PERN/EFC ~ WAIT TILL MORNING COMES

By: Amiana (Jenn/Katie)
Status: Done! Wohoo!!! Just not all fixed on here...
Rated: um... not sure... there's some language, but not too much
Summary: hoo-boy... here we go... okay. Renee, Liam, 2 Volunteers, Zo'or, Sandoval, Da'an and T'than go to a press meet. As they are getting into their shuttles to leave, who would appear yelling certain doom? but Augur and Liana (read Jade's series). Somehow- which will eventually be revealed- they all get trasported to a foreign planet. Pern. Once there, they meet dragons, weyrfolk, the red star and an assortment of problems, mysteries, and love. Augur's been mortally wounded.... will he survive? But... can they find a way home before it's too late? Read to find out!
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https://www.angelfire.com/oh4/katieakaami/efc:1.html
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If you would like to read this story, please scroll down and it will be there!

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Liam helped Da'an into the shuttlecraft. He saw Sandoval help Zo'or into their own shuttle from the corner of his eye. Liam shook his head slightly, then he climbed into the shuttle himself. Sitting in the pilot's seat gave him a false sense of power, he knew, but he still ran his fingers over the controls.

Yet another stupid meeting with all of the stupid press. What kind of a delusion do these people want? The Taelons aren't going to do anything but stand up there anyway. Liam sighed heavily. Press... gotta hate 'em. He chuckled a little.

"We are ready to leave now Da'an?" It was more a statement then a question, but it didn't really matter.

"Yes, I believe that we can leave now." Da'an clipped his answer sharply. Da'an has been a bit more irritable than normal lately, I hope that he can stand all of the paparattzi. Liam laughed a bit. He could imagine Da'an blowing his top and having energy particles flying out onto all of the people. He could feel his shoulders rising and falling slightly as he laughed quietly.

The shuttle lifted from the ground and prepared to go into ID space. Liam could see the other three shuttles preparing for ID space, too. Zo'or and Sandoval. T'than, and an implant, no doubt. Another implant and Doors CEO. This must be an important press meet, or Renee would've just sent a lower ranked employee. Oh, fart. Oh, fart? Lets try that again. Oh, f*ck. That's better.

"Going into ID space." More out of habit than need, Liam announced the obvious.

"As I can see." Da'an surprised Liam by replying. Was that a stab at humor? Or is he just REALLY irritable? Oh well.

They jerked a bit as the shuttle entered ID space, and then they were at the site of the press meeting. The Embassy. Oh, fun.

Liam jumped out of the shuttle and walked over to help Da'an out of it. But he came around to find Da'an already standing on the ground, impatiently waiting for Liam and the others. Well, FINE then, Liam thought. He came up to stand next to Da'an and they waited for the others. When everyone had assembled they all walked towards the Embassy in a line, spread out over the pavement. Liam felt a little like the old 'Mod Squad.' Implant, T'than, Sandoval, Zo'or, Da'an, himself, Renee, implant. Liam noted the positions held in the line.

He stared at the ever growing Embassy. To the worst two hours of my life... here I come, Liam thought wearily.

****

Renee smiled again. Damn it, her cheeks were starting to hurt. "Yes, this new system should make the price of portal travel decrease drastically." Her ears picked out one of the hundred of questions at random. "At least by forty percent." This news was enough to shock even THOSE reporters speechless for a moment. Pencils were suddenly in motion again, and more microphones were shoved into her face. She allowed herself a brief glance at Jonathon. Her boss and friend just gave her a rare grin, an amused one. She glared at him, not anything too obvious, just let her eyes flash, then turned back.

"Ms. Palmer-"

"When?"

"How does this..."

She raised her voice. "Since I'm not completely familiar with the whole science behind it, I'll turn this over to Da'an."

She swore the Taelon glowered at her. She just gave him an innocent smile and stepped back. The alien moved with willowy grace to occupy the space she had vacated. Smooth, calm, in control...so it appeared. Inside, she knew, he felt just like her- ready to scream. Or the Taelon equivalent of it. She allowed herself a smirk, but couldn't help feeling a bit of sympathy for the Companion, and was relieved for both of them when Jonathon finally called an end to it all.

She caught Liam's eyes. He tapped his watch absently, not quite looking at her, but she understood. Resistance matters soon. She almost grimaced. She could hear Liana's taunting words now..."So...how did you like being the center of attention, Queen Renee?" Try as she did to supress it, a small chuckle escaped her. Zo'or looked at her coldly, but not without curiousity. Renee smiled at him, as if to say, 'forget it'.

Renee walked as quickly as she could away from the Embassy, trying to appear like she wasn't. The smile that she had plastered on for the meet was like bad plastic surgery. Half way to the shuttle... Renee couldn't wait to get away from all of this chaos and mayhem. Three fourths of the way there... She could feel her stride widening just a little bit as she neared the shuttle. She noticed that everyone else's steps seemed to get just a that much longer, too.

Renee sighed, as if trying to unburden herself. Sometimes she wished that she could just scream and run around breaking things. But she could visualized the headlines: "Doors CEO Goes Nuts" "Wild Thing is an Employee of Doors International" etc. She laughed a little.

Twenty steps...

Fifteen steps...

Ten steps...

Six steps...

Two steps...

"REENEEEE!!!! KIIINCAAAIIID!!! DAA'AAN!!!"

Renee whipped around as she entered the shuttle, her destination, her freedom, so close...

"LIIIIIAAAAAM!!! REEENEEEE!!!"

She saw a streaking black man with real fasion statement glasses and a tall dirty-brown haired, green eyed girl... Liana! And Augur! What the hell?

"What the f*ck?" she let it fly.

They should be waiting at base! The two were running even faster now. They're blowing our cover! What the sh*t!? Renee wanted to slug them both down onto the pavement, but then they were right inside the shuttle with them. They had just kind of leaped inside, forcing Renee to try and dive for cover.

"What the HELL are you two trying to do?!" Renee wanted to bite their heads off with her own jaws. But that wouldn't be a good idea.

Liana slowly turned around, she wasn't even breathing hard. Her deadly green eyes flashed once for only a moment and a cruel smirk played at the corner of her mouth. "Trying to save your asses."

***

Liam saw it, yet he tried to tell himself that he wasn't really seeing it. Da'an was like a board in his arm. The child of death and the Russian fugitive were running full force towards Renee and her Implant, and screaming all of their names in the process. Oh, sh*t.Liam watched, stunned as the two Resistance members leaped into Renee's shuttle, he could hear her yelling at them.

"Liam." He jumped.

Liam felt sick, "Yeah Da'an?"

"That was Liana and Augur, was it not?" Even Da'an looked sick, all irritableness lost.

"I'm afraid so." Liam felt like crawling into a hole and dying. He might as well, anyway. "We'd better go." All Da'an could do was nod his head slowly.

They climbed into the shuttle, both trying not to 'accidentally' kill themselves. Liam activated the shuttle's systems and prepared for ID space.

***

Zo'or stared as two recklessly stupid humans ran across the pavement of the Embassy yelling and screaming their pathetic heads off. He paid them no heed. Agent Sandoval looked thoughtful after he climbed in, though. Not that Zo'or cared much.

"Take us into ID space, Agent Sandoval." The man sat behind the controls and did as he was told.

"Preparing for ID space." Zo'or sat back and stared straight at the back of Agent Sandoval's head, almost willing his gaze to burn a hole through it. "Entering ID space."

Suddenly a large jerk ran through the shuttle. Zo'or was almost knocked out of his chair. "Find out what that was and fix it Agent Sandoval." Zo'or snapped, he was forced to clip his angry order short because another violent surge went through the shuttle.

"I am trying, Zo'or." Zo'or gave himslef a mental note: Reprimand Agent Sandoval. "Zo'or..." The Asian man turned to face him.

"What Agent Sandoval?" Zo'or was becoming annoyed with him.

"I can find nothing wrong with the shuttle."

****

Augur was thrown back into the wall of the shuttle at the first jerk, and then almost on top of Renee with the second. That stupid implant had started the shuttle into ID space. That had not been good. If the message on his computer had been correct, this whole thing would blow in about... oh... three minutes. Damn implant. Damnit.

"WHAT?!" Augur almost fell into Liana at Renee's outburst, that wouldn't have been good, either. Instead, he practically flew into the passenger seat next to the implant.

"Yeah, I know. About three minutes to live." Augur heard someone whimper, but he couldn't decifer who it was. "Hmm... I never thought that I'd explode when I died." Liana shrugged, it probably didn't really matter to her. Augur glowered in her general direction.

He turned his head trying to see how he could get out of the odd predicament that he found himself in. But when he tried, there was a gun pointed against his temple and an implant at the other end of it. Oh, damn this implant. A shot rang out through the ship. Augur cringed, and the implant slumped over his chair's arm rest. Augur tore his eyes away from the bloodied body to see who its murderer and his savior was. Damn. Liana. The girl was staring at him with those ice cold green daggers that she called eyes. He could see the 'you owe me' written all over them. She turned away sharply, making her dirty-brown hair swish behind her. Well, I won't owe you anything if we blow up in about one and a half minutes, Augur thought darkly to himself.

Suddenly he sobbered. Lili... He would never even be able to... couldn't even... Augur felt tears welling up in his eyes. He swiped them away, angrily. Lili... Lili... The name echoed inside of his mind, he couldn't help it.

The he half realized that Renee had said something, what had she said? Augur didn't really care. I didn't really matter. What had she said? Renee spoke again.

"Liana... Liana." The CEO took her arm, Augur just watched. Time seemed to slow... "It's been four minutes. We haven't ex- or imploded." Renee looked menacingly in Augur and Liana's direction. Augur couldn't believe it.

He could plainly remember the message on his beloved computer screen. Big, bold, red, letters:

FOUR TAELON SHUTTLES LEAVING EMBASSY WILL BE BLOWN APART AFTER ID SPACE IS ATTEMPTED. AFTER THIS OCCURANCE, 3 MINUTES... AND COUNTING.

You don't take such threats lightly. At the statment of non-explosion Liana's eyes had gotten just the slightest bit larger, even though she tried to hide it. But she shrugged the new occurance off her young, but horribly experianced shoulders.

"Maybe Augur's computers are just screwed." Augur was about to make an angry and defensive retort, but another uncontrollable jerk surged through the shuttle.

At the same instance, everyone blacked out.

***

T'than watched as two humans ran across the pavement, as they leaped into Doors' CEO's shuttle, thought about it only for a moment, then placed his information on a back burner. It might become useful and to his advantage someday.

He climbed into his own shuttle and ordered the implant to prepare for ID space. "Yes sir." The implant started to salute him, but seeing that he really didn't give at all, she stopped. T'than only slghtly noticed, then he felt the shuttle rising and preparing for ID space. That was the most boring and useless meeting that he had ever been to.

A huge shudder streaked through T'than's shuttle. He was knocked out of his chair and landed in the chair next to the implant who was frantically trying to fix whatever had just happened. "I cannot find what is wrong with the shuttle T'than."

T'than struggled slightly to regain his balance, but another 'quake' went through the shuttle, practically knocking him into the windshield. He looked up, very frustrated with these quakes in his shuttle, and the frazzled implant. T'than saw a scalely, bronze, and pointed object waving around outside of the shuttle's windshield. What is that?!

"Implant, identify the object that is out there." T'than pionted in the general direction of the moving object.

She stopped her frantic tries to regain control of the shuttle and obeyed her orders. She looked at the wagging bronze thing, suddenly becoming calm. "I do not recognize that object for anything familiar." What a waste, T'than thought.

Suddenly the pointed bronze thing started to wave violently. But this time it was waving away and towards the shuttle, instead of side to side. The implant started wailing uncontrolably. T'than stared at the rediculous woman. What good does that do me? She should be trying to do something productive, not wailing like a pathetic infant. She screamed peircingly. He considered trying to knock her out, but decided against it.

T'than saw the glass that had been partially cracked by the waving object. Now, he was begining to have his doubts about survival.

Then, suddenly, he blacked out.

***

Damn it, what were they going to do about this? Liam's thoughts were barely coherent as he punched in the coordinates for ID space.

The shuttle suddenly bucked. "HOLY-"

He was flung out of the pilot's chair. As he went flying, he saw Da'an careening through the air, and then the Taelon slammed into the far wall. "Liam!" Da'an gasped out as he fell to the floor.

Before he could say anything in return, numb, shattering pain coursed through Liam's brain, and then everything seemed to fade, velvety black warping his vision...

But not before he saw some weird, scaly thing through the control panel.

***

Lessa bent down a bit further to study the gaunt, slim girl that lay on her back in the dirt. The wind was blowing something fierce, sending errant strands of hair wisping into her eyes. She pushed them back with an annoyed hand.

The child was a young one, she couldn't have been more than sixteen turns old, if even that. And yet, she looked as if she could be an adult already, her face was set and hard, and even while unconscious, her lips were set in a defiant snarl. She wore a grayish, ragged shirt ripped off at the arms, which were dotted with scars and still-bleeding wounds. Thin, inadequate coverings for her legs reached only down to her knees, and then dirt smeared rags of fabric wound about her shins, ending maybe three inches above torn socks and form-fitting black boots.

Lessa shivered a bit, whether from the biting wind or the willies this girl gave her she didn't know.

Suddenly, the other's eyes snapped open. Lessa was shocked to see their green, snapping like emeralds as they stared up at her. She reached down a hand to touch her, see if she was truly awake-

All she saw was a blur, and then she choked as something constricted her throat. The next thing she felt was cold metal against her neck. The girl was obviously awake.

Lessa was dimly shocked. A knife? This girl, this child, carried a knife?

"Move and I slice off your head," her captor hissed. Lessa's anger got the best of her; she snarled and tried to kick backwards. A hand caught her foot and twisted it painfully, she gasped out. "Do you speak English?"

English?

"Who are you?" the girl demanded, "Where're the others?" Lessa flicked her eyes from side to side. After she had found the note on her bed telling her of a terrible problem, she had set out to find what in the name of the Queen's Egg was going on. This girl, unconscious and with a nasty gash in her head, had been someone who looked like she might know something. "Talk!" she snapped.

"Let me go and I'll help you," she managed past the arm that squeezed her windpipe. "I don't negotiate," the younger one answered coldly, and then Lessa had to hold in a scream as the blade entered her skin. It was a shallow cut, but by the First Egg, it HURT.

That was it. Lessa raised her elbow and knifed it backwards. She felt it connect with ribs, and then she was free, the girl letting go of her in surprise. She spun, and-

She'd forgotten about the hold on her foot. Dirty brown hair flying wildly, the girl twisted her ankle with surprising strength and flung her to the ground. Shattering pain vibrated through her skull, and she came close to blacking out once or twice.

Then the girl was straddling her, pinning her arms in place with her knees. The knife was once again under her chin. Her attacker snarled something that might have been swear words, then made another shallow cut in her exposed flesh, causing Lessa to suck in her breath.

"Where. Are. They."

She snarled, freeing one of her arms and knocking the girl's hand away. The green eyes above her flashed, but before she could react Lessa drew her legs in and kicked violently. Her booted feet connected hard with her attacker's ribs. The air left the girl in a rush and after that it was a simple matter to toss her off like a rag doll.

The girl landed on the ground a few feet away. Lessa flipped to her knees and then feet and went after her. Her opponent stood up almost gracefully, looking a bit winded but otherwise fine. Some small, distant corner of her mind resentfully noted that this child was taller than her- but then again, EVERYBODY was. Lessa charged her, drawing her fist back for a blow. The other side-stepped, but she felt her knuckles graze something anyway.

"DAMNIT!" The strange words were hissed vehemently, and it was then Lessa realized that she had succeeded in knocking the knife out of the girl's hand. She saw the blade glitter as it careened through the air, then land with a metallic clatter against a rock.

If she could just get to it, she could really gain the upper hand...

She set off racing after the weapon, seeing the world flash by the corners of her eyes. Suddenly, she was within range. Not wanting to risk losing time, she dove for the blade- "SHARDS!" she snarled after a shocked moment, feeling the knife cut non-too-gently into her fingers. She shook the blood off, feeling some of the red dots land onto her face, trying to ignore the hellish pain. And then, she felt her hand close triumphantly around the wooden handle.

But before she could move, a black boot landed painfully onto her wrist, making her yelp as the bones ground together. Without thinking, only cursing, she squirmed around and managed to grab the girl's arm, twisting the younger one into a position that rendered her immobile.

It was a standoff. Lessa couldn't do anything, and the girl wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. They stayed that way for a few seconds, swearing and making threats.

Finally, Lessa got tired of looking at the ground and swallowed enough pride to grit out, "Get off me, I'm not trying to hurt you." The girl snorted, the sound carried eerily by the wind.

"Right, sure."

Lessa tightened her death grip. "I'm trying to help you."

"Let go of me first."

"No."

"Bitch. I'm not getting off until you let go. YOU'RE the one with the knife. MY knife."

A hostile, sulking silence. And then, Lessa's crushed wrist was suddenly free of the weight. Her hand had gone numb, making it impossible to confirm her grip on the weapon. True to her word, she uncurled the fingers that dug into an arm. The girl was already pulling free.

Lessa was suddenly- and painfully- flipped onto her back, bringing her eyes to stare into cold green ones with a sneer in them. The knife was jerked from her nerveless hand. Anger flared up, she spat some words and aimed a punch right at the girl's face.

The taller female reeled back, blood running from her nose.

***

F'lar paced around Lessa's sleeping room. What is going on? She was supposed to be be back here over an hour ago! She hasn't even contacted Mnementh yet! Well, that would be Lessa. Trying to scare the shards out of me. Oh, well. Agrivated, he pushed a loose lock of dark hair off of his forehead. F'lar walked out to the landing ledge of Lessa's weyr and surveyed the immense bowl beneath him.

He watched as Mnementh hunted in the feeding grounds. The huge bronze dragon gracefully glided up to the heights and lightly perched on a rock outcrop, but he stayed there only for a moment. Mnementh dove off and at and unbelievable speed he soared towards the stampeding herd of runnerbeasts. They scattered. Mnementh followed a group of three males, one broke off. F'lar could see the beast's fear of the humungous dragon, the others had all stormed off to the Weyr Lake.

F'lar could feel Mnementh's glee at being on the chase, the promise of food only moments away. Then, he grabbed the runnerbeast by the back and flew straight up at a 90 degree angle. The runnerbeast screaming and writhing in the bronze's claws.

F'lar watched as his dragon ripped the runnerbeast's head off of its body. Hot blood spurtted everywhere and covered the giant dragon's muzzle. It was over, Mnementh had won. He felt Menementh's satisfaction as he ate his third catch. F'lar sighed.

Mnementh. There was a pause as the dragon calmed his thoughts enough to reply to his rider.

Yes?

I think you've had enough for now, Mnementh. Leave some for the rest of the Weyr. F'lar could feel Mnementh's grievance of having to stop his hunting. He could tell that the bronze was contemplating whether to listen to him or not. Oh, this is just what I need now, a battle of wills. Mnementh...

Oh, please? Just one more. They're so good and tasty today! F'lar saw the dragon lick his lips after devouring the entirety of the beast.

Mnementh... I said no more. F'lar wasn't going to give in.

A piercing scream ran through the Weyr. Ramoth! By the First Egg what could she be screaming about!? F'lar was running up to his weyr to meet Mnementh. Oh, shards, Lessa! He ran faster.

Meeting his dragon on their landing ledge, F'lar leapt up to his back and the two sped straight for the Hatching Grounds. Lessa. Ramoth. Lessa. Another peircing scream. What was going on!? They landed on the scalding sands of the Hatching Ground.

Mnementh! Try to calm her down and find out what exactly is going on! F'lar jumped off of the huge bronze and ran towards the stands and the people gathered there to see what had gone wrong. He came up to F'nor, his half brother. "What... by... the First Egg... is going on... !" F'lar was gasping for breath.

He looked up into his good friend's face, it was dead white. All of the color had drained out of it. "F'nor!" The other man turned to face him.

"F'lar! Ramoth's gone mad!" F'lar regained his breath and stood striaght.

"What?" He shook his head. "Never mind. What happened?"

"She was fine! Just sitting there, watching her eggs. But then all of a sudden she started screaming and writhing around the Grounds, I was afraid that she'd smash the eggs!" F'nor was stamping around and waving his arms around in the air. HE was the one going mad.

"F'NOR!" The younger man sobered instantly. "F'nor, Benden's Queen is writhing and screaming on the sands and we don't know why. We'd better find out." F'nor nodded his head.

By that time, nearly the entire Weyr was in the Hatching grounds, watching, horrified.

She will not calm down! Mnementh's strong mental voice boomed through F'lar's skull. But her subconscious is screaming the Weyrwoman's name! She keeps repeating: Lessa! Lessa! Lessa! Mnementh seemed to be at his wits end. He had a good reason to be though, his golden mate was uncontrollably screaming and writhing around their eggs.

F'lar was worrying more than he ever remembered worrying before. Lessa... Lessa... What was going on?

****

Lessa stood up and saw with more than a bit of relief that the girl had sheathed the knife. The younger one wiped the blood away with the back of her hand, then seemed to forget about the injury. She winced, and put a hand up to the gash in her head.

"Okay. Okay. No hard feelings. Who are you, where are we?"

Lessa studied the other one. She forced a smile and said as graciously as she could, "My name is Lessa, Weyrwoman of Benden Weyr." This should have impressed her just a bit, but the girl just continued to stare at her with those green eyes. "You are on the land owned by Benden," she continued, wondering why this wasn't registering with the girl.

"Damn," she muttered, running her hand across the fissure in her forehead. The streak of red on the back of her hand lengthened. "What country am I in?"

Country? What was a country? Maybe she had hit her head a bit hard.

"You are in Pern," Lessa answered, narrowing her eyes.

"WHAT!? Pern? Okay..." the girl took a hesitant step closer, emerald eyes flashing distrust, "Do you have a global?"

What?

She stared blankly.

"A glow bowl," she repeated, "G-L-O-B-A-L, glow bowl."

"What's a glow bowl?" Before she could answer, Lessa went on sweetly, "I'm sorry, who am I addressing?" The girl didn't seem to be taken in by her honey words.

"Verdyana."

She cocked her head. THAT was a strange name "Verdyana?" The girl sighed and rolled her eyes.

"LIANA Verdyana."

Oh...what in the First Egg? Did she have two names?

"What's your name?" she repeated.

"Liana. Verdyana."

"What?" The girl looked at her like she was and idiot.

"My first name and my last name. Liana. Verdyana."

"Why do you have-"

"Oh for crying out loud, just call me Verdyana!"

"Liana sounds much nicer."

"Thanks," Liana- or was it Verdyana? No, she liked Liana- said cynically, her voice dripping sarcasm, "But everyone calls me Verdyana."

Liana's eyes suddenly went wide as she gazed over Lessa's shoulder. She breathed another strange oath, something that sounded like "Oh my gawd," and brushed past Lessa before she could stop her.

****

"Augur? Augur! Oh my God..." Renee tried to get her frozen brain to think. Oh God, Augur, what was she going to do? "Augur!" She steeled herself and forced her eyes to study him, trying not to double over and vomit.

The computer hacker's head was very nearly split open - although, in her panic, Renee couldn't reasonably judge the wound's depth. All she saw was the dark red blood completely staining the man's black skin. The vital liquid kept spurting out, she could smell it. Sharp, pointy stones embedded themselves into her knees. Dimly, she noticed what a wasteland it was here, nothing but wind and bare, dusty ground surrounded by a patch of forrest. She rolled Augur over from his side onto his back, cringing as he twitched and moaned. At least he was alive.

I'm still alive, too. How is that?

She hesitated, eyeing the open fissure with fear. What if it got infected...?

What if he runs out of blood while you have a debate with yourself? Sound like a plan?

Oh, to hell with it. Her clothes were clean enough, and she really had no choice. Grimacing, Renee gripped the bottom of her blouse and tore a strip off so that one side of her waist was showing. She started to lift Augur's head but thought better of it. Instead she gently lay the rag on top of the gash. The once light blue fabric was pure red within seconds.

"Damn it," she muttered, peeling away the wet cloth and tearing off the other side. This time, she put pressure on the makeshift bandage.

"AAHHHH!" The man on the ground before her jerked and screamed.

"Augur!" His lids flew open, showing brown irises that were frighteningly small against the whites of his eyes. She took his shoulder and pinned him to the ground. "Shhh. Augur... Augur, calm down." He didn't stop screaming. Haistily, Renee removed her hand from his head, "Augur!" He stopped screaming - probably because he had run out of breath. He was writhing and twitching and gasping for breath. His pupils roamed, but he didn't see anything. "Augur? Augur, it's Renee. Look at me." There was no response. "Augur," she repeated slowly. "It's Renee. Look at me." She held her breath, waiting as precious seconds ticked by, and with them, precious blood. Finally, he focused on her.

"Renee?" he murmered, dreamily. She fought down a lump in her throat.

"Yeah."

He sucked in his breath in clear agony. "What - what the hell -"

"I don't know," she cut him off grimly She ripped off another section of her top and watched in dispair. The rag had about as much of an effect as a sponge on the Atlantic.

His cries of pain became weaker, and fainter. Renee felt hot tears come to her eyes. The wound was fatal. Augur was going to die.

"Mom?" his body spasmed, "Mom, I'm cold."

"Oh, God," she whispred, even as she viciously tore off more of her blouse, "Augur..."

"Renee!" She was suddenly shoved forward, almost falling on top of Augur. Strong fingers dug into her shoulders. Blindly, she lashed out at whoever was using her to stop their momentum.

"Jesus Christ," a familiar, harsh voice rasped out, "what happened to him?"

"Liana!" She jerked as she saw the girl's face. So she WASN'T the only survivor. She gave her friend a quick, once-over for ingeries. "Are you alright? Where are the others?"

"I - I don't know," Liana answered curtly, dropping to her knees beside her. "You'd better let me do that," she added dryly, eyeing what was left of Renee's shirt. Not much, just enough to keep things from getting embarassing. Liana started to rip her already tattered shirt into strips.

"He's gone delirious," Renee told her quietly. Liana nodded, showing no reaction to the severity of the wound. Augur's feeble babbling had stopped, his eyes were closed, and his chest was rising and falling in irregular, shallow breaths.

In a few minutes, Liana's hands were as blood-soaked as Renee's. She silently watched the girl's futile attempts. "There's nothing we can do, Liana."

Liana stopped in the middle of peeling away a used rag. Her mask faltered for a moment, and her eyes were numb and striken. Then they iced over again. "Yeah," she agreed evenly, sitting back on her heels. Liana's entire abdomen was bare, the bottom of her shirt barely covering her.

"We have to get him to medical help," Renee said half-heartedly. Her friend didn't answer. Augur's breathing continued to fade. Liana reached out and put two fingers on one side of his neck. She bit her lip and stood up.

"Come on."

Renee looked up at her sharply, "We're just going to LEAVE him here?"

"What do you THINK we should do? Bury him?!"

"At least!"

"We don't have time." Renee turned away from the harsh streetgirl. "Renee."

"He's still alive. We just need to find someone - ANYONE -"

"It's hopeless and you know it! He's as good as dead, Renee. We have to move on and find out where we are and how that blast didn't kill us." She didn't answer. Liana sighed noisily, "Look... I ran into some bitch back there. Said she was a wherewolf - woman, or something. Sounded like she thought that she was all-that. Maybe I can make her help. Hang on, I'll go find her -"

A new voice interrupted the girl. "Shards! What happened?" A short woman pushd through them.

"Never mind." Liana stared coldly at the woman.

"I can guess," came the lady's sharp retort.

***

Every single dragon from Benden was ready for flight. Even Benden's other Queenriders were anxiously waiting. As F'nor looked around he saw the hard-set faces of hundreds of dragonmen, plus the worried, but set faces of the Queenriders. He looked at his Wingleader's back, F'lar was rigid atop Mnementh, and the bronze was extremely irritable. Ramoth was making all of the dragons on Pern restless.

F'lar raised his arm, F'nor could feel each dragon and each rider's breath held in suspence. A pin drop would've caused someone to have a heart attack. His heart skipped a beat. F'lar's arm fell to his side.

The roaring of dragons deafened the crowd, and one by one each wing flew up and went between. F'nor embraced the piercing cold and senselessness of between. For once, the sense deprivation of it helped F'nor. It somewhat calmed his frazzled nerves. He remembered the first time that he had gone between on his brown, Canth.

They had been together for a mere three or four years and had just succeeded in perfecting their flying skills when the Weyrlingmaster decided that they were ready to try going between. This had excited and scared them both. Between was both essential and very dangerous to dragonriders. It allowed them to go anywhere in the blink of an eye- in about eight seconds to be exact, but it also held death in its blackness. If a weyrling and his- or her in the case of a Queenrider or rare greenrider- dragon didn't have an exact and detailed picture of their destination in their minds, they went between and didn't come out.

Canth and F'nor had spoken about it millions of times before, but that night they had been unusually silent. It had been eerie, they had each been enveloped in their own deafening silences. Neither of them slept that night, either. The next morning they were both rigid and numb, but determined.

F'nor had finished tightening Canth's flying straps when the Weyrlingmaster nearly scared him out of his skin by puting a heavy hand on his shoulder without warning. Canth had let a bellow loose that had left half of the Weyr angry, but the Weyrlingmaster had only laughed it off.

"A little nervous this morning are we, F'nor?" he had said, "Don't worry lad, you'll do fine." He had smiled down at the young brownrider and F'nor had smiled back. Then he had left to go straighten out a few of the bigger and older Weyrlings that had started a play-brawl.

F'nor's legs turned wobbly, but Canth bent down to let him mount and he swung up onto the dragon's back with long-practiced ease. Here, it begun. F'nor's little group of Weyrlings had been the best of their hatchling group. And now, they were going between.

The Weyrling master had told them what to expect, and admonished them to heed his words. F'nor knew that some of the Weyrlings wouldn't listen to the Weyrlingmaster and had hoped that they would somehow be lost in between, but he had been to busy with himself to worry about them then.

F'nor snapped his head around; the Weyrlingmaster was getting them into position for take-off. He told Canth to follow into position, the brown was sort of jerky, but F'nor could feel his excitement. Then... they took off, all in different directions, so as not to collide with each other.

They each had a different destination. F'nor's was the Watch Rider's station on the heights of the Weyr. he and Canth were determined to be successful.

Canth?

Yes?

Let's do it.

Yes.

They were there for only a moment more, then, a black, cold, and senseless void encompassed them. F'nor panicked. He couldn't see, or hear, or feel anything. He knew that Canth's bulking form was between his legs, but he couldn't feel it. It was almost like he was, but he wasn't. He felt a scream form in his throat, and his mind called out for his dragon, just to make sure that he was still there.

I am here. Calm down, F'nor.

Canth? Canth! I- I can't feel anything, I can't see...

Stay calm, F'nor. I am here, we are only in between, F'nor. We are alright.

He had calmed down considerably by that time, but then, the cold got to him. Oh, SHARDS was it cold.

...and Canth...

Yes?

Canth, it's COLD!

I know.

F'nor could feel it seep into his bones, it was so cold. It felt like ice, like he was sitting in the High Reaches in a blizzard! He was frigid. Then...

Light! Blessed light!

And they were perching on the heights, right where they were supposed to be. F'nor looked around. Sight, sound, and feeling had never been such a blessing to him. He couldn't believe that it had only been a mere eight seconds that he had been between.

But then, F'nor came back to the present. He and Canth came out of between and F'nor remembered his objective.

Lessa.

***

Renee couldn't believe it. Augur... he... he was going to die... it was inevitable... he was going to die...

She swiped angrily at the tears threatening to cascade down her cheek. How could she? How could she even suggest...? Renee felt her anger consuming her, she wanted to spin around and knock Liana flat. How could she even THINK that I'd just leave Augur here to die? To DIE! No. Renee got a hold of herself, she became in control of her emotions again. She knew that what Liana said had truth to it, but she didn't have to like it. Renee listened to what Liana was saying.

"...bitch back there. Said she was a werewolf - woman, or something. Sounded like she thought that she was all-that. Maybe I can make her help. Hang on, I'll go find her -"

A new voice interrupted Liana and startled Renee out of her already frazzled wits. "Shards! What happened?"

Renee could see Liana tense in anger, this must be the bitch that she had been talking about... The girl stared coldly at the short woman as she pushed through them. "Never mind."

The short lady didn't even turn her head towards Liana, obviously not flustered by the girl at all, "I can guess," came her sharp retort. This angered Liana even more, but she composed herself and that same, cold, hard mask fell over her face, hiding any and all emotion.

She stepped forward, at least Renee saw her feet move that way. The werewolf-woman was blocked from seeing Augur by Liana's thin body. Renee just then noticed that Liana's nose looked a little odd, kind of... it looked like somebody had punched her. Hmph, she probably deserved it. She started. Renee! How could you think that?

"He needs medical attention." The short woman broke off Renee's train of thought and pointed at Augur's limp and bloody form. Liana glanced at her with pity in her eyes, like the woman had 'I. AM. STUPID.' written on her forehead. Renee let a small snort come out of her.

"Ya think?" Renee saw the woman realize that she had said something stupid, but she hid it well.

One small observation on my part, Renee thought, There isn't enough room on this planet for the two of them. Either they will destroy each other and the entire planet around them, or they will combine forces and be invincible. Renee doubted that the latter could possibly occur. But, hey, this was Liana that we were talking about.

***

Zo'or watched the sky. It was all he could do to not cry out in pain.

The Embassy... the shuttle... he couldn't recall exactly what had happened. All he remembered was black. Cold, merciless black. And the mind wracking pain that had followed his jolt back to consciousness. He moaned, feeling sorry for himself, and shook his head slightly.

A hand lightly touched his forehead. Agent Sandoval. Zo'or's memory flooded back into his agonized mind.

The Embassy... a press meet... we left... the shuttle... horrid jerking... blackout...That was all that he got, but it was enough.

"A- Agent Sandoval..." Zo'or's voice was waspish and hoarse.

"Zo'or?" The implant's loud voice boomed through Zo'or's being. He winced. "Zo'or?" Agent Sandoval modified his voice and hovered over him. "Zo'or, can- can you hear me?"

Zo'or turned his eyes to get the Asian man in his sights. Emotions flashed over the Agent's face. Pain, hope, fear, and... worry? Zo'or had thought that the man would've celebrated his untimely demise.

"Zo'or?"

Why is this man so persistant? I wish for silence, for stillness.

"Agent Sandoval..." It was hard to just say a few words. "...I- What is the status of our present situation?" The lengthy speach left him gasping. What was wrong with him?

***

Sandoval stared at Zo'or, thanking God that he was alive. When Sandoval had regained consciousness the Taelon had been laying face down in the mud, probably suffocating. Now that Sandoval thought about it, the Synod leader had looked rather amusing with mud all over his complexion... but now is not the time to think of such things.

The shuttlecraft had been damaged beyond repair, Zo'or was laying on the ground only half awake, and his suit was totally messed up, but back to Zo'or. The alien lay moaning and flinching at Sandoval's knees. What could he do? He had found no wounds or energy leaks along the Taelon's body, but Zo'or had remained unconscious. The alien moaned and turned his flushed head back and forth slowly.

"A- Agent Sandoval?" Sandoval's frozen brain went into high gear... he's really alive, he can talk, he can move...

"Zo'or?" The Taelon winced. Sandoval toned down his voice a little, "Zo'or? Zo'or, can- can you hear me?" Zo'or looked at him with the same ice cold blue eyes, but now they were wracked with pain. "Zo'or?" Sandoval was determined to get a response from the Companion.

"Agent Sandoval..." Zo'or looked really winded, "... I- What is the status of our present situation?" The Taelon was deathly pale after saying so much. Sandoval quieted him. Well... maybe he won't pass out now...

Being a little more steady minded now, Sandoval looked around at their surroundings. A green forest was directly to their left. The remains of their shuttle lost in the trees. They were strange trees, too. Much different from the ones that he was used to seeing. Maybe they had crash landed in South America. That would explain the dense foliage. But it wouldn't explain what Sandoval saw when he looked into the sky.

***

"Da'an? Da'an? Da'an!" Liam winced as he finally managed to wrench his leg from between the pilot chair and the wall. There was one hell of a nasty bruise on his thigh, and he was sure the entire limb was blue from loss of circulation. It certainly felt like it. "Da'an?" he called out again, rubbing his nerveless calf.

Briefly he wondered if any other part of his body was injured. He hadn't screamed yet, and he was still breathing. That was all that mattered at the moment. "Da'an? Da'an, come on, stop it, you're scaring me!" No answer from behind the wreckage inside the shuttle. "Come on Da'an, this isn't funny!" he shouted, even though he knew the Taelon would never pull something like this for a joke.

His freaking leg was on pins and needles. A strange, almost painful sensation shot through his veins when he put weight on it. Grimacing, he limped toward the opening of the shuttle- well, one of them. There were about five openings in the shuttle right now. Cold dread clutched at his heart. Stupid, he snarled at himself, stupid! He could have been thrown out! His chest tightened. He'd seen what happens first hand when a Taelon crashed in a shuttle. A glowing slash across Da'an's chest flashed before his eyes, and then he was out of the shuttle, eyes sweeping the terrain frantically.

There was a cold wind blowing. It traced subtle designs through his hair, stung at his cheeks. "Da'an!" The shout was lost in the bleak air. Trying to calm down and assess the situation, his addled brain noticed that he seemed to be on the edge of a forest- a very dense one. It was more like a jungle. God, how did the get to South America?

South America? Are there trees like that in the rain forest?

These questions flitted through some distant corner of his mind. The rest of him was searching for Da'an. He tried to take a step, but his numb leg collapsed under him. Snarling, he limped away from the shuttle, exploring the sparse bits of bush. He didn't see Da'an anywhere...

Didn't Taelons disintegrate after dying?

He quickly pressed down the panic that threatened to choke him. Don't think like that!

He rounded another hedge-

Liam sagged in relief. Da'an was lying on his stomach, facing the ground, but he wasn't leaking energy, and yes, he was breathing. Liam dropped to his knees. "Da'an? Da'an?" He gently slapped the Taelon's cheeks. "Da'an, wake up." The Companion stirred. Well, it was progress. He shook him. "Da'an!" Da'an shook his head a bit, then he raised it and his shockingly blue eyes snapped open. He stared at him for a moment.

"Liam?" he muttered groggily. Liam scrutinized him critically until satisfied he was uninjured, just disoriented.

"Hey, are you okay?" The alien was, as far as he could tell, but he wasn't an expert on Taelon physiology.

"I am fine," Da'an assured him. Liam extended a hand. In those few seconds, that old, familiar trust flashed into Da'an's eyes, and he took his hand. Liam hauled him up, catching him when he stumbled. The Taelon had recovered his composure, and his face was once again a mask, eyes cold. Somewhere, deep inside, Liam flinched.

"Where... what happened?"

"I have no clue," Liam answered grimly. A wave of thoughts suddenly flooded his brain. Of all the names that raced furiously through his head, he could only find enough presence of mind to snap one. "Liana!"

Da'an whirled instantly, his pale face showing signs of fear, eyes wide as if to say, 'Where? Is she going to hurt me?'.

Liam noted that the girl still sacred Da'an to death. "Not here," he said breathlessly, "The others! Where are they-" His Companion's complexion drained of whatever color there had been in the first place.

"Zo'or..."

***

T'than straightened his stance as he climbed out of the gnarled shuttle. It had been mutilated by the crash and he was lucky to be alive.

"Ahhg..." T'than frowned in distaste and wondered why he had to have this particular Implant. Of the thousands that we control, I had to get THIS one, T'than scowled. It was a very un-Taelon like expression, but T'than enjoyed practicing it. It was a very amusing expression. The Implant moaned again. Not only was he stuck with this Implant, but something had caused her CVI to malfunction. He frowned again.

This should not have occured. The CVIs kill their warder if malfunctioning, but unfortunately, this Implant was not dead. That un-Taelon like scowl returned to T'than's pale face. He would use it many more times in the near future.

T'than grudgingly turned around to face the Implant, an emotionless mask covering his distaste for their present situation. The Implant was unharmed and whimpering next to the tree. She looked up at him, a frightened, then angry look flashed through her dark eyes. Her slim body sagged as she slumped heavily against the tree, the hate for his kind still not leaving the reccesses of her eyes.

T'than sized her up, deciding whether she was a threat or not. Her condition suggested the latter, extreme fatigue encompased her entire being, but the malice that she transmitted through furtive glances told him that he had to watch his back and stay on his toes.

The Implant attempted to rise, away from the tree, but her legs collapsed beneath the sudden weight. She cursed at herself, T'than could tell that this Implant was going to have a major attitude, and that he was not going to like it.

For his sole benefit, T'than decided to make a short-term peace treaty with the Implant. He didn't want her to suddenly stab him in the back and leave him to die of extreme energy loss. T'than calmly walked to the shuttle. He picked up an awkward, small, black object and turned to walk back towards the Implant.

He walked to about ten feet away from the Implant, which he judged to be a safe distance. The Implant was still laying on the ground, at least she was no longer whimpering or making annoying noises. He stood there until she grudgingly acknowledged his prescence. She looked up into his blue eyes with her antipathy filled brown ones. He pointed the gun at her heart.

***

"This way, Liam."

"What? Da'an, how the hell do YOU know which way to go?" Liam winced a bit. He almost never snapped at the Companion like that. Of course, given the circumstances, he was almost sure that Da'an's easily hurt feelings wouldn't be affected right now.

"Please come over here, Liam."

There was more than a hint of command in his voice. Liam sighed and swatted another wide, lush leaf from his face.

"Where ARE you? This- ahhh!" He swiped angrily at a blood mark a thorn had left on his face. "This Godamn forest is crazier than... than-" he ducked another oncoming branch, "than- I just can't see a thing!"

"Follow my voice," Da'an called back calmly.

"Easy for YOU to say. Are YOU the one slogging through this sh*t? Nooo, so-"

"Liam," there was exasperation in the unseen Taelon's voice now, "How do you suppose I got this deep into the woods myself?"

Liam paused. Damn, he HATED it when he did that! "Well...well...you're DONE swimming through this! I'm still trying not to drown!" He swore he heard Da'an laugh a bit. Some gratitude HE was showing. Save a guy from suffocating in the mud, and this was what he got-

Suddenly, the overhanging thorns and branches disappeared, the messy underbrush cleared somewhat, bright sunlight hit his eyes. He squinted, throwing a hand over his forehead for shade. Da'an was standing a few feet ahead, the most amused look on his face.

"What are YOU smiling at?" Liam grumbled, then noticed the river running behind Da'an.

A very wide, very fast river.

"Ohhh, DAMN!" He brought a foot down on a stick, causing it to snap in half and fly in all directions. Unfortunately, the force he put on his foot caused it to sink down into the softened ground. He snarled and pulled it out, hearing it dislodge with a sucking sound. "We're NEVER gonna get out of here!"

"Liam, calm yourself."

He glared at the Taelon. How the hell could he be so Godamn cool? Wasn't HE the one looking for a child? He was about to make some cruel remark about Zo'or, but thought better of it. No sense in eliminating the logic that Da'an seemed to have such easy access to.

"Alright then," he stumbled over to join the Taelon, wiping at the blood on his cheek, "what's the good news?" Da'an gazed with concern at his wound for a moment- the first open concern Liam had seen in a while- then turned his eyes to the ground. Liam followed his gaze-

It took a while to get rid of the spit from his windpipe.

He coughed and gagged, trying to breathe evenly again.

What the HELL...? He almost toppled over- which would have been a very bad thing. Eyes wide in disbelief, he clumsily turned in a slow circle, looking at the ground he stood upon with new enlightment. "Oh my God..."

HUGE! It was HUGE! To his left, two deep, narrow imprints stretched for almost three feet, looking distinctly like talons. TALONS? No bird on Earth was this big! The entire footprint he stood in was almost four feet long. He looked up slowly at Da'an, mouth agape. His Companion merely looked curious.

"Tell me, Liam, what kind of organism leaves this kind of imprint?"

"Nothing on Earth," he replied dazedly, eyes still round. Da'an cocked his head, looking a bit contemptuous.

"Then how is it that it has left a footprint on Earth?"

A cold, chilling notion crept into Liam's brain. Trying to keep the mood light, he took a stab at humor. "Da'an...I don't think we're in Kansas anymore." Now the Taelon was confused.

"Kansas is a state in America, is it not? It should be quite obvious that we are not in-"

"God, it was a joke!" Da'an recoiled a bit. "Sorry," Liam mutterered, "What I MEANT to say is that...I'm not sure that we're on Earth anymore?"

"And what proof do you have of this?" Da'an asked coldly, surveying the strange footprint.

"Da'an, there aren't any birds this big on Earth. There just...there just aren't!" He waved a hand around at their surroundings, "Not even in dense, woodsy areas like this. And the sky looks strange, too. Almost a slightly different color. This...this thing is HUGE!"

Whoa, wait. If animals this big can exist here...

"It is certainly a most extraordinary find, even if we are not on Earth." Liam stared at him in shock. The idiot was completely unfazed by the fact that they were not on the third planet from the sun! He seemed completely unfazed by the fact that they had even survived that explosion!

"Extraordinary find?" he almost shrieked, "Da'an, you think this is a GOOD thing? Listen, any one of those things could swoop down RIGHT NOW and snap us up-"

Hell, he didn't even know where they were!

"Liam," Da'an's voice was cold, "perhaps if we can discover more of these imprints they will lead us to civilization."

"Or what passes for civilization here," Liam muttered, hand clutching at a non-existent gun. Damn, why was it that his weapon was the first thing to get lost in an explosion? "Who says that this thing automatically leads to people? You think people might be using this thing as a PET? Domesticating it or something?"

"And," Da'an continued as if he hadn't spoken, "perhaps we can enlist any sentient being's help in finding the others."

Oh, that was IT!

"You mean ZO'OR, don't you?" he sneered. Da'an stared at him, shocked. "Are you thinking clearly? We're just going to approach some unknown civilization and ask them for help in finding some aliens? I don't even know if these people are going to be Human! For all we know, they're going to attack us the moment they see us! For all we know, we could be on Jaridia! THINK, Da'an! You're thinking everyone else can go to hell as long as you find Zo'or, but we can't do that! We're not about to go crawling into some tribe of primitives who might as well be cannibals and beg for help! Zo'or is taking a backseat right now, okay? Right now, we need to find shelter, food, and water...and some energy for you!"

Da'an took a step back, hurt in his eyes. Liam shook his head, completely exasperated.

Before he could decide whether or not to apologize, a shadow fell over them. A shadow with outstretched wings. A shadow that was growing larger very, very quickly.

With an instinctive cry, Liam dove and knocked Da'an behind the shelter of a bush. He kept himself on top of Da'an, shielding the Taelon with his body. He jerked his head up to see exactly what the hell was trying to eat them, and how big it was...

This time, he really did choke. "Liam?" Da'an asked, his muffled voice alarmed. He tried to stop coughing.

"Oh my God," he rolled off of the Companion, "Look, Da'an. Look!" Da'an rolled over onto his back...

It was... huge. Majestic. Soaring like it owned the sky and everything beneath it. Four cruel, wicked looking feet with claws- visible even from the ground- were drawn up beneath a scaly, green abdomen. The head was gigantic, and proud, tossing back and letting out a keening cry that raised goosebumps on Liam's flesh. And the wings. The wings! Beautiful, terrifying...they carried the creature through the air, over the waves of wind effortlessly, gracefully...

"Liam," Da'an whispered, "what is it?"

"It's...I don't know, Da'an. I don't know." There was a few seconds of silence before anyone spoke.

"I agree with you now, Liam. We are most certainly not in Kansas."

He blinked. "Was that humor, Da'an?" Liam muttered dryly, getting over the initial shock enough to respond.

"Liam," Da'an's eyes remained glued to the sky, "this creature resembles the mythical reptiles found in your fairy tales."

Liam licked his lips, but it did nothing to restore the moisture to his mouth or throat. "Dragons," he whispered hoarsely, "You mean dragons."

"Yes."

For a full minute they lay there, propped up on elbows, watching the dragon- if that was indeed what it was- pass over them. Desperate for something familiar, like conversation, Liam opened his mouth to inquire quietly, "How do you know about dragons, Da'an?" even though he already knew the answer.

"I have been on your planet for over three years, Liam. Your culture has not been left unexplored." Liam nodded mutely. "It is a majestic creature," the Taelon remarked reverently.

"Yeah. Not that I knew it even existed." Liam squinted. The dragon was almost out of their sight now, but he could see from its tail to its back... And there was something on it's back. A slim figure, long chestnut hair in what looked like an intricate braid...

"HOLY SH*T!"

"Liam?"

"There's a Human on it! Someone's RIDING on that thing!" He jerked Da'an to his feet, "Come on!"

****

Zo'or felt Agent Sandoval leave him, his head dropped onto the ground with a thud. He heard the man mumble his apologies, then walk a few feet away. A sudden lonliness encompassed Zo'or... he... he wanted... he wanted his parent.

Da'an...?

Zo'or called ou to his parent. A horrid pain came to his head. He would not attempt that again. But he still found himself yearning for Da'an anyway.

Zo'or?

An intense wave of sharp pain cascaded through Zo'or's being, making him feel as though he would implode. A miniscule gasp escaped his lips, but it was enough to have Agent Sandoval back at his side within moments. The Asian man's hands hovered above his body, uncertain of what to do.

Zo'or?

Da'an! Zo'or used most of what strength he had gathered to call to his parent. The prescious name must have escaped his lips, also, because his Protector stiffened and set his hand on Zo'or's foehead. The man's hand felt like ice. Then Zo'or realized that it was his head that must be burning.

Zo'or! Are you well?

Well? Zo'or almost laughed, if a burning head and a hovering, mother hen-like Agent Sandoval constituted being well, then he was just dandy! Well, he was not... frustrated, he was.

Da'an! I am not well, my head burns. It is hard... to... con... tact...

Zo'or's strength gave out just then and he was breathing heavily, his entire facade had disappeard with the exertion. He felt a blessed cool coming over him, a rag was being wiped over his head. Then he felt himself being picked up, or dragged really, and then taken over to rest against a tree. The rough bark scratched his weary back.

Agent Sandoval started muttering nearby, Zo'or could barely make out what he was saying, but he pieced most of it together.

"...what was... thing?"

"...never... thing like it!"

Zo'or was confused. Was that why he had left? Had he seen something?

"...feathers... talons... biggest beak... seen!"

"...looked... griffin!"

Griffin? Zo'or decided that his Protector was just imagining things. But... griffin... it nagged at the back of Zo'or's mind...

***

T'than stared at the Implant, her dark skin took on a shuddering that showed intense hatred towards him and his people. Only to himself would he ever confess that it scared him. If he had not been so determined to keep his life and his pride intact, he would have crimpled under her stare, it scared him that much. But he didn't let it show. No, one Taelon had to be strong, one had to put up with the evils of this human race, and that Taelon... was him. The gun wavered in his hand.

The dark eyes of the Implant took this in. She glanced up at him, but there was no longer any hate in those eyes, no longer any fear. And that scared him more. T'than wanted to drop the gun, to run away as fast and as far as his feeble legs could take him. But he didn't, he stood his ground, and he stared at the Implant. It took all of his strength to not look away from her dark, drilling eyes. There was intelligence in those eyes, far more than he had ever seen in a human before...

No! You will not allow your fear to take over! Control yourself! You are in the right, this Implant will not move against you, for you have the power! T'than mentally reprimand himself for acknowledging any kind of fear of or wish to give in to any human. He would prevail! The Implant's eyes never left his, they seemed fearless now. They scared him...

She blinked, the trance broken, T'than regained control of his emotions. Chiding himself for his mental break from reality. He could now feel the gun in his hand, could see the line from the nozzle of the gun to the Implant's heart. But when he looked at her, she wasn't watching the gun like any other human would've been, but him. As if... as if in wonder...

He was trailing again. There must be something odd with this air... T'than dismissed the thought immediately, and once again brought his mind back to the Implant. He was the one with the gun trained on her heart, so... so why was he the one that was afraid? She moved.

T'than's mind screamed. Shoot! Shoot! He saw the Implant move again, jerkily. Shoot! Shoot! His finger twitched, her dark eyes moved, then bugged. The fear that had vacated her eyes only secondss before, momentarily reclaimed their recesses again. Her delicate pink lips curved into a little 'o' shape, her small fingers twittered. Then it was over...

***

"Alright. Let me get this straight." Liana stood up, arms crossed over her chest, but Renee never left Augur's side, even as she spoke to the strange woman. "Your name is Lessa. No last name?"/,p> "No last name," Lessa replied, looking at her as if the very idea was crazy.

Renee nodded, trying to think of what to do to help Augur. His moaning had stopped- bad sign.

"Renee, he's going to die. No use in lying over him."

"I am not-"

"Renee," her head snapped up, "I believe that is your first name?"

"Y- yeah," she answered, still shaken as Liana pulled her up.

"And your last...?" Lessa's tone was too gracious.

"Palmer. Renee Palmer."

"Right, right, and I'm Mickey Mouse," Liana snapped.

Lessa looked at her, confused. "But you said your name was Li-" Liana groaned.

"Look, let's SKIP the intros, okay? We need to find the others. Augur's done for."

The woman's eyes narrowed. "There are others?"

"Oh, you bet," Renee muttered, refusing to leave Augur on the ground.

Liana's eyes flew open, and she did something Renee had never seen her do: pale. "Oh my God! The Taelons!"

Those words were enough to make Renee pause in her desperate tendance to Augur. "Oh, sh*t..."

Lessa's hard stare was no longer as piercing, actually, her eyes were glazed, as if she was hearing something they couldn't...

"Renee," Liana was pulling at her roughly, "Leave him."

"N-"

"We'll help you find these OTHERS," Lessa said suddenly.

Liana gave her a strange look. "You got friends in high places, werewolf-woman?"

"WEYRwoman," she corrected acidly.

Renee felt her throat constrict with panic as Augur's chest slowly began to cease its rhythm. "Liana-"

Suddenly, a huge shadow blocked out all light. Renee gasped and glanced up, then let out a very uncharacterisic shriek. Liana was immediately moving, shoving her behind the shelter of a bush even as she screamed, "AHHHH! HOLY SH*T!"

The werewoman- Lessa- was standing calmly on the ground, feeding them contemptuous glances and waving to the...THINGS in the sky. Liana reached down to her boot and drew her knife- for whatever good it would do, Renee thought, rolling out from behind the hedge. The thing was HUGE!

In an instant, she knew it. It was a dragon.

And still descending. "We can't outrun it!" Liana shouted.

"Then what the hell do you suggest we do?" Renee yelled back, strumbling over for Augur.

"Keep it busy," the girl answered grimly. Their eyes locked, and for a moment, Liana's irises were vulnerable, almost asking forgiveness. Renee felt horror rush through her as she realized what she was about to do.

"NO!" she screamed, but the younger one was too quick. In one fluid motion she had swept up the unconsious Augur and was thrusting him towards the now-landed monstrosity. The wind from the huge wings made Liana stagger a step backwards under her bleeding load. Renee started to rush towards the girl, intending to knock her down, but firm hands held her back. She cursed and struggled until she realized that Lessa was holding her.

"Calm down, Renee," she said coolly, saying her name a bit awkwardly. She ignored her.

"Liana, damn you, put him down! He's still alive!"

"So he'll get eaten alive!" she shouted in return, backing away and shaking Augur like a bag of food.

The woman behind her suddenly called out someone's name. Renee's eyes grew wide as she saw a Human DISMOUNT the thing.

Liana's "HOLY SH*T!" was probably heard over a mile away.