Chap. 227 Dolphin recovery

Chap. 227 Dolphin recovery

K'ndar looked with dismay at the size of the giant crate.

"My harness isn't going to be able to handle that big a load," he said.

"We're just about to warp it over the side," Harve said.

K'ndar saw two crewmen finish harnessing the slatted crate. Inside was a large lump covered in canvas.

"For some reason I thought you'd have to carry it off, " he said.

Harve laughed. "No, K'ndar, it's far too big. Block and tackle and a good boom, that'll make short work of her. What do you mean, your harness won't fit?"

"What I meant was, ordinarily, cargo is a lot smaller, and I have extenders on my harness that can sling load it under Raventh. But that thing is huge," he said.

G'aryk, waiting for the fish he was tasked to transport to be unloaded, looked at the crate with a doubtful eye.

"It's pretty big, K'ndar. Do you think Raventh can handle it? He's small for a brown," he said. "Do you want to swap loads? Corth is a lot bigger," he said.

"Umm," K'ndar was torn.

I can do it. As long as it doesn't swing Raventh said.

We'll launch and then go between. There shouldn't be too much swing. Are you certain?

Of course. I can do anything Corth can do. Anything.

K'ndar smiled.

"Thanks, G'aryk, but Raventh says he can lift it."

G'aryk's expression said he understood. "Browns."

"Aye. Browns" K'ndar agreed. Brown dragons were always a bit on the defensive, being smaller than bronzes and golds, but larger than blues and greens. Bronzes sometimes teased browns for that. So they were always trying to prove to the larger bronzes that they could do anything a bronze could do.

Leana measured it with her eye.

"Your harness isn't much longer, G'aryk," she said, "and we didn't bring extensions."

"Neither did I," K'ndar said, fretting.

"Is it the weight you're worried about? Because I don't have the weight on it," Harve said.

"No, it's not the weight, Harve, and besides, the crate is slatted. That reduces a lot of weight. I can see you covered the skull with canvas?"

"Had to, K'ndar. The thing stinks. It's pretty fresh, it still had scraps of flesh on it," Harve said.

"It's not the weight, Harve, we don't go by weight, anyway. Dragons can lift just about anything as long as they believe they can. It's my harness. I don't have a long enough harness for Raventh to transport it."

But the ropes, now...

"If I can keep the ropes? I can tie them to the harness," he said.

Harve frowned.

"Ropes...ropes belong to the ship, K'ndar. I'll have to ask Cap'n Disko."

"Harve, you know me. I promise I'll bring the ropes back as soon as possible. Tomorrow. The crate can be a problem, though. I don't know when I'll return it. Will you still be here tomorrow?"

"I'm not sure, K'ndar. Normally we're in port for two, three days. We'll spend the rest of today unloading, tomorrow mornig, we'll clean the hold, inspect it for leaks or damage. Ordinarily, we'd start loading tomorrow afternoon. If the weather's good, we'll leave on the evening tide. But this is Cove Hold, unlike other Holds, they don't have much in the way of cargo to ship out. So we'll be heading out 'deadhead', meaning no cargo in the hold. That's a pain, K'ndar, because with no cargo, we're always having to re-arrange ballast at sea, and that can be dangerous. Not only that, but we don't make any money shipping air," the teen said.

He looked at the crate, now ready for lifting.

"I'll ask the captain about the ropes. As for the crate, I'm thinking he'll be glad to be rid of it, for now. It caused him nothing but worry, K'ndar. We had to cobble it together, and it was too big to fit below. That and the crew would probably have mutinied had we put that stinking thing below. So it rode all the way here on the deck, and no seaman likes having cargo on deck. Cargo on deck has an ugly habit of breaking loose and causing all sorts of damage. Sometimes, even sinking the ship," he said.

"What?"

"Aye. Loading cargo is a science, K'ndar, one I am breaking my brain trying to learn. An unbalanced load in the hold can sink a ship. My uncle, Captain Disko, is a scientist, K'ndar. He knows to the centimeter the capacity of his ship. We'll line up all the cargo we're going to load, and he'll walk back and forth, placing the crates, the nets, whatever, into the hold in his mind. Then he'll close his eyes, think for a moment, and then say "this one, stow it aft, starboard side, just inboard of the ladder, and parallel to the keel." A well balanced cargo makes the ship go 'sweetly', nice and even. And don't stow it wrong, K'ndar. We don't cast off until he's looked at the load, checking every single crate, and the stars help you if you've put something wrong. Cap'n finds a box or a crate misplaced, the person who did it will spend every hour of his or her off duty time watching the crate,making sure it doesn't move. That means even sleeping on it, K'ndar. Cap'n Disko doesn't like having to re-arrange cargo, especially at sea," Harve said, "doing that is a guarantee of someone getting hurt. That and the crew probably would have mutinied to have that stinking thing in the hold. Truth is, K'ndar, Cap'n wanted to toss that skull overboard, especially after it tore up a new net. I had to beg him to keep it. I knew you'd want it," the teen said.

"You're right, Harve, and thank you. I owe you and your Captain. And I can pay for the net," K'ndar said, glad that he'd brought his pouch. "I don't know how much a net costs, but I'll pay for the damage."

"They cost a lot, Harve, but Cap'n will probably say no to that. We've already repaired it. He's just happy to be getting the thing off his ship," Harve said.

K'ndar felt overwhelmed. It took him several moments, then he said, "Thank you, Harve. I have to insist, though. I want to pay for the net."

Harve shook his head. "The ropes, I have to ask about, K'ndar. The rest? No. Cap'n said it. You're family, K'ndar, and when a Nerat takes you in, you're in for life." Pride filled his eyes.

How you've grown, K'ndar thought, how far you've come since we plucked you off that fly speck of an island. You might be only fifteen, but you're a man, Harve. Unlike that little shit Marsh.

"Thank you, Harve. I'll return the ropes tomorrow. I'd return them tonight, but it'll be dark by then. How long do you think you'll be here?"

Harve looked at the sky.

"Ordinarily, I'd say two days, one to unload, one to upload. But two things are pushing us..the sky looks ugly, K'ndar, there's a storm brewing from the east and we want to be out to sea as soon as we can. I give it two days, three at the outside, before it hits. The other thing that's making us hurry is that we'll be leaving without much cargo. If we can outrun the weather, we'll be heading west, where we can hole up if necessary and get a hold full of goods from Southern," Harve said.

"You're better at weather forecasting than I ever hoped to be," K'ndar said, admiringly. "So, you won't be here tomorrow?"

"Probably not. We're about unloaded already," Harve said.

Possession of the ropes was weighing heavily on K'ndar's shoulders, until a simple thought hit him.

"Duh. Sometimes I wonder where my brains are. Depending on the weather, I'll take the ropes to Southern Hold. Or wherever you happen to be."

Harve brightened. "That will work!"

"You, on the dock there! Hi, Harve! Hi, you landsmen! Move ashore, we're about to warp this beastly crate over the side!" called one of the crew.

Harve hustled K'ndar, G'aryk and Leana off the dock.

It was a good thing he did.

The boom, bending slightly under the weight of the crate, screeched slightly as it swung outboard.

"Is it too heavy?" K'ndar asked, alarmed.

"No, no, the boom can handle it, easy. We have nets full of fish that are heavier. It's the...." Harve started to say when something went 'SPANG!"

K'ndar saw a block at the top of the boom explode into pieces.

"HEADACHE!" someone shouted, and Harve jumped backwards, covering his head.

The three dragonriders, having no idea what the warning meant, witnessed the crate plummet into the sea with a huge splash. It just barely missed the end of the dock.

For one long moment, there was silence, then a cloud of swearing erupted from ship.

"NO!!!" K'ndar shouted. Without thinking, he rushed to the end of the dock, watching the tail end of the rope vanish into the depths.

"Anyone hurt?" the captain yelled.

Harve and the others all looked at each other.

"Well, I'm wet, but otherwise, okay," Leana said. She'd unfortunately caught most of the splash.

"None here," Harve shouted.

"Bloody crate," someone shouted.

"What happened?"

"That bloody block...I knew it were bad! It didn't sound right!

The Captain was at the spot in a moment. "That's the second block that's broken. I'll never deal with that ship chandler again. Nothing good comes from those shysters at Tillek!"

He pointed at two crewmen. "Take down the boom and replace the block. Use one of the new ones! Did the winch break?"

"No, sir, the brake held on 'er, so all the strain were on the block," said one of the crew. "Part of the block almost hit me. It went whizzing right past my ear," she said.

Dismayed, K'ndar, saw a few bubbles rising from the sunken crate.

Shards. Shard! So close to bringing the skull home and now this!

Harve came to look. The Captain was at the same spot as the boom operator, looking over the side.

"I didn't trust that skull," he grumbled, "It was a nuisance from the start."

K'ndar shook his head, saddened.

"Shards. It's a loss, I guess. I guess I don't have to worry about returning the ropes," he said, dejected.

Harve laughed.

"No, it isn't, we've had this happen before."

"What do you do, dive down there and pick it up?" K'ndar said, despairing.

"No, no, no, K'ndar, that's too much work. We'll just pull it up by the ropes."

"Are you serious? It's deep! How in the world can you lift it out of the water?"

"K'ndar. We have friends who are experts at deep sea recovery," Harve said, grinning.

"I know!!" Leana said, "Dolphins! Right?"

Harve grinned. "Yes, ma'am, dolphins. If someone will ring the dolphin bell, they'll come in, bring the ropes up to us, where we can reeve a line up the boom to the winch."

Leana went running for the dolphin bell.

__________________________________________________________________________

K'ndar didn't know the dolphins. But he was, as always, entranced by them. Leana was overjoyed to finally get to see them.

"They're more beautiful than I imagined!" she said, laughing.

Three of them had arrived within ten minutes of the bell being rung. It appeared the entire population of Cove Hold had responded to the bell as well, to include Rahman, the astronomer.

"K'ndar! Hello! Why are you here?" the old man said.

"Sir, I'm 'staff' now at Landing! As their "Field Biologist"!"

"Good on you, lad!! What's going on?"

"Sir, this young man is Harve. I'll fill you in on his story, but his ship, the Serengeti, caught a skull in one of their nets. They want me to have it, I planned on taking it to Landing so I can examine it."

"I see no skull, " the man said.

The crew laughed.

"It's at the bottom, sir, that's why we called the dolphins, they'll bring the ropes up for us to recover it." Harve said.

It was fascinating to see the dolphins quickly grasp the situation, and easy for them to bring the rope to the surface. From there, the crew re-reeved the line and prepared to lift the crate.

"What in box?" asked one of the dolphins, standing on his tail. K'ndar noted a bright, off white mark on his forehead, looking like a star.

"A skull," K'ndar said, "A big one."

"Skull!"

The three dove as one. They pinged it with their sonar and surfaced.

"Where find skull?"

K'ndar turned to Harve, who said, "Ten days ago, we were off the southern half of Western Continent. It was in our net."

"Deep water at Western," said Star. His companions agreed.

K'ndar said, "I think it's a mosar skull."

The three dolphins immediately disagreed.

"No. Not mosar."

"NOT a mosar? As big as it is?"

"Not mosar. How you know mosar?"

K'ndar tried to laugh but was too stunned to do so. Not a mosar! Meaning, something...new?

"I'm K'ndar, Raventh's my dragon."

The three conferred again. He was waiting for them to laugh, then saw that they immediately knew who K'ndar and Raventh were, but that the Tillek's command to never tease him again was obeyed.

"Keeendar! Swash friend!"

"Yes," he said, "and if you see Swash, tell him K'ndar says hello!"

"Oh," Leana said, softly, "I'd love to have a dolphin for a friend."

So what is the skull? He ransacked his brain for the next biggest thing he'd seen come from the mysterious depths.

Ah.

"Is it a paladen?"

The dolphins looked at him with questions in their eyes.

"Not know what paladen is," said Star.

Oh, that's right, dolphins call the paladen a 'deep diver'

"Deep diver?"

Again, all three denied it without hesitation.

"Not deep diver. Not mosar."

"What is it?"

For the first time in his limited experience with dolphins, K'ndar realized that the dolphins were as clueless as the humans.

"Not know what is. Never seen it before. Maybe Tillek knows."

 

Chap. 226 Unusual Cargo

Chap. 226 Unusual Cargo

This was a great idea! he said to Raventh. The dragon merely laughed as he swam.

Cove Hold was beautiful. The beach was soft, white sand, the cove itself a perfect half circle. It was situated just so, the surf a gentle lapping rather than the pounding one that sometimes hit Kahrain Steppe Weyr. The weather was perfect, with enough of an offshore breeze to temper the heat of the sun. It was, after all, on the northern coast of the continent, much closer to the equator than either Kahrain or Landing.

Raventh was out in the cove, fishing. He could see Siskin with him. Two other dragons were fishing, as Cove Hold was, essentially, a Hold created by and for dragonriders.

Palm trees, brought to Pern by the colonists, provided both shade as well as a soft undertone of wind to the gentle surf.

There was even a sturdy rack set up for dragon riders to hang their harnesses so that they didn't get wet. Leather was perfect for harness but it never cared for water.

Do I take a nap? Or do I go beach combing? he wondered.

Behind him was Robinton's Hall. It had been built for the Master Harper when he had been forced into retirement in order to recover from an attempt on his life. Robinton had been dead for many years, but his legacy lived on. He had become almost a mythical character for people,like K'ndar, who hadn't been born yet.

Now the Hall served almost the same purpose, that of a rehab site for Harpers who needed a warm site in which to recover from accidents or illnesses.

It had also become an auxiliary Hall for Harpers. At the moment, it was empty of patients, and full of a class of people in their twenties, learning to be Harpers.

What would become of them, he wondered. Before Aivas, with its technological wonders spurring advancement in Pern society, Harpers served a multitude of services. They were primarily teachers, passing on knowledge, history and information through music. He still could recall many songs he'd learned from the itinierant Harper who served his area, lyrics that told how to sew a garment, or harvest hay, or take cover from Thread. Harpers maintained demographic records: births and deaths, establishment of Holds, Halls and Weyrs, marriages, partnerships, divorces; economic things such as which area of Pern was best at growing crops or livestock; and served as liaisons and diplomats. Some even were rumored to act as spies. But now, with the technology of computers and the datalinks that could reach over the planet, what would become of Harpers? Already children were learning to access the database via a datalink rather than sitting at a Harper's knee, memorizing the songs.

He could hear a familiar one emanating from the Hall. The words came to him without his having to think of them. This one about shoeing horses. He'd always liked it, not only because it involved horses, but because it gave boys the chance to shout the chorus of "clang clang!" at the top of their lungs, the words calling to mind the farrier's hammering on a shoe to make it fit the hoof.

Walking with his thoughts, he passed a woman, sitting on the beach.

"G'day," he said, absently, not really seeing her.

"It is, isn't it? You're new at Landing, aren't you?" she said.

"I'm...I'm sorry, do I know you?" he said, caught short. He'd never seen her before in his life.

"Leana, rider of green Marith. I'm at Landing, just like you. My husband, G'aryk, rides brown Corth. Those are our dragons, out there fishing. Pleased to finally meet you!"

"Ah..ha." K'ndar said, surprised. "And you, ma'am. K'ndar, rider of brown Raventh. I've only been at Landing for a week, I've not had a chance to meet the other dragonriders, except for Francie. I've known her for a couple years," he said.

"Francie's a dear, isn't she? As is Raylan, her husband! I see your dragon out in the water, see the green to his right? That's my girl, Marith. She loves the sea," she said.

"So does Raventh. I tell him he must have been a dolphin in a former life. He's fascinated by dolphins."

Leana laughed. "Aren't all dragons? Marith was hoping to see one today, but they don't seem to be around. And I don't want to ring the dolphin bell for no reason."

K'ndar nodded. "I know. I've talked to dolphins, one of them is a friend of mine. They'd like it if we DID call them more often. They want to talk, share experiences, and I must say, they seem far more intelligent than even us humans. I don't think they realize that we humans have decided that the bell is to be used only in emergencies," he said.

"They ARE more intelligent than us. Their brains are far more convoluted and far larger than ours. Even more amazing, they can sleep without fear of drowning. One half of their brain sleeps, the other is wide awake."

"Is that a fact! I didn't know that! Are you a biologist, like me?" he asked. He sat down beside her.

"No, actually, I'm was working in the computer shop, inputting 'data'. But I've been promoted to Acquisition! That's how I knew who you are. You are, well, the story has become thoroughly skewed, but you witnessed Shawn's um...denoument. That was a good thing. He was an evil, conniving scoundrel."

"Thank you for not turning me into some sort of hero. Congratulations on your promotion!"

"You're welcome. I'm glad to get out of Data. It was okay, but I got so tired of sitting down. I need to get up and walk. A lot. And Marith was always resentful that I spent so much time in the office," she said.

"That was the first problem I've had crop up this week..Raventh was pretty pissy today. He's usually easy going, but he was upset that I'd neglected him. And I haven't," he protested, "it's just..."

"Just that you can't do your office work on his back in flight, right?"

"Yes! In fact, he insisted on flying here rather than going between, just to get the kinks out of his wings. And I needed it, too. I wanted to hike the forest south of the dragon meadow but-you know it is with dragons."

Leana laughed. "I'll have Marith explain things to him. And Corth can, too. Now that they've met, I hope they'll be able to keep each other entertained. Where did they quarter you?"

"Grafton put me in one of the larger buildings, it's on 200th and Belior." He felt a bit of pride in his newly acquired skill in navigating Landing's odd grid like layout. "It's a larger building than most of the quarters, with a bay large enough for Raventh."

"Hmmm. We're way out in the boonies, on Timor, up near the foot of the lava flow. Is there a building in your area large enough for TWO dragons? Because right now, we're in two separate buildings, which, while they have room for A dragon, there's none for two, so we're forced to be in two buildings..and they're not even next to each other."

His pride was short lived. "I have no idea. But they've excavated that whole section where I am, and it's right on the dragon meadow. Francie is already planning on moving there, she's on...um, Eridani. So I'm thinking there's more large buildings."

Leana nodded. "I'll ask Grafton. It would be so much better if our two dragons were weyr'ed together, and we could live in just one building. Oh, here comes the ship. I hope G'aryk sees it, we're here to transport a load of fish and a passenger to Landing."

The sun, behind them, cast its light on the bright sails of a ship coming into the small wharf that served Cove.

"I'm no seaman, but that sure looks like a brand new ship," he said.

"I think it is. It's the Serengeti, out of Nerat."

Nerat! I hope...I wonder if Harve might be on her?

____________________________________________________________________

He was.

K'ndar watched as the crew bustled on the deck, moving cargo quickly and efficiently. The ship was tied up parallel to the floating dock.

He heard a familiar voice calling his name.

"K'ndar! K'ndar! Over here!" a tall young man hailed him from the deck of the ship.

He walked to the side of the ship. He could feel the dock moving gently with the swell.

"Harve!! Look at you, you've doubled in height!"

"And weight...but K'ndar, come aboard!"

"Harve...No. I'm not setting foot on a ship. Remember, I'm the one who got seasick on the dock at Tillek Sea Hold."

The ship's crew froze for a moment, then erupted in scathing laughter.

A very big man-K'ndar remembered meeting him at Nerat-roared, "Avast, you louts. That dragonrider is FAMILY, got it? No one laughs at the man who rescued our Harve, eh?"

A small woman suddenly appeared at the man's side.

"Hear me now, you yobs. Anyone who even thinks of laughing at K'ndar will be fed nothing but fish bait for the rest of the season. Understand?"

The silence was broken only by the sound of the squeal of blocks as the cargo was transferred to the dock. Harve was smirking.

After several seconds, one voice called, "Move on, you louts, think this is a rest day?"

The crew resumed moving cargo. There were snide looks, but not a soul said a word about K'ndar. The Captain might rule the ship, but the Cook ruled the crew's stomach.

"Cap'n, permission to leave the deck?" Harve called.

"Aye, laddie, I know why," the Captain said. "K'ndar, you're looking well!"

"I am, Captain, thank you!" he called back, wishing he remembered the man's name.

Harve didn't bother with the gangway, which was full of crew moving smaller loads. He leaped gracefully over the taffrail and landed on the dock.

He had grown. He was a hair taller than K'ndar, now. He gave K'ndar a big hug.

"By the egg, Harve, you look good. And happy. And your legs..."

"Straight as a sky broom mast, K'ndar! All I have to remind me is scars. What do you think of my new ship? Isn't she a dandy?"

K'ndar could smell new wood, new canvas, new cordage.

"She IS nice, but you know me, Harve, I don't know squat about ships."

"It's alright, K'ndar. She's built by my uncle, the Captain. He's the same man who built We're Here.

He used the same plans, but put in a lot of improvements. This is her first real mission, we've been sea trialing her all spring and summer. Guess who got to name her?"

"You?"

Harve swelled with pride. "And christen her with a bottle of Nerat's best fruit juice!. I've been studying, and learned that most of my ancient kin came from Earth on the Bahrain, from places called Kenya and Tanzania. Serengeti was the last place on earth that had wildlife. They had lions, K'ndar, just like ours!"

________________________________________________________________________

G'aryk, Leana's husband, greeted him.

"I'm G'aryk, rider of brown Corth. I see you've met my weyrmate, Leana."

"I have, and she and you already know I'm at Landing now."

G'aryk was tall and angular. He had the air of a leader, as if he were a bronze rider.

As if hearing his thought, G'aryk said, "I like Landing. It's different from Igen Weyr, that's where we're both from. Ever been to Igen?"

K'ndar shook his head. "No, I haven't. It's all desert, yes?"

"Parts of it, yes. Pretty desolate in some places, but I didn't mind. Still, I have to admit, Southern is far...better? It's warm here, agreed, but there's plenty of room for us dragonriders."

"True."

"I would like to sit and chat, but Leana and I are here on task. She's ferrying a passenger back to Landing, do you know Rahman?"

"I do! He's one of my mentors, he gave me books when I was still a Weyrling, for which I will forever be grateful. Is he back from Western, building the new telescope?"

"He is. He's riding behind Leana on Marith. I've got a load of fresh fish to transport back to Landing, but we have a problem. There's a big crate that was not on the manifest, and it's to be sent to Landing. It's too big for a green. I imagine you're off duty, but would you be willing to transport it with your brown?"

"Certainly," he said, without hesitation, "what is it, more fish?"

"No. In fact the crew of the ship pulled it out of the sea. They say it's a giant skull."

K'ndar was instantly intrigued.

"Wow. Yes, I insist, I am sure Raventh can handle the load. Did they say...what kind of skull?"

"No, but it's huge. It's probably not a good idea to open its crate here, but I'm sure it can be identified once we get it back to Landing."

Harve came up.

G'aryk said, "Harve, is it? K'ndar has agreed to take that huge crate."

"I was going to ask you, K'ndar. It's got a whacking great skull in it, top AND jaw. I have no idea what it is, it's certainly not a dolphin. It's got teeth as long as your forearm, and sharper than razors."

"Whew," G'aryk said, "how did you manage to get it?"

"It was tangled in one of our nets. All the fish escaped, right out through the holes the teeth cut in the net."

K'ndar was thinking.

"Is it long and narrow?" he asked, itching to look at it RIGHT NOW.

"Aye, it's at least two meters long, maybe more. Sends chills up your spine, just looking at it."

"I think I know what it is. A mosar. But I'll have to examine it in depth when we get to Landing."

"Mosar?"

"Yes. The Ancients called it a 'shark', but it's not the shark that used to exist in Earth's oceans. Believe it or not, it's distantly related to tunnel snakes, but a snake out of the darkest nightmare you can imagine," he said.

"How do you know this?" G'aryk asked.

He laughed. "Experience! We were working on the southern coastline of Southern. Raventh saw this 'thing' swimming just under the surface. We flew out over it, wanting to get a closer look and boy, didn't we get one! This monster leaped from the sea, completely clearing it and bit Raventh on the tail.

All I saw was a wall of teeth. If the mosar had gotten a good purchase on Raventh, we'd have been dead!

Raventh wasn't hurt too badly, although he'll always have the scars on his tail. But scared? You bet your arse we were scared. Spitless. The dolphins told me the thing's name, mosar. They thought it hilarious that a mosar could bite a dragon. I think that every dolphin on Pern knew about it within fifteen minutes. Every dolphin I talked to teased me about it until I met the Tillek, and she ordered that no dolphin tease me about it, ever again. Dolphins are the masters of the sea, but even they're afraid of mosars. Something with teeth like that, that can jump right out of the water? It's probably the most dangerous animal in the sea."

 

Chap. 225 Flight Non-Ops

Chap. 225 Flight Non Ops

"K'ndar, I believe you've a good grasp on what this job entails, " Lefsa said, "and I'm confident that you won't have many problems. The best thing about it is you may set your own schedule. Meaning, if you want to sleep in all morning and come to work in the afternoon, that's your choice."

He smiled. "I doubt I'll ever do that. I used to be up before dawn, feeding and mucking out the horses, and I've gotten used to it. So I'll be in here first thing, then maybe spend the afternoons either with Raventh or actually going to the field. You said earlier this week that I could set stuff aside and spend a week in the field? I think I'll do that," he said, part of his mind racing as to where to go? What to study?

"Careful, K'ndar, your desk has a way of reproducing work that, if you ignore it for too long, will multiply like insects." She laughed. "Remember, "Data reproduces exponentially"! I can attest to that, it's what I found when I took it over. I spent weeks just clearing away the backlog."

"Well, I can see there's no backlog now. You made it easy for me."

She smiled. "Remember, any time you get stuck, contact me. I might be working in Taxonomy now..a job created just for me, I think! I'll be in the next building over. Okay?"

She grinned again, then left. Such an odd girl, he thought. Most of the time, she's a happy girl, then something strikes her mind, something I've said or done, that turns her eyes sad for a moment. Bet it's her partner. He doesn't sound like the nicest bloke. Huh, how do I know that? My poor mum, putting up with the jerk that was my father. I remember the deepness of the gloom in her eyes. But now? Oh, she's happy with Fland. And he with her.

He sat at the desk, pondering the sudden quiet. My office. MY office? Strange. In a thousand years, I would never have dreamed I'd end up working in an office. But I also never dreamed I'd actually be a dragonrider. I thought I'd be under my father's thumb for the rest of my life.

That thought was so depressing he had to shake his head to get rid of it. And I'm happy, now, too.

Where to go. What to do. Something physical. Maybe a nice long hike? I've sat on my arse for most of the week.

He walked to the large, topographical map of Pern on the wall. Where to go. What to do.

A shaft of late morning sun came through the window. After a week of rain, the sun was shining. I have to go outside.

It's the end of the week. She did say I could make my own schedule. I really have nothing to do in here. I've been sitting on my arse all week. It's time to get up and get the kinks out. So I am officially ending my workday at noon.

Without another thought, he walked out of the office and started walking home.

Let's go flying Raventh said.

K'ndar sighed. In the tiny corner of his mind that he worked hard to keep from Raventh, he was dismayed. He wanted to walk, not fly. But this was Raventh, his partner, soulmate, dragon. He could not deny him.

Okay. Where are you? In the bay?

No. It's nice outside, I've been in the dragon meadow all morning.

Good. I'll get something to eat, then head home.

I don't know why I had so many problems making my way around this place, K'ndar thought, now confident he knew where he was going.

As he mused, Siskin frolicked in the air over his head, happy to have K'ndar to himself again.

I have an idea of what to do today Raventh said.

What would you like to do?

Go to the ocean and swim. Maybe go fishing?

After all our rain?

Fish aren't in the rain. They're in the water Raventh snarked.

How to deal with dragon sarcasm?

And I want to fly, I'm getting stiff? You've been in that building all week.

K'ndar heard just a hint of reproach.

I know. I'm sorry. I have neglected you, but I think that part is done, now. I'll still have to spend time in the office, but maybe not so much.

What is 'neglect'?

It's when I don't spend time with you when I should. Or I don't care for you when I should, like oiling you.

Oh. I don't need oiling. I was unhappy, but now I am not. I want to go to Cove Hold.

We've never been there. How do you know about Cove Hold?

Motanith told me. She said the fish are everywhere.

OK. Cove Hold. I haven't had the time to bone up on local coordinates.

More sitting. But sitting on Raventh's neck was nowhere near the dullness of sitting at a desk.

I'll get something to eat, then go to Flight Ops anyway. Then we'll fly.

He entered Flight Ops.

He recognized the man who worked Flight Ops, but he didn't remember the name. Pattis...Pattis...no, she was the evil tempered woman who worked in Kahrain's Flight Ops. This man had been her partner until their fighting eventually led to their being physically separated and Pattis taking a position at Kahrain Steppe Weyr. Where she excelled as a flight ops tech but as a human was miserable.

Landing's Flight Ops man was no improvement. He apparently hadn't changed from the first time he'd treated K'ndar badly. He'd arranged his desk so that he could see who was coming in before the person could see him. He also knew that most of the time it was dragonriders who would come in for more than just a look at the map.

K'ndar remembered how disdainful the man had been. He didn't like dragonriders. Risal had said he didn't like anybody. Why in the world people like him seem to have jobs that involved dealings with other humans, he had no clue. They're a lot like whers. Nasty tempered.

K'ndar stopped in the entry way. He caught the very faintest glance the man threw him, and then the man forced his attention on his desk, refusing to acknowledge K'ndar's presence.

K'ndar waited for several seconds, then realize the man was playing his well known game, that of 'ignore the dragonrider's requests for information until the dragonrider begs for information'. Then he'd take the opportunity to insult and berate the dragonrider.

I'm not going to fall for it this time, he thought. The only way to beat him was to play the same game. The coordinates for Cove Hold should be on that area's weather board.

K'ndar walked around the area in front of the man's desk, looking at the sign in boards. There were few dragonriders assigned to Landing, so there wasn't much to see. He noticed his name wasn't on the assigned list.

He could feel the man's eyes on his back.

If I turn, he'll refuse to meet my eyes. My move.

He wandered over to the wall that had a large map of Pern. Alongside it was a series of chalk boards with forecasts of weather over all of Pern.

Cove Hold. Cove Hold. Ah, there it is. He memorized the permanently etched coordinates and passed them to Raventh and Siskin.

But wait. Rain? Rain forecast for the eastern half of Southern, to include here? But the sun is out and the skies clear blue. Oh. This has YESTERDAY's weather.

Yesterday?

He looked at other boards. None of the boards for all of Southern had updated weather.

Was this planned? How irresponsible, for the forecaster at LANDING, for Pern's sake, neglecting to post today's weather?

Do I dare fly to Cove Hold without knowing the weather? Well, it wasn't like it would be the first time, flying without knowing the weather at the destination, but still, Flight Ops was an essential part of dragon riding, as well as fishing, and farming, and... No self respecting Flight Ops tech allowed old data to stand.

He turned to look at the man. The name came to him. Howel. The man had his eyes firmly downcast. The bald spot atop the man's head glowed in the sunshine streaming in. He resisted the urge to ask why the weather boards were out of date. So he wants to play peek a boo, eh? No problem. I have eyes in the back of my head.

"Siskin. Watch him," he said, softly. Then he turned back to the map, as if engrossed in it.

Siskin sent him the vision of the man staring at K'ndar's back-then sticking out his tongue.

Without turning around, K'ndar grappled with his irritation, then was struck by inspiration.

He pulled his datalink out of its pouch on his side. I have no idea if this will work, but let's give it a go. At least I'll get a rise out of this shithead Howel.

He flicked the call button and said, "Pattis of Kahrain Steppe Weyr."

I hope Pattis has a datalink, otherwise I'll look foolish.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Howel's head jerk up.

"This is Pattis, who calls?"

"K'ndar of Landing. Pattis, I need the weather for Cove Hold, please?"

Don't be your normal pigheaded bitch this time, Pattis, please.

"You're at Landing and calling ME for weather?"

Howel came out from behind his desk, furious.

"You!! What you calling HER for?"

K'ndar froze the man with his eyes. Without dropping his stare, he said, "Pattis, I'm in Landing's Flight Ops, but no one has updated the weather boards. They're all yesterdays' weather, have you ever heard of such dereliction of duty?"

"Ay, you yob! Shut that off, you have no right to call her in MY Flight Ops!" Howel snapped.

He made a motion as if to slap the datalink from his hands. Siskin hissed like a steam kettle and the man backed off.

"Ay, yourself, jerk," K'ndar snapped. "I need today's weather. I obviously can't get it from YOU, but I do know Pattis has it, every dragonrider knows he can depend on her excellent data."

"I don't doubt the boards there are outdated," Pattis's voice said from the link, "That's because Howel has never forecasted or kept the weather updated. Risal, the girl who works night shift, is the one who does the day's weather. I did the same thing when I worked there. Howel always has an excuse as to why someone else is to blame. He couldn't forecast weather if you held him at knife point. Why Landing hasn't sacked that pimple on a boar's arse is a mystery. I'll send Cove Hold's weather...up to the minute, it is! to you right now."

Ah, Pattis, you've redeemed yourself for once, he thought. She sounded uncharacteristically cheerful...and helpful.

The expression on Howel's face was priceless. "That sow, she's..."

"Mind your tone, Howel. Obviously you can't be bothered to actually do your job, if that's what you call sitting on your arse and ignoring people. I am going to recommend to Council that you be fired. Your social skills are abysmal and your job performance is non-existent," K'ndar snarled, hoping Pattis heard.

She did.

"Is that him in the background, K'ndar? Tell him the best part of him ran down his father's leg," Pattis cackled.

Howel went scarlet.

His datalink went 'ping!'. There was Cove Hold's weather, with the coordinates, a map, and even the tide tables.

"Ah, Cove Hold's weather, up to the very minute! Thank you so much, Pattis, as always, you're on top of your game!" K'ndar said, wondering where he was getting the schmooze for Pattis, who, even on her best days, was evil tempered. Ah, what was it he'd read once? The enemy of my enemy is my friend?

"You bastard," Howel snarled.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," K'ndar said, smirking.

He turned and left.

Once outside, he said, "Thank you, Pattis," he said to the datalink, feeling a rare warmth for the woman.

"Stow it, K'ndar. You caught me in a rare mood. I still don't like you. But don't feel bad, I don't like anybody," she replied.

Stunned at her instant return to the Pattis he'd learn to loathe, he stared at the datalink.

"And K'ndar, you absolutely need to report Howel's dereliction. Flight Ops is my life, K'ndar, it's the only thing I do well, and I take pride in it. How Howel got assigned to FO at Landing? is beyond me. I'd been doing Flight Ops for years and they assigned..no, they put him OVER me! I never forgave them for that. I never will. Whatever insanity inspired me to partner with him has gone.

Howel's always been worse than useless, taking nips from a bottle while on duty, ignoring reports from other stations, forgetting to log people in and out, outdated weather? Nothing new for him. I carried his weight for years. Risal's bearing the same load I did...doing the work of two, and Howel stealing the credit. He's a slacker. Leave things up to him and someone..probably a dragonrider..is going to get killed someday. But I do appreciate you giving me the opportunity to stick it to that arse. I finally got the last word in. Now leave me alone," the woman said, and closed the link.

Whew.

 

Chap. 224 Grafton

Chap. 224 Grafton

"Good morning, Francie!! And who is your friend?"

This is Grafton? K'ndar thought. The tiny, wizened man in the chair in a small office was NOT what he was expecting. For some reason, he'd expected a male Hariko, but with Oscoral's build.

It was hard to see him in the darkened room. There wasn't so much as a window to admit the brilliant morning sunshine.

His eyes adjusted to the low level. Why would the headman of Landing be forced into such a tiny office? Without so much as a desk, never mind a slate board!

Hariko's slate boards had been one of the most important items in all of Kahrain Steppe Weyr. Children and adults-to include the Weyrleaders-learned early on that one touched Hariko's boards at their peril. Messing with her boards, his Weyrlingmaster had warned, was 'a dandy way to lose weight and discover the joys of sleeping on the beach'. But in this darkened room, boards would have been useless.

"Good morning, sir! This is K'ndar, he's here to meet you."

"Ah, K'ndar! Welcome to Landing! I trust you find your quarters to your liking? 2001 Belior, correct?"

"Thank you sir, and yes, my quarters are fine."

"Enough room for Raventh?"

Unnerved that the man knew his dragon's name, he said, "Yes sir. He's quite happy with it. The one problem I'll have is my fire lizard. He knows how to open doors using the wave plates. He's fascinated by the toilet, though, and if he learns how to flush it..."

"He'll be flushing it all day and night. A switch that only a primate with opposable thumbs can operate will be installed today. The wave switches for the bay door were repaired, I trust?"

"Yes, sir, two repairers fixed them," K'ndar said. Something was odd about the man. For one thing, he was staring at a blank wall, not at him and Francie. Maybe there was a tiny datalink screen embedded in the wall? He didn't want to move closer to the man to look for it, that would be rude. How was it this man knows him so well? Was there a camera in his quarters? Was the datalink recording his movements?

"Orlon's dependable as the sunrise. His brother, not so much. If Orlon didn't ride herd on his lazy brother, we'd have sent him packing long ago. Orlon's so valuable to Landing that his parasitic twin, as it were, is worth the price. "Such men just exist'". That's from the Lakota Sioux, lad. Do you know who they were?"

He is very strange, this man, and yet likable. You trusted him without knowing why.

"I'm sorry, sir, but no. I've never heard of them. Are they Northerners? From a small cothold?"

The man turned his head upwards and laughed.

"No, K'ndar, no, they were an indigenous tribe living in ancient America, on Earth. A truly noble people and by far the finest horsemen who ever straddled a horse. You're a horseman, I know, as well as a dragonrider."

"Um...yes, sir. From before I could walk."

"I could hear it in your footsteps, I thought, there's a man who's a horseman. It's been a long time since I've ridden, K'ndar. So, what can I do for you?"

"Excuse me, Grafton, but, where's Fafhrd?" Francie said.

"He's out hunting. He's met up with your trio, Francie, and they've fed. He'll be back shortly, and then I can more easily conduct business."

As if on cue, a bronze fire lizard whirled into the room. He immediately noticed Siskin and hovered just in front of K'ndar, his eyes glowing a brilliant orange. Siskin, perched on his shoulder, astonished K'ndar by whimpering..and then cowering. Had he been able to, he'd have curled his tail under his belly. Siskin?

The bronze is VERY dominant. He's like a Weyrleader's bronze, very very alpha. Raventh said.

Will he attack Siskin?

I doubt it. There's no need, really. Siskin has no intentions of challenging Fafhrd.

The bronze chittered softly and landed on Grafton's shoulder. He reached up to stroke the bronze's head. The bronze rubbed Grafton's hand, then turned to stare at K'ndar and Francie. Siskin stayed very still.

"I've had a packet of information created for you, K'ndar. You're also fully integrated with Landing's data system now. That data link Marsh gave you...that miserable little yob hacked it so that everything you did with it went through his without your knowing. I believe he thinks he can profit from your reputation for finding artifacts and wants to be in on it. He has no idea that I know this. Fool! As if the database doesn't log his every step? It has been rectified, K'ndar. After he finishes his morning chores, which, considering his character, will take half the day, Marsh will be informed that his work day has just started, what with all the digging he's going to be doing. The excavation team already has plans for him. Hopefully he'll neglect to wear gloves and develop blisters on his soft little hands. I doubt he has the ability to realize actions have consequences. By the way, he also must apologize to you. Do let me know if he does," Grafton said.

"I wasn't impressed by Marsh, sir, and I think I'd rather wander about like a headless wherry before I request his aid," K'ndar said, growing pissed. He wasn't sure what hacking entailed, but just the fact that it had been done sounding like it was an invasion of privacy.

He also knew that disobeying any request from Grafton would be something he'd NEVER do.
"I'll be sure to let you know, sir, should Marsh apologize."

"He has a week, K'ndar. Starting from yesterday."

"Aye, my lo...yes, sir," K'ndar caught himself. Grafton did that to you.

The bronze chittered again.

"Ah, thank you, Fafhrd," Grafton said to his bronze.

The man swiveled in his chair to face them.

It took K'ndar a full five seconds to recognize the savage, puckered scars that slashed across the man's face.

He'd seen such an injury only two or three times before. Only Threadscore looked like that.

Grafton was blind.

K'ndar suddenly realized that he was staring at the man's ruined face. He forced himself to drop his gaze, his stomach turning. He'd always been terrified of Thread, even when atop a flaming Raventh. That's impolite, K'ndar, he said to himself, but he's blind so he doesn't know I was staring.

"Threadscore, K'ndar. I was a child. We were holdless. We were caught out in a Threadfall. My father didn't make it," the man said. "I'm hard to look at, what?"

"I beg your pardon, sir, I didn't mean to...I'm so sorry, sir." K'ndar gulped, embarrassed, and, suddenly afraid. Is he reading my mind? Can he hear Raventh? Francie put a consoling hand on his shoulder.

No. He cannot hear me Raventh said, reassuring him.

"It's alright, K'ndar. It was a long time ago. In an odd way, it's made me stronger. I've learned...you take one sense away from a person, the others compensate by growing sharper."

"So I see, sir. You seem to know so much about me and I have only just met you."

Grafton laughed. The bronze fire lizard chortled, enjoying K'ndar's discomfort. Siskin made sure he drew none of the bronze's attention.

"They pay me well to keep tabs on everything going on here at Landing. I had a reputation by then of having a good memory. Council took me on and had patience with me. I had things fairly well in hand, and then, a wonderful lady named Francie gifted me with a fire lizard egg. So now, after many, many years of darkness, NOW, through Fafhrd's eyes, I can see. But my faculties remain the same," Grafton said.

"Sir..." something in Grafton's way made K'ndar want to unburden himself right away.

"Sir, begging your pardon, but you're scaring the squat out of me. I feel as if you've been watching me for my entire life!"

The man laughed.

"Ah, K'ndar, such candor...oh, delightful! There's a rhyme there! Such candor is refreshing, my friend. My memory had to work hard to compensate for my lack of sight. You notice no boards, unlike your Weyr's Hariko's office? It's all in here, K'ndar, here, in my mind," he tapped his skull. "The mind is an incredibly powerful organ, K'ndar. Never let it rest, always keep it working."

"Yes, sir. You know Hariko?" he asked, feeling a surge of pride in his former weyr's headwoman.

"A wonderful woman, she is. I love Hariko, despite her partnered status. Her weyrmate is a lucky man. Yes, I know Hariko. Next time you see her, tell her Grafton sends his love."

"On my honor, sir, I promise I will do that. Although she'll probably kiss me and tell me to send it on to you..." K'ndar said, beginning to feel comfortable and yet, the idea of kissing a man made him squirm.

"I won't turn down a kiss from Hariko, even if it's second hand, as long as it's on my cheek," he said.

Francie laughed. "I'll do the honors, Grafton." She walked over to the man, leaned down and kissed the man's cheek opposite his bronze fire lizard.

Grafton grinned. "Such a great way to start a day, with a kiss from a lovely lass. K'ndar, cancel your kiss, Francie does it far better."

K'ndar laughed.

"K'ndar, I think Grafton knows everyone on Pern," she said.

"Not quite, Francie, I don't know the children. Now then, on your way, K'ndar. I believe Raylan and Lefsa have you scheduled for a full day of training. Although I must say that your job will be much easier, now that Lefsa's staying here. She's a font of knowledge of her job and will be on hand to ease you into the flow," he said.

It was Francie's turn to gape. "She's...but just yesterday...is her husband..."

"She's asked to stay. Not husband, just mate, Francie, although HE insists they're married. He's far older than Lefsa, and I think...just my opinion, mind you! that he partnered her more out of desperation than passion. That may be part of the problem, he's always been...difficult, but...Grafton, you're gossiping. I don't interfere with marrieds. Never got there myself, no woman would have me, so I'm not sure of what will happen. Raylan's still working on whether to keep her in Biology or move her to another division. For the moment, though, K'ndar, you'd be well advised to pick her brains. She's sharp as a razor. I'm happy that you're on board with us, now, K'ndar. The moment I learned of you, so long ago, I urged Raylan to take you on if you were willing. Your expeditionary work has been stellar and I'm looking forward to seeing what new things you discover. Ha ha! Looking forward with Fafhrd's eyes, eh?"