Page 18 of Fly to Fury
Chapter
Six
Fieran returned his swords to his tent and changed his shirt, though he didn’t have time for even a quick shower. Instead, he splashed a little water on his face and wiped off the sweat as best he could before he put on his clean shirt.
As he stepped through the large door into Bay 4, he nearly ran into Capt. Kentworth, the senior of the other two squadron captains.
Capt. Kentworth scowled and tugged on the end of his uniform shirt. “Capt. Laesornysh, there you are. Colonel Dentley has called a meeting of all the captains and their Flight commanders in Bay 12.”
Fieran nodded, keeping his smile in place. He wouldn’t let the other captain’s disgruntlement annoy him. “I’ll gather my lieutenants and be right there.”
Capt. Kentworth snapped a nod, spun on his heel, and marched away.
Fieran collected Merrik and Lt. Rothilion, and the three of them made the long walk from Bay 4 all the way to Bay 12 at a quick pace.
Bay 12 was a large lean-to rather roughly tacked on to the very end of the hangar complex. As it was too small to fit an aeroplane, it had been turned into a meeting area, with long rows of benches facing both a blackboard and a corkboard. A table at the back of the room held a pile of maps, charts, and other assorted paperwork while a smaller table held a radio, likely so Colonel Dentley could monitor communications when the squadrons were in the air.
Colonel Dentley, Lt. Busher, Capt. Kentworth, Capt. Fleetwood, and their lieutenants waited at the back of the room, clustered around the chart table.
Colonel Dentley kept his hands braced against the table as he leaned over it. “Capt. Laesornysh. Good of you to join us.”
Fieran clenched his jaw beneath his pleasant smile. Perhaps he’d taken a little too long that morning in practice with his dacha, but he wasn’t that late.
As Fieran, Merrik, and Lt. Rothilion joined the cluster at the table, Colonel Dentley pointed at the map spread out before them. “Capt. Kentworth, your squadron will take today’s patrol along the borders.”
Capt. Kentworth nodded, and Lt. Busher obligingly scratched notes on a clipboard.
Colonel Dentley outlined the route on the map, likely for Fieran’s benefit since the other two captains would be very familiar with it. The squadrons stationed at Fort Defense were responsible for patrolling the borders from Fort Defense along the Mongavarian-Escarlish border to the south and along the Mongavarian-Tarenhieli border at the Hydalla River for the same distance east. It was a large amount of territory to cover, even aided by the slower moving airships.
The colonel also went through the list of the various Alliance airships currently in the air along the patrol route, including which ones had newly installed shortwave radios that could pick up transmissions from the aeroplanes.
“Capt. Laesornysh, your squadron is on standby. You are required to remain in the hangar, ready to scramble into the air at a moment’s notice if incoming enemy aeroplanes are reported. The mess will send up sandwiches for your lunch.” Colonel Dentley gestured in the direction of the rest of the hangar. “Keep two to four aeroplanes in the air at all times so that they can intercept the enemy if needed to buy the rest of the squadron time to get into the air.”
“Yes, sir.” Fieran nodded. After being off-duty since their arrival yesterday, it made sense to give them this place in the rotation. They’d just flown long distances the previous two days so it would have been rough to spend another nearly full day in the air on the extended patrols.
That left Capt. Fleetwood and his squadron off-duty, though even they needed to be ready to report in the case of a full-scale attack.
After Colonel Dentley dismissed them, he and Lt. Busher left, followed by Capt. Fleetwood and the four lieutenants for the other two squadrons.
But Capt. Kentworth lingered for a moment, glowering at Fieran. He didn’t speak until their commanding officer was out of earshot. “You might have gained some fame because of the battles you’ve fought and the name you carry but make no mistake. You and your squadron are still green compared to me and my men. You’ve faced the enemy twice. My men have engaged the enemy twice just this week. You have no idea what it takes to fly these skies.”
With that, the other captain spun on his heel. At the doorhe paused and turned back to them. “Oh. And the artwork on your aeroplanes is garish.”
With that, he let the heavy metal door slam shut behind him.
Merrik sighed and braced himself with the table at his back. “It would be nice if at least one of our commanding officers did not dislike you on sight.”
“Hey, Capt. Arfeld liked me just fine.” Fieran jabbed a finger at Lt. Rothilion, who stood on the far side of the table with his arms crossed over his chest. “And I won him over eventually.”
“No longer disliking you does not mean youwon me over.” Lt. Rothilion’s blank expression didn’t change. “Nor can you deny that you walk with a certain arrogance that annoys those around you.”
Was that something almost like a glint of humor in Lt. Rothilion’s tone? If Fieran hadn’t grown up reading that subtle elven humor, he might have missed it.
Or maybe he was imaging things. Just because he saved Lt. Rothilion’s life and earned a modicum of respect didn’t mean Lt. Rothilion considered him a friend.
“I don’t try to appear arrogant.” Fieran shifted, not liking how that got under his skin. “And I certainly can’t help it if people assume I got where I am because of my family name.”
More heat came through those words than he intended. How he hated having to fight this same battle over and over again every time he met a new person. They took one look at his last name and dismissed him.
