Whyt’s Plea Read online

  After four more courses interrupted by the servers, they were finally alone over hot, dark tea.

  Whyt stifled a yawn and smiled at her birth mother as she was asked how the repairs were coming.

  “Oh, the ship is done. A few minor tweaks and it will be done. The pilot can have it back tomorrow.” Whyt sat back and smiled at the woman who had birthed her.

  “Good. She is very anxious to get her fighter pod back. She still blames her partner for bumping her.”

  “There was some residue on the wings that might support that.” Whyt chuckled.

  “Well, Colonel, I believe that Private Beiencar has an early morning that will end in a turbulent afternoon.”

  Whyt checked her watch, and her eyes widened at the time. “Tomorrow is my last day on the repairs. After that, I am off to research and development. I don’t want to let Sarge down.”

  “Fine. You are dismissed, daughter, but this is not our last meeting.”

  Colonel Whisk got to her feet and in sight of the servers and Commander Arguat, she hugged Whyt tight to her.

  Whyt hugged Yelana Whisk, and she felt something inside her mind, click. Whyt leaned back. “What the hell was that?”

  Yelana sighed. “Your birthright. Get used to it, and if it is overpowering, have them call me. You will know what I mean.”

  Her mother stroked hair away from her face and smiled. It was Whyt’s smile, and her heart shifted slightly as the joy of their reunion swept through her. She staggered when she realized that the emotion was not coming from within herself. It was the colonel’s joy that was spiralling through her mind.

  She slowly eased from her mother’s embrace. “I will keep you posted.”

  “Dismissed, Private. Get a good night’s sleep. You are going to need it.” Colonel Whisk touched her cheek once more and waved her off.

  Arguat put his hand on Whyt’s back and escorted her from the room. They were halfway back to their quarters when he said, “So, that was a fun-filled evening.”

  She laughed, sensing his restraint via the small touch on her back. “You have a knack for understatement. Did you know?”

  She meant did he know about the colonel being her mother. He caught on.

  “No. I knew that she was instrumental in bringing you here, but I had no idea why. It is surprising. Did you know?”

  “I knew that my mother was a non-Athuunan pilot. I knew her name but not her rank until a few months ago. I recognized her the moment that I saw her though.”

  He chuckled. “I noted the resemblance when you were side by side.”

  They were talking and walking in one of the pedestrian corridors of the base. She leaned into him and whispered, “Why didn’t you tell me who you were?”

  “Why? I knew you were not going anywhere, and you were running toward something. How would I dare to stand in your way?” His grin lit his eyes, and he paused on the walkway.

  She took the hint and leaned up to kiss him. His lips brushed against hers as she brushed against him, and the roaring wave of emotion that swamped her sent her senses reeling.

  She clung to him as she fought for balance, tried to find herself in her own body. The foreign emotions were identified by a portion of her mind previously dormant and sorted out as being external from her own. The moment that the separation took place, she broke the kiss.

  He blinked at her. “What was that?”

  “Um, earthquake?”

  “No.”

  “Pressure drop?”

  “No.”

  “Magnetic disturbance?”

  He looked down at her as if she had suddenly gone insane, and he shepherded her back to her quarters, following her inside. “Explain.”

  She smiled and shrugged. “I can’t.”

  “How long have you been able to do that?”

  She bit her lip. “About five minutes? Something clicked when I hugged Colonel Whisk.”

  “You are not kidding.”

  Whyt shook her head and released her hair like she did every night. “I am not kidding.”

  As if he wasn’t there, she sat down and began to brush her hair, just as she did every night before she went to sleep.

  He sighed and took the brush from her hand. “It felt very strange, very unsettling, and I felt overwhelmed.”

  “That sums up my evening. You have been holding a bit of emotion back, Styvin.”

  He had been brushing her hair, and he paused. “You felt that?”

  “I am guessing that I crawled into your mind and you crept into mine.” She smiled at the image in the mirror. It was common amongst their people to groom one’s mate, but she had never experienced the sensation before.

  He kept brushing, carefully holding her hair so that he didn’t tug the roots.

  “Why didn’t you tell me that you were the man my father had in mind?” She looked at him and watched the nuance of expression on his features.

  “You were running from me, and I had been recalled to the base to train you. Your housekeeper had been very efficient. She not only sent in your registry, but also pulled strings to get you assigned to the research base and not the Nathrin base. This base is hidden from the general populace.”

  She chuckled and watched the white silken locks flow through his fingers. “I know that. It was in your first class. What comes next, by the way?”

  “We are going to test your ability to turn designs into reality. I am an engineer, and I believe that you can bring my designs to life. I think that the adjustments that you made to the fighter pod were amazing. It will now be a lot more user friendly for its pilot.”

  Whyt smiled and her lids grew heavy. “Will it?

  He chuckled as he continued to brush hair that didn’t have anything resembling a tangle. “It will. I am dying to see what you do with a fresh design and a free hand.”

  She swayed slightly, and he helped her to her feet, sat her on the edge of the bed and removed her boots. Fully clothed, he tucked her into her bed and he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Sleep well, Whyt. Tomorrow, it all hits the fan.”

  She smiled sleepily and nestled in her sheets, loving the emotion that had washed over her with the kiss. It was only after he was gone that her eyes opened wide as she realized what he had said. Gone was the warm fuzziness, in roared the trepidation.

  She went through her day of theory, finished repairs on the fighter pod and reported to the research department an hour after lunch.

  Commander Arguat smiled, and they pretended that there was nothing wrong and nothing was about to happen. It was a delightful fiction, and Whyt was halfway through assembling a control module when the door flew open to show Colonel Whisk and Tevan and Hyaki Beiencar.

  Whyt smiled, “Mother, Father. I was not aware that you had clearance for this base.” She carefully set her assembly aside and wiped her hands off.

  “Whyt, how dare you run from home?” Her mother was on her in a moment, not touching her.

  “I didn’t run. I escaped the night before I was formally engaged. Father, you know my fiancé.” She gestured to Arguat, and her father’s shock was apparent.

  It took a moment, but Tevan spoke, “I do, but I don’t know why you know that he is your intended.”

  She snickered and kept wiping her hands free of all traces of oil and copper. “We had a long talk.”

  Hyaki bristled, “Well, he isn’t your intended now. We have found you a new fiancé.”

  Whyt paused. “That is inconvenient, Mother.”

  Colonel Whisk cleared her throat. “You might have to check her genetic disposition for that one. My kind mate once and for life, Hyaki. You knew that when we signed the agreement.”

  Her mother backed toward her father and frowned. “I thought that it just meant…mating.”

  Whyt sighed and checked that her hands were clean. She extended them to her mother. “It won’t work. Whatever is in madam’s genetics, I am now part of Styvin and he is pa
rt of me. I feel it when he looks at me, touches me or thinks about me.”

  Hyaki took her hands, and Whyt read her frustration, her uncertainty and her fixation on the safety of her child.

  “I will always be safe, Mother. I have a talent for self-preservation that you have never seen, because I have never been able to use it.”

  She was engulfed in her mother’s arms and emotions. An entire lifetime of worry over her only child ran through Whyt, and it made things a little clearer for her. When Tevan joined the hug, she shivered as the guilt that he had always felt being unable to have a child with an Athuunan woman ran through her. It was too much. Whyt sobbed and pushed away from her parents, stumbling into Styvin’s arms.

  The world immediately righted itself, and she knew where she stood.

  She looked up at him. “Stay close. I may need you again.”

  He grinned and gave her a quick kiss. “I will be at your service, Private.”

  Her three parents stood by with varying degrees of approval. Her father was scowling, Hyaki was beginning to look pleased and Colonel Whisk was delighted.

  Whyt didn’t care as long as she was allowed to continue on where she was. She was finally finding herself, and she wanted to see what she could become, given the right encouragement.

  The rest of the day was lost as they got together in a private office and hashed matters out. It was only when Colonel Whisk got an insistent summons that the party was broken up.

  A skimmer took her parents back to Nathrin, and she and Styvin followed the colonel at her command. They were back to rank.

  Whyt really wanted to know what was going on, but when they arrived at the repair hangar, she had an idea.

  Sarge was inside, talking to a dark-haired woman and a dark-haired man. He looked up in relief when he heard her boots on the flooring. “This is the woman who effected the repairs, Captain. Please address your questions to her.”

  The woman turned, and Whyt froze in place. The woman did the same.

  Finally, Colonel Whisk broke the tension. “Captain Rhoe, this is Private Whyt. You have something in common.”

  Whyt was staring into a dark mirror while Rhoe was staring into a light one. They slowly circled each other.

  Everyone in the room stood back while the sisters sized each other up.

  Finally, Whyt said, “Do you have a problem with the repairs?”

  Captain Rhoe laughed and reached out to clasp Whyt’s hand. “No, but my partner wishes for the same repairs to be done to his vessel.”

  The moment they touched, a spark issued that was visible throughout the repair hangar.

  Colonel Whisk had tears in her eyes.

  Rhoe’s hand gripped Whyt’s tightly. “Hello, sister.”

  The hug that resulted from that phrase sent another wave of light through the room. Whyt heard Sarge ask, “What the hell is that?”

  The Colonel laughed, “Power. I am very proud of my girls.”

  When they parted, Whyt looked at her older sister. “For improvements to the other vessel, you might have to get him to smack it into a rock or something. I am not exactly sure how it would end up in my clutches otherwise.”

  Rhoe grinned. “Did you hear that, Hiiron?”

  The dark swan snapped off a salute. “Yes, Captain.” He grinned and looked at the two women side by side. “I knew she would be similar, but yeesh.”

  Whyt looked over, and Styvin was running his hand over and over through his hair. The neatly bound mass pulled loose and a snow-white cascade ran over one shoulder. He looked so adorably befuddled that she walked up to him and tucked his hair over his shoulder.

  “Why so surprised? I have always known I was a second contract child. It is unsurprising that we would take after the strongest genetic parent.”

  Colonel Whisk stood straight. “Well, I had help. Athuunans are good, solid stock.”

  Rhoe smiled. “And now that you are mated to one, you are even more attached to our world.”

  Whyt blinked. “You are mated, madam?”

  Whisk winked. “Only on the weekends. I have a few years to go before I retire.”

  They laughed as a unit, a family of strange parts woven together, and Whyt felt the emotions of the moment dance along her skin. Whatever her birth mother was, it was a little above the standard grade. She would get the full story one day, but today, she had a fighter pod to tweak.

  * * * *

  It took three years for the wedding that her parents had planned years earlier. She was two months pregnant and couldn’t put off the joining any longer.

  “Oh, for the love of the first feathers! Stop fooling with that engine assembly and get into your wedding gown, Commander!”

  Sarge was still Sarge but for the sake of propriety, Whyt had been given a rank to match her mate.

  “You are going to be late, Beiencar!”

  She sighed and scrubbed her hands. “I was just trying to keep calm.”

  “How did you even get that here? We are in your home prefect and that is proprietary equipment.” He sighed and helped her clean her hands thoroughly.

  She stood still as he removed a smudge from her nose. She looked around her room and smiled at the gown and robes hanging on the walls. “I suppose it is time.”

  Sarge was her honour guard. He would lead her to the official and watch over her while the vows were spoken.

  She turned her back and slipped off her loose morning robe. Her hair was already woven with bright pearls and diamonds.

  The engine was still in the centre of her preparation rooms, but a quick change had her ready for the ceremony where her entire family was waiting.

  Hyaki was smiling, every inch the mother of the bride. Tevan was sitting with a tremendous look of relief on his features.

  Captain Whisk was sitting with her mate, Rhand. Next to them were Rhoe and Hiiron.

  Styvin had his family on his side of the event, and he met her in the middle. She took his hands, and they swore to bind to each other until death. Their minds were already bound, and their bodies tangled regularly. Their happily ever after had begun six months earlier, but now, it was official.

  There was nothing like signing the paperwork on joy, laughter and a happily ever after to warrant an enormous party.

  Author’s Note

  Yup, all the sex took place off screen. Sorry, but in the story of Snow White and Rose Red, there is always a sister that gets the prince and the other gets…the other guy.

  Whyt’s Plea was all about her desperate attempt to find herself. I think she did well.

  About the Author

  Viola Grace was born in Manitoba, Canada where she still resides today. She really likes it there. She has no pets and can barely keep sea monkeys alive for a reasonable amount of time. Her line of day job tends to be analytical which leaves her mind hopping to weave stories. No co-worker is safe from her character analysis. In keeping with busy hands are happy hands, her hobbies have included cross-stitch, needlepoint, quilting, costuming, cake decorating, baking, cooking, metal work, beading, sculpting, painting, doll making, henna tattoos, chain mail, and a few others that have been forgotten. It is quite often that these hobbies make their way into her tales.

  Viola’s fetishes include boots and corsetry, and her greatest weakness is her uncontrollable blush. Her writing actively pursues the Happily Ever After that so rarely occurs in nature. It is an admirable thing and something that we should all strive for. To find one that we truly like, as well as love.

 

 

 
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