Page 4 of Fly to Fury
After only a few more minutes, Fieran and Merrik angled their aeroplanes for a landing after the rest of the squadron had completed their landings. With such a broad, grassy field before them, they touched down together, staggered side by side with Fieran a little ahead of Merrik.
Fieran let his aeroplane roll to a halt near the side of the airfield closest to the hangar. He climbed out of his flyer and nodded to the men and women of the ground crew, who had already hurried forward to add his aeroplane to the line of flyers outside the hangar.
With Merrik at his side, Fieran strode toward the hangar where his squadron had assembled just outside one of the large doors. Pip and the other mechanics also waited there, having disembarked from one of the airships the squadron had escorted from Dar Goranth.
Four men Fieran didn’t recognize stood in front of the line of his pilots and mechanics. Two of them had captains’ bars on their shoulders, one was a lieutenant, and the final man had the insignia of a colonel.
Fieran halted before the colonel and saluted. “Sir.”
The colonel returned his salute. “Are you Capt. Laesornysh?”
“Yes, sir.” Fieran kept his stance at attention, his expression blank.
“I’m Colonel Dentley, commanding officer of the Alliance Flying Corps here at Fort Defense.” The colonel gestured to the two captains. “Capt. Horace Kentworth and Capt. Will Fleetwood, commanders of the other two AFC squadrons.”
Fieran nodded to the captains, and they nodded back.They were all the same rank, so he didn’t need to salute. But he didn’t have to ask to know he must be the junior captain present. He’d only been a captain for a few weeks. These men had likely been captains long before that.
“And this is Lt. Busher, my adjutant. He’s been assigned to show you and your squadron around.” Colonel Dentley gestured to the slim lieutenant, who gripped a clipboard and eyed all of them with something between boredom and apprehension. The colonel swept a glance over Fieran’s squadron before he continued, “I will leave you and your squadron to settle in. I look forward to working with you.”
“Yes, sir.” Fieran saluted again at the dismissal before Colonel Dentley, flanked by the two other captains, marched away, heading back for the hangar behind them.
Once they were gone, the lieutenant consulted the clipboard. “Your footlockers will be brought to your quarters from the airships. I’m afraid Fort Defense is expanding so rapidly that accommodations are limited. You and your pilots will be housed in tents until more permanent housing can be built.”
“And my mechanics?” Fieran gestured to Pip and the others.
“There are a few bunks left in the mechanics’ barracks, but…” The lieutenant glanced at Pip and coughed. “I’m afraid it’s a male-only barracks. There are a handful of other female mechanics servicing the airships, but they have found accommodations elsewhere.”
“Mechanic Detmuk-Inawenys can continue to bunk with the female pilots of my squadron.” Fieran flicked a glance at Pip, and she nodded. Aylia was already shooting glances at Pip as if she was more than happy to share a bunkroom with her friend again. “Is a more permanent bunkhouse for female mechanics in the works?”
“It’s on the list.” The lieutenant heaved a sigh. “It’s a long list.”
In other words, don’t hold one’s breath waiting for it to happen.
The lieutenant snapped out of the morose slump. “If all of you will come with me, I will give you a small tour and see that your rifles are issued.”
“Rifles?” Pretty Face stepped forward. “We’re in the Flying Corps, not the infantry. We have our sidearms.”
They’d had rifles while in basic training at Fort Linder, but they’d turned those in before going to Dar Goranth. The ones that hadn’t been mangled beyond recognition in the scramble to attach them to aeroplanes, that was.
“Even with the security of the Wall, Fort Defense is considered a war zone. Alliance military personnel are to be armed at all times.” After giving a pat to the rifle slung over his shoulder, Lt. Busher’s gaze flicked to Lt. Rothilion and the elves of Flight A. “Elven warriors may also be issued rifles, if they have the proper certification. Otherwise, they may carry bows or swords.”
“Thank you for the clarification. Lead on.” Fieran nodded to Lt. Busher. Only a few minutes here at Fort Defense, and already they couldn’t forget that they were now in the heart of the war between the Alliance Kingdoms and the Empire of Mongavaria.
The lieutenant spun on his heel and set off to the east, toward a collection of large buildings perched on the edge of the bluff. As they walked, the lieutenant gestured at the landscape sprawling before them. “Fort Defense has six main sections. Currently, we are in the air operations section of the base. The airstrip for the Flying Corps is to the north while the airship docks are to the south among the foothills with the shared hangar in the center.”
Fieran pasted on a smile rather than say anything sarcastic. He and his squadron had seen all of that from the air on their way in.
A few murmurs from behind him showed that his men weren’t so interested in holding back their sarcastic remarks.
Fieran shot a glance over his shoulder and raised his eyebrows. Pretty Face quickly smoothed his expression, and a few others straightened. The elves, of course, remained perfectly silent and blank-faced.
“Your tents are over there.” The lieutenant waved in the direction of what appeared to be a small city of tents of various shapes and sizes stretching on the other side of a dirt road from the hangar.
Fieran made a mental note to fill out the proper forms to request that the elves in his squadron be allowed to grow trees or otherwise modify their accommodations if they wished. Hopefully, the request wouldn’t get buried when he sent it up the chain of command.
Perhaps he would just give Lt. Rothilion and the other elves permission and hope none of them got into too much trouble if anyone complained.
“The frontlines on the banks of the Chibo River are five miles to the east.” The lieutenant continued his tour without missing a beat, leading them to the side of a rutted gravel road. “Infantry units are stationed there two weeks at a time, and it’s the staging area for forays across the river and through the Wall to attack targets in Mongavaria. The troll units hold the line to the south, tucked into the foothills. The elven units have the middle section in the trees while the Escarlish infantry has the section in the open land nearest the river.”
