Dragonriders of Pern #09: Dragons Dawn by Anne McCaffrey
Author:Anne McCaffrey [McCaffrey, Anne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Epic, Fiction, General, Dragons, Pern (Imaginary Place)
ISBN: 9780345419569
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Published: 1988-01-02T00:00:00+00:00
Revived by the hot meal and a generous beaker of a very smooth quikal fermented by Chaila Xavior-Kimmage from local fruits, Paul and Emily quietly organized a discreet council, which they held in one of the unscathed Malay outbuildings. Besides the admiral and the governor, Ongola, Drake, Kenjo, Jim Tillek, Ezra Keroon, and Joel Lilienkamp attended.
âWeâll do better next time, Admiral,â Drake Bonneau assured Paul with a cocky salute. Kenjo, entering behind him, regarded the tall war ace with amused condescension. âToday taught us that this Thread requires entirely different flight and strike techniques. Weâll refine that wedge maneuver so nothing gets through. Sled pilots must drill to maintain altitude patterns. Gunners must learn to control their blasts. Itâs more than just holding the button down. We had some mighty close encounters. We lost some of the little dragonets, too. We canât risk so many lives, much less the sleds.â
âWe can repair the sleds, Drake,â Joel Lilienkamp remarked dryly before Paul spoke, âbut power packs wonât last forever. We canât afford to expend them uselessly on drills. Despite our resupply system, which I bet I can improve, nine pilots had to glide-land at Maori. Thatâs clumsy management. That wedge formation, by the way, Drake, is economical on the packs. But it still takes days to recharge exhausted ones. How long will this stuff keep falling, Paul?â Joel looked up from his calculating pad.
âWe havenât established that yet,â Paul said, his left thumb rubbing his knuckles. âBoris and Dieter are collating information from the pilot debriefing.â
âHellfire, thatâs not going to tell us what we need to know, Paul,â Drake said, his weary tone a complaint. âWhere does this stuff come from?â
âProbeâs gone off,â Ezra Keroon said. âItâll be a couple a more days before any reports come back.â
Drake continued almost as if he had not heard. âI want to find out if the stuff mightnât be more vulnerable in the stratosphere. Even if we only have ten pressurized sleds, would a high-altitude strike be more effective? Does this junk hit the atmosphere in clumps and then disperse? Can we develop a defense less clumsy than flamethrowers? We need to know more about this enemy.â
âIt doesnât fight back,â Ongola remarked, rubbing his temples to ease the pounding sort of headache that battle had always given him.
âTrue,â Paul replied with a grim smile as he turned to Kenjo. âI wonder if we would gain any useful data from an orbital reconnaissance flight? How much fuel in the Mariposaâs tanks?â
âIf I pilot it, enough for three, maybe four flights,â Kenjo replied, deliberately avoiding Drakeâs eyes, âdepending on how much maneuvering is required and how many orbits.â
âYouâre the man for it, Kenjo,â Drake said with a flourish of his hand and a rueful expression. âYou can land on a breath of fuel.â Kenjo, smiling slightly, gave a short, quick bow from the waist. âDo we know when, or where, the stuff hits us again?â
âWe do,â Paul assured them in a flat tone. âIf the data is correct, and it was today, stakeholders are lucky.
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