Rhiannon sat at her desk making some notes. Morning classes had been canceled as something special was planned for the students in the afternoon. They would be making the first tour of the observatory and botanical garden. Her mother had once told her that if you want the truth, ask a child. If the place got the seal of approval from her students, she'd feel more comfortable about the general public wandering through the place.

The project had taken on a life of its own. She had watched her husband, Dennis, taking ideas from his head and putting them into tangible form. She had nudged here and there with suggestions of her own. There was one in particular that had yet to be revealed in the information that was released. The observatory domes were dual purpose, the lower level of each dome held a planetarium. This would be especially good for the youth of the city that didn't spend a lot of hours outside at night. Some special alterations and sound proofing had been done between the floor of observatory and hemispheric ceiling of the planetarium. The general goal had been achieved. The Ravensheart land grant had been turned into something for the entire community. It was a place for learning and community gatherings.

It was Bertie Hall's job to make sure the firm had enough funds to make this thing a reality. Some sizable grants by private donors had more than matched what they had on hand. As was his custom, every copper was accounted for. Bertie could be a shameless flirt when it came to public relations, but he took his profession of accounting as seriously as Maranya Ergin-Falconne did her medical practice. Bertie had earmarked enough funds to pay two years of salaries for several instructors, kitchen help including restaurant staff, and child care workers. Two years was the target for the cafe to become self supporting.

Garrick Brock, the younger, had been running herd on the building crew. He was apprenticing with the firm and had made sure that every detail and measurement matched the blueprints.

When Rhi offered up the names of who she felt should be remembered when it came time for the place to be dedicated, few questions were raised by the firm's founders. Rhiannon's judgment was trusted on the matter. It was, after all, her job to be the public face of the firm of Harker and Hall. When the kids were making their way through the place, the plaques would already be placed. She expected to be answering questions from the children about the names and why she'd chosen them. She hoped she'd done her homework well. A tour of the facilities was to begin the presentation. Rhiannon expected the pool, where many of the students hoped to take lessons or practice what they already knew, to be a highlight. The midpoint would be the visit to the observation deck. Several guests had been invited along. Unless they requested otherwise, any speeches or lessons they would be giving were planned for the topmost levels. A mid afternoon snack would be served to all then it was on to the gardens.

"Mama!" Maggie roused her mother from her thoughts.

"What is it, Maggie?" Rhiannon smiled.

"The kids are loaded up and we're ready to go to the 'servawhosits!!" Maggie grinned brightly.

"Observatory," Rhiannon corrected gently.

"Right and the big garden thing." The girl nodded. "Whatever it's called, we're ready to go!"

Rhiannon had packed aprons, gardening gloves, and other things. She climbed into the mini-bus and a few minutes later, they stood on the main floor of the Rhydin Observatory Complex.

Maggie and Catie squealed in unison. "We're gonna ride the elevator thing!"

Nine year old Limelenath was busy admiring the musical instruments from afar.

The group slowly made their way about the place.

"Miss Shy, do you like looking at the stars?"

The inquiry from the seven year old lass took place inside the theatre known as the Planetarium. A dominant feature of the newly constructed planetarium is the large dome-shaped projection screen onto which scenes of stars, planets and other celestial objects appear and move realistically to simulate the 'motions of the heavens'. It is awe-inspiring to the female Viking, amazing her just as much as it does the children.

"Indeed I do!"

Her gaze drifts over the group of children ranging in age from four to seventeen. "When I set sail with min crew we use natural resources like the wind and the ocean waves to navigate upon the water. Howe'er, the stars are quite important to us. Do you wish to know more about them?"

There are several "I do's!" and "Yes's!" and a lot of nods. Smiles at their eager expressions, and glances at Ms Harker. After receiving the 'okay' from Rhiannon continues, "There are approximately sixty stars, including the Nordstjernen, or North Star, that we utilize while voyaging." She knows she must keep her words as simplistic as possible so the younger boys and girls will not be confused. Even so, she knows there mayhap be questions forthcoming.

"The stars we use are found in various constellations, such as Orion's Belt, and are chosen for their ease of identification and wide spacing. A navigator tries to measure the Altitude of one of these stars above the horizon during twilight, when both the star and horizon are visible.

This yields a circle of position. The observer must be somewhere on this circle to see the star at a certain altitude at a given time. Other stars yield other circles of position. The point where they all intersect is the observer's location. In order to be visible against a twilight sky, the majority of these navigation stars are bright, although a few dimmer stars are included simply because they occupy areas where nei brighter exist.

"What's a navgater?" Asks a lad of five years.

"A navigator is a person aboard my ship who figures out how to sail fra one place, such as RhyDin, to another place, like Arcadia. And altitude means a vertical distance, or the height of a thing above land or above sea level."

An eleven year old boy speaks up, "Do you know how to navigate?"

"Ja, for sure." Nodding and smiling as she speaks. "We also orient our position by the North Star, or Polaris as many call it. We use Polaris because 'tis a fixed, or stationary star. It does not rise or set, but remains nearly in the same spot above the northern horizon. It pulsates, too, meaning it dims and brightens at regular intervals. So at any hour of the natt ....night, at any time of the "r ....year, we kan readily find Polaris. 'Tis always in a due northerly direction. If you were at the North Pole, Polaris would be directly o'erhead."

"Santa's at the North Pole!" Exclaims one of the youngsters. "Yeah, he lives there with his elves!" States another. "Don't forget about his reindeer and Mrs. Claus," reminds a teenage girl.

Before she loses control over the situation interjects, "I have personally met the jolly old man and his wife." All eyes are upon her again. Most of the little ones stare wide-eyed and with mouths agape. Godt!

"Na, hvor was I" Oh ja! ....we use Polaris to measure the distance in degrees between the equator and a point north or south on the land's surface. This is called Latitude. We visually estimate how high the North Star is fra the horizon when we are at sea, and compare it to the height of the North Star when we are at hjem here in RhyDin, or in Norge, or hvae'er country we are visiting."

Her turn to make another inquiry, "Perhaps you are wondering how to locate Polaris?" Several bobbing of heads are noted.

"Ursa Minor, otherwise known as the Little Bear, is where we shall find it." And it just so happens the constellation she needs is being projected. How fortuitous! Gestures toward it as she says, "The seven stars fra which we derive a bear are also known as the Little Dipper. Polaris lies at the end of the handle of the Little Dipper.

"Hva is interesting, as you kan see, is that the Big and Little Dippers are arranged in the sky so that when one is upright, the other is upside down. In addition, their handles appear to extend in opposite directions. Of course the Big Dipper is by far the brighter of the two, appearing as a long-handled pan, while the Little Dipper resembles a dim ladle.

"So remember, when you peer up at the e'ening sky, and find the Big Dipper ....nearby is the Little Dipper, and at the end of its handle is the steadfast and pulsating Polaris. And that is hvordan we chart the direction of our routes at natt using the Nordstjernen and other stars as guides."

"How do you chart your routes during the day?" Pipes up a sixteen year old. "Or when it's raining?" Inquires another of that age group.

"We use various other means. Perhaps after the tour is o'er I shall speak more on it. I am more than willing to explain our navigational skills to those who wish to learn the Norse ways." She likes inquisitive minds.

"I jus wanna know about Santa!" Pouts one of the four year old's.

Stoops down to address the child at face level, dimples deepening as her smile widens. "I kannot give away all of Sinta's secrets, but I will tell you this much ....he does exist, and he watches you when you are slumbering or awake. He knows if you have been bad or godt. . ."

They all chime in, "So be good, for goodness sake!"

In the hours before his first campaign speech of the 2013 election season, Matt Simon waited at the new Rhydin Observatory Complex & Botanical Garden for Rhiannon's flock of children to arrive. He'd been asked to meet the group on the Observation deck and explain (in a way that the youngest would understand but also wouldn't bore the elder children) a bit about the Observatory, how the large telescopes worked and their benefits to the various astronomical sciences in Rhydin, including Cosmochemistry and Archaeoastronomy.

Dipping into personal experience, Matt was also able to describe what it was like to be in space, to fly amongst the stars the Observatory's dual-telescopes would bring to such life in the ensuing years. He touched on the invention of the Akendwe jump drive and its importance to space flight and exploration. While he couldn't provide them with the direct experience of zero-gravity, he illustrated the feeling of weightlessness as best he could, via imagination, asking the children to close their eyes and envision themselves as a feather on the wind.

Lastly, he spoke about the relationship the Observatory would have with the RASG and how the two would work in concert regarding research and resources. Before guiding the group to their next stop, Matt passed out goodie bags to the group. Each child received an RASG T-Shirt and plane (small balsa wood gliders for the young ones to fly and model kits for the older children).

Once the group was engrossed with the next tour stop, Matt smiled wistfully, remembering how he'd fallen in love with the stars at a young age. He was ecstatic that the Observatory had become a reality and planned to bring Thia, Sarah and the boys to visit at the earliest available opportunity.

With just over an hour before he needed to be at the Rhydin Welcome Center, Matt departed the Observatory, intending to change clothes and practice his speech a final time before meeting the press.

She had done her best to behave while Shylah and Matt gave their presentations. Like any other seven year old, Maggie's attention span had its limits. She was glad to get outside to walk around in the fresh air. Like her grandmother, Colleen, Maggie had a special fondness for roses. The shrubs and vines that decorated the gazebo and its walking path were filled with colorful and fragrant blossoms. Maggie inhaled their perfume before walking down the second set of stairs to explore near the wishing well.

The little girl laughed merrily as butterflies flitted from the magnolia blossoms. They seemed to dance on the breeze. They were no ordinary butterflies and were on their way join Lyneth and hear her singing.

"Hiya, Lynnie! Hi, Uncle Eregor!" she called on her way by to take a peek inside the conservatory. There was a beekeeper's box in there and Maggie was all set to have her chance to see how the bees did their work of honey making.