Destiny Rising

Space Colony Journals, Volume 2

Gail Daley

Published by Gail Daleys Fine Art, 2019.

Destiny Rising

Space Colony Journals – Vol 2

Gail Daley

Copyright © Destiny Rising 2019 by Gail Daley aka Gail Daley's Fine Arts – Previously published as Forever And A Day

1st edition Copyright © 2016 by Gail Daley dba Gail Daley's Fine Art 2nd edition copyright © by Gail Daley dba Gail Daley's Fine Art

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Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction, and any resemblance to any persons living or dead is unintentional and accidental.

Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

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Forever And A Day – The Handfasting vol 2 - Gail Daley—1st ed. Copyright © 2016 by Gail Daley dba Gail Daley's Fine Art

Cover Art Copyright © 2019 by Gail Daley's Fine Art Used with permission

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Dedication

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TO THE READERS OF MY books who give me the inspiration to keep writing, and to my husband and son who never gave up on me.

About This Book

A marriage of convenience between two determined, strong willed people sparks a planetary war and puts at risk everyone they love.

Laird Genevieve O'Teague, beautiful, and strong-willed became leader of her people at seventeen. Colonel Gideon Michaels had been a soldier who controlled thousands of fighters in the war. When it was over he needed a new home for his orphan niece and his adopted son. Genevieve’s offer would provide both, but could he follow his heart and learn to trust and love his new wife? Vensoog is under attack by pirates and when Genevieve and his niece are kidnapped by an agent of the Thieves Guild, Genevieve and Gideon must learn to rely on each other and their newfound love to defeat their enemies.

The Space Colony Journals are an epic tale of a family’s struggle to survive. Meet the courageous women and dangerous men who carve a home on the alien world of Vensoog.

Acknowledgments

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I WOULD LIKE TO THANK my Beta Readers, Betsy and Ron McDermott and my son Andrew S. Daley who took busy time out of their schedules to read this book and help me tighten it up.

Past Imperfect

GENEVIEVE, Laird of the O’Teague Clan, stood on the terrace of her room in the original O’Teague Manor and looked towards the spaceport. It couldn’t be seen from here yet she knew it was there and felt its presence like a lead weight on her heart. She grimaced. Today was her last day as an unmarried woman. Tomorrow, the ship Dancing Gryphon would begin unloading its passengers and cargo. Her younger sister Katherine would be bringing down the man who was going to be sharing her life and her bed for the next year. Although she knew and accepted the necessity for the coming Handfasting, she had hidden her inner reluctance from Katherine, whose plan it had been, and from her clan who were depending on her for leadership.

When the Karamine biogenetic weapon struck Vensoog in the final three years of the war killing or sterilizing all the male humans, it had been a devastating blow to the two-hundred-year-old colony. Since the Karaminetes only used the bio-bomb on planets they planned to resettle, the virus had a very short life span and soon dissipated.

Two years later, the treaty declaring peace was signed and the Confederated Worlds began the slow road to recovery. It did not take the Vensoog Clans long to realize they were in deep trouble. The additional loss of most of the men and woman on the five ships supplied to the war effort by the Vensoog Clans had only worsened the problem created by the bioweapon. With no additional children being born, the colony population would die out within three to four generations.

Genevieve’s younger sister Katherine had come up with a solution to the dilemma. The planet needed a fresh supply of healthy sperm to maintain a good genetic balance. Since the Vensoog people shunned the cloning of humans, Katherine had concluded they needed a fresh batch of male colonists. Vensoog had been lucky in that they still had a viable planetary ecosystem; a few planets had simply been burned off, leaving thousands of souls homeless. Since the weapon seemed to have had a very short shelf life, bringing in a fresh supply of genetic material should solve the problem. In accordance with Katherine’s plan, she and her Aunt Corrine had gone to Fenris, where most of the returning soldiers from this area were being decommissioned and offered them a new home, providing they were willing to join one of the Vensoog Clans by entering a ‘Year And A Day’ Handfasting rite with a suitable Vensoog woman. Or if the new immigrant didn’t want to be matched for some reason they could choose to supply sperm or ova (if the soldier happened to be female) for the planetary genetic banks. These Donations would be later developed into embryos and implanted in living volunteers. Tomorrow Katherine and representatives from the other Clans would be returning home with the first round of new immigrants.

To persuade their fellow clanswomen to participate, both Katherine and Genevieve had signed up to be Handfasted. Showing the strength of their confidence and belief in the program by signing up for it inspired the young women of the Clan to participate. Katherine’s Handfasting program, unlike the previous Match program used by the Makers was designed to pair couples not just for genetic diversity, but the personality and lifestyles of the women with their prospective husbands, thus ensuring a happy joining. The couples would be joined for a Year And A Day, after which they could dissolve the union or opt for the ‘Forever And A Day’ Handfasting Ceremony, which was a lifetime commitment. Not all the new immigrants were male, some of the returning soldiers had been women and they too were offered Clan membership. Those immigrants already in committed relationships had been offered full clan membership for their families as well, but they were expected to Donate to the planetary banks. The sperm or ova would later be combined, as the Maker Program deemed suitable to create children. The donors could raise the children if they chose, but the most common situation was for the children to be adopted by childless clan members.

Genevieve had a great deal of faith in her sister’s programming skills, but she knew the kind of bad boy traits she had been attracted to in the past would not make a suitable husband in the long run, and probably not in the short term either. To rule wisely, she needed the kind of man who would prove a good counterbalance for her. She needed and wanted the kind of partnership she had seen in her parents before their deaths. She didn’t need another handsome, selfish charmer in her life. Don’t be such a wuss she chastised herself. This man won’t be like Gregor. You’re older and wiser now and Katherine’s program would have taken into account what she needed wouldn’t it? Genevieve studied the image of Gideon Michaels on her personal com. He certainly didn’t look like a man who depended on his charm or looks to get by. He wasn’t bad looking, but his blunt features held both strength and determination. His face showed none of the wild recklessness that had characterized Gregor Ivanov.

Maybe it would be all right, she thought hopefully. She needed a good, solid man who would come to care for the Clan as much as she did she reminded herself, and going by the steady set of Gideon’s eyes and the firm set of his mouth under that beak of a nose, Katherine had provided that. Genevieve knew that many of the Clan thought she still mourned the loss of the wild young man from the neighboring clan who had so nearly charmed her into marriage. Well, what they didn’t know couldn’t hurt them, she thought wryly.

The scent of the river and the soft breeze of the cooling summer night caused eleven years to drop away and she was again that seventeen-year-old girl facing the man she might have loved and refusing to elope with him and abandon her people and Vensoog to the mercies of the Karamites. It had been a shock to realize Gregor didn’t care what happened to her or Clan O’Teague if he wasn’t going to rule. She had stared at him in disbelief and horror when she recognized that he had fully intended to take over the Clan when they married, regulating her to an insignificant nothing. Gregor had apparently intended to use her status as Laird of O’Teague as a steppingstone to conquer the rest of Vensoog and overthrow the current Matriarchal Clan system. When the war disrupted his plans, he had decided to run rather than stay and defend Vensoog from the Karamines.

At the beginning of the war, the Parliamentary Council had announced that as a member of the Confederated Worlds, Vensoog was requested to supply both resources and staffing for five troop ships, which they had done. Genevieve’s father had commanded one of them. The Blackhand, Gregor’s ship in orbit, was not on the list of ships provided by Vensoog. In fact, Genevieve had begun to suspect that the Blackhands crew was responsible for the recent raiding of outlying O’Teague farms. What’s more, she had discovered that Gregor knew something about the raids he wasn’t sharing with his Grand Duke, but she had no proof of anything and she had been reluctant to admit she could have been so wrong about him. When Gregor had come back tonight to ask her to escape with him on the Blackhand, he told her that as first officer he could guarantee her a place aboard ship. She had refused and in the end, she had used her special talent against him to keep him from forcing her to go with him. When he realized she meant what she said, he had damned her as he went to join the crew of the shuttle waiting for him. As a final insult, he had shot into her airsled, trapping her ten miles from the nearest homestead and preventing her from warning anyone about the coming raid.

Her youngest sister Drusilla burst in abruptly jerking her thoughts back to the present.

"Aren’t you getting ready yet? We have that banquet in Port Recovery tonight with the other Clan chiefs and we need to leave in about an hour."

Genevieve smiled at her. Drusilla was turning into a lovely young woman. Drusilla had very ably taken over the management of O’Teague lands while Genevieve had been attending Katherine’s seat in Parliament. She had organized tomorrow’s ceremony and the journey back to Glass Isle. Much tinier than Genevieve, she still had the family red hair and grey eyes.

"I’ll be ready when it’s time. I was just thinking," Genevieve replied. "Is that what you’re planning to wear?"

"Why not? I’m just the youngest sister, I don’t have to intimidate or impress anyone tonight," Drusilla replied. At sixteen, her fresh face was bare of makeup, and she had yet to put her short dark red hair into the elaborate hairstyles favored by the elite of the Clans.

"Oh no, you don’t," retorted her sister. "It’s time you took your place among us as a woman of power. You planned and organized all of this. You should take credit for it. Come on, I think I have a gown that will become you and Mary will dress your hair."

As the sisters dressed, Genevieve reminded Drusilla she needed to speak privately to LaDoña DeMedici so she could pass on the message Katherine had sent.

"Do you think she will listen?" asked Drusilla doubtfully. "Isn’t it kind of a criticism of Doña Sabina? I mean we’ll be sort of implying she can’t handle the job, aren’t we?"

Genevieve smiled at her approvingly. "That’s a very astute observation. For that reason, I intend to speak to her alone and be as tactful as I can. I intend to hand her the crystal Katherine sent and urge her to listen to it in private. I want everyone to have eyes on you and not notice when I do it."

Once dressed, the two sisters stood in front of the mirror in Genevieve’s dressing room examining their appearance. For Drusilla’s first public appearance as an adult, Genevieve had put her into brilliant white with a dragon silk, off the shoulder blouse and dressed her dark red hair with small white flowers. The fitted girdle cupping her full breasts was white as were the loose pants and filmy knee-length skirt split up each side to her hips. The only touches of color were the opalescent pendant of the Dragon Talkers, which she was entitled to wear, and a pair of red quartz drop earrings. Drusilla most certainly didn’t look like a child tonight. Her Quirka, Toula who accompanied her everywhere, had been provided with a jeweled collar in matching stones.

Genevieve herself had dressed in her favorite dark green in the same style, and she had wound her fiery red hair into a neat chignon held in place by the golden diadem of her office as Laird. She had been amused when Gorla, her own Quirka had insisted on picking through her jewelry box for a suitable bracelet to wear as a collar.

Seeing the stunned look on her baby sister’s face when she caught her first glimpse of her mirrored image, Genevieve chuckled. "You aren’t a little girl anymore so get used to it, sweetie. Next Planting Festival the Makers will be giving you your Match List and I predict you’ll need to beat the young men off with a stick. I know there isn’t much to choose from right now, but we will be getting some new families joining the clan this time as well as Katherine’s soldiers; perhaps there will be some young men your age. Even if there are no one you like in this round of immigrants, there might be someone in the next wave. This won’t be the last group of displaced colonists to take advantage of our offer you know. Katherine left the program running on Fenris." She frowned, thinking she still had to choose a suitable clanswoman to administer the program on Fenris as well as the other three planets where displaced refugees were being kept.

"Are you nervous Genevieve? I mean about meeting—ah—Gideon, wasn’t it?" Drusilla asked.

Genevieve’s smile turned wry. "Yes, I am, I suppose. I have a lot of faith in Katherine’s programming skills, but you may not remember that I don’t have a very good track record in choosing men."

Drusilla glanced at her speculatively, "That wasn’t your fault. I know what he did."

"I knew what he was doing too," her sister said grimly. "I just couldn’t seem to break free of him until the last, and I had help to do that, didn’t I?"

Drusilla looked a little self-conscious. "You would have done it on your own eventually. You were fighting it."

"Yes, but maybe not before he managed to drag me aboard that ship."

"That wasn’t going to happen," Drusilla said firmly.

"Well, it’s in the past. Better to forget it and move on," Genevieve agreed.

The next day, Genevieve and Drusilla waited in the arrival dome in Port Recovery for the first set of the new colonists to arrive. Because she had wanted a look at Lewiston, Genevieve had arranged for them to be there in time to see the DeMedici party arrive.

"He looks like a vid hero," Drusilla whispered to her as they watched him escort Doña Sabina through the doors.

"Yes," Genevieve replied dryly, "all flash and no substance." Just as Gregor had proved to be, she added mentally. If Katherine’s information about Lewiston’s plans was correct though he might prove a much more formidable opponent that Gregor ever was. While they waited, she continued to watch him out of the corner of her eye to see if she could learn more of his intentions.

Their small party watched the first wave of the DeMedici’s leave the dome and the Yang’s arrive. Lewiston and Doña Sabina however, stayed around, obviously waiting on something.

"They look like tough customers," Drusilla remarked to her after seeing the contingent of men, women and families arriving with Nü-Huang Toshi Ishimara.

"Well, they are soldiers," Genevieve retorted, "not really surprising they’d look like it. I’m glad Toshi Ishimara recruited families the way we did. Did you happen to notice that there weren’t any children with Lewiston’s group?"

"I wonder, is that because Doña Sabina refused to bring them or because Lewiston didn’t want them?"

"I doubt if she would have refused. It’s more likely Lewiston thought families would be a liability to his plans."

About a half hour later, Katherine and Zack walked through the doors with the first party of their new clan members.

Genevieve was only a second behind Drusilla in swamping their sister in a welcoming hug.

"We made it," Katherine declared unnecessarily.

"So I see," Genevieve retorted. "How was the trip out?"

Katherine made a face. "Space sick as usual for the first three days but it’s gone now." She gestured a tall bronze-skinned woman holding two toddlers forward. "Jayne, this is my sister Genevieve, your new Laird. Genevieve this is Jayne, who has agreed to take over as governess for my new family."

Genevieve nodded graciously. "Welcome to Vensoog, Mistress Jayne. I hope you and your children will be happy here."

"Thank you, ma’am," the woman replied.

While Katherine was introducing Jayne to the kennel mistress Margie and her new nanny dogs, Genevieve had time to take stock of the men who had followed Katherine off the shuttle. She was uncomfortably aware of Gideon Michaels studying her as well. She was about to take matters into her own hands and introduce herself when Katherine turned back to her.

"Genevieve, may I present Colonel Gideon Michaels, his son Lucas and his niece Jayla?"

Genevieve held out her hand and Gideon bowed over it, brushing it with a kiss. "Lady Genevieve, I am honored to meet you," he said, retaining his grip on her hand when he rose.

She smiled back at him. "Just Genevieve, please. Since we are to be Handfasted, I suggest we start with first names instead of titles." She turned to Lucas and Jayla. "These are your wards?"

"Yes, this is Lucas Llewelyn and Jayla Michaels." He kicked Lucas in the ankle to get his attention since the boy had apparently not heard the introduction; he had been staring dumbstruck at Drusilla ever since he’d seen her.

"What? Oh, pleased to meet you ma’am," Lucas said, bowing, but his eyes went straight back to Drusilla.

Seeing what had drawn his gaze, Genevieve’s lips twitched, but she turned her attention to Jayla. "Welcome to Vensoog, Lady Jayla," she said as the girl, having been coached by Katherine on the trip out, dropped a curtsey. "Lord Lucas, I am pleased to meet you. I can see you will be a welcome addition to the Clan."

She gestured Drusilla forward. "Gideon, this is my youngest sister, Lady Drusilla. Drusilla has been largely responsible for organizing the ceremony this afternoon and the journey back to Glass City we will take later this week."

"Pleased to meet you," Drusilla said shyly, blushing when she met Lucas’ openly admiring eyes.

"Excuse me," Genevieve murmured to Gideon, gently freeing her hand. "Protocol," as she moved back over to Katherine.

"Lady Genevieve, Lady Drusilla," Katherine said formally. "This is my fiancée Zackery Jackson," she said gesturing to the dark, wiry man standing next to her, "and his wards, the Ladies Violet and Lucinda, and his nephews Lord Rupert and Lord Roderick. And this," she added going to stand behind a young redheaded girl with sharp green eyes, and putting her hands on both the girl’s shoulders, "is my First Daughter, Lady Juliette O’Teague ’Ni Jones. Everyone, this is my sister, your new Laird, the Lady Genevieve O’Teague, and my younger sister Lady Drusilla."

Genevieve’s eyebrows rose in surprise because somehow in all the communications Katherine hadn’t yet informed her that she had chosen a First. She held out both hands to Juliette and said, "Welcome to our family, First Daughter. I am so pleased to meet all of you."

Katherine nodded her thanks. "If you will come with me M’Lady, I’ll present you to some of the other families who landed with us. We can do the formal presentation after everyone has arrived at the Manor house."

"Didn’t Aunt Corrine come down with you?" asked Drusilla.

"Corrine and Vernal will come down with the last group. I hope you don’t mind, Genevieve, but I invited Captain Heidelberg and his officers to the wedding feast this afternoon, so I hope they will accompany the last landing party," Katherine added.

Largely thanks to Drusilla’s organization and Katherine’s efficiency, the first group of new O’Teague clansmen went aboard the paddleboat Saucy Salsa, and headed down the channel towards the outer islands less than an hour after they arrived.

Genevieve had been absurdly conscious of Gideon’s presence while she performed her duties as hostess. Finally, to her relief the family was settled in chairs on the deck as the boat made its ponderous way through the traffic. Gorla, her Quirka, had inspected Gideon earlier from Genevieve’s shoulder and seemed to accept him.

"She’s a cute little thing," he remarked as Gorla preened visibly under his regard.

"Yes, and vain too, I’m afraid. Behave yourself, Gorla!" she scolded. "I’m sorry, I didn’t have much time to make you welcome earlier."

A deep rumble of masculine laughter answered her. "Not to worry," he said. "I’m just enjoying the sights. It’s been a long time since I had leisure just to look around and not worry about where the next attack was going to come from."

"You were career military?" Genevieve asked.

"Yes I was, but now I have Lucas and Jayla to care for. I was ready for something different after the war in any case."

"Well, I can’t promise you no more fighting as we do have the occasional raid from the Wilders in the hills and from a few from Outlaw space ships, but on the whole, we’re a pretty peaceful bunch," Genevieve said.

Gideon nodded. "I understand from Katherine, that handling those types of incursions will be my primary responsibility?" he asked.

"Yes. Traditionally, the Laird’s spouse does handle security for both the Clan and in Glass Harbor City," Genevieve responded. "If you are comfortable with the duty, in the O’Teague Clan the Laird’s husband also coordinates Planetary Security, that of Port Recovery and the waterways used for travel with his opposites in the other Clans."

"At least I won’t be bored," he said smiling.

"It kept my father pretty busy," she acknowledged. "I don’t know what types of things interest you yet though but if you want to take on other pursuits, there will be time for them."

"Perhaps there are some things we can do together?" he asked, reaching for her hand again.

Genevieve put hers into it, enjoying the feel of strength carefully controlled as he clasped hers. "I’m sure we can find something. We will have to return to Port Recovery in a couple of weeks though. There is a Security Council meeting scheduled for six weeks from now. By then all the Clans should have been able to assimilate their new members and we can introduce our new Heads of Security to each other. I probably should warn you that this year it is our clan’s responsibility to chair the meeting of the Security Council."

"Always?" he asked curiously.

"No, just for this year. The Security Chair position rotates every year. When we first settled here, a rotating schedule was set up so no one clan would be able to establish dominance over the others. The Founders were very concerned about not giving any Clan an excuse to set up a power monopoly. Usually we don’t have so many new members to introduce in a session, but so many of the ten Security Council members went off to war that this time we probably will have at least six new members. I thought if I went with you it would give us some time without the entire clan watching us."

"Did you say ten members?" he asked curiously. "I thought there were only eight clans."

"There are, but the Talker’s Guild has a member and so do the Independent Fishers."

Gideon nodded approvingly. "How long will it take for us to travel back and forth?"

"We have air sleds available which make Port Recovery only about a day’s travel from home. We’ll use one of them," she said. "I think we should spend the time until the meeting traveling around the Clan territories so you can get to know those of us who didn’t come to meet you," she added.

He nodded in agreement. "Thank you for arranging some time for us to get to know each other out of the limelight, Genevieve. Seeing the territory is a good idea too. It will give me some idea of what defenses are available and what areas would be likely targets of any Jacks. To design a proper defense against an attack, I really need to see the topography of the area."

"Jacks?" she asked curiously.

He shrugged. "In the forces, we nicknamed the planetary raiders Jacks because they so often ah—hi-jacked items that didn’t belong to them."   

She grinned at him. "Was that a joke?"

He grinned back at her. "Well, it is a bad pun, I admit, but that’s what we called them."

She felt herself relax as their mutual laugher broke some of the tension she had been feeling. It was nice to realize her new husband had a sense of humor matching her own. Bless Katherine’s programming, she thought. "Well," she continued, "after we return from the meeting, we still won’t be totally tied to the Clan territory. We will be returning to Port Recovery each quarter when the Security Council meets. We will be returning for the Planting and Harvest Solstice Celebrations. Those are mainly social functions. Traditionally all the young men and women who have come of age are given a Match List of genetically suitable mates and the celebration provides a time and a place for them to meet young people from other clans. Attending the festivals helps me to keep up with who is who and who is doing what in the other clans."