Bronze Lioth, carrying Mon, stood statuesquely in front of the Star Stones. Ruth answered Lioth's bugle of welcome and neatly took his customary position to the right of the Fort Weyrleader. Mon. gave Jaxom a salute and pointed down to the Bowl, where four queenriders were being accoutred with flamethrowers. A blue rider, returning from a preliminary sweep, emerged abruptly into the air, giving the ancient two-armed signal that Thread was imminent. Mon acknowledged that even as the assembled dragons, almost simultaneously, turned their heads to receive firestone from their riders. The queens bellowed their readiness and one by one lifted from the floor of the Bowl and spiralled up to take their positions to the left of Mon and Lioth. The big bronze was carefully masticating the first of the many lumps of firestone that he would chew before the end of the Fall. Jaxom offered Ruth his hunk and listened, awed as ever to the sound of draconic teeth chomping on the phosphine-bearing rock. Knowing as he did now the scientific explanation for the process by which dragons digested the rock in their second stomach and belched the phosphine gas forth in flame did not in the least destroy his reverence for dragonkind.
Jaxom carefully watched Ruth chew, for now and then every dragon bit his own tongue or cheeks, a minor accident that nevertheless would disqualify him from flying that Fall.
When Lioth had finished his chewing, he let out another roar, and Mon pumped his arm in the age-old signal to take to the skies. With a powerful upward lunge, Lioth left the Rim, Ruth a breath behind him. The queens with effortless grace were airborne the next second. Making height, Lioth veered to the southeast, and one by one the wings rose into the air, maneuvering into their fighting positions: three on the level above, three just behind Mon and Ruth, and the third carefully on a lower level with the queens' wing just below them.
All human eyes were trained on N'ton; all dragons listened for Lioth's word. As often as Jaxom had seen the flights of dragons go between, as often as he had himself been a part of that transfer, it never ceased to thrill him.
Between is colder than space, he told Ruth. A breath later they were above Ruatha's southern border, the expanse of the river a silver snake below them. And to the east was the silver rain they had come to destroy.
The wings met Thread, breathing fire on the thick strands and watching them curl and twist in flame and drop harmlessly as ash on the ground far below. The upper wings streaked across the sky, and at the lowest level, the queenriders sent flaring gouts of liquid fire after those few Threads that escaped the upper wings.
Once again, Jaxom and Ruth were part of the ancient defense of Pern, falling into its rhythm, escaping its hazards, flicking in and out of between, weaving across the breadth of Thread, flaming swathes through the deadly rainfall. Together they acted by reflex born of long practice, quite apart from conscious direction of either partner.
They had done at least eight traverses of the Fall, drifting farther and farther south and east, when a blue dragon just ahead of them screamed and ducked between. Jaxom tensed and waited a heartbeat, scanning for the blue's return. The blue reentered hundreds of lengths below his point of exit. His left wingsail was dotted with Threadchar.
He's badly hit, Ruth told Jaxom as the blue winked out again, no doubt to return to the Weyr and the waiting weyrfolk who would drench his injury in numbweed, ending his pain. One of the new young riders. There's always one who doesn't keep his eyes open.
Jaxom wasn't sure if Ruth meant the rider or the dragon. Suddenly Ruth veered, the riding straps cutting into Jaxom's left thigh as the white dragon evaded a thick clump. He did a reverse turn, almost on his tail, and flung himself down at the receding cluster, blowing mightily. Righting himself, he turned his head peremptorily to his rider, and Jaxom obediently offered more firestone. Chomping as he rose to see where his flame would next be useful, Ruth swerved to his right, once again throwing Jaxom's weight against the riding straps. Abruptly Jaxom felt the front strap stretch, leaving him far too loose in the saddle. Quickly he grabbed a neck ridge with his right hand, clamped his legs tight to the saddle, and hung on tight to the left-hand straps.
Ruth reacted on the instant, halting midair to allow Jaxom to regain his balance. A dribble of flame escaped his lips as he turned wondering eyes on his rider.
The strap broke? Ruth's query was laced with astonishment.
Jaxom felt along the length of it with gloved fingers. The worn spot was easy to locate, right below the belt clip, the leather stretched but not parted. It had been a very near thing. A little more pressure, and the strap would have snapped, flinging the rider dangerously out of the saddle.
All too clearly now, Jaxom remembered the ominous conversation he had overheard. Surely they could not have implemented their plan overnight? "An accident," they had said. What would be less suspicious than a rider's faulty harness?
A dragonman maintained his own riding straps, renewing them frequently, testing them every Fall for signs of wear or strain. Jaxom cursed himself. He hadn't actually looked at his harness that morning, merely lifted it from its peg in Ruth's weyr, a place open to anyone in Ruatha. And to any casual visitor.
One thing was colder than between or space. Fear!
It's not broken, Ruth. But the leather is badly stretched. Let's get back to Fort, and I'll cadge a replacement from the Weyrlingmaster. Tell Lioth why we're leaving. We won't be long.
Jaxom endured a well-deserved scolding from H'nalt, the Weyrlingmaster, for when they examined the leather strap, they found it to be plainly cold-hardened, brittle enough to stretch and crack. At least the metalwork of the toggles was bright enough to pass old H'nalt's scrutiny. Relieved that in this instance the problem had been caused by ordinary wear and tear, Jaxom and Ruth rejoined the Weyr and fought till the end of the Fall.
The first thing Jaxom did when he reached Ruatha was to cut new straps from the thick well-tanned leather made in his own Hold. That evening, with Jarrol's assistance, he oiled and sewed the straps onto the turnbuckles. He said nothing about the close call to Sharra, who, fortunately, was accustomed to seeing Jaxom spending an evening mending riding straps. Later, when he saw that Ruth was comfortably bedded down in his weyr, Jaxom put the mended harness on the peg, but thereafter he concealed the one he was using, as well as the double harness he and Sharra shared. Forewarned is forearmed, he told himself.
Waking hours before dawn in Ruatha for the trip to Landing, Jaxom helped Sharra wrap a sleeping Jarrol in his warm flying gear. Shawan was far too young to be exposed to the cold of between and would be tended by his nurse during his mother's absence. There were enough enticements on this trip to pry Sharra from her maternal duties: she would see firsthand why Jaxom was so preoccupied with this venture; she would have a chance to practice her profession; and she would see her dearest friends; Jancis had agreed to mind Jarrol along with her own Pierjan while Sharra was on the Yokohama. Her two fire-lizards, bronze Meer and brown Talla, were even more excited than she was and were rebuked for their agitation by Ruth as he launched himself from the dark courtyard at Ruatha.
The weather at Landing was chilly, as the Southern Continent was in its winter season, but the land was never as bleakly brown and bare as Ruatha in winter. Sharra loved Ruatha-it was Jaxom's home and where her children had been born-but Southern was where she had spent her youth.
As soon as they entered the Aivas building, Mirrim, who had been chatting with D'ram, ran to greet them.
"I'm ready when you are," she announced.
"Easy, girl!" Jaxom laughed. Her association with T'gellan had calmed her considerably, but she still tended to become a bit overzealous in her enthusiasms. Not necessarily a bad trait, Jaxom realized, but it could be wearing on her companions.
"Well I am ready, with only the two barrels and tanks to be positioned on my green Path. And if we don't know what we're supposed to do by now"-she shot a glance at Sharra- "we never will. It's so simple. Open the packets, add water, and stir."
"Not quite," Sharra said with a grin. "It's the setting o
f the mirrors that'll take time, and their positioning is crucial to the success of the algae propagation."
"I know, I know." Mirrim impatiently dismissed that with a flick of her fingers.
"Is S'len ready, too?" Jaxom asked.
"Him!" Mirrim gave an amused grunt. "He's studying the photos of the bridge area in spite of the fact that we're supposed to get our placement directly from Ruth."
"Who's to carry the water barrels?" Sharra asked. Taking Mirrim by the hand, she led her away to check on that detail.
"Heard you told Toric what to do," D'ram commented to Jaxom, his eyes sparkling with mischief.
"No," Jaxom replied smoothly. "Lord Groghe told Toric. Anything else I should know about Landing?" he asked pointedly.
"Aivas will tell you what you need to know about Landing." D'ram shooed him down the corridor. "He's expecting you."
Just as if Jaxom had not been absent for several days, Aivas outlined the schedule.
"There is sufficient oxygen in the Environment Sector now, but the duties are nevertheless to be carried out as expeditiously as possible. The fire-lizards are to accompany Lady Sharra and Greenrider Mirrim, as they would be sensitive to any sudden drop in pressure or in oxygen level. It is also an integral part of these exercises to accustom as many fire-lizards as possible to the act of transferring from the planet to the Yokohama."
"When will you explain that particular wrinkle in your master plan?" Jaxom asked. Silently he mouthed the response he had come to expect.
"In due time. If you knew the answer, why did you ask, Jaxom?"
Jaxom batted both hands at the Aivas. Little escaped that entity-even silent flippancy.
"Just checking," he replied amiably. "In case due time had arrived while I was gone."
"There is a great deal to be prepared before that time is accomplished. Surely you, of all people, who have been on the Yokohama, should realize that."
"Two more Turns?"
"Five months, and twelve days, with respect to the position of the eccentric planet. Meanwhile the fire-lizards can become messengers even as they are here on the surface, transporting items required on the Yokohama which are within the scope of their abilities."
Jaxom kept his resignation to himself. They had no option but to proceed at the pace Aivas set. But what-eventually-did Aivas intend the fire-lizards to transport? Jaxom couldn't imagine.
Aware that further questioning of Aivas would be futile, he joined the others to prepare for the day's exercise. There were plenty of willing hands to help them load Ruth, Path, and S'len's Bigath with oxygen tanks and water barrels, although Mirrim fussed inordinately about how the tanks were situated on her beloved Path.
"You're wasting time, Mirrim," Jaxom said finally, when she insisted on padding the knots across Path's back. "The load sits fine and we're not flying straight, you know." Privately he wondered if Mirrim was covering up a case of nerves. Sharra was composed enough, and so was S'len, though his face was flushed with excitement.
"I just don't want them shifting," Mirrim replied stiffly.
"Shift they will. All the way to the Yokohama," S'len remarked, grinning at her.
"Enough. We go! Now, Ruth!" Jaxom said, and felt Sharra's hands work tighter onto his belt. Then he gave Ruth the mental vision of the bridge and heard the white dragon pass the instructions on to Path and Bigath.
If there were many things Jaxom did not understand about Aivas, the artificial intelligence had some problem understanding dragon capabilities. For instance, how much weight could a dragon carry? For which the answer was: How much weight did the dragon think he could carry? An answer Aivas found specious-and certainly not helpful when what was needed was hard numbers.
Then there was the question, How do dragons know where to go? "Their riders tell them," did nothing to explain the actual process to Aivas. While Aivas did accept teleportation, it could not understand why telekinesis was so impossible a concept to explain to the dragons and the fire-lizards. Especially when Ruth had indeed understood what Farli had not: to go to the Yokohama.
In checking the details of this joint trip to the spaceship, Jaxom had asked Ruth if he could carry two riders, as well as two padded barrels, one of pure water and one of carbonated water. Ruth's reply had been affirmative although, as Aivas saw the load, it was more than the dragon's slight frame ought to be able to bear.
"If Ruth thinks he can, he can," Jaxom could only reply. "And it's not that far."
It might be easier, the white dragon remarked to his rider as he launched himself into the air, to just go between from the ground instead of lifting.
Is the load too much for you after all? Jaxom asked, teasing.
Of course not. Just bulky! Everyone's set. Here we go!
There was a squawk from the five escorting fire-lizards, and the next moment the tanks clanked against the bridge walls. Exclamations of surprise from the three newcomers punctuated their arrival. Jaxom heard Sharra inhale in astonishment. Grinning, he skewed about on Ruth's neck and saw the expression of wide-eyed awe on her lovely face as she viewed the incredible vista of Pern spread out beneath them, framed by the vast blackness of space beyond. Meer and Talla, her fire-lizards, plus Mirrim's three, Reppa, Lok, and Tolly, had made the successful transfer and were tumbling about, shrieking with delight at the experience of free-fall.
"Oh!" she said, her eyes luminous with the dazzle she beheld. "Now I understand, dear heart, why you're so involved with this! Pern is so beautiful, so serene from up here. If only some of those contentious sour old men could see our world from this vantage point... Isn't it incredible, Mirrim?" There was a pause. "Mirrim?"
Jaxom turned to the green rider, who was staring out the wide window with bulging eyes.
"That's Pern?" Mirrim asked in a cracked voice. "Down there?" A limp hand pointed a finger to the deck.
"That's Pern! Isn't the view great!" Jaxom tried to sound reassuring-Mirrim was patently overwhelmed. "S'len? You all right there?"
"I th-think-ssso," the other green rider said with little confidence.
Jaxom grinned back at Sharra. "It is awesome," he agreed with the nonchalance of one who has overcome astonishment. "But stir yourselves. Remember how Aivas keeps reminding us we can't waste oxygen."
"Why not?" Mirrim demanded in her usual assertive way. "All we have to do is haul more tanks up here." With crisp motions, she unbuckled her riding straps.
"Careful now, Mirrim. You're in-ah-oops." Jaxom broke off; Mirrim had indeed forgotten how she was supposed to move in free-fall and was drifting ceilingward. "Just hold out one hand, and very carefully push away from the roof. That's right."
Mirrim had been too startled to cry out; also, she had no great wish to show to disadvantage. Now she did as directed and managed a weak grin as she grabbed Path's helpfully extended muzzle. Fortunately, the green was wedged fairly tightly between guardrail and wall and thus was not susceptible to the whimsies of free-fall.
"Make every motion slow and easy, S'len, when you're dismounting. Hang on to a neck ridge or something," Jaxom advised. Before he detached his riding straps he nodded to Sharra to follow the same advice.
Keeping up a running line of encouragement and advice, he supervised the unloading. S'len crowed in delight when he realized that the heavy tanks could be shifted by the judicious prod of one finger.
"They're still awkward," Mirrim said, poking one of the tanks toward the storage area. Then she grinned. "T'gellan should see me now. But I understand why Aivas specified green dragons."
"For once greens get the best assignments," S'len added proudly.
"Green dragons are far more versatile than anyone knows," Mirrim added staunchly. "Can't say the same for green fire-lizards," she went on, sourly observing the absurd antics of Reppa and Lok, who were tumbling end over end overhead, chittering ecstatically. Meer, Talla, and her own brown Tolly had abandoned such nonsense and were plastered against the window, their wings limp in their utter fascination with the view.
As soon as the dragons had been unloaded, Ruth encouraged Path and Bigath to join him at the window. While the white dragon floated serenely from the upper level, Path and Bigath had a few problems that the human observers found hilarious.
"They get the hang of it quickly enough," Jaxom said, watching approvingly. "After all, they're used to flying."
Once the oxygen tanks had been secured, the others had a chance to view the magnificence of the vast planet beneath them.
"Does the view stay the same?" Mirrim asked. "I can't see Benden from here."
"Or Ruatha, " Sharra added.
"I can barely make out Eastern Weyr," S'len put in, "and I thought it was pretty big!"
"That's what a geosynchronous orbit means, my friends, the ship stays in the same position relative to the surface of the planet," Jaxom said. "However, if you'll move over to that first console-easy does it!" He grabbed Mirrim before she could propel herself too forcefully away from the window. "We can see the coast of Nerat and something of Benden on the rear screen, but," he added with a nod to Sharra, "Southern Hold's over the horizon."
"Then don't let Toric up here, because all he wants to see is Southern spread out before him," she replied with a wry smile.
They all managed to transfer without incident to the navigation console, where Jaxom activated the rear screen.
"That's nothing," Mirrim said bluntly. "Too small."
"Just a minute," Jaxom replied, holding up one hand as he mentally rehearsed the procedure for altering the view on the main screen. He tapped it out and was gratified to see the screen alter.
All The Weyrs of Pern Page 26