Chap. 143 Cheated

Chap. 143 Cheated

"You're not the first rider to report  increased criminal activity, K'ndar," M'rvin said, "and I am afraid your trader acquaintance is right. We HAVE let things like sweeps slide. I would never have believed it, before the end of Thread, but we are busier, now, than we've ever been."

The Weyrleader had called a general meeting of dragonriders-at least, those dragonriders who were present. Many were out on various missions, both delegated and personal. 

"Lord Dorn brought it up the other day. He wasn't complaining so much as expressing concern at the increase of crime. He feels that criminals and raiders have been emboldened by our absence."

Siena, the Weyrwoman, added, "Part of our reasons for fewer or no sweeps is manpower. We've lost at least two dozen riders, and only gained a few. For whatever reason, few riders are transferring in."

One of the dragonriders said, "Why? Do we smell bad?" she asked.

The audience laughed.

"I'm not sure why, Sinala, I'm as puzzled as you are."

"It's the status," another called out. "We're nobodies. Some riders want that badge that says they're in a famous weyr.  We're the newest weyr, we're the runt puppy in the litter. We don't have the credentials or the fame some of the old ones have…like Benden. Or High Reaches."

"Anyone who wants to live at High Reaches is welcome to it," one man said. "Only difference between summer and winter there is it that summer's snow only comes up to your arse, 'stead of your neck," he said.

More laughter erupted. 

"Well, Benden won't be taking on any more," another said, "They're full up, from what I hear, I was there last month."

M'rvin nodded. 

"I don't want to see crime increase in our area, any more than it has. So we are resuming sweeps. For now, I'm asking for volunteers, as I don't want to interrupt any mission that we've already agreed to, or impede on a personal mission you may have undertaken. If I don't get enough volunteers, I will be forced to start assigning it, as I used to when we had Thread to fight.

But to balance that, I will say thank you, all, for taking hold and doing a tremendous amount of work on this year's harvest. I know most of you had never done some of the work that you were assigned, and you did Kahrain Steppe Weyr proud.

 I heard several comments from farmers, and foresters, all the folks who do that hard work of providing us food, fuel, furniture and fodder, even Lord Dorn, saying how happy they were…and surprised! at the amount of work you all did, and more, your willingness to do so. This is how we should plan on functioning in the future.  I  never want to return to the days of Interval, when no thread fell for years and dragonriders were treated like scum. Let's never let that happen, ever again. "

There was a general agreement, although many of the riders began to think of things to do other than sweeps. 

"I'll have a schedule posted in Flight Ops tomorrow morning," Siena said, "anyone who wants to volunteer, come in and we'll get you scheduled."

"Sir," F'mart, bronze rider, stood up, "if, while sweeping, we  happen to catch a raider, do we bring 'em here, or to Singing Waters Hold?"

"F'mart, you just clarified for me the extant of the problem. Have you never flown a sweep?" M'rvin said.

"No, sir. By the time I was fully qualified, after graduation and all, I was tasked with other things, then Thread stopped falling. It was just luck of the draw, I think, because most of my classmates had flown a few, I think. But I was also given a choice of tasks, and I always took the one that didn't mean sweeping."

K'ndar nodded in silent agreement. He'd flown several, but mostly because he LIKED flying sweeps.

"As I said, for now, I'll make sweep riding a voluntary task, but should you be chosen, or volunteer, you will be paired with someone with experience. But to answer your question, our sweeps will be confined to the areas we formerly patrolled for Thread. Lord Dorn will hold jurisdiction to criminals and raiders caught in private cotholds, the cotholds and crafthalls within and beholden to Singing Waters Hold and the Hold itself. 

If it's in our lands, we have jurisdiction. However, I almost always defer to Lord Dorn, as he has far more experience in judging and sentencing…and he has the cells to hold prisoners."

F'mart nodded, but remained standing. "I guess what I want to know, sir, is..if we catch a bad 'un, can we, um…rough him up a little before we drop him at the Hold?"

"From a couple thousand meters up, sir?" someone yelled out.

The audience roared.

_________________________________________________________________________ K'ndar entered the Flight Ops office to look at the schedule. He was encouraged to see several others were in line ahead of him. The schedules that were still open were posted on a slate board. Ah, that one, he thought, the one saying "Steppelands".

He remembered when a trip to Flight Ops usually meant one was going to be flying out to meet and kill Thread. It had always filled him with a combination of thrill and dread. He'd always been afraid of Thread. Now, though, it was as if thread had been a bad dream, a nightmare.

When it came his turn, he approached the desk of the Flight Ops manager, an old dragonrider.

"K'ndar, isn't it? D'mitran, wingleader?" 

"Yes, ma'am. You have a good memory," he complimented,  as he'd been the last Weyrling class to ever fight thread, and that was some time ago. Wow, he thought, a long time ago. Two years? 

"Of course I do. You'd better have one, too, young man," she snapped. 

Ohhhhhhhhhkay, he thought, someone's testy. Maybe her green was going into heat.

"Have you looked at the schedule?"

"Yes, ma'am, I have, and if I can, I'd like to sweep the steppe, the eastern border, tomorrow," he said. If he did, he might get a chance to drop in at his home cothold and say hello to his family.

"That's open, fine. You report in here tomorrow at dawn. Got a teammate picked out?"

He'd forgotten that. 

"No, ma'am, but if she's not signed up already, I'd like Greta."

"Greta? Greta? We have no Greta," the woman said. 

K'ndar was perplexed.

"Oh, she must not have transferred in, yet?"

Her assistant looked over the personnel board. "Oh, Greta, green rider of Earth?"

"Aye," K'ndar said.

"Hmmm…" the assistant said, "I think she's the Northern green rider who was staying in one of the guest weyrs. The last annotation, here, is a couple weeks old, when we were assigning harvest tasks. Nothing since then."

 "Oh, THAT Greta," the woman said. "Oh, she signed out a while ago.  She never did officially transfer in, was just on the board as a transient, a guest."

K'ndar was shocked. True, he'd not seen her in a week or so, but he thought she'd be staying at the weyr permanently.

"Sorry, K'ndar. Give me a name, someone you want to fly with."

"Okay," he said, without thinking it through, "B'rost, then." 

The Ops manager scanned her boards. "Nope. Drawing a blank there, K'ndar? B'rost officially transferred out last week. Didn't say where he was going."

"Aye," her assistant said, "He and Greta signed out together, same time. No indication of where they were going."

"Um…um…." K'ndar was stupefied. B'rost and Greta left together? Without saying a word to him? What in the world?

"Come on, K'ndar, give me a name or I'll assign you a teammate," Ops said.

He hated her for a moment, unable to think fast enough.

F'mart, who'd joined the line a ways behind K'ndar, stepped up to the desk.

"Uh, can I fly with K'ndar?" he said.

K'ndar was surprised. And, a bit..honored.

"Done. K'ndar, brown rider and F'mart, bronze, tomorrow morning at dawn, you sweep the eastern border and steppe. Next!"

F'mart grinned.

_____________________________________________________________________

Well, he thought, as he trudged back to his weyr, that was a surprise. F'mart!   I'm astonished. He was such an arsehole in Weyrling class. Can someone change that much?  Has he really changed?  Well, even if he hasn't-I always could handle his hazing, and now I won't tolerate it at all. But if it comes down to fighting, I can't think of a better man I want at my side. 

Huh. B'rost and Greta. Left together!  B'rost is gay, so it can't be he's romantically involved with her? Naw. For that matter, Greta had never demonstrated anything but a  friendly but professional relationship with her male teammates. So it had to be rocks. Two geologists, enjoying a kinship based on their shared passion. Like me and horsefolk. Doesn't matter if I've never met a person before, if there's a horse involved, we're already friends. Speaking the same language, sharing the same feelings.

Something was shouting in  his mind, waving its arms in dismay and alarm. Something she'd left with, something…something undone, some promise made….

Glyena.  

My baby sister.

Glyena had made Greta a new dragon harness on Greta's promise that payment would be a mount at Ruatha Holds' famous horse races, the biggest and best of all Pern. The races and Ruatha's gigantic Gather was next weekend. 

She left. She left without paying Glyena. She made a promise to a little girl that she never intended to keep.  

Fury engulfed him at the betrayal. And dismay. How would he break the news to a little girl? His sister, who had trusted his judgement of Greta's character. She'd done a beautiful job making a harness. And now, she'd been cheated. Lied to. By Greta.

That bitch.