An historic moment for the citizens of Pern was fast approaching. Threadfall was due to end any day now. People all over the planet were making elaborate plans for how they were going to celebrate freedom from the fear they and their ancestors had been dealing with for the past three millennia. While the dragonriders were engaged in their own plans to celebrate an end to their ancient adversary, their actions were also noticeably subdued. After all, what would the dragons and their riders do once they were no longer needed to safeguard Pern and its people? It was a very unsettling and uncertain time for the weyrs.
Mom?
Ah, Luna! Only recently bonded with her lifemate, though she didn't quite understand what was happening, she shared the same fear and uncertainty as every other rider.
We'll figure something out, dear one, Akie tried to reassure her daughter, adding a hug for emphasis.
Your Mom's right, precious, Vance responded, giving Luna a warm hug of his own. We'll come through this… somehow.
Vance could understand the riders' concern about the future of their kind. In spite of that insecurity, he was also secretly hoping that before the end of Threadfall came, he might also Impress a dragon of his own, no matter what color it was.
You need to work on your shielding, love, Akie silently chided him, adding a hug as emphasis.
I think you'd make a great dragonrider, Dad, Luna spoke, adding her own hug.
I hope you're right, he silently chuckled, returning the hugs.
Just then, Akie's communicator started beeping.
"You expecting a call?" Vance wondered, meeting his wife's eyes.
She shook her head, taking out the communicator and putting it on. "Liaison One, go ahead!"
It was an urgent call from the orbiting Wolfhound. They'd received orders to escort Akadeanna, her family, and their dragons back to Earth. It was urgent, she was told. A heavy lift transport shuttle was already en route to their location.
"Understood," Akie responded. "We're standing by."
"What was that all about?" Luna wondered.
Princess Tigress gave a low growl from Luna's shoulder. Can't be good.
Moments later, the shuttle roared overhead, settling to the ground a short distance away. With rather quick dispatch, Akie, her family, their dragons, and Princess Tigress were whisked aboard the shuttle and rushed back upstairs to the orbiting Wolfhound. Once safely aboard, the Pern Talent tower gave them a 'porting boost all the way back to Earth with barely enough time for the dust to settle! From there, the heavy transport shuttle was launched once more, carrying its human, dragon, and feline cargo down to the surface.
It had been a long time since Akadeanna had last set foot on Earth. Still, there was one difference. Rescued from the maw of the teleportation void, Akie's parents had decided to return to the home of their ancestors. They'd already sent Akie pictures of their new place on the outskirts of one of Earth's smaller cities. Maybe while they were there, they could stop by and visit with her parents.
Business first. Ground transport was waiting the moment their shuttle landed. There was just one problem.
"Their dragons will never fit in those!" Vance chuckled, clapping one of the drivers on the shoulder.
"Then we'll just have to follow them from the air," Akie decided, strapping into Vornath's harness. Reaching down to her husband, she asked, "You coming?"
Grinning broadly, Vance seized Akie's outstretched hand, easily making his way up Vornath's side and belting in behind his wife.
Luna was just as nimble, easily reaching Artimeth's neck ridge and belting in. Princess Tigress took up her accustomed position in front of Luna, reluctantly allowing herself to be belted in.
"After you!" Akie called as Vornath spread her massive wings.
Shrugging, her escorts got back in their vehicles and headed off; Vornath and Artimeth instantly airborne and following close behind. It made quite a sight, seeing dragons winging along above the roadway. A couple of vehicles even spun out and off the road. Thankfully, no one got hurt.
Eventually, they reached their final destination… a massive complex that served as the Earth Prime tower… and the headquarters for the Federated Telepaths and Teleporters… FT&T for short. While the dragons waited outside, Akie and the rest of her family were escorted inside.
"So, how can I help you?" Akadeanna wondered, pulling up a seat in the Earth Prime's office, Luna and Vance settling to chairs they pulled up beside her.
"So this is your Barque Cat, eh?" Prime Reidinger remarked, leaning closer as he examined Princess Tigress.
He was also head of FT&T.
"I'm sure you didn't invite us all this way just to speak about our feline companion," Akadeanna muttered, reaching over to give the hissing and spitting Princess Tigress an ear scratch.
"Quite right, quite right," Reidinger responded, nodding as he activated his holodisplay and punched in a command sequence. "We're looking to expand our teleport and telepath services at this location."
"Gamma Cygni?" Vance remarked, recognizing the constellation.
"Good eye," Reidinger commented, nodding.
"What is it?" Luna wondered, speaking through her headband voice-box setup.
"An F-class supergiant," Reidinger was kind enough to respond. "Given its numerical designation…"
"The 8?" Luna wondered.
Reidinger nodded. "It's well on into its lifespan… its supergiant phase. One hundred fifty times as big as our Sun and 15 times more massive."
"You're planning to set up a tower there?" Vance speculated.
"We are," was Reidinger's calm reply.
"Vance, what is it?" Akie asked.
"Gamma Cygni is a supergiant yellowish white star," he replied. Looking at Reidinger, he added, "Are you telling me they found a habitable world there?"
"Almost," Reidinger chuckled, touching controls on his desk that caused the image to zoom in tighter. "While there's no clear habitable zone around Sadr,…"
"Sadr?" Akie wondered.
"The official name for the star," Reidinger replied. "As I was saying, while there's no clear habitable zone around Sadr, we made an interesting discovery… here."
The image zoomed in on one particular planet.
"A gas giant! How are humans supposed to live there?"
"Never said they would," Reidinger chuckled, playing with the projection controls again, zooming in even tighter. "What we found was an Earth-sized moon orbiting this gas giant."
"Earth-sized?!" Vance exclaimed.
"Yes," Reidinger was pleased to announce. "With a rotational period very close to either Pern or Earth, and… it has its own magnetic field and breathable atmosphere!"
"Sharding hell!" Akie hissed. "It's not tidally locked to the giant?!"
"Thankfully, no. Plus the moon is further protected from Sadr's radiation by the gas giant's own magnetic field. The giant radiates enough heat to make the moon comfortably warm without any of the drastic changes in seasons either Pern or Earth undergo."
"And you want us to investigate it for you?" Vance wondered.
"Gods, no, man," Reidinger disagreed, chuckling. "Already been done by the FT&T survey teams." Looking straight at Akie, he told her, "I want you to be the Prime."
"Me?!" she spluttered, nearly falling out of her chair in surprise.
"And why not?" Reidinger responded, leaning closer. "After what you did rescuing the Bellatrix, you're a natural for the post." Grinning, he added, "The Portuguese astronomers who first discovered the moon gave it a name you might appreciate."
"Portuguese?"
Reidinger nodded. "They called it 'Lua dos Dragões'…"
Akie's eyes absolutely bugged out! "Dragons Moon!"
"Yeah, I thought you'd appreciate the irony," Reidinger laughed, smiling warmly at Akadeanna. "Seems some of the land masses on the moon bear striking resemblances to your winged companions. With the coming end of Threadfall on Pern, I hear the dragons and their riders are looking for new places to live. Think they'd like to explore space, see a little more of the galaxy?"
"I… I don't know!" Akie stammered.
"I think it would be a good fit for them… and you!"
"Me?! Why?!"
"Akie, please, no false modesty," Reidinger sighed. "I was there for the recovery, remember?"
Yes. Prime Reidinger had joined the gestalt along with all the other Primes just before retrieval of the Bellatrix began.
"You've a finely honed instinct," Reidinger went on. "Even without proper training, you pulled off a stunt that I thought was impossible. Some of that may be due to your own talents… esper chief among them. But it may also have arisen from your Impression of Vornath."
"My dragon?!"
"Yes," Reidinger insisted. "It opened your mind to that of another, broadening your understanding of esper talents… and strengthening your own. I honestly don't think we could've pulled that rescue off without you… or your dragon friends."
Lifemate?
Oh, my heart…
I'd like to see this place named after dragons. Then we could let the others know what we think.
"Sounds a lot like Callisto station near Jupiter," Vance remarked. "How about we visit there first to see what it might look like before we head over to Sadr?"
"Luna?" Akadeanna asked, turning to her daughter.
"I'm game," she replied, giving her Mom a hug.
"Can you arrange a visitation for us?" Akie asked the Earth Prime.
"Done!"
Within the hour, Akadeanna, her family, their dragons, and even Princess Tigress had been 'ported to Callisto Station without so much as a hiccup. Right away, the visitors had to deal with the vision of the massive gas giant looming over them. Aside from that, the Tower station was quite roomy though certainly not open like where they were going next. Princess Tigress was not impressed, snorting from Luna's shoulder. Akie's daughter merely chuckled, giving the cat's ears a scratch.
"Akie?"
"We should have support when we go to Sadr," she replied, glancing around. "Undeveloped, off the beaten path, we'd better go in prepared."
"Agreed."
Reidinger had anticipated their needs. Firlea's Fury was holding station near Callisto, ready to take them aboard before 'porting to Sadr.
"Our usual parking spot still available, Admiral?" Akadeanna radioed.
"Ready and waiting, Doctor," Admiral Sharpton responded.
"Better make sure the neighboring spot is also clear," Akadeanna spoke as she and Vance climbed aboard Vornath. "This'll be Luna's first visit to the ship in the company of her dragon."
"I look forward to meeting her lifemate," Admiral Sharpton told them, genuine interest in his voice as Luna was strapping into her dragon's harness, Princess Tigress clipping in to her spot astride Artimeth.
Akie signaled their dragons aloft. Once they had formed up, Akie circled her hand over her head then brought it down in a cutting motion. Both dragons and their passengers vanished between. Seconds later, they emerged in the main docking bay aboard the Admiral's ship.
"Transfer complete," Akie radioed as she undid her riding belt.
"On my way, Doctor," Admiral Sharpton replied. "Good to have you back aboard. See you in a few."
The reception from the crew was warm and heartfelt. They hadn't forgotten what happened with the Dragon Stealers… or what they'd done to the ship and the crew.
"Oh my, Luna!" Breela exclaimed, giving Akie's growing daughter a welcoming hug. "Look at you! A dragonrider… just like your Mom! We're so proud of you!"
"Thank you!" Luna whispered through her voice box, returning the welcoming hug.
"Good to see you, too, Princess!" Breela added, giving the Barque Cat an ear scratch.
"Commander!" Breela spoke, snapping Vance a sharp salute that he returned with a grin. "I hear the Gunny wasn't happy about your promotion."
"Aah, what're you gonna do?" Vance replied, grinning as he shrugged his shoulders. "How's the ship?"
"Better now that that whole mess is behind us," Breela sighed, disgust in her voice. "When I think about what those…"
Turning to Akie, she said, "It's a good thing you were there to stop them."
At that precise moment, there was a very familiar squeal and a brown fire lizard came swooping down, landing on Breela's shoulder before turning to regard the visitors.
"A fire lizard?!" Akie gasped. "How did you…"
"Seems one of those queens you sent to our rescue was egg heavy," Breela chuckled, giving the brown's eye ridges a scratch. "She clutched while she was aboard. Bruiser here was one of the hatchlings!"
"How many?" Akie breathlessly asked.
"About a dozen in all," Admiral Sharpton responded, walking in with a bronze fire lizard astride his shoulder. "We'd seen the videos of a Pern hatching… how the dragons hatch hungry. Figured what worked for the big ones would work for these guys, right, Falcon?"
"Skree!" his companion responded, spreading his wings wide in a proud display, causing everyone to laugh.
"If what we felt with our fire lizards was anything like a Hatching…" Breela sighed, stroking Bruiser's neck ridge. "I'm jealous, Akie, so I am!"
"Well, I'd say it worked out for you," Akie laughed, giving Bruiser a quick scratch. "Don't know if the ship could handle feeding so many dragons, let alone the crew. Dragons wouldn't be able to follow you through the passageways as you worked. And it still gives you a glimpse of what Impression is like."
"Any idea when the next Hatching will be?" another of the crew excitedly inquired.
"Hard to say," Akie sighed truthfully, "especially now with Threadfall about to come to an end. What will the dragonriders do once they're no longer needed to battle Thread?"
"That's where Sadr comes in," Admiral Sharpton responded, smiling as Falcon head-stroked his cheek. "FT&T wants to set up a new tower on the moon they discovered there, and it sounds like they may be inclined to offer it to the riders who want to find something new to do and a new world to explore."
"That's why we're going there first," Akie said, grinning at Admiral Sharpton, "to evaluate the site and see if it'll work for them."
"Wait! Sadr?!" another of the crew jumped in. "How is that possible?"
"Why?" Breela wondered, turning to face the crewman. "What's wrong with it?"
"Gamma Cyngi… Sadr… is a yellow-white supergiant star! With no known habitable zone for human life! How could they set up a tower there?"
"Because of something they discovered orbiting Sadr 6," Admiral Sharpton replied. "An earth-sized moon with a breathable atmosphere and rotational period similar to Earth!"
"What?!" the rest of the crew gasped.
"And it already has a name," Akie couldn't help chuckling. "Lua dos Dragões… Portuguese for…"
"Dragons Moon!" Breela exclaimed, eyes absolutely bugging out as she stared at Akie and her family.
"Earth Prime is giving us a boost to Betelgeuse," Admiral Sharpton explained. "From there, we'll get an assist from Deneb as well as a boost from the other Primes to reach Sadr. We'll be arriving just at the edge of the solar system then using FTL propulsion to go the rest of the way to Dragons Moon around Sadr 6. Any questions?"
"How soon can we get underway?" Akie was bold enough to ask, earning healthy laughs from everyone.
Within the hour, Earth Prime and Callisto station gave Firlea's Fury the necessary 'porting jump to Betelgeuse. Then, it was Deneb's guiding hand and an assist from Betelgeuse that placed the Admiral's vessel at the outer edge of the Gamma Cygni system. From there, just a short FTL run to Sadr 6 and they were soon orbiting their destination.
"Yeah, I can see where it got its name!" Akadeanna sighed, watching the forward viewscreen as they approached the moon.
"Lua dos Dragões is right!" Admiral Sharpton chuckled. "So, Doctor, what do you think?"
"Do we have the survey team's report?"
"Waiting in my ready room," the Admiral replied, turning, Falcon struggling to keep his balance. "This way."
The survey team had been very thorough in its investigations. No pathogens, no potentially harmful flora or fauna. Dragons Moon was, for all intents and purposes, an unpopulated Garden of Eden!
The very next morning, a heavy transport shuttle descended to the surface of the moon, settling onto an open plain in the mid-equatorial region close to some hills and mountain streams. Once the data from the survey team was verified and the atmosphere was indeed safe to breathe, they deplaned, Akie the first to set foot on the moon's surface.
"Wow!" Luna gasped when she and Artimeth joined all the others to gawk at the wonder of the place. "This is a moon?!"
"Wow doesn't do it justice!" Vance whispered, turning in a circle as he took in the view.
"It'll take a while to get used to the view of the gas giant," Akie commented, giving Vornath's neck a gentle pat, "but this place is incredible!"
Incredible?
Akie blinked. "Did one of you just say something?"
Vance shook his head. Luna just shrugged.
Vornath, did you…
Vornath?
Akie's queen snorted, glancing all around. Lifemate?!
Someone… some… thing was here on the moon! They weren't alone!
Welcome!