Chap. 175 After Action Report

Chap. 175 After Action report

(Author's note: my posts normally write themselves. Sometimes I feel as if Anne McCaffrey is dictating them. I originally posted this with misgivings, and after doing so, felt the need to go back and edit out part that is rather gruesome.)

K'ndar, D'mitran and B'rost had each verbally reported their part of the rescue of Harve from the island.
Jansen, one of the many techs who lived and worked at Landing, had finished downloading the data from D'mitran's datalink and B'rost's borrowed camera.

They were sitting in a large conference room. The three dragon riders were unnaturally quiet and restrained, as the Council was there. There were several other people who'd been introduced but their reasons for being there went unsaid.

"This was the first time we've had a live connection to this sort of action," Jansen said, as she coaxed the computer to finish processing the entire video from the datalink.

"Having heard your testimony and reports, this video will probably merely corroborate your reports," said someone whose name K'ndar couldn't remember. He acted as if he were in charge and knew the entire situation, so K'ndar thought of him as a team leader.

I don't like this I don't like this I don't like this, K'ndar kept thinking. The people in the room were far too stratospheric in rank than he, and he felt as if merely opening his mouth would get him in some sort of trouble in regards to 'protocol'. He glanced over at D'mitran, his Wingleader.

D'mitran caught his eye-and winked.

That made him feel better.

D'mitran says to relax, these people will not eat you Raventh said

Then why do I feel like a wherry surrounded by a bunch of hungry dragons?

Because you're hungry?

He was that, for certain. They'd been in the briefing for most of an hour.

The team leader,as if hearing, said, "We'll take a look at the video and then let you men go home. I imagine you're hungry?"

"Starving," B'rost said, making them laugh.

"Right then, here we go," Jansen said, and the room darkened (magically, as K'ndar had found earlier) and the screen in front of the audience lit up.

It was amazing, K'ndar thought, this-moving picture, showing their activities from D'mitran's point of view. He saw himself. Am I really that dorky looking?

Once he got used to seeing the video, he was caught up in it. It was interesting to see how it differed from his memory. The sound was virtually useless, the microphone catching mostly the sound of the wind and Careth's beating wings as they flew over the jungle portion of the island. The scene was jerky and hard to watch.

Ah. There. There was Harve, calling for help in a clearing far smaller than it had seemed when he'd actually landed in it. He heard his own voice for the first time in his life. Sheesh, I sound like a little kid, he thought. He was mesmerized, to see himself on Raventh, lowering with precision into the clearing.
By the egg, there was literally NO room between the trees and Raventh's wingtips.

"That's some serious flying, K'ndar," someone said.

He felt proud, but said, "If I'd known it was that close, I don't know if I would have attempted it," he said.

Down, down, he went, and finally Raventh was on the ground. The clearing..it was lined with…

Oh.

"STOP!" K'ndar cried, without thinking.

Everyone looked at him, and Jansen hit the pause function.

"What?" someone in the audience asked.

"When I landed, I saw something in the clearing there, something…that I didn't pay attention to when I was trying to grab Harve, but…look..can you make the picture bigger?" he said, a stone growing in his stomach.

"Of course. Magnifying now."

The scene enlarged. Someone said, "Oh, my stars."

Then there was utter and complete shocked silence.

The picture, frozen, showed K'ndar manfully hauling Harve up onto Raventh's back. The clearing was so full of refuse that, at first glance, you saw nothing for the mess. Only a portion of the clearing was visible from D'mitran's airborne viewpoint.

But that portion showed part of what was an entire circle around the clearing. Gleaming white things drew your attention.

Lining the clearing were poles. Bones were piled haphazardly beneath them.

Skulls topped each one.

Skulls of humans,some of them still bearing skin and hair. At least one was a dolphin's skull.

Eventually, someone cleared his throat. Someone else said, "I think I'm going to be sick."

"Don't be sick here, please," said the manager.

"I..Okay. Um, can you go on?" K'ndar said, gulping.

"Yes, please," said someone else.

Jansen, as shocked as the rest, gratefully set the video in motion again.

K'ndar was so bothered by the gruesome scene that he really didn't pay attention to the rest of it. He'd be able to see it again, if he wanted, once they got home. D'mitran's datalink was always available.

Then they were flying back to the beach. The view jumped when Careth landed on the beach.

In the middle ground, F'mart had just knocked Shipfish down.

The microphone caught the sounds much better now.

B'rost's comments with the spear evoked laughs…almost too forced, but everyone was relieved by it.

Having been involved with taking Shipfish down, K'ndar hadn't seen Siskin leave. But now, as he watched as the three of them piled onto the raider, he saw Siskin overhead, coming BACK from..from where?

It ended with Siskin taking the keys out to sea.

The lights came up and the audience all looked at the dragonriders.

"Well done, gentleman, well done," said one of the Council.

"Sir, thank you for giving me the opportunity to lead such an action," K'ndar said. He wanted out of there, and he wanted no more of this leadership stuff, but he didn't say so.

"You were the best man for it," one said.

"I couldn't have done it without my team," he said, and he meant it.

Jansen's computer chirped.

"The preliminary report on the skeletons in the cave has come in," she said, reading it quickly.

Then she put her hand to her mouth and said, "Um. Oh my."

"More bad news?" the team leader asked.

"Um…yes. This is merely preliminary, you understand," she said, still reading. Her face contorted.

She cleared her throat. "Is it necessary to show the pictures of the skeleton?" she asked the manager.

He looked over her shoulder at her screen. Then he straightened up and cleared his throat.

"I think, given that we haven't had a chance to talk to the rescued boy, that a verbal report is all that's necessary at this time," he said, a queer look on his face.

The audience wondered at that, but remained quiet. They would get a chance, later.

"Okay, I…I'm going to read it," she said

She cleared her throat.

"Comment 1: Investigator B'rost is to be commended for his expert and meticulous clearing of the site. It made clear and will result in a thorough examination and explanation of the skeleton(s).

B'rost brightened. He received several nods of appreciation.

"Comment 2: there are two skeletons. Number one is of an adult female, age as yet undetermined. The skeleton shows numerous poorly healed fractures of arms and ribs. Further examination will determine the cause. There are chains on the ankles of the adult. The chains caused severe deformation of the ankles and lower leg bones.

Number two skeleton is of an infant. The infant skeleton is..is intertwined with the pelvis of the adult female. Further examination will determine the cause of death, but preliminary guess is that the adult female died during childbirth," she said.

She shook her head. "I'm sorry, sir, but..I can't continue. It's..heartbreaking."

Lord Lytol intervened. He had a small datalink in front of him, and he'd just seen the pictures.

"I think we've had enough shocking things for the day," he said.

Jansen turned to look at him.

"Thank you, my lord," she said.

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Exiting the conference room was a relief. They were all deeply shocked by the reports. The last two days had been the most intense of his life, K'ndar thought, and he felt exhausted. The bright sunshine was a welcome relief.

"I should have killed him when I had a chance," B'rost said.

"And now we have to go and do it all over again, with M'rvin," K'ndar said, mournfully.

D'mitran shook his head. "Maybe not. He usually doesn't require that detailed a report, and I can do it, K'ndar, if you can't."

K'ndar shook his head. "I regret ever letting myself be talked into leading it. But I know that it's the last step of the action. So thank you, but…I can do it."

"I'll be with you, if you want, B'rost said.

"And I," D'mitran added.

He looked at his teammates.

"Thank you," he said. "Let's go home."

He didn't want to think about Shipfish, ever again. But the sight of seeing Siskin flying BACK to where the dragons were nagged him. What was that all about?

He looked at his blue fire lizard as he mounted Raventh. There was nothing in the lizard's mind that suggested what had caused him to fly away and then return.

Raventh and the other dragons opened their wings and leaped into the air. He suddenly remembered. Shipfish-the first day, he'd had a seawherry on his shoulder. Right?

Right said Raventh.

And today, he didn't.

Correct.

I wonder why? Where was the sea wherry?

Siskin killed it.

WHAT?

Siskin killed it. When we landed on the beach, Shipfish was laying on the ground after F'mart fought him.
I saw the seawherry behind them. It was far back, near the tree line. It flopped around. It couldn't fly because its wings had been cut off. It seemed weak, and I could see its ribs. Siskin saw it and attacked it, but the seawherry didn't make any attempt to fight back. It just rolled over and looked up at Siskin. It wanted to die. I know I would want to die if my wings had been cut off. Siskin obliged. He didn't even try to eat it. He just killed it, quickly and cleanly.

Oh, the poor thing.

That human was evil.

That he was..and is.

He reached out and stroked Siskin.

"Good lad," he said, "that was kind of you."

Then they went between.