Chapter 4: A New Beginning
Spath's Weyr, August 30, 2012...
Harry exited the Turbolift on Level 1 and walked out to Kitchen 0R where most of the Riders congregated for breakfast. He grabbed a tray, got his breakfast from the cafeteria-style buffet, and walked out to the tables. As he approached the nearest table where Sirius sat, he noted that most of the Riders and other inhabitants of the Weyr had managed to somehow find a reason to be near. Harry unobtrusively and wandlessly cast a sonorous on himself and walked up to Sirius Black.
"Hi, Sirius," said Harry. "You look a little tired this morning."
"He is," commented Remus Lupin, "It seems like his latest form of practical joke has somehow managed to consistently 'backfire' on him, every time he's tried to use it … pun intended,". Remus chuckled at Sirius' sour look.
"Well, I think I might have something here that might help you, Sirius," said Harry consolingly. He held out one of his Protego Defens amulets to Sirius.
"How is this supposed to help?" asked Sirius, reaching for the amulet. "It's just a necklace."
"Actually, it's a special charmed necklace I managed to create that causes any attack on the wearer to rebound on the attacker … you're the last one in the Weyr to get one," said Harry with as straight a face as he could manage.
"Why thank you, Har...," Sirius started to say. Then his eyes narrowed as he looked from the amulet to Harry and back again. "You mean THIS is why I kept getting snapped every time I tried to ping someone else!" roared Sirius. Suddenly he realized where he was and just how many people were present.
As everyone started laughing at the King of Pranks finally having one of his pranks rebound on him in a major manner, Sirius looked around sheepishly and said, "Well played, Harry. You do realize that the retaliation will have to meet or exceed your efforts here, don't you?"
"Of course I do. You also remember that I still have the world's largest dragon, as well as all the other dragons, watching my back, don't you?" asked Harry, finally starting to laugh good-naturedly at his Godfather.
Sirius just groaned as he donned the amulet. "I wonder what would happen to the ammunition if both the attacker and the victim were wearing an amulet?" asked Sirius reflectively as he pulled out his rubber band gun one last time.
Spath's Weyr Hatching Grounds, Nov 22, 2012...
This was the first time the Pern hatching grounds were to be used and Harry was a little nervous. He was extremely protective of his dragons and he didn't like the chance that any dragons born and raised on Pern might lose any of the abilities they had gained while on Earth. This hatching would be a test of just that premise, therefore, he had requested no more than around 100 eggs. At the final count, it was fairly close at 107 eggs. There were 220 potential candidates, mostly from Pern, on the sands waiting to see if they would gain a life partner or have to await the next hatching.
With the help of Pern's original Weyrs, they had gathered this group of candidates with the understanding that once bonded and trained, they would be able to choose which Weyr they wanted to serve. Harry was going to push for almost all of them to go to Weyrs on the northern continent to better test out his hope that any beneficial change would breed true and remain with any new dragons. All the eggs on the sands now had one parent that was originally from Earth and one from Pern. Right now, he could field 7,721 Earthborn bonded pairs if he recalled everyone from Earth. It was time to find out if dragon magic was dominant.
Harry watched intently as the humming from the surrounding dragons increased in pitch. Suddenly, the first egg started to violently rock back and forth as cracks appeared across one side. As Harry watched that egg he noticed that many more had started to rock as well. Suddenly, the egg Harry had been watching broke open and a bronze dragonet fell out. Looked like the Pern coloration was holding true but the small dragon had scales instead of a tough hide and non-faceted eyes. Time would tell what other attributes the adult dragon would have.
The dragonet stumbled over to one of the young Pern candidates, Meekun, Harry thought. As they impressed, Meekun shouted, "His name is Daindalth!"
Harry watched as the first impression of the day was gently led off the sands by one of the Weyrling Masters from up north, Weyrling Master N'dain from High Reaches. Harry reached out to Daindalth and asked, "Are you happy with your Rider?"
"Of course I'm happy with Meekun!" exclaimed Daindalth turning back to look at The Weyrleader. "He is my Rider and I am his dragon!"
"Go and let him feed you now," said Harry encouragingly. "You will soon grow to be a mighty dragon everyone will respect."
"Of course I will," replied Daindalth, smugly. "I must be worthy of Meekun as well as my Weyrleader!"
Well, thought Harry, there is one more area where these dragons are different from Pern dragons. No shortening of names. It worried him a bit that the dragonet seemed to already show allegiance to him as The Weyrleader. That might make it harder … or easier … to get them to choose a Weyr other than Spath's Weyr to call their ultimate home.
Harry watched as, slowly, the rest of the eggs hatched and impressed. Finally, there was just a single egg that lay forlornly on the sands, tiny and still, never having moved at all. Harry went over as May started checking it.
"I'm sorry, Harry," May said sadly. "There is no heartbeat. I will do an autopsy to find out what went wrong."
"Please let me know as soon as convenient," replied Harry quietly as a single tear slowly fell down his cheek. In all the years and all the hatchings he had attended, it still hurt when an egg didn't hatch.
The egg mother looked approvingly at The Weyrleader and said to him, "It is alright, Weyrleader. He has no name, but we all appreciate you caring for even the unnamed dragons."
"Thank you for your comforting words, Tikreth," responded Harry mournfully. "Humans mourn their stillborn children and I feel that all eggs, even those that don't hatch, are my children and deserve to be mourned. I want everyone in my family to always be happy and healthy and I consider you and your unhatched egg to be a part of my family."
All the dragons crooned soothingly at Their Weyrleader hoping to ease his suffering. They all loved and approved of him and many were coming to fully appreciate this new concept that he had introduced them to, family.
Harry walked up to Hagrid as he guided the last bonded pair over to the temporary feeding pens.
"Well, that's it for this year, Hagrid," said Harry softly. "106 new bonded dragons gives us a total of 7,827 bonded Earth standard dragons. I didn't see a single hide-covered dragon in the lot and I'm hoping that all the rest of the Earth standard abilities breed true."
"Ay, 'arry," replied Hagrid. "Time will tell."
Harry watched as the Riders charged with candidate control gathered up the disappointed candidates who hadn't impressed and explained their options to them. He knew that, being from Pern, not a single one would opt to return to their previous circumstances. Some might choose to go to different Weyrs, but none would wish to return to the life of virtual servitude they had endured before being chosen on Search.
He would have to discuss it with the Earthborn Weyrling Masters but he felt that they were going to have to ask the dragons to start limiting their eggs again in a few years. At one time, there had been over 400 eggs on the Disko sands but now they had almost 8,000 bonded Riders, not that far from his original estimate of 10,000. Of course, there were now two planets to take into account. Perhaps if he considered total dragons across both planets they could allow a small but continual growth.
Of course, they had been very lucky so far this Pass. No dragons or riders had been seriously injured yet. He would have to see about talking with M'Lan about allowing the Earthborn dragons to fight thread alone. They had more than enough dragons to cover the entire planet and, with their new protective runes, thread was no longer a real threat to them.
Spath's Weyr, ER2, Nov 24, 2012...
Harry walked into the autopsy room at the back of the ER and watched May working calmly on the egg that hadn't hatched. There were parts laid out carefully on several surrounding tables, where her assistants were helping to catalog their findings.
May finally looked up and spotted Harry standing, uncomfortably, in the entrance.
"Hi, Harry," said May quietly. "I can't tell you what the ultimate cause of death was, but I have some definite theories."
"What are they," asked Harry, uncomfortable with the idea of a dragon not hatching, much less the controlled carnage spread out before him.
"I think the biggest problem is a failure to completely form as a standard dragon of either type," said May sadly. "Ultimately, we are to blame. Fortunately, it doesn't happen that often. This poor dragonet's outer covering was half scales and half hide. Evidently, the inability to completely form as either a Pern-standard or an Earth-standard dragon is fatal."
"Do you know who the parents are for all the failed hatchings?" asked Harry. "It might give us an idea of what is causing the problem. If we can determine that, we could make breeding suggestions to the dragons that might stop this from happening again."
"Good idea, Harry," said May with a hopeful grimace. "When I finish here, I will compile all our records to see if there are any common areas that would lead us to stop this from happening again."
Harry nodded sadly to her and turned and walked out.
"He's taking this really hard," thought May.
"Of course he is," replied Trath. "He cares for all of us, even the unnamed."
May nodded her head sadly. She would do her best to find the answer Harry so desperately needed and she would comfort him tonight as she took comfort from him.
Benden Weyr, Jan 12, 2013...
M'Lan had invited Harry and his wives to a gathering to see how they held one on Pern. Since his partners were still able to go Between, he had accepted. Harry had been working on the problem of protecting Pern-bred dragons from thread and just could not come up with a solution. The main problem was that Pern dragons did not have scales.
When a spell was cast on an Earth dragon, the spell diffused throughout all the scales on a dragon's body, giving a wide area of effect that covered not only the dragon's body but a fair area from it as well, which was why the dragon's rider was protected. With Pern dragons, there were no scales to diffuse the spell. A discarded scale with a rune inscribed would only protect a finite area and the only way a rider would be protected was if he sat on the scale, and then most of the dragon would have been left unprotected. It was a frustrating dilemma.
With threadfall coming up within the week, Harry had decided to use this opportunity to inform the Pern riders about his dragons' protection and offer to fly all the rest of the Pass using nothing but Earth dragons. He hoped, for their sakes, that they would accept his offer.
"Harry," called May.
"Yes, dear?" responded Harry questioningly.
"Don't look now, but have Cheki relay my view," instructed May. "There is a woman sitting in the dark over near the edge of the tent who definitely looks like she has been abused."
"Yes," responded Harry. "What do you want to do?"
"I'm not sure of the inter-Weyr politics, but I want to do something. I'm afraid that, if we bring it up to the Weyr leaders, we will be told there is nothing to be done and then I will have to let it drop. I would rather do something positive out of ignorance than let someone else know and lose the chance of helping her."
"How do you want to help?" asked Harry.
"Can I give her one of your amulets?" asked May, tentatively.
"Sure," said Harry. "Why not go talk to her and I will get one of our unbonded dragons to help keep an eye on her. Tell her that, if she needs help, to get to an open area and think as strongly as she can, 'Dragon, help me'. Tell her, that if she does that, she should be prepared to leave and never come back. If she has anything she wants to bring with her, she should have it ready when the dragon arrives."
"Thank you, Harry," said May. She immediately started to slowly wander over to the woman so as not to draw any attention. While she did that, Harry set about making his preparations.
"Cath," called Harry. "Would you mind coming to my location? Remain invisible but land nearby."
"Yes, Weyrleader, I am here," replied Cath seconds later.
"Please look through May's eyes at the woman she is talking to," said Harry. "We think she has been abused and want to help her. I would like you to stay fairly close so that if she calls, you can be there almost instantly. May is going to tell her to use the phrase, 'Dragon, help me'. She may not get it exactly right if she is in a stressful situation, but you will know that if you are watching out for her."
"She does seem to be quite fearful about something, Weyrleader," said Cath. "I would be honored to help in any way I can."
Just then May returned. "She seemed quite grateful for the amulet, though she didn't understand exactly what it would do. She did understand about a dragon coming to her call, though. She says she has four small children and wants to make sure that she can bring them all with her."
"Cath," said Harry, "call to her now and let her see you. Let her know she can bring her children and as much as they can all carry. I want her to know you will always be near so she knows she will be safe."
Harry and May watched the woman's eyes widen in surprise and then she looked out through the tent opening into the dark and they knew she had seen Cath.
"Thank you, Harry," said May. "I just wish we could do something about the appalling conditions women must put up with here!"
"Perhaps there is something we can do," said Harry, "but we will have to put some thought into anything we plan. Why don't you mingle and just talk to the others? Get to know them and what they think of their situation and what they think of us. Get Trath to listen in and keep you apprised of any useful information she can glean.
"I'm going to find M'Lan and suggest the Pern riders allow us to cover all threadfall over the entire planet. We have the dragon-power and our dragons are protected from thread."
Harry and May went off on their own tasks. Hermione and Remus had been discussing Pern's history with Masterharper Zechun. Once Hermione knew what May was doing and why she left Remus to continue the discussion with the Masterharper and followed May to see if she could perform a little discrete healing. She had some generic facial cream with her that she could apply to mask the fact that the healing would actually be magic-based.
As Harry approached the Benden Weyrleader, he noticed the man was in a heated discussion with his Weyrling Master. He waited, just out of earshot, for M'Lan to finish so they could talk.
"They are concerned about the new Riders they received from the last hatching. They are unfamiliar with scaled dragons and resent having to send them to Spath's Weyr for medical attention," said Chekiath privately. "I don't understand, why wouldn't it make them happy to have almost an entire flight of new riders who can help them fight thread?"
"They are like most humans, Cheki," Harry replied. "They are afraid of new things, especially if they don't completely understand them. The new dragons won't be able to be warded against thread until they have reached their full growth, but they still don't need firestone, they are much larger, have scales instead of hide, and soft eyes instead of multifaceted hard eyes. There is just enough of a visible difference that they are afraid."
Just then, Harry saw H'Lok move off so he approached M'Lan.
"Greetings, M'Lan," said Harry. "Problems?"
"Yes," replied M'Lan grumpily. "One of our new dragons has developed a sore spot on the inside of his hind leg and we don't know how to treat it."
"Ah," said Harry. "It's probably a misaligned scale. Juvenile dragons get those quite often. It's nothing to worry about if the rider catches it soon enough. If you like, I can have our Weyrhealer treat it for you. It does none of us any good to have a sick dragon that is unable to fight thread. In fact, May, our Staff Weyrhealer, is here with me today."
"I would appreciate that, Weyrleader Harry," said M'Lan in a relieved tone. "We have never had to worry about any such problems before."
"I will contact her right now and ask her to go to your infirmary right away," said Harry. "I would guess that you would want your Weyrhealer to be there as well."
"He already is," said M'Lan. "I will let him know your Weyrhealer is on her way. Thank you again, Weyrleader."
"There is something of great importance I wanted to talk to you about," said Harry, seriously. "I wanted to talk to you about it while we were here, before the next threadfall."
"Oh?" said M'Lan worriedly. "Is there a problem?"
"Due to the fact that our dragons have scales," explained Harry. "we have recently been able to devise a way to protect them and their riders from thread. They are able to simply fly right into a heavy fall and use this protection to destroy any thread that would have otherwise fallen on them. It only has a limited time span but, if they are careful to avoid using it, it can protect them from accidental threadscores for the duration of a fall.
"I have been trying to find a way to protect your dragons as well, using something similar, but, since your dragons do not have scales, it doesn't protect a large enough area to cover the entire dragon as well as the rider.
"What I would like to propose is that, since we have this protection and, since we have over 10,000 protected dragons to help fight thread to your approximately 1,800, that we fight thread for the rest of the pass. I'm sure we can come up with an equally important role for the unprotected dragons and riders to take."
As Harry talked, he noticed that M'Lan was getting more and more agitated. With his suggestion that the Pern dragons and riders stop fighting thread, M'Lan exploded.
"Not fight thread!" yelled M'Lan angrily. "That is all we were born and bred to do! There is no way any Dragonrider worth the name would stoop to dishonor his calling by hiding from our enemy! Get out of my Weyr! I don't want to see you again until I've calmed down. I will not take responsibility for my actions otherwise."
Harry left with a heavy heart. He had only wished to save the Pern riders the continued agony of injury and death to their riders and dragons. Now he wasn't sure exactly what to do. He called Cheki to take him back to Spath's Weyr but sent a message to each of the others there from his Weyr to continue what they had been doing.
Spath's Weyr, The Weyrleader's Outer Office, Feb 20, 2013...
"Come on in, Wemal," said Harry to the nervous young Rider who had just appeared in his office doorway. "Relax, you aren't in any kind of trouble. Just the opposite, I wanted to ask your opinion about a possible posting for you and Coruth."
Harry saw the worried look in Wemal's eyes, and continued, "Don't worry, Wemal, you are a Dragonrider now. I know you are new to our ways and your family is just starting to get used to our Weyr, but there is someone else who misses their 'child' I want you to consider."
"Someone else?" said Wemal, confusedly. "I thought all of my family was here?"
"Almost all your family," said Harry. "Some of our unbonded dragons have started experimenting with the concept of 'Family' that we have taught them and Coruth's parents would like the chance to get to know him as well as his Rider a little better.
"What I would like to propose is that you and Coruth transfer to Telgar Weyr, at least for a little while, so Garackeath, his mother, and Fozurth, his father, can continue to learn what it means to be part of a family. Your human family is welcome to stay here if they wish, or they could also transfer to Telgar Weyr with you. If they stay here, it would be simple for you, as a Rider, to visit them anytime you wanted."
"May I have some time to discuss this with my family first?" asked Wemal, thoughtfully. "I don't really feel it appropriate for me to make any binding decisions for their future on my own."
"Of course, said Harry, agreeably. "I would expect nothing less of a true Dragonrider. Just know that Coruth's parents are involved in a Weyr project and must stay where they are, at least for a while yet. Don't forget, they are trying to be a part of your extended family as well."
"Thank you, Weyrleader," responded Wemal. "I will get back to you as soon as I've had a chance to talk to my human family."
Harry smiled to himself as he watched the young Rider leave his office. His impression of Chekiath was certainly leading the Dragon Nation into uncharted waters.
Spath's Weyr, Mar 20, 2013...
Harry was frustrated. He had made the same offer to all the Weyrs on the northern continent and received the same response. It was almost as if they'd rehearsed it, the responses were so alike! He had already assigned an extra full, 300 dragon division, of protected, unbonded dragons to each northern Weyr with the task of doing their best to protect the Pern dragons and riders. In some cases, his unbonded dragons outnumbered the Pern dragons. They were under the added restriction that they couldn't let the Pern riders know they were there. The Pern dragons had agreed to keep the reinforcements secret from their riders, as they approved of anything that would help keep their riders safer. At least Wemal had decided to move to Telgar Weyr while his human family stayed here. He really hoped the unbonded Dragons experiment worked out.
Now, Harry was attempting to assign the newly graduated riders from the last hatching, 133 in all, to help fill out the ranks of some of the northern Weyrs. He was worried for their safety enough that he had inscribed the Protego Thread protective rune on each of the immature dragons with strict instructions that they were to come back to Spath's Weyr to have them replaced if they lost theirs for any reason. Their riders were further instructed to collect all scales that had been shed and bring them back to Spath's Weyr. Something fairly easy to do, since all the dragons had to come back periodically for routine checkups until they reached their mature growth. None of the Pern Weyrhealers seemed to want to even try and learn how to take care of their new dragons … yet another frustration. Though, this one worked to their advantage.
One thing that had worked out for Harry was a new rune he had developed for his dragons. Remembering how Hermione had been initially afraid to fly, he had developed a special rune for any dragon who wanted it. It was a special Sticking Spell that he had set up so that the dragons could control it themselves. They could turn the spell off, load up with passengers or cargo on their back, and turn it on. While flying, anyone 'stuck' to the dragon wouldn't feel any G-forces at all. They could be flying upside down and still feel comfortable. The unbonded dragons loved it, especially if they were trying to transport Pern natives with their bulky bags of luggage.
Spath's Weyr, A Private Recovery Room, Level 2, July 20, 2013...
Harry was handed his second son, Albus Orion Potter, at 1020 after May's very short, very easy delivery. This time Trath had been in the room the entire time and had actually been able to restrain herself … after one short rebuke from Chekiath.
This time, Harry applied the magic limiting spell. He didn't want there to be any chance it would expire before it was supposed to. Even so, he was very careful and extremely miserly with his use of power. They wanted magical children, not squibs. Harry had also been the one to initiate this round of children. He remembered the girls wanted at least one more and figured he would remind them of it since life was now a bit safer for them.
Spath's Weyr, A Private Recovery Room, Level 2, Aug 19, 2013...
Harry was handed his second daughter, Emma Lily Potter, at 0940 after Hermione's long, but still fairly easy delivery. Comaloth was in the room with her rider and had even managed to help distract Hermione once or twice. The girl's dragons were actually starting to understand what was going on when their riders gave birth and did their best to help now instead of getting panicky. After all, Hermione said that was supposed to be Harry's job!
Again, Harry applied the magic limiting spell. He snuck it in before Hermione had a chance to object. He had been practicing and was absolutely sure of the power levels required.
Spath's Weyr, Kitchen 0R, Dec 10, 2013...
Harry's lunch was abruptly interrupted by an anguished keening from all the dragons in the Weyr. He looked up where he knew Chekiath would be watching him.
"Who was it, Cheki?" asked Harry.
"A whole Wing of Pern dragons from Benden Weyr," said Chekiath sadly.
"Call the duty Wing to ready," ordered Harry. "I will go with them. Have some of the duty doctors and Weyrhealers grab whatever they think they might need and follow us as soon as possible. Have them meet us at Benden Weyr."
The duty Wing quickly assembled and were ready to go by the time Harry had climbed up on top of Chekiath. Harry gave the command and they all jumped up and launched almost immediately Between to go to the location Harry had received from his unbonded dragon Wing Leader.
Over Bitra Hold...
Threadfall was still heavy and the remaining Benden riders were valiantly trying to stem the deadly fall but were seriously demoralized. When he came out of Between, he ordered the unbonded dragons to become visible and join up with the remaining Benden riders to fill out their ranks.
"Benden Riders," called Harry, "who is in charge?"
"Meekun riding Daindalth, Weyrleader," responded a very shaken and haggard new rider as he continued to fight thread. "M'Lan had just taken his wing in for an attack when there was a tremendous downdraft that almost knocked the dragons out of the sky. The thread it brought with it, decimated the wing and most of them immediately went Between.
"One dragon and rider died almost immediately and before we could attempt a rescue, were almost totally consumed by thread. We flamed them before they reached the ground," said Meekun tearfully.
"I want all Benden riders to pull back out of range of the thread immediately," Harry sent. "We have two full wings of warded dragons here now. We will finish this fall. Stay well out of range of thread but stay near in case you're needed."
As the Benden riders pulled away, Harry's Wings started a deadly ballet with the falling thread. Between their constant flame and the protection wards, the thread didn't stand a chance. It was still exhausting work. Once the Benden riders had a chance to rest and get over their losses, Harry carefully slotted them back into the dance of attack. Harry was thankful that none of the Benden queens were involved.
Benden Weyr...
May and Doctor Sheppard, as the senior medical personnel, arrived at Benden Weyr along with the rest of the personnel and equipment they had brought with them. They quickly landed and started helping wherever they could. At least there was no thread. Any there might have been was destroyed when the dragons went Between to return to Benden. The thread scoring was horrific, however. They ran towards a particularly nasty case when the dragon suddenly bellowed and leapt Between.
"Zigheonth!" shouted Juni, crying. "M'Lan is dead."
May immediately grabbed her into a tight hug while Doctor Sheppard injected an almost unfelt shot of minor narcotics to deaden the emotional response for a while. He went on to other patients while May slowly walked Juni over to a nearby bench and sat down with her. She didn't know what she would have done if that had been Harry … and he was still out there!
Between Bitra and Lemos Holds...
Far west of Bitra Hold, more than halfway to Lemos Hold, the threadfall finally stopped. Harry took a careful look around to ensure there was nothing else they could do and ordered all dragons and riders to return to Benden Weyr.
Benden Weyr...
Harry called for another Division of unbonded dragons to deliver some of their cattle for the exhausted dragons that had been fighting for Benden. Once all his dragons were down, he had Chekiath land him in the middle of the bowl and then move up to a handy perch where he could watch until Harry needed him.
As Harry walked over to where he saw May holding on to someone, May looked up, gently disengaged herself, and ran to meet Harry. They clasped each other in a fierce hug.
"Oh, Harry, it was awful!" exclaimed May tearfully. "Zigheonth was so badly thread scored I didn't recognize him and M'Lan had most of his face eaten away before they arrived. Juni was right there when M'Lan died and Zigheonth jumped Between!"
"I'm here, May," Harry said soothingly. "Hold tight. We will stay until the Benden riders feel like they are in control again. I will leave the Division of unbonded dragons here, so the Benden riders know they will have the extra support they need during this time of their loss.
"Why couldn't M'Lan have taken me up on my suggestion. Now they are down almost 60 Dragonriders for no good reason!"
He walked May back over to Juni, reached down and easily picked her up, and turned to May, "Let's put her to bed. Doctor Sheppard gave her something to settle her down, but sleep will help her more than anything else right now.
"Chekiath, get someone to find the Headwoman and send her to Juni's weyr. We will meet her there."
They left the bowl on the northwest side, near the records room, and slowly moved on into Juni's weyr. The Headwoman awaited them there. Harry laid Juni down on her bed, reached his hand out to her head, and carefully applied a sleeping spell.
The Headwoman was startled by the glow that came from Harry's hand that enveloped Juni's head but dared not disturb them.
Harry turned to the Headwoman and explained, "We have special abilities that no one else on Pern has. I have put Juni into a deep sleep and she will probably stay that way for at least 24 hours or slightly more. Please make sure there is someone in here with here at all times. It would not do for her to wake up alone. We will stay until you can have someone sent up. It might be a good idea to have two or three people watching, so they can switch in and out as needed while they wait."
"Yes, Weyrleader," murmured Zallia, the Headwoman, gratefully. "I will see to it immediately." She loved Juni dearly and it had broken her heart when Juni lost her dragon. When this great Weyrleader had appeared and offered Juni a new dragon, she had felt hope as Juni slowly returned to the land of the living. Now her Weyr Leader was dead. What would she do? How would she cope?
Benden Weyr, Dec 11, 2013...
"Liakoth," Harry called to the unbonded dragon in charge of the Division of unbonded dragons he had assigned to help Benden Weyr, "Who is the senior dragon here?"
"That would be me, Weyrleader," replied the dragon. "All the remaining senior Pern dragons died during the last threadfall. The only bonded dragons left are far junior to me and their riders not yet fully ready to assume command of the Weyr."
"Be that as it may," said Harry. "I am temporarily assigning you as the senior dragon of this Weyr until Juni wakes up and can assume command. I want you to choose one of the bonded riders as the temporary Weyrleader, again, until Juni can make a determination."
"In that case, I choose Meekun and his dragon Daindalth. They are barely over a year old but possess more maturity and sensitivity than any of the other, older dragons. His dragon will help him to be a good leader, even if it is only to be temporary."
"So be it," said Harry as he turned to the assembled Dragonriders of Benden Weyr. "Meekun will be your temporary Weyrleader until Juni is capable of making any changes or her dragon rises next. Meekun, if you have any questions or need help, get the other Benden riders involved. You will find much wisdom if you seek it out. If you and your riders cannot find your own answers, contact me and I will try to help."
"Yes, Sir, Weyrleader," responded Meekun. "I'm sure there are more than enough experienced riders here that we won't have any trouble."
Harry studied the other riders. Even though Meekun's Daindalth was only a little over a year old, he was still much larger than any of the purely Pern dragons. It appeared that the Earth dragon's size was breeding true.
"How are they taking it, Cheki?" asked Harry.
"Some are unsure, but they all are willing to let him try to become a good leader," said Cheki, his eyes swirling with broad green streaks. "Some with older dragons wish it had been them chosen, but the sheer size difference is making them cautious right now."
Harry dismissed the riders, turned to gather May by the arm, and went up to Juni's quarters to see how she was doing.
Benden Weyr, Dec 12, 2013...
Juni sat quietly in her weyr while others bustled busily around her. She was sure it was all "make work", since there was no way there was that much that needed to be done. All the same, she appreciated them being there. Right now she felt really lonely and lost. She sat up a bit as the strange Weyrleader from Earth walked in with one of his consorts.
"Good morning, Juni," he said kindly. "You had a very quiet night and our doctor says he has prescribed some medicine that will help you control the worst of your depression while you recover. If you ever need our help, we are just a dragon call away."
"Thank you, Harry," she replied quietly. "It was quite a shock losing M'Lan that way. I feel like I have nothing left to live for."
"Of course you do," interjected Enith, Juni's unbonded dragon friend. "You have me for a constant companion and I'm sure you will eventually find a fine new mate, much closer to your age than M'Lan was."
Juni was surprised that such words about her previous Weyrleader didn't cause any tears to fall. She was finally admitting to herself that she only missed M'Lan because he was the Weyrleader of Benden and she would not know what to do without him here.
"After the tradition of our Weyrs, I have assigned a senior unbonded dragon, Daindalth, to be the senior Weyr dragon," explained Harry. "He then chose a temporary new Weyrleader named Meekun from amongst your riders until you feel like you can make your own choice or Enith rises next."
Juni looked up at Harry gratefully, "Thank you, Harry. I'm feeling quite lost right now. I'm not sure I would be able to run the Weyr by myself."
"You won't ever have to run it by yourself," said Harry gently. "You have your Headwoman, your riders, and all those others who live here. From what I've seen, they all love you and will do their best to make sure you and your Weyr prosper."
"Thank you for your encouraging words, Harry. I think it's about time I got busy and tried to find out what needs to be done now that we have lost so many."
She slowly rose from her chair and took Harry's arm, "Will you escort me out to the Bowl for my first tour as a widowed Weyrwoman?"
"It will be my pleasure," replied Harry, leading her down through the records room and on into the Weyr Bowl.
She was met with a loud swell of cheering voices. It seemed that everyone in the Weyr had gathered to show her their love and support!
"Allow me to introduce you to your temporary Weyrleader, Meekun and his dragon Daindalth," said Harry as he escorted her out onto the sands of the Bowl.
"It is my pleasure to serve you, Weyrwoman," said Meekun. "I am available to help for as long as you require my services or until you replace me with someone more suitable."
Juni looked at the young rider in front of her and liked what she saw. Perhaps things weren't quite as dark as she had thought. The coming days would be interesting if nothing else.
Spath's Weyr, Harry's Office, March 3, 2014...
"Jeofrey," called Harry.
"Yes, Harry, what can I do for you?" asked Jeofrey, Harry's Pern Admin Assistant.
"I have developed an improved charm for the Protego Defens spell. I want you to take these new amulets and exchange them for all the existing amulets we already handed out. You should have a list of the names of everyone we gave an amulet to."
"Will do," replied Jeofrey. "Once I collect the old amulets, what do you want to be done with them?"
"Give them to me, and I will upgrade the old ones to the new spell. You can't just destroy them or you risk hurting yourself." Harry just wished he could have developed this charm while they were back on Earth. It could have prevented any number of injuries and deaths. Regardless of how guilty he felt, it was too late to go back now.
Telgar Weyr, March 22, 2014...
"Feessa," called Cath. "I need you to meet with me as soon as you get a chance. The Weyrleader has a better amulet to replace the one you have now."
"I will be at our normal meeting place as soon as I can get away," replied Feessa mentally. She had gotten quite good at talking to the dragon without vocalizing recently. Neither of the two realized it but that was a sure sign that they had "bonded" as friends. Feessa trusted the dragon and the dragon had come to care deeply about what happened to the human.
Several hours later, after the evening meal had been served and the kitchen cleaned up, they met near her home to exchange amulets. Neither noticed the silent hulking shape of her husband following at a distance, still hidden amongst the other inhabitants of the Weyr. He was startled when he saw the dragon appear, then became furious.
Telgar Weyr, May 23, 2014...
Feessa was finally home after a grueling day working in the Weyr's kitchen. Even with the new improvements from the new Weyr on the southern continent, the kitchen still got hot and the work was just as hard. She was exhausted and just wanted to go to bed and sleep peacefully until she had to get up and do it all over again.
She must have drifted off because the front door slamming startled her awake. She heard Mongush screaming her name. He must have been drinking with his buddies again after he got off watch, but why was he yelling for her? Suddenly her bedroom entrance was darkened further by the bulk of her furious husband.
"BITCH! I saw you with that Dragonrider last night after you got off work!" yelled her husband.
"No, Mongush, I didn't see any Dragonrider!" Feessa tried to explain as she sat up in bed.
Mongush had learned long ago not to leave any marks if he could help it after his last warning from the Weyrleader. He swung his open palm to slap his wife but, in his anger, the force would have broken her neck if it had connected. Instead, he felt a sudden pain against the left side of his face and was propelled forcefully into the nearby wall where he slumped, dazed.
Feessa stared at him uncomprehending for a moment until she remembered what that woman had told her. The amulet had protected her!
"Cath, help me," she called, terrified that Mongush would now try to kill her and the children. She had seen him like this before, but never had she been on the receiving end of such rage. Usually, his abuse was casual at best, considered and painful at worst, but never such blind rage. She ran out of her bedroom and went to collect her four children and the clothing and few belongings she had kept packed against just such an occurrence. As she was walking out the door behind her children, she didn't see Mongush rise from the floor and point his crossbow at the middle of her back.
Not realizing she had just narrowly escaped death, Feessa hurried her warmly dressed children to where Cath was waiting for them. They awkwardly climbed up to sit on the dragon's neck, the older children behind her and the younger in front with the baby in her arms. Cath thankfully activated the sticking rune that The Weyrleader had given her, Jumped up, and went Between to Spath's Weyr.
Telgar Weyr, May 24, 2014...
"I don't understand it, Weyrleader," said the perplexed guard. "He is holding an empty crossbow and has a bolt through his chest and sticking out the back. It's almost like he had been in a duel and someone shot him but there is no blood from anyone else. He was a good shot, and would not have missed."
"Where are his wife and children," asked G'lux. "Perhaps one of them saw something."
"We have not been able to find any of them, anywhere in the Weyr. It's almost like they disappeared off the face of Pern!"
"Hmm, most puzzling," said G'lux. "I will contact the Weyrleader of Spath's Weyr to see if he might be able to help. They have many new things, perhaps he can help us solve this crime."
Spath's Weyr, Kitchen 0R, May 24, 2014...
May had finally gotten most of the story from crying, distraught Feessa as Harry and Cath looked on. They had arrived early in the morning as much of the Weyr was going about getting their breakfast. Cath had told Harry about seeing Mongush fire his crossbow at Feessa's back. Feessa didn't yet know she was a widow but no one present, who knew, doubted she would care at this point. As much as he hated to admit it, here was the proof that his charm worked.
"Set her up in one of the family apartments inside the Weyr, close to one of the kitchens," said Harry to May. "She said she was a cook and being able to work in one of our kitchens might help calm her down some. She doesn't have to be a cook if she doesn't want to but, right now, it's all she knows."
"Will do, Harry," replied May, as she rose to her feet and reached for Feessa's hand.
"Harry," called Chekiath, "Corialth asked me to relay a message from G'lux. He wonders if you could come to help him solve a mysterious murder."
Harry thought for a moment and then replied, "Tell him yes, Cheki, but ask him to convene a meeting of all Weyrleaders. When they are ready, let me know and we will be right there. Let him know I already know how and why it happened but need to let all the Weyrleaders know at the same time."
Harry ported up to his quarters and grabbed a small bag of 60 amulets and ported back down to the Kitchen, near Cath.
"Cath, I want you to come with me when G'lux calls me for the meeting," said Harry "I want you to share your memory of what you saw."
"Of course, Weyrleader," replied Cath, her eyes swirling with black from fear for Feessa and streaked with yellow from the stress of the situation. "Anything to help you and Feessa."
"You have become quite good friends with her, haven't you, Cath?" questioned Harry.
"Yes, Weyrleader. I find her kind to all and a wonderful human. I wish I had found her when we were both young enough to impress," said Cath wistfully.
"I trust your judgment, Cath," said Harry. "I would like you to consider Feessa your primary duty for as long as you desire."
"Really, Weyrleader?" said Cath wondrously, the blue in her eyes starting to overcome the other colors.
"Really, Cath," smiled Harry. "I would be the last one to want to come between friends. I had too few of those when I was growing up to want to see anyone lose a friend if I can help it."
About an hour later, Harry received the expected notification from G'lux. He asked him to arrange one more item for his visit, and then called Cath.
"Cath, would you please ask Feessa to join us? Let her know she is not in trouble, I just need her to join us at Telgar Weyr for a short while. She will be safe, and I guarantee she will be able to return here if she wishes, as she requested sanctuary."
Within minutes Harry, Chekiath, May, Trath, Feessa, and Cath were all on their way to Telgar Weyr.
Telgar Weyr, Council Room, May 24, 2014...
Harry looked between the puzzled Weyrleaders and the frightened Feessa and thought this shouldn't have happened. He hoped he would be able to smooth things out with G'lux but, after his blow-up about fighting thread, he wasn't sure. Whatever happened, he was prepared to leave safely with everyone he had arrived with, even if it meant conflict with the other Weyrs.
"You brought us all together, and I see you have found the victim's wife," said G'lux. "Are you ready to explain what happened now?"
"First, a little background," said Harry. "May, would you explain to everyone here what happened last time we visited Telgar?"
May started her explanation and Harry watched the Weyrleaders with Cheki's help. Most of them seemed shocked by what they were hearing and puzzled by the mention of the amulet. When May was finished, Harry turned to Cath.
"Cath, would you please share your memories of last night just as Feessa came out of her home?" asked Harry.
Cath shared her memories and all of them now showed true shock. When Cath finished, Harry took over.
"On Earth, we have had problems with other nations trying to force us to do their bidding," began Harry. "I have been working on what I had hoped would be a partial solution to that problem for some time. What you've just heard was a result of my efforts. I am about to reveal something to you that I would appreciate you and your dragons keeping secret until we feel safe letting the rest of Pern know."
With that, Harry held out his arm and wandlessly conjured a flame in the palm of his hand. As the flame burned steadily, Harry began, "We introduced you to many intelligent species when we met at our first group Leaders' Conference. There was one species we didn't mention, however, wizards and witches.
"I am a wizard and am capable of casting magic spells and creating wards, runes, and charms to act as if I had cast a spell." Harry dispelled the flame and continued, "The necklace you see around Feessa's neck is one such charm. They are designed to passively protect their wearer against any type of physical attack. Feessa told me that her husband tried to slap her so hard that, when the attack rebounded, he knocked himself out. She decided to seek asylum at Spath's Weyr. What she didn't see is what happened when she walked out the door. Her husband tried to shoot her in the back with his crossbow. You know what happened."
"How do we know this isn't some kind of fabrication," asked G'lux querulously.
"If you cannot accept the testimony of a dragon, a species we all know are incapable of telling lies, would a simple demonstration be acceptable?" asked Harry, displeased with their insinuation but holding in his annoyance for the greater, diplomatic, good.
"Of course," said G'lux. "I assume that is why you wanted us to provide someone we had condemned to death but had not yet executed."
"That's right," said Harry. "First, I would like each of you to put on one of these amulets, just in case your prisoner doesn't wish to abide by my terms."
He handed out amulets to each of the six Weyrleaders present. After they had put them on, G'lux called in their prisoner.
Harry turned to the man, a huge brute, who had been condemned for killing a fellow guard in a drunken brawl and said, "G'lux is going to give you your crossbow back with a single bolt loaded. I am standing all the way across the room from you to give me a chance. If you can shoot me in the back from where you are, you will be set free and all charges dropped."
May gasped at this, as Harry had not let her know of his plans. He looked at her sternly, and she kept silent. She recognized that this was her Weyrleader talking and not her Harry. Harry turned his back on the prisoner and heard a sudden grunt of pain. When he turned back around, the prisoner was dead on the ground with a crossbow bolt in his neck.
"He tried to shoot me!" exclaimed C'hil, Weyrleader of Lemos Weyr and the one who had supplied the prisoner. "If I hadn't been wearing this, I would be dead by now!"
"Which is why I wanted you all to put one on before we started," said Harry. "I knew I was protected but I couldn't be sure he would only shoot at me. It appears that he didn't believe in my offer of freedom and decided to take the one he blamed for his problems with him to death.
"I have here nine more amulets apiece for each of you. I expect you to give them to those you consider the most important to your Weyr. Please don't tell them what the amulet does, just make sure they put it on immediately as soon as you give it to them. The chains will not break under the roughest of pulls and, once put on, only the wearer can remove them. You might want to caution the recipients not to take them off, no matter what."
As Harry handed out the amulets, he noticed a look of fear mixed with respect in the eyes of the Weyrleaders. They had no idea at all of what he was able to do but they all remembered the table he had broken the first time they'd met at Benden Weyr. Harry hoped that, in time, he could gain their trust enough that they would no longer fear him. For now, it was enough that they did what he asked.
Spath's Weyr, Nov 15, 2014...
"Weyrleader, there is someone here to talk with you," said Jeofrey, as he peeked in the door to Harry's inner office.
"Is it urgent, Jeofrey?" asked Harry.
"I don't think so, but you didn't seem to be doing anything, so I thought I would chance interrupting you."
"Give me about 15 more minutes to finish up this section, and send them in," said Harry.
Fifteen minutes later Feessa walked in, looking very unsure of herself.
"Hi, Feessa," greeted Harry jovially as he rose and walked to the other side of his desk to greet her. She had quickly settled into Weyr life and had proved to be an excellent cook. The house-elves had been happy to help and recipes had been shared back and forth with abandon. He offered her a seat and sat down across a small table from her as Dobby, using some sense only he knew about, appeared and brought tea and light snacks.
"What can I do for you?" Harry asked. "I haven't seen that much of you since that morning you appeared asking for sanctuary, but I had heard you were quite happy now."
"I am, and that's part of the problem," started Feessa. "I really appreciate all you have done for me and want to do more. I have become really good friends with Cath and want to become a Dragonrider."
Harry sat there stunned for a moment and thought about it as Feessa looked on nervously.
"You do realize you can never be considered a bonded rider like someone who had impressed, don't you," asked Harry.
"That doesn't matter to me. I think Cath and I have enough of a bond that we could still be effective. I have talked to her about this and she seems to think we could make it work."
Harry contacted Cath and asked her opinion and then turned to Feessa.
"I will tentatively approve this," said Harry, "but you will have to go through the Weyrling training with the new November Riders. Even though Cath is a mature dragon, there is much more to being a Dragonrider than just riding on a dragon. I will expect you to not only learn to care properly for Cath but will expect you to help the new hatchlings during training."
"I will do whatever it takes," said Feessa resolutely with a growing excitement.
"Ok then," said Harry with a grin. I don't expect you to start until the day of hatching, but please let Hagrid know you will be joining him as a student then. He might even suggest things you can do to start to prepare you for your new classes."
"Thank you, Weyrleader!" exclaimed Feessa excitedly. "I won't let you down!"
"Just Harry, please," Harry pleaded. "We are all just Riders here."
Harry got to his feet as Feessa jumped to hers. He was a little startled by her enthusiastic and heartfelt hug but returned it gently. He watched her almost float out of the office she was so happy.
"Stranger things have happened before," he thought as he went back to his routine.
Spath's Weyr, Hatching Grounds, Nov 21, 2014...
There had been 121 eggs with two unhatched. With Feessa joining the Weyrlings, that made 120 new potential riders. Harry watched as she happily helped Hagrid and the other Weyrling Masters with the new hatchlings and riders. He glanced over to see her three foster children smiling proudly at her. Her baby was probably being temporarily cared for by one of the house-elves she had befriended.
As the confusion of a successful hatching died down, Harry called for all his Staff and some of the Weyrleaders from Earth to meet in the Conference Room in two days' time. They needed to decide how many more hatchings they would be able to have. In the meantime, he contacted each of the Senior dragons at all of the Pern Weyrs to ask them to get an accurate census of Pern-standard dragons at each location.
Spath's Weyr, Conference Room, Nov 23, 2014...
"Thank you all for meeting me here today, especially those Weyrleaders who came from Earth just for this meeting," said Harry. "I notice that most of our Earthborn Weyrleaders and their Wing Leaders are here for this meeting as well. Welcome, I just hope you don't get too bored. If you can manage to stay awake, you may find a nugget or two of useful information. We have just had our second successful Pern hatching and, first of all, I want to share some interesting statistics with you.
"Across all the Pern Weyrs, there are only 322 Pern-standard dragons left. We have found that any mating between an Earth-standard and a Pern-standard dragon will always yield an Earth-standard dragon. This is important because there are several advantages the Earth-standard has that the Pern-standard lacks. Since we have arrived, it appears that there has not been a single Pern-standard dragon hatched while several of them have gone Between while fighting thread. I still have found no way to adequately protect them and they refuse to stop fighting thread.
"Every Pern Weyr now has a full Division of bonded dragons and another full Division of unbonded dragons, so they should be more than capable of meeting any threat from thread. In all cases, we have bulked up their herds to help feed the extra dragons.
"As of the last hatching, there is a grand total of 8,320 Earth-standard bonded dragons now, across both planets. From the information my Staff has been able to accumulate, I have tentatively decided that there should be no more than 7,200 bonded dragons on Pern at any one time since it is smaller than Earth. I am going to limit Earth dragons right now to 4 Weyrs. 2,400 bonded dragons should be sufficient to maintain our presence there as well as supply necessary services. They can easily call on their more numerous Pern brethren to help if anything happens that they needed it. Two Weyrs will be rotated in and out every six months with a three-month offset between the Weyrs.
"Joensuu and Minnewanka require more knowledge of the local operating conditions, so I only request they visit Pern periodically to maintain a recent jump image in case of need. Because of this, anyone wishing to spend most of their time on Earth should eventually transfer to one of those two Weyrs."
Harry noticed the looks of relief on Ismo Sippola's and Arron Twosta's faces. They had worked hard to create a specialized support facility on Earth and they wanted to make sure that the services offered didn't suffer due to unfamiliar people being transferred in to control the facilities.
Harry continued, "Looking at a total of 9,600 bonded dragons across both worlds, we are only 1,280 shy of being fully populated here on Pern. That number can be adjusted up or down as we get more information or if circumstances call for a different population, but I'm concerned that Pern cannot support a larger population and, until things change drastically on Earth, I don't want to allow a larger population of dragons there.
"The numbers I've presented are for bonded dragons only. Our unbonded dragons have discovered they like the idea of 'families' that we introduced, so they are considering keeping some unbonded dragons around for a long time. Currently, we do not have an accurate census of unbonded dragons. Since our last census, a lot of the older dragons have gone Between or allowed themselves to die so their remains could be studied for the benefit of their fellow dragons," Harry said with a small catch in his throat.
He continued, "We believe the current population is about 7,000, with 2,000 assigned to Earth and the rest here. I am going to change the numbers slightly and ask them to maintain the same number of unbonded on Earth as there are bonded. That means that we will have approximately 4,600 here on Pern. Since we have been raising our own food animals, we have not seen a significant drain that we cannot counter but I fear that if our unbonded population grows too fast we may have a problem.
"I have asked the unbonded dragons to limit their egg production to only those for use on the hatching grounds for now. Once we get our bonded population up to our target, I have asked, and they've agreed, to limit their growth to a replacement level only.
"Having captivated you with all those boring statistics, I would like to now open up the floor for suggestions about how to handle Weyr rotations, transfers, and the requirement to keep our jump images up-to-date."
After everyone had a good laugh at his closing remark, a lively discussion started amongst those present.
Spath's Weyr, ER4, May 10, 2015...
Harry walked up to May as she supervised the suturing of a long thread score on the hide of a Pern Dragon. He waited quietly, so as not to disturb what was going on. Suddenly the dragon roused and started looking around in a panic. Harry stepped up and placed his hand on the smooth hide near the dragon's head.
"Easy there, Daisruth," said Harry as he sent a calming spell into the dragon. It didn't have as much of an effect as on an Earth dragon, but it seemed to help somewhat.
"My rider, where is he?" asked Daisruth in a panic.
"He is fine," said Harry soothingly. "I checked on him before I came over here. He will have a scar on his face but it will heal. You did good to come here instead of your own Weyr."
The dragon relaxed somewhat, and replied, "I was worried about my rider and remembered you had better healers here than at my Weyr."
"Actually, he would have been fine," replied May. "You might not have been. That thread score on your right side is really close to the wing muscles. If you had tried to fly much longer you might have crippled yourself! Just relax. You will be fine but you won't be going Between for at least the next two months."
"But my rider ..." Daisruth started to say.
"Will be just fine," said Harry. "We have room for both of you, so you can be together once our Healers are finished with you. The beds are nice and warm and have very fine sand so you will be very comfortable. Your rider will be in a bed very close to your side, so you can keep an eye on him while he heals."
As the dragon quieted, Harry glanced at May and gave her a smile to let her know he was pleased with how things were going. He looked across the large room and watched as three other dragons were worked on. He hoped all the injured dragons had come to them but had a feeling that most had gone to their Weyr. He had rousted out some of the off-duty doctors and healers and sent them to Igen Weyr to help. They had a small dragon surgery but nowhere near the facilities available at Spath's Weyr.
He walked over to where one of the duty doctors was working on R'tox.
"How's he doing, Maxine?" asked Harry.
"Just fine," said Maxine Kelly, the duty doctor, and Dragonrider working on R'tox, the Igen Weyrleader. "In fact, he should be coming around any minute. We have cleaned and stitched his wound. If he's lucky, you will hardly be able to tell where the thread ate away his face. We thought we were going to lose his ear but managed to save it."
"Good job, Doctor," said Harry approvingly. "Let me know as soon as he comes to. If I remember right, he has quite a temper."
Harry slowly made the rounds of the other patients, giving encouragement and casting healing or pain relief where he could.
"Weyrleader," said Glarenelth. "Maxine says her patient is starting to wake up."
"Thank you, Glarenelth," responded Harry as he hurried over to find a very groggy Weyrleader.
"Well, R'tox," said Harry smiling at the Igen Weyrleader. "Fancy meeting you here."
R'tox glared at Harry and growled, "Where's my dragon and why am I here!?"
"To answer your second question first, your dragon brought you here because he was afraid your healers wouldn't be able to help you as well as we could," replied Harry mildly. "He was correct, too. If you had gone back to your Weyr, you would have had a hideous scar and lost your ear. Now, you will have a small scar and keep your ear.
"To answer your first question, your dragon is just behind you undergoing some very fine surgery. If he had kept flying any longer or gone to your Weyr, the damage done by the thread would have eventually ruptured the muscles to his right-wing. He would have had no choice but to jump Between one last time, losing Pern a very fine fighting bonded pair!"
R'tox paled and carefully looked around until he spied Daisruth stretched out on the operating table. Daisruth looked back and said softly, "My Rider!"
R'tox looked back happily and said, "My dragon!"
Harry grabbed a nearby wheelchair and helped R'tox into it before wheeling him over so he could touch his dragon and help keep him calm. Then he turned to Maxine and gave her a thankful smile which she returned before moving on to help with someone else.
"You will both be fine, R'tox," said Harry, "but our Weyrhealer says that Daisruth cannot go Between for at least two months. We have some very comfortable rooms where you can be together and help each other recover. If you don't bite any of my staff, I might even allow you both to stroll through our gardens later."
"What about my Weyr?" asked the worried Weyrleader.
I have already sent word of your condition to your Weyrwoman, Bracah," said Harry, "and have offered her any help she needs from us while you are recuperating. Once you are both better, you can use your dragons to talk to each other. I would suggest not bothering her unnecessarily though, SHE has a Weyr to run." Harry smiled and winked so R'tox would know he was joking. Then he excused himself and continued with his rounds.
Spath's Weyr, Kitchen 0R, Aug 2, 2015...
Daisruth had developed a complication with his surgery and ended up staying longer than initially forecast, but they were now both healed and certified ready for flight.
"Thank you, Harry, for your hospitality and fine care for my dragon," said R'tox gratefully. "Once we get a break from threadfall, I may have to bring my Weyrwoman back here to see your amazing gardens."
"We will look forward to hosting all four of you," said Harry. "Just let us know when you want to visit so we can make sure we have a Ring 0 room prepared for you. Then you will be able to look out of your room right at the gardens."
"That would be wonderful," said R'tox. "I will be in touch."
With that, he climbed up on Daisruth, who then jumped up and went Between to Igen Weyr.
Ista Hold, Sept 12, 2015...
The holdless man was determined to get to the southern continent but to do that, he needed a boat. It didn't matter to him that he wasn't a sailor and wouldn't know how to control a skiff, much less a boat large enough to safely cross the ocean, he was going to go. He had heard too many rumors of the great wealth the people on the southern continent possessed and his greed would not allow him to do any less.
The only problem he had right now was that there were too many guards around the boats. Perhaps a distraction was called for. He carefully snuck over closer to the Lord Holder's residence, carefully took aim with his crossbow, and fired. As soon as the shot was away, he snuck as fast as he could back to the docks. Unfortunately for him, his sneaking was about as good as his shooting. He was quickly captured and served a summary justice by the irate guards.
In the meantime, the Lord Holder, who had been hit high up on his left chest, had his wound packed, front and back, to stop the bleeding. One of the more alert guards sent a message to Ista Weyr asking for help. When the rider arrived, he realized that there was nothing more they could do for the Lord Holder but perhaps the amazing doctors at Spath's Weyr would be able to help.
Within 10 minutes of the initial plea for help, Spath's Weyr dispatched an ambulance. Once loaded into the ambulance, he was hooked up to an IV and immediately brought back out and into ER1 in Spath's Weyr. Doctor Sheppard was called as none of the duty doctors had enough experience to handle such a serious wound.
Dr. Sheppard had a series of x-rays taken and then, once he was sure it was safe to do so, sedated his patient more heavily, cut off the feathered end of the bolt, and pushed the rest on through and out the back. Once the wound was thoroughly cleansed, he propped Wirmon up on his right side and wedged it into place tightly so he could work on the front while one of the duty doctors worked on the back. Initially, there was heavy bleeding that they were able to stop. After repairing the cut minor veins, thankfully the superior vena cava was actually pushed aside rather than cut, the two doctors worked carefully and as fast as they could to repair as much damage as they could working from the inside out.
Three hours later, Dr. Sheppard tied off the last of the self-dissolving stitches and took a relieved breath. Dr. Turpin finished not long after. They looked at each other and, with a relieved sigh, Dr. Sheppard turned to leave the surgery to talk to Lady Holder Shonassa about her husband.
"Lady Shonassa?" asked Dr. Sheppard as he approached the distraught woman in the waiting room.
"Yes," she replied looking up hopefully.
"Your husband will be fine. If we hadn't gotten him here when we did, he would have bled to death. It was very fortunate that you got in touch with Ista Weyr so quickly. What happened?"
"Some lunatic shot my husband. We have no idea why, and will probably never know," she replied.
"Why is that," asked Harry, curiously.
"The guards killed him, naturally, when they caught him!" she exclaimed. "He was seen firing his crossbow, so there was no doubt about his guilt and the Lord Holder could have died!"
"I wish he could have been taken alive," replied Harry. "We might have learned why he attacked your husband. At the very least, we could have learned something that would help you to protect yourselves better."
"Oh," said a suddenly thoughtful, though still distraught, wife. "None of us thought of that in the heat of the moment."
"Your husband should stay here for at least the next two weeks," said Dr. Sheppard. "We can make arrangements for you to stay here, near your husband's room if you wish."
"I would like to be here, at least when he wakes up," she said. "I won't be able to stay much longer though, I have a Hold to run."
"If you like, I can arrange to have a dragon handy so you can come to visit whenever you have a chance," suggested Harry.
"That would be very helpful, Weyrleader," said Lady Shonassa thankfully.
"If you would step out into the main cavern with me," said Harry, "I will introduce you to the dragon who will provide you with transportation."
"Oh," she said curiously. "There won't be a Rider?"
"No," explained Harry as they walked. "We have many unbonded dragons who want to feel a part of our efforts to protect people. This is one way they are able to help."
As they stepped out from the hospital entrance, a dragon landed nearby.
"Lady Shonassa, I would like to introduce you to Baroth," stated Harry. "She will be keeping an eye on you in case you need help or just a ride."
"Good Morning, Lady Holder," said Baroth. "May you find peace and shelter under our wings."
"Gracious!" exclaimed Lady Shonassa. "I heard her right in my head!"
"That's the way she will talk with you," explained Harry. "No one else will be able to hear her and, if you wish, no one else even need know she is there."
"How could they not know that such a magnificent creature is nearby?" asked Lady Shonassa.
"Baroth, would you please show the Lady Holder?" asked Harry.
Baroth quickly faded from view. As Lady Shonassa gasped, Harry held out one of his special amulets to her, and said, "If you would put this on please, and never take it off, it will help Baroth keep track of you."
Baroth reappeared as Lady Shonassa put on the amulet. "Why did you tell her that, Weyrleader?" asked Baroth privately. "I will always know where she is, now that I've met her."
"Because I want her protected as well as watched. It was easier to get her to accept the amulet without having to go into a big explanation of what it really did. As soon as I can, I'm going to give amulets out to all the Lords and Ladies of the Holds. I will explain it at that time," Harry responded privately.
"Thank you, Weyrleader and Baroth. I will go back in to be with my husband now," said Lady Shonassa. "How may I call you if I need you, Baroth?"
"Just think as strongly as you can, 'Help me, Baroth!', and I will be there for you … as long as it's a place where I can fit."
"I will keep that in mind," said Lady Shonassa with a slight grin. With that, she turned and reentered the hospital to be near her husband when he awoke.
Harry turned to Baroth and said, "Please meet with me near my inner office and I will etch the sticking runes onto one of your scales and teach you how to use it. She is not a rider and it would never do for her to feel like she might fall. I know you would never willingly allow her to fall but accidents have happened in the past. I would rather be overly cautious than have the unthinkable happen."
"I will be there," responded Baroth, her eyes swirling blue and green.
Pern, south of Ista Hold on the southern continent, Oct 2, 2015...
Yuko Isikara, Weyrleader of Earth's, now abandoned, Sakushima Weyr, landed his survey team on the northernmost peninsula of the southern continent, some 150 miles south of Ista Hold and far to the west of Spath's Weyr. According to the satellite images taken of the planet, this had appeared to be the most suitable for their new Weyr. After Rolbirth landed, Yuko watched the security flight circling overhead before he dismounted. He walked around the area to get a feel for the site as his Weyrmates collected soil, water, and plant samples for later analysis back at Spath's Weyr. He walked over to the edge of the cliff and looked down at the beach, a short distance below. If he decided to create a Weyr here, its construction would be unique to all the other Weyrs.
A lighthouse was constructed, on top of Sakushima Weyr, Pern, to facilitate navigation by those confined to surface travel.
Fire Lizards were later discovered by the Weyr inhabitants when they relaxed on the beaches near the ocean. No egg clutches were discovered for several years but the wild dragonets make friends with many of the Earth dragons and some of the riders, though they were wary of anyone else.
Excerpt from The Weyrs of Pern by Remus John Lupin, published 2050.
Spath's Weyr, Harry's Inner Office, Dec 1, 2015...
"Courier Pouch," yelled Mark Harper, as he walked into Harry's office. "Jeofrey said it was alright to come in."
"Thanks, Mark," said Harry. "How are things back on Earth?"
"Getting better. The Russian confederation has finally managed to modernize enough that they are starting to support themselves. It seems most of their industry is centered around the Hot Rock power generator we provided them after we destroyed their military. Their new President, the old Minister of Agriculture, has been concentrating on feeding his people and not building any new armies. He has become extremely popular, especially when he abolished the old political cabals using the few soldiers he had left. They are just trying to survive now and the UN has taken it upon themselves, at our urging, to keep any of the other hyena nations off their back while they recover.
"The Saudis are recovering faster than Russia, but they didn't learn their lesson near as well as the Russians. Most of their old, non-military, leaders survived and they are starting to make noises about 'reparations'. Unfortunately for them, we spread around enough recorded, time-stamped videos of their initial attack that they haven't gained much support. Unfortunately, quite a few terrorist organizations have now risen in that part of the world. Most of them are not well funded, so they tend to get caught before they can do much damage, but it only takes one bad person in the wrong place at the wrong time ...
"The British Prime Minister announced a cure for Arthritis was found. What he didn't tell the press was that it was the next step in the Dumbledore Plan."
"Makes me glad I spend most of my time here," said Harry. "Anything unusual in the packet?"
"Not that I know of," said Mark. "Dragon Isle has been quite busy but the accommodations are comfortable enough and large enough for families, that many of the different governments are allowing their representatives to live on the island. Lord James Mills asked me to send his regards. He said he would probably be retiring soon and hopes his son will be picked up to be his replacement."
"How is James doing," asked Harry.
"Well, he is 80 now," said Mark. "I would imagine, for a muggle, he is looking forward to a less active lifestyle."
"Yes," said Harry thoughtfully. "Thanks for the Pouch and the other information."
"See ya later, Harry," said Mark. "Bye for now."
"Bye, Mark," said Harry. He immediately started writing a letter to Lord James Mills inviting him to visit Pern for an all expenses paid vacation. He had a feeling that James might like to see what he had helped bring to life. The slightly lower gravity couldn't hurt either.
Spath's Weyr, Harry's Quarters...
"Cheki, would you ask May and Hermione to join me, please," said Harry softly.
"Done," replied Chekiath. "Is something wrong? You seem troubled."
"After I wrote asking Lord Mills if he would like to visit Pern, I went through the rest of the Courier's Pouch and found a letter addressed to May dated last week," said Harry. "I didn't open it but I just have a feeling that it is not good news. I want Hermione up here with us if May needs us both."
A short time later, both May and Hermione walked in the door.
"What's up Harry?" asked Hermione. "Cheki seemed to think it really important that we both come up here right away."
"May, you got a letter from Earth today," said Harry softly. "I have a feeling you will need us both after you open it."
May immediately came over and sat in the middle of their sofa. Hermione sat on one side and Harry brought her the letter and sat on the other. May carefully opened the seal and started reading.
May,
I'm sorry, but I have some bad news for you. I wish I didn't have to send this to you by mail but we can't afford to leave right now.
A couple of days ago your Granda had a massive coronary attack and died out in the same field where they first met your Harry. From what the Doctor says, it happened so quickly he wouldn't have even known what was happening or felt anything. We are having his funeral tomorrow. By the time you get this, your Granda will be buried already.
I know you two didn't get on very well, but I know he loved you. I just wish he could have been better at actually saying it.
I hope everything is going well for all of you, wherever you are. Maybe one day we will get a chance to visit and see your new home.
Love,
Your Mum
Hermione was reading over May's shoulder and immediately hugged her. Harry sat there and held her other hand. May just sat staring at the letter.
"Say something," said Hermione, worriedly. "Are you OK?"
"I'm fine," said May as a single tear rolled down her cheek. "My Granda and I didn't get along all that well towards the end. I think I would prefer to remember him as he was when I was younger. He used to take me out hunting and fishing with him. I guess he would treat me like the grandson he didn't have."
"Harry, can we bring them over for a visit sometime?" asked May.
"Of course we can," said Harry. "We have thousands of dragons who would do anything for us and three who are even more tightly attached to us than that. You set the time and we will go get them ourselves."
"Thank you," said May with a small catch in her throat as she hugged Harry.
Spath's Weyr, Hatching Grounds, Feb 15, 2016...
Lord James had enjoyed his vacation on Pern immensely and had found the hatching just as exciting as any he had attended on Disko Island, but today was going to be his last day on Pern. May's parents and Lord Mills' son, William, had also come with him. While William would be returning to Earth with his father, May's parents would be staying for another week.
Harry waved to catch the hall's attention and he nodded to Dobby who signaled the elves to make sure everyone had a full glass. The Kitchen area fell silent as the elves rushed around to refill their glasses.
Harry rose from his seat next to Lord Mills, cast a quick sonorous on himself, and said, "Most of you present today remember Lord Mills as one of the first normal humans to help the Dragon Nation. Because of that, he will hold a special place in our hearts. Without him, we would not have managed to advance our cause nearly as fast or nearly as well."
Harry paused and glanced towards the elder statesman. "Lord James, I know that you have only spent a few brief years with us compared to the rest of your life, but I am going to be biased and say that, for us, I think the years you spent working with the Weyr were the most important."
Harry turned to Remus. "Remus, if you will?"
Remus grinned and stood up. He reached under the table and pulled out a large plaque that contained a beautiful bronze casting of a dragon in flight.
"Lord James, in appreciation of all that you have done for us, the dragons decided that you should be enrolled in our lists as an honorary dragon rider. Your name will be entered in our rolls and we want you to know that you can call on us anytime, anywhere. You are one of us."
Remus passed the large plaque to Lord James who was grinning widely. The hall broke out in cheers and Lord James looked down, moved by the unexpected response.
Lord James used his napkin to wipe at his eyes. He was pleased and surprised when he was told that the Weyr wanted to hold a dinner in his honor, but he never expected this kind of response.
Harry held up a hand and waited for the hall to quiet down again, then he raised his glass. "Lord James, we hate to see you go but we hope you have a long and peaceful retirement.
Harry raised his glass. "To Lord James, rider, dragon friend and citizen of Spath's Weyr!"
Over one thousand people stood and raised their glasses. "To Lord James!" Around the area thousands of dragons, both inside and outside the Weyr, trumpeted in approval for Sheep Guy.
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