Chap. 176 Telling the dolphins

Chap. 176 The dolphins

"Thank you for understanding, Risal, I had no idea I'd spend the majority of the last two days the way I have. I am exhausted-not so much physically as mentally," K'ndar said to the girl.

They had found a bench seat in the pavilion. Siskin, seeing other fire lizards roosting in the rafters, flew up to join them. The breeze from the ocean was a bit cooler than was comfortable, so they appreciated that someone had started a fire in the pit.

She nodded. "I know. I've seen it before. That was quite an amazing-well, I shouldn't say amazing, actually,it was disturbing-that clearing, with all the skulls on pikes and the skeletons," she said, "that was something I didn't expect. I'm afraid it will be in my mind for a while," she said.

"Mine, too. You can't imagine the stench in the clearing. Even worse, the boy stank, Shipfish stank, it was dreadful. But, how is it you saw it? You were here the entire time,yes?" he asked.

"Yes, but, K'ndar, I work with computers and the cameras on the Yokohama every day! I accessed the briefing through your library's datalink. Apparently no one knows how to use it! And even more surprising, your Ops is still using old style slate boards, although I did see paper records, now, but still…don't you have anything newer than that?"

K'ndar felt embarrassed at the relative poverty of his weyr. He felt backward and provincial.

"Well, as far as I know-mind you, I don't work in the weyr, but I don't think Landing has ever,um, what's the word I’m looking for? They've never shown any inclination to give us the fancy computers that you have at Landing. It's like we hardly exist except when they want a dragonride to somewhere else, or to carry out an action, like we did today.

Maybe it's because we're a small weyr? Or the newest one? I don't know, but you're right, we're still doing things the old way. As for the datalink at the library? Well, I found the original artifacts when we were surveying the steppe. I donated them to Landing on condition that my weyr gets two of everything when they made copies. They did that, and I gave the team their choice. For instance, I got the binoculars. I made sure the library got one of all the things.

But no one at Landing has ever actually come down here to show us how to USE them. Nor have they come here with the express purpose of giving us new equipment or training. D'mitran and D'nis learned how to use theirs on their own. There's still some artifacts-for instance, a notebook, that we found and haven't heard a thing about them since. It's as if they really don't want to teach us, just use us," he said, growing heated.

She put her hands up. "Please, don't get defensive, it was just a question. I should have known better, especially since Pattis runs your Ops. I know her, she is as cantankerous as an eggbound wherry. I have no doubt she'd resist new technology with every bit of her being. It would mean she'd have to listen to someone other than herself," she said.

K'ndar laughed at the mental image of an eggbound Pattis."She DOES look that way, doesn't she!"

"You're right, though, in your assessment of Landing's interactions with the Weyrs. Part of it is we're so busy, but still, it's not fair for the Council to demand things such as your action today without reciprocation. I am too low in rank and too young in age to go in and demand parity, but I will talk to my supervisors and see what they say about sending a few techs with some computers and such down here to do what they call 'upgrade'. I'll be glad to be one of them!

The hard part will be finding someone here at your weyr who is able and willing to learn how to work with computers. It's not difficult, but we've found that the older the person is, the harder it is for them to learn. So they try and recruit young people. Kids. Like me. We moved to Landing when I was five and within a year, my parents had taught me how to use a computer. I'm not boasting when I say I'm better at it then they are, and they were trained by Aivas. He told them kids were more likely to be willing to experiment, without fear of breaking something, to adopt new terms and new technology. Then, of course, he shut down, but by then, the people he'd taught, like my parents, had learned and are teaching the kids," she said.

She looked up at the thatched roof overhead. The fire lizards in the rafters were talking quietly amongs themselves. I'd love to have a fire lizard, she thought, when I have the time. Right. Like I have time?

"This pavilion, it's nice. I wish we had something like this at Landing," she said.

"It is nice. D'nis, our Weyrleader at the time, designed and built it after the hurricane trashed everything. It's used nightly, as you can see, there's more people coming out now, after dinner. Later on, someone will bring out their musical instruments and sing," he said.

"Do you sing?"

K'ndar laughed. "You do NOT want to hear me sing. I'll get in trouble for starting the dogs to howling."

She laughed. "Then we are the same. I can't carry a note," she said, "to be honest, I really don't care for singing or dancing. I don't even drink, well, not alcohol, at least," she said.

"I'm the same way. I don't tell many people this, but…I'm allergic to alcohol. It makes me sick. It's made it hard, sometimes, to be a dragonrider who can't drink. But I've come to the conclusion that it's who I am, and if someone has a problem with it, well, that's THEIR problem, not mine. I'm not going to make myself sick because someone else wants me to be what I'm not," he said.

"Dragonriders drink a lot?"

"Well, not always, but, we're no different than anyone else. Some people like to drink, and some don't. When we'd fight Thread, afterwards, we'd get together and talk about the fight, and most of them would drink just to relax, and forget how scared they were."

"It was…scary?"

He looked at her with an odd expression.

"I was always scared. Spitless."

He remembered the black hissing rain of death, being so close to Thread that he could smell it. He shivered.

"Anyone who tells you he or she wasn't afraid of Thread was lying…or foolish," he said.

"And yet, dragonriders went out every Fall, every time," she said.

"It..it was what we did. Now, though..life is wonderful. No more Thread means I can have a life," he said.

He shook his head, dispelling the remnants of fear.

"Let's return to your seeing the briefing. How did you do that?" he asked.

"Jansen is a dear friend of mine. I was in the library, saw the datalink gathering dust on the shelf and got in touch with her. She told me you'd all just returned and were about to report on your actions."

She stopped. "You were all so brave. I could not believe that clearing, it was so TINY! You and your dragon, it's amazing how well you handle him."

"It's not me handling him. It's him handling himself, and me gripping my harness in terror," he said, laughing, "those trees were THIS close. But he's smart. He knows to the last centimeter where his wings are."

I do. It wasn't easy, but I knew exactly where I was Raventh said.

You did it perfectly. I don't want to do that again, though

"And then, what that boy did, chaining that man's legs! Talk about poetic justice! Oh, my, K'ndar, his legs. I wonder if he'll ever be able to walk normally?"

K'ndar shrugged. "I hope so. He's determined to work with the healer to fix them. He's an amazing kid, I don't know how he survived as long as he did under those conditions. We'll find out later just what happened. OH!" he said, suddenly worried, "You…did you talk to the dolphins? About them..um, doing what we thought?" he said, sotto voce.He didn't want the many other people in the pavilion to hear.

He hoped not, fervently, now that the cryptic message "Shipfish killed me" had been clarified.

"No, thank the stars. No. I put it off, really. I was so busy, meeting so many of your friends here, I talked to Hariko, she is a sweetheart and Oscoral! He's so BIG, he's like a mountain. But no, I didn't talk to the dolphins, and I'm glad, because I didn't know one, how to, and two, I didn't know how to tactfully broach the subject of a dolphin..um, you know," she said, immediately knowing why he'd dropped to almost a whisper.

K'ndar was relieved. "Good. Because now we know it was NOT a dolphin. Would you like to meet one?"

"OH, yes! When?"

He looked up at the sky. There was still a few hours before sundown.

"How about now? I have something to discuss with them," he said.
_______________________________________________________________________
He rang the bell with several hearty tugs. Several people joined them at the sound.

"Where are they?" Risal asked, scanning the sea.

"Sometimes it takes a few minutes, they might be far out there. But they'll come, no doubt," he said, fervently hoping he wasn't lying. He'd only used the bell a few times before.

"What you going to do with the dolphins?" asked a man behind them.

"I am just going to talk with them, it's nothing important," K'ndar said to the crowd behind them. "My friend, here, has never seen one, so I'm going to introduce her," he said, hoping they'd leave. He wasn't sure how the dolphins would react to his news.

Most of them then wandered off. Two children stayed, though, always enchanted by the Sea People.

They waited. And waited.

"You are sure they heard the bell?" Risal asked.

"I think so…their hearing is said to be phenomenal, but if they don't come in a few minutes, either they're too far out to sea or? I don't think I've ever heard of them NOT coming to the bell. We'll wait a few more minutes and then I'll ring again," he said.

The children got bored with waiting and left.

"Whew," he said, "I didn't want them overhearing us," he said.

He was just about to pull the bell's lanyard again when he heard a whistle. Far out to sea, three lithe forms, shining wetly in the sun, came at high speed, leaping from the sea in graceful, fluid bascules.

"I see them! Here they come! So beautiful!" Risal cried, "I've never seen them before. They go so fast!"

K'ndar smiled. "Actually, they're taking their time. You should see them riding the bow wave of a ship, then they're flying, almost as fast as a dragon."

He felt smug, using phrases like 'bow wave' as if he were an old hand at dolphins and being on ships. Telling her he'd never seen it from shipboard could wait.

"They talk, I know, but, in our language?" she asked, impatient to finally actually meet a dolphin.

"Of course! It takes a few minutes to understand their speech," he said, "but once you get the ear for it, you shouldn't have any trouble," he said.

The dolphins arrived, clicking and giggling in their dolphin way, and stood on their tails.

"Hello, is there emergency?" asked one.

"No. I am K'ndar."

"Ahhhhhhhhhh, Keendar! You are Swash friend! Take bloodfish off him!"

"I did! I am! Where is Swash today?"

"He is hunting. Far north. You want him now? You want talk Swash only?"

"No," he said, growing serious. He sat down on the dock and looked at the three dolphins.

"Who are you, by the way?" he asked.

"I am Loki. Not original Loki, my sire's sire's sire's name," one said. "I named for him because I look like him."

"Loki, when you see Swash, tell him I said hello. I called you because I have information for all dolphins. And something to take to Tillek," he said.

That sobered them. Tillek was the dominant dolphin on all Pern. One didn't interact with her on just a whim.

Then, with Risal standing beside him in utter fascination at the dolphins, he told them story of the man who killed dolphins.

The dolphins were upset. The whistled and squeaked amongst themselves, then Loki said, "We know something bad happen, but not know this. We not know if mosar got dolphins, or if they die in fireball wave, or just make mistake. Thank you."

He didn't want to tell them about the skulls. He assumed there were more, but no way did he want to go back to that horrid clearing to try and collect them. Better they not know of what happened to their brethren after they were murdered.

"This island. Is where?"

"The far eastern chain. Near the equator. Just north of it. It has a tall pinnacle of rock on the north end, a lagoon on the west side of the island, and a small, rocky cove, on the southern end. There was a wrecked ship on the shore past the cove, but our dragons burned it," he said.

One of the dolphins squeaked to the others.

"We know that island. We see the ship wreck when fireball waves hit. Dolphins try to rescue but seas too rough, very, very bad waves. Many people there?"

"No, not now. Just the one human," he said, and he described Shipfish as well as he was able.
Then he took a deep breath, and began.

"This human, I do not know his name. He did terrible things to dolphins and humans. He was left on the island as punishment. He has chains on his legs, down here," and he touched his ankles, "so he will never be able to swim right again. Tell every dolphin to not rescue him! He pretends to need rescue and when your friends came to do so, he stabs them in the blowhole. He is still on the island. Don't go near it," he said.

Loki nodded. "Keendar, you are good friend to dolphins. I tell Tillek and every dolphin will know about this bad human with chains on legs at the island."

With a heavy heart, but believing it was the best thing to do, he said, "He had this. He wore it around his neck. We took it from him. I didn't know what to do with it, so I give it to you, to allow you or Tillek to decide."

He pulled the dolphin tooth necklace out of his pouch. Harve had removed the keys from it, but K'ndar had kept it, not knowing quite why. He hadn't thought it through but, to have returned the necklace to that evil man would have been too much. It was not something he wanted to keep for himself. Just the knowledge it was in his pouch had bothered him. It reeked of tragedy, despair, and murder.

The sun shone on the white teeth as held it out for Loki.

The three dolphins squealed in shock.

The look in their eyes was indescribable. K'ndar knew he'd never forget it.

How, he wondered, could a dolphin trust any human after this?

"I am sorry," he said, "I thought you would want it to let the dolphins know."

Loki pushed upwards to take it from K'ndar's hand. Taking it gently in his jaws, he allowed it to settle between his own teeth.

He clicked in thanks, not wanting to risk dropping the necklace.

"Please," Risal said, breaking her silence, "Please. Don't think all humans would do this," she pleaded.

One of the other dolphins looked at her.

"Is okay. No worry. We know there are good humans and bad humans. This one not first one. No. We not hold it against all humans. Just the one who killed us. Now we know him as bad," she said.

The other dolphin said, "Thank you, Keendar. We take this to Tillek. Now we know who died-and how."