Free Terra Dawning by Ben Winston Page B

dear, you handle business. What would you like?” Jorga asked.
    “Uh, Garlic chicken with a side of cream cheese and crab meat wantons and some green tea please,” Ben asked. “Oh! And a glass of Mountain Dew; I'm going to need the caffeine.””
    Jorga nodded to him and looked at Gail. “Want anything, General?”
    “Same as Ben, but make mine General Tso's Chicken please,” Gail replied.
    “Hmm, must be a theme tonight. I have an idea, since our new friends have no idea what to order. Give me a hand with the replicator, Gail?” Jorga asked.
    Gail joined Jorga at the replicator to start carrying stuff to the conference table and setting the table for the meal.
    Deirdre finally got Elrond's attention. “Excuse me Captain, but how many people are we talking about and how are they grouped?”
    Before Elrond could reply, Mother did. “I have forwarded the information to your data pad, Minister.”
    “Thank you Mother,” Deirdre said and moved over next to Arivan to speak with her quietly. “Hi again, it's good that the Council has finally figured out that you're good people. It's a pain in the ass I know, but we have too much at risk here to take chances,” Deirdre said.
    “I think I understand, but can I know what 'too much to risk' entails?” Arivan asked. "I'm still really unclear on exactly what's going on here."
    “This 'pod' is the smallest of about fifteen hundred spread out all over the planet. Our current population is just under two million at this point,” Deirdre stated and watched the woman pale in surprise.
    “Sorry about the shock, but like I said; we really have to be careful. But the reason I wanted to talk to you before we eat is that it's my job to make sure everyone is taken care of, clothed and fed. Now, I see that you have a total of two-hundred and fifteen people, most of them families.
    “We're going to have a temporary issue with housing. I think I can find housing for everyone, but not all of it will be in this pod. In fact, most of the folks will have to be in the other two pods in our group,” She explained.
    Arivan began to object, but Deirdre stopped her. “Here, let me show you on my pad.” She touched the needed commands to bring up a view of the pod they were sitting in, showing them sitting in Ben's office.
    She slowly backed the view out until Arivan could see all three pods and the edge of the military base. “As you can see, they really won't be that far away and they can come over here anytime they want. There are no limits or restrictions on traveling. The other pods aren't that far away and we simply don’t have the room in this one. Now that you can see it, do you think that'll be a problem?”
    Arivan shook her head slowly. “No, that should be fine, as long as we don't split up any families.”
    “I agree, I would never allow that to happen anyway. The apartments in the pods are modular so we can adjust them to the size needed for the intended family. Now, there is one other thing we would like to offer you, but I don't want you to be afraid of it,” Deirdre said.
    “What is it?” Arivan asked just as Jorga announced dinner.
    “We have a way of teaching people built into the hypersleep modules that we used to get here. The hypersleep function no longer works, but the sleep teaching does. You can check with Addson Dee if you have questions; she has gone through them. We can offer all of you at the very least our language, but we can also give you all the history we have as well,”” Deirdre explained as she guided her new friend to a chair.
    “That is something I will have to discuss with Elrond. However, I think it might be something that will be accepted on an individual basis; at least at first,” Arivan replied. “Uh, I am unfamiliar with this food; it all smells wonderful.”
    Jorga 'overheard' Arivan's last statement to Deirdre, so she stood. “I know our four new friends are unfamiliar with our food. However, I did check with Doctor Lyam as