Disclaimer: the Dragonriders of Pern is copyright to Anne McCaffrey.
"Did it even occur to you to bring a rope with you from the Weyr?"
The annoyance in Catene's now rather melodious voice, was quite obvious as she tilted her head to look at B'riin. With a sigh, she then looked away to watch the frightened herdbeasts in the far end of the field for a few moments.
"With a bit of thought, you might have remembered that the skin of me and my kind is rather slippery, and staying 'onboard' with nothing to hold on to once we're in the air would be quite impossible. The only option that leaves us, is for me to carry you" she said.
B'riin simply nodded, knowing that it wasn't a point in trying to make any excuses, though he couldn't help but be rather annoyed at himself. He had been carried by a dragon in flight a few times in the past, rather than riding at its back. Held by a dragon's hands like little more than a piece of prey, was a rather unnerving experience.
Sitting back, the young dragon stretched out an arm, the palm of her almost human-like hand pointing up.
B'riin gave a sigh, and he was just about to move from the fence and onto Catene's hand, when the dragon's nostrils suddenly flared. Something bright seemed to flash from between the dragon's jaws, and there was a startled shout-- seconds before Jesece came stumbling out between the trees nearby.
"What in the name of the Four are you thinking?"
Her voice quite efficiently drowning anything less than flattering that Jesece might have said in response to the slight shock she had been on the receiving end of, Catene's wings flexed as she gave Jesece an angry look.
Rubbing her upper arm, where the fabric of the jacket she was wearing seemed to be slightly singed, Jesece angrily pulled a hand through her hair as she glared back at Catene, muttering something under her breath. Then she straightened herself, throwing a coil of rope that she had been carrying onto the ground, "unlike a certain someone, I actually thought to bring something for a makeshift harness. Besides, you know that I have a bit of photomancy, I would be more useful than Beriin. Seoracth didn't mind at all that I left to go with you".
The tip of her tail twitching and her yellow eyes taking on a steely edge, Catene listened to the young human woman as she spoke. Other than that though, there wasn't much of a warning-- something hardly visible darting from the dragon's suddenly extended arm to Jesece. And with a soft sigh, she fell to the ground, clearly completely out cold.
"She should be safe enough here. While I consider her a friend, there are limits to what I'm going to tolerate from her in a situation such as this one, try to use that rope for a makeshift harness and then let's go!"
A bit surprised by what had happened, but rather relieved that he wouldn't be stuck with Jesece, B'riin wasted no time in complying. Quickly putting one loop of rope around the dragon's upper arms, he stretched the ends of the rope up at either side of her neck and secured it with a strong knot. Rather simple maybe, but it would have to do-- at least it would keep him from falling.
The matter of taking off, had not been pleasant, nor particulary elegant. Hooking the rope with his feet and with a death-like grip on either side of the knot, B'riin had flattened himself along Catene's neck and held on for dear life as she made the first almost neck-snapping leap into the air. After that, it hadn't been quite so bad though, even if the telekinesis-assisted 'flight mode' made his head buzz. It was one thing going that fast when safe in the cabin of a jet, sitting exposed at the neck of a dragon was quite a different experience, even if Catene made an excellent job of shielding him.
Neither did he see much, at those very few times he dared to look down, the ground was little more than a carpet of blacks and greys rushing past at a uncanny speed.
"We are approaching the spot, can't say that I like the looks of things," Catene finally said after what felt like and eternity, just as he felt that their speed was slowing. And angling one wing, she banked-- giving B'riin a good view of what waited for them a few kilometers ahead.
Below was a chillingly wide path, scoured clean of trees and rubble by something huge, patches of flame still flickering along it. Then, at the end of it, was something huge-- a metallic hull gleaming faintly in the light of torches and fires made by those investigating it. It was really too dark and distant to make out any details, though he felt himself frown as Catene informed him of that there was no identifying markings on the ship.
Neither did its form offer any spesific clues, the ship being a plain, triangular structure that was mass produced-- bought and used by countless planets out there. A transport ship most likely, but it could belong to anyone beyond that.
"Oh, not good, not good at all-- they are entering the ship. Who knows what they might make of the crew if there are one, if they aren't human..."
Catene's head swung back and forth-- she was clearly torn about the matter. Obviously they couldn't go closer, even from where they were circling, the dragons already there and those coming in to land were obvious. They were already in danger of being spotted, and going any closer was out of the question, even with everything that was at risk...
:You're damned right about that, now get down here before you make an even bigger mess out of this!:
Faltering in her flight, Catene's entire body shuddered in reaction to the angry mental call, and B'riin couldn't quite hold back a startled sound either. However, most of it was caught in his throat at the next movement made by Catene, the dragoness suddenly folding her wings to dive downwards much too steeply for his taste. Somehow she did manage to stop in time though, and part of B'riin knew that he had to be as pale as a ghost as they descended the last few meters to the ground.
Fortunately in a much more controlled fashion.
"Consider yourself lucky that you weren't seen. Those poor pernese have enough to handle already, with that ship and..gods know what they might find in there. Impossible to say how they might have reacted to a dragon who's clearly not like their own flying about like you did".
Giving both Catene and B'riin a scorching look, a tall, red haired woman dressed much like a dragonrider came walking out between some trees just meters from where Catene had landed. Then, right behind her came a yak-like herdbeast, and though it remained quiet, its eyes seemed to hold as much intelligence as the woman it had arrived along with.
"I am aware of that," Catene said, lowering her head slightly, "what do you suggest that we do though? Quarantine has been throughoutly broken in just about any possible way, neither may whoever that is onboard that ship be friendly".
Suddenly alarm pulsed through their minds, carried to them by the pernese dragons at the crash site, as their riders and the holders accompanying them made just the discovery it had been hoped that they wouldn't.
The image of a familiar creature, but made into something horribly half-human and half-dragon by those finding it, burned in B'riin's mind. Even less welcome though, was the insignia at the suit it carried, one that did not bode well.