Page 6 of Storm to Victory
“Hardly.” She struggled to keep her expression solemn. “Each aeroplane will use twice as many power cells. More, probably. You’re going to be needed to fill magical power cells more than ever.”
Fieran huffed a breath, muttering, “Oh joy.”
She felt a little bad teasing him about that, knowing that not all of his frustration was feigned. He filled magical powercells because it was his duty, but he didn’t particularly enjoy it. “Besides, your direct shield is still superior. A pilot can’t leave the shield on during a full battle. It will drain out in minutes that way. It’s like the machine guns. It needs to be used in short bursts only.”
Fieran’s grin returned, and he patted the side of the aeroplane. “Still, this will be a lifesaver for the other squadrons.”
“Yes, well, it will be. Eventually.” Pip dropped back to the concrete floor. “It can’t be certified as safe for installing on more aeroplanes until a pilot with a magical engineering degree—preferably one who can shield himself if something should explode—runs it through a few tests.”
“Ah.” Fieran gave her that lopsided grin again. “Now I know why you were so excited to see me. It wasn’t because you missed me. It was because you needed your test pilot.”
“You caught me.” Pip clasped her hands in front of her, trying to put on an innocent expression.
“I knew your friendship with Louise was going to be trouble.” Fieran shook his head, chuckling with resigned mirth. “But I suppose I’m used to being a test subject. First for Louise and Bennett, and now you. It’s my lot in life.”
“You’re just so good at it.” Pip braved his grossness again to elbow him. Getting that close, she caught a whiff of him again. She grimaced and hurried backward once again. “Now, you really need to test out the showers.”
“Yes, Captain.” Fieran didn’t salute her, not even in jest—he was a major, after all—but he nodded to her before he spun and marched toward the nearest outer door.
Chapter
Three
Fieran parked the large army truck on the side street next to the donut shop run by Tiny’s girlfriend and her father. After he shut off the engine and made sure the truck wouldn’t roll away, he grinned at Pip sitting on the bench seat squished next to him, her legs hugged to her chest to keep them out of the way of the gear shift on the floor. “Ready to stretch your legs?”
“Yes. I’m small, but even I have my limits for squishing into tight spots.” Pip glanced at Adry and Merrik, who were squashed onto the bench seat on the other side of her before she began scooting along the bench to follow Fieran out the driver’s door.
He pushed the door open and hopped down, holding the door for her as she jumped to the dirt road after him.
Across the truck, Merrik had opened the passenger door, and he lowered himself to the ground more slowly than Fieran had. For a moment, he gripped the truck’s door, as if he was making sure his legs would hold him before he let go.
The canvas flap at the back of the truck’s covered bed was shoved aside, and the flyboys and flygirls, both human and elven, tumbled out. They’d piled nearly the whole squadron in there as few of them had opted to stay behind in Fort Defensewhen their squadron had been given a pass to Defense City. Mak hopped out last, likely having been crammed in a corner to take up as little space as possible.
“All right, everyone, if you want to ride back in the truck to Fort Defense, make sure you’re back here by 17:00,” Fieran called to them as they began scattering into the town. “If you aren’t back here, I’m assuming you want to walk back.”
He, Pip, Merrik, and Adry had a planned dinner with Dacha and Uncle Iyrinder, and he didn’t want to be late. Not when this would be Pip’s first dinner with Dacha.
While Defense City was only three miles inland from Fort Defense—walkable or jog-able in a pinch—he wasn’t going to ask Merrik to make the walk. Merrik’s left ankle was healing well, but it still ached if he did too much. And after all the long hours of flying and living in unwashed and dirty clothing, Merrik had chafed the skin of his stump. After spending the day in Defense City, Merrik would need the truck back to the fort more than any flyboys or flygirls who wanted to stay in the city longer.
“Well, I’m off.” Tiny hurried toward the back steps of the donut shop. His girlfriend was already opening the door and grinning at him. She waved to the rest of them, but her smile was focused solely on Tiny.
“I heard there is a new two-reeler at the theater.” Stickyfingers turned toward Nellie Blair. “Would you like to go?”
“Sure.” She stepped slightly closer to Stickyfingers.
That was something Fieran was going to have to keep an eye on. While his courtship with Pip wasn’t against regulations, courting within a unit was. If Stickyfingers and Nellie went past mild flirting, he’d either have to put a stop to it or offer to transfer one of them.
Which he’d hate to do. Stickyfingers was part of the core of the Half-Breed Squadron, and their squadron was Nellie’s only option for a combat unit.
Lije strolled over to join Stickyfingers and Nellie. “A moving picture show sounds great.” Lije didn’t seem to notice the way Sticky’s expression fell slightly.
“Yes!”
“Let’s go!”
Within a few minutes, a large group of the flyboys and flygirls had set off down the street toward the theater, whisking Stickyfingers and Nellie along with them. Aylia, too, had gone with them, as well as a few of the other elves.
Most of the elves mentioned they were going to head toward the river where there was a small stretch of relatively untouched riverfront that still had some trees.
