The Omicron Matter

Synopsis

The second entry in the Finder’s Sage.  The story starts a day after Millicent’s crew has rescued Eleanor from John Smith. But the cost of that rescue was dear.  Jason and John have minor injuries. Felicity’s face has been horribly burned by acid thrown by Neville Carter-Fraser in the basement brawl.  And Rachael’s spine has been injured and she cannot move her legs.  John Smith informed Millicent that Guild has shifted and her sponsor cannot protect her or Earth anymore.  Millicent is no longer as confident as she used to be.

How will the team recover and what will they do? Eleanor is back and Simone has joined Millicent’s band of contractors.  The secret to making the mysterious Omicron seems buried in Sean McNeil’s notebooks. Can Jason and Rachael figure it out? Smith wants access to information about the Omicron. Will Millicent be able to bargain with Smith and what will it cost her and the team to make such a deal?  Ultimately, Millicent knows she needs to go before the Guild Council. She needs to know if she has its support or if Earth is no longer hers to protect.  Millicent and her team will be making a journey of time, distance and spirit from the heart of London to the far reaches of the Galaxy.

Chapters

Chapter 1 – A Father’s Anguish – After a day, Mordechai Weiz has come to see his daughter. Millicent knew she would have to face him, but, for once, she doesn’t have the right words.

Chapter 2 – Aftermath and Resolution for Eleanor–  Two days after the rescue, Eleanor is now ready to face her family. She is still coming to terms with her grief and anger over the abduction and the killing of her brother. Simone is now a part of her life. With the collar, Eleanor needs to be close by to help if things go bad.

Chapter 3 – Recuperating in Skilly – Smith and his group have retreated to the remote islands off Cornwall to recuperate and regroup. John Smith and Alfred Redman have a conversation by the fire discussing the past few weeks and what is to come. Alfred provides advice on dealing with Winifred Stanhope and Camille reveals Winifred’s new hand is quite a bit more than a hand.

Chapter 4 – Jason learns new ways to see information – Jason works with Rachael to start indexing his father’s notebooks.  John interrupts the two of them. Jason has never settle matters with John and this becomes the opportunity.  Jason finds out John’s childhood was very difficult. Others join and each person, even Simone, had challenges in school around how to fit in.

Chapter 5 – Rachael’s Rehabilitation – Rachael is finally allowed out her bed after weeks of recuperation as her spine healed. She gets her wheelchair and starts learning to function without the use of her legs. But she now comes face to face with the challenges her new life will bring.  It may be more than she can take.

Chapter 6 – Jason and John Build a Water Heater – Jason returns with John to Dunstable to finish the second water heater. John doesn’t understand why he has to go along, but makes the best of the matter. John spends some time with Stephanie and he finds out some of the history of families from Dunstable.

Chapter 7 – A Parley Request is Delivered – Alfred Redman and Winifred Stanhope journey from Skilly back to London to deliver a message from John Smith to Millicent. The two meet with Millicent’s crew and deliver messages at different levels.

Chapter 8  – A Door Chime is Finished – Rachael Weiz with help from the rest of the crew finishes and installs the last portion of the door chime at her father’s shop. Eleanor assists and appreciates the closure Rachael managed to give everyone, including her father.

Chapter 9  – Knowledge Discovered – Jason’s Parents’ house is explored in detail now.  Several startling discoveries are made. Millicent then lets the group know the significance of the discoveries. Their efforts now have new significance. Omicron Devices are finally explained and a new danger is now on the horizon.

Chapter 10  – Conflicts of Interest – John Smith and his group head to Southampton for negotiations with Millicent Morgaine.  Each member of the group has a different idea of the importance of these negotiations. John Smith reveals what his true purpose in meeting with Morgaine is.

Chapter 11 – Negotiations Begin – Millicent and John Smith meet at a restaurant in Southampton. Their positions are exchanged and there is plenty of room for compromise. But Smith has an additional purpose that he discusses with Millicent.

Chapter 12 – Under Flag of Parley – Millicent and Smith have made it clear the two crews will be working together. With amount of bad blood, some arrangement needs to made to deal with likely conflicts.  Rachael and John O’Malley agree to meet with Alfred Redman and Edward Wayland.  After initial posturing, methods for working are agreed to.

Chapter 13 – A  Second Meeting  – Millicent and Smith meet in the tea room a second time.  Smith had said there were choice, but they all seem to involve Earth being taken over and destroyed. As they discuss today, Smith provides a new option that has incredible risks. And only Millicent will be able to guide it.

Chapter 14 – A Working Agreement – Millicent returns from her meeting buoyed by a new choice and tells Rachael she needs to find agreement with Redman.  The parley group meets at the Duke of Wellington a second time.  Differences and damages cannot be forgotten but a bigger issue lies ahead. The challenge will be in getting the two crews to see the greater danger.

Chapter 15 – Animus Possendidi – The final negotiation between Smith and Millicent.  Liam and Alfred Redman are present this time to represent the interests of the crews. Circumstances cause Liam to cross Millicent.   In the end, Liam and Alfred show that Earth interests will be served by Earth inhabitants.

Chapter 16 – A Working Vacation

Chapter 17 – Joint Ventures

Chapter 18 – The Drones Launch

Chapter 19 – A Practice Voyage

Chapter 20 – Goodbyes

Characters

Millicent Morgaine- a long time finder who has been using Earth as a source for her patrons.  Her crew is recovering from the rescue of Eleanor Woodson and tying up loose ends before they leave Earth.

Charles – the ship’s Artificial Intelligence. The long time travelling companion of Millicent.  He keeps the ship running and assists contractors when they arrive. His duties are changing now and old conflict that were long dormant are becoming important once again.

Liam O’Hannigan esq.  – Hackney driver extraordinaire, supplier of useful information, and a person who knows people. He has signed up with this crazy adventure and he is still trying to understand why.

Rachael Weiz – recently graduated student from the University. She is brilliant in small mechanics. Severely injured from the rescue of Eleanor Woodson, she may never walk again. She is also the daughter of Jewish immigrants, strongly attached to her family and was reluctant to sign on as a contractor with Millicent.

John O’Malley Jr. – recently graduated student from the University. Urbane, well read, and knows his way around large machines. Tried to fit in with the upper crust and that didn’t work. Now he has to navigate the angers and resentments of the other contractors he tried to ignore during his university years.

Eleanor Woodson  – recently graduated student from the University. She is brilliant and visionary in the field of aeronautics. Abducted by John Smith and Winifred Stanhope, subsequently tortured and raped, Eleanor must deal with her anger and loss over those events.  Complicating that recovery is Millicent’s need to negotiate with the very people who inflicted that upon her.

Simone Campbell – recently graduated student from the University with a strong background in metallurgy. Born to a high class family, Simone had neither taunted nor paid attention to the middle and lower class schoolmates.  She enjoyed her work at the University but her family had decreed that she would join the insurance and accounting firm. Simone signed up with John Smith to escape that drudgery to find a worse option. When Eleanor was rescued, Millicent’s group brought her along and she now lives with the possibility of dying painful at any moment.

John Smith

Alfred Redman

Camille