Chapter 68

On the bridge of Dóchas Sarah’s Clan watched the monitors showing Marthanóir and Fiontar preparing to move away from their formation over Ananu. Waiting for them several light minutes away were Princess Manria, freighter FLDC-2, and five Badb-2 cruisers. They were all slowly moving along their departure vector.

Joyce said, “I still find this aspect of ship movements fascinating even though it plays out over a fairly long time span.”

“Well there is certainly an aspect of grace in their movements,” responded Jill. “When I was younger I found watching ships making coordinated movements fascinating. Some of my friends thought I was strange, but none of them had any boating or flying experience so they didn’t grasp the issues involved in the process.”

Rusty said, “We need to begin preparations for moving to the position Fiontar is vacating.”

Jill responded, “Propulsion is ready.”

“The course vectors are laid out for us to loop around and into Fiontar’s former position,” added Joyce. “It will take us about two hours. Currently Marthanóir and Fiontar are far enough away that we can begin our move at any time.”

“Why are we taking so long making the move?” queried Alena.

“Basically because there isn’t any need to rush, also it doesn’t tell the observers how maneuverable we are,” responded Janet.

“Thanks.”

“Star,” said Sarah, “alert the crew that we will begin our move in 10 minutes.”

“Aye.” Her response was quickly followed by a series of tones being heard throughout the ship. This was accompanied by a notice on all department monitors and personal communicators.

When Dóchas began moving the monitors showed that Marthanóir and Fiontar were well on their way to joining the ships accompanying them. Dóchas had just reached its new position when Molly said, “System Control, this is Molly on Marthanóir with Grey Eagle 2 Task Group.”

“Marthanóir, this is Cécilia in System Control. Over.”

“We are aligned with our departure vector, requesting departure clearance for Grey Eagle 2.”

“The vector is clear. We wish you a safe voyage and may the Gods and Goddesses be with you.”

“Departure initiation in 30 minutes.”

“Aye.”

Alena said, “I thought they were ready to depart.”

“We are,” said Molly. “However, we decided to have the crews do a dry run first since the freighter’s crew is rather new to this aspect of operations.”

“Makes sense.”

“I just realized that we haven’t shared some minor changes we’ve made in our trip’s operational plan. Our itinerary is unchanged with 20 AT days outbound, 20 AT days there and 30 AT days minimum inbound. Inbound will take longer as we expect to have a full load, which dictates a lower FTL. We may need to further extend the journey time if the gross weight is higher than anticipated.

“Outbound we are using five jump points with a pause of 2 hours or less at each one. The first and last journey segments are fairly short. For the first of the three intermediate segments we are going to travel at FTL 6. This is well within Princess Manria’s design specs. Engineering has confirmed that the freighter can operate at FTL 6 since it is nearly empty.”

“If I remember correctly, FTL 6 isn’t a change,” noted Claudette.

“True, FTL 6 was discussed, but so was FTL 7,” responded Evangeline of Molly’s Clan. “Molly’s intent was to confirm our outbound plans. From the specifications Princess Manria has the capability of FTL 7, but we’ve learnt since discovering that that it hasn’t actually been tested at FTL 7. Structural analysis shows that the freighter can operate at FTL 7, but it is marginal. How marginal is dependent on mass, density, and structural condition. So bottom line, we decided on FTL 6 for outbound.”

Molly said, “What we have altered is our visibility. For the three intermediate journey segments Marthanóir and Fiontar will be cloaked. We are considering entering Sol cloaked.”

“Even though I think I know,” responded Emma of Keriann’s Clan, “why?“

“We think that a freighter and passenger ship visibly escorted by as much fire power as we have would draw too much interest, presuming we were seen. We decided to not take the chance.”

Conan of Siobhan’s Clan said, “Good point. However, your cloaked ships may be detectable during transition between FTL and normal space.”

“True. Anyway that is the key bit of information we wanted to share. Now the countdown clock is running, so unless you all have any questions, we will be on our way.”

“Have a safe journey,” said the Command Staffs remaining at Ananu.

“Thanks,” replied Jackie’s and Molly’s Clans.

It was a few minutes later when they saw Grey Eagle 2 Task Group begin accelerating toward the System’s boundary.

Siobhan said, “I believe Molly was looking for an excuse to chat with us before she left.”

“I think both Molly’s and Jackie’s Clans are a little uncomfortable in leading the Task Group,” replied Aoife.

“They did propose the trip, and had good reasons for making it.”

“You are correct.”

Joyce said, “Perhaps it is because this is the first time they are on their own. While we know they have all the necessary skills, and the ability to use them, they haven’t had to take the lead very often.”

“So this should give them the experience they need?”

“Yes,” replied Sarah’s Clan.

Keriann said, “We have a Councilor’s meeting scheduled for the day after tomorrow. Correct?”

“Yes,” replied several people.

“Good. With all the activity surrounding preparation for their departure we feel that we’ve missed or overlooked some things.”

“We concur,” said Kathryn. “While we receive a steady stream of information regarding all of our activities, our weekly meetings seem to bring everything into focus.”

Laughing Maeve said, “Are you saying a discussion is more fun than wading through the reports?”

“We always have a good time with you all, even when we don’t fully agree.”

“Agreed,” responded everyone.

Chester said, “We’ve avoided doing it but we really need for the Dóchas Class ships to take some short cruises so our crews can exercise their shipboard skills.”

Sarah said, “We agree, but we were thinking along the lines of our command alternates doing that without us along.”

“We like that idea,” said Kelly of Keriann’s Clan. “Do we have enough room at Tara to accommodate those who are currently using the ships as a residence during the exercise?”

“I think we do,” said Amy. “It may be a bit tight, but on a temporary basis it should be fine.”

Maeve responded, “Between now and our next Councilors meeting why don’t each of us take a look at our situation to see what the impact would be. With that information we can decide how we want to go forward, perhaps even set up a schedule.”

“I gather that it will be a family discussion,” said Crystal of Maureen’s Clan.

“Definitely,” responded several of those in the link.

“Did you have a concern?” queried Sally.

“Not really, although it will be interesting to see how our guests react to seeing a discussion like that.”

“Remember, we have an agreement with the Monque and Atewa for joint exercises,” noted Conan.

“True,” responded Calvin of Kathryn’s Clan. “We should alert them to what we are considering so they don’t feel left out.”

Eileen of Siobhan’s Clan noted, “Well, they seem to be really busy with site issues, so perhaps when we bring it up it should be in such a way that they don’t feel obligated to join us for this round.”

Chester said, “There really needs to be some joint planning done before we do an exercise with them. Let’s suggest that we begin planning a joint exercise to take place once their base is further along. During the discussion we can note that in the meantime we will be making short excursions to improve our crews’ proficiency.”

“Chester, you referred to their project as a base, but at times we’ve also referred to it as a space station,” observed Alena. “So which is correct?”

“We think both are correct, depending on the context. Fundamentally it is a space station since it is being built in space. However, due to its purpose it can also be considered a base, or even a harbor, for spaceships.”

Kelly added, “When they were clearing one of the large asteroids out of the area they considered using it as the base core. It turned out to have more value as a source of raw materials.”

“Shifting back to our topic,” said Rusty, “I propose we have Keriann take the lead on contacting the Atewa and Monque regarding joint exercises. Before those take place I think we should run our own exercises in pairs. This presumes that we are comfortable with only three ships on station in System?”

“We are,” responded Keriann. “Well that is unless you are suggesting carrying out the exercises at a considerable distance from here, or that they will last more than a week.”

“Actually, I was thinking that we could have them at the edge of this system, or just slightly beyond it. For target practice in System we could turn some large rocks into smaller ones. Rocks that could intercept Ananu’s path seem like good candidates for target practice.”

“So this will be a discussion topic when we meet in two days?” queried Aoife.

“Agreed,” replied everyone.

Sarah said, “Our plans for today are to remain here. Tomorrow we intend to have breakfast at Tara Ardchlár and will likely spend the rest of the day there.”

Siobhan said, “I think all of us have similar plans.”

“We do,” replied Keriann’s, Kathryn’s, and Maureen’s Clans.

“We look forward to seeing you all while you are here,” said Amy’s Clan.

“Are we planning to meet the teams returning from Atewa and Monque upon their arrival?” queried Kaitlin of Maureen’s Clan. “I know we discussed it but I don’t remember us making a decision.”

“I don’t believe we did,” responded Kelly. “My inclination is to have one person from each Councilor clan meet them when they arrive, otherwise they could feel a bit overwhelmed.”

“We agree,” replied the others.

“Anything else we need to review?” queried Keriann.

After a short pause Sarah said, “I think we have covered the issues that needed our attention so let’s be about it.”

“Aye,” came the reply.

The next morning Sarah’s Clan had just sat down for breakfast when they saw the Bartlets and Elaine wave to them as they entered the dining room at Tara Ardchlár. Maeve said to them, “Why don’t you join us?”

“Thank you, that sounds like a great idea,” they replied.

When the group joined Sarah’s Clan, Aoife said, “It is good to see you all.”

Smiling Josephine responded, “You aren’t supposed to talk with food in your mouth.”

Mentally grinning Aoife said, “I am not. I am just exercising my telepathy.”

“Well I thought it sounded as if you were speaking. I don’t know about you all but there are times that I find it difficult to distinguish between comprehending a telepathic thought and hearing it verbally.”

“Do we need to?” queried Keri of Sarah’s Clan.

“Good question. Keri, correct?”

“Yes, Ma’am”

“Well, I think you do need to recognize which it is, ‘cause if you respond to someone verbally and they aren’t anywhere near you it could be kind of embarrassing.”

“It is embarrassing,” responded Jordana. “Especially when you are with another group and your comment has no meaning to those with you. Oh, and I am Jordana.”

“Thanks. Although we’ve met you many times there are still times when I am unsure whether I have the correct name associated with the face.”

“You are not alone in feeling that way.”

When the children had finished breakfast Deirdre said to her parents, “We are going spend the morning in the recreation area with the other children. So we will see you here for lunch.”

“Good,” they replied.

Alena added, “We’ll let you know if our plans change.”

“Okay.”

After the children left Elaine said, “I find your children amazing. Their ability to quickly switch from being a child to being an adult is almost shocking.”

“Well they do shock us at times,” noted Maeve. “Their ability to do that has been a discussion topic we’ve had from time to time. Each time it was prompted by our concern over whether we were pushing them into an adult role. In our case, we’ve come to the conclusion that their ability is likely due to our telepathic link and growing up on a spaceship. While we do have a fairly open telepathic link with them, it is not an open link like we have with our spouses. Our link with them was very helpful when they were small as it made it easier to give them guidance that would be difficult, if not impossible, to do verbally. As they’ve grown the link has changed to become more of a mentoring and counseling one.”

Sarah said, “Shifting the topic a bit. We are curious as to why you didn’t make the trip to Sol System?”

Richard looked at Elaine then said, “Basically, we didn’t see anything to be gained by delivering our reports on the activity here in person. Making the trip also meant that we would be away for some 3 months, possibly more. All of us thought our time would be much more productive if we stayed here.”

Elaine added, “Several weeks ago, when it was clear that the trip would take place, we had a discussion with Devlin, Li Qiang, and Nadine. While all of us felt obligated to provide reports on the activity here, none of us felt that they needed to be delivered in person. As a part of that discussion we decided that each of us would prepare a video report then jointly review them before they were finalized. While we initially thought of it as a critique, it turned into a session reminding each other of things that we thought had been overlooked.”

“It was a fun project,” added Josephine. “Even with our joint review the reports are quite different, which I attribute to our different personalities and perspectives.”

“How do you think the recipients will react?” queried Sarah.

“Bluntly, I don’t care and I think that is true for all of us,” responded Elaine with Josephine nodding her agreement. “While I love my birth country, it is no longer where I live. Our activity here has little to no relationship to issues there. I’ll always be Irish regardless of where I live, but this is now home for me. However, it should be an interesting time for me when the group returns.”

“Why is that?”

“Well I suspect some of my siblings are currently at An Clochán. This suspicion is based on an odd sentence in the last message I received from my sister. When I first read it I didn’t take notice of the odd wording. However, when we were looking over the list of expected arrivals, trying to identify people with agricultural experience, I saw several familiar names. One was my sister’s name, and seeing it prompted me to remember the odd sentence. If, as I presume, it means that they have decided to come here the sentence makes a lot more sense. So we shall see.”

Josephine added, “Based on the comments I’ve heard, I suspect there are quite few people at An Clochán who have relatives or friends here.”

“We haven’t seen Ann’s Clan or the others who are setting up the settlement in a while. Do you know how it is coming along?” queried Jill.

“I think our progress is on track,” replied Elaine. “We should be ready to use the new equipment coming from An Clochán as soon as we can get it set up.”

Claudette said, “The last message we had from An Clochán indicated that it was all there waiting to be loaded.”

“Good. Out of curiosity, do you know what the total cost was?”

“Not really since the transactions were handled as barter sales. We exchanged quite a few kilos of rare earths in exchange for the equipment and other items.”

“Did they have any difficulty in obtaining the equipment?”

“None that were relayed to us. We do know that everything was bought in small lots over several months and picked up at different locations on Earth.”

“Do you know if they were made to our specs?” queried Richard.

“When picked up they met our requirements. In some cases the supplier chose to make the necessary modifications at the pickup point just before we took delivery.”

“Interesting. When our Atewa and Monque agents arrive we should find out more about Atewa and Monque agricultural operations.”

“There will be trade delegations arriving in a few months,” responded Alison. “Should we alert them of our interest in obtaining agricultural equipment?”

“It wouldn’t hurt. The agents we hired will be here before the delegations won’t they?” asked Richard.

“Yes,” responded Janet. “They will arrive in a few days and unless plans have changed they will be here for at least a month. It is likely that they can tell us about their World’s approach to cultivation.”

Josephine said, “We’ve enjoyed visiting with you all this morning, but we need to be going.”

“Well we are glad that you joined us,” said Erin. “We should do this more often.”

“We will look for opportunities,” responded Elaine. As she did the two groups stood up to exchange good-byes. They had just finished when Chloe, Orla, and Finnsech announced that the morning meeting would begin in 10 minutes and that it was expected to be brief.

After their morning family meeting Sarah’s Clan was approaching their office at Tara when Eilidh Carroll and Blaine Jackson met them. Both said, “Good morning.”

“Good morning,” they replied.

“We were wondering if you had some time you could spare us.”

“You caught us at a good time, come on in,” responded Sarah.

“Is there a problem?” queried Sally.

“Not that we know of,” quickly replied Blaine. “The Intelligence groups have been evaluating ways of increasing our knowledge and understanding of those we’ve met or heard about. One approach has been to discuss with the fleet crew members what life is like back home and where they’ve lived. This has given us a view that is different from the official versions. Some of the differences are quite large but could just be attributable to a difference in perspective.”

Eilidh said, “From this we’ve come to the conclusion that we need this information from our perspective. It occurred to us that this could be an additional task for the groups going to Atewa and Monque. In working with our agents they should have many opportunities to learn more about those worlds.”

“Are you saying that we already need spies in the field?” queried Alena.

Sensing her meaning Blaine smiled as he said, “Not in that sense. The role we envision is one that diplomats typically fulfill. We see their purpose as to learn about the people, the issues they face, how their government functions, and what goods we can exchange.”

“The agents we’ve hired can provide us with a part of this, but we don’t think they will know us well enough to see things from our perspective,” added Eilidh. “We do see the agents as a key in supporting this effort. They can assist our people in building contacts and assist us in understanding local issues.”

“How do you see this working?” queried Tara.

“We were thinking of having a clan representing us there permanently, but any one clan would only be there for a period of six months to a year. It is an arrangement similar to the way we organized the reconnaissance teams. This way a clan would be there long enough to build contacts and gain a perspective of the current events. If their time there overlapped with the subsequent clan they could introduce their replacements to their contacts.”

“Interesting concept. How far along are you with your proposal?” queried Terry.

Blaine looked at Eilidh then said, “It is in an early draft stage. We could have it ready to discuss in a few days. Why?”

Erin said, “In a few days the clans we sent to the Atewa and Monque Worlds will return. With them are some of the agents we hired to represent us. The purpose of the agents’ trip here is to learn more about us and our World, well as much as they can in a month. When they return home it would be an opportunity for us to include representatives with the assignment you’ve proposed.”

Eilidh said, “As Blaine indicated, we could be ready in a few days to discuss this with all of you. It would be helpful if we knew what the legal status of our people would be while they were there.”

“I wouldn’t expect it to be any different to the current delegations, however these representatives will have more interaction with the local people so the potential for issues goes up,” responded Sarah. “This is a question we can raise with the Task Group Commanders the next time we see them.”

Aoife said, “That will be in three days, unless something requires it being earlier or we see them here.”

“Technically speaking,” said Maeve, “Even though they work for us, I believe our agents are effectively our hosts while we are on their Worlds. Although we do have a contact in their Fleet Operations department it is not clear what that means with regard to our presence there.”

They chatted a few more minutes about the project and related issues. Then Blaine said, “We should get back to our group so we can prepare this for discussion with all of you.”