«The Chronicles Of Pern: First Fall», Anne McCaffrey
Timeline for The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall
1 Landing
6 Torene Ostrovksy b.
8.6 First Fall
10 First Hatching, Michael Connell b., Fort Hold established, Evacuation of Landing—The Dolphins' Bell
16 The Fever Year, Emily Boll dies
17 Pierre de Courcis starts Boll Hold
19 Red Hanrahan's yarn—The Ford of Red Hanrahan
22 Michael Impresses Brianth at twelve, Ongola moves his people to found hold
25 Jim Tillek dies, Torene Ostrovsky Impresses Alaranth
26 Paul Benden dies
27 Queens' battle-Porth, Evenath, Siglath
20FF 28 Sean announces three new Weyrs—The Second Weyr
20FF = Twenty Years: First Fall
The survey: P.E.R.N.c
"It's the third planet we want in this pernicious system," Castor said in a totally jaundiced tone, his eyes fixed on the viewscreen. "How's the hairpin calc going, Shavva?"
Looking up from her terminal, Shavva screwed up her face for a moment before she spoke. "I'm happy to report that that'll work out fine. Pity we can't have a look at the edge of the system," she added. "I'd love to have a look at those heavy-weight planets and the Oort cloud, but that can't be done when we've got to do an entry normal to the ecliptic. As it is, the slingshot will only give us ten days on the surface." She cast him an expectant, wry look.
He groaned. "We'll have to double up again." At her half-stern, half-sardonic glare, he added, "Fardles, Shavva, after so long together we all know enough of each other's specialties to do a fair report."
"Fair?" Ben Turnien repeated, his quirky eyebrows raised in amazement. "Fair to whom?"
"Damn it, Ben, fair enough to know when a planet's habitable by humanoids. None of us needs a zoologist anymore to tell us which beasties are apt to be predatory. And each of us has certainly seen enough strange life-forms and inimical atmospheres and surface conditions to know when to slap an interdict on a planet."
There was a taut silence as the four remaining team members each vividly recalled the all-too-recent deaths: Sevvie Asturias, the paleontologist-medic, and Flora Neveshan, the zoologist-botanist, both lost on the last planet the Exploration and Evaluation team had visited. Castor had inscribed, in bold letters on the top of that report, D.E. Dead end. Terbo, the zoologist-chemist, had been felled in a landslide on the first planet of their present survey tour, but as that world had clearly supported some intelligent life, the initials I.L.F. ended that report. They'd lost Beldona, the second pilot and archeologist, on the third world in the same accident that had injured Castor: a planet initialed G.O.L.D.I.—good only for large diversified interests. And they'd orbited one that probes had given them all the information they needed to label it L.A.—lethal, avoid!
To a team that had been together for five missions, the casualties were deeply felt. And this mission had yet to be completed. The system they had just reached, five planets orbiting the primary Rukbat, was the fifth of the seven to be investigated on their latest swing through this sector of space.
"We can handle the geology, the biology, and the chemistry," Castor went on, frowning at the gelicast on his leg. The compound fractures had not quite healed. "Well, I can do the analysis when you've brought appropriate samples back. We might not be able to do the usual in-depth analysis of all the biota, but we can find the requisite five possible landing sites, regular or serious meteoric impacts, any gross geological changes, and if there's a dominant major life-form."
"Hospitable planets are few enough, but Numero Tres does look very interesting," Mo Tan Liu remarked in his gentle voice. "I get good readings on atmosphere and gravity. I think probes are in order."
"Send ‘em," Castor said. "Probes we got to spare."
"We're in a good trajectory to send off a homer, too, Liu added. "Federated Sentient Planets ought to know about the D.E. condition of Flora Asturias." Following the bizarre and perhaps macabre practice of the Exploration and Evaluation Corps, they had named the last planet after the team personnel lost during that surface survey. "We are obliged to report those and that L.A. immediately."
"All right, all right," Castor said irritably.
"Shall I do the report?" Shavva asked.
"I did it," Castor replied in a tone that ended discussion. He called up the program, and when the copy was ready, he rolled it up into a tube to be inserted in the homing capsule. It would reach their mother ship some weeks before their projected return. "They will want to know we've discovered another Oort cloud, too. Is it five or six?"
"Six, with this one. I still don't buy that space-virus theory," Ben remarked, relieved to switch to a less depressing topic.
"Number Four System was dead," Shavva said unequivocally.
"Can't prove the Oort cloud affected it in any way. Besides," Ben went on, "the planet was bombarded by meteors and meteorites, to judge by the craters and the craterites. Shattered the surface and boiled off a good deal of the major oceans. Just like Shaula Three. That system had an Oort cloud, too."