“I myself would like to thank the queen riders for exerting their powerful influence on our bronzes,” G’don said with a formal hand over his heart as he bowed to the five queen riders.
“The advantage of having three very senior queens,” said Zulaya, and two very strong-minded young women.
Laura blushed while Shanna stood even straighter.
“All right then,” M’shall began, having taken note that most of the male dragons’ eyes were resuming normal color and speed. He took a step towards the center of the sandy circle and cupped his hands, turning as he spoke. “All right, then, every one of you. This is a meeting that never happened and isn’t to be referred to in any Weyr for any reason. Do you understand me?” The response was loud and clear.
He nodded and stepped back towards Craigath. “We’ll meet…” he said now to the other leaders, “where Thread first… officially falls North.”
“We’ve sweep riders out all the time,” G’don reminded them.
“And we’re all very sure that S’nan has, too,” B’nurrin put in, grinning.
“So we’ll know when and where to meet again.”
“Wait a moment more, G’don,” K’vin said. “Why don’t we rotate the wings that meet that first Fall, wherever it is?”
A little cheer from the outer circle gave instant approval to that suggestion. “That’ll give even more riders a chance for at least a little experience before the individual Weyrs have to meet Thread on their own.
G’don paused at Chakath’s side, looking around to check the reaction to that idea. “In hourly intervals?” he asked.
“Make it two hours to allow wings to get properly into the routine,” M’shall amended.
“It’s not that we’re green riders or anything,” B’nurrin put in as protest.
“Two hours makes more sense than swapping around every hour.” D’miel said thoughtfully.
“I’d agree on two,” said G’don. “We’ll bring the matter up to S’nan; he deserves that much from us. I’ll initiate the idea,” and he grinned again, since S’nan would listen to him as the oldest Weyrleader where he would summarily dismiss a younger man. “I’ll let you know when we’ll meet to make the changes we’ve already agreed to.” Red dust swirled up in a cloud around the Butte as all the dragons leaped almost simultaneously from the ground.
Threadfall
Bitter cold weather and winds swept down from the icy poles of Pern on the day that S’nan set up a meeting with the other five Weyrleaders to discuss the rotation of wings which G’don had suggested to him. Freezing weather was likely to do Fort Weyr out of its chance to be the first Weyr to meet Thread in this Fall.
That S’nan keenly felt deprived was obvious. Throughout the meeting he paced the floor, pausing to peer out of the slanting corridor to the sleet falling heavily into Fort Bowl.
He had only half his mind on the discussion. B’nurrin was all but laughing, only the kicks he received under the table from K’vin keeping him from bursting out. Not that K’vin could blame the Igen Weyrleader, for the meeting was a charade: each of them giving soberly presented reasons for the two hourly rotation while S’nan said little more than monosyllables. He kept his expression blank. it was Sarrai’s petulant expression that was honest.
“She’s been dying to get all of us under her wing,” Zulaya whispered to K’vin when the Fort Weyrwoman’s face was turned towards her anxiously pacing mate.
“Don’t think she will, love,” K’vin said, the endearment coming easily to his lips now. He sighed. “You know,” and he moved his lips close to her ear. I’m almost sorry for the old man.”
Zulaya gave a little snort. “I’m not!” Then she altered her expression to one of earnest attention as Sarrai looked over at them for whispering.
Thread came down as black dust, sifted in with snow or sleet.
Fort sweep riders brought buckets of it for S’nan to see and mournfully wave off. High Reaches were even more diligent in their efforts to locate live, dangerous Thread.
Some riders even suffered frostbite, so earnestly did they watch for the reappearance of the old enemy, although one long piece of frozen Thread was brought for G’don to examine. The stench of it as it melted was enough to dispose of it completely.
By the time of Benden’s First Fall - by the numbers, Ten - the weather pattern had shifted sufficiently on the east coast to a warmer front so that a good deal of that projected Fall would be considered ‘live and dangerous’. The call went out to all the Weyrs of Pern.
K’vin and Telgar Weyr’s two full wings of dragon riders reassembled in the upper right quadrant of air above Benden Weyr, not a rider out of alignment. Below him the Weyr was ablaze with lights in this dark pre-dawn time, lighting the bellies of the dragons in their ranks. He wasn’t sure if the Telgar contingent got there before the units of the other Weyrs, but they were certainly all present and accounted for at the designated hour and in the assigned positions. Everyone would have preferred a daylight defense, but Thread didn’t need to see to Fall.
And according to Sean’s reports of early morning or late evening Falls, the silvery stuff would be luminous enough for the practical purpose of flaming it out of the sky.
This First Fall of the Second Pass would start across the high mountains, still deep with winter snows, and would thus fall harmlessly. Much would probably fall as black dust in the still frigid temperatures of that area though quite likely, on other occasions, Fall would merely be observed until it moved inexorably down to habitable lands. Today was the exception.
The final decision by the Weyrleaders had been unanimous - when M’shall had made S’nan put it to a vote - to ride the entire Fall over the ranges, harmless or not, to see it for themselves. Everyone was too keyed-up over the first three ‘dud’ Falls to wait any longer to go into action. Of course, some of the peaks jutted at altitudes where oxygen had thinned to an unsustainable level even for dragons. But it could be seen in actual descent and the general aspect of this Fall judged.
“The wings would be rotated after two hours, giving as many as possible a chance at the real thing”. K’vin briefly thought of P’tero’s vain attempt to be included in the fighting force Telgar would launch. Maybe he should have put the blue rider in, sore ass and all, to prove that there was a lot more to fighting Thread than having the guts to do it. But to include P’tero would have been to exclude a perfectly healthy and less erratic rider. K’vin had not selected M’leng of the green riders chosen for the First Fall. That would ease any discord between the pair: that one had gone and the other had not.
Basically, they were good weyrmates having a reasonably stable relationship ever since P’tero, who was the younger, had Impressed Ormonth.
Movement and a shift in air pressure caught K’vin’s attention and he looked down at Benden’s Rim.
Craigath warns us, Charanth told his rider. Three, two, one…
GO!
The command came from many minds and many throats in the dark above Benden Weyr. The blackness of between was more intense but scarcely less cold than the atmosphere above the peaks where the wings re-entered real space. K’vin was glad of the wool fabric across his mouth and nose, though it did not altogether warm the thin air he inhaled. Below, the snowy mountains gave off a curious light of their own. Belior was setting in the west and K’vin looked around, to the east, and saw the baleful orb of the Red Planet, vivid amongst the stars.
Spits of fire blossomed in the darkness all around as eager dragons belched. Too full a belly of firestone, K’vin thought with professional detachment, but he could hardly fault rider or dragon for over-priming.