Return Fire (Open)

[Bacchante]

Vengeance would be accomplished tonight. Black Sands Weyr had launched the first blow, but Skrull would fire back. After B’ach had decided upon the course of action, sixteen Ghosts and four Shades were commissioned with a secret task. By night for three days the Shades flew over the Shoreline Hold, using their stealth powers to scout out. The Ghostriders had been selected for loyalty and speed of their dragons. All twenty beasts involved were warriors. They did a distasteful duty, for the good of all.

Each Ghost carried a bag of firestone, four bags for each Shade. Each Ghost also carried two bags of salt, for reasons carefully laid out. After their mission was done they were to salt the earth. The economy of this place would be wounded for months to come. Some might call the nature of the retaliation… excessive. Those who did such would not understand. Black Sands had to be shown, their attempts at crippling the other Weyrs would not be tolerated.

On the fourth night, the siege began. The Ghosts flashed in silently from Between, as did the Shades many miles above the hold. The Shades gilded down on their monumental wings, their bellies full of the phosphorus gasses created by the firestone. The homes of the Lord Holder and his immediate family had been identified. The eight Ghosts were set at strategic positions around the hold, with the other eight outside the fields. The Ghostriders signalled their position with dim Glows from below. The Shades signalled readiness. The attack, began.

A blast of flame from above set the Lord Holder’s house completely ablaze, the three circling Shades torching the fields. They didn’t have long until a watcher at BS saw the fires. The Ghosts burned through the walls with their acid and ran into town, spraying at anyone they same move. The Shades strafed the walls, and fields continuously, stopping any escape. The Ghosts outside ran through the smouldering fields, drenching the earth in acid and salting the ground in their wake. Not much would grow for a long time. Then they rushed for the city, dumping the empty sacks in pools of acid where they would rapidly disappear.

Within it was chaos. Houses burned, people screamed, Shades flamed running shapes and Ghosts tore and sprayed at people. The Shade riders imagined that enough time had elapsed. They signalled for the final phase. The Ghosts walked outward, drenching the ground from the centre outward with acid, spraying over houses and fleeing holdfolk alike. Reaching the spoiled fields, they jumped up and vanished into Between. The Shades took one last flaming run over the hold and three went into the Between. One man landed in the ruined Hold Centre and slammed a pole into the ground there. His dragon leapt up with him and disappeared.

On the pole flew the flag of Skrull. A note on hide was attached to it:

Weyrleader D'myn of Black Sands. You chose to attack first, against the Queens of Pern. This is their retribution. The lives of these people and the destruction of these crops are on the head of the rider who struck at us. Skrull has returned at last to assume its eternal duties. Attack again, and you will find out firsthand what they are.
- B’ach, Weyrleader of Skrull Island

[elainsie]

If one thing had become clear to Valeena in her short time as Weyrwoman of Black Sands it was that Dabria, her predecessor, had been meticulous in the keeping of records. Valeena had spent nearly the whole day with the Headwoman doing an inventory of their stocks and the best part of the night adding to the careful notations Dabria had made every time a tithe came in over the last 20 Turns, and before that Dabria's own predecessors.

For Valeena the work was tiresome and tedious, what did she care about how many sacks of tubers they had left to last them over the Winter? There seemed to be plenty enough food to last the colder months, and yet she was not one to shirk a duty, would never have gotten this far had she complained over the mundane tasks assigned.

And so it was that as night consumed Black Sands Weyr and the occupants either went to bed or partook of the revelries to be had Valeena sat at a desk in the outer room of her weyr, stacks of hides in front of her as she scribbled down the notations she had made earlier in the day.

The glows had dimmed, and the Weyr was blanketed in silence, Valeena nearly at the end of her work, when Ailith roused her rider. Georgiath says there is trouble at Shoreline Hold. We must go, the gold spoke from the ledge, having already grabbed the riding gear, and placing it next to herself as she waited for Valeena to join her.

What sort of trouble? The Weyrwoman asked as she deflty tightened straps to her satisfaction, and used Ailith's bent left foreleg to propel herself onto her dragons back. The gold took off the moment Valeena had settled between the neckridges, not wanting to waste another moment. From the Green's anxious tone alone Ailith deemed things were dire. She did not specifically say, at which Valeena no longer pressed, they would surely see for themselves soon enough.

The gold went between, the coordinates to the Hold burnt into her memory from their Weyrling lessons. However when they appeared above the fireheights the image that met them was not that of the prosperous Hold.

"By the egg!" Valeena cried out loud and then wished she had kept her mouth shut the curling tendrils of smoking causing her to cough violently and it took her a moment to regain her breath, the thick smoke also contributing to the watery appearance of her eyes.

It was a depressing sight, the main Hold itself having burnt to the ground, red, orangey flames licking at the remaining rubble. Bones of the Hold's occupants lay scattered, charred flesh where the fire had not wholey consumed the corpses sending a rancid smell to fill the area. The lands, usually so carefully tended, had been laid to waste and amongst it all waved a flag merrily, as if mocking the terrible scene it witnessed.

Valeena was not prone to sentiment, and yet she could not view the wreckage of the once proud Hold as dispassionately as she may have wanted to. So much waste, so much carnage. What could have occurred to so quickly wipe away all humaity?

Ailith, what happened to Georgith? A'skyn? Did they manage to escape? Why did they not inform you earlier, for surely this was the work of hours? The Weyrwoman looked about for any signs of life, willing their to be one person left if only to give a recount of what occured.

I have not heard from them since their alarm. I fear they must have perished with the rest of the Hold. And yet that made no sense, the pair could have flown away, Valeena thought. If this had been any normal fire there would have been more than enough time for Georgith to escape, to get aide so at least some of Shoreline's occupants may have escaped.

Wait, Ailith, can you get a bit lower, I think I see something. I don't want you landing until we know exactly what has happened. Valeena's keen sense of smell had picked up on a scent almost masked by decaying flesh, something that reminded her vaguely of agenothree. But how would anyone get the quantities required for such destruction, and for what possible reason? Her mind kicked into overdrive as she thought out the possibilities, all quite inplausible.

And there it was, huge footprints, the type that could belong to only the largest of Pernes dragons, marring the churned up earth. They had almost been wiped away in the carnage but not enough that a careful observer, from a certain vantage point, could not detect.

Valeena felt a shiver run down her spine, was sure unseen eyes were pinned on her and she cursed her stupidity in not rounding up a guard as she surveyed the Hold. Who knew what lurked in the shadows, for this assault had obviously been well planned, both Belior and Timor's light obscured by clouds.

The flag whipping in the wind caught her attention again and this time Valeena's eyes picked up the emblem emblazoned upon it. She had never seen it's like before, the skull of a dragon she had never seen grace Pern against the black background. Ailith, I want to look at that flag. Please. The dragon soundlessly glided to the object in question. As the dragon hovered Valeena stretched out to grab hold of the flag, to prevent it flapping idly around in the wind. And it was then she noticed the hide attached. Pulling it from the flag her eyes scanned the missive, her face giving no hint of her reaction to the words. She read it a second time, more slowly, and then pocketed the letter.

Ailith can we scan the area one more time just in case there are any survivors, and then return to our Weyr? I need time to process this all. If anyone comes looking for me when we are back at the Weyr say I have taken to my bed as I was feeling unwell. Valeena's mind was reeling with the implications of what she had just read, the words committed to memory, and yet pieces of the puzzle were starting to fall into place, questions she had been asking of herself for days answered, though of course even more were now posed. However there was one foremost in her mind; the identity of the Skrull Island Weyrleader, this B'ach.
[/color]