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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?

“Read on. There’s bad news, too.”

“Oh. The prisoner did have a missing finger joint. No facial scar though.” Pinch sighed. “Well, he could have got the scar on one of those early forays the Abominators made. Or even during or after his escape, you know,” and Pinch eased his butt to the edge of Sebell’s desk, not quite disturbing the piles of papers as he continued to read. “Didn’t we send every harper a copy of the sketch I made?”

“Thought we had.”

“Ah!” Pinch’s somewhat sleepy expression brightened as he read further. “The prisoner—did the man have no name at all?—was sentenced for life to the Crom mines with several others for attacking Aivas.”

“While I was waiting for you to arrive,” and Sebell adroitly teased Pinch though, indeed, Master Mekelroy must have hurried to the Masterharper’s door before pausing to slip inside in a stealthy fashion. That was often how Pinch entered this office, in stealth and at night or other inconvenient hours. “I had time to review Master Robinton’s report of that incident.”

Sebell stroked the blue leather cover of the journal and opened it with gentle fingers to the place where he had left a slip of paper. “Aivas thwarted the attack with what he called a ‘sonic barrage’—a noise so fierce and penetrating that it rendered the intruders unconscious. Aivas said that some aural damage might be permanent. When we expressed amazement that he would retaliate, he remarked that, and I quote him, ‘These units are programmed with industrially and politically valuable information. Unauthorized access and/or destructive actions must, therefore, be actively discouraged, and this has always been a minor function of an Aivas facility.’ ”

Sebell looked up from the open pages to regard Pinch.

“Well, yes.” Pinch scratched the back of his head. “ ‘Some aural damage might be permanent.’ According to Serubil—” and Pinch rattled the message in his hand, “—this prisoner was deaf. Maybe he recovered his hearing? Convenient and useful to pretend not to hear if someone wanted to escape.”

“Yes, in the next paragraph, Serubil says this wasn’t the man’s first attempt. However—” Sebell held up a finger, “neither this one or the others ever gave their names.”

“If they were deaf, how would they hear even that question?” Pinch asked.

Sebell grimaced. “Usually there are ways to get across as simple a question as that. Me,” and he punched his chest with his thumb, “Sebell. You?” He widened his eyes, assumed an interrogatory expression, and pointed at Pinch.

“Having failed to crash or crush Aivas, the last thing I would want to tell was my name.”