Complex decisions and the joys of parenting

I am not entirely pleased with recent developments. In fact, some of them have the measurable potential to disturb my carefully nurtured calm. With all the recent quiet on Hale's Moon, events involving folks associated with Hale's Moon haven't escaped my notice. How could they? A Spook never really loses their instincts, no matter how much they might wish they could walk away from that life.

Activity over in the Blue Sun compound has been ramping up recently, though I honestly can't complain. x0x0's kept her promises to me and I've no reason to doubt she's still operating as much on the up and up as she can. Contrary to recent image, there really isn't a lot that happens on this little moon or in the space nearby that escapes my notice. I may not admit I know what's going on, but that's the nature of doing what I do.

Just gives me more reason to get that modular remote maintenance facility off the dock and out here. It's been ready to go for a while. Just waiting on word, and a transport, from me, to get it out here. Given the increase in traffic out this way, it should be possible to get a few medium to large transports together to haul it out here. I know General's got one in his stable, but he's also got to keep it moving on the lucrative routes just to pay for fuel and food for the crew. Keeping a big boat like that in the Black's a lot of work.

I'll have to get the word out locally that we need some large cargoes hauled into orbit here. Even a good sized transport tug'd do the job, though it's a bit too much to haul in any of the medium sized boats that usually pull in here. Still, even if we have to distribute it between multiple runs on multiple boats, it'll save me having to tap one of the company haulers and it'll give the independent Captains out this way some much needed coin.

That was just one issue among many. The platform would give my beloved wife a position closer to home, and would bring additional coin to the colony. We could even use it for orbital cargo transfers to add to the capacity we have now. Not to mention a bit of a good will joint venture with Blue Sun. Not sure how that'll play out, given past ethical issues, but maybe x0x0 and I can do something from an unexpected direction to make the 'Verse a better place.

I wish I could say the same for Krenshar though. Since going to Caliban he's . . . changed. Or maybe he was that way all along and I deluded myself into believing that there was some inherent good in a thinking machine's Ghost.

The random bursts of comms traffic we'd been hearing for several weeks have been, all along, encoded progress reports on whatever project he's got going out there. Direct reports to yet another internal faction within the Alliance: one that's still got an unhealthy interest in Reavers.

Openly, he's said his research on Caliban is into 'fixing' Lily and Aurora. Only they're not broken. While I don't doubt his sincerity in that aspect, I've got to question the ethics of his methods and the need for some kind of fix. While neither of my girls are exactly what would pass for "Normal" in most of the 'Verse, fact is neither of them are broken. They may not be what Mindo had wanted them to be, or what Krenshar wants them to be, but that doesn't make them broken.

My real worry is Aurora. She considers Krenshar her father, which I suppose he is on an emotional level. Genetics not withstanding. Don't think she considers herself to have a mother, since she and Lily are so at odds. She knows about the eleven male gene donors and probably the 'special' genes extracted from the Tam line. I don't think she knows that that combined 'composite male' donor fertilized a single intact egg.

Aurora has a mother.

I just wonder if her learning that truth will change her mind about going to Caliban to be with Krenshar. I tried to give her a good life in a safe environment with a lot of opportunity for her to explore and learn. Apparently, that's not been enough. Or perhaps Krenshar has more power over her then I gave him credit for. Regardless, she's already gone out there several times and plans to go again. Stopping her by force isn't really an option, but I worry more about her welfare than I care to admit. Certainly more than I've shown to anyone.

And then there's Taggart. I told 'Brina they want me back and, not surprisingly, she's none to happy about it. I'm none to happy about it. But ultimately, it may be the only option. Intel section will place more assets on the rim as they become available. The ongoing activity out here has more or less guaranteed that. It'll be in our best interests to have a known quantity inside that chain of command, and I'm about as much 'Known quantity' as it gets.

I just wish this had all come up after taking a vacation...