NIRI TE 'S FANFIC "LAST FLIGHT OUT "

Started by Niri Te, January 10, 2013, 08:37:46 PM

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Niri Te

  CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
   All of the Off-Duty Personnel gravitated to the Hall after the two ships signed off.  They needed to "decompress', but to also review the video transmission, which was "Now Showing at a Theater Near You!" as Chip said in his most professional announcer voice.  Each of them grabbed their favorite solid and liquid refreshments, and went to the center of the Hall and seated themselves in front of the large-dimension video screen, to check out each others' "future selves", as the crew member on Eana Txe'lan Ikranä called their Avatars.
   There was a little good-nature ribbing over who had a better physique.  Sharon had to inject a little common sense before THIS game got mean.
   "And how many here think that they could correctly look at a dozen two month old babies and tell which one would be the gymnast, which one the body-builder, and which one the Casper Milquetoast? Hell. Let's at least wait until they have the bodies of five year old Na'vi."
   Everyone settled down after that little reprimand an only had constructive comments to make about each others' Na'vi bodies.  Once Show-and-Tell was over, knowing that Sharon would like to eat something more substantial than three cups of coffee and five cookies, (Pamela kept count of such things) she made a light meal of powdered eggs for her mate and herself.  As soon as they had eaten, the two of them when to their "apartment" to retire.  Once in their humble abode, they each took a shower. (Sharon, first, this time.)  When she came out, she noticed that Pamela left a steaming cup of tea, and two biscuits for Sharon to enjoy.
   When Pamela walked into the room, still toweling her hair, Sharon massacred, "Zamunge oeru ngeyä txìm,"  three times before she got it right.
   Pamela said, "I see what we are going to need to review.  Everyone has problems in their own Trouble-Spots, and your's seems to be with Possessives."  Pamela bit a small piece out of a biscuit, and said, "There are a few ways to indicate Possession.  The first way is to add an Ä with an umlaut to a noun, or a YÄ, if the noun ends in a vowel.  Some nouns change.  I'm not sure if this is random or how many exceptions there are.  PO, him or he, becomes PEYÄ not POEYÄ. and NgA becomes NgEYÄ."
   "Oh great!  As soon as I learn the rules, you tell me Maybe Not Always, and give me some exceptions!"
   "Don't complain!  I could just let you walk onto Pandora, and make a fool of yourself!"  replied Pamela.
   "I'm not complaining at You, Oeyä Yawnetu.  I am just frustrated with myself sometimes, that you have to review a lesson so MANY times with me."
   "Well, I'm not frustrated with you quite yet.  I think I need to torture you some more!"said Pamela with a wry grin.

   There was a knock at the door, and John said, "We just got a message from the ISV, they will give us a preliminary location for our meet up with them, in ten minutes.  Wendy would like the two of you on the flight deck when it arrives."
   Sharon looked at Pamela, who nodded.  "We will BE there," answered Sharon.  Within five minutes, All the Players were on the Flight Deck awaiting the ISV radio message.  They did not have to wait long.
   "Old Dog.  This is Eana Txe'lan Ikranä.  We crunched some numbers, and here is what we came up with:  We cross the orbit of Uranus, 27 hours ago.  It looks as though we can meet three and a half million miles beyond the orbit of Neptune.  We would like a daily status report of your remaining Hydrogen, if you could be so kind.  Eana Txe'lan Ikranä on active monitoring."
   "Well, that gives us a location.   I guess they wanted to give William something to do in figuring the TIME to intercept." said Wendy.
   "I'll be ON IT after I get them the fuel numbers," said William.
   "Cool!" said Sharon.
   "Would you like us to bring you something from the Hall?" asked Pamela.
   "A couple mugs of coffee would be GREAT!" replied William.
   Half an hour later, Pamela brought the requested coffee to William, and came back to the Hall with the news that he had provided Dan with all the numbers, and that Dan had just sent them to Eana Txe'lan Ikranä."
Tokx alu tawtute, Tirea Le Na'vi

Niri Te

  CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
   The last ten says say Jupiter's orbit getting ever so closer to the Old Dog.  At 513,268 MPH, the Old Dog was closing the distance between itself and Jupiter's orbit at the rate of 12 million, 318 thousand, 432 miles a day.  After the past ten days, the Old Dog was a cosmologically scant 10 million miles away from intersecting the orbit of the planet.  At this rate, the Old Dog would intersect Jupiter's orbit in nineteen hours and forty-six minutes.
   "What are our numbers, Sharon," asked Wendy, as she came to relieve Sharon.
   "We are currently 9 million, 989 thousand miles from intersecting Jupiter's orbit.  Or so that you can guestimate off the ship's clocks, nineteen hours forty-six minutes from now.  Looks like I will get the honors!" replied Sharon, as she climbed out of the Number One seat.
   "Well have fun, Wendy," said Sharon as she walked down the companionway toward the stern of the ship.  Once Sharon walked into the Hall, she announced, "By the way, Folks, one hour and forty-five minutes into my shift tomorrow, we will be crossing the orbital path of Jupiter.
   "MAN! We are Really Moving, aren't we?" asked Jim, to which Sharon just smiled. 
   Sharon said, "I want to be rested tomorrow, so I am going right to sleep, Folks, G'night."  And with that, she and Pamela went to their apartment.  When the couple closed the door behind them, Sharon told Pamela, tonight it can be your turn to shower first.  And Pamela did not argue.  While Pamela was in the shower, Sharon made her a cup of Japanese Green Tea, and laid two cookies beside it.
   While Sharon was in the shower, Pamela returned the favor.  But instead of tea, Pamela used some of the hot chocolate powder, which was in Army field rations.  Once finished with their Nightcap, the two of them lay down together and fell asleep the instant their head hit the pillows.
   Tap --Tap--Tap-- "You awake Sharon?" came the sound at the door.
"Yeah, we're up.  We will be out there in fifteen minutes."  said Sharon as she and Pamela got dressed.  Halfway to the Hall, Sharon looked at her watch and said, "WOW!  We were out for twelve hours, Sweetie.  We must have really needed it."
"Well, we have been busy with our normal duties on the ship PLUS our work in the Shrimp Farm," Pamela replied, "It was BOUND to catch up with us sooner or later."
   As they entered the Hall, Sharon received a short bit of good-natured ribbing from her friends, but then they all sat down to one of Pamela's breakfasts.
   After several hours of lounging around, Pamela, with the rest of the Undersea Renegades in tow, made her way to the flight deck.  When the Old Dog was five minutes away from intersecting the orbit of Jupiter, the atmosphere on the Flight Deck approached that of Times Square on New Years Eve, but with mugs of coffee instead of bottles of booze.  Of itself, the event was no where near as exciting as the original Power-Up of the Nuclear Drives, their increase in power from 35% to 75%, nor the first two radio messages from the ISV, but once Sharon counted down the seconds to Zero, that spot in space was as real a mile marker as any one would find on a highway.  As everyone turned to leave the Flight Deck, William announced, 
   "We will be intersecting the orbit of Saturn in thirty-one days, five hours and five minutes.  Hope to see everyone here again!"
Tokx alu tawtute, Tirea Le Na'vi

Niri Te

  CHAPTER FIFTY
   Pamela hugged Sharon once they were inside their apartment, saying. "You got to fly quite a milestone today, oeyä yawnetu."
   Sharon stroked Pamela's hair and said,"It wasn't difficult at all. What made it special is that it is a specific spot in the solar system."
   "That's true, Sweetie, we could go back to the same spot years later, even though we would NEVER want to," replied Pamela.
   "You are right, oeyä hona yawnetu, but one place that I DO want to return to, is the shower!" commented Sharon as she stepped out of her flight suit.
   "Green tea or hot chocolate, Honey?" asked Pamela, as Sharon started for the shower.
   "I think that some green tea would be the perfect thing for me this evening, oeyä yawnetu," replied Sharon as she walked into the shower.
   After they each had taken a quick shower, they were sitting at the "perfect-for-two-sized table, enjoying their nightcap. "We are really moving now, and once we clear the Oort Cloud, we will be going many times faster,"  observed Sharon, with a slight bit of apprehension in her voice.
   "And this worries you?" queried Pamela.
   "The speed itself doesn't bother me, Honey," soothed Sharon, "It is that Put-Up-or-Shut-Up time is going to come a LOT sooner than some people are ready, and I hope that my Na'vi is a lot better than it is right now," voiced Sharon.
   "I will help you be ready for the day when you will have to speak to some Na'vi that are well-placed within the clans.  Believe me!  You WILL most DEFINITELY, be ready," assured Pamela.
   Sharon took both of their empty cups and put them on the counter by the small sink,   came back to the table, and held out both her hands.  Pamela placed her hands on top of Sharon's and allowed herself to be gently pulled up from the chair, and against Sharon's standing body. "I know that you will give me all the help that I need to help make a good impression, oeyä yawnetu," said Sharon, as she held Pamela against her.
    Pamela and Sharon woke up  eight hours later, and went to the Hall for scrambled eggs and potatoes, albeit, the dehydrated variety.
   "So, guys, do you feel any different, now that we are officially among the Gas Giants?" asked Sharon, as she and Pamela sat down at the "Pirate's Table", as the long table where the Undersea Renegades always gravitated toward, was now called.
   "Well I DO seem to be an inch larger around the middle since this morning," joked Steve.
   "It will pass as soon as you visit the Head," smirked Chip.
   "We are really going to intersect Saturn's orbit in a little over a month?" queried Jim while scratching his chin.
   "Yes, we will," answered William as he entered the Hall, and made a bee line for the coffee pot.  "Until we leave the orbit of Pluto, the planets are going to come up quicker than you would expect, given the separation of their orbits.  For still being inside the Solar System, half-a-million miles an hour is SMOKING!  It will seem slower from Pluto to the Kuiper Belt, and slower still, to the Oort Cloud," William continued. "In interstellar space, that is slower than watching the grass growing."
   "True," answered Sharon, "but at our flat-out speed of 800,520 MPH, we would graduate all the way to the relative speed of a garden snail."
   (AUTHOR's NOTE: that is 12% light speed, which is the theoretical velocity of a nuclear-powered, hydrogen fusion plasma rocket according to NASA)
   "Whoa!  That is MOVING!" exclaimed Steve.
   "Not when it comes to interstellar distances," corrected Pamela.  "How long would the trip take if we had to make it at that speed, Honey?" she asked.
   "Oh, ONLY another 75 years once we cleared the Oort Cloud.  So we better hope that Wendy and John repopulated the Old Dog, because at THAT rate it would be their GRANDchildren that step onto Pandoran soil," explained Sharon.
   "THAT is why they equipped these ships with the capability to travel at 68% light speed," replied Transport Jim, from the serving table. 
Tokx alu tawtute, Tirea Le Na'vi

Niri Te

  CHAPTER FIFTY -ONE
   The next day, Sharon walked into the Hall with a perplexed look on her face.  As she was getting a hot mug of coffee, Pamela walked up to her, and said, "What's the matter, Babe?" 
   Sharon replied, "I was reading Dr. Augustine's book, and now what I THOUGHT I understood about the tensing of verbs, might be wrong.  Because of two sentences I read, everything I thought I knew about tense infixes  has been thrown into serious question.  I know that,to make FLY into FLEW, I add <AM>to swayon so that it becomes SWAMAYON.  NOW, I found out, in the book, that you also can use <OL> to say the SAME past tense thing. HELP!"
   "Well, my dear, you may consider me an expert, but I don't understand it myself! Let me see."  Pamela pulled out her Touch Screen and spent a few minutes with a stidious expression on her face.  "It says here that the <ER> infix and the <OL> infix are NOT tenses.  They are ASPECTS, whatever THAT means.  It seems <ER> is like adding <ING> to an English verb. Currently Do<ing>.  But <OL> is a completes action.  I myself don't understand how SWAMAYON and SWOLAYON are different.  You are going to have to ask Transport Jim to help us out, because frankly, I'm at a loss."
   "O.K., I'll see if I can find him," said Sharon.
   Fifteen minutes later, Sharon came back, and told Pamela that Jim was out cold.  He had hurt his back in the Garden Room, took a pain med, and would be out of commission for a good twelve hours.  "So then the <OL> infixes might help explain the tense infixes, but I am STILL right in using tense infixes, aren't I, Honey?" asked a perplexed Sharon, of Pamela.
   Pamela put her arm around her muntxate's waist, and said, "Of COURSE! As far as I can figure, it just further defines what is going on with the verb."
   "Great! breathed a much relieved Sharon. "I don't want to UNlearn what I have just learned."
   "I can assure you, oeya yawnetu, that all this amounts to, would be you're speaking good high school English and someone ocassionally using the <OL> infix would be speaking in good collegiate creative writing. That's all.  You are doing FINE, Sweetheart."
   "Cool! My anxiety level just went down twenty notches," said Sharon.
   The two of them joined the rest of the Researchers at the Pirate's Table for, what was for Sharon and Pamela, dinner, but for the others, breakfast, because of their different schedules.  After about an hour of light discussion at the table, Pamela and her Mate went to their apartment, while the guys went to work in the Garden and Shrimp Farm.
   "Whew!" said Sharon, as she stripped out of her flight suit.  "Thank you for explaining that. Just because someone else was being more expressive, that did NOT make what I was saying wrong. 
   "Nope!" answered Pamela, "You will just be the Long Lost Aunt from the Backwoods HillBilly Clan, that's all!"
   "GREAT!" answered Sharon as she headed for the shower.  After they were both cleaned up, they went to bed, and both got a much needed six-hour sleep.
   Once they were up, they went to the Hall, for something hot to drink, and to head up to the Flight Deck to chat with John who had been on duty for about two hours.  "Hey Guy!  How ya doing?" asked Sharon of John.
   "Oh pretty good," he said, "in the last transmission about an hour ago, the ISV said that they would like us to dock with them for resupply, and for all of us to sit and talk.  Wendy was here to hear it, and we will discuss it with everyone here, and get back to them in our next transmission.
Tokx alu tawtute, Tirea Le Na'vi

Niri Te

  CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
   Two hours before Sharon's shift, a meeting was held on the Flight Deck so that Dan could participate, too.  Wendy started the meeting with,
   "O.K., I think that by now, everyone here knows the contents of the last transmission that we got from Eana Txe'lan Irkranä, eyawr?"  Everyone nodded so she said," I can see that there can be no secrets on THIS ship." That remark had its desired effect, lightening the mood of the crews, considerably.   "What I need to know is what do all of you think of temporarily docking with the ISV?" she asked.
   Pamela replied first with, "It probably would be beneficial for our spirits to visit other kindred souls on this long journey.  My guess it that we won't meet many travelers out here."  There were nods all around with her closing sentence.
Dan was the next to speak, and he said, "I think it is a good idea, it is NOT a race.  They will walk away from us once we separate."
   John raised his hand, and Wendy nodded to him.  He said, "I think it is a GREAT idea.  What will it be, six months before we can catch them?  By then we may be able to trade them for something that they have."
   Chip was up next with, "We could also have an extra set of eyes, to space-walk with us, and check this ship over.  Once they firewall their ship, it's going to be awfully lonely out here, and we can't call an AAA. 
   Steve piped up with, "I understand that they have a full fledged medical team on board, and it might behoove us to each get a check up before they separate."  Steve cleared his throat and said, "I have nothing extra to say, I agree with everyone here so far."
   Sharon answered him with, "Well, I'm not going to Rain On Your Parade, Jim, but I DO have another very good reason to hook-up and STAY hooked-up for a while:  They have far better radars on that ship, as well as the ability to generate a much stronger set of anti-F.O.D. shields.  I think that we would be immeasurably safer going through the Kuiper Belt, and the Oort Cloud, if we stay next to Big Brother, protected by his shielding.
   Transport Jim was next and said, If they let us hitch a ride, through the most dangerous section of our solar system, look at the chance to increase our knowledge of Na'vi while we are linked on."
   William was the last to speak.   "All of you know that I am the oldest by a decade of any of us.  And I wouldn't care if Eywa took me home ten minutes after I set foot on Pandoran soil.  I am just afraid that I may not MAKE it there alive. And if I could jump ship, and ride with them, I would get there eight months to a year sooner."
   Wendy looked around, and said, "Then for different reasons, it is unanimous, correct?"
   Everyone of the Flight Deck said YES.
   "Well then Dan, without giving the gory details, I guess that you get the honor of making the affirmative reply before you go off-duty," advised Wendy.
   Dan smiled and keyed the mike.  "Eana Txe'lan Ikranä, this is Old Dog, please be advised that we would be happy to entertain your offer."
   There was still forty minutes before Sharon had to relieve Dan, so she decided to go aft for a few minutes, relieve herself, and grab a mug of coffee.  She could still return to relieve Dan fifteen minutes early.  She and Pamela walked into the Hall hearing loud voices from a hundred feet away.  As they walked into the room, she saw Steve and John, having William trapped in a corner of the room.
   "You worthless Son of a b****," shouted Steve.  William opened his mouth to say something, but John shouted,
   "You little Weasel, in order to get there a year earlier, you are willing to leave us without a Navigator?  We ought to throw you out the Airlock.  We would have carried your body all the way to Pandora so that you might have a heroes burial and sleep in Pandoran soil, if you didn't make it all the way.  If you die now, you are JETTISONED with the REST of the non-recyclable trash."
   Sharon saw that this was going no where good, and it was ging there fast.
   "O.K., Guys.  William made no friends with that little speech, but how would you like to be standing in front of Mo'at, who can read your heart like a BOOK with William's blood on your soul?"
   Pamela touched Sharon on the elbow, and said, "We NEED to go Forward."  Sharon looked at the three of them and said,
   "William had better be untouched when I come off-duty.
Tokx alu tawtute, Tirea Le Na'vi

Niri Te

 
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE 
   In the two weeks since the night that the crew was ready to make William walk-the-plank. they had calmed down to the point, where, while none of the crew felt any less betrayed, no one was planning on visiting any bodily harm on him. They were NOT going to be Best Friend's though.  Sharon and Pamela walked into the 'Mess' area of the Hall, and grabbed some coffee, and some 'sopapillas' that Wendy learned how to make from a neighbor when she was a teenager in Phoenix, Arizona.  As they entered the 'Great Room' section of the Hall, the scene was the same as it had been for the last two weeks.  William was  by himself at a small table, and everyone else, was at the 'Pirates' Table'.
   "Well, what do you want to do, Pamela?" asked Sharon, "Go up on the Flight Deck with John?"
   "That might not be a bad idea, with our 300,000 MPH closing speed for the last month.  The radio transmission time between the two ships had dropped to just under two hours.  This means that a message can now be sent out and a reply formulated, sent back, and received, well within one shift."  They waved to everyone, and turned around for the Flight Deck.
   "Where do you think they are going? Back to their apartment?" asked Steve.
   "No," replied Transport Jim, "They made a right turn, they are headed for John on the Flight Deck.
   "Hey, John!  How are you doing?" said Pamela as she and Sharon walked on deck.
   "Oh, pretty good, except that I am DYING for some coffee."
   "Here, you want mine?" offered Sharon. 
   "No thinks, I KNOW how sweet you like yours!" John replied.
   "Well, switch places with me, an I'll take the Con til you come back.  It's no big deal," said Sharon.
   "That would be GREAT!" he said.  So they handed off control of the Transport.  Sharon checked the near to medium range Doppler Scans with the head's-up monitor and found nothing in the Old Dog's path.  Before long, John walked back on deck, and he and Sharon switched placed again.  Not long after John was situated, the radio came to life.
"Old Dog.  This is Eana Txe'lan Ikranä.  What is your hydrogen quantity at this time?  How is your water and food holding up? We show you making good, constant progress at joining and docking with us, as we all cross Neptune's orbit. Eana Txe'lan Ikranä on active monitoring."
   "Oh YES, it's time for our bi-weekly status report. I almost forgot!" said Sharon.  "Pamela and I are going to go aft.  Have a good shift",  she added.
   Sharon and Pamela entered the Hall and noticed that everything was still calm, so she make herself and Pamela some dehydrated mushroom soup, with a few sliced mushrooms from the 'Garden' added for flavor.
   "Here you go, Honey", said Sharon, as she laid the soup on the table in front of her yawnetu.  "Do you want any more coffee while I'm up?" she continued Pamela shook her head No, so Sharon sat and enjoyed her lunch with her muntxate.
   About the time they were finishing their lunch, William came over to the table that Sharon and Pamela were sitting at, stopped for a moment and said, "Thank you for breaking up that Lynch Party, back when.  It was starting to look ugly."
   "No problem, William.  I just wasn't going to let that get out of hand," reassured Sharon.  William repeated his thanks, and headed out towards the Living Quarters.
   He wasn't three minutes out of the room, when Jim and Steve came over to the table, and asked to sit down.  Pamela motioned for them to do so.
   "So what did HE have to say?" asked Steve.
   "WILLIAM thanked me for stepping in and preventing you two from throwing him overboard," replied Sharon.
   "What he said two weeks ago, doesn't make you uncomfortable around him?" queried Jim.
   "Not at all.  As a matter of fact, he showed a lot of Heart coming out in  the open an SAYING that, instead of trying to take the coward's way out of the situation.  So what does he GET for his honesty?  Pushed into a corner, by two people that should not be acting like a pair of high-school jocks."  Sharon ended the conversation with, "You can post out now."
Tokx alu tawtute, Tirea Le Na'vi

Niri Te

 
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
   "Hey, Dan. How was your shift?" asked Sharon, as she walked on the Flight Deck as his relief.
   "Oh, not that bad.  A little boring perhaps, but that was it."
   "Any radio traffic from the ISV?" asked Sharon.
   Dan swung the head's up display out of his way, and in an attempt to make him smile, Sharon, remembering that he was a Naval Veteran, said, "I relieve you of your watch, Sir."
   To which Dan replied, "I stand relieved, Ma'am."
   With that Sharon settled into the Command Pilot's Seat, and Dan side-stepped Pamela, at the entrance of the Companion Way, as she was bringing coffee and flat bread for her and Sharon on a tray.
   "Ngeyä txonä wutsot, oeyä muntxate!" she said, as she bridged the space between the inner arms of the two pilot's seats, hopping into the First Officer's chair.  Sharon looked into the eyes of her yawnetu and said, "I love it when we spend the first twenty minutes or so, of my shift, together."
   Pamela smiled and started to speak, when the speaker came to life.
   "Old Dog, this is Eanä Txe'kan Ikranä. We would like you people to know that you can piggy-back with us for as long as you like.  The offer of the occasional shrimp dinner, was the deal maker.  Eana Txe'lan Ikranä on active monitoring."
   "Eana Txe'lan Ikranä.  This is Captain Sharon West, current captain of the Old Dog. Be advised that I have your message and will pass it on t all concerned at the earliest opportunity.  Old Dog on active monitoring."
   "Well THAT was interesting,   Not quite as entertaining as the discussions that we will be having tomorrow about it's implications, though", said Sharon to Pamela, who was nodding in agreement.
   The two of them made small conversation during the times when Sharon was not checking systems during her shift for about an hour, before Pamela went off to bed.
   "Ayunil akalin oeyä hona yawnetu alor!" said Sharon,  as Pamela headed for the Companion Way.
   Five hours later, Wendy walked onto the Flight Deck and asked, "Anything new?"
   "As a matter of fact, YES!" replied Sharon.  "I think that our secret is out.  It looks like Dan might have spilled the beans about our Shrimp Farm.  An hour into my shift, I got a message from the ISV, stated that we could piggy-back with them as long as we want to, and that the occasional shrimp dinner from out Live Shrimp Farm, was the deal maker!"
   "For an ex-naval officer, he can sure run his mouth," said Wendy, "but I don't think it was a case of loose lips. THIS was by design! He wants us on Pandora earlier!"  Wendy rubbed her temples, and thought for a moment.
   "O.K., tell everyone in the Hall there will be a scull session on the Flight Deck as soon as Dan goes on duty tomorrow."
   "That I will, Wendy," said Sharon, and she headed aft.
Tokx alu tawtute, Tirea Le Na'vi

Niri Te

  CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
   Sharon ad Pamela grabbed some scrambled, powdered-eggs, and real mushrooms from the ship's garden, along with an ample supply of coffee, and walked over to the table that William was sitting at.  They asked if they could join him, and,  "Anytime," was his immediate reply.
   "Cool!" replied Pamela, and the two of them sat down.   
   "So what do you think of today's skull session on the Flight Deck?" asked Pamela of William.
   "Oh I think it ought to be quite enlightening," said William, "Somewhere between a jovial celebrity roast, and our version of, the Spanish Inquisition.  It will all depend on what kind of mood Wendy is in, this morning."
   "Well, only time will tell!"  said Sharon, "I noticed that she hasn't been here for her cup of coffee, so no one will be able to judge her mood 'til Zero Hour."
   At ten minutes prior to shift change, everyone walked forward to the flight deck.  If Wendy was waiting for them all to leave before getting her morning coffee, it would be a good idea to all leave, and give her enough time to grab one before going forward.  You did NOT want to deal with her looking for leniency after denying her the morning caffeine fix.
   Sharon was the first one to the entry way and said, "Permission to enter the bridge?"
   John answered curtly, "Granted."  After Sharon, Pamela formally entered, setting the pattern for all who followed with Dan the Accused, the last to enter.
   After five or six minutes, Wendy walked in, and sat in a folding chair that she had brought from the apartment that she shared with John.
   "O.K., Listen up everyone,"  she said.  "This is going to be s\short and to the point.  It has come to my attention that SOMEONE, in an attempt to curry favor with the ISV crew, has spilled the beans about our Little Shrimp Farm, so WHO was it?"
   To no one's surprise, Dan sheepishly held up his hand. 
   "Take away his right to second helpings of shrimp!" said Steve.
   "Shoot!  There are forty people on that ISV!  What are we going to get now, three shrimp each?  Take away his rights to FIRSTS!" said Chip.
   "Hold on guys!  Let's all not get out undies in a knot, over this!" said Sharon.  "We are probably the ONLY Marine Biologists in the galaxy anymore,  and we just so happen to be very good at what we do.  We can work our magic, and have those critters popping out offspring like nobody's business. I'll BET you that with OUR brains ad their SPACE and MATERIALS, we could ramp up production to where everyone could have THIRDS.  THIS is what the Under Sea Renegades DO.  We can make marine animals produce MORE and BETTER Offspring than they ever did before."
   Wendy said, "WOW, THAT speech included everything but Win One for the Gipper." 
   "Well, Wendy, if you let us do what we know how to do to make the shrimp feel at home, you will think that we are growing Tribbles."
   Transport Jim looked at Sharon and said, "What the hell are Tribbles?"
   John turned around in his chair, and said, "Don't you ever watch the data chips of the old 20th century television shows?  That was a very popular science fiction show called Star Trek."
   Wendy held up her hand and said, "I have come to a decision."  Looking at Dan she said, "From now on, your secondary duty on this ship, is to provide ANY assistance that the Undersea Renegades might need in turning our little Shrimp Farm into the most productive Baby Factory in the entire Milky Way, O.K.?"
   "No problem, ma'am."  was Dan's relieved reply.
   "Well then relieve John so that he and I can go home. And by the way people, this might just work out to our advantage."
   With that, everyone filed out f the Flight Deck and headed aft.
   Now alone, Dan shook his head, and tried to make sense of what just happened.
Tokx alu tawtute, Tirea Le Na'vi

Niri Te

 
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

   "In case any one is interested, the first crop of shrimp will be harvested this afternoon, our first Shrimp Feed with our own shrimp, just before Sharon relieves Dan," said Transport Jim to raucous cheers all around.
   "Argh! Eat hearty maties! Before the ISV bilge rats start eating most of it."groused Chip.
   "Have you EVER been in the Shrimp Farm, Chip?" asked Sharon.  "It would STUN you, to see what we have going on there.  By the time that we dock with the ISV, I doubt that we will be able to deplete the supply, even WITH the help of the folks on the IS,." she added.
   "Yeah," said Transport Jim, "I take those doubts kind of personal.  Sharon, Pamela, and I have quite an operation going on in that cargo bay."
   "So just how far ahead of us ARE they anyway?" asked Renegade Jim.
   "We will have them along side in five months," announced William proudly.
   "That ought to be a pretty sight.  The only gas-giant planet any where near our side of the sun, as a backdrop for us docking with the last ISV in our solar system," thought Pamela aloud.
    "Neptune will only be three million miles away, so it will take up a big hunk of the sky," said Wendy, as she walked up to the table, sup of coffee i hand.  But we will be pretty busy safely docking with the ISV, to be doing too much sight seeing," she reminded everyone.  "Speaking of things not pertaining to flying this ship," Wendy continued, "What are we having with the shrimp?"
  "Well, with all of the rice that is aboard, I was thinking some fried rice," suggested Sharon.
   "Sounds like a great idea, " said Transport Jim, "You fly the cookware, as well as you fly the ship, oeyä tsmuke!"
   "Why,  thank you, Jim!"  replied Sharon, "Who would like to HELP me make tonight's Masterpiece?" Sharon asked.
   "I'll be your prep cook, Honey!" volunteered Pamela, and the kitchen crew was set for the meal.
   With the small talk out of the way, Wendy asked Transport Jim how the Old Dog was doing for water.  And he assured her that the water supply was just fine, likewise for the food, fuel, and air scrubbers.
   "One thing that some of us might not have thought of," mentioned Pamela, is our clothing."  Unless the ISV has huge clothing stores, some time shortly, we will be dressing, nìNa'vi in abbreviated clothing!"
   "Some of our stiff IS beginning to show some wear." agreed Sharon, "I have one Flight Suit that I have not worn since we boarded the Old Dog, as I will be wearing a presentable military uniform when we arrive on Pandora.  First impressions definitely do count."
   "How abbreviated is abbreviated?"  asked William, "I am a little too old and soft, to be showing off too much of my physique."
   "Well I would imagine that you guys that crew this ship, have more in the way of clothing than those of us that had a very short time to grab a very few things on our way off the Undersea Lab.  Or we never would have made it out.  It was THAT close," said Renegade Jim.
   "The mundane discussion went on for another half hour before a quick snack for lunch and the day's Na'vi lesson.  As soon as that was done, Dan, Sharon, Transport Jim, and Pamela, went into the Shrimp Farm, and took out two pounds of shrimp per person on the ship, and brought it to the Galley to be cooked.
   Thirty minutes later, everyone was munching down on Sea Food Heaven.  Dan's two pounds was cooked just before Sharon went to relieve him, and Transport Jim made SURE tht Chip was made aware of the fact that the 'interest' in the Shrimp Bank, had barely been TOUCHED.  There would be plenty to go around for everyone on both ships.
   "Well, it's time for me to earn our passage, my dear," said Sharon.
   "I'll bring us some coffee," offered Pamela, "Do you want a snack?" she added.
   "I don't know where I would PUT a snack, after two pounds of shrimp!" answered Sharon.
    They walked forward to the Flight Deck, and Sharon tapped Dan on the shoulder, warning him.  "If I were you, I would head down to the Mess Hall, post haste!  William is guarding two pounds of cooked shrimp for you.  But he is badly out-numbered.  Is there anything that I need to know?"
   "It was absolutely quiet for six hours," Dan said, as he got out of the Number One Seat, and headed with all dispatch to his waiting shrimp.
Tokx alu tawtute, Tirea Le Na'vi

Niri Te

 
CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

   "Old Dog. This is Eana Txe'lan Ikranä. Old Dog. This is Eana Txe'lan Ikranä. Be advised that we have solid Doppler contact on your ship now.  We show you closing on us at a velocity of 306,282 MPH. Eana Txe'lan Ikranä on active monitoring."
   "Eana Txe'lan Ikranä, This is Old Dog.  Thank you for your confirmation of our closing velocity.  I will make sure that our shop's navigator gets your data.  Old Dog on active monitoring."
   "I heard you leaving a message for the ISV as I was walking in.  What did they want?"  asked Wendy as she walked on the Flight Deck to relieve Sharon.
   "They were just showing the range capabilities of their vastly superior Doppler radar, I guess, we are closed on them at precisely, 306,282 MPH.  I will give William the umbers when I go to get some coffee," replied Sharon, as she exchanged her seat with her replacement.
   "Good," responded Wendy, "it will keep him out of the BINGO halls."
    Sharon walked into the Mess Hall, grabbed some coffee, and three of Pamela's excellent Gorditas.  For the first time in a while, she sat at the Pirates' table, as toy for the first time iin months, William was once again 'allowed' back there.  Over the past three weeks, relations between him and the other males of the 'Undersea Renegades' had slowly improved, culminating in today's decision to fully reinstate him as a member of 'the Pirates' Crew', and grant him full rights and privaleges at the table.
   "Hey, William, the ISV showed of the capabilities of their two-decades newer Doppler radar today.  What to know what they had to say?" she said, while pulling out her chair.
   "DEFINITELY!, so just how fast ARE they closing in on Pandora?" he said with a grin.
   "Oh, I WISH they were THAT advanced in their designs," responded Sharon, "No, they told us that we are clsing on them at 306, 282 MPH.  Wendy would like to start a countdown clock,  So when your OTHER duties don't get in the way, could you set one up for us?"
   "Give me a day, and I will have it up and running," said William, glad to have something important that others could NOT do, that he could accomplish for the crew.
   "Cool," exclaimed Sharon, "by the way, according to our latest instrument check,our fuel burn for this velocity IS nominal, so it doesn't look like we will have to hitchhike through the galaxy, with gas can in each hand."
   Pamela found it difficult to suppress a giggle, as she observed, "You are a library of last millennium's trivia.  Not that we are complaining, mind you, but just WHERE do you STORE all this obscure data?"
   "Oh, I just had the fourth generation HAL computer installed in a remote location on my body," Sharon joked.
   "THERE she goes again!"  chided Chip, with a smile on his face.
   Once Sharon had finished her coffee, she asked Pamela if she would like to join her in the exercise room.  When, with a twinkle in her eye, Pamela acquiesced, Sharon rose first, and with exaggerated 1890's movements, helped Pamela up from her chair.  Once they both were standing, Sharon sang;
   Daisy, Daisy, Give me your answer do,"
   To which Pamela replied by singing, "I'm half crazy, all for the love of you!",as they walked away from the table.
   John shouted, "You two are incorrigible!"
   Jim said, "I SWEAR, those two ARE in constant tsaheylu, WITHOUT meswin!"
Tokx alu tawtute, Tirea Le Na'vi

Niri Te

  CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
   "Well, guys. it took a week, but I got the crew manifest for the ISV," announced Sharona as she sat down next to her wife.
   "So how many are aboard?"  asked Transport Jim.
   "Only twenty-five total.  There must be quite an echo problem in a ship that empty," responded Sharon, "although I've been told, that they are bringing out TONS of supplies and equipment that they pirated off the Moon before leaving."
   "Anyone that you or I would know?" asked John.
   "Sharon replied, "We know the ship's commander, one of the captains, and are VERY familiar with the chief engineer.  The commander is none other than Joe Hill, one of the Captains is Sven Deutche, and their Chief Engineer, is none other than Megan O'Reilley."
   "THE Megan O'Reilley?" asked John incredulously.
   "The one and only MEG, Protector of the Down-Trodden, and Punisher of the exploitacious, greed infused, ruling-class," explained Sharon, with a wry smile.
   "Is this an inside joke? or are you going to let the rest of us IN on it?" asked Chip.
   "Meg, Sharon, and I, walked out of a club in Downtown Seattle one evening, when we we all in Astronaut Training, just in time to see five rather large, very belligerent dock workers, terrorizing a slight, frail person, of Native American decent.  In a moment, she tore into them, taking down the biggest of the brood first, breaking his knee.  In the time that it took the two of us to cover the twenty yards to where they were, she knocked a second thug out cold, and started on a THIRD, while Sharon and I REALLY messed-up the remaining two," recalled John.
   "Yeah, THEN she jumps to their intended victim and performs first aid, bandaging two rather large cuts on his head with her scarf, and asking us to go find something to splint his broken arm with." added Sharron.  "As soon as we immobilized his arm, John and I carried him towards the main street.  As we walked by the DEVASTATED attackers, one of them made the stupid mistake of getting up on his hands and knees, as she was walking by.  Without breaking her stride, she kicks him RIGHT between the eyes, knocking him unconscious instantly."
   "She THEN spends the next three blocks on the way to the nearest infirmary tutoring the poor victim both; on why such people should not be allowed out without a keeper, and explaining to him how to defend himself the next time," continued John.
   "Within a week, she had been given the nickname, Ba'alana, back at the Academy.   This was for the character Ba'alana Torres, the half Klingon, half Earthling, Chief Engineer of the StarShip Voyager, on the late twentieth century TV show, StarTrek Voyager," concluded Sharon.
   "WOW!, That sounds like one hell of a woman!" exclaimed Steve.
   "I think that she would SERIOUSLY put a HURT on you, if you did anything to tick her off, my friend!" cautioned John.
   "Yeah, I know without a doubt, who would wear the pants in THAT possible family," warned Sharon.
   Changing the person of interest, Wendy asked, "So what do you two know about the ISV's Commander?"
   Sharon responded, "Well let's see: Colonel Hill s a veteran of fivr tours of duty in three different wars, but has never been to Pandora.  He was retired from the military at the request of the RDA, because of his vehement opposition to the oppression visited upon the Na'vi people by the RDA.  He was still given his full military pension out of respect for his long service to his country.  That was before the RDA came to complete power.  It is my personal belief that had HE been on Pandora rather than Quaritch, the Battle for the Well of Souls never would have happened.  He was deeply troubled by everything that the RDA did on Pandora, in large part due to his Cherokee upbringing."
   "How do you know so much about him?" asked Transport Jim.
   "I know that much and even more about him, because we grew up together in the hills of east Tennessee.  He is my cousin."
   "The woman of mystery reveals a little more of her self," said Renegade Jim.
   "How much more are you hiding about your Dark Past?" joked Chip."I've known, and worked with, Sharon, Pamela and John for six years since the day that the three of them were assigned to our team straight from RDA training.  And I don't know much," said Chip.
   "There is much more than you think, and a lot that you might not feel comfortable with, were you to find out," observed Pamela.
   "Enough of this, Folks," counseled John, "We will get to meet all the ISV crew in a few months, and I think that they are just as curious about us."
Tokx alu tawtute, Tirea Le Na'vi

Niri Te

  CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
  Sharon walked onto the Flight Deck, slapped Dan on the shoulder, and asked, "Any new developments?"
   "The ISV is now asking for a list of stores that we are carrying so I told them that we would assemble a list during John's shift, and that I would transmit it to them.  They will send us their list during John's shift."
   "This is a lot easier now that we are this close, Dan," noted Sharon, "Hell, our transmit times are down to fifteen minutes each way.  We should have our Doppler registering our speed and range soon."
   "That happened halfway through my shift, Sharon," Dan replied, looking in the heads-up display and said, "We are 167 million, 751 thousand miles out, and closing fast.  We should be there in 23.298 days."
    "WELL, my friend, if you have been pedaling this thing THAT fast for the last six hours, you need to climb out of that seat, and give me a crack at it," suggested Sharon.
   Dan climbed out of the seat and let Sharon sit down.  "Remember", he said, "Don't sprint down the hills. PACE YOURSELF."
   "Will do!", Sharon chuckled, as Dan headed down the companion way.
   "Hey, Honey, I brought you some coffee and a couple of crackers," announced Pamela as she entered the Flight Deck.  "How is everything going?"
   "Tse, oeyä yawnetu, we are closing the distance rapidly," replied Sharon, "I wonder if they are going to have us start braking maneuvers several weeks from now?  That would not make much sense at all, as both ships would then have to accelerate right back up to the speed we are now, in order to accelerate farther to our intermediate velocity.  It would make FAR more sense for the ISV to start to accelerate to our speed a week before we pull alongside.  I don't know about Wendy, but John and I have both done this little trick many times on different simulators at speeds greateer than this.  We are a very good team at this."
   "I think that Colonel Hill will conserve their speed," said Pamela, "especially if he knows that you and John will fly this ship for the docking exercise.""
   Sharon smiled and said, He knows both John and I and he, no doubt, has our training records and prior Space Flight Logs in the ISV's data base.  I think that is the way he will want this done, and he is the ranking person on this mission.
   Two hours later, an in-coming radio message was received.  "Old Dog. This is Eana Txe'lan Ikranä. Is Captain West at the controls at this time? Over. Eana Txe'lanä Ikranä. On active monitoring."
   Sharon keyed the mike and said, "Eana Txe'lan Ikranä.  This is Captain West, Pilot in Command at this time, and for the next four hours.  Standing by.  Over."
   "Well," said Sharon to Pamela, "We should find out what they want, in a little under half an hour, if you want to stick around."   
   "Oh, I wouldn't miss this for the WORLD," replied Pamela.
   "If I asked REAL nicely, there is more than enough time, could you get me another cup?" asked Sharon.
   "You just DID ask nicely, and I'm on my way!" responded Pamela, as she grabbed the tray. Ten minutes later, Pamela returned with Wendy in tow. 
   "Hey Sharon, Pamela tells me that someone on the ISV wants to speak with you, so I thought that I would tag along," said Wendy.
    "SURE! Make yourself comfortable, the more the merrier," said Sharon. 
   "Old Dog, this is Colonel Hill, Mission Commander on board Eana Txe'lan Ikranä.  I have the records of both YOU, Captain West, and Captain John Williams in front of me.  In view of the level of experience the two of you have, with the impending maneuver, we are going to request that the two of you are on the controls for our docking maneuver under power.  I will be standing by for your reply. Over."
   "Eana Txe'lan Ikranä.  This is Captain West on the Old Dog.  Captain Williams and I are honored by your faith in us, and are at your disposal, Sir.  Old Dog standing by. Over."
   Wendy touched Sharon on the shoulder, and said, "I'm going to go get John.  He needs to hear this,  I'll be right back."
   "We might as well have all the principle players here for the rest of the conversation, I guess," observed Pamela.
   Less than ten minutes later, John came running down the hall, asking, "Have they gotten back to us yet?"
   "No, we have about three minutes," said Sharon, as she took another sip of coffee.  Not one minute later, Wendy walked in with an entire pot of coffee, and the rest of the crew as well. 
   "Old Dog. This is Colonel Hill, Mission Commander on board Eana Txe'lan Ikranä. I am pleased to know that MAJORS West and Williams will be handling this delicate docking maneuver while at high speed.  I will also be honored to present the both of them with their field grade promotions, which, I might add, are overdue. Congratulations, Majors, I will be awaiting your arrival on board this vessel, so that I may pin your promotions on the two of you, myself. Eana Txe'lan Ikranä. On active monitoring."
   Wendy looked at everyone and said, "Time to break out some SHRIMP, we will have a luau in twelve hours."
Tokx alu tawtute, Tirea Le Na'vi

Niri Te

 

CHAPTER SIXTY
   "Tìng säpom! Tìng säpom!" is what Sharon woke up hearing, as Pamela pecked away at her face with little kisses.  Once Sharon had her wits about her, she rolled the both of them over until SHE was on top, and she told Pamela, "Kehe, oeyä yawnetu, "Tìng APxA Säpom!" and she did a "proper" job of it.
   An hour later, Sharon and Pamela got up, showered and dressed, and walked to the Hall.  When they walked in, they found the Hall was full of everyone except John, the current duty pilot.  Wendy walked up to the two of them, and asked Sharon,
   "May I borrow your wife for about five minutes? I promise to have her Right Back in your arms as quickly as possible."
   "Come join us Sharon," said Transport Jim from the Pirates' Table, as Wendy and Pamela walked toward the Shrimp Farm.  As they turned on the lights in the cargo bay, Wendy asked, "Do you think that your wife would mind marrying John and I before we get to the ISV, on one of her duty shifts as Captain of this vessel?"
   "I don't see why not," revealed Pamela. "She thinks that the two of you make a wonderful couple, and she has told me that several times."  The two of them talked about what each of their mates brought to their relationships, and how much they each loved them, while they harvested many pounds of shrimp.  But only perhaps three percent of the available harvest.
   Wendy and Pamela walked into the Hall pushing a cart loaded with shrimp.  Once the Renegades noticed them, heading for the galley, they all arose, and gave the two women a standing ovation.  Ten minutes before Dan was to go up to relieve John as Duty Pilot, the first batch of shrimp was done.  Wendy handed him a heaping bowlful of shrimp, on a bed of rice.  Before going forward, he thanked the two women for the steaming shrimp and fried rice, and congratulated newly promoted Major West.
   Dan waked onto the Flight Deck, guardedly carrying his bowl od shrimp and fried rice, telling John, "Well, guy, you better get down there for yort promotion luau."   
   John replied, "Thanks, guy! I have the ISV's list of stores, and in the compartment of the right arm rest of your chair you will find the list of ours.  Finish eating your meal, and THEN transmit them to the ISV."
   "Have a good time!" Dan replied as John turned to go.
   John walked into the Hall, and Wendy handed him a bowlful of braised shrimp and fried rice.
   "Sharon WILL perform the ceremony, My Love," she told him.
   "Well that would be GREAT," he replied, "Are you going to do theirs?"
   "You are a Captain, too, Your Majorship!  So YOU could legally do it!" she returned, "And the two of you have been through one hell of a lot together."
   "Well," he said, "Let's let them decide who marries them." 
   They walked up to a table that the Renegades made just for this occasion, with the two guests of honor sitting side by side with their mates flanking them. This arrangement was accomplished by taking a smaller rectangular table and pushing it to the head of the Pirates' Table.
   Through the night, toasts were made and stories told, with no alcoholic beverages consumed or even available, on board.  All fun times must some to an end, and Wendy and John, as well as, Sharon and Pamela had to get some sleep. Sharon, who was the next Duty Pilot was to relieve Dan, in only three hours.  Wendy was to relieve Sharon six hours later.  The two couples said their good nights, and each headed to their respective rooms. 
   "Please make sure that you wake me in two hours," said Sharon to her wife. 
   "Don't worry, Honey. I just set the alarm.  Their heads hit the pillows and Sharon was instantly asleep. 
   "How DOES she DO that?!" thought Pamela before she too fell asleep.
Tokx alu tawtute, Tirea Le Na'vi

Niri Te

  CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE 
   "Rewon lefpom oeyä meuianga tsamsiyu. Srak, 'efu ngaru väng?" said Pamela as the fog was lifting from Sharon's sleepy brain.
   "Srane, oeyä hona yawnetu alor.  Srak? Oeru lu 'awve tsngal kofi?" replied Sharon, to the Love of her Life.
   "Srane, oeyä  muntxate, fìtseng lu ngeyä tsngal." and Pamela handed Sharon a hot cup of coffee.
    After the coffee, Sharon and Pamela went to the Hall for some powdered scrambled egg and diced shrimp omelets, and another cup of coffee.  When these were finished, Sharon made for the Flight Deck, cup of coffee in hand.  As she entered, Dan informed her that he had transmitted the data on their Bill of Lading for the Old Dog hours ago, and the ISV had read back the list correctly to him.
   "Good," said Sharon, "Now get out of here, and go relax."
   About ten minutes later, Pamela walked in with a tray of coffee and crackers.
   "Thank you Sweetheart.  It sure is good having you here with me for part of my shift.
   "Oh, it's no bother at all. I enjoy spending time with you," said Pamela, "Do you think that the ISV will be able to use anything that we are carrying?"
   "Well, definitely the shrimp!" said Sharon to Pamela's smiling nod, "But there may be other things as well.  We won't know for sure until they get back in touch with us on their next radio transmission. If they need something, I'm sure they will let us know."
   The two of them sat  for the next hour, each in their own thoughts, and then Sharon broke the ice.
   "Why so quiet, Honey? Is something bothering you?"
   "NOooooo..." replied Pamela, "I'm just wondering if I said something that I shouldn't have yesterday."
   "Well, do you want to talk about it?"  queried Sharon.
   "Tse, Wendy asked me if I thought that you would be willing to marry her and John, as Captain of this Ship, before we docked with the ISV.  I said, 'of course', and I probably overstepped my authority."
   "THAT is what you have been so quiet about for the last hour?" Sharon laughed heartily, and said, "Of COURSE I will marry the two if them!  The next time that you see her, go ahead and tell her."
   "She asked me something ELSE, too." Pamela muttered sheepishly, "She and John want to know if the two of us want one of them to marry us, but I told her that I would have to ask you first."
   "Of COURSE, Sweetheart, I just didn't want to RUSH you," said Sharon. "The only thing IS, that John and I are VERY tight.  We have been through a lot together, and I would really like it if HE would marry us, but I don't want to hurt Wendy's feelings."
   "Oh you Silly Goose, she TOLD me that you would probably say exactly what you just said, and that she would understand perfectly."
  "Well then," advised Sharon, "The four of us need to sit down together, and set some dates."
   "Well, leave that to me,  And I will get us a day and time to discuss when the weddings should take place.  We only have a little over two weeks before we dock with the ISV," said a much relieved Pamela.
   The two of them were so 'jazzed up' about the impending marriages, that Pamela stayed up with Sharon through out her entire shift, and the time seemed to fly for the two of them.
   "Hey you two," mentioned Wendy, as she came up to relieve Sharon.  "You two aren't plotting to take over the ship, are you?"
   "No," answered Pamela, "We were plotting something far more sinister, such as, just WHEN we were going to turn you into an 'honest woman', and marry you off to John!"
Tokx alu tawtute, Tirea Le Na'vi

Niri Te

 CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
"Hey John, did you see Dan yet?" Asked Sharon, as she and Pamela grabbed some coffee and
crackers in the Galley.
"Yeah, he said that you are fine with doing the Ceremony, and would like me to marry the
two of you," said John.
"That would be a good thing, now we just need to come up with WHEN to perform the two Ceremonies,"
replied Sharon. " see what you two can come up with for when, and we'll do it. Right now Pamela
and I are going to our place, and do some serious studying on Conjunctions".

Once Sharon and Pamela had showered, and wound down enough to study, Pamela pulled her touch pad
out of her uniform,that was laying over a chair, and started the lesson on Conjuntions.
"I found twenty-eight conjunctions in Dr. Grace's dictionary. Of these we know three already.
SÌ which means AND; ULTE which also means AND but when you are joining clauses, and we know
SLÄ, which means BUT."  Sharon snuggled closer to Pamela on their bed.
   "Eltu si!" said Pamela with a playful tap on Sharon's noggin, and a girlish giggle. "If we
learn four more, we will have conquered one quarter of our conjunction list.  Look over this list
and choose four that you think you would use most often in conversation."
Sharon took the Touch Pad in her hands and examined the list with furrowed brow.
"ALU, which is, WHICH IS!"
"FU meaning OR"
"HUFWA which means ALTHOUGH and sounds like HUFWE, wind."
"and TXO which means IF"
"SO HA'! GREAT! Now let's find some sentences that will help us remember these.
"ALU - she announced as she began an electronic search.  Here's one that we can adapt for the
future:
Ma frapo, ayngaru oeyä tsmukit alu Newey: everybody, to you all is my sister, which is Newey.
She changed a few words and handed it to Sharon, who sounded out the words carefully:
"Ma frapo, ayngaru lu ayngeyä mipa munsnati alu Ma Ìohn sì Ma Wendy.
"Munsnati means couple,  MUNE, two, and SNA'o, GROUP, group of two.  You will want to memorize
this sentence for their wedding day. "
   "You should like this sentence, ma oeyä hona tsamsiyu!" offered Pamela. "Tìng Tsung Fu Terkup!" 
Give ground! (surrender) OR Die"
   Learn THIS one, also:  Hufwa txan hufwe fìtrr, ayoeng tsivayon." Although it is very windy
today, we will fly.  Sharon was pleased with herself for translating this.
   "The last sentence is directly out of Dr. Augustine's book:
   "So here is our sentence to memorize for the word TXO:
   "Txo ke nìyo' tsakrr nìyol." It's a Na'vi proverbial phrase.  It means, "If you can't be
flawless, at least be brief!"

With that, Pamela and Sharon touched ther devices together, and the data was immediately copied
to Sharon's, for her to study on her next duty shift.
The two of them sat up for another twenty minutes, discussing the ISV, the two weddings, and the
operations of the Shrimp farm, and Vegetable garden before turning in.
Tokx alu tawtute, Tirea Le Na'vi

Niri Te

 
CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
  "SOoooo...,are you available to officiate at our wedding tomorrow, Sharon?"
   "Sure, John, whenever you two love birds want me to.  While we are at it, could you return the favor, the day after tomorrow?"
   "As you wish, Sharon!  Whatever you and Pamela want."
   "Cool.  I'm going to grab some coffees for Pamela and I.  Do you want me to grab you one?"
   "No, I'm good," replied John, "You two enjoy yourselves for the next shift and a half."   Sharon waved over her shoulder, as she headed for the coffee pots at the galley.
   "Here, Honey!  I made this just the way you like it."  said Sharon as she slowly closed their door with the heel of her foot.  She then handed Pamela, who was sitting on the bed, her cup of coffee, pulling up a chair and sitting so their knees touched.
   "Why thank you, Honey, that was really sweet of you!" whispered Pamela.
   "Well, I have a bit of news for you, Oeyä Muntxate.  John and Wendy want me to marry them during my next duty shift, and then HE will marry the two of us the day after, on HIS duty shift."
   "That would really be great!" exclaimed Pamela, as her mate got up from the chair, walked around the foot of the bed, and lay crosswise next to her, using the vacated chair as the table for the coffee cup.
   Sharon asked, "Would you mind if I asked if we got married in our military uniforms, my love?"
   Pamela replied, "If you show up at EITHER service without your military uniform, I will send you BACK here to get into the Uniform of the Day," she said with a sly grin.   But immediately her countenance changed and she added wistfully, "I wish we had our Dress Blues with all our medals.  Now THAT would have been PROPER!"
   "My Love, if we would have stopped for those, we probably would not have made it off-world, alive."
  "Oh, I agree. But you can't blame a girl for dreaming!" said Pamela  with such an adorable pout, that Sharon regretted not having already showered.
   "Well, we will be Avatars on Pandora, not American Military Officers, so it wouldn't be much longer that the two of us would have a need to wear our Dress Blues anyway", reminded Sharon. "Sure, I will get a set of Major's Rank insignia while in the ISV, but other than THAT, it doesn't much matter WHAT my rank was in the military, or yours, my most ravishing Captain!"
   "That's right, oeyä yawnetu. And just remember, that no matter how many samsiyu you may someday command, I am the Captain of Your Heart!" Pamela responded with an elvish grin.
  "Honey, I have a question for you concerning Na'vi, and it is something simple, but I can't seem to get it to stick in my little brain. It concerns Lenition.  I know about 'A' at the beginning or ending of a word, but I haven't a clue about substituting 'S' for 'Ts', a regular 'T' for 'Tx', nor 'H' for 'K'.  Could you please put on your Karyu hat for a little bit?"
   "O.K. The 'A's are NOT lenition.  But are attached to the front or back of an adjective, but I can see that you are concerned about words that change under certain conditions.  Pamela pulled out her ever-present Touch Pad.  "Here is the noun KARYU."  She typed in five letters and the word KARYU appeared on her screen.  "But when the word is pluralized, the 'K' changes to an 'H'."
   MEHARYU
   PXEHARYU
   AYHARYU, which is redundant, actually, because if you remove the AY, it still means TEACHERS. Now try it with the word, KOAKTE.  "Your assignment, if you are willing to accept it, is to find the nouns that start with K and lenit them.
  "Now let's take the word TEYLU.  Usually, you pluralize by adding AY to the from of a noun; except that the 'T' is lenited to an 'S'."
   "AYSELU ? or plain SEYLU! Kefyak?" asked Sharon.
   "Eyawr!  Now find three nouns that start with 'T'.  We will continue with more of these as we progress."
   "Wow! For a Stone Age People, the Na'vi language sure is complicated!" marveled Sharon.
   "Well, Sharon.  Dr Frommer, the Linguist who worked with  Doktok Grace, revealed that complexities can relate to language and relationships just as thoroughly as to mechanics and science."
   "That is true, my Love," said Sharon as she got up, kissed Pamela on the ear, She stripped off her clothing, heading for the shower.  Shortly she returned, stood momentarily at the head of the bed, and asked,
"So, I'm I the Teacher's Pet?"  as she peeled back the corner of the covers
Tokx alu tawtute, Tirea Le Na'vi

Niri Te

 

CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
   "Tìng säpom! Tìng säpom!" giggled Pamela as she showered Sharon with kisses.
   "I wasn't too hard to wake up, was I?" asked Sharon.
   "No, Honey, I only had to kiss you three times and you started coming-to."
   "Well, I guess we had better get ourselves to the hall for some breakfast, and to make sure that neither one of out two lovebirds have gotten cold feet," said Sharon, as she accepted the mug of coffee that Pamela offered her.
   "Well, that would be a good idea, Sweetheart.  But let's just sit here and enjoy our first cup together," suggested Pamela.
   "You are right, Honey.  I guess that sometimes I am just in too much of a hurry to be on top of a situation, that I don't slow down and relax with you," admitted Sharon.  Pamela smiled, and the two of them S-L-O-W-L-Y enjoyed their coffee, and a few crackers before heading to the Hall.
   Upon entering the Hall, the two of them noticed that everyone but Wendy was there.  John had proceeded them into the galley by only a few moments to grab some breakfast, and chat for a while before relieving his soon to be 'official' muntxate.
   "Hey, John! What looks good?" asked Pamela. 
   "Well, the eggs and fresh mushrooms look fine, but then I never get tired of eggs," he replied.
   "I'm the same way", responded Sharon, "I could enjoy them til the cows come home.  There are so many different ways to prepare them." 
   "I would get tired of them REAL quick at some of the duty stations that I used to be stationed at," commented Pamela.  "But that was because the DOLTS that we had in some of the forward operating bases that I was assigned to, only knew how to fry or scramble fresh eggs, and scramble powdered ones.  The first time that I met my wife, she took POWDERED eggs and made egg drop soup from them, and some bouillon cubes.  I knew right THEN that one way or the other, if she did NOT date outside her gender, I was going to give her the idea to marry me!"
   "I didn't stand a chance." said Sharon, as she popped a fresh mushroom in her mouth.
   After an hour chatting with John, he left to go relieve Wendy, stating, "We don't want her nodding off during her own wedding."
   "Well, let's go and check on the two farms," suggested Pamela, and the both of them walked to the produce and shrimp farms, at the stern of the ship.  Once they were satisfied that everything was as it should be, with the food production, they returned to their place for some 'alone time'.  While in their room, Pamela suggested that they take a short nap prior to getting ready for Sharon's shift and John and Wendy's marriage.
   "Time to put on your Sunday Best, my Love.  There you are! Back among the living! Don't worry, we are actually running a little early, Sweetheart."
   "Irayo, Ma Hona Yawnetu," said Sharon, as she started firing on all cylinders.  Sharon made a dash for the shower and fifteen minutes later, was putting on her best flight suit.  Not long after Sharon was cleaned up, dressed up, combed out, and coffeed-up, Pamela was putting on her Battle Dress Utilities.  Five minutes after that they walked into the Hall together.
   "You ready to go, John?" asked Sharon, with a twinkle in her eye.
   "Sure am, Sharon!  Let's DO this!" replied John enthusiastically!
   The entire ship's company minus the duty pilot Dan, and the bride, walked on board the Flight Deck together, and waited for the Bride's entrance."
   Five minutes later, Wendy walked on board, dressed in honor of all their hopes for the future, in a tewng with strategically placed beaded necklaces covering portions of her breasts. 
   No one was shocked, or in any way acted inappropriately.  The two lovers held hands, and Sharon walked in front of the two of them. 
   "Ship's company, it is my extreme pleasure as one of the Duty Captains of this vessel, to unite these Mefo fpì sleyku Muntxatan sì Muntxate eo Eywa.  Is there anyone in this company that can give good reason why these two should not be joined eo Eywa?"
   After several moments of respectful silence, Sharon took John's left hand in her left hand, and Wendy's right hand in her right, and place John's hand on top of Wendy's saying, "Oeyä Tsmukan, do you promise to love this Tute as you love life itself?" 
   John nodded, and said, "I promise this before Eywa."
   Then Sharon asked Wendy, "Oeyä Tsmuke, do you promise to love this Tutan as much as life itself?"  Wendy looked at her Yawnetu, smiled, and professed, "Eo Eywa, I promise this!"
   Sharon smiled at the both of them, and said, "Then as Captain of this ship, I now pronounce the two of you, Muntxatan, sì Muntxate. AND!  You may now KISS THE BRIDE!"  John was so overjoyed that he performed the famous dip and kiss.  The ship's company no longer remained silent.  A spontaneous cheer went up and they all crowded around the Happy Couple.
   Later, while everyone was still on the Flight Deck, John asked Sharon and Pamela, "Would you like your ceremony to also be mostly nìNa'vi?"
   Sharon and Pamela both nodded yes, so John asked Pamela, "I can't recite the ceremony on the fly, like Sharon did.  Could you right it down for me?"
   Pamela said, "Of course!"
   "But Pamela!" he cautioned, "Not too elaborate!"  The two couples laughed and as they turned to leave the Flight Deck, they noticed that the remaining crew members, lacking swords, had made an imaginary arch for the Newly Weds to exit through.  Sharon and Pamela raised their arms as the first part of the arch,  And when the Couple had passed, Sharon gave a kiss to Pamela and sent her along.  All but Sharon proceeded to the Hall, for some skewered shrimp and rice.
Tokx alu tawtute, Tirea Le Na'vi

Niri Te

  CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE

   "Hey Honey, would you like a pound or two of skewered shrimp?"
   "SURE, Babe!  I LOVE that stuff.  I'm glad that you could spirit some away from the Pirates, to bring me some, way up here at the helm," replied Sharon.
   "OH!  They made SURE to save some for the woman who performed the first marriage EVER, on this vessel!"
   "Well, you brought these up here to me, do you want any?" asked Sharon.
   "Oh, perhaps I'll help you by eating one or two of them, but I'm pretty full right now, My Love."
   Pamela stayed up with Sharon for the first half of her Duty Shift, but then went back to their quarters, saying, "Please wake me up when you come in, O.K.?" to which Sharon agreed.
   She stared out the window at Neptune, now the the same visual size as the Full Earth moon as it used to be seen from Earth.  It was visibly growing much larger every duty shift, and she thought, "Soon, very soon, we will dock with the ISV."
   She spent the rest of her shift occupied by her normal duties of monitoring the ship's systems, and safe progress, only occasionally glancing at the planet.  The orbital path of Neptune was being approached by the Old Dog at a rate of slightly over half a million miles an hour.  The Old Dog would intersect Neptune's orbit in four days.
   "Well, Sharon, are you ready to spend your last unmarried night with your Sweet Wife?" asked Wendy as she entered the Flight Deck to relieve Sharon. 
   "I sure AM Wendy!  I'll see you sometime tomorrow afternoon," said Sharon as she headed for the ship's quarters.
   As Sharon opened the door, she noticed the small study light on, and the Na'vi words to their marriage ceremony tomorrow almost completely written down, with Pamela asleep over them.
   "Sweetheart, it's time to go to bed. You can finish this in the morning.  Come on, Honey.  There you go.  Let's get you to bed."
   Pamela opened her sleepy eyes, and said, "I guess I fell asleep, huh?"
To which Sharon answered, "Yes, Honey, you did.  Let's get the both of us to bed.  You can finish this in the morning."
    She and Pamela stripped down and fell into the bed.  Once the both of them were settled, Sharon turned out the light.  In less than a minute, they were both asleep, in each other's arms.
Tokx alu tawtute, Tirea Le Na'vi

Niri Te

  CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX 
   Pamela and Sharon walked into the galley and grabbed a cup of coffee, and a healthy scoop of shrimp omelette each, and headed for the Pirate's Table together.
    "Aye! and such a motley looking collection of misfits, degenerates, scalawags, and bilge rats I have never seen above decks on a ship before! A crusty barnacle, each and every one of you here at this table!" said Sharon as she and Pamela sat down with their mates.
    "Well, 'tis a good thing to see, that our leader has ot lost her keen eye sight from the flow of the tides of time!" responded Chip, with everyone else at the table responding with a hearty "ARRRR!"
  "What the hell was THAT all about?!" asked Wendy as she entered from the companion way.
   "AYE and whom be THIS fair young lass walking below decks on our fine ship?" offered Steve, in keeping with the mood of the moment.
   "This be the CAPTAIN of this fearsome brig, you mangy bilge rat!  Hold yer tongues lest I have ye all lashed to the mizzenmast and FLOGGED!" ad-libbed Wendy in fine fashion.
   "And who be invitin' our fine Captain to share our meager rations with us at our humble table?" said Jim, as everyone raised their coffee cups skyward and shouted, "AYE!"
   Wendy sat down next to Sharon and said, "Well, are you ready to make your relationship LEGAL?"
   "That we ARE," said Sharon, as Pamela handed her the words for the Na'vi ceremony, to pass along to Wendy.
   "So, are you two going to go in uniform, or nìNa'vi?" asked Wendy.
   "We discussed that this morning as well as yesterday after your ceremony," said Pamela, "...and we both came to the conclusion that unless, absolutely ordered to, by 'Superiors', the morning after we meet the Na'vi, we will NEVER wear sawtute clothing again.  Because of that, we will wear our uniforms today."
   "It is settled then, except for the words of the ceremony, it will be as close to a military service as this batch of pirates and I can make it!" said Wendy.
   "I'm sure that it will be just fine, what counts HERE is the camaraderie, and desire to do something nice and heartfelt, for two of their company," replied Sharon.
   "O.K., so when do you two want to do this?" asked Wendy, "Just so John has enough time to study what you wrote for him, Pamela."
   "Well, if you want to give him that now, it would give us time to whip-up a little Something to bring him to munch on afterwards," said Pamela.
   "OH, You two are NOT going to work on the meal on your wedding day.  I don't care HOW much you both love to cook," stated Transport Jim flatly.  "I used to be a really good cook, and I would LOVE to do this for you two."
   Sharon and Pamela acquiesced, and Transport Jim tapped Steve on the shoulder to help him round-up the Fixin's from the produce farm.
   An hour later, they all entered the Flight Deck for the Wedding.  Dan and John switched places, to free-up John from his Flying Duties. John perched his reading glasses upon his nose, and cleared his throat.  He extended his touch-pad to full-arm's length, and briefly referred to the notes.  He looked up at all his friends and said, "ATTENTION ON DECK!"  They had already given him their full attention!
   "Today we gather to celebrate the Union of this Couple as a PAIR.  In Na'vi the word is MUNSNA, from Mune, which means Two, and Sna'o, which means SET."
He paused and beamed at the two and especially at Pamela.  As an aside, he told her, "You see!  I did some research too!"  He returned his gaze to the crowd behind the pair and said, "Yes, I am the Acting Captain.  But I have no more authority to PROCLAIM these two as WIFE and WIFE, than they themselves!"  There are no symbolic rings for these two - only the words and ideas are their promise - their BINDING promise.
   "Ma Pamela! Srak, nga lu panutìng a yawne ma Sharonit sweylu atxan sno nìmrey?"  Pamela, with shaking knees, pressed her left hand to Sharon's heart, and locked her eyes to hers.
   "Oel panutìng eoEywa!"
   Sharon then placed her right hand over Pamela's heart.  John peeked at his touch screen once again, and asked;
   "Ma Sharonil? Srak lu panutìng yawne alu Pamelati txana sweylu sno nìmrey?"
   "Oel panutìng hu oeyä txe'lan nìwotx!" Sharon had faced every danger and adversity that war and life had thrown at her, but this event trumped them all.  Their radiant smiles disappeared in a cloud of dark hair, as Sharon leaned forward.
   John said, "I don't have to tell you, POM FÌTSAP!  Kiss each other!"
  The applause was thunderous.
   "Ma FRAPO! Ayngaru oeyä mìpa munsna alu SHARON sì PAMELA!"
   More cheering as the beaming couple was joyously mobbed.
Tokx alu tawtute, Tirea Le Na'vi

Niri Te

 
CHAPTER SIXTY -SEVEN
   "Honey, let's take a nap together, so that you are rested for your Duty Shift," suggested Pamela.
   "You will get no arguments from ME, oeyä Yawnetu," agreed Sharon, "It is VERY poor form to fall asleep while piloting this ship."
   Four hours later, they went to the Hall to grab lunch, and to socialize.
    "Well, do you feel any more legal now?" asked Transport Jim, of them both.
   "That all depends upon WHICH sanctioning entity you are speaking of.  The no longer in de facto existence ones on Earth, or Eywa," responded Pamela.
   "I know what you mean.  I have something troubling me deeply.  Do you think that Eywa will speak for my True Spirit to the Na'vi?  If so, there is something else, just as important to me: Do you REALLY think that she would go to the trouble of preparing a Na'vi to meet a middle-aged, slightly balding man, who has not proven to be a meuianga tsamsiyu in the past?  And could ANY Na'vi EVER love me if I was accepted by a clan?
   "OH JIM!  How could Eywa NOT see your heart, and absolutely accept you!?  I would guess that Eywa knows what you did to get us off that dying planet.  I think she will WELCOME your return.  When you connect with her, she will see your TRUTH, your fear, your shame, AND your willingness to serve the People.  Furthermore, as more Na'vi KAME who you truly are, the right Tute will emerge for you. Tìefumi oeyä, my feeling is that Eywa is going to give you a second chance!"
   "Thank you so very much.  Your words have given me much heart," he said, and walked toward his quarters.
   "I SWEAR that if it is possible for a sawtute to BE a tsahik, you would be the one for OUR little clan.  At LEAST, until we are absorbed by a genuine Na'vi clan on Pandora," praised Sharon.
   "Mind if we join you?" asked Sharon of Chip, Steve, and Renegade Jim.
   "No, not at all!  William is up forward, working out some minor course corrections that will put us on a more direct intercept course with the ISV," said Chip.
   "Well, that's good," mentioned Sharon, "That will leave John and I with less maneuvering to have to do in close to the ISV."
   "Honey, would you like me to scramble up some mushroom omelets for us?" suggested Sharon.
   "I'll help," volunteered Pamela. And the two of them made off for the galley.
As they entered the galley, Jim observed, "I'm telling you, they are so CUTE together.  They are almost TOO wholesome.  It is not quite but almost as out of the ordinary as the old black-and-white family fantasy TV shows in the era of the 1950's."
   "THIS is coming from the guy that has been divorced THREE TIMES and ran away to the bottom of the Pacific to get away from the bill collectors of Wife Number Three.  Are you sure that you are not a little bit jealous?" asked Chip.
   Sharon and Pamela brought their late lunches back to the table, immediately quashing any further discussion on the desirable abnormality of their relationship.
   "So, what do you guys think our reception on the ISV will be like?" asked Pamela.
   "Oh, I think that they are going to have an official ceremony for the new Majors, and that will probably be that last one done by, or for, Earth Military Personnel.  We, and the Avatars on Pandora are the last Earthlings left alive, thanks to arrogant corporate greed," offered Steve.
   "That may all be true," thought Sharon aloud, "I'm thinking that everyone will get a little over a year's Light Duty.  The number of qualified Flight Crew members will double.  So if all the qualified pilots shared Flight Duties, the time between our shifts would be doubled, or we would only have two hour shifts.  This would give all of the pilots lighter, shorter, and less frequent duty shifts until we cleared the Oort Cloud, allowing us to build up our individual reserves for the long interstellar flight to Pandora."
   "Then why not just leave the two crews together, and the Old Dog piggy-backed on the ISV?"  questioned William who had recently joined the group at the table,  "That would keep us ALL at our best.  Get the Old Dog out there without any further stress on her systems, and we could convert more of the holds into additional farms for food.  You guys on the Flight Crew are doing most of the work here, and the rest of us are getting a free ride.   You could put us to work setting up, and running the produce and shrimp farms, as well as harvesting the yields.  If needed we could transfer some of our hydrogen to them, as we would be burning nothing."
   "That would be an ideal situation for all concerned, but THAT scenario is the sole prerogative of Colonel Hill.  We will just have to wait and see how he feels about that idea," counseled Sharon.
   A little over an hour later, Sharon and Pamela walked onto the Flight Deck, relieving Dan.  After he was gone, Sharon received a radio message from the ISV giving their radar distance measurements of the two ships, which were identical to the Old Dog's read-outs.  After doing a few quick calculations, Sharon said, "We are seventy-two hours from initiating docking maneuvers, my Love.
Tokx alu tawtute, Tirea Le Na'vi