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It was morning. The sun was rising. He and Uktenath had started their day very early, getting the morning necessities of dragon care out of the way early, just so that they'd have this time free. They had a mission today, after all. A very promising young man was in need of recruitment, and this was a task that required skill, cunning... delicacy.

O'asis stole a glance around the corridor. Good, he thought; the target was distracted. Through a series of complicated hand gestures, O'asis informed Uktenath to stay put at the entryway and keep a lookout while the bronzerider went forward.

... Mine, what are you doing? The dragonet inquired dubiously, clearly wondering if His had caught sick somehow.

O'asis just grinned, doing all that he could not to laugh at Uktenath's uncertain worry. "Shh! Just wait here a second," O'asis whispered to the dragon, and proceeded stealthily into the room. Uktenath, while not understanding, did as he was told and watched. Surely he was about to learn something very important, and he would do well to pay attention!

The target was occupied by his work, O'asis saw. He paced himself carefully, making sure to draw neither the attention of his target or his target's companion. He stepped smoothly and silently; he was getting close, so close now--

A pair of hands suddenly covered J'riar's eyes, and voice by his ear hissed.

"Code: The Red Owl Flies to the Market."

... Mine, now I really do not understand, Uktenath murmured from the doorway, plainly visible now as he tried to draw closer, hoping to sort out his confusion.

Without thinking, O'asis gave Ianquith's probing nose a rub, releasing J'riar from his grip. "'Lo, pretty green," he greeted her with a smile, letting her bonded free. He'd had his fun anyway, it wasn't like he had any reason to try pinning the greenrider down - other than maybe for giggles, but he would try to be at least somewhat more serious about it.

"It's something big." Grinning as he was, O'asis seemed to be growing more serious by the second - or business-like, was a better way to describe it. Still as relaxed and cheerful as ever, but with a glint of something in his eye, a scheme working circles in his mind that needed sharing. "And very hush-hush. You're gonna love it once you hear it, though, believe me. But, of course, first you've gotten promise that it's gonna stay between you and me for now... you and me and Ianquith and Uktenath, anyway. Can you do that?"

Uktenath now came to join the others. Ianquith. It was greeting, simple acknowledgment; his clutchmate was there, but he did not have anything to tell her, so he gave her only the formality that he knew he ought.

"Revolution."

O'asis let that hang in the air a few seconds, eager to get a look at J'riar's face, absorb his reaction. Behind him, Uktenath inhaled deeply, letting out what was no doubt the first of many dragon sighs. There were times that His reminded him uncomfortably of Naedreth - but of course, His was merely showy for effect, to enhance his words and goals. Naedreth was showy because he was an idiot.

"Well, not really, but changes for sure," O'asis amended with a chuckle. His voice dropped to one slightly more conspiratorial, his cheeks relaxed while his brows tightened into something slightly more serious. "Have you heard about the plans for a new Weyr? And you probably know as much about that sickness going around as I do, right?"

"Well, the way I see it, nobody stupid would ever be in charge of a Weyr. Which means that nobody who knew what was going on around here would let things get this bad," O'asis answered, the very picture of casual confidence as he laid out his thought pattern for J'riar. S'van might have been the Fishcrafter, but it was O'asis who knew all about setting out the bait before pulling in the line. So he took his time. "If they had any inkling, they'd be tripping over themselves to start up that new Weyr, before something hits around here that doesn't just drop people, but keeps them from ever getting up again."

With that ultimate promise laid out, O'asis spread one hand, almost pleadingly. "So what's our duty, then? We've sworn to protect Pern against Thread; don't we also need to protect the Weyr against itself?" He nodded agreement to his own thoughts. "So we need to give them ways to see what it looks like down here. I'm afraid that we've all been too good at our jobs, keeping the Weyr running like it is; as long as nothing squeaks, nothing needs oil, right? So I'm thinking we need to start a couple squeaks."

Ianquith. Uktenath had been watching his sister carefully, of course - along with everything else in the room, ever the vigilant watchwher. But right now, his eyes were only on the little green, absorbing her body language, taking in the color of her emotional palette as well as he knew how. He got the idea that she needed persuasion - and, while he might not have O'asis's silver tongue, he had something else just as powerful to his credit. And so he told her, bluntly and with every bit of self-assurance that he ever had, This should be done. No explanations, no qualifications, no reassurances; Uktenath knew, and because he knew, it was so.

"Squeaks like...." O'asis dragged the moment out, searching for his best examples. "Accidentally spilling your morning klah all over the floor so that everyone gets slowed down when it has to get cleaned up is the easiest example. Seeing that the klah is watered-down and tasteless, so that everyone's griping and cursing that the kitchen staff was serving too many people to make it right, is a better one." He grinned, and went on. "Dragging your feet in tight corridors and slowing down traffic. Making ridiculous amounts of noise in the middle of the night so that nobody can sleep in the close quarters. Complaining constantly, so that everyone knows exactly how many things are wrong around them, and they start to complain too."

Uktenath nodded to Ianquith, slowly, proudly. You will do well, he pronounced, sure in his words. The green was committed, and he could tell already, her heart was strong enough that she would not falter later. The bronze could afford to place faith in her.

"The key word is: incidental," the ex-Trader was saying, his face earnest. "Look for opportunities to exploit - create them if you can do it without being caught. But we're not making a demonstration; we're not trying to challenge authority, but if they figure us out, that's the first place their minds will go. We want our actions to be visible, not us, you see?"

Uktenath had gotten what he needed from his clutchmate. Turning his head back up toward His, he relayed the good news, that Ianquith was willing as well to support their efforts.

"Consider yourselves proud members of the Ista Liberation Army, then," O'asis congratulated J'riar and Ianquith, beaming. "Just remember: Keep it secret. Tell the Weyrfolk that you think would be in with us, but don't spread it around otherwise. The more of this we can keep between, the less chance it'll bite us in the backsides later, right?"

He was cautioning them, but it was clear from his demeanor that O'asis was fearless. It was the boldness of the righteous, perhaps; no matter the underhanded methods, he was certain that the end justified the means, and feared no retribution. This was why he was here, wasn't it? To make change in the Weyrs, for the better? And the fact that his friends, S'van and now J'riar, were rallying with him....

They were unstoppable, and he knew it already. And even though they wouldn't be getting famous off of an underground movement like this, the Weyr would learn quick enough that there was momentum within it, and that change was on the horizon. This was just his first step - and he couldn't wait for it.