Rhoe’s Request (2 page)

Rhoe blinked rapidly. She was one of the psychic races that was being hunted to extinction by the Coalition? It did explain quite a bit.

“Why are you telling me this?”

The colonel tugged her to one side of the office and tugged her down to the couch. “As long as you remained at the settlement, there was no need for you to know. Now that you are in the defense headquarters, you are going to be surrounded by folk who do not have the mental coordination of shifters. You will need to remain impassive and ignore what you sense.”

“What if I sense someone dangerous?”

“You smile and walk on by. Call security and say you saw the person acting suspicious. By that comment, I am guessing that you already have awareness of the minds of others?”

“I do, but I thought it was linked to my father’s shifting ability and the mental communication that is so common in the shifted form.”

Colonel Whisk sighed in relief. “Oh thank the stars. I was afraid that you would activate here. That would have been awkward during training.”

Rhoe stared at her.

“Do you have any questions for me?”

“Why did you sign up as a breeder?”

“Your father is not the only one who wants to keep their genetics in play. The Edinar are sneaking into regular populations and trying to keep our bloodlines going. Being a registered breeder was the best way to do it, and you were so sweet, I did it again with a different swan clan the following year.”

“My sister is also a swan shifter?”

“Well, I doubt she can shift. You know about her?”

“My father gave me an emergency briefing last night.”

The colonel smiled again. “He was always good at last minute briefings.”

Rhoe didn’t know how to react to that, so she asked, “What do I need to know to survive flight school and move on to the defense corps?”

Her mother blinked at her, “Well, well, well. Hmm. A girl after my own heart. Simply listen to your instincts at every crossroads. They will steer you in the direction you need. It may not be the way you want to go, but it will be where you need to go. Also, keep out of the minds of fellow students. They will notice, and you will have some explaining to do.”

“Ah. That makes sense. Is my relationship to you a problem?”

Colonel Whisk grinned, “No. I might enjoy kicking your ass even more than I do the regular cadets. Now, Captain Hiiron is waiting for you outside my office. He will take you to your quarters and give you a quick tour of the place. You can ask him questions, and he might even answer you.”

Ranks ran through her mind, “A
captain
is waiting for me?”

“He has high hopes for you, given your lineage. He will be your flight instructor, so keep your chin up and weigh your words wisely.”

Rhoe blinked. “I thought you said our connection was not a problem.”

“It isn’t. Your father was one of the best pilots that I have ever seen. He did his five years in planetary defense and that is when I decided that I would answer his request for a breeding partner. He was getting out, but I was staying in.”

“You were pregnant with me on active duty?”

Whisk raised one dark brown brow. “Of course. I couldn’t squeeze into a cockpit, but I was still one of the best instructors that Athuuna has ever seen.”

Rhoe blinked, “Oh.”

“Did you think they just gave me the position of colonel because I aged into the rank? No one remains in planetary defense without having talent or a good reason. I had both.” She reached out and stroked Rhoe’s hair from her face.

“Was it enough to just birth us and let us go?”

“It was enough to keep me here. I had two daughters that I could not go to per my contracts, so I waited for you to come to me.”

Rhoe laughed. “You knew I would come?”

“Oh, dearest. You are a creature without wings and a soul born to fly. How could you not come to the one place where flight was possible on this entire world?”

“And so you made sure to stay. Thank you, Colonel Whisk.”

“In private, you may call me mother or Madam Yedana. I would like to hear it, just once.”

“Then, mother it shall be until I am in uniform. Hello, Mother.” Tears pricked Rhoe’s eyes and her mother hugged her for the first time.

They both leaned back after a moment and wiped tears, first the left eye and then the right, sniffling sharply.

They laughed as they realized they were looking at genetic mirrors.

“I will try to arrange a meeting with you once a week when you have settled in, if that is all right with you.”

Rhoe smiled. “That would be fine.”

Her mother sighed. “We have had all the time I can reasonably explain. I look forward to seeing your success, daughter.”

Rhoe got to her feet with her mother. They hugged again, and when they parted, Rhoe had to find the captain who would take her on a tour of the facility.

She put on her pack and opened the door to find a broad back staring her in the face. “Captain?”

He turned, and she looked up to see a male dark swan that was not from her settlement. “You are Cadet Rhoe?”

She nodded.

“I am Captain Hiiron. Come with me, I will show you your quarters and then help you find your way around the training centre.” He inclined his head slightly.

“Thank you, Captain. Am I taking you away from anything important?”

He blinked and shook his head. “No. I am on medical leave, light duties. This qualifies.”

Rhoe tried to control her reaction, but she had never been this close to another dark swan that she wasn’t related to in some way. Her heart pounded, and she blinked furiously. “Well, thank you for being on duty today.”

“It is no trouble. Come with me.” He nodded over her shoulder. “Colonel.”

“Captain. Take care of her. I don’t want her lost.”

“Yes, Colonel Whisk.” He nodded again and jerked his head at Rhoe. “Let’s go.”

She followed him, her head high and her back straight. She gave the colonel a small wave and got down to business. It was time to learn the ins and outs of her new home.

Two hours of touring, a visit to the quartermaster and registration later, Rhoe was sitting alone in the commissary and eating her first meal not prepared by hands that were related to her own.

It wasn’t bad, but it was going down as just another thing she would have to endure to get to her dream of flight.

“May I join you?” A male in a cadet uniform stood next to her table.

“Please. I am Rhoe.”

“Yillik. Are you here for flight school?”

“I am.”

“Me, too.” He grinned and settled across from her.

She looked at his markers and was stunned to find that he was not indigenous to Athuuna or at least not the surface.

“Is my blue showing?”

His skin was chalk white and the marks on his features were deep blue. They formed a peak on his forehead that ran to either temple, curved down and pointed across his cheekbones before slicing downward to his jaw.

“I have never been this far away from my home before. I am seeing all kinds of new races here.”

“You are…dark swan, right? I am merkind. See? Gills.” He extended his neck and moved his jaw from side to side. The long lines were obvious to see.

“If you are merkind, why would you want to fly?”

“You are a dark swan, why would you want to fly? You should be able to already.”

She sighed and pushed her tray to one side. “I am not a pure breed. I can’t shift.”

Yillik bit his lips and fell all over himself apologizing for his gaffe.

She waved it off but distracted herself by returning her tray to the drop point.

By the time she was seated across from him, she was under control. They went to the neutral topic of training and their appointments with the simulator. Tomorrow, they would get a jumpstart on training.

Left, right, left, left again, Rhoe leaned back and forth using every instinct she had to control the flight simulator. She watched the screens and worked the controls to keep herself stable. She heard the stats being reported outside and kept flying.

When she whirled her
ship
around to face the incursion forces, she had to take on firing as well as flying. It was awkward, and the shock of weapons impact on her virtual hull spun her around. She fired whenever she had a solid lock, but eventually, her ship went nose first into the ground.

Rhoe sat and caught her breath. She had failed. Miserable, she left the simulator and walked out onto the gantry. Instructors held clipboards and were making frantic notes as the last round of cadets waited to take their turn.

“Cadet Rhoe, may I speak with you for a moment?”

She blinked and nodded, following Captain Hiiron into a conference room where three other instructors were waiting. He rounded on her, “All right, where have you flown before?”

Wide-eyed, she stared at them. “Nowhere. This simulator is as close as I have come. What did I do wrong?”

The instructors looked at each other, and one shrugged, “Nothing. You have a better flight simulation than our battle veterans. There has only been one other with your level of competence, and he has not been with us for decades.”

The answer struck her. “My father.”

Hiiron stared at her. “Captain Rhand is your father?”

She nodded. “He is headman of our settlement, but from what rumours I have heard since coming here, he was a fairly skilled pilot.”

One of the instructors twisted his lips. “That was one word for it. During the incursion, he managed to hold off thirty ships while waiting for reinforcements.”

Rhoe smiled, “He has always had a knack for the sky.”

The single female instructor smiled. “That is one way of putting it. We would like to put you behind the controls of a live ship to see what you can do. Are you amenable?”

Rhoe blinked. “Um, sure. I mean, I would love to try.”

Captain Hiiron nodded, “Good, we are short on pilots. I can ride as co-pilot for her first flight.”

The others nodded. The female instructor said, “Let’s see how she does in reality. She might be the first to do practical first and theory last.”

Captain Hiiron asked, “Are you ready?”

Rhoe looked up at him, and her heart told her that she would follow wherever he chose to lead her. “I am as ready as I will ever be.”

There was a trace of a smile around his mouth as he led her away from the simulator floor and through the maze of corridors that lead to the hangars.

“You can grab a helmet and meet me at ship nine.” He casually snagged his own helmet as was evidenced by the customization of the black swan on the side.

She tried on three helmets from the rack of blanks and found one that fit. Rhoe tucked it under her arm and went in search of ship nine.

She passed twelve glossy and gleaming ships before touching the side of ship nine. It had a black swan painted on the side. It seemed she was going to be flying Captain Hiiron’s ship.
Oh boy.

He stepped around from the back of the ship and smiled at her. “Ready?”

“No, but I am going to do this anyway.”

“That’s the spirit.”

She swallowed, watched as he climbed and slid into the rear seat. That left the pilot’s seat for her.

She clambered up the side of the twenty-foot ship and settled herself in the pilot’s seat, strapping herself into the harness and trying to think of what she was supposed to do next.

“Helmet on.”

Oh, right. She pulled the helmet on, and his voice came to her through the speakers built into her earpieces.

“Now, flick the beacon for a taxi out of the hangar.”

She followed his order and asked, “Can’t we just drive out of the hangar?”

“It isn’t advisable when there is a battle situation. They will get you where you need to be.” There was amusement in his tone.

A bot appeared, hooked itself to the nose of the fighter and hauled them out into the sunlight.

“In a combat situation, you have fifteen seconds to lift off before the next ship needs your space. That clock starts now.”

She made a face at the calm words coming through her helmet, but she flicked toggles, activated the horizontal take off and the ship wobbled a little, but it rose straight into the sky.

“Good. We are going to ride the coastline on a patrol. Orient yourself and head out.”

Her palms were sweating, but she shifted from hover to forward movement with a smooth grip on the controllers.

Rhoe was so fixated on following the next step in the procedure that it didn’t occur to her for a hundred miles that she was actually flying. The thrill came suddenly, and a wide smile crossed her features. “Can I find out what this thing can do?”

“I am your backup, and we are over free airspace. Do what you like. That is the purpose of this flight after all.”

“Understood. What is the nature of your injury?”

“I damaged my arm during a training exercise. I will be cleared for duty in a few days.” Hiiron chuckled. “Open it up, see what it can do.”

With that authorization, she took a deep breath and followed orders, giving her mind and body the very thing it had longed for. She was flying.

She tipped the wings and swung them around in a wide spiral before using the jets to propel them along the coastline.

Her fuel gauge showed her that she was at half charge. She could fly for close to an hour before she would have to land.

The coast gleamed brilliantly as she raced over it. She was tempted to drop altitude but that wasn’t wise given her lack of practice at being in control of a ship.

Rhoe dipped and lowered the ship in a slow undulation to test the movement restrictions.

“What are you up to, Cadet?”

“Just testing the feel of the ship.”

“Enough for one day. Bring us home.”

“Yes, Captain.” She checked her altitude, dropped her flaps and brought them around in a swooping turn that pressed her back into her seat. She pulled back, and they shot forward.

“You seem to have an intuitive grasp of this ship.”

She smiled slightly and made minor adjustments. “It makes a kind of sense I could not have been prepared for. I guess genetic memory counts for something.”