Whyt’s Plea Read online

  Whyt tried to portray confidence as she made her food selections, but she ended up with a number of dishes that she could not identify, let alone digest. It was strange food mixed in with the Athuuna specialities, but she tried them.

  She checked the clock, and when she had five minutes to spare, she drank her water, bussed her tray and took off for the meeting three buildings away.

  When she entered the empty hangar, she paused and looked around. She called out, “Excuse me, am I in the right place?”

  “Are you Private Beiencar?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then, you are in the right place.” An older male came around the corner wiping his hands on a rag.

  “Oh.” She checked her paperwork and frowned. “I am not sure why I am here.”

  He chuckled. “I am Sargent Drewing. You are my apprentice.”

  “Um, sir, I am not sure what I am doing here.”

  “Rule one, never call me sir. Call me Sarge or Drewing. Rule two, we are here to work; now, come with me. I am tearing apart one of our newest designs, and I want to see if you can spot the problem.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “You will. Come along. We have a lot of work to do.” He winked his dark gold eyes and led the way.

  She followed him, her gaze took in his deep chestnut hair, and she blinked as she recognized her first brown swan shifter or possibly goose. It would be impolite to ask, but if she saw anything more than the marks on his cheeks, she would know for sure. Less than eight hours at the base and she had already met nine more species than she had grown up with.

  He took her around a curtain, and she whistled.

  “That is quite something.”

  “Tell me what it is, Private.”

  “A flying device.” She circled it. “It has guns, struts for directional transfer and inter-atmospheric manoeuvring jets.”

  “Excellent. It is one of Athuuna’s newest defensive ships, and it has being giving its pilot fits.”

  “Oh. How?”

  “It is rigged for mental command, and she is distracted, so her ship is distracted. She flew it into the side of a mountain, and we have to find out why the systems didn’t stop it.”

  Upon closer viewing, Whyt could see the scars from the impact with the stone. “Ouch. Was the pilot okay?”

  “She is fine. Her partner fished her out of the wreck and grounded her for a month.”

  “She was grounded?”

  “So to speak. She is the sole pilot of this vessel, so he bought us a month to fix it. That was a week ago. Let’s get to work.” He gestured for her to put her clipboard down and pulled a tray of tools out into the open.

  She put her clipboard on the desk and rolled up her cuffs. “Okay, I can do this.”

  He chuckled and ratcheted open one of the housings. “I thought you might say that.”

  Whyt got to work next to him, and she pulled wires and cables with abandon. It was the most fun she had had in months.

  Sarge bumped her elbow. “Go eat, Beiencar. They delivered dinner.”

  Whyt blinked and finished attaching the exhaust coupling she had been working on. She wiped her hands off and got to her feet. Her head spun a little, but she made it over to the cart with the food and took a sandwich.

  “You are not nearly as filthy as you should be, but you have done more work this afternoon than I have in six days. Colonel Whisk was right about you. Once we get it fixed up, we will find out whether you can fly it.”

  She choked on her sandwich. “Fly it? I thought I was repairing it.”

  “Someone has to test it out, and I am way too old to learn how to pilot one of these new ships. It is enough for me to just know how to repair the damned thing.” Sarge snorted and smacked the hull.

  Looking at the ship, she tried to imagine how it would feel to actually fly it; to spin it through the clouds and back would be amazing.

  She felt the beginnings of a grin take over her features. If her parents could see her now…

  * * * *

  “What do you mean, she isn’t here?”

  Yelana Whisk sighed and shook her head at the man whose child she gave birth to two decades earlier. “I mean she isn’t in Nathrin. You can search the entire base and the answer is the same. She isn’t here.”

  Tevan Beiencar sat heavily in the chair on the other side of Colonel Whisk’s desk. “Damn. I was so hoping that it was something simple, like flight school.”

  “I am sure she is fine, Tevan. How is Hyaki?”

  “Nervous, just as she was twenty years ago. Do you think Whyt is all right?”

  He looked at her with such desperation in his face, she gave in a little. “I am sure that if there was something wrong, you would know it. What happened the night that she left?”

  Tevan blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I had just announced that she was betrothed and would be meeting her new husband this evening. Do you think that had anything to do with it?”

  Yelana tried not to laugh. “It could have. It certainly would have spurred her to action if that was not what she had in mind. Does she know her fiancé?”

  Tevan sighed and ran a hand through his snow-white hair. “Yes. They were introduced a few years ago. She thought him arrogant at the time, and so, we dropped it but neither of them is getting younger. We need to see her settled, and he is willing to take her as she is. He knows she can’t shift and that is our entire criteria for a mate for her.”

  Yelana shook her head. “Does he know she is gone?”

  “No. He was recalled to the base and is here somewhere. I don’t want to alarm him about her disappearance.” Tevan scratched his neck. “I hear that you and Rhand are together.”

  Yelana laughed. “Now and then. The timing is almost right, but our daughter is so very lovely. What does Whyt look like?”

  She smiled as he waxed poetic about the pale shimmer of her eyes, the bright white of her hair and the elegant sweep of both her cheekbones and the family markings that cruised over them.

  When he added, “She will make someone an excellent wife.”

  “Why?”

  “What?”

  “Why will she make someone an excellent wife? From what you have told me of her upbringing, she has been raised like a captive animal. How can she take charge of a household when she has never been given any responsibility?”

  He scowled. “She has great capacity for learning. Her mind is hungry for new experiences. She will thrive in any environment.”

  Colonel Whisk smiled and leaned back. “Then, be at ease. If I see our daughter, I will tell her to contact you. I cannot promise that she will return home, but she will make contact.”

  He got to his feet, bowed and paused at the door. “Thank you again, Yelana. We would never have known the joy of raising her if it wasn’t for you. I think that the desire for a child was what drove Hyaki into her protective mode. I was simply unable to jostle her out of that mode.”

  The colonel smiled. “She is a good mother. I have no doubt that Whyt is graceful and accomplished. She might even have table manners. You should be very proud.”

  “We are. Pride has always been foremost in our thoughts when Whyt was mentioned. She is so much more than we could have dreamed of.” He saluted sharply and left her quarters.

  Yelana muttered, “And it is the more that I am concerning myself with.”

  She opened her drawer and looked at the grim photo that had come across her desk from the test base. Private Whyt Beiencar was staring back at her, exhausted but determined. It was a matter of time before they met, but Yelana had confidence that her daughter was doing well under the watchful eye of Sarge. He was always a good judge of the skills of those under him. If he said she was good, she was excellent.

  Of course she was excellent, she came from superior stock if Yelana did say so herself.

  * * * *

  Mornings were spent in theory tutoring with Co
mmander Arguat and afternoons were spent with Sarge, putting the finishing touches on the repairs of the fighter pod. Eventually, it was complete and it was time to test her work.

  She watched Sarge push the pod out and swallowed nervously. “Why do I have to be the one to try the systems?”

  Sarge grinned, “Because you are almost the exact size as the pilot. The ship will handle better for you. I would just weigh it down.”

  Whyt nodded, and when they were out on the repair launch pad, she looked at the machine. “Well, I suppose I have to stand by my work.”

  “Good way to look at it, Beiencar. Now, quit stalling.”

  She wrinkled her nose and stepped into the pilot’s position. She had added sensors to the grip plates around her waist, and as the machine touched her, it came to life.

  “Check the rotation.” Sarge’s voice came through the interior speakers.

  She slipped the headset on and nodded. She bent and twisted in the confines of the ship. The ailerons moved with her, and she sighed with relief. “Working.”

  “Good. Key up the engines and try to keep a hover.”

  Whyt inhaled and cued the engines. The ship lifted off, and she felt the rush of being airborne for the first time in her life.

  It was hard to hold the ship at a hover when she wanted to surge it into the skies and see what it could do, but she held it and took it through its paces while Sarge gave her orders through the headset.

  She asked, “Sarge, to properly give this a shakedown, I need to take it for a spin.” Whyt heard a chuckle in the headset.

  “I thought you might. Your flight buddy is standing by in the newest fighter pod. I will switch you over to his frequency, and you can meet him over by the research centre.”

  She grinned and moved up to inter-base flight height before skimming along to the research hangar. A pod rose to greet her, and she should have been more surprised to see Commander Arguat behind the controls, but she wasn’t. It seemed perfectly right that he be the one to fly next to her through the air corridor over the base.

  “Private Beiencar, are you ready to fly?”

  “Commander Arguat, I believe that I was destined for this.” She put her hands on the controls and did what her instincts were urging her to. She flew.

  They raced through canyons, kissed mountaintops and tickled the cloud layer. He followed her but did not interfere with her first flight. An hour later, her alarm pinged and she regretfully returned to the repair hangar while he set down in research.

  Whyt climbed out of the fighter pod and pushed it back into the hangar. “It is still a little sluggish on the high-speed turns but that can be fixed with a tiny adjustment.”

  Sarge was wiping his hands. “Fair enough. I will download the flight log, and we will tackle that adjustment tomorrow. The pilot can have it back by the end of the week.”

  She sighed. “What will I work on then?”

  “You will head over to research, and I will return to patching up regular old damaged ships.” He shrugged and helped her set the pod back into its normal position for repairs before he hooked the computer up to the fighter pod.

  She was done for the day. Time for dinner.

  She wiped her hands clean and headed for her quarters to take a shower before dinner. There was nothing that killed an appetite like hydraulic fluid and oil filling your nostrils.

  It was amazing how quickly she had become used to life on the research base. She nodded at a few acquaintances as she passed them but kept her focus on cleaning up.

  She was so intent on her goal that when a hand touched her arm, she jumped in surprise.

  “Easy there, Whyt. I was sent to catch up with you. There is a visitor here, and you are requested to attend the officers’ dining room for dinner.”

  Whyte blinked up at Commander Arguat. “Okay. I don’t have my formal uniform yet.”

  “It is all right. It is a private dinner.”

  “Oh. So, who wants to see me?”

  “You will find out. Now, get a move on. You are already late.” He grinned and propelled her with a hand to her spine.

  He guided her all the way to her door, and with a wink, he said, “I will be back in fifteen minutes. Be quick.”

  It was the fastest shower she had ever taken, and she quickly wrapped her damp hair into a bun at the base of her neck before she slithered into a spare clean uniform.

  The knock at the door came just as she was finishing the closures on her clean boots.

  She checked her appearance in the mirror and opened the door. She stifled a sigh at Arguat’s charming elegance in his dress uniform. “I feel underdressed.”

  “You look lovely; now, let’s go.”

  He gestured for her to leave her quarters, and together, they marched through the facility until they reached the officers’ dining room. A pair of guards allowed them to pass and closed the doors behind them.

  Whyt’s curiosity was up. A woman was sitting and smiling at them as they approached. Whyt felt her feet slow as the features on the woman’s face became achingly recognizable.

  Arguat looked between them, startled. “Colonel Whisk, this is—”

  “Private Whyt Beiencar. Hello, daughter. Please, have a seat.”

  Whyt stumbled to the chair that the woman was pointing to and sat heavily. “This is not how I pictured our first meeting, madam.”

  The colonel grinned, “Me neither, but this is what we are stuck with. Close your mouth, Commander Arguat. Dinner will be served shortly.”

  They all kept silent while the first course was served and Whyt got over her shock. As soon as they were eating their soup, she blinked at her birth mother. “Why now, madam?”

  “Your father has narrowed down your location; he will be here tomorrow, and he is insisting that you be freed from your service contract in order to have you wed and off to a little house in your prefecture.”

  Whyte sighed and sat back. “Do you know what my fiancé thinks of this?”

  Colonel Whisk smiled and turned to Arguat. “Well, Styvin? What do you think of your future wife being at the base?”

  He coughed slightly. “Colonel?”

  “Don’t play me for a fool, Arguat. I was well aware of your engagement to Whyt before you were asked to spirit her away in the night. I was simply surprised that you did it; now, did you do it for you or for her?”

  He blinked and met Whyt’s gaze across the table. His eyes held a plea for understanding. “I did it for her. She needed to know what she was and what she could do.”

  They went quiet again as wine was poured for them.

  Whyt asked, “Why the urgency, madam? The end result will be the same.”

  Her mother shook her head. “Not if your husband is willing to work with you here. That is what it comes down to. If he will extend your engagement to pass around your year of service, you will be able to continue on as you are. If he agrees to your father’s terms, you will be ejected with no chance of seeing the sky on your terms again.”

  The shock of the first option was weighed down by the second. “I could run again.”

  Colonel Whisk shook her head. “No, you couldn’t. We are your family; we want what is best for you, but I am also your commanding officer, and you are not going to leave the base without my knowing where you are going. If you try, you will be brought up on charges and thrown into the brig.”

  They waited while the soup was cleared and the next course brought in. It gave Whyt time to think.

  The next time they were alone, she said, “Madam, as much as I respect your rank, I am an adult, and I have a right to choose my own path. I don’t need to hide behind anyone. I will stand up to my father and tell him that I want to put my time in here at the base.”

  Colonel Whisk smiled and slid her fork into her salad. “Good girl. I was wondering when you would pick up on the fact that you are an adult. You are also the blending of two genetic lines, and one of them will kick
in shortly. You need to be closer to me when it does.”

  Whyt paused. “Something is going to happen?”

  Arguat was listening keenly and completely silent.

  Whisk grinned. “Perhaps, perhaps not. You have not had any stressors on your mind, and so, your development has been a bit behind where it should be.”

  Whyt blinked. “I beg your pardon?”

  “Tomorrow morning go about your day. When you are summoned, you are to appear in the administration building where I will mediate between you and your father.”

  Whyt looked toward Commander Arguat. “What will your place be?”

  He grinned. “I will be standing by to either wed you or begin an actual courtship.”

  She stared at him, and her heart skipped a beat. Whether she would pursue a relationship with him had never really been a decision. Ever since that night when she had held him for hours while they talked of inconsequential things that made her laugh and kept her from realizing the enormity of what she had been doing.

  Leaving family and friends was not something that had been done lightly, but rather, it had been a compulsion that drove her from her home and into the sky. He hadn’t judged her but rather had made it as easy as he could.

  Colonel Whisk cleared her throat. “That isn’t strictly allowed, Styvin.”

  Arguat grinned, “Check the paperwork. We are registered as an engaged couple.”

  They went quiet again as one course was removed and the next brought out.

  Whyt watched her mother scowl at Arguat.

  “I didn’t authorize that.”

  “I know, but it was something that I wanted to have on record in case our relationship began to move forward on its own.”

  Her mother drummed her fingers. “Did it?”

  He grinned. “No, but we have made the first steps. We are comfortable around each other and genuinely like one another. You can love someone, but if you don’t like them, that feeling can fade. If you like them for themselves, there is always a path to rebuilding love, it will simply take on a new shape.”

  The colonel was silent, and a slow smiled spread across her lips.

  Whyt tried to memorize that last sentiment and applied herself to her meal. He was a friend and she did like him; however, she also remembered the feel of his body pressed against hers in the wee hours of the night when she woke from fevered dreams, so her attachment to him might not simply be relegated to friendship. Time would tell.