Chapter 39

Cleaning Up

The sun was just rising; the wind and waves peacefully calm. A perfect excuse to get some much-needed exercise. Pleased with the effort as he finished his morning swim, Robinton made his way back to shore. To his surprise, someone was there waiting for him.

"Who…" he began, wiping his face to clear the sea water from his eyes.

The stranger was holding up a towel for him; a broad, beaming smile on her face as he approached.

"How was your swim?" I asked.

"DANA?!" Robinton gasped, staggering back a step in surprise.

"Here," I chuckled as I threw the towel over his shoulders. "You'll catch your death!"

"By the First Egg!" Robinton exclaimed, toweling off as he stared at me. "What are you doing here, child? Did anyone see you?"

"No," I assured him, laying a gentle hand on his arm. "I asked the local fire lizards to keep an eye out for me and to warn me if anyone comes near."

"Tarnaa?"

"Back at the weyr," I replied, smiling assurances. "I came alone."

"Quickly, inside!" Robinton directed, taking me by the elbow and heading into his house.

Once he'd had a chance to change into some comfortable clothes, Robinton rejoined me in the living room. He found me sitting on the couch, Zair crooning with delight as I scratched his eye ridges.

"Dana, child, I am pleased beyond words to see you again," Robinton spoke, pouring himself a glass of juice then offering me one of my own. Plopping down in the chair opposite me, he added, "And yet, given how you went on about altering the future, I'm surprised to find you here!"

"Dear Master Robinton," I said, a solitary tear sliding down my cheek, "did you think I would pass up the opportunity to properly thank you for your most wondrous and generous gift?"

"Gift? What…"

"Your will."

"My will?!" Robinton stammered, nearly dropping the juice he was sipping. "I only just finished the damned thing yesterday!"

"And it will remain hidden and unknown in AIVAS' memory circuits," I spoke, wiping the tear from my cheek, "until my return to Benden Weyr many Turns from now."

"Which will no doubt seem like only a few minutes for you," Robinton chuckled, lifting his glass in a salute, "thanks to the effects of 'timing it'."

I nodded.

"I appreciate your sentiment, Masterhealer," he spoke, taking another sip of his juice, "but you should not have returned."

"I had no choice."

"Why?"

"Because of an incident that occurred at a Ruathan gather in the time before my transformation."

"What sort of incident?" Robinton wondered, leaning closer.

"While I was still the old me," I explained, meeting his gaze, "Ryeena, her family, and I were invited to a Gather at Ruatha Hold."

"Go on."

"While at the Gather, Jaxom invited me up on stage so that I could sing 'Keymon's Song' for the assembled crowd."

"Ah, that must've been quite a sight!" Robinton chuckled, taking another sip of his juice.

"Oddly enough, just as I started to sing, a strange sort of dizziness swept over me. Thanks to Master Shonagar's teachings, I managed to temporarily push the feeling aside."

"Dizziness, you say?"

I nodded.

"As the song was ending, I spotted a young woman and an elderly man in a cloak at the back of one of the Gather stalls," I went on. "Funny thing was… when the song ended, the dizziness vanished… and so had the young woman and the elderly man!"

"Coincidence, perhaps," Robinton suggested.

"Not this time," I replied, my expression coldly serious.

"Explain."

"You already know my story right up to the time of our first meeting, Master Robinton."

"Yes," he acknowledged, nodding, "thanks to the Lessa from your time."

"The moment I returned to Benden in my time, I was summoned to Landing because AIVAS had shut down all access to its facilities."

"Ah, it is good to know," Robinton sighed, finishing off his juice, "that the precautions I put in place with AIVAS worked and were effective."

"You had given me such an amazing and humbling gift, dear Master Robinton," I said, smiling warmly at him. "At first, I was uncertain if I had the right to accept it, to violate the shrine your home had become."

"This?!" Robinton scoffed, waving a dismissal.

"Goldie, my fire lizard, settled the confusion, winging through the open door of your home," I went on, meeting his gaze. "The place was well kept, immaculate. I wandered back to the bedroom… the same one I had rested in following my head banging episode with Ramoth."

"That was quite an impact!" Robinton chuckled.

"I don't know why I did it, but I laid down on the bed and fell asleep almost instantly."

"Given your 'timing' and that knock to your head," Robinton remarked, laying a long finger of his hand along his jaw, "I'm not that surprised."

"While I slept, I had several dreams about you."

"Me?" Robinton wondered, Zair chirruping in concert.

I nodded.

"Three in all," I explained, tears once more forming in my eyes. "In the first, I was your apprentice, studying under your guiding hand back at the Harper Hall."

"Ah, if only, my dear," Robinton chuckled, patting my hand.

"In the second, you were standing on the shore, watching as Ryeena and I flew off on our dragons to help an injured Pernese out at sea; a pod of dolphins our surface escort."

"That would've been a truly inspiring sight, my dear."

"The final dream, though, is why I'm here."

Robinton said nothing, but his worried gaze spoke volumes.

"From the moment I set out to find Pern, Master Robinton," I explained, somehow meeting his worried gaze, "I have been experiencing what I can only call premonitions, glimpses of things I would see and experience here on Pern."

"Premonitions?!" he exclaimed, suddenly leaning forward. "You mean, you can see the future?"

I nodded.

"My instructors back at the Star Service Academy called it precognition," I explained, wincing as I recalled. "Every member of the Star Service is thoroughly tested for any sort of psionic ability, precognition being one such talent. Telepathy, the ability to communicate mind-to-mind is another of these talents."

"What the dragonriders use to speak to their lifemates!" Robinton responded.

"I failed every screening test I was subjected to," I went on, wringing my hands. "At times, it had been so grueling and excruciating…"

"And yet, the moment I set out to find Pern," I explained, meeting Robinton's gaze, "the dreams started. Only later did I finally realize they were actually precognitive glimpses of things I would experience here on Pern."

"This has to do with that final dream, doesn't it?" Robinton concluded.

I nodded again.

"You and I were attending a Gather at Ruatha," I began, meeting his gaze. "We were standing near the back of the Gather stalls as a performer mounted the stage to sing."

Robinton's eyes grew larger.

"When the performer turned our way, I realized it was my old self!"

"By the First Egg!" Robinton hissed.

"Back then, I had no idea what you looked like. But that all changed the moment I 'timed it' back to Cove Hold."

Given the look on Master Robinton's face, he was more than a little concerned.

"The young woman and the elderly gentleman you saw that day at Ruatha…" Robinton whispered, his eyes suddenly growing enormous.

"Was really my transformed self and you!" I finished for him. "The dizziness I felt was the time stream's way of warning me that the same person from two different times cannot exist in the same place!"

Robinton leaned back, staring at me with positively enormous eyes, Zair perched on his shoulder chittering nervously. For a long moment, the Masterharper just stared in wonder at me.

"You are certain of this?" he finally asked, slowly leaning closer.

All I could manage in reply was a tiny nod.

"I see," Robinton quietly spoke, rubbing his chin, Zair chirruping worriedly as he shifted to his perch on the back of the chair.

"It won't be like Lessa's journey back to bring the five weyrs forward," I explained, staring out the window. "Our journey across Time will be a lot shorter."

Looking up at him, I added, "I also brought heavy riding furs to protect us from the cold of between plus supplemental oxygen equipment so we won't suffer from hypoxia on the trip."

Robinton and I sat there for several moments, the only sound coming from the waves down at the shore.

"I can't force you to do this, Master," I said, tears trickling down my cheeks. "It has to be your choice."

"And if we don't go?"

"The time line will alter. Mine will most certainly be affected, but by how much I have no way of knowing."

"It will also have a cascading effect on the rest of Pern," I went on, meeting Robinton's gaze. "Each person I came in contact with will be affected to varying degrees by the change in my time line. Like ripples on a pond when the surface is disturbed."

"I see."

Robinton's expression was grim as he regarded me; one that slowly warmed and changed to a pleased smile.

"My dear Masterhealer," he quietly said, taking my trembling hands in his, "your value to the future of Pern, especially the inestimable value of your healing skills is well worth protecting. I will be honored to go with you!"

"Master, thank you," I replied, squeezing his hands gratefully.

"There is still the matter of how we will get there," he remarked, glancing about. "Which reminds me… you said Tarnaa was back at the Weyr, that you came alone."

I nodded.

"Then how did you get here? Did someone bring you?"

Shaking my head, I stood, pulling Robinton to his own feet.

"Do you trust me?"

Robinton searched my face, my eyes before finally nodding. In the next breathtaking moment, the two of us were standing on the sands of the beach at Cove Hold!

"By the First Egg!" Robinton gasped, whirling to stare around him. "What… how…" His gaze finally fixed squarely on me. "The cold! The darkness! We went between?!"

Grinning at his surprise, I nodded.

"But how?"

"It appears, dear Master Robinton," I explained, trying hard not to giggle at his surprise, "that I inherited something far more draconic from Wirenth than just my eyes!"

"Wait! What?! You don't mean…"

I was grinning from ear-to-ear, nodding enthusiastically in reply.

"My word!" Robinton gasped, having difficulty wrapping his head around the idea. Finally, swallowing nervously, he asked, "Does anyone else know about this?"

"My assistant, Ryeena, and the Benden Weyrleaders," I replied, turning and walking Robinton back to his home. "No one else."

We barely cleared the doorway before Zair came swooping about us, chittering hysterically about Robinton's sudden disappearance.

"Oh, I'm alright, you great screeching buffoon," Robinton playfully remarked once Zair had landed on his shoulder to receive an eye ridge scratch. "And here I thought all I had to look forward to was just another boring day!"

Turning to me, he smiled, saying, "We'd best be going!"

Retreating to his bedroom, Master Robinton soon returned with the very cloak I'd seen him wearing that Gather Day.

"We'd best leave the furs and that oxygen whatchamacallit here," he spoke as he slipped into the cloak.

"But…" I began to protest.

"The heavy furs and that gear will only serve to draw attention to us," he cautioned, flicking the cloak's hood up over his head. "When you spotted us at the back of the Gather stalls, were we wearing them?"

I searched my memories of that incident, then gasped, looking straight at the Masterharper.

"Zair, I need you to stay here and keep an eye on the place," Robinton addressed his fire lizard friend.

The little bronze gave a mournful trill but remained where he was.

"Now, my dear," Robinton whispered, taking my trembling hands in his.

Seconds later, and years forward in Time, the two of us emerged from between discreetly behind one of the Gather stalls in Ruatha just as the musicians began to play the intro to "Keymon's Song". The moment we appeared, the dizziness returned, but Robinton's firm yet gentle hand on my elbow kept me steady.

It was an eerie feeling reliving that moment, seeing my former self up on that stage, singing the song my Kendite brother had shared with me.

I heard Robinton's quiet gasp as the fire lizards picked up the song, triggering that dreamlike effect that seemed to lay at the heart of that musical wonder. He gasped even more loudly when the dragons joined in on the third verse.

"By the First Egg!" I heard Robinton whisper, knowing how deeply the magic of the song had touched him.

As the song reached its end and the crowd began their boisterous cheers and applause, I took one last look at my former self up on stage. Then, a solitary tear sliding down my cheek, I took Master Robinton's hands in mine and the two of us vanished between, reappearing moments later on the beaches of Cove Hold back in the Masterharper's proper time.

"Master, are you alright?" I asked, pulling the hood back from his face.

He was a little pale, his hands trembling slightly. But the warmth of the sun and the sands seemed to bring him instantly back to life.

"Alright?!" Master Robinton happily exclaimed, picking me up in a bear hug and swinging me around. "I've never been more alive! Whoo hoo!"

"That's a relief!" I chuckled, planting a kiss on his cheek when he finally set me down.

A bronze rocket zipped out the door of Robinon's home, blurring about us in an excess of happiness.

"And here is Zair to be certain!" I laughed, giving the little rascal an eye ridge scratch once he'd landed on Robinton's upraised arm.

"Master Robinton, thank you," I said, giving him a hug. "For your courage, your wisdom, and your incredible generosity. I owe you a debt I can't possibly repay!"

"But you can, my dear," he argued, laying a gentle hand on my cheek. "By passing on your knowledge, both medical and otherwise, to the people of your time."

"I will, Master," I wept, hugging his hand to my cheek. "I promise!"

Releasing his hand, I turned toward the surf rushing ashore. Then, with one final backwards glance and wave, I vanished between!

"Take care, my dear," Robinton whispered, a solitary tear sliding down his cheek.

I still had one more loose end to tie up… on the Eastern Islands! Thanks to the many talks I'd had with Lord Jaxom, I'd learned how he had been able to locate his future wife, Sharra, lost across the abyss of Time, with the help of images gleaned from the memories of the fire lizards!

With Tarnaa's help, I had secretly visited the islands, spending time with the wild fire lizards there. Through them, I had finally located one specific memory, but my timing would have to be absolutely spot on to pull this next stunt off.

I'd also made use of AIVAS and the Threadfall records of seven Turns ago to precisely calculate when the Fall would occur. Between the fire lizards and the computer analysis, I knew precisely where… and when… I had to go.

Young Kara and her Ma never even noticed me as I popped out of between directly behind them at that fateful moment.

Kara's Ma looked up, saw the Thread falling their way, and, instinctively, shoved her daughter into the shallow cave they'd found. That motion caused her to stagger backwards… right into me.

The instant I grabbed her, Kara's Ma screamed, no doubt believing it was Thread that had her. In that same moment, the two of us vanished between, emerging seconds later… and years forward in Time… on the edge of their village's clearing. Once more, the dizziness assailed me. But rather than linger, I quickly released Kara's Ma then vanished back between.

Twice I had 'timed it', as Lessa put it. Because of my rather remarkable transformation and the dragon's ability to 'port that I had miraculously inherited from Wirenth, I now had the power to alter the very flow of Time, to literally change the course of history!

Now I fully understood what geas meant. My ability to 'time it' could be either a blessing or a curse... depending on how it was used. The enormity of the responsibility I now faced frightened me more deeply than anything I'd ever known! Only Time would tell if I had the wisdom to use it properly.

The tasks complete, I returned to my own time, popping out of between in the middle of Benden's weyr bowl. It was a relief to be back in familiar surroundings. Goldie came winging over to greet me, caroling her elation at my return.

It is done? Tarnaa quietly rumbled as she came over to headstroke my face.

Yes, my heart, I just as quietly replied, giving her a muzzle hug and thump on the neck. All is as it should be.

I wasn't worried, Tarnaa responded, adding her dragon version of a chuckle.

Together, we headed over to the entrance to the weyr's kitchen cavern. While Tarnaa and Goldie curled up outside, I made my way within.

Quiet celebrations were the order of the day. The Eastern Islands fall had been successfully dealt with. Plenty of quiet high fives echoed around the kitchen.

I was about to search for eating utensils when the kitchen headwoman, Felena, shoved a plate of piping hot food into my hands.

"Find a seat, Masterhealer," she chided me, a broad grin on her face, "if you can!"

She wasn't joking. Nearly everyone in the weyr was here!

Across the kitchen, I spotted Kara and her Ma quietly talking, giggling, sometimes laughing. It filled my heart with joy to see their happiness.

"Mind if I join you?" Lessa wondered, setting her own plate down as I was settling myself.

"Please," I replied, nodding as I picked up my fork.

"I get the feeling you had something to do with that," Lessa remarked, taking the seat across from me before nodding in Kara's direction.

"Just cleaning up a few loose ends," I said before stuffing a slice of meat into my mouth.

"What do you mean?" Lessa wondered, leaning closer.

"The time stream," I explained after taking a sip of some juice. "Right after the fall, at the moment Kara's Ma appeared at the edge of their village's clearing, I felt a brief moment of dizziness."

From the look of surprise and recognition in Lessa's eyes, I could tell she knew exactly what I was talking about.

"I've heard many riders describe that same feeling when they inadvertently 'time it' too close to themselves," I went on, finishing off a spoonful of my vegetables. "So, I knew what it meant. Ignoring it would've altered this time line… with potentially catastrophic results. I couldn't take that chance."

"Their people have been through a very great hardship," Lessa sighed, munching on some of her own food. "And if some of them don't want to leave their island home, then their new queen rider will need all the help and support she can get!"

"Weyrwoman?"

Lessa and I both looked up. Kara and her Ma were standing next to our table, anxious looks on their faces.

"Could we ask you something?" Kara nervously inquired.

"Of course," Lessa responded. "Please, have a seat."

Kara sat next to me, her Ma next to Lessa.

"How can I help you?" Lessa wondered, glancing from one to the other.

"It's about my Ma," Kara began.

"In what way?" Lessa wondered.

"We've all heard the story of how you went back through Time," Kara's Ma responded, glancing around the table, "to bring the five missing Weyrs forward to fight Thread."

"We understand it takes a dragon to 'time it'," Kara went on, nervously wringing her hands. "But that's where things get confusing."

"Go on," Lessa urged when Kara hesitated.

"Dragons are enormous!" Kara spoke, looking straight at Lessa. "Even Ruth, small as he is, would've been seen if he'd popped in at the clearing. But aside from Dana's queen, no one saw anything unusual when my Ma suddenly showed up!"

Reaching across the table, Kara took her Ma's hand in hers and asked, "So how did Ma 'time it'?"

For several seconds, it was silent at our table as Kara searched our faces. As she glanced at me, Kara suddenly gasped, eyes like saucers, her trembling hands covering her mouth.

"Sweetheart, what is it?" her Ma nervously inquired.

"Your eyes!" Kara whispered, her gaze searching my face. "Your… dragon eyes! Ancestors!"

"Kara,…" Lessa started to speak, but I raised my hand to cut her off.

"Go on, Kara," I urged her.

For nearly a minute, my Eastern Islands friend just stared at me before finally whispering, "That's how you were able to escape, isn't it?"

Smiling back, I nodded.

"You can go between! Just like a dragon!"

"What?!" Kara's Ma exclaimed, glancing back and forth between me and her daughter.

"You've a keen mind, Kara," I said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "And an even sharper insight. I'm impressed you were able to put the pieces of the puzzle together like that!"

"But how did you know where…" Kara whispered, "or when… to find us?"

"A little trick I picked up from Lord Jaxom and his lifemate, Ruth," I explained, adding a wink.

"The fire lizards!" Lessa exclaimed, staring at me. "Just like Sharra! Shells, Dana!"

"A rider who can go between… without a dragon?!" Kara's Ma whispered, clearly awed by the idea.

Slowly, I nodded.

"How?" was all Kara's Ma could get out.

"Are you sure you want to hear all the boring details?" I asked with a chuckle. "It's a pretty long story!"

For several seconds, Kara's Ma searched my face, my eyes. In the end, she merely shook her head, adding a tiny chuckle.

But then, she turned tortured eyes first to her daughter then to me before asking, "Why didn't you bring us both forward?"

Kara provided the answer. "It would've altered the future."

I nodded.

"What do you mean?" Lessa wondered, leaning closer.

"My Da has a fearsome temper," Kara admitted, ducking her head. Glancing over at her Ma, she added, "You know that."

Silently, reluctantly, Kara's Ma nodded.

"If we had both 'timed it'," Kara went on, "Da might've believed we had both died of Thread. It would've probably pushed him over the edge. He may well have killed Dana rather than just hold her prisoner."

"It's more than just that, Kara," I quietly added.

"Explain," Lessa requested.

"It was Kara who first alerted us to the calls over the Ancients' walkie talkies," I explained, giving my island friend's hand a squeeze. "From that simple act, we learned what the Exiles were planning to do. But if she had 'timed it' forward at the same moment as her Ma…"

"She wouldn't have existed at that critical moment!" Lessa exclaimed, wide-eyed as she stared at Kara.

"Even more importantly," I went on, giving Kara a hug, "if, as Kara suspects, her Da would've killed me rather than just hold me hostage, several things would've happened. Without Kara's warning about the clandestine radio calls, we would not have learned what the Exiles had been planning. And with me dead, they may well have succeeded in crashing the three Ancients' colony ships into Fort Hold, Benden Weyr, and Landing, killing thousands along with those who would've died in the assault on Ruatha."

"Shards of my dragon's egg!" Lessa hissed, staring at the two of us.

Turning Kara to me, I wrapped her up in a long, warm hug… one she returned in kind.

"When you first shared your story with me," I told her, tears coursing down my cheeks as I once more squeezed her hands, "I was impressed with the courage you showed in telling me."

Kara smiled, a tiny tear sliding down her own cheek.

"I know all those years without your Ma were painful for you," I went on, tears falling as I gave her hands a second stronger squeeze, "but you have also proven just how strong and brave you are."

"Were our positions reversed," Kara chuckled, grinning shyly at me, "I don't know if I would've shown the same patience as you did with me. Thank you!"

"Beyond all that," I said, planting a grateful kiss on her trembling hands, "I hope you can now see just how important you were in safeguarding the people of Pern and its future!"

Sobbing, Kara threw her arms around my neck, hugging me tightly.

"And if you had never come to Pern in the first place," she wept, pulling back to look once more at me, "things here would've turned out a lot differently. Each of us in our own ways had a hand in saving Pern."

Glancing around the table, she added, "We all did!"

"But… I didn't do anything," Kara's Ma argued.

"Yes, you did!" Kara and I simultaneously answered, breaking into giggles as we looked at each other.

"They're right, you know," Lessa remarked, giving the woman's hand a squeeze.

"I don't understand."

"By shoving Kara into that cave," I began.

"You saved my life," Kara finished.

"In saving your daughter from Thread," Lessa said, nodding Kara's way, "she, in turn, when the time came, was able to warn Dana about the Exiles' radio calls. This then allowed Tarnaa's rider to deduce what the Exiles were planning and act to save the lives of everyone in Fort Hold, Benden Weyr, Landing, and Ruatha."

"Quite the series of temporal connections, little sister," Key spoke as he and Dav approached our table.

"It's like Kara said," I responded, giving her a quick hug. "We all had a hand in saving the people of Pern. Please pass on our thanks to Captain Morgan and the crew of the Wolfhound for letting us use the holodecoys."

"Will we see you at the celebration this evening?" Kara asked.

"Sorry, little one," Dav replied with a reluctant shrug. "We just stopped by to let you know we're shoving off!"

"You're not staying?!" Kara gasped.

Both of my Federation friends shook their heads.

"This was only supposed to be a brief investigatory mission," Key explained. "But when Captain Morgan decided to stay and document the Exiles incident…"

"You burned through your reserves," I sighed, knowing full well what that meant.

Turning Kara toward me, I told her, "They have to leave… and soon. If they don't, they won't be able to make it back to their homes before their supplies run out."

Slowly, crestfallen at the imminent loss of her new friends, Kara nodded.

That said, we all headed out to the Weyr bowl where my friends had parked their shuttle. The entire population of Benden Weyr was ranged behind us, waving and shouting farewells. Tears in her eyes, Kara ran up and gave each of my friends a hug.

"We'll miss you… ch'har," Kara whispered, giving my Kendite brother a grateful hug.

"And we will miss you… ch'hin," Key just as quietly responded, returning the hug.

"But, hey!" Dav added, grinning from ear-to-ear. "We know where to find you now! We'll drop in again, sometime!"

"I'm counting on it!" I chuckled, wrapping Dav up in a bone-creaking bear hug.

With final farewells, the crowd backed away as my friends boarded their craft and sealed the hatch. Within moments, the engines roared to life and the Federation shuttle shot skyward, circling Benden Weyr once before disappearing from view.

Then, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the comm unit the kind people of the Wolfhound had let me keep and put it on.

"Wolfhound, this is Angel Zero One," I radioed. "Do you copy?"

"Loud and clear, Sterling," Captain Morgan personally responded.

"Dav and Key are on their way back, Captain," I informed him.

"Sorry we couldn't stay any longer, Dana," he apologized.

"Don't be sorry, Captain," I argued. "You and your crew were of immense help with the Exiles crisis."

"It was a genuine pleasure to meet you, Sterling. I look forward to the next time we can get together."

"As do I, Captain," I replied, a silent tear sliding down my cheek. "To all who serve aboard the Federation vessel Wolfhound, on behalf of all the citizens of Pern, I offer you our most profound and heartfelt thanks for all your assistance. Safe journey to you!"

"Till we meet again!" Captain Morgan replied. "Wolfhound, over and out!"

Kara's Da was the next loose end. He stared in frightened astonishment when his wife appeared at the window of his cell in Fort Hold. He wept like a child when the bailiffs actually let her into the cell.

"Mira!" he gasped, backing into the corner of his cell as she approached. "But… how?"

To her credit, she didn't mention my part in that miracle. Instead, Mira simply planted a gentle kiss on his cheek and left.

Next came the Lords Holder conclave. Dragonriders and harpers galore were also in attendance. It took some fancy persuasion and a repeat performance of my legal argument back at Benden Weyr to ultimately get the point across.

The final decision reached by the Lords Holder was unanimous. The exile was lifted. Those who wanted to return to their previous homes would be allowed to do so. And, as I had promised, I was there on the beach the day Master Idarolan's fleet arrived to begin the exodus.

Still, there were a few who had grown fond of their new home in the islands and didn't want to leave. With assistance from the riders at Southern Weyr, a new weyr was constructed… the Eastern Islands Weyr!

Riders from the seven current weyrs were handpicked to man the site. And, for a time, riders from Southern flew with the new riders of Eastern Islands, passing on that Thread-fighting skill that was unique to tropical climes.

It wasn't long before the Eastern Islands Weyr celebrated their first clutch of dragon eggs. I was on-hand that happy day and wept with joy when Kara was chosen by the solitary queen to hatch.

It had taken a long time and a supremely complicated effort to finally undo the error of the past. Having reunited with my old comrades, I could now look forward to the day I would see them again. At Robinton Cove, the teaching hospital with all its support facilities and personnel, including the dolphin pod, was nearing completion. And, as I watched Kara feeding her newly hatched golden lifemate, hope for the future well-being of every living soul on Pern filled my overflowing heart with joy! What an incredible place to call home!