Page 13 of Storm to Victory
A lump formed in Fieran’s throat as he took in the sprawling fort that he’d called home for months. He’d fought so hard in these skies and on that ground. He’d nearly died here. Merrik, too, had nearly died and had lost a leg. If Fort Linder had been his squadron’s first taste of the fight and Dar Goranth had forged them into a unit, then here at Fort Defense they had come into their own as a fighting force.
But now it was time to move forward. They would sleep in Mongavaria tonight.
As the last aeroplane of the squadron rose into the air, Fieran wheeled his aeroplane out of the circling pattern and pointed the nose east toward Mongavarian skies.
The muddy trench where Fieran had held off the Mongavarian advance flashed by below, followed by the marshy floodplains where the Mongavarian army had been camped forso long and where Fieran had nearly died after falling from the sky.
Then he was out over the scarred and abandoned farm fields. Craters from bombs and mortar shells dug pits within the shattered stalks of corn and wheat while trampled sections marked where armies had charged and retreated. Still more patches of dug up earth showed the places where hundreds were buried in mass graves. The blackened remains of aeroplanes, airships, trucks, artillery guns, and other armaments of war lay scattered across the land.
So much death and destruction. And still more would come before the end.
“I wonder where we’ll be bunking.” Lije’s voice broke through the unusual silence on the radio, as if they’d all been caught in a moment of reverie saying goodbye to Fort Defense. “Hopefully somewhere better than a tent in the mud.”
“And somewhere with showers.” Aylia conveyed a shudder in her voice.
“The human half of the squadron grew rather pungent the last time we were at a temporary aerodrome,” one of the male elven pilots piped up with a disdainful sniff that he somehow managed to get across even over the crackle of the radio. Despite the appearance of derision, the fact that he was joining in the banter showed how far the squadron had come during their time at Fort Defense.
“Hey! We weren’t the ones whining about how crusty our hair was getting,” Stickyfingers snorted.
“If I had wanted to forgo showers, I would have remained in the infantry.” The elf’s comment set off a round of laughter and agreement.
Fieran grinned and simply listened to his squadron’s banter as he and Merrik led the way through the sky.
After slightly over an hour of flying, they neared the location Fieran had been given of the new aerodrome.
Below, a line of trucks clogged the one road into what had once been a Mongavarian village. The set of train tracks ended at the town while a smaller gauge rail line had been built as a spur leaving the town, likely to carry men and material onward to the front lines themselves.
With Fieran’s squadron and much of headquarters moving to this new location, the people in charge of logistics must be tearing their hair out trying to find transportation for everyone.
In the distance, puffs of smoke and the blaze of blue magic marked the front, still miles ahead of even this forward position.
Just outside of town, a large brick manor house dominated the area around it with a large stable set back from it. A line of trucks parked in the circle drive in front of it, tiny figures carrying items from the trucks into the manor house.
The front lawn stretched in a huge expanse of cut grass, marked by flags and elven lights to designate it as an airfield.
“Are we going to be staying in the manor house?” Lije sounded as if he was gawking.
“Naw. We couldn’t be that lucky.” Sticky’s voice held a scoffing laugh. “We’re probably going to be camping in the stables or the horse pasture behind it.”
While Fieran would normally wait until last to land, he gave the order for Merrik and Rothilion to stay in the air while he led the way toward the ground. He would need to be on hand to officially report in and oversee setting up their new accommodations, wherever they happened to be.
After gauging the wind, he turned into it and lined up on the airfield, easing lower to the ground until his wheels touched down on the unfamiliar patch of grass. Moments later, his tail bumped onto the ground, the tailskid biting into the earth to slow his aeroplane.
Coasting, he turned his warbird toward the edge of the airfield to get it out of the way of the rest of the incoming squadron. Once he’d fully rolled to a stop before the stable, he pulled his goggles off his forehead, then tugged off his flight cap. Leaving both in the cockpit, he scrambled from his aeroplane and hopped to the ground, taking in the bustle. Voices came from the stable, including what he thought might be Pip’s, but he couldn’t be sure.
A lieutenant hurried toward him and saluted. “Maj. Laesornysh?”
“Yes, that’s me.” Fieran returned the salute.
“I’ve been assigned to show you around.” The lieutenant, far more jumpy and less starched than Lt. Busher, gestured around them. “The manor house and the grounds have been requisitioned for you and your squadron. It has more than enough rooms to house all your pilots, mechanics, and ground crew. Healing stones have been provided for the elven members of your unit. You’ll take your meals there, and a cook and assistants have been assigned to your unit. The stable isn’t large enough to house your aeroplanes, so those will be kept under tarpaulins outside, but Capt. Detmuk-Inawenys seemed to think it would be possible to get one aeroplane inside as needed for maintenance.”
“Capt. Detmuk-Inawenys and the other mechanics have already arrived?” Fieran glanced at the stable, this time sure he’d heard Pip’s voice giving orders. She, the mechanics, the ground crew, and the trucks holding the squadron’s gear had left before first light since they’d take far longer to travel the hundred miles into Mongavaria than Fieran’s squadron had.
“Yes, sir. They arrived only half an hour before you, sir.” The lieutenant pointed toward the south where the town lay only about a mile away. “All of the Mongavarian civilians had fled long before we arrived, so the entire town is ours. Headquartersis setting up in the town, designated as codename Dungeon on the signs. One small personnel truck has been assigned for your use if you need to travel between here and headquarters.”
“Thank you.” Fieran surveyed the area with new eyes, trying to calculate how best to park the aeroplanes without keeping them too close together or hampering their ability to reach the airfield quickly.
“Do you need anything else, sir? I can show you around the manor house or fetch anything else you need?” The lieutenant rocked back on his heels.
