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Betsy and Judy were waiting when Jasmine, Vicki, Traci, Gilian, Dara and Ellyn, joined them in the clinic's consulting room on Dóchas. Betsy and Judy had just finished giving each a hug when Máiréad and Ciar arrived.

"Ladies," said Betsy, "we are a little concerned about doing this consultation as a group, even though you requested it. The issues each of you face are significant, and your choice will affect the rest of your life. For those reasons, we want your choices to be yours, with minimal chance of them being made because your friend made a similar choice. Due to the drugs you were given, you essentially, all face the same choices."

"Betsy," said Jasmine, "I don't have a problem with the others knowing that the dosages I received were larger than theirs." Jasmine's friends gasped upon hearing her comment. "Yes. Considering the difference and knowing Craigly as well as I do, I am certain he intended for my bust to be extremely large. I suspect I would have had to wear a harness in order to support it."

"I wonder how he likes it in Hell," responded Ellyn sharply.

Gilian said, "Our telepathic abilities are a blessing and have added another dimension to our relationship. We've worked and lived together for several years so I think the activation of our telepathy has brought us even closer together. Possibly something similar to what you refer to as a mind-link. Anyway, with it, we've shared our feelings and views of what we thought our future could be."

Vicki added, "We feel very fortunate that you came for us. Gilian is right in saying that our sharing through our mind-link has allowed us to see how much we care for each other. Before this happened, all of us thought we knew the depth of our feelings. Now with our mind-link, we can see that it is much stronger than we ever imagined."

"Although," said the six in unison, "you've carefully avoided suggesting it, we have decided separately and collectively to request joining your species. We are certain that this is the best choice for us. Our analysis of the data you gave us tells us that the best way to counter the treatments we received is to use the incubators."

"It will not be possible to undo the species change," said Betsy. "The other choices would not be as drastic, and you could easily return to Earth society."

"Yes, that is true," replied Gilian. "However, even with suppressing some of the growth we would all have very large breasts. Besides that, our labia are supposed to grow, and while we don't know what it would feel like, it would affect the way we dress. From our perspective, the incubator treatment will alter our bodies so that they can accommodate the changes that have begun. If our analysis is correct, our height would increase so we were a little taller than Ciar, and our shoulders would broaden as well."

"Yes, all of you would be between 205 and 211 cm tall. The changes to your chest and shoulders would comfortably support your larger breasts. Your lactation rates will probably be a little higher than our norm for your expected size."

"You realize," said Judy, "that doing this almost precludes you returning to Earth society?"

"Yes," responded the six women. "Really, our choice is to join the Golden Amazons. We all feel and believe that we would have made this choice even without the medical issues." It was quiet in the room for several long minutes.

"How soon will there be space in the incubators?" said Dara.

Betsy and Judy scanned the faces of the six women, looking for some indication of doubt in their decision. "You can enter them as soon as you are ready," replied Judy.

"You were waiting for us to ask, weren't you?" said Jasmine.

"Yes, to a large extent. We regard taking the cross-species step very seriously. Some feel we go overboard with our cautionary approach. Normally, we would have asked for permission to examine your decision process. However, we have each spent a lot of time assisting with your mental recovery from the drugs. We suspect that you may still have some lingering apprehension about taking the cross-species step, but the fact that you asked when you could begin is an indication that you are committed to making the change."

Ciar and Máiréad glanced at Judy, and then said, "Ladies, we are pleased you have decided to join us. Our sense is that you will be very satisfied with the decision you have made. When your time in the incubators is done, our clan would like all of you to spend some time with us."

"I would like that," replied Jasmine. She then reached over and pulled each of them to her in turn. They kissed and caressed each other for some time, while savoring the contact. By the time she had kissed both women Jasmine was breathing heavily, and the smell of her pheromones filled the room. While holding Ciar's and Máiréad's hands, Jasmine said to her friends, "I think we have some new and wonderful friends here, friends who really care about us."

"You have," replied Ciar and Máiréad, as they each kissed a cheek and caressed her butt.

"Come," said Judy, "let's get this started."

Muireann stopped Sarah, Sally and Joyce as they were leaving the dining room on Dóchas after their evening conference. "Where is Ciar?" asked Muireann.

Sarah responded with, "Judy and Connie ganged up on her and made her rest."

"Why is that?" said Muireann, with a puzzled look.

"She is carrying quads, and with the way our babies grow in the last month, the burden on your body is greater."

"She will be okay, won't she?"

"Yes, she will be fine. Her experience though, has heightened our awareness of how different we are from humans. Judy, Connie and Betsy are going to put together a presentation for mothers-to-be, to explain the impact of these differences."

"Okay, now I am really puzzled. Y'all didn't look much different from women on Earth when you were carrying yours."

"Well that's true, our bodies are designed to carry either twins or quads. Having a larger group of babies isn't a problem, as long as you make some adjustments in the last month or so. Basically, eating more, resting more, etc."

"Shouldn't that be the case the whole time?"

"Well yes, to a certain extent., but our babies typically gain more than half their birth weight in the last month. That is why we don't show very much until well into the eight month. The presentations our doctors are putting together will caution women not to conceive more than four babies at a time. Currently, they would prefer it to only be twins, with no more than one or two deliveries in a clan every six months."

"Oh, I can see that those guidelines make a lot of sense, since they give the clan more time to adjust to the new arrivals."

"In today's environment, I think we would have followed those guidelines ourselves," said Joyce. "The nannies we hired have really been a godsend. It would have been very challenging to take care of our children without their help, while still doing the other things we needed to do. Did you hear that they have started offering coaching sessions on new babies?"

"Yes, some of our clan have gone to the sessions, even though we haven't decided to add little ones yet. You're right, the nannies are a great asset to our family. I saw them working with the teachers in the learning center. All the children really relate to them."

"Muireann, what did you think of our discussions regarding the choir's tours and our future?" asked Sally.

"When it first started, I was apprehensive about the whole issue."

"Why?"

"Many of those in our department felt that we were in part the cause of the problem, and that we should have identified the threats earlier. Once the discussion started, it provided us with a better understanding of the concerns others had. I don't think any of our group thought of the distraction it had on all of us. We don't think future tours will cause as much distraction, unless there are more Fuda like situations."

"We noticed the sense of unity for continuing the concerts," replied Sarah. "I was a little surprised at how quickly we came to an agreement concerning our priorities."

Joyce said, "It wouldn't surprise me to come across other situations like Fuda, but I hope not."

"I think our tour was a very good learning experience for many of us," said Sally. "Security, Intelligence and Flight Operations, all learned a lot more about using the tools we have, in a fairly low-risk situation."

"How long do you think it will be before we find a new home planet?" asked Muireann.

"You ask a question that is difficult to answer. We will probably find a candidate before we are ready to move," replied Sarah. "Depending on the circumstances, I think it will probably take about two years, and likely more. The idea of maintaining a settlement here until our new home is established was an idea that many had not considered, and it has quite a bit of merit. Cathal's suggestion appears to be an excellent best choice for doing that."

"Our clan discussed this and we agree that his proposal is likely the best choice."

Sarah's Clan arrived at the conference room to find the others already there. "Good morning," they said in unison, "sorry to be late."

"Oh, you're not late," said Chloe. "Nearly everyone arrived just before you did. I thought it was funny, since it seemed like you all met around the corner just so you could arrive together."

"That's a good idea," replied Shannon, "we'll have to try that next time."

"What's up?" asked Rusty.

"We are not sure," replied Shannon quickly, "but several of us have bad vibes about the US performances."

"Vibes?"

"Yes," replied Chloe, "I didn't think too much about it, until I noticed Shannon was preoccupied when we were discussing issues related to the arrangements."

"Chloe asked what was bothering me," added Shannon. "I told her I wasn't sure, but the performance in Washington really made me uncomfortable. She shocked me by saying, "Me too." But what was even more shocking was that several others felt the same way."

"The clerical staff we are working with at the Kennedy Performing Arts Center have been very helpful," said Chloe. "We cannot say the same about many of the stage staff. While we were shown around the stage area and dressing rooms, we were told, several times, that the stage hands would handle everything for us. They basically ignored us when we told them that there was essentially nothing for them to do. We explained that our staff had to position the equipment, and initiate the setup sequence, since the controls were keyed to them. This issue has not been fully resolved.

"The Performing Artists Guild is insisting that we join the union or they will picket the event. They even implied that they may file suit to block the performance. In lieu of joining the union, we offered a contribution to their emergency fund. The offer was rejected.

"We understand that someone has sent a letter to both the EPA and CDC, questioning whether it was healthy for Americans, or any human, to be in an enclosed building with aliens and their equipment. Another letter was sent to the local OSHA office, questioning whether our equipment met safety requirements. We are expecting them to request more information from us."

"It seems that someone doesn't want us to perform," said Tara.

"Yes, it does," responded several.

"Hearing all this, I am surprised that we haven't heard from INS," said Sally.

"Personally," said Sarah, "I have no problem with them having the information someone is apparently seeking. However, I do not like the subterfuge. Why don't they just ask, and make it a question of scientific curiosity?"

"My best guess would be fear of being rejected," responded Cathal. "Those seeking the answers are probably not scientists, but people interested in the information to use for their own benefit."

"There is a possibility that this is coming from a small group in one of the US intelligence agencies," said Eric. "We have run across a few rogue groups. Fortunately, we never had any direct interaction with them, well, not that we know of. Sometimes, they seemed to be acting on their own agenda. In fact, we suspect that it could have been one of them that was instrumental in blowing our cover."

"This seems more like provocative information gathering," replied Cathal. "The group Eric was thinking of is capable of initiating an incident like this. The members are arrogant, self-centered, egotistical idiots. However, this doesn't strike me as their kind of operation. Why? They probably have most of the information the Brits have on us, so this seems a senseless waste of time."

"Cathal, I think I see where you are going," said Charles. "This strikes me as someone with political influence, trying to gain an informational advantage. I really am not sure what they would do with it. It does, however, explain why some of the same information the Brits have is being sought again."

"We could speculate for weeks," said Sarah. "Let's just cancel the performance at the Kennedy Performing Arts Center. An alternative would be to move it to a stadium, such as FEDEX Stadium or a nearby university stadium that serves the same area. Doing that solves, or avoids, many of the issues mentioned here."

"Wouldn't some of those same issues come up in a stadium?" asked Lydia.

"I was thinking along these lines," said Sarah, "but I am sure there is room for improvement. First, let's ask GISS to rent FEDEX Stadium in Washington for a two or three day period. In the contract have the stadium provide parking, ticket collection, crowd control and overall security services. It will specifically permit us to do the stage and sound setup. Once the contract is in place, inform the Performing Arts Center staff that we are canceling, primarily because of the issues relating to setting up our equipment. Hold a joint press conference with them announcing the change, and answer any question from the press regarding the reason for the cancellation. The announcement should note that those who already have tickets can either exchange them for tickets at the new location, or obtain a full refund. Current ticket holders will receive a preference in seating."

"That is going to lead to a lot of scrambling," said Chloe, "and may leave some hard feelings."

"Could be," replied Sally, "but think it through. You can have everything in place before the announcements are made. To some, it will look as though you performed a miracle."

"The feds could still block the concert in any number of ways," said Terry, with some concern showing in her expression.

"Yes, they could," replied Sarah, "but the press is going to ask questions. If Cathal is correct, the feds won't act. We should be candid in answering questions regarding the cancellation, and include specifics. If the performance in FEDEX stadium is blocked, issue a public announcement expressing our disappointment. If it happens, we will refund ticket price, with a 10% bonus to cover the purchaser's incidental expenses. CDs of the performances in Ireland and England should be included in the refund package."

"Won't that approach cause more problems?" asked Lydia.

"It may, but we ought to take that chance."

"What about Boston?" asked Sally.

"Well," said Chloe, "we may be able to do the same thing. The Boston location is essentially outside. Sarah's proposal moves the Washington site outside. This benefits our logistics at both places in that there will be little dependence on local infrastructure."

"The Boston location," said Rusty, "is also outside the political turmoil of Washington, and the area has significant Celtic heritage. Both should help avoid any funny business there."

"You know, this is an awful lot of effort for just a concert," said Erin. "Do we want to expend that much energy?"

"Yes, we do," said James. "You could look at the problems as extortion. We need to take the issue to the limit, and publicly walk away, if necessary. To do otherwise would leave some with the impression that we can be pushed around. It may cause our plans for our future to slip a bit, but it should work to our benefit in future interactions with the US and others."

Chloe looked around the group, and then said, "Okay. Unless someone objects, we will begin making the new arrangements tomorrow, and prepare a plan for implementing the changes."

As the conference was breaking up, Sally walked over to Cathal, Eric and Charles and gave them a hug. "What was that for?" said Cathal. "Not that I mind at all. In fact, I will accept them any time."

"Oh, you! It was a thank you for your insight. As soon as I heard your assessment, I felt that you were right on target. It doesn't make any sense for an arrogant group in US intelligence to seek the same data from us that they already have from the Brits. If that is true, then the remaining choices are an individual or a group with political influence, trying to learn more about us by creating all of this hassle."

–-- –-- –--

Command Staff looked out over the dining room on Dóchas. Breakfast, and the morning meeting, had just ended. They had thought about having this discussion in the large conference room, but the dining room made more sense, considering the number of attendees.

Once everyone was seated, Rusty said, "We thought it would be beneficial to discuss the details of our active projects. We anticipate that there may be some small changes to some programs as a result of today's discussions. Some may wonder why we are doing this, since all the information is available on our systems. It is true that all of us see it, but I think many of us skim over it, most of the time. We think it is important for us to periodically take a focused look at our projects and programs."

"To start things off this morning, let's begin with the Communications Group."

"Thank you, but I am not sure about being first. We are changing the location of our Washington concert. Nearly everything is in place to proceed with that so we will begin the final steps tomorrow."

Chloe continued, "As to other activities, our news department has become the contact point for Earth's news organizations. There is a continuing interest in obtaining information beyond what is on the website, even though we keep it fresh. We are directing inquiries to the Grand View newspapers and TV station, whenever it seems appropriate.

"Melinda, would you like to add to that?"

"There are really only a couple of things to add," replied Melinda. "The stories we submit to the Grand View newspapers and TV station are always published; quite often on or near the front page. Many articles are syndicated, so they also appear in other papers. We take that as an indication that there is significant interest in positive news about us.

"Based on what we heard since our last meeting, everyone wants the concerts to continue, and feels that they can work around any resource issues. Everyone also seems to like the idea of having a small group stay at An Clochán, or placing the site in hibernation, so that we could return in an emergency. At the same time, we all realize that the dynamics could change by the time we are ready to depart.

"We would like to give the Grand View news media a 'heads-up' on the concert change and related issues."

"The only other item I'm aware of is that the group overseeing our network and communication systems reports that all systems on Dóchas and at An Clochán are performing at an optimal level."

"Melinda, we don't see a problem with alerting the Grand View news media concerning the venue change," said Claudette.

"Thanks Claudette," said Tara. "Shannon, are you giving the Intelligence report?"

"Yes," she replied. "Let us begin by saying that we have reorganized the Intelligence Group into three subgroups. One focuses on Earth activities, a second focuses on this solar system and slightly beyond, and a third focuses on activity outside this solar system.

"Some of us have wondered about the apparent lack of probing by Earth intelligence agencies, beyond the repositioning some spy satellites. Well ... it appears that they are taking a different tack to the one we expected. Recent data from Earth's major security agencies indicates that their laid-back response to our presence is, in large part, due to the way we responded to those situations we were drawn into. They have connected most of the dots, and that know we assisted in the situation involving the TTC group in Afghanistan. Our assistance with the aircraft carrier incident, while not public, is known within the military. The rescue of the captive westerners from Fuda was pretty obvious, but only a few governments know for certain that we took part. Many analysts who recognized the link were surprised that we did not make a big deal out of our contribution. With time, each agency has become a little uncomfortable, as their understanding of our capabilities has grown. We are certain that they have passively monitored our recent visits to Earth when uncloaked. Our escorts in London were not debriefed in a normal sense, but were given the opportunity to, as a group, compare notes. The session was monitored and recorded. We think that was a clever approach, since it minimized the effect of preconceived conclusions. None of the participants saw it as a debriefing, so they were more open with their comments.

"Looking away from Earth, the groups focused on the universe, including this galaxy, are working with navigation and security to analyze the sentry line information. I should note here that we have flip-flopped between describing our satellites as a picket line and a sentry line. We think the latter is more accurate. The sentry line data gives us an indication of any unnatural intrusion. Our views of this as a security measure have changed as we have done more 'what-if' style analysis. We now believe that watching for an intrusion is only half of the problem. We only realized this when we looked at the issue from the other side. Our current hypothesis is that if we were going to survey an unknown system, we would enter as an inconsequential object, such as a rock, collect the data and then drift off. Engineering is assisting in trying to create a detector for data-collecting rocks.

"The interstellar drones are proceeding along their planned route. Each has reported on passing objects that looked like rocks, but seemed to be more than that. We are reviewing the data."

"Shannon," said Erin, "are the interstellar drones sending data back to us?"

"For the first part of their trip, yes. The transmission is done by sending a very narrow beam to a sentry line sensor. Each time data is sent, it is directed to a different sensor. Remember, our sentry line sensors form a three-dimensional matrix around us. From the sentry, the signal is relayed to us using a different technology."

"Are the interstellar drones coming directly back here?"

"No, they are making a loop. On their return, they will pass near our grid. At that time, we have the option of either letting them pass by while they broadcast their data to a sensor, or recovering them. We haven't decided which to do, yet. Letting them go by would allow us to monitor their wake for shadows, or hitchhikers. Another idea is to send a cloaked shuttle out to pick them up as they leave our solar system. This would make it seem as though they simply disappeared. Come by, and we can go over the plan in more detail."

"Thanks," replied Erin, "and I will be by to see you."

"We think Security and Navigation reviews will also touch on some of this."

"Thanks Shannon. We think Engineering may take up the rest of the day."

"Hopefully, not," said Leann. "Our current schedule has Dóchas1 lifting off at dawn in two weeks' time, and Dóchas2 lifting off at dawn the following day. The schedule could change but everything is on track so far. Dóchas1's primary AI, Donna, is on-line and overseeing the work there. This is also true for Dóchas2's primary AI, Moncha. Siobhan's and Maureen's Clans are currently filling the role of Command Staff on Dóchas1 and Dóchas2 when needed. Departmental AI's in both ships are configured and powered up, and their logic validation is 98% complete. Current projections have both ships being fully operational in 270 clock cycles, or days. At 60 cc after both ships are in orbit, we will begin refitting Dóchas. We have determined that Dóchas' refit can be carried out so that she is never completely off-line. As soon as Dóchas' refit is complete, we will focus our efforts on building Dóchas4 and Dóchas5. Some thought has been given to adding two more Dóchas class ships beyond that. Since this is outside of our current plan, we are looking at the impact building two more ships would have on identifying a new home."

"That is great news," said Command Staff, as they applauded the announcement, and were quickly joined by everyone else.

"I think it is time we give these ships unique names," added Aoife when the applause ended. "Using the numerical suffix made sense while we were building them but we are beyond that point now." Many in the room nodded their head in agreement.

"We have talked about that several times," replied Leann. "I take it you have a suggestion."

"Well I think so. Remember, we chose Dóchas, to signify that there was hope. So I would propose Dóchas1 be named Phoenix, and Dóchas2 be named Eagle, or Iolar in Celtic. I think I would prefer to use Eagle rather than Iolar, as it brings in some of our mixed heritage."

"Speaking for my clan," said Cathan, "I think you have made excellent suggestions."

"Does everyone here find those acceptable?" asked Sarah.

"Yes!" came the quick reply.

"It looks like that is settled. Star would you announce the proposal," said Sarah.

"Not yet," said Leann causing some puzzled looks, "if I know Aoife, she has probably thought of names for the next two ships as well."

Aoife blushed as she responded, "Yes, I have. I just hope I don't cause a better choice to be overlooked." She paused for a few moments, then said, "Endeavor and Explorer are the other two names that seemed to fit. Endeavor is Iarracht in Gaelic. Explorer is Taiséalai in Gaelic."

"I like those too," said Briana. "Nicely done."

"I would prefer to wait until we are ready to launch Dóchas3 and Dóchas4 before we commit to unique names for them." Many in the room nodded in agreement.

"I sense that everyone agrees," said Sarah. "So we can continue with our discussion. Today's meeting summary should carry both designations."

"Improvements to the propulsion systems have already been completed on Dóchas," continued Leann. "Because they are now modular we were able to carry out the propulsion upgrades by changing out one pair of units at a time. We discovered the modularity when we started putting the units in Phoenix. Once we saw the benefits of that, a design change was made to all ships. The biggest advantage is that it is now easier to change or replace them."

"How does this impact the ship's operation?" asked Rusty.

"It doesn't. In analyzing the design, after our discovery, it appears that the units were almost modular to begin with. However, modifications were added on after they were placed in service, which obscured their original modularity. The changes also defeated the original design."

"I take it these new units have been tested?"

"Yes. We did that by replacing two of Dóchas' propulsion units during moves between Earth and Mars. Dóchas only needs two of the six propulsion units to make that move. We used two so that we had a balanced thrust."

"That seems pretty risky, from my perspective," replied Rusty.

"No more risky than the risk of one of the current units going out of control," replied Kerry. "I agree that if we had screwed up it would have been very embarrassing. The risk of an incident was unchanged by using the new units."

"I guess I am missing something, since I don't quite agree with your risk assessment."

"Hm ... are you aware that the propulsion units have an emergency release?"

"Yes, I believe it is in the emergency procedures."

"A ship's propulsion unit can be tossed overboard with directed explosive charges, that way, if a unit goes out of control, or critical, it can be propelled away from the ship so that when it self-destructs the damage to the ship is minimal. Dumping just one unit will cause some navigational problems, because of the differential thrust at the rear of the ship. The direction of the roll will depend on which unit is dumped and the power level on all units."

"Okay, I am with you now," replied Rusty, with the rest of Command Staff nodding. "We agree with your assessment."

"We did a rather involved 'what if' analysis before we moved forward with the changes and the testing plan. All of those showed that a failure of a new unit would create a situation identical to that of the failure of an old unit."

"So what you are telling us, is that you have improved Dóchas already, and shortened our time-line by something like four months. This gives our situation a bit more flexibility, so keep it up."