Chapter 14: Life is a Tradeoff
Spath's Hold, Bermorg Trade Caravan under the Canopy, Jan 24, 2028...
Before venturing out to meet the Trader from the north, Harry had talked to Susan Bones about how they were settling in.
"They seem really intimidated by us for some reason," said Susan. "They have set up their wagons outside the 'shield wall' apartments next to the entrance to the canopy, and haven't moved very far at all. I offered them the use of one of our guest apartments, but they just said they weren't interested."
"Maybe I can find out what the problem is when I go by to visit today," replied Harry. Rather than walk all the way, he asked Chekiath for a ride. Cheki settled down near the wagons, formed in a small circle up against the 'shield wall'.
"Trader Bermorg," called Harry, cheerfully as he approached the Trader and his family. "I have been meaning to get down here to meet with you, but haven't had the time until today."
"Good morning, Weyrleader," said Bermorg, jovially. "You have quite an interesting Weyr here. The Weyr and the Hold are so close together, I don't see how you can tell the difference! No place I have ever been to has a permanent trade area, either. We are almost out of our original goods and have collected quite a bit of your medium of exchange, galleons."
"I hope your orientation was thorough enough so you don't feel like you've been cheated," replied Harry, with some concern. "I know I wouldn't want to try to trade in a new area with a different currency!"
"Don't you worry about that," said Bermorg, positively. "I know how much a Mark is compared to a Galleon and the other way as well. It is my business to know, after all. If we don't find something to trade soon though, I don't know what we will do. We are running out of merchandise. What is a Trader with nothing to trade!?"
"Your daughter is quite talented with Jewelry. Perhaps she could make some new pieces to sell or trade," suggested Harry.
"She has been having discussions with this Joyero fellow about working with him," said Bermorg. "I have left it all up to her, as she has learned all I know how to teach about being a Trader. She is quite adept at conducting her own negotiations. I just hope she doesn't enter into a long apprenticeship. Even with all the money we've collected since we've been here, I'm not sure I can afford to buy her a position in such a fancy place as his."
"I don't think you will have to worry about that," said Harry, smiling widely. "We don't conduct apprenticeships like that here. He won't charge to take her as a student, instead, she will work for him and he will pay her a lower rate than his Journeymen and Masters. If she starts as an apprentice, her room and board will be included.
"After seeing her work, I can't imagine she would be an apprentice for long, if at all."
"Now that is not what I was expecting," said a shocked Trader. "Sounds like she will be all set. Now I just have to worry about the rest of my family. Any ideas about where we can go to find some trade?"
"That's one of the things I wanted to talk with you about," began Harry, looking around at the other members of Bermorg's family as they gathered to listen to the conversation. "Why did you want to come south to set up a trade route?"
"There seem to be fewer Traders than trade up north," replied Bermorg, cautiously. "In fact, I haven't seen any since we've arrived. I figured that the opportunities would be wide open for a savvy trader and his family like us."
"I don't think you realize the trade situation down here," responded Harry, quietly. "I would like to suggest a series of trips for all of you, that would help you to learn how we conduct business on the southern continent. You can learn how we move trade goods around and, once you're confident, you can help us trade with the north.
"We have resources you have never dreamed of and I would like to give you a tour of our way of trade on the southern continent. When it's over, I want to discuss an idea I have that you might find interesting."
"That doesn't sound like a trade proposition to me," said Bermorg, doubtfully.
"It isn't, think of it as an Apprenticeship in southern trade," said Harry, decisively. "Please stick with it and wait until the end to talk about your experiences. I think it will really help you and us."
"If you think it will help," responded Bermorg, dubiously.
"I do," said Harry. "Give me a few days, and I will let you know when we can start. I may not be the one escorting you on the tour, but I will always know what is going on, where you are, and if there is anything I can do to help."
With that, Harry shook hands with Bermorg and walked over to Cheki to return to his office.
Spath's Weyr, The Weyrleader's Inner Office, Jan 24, 2028...
"Hi, Jeofrey," called Harry as he entered the office. Anything new I need to know about?"
"A special courier was just here," responded Jeofrey. "Evidently those Terrorists you helped capture on the 10th of January were actually pirates. The Weyrleader of Dragon Isle found out almost immediately but they have been trying to determine what was best to do. He has sent a copy of his report and asked for your input."
"Thanks," said Harry, as he took the report and went into his office to look at it. It was fairly short and concise. The village the pirates came from were starving and their solution was to turn pirate and try to steal or extort enough money to take care of their families. The local authorities were insisting the pirates be released to them but, so far, he had been refusing as the pirates were captured in the Dragon Nation's territorial waters.
Harry thought about the problem for a while and finally wrote out a letter to the current Weyrleader of Dragon Isle.
Dragonrider Gustav Brigidson
Current Weyrleader, Dragon Isle
Gustav,
I think I have a solution that may help end piracy in your local area, at least.
Do NOT release your prisoners to the ones trying to get them. Instead, express my assurance that, with their help, we can stop the pirates completely and with little or no loss of life on either side.
Once they respond, please inform me of their reaction to my offer.
Send a copy of this letter and a copy of their response to our contact in the UK asking for their support on the matter.
Regards,
Harry Potter, The Weyrleader
After reading the report, which included a summary of the veritaserum testimony, he felt that if they provided a greenhouse to the villagers so they could grow their own food and offered to become trade partners and protectors of the village, they could stop the villagers from turning to piracy. He would wait for the local government's response. Their response would tell him if they were the ones actually behind and supporting the piracy or not.
Spath's Weyr, Joyero's Fine Jewelry, Feb 10, 2028...
Harry stopped by Joyero's Fine Jewelry to see how things were working out with Dannea. Since Joyero's was a business that required a lot of display space, as well as benefitting from a constant flow of potential customers, Susan Bones had assigned him shop space at 010601-07, a shop space opening on the central cavern midway between the corridor leading to the Hatching Grounds, Spoke Tunnel 6, and one corridor way from the Spoke Tunnel leading to Gringotts, Pern, Spoke Tunnel 8.
As he walked in the door, Ted looked up from working on an inlay he was working on.
"Good morning, Harry," greeted Ted. "How is life in the Weyr going?"
"Life is good, thank you, Ted. I thought I would find out if Dannea had accepted the idea of working with you."
"I have accepted her as an apprentice," replied Ted. "After discussing it with her and her father, she will be living here while she learns about our form of metallurgy. We combine metals differently from the Pern methods and have metals they have never heard of. I don't imagine her Apprenticeship will last very long, but there is a whole world of information she requires before I can even consider naming her a Journeyman. From there, given her skills, it shouldn't be long before she gains her Mastery in Jewelry and fine metalworking.
"She is in the back workroom now with Roger going over some of his old notes. She was going to make hand copies, which wouldn't be a bad idea for learning the material, but I have already made a photocopy to give her later."
"Sounds like you have everything well in hand," said Harry. "Now I just have to try to get her father settled."
"I thought he was going to set up a trade route?" asked Ted, curiously.
"Well," began Harry, tentatively, "can you imagine trying to compete with dragon delivery while limited to oxen-drawn wagons?"
"No, can't say I can," replied Ted. "What did you have in mind, if not a trade route?"
"I was thinking more along the lines of a liaison between our southern continent and the northern. He knows his ways of trading. If he can learn how we do things and what we have to offer, he could help by being the interface between the two worlds."
"I hope he does well for Dannea's sake," said Ted. "She really looks up to her father. They've been through an awful lot and deserve some success. I'm not sure I approve, but Dannea seems to really like Roger."
"Does she know how old he is?" asked Harry, amused at the idea.
"Not yet," replied Ted, thoughtfully. "Right now, she just thinks he is a few years older than she is when in fact, he's more than three times her age."
"Well, if they really like each other, age shouldn't matter that much," said Harry. "She deserves to know everything upfront before they get too involved though, especially as he will probably outlive her."
Spath's Weyr, Hatching Grounds, Feb 15, 2028...
Just before he had come down to the Hatching Grounds, Harry had received a letter from the Weyrleader at Dragon Isle:
Harry Potter
The Weyrleader, Pern
Harry,
I finally received word back from the local government that was chasing the pirates. They want to take the pirates so they can execute them. The Dragonrider that accepted the dispatch said neither he nor his dragon felt the messenger was trustworthy.
Last week I received a promise of diplomatic support from the UK, the United States, most of the countries in Europe, and New Russia. For what it's worth, they would be more than happy to see a peaceful end to this situation.
The letter I got from the Prime Minister of Great Britain contained a private note that said their MI6 felt that the local government we were trying to deal with was actually behind the acts of piracy. They will periodically 'execute' pirates but some of these supposedly dead pirates have later been recognized attacking other vessels in International waters.
What are your orders?
Regards,
Gustav Brigidson
Weyrleader, Dragon Isle
Harry immediately sat down and wrote his reply, even if it meant he was late to the hatching:
Gustav Brigidson
Weyrleader, Dragon Isle
Gustav,
Send a copy of this message to the Departments of Magic for all nations who offered their support. Let them know they will not be required to lend any aid unless they feel they want to add their presence to ours. If they do arrive in the area, all control of operations must remain in our hands. They may be granted docking privileges and limited quarters on Dragon Isle for the duration of this operation.
All dragons and riders involved in this operation must be volunteers.
Please request an international embargo of all affected waters. Any shipping that must go through is to have at a minimum a full wing of stealthed dragons with at least one rider who can take videos of any actions we take. There must also be a magical rider assigned to the flight who is proficient in the immobulus spell.
If any ships are attacked by pirates, after the attackers are fully committed to their attack, they are all to be hit from full stealth by an immobulus spell and they and all their equipment must be taken back to Dragon Isle.
The pirates are to be kept prisoner, but the location of all their home villages is to be determined. Once you know where their village is located, dispatch a gift of a greenhouse with a full complement of food seeds with a full Flight of unbonded, stealthed dragons to act as guards for the village. They should arrive carrying at least two months' worth of non-perishable rations for the entire village.
A Dragonrider should go to help erect the greenhouse and teach the villagers how to maintain it. He should explain that they are now under the protection of the Dragon Nation and have them appoint one of their number as their spokesperson to stay in touch with the dragon guards.
I have a feeling after we do this often enough, the real power behind the pirate attacks will make itself known. At that time, we will deal with them as we must, by capture if possible, by other means if not. This is NOT to be considered war. It is a police action, protecting the inhabitants of Planet Earth.
If we cannot get a complete agreement to these terms, we will offer asylum to those villagers we currently know about and withdraw all support to the region and to those who support this continued piracy by not agreeing to our terms. If this is viewed as blackmail by some, then so be it. This is what I require to end this continuing conflict.
Regards,
Harry Potter
The Weyrleader for Earth and Pern
After finishing his instructions to Gustav, Harry called for a special Courier to deliver it and then went down to the Hatching Grounds to meet with Bermorg.
"Have you ever been to a hatching before," asked Harry, curiously.
"Yes, a long time ago," responded Bermorg. "I must say, the hatching grounds weren't near this big!"
"If you think this is big," said Harry, "you should see the grounds we use on Earth. We only have 40 eggs on the sands today, because the dragons are consciously limiting their output. We can handle over 200 eggs here if we needed to, but the Hatching Grounds on Earth will handle 600 eggs easily and the stands and facilities are proportionally larger."
The old Trader felt overwhelmed by the information. There weren't 600 Pern dragons left on the planet and Earth could hatch 600 at once! What had he gotten himself and his family involved in! The first eggs had already hatched and the dragonettes impressed. Bermorg sat in awe as he observed the massive changing patterns of standing waves formed on the hot sands of the Hatching Grounds by the intensity of the dragon's humming.
Spath's Hold, The Zoo, Feb 17, 2028...
The canopy area was large enough and the Traders still unsure enough of their welcome that Harry felt they probably hadn't even seen one of the most popular attractions for the new immigrants, The Zoo. Nobody had bothered to name it yet, because it wasn't a place anyone visited very often for pleasure. It was a place where those newest to Pern could see some of the actual flora and fauna of Pern that made it so dangerous. One recent immigrant from Australia had actually commented, "It reminds me of home!" This one place, if no other, disclosed the true difference between long-time Pern natives and the newcomers from Earth.
"What's your opinion of our Zoo?" asked Harry.
"What's the point?" responded Bermorg, indifferently. "We grow up with these critters and know on our mama's knee how to avoid them or protect against them. Why have them cooped up in cages?"
"It points out one of the big differences between our two cultures," said Harry. "We've had adults stumble blindly into a rocksnake lair and not know automatically what to do. We try to warn everyone, but we have recurring problems and way too many fatalities every day. From your point of view, we are toddlers who haven't yet learned how to be safe on Pern.
"On the other hand, as far as business trading is concerned, we look at you as toddlers."
"That's so much bull," said Bermorg, angrily. "I learned Trade from my Da and he learned it from his. Trade is more than just striking the right deal, it involves knowing where to go, what and how much to trade, who to trade with, who to avoid, and how to get there by the shortest route!"
"I couldn't agree more," said Harry, calmly. He had hoped to raise Bermorg's ire and he had succeeded, only too well. Now to show him the Earth's point of view.
"Let's start with what and how much to trade," said Harry, glad that the old Trader had listed some of his points for him.
Spath's Hold, Dragon Egg Landing Field, Feb 17, 2028...
A DT&T D5 sat on the rocky ground of the Dragon Egg Landing Field, dwarfed by the nearby D36P which was used for the ever-popular annual trip to Disney World.
"How much trade goods can all your wagons hold?" asked Harry.
"Well, we've got five large wagons," began Bermorg, with satisfaction. "Each could carry six tons of freight if we were carrying something compact like firestone, but we never carry anything dangerous like that, in any case. We also have to leave room for the people living in the wagons and their personal belongings. In the end, we probably manage at least five tons per wagon or a total of 25 tons total, possibly a little more."
"And how long does it take you to get to your destination?"
"That depends upon the distance we have to travel and the condition of the roads," said Bermorg, thoughtfully. "On good roads, we can average about 15 miles a day. On poor roads or over rough terrain, we might only manage 5 to 7 miles a day depending upon how bad the terrain was."
"So, if you had to travel 100 miles over good roads, it should only take you about a week to get to your destination," said Harry. "And you could deliver around 25 tons or slightly more."
"That's right," replied Bermorg, satisfied he had shown this upstart what a real Trader was capable of accomplishing.
Harry walked up to the smaller of the strange metal buildings and looked at Bermorg and the members of his family grouped near him.
He opened the front entry door and stepped to one side. This particular model had been placed here at his earlier request. It was configured as a cargo carrier.
"How much do you think you could fit into here?" asked Harry.
Bermorg looked inside with amazement. "I thought this was a strange metal house!" I don't know what you'd use it for but, if we could get our wagons in here, it looks like it would hold all five with room to spare. If we had them, we could probably squeeze in 8 total wagons. We might have to remove part of the roofs to fit them in though."
"So, 8 wagons, if you had them would be capable of hauling 40 tons of cargo, right?" asked Harry.
"That's right," said Bermorg, not sure where this was heading.
"The 'building' you are currently looking into," said Harry, "is a transport module typically used for hauling light loads of 80 tons or less. With a quick refit, it is capable of carrying 40 passengers comfortably. It can also be configured to carry just about any multiple variations between the two different maximum loads. It ignores any terrain by flying over it and the time from point of departure to point of arrival is 2.6 seconds."
"I don't believe you," said Bermorg, angrily. "Why would you lie about something like that?"
"Why indeed?" asked Harry, calmly. "Is there any particular Hold or Weyr you are particularly familiar with from your travels?"
"Yes, we used to go to Half-Circle Sea Hold all the time," said a still angry, but puzzled Trader.
Harry sent out the command to load the Egg with cargo for Half-Circle Sea Hold and soon boxes and pallets of supplies and merchandise were stacking up outside the Egg, at least 65 tons of material. Harry led the Traders back outside and showed them the small mountain of supplies stacked near the rear loading bay of the Egg. He walked over and activated the control to lower the ramp and open the end of the Egg for loading.
"Trader Bermorg, if I could prevail upon you and your family to load this cargo into the Egg, I will demonstrate our capabilities," said Harry. "We have various sized dollies available to use when loading to make the job easier."
Bermorg looked at the huge stack of supplies, wondering how long it would take to load them all.
"Don't worry," said Harry. "I just wanted you to verify the weight of the cargo, I don't expect you to have to load it all … unless you want to verify I'm not overstating the weight involved.
"If you look here, just above this support leg," said Harry, indicating a large gauge set into the side of the Egg. "This dial indicates the current weight of the Empty Egg. Can you make out what it indicates?"
Bermorg looked at the glass-covered dial and said, "It shows about 3.5 out of 100."
"Very good," said Harry. "That is the weight, in tons, of the empty Egg. When we've loaded this cargo, it should have moved up to about 68.5. would you agree that 65 tons are probably a bit more than your wagons are capable of carrying?"
"Of course it is!" exclaimed the annoyed Trader. "We've already discussed how much my wagons can carry. Storing cargo into a warehouse is different from actually delivering it though."
"I agree with that statement," said Harry, mildly. "In any case, would you mind helping to load the cargo inside?"
Bermorg motioned to his family to start loading the cargo. Many of the smaller boxes were surprisingly heavy, but not beyond the ability of any of the traders. One of the larger boxes was so heavy that four burly men gathered around it and were struggling to move it when Harry wandered over.
"Here, let me help you with that," he said. He then cast a wandless featherlight spell on the box, picked it up by himself, and walked it into the cargo bay. He quickly removed the spell after setting the box down. He smiled slightly to himself when he saw the same four men who had originally tried to lift it, try again while it was inside the Egg. They still were barely able to budge it.
Harry gave them 10 minutes to struggle with loading the heavy boxes and then he called in a crew of house-elves to finish the job. Everything remaining was completely loaded within 5 minutes. Bermorg just stared at the now loaded Egg, dazed it had been loaded so quickly.
"If you would tell me what the gauge indicates, now, Trader Bermorg?" asked Harry.
"A little more than 68.5," said Bermorg.
Harry walked over and closed the loading ramp and gestured to the short front entry stairs. "Would about half of you please join me inside?"
Bermorg quickly designated those to stay outside and Harry told them they should not stand too close, so they moved off about 10 feet or so. Harry just shook his head and entered the Egg, closing the door after himself.
"Now," began Harry. "How long would it take your wagons to get all this cargo to Half-Circle Sea Hold?"
"Forever!" shouted the really annoyed Trader. "We would have to haul it all down to the shore, which would take multiple trips, load it onto boats, and sail there before we could deliver. We would probably just sell it to the boat captains and let them resell it to the Hold."
"Ah," said Harry. "In that case, why don't we step outside."
Bermorg stepped out of the Egg and didn't at first realize what he was seeing. Finally, it sunk in. There, spread before him was the wide harbor with the Dock Cove on the far side. He looked to his right and there were the Great Doors allowing entry into the Great Hall, with the smaller openings into the Little Hall visible beyond.
Some movement made him look up at the top of the Egg and he saw two dragons perched on top, looking curiously back at him. He looked back down as the Great Doors swung open to eject a huge force of workers and drudges, all coming towards the Egg. Finally, walking along slowly, as the aged are often forced to do, came Lord Holder Ildal, himself.
"Hello, Weyrleader!" exclaimed the Lord Holder when he got close enough. "I see you have made our delivery yourself and you've brought some extra muscle to help us unload. Excellent!"
"Hello, Lord Ildal," said Harry, politely. "I'm afraid some of these crates are just too heavy for your people to unload. If you can show them where the final placement of the equipment should be, I will have my elves unload them for you."
With that, there was a flurry of movement as a group of stevedore elves started moving the cargo into the Hold. Bermorg just stared in amazement.
An aggrieved Bermorg turned to Harry and said, "You knew this was going to happen all along, yet you let me make a fool of myself!"
"Yes, I knew," said Harry, emphatically, "but I didn't 'let' you make a fool of yourself. You did that all on your own. You know nothing of how we do business and automatically think you know everything there is to know. If you are going to work with us, you had to learn the truth. This way, the experience is over fairly quickly. It may be initially painful, but the pain will heal as long as learning is allowed to take its place."
Bermorg turned to look inside the Egg, only to find all the cargo gone in the few minutes he'd been talking. Even the Lord Holders crew were standing there shaking their heads, grateful they didn't have to spend hours moving heavy crates.
"Lord Holder Ildal," said Harry, politely. "Ordinarily I would love to stay and visit for a while but urgent business calls back at the Weyr. I was just demonstrating to Trader Bermorg here what we have to offer in a trade relationship. I am hoping he will become our Trade Liaison."
"Well," said Lord Ildal, "In that case I suppose you had better leave, do try to come back soon. I do enjoy our amusing talks about your Earth ships. Trader Bermorg, I expect I will see more of you if you take The Weyrleader's job. Good-bye and smooth sailing!"
Lord Ildal returned to his Hold as his men scurried to enter around him. The doors closed with a clang and Harry motioned Bermorg and his family back inside where Harry closed the doors, waited 3 seconds, and opened them again. Bermorg looked out to see they had landed on the other side of the other huge building that had been there when they left.
Bemused, Bermorg asked, "What is this building, a warehouse?"
"No," said Harry. "That is a Cargo Egg converted to hold 5,000 passengers. Normally we use them for cargo only. As cargo Eggs, they are capable of hauling 6,000 tons of cargo just as easily and quickly as we just delivered 65 tons."
Bermorg felt faint for the first time in his life. He was finished! There was no way he would be able to compete with this behemoth! The smaller Egg was bad enough but 6,000 tons!
"Try not to allow yourself to get too depressed," consoled Harry. "I don't enjoy tearing down lifetime beliefs without having something even better to replace them with. You have had a stressful day. I don't know why you have been so aloof, but I would like to suggest you accept Susan Bones' offer of an apartment for you and your family. It doesn't move, but sometimes different can be nice."
"Actually," said a blushing Bermorg, looking down at his feet, "we were afraid our wagons would get stolen."
"And you now see that we not only have no desire to steal your wagons but no need for them either," said Harry, understandingly. "Cheki, ask Susan Bones to join us at the Traders' wagons, please." He motioned for Bermorg to precede him down the stairs and they made their way back to the Trader camp.
"Susan!" Harry called out as they neared the Trader wagons. "Do you still have that apartment set aside for our Trader friends?"
"Yes, Harry. It's ready any time they wish to move in," said Susan, with a smile. Over the years that she had worked with different personalities, Harry had impressed upon her that even the most difficult was only that way because of some internal problem they had. It was never her fault. With that philosophy to help guide her, it was easier dealing with those few people who just wanted to be different.
"Please make sure that one side is space enhanced enough that they can fit in all their wagons," added Harry.
Susan looked at him skeptically, but just said, "No problem, Harry. I should be able to apply the spell by myself but may have to call in someone else to help. If I do, I will check with the duty dragon to see who may be available."
"Um, that's not really necessary, Weyrleader," mumbled a thoroughly embarrassed Master Trader.
"Not at all," said Harry, enjoying the moment. "Will you be requiring extra space for your burdenbeasts?"
"No, please, no, Weyrleader," said Bermorg, hurriedly. "They can stay with your herds. I'm sure they will be safe enough until we need them again. And the wagons can be placed in any unused, safe place where you store such things. No need to give us an over large apartment just for wagons!"
"Well, if you insist," said Harry, disappointedly. "It would have given Susan a chance to practice her spell casting."
Susan just looked at Harry as if he were crazy, but figured he was acting this way because of the audience, not her. She was the main point of contact now if anyone required a larger apartment.
"We insist," said the dazed Trader. "I think we need to try to learn more about your people and the best way to do that is to try to blend in."
"Very good, said Harry, pleased at Bermorg's changing attitude. "Just make sure you get everything you might need or want out of your wagons before they go into storage. The material we will cover them in is hard to break into once applied. If you'd like to watch, you might find the process interesting."
"I think I'd like that," said Bermorg. "We are always looking for better ways to protect our merchandise when shipping it."
"Please rest for a couple of days," suggested Harry. "I have another eye-opening trip planned for you.
Later when Bermorg watched his wagons being wrapped in the thick white plastic he was amazed at the strength and size of the huge sheets. Then, once a wagon was entirely covered, he was astonished when heat was applied and the plastic shrank to become a form-fitting cocoon. When he prodded it with his finger, it seemed as hard as stone!
Sakushima Hold, Feb 20, 2028...
Ronan had resurrected the Tour Egg prototype from storage at Harry's request. For this flight, they had opted to cover the floor with a thick carpet. Since there were only 19 of them, including Dannea, the rear seats had been left empty and only the side seats were filled. Harry sat up front and acted as the pilot while Hermione was enjoying herself as the Tour Guide. May had managed to 'sneak' on board at the last minute with Tegan who was placed in one of the rear seats. Once seated, all passengers were fastened into their seats using a sticking spell that the Pilot or Tour Guide could release as needed.
The Tour Egg was a prototype, never used, that would seat a single line of passengers along each wall and the back of the Egg. A large, bullet-proof window was inserted into the sides and back of the Egg where each of the passenger seats were located. The seats on the sides could be rotated towards the windows or towards the front of the Egg. The two seats in the rear could be rotated through 180° to face either forward or backward towards the windows. There was no window on the front but there was a forward-facing camera providing a live feed to the wall to wall, floor to ceiling video display in the front where the two crew sat. One crew was the Dragonrider who controlled the dragons, the other was the tour guide. Even though the Tour Egg was technically capable of space travel, it was never placed into production because the passengers were afraid to fly in something that looked so flimsy. It seemed that the large windows on the walls and especially the large, long window underfoot along the central aisle which allowed unrestricted views, also caused a fear of falling out of the Egg in its passengers.
Excerpt from The Weyrs of Pern by Remus John Lupin, published 2050.
Right now, Bermorg's family were enjoying a leisurely aerial tour of the southern continent from Spath's Weyr to Sakushima Weyr. Harry had opted to use the Tour Egg and to fly straight because it would allow his passengers to see the varied terrain and vast distances between the relatively small points of interest. After a quick 360° tour of Spath's Weyr, they headed for the Great Inland Sea, which the Mers now called the Sea of Azov, and had landed for a rest break and light snack at Condron Sea Hold.
Now they had almost reached Sakushima Hold. Along the way, Harry had very helpfully pointed out the wide rivers, the deep canyons and steep ridges lying across their path of travel, and the vast stretches of untamed, primeval forest that covered great stretches of the terrain. It quickly became apparent that any attempt at using wagons for any kind of trade route was doomed to failure before it even started. The passengers had grown increasingly quiet over the course of the tour.
Finally, they approached Sakushima. The artificial mountain of the Weyr rose far over the cliffs on top of which it was built. The rock dome top of the Hold arched out to cover part of the sea on the eastern side of their spit of land. The passengers talked about the long pier with its huge white warehouse on one side and a much smaller sailboat on the other which they could plainly see. Harry didn't say anything to dissuade them from their opinions.
Harry had Cheki take them around the Weyr once to give a good view of its impregnable, solid position on its own headland and cliffs. The only entrance close to ground level was a sea-facing dragon ledge about 300 ft. up the side of the artificial mountain. There was a large underground tunnel, linking the Weyr to the Hold, but Harry didn't bother mentioning that. As they came around the far side of the Weyr, Harry mentally directed Cheki to land them on the flight deck of the SPS Dronth. Cheki landed them on the elevator just across the deck from the island and then took off with his consorts to do a little fishing and play with the Dolphins they could see not far offshore.
Harry moved to the door, opened it, and asked, "Shall we get out?" as he released all the sticking spells.
Their passengers quickly took advantage of their new freedom to stand and stretch after being seated for so long. The chairs were comfortable, but they were more used to activity.
Harry led them all through a door at the base of the Island and they dutifully followed him down flight after flight of metal stairs until Harry opened a door and they walked out of the stairwell into the Hangar Deck.
"The restrooms are over there if you need them," said Harry, pointing out the doors with the universal symbols for male and female on the doors. "When you are all ready, we will be waiting for you near the galley." This time he pointed to a section of the wall that had upwardly opening bright metal shutters that were open. The most delicious smell wafted over to them, encouraging his guests to hurry.
As their guests returned, Harry directed them to join the line to get a much-appreciated meal. Hermione and May were nearby answering what questions they had been told they could answer. Tegan had already been set up with some food for her and her fire lizards and was being watched over by Tisky. After all his guests had been served and were busy eating, Harry and his wives took their trays and sat near Bermorg.
"What is this place?" asked Bermorg, curiously. A first I thought it was a warehouse, but what kind of warehouse has restrooms and a kitchen!? Is it a big hostel?"
"It is many things," said Harry, calmly. "After you have finished your meals, I thought you might like to watch as our Egg is brought down from the 'roof' and stored away down here."
"That might be interesting. What do you do, have a dragon bring it down?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you, so let's wait until everyone is finished, it shouldn't be long now."
Finally, everyone finished their meals and Harry showed them where to place the empty trays and utensils. Then he took them over to a huge open space across from the kitchen. The roof stretched for almost a dragon-length away from where they stood about three feet from the edge behind a thin odd-looking rope and stanchion barrier. Since the entire building seemed to be made of metal, they could probably stand out here and safely watch thread fall! Bermorg ran his hand along the 'rope' and quickly got stuck by a tiny sliver of metal. The rope was spun steel!
So far, the only other people they had seen had been the humans and house-elves serving the food they'd eaten. Suddenly a loud two-toned horn sounded and people started rushing all over the place in apparent confusion. Suddenly the roof in front of them started a rapid descent and arrived at their level, in less than 10 seconds, carrying the Tour Egg they'd arrived in along with it. As the 'roof' slowed down to reach the same level they were on, the stanchion barrier sank into the floor until it was flush with the surrounding surface. Bermorg and his family were dazed at the sudden new change in their worldview and just stood there and gaped at the roof that moved.
"It's called an aircraft elevator," explained Harry, with a knowing smile. "It startled me, too, when I first saw it in action. I think we need to move over here to the side right now, though. They will be bringing the Egg inboard right through where we are standing."
As Harry shepherded his charges over to a safer location, they watched in awe as a monstrous device moved from its hidden location in the ceiling and approached the elevator. A long arm extended out from the device and thick cables started extending from its end. As the cables reached the elevator, waiting crew members grabbed the hooks on the end and attached them to the dragon loops on top of the Egg. After the cables were securely attached, the crew members withdrew to where Harry and his guests were watching silently.
"That device in the ceiling is called a crane," explained Harry. "It is capable of lifting over 300 tons and there are two of them up there."
The cables started to withdraw back up towards the ceiling and took the Egg with them! Over 3 tons and it was being moved as if it were a feather! Slowly, the crane moved on its tracks, taking the Egg with it. Bermorg and his astonished family watched as the Egg was moved to one end of the huge space inside and gently set down. Once the cables were removed, the Egg was tied down by some kind of rope made of what looked like slightly flattened circles of metal. When everything settled down, Bermorg went over and checked. The circles were metal! The ring rope had a hook at one end that was hooked into a hole in the floor that had a bar across it. Once he notice the hole the hook was attached to, he noticed they were all over the floor, evenly spaced. Once something was attached to the floor using these metal ring ropes, nothing would allow it to move!
Harry walked up and explained, "Those are chains", indicating the metal ring ropes. They use a ratchet with a hook on one end to attach to the Egg and attach the hook on the end of the chain to the floor. Then they link the chain into the ratchet, tighten it, and nothing will move unless the chain breaks. They are called 'aircraft tie-downs', though they work quite well to tie down Eggs, boats, and cargo."
Harry picked up a loose tie-down and demonstrated to Bermorg how it worked. How to attach and tighten it as well as how to release it. Bermorg whose only previously known means of tying down cargo was a rope, was amazed.
Harry had specifically requested of the Captain that they have a silent disembarkation from the pier, so wasn't surprised when he felt the slight motion indicating they were underway. One of the younger traders, though, came running up to Bermorg, shouting, "Da! The building is moving away from the pier!"
Bermorg and his family ran over to stand on the former roof, now known as an elevator and watched the shore slowly moving away from them. He turned to Harry who didn't express any alarm.
"Remember how you got to the southern continent?" asked Harry.
"Yes," said Bermorg, "we came by boat ..." He turned and looked at everything around him, he remembered what the 'warehouse' had looked like as they approached. They hadn't seen the bottom, because the roof overhung the sides so much, but it had seemed to not be directly attached to the pier, like a normal building. He looked at Harry questioningly.
"Yes, Bermorg," said Harry, cheerfully. "this is an ocean-going vessel. We call it a ship and her name is the SPS Dronth."
"But I don't feel any movement! When we came over we were all sick from the movement!"
"This ship is big enough," explained Harry, "that only the biggest storms will cause that kind of motion. Most of the time, you could safely think of yourself as being on a big island."
"I've got to sit down," said Bermorg, shakily. He made his way across the hangar deck to the chairs by the kitchen and heavily settled into one of them. "This space is so large you could put the entire boat we came over in, inside!"
"We have done that very thing," said Harry. "We had to rescue a boat during a storm once and their crew were all below decks sick, so we attached cables and hoisted them aboard."
"You don't need us!" exclaimed Bermorg, sorrowfully. "We are finished and have no place else to go. Why have you bothered to show us all this unless you just enjoy the pain you cause in others?"
"Actually," explained Harry, reasonably. "I had to show you because you would never believe me if I'd tried to only tell you. When you arrived, you were convinced you were going to show us how to conduct trade and you would make a fortune as we offered you riches to help us trade with others."
Bermorg looked shamefully down at the floor. "I was like that, wasn't I? Well, no more. I may die a broken man, but my children are young enough they can still learn a different vocation."
"I wouldn't give up so quickly or easily," said Harry, gently. "When I said I had a job for you I wasn't lying. I want you to learn all you can about our methods and what we have to offer. Then I want to hire you, and your family to help you, to be our Liaison between our country and the northern continent.
"You know what a Trader has to go through to survive in the north. You now know how embarrassing it can be when confronted with what we have in the south. I want you to act as a bridge between the two worlds. Our equipment is restricted in how much we can use it in the north right now, but that won't last forever. I want you to help your brother Traders to modernize and start availing themselves of the many things we have that can help make their days so much easier."
"Why are you doing this?" asked a very confused Master Trader. "If it was anyone else, they would be trying to take over the world!"
"We came here looking for a refuge from persecution," explained Harry. "We didn't expect to find anyone else here, but we did. We don't want to take what is yours, we only want the opportunity to live, in peace, on the same planet. It was obvious to me, very early, that your ways would suffer next to ours. Since I'm not here to do you harm, it is my obligation to do what I can to help you bring your level of civilization as close to ours as possible while still allowing you to maintain your individuality. I don't want to rule the world, I only want a safe place for my dragons."
"What can we do?" asked a newly hopeful Trader, no longer sure he deserved the title of Master.
"Finish this cruise," began Harry, decisively. "Get the crew to show you their ship, they are justifiably proud of her and what she can do. Watch how we interact with 'the natives' and assure yourself that we are treating your fellow Pernese fair or more than fair.
"When you know we are who and what we say we are, take the job I'm offering you. I think you can help your fellow Traders a lot more than you realize."
Bermorg sat and thought about what had been said. Around him, the rest of his family started to feel hopeful again.
Ista Hold, Feb 21, 2028...
Bermorg and his family had taken Harry at his word. After getting settled into luxurious cabins, they had all met together as a family to discuss the offer Harry had made to them. Universally they were in favor of at least trying it for a while. Some of his teens were now dressed as crew, learning how the ship operated enough so they could help offload the cargo destined for Ista Hold.
Bermorg had been introduced to Captain Vincent and was even now watching them approach Ista Hold. It had taken them one day to reach Ista! When they were going south, it had taken them a miserable week of tossing seas and tossing stomachs to make the crossing. Going north, they barely felt the gentle swells of the ocean.
A lot of dragons had come aboard last night. When he asked Harry about it, he had said it was for the Dragon Cruise and wouldn't say much else about it. When he asked Captain Vincent, however, the Captain had said it helped the dragons learn to tolerate the ground shifting underfoot. In the coming week, they would try to sail through every different type of weather Pern had to offer, including storms. Bermorg had been alarmed and explained about their pitiful crossing south and the Captain's only response had been a cryptic, "Sounds like you've already passed your initiation!"
Behind him he heard the Captain speaking, "Set the Special Sea and Anchor Detail!"
The Boatswain repeated the message into the 1MC and he heard it echoed in those areas of the ship close enough for him to hear. He hadn't been on board long, but he was starting to pick up the lingo. He looked around him again in wonder. Who would have ever thought that there could be a mighty ship like this on Pern's ocean!
He felt a deep rumble as the chain for the anchor in the bow was let go to keep the ship circling in roughly the same location while they traded goods with the Hold. Despite being a sailing Hold, Ista's water depth wasn't deep enough to allow the SPS Dronth to tie up at their pier. Therefore, they had to anchor out and take the 'small boats' ashore to trade.
Soon the ship's boats would be in the water and some of his children would learn how the Earth immigrants treated the Pern natives. If it was anything like what Bermorg had gone through, they were in for a rough time. Hopefully, it would be worth it.
Ista Hold, later that evening...
It had gone far better than Bermorg could have imagined. Evidently, these Pernese had already met with and learned all about the Southerners. Bermorg sat at the head table with his wife, Faye on one side of the Lord and Lady Holder while the XO of the SPS Dronth, Commander Edward Graham and his wife Sara, sat on the other. For some reason, Harry had insisted that no one should know he was aboard and Captain Vincent had said he would make a poor guest without a wife at his side. Bermorg was really enjoying himself.
Commander Graham was watching the proceedings with an amused grin on his face.
"A penny for them," said his wife.
He looked down lovingly at her and replied, "I was just comparing this to that time we went to the Renaissance Fair in Maryland or the Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament in South Carolina. Those people were all pretending and were obviously having such a good time of it they entertained us. These people are living it because this is all they know but they're still enjoying themselves so much you can't help but find enjoyment yourself."
"I knew there was a reason I married you," said his wife of almost 50 years.
"Well, I still remember the only reason I married you," said Graham, wiggling his eyebrows up and down. "I was just pleasantly surprised to find that sexy body contained a mind equal to the best and a naive sense of humor that I could take advantage of!"
"Nice to know I can still trust you to act like an old goat, given the least encouragement," said his wife, with mock annoyance. "At least try to behave yourself until we get back home!"
"Why?" asked Edward, with a significant leer for her eyes only. "Our ancient hosts don't seem to be holding anything back while in public."
"I happen to know that 'our ancient hosts' are half our age," responded Sara. "We owe it to them as their elders to show them what decorum looks like."
"Ah, well," said Edward, mock resignedly, as he smiled lovingly at his wife. "The suffering I go through to be married to a Goddess. I love you, Mrs. Graham."
"You aren't half bad yourself. I love you too, Commander Graham."
SPS Dronth, Feb 24, 2028...
Icy rain driven by hurricane-force winds lashed the SPS Dronth as it plowed through the gigantic waves as if they were nothing. Bermorg had been invited to the bridge for a "bird's eye view" of the storm. He had hesitantly accepted, not because he didn't want to see what such a fierce storm looked like from the comfort of the bridge, but because he was afraid he would disgrace himself by being seasick.
Even onboard such a behemoth of a ship, he could distinctly feel the rise and drop of the ship as it rode up the face of each wave, crested, and rode down the back towards the next. This storm was worse than when they had sailed south, yet there was a significant difference. He didn't feel nearly as ill as he had on the smaller boat. He finally decided to accept the Captain's invitation and was glad he had. This storm would be something to tell his grandchildren about.
He had gone through the hangar deck on his way up to the bridge, and, if it weren't for the motion of the ship, you wouldn't have known there was a storm trying to blow them off the face of Pern going on outside! The Hangar Bay doors, leading outside had been closed and there were some kind of doors in place that even divided the huge space into three smaller spaces. And everything inside was completely dry!
"Captain, RADAR reports a faint return, bearing 276°, 25 nautical miles," said the bridge talker.
"Helm, bring us to 276°, full speed ahead," commanded the Captain.
Bermorg felt the ship surge ahead. He had thought it had been going quite fast already. Now he knew there was even more to this mighty ship than he had previously thought. He wondered what they would do once they got to this … whatever it was, though. Surely there wasn't anything they would be able to do in such a terrible storm!
A few minutes later, Captain Vincent ordered, "All ahead, slow. Bring us around so we are upwind with our port side elevator as close as possible. Call away the Emergency Rescue Team."
The Boatswain's Mate made the announcement as the huge ship turned crossways to the wind and started really moving up and down fiercely. Bermorg grabbed a handy wall brace to steady himself and looked over towards the midship elevator. He knew he wouldn't be able to see anything, but wondered what was happening.
"Captain, Rescue team away," called the bridge talker.
Everyone just waited. After about 15 minutes, the bridge talker announced, "Rescue team has retrieved a small boat, Sir. No one is aboard."
"Resume course, ahead one half, Weyrleader to the bridge, please," ordered Captain Vincent, just as Harry barged through the door.
"Weyrleader, we have just recovered a small boat with no one aboard. Is there anything your dragons can do to try to find any possible occupants before it's too late?" asked Captain Vincent, hopefully.
"Just a moment, Captain," said Harry as his face took on the vacant look indicating he was talking to dragons.
After a few seconds, he turned to the Captain and informed him, "I have just asked for volunteers among those dragons on board as well as any unbonded dragons in the local area to search for anyone in the water within 100 miles of our location. All we can do now is wait."
"I hope we find someone soon," said the Captain, fearfully. "If not, anyone who may have been on that boat is already dead, even if we are able to pick them up. As cold as the water is out there, hypothermia will set in in seconds and death will follow in minutes."
Bermorg couldn't see anything, but The Weyrleader assured them that thousands of dragons were scouring the area upwind of where the boat had been discovered. After an hour of negative reports, Captain Vincent turned to Harry and said, with a heavy heart, "Call off your searchers, Weyrleader. If they have not found anyone, they have already been driven under to Davy Jones' Locker."
Bermorg looked out the window at the flight deck and saw dragons landing on the deck and queuing up to allow their riders to exit as close to the door leading into the Island as possible as they blocked out the wind.
Five minutes later, Harry announced, sorrowfully, "All Dragonriders safely returned and all dragons safe and accounted for. I wish we could have found someone, even if dead. Someone is going to want closure."
Bermorg was impressed, not only with the scope and duration of the rescue attempt but at the freely expressed sorrow at the unsuccessful conclusion.
SPS Dronth, Feb 25, 2028...
Bermorg was looking, sorrowfully, at the tiny boat they had fished out of the storm waters last night. It rested securely in a small cradle, tied down on the deck near the open doors to the port side elevator access. To look outside, you wouldn't know a storm had passed this way just hours ago. He wondered who had been aboard. Suddenly, he heard cheering coming from the Dragonriders gathered near the galley. He wandered over curiously.
As he drew near, he heard a series of whistles over the 1MC followed by an announcement, "This is the Captain speaking. We have finally been able to get word to Ista Hold about the boat we found and learned that it didn't have anyone aboard! It was lost early in the storm from a larger fishing schooner running from the storm. They didn't want to get caught by the storm themselves, so just left it. We have told them we have their boat and will return it next time we are in the area. That is all."
Bermorg could hear more cheering, now from the nearby crew. He was sure it was echoed by those he couldn't hear. They had taken the seeming loss of life so personally. Now, instead of complaining about the monumental cost of 'rescuing' an empty boat, they celebrated the fact that no lives had been lost. These people were truly worthy of respect.
SPS Dronth, Feb 28, 2028...
Bermorg and his family stood on the flight deck of the SPS Dronth and looked in amazement at the arrayed Dragon Wings. Their presence had finally been explained to him, and he contemplated the fact that even dragons got seasick.
The upcoming Ceremony, and his family's part in it, was also explained and he made sure everyone was freshly scrubbed and wearing their finest for this momentous day. As his name was called, he walked up to the Captain, as he had seen others before him do, and gratefully accepted a rolled-up Certificate and a brightly colored card. After a sincere handshake with the Captain, he returned to his place and watched as his wife and their family swiftly followed suit.
After everyone had been honored for their 'successful crossing of the Equator and induction into the Royal Order of Shellbacks', the Captain said, "Great job, Shellbacks!" which caused everyone, including an excited Bermorg to cheer loudly.
As the crowd broke up, Harry approached him. "Bermorg, I was planning on returning to Sakushima Hold with you and your family, but something has come up that I need to attend to personally. I have left word so there is someone available to be your pilot and tour guide for the rest of your time in the Tour Egg. I have instructed them to take you wherever you want to go and let you see whatever you wish … within reason. I don't think it would be a good idea to visit the Dawn Sisters just yet," Harry said with a twinkle in his eyes.
Bermorg looked startled, "That is possible!"
"You don't know the half of it," said Harry, warmly. "Let's just finish a normal tour and get you settled before we destroy your worldview even more."
With that, Harry left him, climbed onto his dragon, and signaled for all the dragons to get airborne. In seconds it was as if there had been no dragons on the ship at all.
Later that afternoon, Bermorg watched the reverse process as the Tour Egg was put back up on the flight deck level. This time he and his family were offered the opportunity and accepted, of riding the elevator up. It was wondrous. One moment they were looking into the Hangar Deck, less than 10 seconds later, they were looking at the huge Island rising from the flight deck.
Bermorg turned and looked toward the front of the ship and could see Sakushima Hold and Weyr in the near distance. They wouldn't be riding the ship all the way in, though. Their 'pilot' and 'tour guide' were already waiting for them on the flight deck.
As he neared the Tour Egg, a young man approached him and offered his hand to shake. Bermorg accepted the shake and instantly noticed something wrong. He looked down and the man was missing two of his fingers!
"Hi, I'm Ronan Clark, the Weyr's second in command. Harry felt that your orientation was too important to leave it to anyone else. If he didn't have pressing business on Earth, he would still be here."
"Thank you," said Bermorg, looking at an injury that would spell the end for many on his planet.
"Don't mind the missing fingers," said Ronan, cheerfully. "I lost them over 20 years ago because I was new to my job and thought I knew everything. I hardly miss them now."
"I can't imagine losing part of a hand, much less being able to continue to function without it!" exclaimed Bermorg. "I have known Traders, Miners, and many others who have died from losing less."
"We have pretty good medical benefits," said Ronan, politely. "Besides, my dragons wouldn't allow me to die.
"I believe you already know Susan Bones? She will be your replacement Tour Guide for the rest of your trip."
"Yes," said a still bemused Trader. "She has already been a big help to us, though we must have made her life harder than necessary at the beginning."
"Nothing I couldn't handle," said Susan, smiling widely. "Believe me, I've had to deal with some truly unpleasant people as the Weyr Headwoman. You and your family were always polite, you just didn't want to do things any other way. That's completely understandable."
"Shall we get started?" asked Ronan, looking at the Tour Egg with an odd look.
"Is there something wrong?" asked Bermorg, suddenly uneasy.
"No," replied Ronan, regretfully. "It's just been a long time since I designed and built this. We had such high hopes for it, but people were just too afraid to fly in it."
"I don't see why," said Bermorg, puzzled, as they stepped up into the Egg. "We have had a perfectly delightful time."
"Ah, I see why now," said Ronan. "Harry covered the floor."
"Why would covering the floor make a difference?" asked Bermorg, even more puzzled.
In reply Ronan just reached down and pulled a portion of the carpet back. Bermorg looked down and could see the flight deck below them.
"All the initial passengers were terrified they would fall out because the center of the floor is glass," explained Ronan. "This entire Egg has been engineered so it is strong enough to withstand extended stays in outer space, yet a little thing like being able to see through the floor caused us to never use this again."
"Outer Space?"
"Would you like to see all of your planet at once?" asked Ronan, with a wicked grin on his face.
"We can do that?" asked Bermorg, unsure if he did or not.
"Of course we can," said Ronan. "Help me pull this up. We'll roll it up and store it in the back of the Egg if you decide you don't want to see what's beneath your feet."
In a matter of minutes they had the carpet pulled up, rolled up, and strapped to the floor in the back of the Egg. Once they were all seated and the hatch closed, Ronan had Garanoth take off … straight up!
Pern, 300 miles over Sakushima Hold, Feb 28, 2028...
Ronan had the dragons lift them swiftly to altitude without going Between. It took a lot longer but the opportunity for a spectacular view was well worth it.
"Are you OK, so far, with the carpet off the floor?" asked Ronan.
Bermorg looked around at his spellbound family and shook his head "yes". The view was beyond his wildest imaginings. So this was what Pern looked like!
"Of course, you can't see all of it," explained Ronan, "because the planet is like a very big ball. "Would you like to see more?"
Not trusting himself to say anything, Bermorg just shook his head, "yes".
"Look down at the planet," instructed Ronan. "See that peninsula cutting north far to the east of us? In a minute, I am going to have the dragons take us so we are directly over it. It will go all black for a few seconds and, when you can see again, it will look like the planet has turned and it will be underneath us. Ready, everyone?"
After getting a positive response from all his passengers, Ronan gave the command, everything went black for 2.6 seconds, and they were directly over the peninsula and could quite plainly see all the small islands to the east.
"If you look out the back window, you will see the Dawn Sisters a lot closer than you've ever seen them before," said Ronan. "We think they are the spaceships your ancestors arrived in centuries ago. We haven't visited them yet, because we are still trying to come to grips with the planet, but one day we will. We are still trying to find out what went wrong."
There followed a series of similar jumps until they had completely circled the planet and seen it all, from day to night, to day again. It had been a mesmerizing display and Bermorg appreciated it. This was truly something to remember.
"Now, shall we continue with the scheduled tour?" asked Ronan, cheerfully. "I know Harry said you weren't going to visit the Dawn Sisters, but he didn't say you couldn't take a look at them up close!"
"Where are we supposed to go next?" asked Bermorg, uncertainly. "We have already seen what you are capable of doing. Is there yet more that we need to see?"
"Well, I think we might need to replace the carpet for this," said Ronan, uncertainly. "Seeing beneath your feet at orbital height is one thing, doing so at just above treetop level probably isn't as awe-inspiring. In fact, it can be downright frightening to those not used to it."
"Why is that?" asked Faye, curiously.
"I can let you see for yourselves if you want," said Ronan, almost challenging them to accept.
"Let's try it for at least a little while," suggested Bermorg, thinking there wasn't much that could frighten him anymore.
No sooner were the words out of his mouth than there was the, by now familiar blackout, and they were at treetop level.
"Condron Sea Weyr is a little less than 575 miles from here," stated Ronan. "Would you like to see what it's like to fly as fast as a dragon can go until we get there?"
"Sure, why not," agreed Bermorg.
"Garanoth, are you two up for a best speed flight to Condron Sea Hold?" asked Ronan out loud. Silently, he added, "I have a feeling it won't be more than a few minutes before I have you stop and we put the carpet back."
"We can manage 250 miles per hour," replied Garanoth, doubtfully. "We could probably make it the entire way but would definitely have to rest once we arrived."
"Don't worry, love," said Ronan, affectionately. "I won't allow it to go on that long. Make sure to let them feel the acceleration too!"
"Is everyone ready?" asked Ronan.
Everyone had their chairs facing the back window for the best view. It was one of the benefits of using Dragon Eggs, there was no pre-defined front or rear. They could have just as easily flown sideways, but Ronan knew that the wind drag would have slowed them considerably. Suddenly they were traveling over the surface of Pern at 250 miles per hour and the trees were going by so fast they were just a blur.
Everyone, except Ronan and Susan, let out a scream of fright at the sudden, unexpected feeling of G-forces pushing them deep into their seats and the visually terrifying sight of the surface tearing by so quickly.
After just a few seconds, a shaky voice asked, "Can we please put the carpet back down?"
"Garanoth, please slow down and put us down on the ground for long enough for us to make the changes," asked Ronan, pleased with the demonstration. "No sense flying while we are making the changes."
"Will do," said Garanoth, pleased at the satisfaction he felt from his rider. He knew Ronan wasn't just trying to scare their passengers, he was trying to make a point, one that Garanoth and Nimonth had been able to help provide. Within minutes, they had landed and replaced the carpet.
"Before we get airborne again," said Ronan. "Is there a trade route you are intimately familiar with, preferably one that took weeks to traverse?"
"Lemos to Bendon to Bitra," said Bermorg instantly. The distance as a dragon flies is short, but the road is winding and not very well kept up in places."
"Excellent," said Ronan. "We will fly that route in comfort and a lot faster than you ever could have traversed it on your own."
With that, Ronan gave the command to get airborne again and go Between to …
Lemos Hold, Feb 28, 2028...
"Do you recognize where we are?" asked Ronan. "I have asked the dragons to keep us invisible because we don't want to disrupt anyone's lives, we just want to show you the benefits of dragon flight."
"Yes," said Faye, decisively. "This is Lemos Hold. I recognize the Lake and river to the southwest and the mountains to the northeast. The road we want runs southeast from the Hold."
Once situated over the road, Bermorg and his family were fascinated to see the Hold inhabitants going about their daily routine as if they weren't there. As far as those below them were concerned, they weren't there.
"Look, Da, over in among those carts!" said one of his sharp-eyed sons, excitedly.
Bermorg turned to look but his wife suddenly said, "I think we need to move away from here and give them some privacy!"
Ronan snickered and soon had the dragons moving at best conserve speed, of about 150 miles per hour, along the road. They had been traveling for about an hour when they passed over a wagon train slowly moving along under them.
"Garanoth, please slow, so we can get a good look at the wagons and people below us," requested Ronan. "Do you know them, Bermorg?"
"Yes!" exclaimed Bermorg, excitedly. "That is my old friend, Keron. We haven't seen him in years."
"How long do you think he's been on the road?" asked Ronan.
"Ten days, probably," said Bermorg.
"And how long did it take us to get here?" asked Ronan, relentlessly.
"And hour," said Bermorg, listlessly. "Look, I understand you can do things better and faster than we can. I KNOW that already. Why do you have to keep pushing the same agenda!?"
"Because …," started Ronan, when he was suddenly interrupted.
"Da, look! Bandits waiting for the wagons!"
Bermorg looked aghast and said, "We have to do something!"
Ronan was ahead of him, "Garanoth, please land the Egg across the road between the bandits and the wagon train. Don't leave yet, but call for reinforcements from Benden."
The Tour Egg landed as Ronan instructed and within about 5 minutes a Wing of 60 dragons were settling around the Egg waiting for Ronan's command.
"OK," ordered Ronan. "We need to wait until they attack, but as soon as they do, we need to react immediately. I want every one of those bandits captured. We know they are no danger to any of us, but I don't want any harm coming to any of the members of the wagon train a little way down the road.
"Garanoth, move us out of the way of the wagon train, beyond the bandits so we can cut off any possible retreat."
They all waited until finally, about 30 minutes later, the wagon train slowly plodded into view from around a tree hidden curve in the road. They had to wait another fifteen minutes before the wagon train was near enough to the bandits for them to start their attack. Huge boulders were rolled down in front of the lead wagon and behind the last. Bandits came boiling off the low cliff to the north of the road yelling and waving their weapons about. Fortunately, none of them had any crossbows, which is why they had been forced to wait so long.
The members of the wagon team responded immediately, someone put a crossbow bolt through a huge brute's stomach at extreme range. By then, the sky was literally boiling with dragons. By the time Ronan and his passengers walked up to join a bewildered Keron and his family, all the bandits had been captured and returned to Benden Weyr for justice since the area of the attack had been specifically chosen to be outside any Holds lands.
"Bermorg, old friend! Are you behind our timely rescue?" asked Keron, gratefully.
"No, …," began Bermorg.
"Yes, he is," interrupted Ronan, quickly. "He is just being modest, but he is the first one to say we had to do something."
"Well, regardless of whoever had the idea first, we are grateful," said Keon, thankfully. "I have no doubt that we would have prevailed, but the cost would have been unbearable. Who is your new friend, Bermorg, that he steps in so quickly to correct you?"
"This is Ronan Clark, Garanoth's rider and second in command of Spath's Weyr," said Bermorg.
"Most happy to meet you, Ronan," said Keron, gratefully. "How is it that you can call on Benden riders if you are only second in command of a different Weyr?"
"I am actually second in command of the Dragon Nation," said Ronan. "The Weyrleader was called away and he asked me to finish showing Bermorg here around."
"Interesting," said Keron. "We will have to talk more later, Bermorg. Do you know what will happen to our attackers?"
"Would you like to see?" asked Ronan. "I can arrange for your entire party, wagons, animals, and all to be at Benden Weyr within 20 minutes."
"Who is this God, that he thinks he is able to do such things?" asked Keron, angrily.
"He is someone whom I've learned can do what he says," replied Bermorg, as he saw a D9 Cargo Egg materialize behind Keron.
Twenty minutes later they were all at Benden Weyr. Ronan had gone with overkill in asking for the D9 because that was the only one with the necessary height to take the trader wagons without using a space-enhancing charm. Ronan left Susan to supervise unloading Keron's family, wagons, and burdenbeasts as well as the Tour Egg, which would still be needed.
"Gentlemen and ladies," said Ronan, as he indicated the two Master Traders and their Master Trader wives. "Shall we go find out what Weyr justice is like?"
Ronan led them into Benden Weyr through the Outer Gate, along the Tunnel Road, and through the Inner Gate. Once into the Unloading area, Ronan directed them to a tunnel on the left, passed by the storerooms, and went directly to the Weyr Bowl. They crossed the bowl and went up the stairs to the Council Room where the bound and guarded bandits were being held.
When Ronan walked in, all the Dragonriders present rose out of respect. Ronan motioned them to be seated.
"Who is the senior magical rider here?" asked Ronan, calmly over the loud protests coming from the bandits.
"I am," said a young woman, who looked to be about 18 years old. "I'm Connie Kincaid.
Ronan looked up with surprise, "I didn't realize you had been posted to Benden. How is your brother?"
"He is quite well," said Connie, cheerfully. "William and I decided he should stay home until I rotate back to Earth and then he will get his chance to see Pern."
"That's great," said Ronan. "I bet your parents were very proud of you both. Right now, I would appreciate it if you would quiet our guests over there."
Connie pulled her wand and cast a Silencio spell on all the bandits. Keron found it distinctly weird to see someone turning red in the face from yelling but to hear no sound.
"Please bring their leader forward," said Ronan, politely.
Connie levitated the burly man that had been shot in the stomach. His wound had been treated, but it still looked painful. She set the suddenly fearful bandit down in front of Ronan.
Ronan looked at him calmly and said to him, "If I return the power of speech to you, are you willing to speak with me like a civilized man and not start yelling?"
The bandit shook his head "yes" and Ronan signaled for Connie to reverse the spell.
Connie pointed her wand at the bandit and said, "Finite Silencio."
"Now, I prefer to be as civilized as possible," said Ronan, politely. "My name is Ronan, what is yours?"
"I'm Tyngrast, and you'll regret ever hearing it once I get free from here!"
"You do realize that under the old Pern laws you and your fellow bandits are all under a banishment or death sentence?" asked Ronan, calmly.
Tyngrast paled slightly, but wasn't going to back down, he just glared at Ronan.
"We have a binding oath that we would like you to take. If you take it willingly, I will have you released."
Both Bermorg and Keron started to protest but were silenced when riders placed their hands on their shoulders.
"I'll take your oath," growled Tyngrast, thinking he had seen a way out of his problem, at least long enough for him to kill this upstart kid.
"Connie, would you administer the Equality Oath please?" asked Ronan.
Connie stepped up and, with her belt knife, sliced open the palm of the bandit's left hand and then of her own left hand. There was a gasp from the four non-riders and the other bandits at this display of seeming barbarity. Connie carefully cleaned her knife using a small cloth and sheathed it before continuing.
She clasped his left hand in hers and said, "Please repeat after me."
When Tyngrast nodded, she started, waiting every few words as Tyngrast repeated them:
"I do swear and affirm that I will refrain from any and all actions which may cause physical harm to any other intelligent species. The only exception to this allowed is if my life or the life of another intelligent being is involved. Under such circumstances, I will take the least amount of action to stop said harm and do my best to incapacitate such attacker until properly sanctioned authorities arrive to take said attacker into custody."
As Tyngrast finished the last word of the oath, he and Connie were both surrounded by a faint red glow, indicating the oath had taken effect. Connie released the bandit's hand and stepped back waiting for Ronan to continue.
Ronan looked at Tyngrast and said, "By this oath, you have promised never to harm another intelligent being. If you try, it will rebound upon you. Do you understand this?"
Tyngrast just glared and shook his head "yes". He didn't really, but it didn't matter, they were just words.
Ronan looked at Connie and nodded his head at her. She took her wand and said, "Finite incarcerous." The ropes binding Tyngrast snapped off and disappeared. Immediately Tyngrast lunged forward and grabbed Connie's belt knife. She stood still as if they had rehearsed his act. No one else moved at all.
Tyngrast lunged at Ronan and jammed the knife towards Ronan's kidney. There seemed to be some kind of blur effect surrounding his arm and suddenly, the knife entered his own back and sliced open his kidney.
As he quickly bled out, he heard Ronan say, sorrowfully, "You should never, ever try to go against a magically binding oath."
Bermorg, Keron, their wives, and the remaining bandits all stared open-mouthed at the dead bandit leader. The bandits, even though silenced, had heard everything that had happened. This was their first encounter with magic and they were terrified.
Ronan turned to the remaining bandits and said, "Now, gentlemen, I am going to release you one at a time to administer the Equality Oath. After you have each taken it, we will provide you with some water to drink as it's been a long hot day. Then I will ask you some questions and you will answer truthfully to the best of your abilities."
One by one, the bandits were led forward and given the oath. As each one finished the oath and the red glow faded, they were handed a clear plastic bottle of water, slightly laced with veritaserum. After the last had finished his water, Ronan started their interrogation.
First, he found where their families were. He sent for them and had them go through the same oath and drink procedure as the men.
Then, he asked each and every one, man, woman, and child, why they had been declared Holdless. In almost every case it was because they had tried to steal food or some other essential because they were desperate. The one case that was different involved a man accused of killing another for injuring his wife. The charge was never proven to the Lord Holder's complete satisfaction, so he had been declared Holdless instead of being executed.
"Connie, please bring as many magical riders as are in the Weyr who can cast healing spells," said Ronan. "Do your best for them, until we can get them to the real doctors at Spath's Weyr."
"What is happening?" asked Keron, finally. He was thoroughly confused, as was Bermorg and their wives.
"As you heard from their testimony," explained Ronan, as magical riders began moving among the former prisoners. "they were declared Holdless for minor crimes that they should never have been forced to commit. We will take them to Spath's Weyr, heal them as best we can, and set them all up in their own Cothold where they will be given a chance to become productive members of society again.
"Harry has taught us by example through the years that not many people are truly bad, they are just driven to do bad things out of desperation and necessity. We will take away the desperation, alleviate the necessity, and they will eventually come to trust that we stand by what we say. A year from now, you won't recognize any of these poor wretches you see before you and they will all be willing members of the community in helping Pern to become the place it was meant to be, a safe and nurturing place to live, with true justice for everyone."
"But how can you be sure they were telling the truth!?" asked Bermorg, crossly. "I think I would lie if my life depended on it."
"You might," said Ronan, smiling at the Master Trader, "but not after drinking the water we gave them. We have a special potion that, once taken, forces you to tell the absolute truth to any question put to you until the potion leaves your body. In about three hours, these people will have 'recovered' from drinking the potion and will be relieved to know their life of misery is over and they may start their new life if they wish."
"If they wish?" asked Keron.
"We will not force them to go with us. If they chose, they can remain here and face Pern justice for their actions," said Ronan, grimly.
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