Ron Mueller – författare

Stress Free Supply Chain Solutions provides guidance to a flowing, optimum inventory, customer facing supply chain.

Output tracking clearly documents issues at each flow boundary. The issues are prioritized, and supply chain participants apply resources to eliminate them. Issues at supply chain boundaries are easier to address given the clarity given by the use of output tracking.

The stability created by reducing flow barriers increases throughput and reduces the level of required inventory.

The discussion by the boundary owners becomes focused on mutually identified problems. The close association of the boundary owners leads to mutually agreed to priority improvements This close association supports the development of the personnel on both sides of the supply chain boundary.

The resolution of problems at the supply chain boundaries creates a flowing, low inventory, high margin business. The flowing supply chain, the skill developing personnel and the superior business results will not go unnoticed. Imagine being the top performers in Safety, Quality, Throughput, Response Flexibility and First in Profit Margin.

Apply Stress FreeTM Supply Chain Solutions and achieve it.

Stress FreeTM Daily Management provides guidance to achieve a zero loss, flexible, growing organization. The key is growing the skills of all organization members.

People''s skill growth is directly linked to increased business success, organizational flexibility and positive response to change.

The stability created by using a common agenda from the operating production floor to the top site leadership leads to reduced losses and increased throughput.

Having an efficient, transition meeting with the same topics on every shift up through the organization is a turning point. The common topic agenda provides an smooth transition up through the organization.

Every organization encounters numerous problems. Output tracking used at every organizational boundary is a tool that clearly identifies the problems between supplier and downstream customer and provides an effective way to identify the improvement priorities

Every organization that has applied the guidance put forward in Stress FreeTM Daily Management has succeeded in creating a vibrant culture and put itself into a lead business results position.

Transition from one state to another even when it is an improvement is difficult. Leadership needs to lead by example and needs to become strong coaches and developers to their people.

The growth of skill and improved performance of everyone will be recognized in improved attendance and reduced regrettable departures.

Not everyone in the organization chooses to make this journey. Those that decline to grow must leave.

Imagine being the top performers in Safety, Quality, Throughput, Response flexibility and first in profit margin.

Apply Stress FreeTM Daily Management and achieve these results...

Stress FreeTM Manufacturing Solutions provides guidance to the skill development in solving equipment and operational problems.

It is a phenomenon based in its analysis approach. The phenomenon is the root cause of a specific problem. It is at the level where the long term problem resolution can be acted upon and maintained.

Focusing on defining the phenomenon normally means going three and four layers down into the problem description. This can be done by utilizing the knowledge present in the people closest to the problem. No data is needed to identify the phenomenon based root cause. Detailed data is then gathered associated with the root cause solution.

§ The high number of unplanned production interruptions is causes waste and frustrates the line personnel. There is a common cry for help and a great deal of fault finger pointing.

§ Stress FreeTM Manufacturing Solutions provides the guidance to a stable, synchronized production environment. This environment is achieved by enabling and empowering the line and maintenance personnel with enhanced root cause problem-solving skills.

§ The enhanced problem-solving skills result in increased, defect free production and a flexible confident organization.

§ The majority of organizations using this approach ended up with a robust continuous improvement program

Solving existing problems develops the skills of operators and support personnel. People''s skill growth is directly linked to increased operational flexibility and lower costs. The stability created by eliminating multiple problems leads to reduced losses and increased throughput.

Increasing the skills of those closest to the problems and enabling them to eliminate them provides the organization with continuous improvement in production results.

Equipment and people do work. Equipping people with superior problem-solving skills make them better at maintaining the equipment.

Every organization that has applied the guidance put forward in Stress FreeTM Manufacturing Solutions has succeeded in reducing losses and improving throughput.

The time it takes to develop people''s skills is often the delaying excuse.  Instead look at this time as a problem-solving vacation. Upon return from this vacation, people will contribute to an improved business and be equipped with new skills to make additional improvements.

The growth of skill and improved performance of everyone will be recognized in improved attendance and reduced regrettable departures. Not everyone in the organization will choose to make this journey. Those that decline to grow must leave.

Imagine being the top performers in Safety, Quality, Throughput, Response Flexibility and First in Low Cost Production.

Apply Stress FreeTM Manufacturing Solutions and achieve it.

The young girl held on to the top branches of the eucalyptus tree as it swayed gently back and forth. She was watching the sun as it rose of the far horizon. The intriguing aroma of the eucalyptus mixed with the smell of the pines. It was intoxicating.

Annelise had attended Catholic school and was a favorite of the nuns that adored her. At Christmas she was always chosen to portray a blue eyed angel.

Annelise was a precocious child and played many tricks on the nuns and one day she was caught as she spit down on a procession of nuns.

Even after being reprimanded, she again received the nuns adoration.

Later as a young woman, during WWII her blond and blue eyes became a detriment. Brazilians were concerned about the large German population that lived in Brazil. The general public wanted to confine the German community, and some took violent action against those of German heritage.

She went to school hoping to become a writer, but her father refused to allow that. She chose to become a nurse.

She succeeded but in the end, her first love affair ended in her Marriage to Edgar Muller.

The marriage proved to be short live. Edgar had roving eye and had affairs on the side.

She decided a divorce was in order but at that time divorce was not allowed int the Catholic church.

Then she had an affair of her own that ended with her being pregnant. After her third child, Conrad, was born, Edgar''s parents tried to get custody of the two oldest children, Marlene, and Ronald. She decided that she should leave Brazil.

She had American friends who had been neighbors to her in Brazil who were willing to sponsor her into the US.

The friends, Georgia, and Ross Kitzmiller sponsored her into the US and help her get established. Life in the US had many challenges. Annelise excelled in overcoming the challenges.

After another failed marriage, a short return to Brazil, she once again came back to the US a country that she loved. She returned married for the third time to Hans Uwe Sievert. This was the man she wished to have met the first time. He was her love for the rest of her life.

There were continued challenges but she face and survived them all and is now back together with all those that she loved. .

Ian Sinclair is the Problem Solver who solves problems that are beyond the boundary of current organizations and governments.

Raised on fundamental principles and forged in the hell of Vietnam, Ian has become the solution to many otherwise unsolvable situations.

A desire to slow the flow of drugs across the border gets Ian assigned to eliminate the heads of the drug cartels.

Ian wonders who is crazier, he for accepting the assignment or the person assigning him to disrupt the drug flow.

His desire to survive one of the most challenging assignments of his career provides the drive that fuels his careful research into the drug cartels operating along the Mexican border

He defines and becomes a series of different people as he eliminates the heads of the various drug cartels.

His initial success bodes well for his plan, and he continues on but the load of his action weighs heavy.

He lets himself get close to one Drug leader and almost losses his way. He recovers and continues to execute his plan and execute the leaders of various drug cartels.

The highlight of the drug leader elimination journey is the journey into the bay of California and his ride with a mother humpback whale and a ride on the back of a killer whale. He decides he is crazy enough for the role he plays.

His weapons are C4, a switch blade, a bullet, and a pen. He plays the role of robot engineer, a news writer, a beggar, a vacation sailboat captain, an old man, and a businessman.

He travels west along the Mexican border to California and hooks back to Mexico City where he finishes his Drug Lord Solutions crusade.

He then looks forward to returning to his loving wife Lesley.

Ian Sinclair is the problem Solver. Never be one of his problems.

There are problems that occur that seem unsolvable. These are problems that often have clear resolutions, but which have no socially acceptable way to get resolved. These are problems that cross political, social, and moral boundaries that are not manageable in normal ways.

The problem solver crosses these boundaries. 

He resolves the problem in the way he determines is required.

His research of the problem is thorough, in depth and as fair as possible.

Once his research is done and he engages in the field, Ian never looks back and he carries out his plan.

But as we all know plans often fall apart. It is at these times that his thoroughness saves him.

He lives two lives and in both worlds, he is a problem solver. In his normal life he solves problems around the world for a multi-national company. 

In this normal world his family provides his anchor. 

In his other world his ethics and moral compass provide the reference by which he function

He always questions his foundations and counts on his wife, Lesley to keep him on firm footing.

He is a problem solver in both of his worlds. He has superior results in both.

Once in action, he maintains a forward momentum that carries him through the toughest spots.

Animals sense his fearlessness and his fundamental goodness and always seem to accept him but the people around him are often frightened by his direct and often devastating actions.

His targets seldom know his intentions until the fatal moment when he takes action.

Once action is initiated Ian is relentless, but he is always checking himself to ensure he is executing against plan and not emotions.

His personal centering on fundamental truths and principals serves to guide him and it protects those that he works with as he carries out his plans.

Ian takes in the scene as the news camera zooms in as the police open the back of a semi. The heat waves shimmering up from the pavement speak to the extreme desert heat. One of the police officer turns and holds his hand over his mouth as he gets sick. The people in the back of the semi are dead and it is clear that many tried unsuccessfully to claw their way out. The camera man turns the camera to the field reporter who describes the scene and the awful smell.

This was the second such discovery in as many months.

The reporter poses the question of how or who will solve such a horrible problem. 

Ian knew immediately that he had been activated.

Almost immediately after the news cast his phone displays a simple message, "call".

Using one of his disposable phones Ian calls the number that he has memorize. He gets briefed on what is expected of him. As always he is reminded that he has a support team that he should leverage.

Ian becomes Herman A. Lunquist senior FBI investigator. This was one of his most used identities that he has on record.

He contacts the FBI regional office in Phoenix and arranges for a visit.

His thorough understanding of the situation and his research into the region provide him with the break he needs to resolve the current situation.

He knew any solution he accomplished would only be good for the near future. The pressure to cross the border into the US was not going to lessen.

He discovers that a key person second in command of the local police department is a prime suspect. And another person is part of the border security office. 

The two support a Mexican Cartel''s human trafficking operation.

Ian and the team come up short on the needed incriminating evidence to indite the police second in command. Ian utilizes both threat and bluff to extract a confession from the crooked assistant police chief.

Ian leaves the Phoenix FBI office, and the local law enforcement leaders with a success story that they all embrace.

Ian leaves on a helicopter that will take him directly home to the warmth of his Lesley.

The Alex Evercrest series takes place in the recent past.

Alex Evercrest, a black, dynamic, extremely talented detective in the Cincinnati Detective unit solves case after case. She is the best.

The Waterfront - Book 1

A killing on the Cincinnati waterfront leads her to a prominent, bitter Art curator, killing runners.

The Girl on the Grill - Book 2

The death of a young woman thrown from an overpass onto the grill of a semi-truck result in having her apartment destroyed. In this story, she meets her soul mate in Mississippi and she hires the witness to the murder, a Vietnam veteran, to be her system analyst. The combination of a world class hacker and her intuitive nature makes them unstoppable.

Missing - Book 3

A Cincinnati librarian shares the rumor that a girl missing for more than fifteen years is thought to be alive in the woods of Pennsylvania. When her car explodes during the investigation she realizes she is close to solving the case and must work extremely fast to save the girl that is now in her upper twenties.

Maggot - Book 4

During work on a Drug investigation, she and her partner are kidnaped. Her partner is almost beaten to death. She breaks free, saves her partner, and then eliminates drug bosses all the way to the top.

Racist - Book 5

She is attacked as she rides her bicycle from her apartment to the police station. The attack causes her to realize that she is attacked by an unbalance mind because of her skin color. The attacker makes a fatal mistake of trying a second time.

Votive Candles - Book 6

The department agrees to apprehend a wayward pedophile priest that has fled arrest. The chase leads Alex into Mexico where she apprehends and returns the priest to the US border where he is arrested and returned to Cincinnati for trial.

Country Road - Book 7

A vacation back to her home, leads to the discovery of an organization focused on abducting and raping young women. In total this organization has disappeared more than two hundred young women and surrendering means life in prison or the death penalty. The case spans the country, and each cell of the organization puts up a determined gun battle rather than giving up.

Pool of Blood - Book 8

Alex finally takes a true vacation to the Island of Maui where she believes she has escaped the fact that strange cases seem to find her. However, the Maui detective Unit asks her to help in solving a series of missing persons cases that they believe is the work of a serial killer. The killer has eluded detection for many years. The number of missing persons increases but there are no bodies and there seem to be no way to identify he killer. They ask Alex to help them.

Alex Cathy Evercrest, who dreams of being an exceptional crime fighting detective, is given this as her first case.

Cincinnati Detective Chief as a way to break the color barrier and put a woman on the detective unit. He soon realizes he has hired the best detective in the country. She becomes known as "Cincinnati''s Black Annie Oakley," after repeatedly demonstrating her ability to be fast and extremely accurate with her weapon.

Time and again she is attacked and each time even when wounded she eliminates the attacker.

She always gives the person she is pursuing the chance to surrender but the attackers seem to think they have the upper hand but find themselves underground.

Her experiences are counter to her up bringing of "Treat others the way you wish to be treated." Bad guys don''t understand such a concept and they die.

It is late on a hot muggy night. The street is empty as the lone homeless Vietnam Vet walks slowly towards the highway over pass. A young woman runs frantically passed him and a car squeals its tires as it takes the corner behind him. He watches in horror as a car speeds past him and then skids to a halt and a huge man jumps out and slams the young woman against the overpass wall. He then lifts her over his head and launches her over the retaining wire fence to the highway below.

Johnnie is now a witness that must be eliminated. His first concern is to save himself.

He escapes by climbing over the retain fence blocking his way down to the highway and runs across the interstate. He is almost stopped by the scene of the young woman smashed by the grill of the semi. He thinks of her as the girl on the grill.

He gets away.

When an innocent man is accused of the murder, Johnnie decides he must step forward.

He knows that his PTSD, his being homeless and being black will all work against being considered a credible witness. The lawyer for the wrongly accused and arrested man being held ignores and rebuffs Johnnie.

Johnnie decides to engage a black female police detective he has seen almost daily as she rides her bike past the Cincinnati library. His first encounter with her convinces him that he has found the right connection.

Alex Evercrest, the only black female detective on the Cincinnati, police force believes Johnnie. She gets herself and her partner assigned to the case.

Almost immediately she becomes the focus of attack. The attacks are of a direct and personal revenge nature. She is caught by surprise, but she pursues the attacker with a cool and calculating persona.

Just as she thinks it over, the drug distribution king pin, now on the run surprises her in her apartment. He is looking for her to help him escape the city.

Her cool behavior and thinking in rejecting the person that knocks at her apartment door, provides time for the police swat team to respond. Her next action, to disarm the king pin, saves her life as the bullet meant for her misses and lodges in the refrigerator.

She is pulled off the king pin by the swat team members and is escorted down the hallway away from her apartment by the person who she has fallen in love with and who had called in the swat team when he had been rebuffed by her at the door.

Not much later, Johnnie now the superintended for the apartment building, due to Alex''s help, places a plywood cover to seal Alex and her new love into her apartment for the night.

It was 1987 when Annie went out to play with a neighbor. Not long after the neighbor called her house to ask when Annie was coming over. Annie''s mother immediately and in a panic went out and looked for Annie.

She was never found.

Now more than fifteen years later two persons bring the case to the forefront.

The cold case is brought up to Alex by Johnnie, her faithful researcher and confidant. The case caught his eye and he had done some researching that seemed to lead to a potential solution.

Alex thanked him for his research but put off doing anything with it because she had just closed a very challenging case.

Then a strange thing happened that brought it back up to the top of the pile.

An older woman came to the station and with some information about a girl that went missing several years before.

Alex''s boss asked her to listen to the story that the woman wanted to share. He was not sure that it was a matter for the city police.

Alex Evercrest, the only black female detective on the Cincinnati, police force listens to the story being told by the woman named Martha Melville, a Cincinnati Public Library librarian.

Almost immediately she remembers the cold case that Johnnie had put on her desk.

The story that Martha shares is similar to the details in the report prepared by Johnnie. It intrigues Alex and makes her wonder if Martha is sharing what happened to Annie.

Alex follows one dead end path after another in her quest to find out what happened to Annie. When her car is bombed, she knows that she must be on the right path.

She follows her clues to a secluded mountain cabin. What she discovers shocks her to her core.

After more than a decade as a chained prisoner, Annie returns to society.

She is now a mother of two girls. She is embraced by her family and begins her readjustment into normal society.

But her problems are not over and now Alex becomes the focus for revenge.

The investigation into the drugs flowing through Cincinnati has revealed a controlling organization operating out of Philly with satellite operations in Columbus and Cincinnati. Alex and Trey are given the assignment to represent the city on a statewide operation that is working with the DEA. She and her partner as assigned to the DEA task force.

Alex an aggressive investigator in the Cincinnati police department has a reputation for solving her cases. She is referred to a "Cincinnati''s Black Annie Oakley", for her marksmanship. She has her eye set on getting the "bad guy". She has a great partner that she knows will always have her back.

The Chief, her boss, assigned the two of them to the Ohio Drug Interdiction Team. He knew they were working with the DEA to disrupt the flow of drugs on their way into Ohio and on to the East coast. He was just not aware of the danger that he had placed them in, and that the danger emanated from the department.

The investigation seemed to be going smoothly until when she and Trey were actively following some promising leads and were going to what they believed was a potential drug distribution warehouse.

On one of their investigation excursions, they were run of the road and captured.

They were captured.

Just before her capture she had dialed the Chief to ask for help. She and Trey threw their phones out into the grass by a fence.

Both she and Trey had hoods put over their heads and were restrained. She was tied to a chair and had to watch as Trey was beaten as three thugs hit and kicked him.

When the thugs beating on Trey are called out of the barn, Alex breaks free and helps Trey, who is barely able to move, out the back of the old barn they had been brought to, and into the forest.

She is determined to make her escape. She places Trey into a leaf covered tree root depression of a blown over tree.

She decides that she will take the initiative and attack the thugs. She has only the broken handle of the chair used to restrain her.

She goes to the edge of the forest as she hears the thugs coming. She decides her attack approach is to spread them apart by running in a circular path back to the entrance of the barn. She hopes to spread them and take them on one at a time. Her success surprises her and it saves Trey''s life.

Alex now is more determined than ever to capture the boss of the thugs that almost beat Trey to death. She gets Johnnie to investigate the men by the names she had overheard. His search identifies two of the men.

Their boss operates out of Philadelphia. Johnnie insists that he accompany Alex on her quest to capture the boss.

Posing as a cleaning lady she manages to get past the guards and get to the boss''s office. During the confrontation with the boss, she kill''s the thug guarding him. The boss makes his escape.

She follows and in a second confrontation, where he pulls a gun to shoot her, she takes him out.

She feels that what is left is to find the mole that she is sure is in the Cincinnati police department.

Little does she know that the body count of five that she has compiled, will blossom to more than fifteen in the wake of her continued investigation that is connected to one of the most powerful Mexican drug cartels.

The end of the Aztec calendar predicted a world changing event. This Event describes a scenario. Evidence from prehistoric times indicates that something similar may have occurred in Earth''s distant past. 

Sergio looked out of the space station observation port. Something unthinkable and strange was happening. He called over the Englishman and the American. The three looked out the window observation port. It seemed the oceans and cities were leaving the earth and coming directly at them.

This was an event that they had never anticipated. Sergio went to the radio to ask what was happening. There was no answer.

As the three watched they saw that the earth was taking a rotation that they had never experienced. It was Sergio the atheist that utter, Oh my god! The other astronauts looked at each other and commented that they were no longer in an asynchronous orbit.

Sergio again uttered, Oh my god! He went to his locker and brought out the bottle of Vodka that he had been saving to celebrate on their last orbit.

"It is time we toast to the death of the earth and to our own slow death here on the station," he calmly commented as he poured the drinks.

There were to be only a few survivors. Each would face a different challenge and for the proverbial forty days and forty nights there would be so much rain that no one would be able to do much. Survival was a monumental accomplishment and one mostly of luck. It was the immediate actions after the Event that distinguished each survivor.

There were to be only a few survivors. Each would face a different challenge and for the proverbial forty days and forty nights there would be so much rain that no one would be able to do much. Survival was a monumental accomplishment and one mostly of luck. It was the immediate actions after the Event that distinguished each survivor.

The barriers for each survivor were as unique as was the reason for their survival. An over imbiber recovering in a cave. Two young boys in another cave. Two lovers, bound together to experience a joint miracle, A train passenger who experience a painful but miraculous journey from one continent to another. Each survivor had a unique and strange tale.

The number of survivors were at first counted on only one hand. The earth went from eight billion to a that put them at the number when man had first emerged from the forest to walk the earth. Once again it seemed that man was exiting the cave to repopulate the earth.

Several of the survivors focused first on their survival but quickly began to look for and to save those around them. They envisioned finding more survivors and rebuilding the world in anew. They exuded hope, they had the simple goal of ensuring survival and they shared a vision of the future that held a purpose.

The survivors slowly find each other. They realize that they are the few, the lucky and take on the heavy liftin of getting a new world order in place.

Amazingly a global unity transforms into a multicultural, multiracial, multigender democratic society.

After more than thirty years the sun shines bright. The population of the earth is slowly climbing toward its first one billion. The humans are repopulating every animal that they rescue. Occasionally, bodies still get washed up during ocean storms, but these have become rare

The story of Taelo (Tā low), talon of the eagle, follows the journey of a young, exceptionally talented child that lived more than thirty thousand years ago in America''s Northeast.

The eagle, Taelo''s totem always makes an appearance at the critical and important moments in Taelo''s life.

Golden Hawk is, Taelo''s cousin, best friend, and partner in their many adventures.

White Swan and Quiet Pheasant their mothers are sisters who gave birth to the two on the same day.

The two boys each have leadership totems. 

All know when an eagle screams from the sky, something eventful is about to happen.

The story of The Early Years, (book 1) begins with his naming and takes the reader through Taelo''s and Golden Hawk''s early years until they are recognized as full members of the Clan.

The story of Taelo ends with the successful hunt by a hunting team having both male and female hunters for the first time. The team''s success overwhelms the clan and changes its culture.

In The Golden Feather, (book 2) this same team takes the next step in their development. They first travel south into the Andes of South America. They meet the peoples living in those areas. On their return they go into the North Coastal area where the Elk Clan originally had its home. Once again, the team changes the culture of the Elk Clan.

In The Journey of Discovery, (book 3) Taelo and Golden Hawk travel from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean and see the wonders of nature. The team encounters multiple challenges that test their capabilities and bond them all as lifelong friends.

In Dangerous Passage, (book 4) the team travels across the northern ice bridge to the origin of their race. The way is dangerous and the challenges many, but their team work repeatedly saves them. They meet, do battle with, and defeat the warriors the refer to as the Sky Eyes.

In Condor Clan Slingers, (book 5)Taelo returns to the land of the Condor to aid his friends in a battle against their enemy. The team trains the women to become volcano glass slinging warriors that single handedly defeat a superior number of warriors.

In Circumvention, (book 6) Taelo and his team circumvent the globe and discover a very different world and gain a new set of followers. They meet and become brothers with warriors whose skin is black. They also meet and befriend the people that they know as the Sky Eyes.

In The Journey of Sages, (book 7) Taelo circumvents the Pacific and discovers the origin of the pe

Taelo: The Golden Feather

The giant black bird soared gracefully high above towering snowcapped mountains. An Eagle almost as large as large flew effortlessly below. The two both exuded power and a command of the sky. Taelo did not know the mountains. He knew he was in a new place, but it also felt ancient. He was being called.

Taelo awoke. A cool morning breeze lifted the hide covering the entrance to his hutch. The morning mist telegraphed a cloudy and hazy day. He would see to what he could find to eat and then find Golden Hawk and share his vision. Perhaps he would understand the dream.

Golden Hawk''s reaction and the fact that he had a remarkably similar dream. He not only saw the two giant birds, but he also saw a strange village built into the mountain.

The team dinner provided the opportune moment to see who might be interested in a quite different and perhaps exciting journey. Taelo walked slowly up the beach to the giant boulder that served as the location for the teams periodic evening meal together. Each team member took a turn in preparing the meal for the rest. This was Burley Bear''s turn. He had become quite a fine cook. The smell of roasting boar had his mouth watering.

Taelo waited until after everyone had washed down the last succulent bite and then brought up the fact that he and Golden Hawk were planning on a trek. 

He wondered if any of the team might be interested in such a venture. The reaction was overwhelming. Every one of the team wanted to come. Little Otter voiced the one possible barrier the team might face. He pointed out that the spring fishing and other food gathering was about to commence. Would the Elk Clan leaders allow them to leave at such a time?

Taelo knew that his mother, White Swan, would know how to handle the situation. He shared his dream with her and the fact that the entire team that had bonded during their long hunt together all wanted to accompany him as well.

White Swan pointed to the fact that the fish trap would yield more fish than the Elk Clan needed. The buffalo in the Valley of plenty would provide more meat and hides than the clan would need. She was sure that the team would be missed but the Elk Clan would be prepared for the gathering of all Clans and they would be as wealthy as the previous meeting.

It was a go for the team.

The journey to the far mountains leads to the discovery of an advanced population, the Condor Clan.

The team learns many skills and encounters a new animal that has been tamed and provides meat and hides to the Condor Clan.

All seems well until their new friend, Bold Walker, son of the Condor Clan leader, shares the fact that his sister, Feather-in-the-Wind, has been selected to be sacrificed to the Condor. This was an event that happened every ten seasonal cycles. The selection of the young woman to be sacrificed to be the mate of the Condor was made based on the beauty and the pureness of the one that was chosen.

Feather in the Wind is celebrated by the entire Condor Clan and led up the mountain to the cave of the Condor mates.

There she is placed next to more than one hundred frozen beautiful former sacrifices.

She is saved by Quiet Rabbit and Busy Bee. Taelo and the team take her with them and return to the Elk Clan.

They meet an enemy Warrior Clan on their return journey. This obstacle is overcome.

Taelo and team arrive in time to join the Elk Clan and the Clan of Others to the meeting of all the Clans.

His adventures earn Taelo the distinction of becoming a member of all the Clans and he is awarded the Golden Feather.

The Giant Oaks and Maple created an almost continuous canopy. Rays of the sun illuminated the forest floor to show the mix of yellow, red, and orange flowers and the blackberries still green but heavy in numbers all growing and competing for the precious rays. A pair of giant ferocious looking animals, animals that he had never before seen pulled branches covered with new green leaves and brought them to their mouths.

  A roar caused the team to turn and face a set of lionesses and their young.

  Turn, and he realized he was on some animal that he had never known before.

  It was a strange and glorious dream.

  He knew it as a message from the Ancients and they were calling for him to act.

  It was time for him to make a journey of discovery. This journey would take him as far east as he could go.

  The enthusiasm of his team to go on such and adventure caused him to act.

  He goes to his mother, White Swan, member of the council of Elk Clan elders, and asks for and receives her support.

  The team prepares, he meets with Broken Spear and receives his guidance. Broken Spear warns of grave dangers to Taelo, Saber Scar, Feather in the Wind and Golden Hawk. I each case swift dangerous action must be taken if each is to survive.

 Taelo leads the team to the Eastern Elk clan. In the dead of winter, they hunt the buffalo and deliver a gift to the that clan. They rescue the clan hunters from a pack of Dire wolves. Feather in the Wind and Running Stag distinguish themselves when the team rescues the clan hunters from a pack of Dire wolves.

  The team left their sled wolves and only Lasher, Taelo''s wolf and Brave Walker, Feather in the Wind''s wolf and Arrow, Running Stag''s wolf accompany them.

 Their first discovery is that of an animal they name the mount. Taelo recognizes this as the animal identified by Broken Spear to be an animal that each person rides and also pulls the travois.

 Taelo is the first to experience a near death experience. He converses with the ancients. They tell him it is not, yet his time and he must fight to get back to the light. They show him a future where he has two sons and travels for many moons. He is to meet another person, also named after the eagle but of a very different race.

 A giant lion threatens the death of Saber Scar and Feather in the Wind. They survive because of their bravery and team work.

 The team arrives at the sea. There Golden Hawk faces death.

 The team heads south to another sea and find a new monster.

 Their journey and return are captured on a hide where Quiet Rabbit and Busy Bee have documented their journey. They are able to use their document to guide the team the place they call Paradise.

 They return to the fall Elk Clan Gathering, very prosperous and with a gift of a mount for each leader

Taelo is called to help the Condor Clan. Feather-In-the-Wind''s family lead this Clan. Now living with the Elk Clan, she has become the leader of the newly formed Eastern Elk Clan. Taelo has promised to escort her to the East of the current Elk Clan territory but the Ancestors are calling on him to go south to help the Condor Clan.

On learning of Taelo''s situation, Feather-in-the-Wind frees him of his promise to escort her and the newly formed Eastern Elk Clan so he can go south to help her parents.

Taelo is also plagued by a nightmare where his mate Quiet Rabbit is beheaded by a warrior priest. This is to happen in the land of the Condor.

He takes only seasoned team members. He does not know why he is being sent by the Ancestors, but he anticipates a dangerous situation.

He finds the huge army of the Warrior Clan camped in the valley facing the Condor Clan living area. They are kept out of the Condor Clan village by the huge bottomless crevasse that separates them from the village.

Taelo and his team enter the land of the Condor Clan, through what is called the "backdoor", a point where a daring person can leap across the crevasse and take a narrow path to safety.

Taelo and his team enter and train the Condor Clan a fighting formation they refer to as the "fighting Diamond". This formation allows nine persons to fight as many as thirty at a time. The fighting diamond and Quiet Rabbit''s, and Busy Bee''s suggestion that they establish nine slinging squads to use the sling, to sling volcano class shards at the oncoming Warrior Clan fighters give Taelo confidence that the Condor Clan will drive the Warrior Clan of the mountain and back to their own land.

Preparation seems to be going smoothly. Taelo sets out with nine fighting diamonds to drive the Warrior Clan back from the crevasse. He needs the area immediately across the crevasse to set up his fighters for the major assault.

In an attempt to prevent having his beheading nightmare come true, Taelo has deployed Quiet Rabbit and Busy Bee with their own fighting diamonds to protect the Llama herds located in another section of the mountains.

However, the Warrior Clan captures both Quiet Rabbit and Busy Bee. They are brought to a sacrificial platform especially built by the Warrior Clan war priests. A warrior priest drags Quiet Rabbit out to be beheaded.

Taelo watches nightmare becoming real.

He races faster than he has ever run to save her. In his dream his spear pierces the priest''s chest, but the priest''s blade moment follows through the devastating beheading arch. The action Taelo takes is one that saves Quiet Rabbit. It is an inspirational counter intuitive flash that surprises him at the moment it occurs.

Quiet Rabbit is also aware that Lasher, the wolf that she thought had been killed saves her from the swing of the blade when he fiercely chomps down and crushes the warrior priest''s wrist.

In a subsequent battle where the Condor Clan is vastly outnumbered, the fighting diamonds and the all-female, glass shard slinging squads, handily defeat the Warrior Clan and drive them off the mountain. 

The all-male fighting diamonds are never confronted because the Condor Clan Slingers are so effective that no Warrior Clan fighter gets close enough to effectively throw a spear.

Two hundred twenty million years ago, the now barren fourth orb teamed with intelligent life.

Then it interacted with one of the universes most powerful forces.

At the height of her career in astronomy, the youngest director of the fledgling Orbian Astronomy program makes the discovery that an unknown but extremely powerful object is bearing down on her Home Orb.

Nadia, an individual driven to excel in her field. Leads in developing the Orbian society in learning about the space surrounding them. She has created a program to track the potential objects that might strike her home Orb.

She has made a name for herself in the field of Astronomy but is also famous for her song writing and singing.

Then while tracking three potentially threatening objects coming toward the Home Orb, she discovers an unknown force that later gets named the black void. Then the objects being tracked are pulled in a new direction and then disappear in a flash of light.

Her analysis predicts the interaction of her Home Orb and this mysterious force.

Life for the Orbian''s takes a dramatic redirection. Analysis predicts that the interaction of the black void and the Home Orb will strip the Orb of all surface objects.

Nadia leads the effort to save the Orbian society but the best that can be done in the time remaining is to save four thousand of the youngest Orbian''s. She is one of the few older Orbians picked to be saved.

She promises that she will lead the four thousand being sent up in rapidly built rockets and that she will reestablish the Orbian Society. The target to reestablish the Orbian population is the newly discovered third orb.

This beautiful blue Orb that lures them is impossible to reach. High levels of radiation thwarts the attempt to reach It.

Nadia leads the Orbians on a colonizing journey out away from the Central Orb to where the radiation level is tolerable.

After seeding three colonies and discovering a remnant survival group on her home Orb, Nadia comes to the conclusion that the Orbians need to become space faring beings.

She gathers them into an ever-growing spaceship that she and the remaining Orbians have continued building and improving while traveling the Grand Orbian system and prepares them for life as space Orbians.

In her final farewell before leaving the Grand Orbian system, she leaves the history of the Orbian society encapsulated in a ceramic time capsule with the hopes that the teaming life she observed on the third orb would someday find it and learn of the beings that had once populated and traveled much of the Grand Orb system..

The Solar System''s two hundred twenty-million-year journey around the edge of the milky way was bringing it back to an encounter that had previously wiped out the Martian civilization. 

This time the Earth was in the cross hairs.

Zackary Milton, with a PhD in Astronomical History and his professor now his partner Dr. Craig Garrity discover a small blackhole that will interact with the Solar system.

Zack envisions a way to capture and move it out of Earths path.

Craig''s close relationship to the newly elected US president gets the program to protect the planet launched and gets Zack put in charge of the effort to capture and move the black hole. 

The effort is globally supported but various factions want control of the gigantic space going vessel named by Zack as Savitar.

An assassination attempt is made on Zack while as he prepares to get the Savitar on its journey. He is saved by his most loyal personal guard, Janet. She has sworn that she will keep him safe.

The Savitar and its crew of four thousand depart earth. They become aware that their path will take them too close to the Moon and will most likely tear their vessel apart.

Zack and his crew overcome that first threat and become sensitive to other potential ways that the Savitar may be sabotaged.

They isolate the Savitar from any computer connection with Earth and take complete internal control.

Subsequent events, including a second assassination attempt of Zack causes a complete reassessment of all control systems.

Each barrier is overcome with the teamwork of the crew.

The Savitar continues to be built as it travels on its multi-year voyage out to intercept and capture the black hole.

How the Savitar captures and contains the black hole is significantly changed from the original plans made on Earth. This change exposes and circumvents a number of preplanned sabotage actions by various parties on earth.

The economic powers on Earth have all designed new, fast spaceships and plan to take control of the Savitar. Craig still on Earth has convinced the US president that Zack is prepared and has the Savitar capable to defend itself against all threats. The US sends out a contingent with only thirty commandos and a group of professionals renowned in their fields of expertise.

Zack prepares for the confrontation with the approaching space vessels in a manner that he hopes will prevent a shooting confrontation. He is set up to do so if necessary and feels certain his defense system is superior to anything he will face.

The approach and the friendly demonstration of the Savitar''s superior capability allows the Savitar to set itself up as the neutral Switzerland of space.

The environment on the Savitar takes on a new and positive way of life.

Janet, his loyal protector, and his true soul mate soul mate get married on the Savitar, on a simulated Hawaiian beach where she had always wanted her wedding to be.

White Swan and her sister Quite Pheasant had anticipated his day for two autumns. Now both her and her sister were anticipating the naming of their children. It was the naming day.

This was a day of celebration by the entire clan. It was the custom to wait two seasons before naming a child. The belief was that if the child did not survive then it would go into the next life free of any burden of this world.

During this time, the child was under observation. Mannerisms were noted and would be added to the name.

Each child chose their name by the object they chose from the each of the naming hide.

Their two boys had been born on the same day.

They would each select an object from the edge of the naming hide that would determine their name.

So far neither one of their sons had demonstrated any behavior that would add an extra identifier to their name.

A large white swan had arrived early in the morning. White Swan looked across the lake where is swam gracefully in a gracious and relax manner. This was a sign to her that something special would happen.

White Swan was aware of an eagle that circled silently overhead during the entire naming ceremony.

Quiet Pheasant''s son selected the feather of a Golden Hawk. This was a powerful symbol and would mean that he would have the name Golden Hawk.

White Swan''s son was the last child to select his name symbol. He was the youngest of all the children selection names.

She watched as he went immediately and picked up the claw of an eagle. He turned and held his selection high above his head. The eagle lets out a loud cry and descended like a spear on its way to the heart. The target continued to hold the claw above his head.

In panic she rushed to protect her son, but the eagle got to its target first and carried off its prize.

With tears in her eyes White Swan hugged her untouched son as. He was all smiles.

Her totem and the totem of her son, the eagle flew gracefully out of the valley.

Her son had chosen the eagle and the eagle had chosen her son.

White swan held up her son and declared his name as Taelo, the claw of the eagle.

Long ago in the far northwest new people were making their way in an new land. Two young women were coming of age in a male dominated world that tried to control what they were allowed to do.

They had a mother who empathetically understood her daughters and a supportive father that taught them the skills of hunting and protecting themselves in the wilds that surrounded them.

White Swan and her sister Quiet Pheasant though two years apart could have passed for twins and they shared the same desire to be able to fend for themselves.

Their transition into the mating age, brought their situation to a head. They attacked the situation and decided they would choose who would be their mates.

The insistence of the Clan elders catalyzed the situation.

They approached their two potential mates and challenged them to a hunt. Their goal was to see if their choices were the right ones.

On the hunt both White Swan and Quiet Pheasant hunt on the bet that their two potential mates must clean and process the buffalos that the two of them will hunt

They demonstrate a secret way to down the buffalo that has their two potential mates amazed. More amazing is when in an exchange White Swan proposes their union to Gray Fox Running.

His stunned silence make White Swan wonder if she has pushed too far too fast.

His suggestion his suggestion that he wants to make sure that she looks as sweet with the smell of buffalo washed off is to her a yes! She pushes her sister to make the same proposal to Red Oak.

Their two new mates accept with the condition they get taught the new hunting technique that was so grandly displayed.

Once home, her parents rejoice at their aggressive but successful daughters.

White Swan and Quiet Pheasant change sub-Clans and leave with their new mates.