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Buck was not moving his father an inch in terms of what he d allocate a new
settlement.
 Stingy, ain t he? Paul said with a snort.
 Cautious with community property and ever aware of the charge of nepotism.
Paul continued reading, then looked up in surprise.  An airlock door?
What re you going to use that for? he demanded.
 Well, it isn t being used for anything else, and it ll make an impressive
entrance: also impregnable, Red said.  I took the dimensions last time I
was down in the storage cellars. Ivan and Peter Chernoff dissected the frame
panel, too, which fits in the opening as if meant to be there. Seated it in
some of that hull-patching compound Joel couldn t find another use for. Peter
even rescued the floor and ceiling bar holders. A spin of the airlock wheel,
and we can drive home the lock bars top and bottom so that nothing can get
past that door once it s closed. Cos Melvinah called it a neat bit of
psychological reinforcement.
Paul nodded in appreciation.  Good job of recycling materials, too. I will
miss you, Red, he said, then paused.
 But you won t miss having to arbitrate the disputes in the beast hold, Red
finished for him with a grin.
There were constant quarrels over who had what space in the low caverns that
housed the colonists animals, and who got what fodder. Red had been waging a
clever and diplomatic war with the Gallianis and the Logorides, the other
major breeders. During the frequent breakdowns of the overworked grass
incubators, the Hanrahan family had fed their animals their own bread rations
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and scrounged the shoreline-some distance from the safety of the Hold--for the
seaweed that could be dried and shredded into a fodder the horses would eat.
 They can t complain when your exodus leaves them with a lot more space.
 No, but they ll agitate to try and bring up more of the stock they had to
leave behind, Red said with some acerbity.
Paul shook his head.  No transport. There s no one will get Jim Tillek to
bring his precious Cross out of that watery cavern he s stored it in. And,
with Per and Kaarvan gone fishing most weeks. . . Paul shrugged.  I see
you re requisitioning the use of five sled-wagons? How long will you need
them?
With almost no power packs left to run the air sleds, many had been stripped
to hulls and fitted with wheels as ground vehicles. The smaller ones were
useful for hauling stone from excavations within the Hold. The bigger ones
were too wide for more than the well-traveled road down to the sea, but they
were capacious and had even survived--better than the goods they d been
carrying--unexpected long drops down mountainsides.
 Who else is moving out, Paul? Red asked. Rumors were rampant, but so far
his party was the only one he knew of that was actually asking for a final
clearance.
 Zi Ongola d like to try that western peninsula. Paul went to the map and
tapped the marker on the tip of the landmass.
 Good on him. No wonder I couldn t get any more of the Duffs to come with me.
We ll bring the wagons back as soon as we ve finished using them. And I ll
loan out the oxen teams I ve trained, if that ll help Zi.
 It certainly would, and I know he ll thank you when I pass the information
on.
 He s got the longer haul.
 He s also got to find a passable way through the High Ranges, Paul said with
a sigh.  The cave system s satisfactory where he wishes to settle. The way
there is not. We might be able to bore a tunnel, if necessary. Plenty of
hydroelectric sites.
Red knew that Paul would miss Zi Ongola, who had been his second officer and
close friend since the two had served together in the
Cygnus Campaign. Red was a little surprised that Zi would leave, but he d be
a good leader, and pressures in the Fort had to be reduced. Many dissident
voices were quieted only because the admiral was universally admired and the
justice of his regime respected as fair and equable.
Most of the problems afflicting the Hold were due to the cramped conditions.
The  good years when the colony was starting up had allowed people freedom
and scope, which they treasured all the more now that it had been denied them
by the terrible fall of
Thread. During the first few years when Fort Hold had protected them,
gratitude for that haven had overcome the discomforts and inconveniences, but
as the birthrate soared and the stony corridors resounded with the cries of
fretful babies, tempers had begun to rise.
The establishment of South Boll had been the first major attempt to relieve
the congestion, and so far it was successful--for those who had resettled at
the new holding under Pierre de Courcis s leadership. But exploring
appropriate premises was time-consuming, and with Thread continuing to fall,
any outbound journeys had to be carefully timed and safe layover shelters
built along the way.
Then some caves were found to be either waterless or too small to shelter
enough people to be worth development.
 Yes, Zi s got a big job ahead of him, yet we must make the attempts if this
colony is to succeed. Threadfall won t last forever!
Paul brought one hand down with a hard slap on his armrest.  By all that s
holy, Hanrahan, we ll still make Pern ours, with everyone owning his or her
own place, no matter what rains down on us!
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 Of course we will, Paul. And we Hanrahans will hold our place! And
multiply. You can be sure of that! Red said, grinning smugly. Mairi had
just weaned their latest and, he hoped, last child. She d told Red she wanted
to have a dozen offspring, but the repeated pregnancies were beginning to take
their toll on her.
 For Mairi s sake, I hope you have too much to do for any more of that.
There was a twinkle in Paul s eye as he regarded the veterinarian.  How many
have you fathered now?
Red waved his hand, his grin broader.  Nine s enough to insure our genes will
continue. Ryan s the last I ll permit her, and I made sure of no more to
come.
Benden gave a snort.  Especially when your sons and daughters are like to
pass you out in production figures in a year or two.
 Well, Mairi s good with children. She genuinely likes them in all stages of
their development. More than I do, Red added with some acerbity.
 Got a name for this Hold of yours?
Red made a disclaiming sound.  Hell, Paul, I ve been so busy with plans,
lists, and contingencies, naming s a detail I haven t given much thought to.
We ll think of something appropriate, Mairi and the rest of us.
Paul Benden rose then, made an effort to straighten the slump of his
shoulders, and held out his hand.  Good luck Red. We ll miss you here. .
.
 Ha! You ll be glad to see the backsides of us. And so will the Logorides
and the Gallianis. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]