Chapter 42

On leaving Dóchas dining room Sarah’s Clan headed for their suite. As they entered it Aoife intertwined her arms with Sarah’s and Rusty’s and said, “Come, let’s all lay together and share our love.”

“That is a wonderful idea,” replied her spouses as they headed toward their bed.

“Before I forget,” said Sally, “Star, did we ask the Iridiens if they would obtain some background information on those that we found at J3?”

“Yes. The list did not include those brought out of hibernation since leaving J4. The Communications group could ask about the remainder through our task group at A-Celia, oops I mean Ananu.”

“Let’s do that. Based on the way those four acted earlier, it would be nice to know their status on Tigsu, among other things.”

“Agreed,” replied Star. “Did you scan them earlier?”

“Some of us did. They are used to servants doing everything for them and are very status conscious. They are from large well connected families on Tigsu.”

Joyce added, “I wouldn’t be surprised if those with Brigarck asked us to find out what their status is on Tigsu.”

“I looked at our earlier request to the Iridiens,” replied Star. “It doesn’t specifically ask that the inquires be discrete or informal.”

“We should include that in this message,” replied Joyce.

Janet added, “The earlier request went through Egulle’s group. He likely informed the Tigsu that some of their people were found in Durale bandit’s hibernation containers. Knowing him, I suspect discrete inquiries were made regarding the individuals.”

“Hey, we’re supposed to be relaxing,” said Jill as she pulled Alison closer to her. “We can deal with that later.” Jill softly caressed Alison as they lay together.

Star said, “I’ll follow up with Security and Communication Groups. Enjoy the rest of your morning.”

“Kind of testy aren’t we?” commented Erin.

“Nope,” replied Jill, “I just wanted to make sure we have the time to cuddle and contemplate together.”

They lay together and softly caressed their nearest spouses as their mind link with each other deepened. It had been nearly a week since they had been able to fully relax and enjoy the closeness this gave them. From their perspective, their link brought them together as an entity with multiple attributes and capabilities. With it, they would quite often reach out and caress another even though they weren’t within reach. Although they had been together for nearly 9 Órarduine years, they were still amazed by their mind link.

After sharing their love for each other, they compared their individual views of recent events. By putting their memories together they were able to construct a detailed three dimensional view of events. This gave them a better understanding of the contributors to, and interactions surrounding, these events.

When they finished, Rusty turned to Aoife and pressed his lips to hers. As they were all intimately connected, each spouse felt the touch, and then their tongues caressed each other as their kiss continued. Two hands began to stroke Rusty’s cock while other fingers caressed Aoife’s wet swollen labia. Although Rusty and Aoife were the active spouses, each of them felt the caresses as if they were initiating or feeling them.

Rusty and Aoife pulled back and began taking turns kissing the others face and neck. These kisses were interspersed with a kiss on the lips or a nibbling of the ears. Rusty rolled onto his back pulling Aoife on top of him. She pushed up a bit to drag her stiff swollen nipples across his chest. After tracing circles on his chest, she moved to bring a nipple over his open mouth. She sighed as his lips closed around it. Sucking lightly, he pulled it deeper. After a light pull he alternated between caressing it with his tongue and lightly sucking. Each pull on it released warm milk into his mouth. His caresses caused not only her nipples to elongate as her arousal grew, but also those of their spouses through their link. Her growing arousal released more cream into the crease between her labia. After he had taken several mouthfuls of milk Aoife raised up, pulling her nipple from his mouth, and then quickly shifted her shoulders placing the other nipple between his lips. While Rusty caressed her nipple, Aoife raised her hips slightly to let Sarah move his cock between her labia. She could feel her swollen labia pulsing around its head and the affect it had on her spouses. The sensations were so intense that Sarah had to pause for a moment. When Sarah released her hold on Rusty’s cock, Tara’s hand quickly replaced her. Sarah then licked Aoife’s cream from her hand, and shivered as she felt Tara pull Rusty’s cock head back and forth between Aoife’s labia.

Aoife and her spouses held their breath as Tara positioned Rusty’s cock head at the mouth of Aoife’s pussy. Everyone sighed as they felt Aoife’s hips lower as his cock slid between her labia and into her. As she slowly lowered her hips, she savored the feeling of it sliding deeper into her sheath.

Hers shoulders rose so she could slide back onto his cock. In doing so she pulled her nipple from his mouth. Anticipating its availability, both Tara and Sarah moved to capture one with their lips. As soon as they latched onto them, they began suckling, causing Aoife to moan as her arousal grew. Rusty supported Aoife so she could caress Sarah’s and Tara’s necks with her fingers as they suckled her breasts. Instead of moving her hips, Aoife caused the muscles along her sheath to ripple and caress his cock. Her little movements caused her swollen clit to rub against Rusty’s skin adding to her arousal.

While Aoife’s and Rusty’s arousal was rising rapidly, it was fully shared with their spouses. The other spouses had moved around so they could collect each other’s cream with their mouths. Each envied Aoife a little as she held Rusty’s cock within her sheath. However, it was only the lack of fullness that they missed, as each of them felt as if his cock was in their own sheath. Their caresses continued, bringing each other higher and higher until they felt Rusty’s ball sack tighten. It was then an all-out race to their climax. They reached it as a group. The peak hit them hard as they all came, their passion building up into one intense clap of thunder. Their ejaculate drenched their partner.

It was quiet for a few moments as everyone regained their awareness, then the quiet gave way to sounds of licking and sucking as they lapped up each other’s cream. Aoife held tightly onto Rusty’s cock because she knew that if she released it her spouses wouldn’t get to taste their mixed cream and would be disappointed.

Sarah and Tara released Aoife’s nipples then moved so that they could lick the cream from between each other’s legs. Once they were to one side Rusty and Aoife rolled over, then together they raised their hips, effectively trapping most of their juices in Aoife. Joyce, Erin, Jill and Janet moved so they could catch the mixed cream as Rusty pulled his still swollen cock from Aoife’s sheath.

They shared the mixture with their other spouses before laying back to rest a bit.

“That has to be one of the most intense orgasms we’ve had,” said Erin.

“I’m not sure I agree but it was different,” replied Sarah. “This time we were much more tightly interconnected than we’ve been in the past. To me it felt like we were totally in sync when we reached our crest.”

“I noticed earlier that we were more tightly linked this time than the last,” said Joyce.

“Pardon us,” said Briana, “but that was something else.”

“Oh, my. You felt us?” asked Alena blushing.

“Some. I think all of us are a little wet now, as are the other Command Staffs.”

“So what did you feel?” asked Judy.

“It took us a bit to recognize the source. What we felt was love, appreciation, and arousal.”

“We agree,” added the other Command Staffs.

“Did you have your shields up?” asked Amy.

“Yes. I wonder if the whole crew felt us. If they did then that would be embarrassing.”

“Probably not like we did, because our link with you is much more open or dynamic so your shields may not have much effect. If they felt it, we suspect that they just felt loved and appreciated in a general way.”

“We need to think about the consequences,” said Terry.

“Why?”

“My concern is strictly security. Was the leakage of our emotions disruptive to operations? If not, then that takes care of my concern.”

“If they became more intense, then we agree that depending on current activity it could be a concern,” responded Keriann. “Otherwise, we suggest keeping on doing it.”

“Again and again and again,” sang Keriann’s Clan causing everyone to laugh.

“You’re trying to kill us,” replied Sarah’s Clan laughing.

“Not really, but it would be an interesting epitaph.” The response by Keriann’s Clan resulted in more laughter.

“We need to get ready for lunch,” said Terry, “and I’m hungry.”

“You ought to be after expending all that energy.”

“Okay. Chat with you all later. By the way, let us know if you hear any comments.”

“Will do,” replied the Command Staffs and Briana’s Clan.

They were two clock cycles from exiting FTL in Celia system when the eight Command Staffs gathered in the conference room on Dóchas. As each Command Staff joined the group, they shared greetings before selecting their lunch.

“Great, everyone is here,” said Siobhan’s Clan as they entered the room. Siobhan’s eyes were sparkling as she began greeting the others.

Once they were all seated Sarah said, “I have a suspicion that Siobhan has something she wants to share with us.”

“And why would you say that?”

“Because you are so excited you’re just about to bust. We’re surprised you’re not bouncing up and down.”

“Well, we saw one of the group who are assigning names for the different parts of our island on Ananu. He told me that names had been assigned to all the major tributaries, mountains, plateaus and other features. Gaillimh is the choice for the island’s name, so the formal name will be Isle of Gaillimh on Ananu of Celia system. The bay where the two rivers meet will be called Gaillimh Bay.”

“Isn’t your family from Contae Gaillimh?”

“Yes.”

“So now we know why you’re bubbling,” said Keriann.

“He knew my family was from Gaillimh.”

“What other tidbits did you learn?”

“You all probably already know this but the cliffs around Gaillimh Island are named Moher Cliffs, which is the name of the cliffs in southwest Ireland. Isle of Gaillimh is divided into 40 contae with nearly equal areas. Many are named after counties in Ireland with eight counties named after each of the Command Staffs. The list of sites with their proposed names will be released late this afternoon.”

“Based on some questions and comments, we aren’t surprised that some sites are being named after us,” said Sarah. “We aren’t real comfortable with it, but it is the family’s choice.”

“We aren’t very comfortable with it either but Sarah is right in saying it is the families choice,” added Tiff of Siobhan’s Clan. “Did you notice that the plateau for the settlement will be called Tara Ardchlár?”

“Yes,” replied Keriann’s Clan. “They considered naming it Hill of Tara or Teamhair na Ri but decided Tara Ardchlár was a better choice. It is in Contae Danu.”

“Contae Danu is surrounded by the eight counties named after us. They are located in the north central part of the island and include the five plateaus.”

“If I recollect correctly,” said Maureen, “this is very close to what we thought would happen.”

“You are correct,” replied Aoife.

Tiff said, “To complement the release of the list this afternoon, they are planning a short presentation after dinner which will just focus on a few places.”

“That could make for a long evening session as there is another presentation scheduled,” added Keriann. “The other is by the group drafting the documents for our future government.”

Amy said, “We believe both presentations are only covering recent changes, and there aren’t very many.”

“Your clan has followed the draft of our new government, have there been many changes since the last outline?” asked Jackie.

“Most of the changes are to address concerns raised in past drafts.”

“Has the implementation date changed?”

“Yes,” replied Amy’s Clan. “Initially they were going to propose implementing the governing council on the fourth day we are in Ananu orbit. However, they also wanted to have a swearing in ceremony, so it will be several weeks after our arrival before it takes place. Since we’ve selected our current Command Staffs to fill the eight positions on the council, this really won’t be much of an operational change.

“They’ve recognized that we can continue our family meetings while we are all on Gaillimh. So they will propose delaying formation of parliament and the judiciary branch until everyone has accommodations there. Projections are that it will be shortly after this time that groups go off to explore and establish settlements at other locations on Ananu.”

Amy’s Clan went on to point out the other changes since the last presentation by the group led by Sue’s Clan.

“How difficult will it be to hold family meetings once people move to other continents on Ananu?” asked Kathryn.

“If the remote places have an AI and monitors then it will be similar to our current situation. If not, then those in remote places will only have their telepathic link to a meeting. In those cases, an individual’s ability to contribute will depend on the strength of their telepathy. If their participation is as a clan, then the link improves. All legislation the parliament passes will be reviewed by the family for comment before being sent to the governing council for their concurrence and implementation. This is an attempt of avoid unintended consequences.”

“Okay.”

Sarah’s Clan said, “So what do you think of the proposal?”

“We think they have done an excellent job. The current proposal includes aspects from several governments that they believed worked well. Some are from Ireland, Connemare, England, the Iridiens, the US and a few other places. We won’t go into those they used as examples to avoid.” After the laughter died down they continued with, “We had concerns about the term length for both the parliament and council members. After we voiced those concerns, adjustments were made so that the constituents could replace them for failing to represent them or performing their duties appropriately. The details are still being refined as it seems striking a balance between easy and difficult is a challenge. There will likely be additional changes, especially as the implementation date for the parliament and judiciary branches draws closer.”

“Unless someone objects we should move on to other issues,” said Sarah. “This morning we were informed that the Iridiens are sending a ship to pick up the Tigsu government officials. Based on the message received, apparently they are Tigsu diplomats. The message wasn’t clear on whether the ship could accommodate any others wanting to return to Tigsu. This maybe a moot point, as we don’t think there are any others interested in returning.”

“Well, we won’t be sorry to see them go,” replied Molly’s Clan. “We haven’t seen them talk to anyone, especially those from Tigsu, without it becoming a shouting match, and quite often a one sided one.”

Kelly of Keriann’s Clan said, “We’ve seen them trying to bully other Tigsuma into returning with them.”

“Now that all the Tigsuma, Seranc and Sarque know their legal status on Tigsu, bullying seems like the wrong thing to try,” said Kaitlin of Maureen’s Clan.

“Has anyone inquired as to why the four diplomats are known but the others are all classed as either unknown or having died in childhood?” asked Courtney of Maureen’s Clan.

All of them shook their heads indicating that they didn’t have an answer for the question.

Melissa of Siobhan’s Clan said, “My impression is that everyone has pretty much decided to cast their lot with us, well except for those four, even before knowing their status.”

“That is our impression as well,” added Caitlyn of Keriann’s Clan.

“Several have asked about the species alteration,” added Connie. “They were advised that it was an option, but that they needed to consider it very carefully as the change was irreversible. We indicated that it was difficult to adequately describe the whole impact of making the change.”

“Frequently when I’ve chatted with them,” said Brittany of Kathryn’s Clan, “curiosity about the species change comes up in a question about Serarck or Zhaos. It usually revolves around either “how are they doing?” or “why did they do it?”. Their interest is genuine. Although since they are now up and about those questions are phrased differently.”

“Well from what we’ve seen, there is a lot of talent among them,” replied Sarah. “They will be a great addition to our family regardless of their choice.”

“We agree,” replied everyone.

“The next item is the people at An Clochán and New Comrie.”

Chester of Keriann’s Clan said, “We were surprised when we learned that several governments had located New Comrie even though it was cloaked.”

“It was only a matter of time,” said Mairia of Jackie’s Clan. “It appears to be just China, the US, Russia and Israel who have been successful.”

“Our staff’s decision to turn the cloaking off was smart. It makes it difficult for others to duplicate the ability to detect us. Anyway, the shields are all that is really needed.”

“Have we learned any more as to why there was a sudden surge to join us?” asked Molly.

Casidhe responded with, “Do we need to know? From my perspective, each felt a need to seek us out as a refuge, which to me is more than a sufficient reason. Some of them have some pretty young children, so that likely factored into their decision.”

“We see two significant contributors to the influx,” said Katia of Kathryn’s Clan. “One is the rise in religious fanatics and associated terrorism. This is occurring in many countries, including those we think of as stable ones. The second was the bogus claim by a medical team which purported to have found a correlation between a unique blood protein and contact with us. Their report included a procedure to identify the protein.

“They claimed that anyone who came into contact with us was now a carrier of this unique protein. When this protein was activated it would permanently alter the function of some enzymes and cell functions, leading to the carrier becoming a different species. Thus anyone with this substance should no longer be considered human, and should be removed from the gene pool.”

“We saw that and found it difficult to believe. Is that true?” asked Tiff of Siobhan’s Clan.

“Sort of,” replied both Connie of Amy’s Clan and Kathy of Kathryn’s Clan. They grinned when they realized that they both had spoken, and then continued with, “If while they were with us they drank our milk or had intimate relations with us then the claim could be partially true. But, true only in the sense that they picked up some unique biological components. The long term effect is wrong. However, their test is bogus. It does not detect those changes, which Earth’s scientific community quickly figured out. This didn’t stop some groups with an agenda. They have grabbed this article to support a fear campaign. They are also using it to make accusations against anyone who doesn’t agree with them, in spite of the test being discredited. Besides, others have found the same blood protein in some people who’ve never come into contact with us.”

“We really need to just focus on accommodating these refugees,” said Maeve. “The only issue I saw was in the number them, and if the number is correct, accommodating them will be a challenge.”

“We agree with you,” said Conan of Siobhan’s Clan. “Richard Bartlet, Egan O’Reilly, and Rob O’Brien are among them. They, along with a few others, are assisting our staff. Sometimes our staff have difficulty in choosing the best way to express an idea when communicating verbally with the humans. The other problem is that they are overwhelmed as there aren’t enough of them.”

“Egan and Rob told the staff that they thought the new videos were much better than the earlier version they saw.”

“So what is the projection on the number of refugees?” asked Ron of Jackie’s Clan.

“Currently it is approaching ten thousand, and the number of new arrivals has slowed. The current projection shows that it could approach twenty thousand before long. Included in this count are a lot of applicants.”

“How many applicants?” asked Colleen of Maureen’s Clan.

“A little over five thousand who appear to fully meet our criteria.”

“Wow,” said Molly’s Clan. “So this could double the size of our family.”

“Yes, and it raises a number of potential issues,” replied Casidhe of Siobhan’s Clan. “One is that it may significantly shift the balance in our family.”