The Great Cross

The Peregrine, CHAPTER II.

There are about thirty Nomad ships with about fifty thousand crew.

The Stellar Union is expanding through the Great Cross spatial volume toward Sagittari and the Galactic Center  - where human civilization will later be based. The Nomads are on the Sagittari-ward frontier and spreading into unmapped space although those Nomads who want "'...new horizons...'" (p. 6) are regularly voted down by those who prefer to continue trading within known territories. It sounds as though the Nomads are becoming less Nomadic. Now that they are no longer a single ship but a fleet, they want to remain close enough to meet once a year on Rendezvous. Women marry into their husband's ships.

In the Great Cross:

five Nomad and some otherling, including four Tiurnan, ships have disappeared but none belonging to either Coordination or Survey - they would investigate;

there are many terrestroid planets but few seem to be inhabited;

the few inhabited planets seem to be familiar with space travelers although there have been no visits from known civilizations;

there are identical plant species on six uninhabited planets;

four centuries ago, Tiurnan explorers did not notice any identical plants.

Hypothesis: a powerful civilization lying between the Union and Galactic center is taking countermeasures.

Action: Nomad ships will avoid the Great Cross except the Peregrine which will explore while meanwhile receiving 20% profits from everyone else until next rendezvous.

The issue will come to a head long before then.