Master Norist had been horri¬fied to learn that the Weyrleaders of Pern believed that this disembodied voice could actually instruct them on how to turn the Red Star from its orbit and prevent it from ever swinging close enough to Pern to drop the avaricious and hungry Thread. She felt the girl's weight on the bed beside her, and just the rough cloth of her apron brushing against Beauty's buttocks caused the sore and stinging flesh to ache more keenly.