All The Weyrs of Pern Page 18

  Wedged between the wall and his dragon, Jaxom began to untie the ropes that secured the oxygen tanks to Ruth's back.

  "Huh!" Jaxom exclaimed in surprise as the tiniest push sent the first tank drifting toward the deck. "Well, easier off than on!

  As Aivas said." He grinned at the young harper, who was gaping in surprise. "No weight at all." With one finger, he pushed the second tank after the first.

  "Hey, I could get to like a place where work is play," Piemur said with a grin as he began to relax.

  "Here-let's stack them against the wall. By the first Egg!" Jaxom inadvertently used more force than necessary to lift the tank and nearly launched it over Ruth.

  "Wow!" Piemur stretched out to restrain the tank and found himself rising. But he was quick enough to grab Ruth's wing and correct the reaction. "Yeah, this free-fall stuff has distinct advantages! I'll tend to the others."

  While Jaxom watched in surprise, Piemur took a firm hold of Ruth's shoulder neck ridge and executed an effortless flip over the white dragon's back.

  "Whee!" The exclamation was part laugh and part surprise that his unorthodox maneuver succeeded in guiding him neatly into the narrow space between the dragon and the railing around the upper level of the bridge. "This is fun!"

  "Watch it, Piemur. We don't want those tanks crashing into anything."

  "I'll just tie these down."

  "It is safest to secure any loose object on board a spacegoing vessel," Aivas agreed, as calm as ever. "You are doing well. Bridge temperature is still rising, and all proximity alarms are quiescent."

  "Proximity alarms?" Piemur asked, his voice rising in surprise.

  "Yes, this facility is now receiving function reports and damage analysis," Aivas went on. "Considering its length of time in space, the fabric of the Yokohama has not had a significant breach. The solar-powered deflector shields display no operational damage. As you will remember from your studies, these panels provide power to the small thrusters that keep the ship in its geosynchronous orbit. There has been minor penetration of some of the outermost sectors of the main sphere, but these were automatically sealed off. None of those sections are now required. The doors on the cargo bay are still open, and a malfunction light is on. However, your assigned tasks take precedence. Please proceed. Oxygen remains at a normal level, but you will shortly feel the effects of the low temperature, decreasing manual dexterity. Gymnastic displays should be curtailed."

  Jaxom smothered a laugh and hoped that only he had heard Piemur's insolent mutter about all work and no play.

  Moving carefully, Jaxom ducked under Ruth's neck and took a firm hold on the railing. To his surprise, he saw that Piemur was hovering motionless on the wide steps down to the command level of the bridge. Looking up from his circumspect movements, Jaxom, too, was transfixed by what had stunned the harper. Below them lay Pern; its blue seas glistening to port; while to starboard was visible the coastline and vivid greens, browns, and beiges of the Southern Continent.

  "By the Egg, it's just like the pictures Aivas showed us," Piemur murmured reverently. "Magnificent!"

  Unexpected tears pricked his eyes, and Jaxom swallowed hard as he viewed his world as his ancestors had once seen it at journey's end! That must have been a triumphant moment, he thought.

  "It's big!" Piemur added, daunted by the prospect.

  "It is a whole world," Jaxom replied softly, trying to reorient himself to the incredible size of it.

  With great majesty, the scene was imperceptibly altering as the planet swung toward the dusk line.

  "Jaxom? Piemur?" Aivas recalled them to their duties.

  "Just admiring the view from the bridge," Piemur said briskly. "Seeing's believing." His eyes still on the wide window, he floated over to the flight of stairs and pulled himself hand over hand along the railing down to the flight deck. From there he used every available handhold to make his way to the console he was scheduled to program. At last he wrenched his gaze from the spectacular view and studied the job at hand.

  "I got more red lights than I like," he told Aivas as he strapped himself into his seat.

  Jaxom, making his way around the upper level to the science positions, could see the red lights on those boards, as well. He pulled himself into a seat and strapped in.

  "I've got them, too!" he said. "But not on the telescope settings."

  "Jaxom, Piemur, key in the override commands and then go to manual."

  Jaxom's board was immediately cleared of over half of the red dysfunction lights. Three remained, along with two orange lights. But none of those would interfere with the program he was to initiate. A quick glance told him that Piemur was already tapping away at his assigned keyboard.

  Jaxom set to work, stopping now and then to flex his fingers and gaze wonderingly at the fantastic view of Pern. Nothing could detract from that spectacle, not even the comical antics of two fire-lizards cavorting in the weightlessness. Oddly enough, their excited squeakings and chitterings as Farli dared Trig to more and more outrageous maneuvers helped dispel the unreality of this bizarre environment.

  Once Jaxom began to concentrate on setting the program for the telescopes, Ruth released his tail anchor and drifted with great dignity toward the wide bridge windows, where he could indulge his fascination in Pern and the starlit blackness. The fire-lizards continued their chittering conversation.

  I don't know what they are, either, Ruth said. But they're pretty.

  What's pretty? Jaxom asked, looking up. Can you see the other two ships?

  No. There are things flowing past us.

  Things? Jaxom craned across his console to see what Ruth was seeing. However, his view was blocked by the bodies of the dragon and fire-lizards, who had their faces pressed against the far right of the bridge viewport.

  Suddenly all three creatures flung themselves back, away from the window, the motion sending them careening toward Piemur and Jaxom.

  "Hey, watch out!" Jaxom ducked as Ruth zoomed overhead. At the same moment, there was a distinct rattling sound.

  "Something's hitting us! " Piemur cried. Unstrapping quickly, he pushed himself off to the viewscreen.

  "What is hitting you?" Aivas demanded.

  Piemur bumped against the viewscreen, looking right and left. "Jaxom, ask Ruth what he saw. I can't see anything." Pressing his left cheek to the plasglas, he tried to see beyond the thick curve of the window.

  Things-like fire-lizard eggs-coming straight at us, Ruth replied.

  "Well, there's nothing out there now," Piemur said. He headed back to his station, grabbing the back of his chair just as he was about to overshoot it.

  "Aivas?" Jaxom asked.

  "The pinging indicated the screens deflecting a small shower of objects," Aivas replied calmly. "No damage is reported. As you will have learned from your studies, space is not a barren void. Minute particles are in constant motion through space. Doubtless a shower of some sort startled Ruth and the firelizards. You would be wise to continue your tasks before you.

  Jaxom noticed that Piemur, too, was not completely reassured by that explanation. But it was true that the icy cold was seeping through their layers of clothing and so, as Ruth and the firelizards cautiously, with much chirping and twittering, returned to their positions at the window, the men returned their attention to their consoles.

  Jaxom worked as fast as he could, but still the cold increasingly penetrated the down-lined gloves that had always kept him warm through hours of Threadfall. Maybe space was colder than between, he thought, flexing frozen fingers.

  "Aivas, didn't you say there'd be heat on the bridge?" he complained. "My hands are getting numb with cold."

  "Readings indicate that the bridge heating is not working as efficiently as possible. It is probable that the resistive ceramic of the units has crystalized. This can be repaired later."

  "That's good news," Jaxom said as he double-checked his entries. Then he straightened up. "Mine's done-program ready."

  "Activate," A
ivas ordered.

  Jaxom punched that key with some trepidation-though the Egg knew how he could have gotten it wrong with the endless drills Aivas had put him through in learning the sequences of attitude, exposure, and sectors. With considerable personal satisfaction, he watched the fast-forward scroll of the display as it confirmed his plotting.

  "This board's much faster than the ones we've been using," he remarked.

  "The equipment on the Yokohama was state-of-the-art when the ship was commissioned by the Pern Charter Group," Aivas said. "High-speed computations would have been essential in astronavigation."

  "I told you we were using baby stuff," Piemur murmured.

  "Before the infant walks, it must learn to crawl," Aivas said.

  "Is everyone hearing all this?" the harper demanded with some indignation.

  No.

  "I thank your mercy for that! And my program's up and running, too, by the way."

  "That is correct. You must now begin phase two of the schedule. You will find the auxiliary oxygen storage behind Bulwark B-8802-A, -B, and -C," Aivas instructed.

  Piemur was shaking the fingers of his gloved hands. "My fingers have never been this cold! I'll give you Bitran odds this bridge is colder than between."

  "In point of fact," Aivas remarked, "it is not. But you have been in that very cold temperature far longer than you have ever remained between."

  "A point," Jaxom reminded Piemur as they pulled themselves up along stair rail. "Remarkable feeling, this weightlessness," he said with a comradely grin at the harper.

  Piemur gave him a happy grimace of agreement. Just then Farli and Trig came tumbling end over end above their heads, making them duck-which sent them bouncing off the steps.

  "Careful! " Jaxom cried, reaching for the railing as smoothly as he could.

  "Ohohohohoh!" Piemur continued to float on up to the ceiling.

  By the time Jaxom, securely holding on to the rail with one hand, had grabbed the floating Piemur by the ankle and hauled him down, neither was sure whether to laugh or swear at their clumsiness. However, the slight mishap made them all the more circumspect in their motions. They located, opened, and examined the auxiliary oxygen compartment, then carefully removed the one empty tank, maneuvered the four they had brought with them into the space available, and made the necessary connections to bring the replacements into the system.

  "Phase three may now be initiated," Aivas told them once the connections had been checked.

  Jaxom caught Piemur's gaze, and the young harper gave him a wry grin, shrugged, and turned back to the space-suited figure they had both been avoiding.

  Ruth, we need you back on the landing, please, Jaxom said as he and Piemur solemnly converged on Sallah's body. He swallowed.

  As they lifted it from the chair it had occupied for 2,500 Turns, the rigid space-suited body retained the position in which it had originally collapsed across the console. Jaxom tried to feel reverence for the personality that had once inhabited the frozen shell they were handling. Sallah Telgar had given her life to prevent the defector, Avril Bitra, from draining the Yokohama's fuel tanks in her bid to escape the Rukbat system. Sallah had even managed to repair the console Bitra had wrecked in her fury at being thwarted. Odd that a Hold had been named after such a woman, but then, Bitrans had always been an odd lot. Jaxom chided himself for such thoughts. There were some very honest, worthy Bitrans-a few, anyway-who were not given to gambling and the other forms of gaming that fascinated so many of that Hold. Lord Sigomal kept to himself, but that was far preferable to the late Lord Sifer's well-known unsavory appetites.

  With the ropes that had held the tanks in place, Jaxom and Piemur strapped the bent body between Ruth's wings. Sensing their mood alteration, Farli and Trig had ceased their cavorting, and when Piemur again mounted the white dragon, they quietly settled to his shoulders.

  When Jaxom slid astride Ruth, he could no longer control his jaw, and his teeth began to chatter. Had Sallah felt this creeping cold as she died? Was that what had killed her, abandoned so far above the planet? His chilled fingers could barely feel Ruth's neck ridge.

  Let's get back to Landing before we freeze solid, too, Ruth, he said.

  "Can we go before we freeze solid?" Piemur asked wistfully, unaware that he was echoing Jaxom's silent request to Ruth.

  Now! Jaxom longingly projected a vivid scene of warn, balmy Landing to his dragon.

  As they entered the chill blackness of between, he was still not sure which was colder.

  Much later in the evening of that momentous day, when Lessa had a chance to sit down and think about it all, she wondered just how Aivas-quite likely with Lytol's connivance-had contrived such an extraordinary and timely event as the return of Sallah's body. This would have considerable impact on the entire population, both North and South, both doubters and believers. Sallah Telgar's heroism and self-sacrifice had, in the past two years, become a favorite harper ballad, repeatedly requested at all Gathers and evening entertainments of any consequence. To be able to bring her back from her lonely crypt should be considered a significant vindication of the Landing effort.

  Lord Larad was absolutely dumbfounded when Robinton, conveyed by Mnementh and F'lar to Telgar Hold, apprised him of the retrieval of his ancestress's remains.

  "Yes, yes, indeed, Sallah must be honored. There must, of course, be some ceremony fitting such an occasion." Larad looked helplessly at Robinton.

  Burial services were usually brief, even for the most honored being. The deeds and goodness of unusual persons were perpetuated in song and harper tales, which were considered the most fitting of memorials.

  "A performance of the Ballad of Sallah Telgar would certainly be appropriate," Robinton said. "Full instrumental accompaniment to chorus and solo voices. I'll speak to Sebell."

  "I never thought to have the chance to honor our brave ancestress," Larad said, and floundered once again.

  Fortunately Lady Jissamy, Larad's astute and capable wife, stepped to his side. "There is that small cave, just to the north of the main court, the one which that recent rockslide revealed. It is just large enough-" She faltered and then recovered. "And certainly accessible, easy to reseal."

  Larad patted her hand gratefully. "Yes, the very place. Ah... when?" he added tentatively.

  "The day after tomorrow?" Robinton suggested, resisting an urge to grin in triumph. The day after next would be just the day before the Lord Holders convened about the matter of the late Oterel's successor.

  Larad shot him a quick glance. "You couldn't possibly have planned it this way, could you, Masterharper?"

  "Me?" Years of practice made it possible for Robinton to affect genuine surprise. He waggled his hand in denial.

  F'lar came to his assistance with a disgusted snort. "Hardly, Larad. We knew she was there. So did you. Aivas included her sacrifice in his historical narrative. Today was the first chance to actually get to her. And it just doesn't seem proper to-well, just to leave her remains there."

  "To give her rest after all that long time in cold space," Jissamy said with a delicate shudder. "It's time and past it. Should we make it an open ceremony?"

  "I think that only proper. Telgar, of course, should have the honor, but many will wish to be respectful," Robinton said with a properly grave mien, hoping that the occasion would spark considerable interest through Hold and Hall. Even those who were not curious about Sallah could be expected to come, if only to see who else attended.

  When Jaxom, Piemur, and Ruth arrived back at Landing, they had gratefully turned their burden over to Masterhealer Oldive and two of his Masters. Now the mortal remains of Sallah Telgar rested in a finely joined coffin of Master Bendarek's best wooden panels.

  Shown the cleansed space suit, Aivas assured all that the heel of the suit and the other small tears could be mended. Aivas remarked to Lytol that since someone would be expected to wear that suit, it was fortunate indeed that superstition was not a facet of Pernese culture. Lytol disagreed.
He and Aivas immediately became involved in a discussion of primitive religions and arcane beliefs, so that Robinton was just as glad that he was free to leave for Telgar Weyr with F'lar. The Harper wondered fleetingly if he would have done better to have stayed to listen to what was certain to be a fascinating debate; but he was deriving too much satisfaction in being the bearer of such remarkable tidings.

  One of the older Telgar sons brought in a tray with wineglasses and a fine crystal decanter, which Robinton decided must be one of the new designs Glassmaster Morilton had produced. The next son arrived with a tray of piping-hot little pastries and some good Telgar mountain cheeses. With a glass of white Benden in his hand, Robinton was definitely pleased that he had come.

  "You said, did you not," Larad began, "that someone had actually been on the old ship? Was that judicious? "

  "Necessary," F'lar said. "No danger involved. Piemur's little fire-lizard did exactly as Aivas taught her. So there's air on the bridge, and it's warmed up. Ruth will take Jaxom back again tomorrow to find out why the cargo-bay doors have remained open. Probably a trivial malfunction, according to Aivas. All in all-" F'lar paused to sip his wine. "-a most auspicious beginning. Most auspicious."

  "I'm glad to hear that, F'lar," Larad said, nodding, his expression solemn. "I'm very glad to hear that."

  "Not half as glad as I am to be able to report it," the Benden Weyrleader replied.

  8

  KEEP A GRIP on me, will you, Ruth ? Jaxom said as he carefully swung his right leg over the white dragon's neck ridge. Maneuvering in free-fall had been easier the previous day, when he and Piemur had had each other to hold on to. He had gotten the hang of slow, controlled movements, then, but today the bulky suit impeded him, and he felt ungainly. The heavy magnetic soled boots made his feet especially clumsy. He clutched at Ruth's neck suddenly as he felt his body moving in a direction other than down. Ruth caught him by the ankle, and suddenly he was right side up, the boots anchoring him safely to the deck.