Ananu

 

By Cainneach McEinri

 

Description:  Sarah’s Clan adventures continue with the Órarduine family.  They’ve added more space ships.  Plans are being made for their journey.  Alien visitors arrive in Sol.  The Órarduine facilitate the introduction of one alien group to Earth’s leaders.  They begin their journey to Celia system to settle the planet Ananu.  During their journey they come to aid of a disable ship and gain some new friends. 

 

Published:  March 2024 (Updated July 2024) 

Size: ≈  338,300 words 

 

 

 

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Ananu

 

 

Sarah’s Saga V

 

By Cainneach McEinri

 

Copyright© 2014, 2024

 

This is a work of fiction.  All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be submitted to the author.

 

Cover photo derived from photo 115247020 © Yanikap | Dreamstime.com and used with permission. 

 

Please be advised that this story was created for mature audiences for their entertainment thus many of the sexual interactions are often explicitly described.  The sexual interaction occurs between women as well as between men and women.  Some characters participate in a polygamy style relationship.

 

Editing and comments were provided by Just_passin_through and several others.  Their comments and suggestions significantly improved the story and are greatly appreciated. 

 

Note:  When the conversation is a telepathic exchange, it is indicated by italics font. 

 

 

r20240728

- Chapter 1 -

Note:  When the conversation is a telepathic exchange, it is indicated by italics font. 

---

Órarduine date – 7th year, 1st month, 37th clock cycle (24 hrs = 1 clock cycle & 40 clock cycles/month) 

Earth date – 9th year, 75th day

Maureen's Clan was the first of the six Command Staffs to arrive on Dóchas.  When Maureen stepped through the conference room door, she said to Sarah's Clan, “Getting anxious.” 

“Absolutely,” replied several of Sarah's Clan with a smile.

“The whole crew is really wound up,” added Erin. “It is as if we were leaving tomorrow.” 

Alena said, “You realize that it is nearly an Ó year since we made that decision.” 

“Yes, we've noticed quite a change in the family since then,” said Crystal of Maureen's Clan.  “Everyone seems to be a bit more.....well dedicated to their tasks.  Even that really doesn't describe what I see.  Perhaps the word I am looking for is enthusiastic.” 

“Crystal, we've noticed that as well,” replied Alison just as the other Command Staffs began arriving.  Everyone was greeted with hugs and kisses, so it took a few minutes before everyone was seated.

“Well we do have a dedicated family,” added Tiff of Siobhan's Clan as they entered the conference room.  “In fact I think many of our contract employees are just as dedicated and enthused.” 

“I hope their vision of A-Celia lives up to expectations,” responded Tara.

Seeing everyone had arrived Sarah and Siobhan together said, “As all of you have seen, we are making good progress toward our scheduled departure for Celia and so far there haven’t been any surprises.  Today, we want to go over the status of our activities and then look over the data from A-Celia.”

Siobhan said, “Keriann's Clan, why don't you lead off?”

“Our exercises went as planned.  We basically followed the same plan Dóchas, Phoenix and Eagle used for their exercises.  Thankfully we didn't have any surprises like Taiséalai had.  Our cruisers went out to the edge of this solar system and flew patrol patterns along with several Star Fighters.”

Keriann's Clan then took turns reviewing the results of their operational exercise and the subsequent system improvements they found beneficial.  They noted that they thought the pilots benefited from the combat games they played with the pilots from Taiséalai.

“How did the improved weapons work?” asked Rusty.

“They are even more effective than our initial testing indicated,” replied Chester.  “The increased energy output from the lasers is as expected and is less visible.  The other gain is that they recycle in less than a minute.  However, the biggest change is in the rail guns, although maybe we shouldn't call them rail guns any more.  The changes in the launch system have significantly increased the projectile speed.  We tried them on a shielded target.  We didn't have any success at first, until we altered the spacing between projectiles.”

“The battle simulations we have run against the AIs and each other have, I think, really improved our understanding of our capabilities,” added Keriann.  “Anyway, that is all we have.”

Kathryn said, “Can we say ditto to Keriann's report?”

After the laughter died down Claudette said, “You can, but we would like to hear your perspective.”

Elana of Kathryn's Clan responded with, “Shucks... The tactical exercises went real well.  By the time they were over our fighters and cruisers were doing an excellent job in coordinating their thrusts against a target.  Someday it will be for real and I hope it works just as well.”

“So do we,” replied Chester of Keriann's Clan with many heads nodding in agreement.

Kathryn said, “As you know our operational plan was nearly identical to Iarracht’s.  Our pilots also indicated that they liked the mock battles with Iarracht and the practice intercepts.”

Kathryn's Clan then began reviewing some of their more significant events.  Several structural issues were found and repaired.  These were thought to be carryovers from the propulsion unit runaway that occurred during lift-off from Mars as none of the other ships had seen these problems.

“The progress being made in building Marthanóir and Fiontar is really amazing,” said Sarah.  “If we didn't know better, I would worry about the quality of the workmanship.”

“You've hit on an issue that bothered me some time ago,” replied Kelly of Keriann's Clan, “but not anymore.  In fact, I think that our newest ships may be built a bit better than our first.  All of this, I think, can be attributed to our experience in building them and what we have learned in operating them.  If you compare Phoenix and Eagle's original designs to todays, there are some significant differences.  Every time we make a short trip or do an exercise, the crew always finds something they would like to improve.”

“We agree,” added Kathryn.  “Although I don't want to have that experience again, I think the propulsion pod runaway taught us a lot about our ships and their operation.”

“We agree,” said Maureen.

Siobhan said, “Marthanóir and Fiontar are going to be ready for their final checks soon so who do we want to do them?”

Kelly immediately responded with, “I think Molly's and Jackie's Clan are excellent choices.”

“We agree,” added Tiff of Siobhan's Clan.

Noticing that Sarah's Clan had not commented Colleen of Maureen's Clan began to list the reasons they thought Molly's and Jackie's Clans were a good choice.  Paula then followed with a review of their skills and accomplishments.

Sensing what prompted their comments Joyce said, “We agree, but due to our close relationship with them we held back so that we could hear your thoughts.  We think they are a good fit for the positions, but we were concerned that our relationship with them had coloured our view.”

Kathy of Kathryn's Clan said, “What would you have done if we weren't here?”

“Made the same choice,” replied Sarah with a smile, “but in that case the circumstances would be different.  The advantage several of you have is that you've worked more closely with them than we have.”

“So it was more than just Joyce's comments,” responded Katia of Kathryn's Clan.

“Yes.  If we had worked with them as closely as you have, then our perspective would be different.  Since we haven't and do have a strong personal relationship with them, we wanted to avoid the potential for that colouring our view.  This is an issue we will face more often in the future as our family grows.

“We think Colleen and Paula gave a very good summary of the reasons they are a good choice.”

“So Molly's Clan will fill the role of Command Staff for Marthanóir and Jackie's Clan will fill the role of Command Staff for Fiontar,” said Siobhan.

Everyone responded with, “Agreed!”

“Boann is the Senior AI on Marthanóir and Donn is the Senior AI on Fiontar,” said Eileen of Siobhan's Clan.  “I think everyone knew that but thought we should have it in the log.”

“Good point,” responded several.

Tara said, “I saw that all of us, including Molly's and Jackie's Clans, are Star Fighter qualified.  I think most of us have spent enough time in FOC that we understand their procedures and capabilities.  We need to finish our qualifications in Badb cruisers”

Keira of Siobhan's Clan said, “I enjoy flying the Star Fighters and doing the exercises but we are fortunate to have people more in tune with that skill than I am.”

“I agree,” added Kathy of Kathryn's Clan.  “Our experiences in them should strengthen our abilities on the bridge.”

“Agreed, and if need be I'll fly a Star Fighter in combat and hope the Gods or Goddesses have the time to be my copilot.  I think I could do a credible job, but we have others that are much more capable than me.”

“Sorry, Keira,” responded Kathy, “I now understand what you meant and I feel the same way.”

Tiff said, “Remember our reason for becoming competent in Star Fighters and Badb Cruisers was to give us a better understanding of maneuvering our Dóchas class ships.  I know Sarah's Clan has scheduled their Badb orientation and we have ours penciled in for a week from now.”

Rusty said, “Since Badb command requirement is 4 people, we are going to do the orientation four at a time.  The Badb Commanders will fill the instructor role.”

“We should complete this during the next six weeks,” added Aoife of Sarah's Clan.

“Agreed,” replied everyone.

“We need to go back to Command Staff selection for Marthanóir and Fiontar,” said Sarah.  “Siobhan's Clan would you ask Molly's and Jackie's Clans to handle the final check-out for liftoff.”

“It will give us great pleasure to be on the other side of that request.  I don't think we will ever forget the day you asked us to do the same thing.  We don't see a problem with you doing it, but understand your concern.”

“Can we peek when you do it?” asked Brigid of Keriann's Clan.

“Certainly, all of you can,” replied Eileen of Siobhan's Clan.

“Next item,” said Sally of Sarah's Clan “is the first recon data from A-Celia.”

“Well,” said Chester, “to us it seems to confirm the initial information we had.  What were you looking for out of this discussion?”

“Nothing in particular,” responded Maeve.  “We just think that this should always be a topic on our agenda as we move toward our departure.  There is the potential for overlooking some aspect, but with all of us looking at it from our different perspectives perhaps we can minimize missing something important.”

“Yea, right,” said Eibhlin of Maureen's Clan.  “Why don't we pick an area or aspect to review each time we get together with the idea that we spend no more than an hour on it.”

“I like that,” said Kathy.  “If we don't finish with it, we can either continue it at the next meeting or drop it.”

“That works for me.  Alternatively we can defer it if there are other issues demanding our attention.”

“Agreed.”

“Eibhlin,” said Sarah, “would you coordinate this topic?”

“Sure.”

“Last item,” said Terry.  “Are we set for the meeting with the contract staff tomorrow?”

“I believe so,” said Colleen.  “Sarah, Tara, Aoife and I are planning on giving psionic demonstrations that will hopefully show they are real.  I think we've sorted out an approach that should convince them that the abilities are real without disclosing too much.”

“What are you doing about security?”

“Primarily Breacadh will monitor the room with a Security team nearby on alert.  We are considering wearing our personal shields.”

“Mind if we monitor you all?” asked Kathy.

“Not at all, as you are always connected to us anyway.”

“Yea but...”

“I know, but you are not intruding.”

“Anything else?” asked Maeve of Sarah's Clan.  When she saw none she said, “Well then, let's go to lunch.”

“Great,” responded several.

Aisling of Siobhan's Clan said, “I like it when we can share a meal after our meetings.  Let's arrange our timing so we can do it more frequently.”

“That is a great idea,” responded Calvin of Kathryn's Clan.

“Agreed,” replied everyone.

---

At An Clochán Colleen of Maureen's Clan was on her way to meet Sarah, Tara and Aoife for a discussion of telepathy and psionic abilities.  It was a discussion Sarah had proposed after several contract staff had expressed difficulty in believing that psionic abilities were real.  Colleen had just passed a connecting hall when she noticed a man coming toward her.  She recognized him as contract staff although the object he was carrying puzzled her.  It had caught her attention because of the awkward way he was holding it.

Colleen had only taken a few more steps when she sensed someone approaching from behind.  Her awareness increased when she heard thoughts, 'avoid her hair, push the pad hard against her shoulder, it must make contact with her skin.'  Recognizing the intent of the person behind, her response was immediate.  Crouching as she swiveled around, she grabbed the woman's arm just before her hand would have reached her if she hadn't moved.  Continuing her pivot, Colleen yanked the woman's arm up behind her causing a sickening snap which was followed by a scream.  She then shoved the woman away from her, propelling her headlong toward the far wall.  There was a loud thump when her head hit the wall and slumped to the floor.  It was apparent from the way she collapsed that her neck had broken.

As Colleen turned back toward her destination, she realized that the man was now just a few steps away.  She could clearly see that he was holding an atomizing gun pointed at her.  Just as he pushed the release she quickly stepped to the side to avoid the mist.  In doing so she turned and brought her foot up under his extended arm, driving it upward.  The impact of her blow caused a loud snap as his arm broke and the weapon flew from his hand.

He groaned as he reached into his pocket with his other hand.  Seeing his reaction, she brought her hand down sharply on his shoulder.  There was a snap and his shoulder sagged, leaving his arm hanging limply as he struggled to respond.  As the pain in his body began to register, Colleen brought her foot down against his upper leg just above the knee.  Her blow twisted his leg resulting in a muffled pop as his knee separated.  She then pushed off to flip back onto her feet out of his reach.  When she landed facing him, she saw that he had crumpled to the floor.  Seeing the atomizing weapon lying a short distance away on the floor, she released a blue energy ball toward it.  When it hit the gun, there was a flash, and it disappeared as a small puff of smoke leaving a discoloured spot on the floor.

“Breacadh,” said Colleen breathing heavily as she bounced up and down, “I need EMTs and a Security team here now!” 

In the short time it took Breacadh to respond, Colleen quickly scanned the area looking for more threats.  Breacadh responded, “Caoilinn's team is nearly there.  My alarms tripped just as the woman attacked you.  The EMTs are on their way.” 

Colleen could hear them approaching as she said, “Caoilinn's team, the attackers are down.  I don't see or sense any more threats.” 

“Aye, that is Breacadh’s view as well.”  On seeing her some of Caoilinn's team began checking the rooms as they moved toward her while two others covered their backs.  After reaching her the EMTs went to the woman lying near the wall.  After checking her, they rolled her onto a stretcher.  When an EMT began to approach the man, he was sliding his hand up under his jacket.  Seeing his movement and sensing the EMT's observation Sal acted immediately and neutralized him.  When the man's arm slid from underneath his coat, they saw a dart gun in his hand.

“Nice work, Sal,” said Colleen.  The EMT next to the dead man nodded her agreement.  “Any delay and there would have been at least one more body.”

“Yes,” replied Sal.  “I sensed his thought just as he began moving his hand, then the EMT's observation confirmed it.  How did that woman get so close to you?”

“Possibly by not actively thinking about what she was planning to do until just before she was to press that pad against my shoulder.  I think her mistake was that she wasn't close enough when she initiated her attempt.”

The EMT said, “She probably misjudged your stride and it messed up her timing.”  Colleen looked at her with a puzzled expression.  “Not many have noticed it, but our stride is considerably longer than it appears to be.  We have attributed it to the way we walk, and our height.”

Colleen thought for a few moments, before responding with, “Interesting.  I hadn't noticed that before.  In fact, I am not sure any of my spouses have either.  Can you all take care of this mess?  I need to go to a meeting.”

“Sure.  A couple of us will go with you.”

“Okay, but you need to wait outside the room.”  When they started to object she added, “We need to minimize those of us in the room.  Breacadh is actively monitoring the room, so she can link you in via the monitors allowing you to see what’s going on.”

“Oh, it's that meeting.  I forgot that it was today.  Okay, four of us will wait outside.”  With that, Colleen continued on to the conference room with Abbie, Caoilinn, Sal and Melanie.

On entering the room Colleen scanned it as Sarah, Tara and Aoife shimmered into view.  Their arrival resulted in several gasps from those in the room.  As the four Órarduine looked around, they saw the shocked looks on everyone's faces.

“Gosh Sarah, when you invited me to this meeting, you didn't mention the welcome I would receive on the way,” said Colleen.

“We are as surprised as you are,” laughed Sarah, as she looked at Colleen.  “It must be your charisma.  Are you okay?” 

“Yes.  Both of them are dead.”

Sarah looked out at those assembled for the meeting with a neutral expression.  “Sarah, Aoife, Tara and Colleen,” said Breacadh, “everyone who expressed an interest is there except for four people.  We believe they are all here primarily to gather information.  Two of those missing are the two who died in the hall.  The other two are being monitored at the moment as they are acting suspiciously.” 

“Acknowledged.”

“Good morning,” said Aoife, Sarah, Tara and Colleen.  

“Good morning.”

“Are there any others we should wait for?” asked Sarah of the group in the room.

“There are two who said they would be late,” said Jacob.

“Well, just a few minutes ago, two people made a serious error in judgment and as a result are now dead.  Breacadh, project their images on the wall.”

“Those aren't the two who told me they would be late,” responded Jacob.

“Breacadh, show the others.”  With that request, the images of those being monitored were projected on the wall.

“Yes.  They are the ones who told me that they would be late.”

“Well, based upon their activities, it appears that they don't intend on joining us.”

Colleen said, “The first two images we showed are of two people who attacked me in the hall a few minutes ago.  He had a long range atomizer and was carrying a dart gun.  The woman attempted to place a pad on my back or shoulder.  Their actions are very puzzling.  Perhaps we will never know what they intended as both are dead.”

“We are going to presume that none of you were involved with what happened in the hall,” said Sarah.

“I wasn't,” responded Martina.

“Neither was I,” said Kane as many shook their heads indicating that they weren't either.

“Does anyone else want to comment?”  The room was quiet but many were shaking their heads no.

Aoife said, “Okay.  Based on your expressions, I suspect that none of you were aware of the activities of those not here.  However, didn't most of you come to An Clochán for the express purpose of gathering information about us for some group on Earth.”

“If you knew we were spies, then why let us come?” asked Kane.

“Why not?” responded Tara.  “You came here to help us and you have made significant contributions to our progress.  If we hadn't let you come, then those sponsoring you would have resorted to other means to achieve their objective.  Those would likely have caused situations similar to what just happened to Colleen, or other problems.  Based on our observations, you are interested in either our technology or our intentions toward Earth.”

Aoife said, “In spite of the earlier distraction, our gathering today is to talk about psionic abilities and telepathy.  Hopefully, after this you will have a better grasp of what they are and an understanding that Órarduine really do have them.”

“You saw the way Sarah, Aoife and I arrived,” said Tara.  “That was done using one of our psionic abilities.  We came directly from our ship.  You can think of it as projecting ourselves, or teleporting.”

“So, it was like they did on Star Trek,” responded Hana.

“Yes, except our ship's AI did not assist us.”

“Even so, it could be sleight of hand since we can't verify that you came directly from Dóchas.”

“True.  Many times when psionic abilities are used, it isn't possible to evaluate the event as you would an experiment.  There are times that they appear to be magic, especially if you don't know about the abilities and just see the result.”

Tara said, “Earlier Colleen used her psionic abilities, along with her martial arts knowledge, to deal with the two attackers in the hall.  Let's watch the recording.  Breacadh, please show the video of the recent events in the hall.  Play it first at normal speed and then repeat it in slow motion.”  When it finished she said, “From the video alone it is difficult to see how psionics helped Colleen.  A martial arts specialist could have handled the two attackers, but I wouldn't want to try it.  Did you notice that Colleen had begun to defend herself before the woman touched her?  Also, martial arts skill doesn't explain the blue balls and the weapon’s disappearance.”

The four Órarduine could see the thoughtful looks on everyone's faces but no one spoke.

After a few moments Aoife looked at Hana and said, “Let's try this as it will be a little harder to explain away.”

Hana shrieked when she realized she was rising out of her seat.  She then gasped as she thought she heard Aoife tell her to relax but didn’t see her lips move.  Looking at Aoife she saw her smiling as she continued to rise out of her chair.  Aoife lifted Hana using her psionic abilities until she was 2 meters above the floor.  As she did so Hana continued to squirm.  Aoife said, “Hana, this would be much easier if you would sit still.”  Aoife brought her toward the front of the room then lowered her until her feet were touching the floor.  “Now you can stand.”  Tara held Hana's hand to help her rise from her sitting position on an imaginary chair.

Hana looked at Aoife and said, “Okay.  After that, I can't really argue about whether there are psionic abilities or not.  How does telepathy fit in and why is it so important?  What are the other abilities?”

“As we've tried to convey to everyone, telepathy is a key psionic ability for us.  So far, every Órarduine is a very good telepath.  However, the corollary to that is not true, in that not everyone has other psionic abilities.  Like other natural or inherited skills, it varies from person to person.  Some believe that it can be strengthened through exercise, but I think that exercise simply enhances control rather than strengthening it.  Again, what we know about psionic abilities is with respect to Órarduine.  We don't know whether other species have psionic abilities, and if so how they manifest themselves.  With respect to telepathy, we know from experience that some humans have latent telepathic skills.  Whether some have other psionic abilities, we don't know.”

“Can you hear or understand me?” asked Aoife, as she looked a Hana with a smile.

“Did you say something to me?”

“Yes.  I asked you, telepathically, if you could hear or understand me?”

“I did, but if I had not been looking at you, I don't think I would have realized you had asked me a question.”

“Based on that, it is quite probable that you are telepathically capable.  We can take this a step further and I can assist you in making that determination.  If you do, we can activate it now, but only if you want to.  The medical staff or the Command Staffs can also assist a person in activating their telepathic ability.”

As Aoife had spoken Hana's expression changed to a worried one.

“Before proceeding, there are a few things you should consider, especially if it turns out that you have the ability.  First, when you return to Earth, you will need to modify it.  This is for your protection since some people would be afraid of you, and others would want to turn you into a guinea pig.  Others who have activated their ability while they were here, have chosen to limit it when they returned to Earth.  The alteration was to adjust their sensitivity so that it alerts them when a threat is approaching them or a loved one.”  Turning to address the rest of the group, “We believe that a part of your success here is due to your sensitivity to telepathy.  So what I just told Hana, likely applies to all of you.”

“But if I fully enable my telepathic ability I will lose my privacy, because anyone can see my thoughts.”

“That is only true if you want it to be.  When you enable your telepathy attribute, you have the ability to control how open your connections are, and to whom.  The contents of casual telepathic conversations are no different than spoken communication, except that with telepathy emotions and concepts are conveyed more accurately.  Telepathic exchange is quicker and clearer, which is why we use it exclusively during emergencies.  A key benefit is that it works well in a vacuum.  You can turn it off if you don't like it.  With it fully functional, you will have more flexibility in moving about An Clochán and the ships.”

“Okay.  I'll take the chance.  I can't believe that I have been here a year and just realized this.”

“It is a matter of perspective.  You've focused on learning as much about our technology as you could, along with tasks associated with your duties.  Due to switching jobs so frequently you've gained a wide variety of skills, but none are finely tuned.  Based on your frequent switching, our Staffing department wasn't sure whether you were a spy or just someone trying to find a place for themselves while gaining a variety of experience.”

“Hana, if you want I can assist you with sorting out your telepathy now,” said Aoife.  “It will be a bit like show and tell, although the audience won't see the details of how it’s done, they will just see before and after.”

“Okay as long as it can be disabled when I return to Earth.  Wait a minute; those in the room will know I am telepathic.”

“Let me assure you that they will not be able to share that knowledge.  You can definitely alter how you use it.  As to the other, that will not be a problem.”  Aoife then began assisting Hana with enabling her telepathy, while the other Órarduine monitored the audience.  Once it was fully enabled, Aoife showed her how to limit her connections and protect herself from unwanted intrusion.  She also explained the rules of etiquette for telepathic communication.

“So Hana, can you now understand me clearly?” asked Tara.

“Oh, yes.  I can see a link between you, Aoife, Sarah and some others.”

“Those are my spouses.  It is a special link that we leave open all the time.”

“Interesting.  Those on Earth would never understand this concept.”  Hana turned to those watching and said, “Aoife's comments are truer than I ever thought possible.  I suggest that each of you consider trying it.”  When she switched to telepathy it caused several eyebrows among the contract staff to rise.  “I know my telepathy works, as I just spoke to Tara without verbalizing anything.  I've also just made a suggestion to all of you telepathically.  Thanks to Aoife, I now understand her comment about my memory being as secure now as it was before, which was a big concern.”

A man near the back of the room stood up and said, “Hana, great things were expected of you.  It is disappointing to see you so easily seduced and perverted by these aliens.  The organization made a significant investment in training you for this assignment.  Now you return that benefit by becoming a traitor.”

“Idiot,” shouted Hana, “I have done nothing of the kind.  I came here to learn, and that is what I am doing.  It is you who doesn't have any understanding of what these people are letting us see.  You are so used to seeing plots, subterfuge and sabotage that you can't see anything else.”

He responded angrily with, “It is you who are naive.”  As spoke, he slowly brought his hand up to point a dart launcher at her.  Just as he began to squeeze the trigger, Colleen hurled a blue shimmering ball of energy at him.  The force of it slammed him backwards into the chair, and over the back of it.  He lay limply over the chair, unmoving with his hair smoking.

“Well, one more idiot down,” said Colleen.  “Don't touch the device he had in his hand.  It is designed to launch small darts.  Others we've seen were used to administer either a poison or drug.  The pens are fragile as they have a tendency to break in the users hands.”

“This is bullshit,” screamed another participant on the other side of the room.  As he stood, he pointed his dart gun at the Órarduine and pulled the trigger.  They let him launch the darts and met each of them with a blue ball which turned them into smoke just after they left the weapon.  After the fourth dart, Tara reached out to him telepathically.  When she took control of him, his expression turned to one of horror as he watched his hand begin squeezing the dart launcher until it broke.  While this scene was taking place those near him moved carefully away, leaving him standing alone.  His expression was one of fear, as blood oozed out of his hand and around the crumpled dart launcher.  In only moments, he began gasping for breath then dropped to the floor.

When he was on the floor Sarah said, “That appears to be the same kind of dart launcher we saw in Britain.  It is a very effective tool when used correctly, but they are also very fragile, which makes them very deadly to the user when they break in their hand.”

“Breacadh, we need someone to remove two bodies,” said Tara.

“Assistance will be there momentarily,” replied Breacadh.

“Is there anyone else who has doubts about psionic abilities?” asked Sarah.

“How do you know if you have them?”

“We could assist you the way we did Hana, but the best way is to visit the medical staff.  They can evaluate you for their presence.  Without the species change, you probably won't have more than telepathy, and possibly far sight, which some refer to as clairvoyance.”

When she finished speaking, Kane raised his hand then said, “I think I can speak for many of us and say that you have convinced me that psionics can be real.  Since you know why some of us are here, can I ask about some other things I don't understand?”

“Certainly,” replied Sarah, Aoife, Tara and Colleen quickly.  “Depending on the question, we may need to get some assistance for the answer, and there may be some questions we don't want to answer.  If so we will simply tell you rather than avoid answering.”

“I understand that my sponsors sent several people here before me.  When they returned to Earth, they were unable to utilize the knowledge they brought back.  I was told to try to figure out why they can't implement the technical knowledge they gained.  Can you give me some insight into the problem?”

Sarah responded with, “First, let me remind you of a few things regarding our directives.  They forbid us from giving technology to other civilizations when it is beyond their ability to use it.  The idea behind this is to avoid disrupting the civilizations’ development.”  The man nodded his understanding.  “Now, we think we can give you some clues that will help you understand the difficulty that a direct transfer would cause.  First, physics is physics.  If you understand the physics behind our technology, then you should be able to figure out and apply it in a way to benefit you.”  The man frowned.  “We suspect your sponsors are not making any effort to understand the physics behind our technology.  Without that understanding, they will not be able to utilize the knowledge those people brought back.  Our implementation relies, in part, on our psionic abilities, in particular telepathy.  Telepathic ability is currently only present in a very small percentage of humans, so relying on it to use what they learned would not succeed.  Another shortcoming in Earth's technological development is that they only talk of successes, hardly ever of the path traveled to achieve those successes.  Sometimes those contain clues that others may find useful.”

“Does that help?” asked Colleen.

“Yes.  I think so.  I am not sure they will agree since they want a quick implementation.”

“Our technology implementation also has a dependency on the relationship we have between our logical entities and biological entities.  It is fair to say the relationship is symbiotic.”  Several in the room looked puzzled.  “We see some puzzled looks.”

“What are logical entities?” asked Martina.

Sarah, Tara, Aoife and Colleen smiled as they said, “You would probably use the word robot, or android.  We sometimes use the word 'bot' instead, but seldom do we make any distinction.  Our AIs fall into a similar category but are not mobile, although some can project an avatar form.  These logical bipeds are self-aware, and have all the attributes you normally associate with a person.  Virtually all of our family units include at least one.”

“You have given me, and perhaps all of us, a lot to think about.  Can I ask you more questions in the future?”

“Sure.  All of you should think about the reasoning behind our directives.  They were established to avoid dumping technology into civilizations that would disrupt their growth and conceivably destroy their culture.  We think there are examples of that in Earth's history when you look at how the more advanced groups interacted with those more primitive than them.  We see this as a major contributor to the current discontent on Earth.”

“Can you express it another way?” asked Justine.

“Okay.  Which is better: to give someone a gift of food or show how them to grow their food?”

“The latter,” replied Justine.

“Why?”

“Because you enable them to satisfy their hunger, and in doing so enable them to get a sense of accomplishment.  Once their skills provide sufficient daily nutrients, they can begin working on improving other aspects of their lives.  All of this builds character and value.”

“The same dynamics apply to giving another civilization technology beyond their understanding and ability to support it.  It makes them dependent on the giver, and has a negative effect on their culture and self-worth.”

“Okay.  I see your reasoning.  It doesn't make it any easier to deal with my sponsors.”

“This question is a little different,” said Esther.  “You pay us a salary, in addition to providing supplies, quarters and food.  However, I don't believe any of the crew receives a salary.”

“They do, but it is not in a form you are familiar with.  Right now we are a closed group, or system, in that all of us directly depend on each other.  Everything an individual needs is provided.  In terms of motivation, every member of the crew can see the effect of their contribution as well as those of their friends.  Once we have established ourselves on a planet, we will establish a monetary system.  We haven't yet addressed what form that will take.  When we do, the discussion will be much like the one we had when we decided to move to the Celia system.  The benefit of having a currency is that it enables people to easily exchange things without having to barter, which can be awkward.”

A voice from the back of the room said, “The discussion on moving to Celia was amazing from many aspects.”  Sarah, Aoife, Tara and Colleen smiled.  “First, the Command Staff's proposal was dumped with nary a nasty word said.  That was immediately followed by this gigantic group developing an alternative plan in a reasonably short meeting.  Best of all, the plan is workable.  Amazing!  If I had not seen it, I would have had a very difficult time believing it could happen.  If I read it in a report, I would think the writer was either drunk or had gone over the edge.”  Many in the room smiled indicating they had similar thoughts.

“We thought it was amazing, too.  Yes the new plan is a good one and as you've seen it is working, so far.  We admit to being more comfortable with it than the one initially proposed.  This is primarily due to the security issues.  We are expecting others to visit this solar system, but we have not been able to project when they will arrive.”

Sarah, Aoife, Tara and Colleen continued answering questions for some time before the session tapered off.  While questions continued, there were several times that they answered a question similar to one they had answered earlier.  Each time they chided the questioner before giving them the answer again, while rephrasing the answer so it was in the same context as the question.

Eventually Sarah waited a few moments for another question, and when no one spoke, she said, “I gather that there aren't any more questions today, so let's continue.  We think all of you have been enlightened about psionic abilities.  Considering your purpose here, there are a couple of other things we want to share with you.

“The two who did not join us today have been arrested.  They will be tried for sabotage and attempted murder.  During our meeting they were caught placing explosive charges in two of your suites and disarming the emergency doors between several sectors.  The explosives were intended to breach the outer wall.  If that had happened, there would have been quite a few deaths due to the explosive decompression.  By disarming the emergency doors so they wouldn't close, the event would have likely killed or critically injured a lot more people.  In the suites they had placed gas dispensers which would have incapacitated the occupants before the explosion.  The gas would have immobilized the occupants, but cruelly let them watch the detonators on the bombs tick down.  We haven't learned their motive yet, but we will before the death sentence is carried out.  Their actions are as puzzling as those of the two in the hall and the two in here.

“Even though we know the reason behind why you are here, please rest assured that all of you are welcome to stay as long as we are here.  When we are ready to leave, we plan to offer you an alternative to returning to your sponsor.  Currently the alternative is New Comrie, where you could stay for as long as you wanted to as the island is self-sufficient.  At the moment it is not detectable by those on Earth, but we can't guarantee that it will stay that way.  From there you would have the ability to return to Earth's society; however, once you left the island there would be no way to return.”

“Some of us have families,” lamented Martina, and several others nodded their heads, “which makes any choice other than going back to our sponsors difficult.”

“Yes, having a family adds to the complexity of your decision.  If it was me, I would look at the choices leaving out family considerations.  Once I clearly understood my feelings, and my choices, I would then add the complexity of including family in my choice.  Do not take my comment to mean we are encouraging, or even suggesting, leaving your families behind.  Be sure to consider all your options.  Talk to those in our Staffing department.  Depending on what you consider your options are, they can assist you with solving difficult problems so that you can achieve a preferred choice.  Except for this special offer, your choices are really no different than anyone else that came here to work.”

“Thank you for arranging this meeting,” said Hana.

“You are welcome.  We are available anytime.  Please don't hesitate in contacting us if you need to talk something through.  Before you all leave this room, we suggest you come to an agreement amongst yourselves as to what you will tell your sponsors about this meeting.  There may be parts that are best left in this room.”

“See you,” said the four Órarduine before disappearing from view, as they projected themselves back to Dóchas.

Once they were on Dóchas, Sarah, Aoife and Tara said to Colleen, “Thanks for helping out,” as they gave her a hug.

“It was interesting, although I am not sure my clan will want me go to a meeting with you guys again,” she replied with a smile.  “It was certainly an exciting beginning.”

“Yes, it was.”

“In looking back, the whole thing seems bizarre,” said Colleen.  “There were four attackers.  The two in the hall were apparently working together, but seem to have been acting independently to those in the room.  I see that each had a different background.  What could be their purpose?”

“Before we get into that,” said Sarah, “you did a great job in handling the two attackers in the hall.  However, even if they had succeeded, it would have only been for a few moments.  The combination of the patch and atomizer were designed to put you out in a way that would have isolated you from the family.  Breacadh had dispatched a Security team just as the woman reached toward you.”

“Thanks.  Something like that makes our exercise and martial arts work worthwhile.”

“You ask about purpose, so far the only thing that comes close to making any sense is that they were trying to cause an incident that would embarrass us.  At this point, there appears to be two different sponsors behind this.  It is not clear how they intended to use the incidents to embarrass us.  Maybe we will have a better idea when their families are informed of the deaths.  It is an election year in the US, so perhaps it related to that.  Also I believe there is an election in the works for Britain.  If the leading candidate in the US wins, then our relationship with the US will probably cool.”

“I find it hard to believe that our presence would affect elections on Earth.”

“One possibility would be to make us the fall guys for their slow economic recovery.”  Aoife paused. “The argument would be something like, ’if the Órarduine gave us their technology then everything would be perfect.’”

“Sarah, what do you think will happen next?”

Sarah looked at Aoife before saying, “For the group we just met with, I expect we will be asked to pick up some of their families.  Most, if not all the spies, will either opt to be Órarduine or to go to New Comrie.  As to the political issue, Aoife is right in that some candidates will do just what she said.”

“You think the ones with families will move with us?”

“It is not clear, but likely.”

“That would be a good outcome as all of them are great contributors and well-liked by all their coworkers.”

“Yes, they are.”

---

“Brenda,” said Sarah, “did you notify the families of the deaths?”

“Yes.  All four only had emergency contact information in their files.  We sent each of the emergency contacts a letter by courier.  In the letters, we told them that the individual had made some poor decisions, which resulted in their death.  The letter closed by asking where to send the remains.”

“Did you get any responses?”

“The courier service advised us that two letters were undeliverable.  The other two were delivered, but we have not had any response.  Melinda was going to mention both the four deaths and the capture of the saboteurs in her next news release.”

“Do you have any idea how she is going to handle it?”

“We spent a lot of time discussing that.  The four deaths will be noted as the first since An Clochán was established.  All were due to poor decisions on the individuals part, and do not seem to be directly related to each other.  The saboteurs will be identified, along with the group that sent them here.  Their plan will be outlined, along with the intended damage to An Clochán.  She will close the item by noting their sentence.”

“So, how much noise is this going to stir up on Earth?  Do we need to restrict travel there?”

“Melinda doesn't think the stories will draw much attention.  It will be interesting to see how it plays out.  We don't have any concerts for several months, although I understand music sales are continuing at a good pace.  Sightseeing excursions have dropped off since we decided where we were moving.”

“Let us know how it goes.”

“Will do.  By the way, each of our seven choirs will be performing once a week for our family.  Each one performs a little differently.  Their performances will be from a different ship each time and broadcast to all ships.  This gives the crews quite a selection of entertainment.”

“An excellent idea.”

---

It was a couple of days later when Kathryn's and Sarah's Clans met Amy, Jim, Leann's Clan and several from the Engineering groups in the manufacturing cave at An Clochán.  After exchanging greetings, Claudette of Sarah's Clan asked, “Leann's Clan, how do you like having multiple work places demanding your attention?”

“Well it's not too bad,” responded Madison.  “Especially since we don't carry all the load.  We share that with our sister groups on the other ships and we have a great core group here.”

Maighread added, “We know that you've seen part of the manufacturing area but we aren't sure whether you've seen it all, or when you last saw it.”

“So you want to show off what you have,” responded Rebeca of Kathryn's Clan with a big smile.

“Yep,” replied Leann's Clan.

Leann said, “We wanted for all of you to see the area before we begin disassembling.  As we go through, we want to tell you a bit about each section.  In many areas, it will be those working there who will make the presentation.”

“So when will the others visit?” asked Jill of Sarah's Clan.

“Siobhan's, Maureen's and Keriann's Clans will do this in three days’ time.  Molly's and Jackie's Clans have been in here a lot while we were building their ships.  With them doing the final check out, they have had even more interaction with this crew.  For your tour we will start in the weapons area, followed by the propulsion area, electronics and assembly in that order.  Weapons and propulsion will give short presentations.  Electronics has some new things to show you.”

When Kathryn's and Sarah's Clans entered the weapons area said, “Good morning.”

“Good morning,” replied everyone.

 “My name is Matt.  Ceana and I have been drafted to present an overview of what we do.”  With that they began their presentation by giving a brief description each weapon’s physics followed by how it was implemented.  Their presentation was interrupted a few times for clarification of an aspect.  As it ended Ceana said, “To give you a better idea of how all of this is done, we have four of the weapons systems partially installed in Star Fighters to show you.  As we noted, the weapons on the larger ships are either identical or larger versions.”

“Matt.  Ceana,” said Sally of Sarah's Clan, “thank you for an excellent presentation.”

After they had completed the tour of the weapons area, Sarah's and Kathryn's Clans said, “Thank you very much for the presentations today.  Our security depends on the effectiveness of these weapons.  Based on the reports from testing they have exceeded expectations.  So again, on behalf of everyone thank you.”

As they exited the weapons area, Rusty said, “That was very interesting and surprisingly gave me some ideas on additional ways to utilize them.”

It was mid-afternoon when they returned to the conference room to meet with representatives from engineering.  After getting refreshments Leann said, “We have a representative from each specialty area.  Are there any questions?”

Kathryn looked at Sarah and shook her head no.  Sarah said, “Thank you all for the effort you made in arranging the tour for us.  At the moment, I don't believe any of us have any questions left, but I am sure we will think of some.  Do you have any questions of us?”

Darby asked, “Do you think we will be departing for A-Celia near the scheduled time?”

“How near?” responded Jill with a smile.  After a pause she added, “At the present time, we think within an Ó month or two.  The most likely change would be a delay.  However, based on what we know at the moment any such delay would be due to an event.  Why?”

“No particular reason.  There is always speculation of it changing, and a few don't think it will happen.”

“Well the move will happen.  Whether it is when we have planned, or a bit later, only time will tell.”

Muriel said, “Once we have made everything for Marthanóir and Fiontar, we are going to shift our focus to making spares, as well as more munitions.”

“Do you all have enough historical data to predict the number of spares that we'll need?” asked Violetta of Kathryn's Clan.

“We think so,” replied Bree of Leann's Clan.  “We are basing it on what we've seen and factored in what we've found in the library.  If the historical information indicates higher levels than our experience then we adjust upward from our history.  There will be very limited manufacturing of electronic items while in transit.  Well, unless we run out of space due to the supplies needed for settlement increasing, in which case there will be none.”

“Why don't we plan on putting some of our critical spaceship manufacturing on a large asteroid in the Celia system?” asked Alena.  “Alternatively, do we have time to build a ship that could be used for manufacturing?  The internal structure would be a lot less complicated than a Dóchas class ship.”

“An interesting thought,” replied Kerry of Leann's Clan.  “It is something we considered when we first began building ships.  We decided not to do it, due to lack of experience.  I think we would all agree now that it would have been better to do some things in space, as transportation would be a lot easier.”

“Let's look at the issue,” said Nora of Leann's Clan.

“We agree,” said Sarah.  “Along with resources and timing, we will need to know how building such a ship impacts other needs.”

Kathryn said, “We need to be getting back to Taiséalai.  Before we go, we want to thank you again for the tour.  It was very informative.”

“We agree,” said Alison with the rest of her clan nodding in agreement.

“Thank you for coming,” responded Leann's Clan.

---

“Chantel,” said Rusty as they flew back to Dóchas, “how is New Comrie's development coming along?” 

“Very well.  Nearly all the buildings we planned on are complete.  The settlement is a little more spread out than initially envisaged.  Due to the topography it is more exposed to storms, but it will take an exceptional storm surge before it affects any of the buildings.  Those who have visited are quite pleased with the lagoon.” 

“I wish we could have kept the original island,” said Joyce.  “I liked it.” 

“Well, we could have just made it disappear from view, but it wouldn't really disappear as the coordinates would be known.” 

“I know.  It's just that the island has a special place in our hearts, just like mom and dad's old place does.” 

“I think it has a special meaning to all of us,” said Sarah.

“New Comrie has a special meaning, as well,” said Alison.  “It is where we went with Aine and the other mentors the first time to learn and practice our psionic skills.” 

“You're right,” responded Joyce.

“I think both locations have special meanings to us, but for different reasons,” said Aoife.  “Comrie was like our first home.  It is where we grew together.” 

“It is nearly dinner time,” said Claudette, “after dinner, let's relax with our children.” 

“Sounds like a winning plan,” responded several.

 

 

- Chapter 2 -

Note:  When the conversation is a telepathic exchange, it is indicated by italics font. 

---

It was 16:00 hours when the fifteen Badb cruisers regrouped along with their supporting Star Fighters.  Eight of the cruisers were commanded by 4 members of an Órarduine Command Staff, with Sarah's Clan filling that role on two of them.  Even so, all cruisers had their normal crew compliment which included those normally in command.  They had spent the last four clock cycles 3 lh (light hours) from Mars conducting mock battles.  Although the opposing forces were clearly visible on their sensors, they were in fact imaginary ships.  The exercises included not only the engagement, but also approach time, after engagement repairs, and other time constraining aspects of space engagements.  The first engagement was ragged resulting in considerable losses.  After each engagement, they conducted an after action review.  During this they identified errors made as well as possible improvements.

From cruiser DBM01 Sarah said, “We gather that everyone is ready to head back toward Mars.” 

“Yes,” replied the group.

From Dóchas Sally of Sarah's Clan added, “All of us back here are anxious for your return.” 

“Well, it will be a few hours before we get there,” said Kelly of Keriann's Clan from cruiser IBM04.

“We know,” replied Evangline of Molly's Clan on Marthanóir.  “It is difficult to get a sense of distance in space.  Fortunately there isn't any latency in sharing this way, which may contribute to our difficulty in perceiving that distance.” 

Rusty said, “Tomorrow, I think we should get together for a review of our exercises.  Once we are underway and have caught up with activities on our ships, those of us on the cruisers will have time to go over the recordings.  We should do this at An Clochán so all of us can attend.” 

Kathleen of Molly's Clan on cruiser MBM02 said, “Rusty, let's do that in two clock cycles.  That will give us, and Jackie's Clan, more time to get caught up on activities on our ships.” 

“We think that is a great idea,” said Elana of Kathryn's Clan on cruiser TBM02.

“We agree,” replied the others.

Erin on DBM02 said, “Wouldn't it be beneficial to include the other ship commanders?” 

“Why?”

“Well, I am not sure what Rusty's goal is as we've already done after action reviews and documented them.  If we did a walk-through, of say two engagements, it could be considered as a teaching session with a little more reality than the simulators give.” 

“My thinking was that due to most of the Star Fighter pilots being in their ships when we did action reviews they weren't able to fully participate.  If one of our Dóchas class ships were with us then they would have participated.”

“As flight lead,” said Mórag in DSFC01, “I think our level of interaction was just fine.  We can share what we've learnt regarding tactics and coordination with the others when we get back.” 

“In that case, let's schedule the review for the third day back and include all cruiser command groups and flight leads.” 

“Good,” replied Mórag.  “I think that doing it that way will make it easier to share, as they will have seen the results.” 

“Any other thoughts?” asked Sarah.

After a few moments of hearing none Joyce said, “For the trip back, let's split up into groups of 2 cruisers along with their supporting Star Fighters.  Unless someone needs more time we can begin departing in 10 minutes at 10 second intervals.  We can start with those from Fiontar, followed by Marthanóir, Taiséalai, Iarracht, Eagle, Phoenix and Dóchas groups.” 

“Aye,” replied everyone.

“In ten minutes on my mark, 5...4...3...2...Mark.”

Those on the cruisers from Dóchas watched as the other groups drifted away as they prepared to depart.  Several minutes later Tara said, “Dóchas group, set coordinates.” 

A few moments later each of them confirmed her command.

“Sync clocks.”

Tara saw each ship acknowledge the command followed by the commander's reply of “Aye.” 

When Phoenix group departed she said, “On my mark, 10....3..2..1..Mark!”  With that the group from Dóchas began their six hour return trip.

Erin said, “Did you notice that the groups are taking different return paths?” 

“Yes,” replied those on DBM01 and DBM02.

Six hours later Tara said, “Dóchas FOC, DBM01 requesting approach clearance.”

“DBM01, request acknowledged.  Instructions are being transmitted.  Welcome home,” said Edith of Sabrina's Clan.

Erin said, “Dóchas FOC, DBM02 requesting approach clearance.”

“DBM02, request acknowledged.  Instructions being transmitted.  Welcome home,” responded Edith.

Some 15 minutes later DBM01 followed DBM02 in their approach to Dóchas.  Those on DBM01 watched as Erin guided DBM02 toward the depression on Dóchas' exterior until it was nearly touching the docking collar.  In this position only the top half of the cruiser was visible.  When the cruiser touched the collar, the sides of the depression appeared to close up against it.

“An interesting sight,” said Joyce.

“Yes,” replied Tara.  “If you didn't know better you would think it is just another bump on the ships surface, although it does have some odd features.”

“It does.”

When they exited DBM01 the rest of their spouses were waiting for them.  Alena said, “It is good to be able to hug you all,” as she hugged her spouses.  Those on DBM02 joined them to share their greetings.  On reaching Briana's Clan she said, “Thanks for taking such good care of them.”  Alena's comment caused Briana's and Cathan's Clans to chuckle.  Briana said, “Well we had a good time.  Although they were fairly new at the controls, I think we learned a lot from them.”

“We would like to review the exercises with you in detail,” said Sally.  “There were a number of distractions while you were gone so we weren't able to focus on what you were doing all the time.”

“We noticed,” responded Sarah.  “Let's do it in the morning.  Is everything okay?”

“We think so.  Security is dealing with it.  Several crew candidates were induced to rush home based on news of a family member having a critical medical crisis and asking for them.  The claims were valid in that there was a family member with medical crisis due to an accident.  While a few appear to be legitimate, some appear to be rather suspicious.”

“Where are the children?”

“Waiting in our compartment,” replied Claudette.  “They wanted to come up here but we convinced them to wait there as this area is much smaller than the hangar area.”

“Good thinking,” responded Joyce as they prepared to leave.

Tara said to Briana's and Cathan's Clans, “Why don't you join us?  I suspect the children want to see you as well.”

After nodding to their spouses Briana said, “Thanks, but we aren't going to stay long as our beds feel very attractive.”

“You're right about that,” said Erin.  “The accommodations on the cruisers are great but not as good as here.”

“Yep,” responded Adam, “they are a good deal more spacious than some I've read about.  Although many of those were fiction stories whose author's perceptions must have come from seeing warships on Earth.”

“I've read some of those,” added Abaigeal of Briana's Clan.  “To me there are two key differences.  One is the difference in our stature, which is significantly larger than most humans.  The other is our interpersonal relationships.”

“Good points,” responded Claudette.  “The early Connemare cruiser designs that we found in the library were very basic.  If we interpreted them correctly a clan shared a compartment, but no more than three could be in it at a time.  To us this implied that they rested in shifts.”

Star said, “If I may, a clan had to work in shifts as they needed a presence in their department at all times.”

“While I can understand their reasons,” said Rusty, “I think that now it is only necessary during certain circumstances.”

“Agreed,” responded Star and his spouses.

“Out of curiosity,” said Alena, “Star, when do the AIs rest?”

“It depends,” responded Star.  “I just take care of minor maintenance tasks when activity is slow and all departmental AIs are active.  At times of major issues, it is when you are either on the bridge or very near it.  Preferably all the departmental AIs are on line.  It is possible that you may not have actively noticed me doing it.”

“Would you tell us the next time you do that?” asked Aoife. “I would like to see its effect.”

“Okay.”  Star's response was almost drowned out by the children's cheers, for as she replied Sarah's Clan entered their compartment along with Briana's and Cathan's Clans.  Sensing the activity Star smiled as she shifted her focus back to the ship.

---

It was late morning when Sarah's Clan reviewed what was known about their contract staff who were suddenly summoned home due to an emergency.  Currently they loosely monitored them when they left after completing their contract.  Several had vanished shortly after leaving them which reminded them of the disappearing college students.  This had prompted them to check the appropriate databases and found that the people were still listed. 

“So what do we want to do?” asked Sally. 

“For now just closely monitor them for a few weeks after returning,” responded Tara.  “In spite of our best intentions, it would not look good if it was discovered.”

Alison said, “As a part of their departure preparation, we could tell them we will contact them four weeks after they've left.  The purpose would be to see how they were doing.”

“I like that better than what we are currently doing,” responded Jill.  “As a part of departure, they are told that we are available to assist them with reestablishing their life on Earth.”

Terry added, “They probably never remember the offer or don't realize its benefit.  The only time I've seen companies on Earth do something similar is when there is a reduction in staff.  Some do it well and others do it for appearance.”

“Why don't we present them with a bracelet as a thank you for their contributions?” asked Joyce.

“Good idea,” responded Alena, “however a watch or ring are more likely to be worn at all times.” 

“I like the idea of a watch, if we can do it,” added Terry.  “Especially if it could be worn when going through security check points.”

Claudette said, “If the other Command Staffs agree, I'll discuss this with our Engineering group.  Do we want to include those who've already returned?”

“I think so,” said Sarah.  “If I remember the data correctly, there really haven't been that many.”

“There haven't,” responded Aoife.  “If everyone is agreeable, I'll check with the other Command Staffs.”

“We are,” replied her spouses.

Rusty said, “I think we all realize that this only aids us in finding them or them to summon assistance.  It is a good idea and better than what we are doing now.”

“Are we done?” asked Tara.

“I think so,” replied Sarah.  “Why?”

“Cause it is lunch time and I am hungry.”

“Then let's put our consoles on auto and go eat.”

---

“Good morning,” said Sarah's Clan to those assembled for the debriefing at An Clochán.

“Good morning,” replied everyone.

“As you can see, we've included nearly all of those who command ships.  Those who are not here are linked to their cruisers.  Our purpose today is to go over our recent combat exercises.  Based on access to those recordings, we believe all of you have seen them.  Those recordings document each engagement and it’s after action review.

“What we are going to do today is go over two engagements in some detail.  These will be the first and the last.  If you want to see an engagement from a particular position, then have a look at the recordings from one of those ships.  We see this as a learning experience for all of us.

“If you haven't heard it yet, nearly all of our formations have been modified.  Your ship's AI has the details and they are now in the flight simulators.

“So let us begin.”

Late that afternoon during the last question and answer period Kelly said, “We should practice shifting between formations with the Dóchas class ships.”

“I like that idea,” replied Tara.  “What did you have in mind?”

“Well, it would be nice for all of us to do it together, but that has significant impact on other activities.  How about doing it in threes?  For the first outing it could be Dóchas, Phoenix and Iarracht. Then we could go with Eagle and Taiséalai.  Once Marthanóir and Fiontar are operational, one of us could go with them.”

“That is a good idea,” said Sabrina.  “We need more experience operating alongside the Dóchas class ships while they are doing something besides station keeping.”

“Is there a reason you chose three?” asked Kathryn.

“It adds to the complexity of the movements but doesn't go overboard in effecting other activities.  A four or five day jaunt should be enough, but we need to see how it goes.  The other item that needs drilling is recovery and re-launch of the Star Fighters.  That could be a part of these exercises, but could also be done by going out in pairs.”

“Let's look at scheduling this at the next Command Staff conference,” said Sarah, “as we gather that everyone thinks this is a good idea.”

“Are there any more questions or suggestions to consider regarding the exercises?” asked Sally.  After a few moments she added, “Seeing or hearing none let's get ready for dinner.”

---

It was early morning when Alena woke up with her head on Rusty's shoulder.  Opening her eyes she could see Sarah's head lying on his other shoulder.  She closed her eyes and then projected her vision so that she could see the bed from the entryway.  The sight of her sleeping spouses gave her a feeling of warmth and security.  As she looked at them, she thought back to when she met them nearly a year ago.

As Alena sifted back through her memories of just prior to meeting Sarah's Clan, she marveled at the chain of events that led to meeting them at the museum then their subsequent visit to Dóchas.

Scott and she had been fascinated by the Órarduine, but found some aspects of their culture difficult to understand and accept.  Their children were fascinated by their space ships.

After Scott's death, she and the children had moved so that she was closer to work, which gave her more time to be with them.  This turned out to be an area covered by the Grand View news media.  Reading the daily newspaper and watching the evening news was something that she had always done.  She quickly found that at least once a week there was a story featuring Órarduine activities, both on the evening TV news and in the paper.  It surprised her when her children began joining her for the evening news, but they only stayed if there was a story about the Órarduine.  After this happened several times, Alena told them that the newspaper usually had a similar story but with more detail.  With that the children began checking the daily paper for Órarduine stories.  From the nature of the comments and questions, Alena soon figured out that it was the adventure of space drawing the children's interest.

Seeing her children's fascination with space travel, Alena made plans to visit the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.  Several times they were set to go only to have their plans upset by her presence being required for a meeting at work.  Requests that she felt compelled to accept as she hadn't worked for the firm very long; even so, she was the lead programmer on key projects in her section.  After several aborted attempts to make the trip she figured out a way to have her time off and not cause a problem at work or for her boss.  She did this by working ahead on her projects and then sending her boss the updated data just prior to finally getting away.  Although she had accumulated a lot of vacation time, her employer was always reluctant to let her use it.  She thought part of this was that her boss knew that two in her group couldn't carry the load, and were often like loose cannons on the quarter deck.  She had often wondered why they hadn't been let go.

She found the museum much more interesting than she expected.  Her children thought it was great.  While visiting the exhibits early on their second day there they had seen some of Sarah's Clan several times before lunch and the children had exchanged comments.  It wasn't until they were in the dining area that she realized that it was a single group, and a very large one.  They were standing behind Sarah's Clan when she heard their children asking how to get their food.  The questions sounded as if the children had never been to a fast food restaurant.  The parent's responses to the questions just added to the puzzle.  Later, when she had their order, she followed her children to an open table which was in the midst of Sarah's Clan.  It wasn't long before her children began talking to the other children about the exhibits.

Alena wasn't sure what prompted her to ask Erin who they were, but she did.  Even today Alena was awed by how that one question had led to others.  Erin, Tara and her chatted some after she got over the shock of Erin's answer to her first question.  When everyone was finished eating all the children returned to visiting the exhibits, only they were now accompanied by their new friends.  All in all, that first question had triggered a chain of events that had greatly changed their lives.

After the museum visit, her children had really pushed her to contact Sarah's Clan and accept their invitation to visit Dóchas.  She wanted to go, but again her employer wasn't willing to let her use her vacation, until she hinted that she might quit.  When she did that they relented, telling her she could take a week.  Even after she had the approval, her boss had asked her if they would still be able to finish coding one particular project by the deadline.  She had assured him that they could.

When she met Sarah, Erin, Tara, Claudette and Joyce in the hangar at the airport, she felt like she was among close friends.  The strength of her feeling startled her as she had only met these people once, at the museum, and talked to them on the phone to finalize the arrangements.  Looking back she was amazed at how they became so very close in just a few days.  This was due in part to her deciding to activate her telepathy, which she had done with their help.

It hadn't taken her long to understand why an Órarduine family unit of multiple adults worked so well.  It was their openness, coupled with love and respect.  Their degree of openness would be nearly impossible without their telepathic link to each other.  Even though they shared everything through their mind-link, each had their own separate thoughts and activities.  Their degree of openness, coupled with the sharing of their emotions and love for each other, was something very few on Earth would believe without experiencing it.

Alena looked at her link to each spouse and marveled at how they could feel so close and intimate with each other.  In many ways it went against what she had learned while growing up and before she became an Órarduine.  She was taught that intimacy could only be found in one to one relationships, never between more than that, and certainly not 14.

Alena thought as she looked at her spouses, “I don't understand the forces that brought us together, but we are very fortunate to be here.” 

Her thoughts were interrupted when Sarah said, “We feel we are very fortunate in having you join us.  I love you.” 

Alena replied, “I love you.  I love you all.  Such a simple word to carry such magnificent feelings.” 

“We love you too,” said the rest of her spouses in unison. 

“So what started your wool gathering?” asked Tara. 

“I'm not sure.  When I woke and felt Rusty's shoulder under my head, I thought about how fortunate I was and how fortunate my children are to be here in such a caring family.  With that, I started sifting back through memories.  I am not sure what fate is, but it had to have played a role in our paths crossing.  We are very fortunate to be here.  Our children are blessed with outstanding role models.” 

“I couldn't agree with you more,” said Tara as she shivered when a very old memory flashed through her mind.  “All of us are fortunate to be here.” 

“Oh, my God,” moaned Alena, “I am so sorry that I caused that.” 

“You didn't.  One occasionally leaks out, but with all the love I feel in this family they are very short.” 

The morning chime sounded, and Sarah said, “A new day of challenges.” 

“Yes.  And they are easier to deal with because we do it together,” added Rusty.  With that Alena rolled onto Rusty and gave him a very emotional kiss.  When they broke their kiss, Alena pulled Sarah closer and gave her a similar kiss.  The emotions they shared had the three looking a little bleary eyed with happiness. 

“Wow,” said Aoife, “that was a scorcher.”

“Yea,” added Sarah, “any hotter and my hair would ignite.”  Everyone laughed as they began to get up.

“Well we need to think about getting ready for breakfast,” said Joyce.  “We have quite a few details to go over before we leave with Phoenix and Iarracht.”

“Good point,” responded Jill, “but this feels so comfortable.”

“I thought we had sorted out all the details yesterday,” said Alison.

“We did,” responded Rusty, “but we still need to check on them.  We also need to touch base with Intelligence and Security groups.”

Tara said, “The fighter pilots are really looking forward to this.”

Maeve laughing said, “They like anything that gives them more flight time.”

“True.”

---

In a conference room on An Clochán, while Molly watched the other Command Staffs arrive, she thought about all the details that needed to be completed before liftoff in 4 clock cycles.

Allan and Kathleen nudged her and both said, “Relax, if they did it, I am sure everything will come together for us.” 

Before she could respond she heard Sarah, Joyce and Siobhan say, “They are correct Molly.”  On hearing them she jerked around to look at them.  She smiled when she saw them smile at her. 

“Okay, I'll try to cool it...but...”

“Just imagine how we felt,” said Siobhan, “before Phoenix and Eagle lifted off.  Then again maybe we didn't know enough to be concerned.  We think Taiséalai's event brought home the risks we face.” 

“And they handled it well, because of all their practice and understanding of the systems,” added Maureen. 

“I guess my anxiety is due to our role and the significance it has for us.” 

“Well,” responded Kathleen of Molly's Clan, “I think all of us have some anxiety, but yours seems to run unchecked at times.  Sometimes it feels like we lose our connection with you.” 

“Sorry,” replied Molly as her eyes filled with tears, “there are times when memories of verbal humiliation from my parents surface.”

“I don't remember seeing those,” said Mirial of Molly's Clan.

“I keep them pretty well buried,” replied Molly sniffing.

“Can we look?” asked her spouses.  She nodded affirmatively.

“Where are they?” angrily demanded Alissa of Molly's Clan after a few moments.  Molly's other spouses looked only slightly less angry.

“I don't know.  They disappeared shortly after I started college.  I think Nancy and Bob made sure that my sisters and brothers were placed in good homes.”  Seeing the expressions of the others she added, “We were all either adopted or foster children.  Nothing we did ever suited them, but if we failed to do our best then they were even worse.”

Evangline said, “I am sorry that we caused you to remember them.  It’s too bad you can't delete memories like those.”

“But they are character building,” responded Molly with a weak smile. 

“What?” exclaimed her spouses.

“Yea, on the positive side, I might not be here if it wasn't for their verbal abuse and what I think they intended for my future.  Their plans certainly weren't for me to be where I am now.”

Kathleen said, “I was aware of a lot of what you experienced, but I never connected your anxiety with it.  How can we help?”

“Maybe you already have.  Now that I've shared the memories, they don't seem to have quite the same meaning.” 

“Well we want to know,” responded Mirial, “if they bother you again.  You are a key part of our clan and we need to keep you in a stable dependable frame of mind.”

“Thanks.”  Looking around Molly saw that all the Command Staffs were now there.  “I hope our discussion hasn't delayed the meeting.”

“Not at all,” responded Judy.  “Just a reminder though.  While I wasn't a part of the sharing Molly's Clan just did, we should remember that any of us are available to assist someone in dealing with bad memories.  Sharing them often helps.  If that is not enough then we have other techniques that we can use.” 

“We'll keep that in mind,” said Evangline of Molly's Clan.

Kriss of Molly's Clan said, “Would unshared memories impact our role on the bridge?”

“Perhaps,” responded Kathryn before anyone else, drawing everybody's attention.  “Shortly after the Taiséalai event, we reevaluated our mind-link and found a few things to change to improve it.  Since then we've done that several times, but those resulted in only a few minor adjustments.” 

“We've noticed you doing that,” said Jackie, “and our clan has done that as well.  Like Molly, a few of us had memories that we chose not to share because of the associated pain.  However, for us, those memories were linked to others, so that knowing the pain improved the understanding of the other memories.  I hope that makes sense, without going into details.” 

“It makes perfect sense to me,” said Calvin and Rusty at the same time, they then laughed when they realized what they had done. 

“We'll do that tonight,” said Molly.  “Now we have other things to discuss.”

Mirial said, “So did the new formations you experimented with work better?”

“Well,” said Keriann, “we think so.  I take it you read the after action report.”

“We did,” said Allan, “but I for one, had difficulty in picturing it.”

Keriann smiled, “Well they are now in the simulator program, but let's run through them as it shouldn't take very long.  Some of you have been reading about naval battles on Earth.  When you do that, you have to remember that those took place in essentially one plane, which is the ocean's surface.  In space you don't have that limitation.”  As she was speaking a holographic image formed showing Dóchas, Phoenix and Iarracht along with their cruisers and fighters.  “This image shows what we are calling formation A1, and is one you've all seen before.”  She then showed the other formations.  “The biggest change is in how we move from one to the other.  Now, let me show you a couple.”

After the last formation shift was shown Brandan of Maureen's Clan said, “Changing from one to the other seemed to be completed much quicker than we experienced in the past.”

“That is one advantage.  The other is that it is easier to shift to the new position as there are virtually no conflicting paths.”

“Good, we had several near misses on our early exercises, although with each one we've gotten better.” 

“How do these change when all of us are included?” asked Calvin of Kathryn's Clan.

“They really don't, which is a significant advantage over what we were doing previously.” 

“Okay.  Are we still planning on us going with you and Taiséalai in two weeks?”

“Suits us.”

“When are we fitting this into our training?” asked Jackie.

“When do you want it to fit?” responded Sarah. 

Chanel of Jackie's Clan said, “Actual practice could be done as we finish up our shakedown cruise.”

“We agree,” added Chanel of Molly's Clan.  “The flight simulator aspect will be used long before that.”

“As long as it is done in the 3-axis chambers,” said Maureen with a smile.

“Those are fantastic,” responded Calvin.  Everyone nodded in agreement with him.

Violetta of Kathryn's Clan said, “Engineering is close to completing a simulator for the security teams that will include motion.  It will be interesting to see how realistic it is.”

“It will help,” added Brittany of Kathryn's Clan, “but they have two different environments they work in, which are with and without gravity.” 

Terry said, “Several think the simulators will be good for maintaining their skills, but not in replacing the initial hands on training.  So it will help keep their skills sharp during voyages.”

“That is similar to the issue we had when we were on board a ship for an extended time,” said Calvin.

“Have we covered this well enough?” asked Sarah.  Seeing the group nodding agreement she said, “Molly's and Jackie's Clans, how are preparations for liftoff?”

“We could do it tomorrow,” said Jackie causing some surprised looks from both clans, “if you need us to.  However, we will continue according to plan.”

“Why do you think we can do it tomorrow?” asked Molly.

“Because it would take that long for Propulsion to go through the check list for a normal start.  If required we could launch in 6 hours, which is sooner than we think anyone could attack us.” 

“Okay, we agree, but I think we ought to stick to the plan.” 

“Agreed.”

“Our schedule is on target for lifting off on Ó day 3460,” said Evangline of Molly's Clan.  “We've gone through a practice liftoff and had no major issues.  There were several noncritical items that didn't perform to spec.  Correcting those will be done later today and we will do another run-through in the morning.” 

“We are at the same point,” said Tina of Jackie's Clan.  “During our practice liftoff we had some issues which were nearly all different to those seen on Marthanóir.  Our Engineering groups have shared their experiences with the other ships.  We will do our last practice run tomorrow after Marthanóir completes theirs. 

“One of our staff noticed that we've been running around 950 clock cycles between liftoffs.  Phoenix and Eagle lifted off on Ód1572.  Iarracht and Taiséalai followed on Ód2568 and we will liftoff on Ód3460.”

“What do you mean?” asked Jill.  Before anyone could respond she said, “Never mind.  The way you phrased the date puzzled me initially, but I quickly realized it was a pronunciation of our shorthand notation.  While I've read it a lot, I've just never heard it spoken until now.” 

“Sorry, I could have shifted it to calendar time but didn't think of it.”

“Now that you've mentioned the date,” said Sarah, “I just realized that that is when Celia's second recon group is to return.” 

“If their arrival is like the previous group, it will be several hours after we lift off,” said Kriss of Molly's Clan.  “Our flight plan has us departing to the west, so it will take us about 20 hours to reach our position next to you all.”

Jackie added, “We think we have it worked out so that both of us will join you at nearly the same time.  We are using the longer flight to check-out systems.  The shuttles with the construction crew and supplies will arrive about an hour after we do.”

“Does anyone see a need for us to go into more detail on Marthanóir's or Fiontar's preparation?” asked Sarah.  Hearing no response she said, “Okay, are there any other issues we need to discuss today?” 

“Who is going to meet the group returning from Celia?” 

“Why not 3 from each of our clans, except for Molly's and Jackie's?” said Chester of Keriann's Clan.

“That works for us,” replied Maureen.  Everyone nodded their concurrence.

“Okay.  Next week we will have a virtual meeting, and get together on a ship, to be decided, in two weeks.” 

“We would like it to be Marthanóir,” said Molly just as Jackie started to speak.  “Or we can go to Fiontar.”

“Marthanóir is fine,” said Jackie's Clan.  “In either case, it might be pretty primitive.”

“We look forward to visiting both ships,” said Kelly, “but let's wait until closer to the time to make the choice.  From our perspective, and presuming our memory is not defective, we think holding off for several months would be good.  However, I am sure we will all visit in the meantime so you can expect visitors, just not all of us at one time.” 

“We bow to the voice of experience,” replied Jackie and Molly together causing everyone to chuckle.

Kathleen added, “And we look forward to you coming to visit as well as consult.”

Sally said, “We are going to have lunch here then look around some before going to Dóchas.”

“That sounds like an excellent idea,” responded Keriann. 

“We would love to join you but we are going back to our ship,” said Molly, “right after we eat lunch.” 

That was a preview of Ananu. To read the rest purchase the book.

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