The Dragons Return

by viningc

Harry had a war with Earth but he had been given the gift of a lifetime, a place where his dragons and riders would be unconditionally safe. This story continues the trilogy by Bobmin356 and Alyx started at: /s/7591040/18/The-Queen-who-fell-to-Earth

10. Chapter 10: The Pern Navy

Chapter 10: The Pern Navy
Southern Sea, North-west of Sakushima Hold, Sept 19, 2024...
Captain Christopher Vincent, USN Retired, was on the bridge of the SPS Dronth looking out at the fast-approaching squall line. The "almost-but-not-quite-an-aircraft-carrier" he was in charge of handled surprisingly well for such an old hull. They had evidently had the ship since Nov 10, 2018, but had continued to try to handle the large vessel with no real training. Finally, someone in authority had decided they needed to hire professionals. His mission wasn't what he had become used to as he rose to command rank on Earth. Here, his mission was primarily humanitarian, one of the facts that had initially drawn him to investigate the potential posting.

Another reason was that he was considered too old for command at sea on Earth and he wanted to be conducting Operations on the bridge of his own ship. It didn't hurt that he was told he could pick his command officers and crew. He had carefully sounded out some of his previous crew members and had ended up asking three officers and three enlisted men to join him and they had all accepted. It hadn't hurt that he was told that anyone wishing to bring their wives on board with them would be allowed to do so.

Initially, he had been concerned that he would be in charge of a glorified pleasure cruise but, once the scope of the planned evolution was disclosed to him, he was hooked. Granted, there would be a lot of civilians aboard, there to perform specific experiments or research. There would also be entire families, so no one needed to worry about "Cruise Separation" like he used to have to suffer through. Georgina, his deceased wife, would have loved the idea. She used to love to travel and meet him at different ports.

Everyone onboard was ultimately under his command, especially during any emergencies, such as during today's foul-weather ops. During normal operations, though, most of the crew that answered to him were Pern immigrants from many different walks of life. It was his job, and the job of his hand-picked crew, to make sure they learned everything they could to perform their duties properly. The old Navy discipline he was used to was relaxed to a certain extent, but that didn't mean he would allow anyone to slack off if it meant the safety of his ship or those who sailed on her.

That was something else! This ship was named after a living male dragon! He had actually seen the Senior Unbonded Dragon of Pern and, while not as imposing as some of the bonded dragons, he had exuded a definite charisma and grace that was impossible to deny. In fact, as hard as it was for him to believe, Dronth, the dragon, had been the final arbiter as to whether or not he got the job! They certainly did things differently here. Not so differently that they didn't need him, though.

When he had first arrived, he had studied the specifications of the newly outfitted hull closely. He was impressed with the compact power source. It supplied more power than a much larger Nuclear Reactor while being totally safe for the engine room crew.

He was especially intrigued with the large wet/dry launching bay. He had already practiced launching and recovering boats and, of all things, dolphins. In fact, one of the huge doors had a smaller door that could be opened faster than the main door, just for dolphins. Its only limitation was that it had to be submerged before it could be opened.

The extra watertight integrity of the hull was a plus on a planet without the extensive dry dock facilities of Earth. At least he thought that until he saw the dry dock underneath Spath's Weyr. The lack of an ocean entrance puzzled him until he saw a sailing hull brought in for repair by a team of dragons.

"Sir, entering the squall line in 5 minutes," reported his XO, Commander Edward Graham.

"Very well, XO, proceed as planned," replied Captain Vincent. "Steady as she goes."

So far everything was working nominally. It had taken him a while to get used to the fact that most of the communications were handled by what appeared to be satellite cell phones! Everything was heavily shielded which he hadn't understood until they had shown him why. Magic! The world still had many wonders to reveal. It also explained many of the compartments below decks that seemed to be too big for the space they were in. In fact, his onboard suite was huge! Internally it was wider than the Island where it was housed.

Suddenly it got very dark as they crossed the terminator between clear sky and torrential rain. The emergency lighting came up automatically, and he glanced over at the RADAR repeater on the bridge. Nothing for miles. There was no difference in the ride, though. It was almost as if they were still ashore. The ship was so massive that the tropical storm didn't seem to make any difference at all, which Captain Vincent had expected. After all, they were only experiencing 30-foot waves. It was 100 feet from the flight deck to the waterline and they were a good fifty feet above that. The stability given by the extra ballast in the bottom of the ship definitely helped.

"Sir, RADAR, I show an intermittent contact bearing 290 degrees, 50 miles," announced their Radar Operator, ET1 Rose Sharp.

"XO, bring her about to close on the target, increase speed to 40 knots," ordered Captain Vincent. It was probably nothing, but being on a course not quite into the wind would help to stress test his new command. A slight increase in the vibration of the huge ship picked up as their speed increased. That was the only difference anyone noticed. The deck was still relatively rock-solid steady.

"Sir, RADAR, the target seems to be drifting east-south-east at slightly faster than wind speed," reported Petty Officer Sharp. "It would suggest a vessel under limited power, perhaps a sailing vessel trying to ride out the storm."

"XO, plot a best-guess intercept course," ordered Captain Vincent. If indeed, it was a sailing vessel in this weather, they might need help, sooner rather than later.

"Bosun," ordered Captain Vincent through internal ships communications to Master Chief Caleb Collins, one of his original crew he had brought with him. "Ready the starboard gantry for a possible rescue of an unknown vessel. We will make our approach upwind and use our ship as a windbreak to give you lower seas and wind but every man involved needs to be firmly attached to a lifeline."

"You telling me how to run my crew, Captain," came the reply. "Seems to me I taught a green Lieutenant how to handle himself way back when."

"That you did, Bosun," replied Captain Vincent, with a smile. "I'm just following protocol in case someone else answered."

"We'll be ready," replied the Chief. "I like the equipment we have available. We wouldn't have dreamed of lifting another ship out of the water during a storm like this back on Earth. Here, it's like they planned on doing it and made everything stronger to take the strain."

"I imagine they did, Chief," replied the Captain. "Someone had his head screwed on tight and designed a ship to be proud of."

Due to their rate of closure, they were alongside the bedraggled single-masted fishing schooner in a little less than an hour. With the high seas and winds from the tropical storm, it took them an additional fifteen minutes to get the padded metal hawsers around the smaller ship fore and aft. There was no response from the ship, though she appeared to be relatively intact.

Once inboard, they carefully placed the schooner on a cradle and tied it down to the deck tightly. Once everything was secure, a boarding party was sent aboard. They found three men tied into their bunks, ill, with some sort of fever. A fourth man, also ill, was injured and unconscious on the deck between the bunks.

"Corpsman Langerud to the Hangar Deck, Corpsman Langerud to the Hangar Deck," sounded over the 1MC, 1 Main Circuit, the ship's public address system. "Injured in the schooner in the middle of the Hangar Deck. Casualty Crew to assist."

Soon all four crew members of the schooner were in the Dronth's infirmary and a message had been sent back to Sakushima Hold asking for a medical doctor to meet them when they docked. They had to wait off-shore for an hour after they got back until the storm blew on to the east.

Sakushima Hold Hospital, Sept 20, 2024...
Yuko Isikara, Harry Potter, and Lord Holder Christopher Dalsgaard looked at the four heavily tanned men in the hospital room.

"Have you found out what happened yet, Doctor?" asked Harry.

"It appears they came ashore somewhere on the southern continent and came into contact with the fleas there," said Doctor Svendsen, the Resident at the Sakushima Hold Hospital. "The three who were tied into their bunks became ill first and were tied in by the fourth man. He managed to set a sea anchor and get below and close the hatch before a wave threw him off balance and he hit his head. Fortunately, he managed to batten down the hatch before he was incapacitated or their boat would have flooded and sunk before the Dronth got to them.

"The fourth man, Kurg, is the Master Fisher for Ista Hold. He says they would have made landfall back at Ista well before the squall hit if they hadn't become ill. He's the most severely injured, with a slight concussion and a fractured Ulna in his right forearm. He also had a slight infection which we've been able to clear up. He should be well enough to go home in a few days as long as he takes it easy for the six weeks it will take the arm to heal."

"I have sent a rider to Ista Hold to let Lord Holder Wirmon know what happened to his boat and crew," said Yuko Isikara. "How long until they can be released to make the trip back to their hold?"

"I would feel better if they could spend the next three days here, just to make sure the illness caused by the fleas and the infection in Kurg's arm are completely cleared up," said Doctor Svendsen. "I'm just glad the cold and the seawater combined to kill most of the fleas, and the fire lizards amongst the crew took care of the few remaining."

"Three days it will be, then," said Harry. "Then we will embark on the SPS Dronth to take them back home and introduce the Pernese to the newest vessel to sail their seas."

Sakushima Hold Pier, Sept 24, 2024...
Kurg was really happy to get out of that place they called a hospital. The beds were comfortable, the food was the best he had eaten, and the people were very friendly, but he wasn't used to lying around doing nothing. The only reason he hadn't cut the 'cast' off his arm was because the Healer had told him he would never be able to take a boat out again if he didn't leave it be for the next six weeks. Most galling was the requirement that he revisit the Healer for final clearance before he could go back to work. Ordinarily, he would just ignore any such requests, but his Lord Holder had sent him a note saying he had to do as he was told!

At least they were going home now. If he and his crew were to leave soon, they should be home in a few weeks of leisurely sailing. He scanned the pier they were walking down to try to see his schooner but all he could see was a massive building at the very end of the pier, on the left side. It really looked strange. There was no entry at dock level, there was a tall, odd-looking open metal tower on one side of the pier that had a ramp going out to the building at the top and entered the building through a huge opening in the side. Perhaps dragons lived there.

As they got closer, he could make out what looked like huge ropes running from the pier to the building. Why they would need that, he had no idea. As they got closer yet, he was amazed at the size of everything. The 'ropes' were as big around as his body and appeared to be finely and evenly woven of smaller ropes. Everything was covered in a blackish-green paste which must be grease, though why they would grease rope, again, he had no idea. These people didn't strike him as very good sailors.

Whatever the building was, it had a large flat roof that overhung the sides all around. In the middle of the side, he could see was an even higher portion of the building which must stand a couple of hundred feet into the air! Why did they need such high buildings? To make things even more puzzling, there were odd platforms and rotating plates, and all sorts of odd protuberances all over it. The oddest thing he had ever seen. He just wished he could see his boat.

They finally reached the metal tower and Kurg looked both ways. This building had to be hundreds of feet long! The tower was about a third of the way from the shoreward side of the building and he could see another massive opening further towards the other end of the building. It seemed like it was narrower there because the roof stuck further out from the sides. Where was his boat!?

Now, everyone was climbing the tower. Maybe his boat was on the other side of the building but why do that when there was a perfectly empty pier on the side away from the building where they could have docked his schooner.

As they finally came to the top of the tower and he made the final turn to face the building, he stopped, completely shocked. There was his boat, on a cradle, inside the building! Why would they put it up here!? As they walked inside, he could make out distant echoes coming from the wide-open spaces. He could even see some clouds over on one side of the huge area under the building's roof. What kind of building was so large it had weather inside it!?

As he got closer to his schooner, he could see that the ropes holding it in place were as thick as his wrist. There were thick pads between his boat and the ropes, which, again, didn't make sense to him. As he reached the first 'rope', he grabbed it so he could pull it off and stopped in shock. This wasn't like any rope he had ever felt. It was as hard as a rock and yet he could see the individual threads that made up the rope!

"I see you've noticed we use steel hawsers for our lines," said a grizzled old man with strange badges on his clothing. "I'm Master Chief Collins, and I'm the one who rescued your boat and made sure it was ready for you when you returned."

Kurg looked at the man as if he were daft. How do you rescue a boat?

"Why don't you have your crew check out your boat's condition while I take you on a quick tour," suggested Chief Collins. "You can call me Caleb if it helps."

"I'm Kurg," said Kurg, curtly. "Why did you hoist my boat out of the water and put it inside this building?"

"Well, firstly," said Caleb, with a kindly smile, "this isn't actually a building. Secondly, we found you during the middle of a tropical squall, and hoisting your boat aboard was the quickest way to get you to safety."

"Hoist … aboard … squall," stuttered Kurg, in shock as suddenly his whole world turned upside down.

"That's right," said Chief Collins. "We pulled upwind of your boat so ours would act as a breakwater. With the lower seas and winds, it was easier to attach hawsers to your boat and winch it up into our hangar bay."

Suddenly there was a piercing series of whistles that sounded all around them, "Set the Special Sea and Anchor detail and prepare to get underway." This was followed by dozens of young, fit people, men and women, running towards the dockside of the building or towards doors leading into the walls.

Kurg looked startled at the loud sound and the unfamiliar words. He turned to Chief Collins for an explanation.

"That just means we are getting ready to undock and start on our way to Ista Hold to return you and your crew home," explained Chief Collins. "Without any interruptions, we should be there in a couple of days."

"Days?" asked a thoroughly astonished Master Fisher. "It took us a couple of weeks to get here!"

"Well, we don't have to rely on the wind," explained Chief Collins. "We do have sailboats, but even those wouldn't take weeks to get to Ista from here."

Kurg just looked at Chief Collins aghast, with his mouth slightly open as if he were going to say something but had forgotten he was.

"Why don't we go up into the Island and I can show you some of what we have to help us operate in any weather," said Chief Collins, kindly to the thoroughly bemused sailor. "Then I can show you around the hangar deck, explain where our messing facilities are, and show you below decks where the cargo holds are. Then I'll show you to your quarters for the duration of our cruise."

Kurg just nodded dumbly and followed numbly in the Chief's wake. This wasn't a building, it was a ship! Already he could feel an unfamiliar rumble of vibration underfoot. He didn't know it but the mooring hawsers had been cast off and the engines were already taking them away from the pier. When he got up to the bridge, he would look back to find the pier he had just walked down, already disappearing in the distance. The worst part of the entire evolution was that at no time did he feel like he was out to sea. It was like he was on a small island in the middle of the ocean. Maybe these people from Earth knew something about sailing after all.

Off-shore from Ista Hold, Sept 28, 2024...
Kurg watched as his home slowly hove into view at the end of a remarkable 4 days. He had been given a tour of any space he expressed an interest in. The multiple holds on board were individually larger than some of the entire warehouses back home. They had explained how their ship was powered and even shown him the generator and turbines but it was all way over his head. He looked at the amazing boats in the back of the hangar bay, some of which were smaller than his schooner but could hold easily twice the cargo. The food was even better than at the Hospital, and his guest quarters had been for him alone and had been larger than his entire cottage back home … and this was all on board an ocean-going ship!

All the people had seemed friendly and happy to answer any questions but a small fear started to grow in the back of Kurg's mind. These people were so powerful, how could he ever hope to compete? He had been told that this mammoth ship was designed to explore and was capable of acting as a command center in case of an emergency. All he thought about, though, was watching a gun crew leap into action to destroy a gigantic grabber that had been chasing a pod of shipfish. They had aimed their device, there was a loud explosion, and the grabber had suddenly exploded as a 5-inch shell had almost cut it in two.

He watched as his schooner was hooked up to one of the huge cranes in the hangar bay and gently lifted over the side and placed in the water, in full view of Ista Hold. At the same time, one of their cargo boats, a landing craft they called it, loaded with the merchandise they hoped to trade with Ista had been launched out of the wet/dry dock at the back of the ship. It joined him as he and his crew began tacking towards the Ista dock which was lined with curious spectators. Lord Holder Wirmon and Lady Holder Shonassa were waiting on the pier for the strange boat to tie up but it bypassed the pier and appeared to beach itself ashore. Then, amazingly, the entire front of the boat dropped down to become an entry ramp into the cargo area!

"Relax, Kurg," said Chief Collins, as he saw the uneasy look on his new acquaintance's face. "That landing craft may be able to hold a lot of cargo, but will quickly swamp in the least sea. Each of the boats we carry is designed for a specific purpose. That one is for trading ashore when we must anchor out such as we are doing here. If the seas were rougher, we would have used a boat more along the lines of yours but without near as much cargo space.

"We have specific things we can offer, and you and your people have things we need that we can trade for. We are here to make friends, not to conquer. Your Lord and Lady Holder have already met with our leader many times since we've arrived, yet they are still in charge of your Hold. Would that be true if we wanted to take over?"

"I suppose you are right," said a slightly mollified MasterFisher. "It is still troubling seeing the difference between our two cultures."

"One of these days we will learn why that difference exists. For now, I say let's take advantage of it!" exclaimed Chief Collins, good-naturedly. "As you can see, your Holders are even now bringing cargo down to the beach in exchange for what we've brought."

Kurg looked back towards the beach and saw it was true, lines of people had formed carrying boxes and bales of varying sizes while the crew on the landing craft were quickly offloading their cargo. It even appeared that there was more cargo arriving than was being received. Perhaps he was wrong to worry. He would talk with Lord Holder Wirmon and try to find his place in the new order.

Spath's Weyr, The Weyrleader's Outer Office, Oct 1, 2024...
"Harry, do you have time to talk to a rider?" asked Jeofrey, Harry's Admin Assistant on Pern. "He says he wants to explore in a new direction."

Harry looked up from the report he was reading and glanced at the clock. "Sure, send him in," replied Harry. "I have a few minutes."

In walked Nutan, rider of Crioyerth, one of the relatively new Dragonriders from the November 2021 hatching.

"Thank you for seeing me, Sir," began Nutan, politely.

"No need to call me 'Sir'," interrupted Harry with a smile. "We're both Dragonriders, that's all that's important. Just call me Harry."

OK, … Harry," continued Nutan. Now a little more nervous. "We have an area about 200 miles to our north-east that I would like to explore closer. You can even see it from your window here," said Nutan, pointing at a distant cone-shaped mountain with smoke lazily curling up from its peak.

"Why do you want to explore there?" asked Harry, curiously. "The Goblins are eventually going to survey the volcanic activity underneath to ensure it's no danger to us here, but there must be another reason you want to go there."

"There is," said Nutan, now a little more sure of himself. "That," he said pointing at Lee Jordan's picture of the dragons' memory of Pern. "I think that mountain in the picture is the one we can see outside your window. If it is, there may be something there that is the reason our dragons remember it to this day."

"Sounds like an interesting idea," said Harry. "Who would be going with you?"

"I've been newly assigned as a Flight Leader. I thought I would take my Flight with me to help explore and keep watch," said Nutan, hopefully.

"Sounds like a good idea to me. Take it up through your chain-of-command. If they have no problems due to operational requirements, then I think it's an excellent idea!" said Harry, enthusiastically. "Just make sure you take everything you need. It's only 200 miles, but it may not be convenient to come home every night."

"Will do, Sir!" exclaimed Nutan, as he left Harry's office. "Thank you, Sir!"

Harry just sighed, shook his head, and returned to his report.

Pern, NE of Spath's Weyr, Oct 10, 2024...
It had taken longer than Nutan expected to get permission to go and then to gather everything they might need. Neither he nor his wife were magical but there were two wizards and a witch on their Flight, so they would have magical backup if they needed it. The biggest obstacle they had to overcome was that they had been scheduled to fly against thread three days ago. In the end, his entire Flight agreed it would be simpler to just stick to the schedule, and leave soon after.

Their next problem had been that none of the magical people going with them knew how to shrink or restore objects, so they had to learn those spells, as well as a weight reduction spell, so they could get all their gear down to a manageable size and weight. Nutan still thought it amazing that one of the wizards carried their entire tent and all their equipment and provisions in his belt pouch!

They had taken off a short time before and were now making a steady 150 miles per hour towards their goal. The speed wasn't the fastest their dragons could go, but it was a comfortable speed the slowest of their dragons could keep up with indefinitely. That meant they should arrive at their destination in about an hour and twenty minutes. They were all keeping watch along the way in case they saw something interesting. Initially, they flew over rocky, moss, and scrub-covered hills and oddly shaped canyons. If they had been forced to travel on the ground, it would have taken months and runnerbeasts would have just slowed them down.

Eventually, they came to a more familiar grass-covered plain that stretched away to the left of their course as far as they could see. They were flying at only 1,000 ft., so couldn't see to the ocean, but they had a much better chance of seeing anything interesting underneath them as they flew.

Just before they reached the huge cone-shaped mountain, Nutan saw a deep and wide inlet to the ocean. The mountain rose from a plateau that itself rose over 3,400 ft. above sea level. When he saw the inlet, he had his Flight adjust course to the north to parallel the inlet until they came to the sea. There they finally landed on a small, isolated beach on the opposite side of the inlet from the mountain and a little over 1,000 ft. from its lower slopes. Hopefully, they would be far enough away to escape if it decided to misbehave.

Nutan set a watch schedule so there was always a bonded unit flying with an unbonded dragon as wingman at all times. He set them to try to discover anything new in their surrounding area and on the distant slopes of the mountain so they would have something to do to help relieve the boredom of flying watch circuits. The rider who usually partnered with the airborne watch stood ground watch until they switched places. Nutan left the timing to the Unit (two bonded dragon/rider pairs, consisting of a Lead rider and his/her wingman), as long as they stood a combined watch of 6 hours. When the six hours were up, another unit would take their place.

After the tent had been set up and the night watch bedded down, Nutan, his wife/wingman, Scarlett Morgan, and three other Units left to investigate the grassy slopes of the mountain which rose ahead of them. As they got closer, deep, sharp-sided fissures could be seen running up the sides of the mountain. Places where the rock had split as if it had cooled too quickly. With the depth of the inlet below, that may have been what happened.

Nutan set the three following units to explore at various levels as he and his wife headed for the peak. Well before they arrived, they had to close up their flight suits and turn on their compressed air supply. His Flight had been briefed on what Harry termed altitude sickness. Above about 8,000 ft., they wouldn't be able to get enough air to breathe. As long as they were simply riding and not exerting themselves, they should be fine up to about 5,000 ft. but were warned to seal their flight suits and breathe the pressurized air which also pressurized their suits.

As they approached the top, Nutan asked his dragon, Crioyerth," Are you feeling alright?"

"There is very little air to breathe, but I can hold my breath for a long time," he said.

"If safe, land on the ledge there," said Nutan, indicating a ledge that appeared to be at the very top of the caldera. "How high is it here?"

"Approximately 17,142 ft.," said Crioyerth. "I can't tell more exactly because the sea is moving below."

"I think that will be close enough," said Nutan, in wonder. "This is higher than Spath's Mountain!"

As they landed, the other side of the mountain was exposed to their view. Not near as pretty a sight as the side they'd first seen. Apparently, at some time in the distant past, the entire side of the mountain had blown out, leaving a huge, open scar down the southeastern slope that stretched over 7,400 ft. down the side until it was interrupted by three smaller volcanic vents, like pimples, one after the other on the lower slope. The middle one still seemed to be venting steam and smoke, but not heavily.

What was more amazing to Nutan, was what appeared to be regular shapes that stretched far to the east starting at the base of the mountain. It almost looked like a vast city!

"Crioyerth, would you please relay what we are looking at to all our Flight and to The Weyrleader?" asked Nutan.

"Of course, Nutan," replied Crioyerth. "It looks most forbidding. I wonder if there's anything tasty down there?"

"Always thinking of your stomach, aren't you? I think you are just a flying appetite!" said Nutan, lovingly.

"Well, I must eat to grow big enough to be a proper dragon for my rider," responded Crioyerth. "When I'm a lot bigger, we should be able to get another consort."

"I think the one I have is more than enough," said Nutan, hastily, sure that his wife had heard everything. "I know you can handle more, but I have enough trouble keeping one happy all the time. If I don't keep her happy, she won't keep me happy."

"Nutan, please gather your Flight and return to Spath's Weyr," said a concerned Harry. "I don't like the looks of the south-eastern slope of that mountain and want to get the Goblins to start their survey right away. Don't worry, when they are finished, I will send your Flight back to be in charge of further exploration."

"We will be there as soon as we can get packed up," responded Nutan. He sent out the recall order to his Flight and, by the time he and Crioyerth had flown back to their base camp, it was almost fully packed again.

Two-Faced Mountain, Oct 20, 2024...
The Weyrleader had offered to take Master Tunneler Brusk and his team to the mountain by dragon egg, but Brusk preferred to make his own way. They had driven a tunnel 200 miles in the last ten days and were close enough to Two-Faced Mountain to be able to perform their survey. The Weyrleader had been quite clear, they were to do their best to make sure it never erupted again.

Spath's Weyr, Gringotts Pern, Oct 23, 2024...
"The Weyrleader to see Master Tunneler Brusk," announced Harry as he walked up to the main counter at the Gringotts Admin entrance on Level 11.

"Third door on the left, Weyrleader," said the Goblin, relatively politely.

"May you and yours always find more than sufficient trade," responded Harry.

The Goblin's eyes widened slightly at the extremely polite response for a wizard. That this being was a mage and the leader of his nation made it even more notable. Finally something worth the bother of being stuck at the front desk!

Harry walked through the door into a narrow, for dragons, corridor and counted doors on the left until he reached the third one. He opened the door and entered to find Brusk at his drafting table energetically working on his plans for Two-Faced Mountain. Harry waited quietly until Brusk finished his current addition and turned to face Harry.

"It doesn't look too bad," said Brusk. "The main chamber is well beyond our ability to detect its closest approach to the surface. The main magma conduit, however, has several places we could place bypass spells. The best appears to be towards several offshore volcanoes that are already active. An increase in the rate of magma flow would allow them to grow faster but wouldn't offer any danger to a shore community, especially with that huge mountain between."

"If we were on Earth, talking to just another wizard, the 'estimate' would start at 350 million galleons and probably come in at over 500 million galleons."

"And since we are on Pern?" asked Harry, calmly.

"Since we are on Pern and you are an honorary Goblin, and the mage who made all this happen, our quote will be 100 million galleons, if ..."

"If what," queried Harry.

"If we are allowed to create our own workspace inside the lower levels of the mountain," responded Brusk. "It is not often that such copious quantities of prime magma are available so close to an area where we can set up shop.

"And this would allow you to create many millions worth of Goblin artifacts," said Harry, pragmatically.

"Of course," responded Brusk, impassively. "Why else bother?"

Harry paused as if pondering the relative merits of the offer. "Agreed," said Harry, finally. "If you need any magical help, let me know."

"Of course," agreed Brusk, stoically. "At the standard rates?"

"Yes," said Harry, with a slight smile. This give and take between him and the Goblins had finally started to amuse him when he realized what was going on. They absolutely refused to take a gift, but if he couched it in terms of a business arrangement, they bent over backward to make it happen. He didn't care what they did below the surface but they considered the entire planet his. If they insisted on helping with Weyr construction and update in exchange for driving their tunnels, who was he to object … too strenuously.

"You should be able to start work on the surface within a month," said Brusk. "We can have a Weyr, suitable for 3,000 dragons, riders, and support personnel ready within an additional three months if it takes the standard Pern Weyr format."

"Given the large chunk taken out of the side of the mountain," began Harry, thoughtfully. "Why don't we try to plan something special? I would like to see plans for all dragon apartments to open not only into the blasted out mountain-side but into a smaller, central cavern to allow them all to gather inside if they want. I think we would only need room for 2,000 dragon apartments, though. There would still need to be the standard Turbolift rooms and stairways for non-riders."

"Hmm," said Brusk, thoughtfully. "That means all the dragon apartments would be along the concave surface of the blown-out caldera with a possible maximum of two truncated ring corridors and as many spoke corridors as are needed. Since the 'spokes' would center in the open air of the caldera, the inner cavern would be more of a crescent shape that followed the innermost ring corridor. Non-riders would need some kind of access tunnel leading down to the old city below. A series of switchback ramps would probably be best so the slope didn't get too great."

"That sounds perfect," agreed Harry. "What would this non-standard Weyr cost?"

"I can work up the drawings and the cost analysis for you within three days," said Brusk. "I have a feeling it will be less expensive than a full Weyr, especially given the small number of dragon apartments. Given your preference for a mix of species, we could probably make do with 5 levels of 2 Ring corridors between the inner and outer areas."

"Let me know when you are ready," said Harry, "and I will come here to see them."

"It is an honor, Weyrleader," said Brusk, formally. Here was a mage who understood how to honor Goblins!

Nutan's Weyr, Nov 25, 2024...
Nutan was slightly dazed. He could not believe his great fortune! Because he was the one who had pushed to explore the mountain, he was to become the Weyrleader of the new Weyr and be responsible for uncovering the buried city and learning all they could about it.

His Weyr was most unusual. It would only house 600 bonded and 600 unbonded dragons but would house many thousands of non-riders who would be doing most of the work to uncover, catalog, clean, and analyze whatever they could find in the largest city anyone had ever seen on Pern. Most of the outer area was covered in a thick layer of volcanic ash, but it wouldn't take much to uncover the buildings and start work on their content.

Some buildings closer to the mountain were completely covered over, and their outlines couldn't even be seen! They would have to excavate more carefully on the near mountain area so they didn't lose anything. He had a feeling that anything under the actual lava flow would be lost.

His initial idea was to split the diggers into two teams. The outer team would have the easiest job, as they could actually see where the buildings were. They would dig up a representative number, open select buildings, and start work on cataloging any contents they found.

The inner team would have a harder job because they had no idea where any buildings might be, or if there were any there at all. Both groups would be augmented with dragons, bonded and unbonded to act as living excavators. Crioyerth had assured him that dragons were very good at digging without damaging anything underneath. He said they could sense the open spaces underneath and would slow down as they drew near.

Their first task, however, was to make the newly excavated Nutan's Weyr habitable. The dragon apartments had all been dug out, but his dragons would have to transport and spread gravel, heat it to the correct temperature, add sand on top, and bring in any necessary furniture. His magical riders would also have to space enhance many of the lower level rooms for use as barracks and research and recovery rooms for those who would be doing the work on the old city.

His first official act had been to request a straight run tunnel from the central cavern to the lowest level they knew was free of any part of the town. Two Goblin carts were installed to quickly and safely move any unearthed artifacts from the city to where they would work on it.

While they were making the Weyr habitable, many of them were staying on the SPS Dronth, which had tied up in the inlet, at the closest approach to the Weyr. Eventually, they would add a huge floating dock with its own cranes and a warehouse embedded into the side of the plateau below the city. The goblins would install huge elevators with goblin carts at the top to allow cargo to be moved easily between the Weyr and the dock.

Having the SPS Dronth so close came in really handy, as they still didn't have their own Hot Rock Generator. One was on order but, right now, they were relying on Lumos Maxima spells to illuminate the interior while they worked.

Nutan looked out of his office window at the inner wall of the blown-out caldera. The surface had been smoothed with dragon fire so there were few irregularities and no loose rocks. Then each dragon apartment entrance had been carefully marked before the rock was vaporized leading into the interior of the Weyr. They all had overhanging ledges to protect the openings from anything falling from above, like water or thread, and the openings had what The Weyrleader called 'garage doors' that the dragon or the rider could open. The dragons used a pressure switch and the rider used a key. His office was the only one to have a window.

Behind the window was a Conference Room large enough for all of his Wing Leaders, their Wingmen, and quite a few of their dragons. If they ever needed more room, they would have to schedule the Conference Room at Spath's Weyr. His Conference Room had many of the same facilities as the bigger one at Spath's had, just not as much.

The Weyrleader had actually suggested that he get an Admin Assistant since he would be generating quite a few reports about their findings. Right now, his wife was filling that role.

A large floating dock was installed, at the base of the plateau where the old volcano sat, with huge cargo elevators installed to move cargo and passengers from the docks to the top of the plateau. From there Goblin carts were used to quickly transfer cargo or people between the top of the plateau to the interior ground level of Nutan's Weyr, where most of the research into the ancient city took place.

Over the years thousands of native Pernese have visited the home of their ancestors, a place called simply 'Landing'. As of the publication of this book, Nutan's Weyr was the last Weyr The Weyrleader had created on Pern, though he continued to help 'modernize' the existing Pern Weyrs so they were not only much more habitable and comfortable but also contained more up-to-date medical facilities.

The SPS (Southern Pern Ship) Dronth played an integral part in helping Nutan's Weyr become operational, using its overpowered Hot Rock Generator to provide interim power to the nascent Weyr until their own was finally delivered from earth.

Excerpt from The Weyrs of Pern by Remus John Lupin, published 2050.

Spath's Weyr, The Weyrleader's Outer Office, Nov 28, 2024...
"Harry, we have a problem with the fire lizards that went to Earth," said May, frantically, as she walked into his office.

"What's that?" asked Harry.

"They have become listless and weak," responded May. "I think it's the lack of Pern food."

"What makes you think that?" asked Harry, reasonably.

"I took some scraps of meat from one of our kitchens to Earth and fed them to Mary's fire lizards and they perked up right away."

"Hmm, fire lizards go Between just like dragons do. Can they make the trip between here and Earth on their own?"

"I don't know, but I can see where you are going with this and I will find out," said May, ardently.

"Please let me know what you come up with," said Harry.

"Will do," replied May, as she hurried out of his office to find Trath.

Spath's Weyr, Harry's Quarters, Nov 30, 2024...
Harry looked up as a tired but jubilant May walked into their quarters two nights later.

"It must have gone well, or you wouldn't look so happy," said Harry, with a smile.

"It did," replied May exuberantly. "Trath and I located an area almost always over-run with treehoppers. Then, I grabbed two large buckets of meat scraps from the kitchen and went directly to Hogwarts. It took a while but I finally got all of the fire lizards and their owners together in one of the larger classrooms. When I told them why their fire lizards were sick, they were worried, but then I told them I thought I had a cure.

"I passed out the meat scraps for them to feed their friends and every one of the fire lizards perked right up. I then said their fire lizards would have to go to Pern periodically to feed. The humans understood, but it took Trath almost three hours to finally get the idea across to the fire lizards. They may be fun to be around, but they don't have much mental power.

"Once we got the fire lizards to understand what was going on and what to expect, I took them outside, mounted Trath, and had all the fire lizards take their jump image from Trath. We jumped to the forest where the treehoppers were and the fire lizards were initially concerned because they couldn't sense their owners. I just explained that they were very far away but they would get back to them soon.

"Then, Trath pointed out all the treehoppers and the fire lizards went wild. There were only 39 fire lizards, but I'd be willing to bet that there are now hundreds fewer treehoppers in that forest! Once they had eaten their fill, I climbed onto Trath and had her give the jump image for the return to Hogwarts. They rejoined their owners and everyone seemed happy with the way things had gone."

"Sounds good," said Harry, happily. "I guess all's well that ends well. I have a feeling they would eventually adapt to Earth food, after all, our dragons did. I'd rather not cause them any unnecessary discomfort. I think we should seriously consider never sending any additional Pern life-forms to live on Earth."

"Agreed," said May. "Anything else may not be able to make the trip and would eventually die. They wouldn't get the proper nutrients from Earth food. There aren't enough heavy metals in Earth food."

The Southern Sea, Pern, Dec 10, 2024...
"SONAR contact, bearing 010 degrees and closing rapidly," announced the SONAR operator.

Captain Vincent was startled at this, because SONAR was currently in passive mode, listening only.

"All stop," said the Captain.

"All stop," repeated the Helmsman, as he reduced the remote throttle to zero. "Things are so much easier on this ship," he thought. "No more delay between the order and the execution because I have to enter the command into the engine room telegraph. I can just set the throttle up here, directly."

"Sounds like a Dolphin with an emergency," said the SONAR operator.

"Open the Dolphin door into the docking bay and send someone down to find out what it needs," ordered the Captain.

Moments later an uncertain BM3 Lydia Scott was climbing down to the small ledge above the water where an agitated Dolphin waited. She had no idea what was going on and had never had contact with Pern Dolphins before. How was she supposed to find out what a fish wanted!

"Hello," said a hesitant Lydia.

"Hello," squeaked the excited Dolphin. "Humans on boat, no wind!"

Lydia looked at the sleek grey shape in the water below her with shock. She had actually understood what it said!

"Of course you can understand what I say," Lydia heard in her mind. "Pern Dolphins can speak as well as talk telepathically. Speaking is hard though. Please tell your Captain to follow me. The humans are about two hours away."

Lydia was again shocked but still able to counter with a better plan. "We can go faster than you can," she said back to the Dolphin. "Are the humans on a reciprocal course to the one you approached us on?"

"Yes," said the Dolphin.

"Then why not stay here and we will get there in much less than two hours," she responded. "I will tell the Captain now."

She turned to the ship's 1MC on the bulkhead and called the bridge with the Dolphin's message. The reply was to tell the Dolphin they would go immediately and get there as fast as possible.

The Dolphins squee'd in pleasure and immediately swam out of the Dolphin port. It wanted to ride the ship's bow wave as they made their way to the becalmed boat.

BM3 Scott made her bemused way back up to her duty station.

They had almost lost their Dolphin because they were gaining speed rapidly even before the Dolphin managed to get to the bow. Once there, it had the ride of its life riding on the 60-knot bow wave. Less than 40 minutes later they spotted the becalmed boat and slowed to pull near.

The frustrated, becalmed sailors watched in awe as a tiny speck on the horizon rapidly grew in size to become a small mountain that towered over their boat. They watched as a young man was lowered on a platform hung from a gigantic crane. When he reached their level, he threw them a rope so they could pull themselves closer.

"Are you in any distress? Is there anything we can do to help you?" asked BM3 Bowen Puckett. "The sea is calm for miles around, no wind at all."

"We were returning to Ista Hold with our catch," said fisherman Rekat, uncertainly. "Can you give us a tow?"

"We can do better than that," said BM3 Puckett. "We can give you a ride. Wait and I will have some hawsers lowered to bring your boat aboard."

He spoke into a small device attached to his head and another crane appeared that lowered two ropes down to the small boat. He passed the two ropes with huge loops on their ends over to the confused fishermen.

"Just slip those loops over the bow and stern of your boat," explained Puckett. "Ordinarily we would have a diver hook the two together under your boat but today we have a very helpful Dolphin to perform that job. He's the one who let us know you were in trouble."

The awed fishermen looked as a sleek shipfish jumped out of the water, did a somersault, and slid down under their boat to grab and connect the linking cable.

The shipfish came up again and the startled fishermen plainly heard, "Men safe, I get supper." before the shipfish went swimming off.

"Enjoy the ride!" called Puckett, as he was hauled back up to the hangar bay. Suddenly they were airborne! They all sat down rather quickly and looked fearfully over the freeboard as they rose steadily up the side of the mountainous ship and were drawn into its hangar bay. Never had they been inside such a monstrous boat! Even when they went to a Weyr for gather it hadn't been this big!

Their boat was settled into a cradle but the hawsers were left in place because less than 30 minutes later they were being lowered back into the water and a small powered boat of some kind towed them over to their dock. Once they had positive control between the dock and their boat, the crewman on the small boat waved at them and returned to the floating mountain. Within a few minutes, it was on its way again and the three fishermen had a tale to tell their grandchildren.

Southern Sea, 20 miles north of Sakushima Hold, March 22, 2025...
The SPS Dronth was sailing at a steady 10 knots due west, into the prevailing wind and the latest graduating Weyrling class would be appearing overhead any minute for their visit to Sakushima Weyr. Harry had decided that they should include a long visit to the SPS Dronth as well, so the class, while showing up to visit Sakushima, would actually be visiting the Dronth first. After a week on the Dronth, Harry hoped that it would get the dragons used to having the "ground" underfoot move enough that they would get used to it.

If they got used to it, then Harry was going to require every dragon, bonded and unbonded, to spend a week aboard. He didn't want any more problems like they had when the volcano at Nevado del Huila Weyr erupted and all the dragons panicked. The dragons might hate him for it but, if they said he was their leader, then let them prove it. He would be out there with Chekiath on the next group.

Captain Vincent looked out the bridge window and saw 160 dragons flying towards his ship. They were about to cure their first set of dragons. He had a doctor standing by with motion sickness pills for the riders. They would have to gain their "sea legs" as well but, at least for them, they would have some medication that would take the initial edge off their motion sickness. He just hoped the dragons were sturdy enough to survive what they had in store for them. The deck was relatively steady right now but they were scheduled to go into some rough weather later in the week.

Captain Vincent also knew that when they took off and finally landed at Sakushima Weyr, they would go through it all over again. Part of gaining your "sea legs" entailed losing your "land legs". They would have to get used to walking on unmoving land all over again. For sailors, particularly those who spent a lot of time going back and forth between sea and shore, the transition didn't take long. For someone new to the sensation, though, it usually took a little longer.

The first piece of advice he had for dragon and rider alike was to sleep fore and aft, i.e., with the long part of their body alighted with the long axis of the ship. Once they got over their initial motion sickness, sleeping in such a position would tend to rock them to sleep. It was going to be an interesting week.

Southern Sea, 20 miles north of Sakushima Hold, April 7, 2025...
Harry stood on the deck of the SPS Dronth and looked at the arrayed Dragon Wings. They all needed to leave soon, but he wanted to thank Captain Vincent personally before they left. The man had done a wonderful job of helping the dragons overcome their fear of being on a ship, and therefore their fear of moving ground.

Not only that, he had come up with a way to reward the participants for going through what amounted to a week-long initiation. Harry looked at the colorful Shellback card and Certificate he had received that morning. It was certainly striking and the dragons loved them. He had actually seen one of the first 'initiates' swagger in front of a group of dragons who had not been through the 'initiation' yet. "You haven't seen anything until you've seen a dragon swagger!" thought Harry.

Captain Vincent finished presenting the last Shellback card and Certificate and was preparing to wrap up the ceremony. Harry moved up to the temporary platform, and Captain Vincent looked at him questioningly.

"Captain, I would like to personally thank you for all you have done for our dragons," began Harry, sincerely. "We almost lost an entire Weyr because the volcano they were living on decided to erupt. They were on the ground and became terrified because the ground was moving. I'm hoping that your training will help overcome any such problems if something similar occurs again. It could literally mean the difference between life and death for our dragons and possibly the riders as well."

"It was my pleasure, Weyrleader," said Vincent, with feeling. "Your posting here to Pern has given me a reason to live. After my wife died, I was just drifting, waiting for the end. Now I have purpose again and relish each and every day.

"I must confess, I had no idea how we were going to accomplish the desired training other than by just forcing the dragons to get used to the motion. I finally hit on the idea of a modified ceremony taken from seafaring nations all over Earth. We have a special ceremony to 'initiate' those who have sailed on surface vessels across the equator. In the days of sailing ships, this was quite a feat, as it meant months of hard work and short rations. Now, it's almost like a pleasure cruise, but it provided the basis I needed. It allowed me to generate a distraction to help keep the minds of those trying to adapt to walking a pitching deck.

"We had to sail into various weather conditions anyway, it was a small matter to ensure that one or more required us to cross the equator. That gave me what I needed to start your dragons, and not a few riders, on the road to recovery."

"However you came up with the idea, Captain," said Harry. "I appreciate it. I have actually seen dragons who have gone through your initiation swagger in front of non-initiates! They are now bragging to each other about 'surviving' and they insist on having their certificates mounted on their apartment walls for all to see.

"Because of your efforts, the lives of our dragons have been enriched. I would like to present you, in front of your recent initiates, with a special Dragon-in-Flight pendant. All Dragonriders and quite a few of Pern's leaders wear one just like it. It not only identifies each wearer as a member of the Dragon Nation, but it also protects them magically from injury, both accidental and purposeful. With this pendant, I declare you to be an Honorary Dragonrider."

Harry stepped up to the amazed Captain and, placing the pendant around his neck, he closed the clasp, sealing it to the Captain personally. There was a faint, barely noticeable glow that sprang up around the Captain and then faded away. The assembled riders cheered jubilantly as the dragons thrummed in approval.

"Thank you very much, Weyrleader," began a pleased Captain Vincent once the cheering waned enough so he could be heard. "I don't know what to say, it's quite a surprise. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time so far here on Pern and find the dragons delightful. I appreciate this honor and will continue to do everything I can to make your decision to hire me one you will never regret."

"Believe me, Captain," said Harry, cheerfully. "The pleasure is all mine. We are still learning our way and finding someone like you has been a real treasure for us. You have been around two worlds now and still have much to teach anyone you come into contact with. Thank you again, Captain."

With that, Harry returned to Cheki, mounted, and gave the signal to launch. As the mass of dragons rose from his decks in waves, the Captain looked at them all fondly, satisfied he had made a useful contribution.

River flowing into the sea, ESE of Nabol, April 10, 2025...
There was no telling how long the boat had been there. It was tied up near the shore and vines had already found their way aboard and covered much of the roof of the small cabin. If anyone were to investigate, they would find that it had been abandoned when the Pern dragons left Ista Weyr almost two years back, never to fight thread again. The original owners felt it safer to abandon the boat with its volatile cargo of firestone than do anything else. They could no longer interest Ista Weyr in their cargo and no one but Pern dragons could use it.

Even though their cargo was securely wrapped against moisture, they were too afraid of it to try to do anything at all with it. If the wrapping got torn, or some other way that water got into the firestone there would be a violent explosion. They quietly tied their boat up to a tree in a tiny indentation of the shore, away from any civilization. They just hoped that, if it ever did get wet, they were far away when it happened.

"Hey, Vaun!" called Grust, softly. "There's a boat tied up here!"

"Looks like it's been here a while, too," replied Vaun, thoughtfully. "Nice of the original owners to give it to us. Maybe they left something we can use. If nothing else, we can load up our families and find a better place to live. This area is too crowded with not enough safe places to hide."

"Why don't we sail it back up the river?" asked Grust.

"Do you know anything about how to sail a boat?" asked Vaun, reasonably. "I sure don't, but it would save everyone else risking exposure by walking all the way down here."

"I went sailing with my Da once," said Grust. "He made it seem easy. How hard can it be?"

"OK, we'll try it," agreed Vaun.

Unfortunately, not only was the tiny river they wanted to go up too narrow and shallow for the boat but the current coming out would have required more skill than they possessed. All they succeeded in doing was casting off from shore and immediately going adrift towards the Big Bay north of the island that held Ista Weyr and Ista Hold. Since neither of them knew how to swim, they were well and truly doomed.

Big Bay, North of Ista Island, April 12, 2025...
The SPS Dronth was barely making headway as the Captain allowed the exhausted dragons and riders a respite from the rough seas they had encountered just yesterday. Ronan and Garanoth were stretched out on the flight deck at the bow, looking out over the water.

"What's that?" asked Garanoth.

"I don't see anything," said Ronan. "Let me look through your eyes."

As soon as he saw what was floating in the water, he called Captain Vincent using his integrated cell phone.

"Captain, there is a small wooden structure of some sort, now about 500 ft. off your starboard bow. It doesn't look very seaworthy and there are vines covering most of the cabin and what mast there is left."

"Can you see any people?" asked the Captain.

"I think there are at least two. They have finally seen us and look like they are trying to get our attention. Why not let me and my dragons have a little fun with this?" suggested Ronan. "If you would drop a ladder down from the forward hangar deck doors on the starboard side."

"Why not, it will be interesting to see how you handle this," replied the Captain. It had gotten a bit boring lately. Little did he know, boring was preferable to what was about to happen.

Onboard the drifting boat...
"Look, Vaun, an island!" whispered Grust hoarsely. "Maybe there are people living there who can help us!"

"I sure hope so," said Vaun, hopefully. "We haven't had anything to eat or drink since that treehopper we found on top of the cabin."

They both started waving but didn't see any of the invisible dragons and all the riders were now in full stealth mode. No one else was above decks and the Captain had passed the word, quietly for everyone to stay out of sight and let the Dragonriders handle the newcomers.

Onboard the SPS Dronth...
"OK, Garanoth, use your telekinesis to gently draw the boat over to where the ladder is hanging," coached Ronan.

They watched as the two men in the boat finally discovered the ladder. They used some rope that was tied to the bottom of the ladder to tie their boat in place and slowly, carefully, hesitantly, they started moving up the ladder, holding on for dear life.

Onboard the drifting boat...
"Grab it, quick, Grust!" called Vaun. "This may be our last hope!"

Grust finally managed to grab the ladder hanging from the nearly vertical side of the 'island'. Fortunately, there was some rope on the end, so they tied it to one of the thicker vines on the side of the boat.

"What is this made of," wondered Vaun, out loud. "I have never seen stone that looked so smooth. Maybe we can take some with us and trade it for food."

"That's an awfully long way up," complained Grust, fearfully.

"Just hold on tight, and don't look down," said Vaun, reassuringly. "We have to climb, there is nothing to eat or drink down here."

Vaun and Grust slowly and laboriously climbed the stiff steel hawser and slat ladder. They never would have been able to climb if it had been made from rope, they just didn't have enough strength left to manage keeping their balance as well as climb.

Finally, Vaun reached the top and turned to help his friend over the side. After lying quietly for a few moments, they sat up and looked around. They were in a huge, oddly-shaped cave, lit by light from the outside but dark in the distance to their sun-dazzled eyes.

"What kind of place is this?" said Grust, plaintively. "This is just a cave, we won't find any food in here!"

"Probably not," replied Vaun, tiredly. "We need to try to climb up to the top of the island and see if we can find some fruit trees. At least there isn't anyone here to fight us for whatever we can find."

About that time, BM3 Scott walked past. She was totally concentrating on the preventative maintenance she was supposed to perform on the landing craft that she didn't even notice the strangers she had just passed.

Vaun jumped up, drew his belt knife, and grabbed Scott from behind. He was going to demand some food and water but all of a sudden Shadows appeared all around him, shadows that moved like people! As he gaped at the unexpected figures, one raised a stick at him and everything suddenly went black as he was stunned. Grust was stunned when he ran forward to help his friend.

Just then, a rogue wave banged the small decrepit boat against the immovable side of the carrier and the boat started to disintegrate.

Ronan helped Rose to her feet from where she had fallen when the idiot who attacked her had been stunned. Just as she gained her feet there was a deafeningly loud explosion from the side of the ship and they were all knocked off their feet as the carrier was momentarily jolted sideways by an impressive explosion. They looked out the hangar bay doors to see a huge mushroom-like cloud rising from the waterline where the small boat had been. Now there was a jagged hole with water rushing in to fill the small compartment behind.

Immediately, the Captain called everyone to General Quarters over the 1MC. The emergency response team rushed down to the area opposite where the explosion had occurred and found no sign of leakage. The double hull design of the refit had saved them from a crippling blow.

Meanwhile, Ronan had a group of his riders carry the two intruders to a small holding cell where a doctor looked them over and pronounced them extremely anemic and dehydrated. They were moved to the infirmary and strapped to beds. Once they were immobilized, the doctor started them on IV's to replace their electrolytes and re-hydrate them.

SPS Dronth, Infirmary, April 13, 2025...
Captain Vincent looked down grimly at his prisoners as they were brought out of the deep sleep from the sleeping potions they had been administered. The IV's they currently had in their veins had just been used to administer a small dose of veritaserum at Ronan's command. As the Senior Dragonrider aboard, it was up to him to find out what had happened. The Captain, select crew, and several riders were also present as witnesses.

Vaun came to consciousness first followed shortly after by a very groggy Grust. Vaun was confused, he couldn't move and appeared to be strapped to a flat surface of some kind. There was a needlethorn stuck in his arm, but he had no idea why. He looked up and suddenly felt really ill. There was an ancient, white-haired man glaring down at him as well as several very strong-looking children, some of whom seemed to be drifting in and out of shadows!

"Crank the beds up so they are in a sitting position," ordered Ronan. "Garanoth, what do you sense?"

"Confusion, hunger, thirst, and fear," replied Garanoth.

"Not anger?" asked Ronan. "They didn't attack us on purpose?"

"I sense no such feelings," responded Garanoth. "Perhaps something will surface once you start questioning them."

"Doctor Langerud," asked Ronan. "would you and your nurse please offer them some of the broth. They should be able to sip it well enough through straws without having to be released."

Once the hungry prisoners had drunk as much as they could hold with their shrunken stomachs, Ronan continued.

"What is your name and the name of your companion?" asked Ronan, commandingly.

"I am called Vaun and this is my friend Grust," replied Vaun to one of the more visually stable children. "Why are some of you not all there? Are you ghosts?"

Ronan looked around and found some of his riders were still partially dressed for Stealth Mode. He asked them to put their outer flight suit covers on and continued.

"No, we aren't ghosts, we just know how to hide very well in shadows. Why did you attack our ship?" Ronan asked, angrily.

"Attack?" asked Vaun, baffled. "We were drifting, unable to get back ashore. We have been on the water for two days and thought we would die when we saw an island … your island?"

"Garanoth?" asked Ronan.

"He speaks truth so far," replied Ronan's dragon.

"What is that voice I hear?" asked Vaun, baffled. "If we are not dead, how are we hearing voices?"

"That is my dragon, Garanoth," replied Ronan, a little more calmly. "He is helping me interrogate you. If you didn't attack us, how do you explain the explosion from your boat shortly after you arrived?"

"I don't know anything about any explosion," said a bewildered Vaun. "We tied our boat up to your ladder, climbed up, and I don't remember much after that."

"Do you remember attacking BM3 Scott?" asked Ronan, angrily. "Lydia, would you step forward, so he can see you, please."

Vaun looked at the young girl and blushed. "I was so hungry, I just wanted to force her to get us something to eat as fast as possible. I wouldn't have hurt her, but I wanted her afraid so she wouldn't hesitate."

"Garanoth?" asked Ronan.

"He still speaks truth," replied Ronan's dragon.

"Where did you get your boat?" asked Ronan, now fairly certain the two were innocent, at least of a premeditated attack on the SPS Dronth.

After getting the information about where they had found the boat, Ronan contacted Harry via Garanoth.

"Harry, would you please ask our Aurors to investigate an abandoned boat, found southeast of Nabol? It appears to have held some kind of explosives. The SPS Dronth has a large hole in her side and is slowly making her way back to Sakushima Hold."

"Will do," replied Harry. "Do you need extra dragons to take the Dronth to dry dock?"

"No," responded Ronan. "We have more than enough onboard. I just want to take my time and find out what happened before rushing back. That double hull you insisted on was brilliant! There is a hole in the outer hull but the inner hull doesn't seem to be affected at all."

"That's good to know," replied Harry. "I will let you know what we find out."

"Thanks, Harry. Right now we have two very confused, emaciated refugees to take care of. I don't think they intended to attack us. In fact, I'm fairly certain they are lucky to be alive!"

"Do what you think is best," said Harry. "You have the full power and authority of the Dragon Nation behind you."

"Thanks, Harry, talk later!"

Ronan turned to the security detail. "Release them, but maintain a watch. I'm convinced they didn't purposely attack us, but I still don't want them running loose on the ship."

"Aye aye, Sir," replied BM3 Puckett. "We'll set a rotating watch cycle so there will be at least two Master-At-Arms here at all times." He and Lydia started releasing the straps holding the two emaciated men to their beds.

"Doctor," said Ronan, "why don't you give them the rest of that broth, now that they can hold the cups. They can finish it while I ask a few more questions. I also think that most of our witnesses may leave if they wish to do so."

Several of the crew and riders left the room as the doctor and nurse handed the cups of broth to the former prisoners. The Captain stayed. He still wanted to find out who these people were that had damaged his ship, even if inadvertently. He also needed to know how.

As Ronan questioned the two men, their awful story came out. Most of them were second and third-generation "Holdless". Their parents or grandparents had been convicted of some crime and been banished from their hold. With no safe place to go, they wandered the wilderness finding safety and sustenance where they could.

As soon as Ronan learned the whereabouts of the rest of their group, he contacted Harry to request he send a Wing of dragons to bring them and their possessions to the Dronth. He explained the problem to Harry and was assured he would handle it himself as delicately as possible.

Spath's Weyr, The Weyrleader's Inner Office, April 13, 2025...
"Cheki, please call the ready Wing to meet us in the main cavern. We will be going to the area around Nabol Hold to look for some refugees. Have someone get a D5 ready to take with us. I don't know how many there are, but that should be sufficient."

"They are assembling now," responded Chekiath as they moved to the dragon door leading to the central cavern. By the time Harry and Cheki arrived, most of the other riders were present. A moment later, the remaining 5 appeared with the requested Egg. Harry gave the jump image for Nabol Hold and they all leapt up and Went Between.

Nabol Hold...
Harry and his group arrived at 2,000 ft, over the Hold. Harry sent a greeting to the watch dragon and told him they would be searching the area for refugees. Then he turned them to the southeast where he saw the huge inlet from Big Bay. Once they arrived, they started searching back to the northwest along the western riverbank.

Cheki was the first to spot the small group of 37 gaunt people. Harry had the group land in a clearing far enough away that they wouldn't be heard landing. He then walked slowly along a narrow trail with Cheki following as best he could. As he walked into the bare, unprotected camp, only a few worn eyes followed his progress.

He looked, trying to make out who might be the leader, but couldn't see much difference in any of them. Finally, he just decided to start and hope for the best.

"None of you know me, but Vaun and Grust have asked me to come help you. I am a Dragonrider from the south and will take you and all your belongings to where they are waiting for you."

One or two of the weak humanity in the camp rose to their feet but it was just too much for the rest. At that point, Harry called the other riders in. He had the Egg set down as close as possible and they started loading it, first with the sick and injured people, and then with their meager belongings. Once everything was safely stowed inside the Egg, he had them carefully lift off and they all started flying straight for the SPS Dronth. Harry sent all the Ready Wing back to Spath's except for those flying the Egg. Harry sent word ahead to Ronan to have their full medical complement standing by as well as however many extra hands they thought they would need for the 37 patients they had.

This would be the first test of the SPS Dronth as a Command and Control Center for Disaster Recovery. Admittedly, the 'disaster; was relatively minor to him, but to these people, it was a matter of life or death. He would do what he could to ensure they were properly cared for.

SPS Dronth, South of Ista Hold, April 13, 2025...
Captain Vincent had finally settled on a best speed of 25 knots. It wasn't fast, but it was fast enough to make decent time without causing undue stress on the hull near the new hole. Before they had started, he had his disaster recovery team bolt a thin steel plate over the hull to help keep some of the water of passage out.

He looked up and aft of the ship as Harry and the attending D6 approached from aft of the ship. He had a sudden sense of deja vu and fought the urge to call flight quarters. The Egg was set down gently on the aircraft elevator near the island. Once the Egg was down, the dragons flying it lifted off and disappeared Between, probably to go back to Spath's Weyr, Captain Vincent thought.

A klaxon sounded and the elevator started sinking down to the hangar deck level. It would probably stay there until the Egg was ready to depart. Once the elevator was down and locked, ship's medical personnel and volunteers moved up to the Egg with stretchers. Harry opened the door and motioned them inside. They quickly moved all the patients to a specially prepared hospital ward where they could be kept fairly close together but still allowed some privacy, using sliding curtains, if they needed it. None of the patients were conscious as they were transferred.

Ronan walked up as the last of them were brought off the Egg.

"Looks like you made it just in time, Harry," said Ronan, with feeling.

"No, you made it just in time, Ronan," responded Harry, with a smile. "I was just an extension of your command. Where are the original two?"

"They are already in the clinic we set up. They are resting but will be there when their friends wake."

"I assigned some Aurors to investigate this boat of yours, but haven't heard anything yet," said Harry. "It may take quite a while if we learn anything at all."

"I just want to know what was on that boat that did so much damage to a thick steel hull!" exclaimed Ronan, fiercely. "Captain Vincent probably wants to know even more than I do."

Later that evening, Captain Vincent held his normal Shellback graduation Ceremony and awarded the cards and Certificates to those dragons who had been on the "Dragon Cruise". Everyone seemed to be in high spirits when he finished. Before anyone could leave, Harry walked up to the makeshift podium and turned to look at his dragons and riders.

"As far as I'm concerned, this was the first time that the SPS Dronth has officially performed her assigned humanitarian tasks," began Harry. "From what I understand, the Earth Navy has little strips of colored cloth to indicate participation in certain activities?" said Harry looking at Captain Vincent for verification. When he saw the Captain nod, he continued. "I don't know what it will look like yet, but I'm going to get together with Susan Bones and Captain Vincent to design our first award for this action. Anyone involved, all those on the ship, from dragons to crew to passengers, as well as the Ready Wing that responded, will receive the award and will be authorized to wear it … once we figure out how."

He got a burst of amused laughter at that and a smile from Captain Vincent.

"You have all done extremely well," said Harry, proudly, "and I'm extremely proud of you all. Part of the Dragon Nation has performed the first of many humanitarian actions. I hope they all can be accomplished as easily and smoothly as was this one."

As he walked back to where Cheki waited for him, the cheers and applause commenced behind him.

Spath's Weyr, Dry Dock, April 20, 2025...
"Well, Captain, it looks like you'll be beached for a while," said Harry, jocularly. "I have set aside an office for you on Level 20. I would like you to accept the post of Pern Naval Affairs. The office will be yours while you are ashore, but you are free to stay on the SPS Dronth as long as you wish.

"I know all too well what it's like to be tied to a desk and I don't want to do that to anyone. We do have a need for the new position though, and I would appreciate it if you would make it a working office. You can assign whomever you like to take care of the office and paperwork while you are there or out at sea. I have an Admin Assistant, I can't imagine you would want to do it all yourself!"

"Thank you, Weyrleader," said Christopher Vincent, thoughtfully. "I can think of a few things such an office might address. If I'm allowed to set it up as I see fit, it would be more like Earth's U.S. Coast Guard than Earth's U.S. Navy. With the superiority you enjoy, I cannot see anyone seriously challenging you, ever. There is just not enough metal on the entire planet to create anything like the SPS Dronth. In fact, she probably has more metal in her construction than could probably be found on the entire planet!"

"You have carte blanche as far as any of the missions we have already discussed for the Dronth," said Harry. "If you feel we need to take a more militaristic stance any time in the future, I would appreciate you discussing it with me first, though."

"I can agree with that, wholeheartedly," said Vincent. "I have enjoyed the non-military nature of the missions here on Pern."

"By the way," added Harry. "We have come up with a design for the award for the Nabol Hold Rescue. It will be a small ribbon, with light brown and yellow vertical stripes to represent Nabol Hold, a sky blue background to represent the Dragon Nation, and a green border to represent a humanitarian/medical mission. I have a scale and 5x drawing here, what do you think?"

Vincent studied the drawings and commented, "Looks like it would match anything any other country could create and I like the fact that it's for a humanitarian mission."

"I've been thinking about awards," said Harry, in a low voice. "This wasn't actually the first mission the Dragon Nation took place in."

"Oh," said Captain Vincent, questioningly.

"Don't you remember the Dragon War of March 22, 2010?" asked Harry, with obvious embarrassment. "We almost totally destroyed two countries that had attacked us. It still makes me unhappy that we had to do it but, if we are awarding decorations for Dragon Nation actions, I wonder if we should make one for that as well."

"It never hurts to recognize a battle, won or lost," said Vincent, carefully. "I can understand why you are hesitant, but, in the future, it might be beneficial if you have something you can point to that shows you will fight for your rights."

"Thank you for your input, Captain," said Harry. "I will discuss it with my staff and come to some kind of decision one way or the other."

They fell to a companionable silence as they watched the dragon/goblin repair crews set up to repair the hole in the side of the SPS Dronth. The Goblins had decided that it would be better to try to bend the bent metal back to its original shape and then heat the entire area and weld a new, thick plate in place on the inside. Once done, the outside could be heat treated and smoothed to better than original condition. Everyone was happy they had decided to leave the original doors in place on the inside though. It made the repair that much simpler. The Goblins estimated that the 'simple' repair would only take about two weeks, thanks to the Goblins' expertise and the fine control and variably high temperature available with the dragons.

Spath's Hold...
Vaun looked around himself in wonder. He and his group had been given adjoining apartments in a new wing of the Hold. Each family in his group actually had their own apartment! It was riches beyond understanding. None of them were technically qualified for much beyond the most menial tasks but they had been promised schooling and a monthly wage that more than covered their daily needs. Their housing, medical care, and food were free, they were being paid what was called an 'allowance' while they learned, and they would eventually be able to choose any job they wanted or create one of their own design!

Vaun thanked the Gods … and his friend Grust … for their great fortune. They had been within a needlethorn of dying of starvation when they had been rescued. The Dragonriders had given them a second chance at life and there wasn't a single one of them that wanted to go back to the way they were.

Spath's Weyr, Conference Room, May 1, 2025...
After much discussion, Harry and his staff finally decided that Captain Vincent was right. As uncomfortable as it might make them, they had been involved in a vast war against two enemy nations. If a simple ribbon would help them remember that and possibly help to avoid something like it in the future, then they would authorize one.

Every dragon and rider involved, no matter in how small a way, would be issued a small ribbon for the Dragon War. It would have blue and green vertical stripes representing Earth on a white background representing the lives lost with a deep red border representing war. Harry looked at it more as a badge of shame than as a medal of honor, but it would hopefully soon be outnumbered by the humanitarian ribbons he hoped to see.

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