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Back The Skies of Pern
Chapters (64)
  1. Other titles by Anne McCaffreyPublished by Ballantine Books:
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  7. INTRODUCTION
  8. PROLOGUE
  9. At a Gather—6.15.30
  10. Part 1
  11. Turnover at Landing—1.1.31 Present Pass Aivas—Aivas Adjusted Turn 2553
  12. Benden Weyr—1.1.31
  13. Southern Hold—1.1.31
  14. Healer Hall—1.1.31
  15. Back at Landing—1.2.31
  16. Fort Hold—late night—1.1.31
  17. Fort Hold Runner Station—1.2.31
  18. Keroon Printer Hall—1.3.31
  19. Benden Weyr—midday—1.3.31
  20. Monaco Bay Weyr—five days later—1.8.31
  21. Part 2
  22. Ruatha Hold—local time 12:04 in the morning—1.9.31
  23. Telgar Weyr—local time 4:04 in the morning—1.9.31
  24. Benden Weyr—local time 6:04 in the morning—1.9.31
  25. Harper Hall—local time 1:00 in the morning—1.9.31
  26. Landing—local time 10:12 mid-morning—1.9.31
  27. In the Conference Room at Landing—1.9.31
  28. Monaco Weyr—10:22 in the morning—Timing it
  29. In the Conference Room at Landing—local time 1:10–1.9.31
  30. Sunrise Cliff Seahold—timed-back
  31. In the Conference Room—local time 2:12 at Landing—1.9.31
  32. Back at Landing—local time—3:40
  33. Harper Hall—5:00 in the morning, and Southern Hold—2:00 in the morning–1.9.31
  34. Landing—late afternoon—1.9.31
  35. Same time at Keroon Printer Hall—local time 11:15—1.9.31
  36. Later, on an unusually bright evening at Landing, Sunrise Cliff, and Honshu Hold—1.9.31
  37. Part 3
  38. Honshu—1.10.31
  39. Circle Runner Station—1.18.31
  40. Harper Hall
  41. Benden Weyr—
  42. Benini Hold—east Monaco and Honshu—1.20.31
  43. Harper Hall—1.28.31
  44. Honshu Hold—2.1.31
  45. Fort Hold—2.13.31
  46. Printer Hall at Wide Bay—same night
  47. Honshu Hold—2.9.31
  48. Night at Wide Bay—2.9.31
  49. Ruatha Hold—late evening—2.9.31
  50. Core Hold—two days before Council Meeting—2.26.31
  51. Part 4
  52. Honshu Weyrhold—2.26–27.31
  53. Council Meeting at Telgar Hold—3.1.31
  54. Honshu Weyrhold—3.01.31
  55. Interim at Benden and elsewhere
  56. Honshu Weyrhold—time passing slowly
  57. Landing—3.21.31
  58. Honshu Weyrhold—3.21.31
  59. Southern Hold—3.23.31
  60. Honshu Weyrhold—3.27.31
  61. Benden Weyr—3.27.31
  62. Cove Hold—same day, same approximate time
  63. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  64. What’s next onyour reading list?

“There were five waves, you know,” she said flatly. “One after another. They sort of bounced off the nearer Ring island and then plowed into Monaco.” She raised one hand and smacked it slowly, five times, into the palm of the other, then her shoulders sagged and her hands dropped. “Pier went in the first one and all the cotholds on the beach. People saved a lot of the tools and supplies from the boatyard. The careening cradles are just splinters after the seiche waves. T’lion said those are the perpendicular waves, when the main ones subside. I don’t know how he could go and look except that he was trying to find the dolphin bell pylon. He said it’s made of an indestructible material.” She gave a heavy sigh as if she doubted anything could have survived the surge of five tsunami waves. “Portmaster Zewe took down the dolphin bell, you know. T’lion said he’d been out far enough to sea for Gadareth to land on the water and call Report. It was pretty choppy and cloudy but the dolphins reported.” That seemed to cheer her a bit. “No pods suffered casualties and they warned all the land people.”

F’lessan stroked her hand soothingly. “I know. They warned Sunrise Cliff.” He hesitated. “Is Readis all right? At his Dolphin Hall?”

“Yes.” She managed a weak grin. “T’lion checked. Readis was high on Rubicon Cliff.”

He didn’t know what else to say. He knew that Monaco Weyr Center was probably bobbing with the splinters of the pier and the vegetation. Wherever she and Zaranth had weyred was deep under water.

“Eat,” F’lessan said gently and held a bit to her lips because he hadn’t seen her take any of the roasted meat.

She put a piece in her mouth, chewing it slowly, automatically, not tasting anything, and not looking at him, distraught. Why wouldn’t she be? he thought.

“What news of other shoreline holds? Was everyone lifted to safety?” Would he always see the panic on Binness’s face when he realized he was trapped between a wave and a rock?

Irritation made her flush. She stopped her chewing and looked up at him, a small outraged frown knotting her eyebrows. “I heard there were some who didn’t believe the dragonriders and …”

“Crept back to get something they couldn’t live without and drowned,” he finished for her. “The Weyrs are not responsible for arrant stupidity!”

“But they’d been brought to where it was safe!” She gripped her fingers so hard her knuckles were white.

“Like the dolphins, we can’t help it if people don’t listen to our warnings.” F’lessan caught both her hands in his and tugged them to get her to look at him. “Tai, how much time did you spend today warning, rescuing?”