This is placed roughly 200 Turns after the end of the Ninth Pass of the Red Star past the planet Pern. It's not much of a well-thought-out plotline, but I figure that machines can always make mistakes (even when you've managed space travel and genetic engineering; that's what make machines so special). I tried to make everything reasonable, but I'm human like everyone else, so please tell me when I make an obvious (to you) mistake. Anyway, read on. I hope you enjoy it and comment. Even if you don't like it, please comment. I'll take anything. :)
Disclaimer: Pern, the Dragonriders of Pern, its history, etc. are all owned by Anne (and Todd) McCaffrey. I didn't make up anything except for my characters and the situations I create for them. This fanfic is written solely for the enjoyment of myself and anyone else who likes to daydream about the best series ever.
Chapter 1: Their First Mistake
Journeyman farmer Kelsin tipped his watering can upright and leaned toward the moistened plants in his special garden. Though there were several types of trees growing within the stone walls, the fellis trees were his wife Luana's favorites. With a smile on his face, Kelsin cut a few of the flowering blossoms for her and breathed deeply of their sweet, cloying scent. Being farmers, he and his wife knew the various tricks to growing, storing, and using the medicinal plant, but Luana particularly liked the flower for its gentle beauty and scent. Kelsin had even managed to make her a fellis-scented perfume for Gathers. He set down the now-empty watering can, wiped the loose soil off of his gloves, and headed back to the free-standing house he shared with his spouse.
"Is that fellis I smell?" Luana called cheerfully as he entered the front room.
"Indeed, it is," Kelsin replied, placing the flowers in a convenient vase.
"Oh! They're lovely," Luana exclaimed as she came forward to embrace her mate. "Are they from the east orchard?"
Kelsin nodded. The east orchard of Fellis Hold had only fifteen trees, but their flowers and fruit were easily distinguished from those grown elsewhere. Kelsin's grandfather, Kanasli, had walled off the area in stone and carefully seeded the soil with the silvery-grey, lightly furred grubs that were disappearing at an alarming rate. One of the Farmercrafthall's newly developed pesticides, useful for deterring and destroying trundlebugs, vtols, and other harmful insects, was even more effective against grubs. However, by the time this was discovered, holders all across both Northern and Southern Continents were using the stuff, and the damage had been done.
Grubs quickly became a rarity. Kanasli had been one of very few who still valued their existence. Most people, even master farmers, insisted that they were only useful during a Pass, and, since the last Pass (the Ninth Pass) had been the final Pass, grubs were no longer a necessity. They discounted the grubs, but everyone agreed that Kanasli's grubbed orchard grew better plants with larger, more potent leaves, flowers, fruit, and bark. Even the klah made from his trees tasted better. Gradually, his orchard became the only area in the Southern Continent known to contain grubs, and each successive generation made a point of helping the grubs to flourish there. For Kelsin, this meant an almost religious abstinence from the grub-killing pesticide so that he could begin transplanting larval sacs to some of his other orchards and fields.
"I just got word from my sister in Monaco," Luana said. "They're having a Gather this next restday, and she's invited us. She's even found a fire-lizard's clutch if we want an egg or two. What do you say, Kel? Shall we go?"
Kelsin couldn't miss the eagerness in her voice or the desperation that it was meant to cover. He felt a twinge of guilt. It had been months since he'd taken her to a Gather, and having to mind their two sons almost entirely by herself was beginning to wear on her. But she'd said Cestaline had found a clutch... Perhaps having a fire-lizard or two around the hold would help raise all of their spirits. Kelsin had heard that fire-lizards were a good way to communicate with friends and relatives...sometimes...if they were trained...and knew who to go to. The eagerness in Luana's wide, brown eyes decided him.
"Let's start packing," he said. "If we're going to be in Monaco, we may as well stay a while and enjoy it. Besides, it's about time the boys learned to swim."
"Oh, thank you, Kel!" Luana cried, her overjoyed response making Kelsin even guiltier. "Oh! But what about the hold? And your work?"
"Don't worry so much, Lu," Kelsin replied quickly. "I'm sure that things will be fine without me. As soon as I leave, all those plants will loosen right up; I'm probably stressing them out by hovering all the time."
Luana knew that wasn't quite true; as soon as they returned, Kelsin would have to carefully inspect each growth, many of which he would probably deem "dryer than a sandpit in Igen." But she recognised that he was trying to lighten her worries, so she hugged him quickly and ran to the back room where her two sons, ages ten and twelve, were busy reciting the Traditional Teaching Ballads that one of the travelling harpers had set them to learn by his next visit next half-Turn. By that night, the family of four had packed their bundles for a sevenday stay with Luana's sister, and the morning's dawn saw four runnerbeasts headed out of Fellis Hold lands.
Yes, you get a cliff-hanger...sort of. Next chapter should be up hopefully soon. I kind of pity Kelsin and his family; you'll find out why later. I hope you enjoyed it, so please comment. I would really appreciate it.