A/N: Welcome back. Here is the next chapter. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Reviews are appreciated and missed when absent

Disclaimer: The Dragonriders Of Pern is a trademark of and copyrighted to Anne McCaffrey. This is fan fiction and garners NO MONEY OR OTHER MATERIAL COMPENSATION WHATSOEVER for the author of this fan fiction

Chapter Nine

D'rek tensed as the two men approached. He recognized one of them as Michael Butrick, one of the scientists at the Institute.

“Derek Nosk is no more,” he said. “I am D'rek. rider of brown Gatorth.”

“You didn't think the Institute was just going to let you go, did you?” Butrick said. “Don't make this harder than it has to be, Derek.”

Just then, D'rek saw Gatorth and Balarth wing in for a landing behind them.

“You might want to look behind you,” D'rek told them.

The first man laughed. “That's the oldest trick in the book.”

“Then one of you look behind you. The other can continue watching me.”

Butrick nodded and turned. “What the hell? Where did they come from?”

“The rim,” D'rek said. “The brown one is my dragon. The green one is my woman's dragon. They will take great exception if you try to take me away from here.”

They looked at each other and then both men lunged at D'rek, grabbed him and then all three faded away to a high pitched hum.

Ganala had seen the very last of this and Gatorth roared, his eyes whirling red in rage.

“Gatorth. Stay,” Ganala ordered. “He is alive. They wouldn't kill him.”

Gatorth had crouched to launch when suddenly he cocked his head. Then he said directly to Ganala, He is unharmed. He says he will be back shortly.

D'rek materialized on a raised platform in a small room. “That was a mistake,” he told his captors.

“No, you made the mistake when youthought you could get away from the Institute, Nosk,” Butrick said.

Derek just smiled. “I'll warn you one time to let go of me. If you don't, I cannot be held responsible for what happens. You might not survive it. I would be sorry if that happened, but I am going back down there.”

“You're going nowhere but a cell,” Butrick's partner told him.

“Alright, I warned you.” I'm going between, dear heart, he told his dragon. Don't be alarmed if we lose contact for just a bit. He grabbed each by the arm and transferred.

He has gone between, Gatorth told Ganala worriedly. I can't feel him.

“If he's not back in fifteen seconds, you can go look for him. He should be back long before then,” Ganala told Gatorth.

“What's going on here?” D'vid asked. “Sulanth told me there was trouble in the bowl.”

Suddenly, D'rek appeared, holding onto two men dressed in Earth clothing. The men were pale and glassy eyed. D'rek shoved them away from himself. Gatorth grabbed one in each of his front paws.

“Put them down, Gatorth,” The Weyrleader ordered.

As soon as I teach them it is not a good idea to try to steal a dragonrider away. I won't hurt them.

He looked each man in the eyes and then in a loud mental voice said, CAN YOU HEAR ME?

They both nodded, looking terrified.

GOOD. IF I HAD MY WAY, I'D TAKE YOU BOTH BACK BETWEEN AND DROP YOU THERE. HOW DARE YOU TRY TO TAKE MY RIDER? Having said that, he set them both down, then lowered his head to nuzzle D'rek. D'rek scratched his eyeridges. It was comforting to both rider and dragon.

“You are both under arrest for the attempted kidnapping of a dragonrider,” D'vid told them.

“We were just following instructions,” Butrick said.

“Have you ever heard of an unlawful order?” D'vid asked them. “That's what that was. An unlawful order. Unlawful orders are not to be followed. You should have known this. In any event, it doesn't matter. You are still under arrest. Kidnapping a dragonrider is considered attempted murder, because it can cause the death of the dragon. If the dragon does die as a result of the crime, it is murder, plain and simple.”

Several riders had gathered. D'vid turned and saw them. “These men are under arrest for attempting to abduct rider D'rek.” He chose two at random. “Take these men to Landing where they are to be confined until a decision has been made concerning what to do.”

“You can't do that,” Butrick repeated. “We are citizens of the Confederation.”

“Who committed a crime on Pern,” D'vid returned. “What if some from here committed a crime on Earth? You think the authorities would just let them go?”

“Authorities? I see no authorities here,” Butrick's partner said.

“I am the Weyrleader of Ista Weyr. I hold the same rank as a territorial governor, what we call a Lord Holder. I have complete and absolute authority here and the same amount of responsibility for whatever happens.” He looked at the two men in disgust. “Take them to Landing. Get them out of my sight.”

“Yes sir,” the two chosen riders said in unison.

He walked back to his weyr and called for Sulanth. He harnessed his dragon and was about to mount when Ellen came rushing in.

“What happened?” she asked.

“Two men from Earth just tried to abduct rider D'rek. Fortunately he knows how to go between without a dragon so the attempt failed. The culprits are being taken to Landing to be confined. I'm on my way there now to lodge a formal complaint with the Ambassador.”

“What is going on, Dave? The Confederation would neve condone something like this.”

“I'm sure there will be a lot of denying. I would say that this was a covert operation so the President and his cabinet might not know about it. But they will, soon enough. I've got to get to Landing. Sue is not going to be happy about this.” With that he mounted Sulanth and after walking the short distance to the ledge, he launched them. At the proper altitude, he winked between.

Ambassador Evans was doing paperwork on her comp terminal when her brother barged in without knocking.

“D'vid,” she said. “Have you forgotten how to kn...” she broke off at the look on his face. She could tell he was very angry. He was controlling it, but she saw a man about to blow his top. “What's happened?”

“The Confederation has just attempted to usurp Pern's sovereignty. Two men from the Institute rider D'rek was raised at attempted to abduct him using a teleporter.”

Susan's mouth dropped open. She knew about Project Sunbeam, but the last she had heard, it hadn't been certified for sentient life form transport.

“Are you sure they were from the Epsilon Institute?” she asked.

D'vid nodded. “Rider D'rek identifies one of them as one of the scientists there. If he hadn't known how to go between on his own, we very well could have lost Gatorth, his dragon. I wish to lodge a formal complaint with the Confederation. I am going to see the Masterharper when I leave here. I also intend to call a special session of the Conclave and the Weyrleader Council to inform the Lords and other Weyrleaders.”

“Let's not be too hasty, here, Weyrleader,” the Ambassador cautioned him.

“I'm not being hasty, Ambassador,” D'vid told her. “A crime has been committed on Pern by offworlders. A crime of this magnitude requires a tribunal of a Weyrleader, A Lord and a Mastercraftsman.”

“You can't believe that the Confederation officially condoned this?”

D'vid looked at his sister for a moment considering and then said. “What I think doesn't matter. The Institute is of Confederation origin, funded by the government. Therefore the government is responsible for anything they do. If they acted without official sanction, then that is an internal matter for the Cofederation. But they have created a major diplomatic incident. These two will likely be charged with attempted murder.”

“I thought you said they attempted to abduct this man,” Susan said. “That's a far cry from attempted murder.”

“Abducting or kidnapping a dragonrider can cause the dragon to suicide between. The suicide is the direct result of the crime, therefore the dragon is considered to be murdered by the culprit. And I believe that dragons have been declared sentient beings by the Confederation, so Confederation laws apply here as well.”

Martin James, Secretary of State for the Confederation of Sentient States was sleeping when the comm. terminal sounded. He groaned and sat up groggily. 'What now?' he thought. Seemed like he never got a full night's sleep anymore.

“Lights at fifty percent,” he called. The house computer brought the lights up to fifty percent. He looked at the bedside comm. unit and it showed a call from the State Department. He pressed 'block video' and 'answer' in rapid succession. “James here. What is it?”

“Robert Mulligan, Mr. Secretary. Night watch officer. There is a message that requires your attention.”

“So, give it to me,” he directed.

“I'm sorry sir. It is a crystal with an ambassadorial seal. It came on a liner from Pern. The only thing we get is, “Priority Zero. Ambassadorial clearance required.””

James groaned. Priority Zero? From Pern? This couldn't be good. Priority Zero signified a diplomatic incident either in progress or accomplished.

“I'll be in in less than half an hour,” James told the man. “No one; absolutely no one is to know about this.”

“Understood, Mr. Secretary,” Mulligan affirmed.

James cut the connection and got up and got dressed.

James walked into the State Department building and walked up to the desk. “You Mulligan,” he asked.

“Yes sir, Mr. Secretary. I have the crystal right here. You'll need to sign for it.”

“So you put this into the logs after I told you no one was to know about it?”

“Sir, it was noted in the log as soon as it arrived, as per standard operating procedure,” Mulligan explained. “Nothing was entered about the ambassadorial seal or Priority Zero.”

James nodded. “You did the right thing. Give me the log to sign that I have taken possession of the message.”

The man pressed some controls on the screen of the workstation tablet and then turned it to face the secretary.

James took the stylus and signed his name. He then took the crystal and secured it in his attache case.

Without another word he walked to the lift and took it to his second floor office.

Upon arriving at his office, he locked the door and then took the crystal and inserted in the slot for reading.

“Priority Zero. Ambassadorial clearance required,” the computer said.

“Open crystal, authorization James three seven David Orion six one Alpha.”

A scanner rose into position. “Retinal scan required,” the computer informed him.

'What in the name of all the stars was this?' James couldn't believe it. He looked into the eyepiece and focused on the red dot.

The red dot disappeared and the computer said, “James, Martin, Secretary of State. Identified. Scanning room. No other life forms detected. Opening crystal. Crystal contains a text document. Display on monitor?”

“Affirmative,” James replied.

The text came up on his desk monitor and he began to read.

“Son of a bitch!” he exclaimed after reading it. This was worse than he could have imagined. Fool Epsilon Institute. And using Sunbeam, to boot? Well, he would take some satisfaction in waking up the director and having him report here immediately.

“But I'm in Oklahoma City,” the director complained. “It's two thirty in the morning here.”

“I don't care what time it is,” James replied. “Get your ass on your private shuttle and get in here! You will be cleared for priority launch and landing. There will be a vehicle waiting for you. I want you here yesterday.”

“Yes, sir,” Clinton Donavan replied. “I'll be there as soon as humanly possible.”

“Good,” James growled. “Get dressed and get your ass moving!” With that he disconnected.

He made arrangements for the spacefields in Oklahoma City and New Salt Lake City to give the man priority for launch and landing and arranged for a car to meet him. Having accomplished these tasks he put on his headset and took a deep breath. Then he pressed the button on his communications console labeled 'President'.

Shortly he heard. “This had better be good. It's one thirty in the morning.”

Martin James had just finished briefing Samuel Taylor on what had happened. They were in his private office at the Presidium.

“Son of a bitch,” Taylor exploded. “I knew I should have shut that freaking place down when I heard about it. Well, they're shut now. Idiots. Risking everything we've worked so hard to accomplish just for their pet theories.”

“Are you sure that's a wise idea, Mr. President.”

“The Senate wanted it shut immediately after hearing from that Weyrleader,” Taylor told him. “I went to bat for them because John Sherman said that we needed to know about this Mentasynth crap. I take the advice of my advisors seriously. When my Science Advisor gives advice I listen. Well, I shouldn't have here.”

“I'm not defending them, sir,” James told him. “I just don't want to do anything hasty here.”

“This is not hasty. They have violated the First Imperative. That alone should have shut them down. This is the only way I know to placate the authorities on Pern. We'll be lucky if they don't pull the dragon net and the navigators. This might just convince them of our good faith.”

Clinton Donavan disembarked from his private shuttle and two men in dark suits were waiting by a limousine. “Mr. Donavan,” one of them said.

“Yes,” Donavan replied.

“We're here to take you to see the Secretary.”

Donavan nodded and got into the vehicle. The vehicle rose thirty feet and moved off. Once they had left the spaceport airspace, they turned North.

Donavan looked at one of his escorts and said, “We're going the wrong way. This isn't the way to the State Department.”

“Change of plans, sir,” the man replied. “You are to meet Secretary James at the Presidium.”

Donavan paled slightly. The Presidum? This was more serious than he thought. Though what could have James' undershorts in a bunch mystified Donavan. Unless it was a complaint about Nosk, but the Institute was covered there. There was no way to prove that Epsilon had taken part in his disappearance from that backward planet.

The limousine landed on the roof of the Presidium. Donavan and his escorts exited the vehicle and he was led into the building. An elevator took them down to the first floor. The escort stopped at a door and pressed the chime button. There was no indication of what was behind the door.

After a short wait, the door opened and Samuel Taylor stood there with two of the Presidential Detail of Confederation Security.

“Mr. Donavan,” Taylor said. “Come in. The Secretary and I would like to have a word with you.”

“Yes, sir, Mr. President,” Donavan replied. He stepped into the room and saw Martin James sitting at a chair in front of a desk that could only be the President's.

Taylor motioned him to a chair and sat behind the desk. “Two men tried to abduct Derek Nosk from Pern. They came from the Epsilon Institute,” Taylor said without preamble.

Donavan schooled his face to puzzlement. “I don't understand. Someone from the Institute tried to kidnap Nosk? That's not good. We were hoping to get some non-invasive scans from him.”

“Don't play dumb, Donavan,” James said. “The president said tried. The attempt did not succeed and two men from the Institute are in custody on Pern. The name Michael Butrick ring a bell?”

Donavan paled visibly.

“It's not Butrick's fault or his accomplice. Nosk knows how to teleport like a dragon.”

“Good thing too,” Samuels said. “If he hadn't, Nosk's dragon might have suicided. If that had happened we would have surely lost the Dragon net and the Navigators. But worse than that, they used Sunbeam in the attempt. That technology is classified Ultraviolet. And your people used it in plain sight of at least two dragons and Nosk's woman.”

“Do you deny you ordered this operation?” James said. “Be careful how you answer. Butrick and his partner, Lionel Graves have stated that they were acting under instructions. Isn't Butrick your second?”

Donavan hung his head for a moment and then raised his eyes to the President. “We need Nosk back. I would have done whatever was necessary to achieve that end.”

“Well, your institute is shut down as of now,” Taylor told him. “And it wouldn't have mattered what you said here. That decision was made before you entered this room.”

“But sir,” Donavan began.

“Better be quiet and listen, Clint,” James told him.

“I am going to Pern to personally apologize to their government for this attempt to abrogate their sovereignty,” Taylor continued. “If they request you be extradited, the request will be granted. Although I will try to intercede for you. We would like to prosecute you ourselves for violation of the First Imperative.” He pressed a button on his desk. Very shortly, two uniformed officers entered the room.

“Clinton Donavan is under arrest for violation of the First Imperative. Inform him of his rights and lock him up,” Taylor ordered.

“But sir,” Donavan began.

“I suggest you remain silent as is your right, sir,” James told him. “You will be accorded all the rights of an accused including your choice of counsel and standard use of communicators.” He nodded to the two officers. “Take him away and make sure he is informed of his rights.”

A/N: That's it for this chapter. Don't forget to review.