Chap. 164 Three Day Pass

Chap. 164 Three Day Pass

Eager to go exploring, K'ndar had just mounted Raventh when the dragon said,
The Weyrleader wishes you to report to Flight Ops

What? I'm off, K'ndar thought in irritation. For a few moments, he considered ignoring it. But Raventh had passed the message from M'rvin via the Weyrleader's bronze Arcturuth…and dragons were incapable of lying. Or shirking their duty…
Sighing, K'ndar dismounted and said, Tell them I'm on my way.

"Siskin, stay with Raventh," he said to his fire lizard.

The blue cheeped and amiably settled into his accustomed position just in front of the saddle.

"K'ndar reporting as requested, sir," he said, entering Flight Ops. M'rvin, the Weyrleader, and Pattis, the Flight Ops chief were standing in front of the office's slate board. He stole a quick glance at the duty roster. He knew that his name was not on it, but checked anyway.

M'rvin turned.

"Good morning, K'ndar, I'm sorry to interrupt your plans for today, but I've received a transport request."

K'ndar, aggrieved, said, "Begging your pardon, sir, but I'm not scheduled for any duty today, having had watch dragon yesterday."

"Watch your tongue, dragonrider," Pattis snapped.

He looked hard at her. Two years ago, he would have been quaking in his boots, but now? he thought of her as a pain in the ass. She had nothing but disdain for dragonriders in general and, it had become apparent early on, him in particular. But he knew he was not alone, that she didn't like anyone, really. She lived alone, without so much as a pet.

Pattis had always been a sour, cranky woman who was convinced that her position gave her absolute authority over any dragonrider save the Weyrleaders themselves. Gossip had it that she sometimes acted as though she outranked even them. Having been rejected at at least three Hatchings-rumor said it was more-she'd given up trying to impress a dragon, and had earned her position in the vital Flight Ops by demonstrating a genius for tracking and scheduling the myriad tasks of dragonriders. Despite her overbearing attitude and delight in terrorizing young Weyrlings, she'd been tolerated as her management kept things running like a well oiled machine.

"Got to keep a thumb on her, though," B'rant, the Weyrlingmaster had observed more than once.

K'ndar looked at her coldly. "Pattis, I always speak respectfully to and of my Weyrleaders. I am merely pointing out that I'm not scheduled for transport today. I read your duty roster daily, thus I know that one of the post graduates is scheduled for transport," he said, enunciating every syllable in his deepest tone of voice.

"Dragonrider..." she bristled, knowing his name but not willing to give him any respect if she could help it.

M'rvin interrupted. "Stand down, Ops, he's right and you know it. K'ndar, the person requesting transport asked for you specifically. It's Rahman, he'd like transport to Landing, if you would be so kind? I know it's your day off but," M'rvin said.

Ummm. Rahman. I should have known it, seeing as to how he came in on a ship yesterday, he thought.

He rummaged around in his mind, knowing he could legally refuse the task, but-Rahman had grown to be not only a mentor, a friend and a teacher, but even better, a father figure. And he did want to talk with Rahman.

It's okay. I like Rahman. We can go to Landing, and then we can go exploring THERE Raventh said.

That's a good idea he said, I don't think I've seen even a tenth of Landing.

"It's okay, sir, I'd be honored to transport Rahman," he said, although M'rvin knew K'ndar would take the job, "I don't mind. Rahman is my friend," he said.

Pattis harrumphed. "Didn't know you had any," she snarked.

"That was rude of you," he snapped back. He'd learned from others that the only way to handle her stuff was to hand it right back. By the egg, I'd love to see you mouth off to F'mart, he thought, he'd hand you your head, neatly sawn off and tagged with the advice to "feed to the wherries". He laughed.

She turned her back on him, studiously studying her slate board to avoid his eyes. Snippy young man.

M'rvin grinned.

"Sir," he thought suddenly of B'rost, "I would like a word with you in private?"

M'rvin looked at Pattis' back and then nodded. She did not turn around, but her shoulders bunched in obvious resentment. He'd make SURE she couldn't overhear them.

Outside and out of Ops' earshot, K'ndar reported what B'rost had told him about Greta's possible attempt at boarding the Yokohama.

The Weyrleader grew serious.

"That was a serious violation of what is virtually law, despite it's never been entered into the charter. I'll have to let Benden know. Thank you for telling me, I had no idea B'rost had returned," he said.

"He got back from Western this morning, sir, just after I was relieved of duty. I don't know if he intends to sign back into the Weyr or what. He looked rough, sir, thin and scruffy. Raventh talked to Rath and said he was so tired he couldn't hunt. They're both probably sleeping right now," K'ndar said.

M'rvin's mind began to race.

B'rost was a good scientist, and had done well against Thread, but had gained the reputation of being reckless and impulsive. He wasn't sure if he WANTED B'rost back on his roster of dragon riders.

Post-Thread had ushered in a new era, one where dragon riders were free to go when and where they wanted. Many of his riders had signed out, leaving the weyr for the older, fabled weyrs of the north, the ones with status. Benden, the most desirable and famous of all, had been forced to say 'no more, we're full up".

Part of him hoped B'rost was merely here for a free meal and a hot shower. D'nis, the former Weyrleader, and B'rant, the Weyrlingmaster, had both expressed dismay at B'rost's impulsive behavior. He was brave, no doubt about that-he'd witnessed B'rost's skill and courage when Thread was falling thick and fast. But he took unnecessary risks, M'rvin believed, solely to burnish his reputation.

No Weyrleader ever wanted to lose a rider through an accident, and B'rost seemed, at times, to be looking for one.

But Kahrain Steppe Weyr was shorthanded. Few riders from other weyrs had signed in. Why, he didn't know. Yet the tasks and requests for support from 'his' dragonriders' grew ever more numerous. Thankfully, his fears, like all weyrleaders, that dragonriders would become non-essential once Thread was eliminated, had proved groundless. Everyone, it seemed, wanted support.

"Did B'rost say HE tried to go to the Yokohama?" M'rvin said, hoping this would give him an edge on deciding whether to take B'rost back.

"No, sir. He didn't, at least he didn't say he did. And I know him well enough, I think that, for once, common sense held him back from doing so. I don't think he knew precisely what she was going to do. It's just…well, you don't abandon a fire lizard. That's what it sounded like to me, she managed to divert her lizard's attention long enough to prevent him from following her and Earth. Or maybe B'rost just got fed up with Greta and decided to come home."

He felt no shame in reporting on B'rost. The thought that he might be betraying B'rost's trust never occurred to him. What Greta had done probably ended up in her dying in outer space, as she-like anyone of his generation-had never been trained or equipped to function in airless space. Benden-and AIVAS-had specifically forbidden any further occupation of the starship.

He had read enough of recent history to know that a fire lizard had been the first to board the starship in order to turn on the life support systems before any human or dragon could teleport aboard. And only the smallest of dragons-Ruth-actually fit on the bridge itself. Would she have known to go inside rather than just go TO the starship?

He'd never seen a picture of the bridge, and those who did kept it a dark secret. How was it that Greta hadn't known this? Had she some information, some way of knowing what the bridge looked like? Did she not know there was no air in space? B'rost had said she had a 'gift', of being to go anywhere by merely imagining it. Had she thought that, maybe, it included the starship? Even with a so called gift, that was pushing one's luck. Maybe it was merely luck that was her 'gift'.

He remembered the saying race horse trainers lived by: You only have so much luck in life, don't waste it.

Didn't she pay attention in Weyrling school? For that matter, he wondered, what Weyr had she graduated from? He had no idea. Maybe she had told him and he'd forgotten. What he did know that every dragonrider, no, every person on Pern, had been told that the Yokohama was off limits, for any number of reasons. Maybe that was it-the lure of the forbidden, the excitement of danger coupled with a young adult's unfailing belief in one's invulnerability.

Sometimes people were fooled by what seemed a sure thing, like the steppe wherry that acts as if it were badly injured in order to lure a young dragon into approaching close enough to enable the wherry to kill and eat it.

"Then, until I talk to him, no violation has been committed, at least by B'rost," M'rvin said. "Nevertheless, I am going to have a talk with him. I won't mention that you reported to me, and I thank you for your doing so. You're a good man, K'ndar, and I'm glad to have you here at my Weyr," he said.

K'ndar dropped his eyes, humbled. "Thank you, sir. It was the right thing to do," he said.

"Aye, it was," M'rvin said. "I'm also obligated to report it to Benden. They'll want to talk to B'rost, I imagine. I admit, I'm glad Greta was never officially signed in as anything other than a guest, so I won't have a lot of explaining to do. Even so, I'll inform B'rant, as well, this will serve as a good lesson to teach the new Weyrling class, as well as a warning and reminder to anyone else in the weyrs who might be considering it," he said.

I will weigh what B'rost tells me and talk to the wingleaders before I make a decision on re-admitting him. They might not want him! he thought.

He might not WANT to be re-admitted, either Arcturuth, his bronze, said. Rath was just as reckless as B'rost. Like rider, like dragon.

Huh. You're right. I hadn't thought of that.

He reflected on what it must have felt like to die in the airless cold of space.

"Foolish girl," he said, shaking his head.

"Not a pleasant way to die, sir," K'ndar said.

"Aye, but I'll wager it was quick. Anyway, thank you, again, for briefing me, K'ndar. Hariko will know where B'rost is, and I'll let him sleep for the day. I'll have Arcturuth tell Rath that B'rost needs to report to me ASAP. But for now, off with you, sir, and thank you for stepping up to transport Rahman. I'll inform Pattis that you're to be credited for duty today."

He never minded tweaking Pattis when she had it coming. He remembered getting his share of her bile when he'd been a Weyrling. These days, only his rank as Weyrleader kept her respectful. But not too much tweak, he reminded himself, she does outstanding work. I hate to admit it, Flight Ops would be chaos without her.

"By the way, it's only fair that you are compensated for your time," M'rvin said, "so consider tomorrow and the next to be days off."

Delighted, K'ndar saluted with a laugh. Three days from now was a rest day. Essentially, he had a three day pass, starting now!