Chapter 8

Tonto told the entire family gathered in the mess hall, "I've several reports to share with you and since we've all been working so hard thought that this would be a good time for some good news and a relaxing break from the daily grind. The kitchen is open, order up food or beverages as you wish.

"First, the Darjee at KTT have relayed a message from the Behemoth Bounty. All is well aboard the ship and they are making slightly better time now that they don't have the Confederacy crew looking over their shoulder all the time. Some of the earlier regulations were from an over abundance of caution and are being tested and modified one at a time. They have improved over all flight speed by almost 10 percent so have cut about 31 days from their arrival date.

"Even better news is that every one on board is now a member of the inner family. They have four active Tonto families and there are no outsiders left, everyone has joined the core family. They have also found a way to partially incorporate the children but they added no details. Since the message was going through the Darjee only so much could be disclosed. With the time we've spent studying our new home system we only have another four months before our retrieval crew will head back to KTT to lead the Behemoth Bounty through. We will plan another party on the ground according to the information from our studies.

"Two of the three sensor probes from Toohot are being recalled. The work there is done and we can use the equipment here. The third probe has the most sensors aboard and will continue to monitor and study the planet. With some special provisions the planet is habitable but it has indeed lived up to its temporary name. It is too hot to support our colony without requiring many of our resources that we can use to better advantage here.

"Now for the news you've all been waiting for. Yes, the planet Hilaris is populated by an intelligent species. The dominant species is a social animal that appears to have evolved from a canine-like predecessor. Their civilization is on a par with homo sapiens as they began emerging from a hunter-gatherer culture to one with developed farming and rather extensive trade routes. They still travel on four paws but the front paws are unique. The four toes appear to be upside down with heavy pads on what we would think of as the knuckles. What we refer to as dewclaws in dogs has moved around to the front of the 'wrist' and works as an opposable thumb.

"They are quite sociable and have large and extended families. There is little evidence of conflict, however the trails over the eastern mountain range have been barricaded and there is no evidence of commerce or communication between the two areas. There is some evidence that they have explored the major island to the south and the southern continent has a few trails but no where near the level of activity in the north.

"We have some major challenges." Tonto continued, "Do we send a survey party, do we make contact, how do we assure compatibility and how do we assure that there will be no transmission of diseases between them and us? Suggestions, anyone?"

Katie took the floor in her official position as Captain of the Kedah. "We are not going to solve all those problems nor answer all those question tonight. Let's spend the evening enjoying each other and the success of our many study teams. Tomorrow will be soon enough to form a working network to identify all of the questions and all reasonable solutions so we can take an orderly approach to decision making. If this were a science fiction novel the rocket man would just take surprise action and in no time all the problems are solved. However, this is our real life, not a fiction created in some goofball's mind. We are family and we work together for the best possible outcome. Tonight let's have fun and make love, tomorrow we can go back to work."

A very pregnant Ellie sat with her husband, Jason, and the rest of their extended family. Once again she looked like a very cute sixteen-year-old human without a sign of a feather anywhere on her body, unless she removed her panties. She wanted to hang on to at least part of her enforced Darjee heritage. Ellie hadn't been assigned to any of the survey teams as her huge tummy, swelling with twins, made it quite impossible to get close enough to many of the instruments required. Her unending back ache meant she couldn't spend too much time standing up either, however she was still able to walk over a mile on the treadmill. Her treadmill jogging had ended a month ago. To keep herself occupied and useful she spent quite a bit of time becoming familiar with the second box of toys the Darjee had given her at KTT. If her soon to be born babies were ever going to be able to use the educational toys she had better know how they worked.