Saska was surprised when Aselan came to her room the next day as she was packing. The cook surveyed the electronic equipment, the leads from the solar collectors, the jump suit laid out on the bed.

"Yes," she said with a nod. "Much as I've suspected, them Terrvert worlds have a lot more technology."

"But not as much agriculture," Saska replied. "I've seen more farming and gardening here than ever I saw even on Benden World. I've made notes and filmed a lot of it for my parents."

"I never was one for thinking we had nothing to offer," Aselan said with satisfaction. "Maybe we'll see your parents here, eh, to take a proper look?"

"I'm sure they'd be delighted," Saska said with a smile.

Aselan held out a small leather folder.

"I've brought this for you. It's a copy, don't be thinking it's an original. It's been copied through the generations."

Saska opened the folder and gasped in surprise. On the left hand side was a head and shoulders portrait of a man, smiling, confident, with a thatch of unruly curls. He wore ordinary clothes, but of an older style, with the knot of a Wingleader. The right hand side of the folder held the portrait of a young woman dressed in green, with an impish grin that seemed to echo the man's smile.

"Who - is that F'lessan? And Tai?"

"Yes. There's other pictures scattered around, I daresay, but that's the one all his family have. That's a late portrait, after Golanth was injured, but when he'd found a new purpose in life here in Honshu, and founded his family."

"Yes - you can see he's had troubles," Saska murmured. "Did he live here always?"

"More or less. Although they couldn't fight Thread, they could still get around to see their friends and family. They lived through the end of the Ninth Pass and into the new Pern."

"The new Pern. Did they see the dragon-ships?"

"That I couldn't tell you, m'dear. But you keep that, because you're one of those he would have celebrated."

She bustled off before Saska could say any more. Saska studied the two pictures and nodded.

"And you two were some of those that took Pern forward," she murmured, as she finished packing her case. Someone knocked on the door, and a youngster came to carry her case outside.

H'rat was talking to Toron, and Saska thought he looked out of sorts and sullen.

"Well, I'll be sorry to see you go," Toron said with a smile. "Working all day on our problems as you have been. Have you solved them?"

"Not yet, but I've more ideas now that I had at Respite."

"I've sent to Landing for permission for you to go and look at the original records," Karela said. "Unfortunately it takes quite a few highly ranked people to grant that kind of permission, so it may be a while before you hear from them."

"That's all right, I can wait, because I do have things I can work on."

"It's been a pleasure to have you at Honshu. You'll have to come back on holiday, perhaps in our winter, and bring your parents as well."

Saska smiled and agreed, although she thought privately that the price of a ticket would be prohibitive even for highly paid scientists.

Saska mounted to Noreth's back, strapped herself in and hooked her case over her shoulders where it would rest between herself and H'rat.

"Are you all right, H'rat?" Saska asked, peering at the half seen face of the blue rider, who was still scowling.

"Yes of course. I'm going to stay a few days in Respite - can I be your escort there?"

"I don't have an escort," Saska replied. "I keep on friendly terms with all the riders because I need to ask them questions."

"But I could do the same as I do here? Take you around and about?"

Saska shook her head.

"I don't know, H'rat, but if you are staying for a while, then I will certainly talk to you and Noreth."

H'rat didn't seem particularly pleased with her answer, he shrugged petulantly and gathered up the riding straps.

"All set?" he asked.

"Ready to go." Saska pulled up her hood and slipped her mittens in place, and then reached around to grip him around the waist as Noreth crouched, bunched his muscles, and then flung them upwards with a powerful sweep of his wings, spiralling upwards to clear air.

Saska looked down at Honshu and thought of F'lessan and Tai, making their discoveries about the power of dragons that had been undreamed of at the beginning.

- that is a nice man. I would like to meet him and not go where I am not welcome

And before Saska could say anything more, Noreth had taken them between.