(This was a collaboration with two other writers)

Operation: Distract and Delay

33.02.15 – 33.03.07, Sable Weyr

Zahlenka threw her gloves across her weyr as she stomped inside. Ilvahth followed her, unusually subdued. Lenni continued her pacing as she stripped out of her heavy leather riding gear. It was summer in the south, just leading into fall, and the temperature was too high to make riding leathers comfortable.

Lenni's temper was too high to make riding leathers comfortable.

N'shi followed her and watched silently as articles of clothing were thrown aside until Lenni was down to her leggings and tank top. He handed her the shirt she'd been wearing before they'd left for the Weyrleaders Conclave at Benden. She took it and pulled it on, still circling her weyr at a fast clip. She deftly avoided couches, chairs, table, and chests, but her thunderous scowl didn't diminish in the least.

"Five turns," she finally spat out. "Five turns, N'shi! And now they want to take them away?"

"They were never supposed to be here permanently," N'shi reminded her. "The timing was perfect. We needed the golds to rebuild our numbers. We've had five turns worth of clutches out of them. We're almost at full strength. We can spare them."

Zahlenka sent him a vicious look. "We are a well-trained, highly compatible group of goldriders. Do you know how hard that is to develop? And they're taking Aerden, too! He's a crafter! How can they take him?"

N'shi sighed and reached out to put his hand on her shoulder as she passed, bringing her to stop. "He's weyrmated to a dragonrider. The Halls won't interfere with those sorts of pairings, especially when a healer has the specialization that Aerden does."

"Then let Z'leena stay here!" Zahlenka snapped.

"Lenni, we knew going in that this was temporary. It's not fair for us to complain now that it's time for them to leave," N'shi continued, pretending she hadn't spoken. Faranth, Lenni didn't get mad often, but when she did it was sharding hard to get her calmed down again. N'shi gave a silent word of thanks she'd waited – this time – until they got home to vent her temper.

Lenni knocked his hand off her shoulder but didn't resume her pacing. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. "I don't care about fair. I care about Sable. I am not going to give up the cream of this Weyr without a fight. StarRise can look after itself. What will it hurt if we keep a healer, a gold, a few riders? The other Weyrs can spare extra. Unless, of course, you're looking forward to losing Z'leena? Or Reyna? Kadyra, perhaps? Are C'jan and T'ril expendable? Or maybe-"

"Enough!" N'shi interrupted hastily, suddenly realizing that as much as Lenni would be hurting from this mass exodus to StarRise, so would he. Sable riders tended to be an independent lot, each going their own way, and resistant to being molded into an effective unit for anything but Threadfall. The influence of StarRise's riders over the last turns had helped mitigate the usual problem one faced in leading Sable Weyr. It was amazingly like herding cats.

"You're right," he decided. "We can't just let them go. So this is what we'll do…"

###

33.02.28

Soneth landed on their weyrledge and drooped with weariness. Z'leena felt nearly as exhausted and she waited a long moment before releasing a sigh and unbuckling her straps. A trio of cats sauntered out onto the ledge and watched as she slid down Soneth's shoulder, then slowly undid the brown's harness. Zalren came wandering after the cats, Leka perched on his shoulder and crooning contentedly.

"Momma. Daddy's not home yet," he reported quietly.

Z'leena nodded and dragged the harness to the pegs mounted into the stone wall for the purpose of holding the gear. Zalren picked up trailing pieces and followed behind her. With the harness neatly hung, Z'leena dropped an arm around her oldest son's shoulders and walked with him into the weyr. Zalden sat at the table, a charcoal stick moving steadily over a scrap of old hide and his forehead furrowed in concentration. Aerleena sat on a fur that had been laid on the floor, quietly playing with some blocks E'dano had carved turns ago for Aninya.

"Have you eaten?" she asked. Darkness had fallen at least a candlemark ago.

"Yes, Momma," Zalren said and Z'leena nodded. She kissed the top of Zalden's head, and then brushed her hand over Aerleena's black hair on her way across the room.

She went through the door to her sleeping room, unfastening her riding jacket as she went. The jacket was tossed onto the coat rack by the door, her helmet and goggles followed quickly, and then she simply allowed herself to fall backward across her bed, letting her exhaustion turn her limp as an overcooked noodle. N'shi had been working her wing hard for two sevendays now. Between unexpected emergencies at the holds, extended and additional drills, being assigned every sweep ride that could be conceivably necessary, her wing hadn't had extra time for anything. Half her meals were eaten in harness and those that weren't she skipped more often than not since she was simply too tired to bother. She'd lost weight – and Aerden had made his displeasure about that clearly known.

She couldn't think of a time she'd been more tired. She had a suspicion what was prompting N'shi's sudden insistence that only her wing could do these duties correctly, and she was not amused. Nor was it going to work. All StarRise riders had an automatically approved transfer back home, as soon as they could arrange it. Z'leena herself had carried Aerden's request for a transfer to the Healer Hall, and it had been made clear that Aerden was cleared to go as soon as Z'leena was able to take him. N'shi and Zahlenka had both been doing their best to simply keep both of them too busy to pack for the move.

Or so they thought. Z'leena glanced at the boxes and bags stacked up in the corner. Most of their furnishings belonged to Sable, so there really wasn't much for them to pack up. She and Aerden – and their sons – had made a point to pack a little every night. They were all but ready to go. A couple of more bags, the last of their clothing, and rounding up the cats, were all that waited before they could go home.

Home. Five turns at Sable, and still StarRise remained home. It was where she'd raised Aninya, where she'd given birth to her sons. It was where she'd met Aerden and somehow ended up being weyrmated to him. She still puzzled over how that had happened, but she'd not change it if she could. They had enough issues between them to stop any relationship cold, but they just…worked.

He fusses at you. You don't kill him. Soneth snorted from his ledge. I would even say you liked it.

But then, you're an odd beast with damaged mental faculties, Z'leena retorted tiredly.

You even begin to sound like him… Soneth noted cheerfully.

Z'leena sent a rude noise at the brown and closed her eyes. For just a minute, that's all, and then she'd get to packing…

On the floor of the canyon that housed Sable Weyr, Aerden covered his mouth and let out a huge yawn. He wiped grit from his eyes and began the long stair climb that led up to his and Z'leena's weyr.

He still had half a meatroll in his pocket that he was too tired to finish eating. His stopover in the Dining Hall had provided him with a large glass of chilled redfruit juice that he'd downed like a parched man in the desert. All he wanted to do was get home, pack the things he'd planned to pack for the evening, hug his family, and fall into bed.

At last, he reached the weyrledge and patted Soneth's flank as he passed. "Hello, fella. You look about as tired as I am," he said. Soneth's eyes whirled blue-green at him, and Aerden headed past the dragon, into the family room.

"Daddy!" Zalren ran out to greet him, followed by Zalden and then Aerleena.

"Hey, Zalren!" Aerden hugged the two boys and bent down to pick up Aerleena. "How're your letters coming, Zalden?"

"I'm done," Zalden said. "Zalren checked 'em for me."

"You did? Thank you, Zalren," Aerden said. "And how's my little girl tonight, hm? You look sleepy." He tickled her chin, and she giggled.

"We got more bags packed," Zalren said. "But what'll we do about the cats?"

"I think we might be able to find some fur-lined bags for them," Aerden said. "That'll keep them warm between."

"I want to see you try getting them in the bags," Zalren muttered.

"Pessimist," Aerden retorted. He kissed Aerleena's forehead and set her back down on her fur. He leaned into the bedroom he shared with Z'leena. She still lay stretched out on the bed.

Aerden smiled at her. "You look like you could use a backrub."

"I want to go home," Z'leena said firmly, not moving an inch. "We know what they're doing. This is stupid." She looked at Aerden and frowned. He looked as tired as she felt, and if the bulge in his pocket was what she suspected, he hadn't eaten a full dinner either. Neither of them could keep this up. What did the Weyrleaders think would happen? They'd just give up and decide to stay? She snorted her disgust at that thought and rolled off the bed to land cross-legged on the floor. She snagged an empty bag and leaned over to pull a chest closer.

Clothes. Aerleena's and the boys, from the small size. She'd already pulled out a few sets for each to tide them over, but Aninya had made sure that all of the family had an overwhelming quantity of clothes. Even as she started folding the pieces and tucking them into the bag, Z'leena set some aside as too small for Aerleena. She could donate those to the Weyr's stores, or save them for the next kid. She slid a rueful look at Aerden. The two of them were proving to be unusually fertile for a pairing that was one half dragonrider.

Aerden settled on the bed behind her, his hands going to work on the tense muscles in her shoulders. "Yes, it is stupid. All it's done is slow us down. We're almost ready to go, aren't we?"

Z'leena nodded, gesturing at the chest she was working on and another one in the corner. "This is the last of what we're taking."

Aerden paused, and then smiled. "We could leave in the morning."

"We could. We should." Then she stopped and scowled. "There's Threadfall."

"After 'Fall, then."

Z'leena gave him a speaking look. Drag Aerden out of the infirmary at a decent time on a day there was Threadfall? Aerden would no more leave a patient that needed him than Z'leena would leave a 'Fall unflown. She kept packing, though. Eventually there would come a morning when there wasn't 'Fall or some other demand that they couldn't deny. When it did, they'd be gone before the Weyrleaders had their first cup of morning klah.

"What I don't get is why they're trying so bloody hard to keep us here," Aerden said as he worked at Z'leena's shoulder muscles. "We got hit with a surprise audit, this morning. The Hall wants to know the count of every last needlethorn, the record of every last drop of fellis administered to a patient over the last turn, access to surgical, physical exam reports, discharge summaries, chart notes--I've never seen an audit like this. I could understand it if there was suspicion of severe negligence--but there isn't. Adonia and Eduerd keep the place shipshape. It's ridiculous, and I sharding near bit the lead auditor's head off when he started asking me about sponge and instrument counts."

Aerden shook his head. "I never get this tired, even during Threadfall shifts. At least then, I'm doing something useful, instead of chasing after records and archives. I think I'd just about love to have a migraine tomorrow. Maybe a migraine lasting the whole next sevenday." He let out a heavy breath. "How was your day?"

Z'leena snorted again. "They are doing this because they can. And they do not want to lose a surgeon with your skills, or a rider with mine." Z'leena put the last shirt into the bag and tied it closed. Setting it aside, she reached up and put her hands over Aerden's, stilling them, and leaned her head to rest on his thigh. For a moment the room was silent. That, and Aerden's nearness, did more to relax her than all the shoulder massages and backrubs in the world. Knowing her children were safe and happy in the next room made life almost perfect.

Almost. If they were at StarRise, it wouldbe perfect.

"C'jan says that discipline at Sable has improved over the last five turns," she noted, returning to his question and ignoring the one about her day. Her day was exhausting. She didn't want to relive it. They had another problem to solve. Her eyes narrowed as she thought back over the last two sevendays again, and Aerden's just voiced comment about his own weariness. She could almost take the Weyrleader and Weyrwoman's actions as a compliment. It did feel good to know that they were valued.

However, their desire to keep Z'leena and Aerden – and who knew how many others who wanted to go back to StarRise! – was now at the point of endangering the health and well-being of her mate. And her dragon! Soneth was being worked much harder than she was! He had to do all the flying and most of the physical labor. She had lots of time to just sit on his neck and be a passenger.

No. Discipline was the Weyrleader's responsibility. Not hers, not beyond her own wing. She refused to be his crutch, and if he was doing this same dirty trick to the other StarRise riders, she'd make sure Weyrleader D'ven knew about it. She doubted that he would be amused.

"Not tomorrow. The next morning," she decided, tightening her fingers around Aerden's hands.

"Definitely, the next morning," Aerden agreed. "I'm sure the others are not any better off. They're all tired when I see them--which isn't often, as most of the riders are busy with wing drills coming out their toenails. I'm about ready to talk to the Weyrhealer here about rider fatigue. I'll have her examine a few of them, day after tomorrow; see if she thinks them fit for duty. I don't."

"I agree," Z'leena added, then yawned. She was comfortable at the moment, and given the opportunity would be quite happy to fall asleep just where she was. Unfortunately, sitting on the hard floor was not a good sleeping position, and she had children to tend.

She yawned again, and used Aerden's thighs to push herself to her feet. "Children need an early night," she said firmly. "They've eaten."

"I think we need the early night," Aerden corrected, settling his arm around her shoulders as they headed for the door. "I'll take care of Aerleena if you'll settle the boys."

Z'leena nodded, her arm around Aerden's waist as they left their sleeping room. They'd been assigned a double one when they had arrived and Z'leena had made very clear that her children were not being fostered, regardless of how much more difficult it made her life. Fortunately, she had Aerden and he more than made up for the erratic and demanding schedules a dragonrider kept.

Aerden stepped away from Z'leena's side and scooped Aerleena up, causing the toddler to giggle and grab for his ears. Z'leena smiled and held her hands out to Zalren and Zalden. "Bedtime," she said and they came to her. She led them into their sleeping room and handed Zalren his sleeping shirt before turning to help Aerden's six turn old son undress. The boys chattered at her about their day as they dressed for bed, cleaned their teeth, and washed their faces.

Aerden came in with a sleepy Aerleena as Z'leena was tucking the covers over their sons. Aerden settled Aerleena into her own little bed then crossed the room to kiss the boys goodnight while Z'leena did the same with Aerleena. They met at the entrance and Aerden turned the glow so only the faintest light escaped.

"Sweet dreams," Z'leena murmured quietly.

"G'nigh'," came the sleepy response.

Z'leena took Aerden's hand and pulled him across the weyr, back to their own room. She shed her clothes quickly and dropped into bed, scooting over so there was plenty of room for Aerden's much larger body. As he settled beside her, she laid her cheek on his chest and sighed. "Day after tomorrow," she yawned. "We're going home."

"Home," Aerden agreed, snuggling her closer. Z'leena didn't hear. She was already asleep.

###

In N'shi's weyr

Zahlenka strode into N'shi's weyr without bothering to knock. The corridor that connected her rooms with his was short – little more than a staircase surrounded in stone that gave them easy access to each other. Some Weyrleaders had found it convenient for obvious reasons. Others all but brought the roof down to seal their partner out of their private domain. Lenni hadn't really given it much thought. Some of her Weyrleaders she'd never used the passage with. Some of them she had. N'shi had managed to stick around often enough that she could walk those stairs in her sleep. They had been casual friends before Albath won his first flight with Ilvahth, but they'd developed a much deeper friendship over the turns that even carried through those times when Albath lost the mating flights. They'd long since discarded any thought of privacy between them. There didn't seem to be much point anymore.

So Zahlenka didn't even bat an eye when she walked in as N'shi was leaving his bathing room, wine glass in hand and towel around his waist. "This isn't working," she said abruptly.

N'shi took a drink from his glass and glanced back towards the bathing room. "I used plenty of soapsand," he assured her. He sniffed his arm. "I don't stink."

Zahlenka rolled her eyes at him and dropped onto the couch. "Not the bath, dimglow. The plan. We're working them to death and it's not doing anything except putting them and their dragons at risk. Aerden is about to blow a tank over being asked to do scut work. Z'leena's so tired she's skipping meals and that'll have Aerden in here screaming murder at you as soon as he's awake enough to notice she's lost weight. Tarina is starting to look frazzled, and – "

"I know, I know," N'shi interrupted, setting his glass down as he headed into his sleeping room. "I've noticed it, too, and the Wingleaders are already grumbling," he called through the open door. Lenni leaned her head back on the soft cushion of the couch and closed her eyes. "And the dragonhealers sent me a strongly-worded report this morning. I've had to redistribute the sweep patrols and cancel the extra drills."

N'shi walked back into the room, now wearing a pair of loose trousers. He poured another glass of wine and handed it to Zahlenka as he joined her on the couch. He took another sip of out of his own glass and sighed. "It wasn't such a good idea, was it?"

"No," Zahlenka agreed, twirling the thin stem of the glass between her fingers and watching the glowlight play on the deep red of the wine. "No, it wasn't. We've got to think of something else."

"Well." N'shi slouched back on the couch, long legs extended across the floor, and gazed thoughtfully at the ceiling. "We can try bribery."

Zahlenka's eyebrows arched. "In what way? Z'leena's already a wingleader. She can't get any higher because, sorry, I don't think anyone would accept her as Weyrleader and it's not really your decision. We can't promote Aerden to Weyrhealer – that's the Healer Hall's decision. And, much as I'd love to keep Tarina, there can be only one Weyrwoman and I'm not quite willing to step down. And no matter how good they are, blues and greens do not make good Wingleaders – they simply can't –"

"All right! I get the point, quit poking me with it!" N'shi interrupted again, laughing. "What if we told them that they could go to StarRise for the first several months, to get the Weyr up and going again, but if they came home we'd give them perks? Fewer projects, less work, put all of 'em in a wing together, that sort of thing?"

Zahlenka kicked him lightly in the ankle, then swung her feet up on the couch, turning sideways so she could see him as they discussed the problem. "Oh, I can see that. 'Sure, you only have to fly half the 'Falls, we'll get the weyrlings and candidates to bathe your dragons and make your riding gear.' That won't do us much good, N'shi."

N'shi grimaced and eyed his wine glass. He tipped the last of it into his mouth and set it aside. "I've been drinking too much of this tonight…"

"No, you haven't," Zahlenka sighed, taking a healthy swallow of her own glass before handing it to N'shi. "We just had too much of it the night we came up with the first plan." She rested her chin on her knees and frowned. "I've been thinking. Scutwork is obvious and it will always cause resentment in anyone with half a brain. But we never did finish getting the annex ready for habitation. With the Crystal territories still needing to be protected, we need to start looking for a place to situated a new Weyr. Sable and Southern can't keep up the coverage forever. What if we assign the StarRise riders to that task? It's bound to be a long term one, but it's important, too. We can mix in just enough of the Sable folk so it's not obvious..."

N'shi leaned his head back against the couch and sighed, staring at the ceiling. "It could work," he admitted. "A lightened task load and more important tasks could go down more easily than burying them in make-work." He groaned and rubbed his temples. "I think we've actually made things harder on ourselves trying to keep them too tired to leave."

"We need to find a permanent solution, or things are going to be harder when they do leave," Zahlenka pointed out. "Shells. I hope this works."

N'shi refilled his glass, and held the decanter over Zahlenka's empty one. On seeing her shake her head no, he moved it back from the table's edge. "Well, coming up with the idea was hard enough." He raised his glass to her in acknowledgement and drank. "Now comes the impossible--convincing them that we really need them to do this."

Zahlenka snorted. "That won't be the real problem. We need to convince them to stay here instead of flying back to StarRise. Do you realize how lucky we've been so far, that none of them have threatened to pack up and leave anyway?"

"I have. I don't want to discipline any of them for insubordination. For one thing, Aerden would probably decide my balls would be the perfect natal-day gift for Z'leena, C'jan would go after my head, and Leania would use my guts to mimic Thread in her next weyrling drill – and she's not even asking for a transfer back. It would be the 'point' of it." N'shi shook his head and took another drink. "And then I'd have to deal with D'ven and the rest of the Weyrleaders."

"Shards. D'ven . . ."

"D'ven, who's a reasonable man except when it comes to his Weyr and his riders." N'shi sighed in aggravation. "If any other Weyrleader was doing what I'm doing, I'd rip the man a new opening someplace where light doesn't usually reach. But here I am, deliberately robbing D'ven of his own riders, and all I can think of is how inconvenient it is that he won't let me keep them."

Zahlenka laughed. "Sharded selfish of D'ven not to just let us, isn't it?" She sobered, giving N"shi a wry smile. "It sounds like we're talking about a litter of pups, or a prize herd of runners, doesn't it?"

N'shi returned her smile. "Unlike a group of people we've come to know and care for?"

"Exactly."

"I hate to say it, Lenni . . . but I think we're going to lose this contest." N'shi finished his wine and faced her, his expression grave. "We can try this. But in the end, we're not fighting D'ven. We're fighting our friends, who want nothing more right now than to go home."

"I know." Zahlenka stared fiercely across the table, eyes fixing on the glow-lit curve of her empty wineglass. "But I'm not ready to give in just yet, N'shi. StarRise needs them, yes, but we need them, too. All of them, not just the high rankers like Tarina and Z'leena. C'jan, T'ril – all the blue- and greenriders who are showing our Sable riders what it really means to be a dragonrider and not a vigilante wannabe hero."

N'shi nodded in silent agreement. He knew it even better than she did. She ran the rest of the Weyr, but he ran the wings and knew in precise detail exactly the impact the StarRise riders' ethics and priorities had on his Sable folk.

Zahlenka sighed and stood up, throwing her arms high over her head as she stretched out the kinks. "Well, we've got a new plan. We can put it in place tomorrow and, I hope, buy some more time. I'm going to bed."

N'shi stood up and kissed her forehead. "We'll make do, Lenni, even when we lose them. Five turns is a long time. The lessons will stick."

"Maybe." Zahlenka made a face and patted his chest absently. "Sleep well, N'shi. I'll see you at breakfast." Pulling her hair back from her face, Zahlenka started finger combing and braiding it for bed even as she walked out of his weyr and started down the stairs.

###

33.03.02

Z'leena glanced up as a trio of bodies invaded her space and parked themselves in chairs around her table. She looked from one face, to the next, to the next, and finally settled her gaze on Tarina. She arched an eyebrow, waiting in silence for someone to speak. She had a good idea of what was on their minds. There could be only one thing, considering who comprised this invasion of her rare – especially these days! – free time. In fact, Z'leena wouldn't even call it free time. It was time she had specifically earmarked to spend with her family and she was simply waiting for Aerden to arrive with the children.

"You need to talk to them," Tarina said quietly. "Lenni isn't listening to me. N'shi will listen to you."

"Please, Z'leena," Kadyra added, her fingers twisting around each other as she clasped her hands together. "We want to go home."

C'jan straddled his own chair and grinned at her. "I'm hiding behind you. Last time I asked, N'shi growled at me."

F'lerin, never exactly wise in ways of survival, had chosen the chair directly beside her and now reached out to grasp her upper arm. She looked at his hand, and he didn't notice as he added his plea to the others. "You've gotto do something, Z'leena. Everyone at the other Weyrs has already started their transfers. All the good weyrs will be gone by the time we get there!"

"Ifwe get there," T'ril added.

Z'leena reached up and pinched a nerve in F'lerin's hand that made him yelp and let go of her. She ignored him as she looked around the table. Reyna met her gaze with a faint smile and shrug. She considered the situation carefully, and looked up as Aerden came through the door, Aerleena in his arms and their sons trailing behind him. She had chosen a table on the far side of the room, but the dining hall wasn't so crowded yet that Aerden couldn't easily see her and her companions. She watched as his eyebrows rose and she answered his question with a faint smile. She waited until he joined them before she answered, ignoring the anxious silence of her companions.

"Why would N'shi listen to me instead of a goldrider?" she asked finally, looking straight at Tarina.

"You're an experienced rider with many turns of wingleader experience behind you. Your wing is the most disciplined at the Weyr and has won the Spring Games four turns running – despite the double duty it pulls in flying 'Fall for Sable and StarRise. You've proven yourself an effective, intelligent, and stable leader at this Weyr." Tarina said promptly. "I am merely junior goldrider with no real leadership experience." She paused, then continued, her cheeks coloring slightly. "And you don't lose your temper and start yelling." Not all of her pleas with the Weyrleaders had been entirely professional, but they were better than some she could name. "N'shi and Lenni know that if you go to them with a problem, then it's really a problem and not your personal preferences."

Aerden chuckled. "In this case, it would be her personal preference," he pointed out as he let Aerleena down to wander a little. Dinner, obviously, was not on the immediate schedule. "You realize Z'leena will be taking a demotion when she returns to StarRise?"

That stopped the rest of them cold. C'jan frowned and leaned against the table. "Why? I can't believe after five turns of leading Starry Night Z'leena wouldn't get her own wing from D'ven. He might need a night in a tavern of willing women – or men – but he's never been completely unfair."

Z'leena's gaze chilled as she looked at C'jan. "He is our Weyrleader," she reminded him shortly. Respect for the rank, if not the man, was due. Z'leena believed respect for the man was due, as well, but giving respect to individuals was a personal choice and not one she'd dictate.

C'jan rolled his eyes, but visibly restrained himself from more physical commentary in the face of Z'leena's disapproval. "Whatever you say, but it still doesn't answer the question. Why are you being demoted?"

"I don't want to be wingleader."

The greenrider stared at her in disbelief. "Sure you don't. That explains why you've broken your tail here for turns, working on the Starry Night numbwits."

T'ril nudged C'jan in the ribs and looked pointedly at the three children who'd arrived with Aerden, and at the slim young woman with brown curls and silvery grey eyes that was even now drifting her way to the table. "Makes sense to me," he murmured.

"Oh." Enlightenment dawned and C'jan shrugged. "Okay, so it's a demotion, but it's a demotion of your choice. Which means," he added, stabbing a finger at Aerden, "it's a specious argument and not worth considering."

"At least they're not working us to death anymore," Reyna pointed out, smiling at Aninya as the young woman joined them.

"True," Tarina agreed. "And this search for a new Weyr location isn't make-work like their other tactic was. It is needed. Sable can't keep up with the protection of so much territory, and the population here is enough to establish a core group at another Weyr. It would be small, and Crescent would have to donate some riders, too, and all three Weyrs would be stripped to the bone, but only if we and the others stayed." Tarina sighed.

Kadyra rolled her eyes at the goldrider, then turned back to Z'leena. She was getting off topic. "I came here before the earthquake, if you've all forgotten, so I've been here longer than any of you anyway, Z'leena. I want to go home. I never meant for my transfer to Sable to be permanent." A fleeting look of pain passed over her features, and then it was gone. "Would you please talk to them?"

F'lerin recovered sufficiently from his injury to turn his own pleading gaze on the brownrider. "These people at Sable are crazy – no offense, C'jan – and not a good influence on sober, serious riders like us."

Reyna rolled her eyes. "You're only sober when you're sleeping, and before you start dreaming, F'lerin." She stood up. "Come on. We've made our case. We're not going to do ourselves any favors if we continue interrupting her family dinner. Up and away, my lads and lasses."

T'ril gave Z'leena and Aerden a sympathetic grin as he pulled C'jan away from the table. Tarina lingered a little behind the others and Z'leena waited for whatever else she had to say. It didn't take long; Tarina was polite and had no more wish to intrude than she felt she had to.

"I'm too close to Lenni for her to really listen to me about this," Tarina sighed in frustration. "Lenni is more like a big sister than a Weyrwoman most of the time," she continued. "We do work well together, and that's a large part of the problem. But we need to go home and she needs an outside voice to convince her of that."

Z'leena dipped her head once and watched as Tarina walked away. She glanced towards the head of the room and met N'shi's gaze. Lenni hadn't yet joined the Weyrleader, but no one had seemed to notice that he was already in the dining hall and had observed the entire meeting. She sighed softly.

"Whether you want to represent them or not, you're going to have to," Aerden said quietly. He'd also noticed N'shi, and the focus of the bronzerider's attention. "Well?"

Z'leena made a face and waited until after a server had set platters of roast herdbeast, potatoes, carrots, and brussel sprouts on the table and left before she answered. "I know why they don't want us to leave, but I'm a wingleader here. My responsibilities include speaking up for my riders when necessary." She glanced at the head table again, watching as Lenni slid into her seat and reached for the basket of rolls. "It's necessary."

Aerden, as he often did, finished putting her thoughts into words. Z'leena rather liked that about him. "If you find a Weyr location before they let us transfer, they might have enough justification for not letting us go. The need to reestablish Crystal is a solid one, and has been a longer running problem than StarRise."

Z'leena nodded. She would have to talk to N'shi. But not tonight!

###

33.03.03, morning

Z'leena paused just inside N'shi's office door. The room wasn't unwelcoming, but it was brisk and businesslike. This was not a room designed to encourage lingering. N'shi's desk was neatly organized, two chairs were set before it, and a collection of tapestries protected the room from the chill of stone walls. Even the tapestries were functional, however. One showed a map of Sable's territory, another of Crystal's, and a third a map of all of Pern. A fourth tapestry was an intricate and detailed map of the Weyr itself.

This wasn't the first time Z'leena had been in the Weyrleader's office, but she had every intention of it being the last time.

"Wingleader Z'leena," the Weyrleader said, his baritone neutral with neither welcome nor hostility. "Please sit."

Z'leena choose a chair and sat, her hands resting quietly in her lap and her back as straight as a smith's steel rod. "Weyrleader," she greeted him.

N'shi folded his own hands on his desktop and looked at her for a long moment, then quirked a smile as he shook his head. "You requested this meeting, Z'leena," he reminded her gently.

Z'leena dipped her chin in acknowledgement. She'd been hoping that he'd guess why she'd come and make this easy on them both. "Yes, Weyrleader. We want to go home."

"We?"

Z'leena quirked an eyebrow at him and gave her head a slight shake. "Weyrleader," she said reprovingly.

N'shi slumped back in his chair, moving his elbow to rest on the arm of it while he brought his hand up to support his chin. "An entire scold in an eyebrow and a word," he noted and a grin flashed across his face. "Very well, Z'leena, I know who comprises the 'we.' Some of them are home, however."

"Most of us are not. Tarina is not."

"Ah." N'shi frowned. "I'd heard Tarina had an urgent desire to return to StarRise. The Weyrwoman has been reluctant to lose her."

"The Weyrwoman?" A wealth of meaning was packed into those two words.

"All right, the Weyrwoman and I. Can you blame us, Z'leena? You'd challenge the Red Star itself to keep good riders, and Faranth knows that our StarRise guests are sharding fine riders."

Z'leena leaned back in her chair, her perfect posture relaxing as she considered N'shi thoughtfully. The silence stretched between them for minutes, but Z'leena felt no need to rush into speech. He was right. She really couldn't blame him. Her perspective was completely selfish, and she did not feel bad about that. She knew the departure of so many riders would hurt Sable, but that was their own fault for coming to depend so heavily on them.

"StarRise is our home. This was never permanent. You have known about the resettlement since Turnover," she finally reminded him.

N'shi spread his hands. "Z'leena, we can't spare you right now. Maybe in a month or two, after the next weyrling class graduates . . ."

"N'shi," Z'leena interrupted, shocking him with the use of his name without a prefacing title. "It isn't your decision."

N'shi stilled, then straightened in his chair. His eyes were suddenly intent, and cold. "And I should take your meaning by that to be what, Wingleader?"

Z'leena spread her hands and stood up. "I would like for there to be peace between us," she said. She gave N'shi a faint smile and left the office before he could respond.

###

33.03.06

Venjyth circled over Sable Weyr and allowed D'ven time to look over the Gorge that was home to Pern's most dangerous Weyr. How they had gotten that reputation was interesting, and since Zahlenka had taken Weyrwomanship, it was more a historical reputation than a current one. If nothing else, her swift and decisive action against the covert group of vigilante dragonriders calling themselves the Commandos had illustrated that she would not tolerate any nonsense out of her weyrfolk. The list of people involved in the group, and the resulting punishments and transfers, had been alarming. Most of them were now safely packed away on Cantee with only rare and brief visits back to Pern. They all steered well clear of Zahlenka, who did not hide her continuing displeasure with them.

Still, as much as he respected the Sable Weyrwoman, and as much as he liked Weyrleader N'shi, he didn't appreciate the problems they were giving him now. All the other Weyrs had been sending their StarRise riders back, with the majority of arrivals on the first day of the month. Now, on the fifth day, he still hadn't had a single transfer from Sable and he needed those riders.

"Take us down and to N'shi's office, Venjyth," D'ven instructed, gripping his safety straps as the bronze's body angled down for a landing. Normally D'ven enjoyed the rush of the approaching ground and the power of the dragon's landing backwing, but not today. He paid them barely any attention. All that mattered was that he was landed and off for a confrontation he'd hoped to avoid.

N'shi met him on his ledge and D'ven could have sworn that the other bronzerider's welcoming expression was edged with both defiance and guilt. "N'shi," D'ven said, removing his helmet, goggles, and gloves before sliding down from Venjyth's neck. He reached out and clasped the other man's forearm.

"D'ven," N'shi said, returning the grip, then gesturing down the stairs. "Lenni's waiting in her office."

D'ven arched his eyebrows. He'd asked to see N'shi, not both he and Zahlenka. Rider transfers between Weyrs were usually handled by the Weyrleaders. Something was definitely up if Zahlenka was butting in on the Weyrleader's duties. "All right," he said slowly, following N'shi down the stairs. He kept his silence until N'shi led him into Zahlenka's office.

The room was comfortable and welcoming. It didn't have many feminine touches. A long, well-cushioned couch in a rich burgundy was set before a fireplace. A table, the top scarred from heavy use, was set in one corner, with a basket of rolls and a bowl of fruit waiting to appease someone's peckishness. A chair was set before Zahlenka's desk, off center and angled like someone had shoved it into a comfortable, conversational position rather than the 'report to the Weyrwoman' front and center spot. There were tapestries on the wall, of course, and they were a decorator's nightmare. They were a jumble of functional – maps of the territory, Pern, and the Weyr itself – and frivolous. The frivolous were undoubtedly gifts of some kind, since D'ven couldn't imagine Lenni actually acquiring a tapestry showing a naked man dancing in the moonlight, his modesty preserved only by a well-placed branch.

"D'ven," Lenni said, standing up from behind her desk. "Welcome to Sable."

"Weyrwoman," D'ven said, bowing to her. He glanced at N'shi. "I think you both know why I'm here."

"You want our riders," Zahlenka drawled, rounding her desk and heading for the couch. She waved him over and pointed to another chair.

"I want my riders," D'ven corrected.

Zahlenka glanced at N'shi as she seated herself. N'shi sat next to her on the couch and waited for D'ven to take the chair. "D'ven, we know that StarRise is being resettled," N'shi said. "Sable's stretched tight now, too. With so few 'Falls, and all of such short duration, surely the ones who've already returned are enough?"

D'ven leaned back his chair and rested his arms along the armrests. His relaxed posture was not a clear indication of his mood, however. "That's not the issue, N'shi. They are StarRise riders, and it's time for them to come home."

"But it is the issue," Zahlenka insisted. "We need them."

"You can't have them, Weyrwoman," D'ven said, almost gently.

Zahlenka scowled, her mouth opening with a fast retort that N'shi stopped with a hand on her leg. Her scowl didn't lessen, but her mouth closed with a snap. D'ven was impressed. He'd never seen anyone stop her cold when she had something to say.

"D'ven, we really do need them. Sable's bearing the burden of flying both our territory and Crystal's. We're taking steps to finally relocate and settle a new Weyr for that territory, but until a site is identified and agreed to, we need the extra riders."

D'ven snorted. "You've been flying Crystal's territory for eleven turns, N'shi. Your riders are used to it, and finding a site now will only place a greater demand on your manpower, not a lesser one." D'ven leaned forward in his chair. "N'shi, it's simple. Either you give approval for those transfers back home, or I'll have Taveera order the dragons home. I'd rather not have problems between Sable and StarRise, but I'll do what I have to for my riders."

N'shi held his gaze for a long moment, expression stony, but at last sighed and nodded. "We knew it would come to this," he admitted. "We're not sorry, of course. We'd keep your riders and weyrfolk for as long as we could, but we both knew that eventually you'd come looking for them."

Zahlenka growled and pushed herself off the couch. "Fine," she snapped. "Fine! You can have your sharding riders and weyrfolk back – and anyone else who wants to go!" She stalked out of the office, leaving an awkward silence behind her.

N'shi sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Her clutchmate, M'teo, has asked for a transfer," he explained. "She's…not happy about it."

D'ven nodded, suddenly understanding. M'teo had been offered a position as wingsecond in one of the green wings. "That's understandable. I know they're close."

"Like brother and sister. She's been as touchy as a wher with an infected paw since he submitted the request."

"Will she stop the transfer?" D'ven asked cautiously. If he had to refuse M'teo in order to preserve relations with Sable, he would. He wouldn't like it, but sacrificing one rider was a small price to pay.

N'shi shook his head quickly. "No. It's a promotion for him and she'd never deny him that. His transfer will be approved with the others." N'shi grimaced and held out his hand. "Tomorrow, D'ven. We'll get the transfers approved today, and the riders should start leaving tomorrow."

D'ven nodded. "Thanks, N'shi. I'm sorry it came to this, but – "

"We didn't leave you much choice," N'shi finished ruefully.

###

33.03.07

Zahlenka leaned against the hard, cold stone wall that surrounded the short tunnel that connected her weyr with her weyrledge. The shadows from the Gorge and the tunnel hid her from easy viewing, but gave her a clear sight of what was happening under the bright, clear light of day.

Her friends were leaving her.

She'd tried very hard to keep that thought from preying on her mind as the time came closer to for StarRise to reopen. She'd pretended she'd never had the thought when the time finally came for StarRise to open and the riders to leave. It was selfish and unfair. The reasons she'd actually given N'shi were much more justifiable and defensible than the childish complaint that she'd be all alone once they all left.

It wasn't true, and it wasn't fair. She wouldn't be alone. No dragonrider ever was while her dragon lived. Dragons, however, weren't humans, and humans needed others of their kind – just as dragons needed their own kind. No matter how close she and Ilvahth were, there were parts of each of them the other couldn't understand.

And there was N'shi. He wasn't leaving, although Zahlenka wondered if it was the Weyrleadership alone that kept him at Sable. If he lost Ilvahth's next flight, would he, too, be transferring to StarRise? Zahlenka hugged her arms tighter around herself, not wanting to think about that. N'shi had been her Weyrleader for several turns, broken only by brief periods when Albath lost a flight. But he always won again. If next time he lost he and Albath decided they'd had enough of a fickle gold, would they leave, too?

Z'leena and Aerden she would miss. Aerden for his skill at saving the lives of her weyrfolk. Z'leena for her skill at keeping them alive during 'Fall. Tarina she would sorely miss, and even while she'd been stalling the goldrider guilt had been nibbling at her. Oh, she'd heard every argument Tarina had put forth. She even agreed with them. But she hated, hated, hated the thought of losing a goldrider she trusted.

But, oh. M'teo and Savante, C'jan and T'ril! Even Reyna, with her sharp tongue and practical ways! Kadyra, who had matured so beautifully here. F'lerin – she'd miss even his antics!

Zahlenka sniffled, feeling her eyes start to burn and tighten as the tears threatened to come. She scowled, jerking her thoughts to a stop and sternly reprimanding herself for the self-pity she was wallowing in.

She could no more keep her friends from leaving Sable than she could go between without a dragon. StarRise was where they wanted to be. If she hadn't been so hard on the Commandos, maybe she wouldn't be so isolated at Sable once they left. What choice had she had, though? They couldn't be allowed –

"Enough," Zahlenka growled to herself. She wouldn't go over that again, either. They had done what was best for Sable, for Pern. She'd live with the consequences – and so would her weyrfolk. That was all that mattered.

"Brooding?"

N'shi's voice came quietly, from behind her. Zahlenka looked over her should and arched her eyebrows as she watched him leave her weyr. "Sneaking through my quarters, N'shi?"

Her Weyrleader grinned at her and draped an arm over her should companionably. "Making sure you didn't rooter-tie anyone and hide them away."

Zahlenka snorted and looked back out into the bowl. "They look so happy," she observed quietly.

"They're going home," N'shi sighed. "At least D'ven doesn't hate us."

Zahlenka's lip curled. "But do we hate him?"

"No." N'shi waited a moment for her agreement, then tightened his arm around her and shook her gently. "No, Lenni."

Zahlenka's shoulders slumped and she kicked the wall hard enough to wince at the sharp pain radiating from her toes. "No," she agreed reluctantly. "I wouldn't have been as nice in his place."

"You'd have flown in on the first day, breathing fire and ready to collect heads, then led them all out in one rush," N'shi agreed with a chuckle. "Thank Faranth you're my Weyrwoman."

The corner of Zahlenka's mouth tilted up, but it was a sad smile, if a smile at all. At least one person at Sable was glad to have her around. She sighed and straightened her shoulders. It was time to stop moping and tell her friends good-bye. People always said they'd visit often, but she didn't delude herself anymore. They were going to new lives and it would be months, if not turns, before she saw them again.

"Let's go say good-bye," she told N'shi, stepping out into the bright sunlight as Ilvahth drifted down from the Rim to bid her own farewells.