Telgars

DISCLAIMER: Anne McCaffrey owns Pern, Dragonsdawn, the whole Dragonriders of Pern series and all related awesomeness - sadly, t'is not I... *sobs* No money is being made from this fanfic.

Author's Note: This fanfic is based on the book Dragonsdawn by Anne McCaffrey. If you haven't read it already I recommend that you do, regardless of whether you then go on and read this fic afterwards or not. :D But it might not make as much sense as it should if you haven't read it. You've been warned! ^-^

Chapter One - Agony

If anyone, on any planet, had ever died by being torn apart from inside by millions of tiny white-hot needles, Tarvi Andiyar knew now how they must have felt.

Eating at his insides was the knowledge that Sallah, his beloved wife Sallah, was dead. Gone. Mother to his four children, Ram Da, Dena, Ben and little Cara... gone. Just gone. Her body now suspended in space, alone in death, as she had not been in life. He had loved her, always, but did she even know it? Her final words, the question, "You – loved – me?" cut Tarvi more deeply than any physical wound could ever go. Gone! Agony.

Kneeling on the floor with his head in his hands, he cried out his anguish for all to hear. "Sallah! Sallah! Sal-lah! Sallah, Sallah..." He could not stop saying her name over and over, as if that in itself would bring his wife back to him alive.

Tears streamed down his cheeks from wide, blank eyes, not seeing anything, and he did not notice when Ezra Keroon came up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Sallah, Sallah, Sallah, my Sallah..."

Only when he was bodily shaken and nearly pushed face-first into the floor did he realise that someone was present by his side.

"Tarvi, man, it's all hit us hard, but..." Tarvi stared at Ezra's drawn face, still silently mouthing his wife's name over and over again. "You need to get yourself cleaned up. Go to Basil in the infirmary and he'll give you something. Can you do that?"

"Sallah, Sallah..."

"I think I'll take you myself." Getting up, Ezra pulled on Tarvi's arm until he was standing too, and said to Paul Benden, "I'll take Tarvi to Basil. You'll manage without me?" The Admiral nodded, and with that the two men left the room, Tarvi shuffling along behind Ezra like a sleepwalking zombie.

Meanwhile, thousands of klicks above in the Yokohama, Sallah Telgar-Andiyar was struggling to breathe.

Tarvi loves me, she thought. He has, all along. And I never... found out, until now. And I'm dying. I'll never see his face again, or my children... and there's no way of saving myself. I'm in an empty shell of a ship, alone, running out of oxygen, running out of blood... It can hardly get much worse, can it?

Suddenly her eyes widened.

Maybe, just maybe... or am I not thinking straight? I could...

Her hands fumbled over the controls, and as she did so she could see the blood drifting out of her left glove. There was a lot of it. I don't have much time, she thought. Not much time at all. If I can override the system and electronically turn the oxygen pumps back on... maybe... Blast! I have to think... remember the codes... Only Benden knows the password. With Landing's help I might survive long enough for them to think of something.

It was a small hope, but it was all she had. She turned the com unit back on, and tried to gather enough air to speak. The oxygen was really thin in the air, but if she got lucky it wouldn't be for much longer.

"Yokohama to Landing," she rasped.

Ezra looked down sadly at Tarvi, his gaunt, tear-stained face pale as he lay unconscious on a bed in the infirmary.

"I've given him some mild sedatives; he needs to rest, without having to think about anything," Basil, the medic, told Ezra. "He'll stay out for another couple of hours or a bit less, what with the state he's in."

Ezra nodded in reply. "The poor man."

"Yeah... and so many are losing loved ones these days," said Basil. "Everything's gone to shit since that first Threadfall. And it's me who gets to deal with all the dead and injured. It's no good, Ez, no good, for Pern or for anyone on it. Takes its toll on a man, it does."

"You've done such a good job, Basil. To be commended, honestly," said Ezra. "But I'd best be going now. They'll need me up at the interface. We could grab a drink later, if you like. Might cheer us up a bit, what do you say?"

"Thanks, Ez, but I get the feeling we'll be busy a while longer with this whole mess. I'll hold you to it, though," Basil said with a slight smile.

"All right then, Basil," Ezra replied, sounding more than just a little worn out, as he started to leave the infirmary. "Catch you around."

But then he poked his bald head around the doorframe and added, "And... thanks, Bas. For all your hard work. It's good to know we have someone that we can count on in times like these."

Basil smiled again. "Good to hear, Ez, good to hear."

Ezra nodded his goodbye, and began to make his way back to the interface chamber. As he got into the corridor, Emily Boll nearly ran straight into him.

"Have you seen Paul?" she gasped.

"The Admiral? He was at the interface with you when I left," stated Ezra blankly. "Why?"

"We're trying to save Sallah! Only he knows the override password for the Bridge control unit. We must find him now or it'll be too late!" Before Ezra could ask any more questions, she dashed down the hallway and into the infirmary. She could be heard hurriedly saying something to Basil, then she rushed out again with the medic hot on her heels.

"Ezra! Check the men's room for Paul!" she called out as she went past.

"You were right, mate," said Basil as he passed the bald man. "We'll need drinks after this."

And then Ezra Keroon was alone in the corridor, feeling extremely confused and slightly overwhelmed as he jogged to the men's toilets.

Author's note: (yes, another one)… This has been in the pipeline for a while now, so it's about time it saw the light of day… figuratively. I'd love to hear what you think of Telgars! So please read and review! :D