Search found 6 matches for Site-Main-Plot

Harper Timiny entered the Headwoman's office after she completed her interview with each Candidate.  She would leave to check on other things around the Weyr while he quizzed the youngsters.  After introducing himself as Master Harper Timiny, he indicates they should sit on one of the stools between the sand table and the chalk slate on the wall, and hands them a sheet of paper.

"First, read the text on this page."



After the Candidate has read - or attempted to read - aloud the top half of the sheet, Harper Timiny instructs them to answer the mathematical questions on the bottom half, indicating the chalk and slate on the wall be used for any calculations the Candidate needs to do.



After the Candidate performs - or attempts to perform - the calculations, Journeyman Timiny instructs the Candidate to transcribe his dictation of the following on the sand table.



"Alright, you're good to go."  The Harper had been taking notes throughout the examination, which he put away before opening the door to the office and waving the Candidate out.  He gave no indication of his opinion or assessment of their abilities, remaining incredibly impassive throughout the exam.

Education Scores

Reading: 1 point per word, 10 points overall for properly handling commas, periods, and other punctuation.
Math: 5 points per calculation (20 calculations total)
Writing: 1 point per word; 1 point per 2 punctuation (2 errors allowed).

#Site-Main-Plot

Lery had gotten an office set up off the Great Hall (as of 3/23); despite her protestations, several people considered getting her office set up a high priority.  As Headwoman, she needed an office that was reasonably accessible to visiting dignitaries.  If they ever had any, anyway.  She had made a legible copy of H'lee's list of potential Candidates.  Now that she had some semblance of privacy and she and Alina had gotten the base routines established, she had time to interview each of the potential Candidates.  She didn't have any particular order.

She had been adamant about having double doors that could open both ways: she needed foot traffic to be able to come and go at any time without worrying about collisions in the doorway!  When a person entered her office, the first thing they'd see was the sand table, which she'd managed to get built fairly quickly, and three stools haphazardly placed around it.  To its right, on the one flat, straight wall in the office, hung a map of Pern, a map of the Weyr, a slate with chalk, and a pegboard.

Behind it, against the wooden wall opposite the door, was a wood cookstove.  It needed some modifications, but for the moment, it was good enough to keep pots of klah and stew hot, and a warming bay for bread.  To the left was a table and a couple of benches from the cafeteria that Lery was, for the time being, using as a desk; she desperately missed her old desk and chairs.  To the left of that was a large, empty space; there was a door in the back wall, which was shut.

As each Candidate came in, they were offered a mug of klah, a bowl of stew, and a biscuit as they took a seat on one side of the table-desk.  Lery would attempt to draw out the reluctant and calm the loquacious.  After she'd gotten them to answer the interview questions, she would assign them a bunk (the first rooms were finished as of 3/20), chores, and classes.

#Site-Main-Plot

3489.05.27

Time travel is a strange thing, H'lee mused as they settled, all weary, on the sands of Benden Weyr's Hatching Grounds on the seventh day.  We wake sometime in the morning, feed the dragons whatever we can, check their hides for cracks, check our gear, and at noon, go into the Weyrbowl where we can get everyone off the ground at once.  Then Silvara gives our dragons coordinates based on the nighttime sky, and we go between to that time, and it's nighttime again.

Aloud, he grumbled, "I could stand to actually get a full night's sleep between trips.  This arriving in the middle of the night and leaving by noon is getting exhausting."  T'lon muttered something unintelligible in agreement.

"Now?  Really?!  Okay, okay.  EVERYBODY OUT OF THE HATCHING GROUNDS!" came the exhausted but commanding bellow from Sikra.  Dragons, riders, and Weyrfolk scattered in every direction as Reesteth rumbled and lashed her tail before her rider shushed her.

H'lee knew that particular growl - the gold dragon was ready to clutch.  At first, he felt exasperated.  Couldn't she have waited until they were where...no, when...they wanted to go?  But then he realized something wonderful: he'd FINALLY get a full night's sleep!  In fact, he could probably sleep all day tomorrow!  Reesteth had always been a pretty reliable clutchmother when it came to how long it took to lay her eggs: she consistently took 55 minutes to lay each egg.  Of course, they had no idea how many eggs she would lay, but it would almost certainly be more than ten, so that would be at least nine hours of relative peace and quiet; once laid, they needed to wait at least 12 hours before risking moving them, and 24 hours would be better.

T'lon was the one who got everyone organized and away from the Hatching Grounds.  The biggest problem, so to speak, was the dragons: they couldn't lounge in the Weyrbowl where they might be seen by suspicious, prying eyes, but none of them wanted to stay in the same room as a clutching queen.  In fact, even the other two queens didn't want to be there!  It was fortunate it was dark; the dragons slipped out through the upper entrance and into the weyrs surrounding the two Hatching Grounds entrances.  These were east-facing weyrs, which meant morning sunlight streaming in for the dragons to sun themselves in while remaining concealed.  Of course, for the riders, that meant the dawn sun bursting into the rooms while they were trying to sleep.

Unfortunately, the two other queen riders worried that Reesteth's clutching would stimulate their dragons.  The golds had risen a few days apart, so Selianth should clutch in about three days' time, and Saraidth four days after Selianth, but it wasn't unheard of for one gold dragon to affect others that she was near.  They had another five days' travel before they got to where...when...they were going.  Except it wasn't really five days, it was only about three, because they were only staying put for about half a day...

H'lee's head hurt.

The point was, Selianth would almost definitely clutch before they finished their trip, so they'd be delayed another day, but Saraidth probably wouldn't clutch until afterward.  H'lee couldn't believe they'd made it through with 35 dragons.  But Saraidth HAD to wait to clutch until they got to the end of their journey, because it was unlikely that they had enough dragons to carry all the eggs between times.

And then there was Reese.  The little gold was despondent most of the time, except when they first arrived each day: she'd perk up and flutter around for a bit before plunking down somewhere out of the way and looking miserable.  H'lee suspected that, if the firelizard had her way, she'd have gone back...forward...shardit...in a single jump instead of a series, just so she could get to her master more quickly.  But that wasn't safe for her, something that one of the other riders must have impressed on her.  Probably Silvara.

After the dragons were settled, a small conference was called: Sikra, Prilla, and Emylee; T'lon, D'ver, and T'zal; H'lee, Silvara, Lery, and Alina.  H'lee wanted to sleep, not go to a meeting, a sentiment that, judging by the various scowls and sleepy expressions, was shared by most of the others.  "It occurred to us," Emylee started, "that we don't know if this fellow Learyam will be waiting for us at the Weyr when we get there.  He didn't give us a date to arrive, but gave us charts with the astronomical phenomena for several dates in the year 3941.  We targeted the spring equinox because according to the newspaper clippings he sent, enough Thread had fallen for it to have been definitively identified and panic to be starting to set in among the holders, which should afford us some level of protection, but it's early enough in the year that most Falls will freeze or drown, so we're not desperately needed yet.  So we need some way of telling Learyam we've arrived, if he's not waiting for us."

H'lee sighed.  He'd been taking care of Reese for the most part, because she'd been sent back in time to him, specifically.  "I'm pretty sure Reese's antics each time we finish a jump are her trying to sense him.  I can't believe she hasn't left on her own to get to him already.  When we do arrive in a time where he exists, that will probably be the last time we see her."

T'lon chimed in, "Well, then, let's put a note on her telling him where we are, and make sure it's secure before we do that last jump, so that as soon as we get there and she takes off, she'll take the message to him?"

"The last TWO jumps," Lery pointed out.  "The last jump is only going to be, what, 50 years?"

"52," someone interjected, although she didn't wait for anyone to correct her.

"We don't know how old this Learyam is.  He could easily be old enough for her to sense him on the next-to-last jump."  H'lee wrinkled his nose at her.  That would just make Reese so happy, he thought sarcastically to himself, if they made the next-to-last jump and she'd gotten excited because he put the message tube on her, and then she couldn't find her master.  But that didn't mean it wasn't a good point, and he sighed again, this time resignedly.

"H'lee, you better be the one to write the message," Sikra delegated.  "Remember, don't get too detailed.  We don't want to put our entire plan down in writing, just in case it's intercepted."  There was a pause as everyone shifted uncomfortably; most of them had had some sort of adverse experience with written information being intercepted by the AWs, whether it was simple blackmail or actual physical harm.

H'lee nodded.  "Can do.  But not tonight.  If there's nothing else, can we go get some rest for a change?"  The last came out somewhat plaintively, bringing tired smiles to most of the others in the room.  Sikra dismissed them with a wave, staying seated where she was - they'd met on the Stands, and she would be staying there until Reesteth finished clutching.  Someone, probably Lery or Alina, had set up as comfortable a pile of furs as possible between two rows of seats, where the goldrider would be secure and somewhat out-of-sight.

#Site-Main-Plot

H'lee & Lery

H'lee was frantic.

They'd barely scraped together enough Candidates for all the eggs, and if any of them proved unsuitable, there wouldn't be very many options in the Stands.  They couldn't invite all and sundry to attend the Hatching like they used to, there would only be the Weyrfolk who had come forward and a few dozen people from Exile Hold to observe this...well, who was he fooling?  It was rather a momentous occasion.

The Weyrlingmaster was overseeing the frantic slaughter and butcher of herdbeasts and wherries to feed the hatchlings.  Not for the first time, he mentally praised his cousin's ability to determine the color of the hatchlings in the eggs, though he never said anything aloud; too many people enjoyed betting on the outcomes and he and Silv would just spoil it for the rest, but it made it much easier for him to estimate how much meat he'd need for each hatchling, since he had long ago learned how to estimate the size of a hatchling based on its egg size and what color Silv told him it would be.  Each new hatchling could put away at least half a bucket of meat (about 10 pounds), and the larger golds and bronzes could consume 2-3 buckets; they had precious few herdbeasts, which were harder to transport to the isolated Weyr, so only the fattest steer was put up for slaughter, and it produced enough for a little better than half of the hungry weyrlings.  Fortunately, there were plenty of wild wherries in the area, and while they were leaner than ones raised in captivity (it took three wild ones to fill two buckets, but only two domestic ones), they were abundant.  Of course, catching them was trickier; they'd only caught a baker's dozen, which meant they had to butcher six of their domestic ones to fill the rest of the buckets.  H'lee made a note to ask the holders for more herdbeasts; wherries wouldn't be enough to provide a single meal to a hungry, growing dragon for more than a month, maybe six weeks, and they'd be up to eating as much as half a herdbeast apiece in six months.

And then there was the Hatching Grounds.  They'd gotten enough sand brought in for the 38 eggs, but that was it.  There was enough room in the chamber for 3 golds to have their eggs simultaneously, but without a gold brooding over them, they'd been able to cluster all of the current eggs together at one end, leaving the other half of the chamber barren of sand.  There were no seats to speak of for the visitors to sit in yet; that had been a low priority for the handful of Stonemasons that they'd had available - weyrs and shoring up the Lower Caverns and providing sleeping areas for non-riders had come first.  So all the guests would have to stand in the un-sanded part of the dome.

And if that weren't bad enough, Thread was Falling.  Nowhere near them, thankfully, but it had been reported to the north.  The dragons were edgy and anxious to take to the skies, but that was one thing they didn't have yet: firestone.  Nor any flamethrowers, for that matter.  And so they were all supposed to hole up inside, which made the dragons cranky.

So H'lee busied himself first with getting the meat chopped, then with getting the small tables set up, each with a bucket of meat, two baskets of water (one with a scrub brush), and a small jar of oil (another unexpectedly-precious commodity).  With so few Weyrfolk, he was handling many of the tasks himself, something that he was unaccustomed to: usually, he had half a dozen weyrlings to order around.  And of course, it had been many years since he'd been one of those weyrlings.

Arranging the tables to his liking took exceptionally long because he was constantly pausing to argue with Seeth, whose desires alternated between haring off to fight Thread and hovering protectively over the eggs.  H'lee was quite glad he didn't have to wrangle the Candidates: he left that in Lery's capable hands (undoubtedly, she'd reassigned the task to someone else, perhaps Alina).

Once the tables were arranged, he went off in search of the available Healers to make sure they were prepared to handle injuries.  Inevitably, there were a handful of burns, minor scrapes and bruises, and the occasional gash, but with 38 eggs hatching simultaneously - or as near to it as nevermind - the Weyrlingmaster was honestly concerned about more severe injuries.  Firelizard hatchlings were known to seriously injure each other if food was hard to get at, and the spectators were going to be directly between the eggs and the tables H'lee had set up outside.  He wanted the Healers positioned in two groups, one between the spectators and the eggs, and one near the tables.

After making sure the Healers were getting along, he asked Seeth to convene all the riders: they were going to be crucial to keeping the hatchlings separated, not only from each other, but also from non-riders, particularly any family members who might accidentally intervene between a new weyrling pair and their destination outside.  He wanted the smaller blue and green dragons on the floor of the Hatching Grounds where they could physically interpose themselves between potential problems; in the meantime, all the riders would be forming a cordon between the two Healer positions, presenting a clear and straight path out of the Sands.

The only exception to this rule were Silvara and Warrelith, as well as the three bronze riders.  The latter were stationed near the gold eggs, which had been purposefully situated in three separate locations, as far away from each other as they could be without being off the Sands.  It would be the bronzeriders' and their dragons' responsibilities to help keep the young golds in line long enough to get them fed and bedded down.  As for Silvara and Warrelith, H'lee asked that they perch on one of the few ledges where they had a crystal-clear view of the entire proceedings and act as director of activities, as it were: watching for problems and guiding dragons and/or riders into place before anything could get out of hand.  And, he hoped, she'd be able to quickly and powerfully intervene with any serious confrontations and quash any major problems.  He knew she didn't enjoy Hatchings because there were usually an overabundance of people, and in addition, emotions ran high during these events, but he desperately needed her there this time.

By this time, guests were arriving; not by traditional dragon conveyance - they were still hiding from the anti-Weyr factions - but by more simple boat and foot.  It was approaching lunchtime by now, and there wasn't even a hint of a hum from the dragons yet, so the guests were directed to the roughed-out Great Hall, where a light lunch consisting mostly of finger-sized bits of fruit and vegetables had been laid out.  Some had already eaten before coming and chose to lounge around in the spectator areas in the Grounds and bet on the eggs.  The Weyrlingmaster avoided them diligently and focused on all of the minutiae of preparing for the Hatching: checking the barracks, the tables, the Healers again, although he refrained from checking with the riders again; many of them were just as anxious as he was and his nagging would only serve to ignite the agenothree that was pumping through all their veins.

Finally, two hours after lunch, a curious warbling echoed through the Hatching Grounds and out into the Bowl, followed by a sort of hiccup and then the dragons' voices settled into a warm, happy hum.  Seeth's, It begins! was unnecessary, as every human not already in the Hatching Grounds picked up their feet and bolted for the entrance; all of the dragons were already inside, most had been there since early morning.  H'lee found he wasn't entirely certain where he should be: inside, watching the hatching and guiding the youngsters out, or outside, overseeing their feeding and scrubbing.  He greatly desired to watch the eggs hatch, but there was no one else to care for the hatchlings outside, and he realized that all of the other adult riders were already inside where they could protect the hatchlings as well, if not better, than he could alone.

But that didn't mean he couldn't watch the first eggs crack and the first Impression or two...

---

Lery was nearly as frantic.  With less than 200 people to feed for the Feast, there wasn't as much strain on the kitchens as there would normally be, but they also didn't have the resources that she was used to working with.  Many of their meat animals were being reserved for the hatchlings (both for today and for the next two years), although she'd managed to procure a steer to roast (which spit was currently being turned by whoever had a free moment) and a couple of wherries (which were in the ovens that were heating pots of boiling water for soups and stews).  Any Candidate with cooking experience, who hadn't chosen a Craft, or whose Craft was otherwise uninvolved with other preparations had been wrangled into helping: turning the spit, chopping vegetables, or washing the too-few pots and pans as they were emptied of their previous contents so they could be put right back into service for the next dish.

Lery had arranged first for the chopping of finger-sized portions of fruits and vegetables to be laid out with some dips as a luncheon for guests and Weyrfolk alike.  The light foods served three purposes: it didn't deplete their stores significantly, it would be less likely to make anyone feel ill while standing in the heat of the Hatching Grounds, and it meant fewer leftovers to deal with after the Feast because everyone would be quite hungry by dinnertime.

The other Candidates had been put in Alina's charge: there were many other things they needed - shoulder knots for the new weyrlings, sleeping arrangements for guests, curtains in the weyrling barracks to give them some semblance of privacy, setting up the Harper dais and a rudimentary dance floor, setting up and decorating tables for the Feast, and one new and entirely unexpected task: something called a "white flitter gift exchange" (where the name came from, no one knows anymore) - gifts wrapped in white paper had been brought by many of the guests, but with no particular name attached to them, and were to be laid out at a table and the successful Candidates could pick a random gift from the table at the Feast (any leftover gifts would belong to the Weyr itself).

At lunchtime, Lery sent a message to Alina to send all the Candidates to the bathing rooms and sent the ones she'd been wrangling all morning off to have a bath, as well.  She sent some trays of finger foods with them and told them to eat after they'd bathed and then rest in the Candidate barracks until the humming started.

The Headwoman started when the dragons warbled to announce the start of the Hatching, and then began to hum. Cursing under her breath, she dashed for the Candidate barracks and shepherded them to the Sands.  "Remember what I told you about keeping your distance and letting the hatchlings do their thing!  And if you Impress, head that way," she pointed toward the pathway the dragonriders were creating, "and keep your dragons separated!"  She watched anxiously as the Candidates filed out onto the Sands and took their places in front of the eggs.

Then she realized that H'lee would be manning the weyrling tables alone for the first few hatchlings, so she hurried around the edges of the Hatching Grounds and joined him to watch the first couple of Impressions and assist him in taking care of the first weyrlings off the Sands.  She smiled nervously at him and took one of his hands in hers as she turned to watch the Candidates: including their son and his older daughter whom Lery had adopted.

#Site-Main-Plot

H'lee was infernally glad he wasn't in T'lon's boots right now, trying to iron out the difficulties among the riders, all from different Weyrs: two bronzes from Ista and Xanadu Weyrs; five browns from Fort, High Reaches, Ista, Southern, and Monaco Bay Weyrs; nine blues, one from each Fort, High Reaches, Ista, Igen, and Xanadu Weyrs and two from each Southern and Monaco Bay Weyrs; and twelve greens, one from each Ista, Southern, and Monaco Bay Weyrs, two from Fort, High Reaches, and Xanadu Weyrs, and three from Igen Weyr.  Naturally, the other two bronzeriders thought they'd make better Wingleaders than T'lon, nevermind that T'lon was the only one with Wingleader experience; the others had Wingsecond and Wingthird experience, but so did a couple of the brownriders, which was making THAT interesting, too.

H'lee had refused flat-out to have anything to do with that.  "I'm the Weyrlingmaster and you've saddled me with 39 eggs.  I am going to have my hands MORE than full with them, I can't express how much I don't want a part of Wing leadership, thank you very much."  He had glared at Sikra and the other two goldriders who'd brought their egg-heavy queens forward to help and were trying to settle the leadership question for everyone before they returned home and they'd chuckled and allowed that he would.  He'd actually argued for not putting T'lon in place because he was going to need a bronze to help with the gold weyrlings, but they had, logically, pointed out that that particular job requirement was only part-time, so T'lon could continue as Wingleader and erstwhile Weyrleader until the golds were old enough.  Which effectively left H'lee alone with the weyrlings.

"Why are you so worried about this?  It's not like you haven't dealt with that many weyrlings before," Lery asked him.

"Yeah, at different ages, at least four months apart in age.  Not 39 of the same age!"  There wasn't much Lery could say about that.

39 eggs, 6 Weyrs: none of them felt comfortable using Telgar Weyr, too many negative emotions relating to the disease that had been unleashed.  And Southern and Monaco Bay didn't have well-enclosed Hatching Grounds.  That meant six eggs to most of the Weyrs, with a seventh egg in a couple of Weyrs.  Benden, Fort, and Igen were selected for the extras.

So here were H'lee, T'lon, Silv, and four others, bringing seven eggs to Fort Weyr, including one of the precious gold eggs.  And H'lee, T'lon, and Silv were in the middle of an argument about children; specifically, Nylee.  Lerane had stood for a couple of Hatchings already, although H'lee had been nervous about it with all the violence directed at the Weyrs.  After losing Nylee's parents, H'lee had become a bit overprotective of her and he was not at all keen on letting her Stand at what he was calling the "mega-Hatching."

Lery and Alina had both chimed in on the subject.  Lery pointed out that since both her parents were dragonriders, it was almost a given that Nylee would be as well, and keeping her off the Sands wouldn't likely prevent that.

She will make a good rider.  Warrelith knows it.  We all know it.  She should stand.  Seeth was saying as they landed a bit after midnight in Fort Weyr's Hatching Grounds.

"Oh, c'mon, not you, too," H'lee groaned.  Seeth settled his precious burden on the Sands and snaked his head around to snort at his rider.  Undoubtedly, Roth and Warrelith were agreeing with Seeth on this; for all he knew, the other four dragons were, too.  He glared at the lot of them.  "After what happened to her mother?  Do any of you know if she even WANTS to be a dragonrider?" he growled.

Do you?  Have you asked her? Seeth huffed at him.  The brownrider snarled but didn't answer.

Further arguments ensued among the dragons and their riders over the suitability of Nylee, Lerane, and the handful of other children brought along by their rider parents while the group carefully nestled the eggs they'd brought into concealed nooks and crannies, safely out of sight to an alert observer.  Someone would have to search the Sands quite thoroughly to find them.  Finally, H'lee called a truce on the debates about potential Candidates and suggested that they all get some sleep.  Except for Silvara, they'd be going out in pairs the following day to follow up on any potentials that Silv and Warrelith were able to pick out.  He gave Silvara a pointed look, knowing that she would likely have difficulty sleeping with so many unfamiliar people around and knowing what would happen...or was happening...or had happened...whatever...back in their time; he'd intentionally made sure that there were some herbal sleeping draughts as well as a small bottle of fellis in her pack just in case.  Regardless, he fully expected that she and Warrelith would do a little mental sneaking around in Fort Hold before falling asleep, if for no other reason than to reassure themselves of each other's presence.  And also to make sure that they weren't about to be discovered by some curious holder child or Harper Apprentice.  They all remembered the legends of how Harper Hall Apprentices were expected to stay overnight in the abandoned Weyr in Lessa's time, it wouldn't surprise them at all to find out the same thing happened now, despite the stigma attached to the Weyrs in this day and age.

---

In the pre-dawn light, three pairs of riders slipped out cross-country to come into the Hold from different directions.  Certainly, they couldn't be seen coming in from the direction of the Weyr.  They needed some herdbeasts or wherries to feed the dragons, or even fish; that was one of their ruses for entering the Hold and possibly visiting some of the nearby holdings.  Silv was in contact with them through Warrelith or their dragons, depending on what needed to be conveyed.  She was scanning the area for anyone with strong empathic or telepathic Gifts and, through a strong rapport with Warrelith, performing a somewhat more traditional Search.  If and when one of them identified a potential Candidate, Silvara used her Farsight to get a location fix on the potential and then would relay the location to the nearest pair of riders.  Then the pair would move in to observe the potential, maybe ask some roundabout questions about the target, at least enough to find out their name and rank, and then move on.  After they all returned to the Weyr that afternoon/evening, they'd discuss the potentials and decide which ones would be easy to extract and take to the Weyr at Hatching time.

H'lee and T'lon took the easiest route to the Weyr, H'lee playing shamelessly on his crippled leg to get that dispensation from the others.  They arrived half an hour after dawn, footsore and bickering about whether Lery would prefer herdbeast or wherry to feed them.  The Hold was no longer confined to the walls, it sprawled out some distance from the main Hold.  On the one hand, that meant there were no guards in this area and it would be relatively easy to find the food they were sent in search of, but on the other hand, that simplicity would make it more difficult to come up with reasons to linger.  Fortunately, they had considered that and had brought some goods to sell or trade.  Some street-corner peddling would keep them in the area a little longer, or so they hoped.  H'lee's trade as a tanner also gave them an additional reason to be looking for living livestock, as well as a reason why they'd had to walk a long way.

Seeth, let Silvara know T'lon and I have arrived, would you?  He half-expected Warrelith to be the one to contact him back rather than relaying through Seeth once he and his rider found a location of a potential in their area.  Meanwhile, they started wandering, looking for some breakfast and any place they could buy or trade for the meat their dragons needed.

#Site-Main-Plot

H'lee was as anxious as any other dragonrider.  He was one of the few who had remained in the Weyrs after Thread had been permanently stopped; as a Weyrlingmaster, he was one of the few who legitimately continued to reside there.  Unfortunately, his position as trainer of new dragonriders also made him one of the biggest targets in the genocide that had been instigated against the Weyrs and their inhabitants.  Early on in the war, he and Seeth had been the target of an attack when he had gone to help the mother of his first child move back to the Weyr.  The pair had barely escaped with their lives, and that of his daughter; Nysa (the girl's mother) and her lover were not so lucky.  The attackers had come armed with flamethrowers and bottles of acid; H'lee and his brown were on the receiving end of acid hand grenades, which had put them out of commission for several weeks, and Nylee received a couple of mild burns on her hands.  After that, his adoptive mother and Weyrwoman had forbidden him from leaving the Weyr.  They had long since brought all the weyrlings back to their respective Weyrs, and all his other family were already in the Weyrs as well, so he had no reason to disobey.

Sikra's dragon was getting egg-heavy with her latest clutch when a gold firelizard arrived with a message and attached herself, literally, to H'lee.  Messages by firelizard weren't unusual, but the level of sheer exhaustion this one exhibited was.  She could barely even stir herself to eat once he slipped the message from her collar.  The brownrider was with Lery and their son when the firelizard arrived, and Sikra had been resting on the couch; Sh'zon's bronze had continued to fly her gold and she often tired of his overbearing attitude, so she'd hide out "in meetings" with the Headwoman to avoid him.  H'lee glanced at the two women, who frowned and shook their heads, also not recognizing the little gold.  He tugged the message from her collar and his eyes widened when he unrolled it to find several sheets of the paper which had become popular in recent years.

"Pretty long message," he murmured.  Lery rummaged up some meat to feed the firelizard while he started to read the message.  "Jays..." he whispered, growing pale under his tan and his eyes widening.  Sikra looked at him sharply, and he numbly passed the top sheet to her and continued to read.



Several of the additional sheets of paper contained astronomical charts showing how the Red Star's orbit had restabilized with a new path through the Oort cloud and the asteroid belt that separated Pern from the next planet in the system.  The new orbit was shorter and rounder than the old, which had the unfortunate side effect of increasing the frequency of Passes: Thread fell for four years with Intervals lasting 22 years.

The other papers were odd-sized: newspaper articles.  Some were dated from the last several months, but others were dated a few weeks into the future; one was dated the day that Sikra's clutch was due to be laid.  This is what had caused H'lee to blanch; it talked about how all of the dragonriders and their dragons, down to unhatched eggs, had been destroyed by one of the anti-Weyr factions.  Later articles were tattered, some were scorched around the edges as though they'd been pulled from a fire, but they talked about how those who supported the Weyrs were put to death or banished to the islands as criminals, and how the firelizards and dragonets had also been targeted until the species was virtually wiped out.

"Do you suppose this is a fake? A prank to demoralize us?" Sikra asked softly as Lery finished reading it over.  H'lee, although his specialty was tanning, was somewhat familiar with the processes of papermaking, since they'd replaced leather as a writing medium.

"It could be," he muttered, fingering some of the damaged papers.  "This sort of damage could be faked.  But that," he jerked his chin at the exhausted firelizard who was a wraith of what a gold should be, "that would be hard to fake, and impossible to produce without the willing cooperation of the firelizard.  I think it's real.  I think she was sent between time to bring us this."

The three of them sifted through the message again while Lerane worked on an assignment after H'lee succeeded in coaxing Reese, the firelizard, to eat something before she resumed her nap.  After some discussion, they decided to keep this among the four of them for the moment.  Sh'zon was already on the verge of trying to use dragonriders to flame locations suspected to be housing members of the more extreme anti-Weyr factions; this information would push him over the edge.

Finally, Lery sighed.  "The only answer I can see is for you to go between time with Reesteth," she frowned for a moment, looking at the miniature queen napping on the table, before her lips quirked into a smile, "into the future, past the point of where these events took place. Before she gets so egg-heavy she can't go, just...just in case."

H'lee frowned.  "Not alone.  You should take the whole Weyr.  If Thread is returning, you'll need more than just one clutch of weyrlings.  Besides, that gives you more backup in case something goes wrong."

Moments after he made that statement, someone pounded on the door.  They swiftly slipped the papers underneath another stack on the desk while Lery went to answer.  Lery squawked in surprise and there was a greeat deal of whispering at the door before the Headwoman closed it and returned.  "You look like you've seen a ghost," Sikra said.

"You could say that.  I saw you."  Sikra and H'lee stared at her.  "You said that we had to wait until after the eggs were laid and take them forward, one to each Weyr, and only H'lee could go with them.  You tried to take the whole Weyr, and the anti-Weyr factions were waiting for you and killed everyone when you arrived; you and H'lee barely escaped, and H'lee died before they could complete the journey back.  Judging by how you looked just now, I don't think you'll live longer than it takes to go far enough between times to keep your death from affecting us in the now.  She gave me this," and she handed them another piece of paper.

H'lee snatched it.  "That's...my handwriting," he said.  "Reesteth must appear to still be egg-heavy when they come, otherwise they'll hunt us down through time.  If too many adult riders come through, they'll hunt us down.  One or two adult riders may be able to escape without arousing suspicion, but not more," he read.  "Jays..."  He dropped heavily onto the couch and the three of them stared at each other for several minutes, trying to absorb the shock.

He looked at the latest note again.  "It doesn't say anything about non-riders.  If we take the eggs that far into the future, and if this is all true, then how do we find Candidates with only one or two riders to make the rounds?  And she said to spread the eggs around the Weyrs...I assume the better to hide them.  But this article," he pulled the one about the slaughter of all the riders out, "says that this happens the day before she's due to clutch.  How do we..."  He trailed off, looking at Sikra's face.

"I go between times for a couple of days so she clutches early.  I hide...somewhere.  Somewhen.  A week.  Lessa went 450 years and was unconscious for 2 days, then she came back forward in shorter jumps, but it still took two days.  If you're going triple that...you'll have to take all the eggs at once, or we have to involve more people."

H'lee thought for a minute.  "Sikra, what if you and I both go?  Then you return to the same moment we left?  That will give Reesteth the time and give us a way to get the eggs forward relatively easily."

The older woman rubbed her forehead.  Lery piped up. "You should have some non-riders with you. People who know how to handle a Weyr."

"People like you, perhaps?" H'lee quirked a smile.  He looked at the notes again.  "But we won't have much room.  Four adult passengers, tops?  Or maybe six?  I'd really rather have at least one other rider with me on this venture, and if it can't be you, Sikra, let it be Silvara."

"What if there's no gold in the clutch, though?" Sikra pointed out, avoiding the question about her daughter for the moment.

H'lee chuckled.  "And in all the years since I became a Weyrlingmaster, when have you known me to be wrong about the contents of a clutch, even before they're laid?  There will be a gold."  The two women rolled their eyes in exasperation, although there was truth to what he said; although, in truth, it was because he could always coax Silv into telling him what was in the clutch so he could take wagers (she wouldn't participate, and everyone else had long since learned not to bet against him).  "I wish we could bring more, keep a larger gene pool, but I don't know how.  Maybe a little judicious timing it when she's of age...I don't know.  And then there's the question of how to defend against Thread with only one clutch's worth of hatchlings..."

"What about not going so far forward, give yourself a couple generations to build up?" Lery asked.

"No, if we come back before Thread returns, the anti-Weyr crowd will still be trying to kill us.  We'll have to wait until after Thread comes back.  Although...if we have to wait until then anyway, I wonder why we can't bring the whole Weyr forward..."

"Because the anti-Weyr crowd would notice that the entire Weyr went somewhere," Sikra pointed out logically.  "They would have to assume we timed it; it's an ability we couldn't really hide after Ruth led the Weyrs in altering the Red Star's orbit. They'd watch the Weyrs for us to reappear in the future. They've been spreading lies about us for twenty years now, they'd have no shortage of volunteers.  Another 1,200 years without anyone to dispute their propaganda, they might not even be willing to believe that Thread returned."

"Or they believe one of their technologies will be able to save them," the brownrider pointed out dryly.  There'd been a great deal of grumbling among Crafters and dragonriders, and even some holdfolk, about the technological breakthroughs since AIVAS had retired.  Those who embraced it thought it could solve every problem and that nothing anyone had ever done could not be improved by it.  "About Silvara..."

Sikra sighed heavily.  "Alright, alright.  But only if she agrees to it.  I'll have Reesteth call her..."  The Weyrwoman paused to relay the message through her dragon.  "If you're so sure there's going to be a gold in the clutch, you'll need a bronze to keep her in line.  No offense to Seeth, but he just doesn't have the power to keep a gold under control once she's over six months of age."

H'lee winced.  He hadn't thought about that.  "Maybe I shouldn't go, we should just send T'lon," he suggested, a little reluctantly.

Both women shook their heads emphatically.  "No--" they grinned at each other and Lery waved to Sikra, who continued.  "No, T'lon's a good man and he does well with the weyrlings, but you're the one who studied Threadfall charts and maneuvers, even though it was no longer required of you when you were in training.  You have to go.  Maybe we should send you and T'lon and not Silvara," the goldrider's voice was hesitant on that last.  Silvara was her daughter, and the idea of the young woman being killed out of hand like the rest of them didn't sit well with her.

H'lee hummed to himself for a minute, thinking.  "What about sending him 'on an errand' now?  You don't have to tell anyone what the errand was.  When he doesn't return, we can mount a search for him and when no one finds him, everyone will assume that either he was killed or got lost between times?  We send him ahead to meet us.  We can't do that too many times, maybe once more, as though we're trying to complete whatever errand he was sent on."

The older woman cringed.  "I don't like it," she said flatly.  "But I don't see how else we can sneak T'lon out without raising suspicions.  And no, no more riders after him.  This is going to be hard enough to keep a secret as it is.  And this all assuming he agrees to run away.  Your friend isn't exactly known for avoiding fights," she finished with a raised eyebrow.  H'lee made a face, but had to agree.  Through Roth via Seeth, he asked T'lon to join them.

After Silvara and T'lon arrived, they handed the two riders the messages and let them read them.  There was nothing else to do then but wait for their responses.

"H'lee, darling, if you're expecting Alina and Allie to come along," Lery chimed in sweetly, "I would suggest you invite her up and ask her."  Lery and Alina got along just fine, which was a blessing for H'lee, since he cared for both of them, as well as their children.  However, he occasionally forgot that neither woman would necessarily just go along with whatever he decided.  H'lee reddened slightly and coughed; Sikra smiled, amused.  He reached out to Seeth again and asked him to convey to T'lon and Silv for one of them to bring Alina with them.

#Hlee #Tlon #Silvara #Alina #Site-Main-Plot