Chap. 361 Evading the Noose

Chap. 361 Evading the Noose

I am so grateful I don’t work in either Admin or Data, Raylan reflected, as he trudged to his quarters. He felt a hundred years old.

I’ve been up since 0300, why, I don’t know because as Science Division, I have nothing to do with programming computers. But when I’m told to be there, I’m there. And now it’s just noon and I’m exhausted.

I need something to eat and then a nap.

He rounded the corner where his and Francie’s quarters were just east of K’ndar’s.

Three dragons were asleep in the early afternoon sun: Corvuth and Mondevuth, the Lord Councilmen’s bronze dragons, and near them was Raventh, looking small compared to the enormous bronzes.

Where was Francie’s Motanith?

He entered their quarters. “Francie?” he called, but his voice went unanswered. Her three fire lizards were missing, too.

She can’t still be angry with me, he thought. Was it just two days ago we had the row? I shouldn’t have been so angry with her, but things were just insane at work, and only because of K’ndar’s finding the keys that broke the coded data dump, only because of that, can I actually go home for lunch, like usual. I can finally relax, at least for a while, all my people are accounted for.

I had no idea how widespread Landing personnel can be. Gads, I feel so sorry for that man in Crom. What a dismal place. Admin is saying that all personnel are present or accounted for except for Shipping and Agriculture’s Division chiefs and the young lass whose horse is Donal’s pasture buddy, so she’s out riding. The Data lads are unraveling the chunks of data and they’re confident they’ll find the culprit. In the meantime, Science division can still work. The sense of foreboding is gone. It shouldn’t take long, not with all those geeks working on the same problem, and everyone else watching over their shoulder. I wouldn’t want to be the spy right now.

He opened the refrigerator and pulled out a carafe of juice. I really could use wine, he thought, but no, I’m still on duty.

He found the loaf of bread Francie had baked last night. Just last night? It seems like days, he thought. I don’t even remember her baking it, it’s been that crazy. Ah, there’s that cheese she bought at Singing Waters. Oh, shaff it, I WILL have wine with it.

He was half done slaying the starving beast in his gut when he heard the dragon bay door open. Ah. She’s home.

The pedestrian door opened and Francie entered, followed by her trio of fire lizards. She turned. “No, you three, stay with Motanith. It’s a lovely day out there, go on, now.” The fire lizards twittered but obeyed.

She met his eye and smiled. His heart leaped. Even to this day, she makes my heart quicken, he thought.

“Hello, luv,” she said, kissing the top of his head as she shed her riding gear.

She’s forgiven me, he thought. Knowing her, she’ll have forgotten all about their tiff. But I won’t. From now on, I’ll make sure to ask her how HER day is going, instead of just venting about my own, and oh, stars, do I have a load of venting to do right now. But I’ll wait my turn.

“Wine with lunch? And still on duty?” she asked, after washing her hands. She sat down and poured herself a glass.

“Fran, it’s been insane, up at oh dark thirty and for no real reason. I think I deserve a little wine. I hope I didn’t wake you?”

“No, thank you. I didn’t think there was a three on the clock!”

He grinned. “Why I went in, I am not sure, but when I’m told to be there, I don’t question. I don’t have anything to do with the computers. It’s been a long day and it’s only half done,” he said, “But how is yours? Where did you go?”

She felt a strange twinge, he’s never asked me first. Maybe that fight we had has changed him?

“I tried to send you a message on the datalink but for some reason, it didn’t connect! I should have left a note, I guess, but it was working when I left and I thought, well, I won’t be very long. It’s just so odd.”

“Aye,” he said, pushing the cheese towards her. “Right now, the entire network, world wide, is closed down. The why of it has everyone in Data in a tizzy, but I’m certain the datalinks will be operational soon. Tell me first about YOU, please?”

I like this, she said. But he looks so tired.

“So not being able to communicate by datalink isn’t just something I did wrong? I thought I broke it somehow.”

“No, no, and you still can do so but only in Landing. Right now the world is shut off if they’re trying to communicate via datalink.”

“REALLY! What happened?”

“Francie. Tell me about YOUR day, first.”

“Okay. I have to say I’m very happy at the moment, because all those stupid demands I was getting, take me here, I need to have you pick up something there, they’ve stopped. The last week, maybe longer? it was like a flood, every other minute I was getting stupid messages, just total nonsense. It seems to have stopped dead this morning, for which I’m grateful.

But anyway, I was out grooming Motanith, today is exercise day for Landing’s dragons, and it’s T’balt’s turn to lead maneuvers. Knowing him, it’ll be, um, exertional? but I do love it. And Motanith always loves showing off how fast and agile she is. How she gets away with sassing the bronzes, I don’t know. Sometimes I think they’d like to give her a spanking.

Anyway, this man comes up to me, I know he’s staff because he’s asked for un- scheduled transport before. He wants transport to the new Weyr, Sea Coast Weyr.”

“Who was it?”

“The first time he wanted transport he said his name was Paul. I don’t usually ask for names, as long as they pay me and I have the time, I’ll transport them.”

“Funny, I can’t imagine why, well, um, how often does he do this?”

She chewed until her bite of cheese had been swallowed. “My goodness, I forgot how good this cheese is. I really should devote more attention to it. I’ve transported the man maybe three times, four? the first time being late last year, just before Turnover. But since then I’ve transported other people so I may have his name wrong. I suppose I could check the logs in Flight Ops.”

“Hmm,” he said, taking another sip of wine, “What do you think of the new Weyr?”

“Well run, I have to admit. The Weyrleader had the new port built and it’s all working well. I don’t know if you remember her, but the Weyrwoman is Marais, she was still a junior gold rider when I transferred from Telgar to Kahrain. She’s a lovely girl, and very happy.”

She chewed thoughtfully. “Strange man, this Paul. Something about him makes my skin crawl.”

“Oh? He’s not hurt you, has he?”

“No, and he wouldn’t dare. I have three fire lizards who would delight in going for his eyes if they think I’m in danger. That’s if Motanith didn’t shake him off in the middle of going between.”

I would. In a heartbeat Motanith hissed in her mind.

I know, my beloved. Thank you.

“I usually ping Sea Coast Weyr’s Flight Ops for weather, just, well, just out of habit. I don’t HAVE to for short trips, and his have always been, land, he gets off, conducts whatever business he has and then we come back. But that’s when I discovered I couldn’t call out on my link. I truly thought I’d broken it. So I told Paul, look, I have to go down to our Flight Ops to check weather and sign out. I didn’t want to, not at all. I absolutely detest that horrid man, Howel, running Ops. He has a big chip on his shoulder and hates us dragonriders. If Risal or her apprentice is there, I get the info I need. So I wasn’t too unhappy when Paul said, Look, I’m in a hurry, can’t we just get there, I’m sure the weather is fine. Tell you what, I’ll pay you double the fee, four marks instead of two.”

I was fine with that, anything to keep me from smashing Howel in the face. So I said, okay, let’s go. I wasn’t too worried about the weather, anyway. I felt uncomfortable not being able to tell you where I was going, but I thought, I won’t be long.”

“What does he do there?”

“I haven’t a clue. I don’t ask because, sometimes,a passenger will treat me as if I have nothing better to do but listen to her issues. All I want is my fee and to return home.

I noticed that he was wearing a backpack, but also had a bag, a nice one made of leather over his other shoulder. He sees me looking at it and says, without my saying anything, “I know, the bag. Will you take six marks for cargo and transport?” and he pulls out six marks and hands it to me, before I can argue. I’ll take six marks anytime someone is offering it over the regular fee of a mark per bag.”

“Even though he was carrying it?”

“Cargo is weight, no matter how it’s transported, and greens aren’t all that big. Motanith can carry two people, but anything as big as that bag was can sometimes be more than she can handle.”

“So I buckle him in, and just before I do, I say, “I’m bringing you back, correct?” because I have the last three times. I was sort of hoping for another six marks, honestly.

He says, “No, I’ll be taking passage on a ship, thank you.” I land outside of Sea Coast’s Weyr and unharness Paul. He steps down and immediately goes to the wharf. This struck me as strange, because there wasn’t a ship in port at the time. I expected him to at least wait inside the Weyr, I’m told they have a waiting area, with klah and places to sit until the ship comes in. I thought, maybe there’s a ship coming in that’s still down hull below the horizon, I might see it from the air.

About that time I see this young man trying to saddle a very nice bay horse and the horse is giving him a hard time. I thought, oh, they’re not connecting, I have time and it IS a horse, after all.”

“And, I know you, Francie, my horse crazy woman,” Raylan laughed, so happy they were back in the comfortable loving frame they’d inhabited for years. “You were going to go help him.”

“Well, duh? Of course I was. But at the same time, out from between appears a blue dragon, circling overhead. The rider calls out, make room please?” Motanith..oh, she’s such a polite girl, she’d already made room for the blue.

“”He didn’t want to land in the Weyr?

“The Weyr discourages dragon landings behind their palisade unless it’s definitely Weyr business. It’s fairly small. That’s why they have a landing spot for dragons outside the walls. Anyway, the blue rider, so young, Raylan, he looked like he was ten years old, unbuckles his passenger, a very old man, with a cane. It took him a big effort to climb down off the blue and that lad may have been young but he’d trained his blue to literally lay down on his belly for the old man. The man had nothing, no backpack, no baggage whatsoever. I wondered, maybe he lives in the Weyr? But then he would have had the blue rider land inside the Weyr. Then I heard the man ask the blue rider how far it was to Landing. The lad says, I’ve never been there, I don’t know.”

So I ask Motanith to ping his dragon, and tell the rider I am from Landing, I can tell you. The lad does and the old man looks my way and I wave. He starts to walk toward me, but Raylan, he’s using the cane as if his one leg doesn’t work. I didn’t want him to work so hard, so I approached him and said, “Sir, do you need transport to Landing?”

“He says, “Yes, ma’am, I do, how much do you charge for unscheduled transport?”

Raylan, I just couldn’t bring myself to charge him a thing. I know, that’s a bad way to run a business, but he looked as if he’d not bathed in a week, his clothes were all torn up, although his boots looked brand new.

“So I said, sir, I’ve just discharged a passenger, I’m going back anyway, you needn’t pay me a thing.”

He said, “No, ma’am, I insist. It’s two marks, correct?”

I said, yes, and he hands me two brand new Lemos Hold marks. One way or another, though, I’m going to get the money back to him.

Oh, Raylan, my lovely Motanith. She can be such a pain at times and others, she’s so sweet and kind. She waddles over and says to me ‘his leg doesn’t work. I will lay down on my belly like the blue did.’ She’s SUCH a wonderful dragon!

Even so, I had to give him a boost and I buckled him in extra secure, and then I mounted, and that’s when Paul comes hurrying back, toting that huge bag.

“I have no idea what was in it but Motanith had said it was heavy. This man, Paul rushes up to me and looks at the old man. He shouts, “I need transport to Lemos Hold RIGHT NOW. Ten marks.”

His attitude, Raylan, it pissed me off. It was as if I was a mere drudge and I had better obey or I’ll suffer. I’m thinking, wait a minute, ten minutes ago you said you’re waiting for a ship and now you’ve changed your mind? Not to mention I’ve got this elderly man already harnessed in. What should I do, refund the old man, push him off my dragon to take this entitled lout north? I’m not that unethical. Nor do I feel like going to Lemos, yes, it’s just a between but still, it’s the principle of the thing. I don’t know what the weather is like in Lemos and besides, she’s MY dragon, I want to get home and find out why my datalink isn’t working

“I said, Excuse me, but I already have a passenger.”

The old man says, “I can wait, ma’am” and I turned and said, “You will NOT move off my dragon. Sir.” That was easy, really, he would have needed time and my help to unharness and dismount.

Paul says, “Fine, twenty marks to Lemos Hold,” and holds up two ten mark coins. I think, damn it, no. If he’s this desperate something must be wrong. No.

Then that blue rider, oh, what a quick lad he was! said, “Twenty marks? I’ll take you to the Yokohama for twenty marks.”

I looked at the lad and winked and said, “You better not, weyrling,” even though I knew he wasn’t one, and he laughed.”No, ma’am,” he says, “Of course not, but if you don’t take him, may I?” And I said, “Of course, you’d be a fool to pass up twenty marks.”

Then this arsehole Paul said, “Well, now we all know who the fool is. Let’s go, lad.” He tosses the marks to the rider, mounts the blue and the lad buckles him in, bag and all. Good riddance, I though. I don’t want anything more to do with him. And I hope I never see him at Landing. Ever. Because, Raylan, there was just something wrong about him, something creepy. My gut said, no, this lout isn’t right.

So before he could make any other snide remarks, and even though I wanted to help that boy with the horse, I had a paying passenger, and we launched. Now I’m home and this wine is done.”

“And so am I,” said Raylan, and laying his head on the table, went to sleep.