimh Island they made a sweeping turn to the west as their descent continued. Their turn continued until they were heading east toward Gaillimh Island. This approach would bring them to a special landing area just short of the eastern knoll.

A large number of Órarduine were already assembled around the new pavilion on the eastern knoll with more arriving. They were gathered in a circle around the knoll’s crest with an opening between the landing area and the pavilion. The open air pavilion was centered on the knoll’s crest. The pavilion consisted of 4 levels of octagons with each centered on the one below. The sides of the top octagon were 4 meters in length. Descending from the top, the radius of each level increased by 3 meters. At the corners of the lowest level stood 4 meter tall round columns with a beam at the top connecting them to adjacent columns. Centered on the top level stood a large Órarduine mark, with one apex of the octahedron resting on a pedestal.

When the Command Staffs’ shuttles were on final approach they shifted to single file. Sarah’s Clan landed first and once they disembarked they formed four columns and began walking toward the octagon. As they took their first step the musicians began playing the Órarduine March.

As Sarah’s Clan began moving their shuttle lifted off to let the shuttle carrying Amy’s Clan land. Amy’s Clan exited to also form four columns and begin walking toward the pavilion. Amy’s Clan was followed by Siobhan’s, Maureen’s, Keriann’s, Kathryn’s, Molly’s and then Jackie’s Clans. The timing was such that each Clan reached their position around the pavilion at the same moment. Sarah’s Clan was at the eastern-most side flanked by Amy’s and Siobhan’s Clans.

As each Clan reached their position, they paused and then turned to face the pavilion. At each point of the octagon’s second level stood a mentor. Aine was at the point between Sarah’s Clan and Siobhan’s Clan. Morrigan was at the point between them and Amy’s Clan.

With everyone in position, the Órarduine mark began to slowly rotate on each axis in a random pattern. This gave everyone an opportunity to see each face. At this point the Command Staffs stepped onto the platform. After a few moments the images on the octahedron’s faces began to alternate between the image of a Command Staff and the Órarduine mark. This continued until the music stopped.

The Mentors then said as one, “We are gathered here this morning to hear these eight clans accept the challenge you’ve asked of them. By their actions today they commit to being the first members of The Council of Celia. Each clan, in the order that they were chosen for the position of Command Staff in the Órarduine World, will in turn say the oath.”

Just as the sun broke the horizon the Mentors said, “Sarah’s Clan.” As they spoke a golden glow began to slowly illuminate the pavilion and its immediate area. Its appearance and the resulting glow prompted a collective gasp from the audience. Those who took a moment to look around were puzzled as there didn’t appear to be a source for the light.

As one Sarah’s Clan said, “In the presence of the Gods, Goddesses, and our family we, Sarah’s Clan, as one and as individuals, do solemnly and sincerely promise and declare that we will maintain the Constitution of Celia World and uphold its laws, that we will fulfill our duties faithfully and conscientiously in accordance with our Constitution and laws, and that we will dedicate our abilities to the service and welfare of the people of Celia World. May the Gods and Goddesses continue to direct and sustain us.”

“Amy’s Clan,” said the Mentors.