Chap. 223 Navigating

Chap. 223 Navigating

I needed that flight Raventh said.

I did, too K'ndar said.

He unharnessed Raventh. Just a little ways away, Francie was unharnessing her green, Motanith.

Lefsa was chirping as excitedly as a fire lizard. "That was INCREDIBLE! And you do that every day?"

Francie, grinning, nodded her head. Her three fire lizards swirled over her head. Siskin chittered and looked at K'ndar.

"Go ahead, lad," he said, wondering why the fire lizard suddenly asked for permission.

Any ideas?

Not a one. He usually just goes.

I know.

Francie rolled up her harness and put it over her shoulder. She and Lefsa approached them.

"Which one is your quarters, K'ndar?" she asked.

"That one, way over there, on the left. They gave it to me because it's got a bay large enough for Raventh. I just realized your quarters are in the middle of the village. How does Motanith fit?"

"She doesn't, not really. Only because she's a green can she fit. We literally have to move out into the middle of the commons, so that she can launch. Sometimes we have to chase the kids away, they want to be Right THERE. But it was the only place big enough for a green, if you can believe it, at the time. Since then, they've uncovered a lot more buildings. I've been discussing it with Raylan, we are thinking of moving to this end. I'll ask Grafton for new quarters, like yours. I'm sure he's got the roomier buildings now. It's the moving all our stuff that will be a pain," Francie said.

"I can help," K'ndar said, "After moving an entire weyr AND the livestock before a hurricane, one little home can't be much," he said.

"Thank you, I'll be sure to take you up on it," she said.

"I volunteer, too, " Lefsa said, "it's the least I can do to repay you for your help."

"Pay? Piffle, Lefsa. We dragonriders are always ready for any excuse to go flying," Francie said.

Grasping on the name Grafton, K'ndar failed to see the two women exchange knowing glances.

"Just who is this Grafton? I've heard his name dropped a dozen times," K'ndar asked.

The two women laughed. "He's our headman. Like your Hariko, but of Landing. We don't have a Weyrwoman or a Lord Holder, so we've had to invent new positions and responsibilities," Francie said.

Raventh shook his wings and folded them neatly by his side. Then he headed for their quarters.

"Look at him, " K'ndar said, "he knows where we live and the only way I know how to find my way back home is to have Siskin lead me."

"What? What do you mean?" the two asked in unison.

"Every time I've come to Landing, I've had someone lead me to where I need to go. I can find Main and Library, now, or at least I did until the re-organization, but since I've been here, I'm lost. A kid named Marsh showed me to my quarters, and came back in the morning to take me to Science division, where Lefsa's office is, but afterwards, I had to find my way back 'home'. I had to have Siskin lead me. I'm totally confused by how Landing is laid out. How do you remember which way to turn?"

The two looked at him with astonishment. Lefsa's eyes were full of suppressed amusement. K'ndar caught it, and felt stupid. Lefsa was about to speak but Francie put a hand on her arm.

"Wait, Lefsa, it's not as strange as it sounds. Most everyone on Pern lives in caves. Even here, the Ancients took shelter in those tiny little caves, at the base of the mountain, until they put up all these buildings. We fix up caves to keep out the wind and rain but still, we're cave dwellers. You know why, of course, it was the best protection from Thread, for millennia. Caves aren't planned, aren't set out in neat, orderly rows, like here at Landing. Outbuildings like wooden barns are sacrificial to Thread, people expected to lose them, so they just put up outbuildings wherever it was most convenient.

This place, Landing, tells you a lot about the Ancients, before they came here. They obviously didn't have to worry about Thread. They had machines that moved without horses. They made use of this grid pattern of housing because it is the best use of land to cram in a lot of families and places to work. The Ancients lived like this, I'm certain, and planned this place the same way their villages were, they called them 'cities' on Earth. This layout was most familiar to them. I bet they were confused as can be when they landed here and found only caves.

Dragonriders don't purposefully plan a Weyr, they adapt to it. They need a place that has caves large enough to accommodate a dragon and one that a dragon can fly to without having to land. We live in extinct volcanoes that are circular in most cases, but in K'ndar's weyr, which used to be mine, too, it's a cluster of smaller, semi-circular cones stitched together by a straight ridge. Cottages and barns are just stuck anywhere they'll fit. I've seen Landing folk get lost on the grounds of a weyr. There's no rhyme or reason, it's what my mother used call "higgledypiggledy". So K'ndar has never had any concept of rows and columns of buildings, like here at Landing. It's the only place on Pern like it," Francie said, sympathetically.

Lefsa blushed. K'ndar felt glad for Francie's rescue, and for teaching him something he'd not even considered. Of course weyrs are a muddle. It was LANDING that was odd.

"I'm sorry I was about to laugh at you, K'ndar. I didn't know, I've never been to a weyr," Lefsa said. "I'm afraid your 'guide', Marsh, has a reputation for being less than helpful in dealing with newcomers," she said. "Your datalink..he did give you a datalink, didn't he?"

"He did, but I know how to operate a datalink about as much as I know how to birth a baby," he said.

The women laughed.

"Marsh. Yes, we all know Marsh. I bet my lunch...well, I've eaten it so I bet my dinner he didn't tell you about the map of Landing," Lefsa said.

"NO! I wish he had, I can read a map," K'ndar said, heatedly. That little shit, Marsh...I'll settle your hash, one way or another, he thought.

"Well, then, let's go to your quarters, I'll show you how to access the map, but first, I want to show you how easy it is to navigate Landing," Francie said.

The four fire lizards zoomed towards his quarters. Raventh and Motanith followed them.

"There were two workmen here earlier, they fixed the bay door," K'ndar said. He strode to the bay door and waved at the glowing panel next to it. For one heart stopping moment he thought it wouldn't open, but with a soft woosh, it went up to its open position.

"Ah, they took away the screech, too," he said.

Siskin cheeped and led Francies' three into the bay to give them a tour of the high ledges. They landed on one of them, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Didn't they clean up there?" Lefsa snapped.

"Marsh said they didn't have a ladder. Don't worry, I'll get to it. If I can get a ladder, I'll get up there and do it myself. I don't think I want Marsh back here...he's a snob."

"Aye, he is. But anyway, K'ndar, oh, Motanith wants to go in and try it for size, does Raventh mind?" Francie said.

I don't mind...I like greens. A lot.

K'ndar laughed. "No, he doesn't mind at all," he said, "he's an incurable flirt."

Raventh entered his bay, and stepped onto the hefty couch that had been made for him. He told Motanith to wait until he turned around.

"I don't know, it looks pretty tight with Raventh in there," Francie said, doubtfully.

Motanith gauged how much room there was between Raventh and the walls and deferred.

Too small for two but I would like to have a weyr like this Motanith said.

Francie patted her green's jaw, glad the dragon hadn't tried to squeeze in alongside Raventh.

"Okay, she won't go in, she says it's too small for two dragons," she said.

I know, my lass, it's okay, we'll get you a room like this, soon she said to the green.

"I'm just so amazed at how he..how your dragons understand what we say, and they respond!" Lefsa said.

"They do indeed, Lefsa. It's a shame you weren't Searched. Were you?" Francie asked.

"I don't remember, so I guess not. Is it..like being in love? You don't know until you know?"

Both dragonriders roared.

"Well, yes, kind of. You don't know until you know. You don't know until the dragon chooses YOU," Francie said.

"Oh," Lefsa said, "I had heard that the dragon chooses you. And what happens if you don't get chosen?"

"You can wait until the next clutch is laid, but that is usually just once a year, especially with older golds. I know riders who were passed over three times, but that's unusual. Usually, a Candidate either waits around for another year, and then leaves, or just accepts that he's not going to be chosen and he finds something else to do," Francie said.

"Um. I bet it's heartbreaking, like when you fall in love with someone and they don't love you back," Lefsa said, with a tone that reeked of experience.

"It's a lot like that," K'ndar said, "I think, but I've never been in love, so I'm not sure."

"Pity," Francie said, winking at him, "you're a good catch. But ANYWAY, I'll show you how to know where you live. It's called an address. Come with me," and she stepped outside to lead him around the corner of the building.

"See this road? It's wide enough for what the Ancients called 'vehicles' to move along. Two wagons can fit on it side by side. See that bolster there, the one made of stone?" she pointed to the intersection of two roads.

"I noticed it but didn't think it was of any importance. But then, there's a lot of things I've not noticed before here. I feel pretty stupid, right now."

"NO! It's not stupid, it's just that you're new. The roads, here, K'ndar, run north and south, east and west. Here at this intersection..think of your geometry, K'ndar, that bolster? Go up to it and read it. They've apparently not cleaned it yet. Landing's roads are on a perfect x-y axis, like in math," Francie said.

"I hated math, Francie," he said, but he obeyed. He examined the bolster, still feeling provincial. Precisely square, it had been carved with some precision instrument out of basalt. It was about chest high. On the eastern and western sides of the bolster was the number 200. On the north/south side was a name. He brushed away lichen growing over it. It had been incised with incredible precision, even after 2500 years of wear.

"What does it say?" Francie said, knowing what it was.

"Bee..Ee...Ell...Belior! Like the moon!"

"Right! The names of the roads are on the x axis, the north-south roads. They're named after stars, and in some cases, other astral bodies, like our moons. The east-west roads are numbered.

See that column of buildings off to your left? It's the farthest south. They're on road number 1. Your building here is the most southeastern one of its column, which is number 2. The bolster says 200, correct?"

"Yes", he said, not at all understanding, but hoping the map would clarify it.

"This building here is the first set of buildings on the 2nd column. So to begin with, your home is on the corner of Belior and 200. But there's a little more, let's go around the corner to the human door," she said, leading the way.

"Here we are, see the number next to the door? It needs a clean up, too, but it reads what?"

"2001" K'ndar read. He'd not noticed the number before.

"Correct! And on this block there should be, um.....oh, I don't know how many buildings there are on this specific block, but as with a map, read right and up," she said.

Lefsa counted quickly. "There's 9, of various sizes. And like just about every other block, there's a small commons in the middle," she said. "The one at my place is being used to grow vegetables," she said.

"So the building just west of this one should be 2002. It's not difficult, K'ndar, just a little confusing at first. I won't go into it deeper, I can see your eyes beginning to glaze," she laughed.

K'ndar nodded his head.

"It will come to you, K'ndar, after you see a map. For now, all you need do is remember your address is 2001 Belior. The north-south roads are all in alphabetical order, so can you guess what the next one should be called?"

K'ndar was befuddled but was trying hard.

"Um...C?"

"Right! C for Canopus. And the next?"

"D" he said, with growing understanding.

"D for Deneb," Francie said, "And E is for Eridani, my address is 4100 Eridani. Lefsa?"

"6330 Fomalhaut."

"The names are all stars?"

"Stars. Or moons, like 'Timor' is off to our north. I think it was the Ancients way of reminding everyone that they navigated through space by the stars, just like we do at sea, except they were navigating through three dimensions," Francie said, relishing teaching.

K'ndar shook his head. "Where things are in three dimensions! I don't even want to know how hard THAT was to navigate."

"No, four dimensions, if you count time. But it's not much different than flying, K'ndar. That's three dimensions and it's not hard to know it...when you get frostbitten in flight, you know you're too high." Francie said, giggling. "Trust me, when I show you on the datalink, it'll be clear as mud. Can we go in?"

"Um...certainly, but right now, nothing's unpacked. I've been too busy. By the way, what is Aivas's address? And can I go see it, someday? Or is it forbidden?"

Both women shook their heads.

"Not forbidden. It's on Aldebaran road, in the same complex as Administration. You've been there, you just didn't see Aivas, it's in a smaller building. No. It was decided that putting Aivas off limits would only make it into something to be feared, or worse, adorated. Of course you can "see" Aivas, but you can't go into the office itself. Everyone just peers in at it through the door. There are people who go in the office where it's at, that's just to keep the place swept out, but K'ndar, everyone here is linked to it with computers and now datalinks. We don't NEED to go into that specific office anymore," Francie said.

"Does it..respond?"

"It's not talking, anymore, remember, it told Master Robinton it's job was done. We access it, every day. It's still aware of its surroundings. It can and has defended itself, but that was a very long time ago. We'll take you to see it, but for now, let's see that datalink of yours. And tomorrow, K'ndar, I'll take you to meet Grafton. You're going to have to meet him anyway. As for having nothing unpacked...well, K'ndar, you let us girls take a look at your quarters, and we'll help you turn it from a place into a home."

Later that night, K'ndar appreciated the help the women had provided.

"You need artwork on the walls, K'ndar, if I may? I have some stuff laying around my quarters, I don't have the wall space for it. How'd you like a picture of Donal?

"I'd love it, Francie, you know how I am with horses," he'd said.

"I'll bring it tomorrow," she promised, and they left.

After emptying the two crates of his belongings, he felt it was still a very large space to fill.

He began to find spots to store his few belongings.

He picked up his lasso. It's been a very long time since I've thrown a loop, he thought, can I still do it? It hadn't been rosined in years, but was still limber. Keeping it in a canvas bag had helped. He went outside through the open bay with it and shook it into neat circles. It felt good in his hands. Yes, it's been-since I was Searched!

He looked side to side to see if he had any witnesses. He had none save Raventh and Siskin, who'd come out to watch. If I miss the throw, I don't want to look foolish, he thought. Although did anyone here at Landing even know what a lasso was or what for?

He raised his throwing arm and circled it, his muscles remembering what it felt like.

What is that? Raventh asked.

A lasso. This is how I caught cattle. Usually from horseback.

Raventh was amazed. Like a bolo?

Not quite the same. Watch. It's been a long time, I may completely miss my target.

He did. Aiming at the bolster, his first loop fell to the ground. The second, the third. He wasn't too worried, he'd roped the ground many times. Then his brain said, Oh, yeah, I remember.

He threw another, just right. The loop settled over the bolster and he instinctively pulled it taut.

Satisfied, he removed the loop, returned to his original spot several meters away and threw several more, every one neatly roping the bolster.

I think I'll do this every day from now on, just to keep in practice, he thought.

While removing the rope from the bolster, he caught the name: Belior.

"Huh. First time I ever roped a moon," he said. 

 

Chap. 222 The Messy Desk

 

Chap. 222 The Messy Desk

"This looks like...I mean, it seems..I'm overwhelmed with all the things expected of me," K'ndar said. "I'm beginning to wonder if I've made a mistake? Because this looks like nothing what I expected the job to be like. It looks like I'll be stuck inside every day, doing data?" He felt what could only be called foreboding.

Lefsa, the woman whose place he was taking as Field Biologist, laughed.

"I know. It IS a lot of stuff, but, K'ndar, much of the tasks I've discussed are ones that have to be done only now and then. When I took the job, I had no idea that I'd be doing, either. When Aivas changed the world, most of the people here at Landing just started Doing Stuff. They didn't know if it was the right way, or if it was going to be useful, it was a case of 'just get started'."

She moved through the small office. Now that he had a better view, perhaps the piles of books and ledgers weren't as daunting.

"I have to tell you, it looks insurmountable to me. Do you ever get out in the field?"

She laughed.

"Yes and no. I don't have to go by a schedule. I can go out anytime I want, honestly, but the problem I had was transportation. I don't have a dragon, as you probably can see, I don't even have a lovely fire lizard, like that handsome blue on your shoulder."

Siskin perked up, realizing he was being admired.

"So I have to sign out a horse, but since field biologists take tools and collecting bags, I'd need TWO, and if it were something big, for instance, I've been studying whers, wild ones, not the poor, malformed things in Holds and Weyrs, I'd need a wagon, which means MORE horses or oxen. I'm sure you see the problem. I know how to handle horses, but still, you never know what beast is available, and so I spend half the morning getting to know the horse, and then there's half the day lost. It was maddening!".

She started to tidy the stacks of books on her desk. "Then, understand that I took the job when the old man who'd originally created the position retired. The problem with him was he did good science, or at least he tried, but he never wrote up his findings. He usually was out puttering, netting insects and stuffing them, alive, into mugs he'd collected from the dining hall. THAT drove Grafton and the cooks insane. Of course, the insects would escape. We'd find them everywhere. He was always bringing in crawlers. They were his favorite, and he was always finding new species. He'd bring them in and they'd get loose, too. The worse time was when he brought in a dead fish he'd found on the riverbank and stuffed it on that shelf, intending to 'dissect it later'. Of course, dead fish tell you immediately that they're dead.

The man never kept a notebook or a ledger. He'd write on a slate and then, later, forget why he'd done so, and erase it. He had a phenomenal memory for the details of a creature but not a jot of common sense. I'd pick up half a jaw, missing every tooth and ask, what is jaw from and where did it come from, and he'd begin to tell me, then his mind wandered into minutiae. It was so frustrating, K'ndar, I wondered if I'd ever get ANYTHING done!

Once he left, I gathered a handful of people- let's be honest, I BEGGED for help in making the place organized and cleaned up. He'd left a small mountain of stuff. It took us a week to clean up in the office, not this one, mind you, we were in another building before Reorganization.

Once we had clarified the indescribable and threw out the completely decayed-it took weeks to rid the building of the stench-we took stock of what we had. It wasn't much, K'ndar. A few skulls, shells, packets of seeds, that sort of thing. In the desk I found little bits and scraps of hide, all insect eaten. He never did take to paper. Despite his avocation, he was a bit of an Abominator. Not passionate enough to get him kicked out of the job, but enough that he wouldn't use pencil and paper. I'd find his scraps of hide with notes like "55 cm wide, calcareous".

She laughed. Putting her head down, she said, "You can probably still see bare patches from where I pulled my hair out."

K'ndar laughed.

"I don't see any bare spots. What I DO see, ma'am, is a stack of books, paperwork everywhere, and it makes me wonder if I'll be spending my entire time inside! I see a microscope, something I've never used, so I'll need some training. I see a couple nets, what looks to be a trap for small animals, and oh! Now that I recognize, it's a smanda nest!"

Lefsa stopped, gobsmacked. "You're..it's YOU! You're THAT dragonrider! K'ndar! I didn't make the connection! You're the one who discovered the smandas!""

"Well, I 're-discovered' them. There's an Oldtimer at my Weyr who knew their name," he said.

She smiled. "They're fascinating beasts, K'ndar, and later on this week we'll go take a look at them. But anyway, what I want to say is, this is just the office I use for doing data research. I had such a job cleaning up after the old man that I didn't get much chance to get into the field and do what I love, turning over rocks and snaring what goes skittering from under it," she said. "So a great deal of what you see here is the end result of my going through his stuff, organizing, writing things up. Please don't worry, I understand your dismay. Unless Raylan...you'll be working directly under him as we don't really have an entire division devoted solely to biology..unless Raylan has some task for you, you'll be pretty much on your own."

He felt relief, but still. "Tasks?"

"Aye, tasks. Just because you're a staff scientist now, we still have tasks to do, just like when we were in Hold or Weyr," she said.

He shrugged. Tasks were nothing new.

"I have another building dedicated to keeping specimens, live critters, dead ones, that sort of thing. I don't mean to boast, but I don't spend as much time in this office now that I've got things organized. K'ndar, I wouldn't leave this place, but, apparently I'm pregnant, and my mate wants us to move back to his home Hold to raise the kids," she said, rather mournfully.

He heard her despair. Even more, it was in her eyes.

"You..this is none of my business, but is it what YOU want?"

Her eyes downcast, she sighed. "It's okay, K'ndar. I..I love my man. If making him happy means I give up living here at Landing, well, I'll deal with it. Maybe someday I can come back."

I am so lucky to have been born male, he thought. I wouldn't ever have to make that sort of compromise.

She shook her head and forced herself back to business. "Right. So what I intend to do for the next week or so, is show you how to make reports, how to write up your findings, that sort of thing. I've got things running smoothly, now, and honestly, once you get a schedule going, you'll be able to go out in the field and turn rocks over," she said. "I know it looks daunting. I have a messy desk, I admit, but there IS a system to my organizing. I think you'll do just fine, I've seen your work."

"You've seen my work? I don't understand."

"K'ndar, you've turned in notebooks and journals. Elene-what a gift she is! Landing is so lucky to have her. She had them printed and I have a copy of your notes from the expeditions. You're an accomplished artist, K'ndar, your drawings are clear and detailed. You take good notes and your work is legible. You made my work so much easier. What you'll be doing in here is not much different."

His jaw dropped. It had never occurred to him that his journals would actually be put into the library.

"Don't give me too much credit, Lefsa," he said, "The ones I turn in have been re-written, I tried to make them neat and organized. The originals? I keep them, and sometimes I have trouble reading my own writing. I've even had to go back to a site, sometimes, to see what the shaff it was I sketched."

She nodded, smiling.

"I think every biologist is like that, K'ndar. Re-writing something allows us to clarify what we logged in after the excitement of the day has quieted. You have the distinct advantage of having a dragon on whom you CAN go back to see what you missed. I would have loved to have that transportation. In a way, I felt a bit cheated, taking on this job and not getting to do precisely what I'd been hired to do. But, I'm a big girl, now. I have learned to take the good with the bad," she said. He felt an unspoken something from her.

"You...you really don't want to leave here, do you."

She turned to him, and he was frightened to see tears come to her eyes.

"I'm...I'm sorry. I didn't meant to intrude, or hurt you," he said, stricken.

They were alone, but she instinctively looked left and right to see if anyone was eavesdropping.

"No, I don't, K'ndar, and please don't tell my mate. No, I don't want to leave and I don't want this baby, but..." she sighed. "I'm not even sure I AM pregnant, but...I think I am."

This was getting too deep for him. There were many ways a woman could manage a pregnancy, he knew, but he had no experience, and furthermore, he wanted only to back out of the topic.

"I'm sorry," was all he could manage. Why did he feel as if he was stealing the job from her?

She straightened up. "Let's show you where specimens are kept," she said, a bit too briskly.

__________________________________________________________________________

He was sharing lunch with Lefsa when Francie came in, for once, without her fire lizards.

"Hello, K'ndar!! Lefsa, how ARE you?" she said.

"Fine." Lefsa said, and the tone in her voice struck a chord in Francie's heart.

The two women met eyes. No words were needed. She turned to K'ndar.

"So, what do you think so far, K'ndar?"

"I think I've jumped into the deep end of the dragon lake and am about to go under," he said.

"Why?" Francie said, shocked.

"He's seen my desk," Lefsa said.

Francie laughed. It made K'ndar feel better. She gave him a friendly clout on the shoulder.

"Silly lad, don't worry. ALL our workstations look that way. Trust me, Lefsa's got a good hold on the entire situation, she'll be leaving it in your hands all shipshape. You should have seen it when the old man retired-it was a mess," she said.

Lefsa grinned. "I mentioned it to him," she said.

"Mention! You couldn't miss it, the stink? Ooowee! But K'ndar, don't worry. Please. You already keep journals, correct? You make reports after flying a mission, right? You've always tracked your manhours, correct? It's the same thing, K'ndar, only this is more in the vein of science. I think you'll find that, here, you won't be so distracted with Weyr business, like sweeps. I know that there were times, before Raylan and I left my first weyr, that I'd be eyeball deep in research and had to drop it to go transport some Lord Holder to some far flung cothold to discuss important stuff, like how much dung to put on his lands. I'd never get back to it," she said. "Here? Oh, I agree, we all have things to do that aren't, strictly, science, but "no one eats for free". And, mind you, K'ndar, us dragonriders have a privilege that most staff, like dear Lefsa here, don't. We have time allotted to us, every day, to care for our most precious asset, our dragons."

"We do?" That was another worry that had lain deep in his subconscious. Dragons needed care every day, like a horse. When would he find the time to take care of Raventh?

"Yes, we do, and I'd be lying if there weren't some folks here that have already forgotten how vital a dragon is to the running of this planet! Fortunately, the council hasn't-and as long as Lord Lytol is alive, won't. He made certain that the charter for Landing had a big section devoted solely to dragonriders and the time they need to care for their dragons," she said.

He looked at Francie. "That had to have been painful for him," he said.

Francie nodded, somberly. "Yeah."

Then she shook her head to dispel the reverie.

"K'ndar, you're allowed a lot of time, set on your own schedule, to care for Raventh. In fact, if Lefsa is okay with it, I'd like you and I to go and care for our dragons. That is, if you're done with lunch," she said.

"I am!" He stood up and noticed Lefsa was finished, too. "Lefsa, can I take your tray?" he asked.

"Please! Thank you, K'ndar," she said. He collected her utensils and mug and carried the trays to the 'return' table.

On his return, he saw the two women in deep conversation.

"K'ndar, Lefsa would like to accompany us? She wants to meet our dragons," Francie said.

"More's the merrier!" he said.

_________________________________________________________________________

I like it here Raventh said.

Why?

It's just browns and blues and greens. No bronzes, no golds.

Less competition?

Not that. Bronzes and golds are so dominating. It's them all the time. I remember how F'mart was always laughing at me, because I'm smaller than Kenth. Even though ALL bronzes are big! But it doesn't matter here. And here, I may get a chance to mate.

Um...NOT..

I know. I won't mate with Motanith. I know you don't want to mate with Francie.

For CERTAIN not with Francie. And I have no idea how many other greens are here.

There's only six dragons here, counting me. There's another brown, another green, and two blues.

He stroked Raventh's jaw, appreciating all over again, as he did every day, how lucky he was to have the brown. A ways from him he could see Lefsa and Francie were still chatting as Francie harnessed Motanith. They were on the edge of the dragon meadow that paralleled his building.

She's harnessing Motanith?

Yes. Let's go flying with her.

Good idea, I'll go get the harness.

"Francie, are you going flying?" he called.

"I am! Lefsa's never been on a dragon, can you believe it? I'm going to take her for a ride! Want to go with?"

"Oh, yes!! I'm going for my harness now!"

Her fire lizards appeared. Siskin chittered a welcome and launched from his shoulder to go meet them. That helped, he thought, as he trotted towards his quarters. Fire lizards weren't especially heavy but didn't appreciate riding a running human.

There were two men at his building, with the bay door wide open. They were kneeling in the opening with a bag of tools at their feet.

He stopped, shocked. He knew he'd shut it after letting Raventh out.

"Hello, there, K'nard, is it?" one said.

"K'ndar, rider of brown Raventh," he corrected.

The other snickered. "So formal, he is," scathingly.

"Stow it, arsehole, the place'd be a better 'un if more folks had the civility they was raised with," the first snapped at the second man. "I'm Orlon, Grafton sent me and this uncultured yob here to fix the door opener. Is this the only one that isn't working?"

K'ndar shook his head. He turned and pointed at the one next to the entrance into his quarters.

"That one didn't work, either. But the one inside does."

"Aye, that's what's on the ticket. No matter, we'll have it set to rights here, soon enough. 'Tis an easy fix. How's things inside the quarters? Everything working?"

He thought of how hard he'd found it to make the toilet work, but that hadn't been a mechanical problem.

"Is there a way you can make it so that the toilet must be manually flushed?"

"Isn't the automatic flush working?"

"Yes...too well," he said.

?????

"My fire lizard. He knows how to open doors by flying in front of the lighted panel."

The two men laughed. "They're clever, aren't they? Where's your lizard?"

"He's with my dragon. He's the problem, though, if he learns how to operate the toilet..."

" "E'll be flushing 'er all night, what?" Orlon laughed. "I've seen it before, I've got a cat what does the same thing. Loves to see the water go away and taught hisself to flush it. Iffen I'd not rigged it, he'd have flushed half the river by now. And the Council'd be in my arse for wasting water. It 'll take a special switch, but I'll get her fixed, sure enough. Sometime later this week, okay?"

"Yes, sir, that would be fine, thank you."

Orlon elbowed the second man in the ribs.

" "Ear that, you knuckledragger? He calls me 'sir', me, just a mechanic. You'd be a better man if you were to remember the manners you were raised with. Or was you raised by a lout such as yourself?" he said the second man.

"Ah, go on with you, 'SIR". Me mum raised me right. You should know, she was your'n, too."

Chap. 221 Frustration

Chap. 221 Frustration

"K'ndar of Landing. K'ndar of Landing."

He clutched the quilt in sudden terror, his heart racing.

"Who's there?" he said. Where was he?

Then he realized, it was his datalink. Of course, he'd left it on the table in the kitchen.

He could see it flashing.

He jumped out of bed, stumbling over the boots he'd left by its side. It was dark as the inside of a pig. He blundered into a wall, stubbed his toe and, cursing, reached for the datalink-just in time for it to go dark. Where the shaff was a light...

I don't like living in a box, he thought, at least in a weyr I had glows.

The datalink lit up again. The eerie voice said, "K'ndar of Landing. K'ndar of Landing"

He grabbed it, hopping on one foot to ease the pain from his stubbed toe. How did one stop the voice?

"Hello?" he shouted at the datalink.

"K'ndar of Landing. K'ndar of Landing. K'ndar of..."

The data link went dark.

He resisted the urge to throw the datalink across the room. Shaff, but it was black, he couldn't see a thing. There had to be lights somewhere in this place, how to get it to work?

He saw one of the door control panels glowing softly in the Stygian darkness. Making his way to it, he moved a hand over it. The door into Raventh's bay opened.

"Noooooooooo, I want the lights to come on!" he shouted in frustration.

Every light in the building came on.

What's wrong? Your foot is hurting? Raventh asked, awakened by the door opening.

"K'ndar of Landing. K'ndar of Landing."

He waved a hand over the screen.

The voice stopped.

"K'ndar? You there?" It was Marsh.

He released his frustration in a sigh.

Is something wrong?

No! Yes! I..sorry...

"K'ndar! It's Marsh!"

"Yeah. I wanted to turn on the lights and don't see a panel, this one opened the bay door! How do you turn the lights on in this place?" he shouted.

"No need to shout, K'ndar, I hear you just fine. Just say, "Bedroom lights" or wherever you are."

What's wrong? Why are you awake? Raventh asked, looking at him. His eyes glowed green in the darkness.

Never mind, I..this whole place is confusing.

Siskin chipped and flew into the room.

He wants to sleep with you, like back at the weyr.

No problem.

Siskin swirled around the room and then landed on his bare shoulder. The lizard's talons were just a little too sharp for comfort, but he was too distracted to protest.

"ARRG, everything's going all at once," he grumbled to the datalink.

He waved a hand over the panel to shut the bay door, and stumbled back to the bed and sat on it.

This was new, too, he'd never had a bed, just a bunk.

Siskin looked at the rumpled quilt, then hopped down onto it. He liked the feel of it and began to knead it, as if making a nest.

"Are you okay? What's happened?" Marsh asked.

"Oh, I've just...never mind, at least I have light now."

"Okayyyyyyy. Anyway, I said I'd call to show you how to use the datalink. Sorry I'm late, I was reading. Do you need anything?"

"I'd like to know how to answer this thing," he said.

"Just like you did...wave a hand over the screen."

"That was bloody luck," he said, heated.

"I told you how to work it."

"Well, it scared me spitless, calling me in the dark, and then I had no idea how to make it talk."

"It's called "answering".

There was something scornful in Marsh's tone, but K'ndar was too flustered to react to it. He knew disdain when he heard it, though.

"What if I want to talk to someone?"

"Say, "Data", and then the name and place of who you want to talk to," Marsh said.

His heart rate was beginning to slow.

"Who's voice is that? It sounds creepy."

"Yeah, I know, it's the default voice. Do you want someone else's voice? Or a sound? Some people have music. The datalink can play music, anything that is recorded in the database."

"Umm..what do you have?"

Marsh laughed. "My girlfriend's voice. But I've changed it a couple times, depending on which one of them I like best at the moment," he said, boasting just a bit.

"Where do you get the voice?"

"Someone has to have spoken on the datalink, at least once, for the database to store it. But there's other sounds, like the ocean, or thunder, all sorts of sounds. You can even have your own voice, now that you're talking to me. It's already in the database, now. Really, all you need to do is ask the datalink for information. If it's in the database, the computer will respond. For instance, if I want to know the circumference of a circle, all I have to do is ask the datalink, what is the circumference of a circle? And listen to what my datalink says:

A girl's voice said, "The circumference of a circle equals 2 pi r."

K'ndar was dumbfounded. He also remembered trying to figure out geometry and remembering how he much he hated math. This datalink would have made Math so much easier...

"My wingleader had a datalink and it never did stuff like this," he said.

"Probably not. These datalinks, they've been improved, a lot. The ones we had before, some dragon rider found the first one on a beach next to a shipwreck. That one, we copied but once we had the plans for it, the computer came up with improvements, a LOT of them. This new version is much better," Marsh said.

Gossip again!!

"Found it on a beach next to a shipwreck?"

"That's what I heard."

"That's crazy, Marsh. And wrong. I was the dragonrider who found the first artifacts, to include the datalink, I found them on the steppe. Nowhere near a beach."

"You found it?" the boy sounded doubtful.

"Yes. I found it. And the molecular camera, and the vacuum tube, and the notebook, the binocular, all that stuff. If you don't believe me, ask Raylan, or Jansen," he said.

"Whoa," Marsh said, "I had no idea. I would love to go out nomading like that. I like it here, don't get me wrong, but it gets boring. You had to sword fight with raiders to get them, right?"

"Marsh! No! How the shaff does stuff like this start? No, there were no raiders on the steppe. It's a long story and I'm tired, Just...well, thanks for helping me get into this weyr but I'd like some more help tomorrow, figuring out how other things work...like the latrine? The lights?"

Marsh laughed, but it sounded like a sneer.

"Okay, K'ndar, I will. I'll come and get you, if you want breakfast we can go to the dining hall and then you have to meet with Raylan," he said.

The datalink went dark.

Humph. That's something he realized he'd heard more here than in his whole life. Not much courtesy in Landing. He'd not been addressed as "dragonrider", or 'sir', Marsh didn't say so much as 'good night'.

He put the datalink down on the bed and headed for the latrine. The sink had been easy to work. He was amazed that all he had to do was wave at the spigot and water came out, warmed by the thermal fires that burned kilometers deep under the entire Southern continent. But the bowl, the little stool next to the sink's counter? It was obviously something one could sit on. There was a small hose on the back of it. Pulling it out of its holder made water come out of it.

He'd been able to figure out what to do in it-but the results were still visible in the bowl. It was empty to begin with, so there was a way to empty it again. Maybe the hose?

He activated the hose, but all it did was add water to the bowl. Don't want it to overflow, K'ndar! He replaced the hose, growing anxious.

How to make the bowl empty?

Maybe you talked to it, like the lights?

"Go away," he said to the stool.

The stool refused.

"Empty!" he said, louder. He felt stupid.

The contents remained.

"Why won't you listen to me, you shaffing piece of technology?" he shouted at it, beside himself with frustration.

It serenely ignored him.

He grabbed two fistfuls of his own hair in utter aggravation...and the toilet flushed.

Only then did he notice a small panel behind it, similar to the ones that controlled the automatic doors. His hand motion had activated it.

"I'm a moron,' he said, mournfully.

Siskin flew in and perched on the counter. He cheeped at K'ndar, obviously concerned at K'ndar's emotional outburst.

"It's okay, I'm okay, little lad, thank you," he said, petting the fire lizard's head.

The fire lizard dropped down to the floor, examining the base of the toilet.

I have to admit, he thought, this is a far better method of disposal than what I grew up with..a shack at the far end of the compound sheltering a hole dug in the ground. Once a year or so you had to fill it in and rope it off for years, and dig a new one. Even the weyr didn't have this sort of amenity, just a natural shaft that dropped hundreds of meters down into the ground. Anything you dropped into it obliterated in the bowels of the planet.

He waved at the panel. The toilet flushed.

Siskin immediately alerted to the sound. He stood up on his hind legs, and was able to peer into the bowl, fascinated by the swirling water.

The water vanished, momentarily. Then the bowl refilled.

He turned to K'ndar and chittered excitedly. K'ndar didn't need Raventh to translate...Siskin wanted a repeat performance of flushing.

Oh, no, if I show him how...I'm betting he'll be activating it all night.

"All gone, little lad. I'm going to wash up and then we're going to bed, okay?"

Siskin whicked, disappointed.

I'll have to shut the door or figure out some way of keeping him from activating it. He's too smart, sometimes.

He returned to the bed. It didn't feel right. I much prefer a bunk, he thought, but for now, it's what I have.

How to shut the lights off?

"Lights OFF" he said, loudly, and was rewarded by the building going black.

"Bedroom light, ON," he said.

The bedroom light came on. WHERE it came from, he could not fathom.

"Brighter!" he said. The lights got bright.

"Darker" he said. The lights went out.

Ummmm...

"Bedroom light dim?"

The lights came on, much dimmer than before.

Okay.

"Lights OFF."

And he was rewarded with comfortable, sleepable darkness.

He could feel Siskin's body, down at the foot of the bed. The fire lizard curled up against his leg.

K'ndar stared up at the invisible, arched ceiling.

His thoughts raced for several minutes, going over everything he'd seen and learned today.

I feel...I feel like I did the first night at the weyr...alone, scared, unsure of the future. Not homesick, this time but unsure. How can I feel that way, this time? I have Raventh and I should be trying to get to sleep, I don't want him awakening with my mind.

Everything is so complicated, so different.

His mind quieted, then noticed something.

It was quiet.

I don't remember it being this quiet the night I slept in the visitor's dorm. But then, I was so beat, I think I lay down and was out in a split second.

The silence was unnerving.

Growing up on the steppe, the night was quiet but still there were sounds-his father's snoring, the night creatures outside, the sounds of horses in the barn, a cock's belated crow, the lowing of cattle, the occasional roar of a wild wher far out on the steppe.

The weyr had never been silent. There had always been the low, eerie woooooo of air currents moving through the tunnels and shafts of the volcanic ridge. He liked to think of it as the entire ridge breathing. You could always tell the wind speed outside the weyr, just from the tone of the moaning.

But here? Utter, profound silence. Was it this way throughout Landing, or was it because his quarters were, as Marsh said, on the outskirts of the village?

Something else was missing. He cast about for a moment. The sea. He'd grown accustomed to the sound of the sea, in all her moods, sometimes roaring, sometimes a soft susurration, just enough to say, I, the Sea, am Here.

I miss the sea.

I miss hearing the sea.

I need to hear the sea.

Something Marsh had said? The data link?

"Data, I want to hear the sea."

For a moment, he felt as if he'd been defeated, again, by a thing he could barely understand.

Then, he heard it. The sound of a peaceful ocean, so softly he had to strain to hear it.

"Louder?"

It came up, just a little, in volume. Just enough, just enough to hear the gentle surf.

He slept.