Chapter 60

Just after breakfast the next morning Clarence said, “Command Staffs, we’ve found two of the four missing people.”

“Great!” they exclaimed.

“How are they?” asked Judy and Kathy.

“First reports indicate that they are in fairly good health. They are being taken to Dóchas for a full evaluation.”

“Where did you find them?”

“One was about 20 km downstream from the upper end of Gaillimh Bay and the other was even further downstream. Both were on foot on the island side above the bay, but how they got there it isn’t clear. It appears that they were the first victims of those we have in custody.

“As soon as they’ve recovered we should be able to learn what happened.”

“Why do you say ‘should’?”

“Both teams indicated that the two of them tried to hide when first approached, then seemed to be extremely frightened and inconsolable. The teams elected to sedate them before transporting them to Dóchas. We have teams searching the area around where each was found.”

“Okay.”

“Also Monque and Atewa Security contacted us this morning. It seems that several of their crew members came to them after the announcement was made about the deaths on Tara. All feel that they have information that could be helpful to our investigation. For the most part these appear to be observations they made while on Tara.”

“Think that will help?”

“Yes. The additional information could be helpful when we interrogate those captured. One concern we have is having somewhere to get the statements. Can we do it on one of our ships?”

“Sure,” responded Chester, “have them come to Iarracht. Just let us know when to expect them.”

“Will do.”

Alissa said, “Why not on their ship or at Tara? What am I missing?”

“If they give us a statement on their ship, there will likely be a record of it in their World. Since quite a few from them visit our ships each day, them coming to our ship would seem routine. Once on our ship, it will be relatively easy for them to provide us with a statement regarding what they saw. While this is partially true for Tara, where you go there is more visible.”

“Okay, still seems odd.”

“Agreed, but we really don’t know how their crews interact. In some cultures being seen talking with Security or Police is an indication that you’ve either done something suspicious or that you were snitching on someone. Overall it can give those who see it a negative perception of you.”

“Weird.”

“It is a consequence of not being open with each other and always seeking to gain the upper hand.”

“Alissa, let’s talk about it later,” said Molly. “I think we can assist you in understanding what their situation may be like.”

“Okay.”

“Clarence, anything else?” queried Sally.

“No. It will likely be at least tomorrow before we have a good idea of what was behind this. As of right now, it all seems rather strange.”

Laughing Calvin said, “That is an understatement.”

With a smile he replied, “Just following the facts and clues till we can put the puzzle together. I’ll let you all know when there is more to share.”

“Thanks,” replied the Councilors.

“Good afternoon,” said Sarah’s and Siobhan’s Clans as the Monque and Atewa delegations entered the meeting room.

“Good afternoon.”

Secretary Baraska added, “It is a beautiful day out.”

“Yes, it is,” replied Joyce of Sarah’s Clan. “However, we in 3 days are expecting a major storm to arrive.”

“We noticed it on the way here,” noted Captain Reyonte. “Think it will impact your activities here?”

“Yes. We don’t know how much as this will be the first storm of this magnitude since we’ve been here.”

“Do they occur very often?”

“We don’t know for sure. Our survey teams saw several large storms from space, but weren’t near the planet when they occurred. Our biggest concern is wind as we have quite a few large structures that are similar to tents. However, Engineering has assured us that they will be fine as long as the winds are below a 100 kph. The forecast doesn’t indicate that they will get that high.”

“Not that I am doubting them, but I find that a little difficult to believe. I know that the tents we have will not withstand that kind of wind.”

“Well we will know in a few days. This will be the first time we get to see how the island is affected by a major storm.”

“I thought that there had already been heavy rain here.”

“There has been, but indications are that this time there will be significantly more. We are expecting the storm to cause Gaillimh Bay to rise enough to cause extensive flooding, perhaps high enough to cover all the land below the falls.”

“Is that why you’ve avoided building facilities below the falls?”

“Yes. We’ve found indications that the water has risen that high in the recent past.”

“Wow.”

“Indications are that it was actually very recent. Until we know more our plans are to limit building below the falls.”

“Won’t you eventually need access to the oceans?”

“Most likely. One solution is to build above the falls then use locks to transit the change in height. However, that is a future challenge to solve.”

Secretary Sagnoite said, “That was a beautiful memorial service yesterday.”

“Thank you,” replied Sarah’s and Siobhan’s Clans.

Erin said, “It will be a few moments before the other Councilors arrive.”

“We have plenty of time,” replied Secretary Baraska.

“Since we didn’t hear anything we presume the way we proposed signing the documents was acceptable?”

“Yes,” replied both Baraska and Sagnoite.

Sagnoite then added, “Due to the way that Ananu’s governing council operates it makes perfect sense.”

Just then Kathryn’s Clan entered the room and Kathryn said, “Our apologies for being tardy.”

“No apologies are necessary,” responded Baraska with Sagnoite nodding in agreement. “We hope that you were able to successfully resolve the issue.”

“Yes,” replied Calvin of Kathryn’s Clan as they began greeting everyone. While this was taking place Maureen’s, Amy’s, Molly’s, Keriann’s, and Jackie’s Clans arrived.

Once the greetings were complete it didn’t take very long for everyone to sign the agreements. This was followed by photographs before they all walked over to the dining area.

As they were walking Assistant Secretary Merraize said to Claudette, “In the time we’ve been here you’ve made a lot of progress on your buildings. I am surprised by how quickly they are going up.”

“Well we are working around the clock. Our goal is to have a residence here for every clan within a year of arriving.”

“Conceptually that seems impossible.”

“It may be, but it also depends on how it is defined. In this case a residence will be living space equivalent to a Clan’s current accommodations on their ship. We will continue using common dining areas until more buildings are completed. As we complete more residence buildings the size of a suite will increase and at some point will include a dining area. What we do regarding our common dining areas at that point is undecided.”

“Why did you take this approach?”

“Security was the driving force. While there are other ways to approach that issue this path was chosen because we felt that we had the resources to accomplish it.”

“But, our intelligence doesn’t detect any threats towards planets in this area so it seems unnecessary to take that approach.”

“Well according to your information there are pirates preying on shipping. You’ve indicated your intention to rein them in. So, if attacking shipping becomes too challenging, they will seek other victims. We prefer to be prepared. Remember, we’ve already been attacked once and one of their goals appeared to be the destruction of the biosphere.”

In another group Lasmrina said, “Kelly, have you learnt what was behind the kidnappings?”

“They wanted to know how we monitored activity in this System and details of our weapons capabilities.”

“Were they working for someone?”

“We don’t think so. While interrogation is still in progress, we believe their intent was to sell the information. However, it doesn’t appear that they had established any contacts to do that although we are still pursuing that question. When they saw how little visible response there was to the disappearances they expanded their plans to include taking captives to another System. These were Systems where they had previously sold slaves. They had other grand ideas, but it seems to us that they lacked critical pieces to their plans in order to be successful.”

“What, like not having space ships?”

“Well ... one of them thought he had a way of getting around that by using his contacts in other Worlds. We think he would have come up short, but he was arrested before he could complete any attempt in making those arrangements.”

“While I can see them being successful on some Worlds, I can’t see them being successful here.”

“From my perspective it would depend on how good their deception was, however I don’t think they have that capability.”

“Agreed. How are the last two you found doing?”

“Judy or Kathy knows more than I do, but it is my understanding that they are happy the culprits were caught but ashamed of what they did.”

“Excuse me, but, ‘What they did’?”

“At first they didn’t realize the intent of their companion. Initially they both felt that they were on a fun outing to the bay with a new friend. During the outing they apparently talked about their duties; and in responding to some clever questions went into quite a bit of detail. Their ‘friends’ didn’t believe what they were saying as their responses were seen as unrealistic. Once their ‘friends’ became frustrated they saw the answers as insulting, so they resorted to torture to gain truthful answers. According to the victims the pain was excruciating and its intensity resulted in them blacking out several times. They recovered from the last blackout just before they were dumped in the bay. Based on their descriptions they were loosely wrapped in something that limited their movements and was apparently weighted as it pulled them under. Both remember holding their breath while struggling to get free. Once they were free of the restraints they think their movements were sluggish but the details from then until they found themselves on land are murky. Both remember feeling a moment of peacefulness just before coming to. Now, they feel that they should be recycled because they’ve committed treason by giving up so much detail about our operations and capabilities.”

“That’s...”

Kelly interrupted with, “Yes. We don’t agree with their conclusion. The doctors think their reaction is related to what was done to them. For them to become stable again they need to realize that.”

“Why didn’t they reach out telepathically?”

“We think for two reasons. They are new to using it, and it wasn’t until the torture began in earnest that they realized their dire predicament. That realization and the pain turned their thought process into chaos.

“Panic can be a killer. Think they will be okay?”

“Yes, but it will take some time.”

“I would really like to spend more time here, but hesitate to ask as I think my presence would likely interfere with other things you all need to do.”

“Well you could always come for a ‘working holiday’,” replied Kelly with a smile causing those sitting near them to chuckle and Lasmrina to gasp. “We can always put another pair of hands to use, especially those with a good mind controlling them.”

Before Lasmrina responded Kaitlin of Maureen’s Clan pointed out, “By making it a ‘working vacation’ you would learn a lot more about us.”

Sensing the jest Lasmrina replied, “You’ve almost convinced me. I find it hard to believe that you would really tolerate me snooping around?”

“Why not, if you’re honest about it. While we don’t really know your motives, an extended stay would give you a better understanding of us. This would translate into you becoming a knowledgeable resource or expert on our World and our culture. Obviously it would have an impact on your career. There are advantages for us as well as I am sure there are some in your World who don’t believe the reports they’ve read.”

“There are. So, this is a serious offer?”

Kaitlin hesitated a moment then said, “Sure.”

“You hesitated,” Lasmrina chided.

“Sure did, I wanted to make sure my spouses agreed with moving this forward. Considering our current circumstances we would be your hosts or point of contact here. You could work in any area where you met the skill requirements.”

“You checked telepathically, didn’t you?”

“Correct.”

“Wouldn’t my lack of telepathic ability result in being excluded from some things?”

“Yes, it could. If it did you would be told why. However, we’ve had people working and living with us in the past who weren’t telepathic. We have ways of partially resolving that issue, well minimizing it is probably a more accurate way of putting it.”

“I will need to get approval and make some arrangements. If I can get permission how do I contact you?”

“I am not sure of the procedure on your end, but I suspect it would be through your navy.”

Admiral Fraizloe said, “Lasmrina, since we will have operations here the Fleet Command Center will have scheduled courier runs here, so we can carry messages for you. Travel could be on our ships, although accommodations will likely be more basic than you’ve had on this trip.”

“Thanks. The more I think about this the more complications I see in clearing a way to make it happen.”

Before Fraizloe could respond Kaitlin said, “If you are concerned about immediate family, we would be agreeable to them coming with you. It is something we would need to discuss because we are not really set up to handle casual visitors, although it would be less of an issue if they were able to contribute.”

Fraizloe added, “Let’s discuss this on the next leg of our trip. Secretary Baraska should be included in our discussions.”

“Oh, definitely.”

Captain Edivonize who had overheard the exchange asked, “Would this ‘working vacation’ concept be open to others?”

Keriann responded, “The simple answer is yes but...” after a pause, “for now we are limiting it to those we’ve met.” Then after a moment she continued, “While we see it as beneficial to both our Worlds we would want to know a person’s motivation. All participants would need to go through the same screening given to all new arrivals. It is not as onerous as it sounds as it is basically a physical by our staff plus a knowledge and skills assessment. The physical is to establish your baseline in our health care system. The knowledge and skills assessment is to identify your strengths in our World as you may have more than you recognize. Each participant would have a designated mentor. There are probably a few minor things we’ve overlooked. As to how many, we would be agreeable to host, for now, a handful from each World and perhaps a few more. Unless we’ve met them they would need to have an in-person interview with us, which for now means they would need to make a trip here.”

“Before you responded to Edivonize I had the impression that this was a new concept,” said Lasmrina. “Now it doesn’t seem that way.”

Smiling Edivonize interjected, “Lasmrina, didn’t you notice the pauses?”

“Well, yes.”

Smiling Keriann said, “It is a new concept. We had not discussed it before, however your earlier request prompted several of us to consult our Staffing department. My pauses were to arrange their suggestions into an understandable set of criteria. While the goal of this is different, the details are quite similar to something we did in Sol System for contract workers. Just now I used telepathy to assist in giving you an immediate response that should be fairly accurate.”

“Edivonize, did you hear them?” queried Lasmrina.

“No, but remember I’ve worked with them extensively in the Medical Center. During that time I’ve seen that expression and heard the verbal pauses when they were involved in 2 levels of communication quite a few times. It took me a while to figure it out. To me it is like being with someone while they are listening to a communicator.”

“So I just put my foot in my mouth?”

“Not quite,” replied Keriann, “as the table was in the way.” Lasmrina blushed as she joined in the laughter of those around them.

When it quieted Lasmrina said, “True. If I get to do this perhaps I will learn to be more observant.”

“Don’t be too hard on yourself as it took me a day or two to figure it out. Yes, you’ve interacted with them for more than a week, but it wasn’t with the same intensity that I have.”

“I can see that.”

The group chatted until those hosting the evenings meeting stepped to the front of the room. Seeing the movement, those who had finished eating began cleaning up their area.

When Sagnoite didn’t recognize the group he said, “Who are they as I don’t believe I’ve met them?”

Sarah said, “They are Leann’s Clan.”

“I was under the impression that only Command Staff members or Councilors led these meetings.”

“They offered to fill in for us as they knew this was your last night here and thought we would want to spend time with you all. Leann’s Clan is a key part of Dóchas’ Engineering Group and they are one of the leaders for the construction you’ve seen. As to who leads the meetings, it sort of depends on the major discussion topic but tends to be Clans who’ve been with the family awhile.”

“Interesting.”

“Good evening,” said Leann, Madison, Muriel, and Kerry. “If you haven’t finished dinner take your time. We only have a few announcements and thought we ought to start on time so we don’t delay the singing and dancing.”

“Yea!!!”

“Tomorrow morning our visitors from the Atewa and Monque Worlds are departing but as you’ve probably noticed, tonight they are having dinner with us. We wish them a safe and peaceful journey. May they travel with the blessings of the Gods and Goddesses.”

“Amen!” exclaimed the group along with applause.

“The weather forecast is for a major storm to arrive here on the 22^nd. Current predictions are for a lot of rain so we are anticipating significant drainage issues. We hope that it doesn’t cause any flooding here. Rainfall is expected to be at twice the rate we’ve experienced so far and to last at least a full day. Tomorrow we will begin securing the construction sites to minimize water infiltration. This storm will be accompanied by high winds, with the forecasts indicating that they may reach 200 kph at the shore. We are far enough inland that they are expected to be substantially less here, but all of you should take the appropriate precautions. That is, put your stuff away, close and secure your storage compartments. There will be a bulletin tomorrow detailing contingency plans. Questions?”

“Is this like a hurricane?”

“Yes, it is very similar to what those on Earth call a hurricane. In those terms it is expected to be a Category 4 or 5 when it reaches the entrance to Gaillimh Bay. Projections are for the core to track south of the island, but it could pass over it.”

After more questions and comments Leann said, “The last several comments were very similar to those we’ve already heard, so it seems that we’ve run out of new ones. Unless someone has anything that hasn’t been covered let’s open the floor to general questions. Remember, as soon as we finish there will be music and dancing.

“Are there any other topics to discuss?”

After a few moments of quiet the group said, “The silence says it is time to hear the music.”

“Yea!” cheered the crowd.

In the relative quiet while the musicians and singers were getting organized Assistant Secretary Merraize said to Sarah’s Clan, “When you come to visit Atewa you should consider establishing an office in the capital. It would benefit you as it would provide you with an independent view of our World.”

“We recognize the need for a presence there but haven’t looked into the details on how to arrange it. A full time staff doesn’t seem appropriate as we haven’t established diplomatic relations. The idea of having an Ananu representative there is something we hadn’t considered.”

“From a commercial perspective having an agent or representative would benefit you by having someone actively representing your interests. Some have hired an Atewa citizen to act as their agent, and some even have their agent represent them at government functions. This would give you a visible contact point and a recipient for your courier flights.”

“We’re very interested; however we need to think through how we want to organize this. Would the property our agent worked from be considered part of our World?”

“I believe so.”

“If we sent a team to organize this could you provide a list of possible agents?”

“Yes.”

“We would need legal representatives as well so if you have suggestions for them it would be helpful. For clarity, we would like to know of any relationship you have with those you recommend.”

“May I query them to ascertain their interest?”

“Certainly.”

“When would you likely to send a team?”

“Possibly two weeks, our time scale. Why?”

“So we can make certain their arrival goes smoothly. Before we leave we need to give you the requirements for inter-world travel documents.”

“Good, as I doubt your people would accept a passport from Earth.”

“What is that?”

“It is a booklet provided by your home country that is used for identification to gain admittance to another country. Even though we were not Earth residents some countries insisted on us having one in order to enter their country. When our Irish friends heard of this they created a special class of citizenship for us and then provided passports to all of us. Several other countries made the same offer.”