Author's Note: This is a one shot. It takes place entirely in the Reunion AU and universe. There is no cross-universe travel. Reviews are appreciated and missed when absent.
The Dragon Riders of Pern is copyright by the estate of Anne McCaffrey. This is a work of fan fiction. No compensation WHATSOEVER, OF ANY KIND is received or will be accepted by the author of this work.
Distant Impression
Linda Cantrell got off the airbus and went into the house she shared with her mother. Her mother was already cooking dinner. A lot of people just got their food from the synthesizers, and while June Cantrell did get the raw ingredients she used from one, she preferred cooking the food on her own.
Linda went into her room and put on some music while she checked her favorite sites on the net.
Where are you? she heard. The voice sounded a bit frantic.
Linda stopped reading in mid sentence. She looked around. "Who said that?"
I did, said a voice. Why aren't you here?
"Ok. Is this some sort of joke? How did you get in my room? And how dare you plant speakers and pick-ups?"
A joke? The voice asked. I am Varenth. I don't think it's funny at all that you aren't here.
Linda began to feel very very hungry. She hadn't felt this hungry in, she couldn't remember when. She had had lunch. There was no way she should be feeling this hungry. She suddenly realized she hadn't heard it with her ears but in her mind. Could that be it? She was so hungry she was hearing her stomach talk to her? But her stomach didn't have a name and this voice did.
"Varenth?" she said wonderinly. "Where are you?"
I'm not sure, the voice said. Where are we? This sounded like it was addressed to someone else. Then, I'm at Telgar Weyr. I wish you were here. I'm so hungry.
"You asked someone else where you were? Can't you have them feed you?"
But I don't want anyone but you to feed me, the voice said plaintively.
"Linda? Who are you talking to."
"I don't know where Telgar is Varenth, but I'll find out. You need to have someone there feed you. I don't know what's going on.
Where are you?
"I'm in Akron. Ohio,"
Where's that?
"Linda? Who are you talking to?"
Linda snapped out of her reverie. "I don't know, Mom. Someone is talking to me in my head. Someone named Varenth. It, no, she says she's very hungry. She says she's at Telgar, where ever that is."
"You're hearing voices?" Her mother was worried now.
"No. A voice.
"Varenth. Akron, Ohio is on the North American continent. On Earth."
How can you be on Earth?
"Well, where are you?"
On Pern. I hatched and you were supposed to be here. Wait. Where is Pern? Linda again could tell that Varenth was asking someone else.
Pern is the third planet in the Rukbat system.
"I'm calling the doctor," her mother said.
"Mom, wait. Varenth, have someone feed you. And what are you?"
I'm a dragon, of course, the voice sounded like this was the most natural thing in the world. And you are my rider. I want to be with you. Suddenly Linda felt a wash of love flow over her and she knew it came from this Varenth. It was so strong, it left her reeling. And in that instant, she knew that no matter what, she had to get to this planet to be with Varenth.
"I'll be there as soon as I can but in the meantime, you have to eat. Have someone feed you."
Alright. But I'm not telling anyone my name. That's for you to do.
Weyrleader J'frey sat next to his Weyrwoman, Palla during the hatching. Everything was going well with hatchlings impressing candidates without incident when a little green dragonet hatched. She looked around and then just sat back on her haunches and began to creel. The creeling suddenly stopped, but the little dragon still just sat there.
Telgar, J'frey heard Willerth say.
What about Telgar, love, J'frey asked his dragon.
The little one just asked where we were. I told her.
A short time later he heard, Third planet in the Rukbat system.
"Willerth, what's happening. Who are you talking to? The little one again?"
Yes. She asked where Pern was. She says her rider is in Akron Ohio. On Earth.
J"frey was stunned. "That's not possible."
That's where she says her rider is.
"J'frey? What's not possible?" this from Palla.
"Willerth says that little green that just hatched says her rider is on Earth." Ignoring the stunned look on Palla's face, he jumped up and vaulted over the barrier separating the stands from the sands and sprinted for the feeding room. He grabbed a bucket and took it out to the little green dragon.
"We'll get your rider here, little one, but you have to eat." He held out a handful of morsels.
She looked directly at him, not moving for several long seconds. J'frey was deathly afraid she was going to go between. Then he heard, Thank you. And the little green dragon grabbed the food out of his outstretched hand.
As he was feeding her, he asked Willerth, Ask her what her rider's name is. The full name. People on Earth usually have two or more.
After a short pause, Willerth said, She says her rider's name is Linda Marsha Cantrell.
Talk to one of the dragons on Earth. Tell him or her to have their rider speak to the authorities there. We need this girl here as soon as possible.
It is done, Willerth said. Green Gonath said she will tell her rider.
After the little dragon was full, she looked up at J'frey and plaintively said, I want my rider.
"We're working on it little one. She'll be here as quick as we can get her."
He took her to the weyrling barracks and got her settled for a nap.
He had just left the weyrling barracks when a woman came up to him. "Weyrleader J'frey?"
"Yes."
"I'm the ambassador. I was told I need to be here"
"I don't know what you can do, but follow me." He led her into the weyrling barracks and pointed to the little green dragon sleeping alone and said in a low tone, "She says her rider is on Earth. A girl named Linda Marsha Cantrell. From Akron Ohio. I've had my Willerth bespeak one of the dragons on Earth. Her rider is going to speak to the authorities there."
"How is this possible?" Evans asked.
"I have no idea, Ambassador," J'frey told her. "This seems just as impossible to me."
Martin James, the Secretary of State for the Confederation of Sentient States, was in his office performing routine work when his comm set beeped. "Yes, Glenda?"
"Mr. James, we have a call from the dragon complex in Philadelphia. A dragon rider says he needs to speak to you. He says it's a matter of life and death."
"Put him through, of course."
James heard two clicks and then Glenda said, "Connection established."
"What's this about life and death, rider?" James asked
"T'nas, rider of Green Gonath here," a stocky redheaded man on the screen said. "My Gonath informs me that a hatchling dragon at Telgar 'Weyr on Pern tells her sire that her rider is on Earth. Somewhere called Akron Ohio. The little green dragon says the girl's name is Linda Marsha Cantrell."
"How is that possible?" the Secretary asked. Astonishment was in his voice.
The man on the screen shook his head. "I don't know. I don't think anyone else does either. But we need to get that girl there. I'll convey her there if you like. But I need a picture of where she is."
James was already issuing commands to his computer. "Calling it up now."
Soon James had the answer. Linda Marsha Cantrell, fourteen years old, living with her mother June Gail Cantrell at 2214 Journal Way. He called up a satellite map of the address and had it zoom in to treetop level. He saved this and sent it to the Philadelphia Dragon Complex.
"You have a picture coming in now. Give me about five minutes and then you can go pick her up."
The man on the screen nodded. "Yes. I have the picture. I'll wait for five minutes before going to get her."
"Thank you for calling me and offering to take the girl to Pern. You'll probably need to take her mother with her."
"Of course," T'nas said. "We'll even give her conveyance back for no charge. The mother that is. Oh, and tell them to wear coats. I'll have a mask/airpack apparatus for each, but it is cold between."
James nodded. "I'll tell them. Thanks again. I need to call and talk to them. Good day." So saying he disconnected and punched in June Cantrell's comm code.
"Linda, we're going to the doctor to have you checked out."
"No, mom. I have to get to Pern. Varenth says she just hatched. She needs me."
"You don't even know if this Varenth is real," her mother said. "And what is she supposed to be, anyway?"
"She says she's a dragon. And I'm her rider."
Her mother stared at her open mouthed. Then she found her voice. "How could a baby dragon talk to you over a distance of two hundred light years? And assuming she's real, how would she even know you exist?"
"I don't know, Mom, but she is real. I know it. She needs me. And I need to be with her."
The comm unit sounded. June looked at the Sender ID. The State Department? Why would the State Department be calling here?
She hit the answer tab and said, "Hello?"
The screen lit showing the face of the Secretary of State. June recognized him from the Newscasts
She could hardly believe it. The Secretary of State was calling her? "Ms. Cantrell?"
"Yes. I never though I'd receive a call from the Secretary of State."
"Is your daughter Linda Marsha Cantrell?"
June was becoming very nervous. "Yes?"
"Any odd behavior from her?"
Linda stepped into range of the pick-up. "I'm Linda. And yes. I heard a voice in my head saying she was a dragon on Pern. She says I'm her rider."
The Secretary nodded. "That's what I was afraid of," he said with a sigh. "A baby dragon just hatched and didn't choose anyone. She told her sire that her rider's name is Linda Marsha Cantrell. In Akron, Ohio on Earth."
"This is real?" June Cantrell couldn't believe it.
"It's real alright, Ms. Cantrell. We'll have a dragon there to take you and your daughter to Pern shortly. The rider will have two masks and airpacks as it takes about six minutes to get there on a dragon. There's no air in transit so that's what the masks are for. Wear coats as well, as it's cold in transit."
"Wait!" June exclaimed. "I didn't say we would go to Pern!"
"Ms Cantrell," the Secretary began, "these dragons are people. Sentient beings. Without your daughter, this little green dragon will die. You don't have to come. But your daughter will be given conveyance."
"And if I forbid it?" June asked.
The Secretary of state looked grave. "Do you know what the penalty is for violating The First Imperative?"
June paled. The First Imperative? She couldn't believe it. They were deadly serious.
"You'd do that?"
The secretary nodded gravely. "Yes. We don't want to, but if this little dragon dies because you prevent her from uniting with her rider, we will have no alternative but to set an example."
Just then the door chime sounded. James heard it through the comm link. "That should be your conveyance to Pern," he said.
Linda answered the door. A short red headed man stood at the door. But more importantly, a dragon lounged not too far away. It was huge.
"I am T'nas," the man said. "I'm here to speak to Linda Cantrell."
"I'm Linda Cantrell," she said.
"Ah, Good." The man smiled. "I'm here to convey you to Pern. Willerth told my Gonath that you are needed there. And congratulations on being chosen by a dragon, although this is a first."
"Because I'm from Earth?" Linda asked.
T'nas grinned. "Because you were on Earth when she chose you. We didn't think it possible a hatchling could choose someone so far away. Hadn't even considered it." He shrugged. "No matter. The dragon knows."
June had appeared. "I'm June Cantrell. You are here to take us to this Pern?"
T'nas nodded. Smiling he said, "Yes, I am."
"Will we be given conveyance back?"
"Well, you will whenever you're ready," T'nas said. "The girl, however, will have to stay with her dragon. Once her dragon is mature, and they're both trained, they can go where they please. Within the constraints of their duties, of course."
"Let's get our coats Linda."
"But it's warm out, Mom." Linda didn't want to put on a heavy coat.
"You should do what your mother says," T'nas advised. "We will be going between. It's cold between."
Linda looked puzzled. "What is this between you're talking about?"
"Between is what we call the space a dragon goes through when they need to get somewhere that is normally out of flight range." T'nas told her. "And it is very cold there. There also isn't any air. Which is why we have masks and airpacks for us. And a mask for Gonath too. She can hold her breath for fifteen minutes, but it's easier when she can breathe."
T'nas adjusted and secured the large mask Gonath wore. Linda hadn't even noticed it until she saw the man adjusting it.
Then with Gonath crouching in a peculiar way, He stepped onto a proffered forearm and vaulted into riding position. He held a hand down to help his passengers mount. Once they were mounted he handed both of them a mask/airpack apparatus.
"Before we go between," he said. "You need to let your dragon know that you're going to lose contact for a bit."
"She seems to be sleeping," Linda told him.
"Well, wake her up." T'nas said. "We go between, she'll awake in a panic, unable to find you. She just might go between herself looking for you. We can't have that. She would get lost and that would be the end of her."
Varenth! Linda mentally shouted. Varenth, wake up!
I'm here, came a sleepy voice in Linda's mind. I'm sleepy.
We are about to go between, Linda told her. I'm told we might lose contact for a bit. Don't worry. I'll be with you shortly.
We can never lose contact with one another, Varenth asserted. You're mine and I'm yours. Nothing will ever come between us.
I'm told that this between might, Linda said. It's the quickest way for me to get to you. It would take a long long time otherwise.
I'll be waiting here for you, Varenth promised.
"I've told her," Linda said. "I think we're ready."
M'rak, Weyrlingmaster at Telgar was in his office when he heard a bugle from the weyrling barracks.
He was up and through the door into the barracks at once. The riderless little green dragon was awake and sitting on her sleeping platform. She looked like she was waiting.
Caneth? What's happening, he asked his dragon.
The little one's rider has gone between on Green Gonath to get here. The little one can't hear her. She is very worried. We are soothing her.
"Fools!" M'rak murmured under his breath. You don't take a rider between without the dragon. They were lucky the little one hadn't gone between herself.
The girl was on Earth, Caneth told his rider. This was the only way to get her here.
M'rek nodded. He still didn't understand how a dragon could choose someone on another planet, but then no one else did either.
After a short wait, which actually seemed like turns to M'rak, the little green dragon gave out a happy bugle and jumped down from her platform. She started heading for the door.
"Whoa, little one," M'rek called out.
Her rider just arrived. Gonath is landing in the bowl.
M'rak nodded. Tell the little one to follow me. I'll take her to the bowl where she can meet her rider.
Linda was becoming very worried. They had been in this blackness for what seemed years. She was still able to breathe, but she was very glad her mother had insisted on the coat. She couldn't feel Varenth. She had called to her, but there was no answer.
Suddenly they were in sunlight above what looked to be a huge crater. The dragon she rode began descending.
There you are, she heard in her mind. I couldn't hear you and was so worried.
She lifted the mask and took a cautious breath. She nodded. There was air here. She removed the mask.
"I'm here now, love," she said.
Gonath touched down and T'nas helped his passengers to dismount.
Suddenly Linda felt something bump up against her leg. She looked and there was a little green dragon. The dragon looked into her eyes and Linda was overwhelmed. She was in tears. She had never experienced such complete and immersive love and trust. She could tell that this little dragon would do anything for her; anything at all. Varenth? She asked in an awed mental voice.
Yes, she heard. The voice sounded so happy now. It's me.
"You're so beautiful," Linda told her in an awe filled voice. Continuing in the same tone she told the world at large, "She says her name is Varenth."
June had never heard such awe and wonder in her daughter's voice. And the beatific smile and look of rapturous wonder on her face as she looked at this not so little baby dragon spoke of more joy and happiness than June had ever realized was possible.
M'rak looked at the meeting, remembering his own impression of Caneth. He gave them a moment more and then moved in.
"You are the one this little one chose?" he asked.
"Yes, sir," Linda replied.
M'rek nodded. "I'm M'rak, the Weyrlingmaster here. I'll be your instructor. Come with me and bring Varenth. She needs to get some more sleep and we need to start teaching you how to care for her."
This sounded real good to Linda. She didn't know the first thing about how to care for a baby dragon.
You'll learn, Varenth told her.
"You bet I will, sweetheart."
"How long does she have to stay here," June asked.
M'rek looked at the woman. She was an attractive woman of some forty turns. "For the rest of her life. Unless they are assigned to communications duty on the Dragon 'net. Or as a navigator."
"That's ridiculous. She's only fourteen. She's just a child."
"Not by our laws, she's not," M'rek said. "She can have children of her own. Therefore she is considered a woman. And she will reach full adulthood on the sixteenth anniversary of her birth."
"A sixteen year old is not an adult," June Cantrell asserted.
"Maybe not on Earth," M'rek returned. "But here, they are. And your daughter's life changed when that little green dragon chose her. She is responsible for and to her dragon. The dragon cannot live without her. We would not force her to live without the dragon."
"What?" June couldn't believe it.
"She's mine, Mama. And I'm hers. We belong to each other. And I won't live without her. I'd rather die."
June pulled M'rek aside and spoke to him in a low tone of voice.
"You can't mean you would allow her to suicide if something happened to Varenth."
Speaking in an equally low tone, he said. "That's exactly what I mean. I would give her my knife and leave the room, if she asked. Imagine having half of your mind gone. Would you want to live?"
June just shook her head in wonder. This was a nightmare. But maybe not. Her daughter had found someone. Someone who loved her and would never leave her or let anything happen to her. June thought that suicide to be with her dragon was extreme, but then, she didn't know what Linda was really feeling. If this bond was all that Linda said it was, all that the look on her face had said it was, maybe living without her companion really was a fate worse than death. She just prayed it would never come to that.
They had reached the weyrling barracks. Linda and Varenth entered. June was about to follow when M'rek stopped her.
"Only weyrlings, myself, and my assistants are allowed in the weyrling barracks. Wait for us here. We won't be long."
After they got Varenth settled, M'rek said, "Come with me, young lady."
They went back out the door they had come in.
M'rek took them out into the bowl and led them to one end of it. "Do you have a knife, Linda?"
Linda shook her head. "No. I've never needed one."
"Well, you need one now. I always carry spares." He reached into a pouch on his belt and removed a knife enclosed in a sheath. Seeing she didn't have a belt to attach the sheath to, he unsheathed the knife and put the sheath away. He handed her the knife hilt first.
Linda just stood there looking at it. "Take it, woman. You'll need it to be able to prepare food for your dragon."
Linda tentatively took the knife. She held it awkwardly.
"Not like that," M'rek told her. He showed her how to hold the knife. Once she was holding it properly, he led them through double doors in a wall enclosing a portion of the bowl.
Linda looked at what was inside in horror. There were three cows suspended on tripods. All had been partially butchered.
"A dragon eats raw meat," M'rek told her. "They prefer to kill their own food but until they are able to hunt for themselves, the rider must cut meat off of a herd beast and then cut the chunks into bite sized pieces."
"This is barbaric." Both Linda and June said this in unison.
M'rek nodded. "Yes. It would seem so, but the alternative is for your dragon to starve."
"What about food synthesizers?" June asked.
"A dragon needs meat. Not synthesized protein," M'rek said. "And we don't have any of those here.. So it's either this or the baby dragons starve."
"How do I do it, sir?" Linda asked. She still thought this was barbaric, but she would do anything she had to to prevent her new friend from starving. Or coming to any harm for that matter.
"Linda! You are actually going to do this?" What was she saying? Of course her daughter was going to do it. Her daughter had found something she was willing to die for. Butchering a cow was nothing compared to that. Linda confirmed it with her next statement.
"I'd do anything for her, Mom. Any thing."
M'rak showed her what to do and Linda began cutting chunks off of one of the cows. Before too long she looked like she had been doing it for years.
M'rak watched her, thinking, 'Yes. This one learns fast.' Of course it wasn't unexpected. Dragons didn't choose those of low intelligence. And like any other weyrling, Linda had motivation. There was no way she'd let her beautiful Varenth go hungry.
Most weyrlings stopped with one bucket, Linda kept working till she had 1 heaping full and a second half full. She had seen her mom cook synthesized raw meat and knew that when cut up into smaller chunks there wouldn't be as much as there seemed to be.
M'rak took her to the weyrling butcher room and showed her how to cut up the larger chunks into bite sized pieces. When she finished, Linda had a full bucket that was slightly rounded at the top. M'rak placed a lid on it and clamped it down.
"Set the bucket on the floor and clean the work area," M'rak instructed.
Once that was done, he showed her how to clean the knife properly.
"I'll see you get a sharpening stone and show you how to sharpen your blade," M'rak told her. "Now come with me and I'll show you where you can store the meat until Varenth wakes up."
Linda awoke with a start. Hungry. I'm so hungry! Linda heard in her mind. And it felt like she was starving. Suddenly the memories of impressing Varenth flooded her consciousness. She wasn't starving. It was that darling green dragon of hers. She was reaching for clothing when she realized she had fallen asleep with her clothes on.
"Come on, sweetheart," she told Varenth. "Let's get you something to eat."
Thank you so much!
Linda took her out of the room and said, "I'll be right back, I need to get your food out of the cold room. Wait right here."
So saying, Linda sprinted to the kitchen, retrieved the bucket she had put there and was back shortly.
She unclamped the lid of the bucket and Varenth tried to stick her nose in to get to the food. Linda held the bucket away and grabbed a handful of morsels and began feeding them to Varenth.
Varenth was bolting them as fast as she could. "Chew, sweetie. What would I do if you choked?"
But I'm hungry, Varenth said.
"I know, baby, but this food isn't going anywhere. It's all for you."
As Linda was feeding Varenth, the gratitude she felt come back along the bond was unlike anything she had ever experienced. 'She would follow me into death,' Linda realized to herself.
Varenth had heard this thought and stopped eating for just a moment to look into Linda's eyes.
Of course I would. I would follow you anywhere. Even beyond between. Then Varenth returned to her food.
While she was feeding her new found companion, her mother came in. June just stood there looking at the dragon and rider as they communed over the meal. Linda had a small contented smile on her face.
"She's good for you Linda."
"Hi, Mom. She's everything to me. To think that she found me worthy to be her rider, and from a distance of more than two hundred light years... It's just incredible to me. I feel as if this is what I was born to do."
"Well, I had my reservations at first," June told her. "But seeing how happy you are, I'm glad it happened. What more could a parent want than for their children to be happy?"
Varenth had finished the bucket of meat. I'm sleepy, she told Linda.
M'rak had been watching from the shadows. Now he spoke up.
"Before she has a nap, she has to have a bath and an oiling. Otherwise, she'll wake up itching. Trust me, neither of you will enjoy that one bit."
He handed Linda a pot attached to a cord with a long loop on it. "Put that around your neck," he told her. "It's an oil pot." He then handed her a bundle of rags. "Make sure you keep one of these cloths dry so you can use it to work oil into her hide. Now follow me."
He took them down to the lake. Varenth was definitely drooping.
Do I really have to have a bath and oiling? she asked Linda. I'm really really sleepy.
"Yes, baby girl. You have to have a bath and an oiling. You don't want to wake up itching."
Ok. Anything for you. I love you so much.
This cycle continued with her feeding Varenth, bathing and oiling her, cutting meat off of a carcass, sleeping and feeding herself. Every few days she would forgo a few minutes of sleep for a bath for herself. She had never felt so tired, or so happy and fulfilled. Varenth grew daily. Soon she was the size of a horse and she kept growing.
Linda took a look at her one day and really saw her. She was more than twelve feet long. She spread her wings and launched herself into the air. She rose and angled off to the feeding ground. She descended on a large wherry, grabbed it by the neck and killed it. She then rose to a ledge and began eating it. She ate it, bones and all. She killed and ate two more.
Linda looked at this in awe. Then she heard a voice.
"Good. She's finally hunting on her own." She looked and it was M'rak speaking. He continued. "This will give you time to get some more sleep and it's now time for you to start learning to actually be a dragonrider."
Varenth had finished her meal and landed by her rider. Killing it myself tastes better. I like it. She then nuzzled Linda. Linda felt somewhat bereft. Feeding Varenth had become her normal routine. Sure she was tired, but communing with her dragon while she fed her had always been the high point of the routine.
Don't worry, Varenth told her. I still love and need you. But you need to get more sleep than you have been. And as much as I like you feeding me, it really does taste better when I kill it myself. And I will never leave you. You are mine just as I am yours.
The force of Varenth's thoughts reassured Linda more than she could say.
Author's note: This is a one-shot, but I have said that before and written a sequel. I don't know if that will happen here. Just have to see. Anyway, the story is about a girl from Earth impressing a dragon while she is on Earth and the dragon on Pern. Don't forget to review.