Dear
Readers:
This
story is being written in response to a challange for me to write in a totally
‘seat-of-the-pants’ linearly forward way. This means that there is none of
the plot line preplaning which I
normally do. It also means that I
have no clue what the characters are going to do from one chapter to the next.
When I begin a chapter, it is true that I may have a thought of
where that chapter will go but more often than not,
I fuss over the opening paragraph or two for a few minutes and
then, suddenly, the characters take over and off they go in a
completely different direction with me tagging along behind trying to writing
what they are doing. Other than
going back from time to time to clean up grammer and other such mistakes the
story is mostly just as it was first written.
Enjoy.
Irina Tellen aka Ian Toldman aka Kent Swan
Feb-Aug 2002
Star Trek : The Next Generation
Dragon
Talk
By Irina Tellen
“Phew! That stinks!” exclaimed Deanna Troi as she reeled backwards, seeking refuge as a snort blew sulphurous phosphine fumes deeper into the cave.
“What do you expect, Dee. It’s a dragon.”
“Dragon... Smaggon! It still has bad breath. Do something. This is not the way I expected to end our leave.”
“What would have me do? Go out and dispatch it?”
Deanna stomped a foot and threw her hands in the air.
“Will Stop that! You’re making fun of me and...”
She could barely make out the white of his teeth as he grinned in the near darkness of their refuge. “And.. and you’re enjoying this a little too much!”
“Maybe... a little.” A wry grin suffused his face.
“Do you have any idea what that thing really is, anyway.”
“Hey! I didn’t take a detailed inventory but I did note large leathery wings, claws and puffs of what looked like flame coming from its mouth as it was attacked the shuttle. I think we can safely call it a dragon regardless of what it really is.”
“Great! We’ve been invited to lunch by an overgrown flying lizard.”
“Maybe it’ll get hungry enough to go somewhere else to feed.”
“When... this century. What if it only feeds once a week and it’s decided that now’s the time?”
“Did you see the size of that thing? It has at least a twenty or thirty meter wingspan and probably has a metabolism like a furnace. Deanna, for something that large we’d only be a light snack.”
“Oh now there’s an encouraging thought. What are we going to do? The shuttle’s damaged and we’re stuck on... where did you say we were?”
“On a planet, in a cave?”
“Argh! You know what I mean.”
“This system wasn’t listed in the navigation database when we were unceremoniously dumped out of warp.”
“Oh great! More good news. Not only are we going to be the main course for that lizard's lunch, but we’re lost! And I’m supposed to be at the sector medical conference next week.”
Deanna suddenly staggered as her head exploded in mental pain. In self defense she threw up her shields. The only one this she knew that could do that to her was her mother. Suddenly the pressure recoiled and was gone as quickly as it had come.
In the interplay of shadow and light within the cave Riker could see that her reach out and touch the wall for support.
“Deanna? Is something wrong?”
“Something touched me, Will.”
“How did it feel? Dangerous?” he asked knowing full well her ability to ‘read’ such events.
“No... more curious... but powerful... it hurt...”
“Dee, The air’s fresher back here. I think that there’s an air shaft.”
Shaking off the disquieted feelings, she followed him deeper into the cave, Deanna trailed a delicate hand along the stone wall as a guide. “Okay but you’ve got to behave yourself.”
She felt her foot touch his leg and then his hand slide up the inseam of her form fitting jump suit.
“Will, stop it!” she said, slapping his hand away.
Riker reached up and pulled her down onto his lap, enveloping her in his arms.
“Dee we’re engaged.”
Deanna did not resist but snuggled into his arms, seeking the shelter and comfort of his warmth.
“I know, but... something’s wrong here. ”
“Here, in this cave?”
“No, I mean in general. I can’t sense that thing out there the way I normally should.”
“Come on, Deanna. You’re just tired from the vacation. That thing can’t get to us in here so let’s get some sleep – if you can.”
Riker leaned back against the boulder and leaned his head against hers. He was more exhausted than he thought and sleep over took his body swiftly.
Deanna rested her head against his shoulder and stared into the night wondering just what they had gotten themselves into.
* * *
As the local sun crept up above the adjacent mountain peaks, its rays to penetrated deep into the sheltering cave, waking Riker and Troi from their slumber.
Deanna woke first and found herself comfortably snuggled up to Will, her head pillowed on his shoulder and chest.
She yawned and stretched languorously before her senses began to right themselves. The incessant scratching and snuffling of the great lizard outside their refuge seemed to have ceased.
“Will.” She said softly.
Riker grunted as she poked him in the side.
“Will. Wake up. It’s morning.”
“Ow, stop it, I’m awake, I'm awake," he grumbled.
“Is this your normal behavior in the morning? Maybe I should reconsider--”
“Deanna please. My arms gone to sleep, and your fingernails are like claws...”
“Poor baby,” she moved to stand up. “Speaking of claws, our 'host' seems to have departed.” she observed. "At least I don't hear anything anymore."
"More to the point, you don't 'smell' anything," grinned Riker.
Deanna wrinkled her nose, "that too. Did you sleep all right?"
“No, not really. Rocks make a damn’d uncomfortable bed.”
“Too bad we couldn’t have gotten the sleeping bags from the shuttle's survival kit.”
“I know, but I seem to recall that we were in a bit of a hurry when we bailed out of the shuttle. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you move so fast.”
“You were right on my heels.” She laughed then turned serious. “The shuttle? Do you think it can be fixed?”
“Don’t know. I had it under control until just before impact. I won’t have any idea how bad it’s broken until I can take a better look.”
“It might be safe to go outside and take a look,” she ventured. "I can't sense--"
Will stood up and groaned, gently cutting her off. “Dee, my kinks have kinks.”
Deanna smiled. Leaning forward, she kissed him lightly. “I know of one way to work those kinks out.”
Riker smiled against her lips, “You’re just trying to cheer me up and besides the sleeping bags are still in the shuttle.”
Deanna punched him on the arm. “You’re no fun.”
“Hey, right now I have to find a rock or a tree to take care of personal hygiene – providing that big bronze flying mountain of a lizard isn’t still around looking for breakfast.”
Deanna shivered. “I hope not.”
“Ready?”
“As I'll ever be.”
Before they could move out into the morning sunlight, a voice echoed into the cave.
“Hello, Is anyone in there?”
Deanna dropped a firm hand on Riker's arm as he unsnapped the holster to his phaser.
“Put it away, Will.”
“But we don’t know who’s out there.”
“Will! It just a child. Put it away!”
"You're sure about that?"
“Helloooooo..” came the voice again. “It’s okay to come out. Really.”
Throwing Will a withering glance, Deanna moved towards the entrance of the cave, leaving him to stand behind in the dark.
“Hey, wait for me," he started after her.
* * *
Pausing near the mouth of the cave, Deanna cautiously peeked outside, looking about to see if the dragon was still lurking in the vicinity. “It seems clear, Will.”
“Umph!” he grumped, stifling the heat of his own embarrassment.
Deanna glanced over her shoulder and sighed, sensing what was going on in his head while she waited for him to join her.
Ignoring her meaningful look, Will frowned. “Should we announce ourselves?”
“Good idea," she smiled at his glower and raised her voice calling out. "We’re coming out! Is it okay?”
“Of course it is!” said the exasperated young voice.
* * *
Sitting on a good sized rock outside of the cave, they saw a long haired girl dressed in a supple leather jerkin and skirt. She had pulled her knees up and had her arms wrapped around her calf-length boots.
“Is there anyone else around?” asked Deanna.
“No, just me.”
“How did you know we were in the cave.” Riker asked.
“Menoth told me.”
“Menoth?”
“Um hum.” she said as if that answered the question fully.
“Uh.. Who told Menoth?”
“Ramoth, of course. Who else?”
Deanna was getting very confused, “Who are you?”
“I could ask the same of you?” the young girl countered.
“I’m Deanna.”
“And I’m Will... Short for William.”
“Hello Deanna and William the Short.”
“No that’s Wi—“
By this time both the girl and Deanna were chuckling and Riker knew that he'd been had.
“All right, now that we've all had a laugh at 'William the short's expense," he grinned at both of them, "Who may I ask, are you, young lady?”
“Methany. I’m going to be a rider someday.”
"A rider?”
“Yes.”
Riker and Deanna exchanged a meaningful look. The words that Methany spoke were perfectly understandable but neither had any idea of what they meant.
“Lets try something a little easier," Deanna interjected, "Where are we?”
“In the high valley of Benden.”
“Benden?” Riker smiled at Troi, "Well that worked like a charm, Counselor."
Deanna glowered at him. “Okay. We’re somewhere near a place called Benden," she turned to Methany, "Where do you live?”
“At the smithcraft hall. I’m apprenticed there until I can impress to be a rider. You’re both dressed funny. You’re not from around here are you.”
“I think that's a fair assessment, yes” said Riker.
“Did you come in a thing that looks something like a boat and a covered cart?”
“You saw it?” asked Deanna.
“Of course. You can hardly miss the furrow gouged in the meadow where your wagon came down. You frightened all of the herdbeasts and I’ve been collecting them from deep in the woods where they’ve hidden.”
“So it doesn’t surprise you that we came from up there?” Deanna pointed a graceful finger toward the sky.
“Oh no. We came from up there long ago, too.”
A dark shadow suddenly passed over Deanna’s head. There was no time to move before she felt the sting of razor-sharp claws bite into her shoulder, so she did the only thing she could.
She screamed.
Riker spun at the sound of Deanna’s terrified cry. His instincts took over and the phaser on his hip seemed to leap into his hand. As he thumbed it to stun and pointed it at the thing that was attacking Deanna, a second voice screamed.
“No! Oh God, pl....”
Riker wasn’t listening as he pulled the trigger and passed the visible guide beam across the animal's body. The hum of the displaced air sang then snapped off as the beast dropped in a lifeless heap; its leathery wings crumpled around a tiny body.
The young girl was instantly at its side, cradling the small creature's inert form, tears running down her face.
“WHY?!” she screamed at Riker. “WHY DID YOU KILL MENOTH!”
Riker was stunned. “Menoth? That thing is Menoth?”
Deanna was bowled back by the wave of grief coming from the young girl. Turning to Riker, she ignored the pain she felt from where the thing had grabbed her. “Will... Did you...”
“No, Of course not. It was too close to you not to set it to stun. Are you all right?”
The girl was sobbing frantically, cradling the little dragon as though it were a kitten. “Menoth... My Menoth... Why....”
Deanna instantly went to the young girl and put her arm around her while waving Will away from them.
“Methany.”
She wasn’t getting through to her.
“METHANY. LOOK AT ME. MENOTH'S JUST ASLEEP.”
Methany turned her head and looked into the dark eyes of the strange lady. She sensed something. Something like when she and Menoth would ‘talk’.
“Asleep?” her child's voice quivered as she sniffed back tears and stroked the wings and body of the small creature.
“Yes. The thing that Will used can put things that are alive to sleep. That’s what he did to your... your... Menoth?”
Methany hugged the small creature and whispered. “Wake up. Wake up.”
“It will be a while before that happens, Methany."
Methany looked around and found Will leaning rather dejectedly against the tree wondering just how he had gotten things so messed up just trying to protect Deanna.
“Why did he do this?” she sniffed. “Menoth always lands on peoples shoulders. All impressed Fire Lizards do.”
“Fire Lizard? Is that what that thing is?” Will grumbled.
“Menoth’s not a thing!” she retorted.
Deanna was wondering just how long it would take them to piece together enough of this culture of this world to be able to stop embarrassing themselves.
“Methany, Will didn’t know. He thought Menoth was attacking me.”
“Miss Deanna? Are you sure that Menoth’s going to be all right?”
“It’ll take a half an hour or so before he starts to wake up.”
“What’s an hour?”
Deanna sighed.
“Let’s at least make it a little more comfortable.” Deanna moved to help her and then winced where the little creature's claws had penetrated the cloth of her jumpsuit.
Methany’s eyes widened as she realized what had happened. “You don’t have any leathers on you clothes and Menoth’s claws dug in.”
“Ah... Yes.. I think that’s what happened,” said Deanna as she rubbed the tender area, wondering if the skin had been punctured.
“Shoulder leather protects against their claws.”
“I’ll have to remember that.”
Without warning the huge bronze monster from the cave was back. Not diving, not flying, it was simply not there one moment, and in the next it was gliding down towards them, eyes roiling as if sparks were going off.
Riker pulled his phaser again but this time thumbed it to maximum power and raised his arm.
Methany saw what he was doing and yelled “NO! THAT’S RAMOTH!”
The air behind the approaching dragon was suddenly filled with another creature, this one even larger than the first and similar in color.
Riker saw that the first was actually a lighter golden color which meant that the darker second one was likely the one that had chased them into the cave the night before. Having two of these heading for them made him more than uncomfortable.
In seconds, even more dragons of different coloration’s winked into existence, filling the sky. Most were carrying individual riders saddled at the point just ahead of their wing joints. He started to raise his phaser to defend them against the possibility of attack.
“Will! NO!” Deanna screamed.
Riker’s head jerked around, looked at Deanna while reluctantly thumbing the phaser back on 'safe' and stuffing it back into back into its belt holster. Crossing his arms, he waited guardedly for what came next in this curiously weird world. “Okay, Deanna. Either we’re going to be very dead in a minute, or this is the strangest welcoming party that I’ve ever seen.”
Both Deanna and Will backed away as both leading dragons flared, their wings sweeping forward in a tremendous display of raw power, even as both landed with the delicate grace of dancers. While the wash off of their wings kicked up dry leaves and dust from the ground in front of the cave, there was otherwise no visible disturbance of any kind.
Except for a number of smaller green and blue dragons that stayed aloft, lazily sculling in great orbits over the craggy peaks of the tall mountains surrounding the deep valley, most of the remaining dragons settled into the meadow behind the first two.
Deanna watched as the second dragon knelt down allowing a tall, handsome, leather and fur clad rider of that dragon to unseat himself in much the same way as you would get down from a horse. The creature’s forelimb acted as a step as he slid gracefully to the ground.
She was fascinated by the apparent subliminal communication between the man and beast as he patted it on its leathery neck.
The dragon turned its great head to look at him and seem to nod slightly as he motioned toward the golden dragon which had landed ahead of him which was, at the moment, advancing toward her and Will in a stalking manner.
The rider of the second dragon had apparently communicated something because the stalking golden dragon suddenly stopped, turned to look at the great bronze and snort in disgust, turned its attention instead to Methany and the sleeping firelizard.
Edging forward, eyes whirling, the golden dragon lowered its scaly head with whirling eyes into Methany’s lap and tenderly nosed the stunned firelizard. Methany seemed completely unafraid of the huge beast as it occasionally touched an outstretched wing claw to the ground to shift its balance
* * *
F’lar--the rider of the big bronze— turned to his dragon. <Mnmenmeth, keep the rest of the dragons away until I find out what’s going on here>
<I’ve already done that> the big bronze replied, reproaching his rider with a mental harrumph.
<I want you to keep focus on the two strangers – just in case.>
<I understand.> the great beast replied. <I can feel something from the woman but the man is a blank to me.>
<Warn me if you sense anything.>
F’lar ducked under the outstretched wing of the gold dragon which crouched between himself and the girl.
<I was going to do that anyway. She is most interesting, you know> chuckled the bronze.
The golden dragon backed away a bit allowing him access to the girl.
“Methany?”
The young girl looked up, her tear stained face shadowed with distress.
“He shot Menoth.”
“Mnmenmeth says she’s just sleeping.”
“Are these the ones that Mnmenmeth found yesterday?” the tall man gestured at Deanna and Will.
Methany nodded while continuing to stroke the stunned firelizard. The large golden dragon continued to nose and snuffle the tiny firelizards inert body.
“Do you know who they are yet?” asked F'lar.
“She say’s she’s Miss Deanna and he says he’s William the Short.”
The bronze rider looked up appraisingly. Both of the 'newcomers' were standing back uneasily, eyeing the golden dragon as though at any moment they might flee for their lives. F'lar observed their countenance and their strange attire, and then he laughed because the man towered over the beautiful dark haired woman on his arm. “Well one out of two isn’t bad," he smiled.
“Mnmenmeth said that he was nearly hit by their machine when it came down. Did you see it?”
“Come down? No. I heard it. I found it afterwards when trying to collect the herdbeasts this morning.”
“Where?”
“At the end of the meadow. It’s run itself up under the trees.”
“Who told you to find out what happened here?”
“Mnmenmeth told Ramoth and Ramoth told Menoth and Menoth told me because I was on herdbeast duty up here this seven days. I followed their trail to the cave that Mnmenmeth said they went into. When they came out this morning, everything was fine until Menoth came back from feeding and tried to land on Miss Deanna’s shoulder. That was when he shot Menoth.”
F’lar turned to the two strangers. “Well at least you showed some restraint and good sense by not killing the firelizard, otherwise there wouldn’t be much that I could do to save you from their wrath.” He said, motioning to the giant beasts behind him.
Deanna stepped forward from Will’s side. “He didn’t mean to harm the creature," she said, "He thought it was attacking me. Do you mean that ... dragon... that you were riding is the same one that chased us into the cave?”
F’lar laughed. “Chased? Hardly. You just surprised him while he was feeding and he wanted to see what kind of creatures would come from something that falls from the sky.”
“It certainly felt like chasing to us," Will exchanged a look with Deanna.
“Do you have a real name William the Short.” F'lar asked with a smile.
“William T. Riker.” He deliberately left off any reference to Star Fleet or his military rank.
“Well, William T. Riker, Would you mind explaining just how and why you’re here?”
“You want the long or the short version?”
“The truthful version would be good. Long or short does not matter.”
Riker looked at the man before him and knew that he was a leader – commanding those who would do battle. The soldier in him respected that.
“What do you know of what’s out there?” Will asked, pointing at the sky.
“We’re excavating 'Landing' on the southern continent where our ancestors setup and then abandoned our first settlements. We know that there are two great ships circling this world and that we came in them.”
Again, Will threw Deanna a glance. “Do you know how long ago that was?”
“By our records, over 2400 turns.”
Riker looked away thoughtfully. “That would place your ancestor's journey well before the great pre-warp Diaspora. Many of the records of the time were lost. No wonder this system wasn’t on the star charts.”
“Warp?”
“Yes – the ability to travel the great distances between stars rapidly.”
“If we’re so out-of-the-way, just how did you arrive here?”
“Well that’s a bit complicated. When you’re in warp you pass by star systems very quickly on your way from one place to another. We were in that small craft, traveling at warp, returning to a meeting place with the larger ship on which we normally serve when we were knocked off course by a kind of storm.”
“So you are a sailor among the stars?”
“That’s a fair assessment of it.” Will nodded.
“And your craft?”
“I managed to guide it here where we landed. The storm and the hard landing damaged our ship.”
“Can it be repaired?” F'lar seemed boundlessly interested in their journey and their shuttle; a fact that Riker filed away for later reference. In response to the other man's query, he shrugged.
“I don’t know. I haven’t had a chance to examine it, yet.”
“And the woman? What is her relationship to you?”
Riker smiled for the first time. "I think that it would better to ask her that, yourself.”
* * *
Watching the territorial interplay between the two men, Deanna could only smile, at least until the bronze rider turned to her.
“And you?" he asked, "who are you?”
“Deanna Troi. You can call me Deanna.” Also mindful of first contact protocols, she remained mute on any further information.
“What is your craft guild?”
“I am trained in the medical profession.”
“A healer?”
“That’s right.”
F'lar observed her silently before he nodded, “you seem to be much more than you let on.”
Deanna was startled at his perception. “Why do you say that?”
“Mnmenmeth told me that you feel different.”
Deanna looked at the bronze rider's dragon, which in turn was studying her with an intently curious stare. The revelation was almost disturbing.
“Would you like to add anything?”
“I deal with the healing of the spirit and of the mind.”
Again, F'lar nodded. “I’ll accept that... for now.”
If she hadn't been certain before, Deanna was surer than ever that somehow F'lar was able to sense more than he was letting on.
“You and William T. Riker have a relationship?”
“We are to be married.” She stated without emotion, but glanced sidelong at Will who was already grinning at her discomfort.
* * *
F’Lar noted the interchange between the two, including the little ‘I’ll get you later’ look that she gave him.
The man he understood. William T. Riker was cut from the same cloth as he was. She, however, was very different and seemed much more complex. He was sure that she was hiding many things.
<Mnmenmeth? What do you feel about these two. Are they a danger> Asked F’Lar.
The great bronze shifted his focus from the two strangers to his rider. <They do not appear to be. She is different. I cannot hear her clearly.>
<Continue to watch them closely. I am still cautious of him.>
<I will>
F’lar turned to Will. “Welcome to Benden, then. We’ll help you move your craft down to the smith’s craft hall but we may not have the kind of tools you need to repair it.”
“I won’t know what is required until I examine what is damaged.”
“Fair enough. What would you have me call you William T Riker?”
“Riker will be fine – or Will if you want to be informal. What should we call you?”
“I am called F’Lar, Weyrleader of Benden Weyr, Mnmenmeth's Rider.”
“Are you all referred to by your association with your mount?” The lady Deanna asked.
This question surprised F’Lar.
<She knows nothing of being impressed> said Mnmenmeth.
“It is the custom of riders. You have much to learn.”
For some reason, F’Lar felt good when she smiled and answered. “Yes. I think we have very much to learn, indeed.”
"You will have to excuse me for the moment, but I must see to having your craft moved."
The dismounted riders had gathered a short distance away, the men and women riders talked amongst themselves while their dragons congregated in the meadow behind them.
<Mnmenmeth,> F'Lar turned to his mount, <make sure that Ramoth does nothing rash>
The bronze dragon snorted. <Ramoth is fine.>
<Good, just make sure that she stays that way or Lessa will have both of our hides.>
F’Lar felt his dragon chuckle with the thought.
* * *
Deanna was beginning to feel very uncomfortable with the non-verbal interplay going on between the riders and their dragons. She could sense something going on between them but much more muddled than she was used to. It as almost as though they were on a completely different mental wavelength.
As Deanna approached Methany, the giant golden dragon lifted its head and looked directly in her eyes; as if it could see right into her soul.
“Who are you?” Deanna asked softly, looking back at the dragon's mesmerizing stare.
<-+=++.*> Came the answer. The equivalent of 'mental static'.
Deanna shook her head in shock and the dragon tilted its head slightly, as if questioning her. <+++%--*> came another burst.
Methany looked up from her ministrations of the stunned little dragon.
“She says that she is Lessa’s Ramoth.”
“You understood her?”
“Only when she wants me to.”
Suddenly the little dragon began to twitch and move.
“Be careful, Methany, when your little fellow wakes up it will be very confused and could lash out with it’s claws.”
Methany tilted her head as if listening to something.
“It’s okay Miss Deanna. Ramoth said that she’ll keep her quiet while she wakes up.”
When Will came up behind Deanna, Ramoth glanced up and snorted a warning that he should keep his distance.
Deanna watched in fascination as the little dragon squirmed out of Methany’s lap and flopped onto the turf, its wings flapping in an uncoordinated motion. Ramoth nosed the little creature gently, helping to stabilize it while it got its bearings once again.
After some minutes, the miniature version of the great dragons stood its full half-meter height, and chirped angrily at Methany.
“They can’t really talk like the big dragons, but they can project images and feelings to make themselves understood.” Methany explained.
Smiling at the young girl's scholarly enthusiasm, Deanna filed the new tidbit of information away.
F’Lar returned to where he had left the sky strangers. Slowing his approach gave him the opportunity to study the dark haired woman as she gently played with Methany’s fire lizard. It was apparent, at least it was to him, that she was actually intently studying the animal causing it to spread it’s wings, twist and turn and snap playfully as she tickled and teased it.
Coming to a stop he waited until he was noticed and the games abated.
“Methany, I’ve called up the next on rotation list for herd beast duty. N’then is bringing him this midday. I want you to stay with these two and their craft while it’s being carted down to your craft hall.”
Methany looked up and smiled broadly as if she had just been given the most wonderful present.
Turning to Deanna and Will he said. “You two will have to camp here overnight after you prepare your craft for transport. I took some rough measurements and our largest heavy cart with a triple draft team should suffice – at least according to the hold transport handlers. It should be here tomorrow afternoon.”
“Does this mean that you’re going to help us?” asked Deanna.
“At least for now.” Replied F’Lar noncommittally. “We will see where it goes later.”
“How long do you think it will take to move our shuttle to your shops?”
“Shuttle – oh you mean your craft – strange name for it. We estimate it will take around two days once you begin moving it.”
“It should only take about a half day to prepare the ship and, judging from the competence I see around us, it seems as if will be good hands –how come we cannot go back with you by air.” Asked Will.
“You could but you are not use to that mode of transportation. It has some...” he paused and then continued. “um.. rather unusual effects on some people. I would rather not risk that until you have a better understanding of our world.”
Will was puzzled by this circumspect method of being gently rebuffed but decided not to push it.
* * *
By late that afternoon, Will and Deanna had safed the shuttle’s systems for transport and had shown the others who had come to help the various places where ropes and lifting devices could be attached without harm as well as what places to avoid. For Will this was almost like a standard maintenance technical briefing. It amazed him that for people who still used animal and wind power along with some very sophisticated bio sciences absorbed the information he was giving them easily and without significant comment. The questions they did ask were pertinent and well thought out.
It was sometime later when Will took a break by finding a soft patch of dry ground and a tree to lean against he slumped back and closed his eyes.
“Want some company, sailor?”
He recognized her voice and smiled without opening his eyes.
“Sure, pull up some turf and get comfortable. Did you pull the survival packs?”
“They’re over by the shuttle. I left all of the rations because they said that they’ll be sending up food for tonight and tomorrow. The wagon is bringing supplies with it for the trip back.”
Will voiced what was bothering him. “Deanna these people confuse me. In some respects they are technologically backwards but at the same time they accept the existence and possibilities defined by the shuttle.”
Deanna was exhausted after a full day and folded down onto the soft ground, tucking her legs under her and snuggling up to Will who wrapped her in his arms comfortably.
“I’ve been trying to find out about the dragons. They fascinate me.”
“What have you learned so far?”
“Well, first they can move from one place to another in a kind of self induced teleportation.”
“I thought that was determined to be impossible.”
“You saw it happen yourself this morning. From their point of view, I think that they would find our Transporters if not ‘impossible’ at least highly improbable.
“One man’s science is another’s magic, eh?”
“Will, another thing. The dragons and their riders seem to be ‘linked’ mentally.”
Will laughed. “Like the bond?”
“No, not like that at all – at least I don’t think so. I don’t really know but it seems more like they’re telepathic and the dragons are intelligent to the point that they can talk with their riders. I don’t know what else it means yet because they keep brushing me off.”
“I’ve noticed that. They’ve done it to me too. Very politely, of course but whenever I hit on something that they didn’t want to talk about they would either evade the subject or politely tell me that it wasn’t something that I was ready to understand yet.”
“I know.” She sighed.
“I should be angry about it but I’m not.”
“Me either. We have much to learn about this planet.”
* * *
They awoke simultaneously with sun long gone but they were not cold as they found themselves wrapped in several soft warm blankets.
Deanna yawned and stretched like a cat beneath the blankets and poked her nose from under out into the cold night air.
“Burrrrr. Is this anything like Alaska?”
“In late summer maybe - warm days and cool to cold nights.” He ran his hand over the cloth. “Feel this.”
She stroked her sensitive fingers over the blankets fine weave of spun animal hair. “High quality work – and warm too.”
“I wonder who’s looking out for us.”
“Don’t know. I’m hungry.”
“Me too. We haven’t had anything since they brought in the field lunch while we were working on the shuttle.”
Deanna slipped from under the coverings and stood up. “Did you sleep well this time?”
“Actually yes.” He grinned standing and handing her the other end of the blanket. As they folded them the smell of roasting meat wafted by.
“Ummm.” That smells good. I wonder if they have anything hot to drink.
“Deanna, I doubt that they have any hot chocolate.”
“Oh no!” she feigned shock. “Anything but that.”
“Come here woman.” He said pulling her close and kissed her thoroughly.
“Um. That was nice but I’m still hungry.”
“Lets go find who’s doing the cooking and see if they have any leftovers.”
Carrying the blankets, they followed their noses until they found the cook fire. The sturdy but handsome woman tending the spit and fire hooks looked as if she were cleaning up for the night. She and two others, who obviously were taking orders from her were busy clearing up the makeshift field mess hall.
“Ah I see you two finally woke up. It’s well past sundown and we were beginning to think that we’d probably see you at breakfast.”
“Hi. I’m Will and this is Deanna.”
“Pleased to meet you. I’m Fanora.”
“Any idea who we should thank for the blankets, Fanora?” said Will, stacking the refolded bundles on the end of the field trestle table.
“Could have been any of them but I would lean to suspecting Methany.”
Deanna edged closer to the fire and sniffed. “That smells wonderful.”
“If you’re hungry grab a bowl, utensils and such over there and I’ll serve you up some of what’s left before I pack it in – most of the others have already eaten and bedded down for the night. That covered basket should still have some fresh bread in it if they haven’t eaten it all. There’s jam in covered crock and juice in those jugs. I have some stew and soup left here if you want any.”
“Do you have anything hot to drink?” Deanna asked.
“I start with that, too if you have something.”
“I have freshly brewed hot klah.”
“Claw? What’s that?” asked Riker.
“Grab a mug.” She said nodding at the trestle table. Using her hot mitt she picked up the brew pot which was setting on the edge of the coals and first filled Deanna’s then Wills mug with the steaming dark liquid. Deanna wrapped both hands around the ceramic container absorbing the warmth being radiated.
Will raised his own mug and sipped carefully of the steaming liquid, not knowing what to expect. His eyebrows went up and he looked into the mug in amazement.
“Deanna you’ve got to try this! It’s not hot chocolate but it’s really good. Kind of like a good coffee combined with something else.”
“Deanna raised her mug to her lips with both hands and sipped carefully. “Ummm. You’re right. It is good.”
Warmed, they then occupied themselves with the enjoyable task of being served by an excellent cook.
“You’re not usually a field chef are you?”
“Chef?”
“Another word for a Cook.”
“Oh... I see what you mean. No, only when called upon, like now. I am the kitchen master under Manora, Benden Weyr’s head woman.”
“Benden Weyr?”
“Benden Weyr is home for the Benden riders and their dragons.”
“So that’s where the craft halls are?”
“Oh no. They’re at Benden Hold – well down in the valley”
“This is very confusing you know.”
She smiled a motherly smile. “Not if you grew up here. Don’t worry about it, you both will pick it up fast enough.”
Deanna looked over her second cup of klah, her dark eyes absorbing everything around her and mumbled. “Sometimes I wonder if it will be fast enough.”
Will was sitting on one of the field kitchen transport boxes watching the interplay between the two women but keeping his own council. Finally standing he caught Fanora’s eye.
“I suspect that you’ll both be off to finish sleeping now. You’re going to have a busy day and you’ll need it.”
“I think so. Thank you for the wonderful meal.”
“Nothing but leftovers but you are certainly welcome.”
Deanna stood, took Will’s mug and bowl and placed it and her own into the wash pot bubbling at on the dying coals and then subtly signaled Will that she wanted to talk.
“We’re off. I think we’ll borrow the blankets again for the night.”
“Feel free. See you two in the morning.” Deanna’s signal to Will was not missed by Fanora. She turned her back to the two, smiling to herself.
Will carried the blankets under one arm as Deanna slipped her arm into the other. Leaning close she whispered. “Will have you noticed the natives are friendly.”
“I noticed.”
“Somehow, though, I can’t shake the feeling that we’re surrounded.”
“Whew! And I thought it was only me.”
Deanna sat on a small knoll overlooking the crash site, watching the men swarmed around the shuttle like ants around a beetle’s carcass. The large heavy-carry transport cart had arrived just after the midday meal and they were winching the shuttle onto the heavy-transport cart using nothing more than ancient block and tackle and skid ramps. It reminded her of her readings of ancient earth history and the monument builders. Ever curious, she had earlier examined the heavy multi-wheeled hauling cart and couldn’t help but admire the ingenious finely joined natural hardwood construction with sparse but intelligent use of metal.
Her attention then turned to the teenaged boys and girls tending the dozen draft animals that would haul the now heavily laden vehicle back down the mountain. In talking with them she found that they seemed to be generally schooled in some manner as well as being competent in the rough skills necessary for daily living at an agrarian level. Deanna began to wonder if the skills of the local metal workers guild might prove to be less than necessary to help Will fix the shuttle.
She froze when she felt something picking gently at her back belt pack; then a tugging and finally a pulling frantically. Turning, she found one of the small fire lizards that swarmed around the site had it’s claw hooked in the tough fabric. By its color, Deanna thought that it could be the same one that Will had stunned the previous day.
“Hi little fellow. You seem to be caught” Deanna said, carefully unhooking the creatures left wing claw from where it had wedged in the fabric behind the belt.
“There, you’re free.”
The little dragon waddled authoritatively around her until it could see her face. It fascinated her how the creature carefully folded its wing membranes along its body so that it could move unimpeded. Stopping squarely in front of her, it looked up as if studying her features. Finally it cocked its head and appeared to be thinking very hard for such a small animal.
<phst*#-+*> The burst of mental static was more of a squeak than the heavy burst given out by the golden dragon.
“I wish that I could understand you, little one, but I can’t.”
The little dragon gave a snort in disgust, turned, spread its wings and rose into the air with several powerful flaps. Then – poof -- before her eyes, it disappeared. One second it was there and the next it wasn’t. She wondered if she would ever understand the ‘magic’ of this world. It was almost as if the laws of physics were, somehow, out of kilter.
“I guess that it could be a bit disconcerting if you hadn’t grown up with it,” came a woman’s voice from behind her.
Tilting her head, Deanna found herself looking at a slim, leather and fur clad woman. She recognized the attire as that of a rider. Returning her gaze to the men at work she replied. “That is probably the biggest understatement I have heard in some time – who might you be?”
The woman laughed. “You met my dragon yesterday – the large golden one.”
“Ramoth?”
She nodded.
“Then you would be Lessa.”
“Ramoth said that you were different. After watching you with Methany’s Menoth just now I can believe it.”
“That was Menoth? Fire lizards still look much alike to me. I suppose that I’ll eventually be able to sort them out.”
“In time. Have some patience.” said Lessa, settling comfortably on the ground beside Deanna
The woman carried herself with a self assuredness that was palpable. “I’m still trying to figure out who’s who. For instance, what is your relationship to what’s going on around here?”
“Ramoth is a queen dragon, which means that she mates, bears eggs from which new dragons hatch. I am Ramoth’s rider.”
Deanna nodded. “Riders seem to have a mental link with their dragons. Is this correct?”
“Yes, each rider can talk with his or her dragon and the dragons can talk amongst themselves.”
“You make it seem as if the dragons are intelligent.”
Lessa laughed heartily. “Sometimes I think that they are a little too intelligent.”
Deanna looked about. “Where...”
“Feeding or sunning herself. Not here.” Lessa responded as though she had read her mind.
Deanna relaxed a bit then tried a new tact.
“Uh... F’Lar.” She knew she was treading on dangerous ground. “He’s very handsome ... commanding. Are you and...”
“Mnmenmeth is Ramoth’s preferred mate and F’Lar is mine. Riders have little say in the matters of mating between dragons.”
There was an implication in her explanation that Deanna immediately picked up on.
“What if... I mean if you and your dragon are linked mentally then when...” her voice trailed off.
Lessa laughed again. Deanna found the other woman’s warm contralto voice pleasing.
“You mean is there a transference? Yes and it can be an exquisite experience...” her eyes turned dark. “... or a terror beyond imagining.” Her mood brightened. “Most of the time the dragons ensure that they, like their riders, are compatible. But occasionally things do go wrong.”
Scruffy shadows flitted from tree to tree, rock to rock in near invisibility. The agile lead shadow; taller than the rest, carefully slipped between two boulders and up to the ridgeline overlooking the place of which he was told. The hand with which he carefully parted the brush was missing its little finger.
“He was right!” he whispered in amazement. “The abomination is there.”
“Let me see.” said one of the others pushing forward.
“Move more carefully, you clumsy oaf.” The tall one growled. “Make no sudden movements that would attract attention to us.”
They were all given their chance.
“Okay, that’s enough. Let’s get back to camp – we can take care of that thing later.”
“What about the sky people, Zaran?”
“Never mind them.”
* * **
Riker stepped back from the draft cart, bare to the waist as were most of the men, and sweating profusely. Walking down the length of the platform, he tested each tie down strap for the proper tension.
“Is everything to your liking?” came a voice behind him.
Turning, he smiled, “Hi F’Lar. Your people have heavy hauling down to a science. The shuttle isn’t going anywhere that the cart doesn’t.”
Acknowledging Riker’s comment with a moderate and slightly prideful smile, F’Lar agreed. “We’ve had centuries to perfect our technique, so it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise.”
“Good work anyway. How long do you think it will take to get it down to the crafts guild’s shops?”
“I’d say day and a half, perhaps two. It’s too late to start down tonight, so we’ll begin in the morning.”
Nodding in satisfaction, Will palmed his damp hands along the outsides of his thighs. “Sounds good. Can you tell me where I can get cleaned up? I’ve been sweating like a pig.”
“‘Pig’? Is this another saying of your people?”
Riker nodded. “I’ll explain it later.”
“There’s a stream a short way down that direction.” F’Lar pointed. “Manora sent up spare clothing so you should be able to find something that fits.”
Looking up he saw Deanna and another slim, athletic looking woman dressed as a dragon rider. The woman slipped an arm around F’Lar’s waist.
“Looks like you’re about ready.”
“They are. I saw you up there with Lady Deanna. What goes?”
“F’Lar! It’s just Deanna. I told you that this morning.”
“Sorry, habit.” He grinned. “Deanna then.”
“We were just getting to know each other. Girl talk.”
“Oh?” F’Lar arched a brow doubtfully. “Anytime it’s ‘just girl talk’ I usually end up in trouble.”
“I know what you mean.” retorted Riker, grinning.
Deanna gave the both of them a mock look of disgust and then sniffed and twisted up her face. “You need a bath!”
Lessa sniffed gently. “You too, F’Lar. Come on, Let’s get back to the wyre. I’ll scrub your back.”
“Only if I get to scrub yours.” He grinned as two dragons, one gold and one bronze, winked into existence and glided down to a landing, kicking up dust and leaves with the backwash of their huge wings.
“We’ll see you both in a day or two. You’ll be in good hands until then.” With that the each stepped up to their own dragons, each giving their mount a friendly pat as they swung up into the saddle. With a bound of powerful rear legs, the dragons launched into the evening sky, rising quickly to altitude where they disappeared.
Deanna looked thoughtfully after them. “An interesting people, Will.”
“Walk with me,” said Riker as he headed towards the supplies table on which were neatly folded bundled stacks of clothing.
“You’ve found out something?”
She nodded. “What do you think of this one.” She held up a finely woven pull-over against his shoulders to check for fit.
“That will do. I think these pants will fit also. I’m going down to the river.”
“You’ll need these then.” Deanna handed him a small jar which he sniffed and densely woven towel of soft absorbent yarns.
He sniffed the contents of the jar and then poked a finger into it.
“Smells nice but it’s a bit gritty.”
“They call it sweet sand tell me it works like soap. You better rinse out your uniform too.”
He looked at her with a quizzical grin. “Why don’t you pick out some new clothes for yourself and join me – I’m told that there’s spots up there where we won’t be bothered. I’ll even scrub your back and you can tell me what you’ve learned today.”
“You rogue!” she said smiling. “You’ve been planning this all day.”
“Not ALL day.”
Deanna edged down to the other end of the table and picked through the pile of appropriate garments, selecting several items.
“What did you choose?”
She gave him a wicked sidelong glance “It wouldn’t be a surprise, if I told you, would it?”
“Okay then. Lets go.” With a broad smile, Will slipped an arm around Deanna’s waist, guiding her toward the river.
* * *
Riker sputtered.
“Hey you got soap in my eyes.” He scooped up a handful of clean water and splashed tit onto his face.
“Poor baby,” Deanna teased, “I’m just washing your hair. It’s filthy. What did you do all day? From the looks of this it would seem you’ve been rolling around with Methany’s Firelizard...” she spoke from behind him.
“Very funny,” Will scowled half-heartedly. The truth was, he loved having her long legs wrapped securely around his waist as she continued scrubbing. They had taken over a shallow, sandy-bottomed pool that was cut back into the riverbank.
The water was relatively warm, but when a few quick handfuls of water were splashed onto his back to rinse away the soap, Riker shivered slightly.
“Watch it.” he groused.
“It’s good for you. Besides it’s not that cold.” Deanna said cuffing him gently. “I thought you were supposed to be a rugged survivalist of the frozen outdoors? Raise your arms, I need to scrub there too.” Rubbing soap into the scrubbing bath sponge that Fanora had handed her on the way out of camp, she finished his sides and arms. Riker could feel the wonderful heat of her breasts pressing into his back even through the loose wet shift she was wearing.
“When is it my turn to do you?”
Deanna hadn’t missed his double-entendre, shoving him gently forward, she continued her task undaunted. “When you’re clean enough. I would have expected the water to be much colder.”
“They said something about the river being fed over geothermal vents higher up. I guess by the time it gets here it hasn’t had enough time to cool off.”
“I’d hate to think if it was fed directly from the snow pack.”
“Burrrr. I’ve done that in Alaska. It’s cold enough to freeze your good parts off let me tell you.”
“Wasn’t that you just a moment ago who was whining about the cold water?”
Riker huffed unintelligibly, but he smiled when he felt her hands slip down his belly and into his wet briefs just below the water line, scrubbing gently with the sponge.
“Dee,” he growled, “don’t start anything you don’t intend to finish.”
She kissed him on his neck just above his shoulder blades but eventually removed her hand.
“Party pooper. Stand up so I can get your legs.”
Riker carefully unhooked her long legs from and stood dripping in front of her. He shivered as he felt her lathered up one leg then scrubbed it down, repeating the task with the other. The teasing as she reached the top was driving him mad with desire.
“Enough, wench. Your turn.” Reaching down, he gripped her arm at the forearm allowing her to do the same and brought her to her feet dripping. “Hands out.”
She smiled at him defiantly and raised her arms, hands extended.
Dipping the sponge in the stream, he lathered it up. “You want me to do this with or without the shift?”
Deanna looked about quickly then reached down grabbed the hem of the soaked shift, pulled it over her head, and tossed the wet mass into the shallows.
Riker’s intake of breath, gave her as much pleasure as did his comment as he gently began washing her.
“Deanna, you are the most beautiful creature in my universe.”
Turning, she backed into his arms and allowed him full access to her body.
“Hair?” he asked softly.
She shook her head no and luxuriated in his touch, feeling his desire pressing against her naked skin through his wet briefs.
* * *
Prying eyes retreated into the shadows, allowing the foliage to return to its resting state.
Deanna snuggled beneath her furs in her own bunk on one side of the travelwagon. The reality of being in a parody an ancient gypsy caravan was almost beyond her imagination but a ‘real’ experience non the less.
The shadowy quiet of the night were soothing and very unlike ship’s night; where the whispers of the air system coupled with the faint thumps, creaks and soft groans of a starship at warp formed the subliminal background of it handling huge stresses.
This planet was very different, unlike any she had ever been on before. Her empathic and telepathic abilities seemed muted, as if the universe here was out of kilter.
She ran her hands over the soft furs of the bed covering feeling the edges where the soft quilted backing was joined to the supple array of pelts The afternoon with Will had been breathtaking. She smiled in the dark thinking how her body now ached pleasantly from their ‘exercise’.
The fur felt wonderful on her skin but she still couldn’t shake the uneasy feelings that now and then crept into her being. Seeking solace, she reached out with her mind and touched Will’s consciousness as he slept in the other bunk just a hands stretch away. His sleeping mind accepted and automatically reacted to her feather-light caress, as though it were kitten raising its back at being petted. The corners of her lips turned into a smile. She could still feel him, despite everything, despite the off-kilter feeling of this planet, Will was still with her. But everything else ... was muted and dim. It bothered her.
The dragons tried to talk with her but it seemed as if they were on a completely different mental frequency. She pondered this and shivered wondering just where they really were. Where was this Pern planet. Her feelings of unease grew.
Quietly she slipped from under her covers, picked up the fur and her down pillow and crossed the space to the other bunk. Raising Will’s furs, she slipped naked beneath them and pulled her own cover over them both. The weight of the second fur, the touch of his body, the rhythm of his heartbeat, the even sounds of his breathing comforted her as she snuggled. He did not wake but she felt his mind become quiet just because they were touching.
Finally content, if only for the moment, Deanna was not aware when sleep finally overtook her.
* * *
Will was first to awaken and was immediately aware of Deanna’s sweet body snug up against his, her breathing even and regular. Tendrils of luxuriant hair flowed over her pillow he realized that its gentle tickling against his cheek had awakened him.
He was puzzled. Their ‘bathing’ yesterday had left them nearly drained of all energy. He distinctly remembered that he had simply tucked her into her furs with an embrace and a kiss of exquisite tenderness and then went to bed in the separate cot. Not that he minded this, of course, but it was unlike her to sneak into his bed – in fact it had never happened before. The thought brought a new smile to his lips.
He could tell it was almost morning by the blue gray pre-dawn light was filtering into the travelwagon through the small glass panes which ringed the raised a portion of the roof. As the sky brightened, he could hear the singing insects begin their morning songs. All things considered, he decided, it was a nearly perfect way to start the day.
Deanna shifted again. Rolling toward him, she slid her left arm and leg over his body as if he were a full body pillow. If anything, she seemed to snuggle even closer -- which didn’t seem possible. He could feel the gentle warmth of her breasts pressed into his rib cage. It was obvious that she was still sound asleep and he was loathe to disturb her.
His thoughts turned to the shuttle. He had had a chance to examine the crash damage caused during the landing, and while dinged and scraped, the structural integrity fields had resisted any very serious damage to the hull.
The problem was that, when he’d popped the covers on the warp nacelles, he didn’t like what he found. Both had containment conduit failures. Malfunctions which should have been impossible, but he now knew what kicked them out of warp. He also found that he was going to have to repair a number of blown relays and probably jury-rig around several other flight systems that failed diagnostics. The shuttle would be harder to fly but nothing out of the ordinary. With the exception of the conduits, all of the rest of the damage seemed to be repairable using the on-board repair kits – the conduits were another matter – they could be patched up if he could get to a place where some sort of precision metal-smithing was possible. Given what he’d seen so far, he was beginning to doubt that this planet had anything near what he would need. An unbidden sigh stirred his body.
He felt Deanna stir beside him and sensed her breathing change as she eased into wakefulness. He stroked her hair and smiled when she opened her eyes and stretched along side of him, running her slender fingers through the hair on his chest. “Good morning, Love.”
“Hi.” She said quietly.
“I didn’t expect this nice surprise. I thought you were going to sleep over there.” He nodded towards the other bunk.
“I couldn’t. Do you mind?”
He pulled her against him and kissed her forehead.
“Never. I love waking up with you here.”
“I like it too. You know, you nearly wore me out yesterday, Commander. I still ache in places I’d almost forgotten I had -- but it’s a good feeling.”
“And you think that you didn’t do the same to me.” Will chuckled. “I was walking bowlegged and could barely keep my eyes open to get something to eat afterwards.”
He could feel her mirth.
“I swear that it’s true!”
“Hardly.” she rose up, tenting the furs and thumped him on the chest. “Time to get up now? I’m starving.”
“What no morning ‘exercise’?”
“No! Not this morning. Get up, lazy bones.” She pulled her knees up, flipped the furs back and sat up. When her feet hit the floor of the wagon she nearly jumped right back under the covers.
“Yipes! That’s cold.”
“I could have told you that.” Will said, running a warm hand up her bare back as she started pulling her clothing together. “You’re really getting up?” he said almost playfully.
“Yes. And so are you.” She flipped all of the furs off of him and over onto the other bunk.
Ignoring his own nudity, Will rolled up onto an elbow, leaned over and kissed her on the back as she leaned forward and pulled on her socks. Annoyed, Deanna hopped away and then sat back down on the other bunk. “I said you were getting up too, Mister Riker. So I suggest you get going. We have a long day ahead.”
Sighing despondently, Will shifted his legs off the bunk. “Yes, ma’am.”
* * *
Riker had to duck his head to exit the travel wagon. Looking back at the three narrow steps, now folded down for access to the wagon, he felt as if he was in another time – a time long ago. The feeling of time out of joint was accentuated by a grassy, lightly rutted, track leading off into the forest, and the fact that they were all dressed in leather and fur with real cotton underclothes. It just felt ... strange.
Without warning, Deanna appeared from the other side of the wagon carrying two steaming mugs. She handed him one.
“Claw?” he asked.
“No. It’s klah with a more pronounced k.” she said.
“Oh.” Will took a sip of the steaming liquid. “It’s still good.”
“We’re not the last up but the camp is mostly awake.”
“Anything for breakfast.”
“Back that way.” she tossed her head back towards the direction she’d arrived.
Will studied her. She was dressed in a manner similar to what he was wearing but with a definitely feminine difference. A light leather jacket over a cotton blouse and a split leather skirt with buttons to allow it to opened or closed as necessary.
“You know something, Counselor?” he remarked with a grin, “the local fashion suits you.”
She offered him a gamine smile. “You’re not so bad yourself, Commander --in a rustic sort of way. Someone might even call you handsome.”
“But not you?”
Deanna side-stepped the arm he’d been about the wrap around her waist and she grinned. “No.”
“Come on, let’s get something to eat before it’s all gone.”
“I wouldn’t worry. Fanora seems to have feeding an army well in hand.”
“Here, these aren’t strictly in fashion but I’d prefer it if we wore our communicators.” He said pinning hers on her blouse just beneath the collar. She took his and did the same.
“They look like jewelry.” Deanna commented.
“Let’s let everyone think that that’s just what they are.”
Deanna said nothing for a long while. “You’re uneasy too, aren’t you?”
He nodded.
Deanna looked doubtfully at the large four footed animal with a saddle on its back. “You know I think I’d rather just walk.”
“Oh no you don’t. These are based on earth equine stock with modifications in their leg structures to make them stronger and more sure footed.”
“You say you know how to ride these... runner beasts.”
“Well, I did some horseback riding when I was a kid in Alaska. It was about the only other way to get around on the ground in the restricted out-back areas during the summer except for hiking.”
“They’re too big.” Deanna backed away when the animal shied slightly and sidestepped toward her.
“Deanna, this is the gentlest one they have up here and it’s a long way down to the hold. It’s either this or you ride in one of the travelwagons – no springs there. Come on give me a foot and I’ll hoist you up into the saddle.”
“Okay, Okay. I’ll try it but it’s on your head if I fall off and break my neck.”
“Won’t happen.”
“How do I do this?”
“Grab hold of that knobby thing on the saddle with your left hand. Good. Now put your right hand on the saddle and give me your left foot.”
“This is silly!”
“No it’s not. Raise your left foot.” She did and Will cupped beneath her left instep as she stood awkwardly supported by the beast and one foot. “Okay, up you go.” He said lifting her straight up. Deanna instinctively pushed up and swung her free leg over the beast’s back and came down astride the saddle with a thump. Riker slipped her left foot into the stirrup and adjusted it’s length then walked around to the other side of the animal and repeated the operation as Deanna looked down curiously.
“Okay now put your weight on the stirrups and stand up. I want to check the length.”
Deanna grabbed the saddle horn and stood up rising out of the saddle. “That seems okay. Tell me later if it’s too high or low and I’ll adjust them for you. They should allow you to sit comfortably.”
“Okay smarty, now how do you drive this thing?”
He handed up the reigns. “Okay take these one hand. That’s right, use a relaxed grip. Snapping the reigns slightly and pressing your heals into it’s flank slightly will tell her to go forward. Pulling back tells her to stop. Moving your hand in the direction you want her to turn tells her move away from the pressure on her neck. You can also use your knees. Pressing your left knee tells her to turn right. It’s easy once you two reach an understanding.”
Deanna looked alarmed. “An understanding?! This is the first time I’ve even been near one of these things and you want me to understand it?”
“Relax, Deanna, You’ll do fine. It really is better than walking.” Will said, hoisting himself up into the saddle of his own mount as if he had been born to it.
Deanna looked across at him, obviously doubtful when she turned and looked now empty track between the trees, distinctly rutted by the leading cart carrying the shuttle.
“Let’s go.” Deanna heard him make a funny clicking sound and his mount started in the direction same direction. She tried snapping he reins gently – the runner just stood there. Puzzled she repeated the motion and gently swung her booted heel to tap the animal’s flanks. The runner started moving and followed Will’s mount. Deanna was somewhat amazed that it really worked and relaxed into the unfamiliar motion.
* * *
The sun was beginning to head down well past mid day when the wagon train catapillered to a stop, wagon by wagon. Riding easily beside Deanna, Will wasn’t paying much attention until his mount suddenly passed the trailing wagon.
“Something’s gone wrong, I’m going to ride forward and find out what’s happened. Want to ride forward?”
“I think not. I want to stretch my legs a bit and take care of some... um... essentials.”
Will chuckled. “Rabeem.”
Deanna flashed him a look as he pulled his mount around and started down the line of support wagons. She watched his shoulders as he moved easily in the saddle as he kicked his mount into trot.
“I’ll never be able to do this that easily.” She said to her self as she grabbed the saddle horn and swung her right leg over and stepped down to the ground. After riding most of the day, even with a mid-day stop for food, the ground seemed none too steady.
She flipped the reins of her mount around a tie ring of the last wagon and let the animal contentedly graze on the lush grasses which covered the track.
“Now you don’t do anything funny.” She told her mount as she patted it on the neck before she opened one of the leather saddle satchels and took out her personal kit that she had gotten from the shuttle.
Now she had to find a private place and decided to head down the forested embankment from the road towards the river.
Riker squatted down beside the wagon master and examined the broken timber supports of the log bridge which spanned the shallow and now dry wash.
“See what I mean, Lord Riker?”
“Just Riker, Naron and I agree, they’ve definitely been cut through. Probably with an axe or equivalent.”
“But just enough to let the wagon roll onto it and then – bang-- it’s weight collapsed the cut timber. See here how this part is splintered but wasn’t cut through. Even A runner even with rider wouldn’t have had enough weight to do that. Cleverly done.”
Riker had seen enough but couldn’t admire the handiwork in the same way as the wagon master. He and Naron stood up and smacked their hands against their trousers sending up a dust clouds but only minimally affecting the days accumulation of road grime.
“I’ve got a crew cutting some new temporary spans.” Said Naron. “I think we can just put some extra supports after wedging it back to proper height. It should be able to hold the extra weight. We’ll send up wood craftsmen later to do it up proper.”
“How long?”
The wagon master shrugged. “Two... Maybe three hours would be my guess.”
“Any idea why the bridge was damaged?” Riker queried.
“Don’t know. I suppose it could be the abominators. They don’t take to new things very well... and that.” He motioned to the shuttle on the cart that was being block and tackled back off of the broken span using the draft animals. “is definitely new and different.”
“Are these abominator groups, dangerous? I mean beyond things like this?”
“Not usually but they can get riled up a bit if provoked.”
Riker stood quietly, arms folded examining the scene, as the wagon master moved off to ram-rod the repair.
Sighing to himself he moved back along the edge of the track toward where he’d tied off his runner. The animal shied away from him nervously as he interrupted from it’s cropping the sweet grasses beside the wagon track.
Riker patted the runner’s neck gently. “Hey boy... Don’t worry, I’ll get you something special later.”
The beast quieted allowing enough to allow him to swing up into the saddle. “Come on boy, take me back to Deanna.” He called, lightly booting the runner in the flanks signaling a trot.
* * *
Approaching the their travelwagon Riker saw that Deanna’s mount was tied to the hitching ring and the rear stairs were unfolded. He noted with satisfaction that she had given the animal sufficient tether slack to allow it to move about a bit and forage in the green grass shoots which bordered the wagon wheel ruts.
Dismounting, he tied his own mount to the hitching ring on the other side and tapped lightly on the door of their travelwagon.
“Deanna?”
No answer.
‘She must be asleep.’ He thought and quietly eased open the narrow door on the back of the wagon to check but found both bunks empty with their bedding still neatly folded.
‘Can’t have gone far.’ He thought as he called out “Deannnaaaa..... I’m baaack”
Nothing...
At that moment, Methany rounded the uphill side of the wagon.
“Something wrong?” she asked.
“Probably not. Just wondering where Deanna’s gone off to?”
“Likely went down to the river to wash up after riding all day. I know I would.”
“She said she was going to do something like that when I rode forward. But that was nearly an hour ago.” He looked up at the mountain peaks that surrounded them. “The sun’s are going down and it’s going to get dark quick.”
Methany’s gaze followed his. “You’ve spent some time afield, I see.”
“A bit. You seem to know your way around this area. How about helping me find her.”
“Okay.” Methany squatted down and scanned the area, obviously examining the ground for sign. Finally she stopped and pointed somewhat back along the track and towards the river.
“Lady Deanna went that way.”
“How do you know that?”
“Simple. Trampled down grass and disturbed ground cover but not where the passing wagons or riders would have caused it.”
Riker looked where she was pointing and damn if he could see it. “I’ll have to take your word for it. Well, Miss Blood Hound, let’s go find her before we run out of daylight.”
* * *
Will followed the nearly invisible trail pointed out by Methany, as they pushed though the thinning undergrowth between the wagon track and the river. As they moved onto more rocky ground Methany stopped, appearing to look hard at everything around her.
“I’ve lost Lady Deanna’s trail.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. The ground is too rocky to hold a trace and the brush and ground cover has thinned out too much.”
Will suddenly remembered their communicators knowing full well that they had limited range without the a shuttle, satellite or starship to boost and relay the signals.
“Methany, I have an idea.”
She turned and looked at him curiously as he touched the piece of jewelry on his collar.
“Riker to Troi.”
A faint echo came from a point down river where trees thickened..
“There!” he called out and pointed to Methany who was already scrambling ahead of him. They raced along the river bank and up the slope from towards where the echo sound had come from.
Will touched his badge again.
“Riker to Troi.” The echo came back louder.
Methany leaned over to pick up something from behind a tree. Will finally caught up with her as she turned and held out her hand holding the duplicate of the badge he wore.
“That’s her comm badge.” The expression on his face was clearly dissappointed that they had found it without finding Deanna.
“Comm badge?”
“We use them to talk when we are far apart. Look around to see if there’s anything else.”
It was a few minutes later when they found her riding jacket, a damp towel along with her personal kit. Picking them up, Will was now becoming highly anxious as the daylight began to fade rapidly in the deep river valley.
“Look around for signs of a struggle and other people signs.”
Methany quickly searched the area and found fresh runner droppings from where they had been tethered.
“They had mounts tied up here. Lady Deanna must have come upon them unexpectedly but I didn’t see any signs of struggle. I think that there were three maybe four mounts judging from the way the grass is been trampled. Also they left in a hurry—“
“How do you know that?” Will asked breaking in.
“Look at the stride marks. See how they bunch up at first then space out as they headed that way.” Methany pointed back up river – back in the direction from where they had come.
“Can you tell how long ago?”
“Not enough clues. Sorry.”
“Come on then, lets get back to the wagons and round up a posse.”
“What’s a posse?”
“I’ll explain later.”
“You are a very strange man William Short”
“Perhaps. And Methany, I prefer Will.” He said, his long legs rapidly eating up the distance back up the slope to the wagon track even as the young girl scrambled to keep up. Methany caught up as he was untieing his mount.
“I do hope that Lady Deanna’s all right.”
“So do I, Methany. So do I.”
As consciousness returned, Deanna’s senses slowly began to work again. One of the first was her sense of smell and she instantly wished otherwise.
“Ugh!” she grunted, keeping her eyes shut. She didn’t believe anything could be worse than a dragons breath but whatever this was it must have died about a week ago.
She was no longer moving, bouncing or being manhandled for which she was grateful. She was also thankful that she had been out cold for much of the time since she had been abducted. Abducted by these... her thoughts jarred to a stop when she realized that didn’t know who they were or where she was or why she had been taken.
Deanna carefully cracked an eye, hoping that any one watching would be unaware that she was awake. She needn’t have worried as she was alone in the rickety shed. The morning sun, streaming through vertical openings between the boards of the shoddily constructed wall, formed visible rays as they intersected with the copious airborne dust motes.
She she was covered by a crude blanket it but was her back that itched where it rested on the coarse sacking upon which she had been dumped. She realized that she couldn’t scratch because her wrists were bound as were her feet.
‘At least they didn’t gag me,’ she thought as she wiggled trying to scratch the itch. ‘Damn! It still itches!.’
She tried inching into a more comfortable position away from the foul stench of whatever was rotting in the darker corners of the shed, but found it nearly impossible. The combined feeling of disorientation from being unconscious along with the nauseating fumes of decay made her want to throw up.
Suddenly the door to the shed slammed open and the morning sun nearly blinded her as it silhouetted and outlined a tall man shape.
“You awake, star woman?” came a deep voice. The malice in the voice was palpable.
She decided to play dumb until his boot slammed into her thigh sending lancing pain up her body.
“Owww!” she cried out.
“Don’t play stupid with me, Lady.”
“I’m awake! I’m awake! Stop it!”
“Good. I see we understand each other.”
“What’s that smell?” she asked.
He looked towards the corner from which the stench emanated and then roared in a incredibly cold laughter. “I guess that you could say that it was my last house guest.”
It was too much. Deanna turned and wretched what little she had in her stomach onto the dusty dirt floor of the shed.
* * *
Trailing the other riders, Riker tried desperately to work out the kinks from riding through the night by standing in the stirrups. He found their pace agonizingly slowed in order that they not lose the faint trail or hurt their mounts through accident.
They were only four. Himself, Methany and two other riders that had volunteered to go after Deanna. The sky was brightening and he knew that the sun would come up shortly. His bones and his butt ached from the cold damp of the high mountain night air. He hoped that Deanna’s abductors had been compassionate enough to protect her from this damning chill.
Easing back into the saddle, he was envious of Methany and the others who seemingly had the ability to ride forever without apparent pain. Her silhouette in the morning light seemed odd until he realized that her... what were they called.. oh yes... her fire lizard was nestled on her padded shoulder, its tail wrapped around her neck, it’s head tucked beneath one tightly folded wing.
He moved his mount up beside her’s and waited until she noticed he was there.
“Oh! Good morning?” she said brightly.
“You are unreasonably chipper this morning.” Said Riker.
“Chipper?” she querried.
“Happy.”
“Why not. I slept in the saddle when I wasn’t on trailing duty.”
“You what?!”
“Slept... Didn’t you?”
“No! I’m dead tired.”
“Morax told me that we’ll be taking a break for morning meal shortly.” She nodded towards the lead rider. “You can sleep while we rest and water the mounts.”
“I’ll never be able to. I’m worried about Deanna.”
“I am too but she is as she will be and there isn’t much we can do more than what we are doing right now.”
“I see that your friend returned.” Said Riker moving his mount a bit farther away.
Methany laughed and gently nuzzled the fire lizard sleeping on her shoulder. “Fire lizards are just the opposite of the big dragons, they have a good long term collective memory but they tend to forget things that happened a day or so ago.”
“You mean that it --“
“She’s not an it!”
“Okay then, SHE wouldn’t remember being stunned.”
“Oh she remembers that all right but only in a general sense because she wouldn’t want it to happen again.”
”When did she come back?”
“Oh... mmm... I’d guess around the fifth hour after sun down. She gets cold up here.”
“So do I. I just wish Deanna hadn’t lost her comm badge.”
“Why?”
“Well, If she hadn’t I could have used this gadget to for tracking her.” Riker pulled a tricorder from his belt holster and flipped it open showing Methany the unit.
“Can you use it alone to do that?” she asked curiously figuring that the star peoples things had far ranging powers.
“Normally yes but on this planet it seems to have a very limited range.” He sighed. “Too bad we don’t have some other kind of trail to follow.”
Methany suddenly looked thoughtful. “Maybe we do.” She reached up with her opposite hand and nudged her fire lizard to awaken it. Riker nearly choked in laughter as it untucked it’s head stretched first it’s body, then it’s wings and finally hopping down to land gently on the saddle horn. It shuddered as if shaking off the cold and stretched once again even while it was yawing like a kitten. Finally it settled down to chirp noisily at Methany, its multi-faceted eyes glowing and whirling in a kaleidoscope of color.
“I know you’re hungry – soon.” She said stroking it’s eye ridges.
The little dragon preened and nudged back against her stroking fingers. It seemed very odd as Methany and the little creature stared at each other obviously in some sort of communication. After some moments she sat back in the saddle and turned to him.
“She remembers Lady Deanna.”
“Uh... Okay. What good does that do?”
“It means that means that she can go to Lady Deanna.”
Riker was stunned into silence by the comment.
She was alone in again -- ‘thank god’ she thought. They’d brought her a crock of water, a chunk of bread -- obviously torn roughly from a larger loaf -- an almost stale one at that -- and a somewhat greasy chunk of over cooked meat.
With her hands bound together in almost prayer like, Deanna could only pick up one item at a time. She hated it because it was so damned awkward. She had tried to pick apart the bindings with her teeth but these rough men were, unfortunately, quite adept in their ability to truss up a prisoner properly. Sighing, she focused on attempting to chew and choke down the less greasy portions of the roast. She put the shank of roast down on a fairly clean spot in order to pick up the bread chunk, nibble some, and finally put it down to capture the water jar. She did this carefully because she couldn’t stand the thought of trying to eat any of this filth without the ability to wash it from her mouth.
The smell from the corner no longer affected her in the way it had earlier. For some reason she had become inured to the ghastly fumes – somehow shutting down and attenuating her physical sense of smell and taste. She didn’t think have about it -- it was an automatic and unconscious reaction.
She was on her fourth round of trying to eat when something flickered into existence at the corner of her vision chattering madly. Deanna turned her head carefully to find her little lizard friend.
In spite of her predicament she was relieved to see something familiar. Moving slowly, she carefully set the water crock down safely where it couldn’t be knocked over turned her attention to her visitor whom she could now recognized by it’s size, blue/green color and markings.
“Hello, Menoth.” She said in a quiet voice, fearful of frightening it away. The little creature strutted across the sacking, stopped and looked at the corner from where the stench emanated and squawked softly, the morning light reflected from it’s faceted eyes whirling with predominant reds.
“It’s all right. It’s been dead for awhile.”
The little dragon flopped and struggled clumsily as it tried to climb into her lap. Deanna carefully pulled her skirt taut and moved her left leg closer to the sacking which allowed the little dragon to settle then sit up, balancing easily by spreading it’s wing tips like hands.
“Now my fine little blue-green friend, just how did you find me?”
The little dragon, feeling comfortable and secure in her lap, looked up at her. It was obvious to Deanna that it was thinking hard when it gave out a little mental burst.
<phst*#-+Me*t#y>
Deanna was shocked. She thought that she could actually partially understand what the firelizard was trying to convey to her.
She decided to reply. “Okay little one, here goes.” She built a mental image of Methany pointing in a direction and focused on the small creature’s upturned face, staring straight into it’s facted eyes saying “You say Methany sent you -- is that right?”
The fire lizard chittered rapidly, it’s eyes now illuminated from behind in a warm rose color. It again stared back intently and for only a brief moment the image of Methany and Will riding on the horse things flitted through her mind along with another <Men%th-phst*#-+*M*thny>
Deanna’s sucked in her breath, a little in awe at what had just happened when the door to the shack slammed open again. As she looked up, she sensed exactly when her little friend dissappeared from her lap, as if by magic.
She felt alone again -- but encouraged by the fact that at least the little fire lizard knew where she was.
“Okay, Star lady. You’re coming with us.”
She looked up defiantly. “Why? Where are we going now?”
“That’s none of your business.” He growled, hauling her to feet. When he realized that she couldn’t walk with her feet bound as they were, he simply picked her up and flipped her unceremouniously, face down, like a sack of feed, over his left shoulder, then walked out into the late morning sunlight
Will sat silently beside the small trail fire, waiting for the klah to brew. After the long cold night he needed something hot. He watched Methany and Morax tending to the horses – he thought of them that way even though they were distinctly different genetically than the earth breed.
He tapped his communicator. “Delta Time”
“Twelve Minutes – Twenty Eight Seconds”
It seemed an eternity since Methany had sent her fire dragon off to find Deanna with a burst of flapping wings and a silent poof when it vanished before his eyes. While he was use to transporter effects it still amazed him that anything could do what these dragons did as naturally as breathing.
He was startled by a voice beside him.
“You really do go somewhere else when you’re thinking hard. I could have banged on a pot and I believe you wouldn’t have heard a thing.”
He looked up at Methany, chagrined. “I suppose I do. Sorry.”
Methany looked worried.
“She’ll be back.”
“I know but I’m worried whether Lady Deanna is okay.”
“She’s all right. I’d know instantly if she wasn’t.”
Methany looked down at Will with a puzzled expression. “I don’t understand.”
“Uh... It’s something like what you and your little dragon have... but different.”
“Then why can’t you just reach out and find her?”
“Methany, it’s not quite like that. I’m not genetically the same as Deanna but something’s very different in me than it was before.”
“Before you and Lady Deanna met?”
“Yes. Something like that. It’s more compli—“
The air between him and Methany was suddenly exploded into a raucously squawking blue/green blur. Methany spun about trying to track her fire lizard as it whirled about them, agitated beyond belief.
“What’s wrong?” Will asked.
“I don’t know. All I get is a picture of Lady Deanna’s face and then a bright light.”
“Can you get her calmed down?”
“I’m trying. Believe me, I’m trying.” She yelled over the noise.
* * *
The four of them edged up to the top of the hill on hands and knees to avoid being silhouetted against the sky. This was the place where Methany indicated that Menoth had visualized to her.
As they lay in the tall grasses of the hill top, Will pulled out his field tricorder, flipped it open and switched it to telescopic repeater mode. As he aimed it down-slope towards the stone and slate roofed farm buildings the image field suddenly went blurry blue green.
“Menoth! You’re in the way.” Will complained, looking up from the viewer into to the face of the little dragon who was staring back at him with an intently curious look, it’s faceted eyes glowing with odd colors.
“Methany.” He pleaded.
“Menoth. Come here.” She coaxed.
The little dragon looked at Methany, then waddled with great dignity through the high grasses until she was close enough to plop down beside her partner.
“That’s better.” She said scratching it’s eye ridges.
Will refocused the tricorder, then adjusted the unit to zoom in on the target area. The tell-tales in the display indicated that the farm had only one humanoid occupant -- inside the out building to the left of the stock pen and central house. The reading was indistinct which he attributed to the planetary interference they had observed.
“There’s only one indication and it’s very odd.”
“Where?” asked Morax from his left.
“Inside the out-building. The one just to the left of the stock pen.”
“No other signs?”
“None that I can detect from this distance. It should be safe to go in.”
The four, still cautious, edged back from the ridge top to recover their mounts tethered just out of sight. After remounting, Morax edged up beside Will.
“Lord Riker, If it were me, I would get down there fast.”
Riker sighed. “It’s just Riker, Morax, not Lord Riker but I concur with your action plan.”
“Action plan?”
“Decision about a way to act.”
“Action plan, you say.” He replied. “Interesting words you have Lor... er Riker.”
“Well then, Lets go.”
* * *
As they carefully approached the stone pillared hut they noted it had a slate roof even though the shielded walls were sheathed with crudely fashioned vertical boards.
Suddenly the wind shifted bringing with it the stench of death from the building. Their runners nearly bolted from the smell causing all four of them to wrestle with them, desperately trying to keep from being thrown.
“Deanna!” Will cried out in panic.
In their keep high up in the weyr, the incoming water in the bathing pool was steaming, keeping it at a comfortable temperature. F’lar ducked his head under to rinse the soap out of his eyes as Lessa gently scrubbed his back with sweet sand.
“The thread scars on your back from three seven days ago are healing well though I think it would have been better to have avoided getting hit.”
“Mnmenmeth took a wing scoring too before we were able to go between. I suspect that drilling the wing on how to zig when they zagged would be in order.”
“I think they already know that, love.” Lessa slid up against her Weyrleader pressing herself into his back and slipping her hands around his torso.
“Mmmm. That feels good.”
“F’Lar?”
“Mmmm?”
“About the star people.”
“What about them?”
“Do you find them... strange?”
“No more than anyone else from a far place.”
“It’s not that. It’s—“
<they think funny> Ramoth interjected.
<Go to sleep and quit eves dropping>
<I never eves drop>
She heard F’Lar sigh.
“You too?”
“It’s hard to get away from them sometimes, Mnmenmeth was butting in too.”
“I know. But Ramoth’s right. The star people do think funny especially that Lady Deanna.” Said Lessa.
“Oh, that reminds me, Naron sent word last night that the portage bridge over the Night Mountain wash has been repaired sufficiently to continue bringing down their flying machine down the mountain. He estimates that they should arrive at Benden hold late on the morrow.”
Lessa slid around her mate until she could sit beside him in order to give him a gentle kiss as he lay back against the worn smooth ancient stone of the well used tub.
“We really should do something about those abominators. They’re going to disrupt everything we are trying to do to improve our state.” She said.
“I know, love, but they’re nearly invisible. Hit then run and hide. You never know where they’ll do mischief next. So far it’s been relatively minor.”
“I know but they’re getting bolder.”
“Enough Woman! This is supposed to be a friendly bath, not a discussion of the state of the Weyr.”
Lessa grinned and stretched out on top of him her legs astride his hips. “Well kiss me then and have your way with me, Bronze Rider.”
* * *
In their Weyr, Lessa’s Gold and F’Lar’s bronze dozed