A thought to the future (open)

[Kayla]

(Since Laszreen just turned to Neory, I'm going to go ahead and respond and then it can go to J'var and R'net. Not trying to skip anyone, but Neory seems like the next respondent.)

"Laszreen and I both agreed that we should come up with some plans before flight, so that regardless of which of us is weyrwoman and who is the weyrleader," She knew that there was little doubt among anyone that it would be one of the two Bronzers present. Perhaps it would have been more fair to the other Bronzers if at least one of the Goldriders were unpaired, but that was not how it had worked out.

"There are many things we could talk about, and I will go ahead and say that it is my hope that we all work together regardless of who flies first. However, I believe that Laszreen and I are agreed that the most important issue we face is making sure that our Dragons and Riders survive the constant 200 turn Timing."

She sighed, "We lost more than we should have just coming back here, though less than we could have. However, if we're to make a difference to the future we came from in the fight against Thread, then we have to keep fatalities as close to none as we can."

She looked to her brother, hoping he understood why he had been asked to attend this meeting as well, though she trusted him as much as she trusted R'net and considered him a very close adviser and friend. "R'net, K'dyn, you two have more experience timing it then almost anyone. We're hoping that your experience can help us come up with a plan, including training, to best equip our Riders - current and future - how to successfully Time 200 turns." She gently squeezed R'net's hand as she spoke, knowing how much his previous Timing experience had cost him.

[TheDreamerLady]

"As Neory and K'dyn know, I am opposed to the idea of constantly sending Riders back and forth. It will leave all of our rider's laid out which will lead to questions about why Rider's who are unwell are Fighting Thread."

R'net took a breath and looked around imploringly. "I'm not Weyrleader, none of us are, but we are an autonomous Weyr. If we agree that it makes more sense to train up our Weyrlings, divide them up, and send them to each Weyr fairly, that is what we can do."

R'net blinked, and moved slightly to get out of the direct line of the sun. His fair skin still hadn't adjusted to the harsh sun, though he was far tanner than he had ever been.

"And if anyone else has anything to state, now would be a good time." R'net wasn't being condescending. On the contrary, this was informality that was trying to say that he considered everyone there his equal(which, to be honest was quite true. When R'net and Torenth passed Between, J'var would probably become leader of this Weyr. It only made sense to view him as the natural successor, and therefor, somehow, equal.

[Adobe]

"Well, you seem to forget that we aren't operating at the same time as the future. One day difference there and be turns here." J'var interjected, "For example, we fight thread there one day, come back and rest for as long as we need to and then go back to fight, it might be the next day for the future whereas we've had a month. We have two hundred turns to spend on the remainder of their fifty, well, now forty some."

J'var had thought extensively on this topic. And he knew the rest of them probably thought he was blinded so much by power that he didn't care about anything else. That was not totally untrue, but J'var did his research, no one could deny him that.

"And I may not be Weyrleader either, but I have to disagree with your plan. How could the Weyrs justify unexplained riders? How easy would it be for a drunken bluerider at a gather to spill everything at a inter-Weyr gather? There goes the entire plan and we'll have Benden, Ista, High Reaches and Fort all breathing down our throats." J'var was getting passionate now, he said with a cool smirk, "And I am not exactly unfamiliar with blackmail, as you know. No, the whole point of this is secrecy. Perhaps one day we'll have to disperse back into our Weyrs, but not as soon as we hatch our young."

He rubbed his forehead sort of to get his thoughts straight, "I think we do need to test our bounds, see how far we can push things, but I never want a queen to travel through time as long as she's still reporducing for us. No telling what kind of permanent fertility problems going between times causes. Especially if just going between places just cause miscarriages. . ." He looked around at the others to see their expressions. His eyes rested upon Laszreen, if anything he wanted her approval most.

[katgod]

K'dyn was listening to what was being said. He had no intention of joining in on this conversation unless needed to. He almost felt he was there in case it came to an Igen/Telgar fight. Hopefully no one was going to start any trouble. The brownrider knew that Timing it was tricky but it was also only going to be useful if they had a way of using it properly.

He was of the same mind as Neory and R'net for the most part. They did need to be concerned about all of this but he wasn't sure he should have any say on how to go about it. When R'net had voiced his opinions and concerned he was not entirely suprised that J'var spoke next. THe only person in the room who had suprised him so far was Laszreen (because she had not demanded to be hard first, or second or even third.) Perhaps she was quiet in meetings? Well he sure as flame didn't know.

What J'var said held merit. They couldn't just send riders to Telgar and Igen in that time. It would create too many disturbances... too many newcomers that no one knew. This would cause people to wonder and people were a curious enough lot to get to the bottom of something like that. As for the taking as much time as they wanted, well they still needed to show up almost everyday and it wasn't like they were going to live forever to keep this weyr going. Oh the complications to this plan were just becoming more and more overwhelming.

----

Laszreen was not accustomed to this form of roundtable discussion but she found it was working as she thought it would. They were exchanging their concerns. Everyone would know where the others stood on this issue. The goals of the Weyr needed to be solid, on this she would not yield. Neory voiced her concerns first, most of which she expected though there was really no help for them Betweening two hundred turns...or was there?

Her sharp mind did not always come up with the best solutions to problems but she did try to at least come up with possiblilities. R'net's words held merit though she had met the same issues that J'var voiced afterwards. Her cool dark eyes travelled in turn from the first to last person to speak. She gave J'var a small smile to let him know she did agree with most of what he had said. Laszreen though wanted to voice something different.

It was a good minute before she spoke, as she was still formulating what was best to say. IF she didn't think about how she spoke she would come across as arrogant which in this company would not go over too well. "All of your concerns are mine as well. There is risk going Between that far into the future but it is our job to risk all for the rest of Pern. If we are to truly succeed, I think that shortening the jumps Between would cause less disorientation, however there may be some who are more confused on the directions. "

She paused again and looked directly at Neory, "We cannot send people back to the Weyrs but neither can we have people looking ragged and sickly. I propose the Wings work in shifts, when we have more dragons to do so. At the moment, I think we can't be at every fall. We'll have to make decisions on when and where we can be. We only have a fighting force of about thirty and in some Weyrs that is only one wing." She sighed thinking about J'var's last comment.

The petite woman then changed her tone to one that was less persuading to one that was more determined. "Our Queens will be fertile because they must be. The fate of Pern rests on them. They will not be rendered infertile from a mere jump Between. Dragon biology is much different from our own if dragon healers are to be believed." Laszreen then was quiet, apparently done with talking though she didn't seem to be at all flustered or concerned with what the others thought. She knew she was the youngest person in the room and that she had had the least experinece with Timing it and fighting thread.

[Kayla]

Neory did not send an apologetic look to R'net. She knew where he was coming from, and she understood why he felt the way he did. She also knew, at least to some degree, the price that would be required of their riders - and she did not want to subject R'net to more timing it than necessary.

However, she knew that the weyrs of their previous time needed help, and they needed to stay secret. There was still risk that one of the dragons would be recognized when they went to fight thread, so it would be important that it was primarily Telgar or Igen that they helped. More than the fear of a drunken blue rider was the fact that dragons simply could not lie. A blue sent to Benden might find himself telling his Queen or a Bronze things that were better not shared, and even if they only sent riding pairs to Telgar and Igen, there was still a chance of discovery.

"I agree with J'var. Yes, betweening does not affect our dragons the same way it affects us, but betweening for 200 turns... we honestly do not know what affect that might have on their fertility. I'm not sure that's a risk we should take." Neory actually liked being a part of the Queens' Wing, she liked fighting thread, liked the fact that the fighters knew that she did not hold herself above them, that she was not too good to do her part. However, she knew that her Gold's part, first and foremost, was to breed, to mother more dragons.

"In addition to a rotation, we need good healers. I do not want a single Rider Timing it if he or she or the dragon is not in good shape. There's enough risk involved, we absolutely must minimize that risk as much as possible." She half wished that Daevon was still alive, though he probably would have been a bit fragile to have brought back, but a dragon healer, particularly one with his "gift," would have been quite a boon to Nova.

"I disagree with the idea of breaking the jump up into smaller jumps. While I agree that it might limit disorientation, it increases the chances for mistakes." In some very real ways, it was their job to the protect the riders and dragons of Nova, and that was the point that Neory found the most troubling in rgard to this. She was not sure the best way to make timing it 200 turns anything close to safe.

"However, I do think that getting the pairs used to timing it with smaller jumps, just to make sure that they get used to all the extra that is involved in going between in time as well space."

[TheDreamerLady]

R'net coughed lightly to place himself back into the swing of things.

"If we have Riders appearing at every Threadfall, who disappear after the fall is over, that's going to cause questions as well. We'll need a cover story no matter whose idea we use."

R'net paused, and decided to push one other thought of his forth before returning to a respectful listening silence.

"Rotating who is leading the jump will help as well. It helps to have one strong Between point to follow. Queens and Bronze's would both give off strong visuals, but I'm unsure if risking Queens is in our best interest."