Landing School 25PP

(Eight Months til Threadfall)

1

Jeri awoke to the morning bustle of the girls dorm. With a groan, she pulled the blankets over her head and snuggled into the pillow. Exhausted, yet awake, she tried to force herself to return to sleep and the dream about the previous evening. Half quiet whispers hissed through the room's air.

"I need in the baths."

"Not now, we've kitchen duty."

"I'm sticky. Why's it so hot in fourmonth?"

"What about Jeri? She's on the same roster as us."

"Shhh."

The voices of the other girls in the dorm were cut off as the house mother quieted them.

"She was at the Ruatha gather until late. On top of that, they're hours behind us. She's done her turns for each of you for this privilege, or have you forgotten?"

"No Miss Rina." The girls chorused.

"Then let's get a move on, you know how the cooks are if you're late." Jeri heard Arrina say.

She felt a light hand pat her shoulder through the blankets as the girls trooped out of the room.

"Don't you pay attention in class? Seasons are backwards on the..."

The solid click of the door latching cut off the sounds of the girls departing.

In the quiet, her mind returned to the previous evening. Tired as she was, at the memory, she couldn't help but smile.

"Hello Jeri."

The girls eyes had widened as Ruth greeted her at the top of the stair. The White Dragon had been a huge part of her eleven turns, but it was still a joy when he chose to speak to her.

"Good evening Ruth. Are you enjoying the gather?"

"My family is here, my friends are here. I am content."

The dragon's eyes whirled a bright green as it moved back from the stairs to make room for her to place her bag.

Jeri sighed as she unloaded herself. "I have to return to school tonight with Jerath and Uncle S'wan. May I wait here with you?"

"I could ask Jerath to call S'wan."

"Oh no, don't do that. I can go when they are ready. Besides, I can spend the time here with you." Jeri had answered.

Ruth stretched then curled into a ball, with a nice nest for her to settle into by his forelegs. Grabbing her wherhide jacket as a blanket, she settled into the provided space. The warmth of the dragon's soft hide soon had her lids drooping.

"Grandfather is so lucky to have you, Ruth." Jeri mumbled sleepily. "Some of my classmates have firelizards, I wonder what it would be like to have one."

"You would be a good firelizard friend. I will see what I can do."

Jeri had fallen asleep after that, but the warm feeling of that comment stayed with her.

2

Jeri couldn't stay in bed any longer. She was too used to rising with the sun to remain asleep. Rising, she checked the room clock. The other girls were only a half-hour gone. With a shrug, she ducked into the bath to wash her face and rinse her teeth. That taken care of, she quickly dressed and reported to the kitchen.

As she entered, she was spotted by Journeyman Harper Arrina.

"Jeri, you're excused this morning. You should be asleep."

"That's okay Miss Rina. I couldn't stay in bed, so I may as well be useful." Jeri replied.

"Well, in that case, how about taking the breakfast tray to the watch?"

Jeri slung a net of mugs across one shoulder and a thermos of klah across the other. Arrina handed her a large platter and she slid out the kitchen door. Crossing from the kitchens to the AIVAS building, she smiled good mornings to others who were already about their day.

The guard held the door for her as she maneuvered the tray into the building.

"All kinds of crazy things are happening."

"How so?"

"The system usage is near to maximums and no one is on any of the machines. The Yokohama's telescope is skewed ninety degrees off of it's programmed search axis, and if this line can be believed, the ship launched a probe yesterday and is tracking it outbound."

Jeri followed the voices into a console room that had been set up for the astronomers who monitored the telescope on the colony ship.

"Breakfast." She said, setting the tray on a table near the door.

A large, grey haired man stood up from the console and limped over to the table. "Maybe with some klah, I can make some sense out of what this system is telling me."

He helped her set out the mugs and poured himself a cup.

"Tai?" He held up his mug.

"Please, F'lessan." The lady at the terminal replied.

He reached for the thermos, but Jeri already had it in her hand. "I've got it, Starmaster."

Jeri carefully placed the hot drink by the woman's hand.

"You look familiar. Have we met?" F'lessan asked.

"No, Starmaster. I am Jeri of Ruatha Hold." She replied.

"Ahhhh!" Jeri stepped back as F'lessan yelled and hit his palm against his forehead.

"What's the matter?" The woman asked.

"What's wrong? Jaxom's birthday gather! It was yesterday and I forgot!"

Jeri took a sweetroll off of the pile and slid out of the room. Everybody knew her grandfather. Grinning, she pushed against the next door down, slid through and began nibbling on the roll. Across the room, a steady green light was her only companion. She could just hear the two in the next room continuing to argue about what was going on with the computers on the Yokohama.

Suddenly, the light blinked.

Jeri shook her head and looked at it harder.

It blinked again, then turned yellow.

She moved closer to it, curious about what it was doing.

The yellow light blinked rapidly then turned green again, blinking at a steady pace. Above the light, a screen lit up with a star field. In the middle of the star field was a fuzzy dot. Lines of numbers scrolled across the bottom third of the screen. The upper portion split in two, with the left half holding the original image and the right half showing a similar fuzzy dot with the background stars shifting behind it.

"State ID and access code, please."

Jeri jumped backward as the speaker grill beside the monitor came to life.

"Please state your ID."

"J-Jeri of Ruatha Hold."

"Ruatha?" The warm mellifluous voice soothed her nervousness.

"Yes." She stood a little straighter. "Who are you?"

"I am AIVAS and I need to speak to Lord Jaxom, rider of the white dragon Ruth."

"B-B-but, you're dead?!?"