Starlight Gleaming Ch. 20

The reporter sighed dramatically. "This is like pulling teeth! If you aren't going to answer, Sergeant, I'm going to go back to saying rude things! At least then I'll get an honest answer. You promised to leave my face alone, but even I'm aware you deliberately left it open to hurt me in other places."

I had to smile at that. Even Akama chuckled at her response to Mack's thinly-veiled threat.

Finally Mack nodded, then answered quietly. Seriously. "Commander Kandikan has my loyalty because he saved my life and that of my son. Then he saved my son a second time. He's a little green in the field, but I'd follow him anywhere. His Unit Protection Order changed everything. People see my uniform and instead of fear, we're welcomed. He makes it easy for those of us with children to do our jobs and take care of our kids. I'm treated with respect by my male coworkers. You're right. A lot of officers can't be bothered. The Commander, however, he cares about us. But you should know that I'm not the only one who feels that way."

"You raised a lot of interesting points there. Sergeant seems so formal. The commander calls you Mack. May I call you, Mack? Thank you. The first thing you mentioned was he saved you and your son. That sounds remarkable. How did he do that?"

"I was... " Mack flushed again, then looked to me.

"That wasn't your fault, Mack. Nor yours, Akama," I stated. "You were victims."

The reporter's eyes nearly bulged out. "Will you please, for the love of all the gods, tell me what you are talking about?"

Nodding, I briefly covered the Drug Plot, adding. "Almost a hundred women in the Air Security regiment were forced out due to pregnancy -- because their birth control drugs were swapped out without their consent for fertility pills. Mack and Akama were among them. A few had families that helped them. Many returned home, only to be turned out or they were killed by their families because of the shame.

"The Drug Plot was discovered by Commander Orchid -- yes, that Commander Orchid -- and she hunted down many of those responsible. In other places in the Empire, Commander Orchid is revered as the Emperor's Vengeful Hand, a mystery woman who brings justice who is also sometimes feared by the punishment she metes out. At High Guard War Base, Commander Orchid is held in high esteem by nearly all the women who serve there.

"When I returned to High Guard this past spring, my predecessor was arrested. I learned what had happened to the security troopers who were women. I reached out to those we could find and offered to take them back. Out of ninety-seven women forced out due to pregnancy, we were able to reach sixty-one. The others vanished, and sadly are presumed dead. At least I was able to amend their final record to an honorable discharge under special circumstances. Those that we made contact with, I offered to return them to the Air Service under a special exemption. There are several that have either recently had their children or are close to giving birth. Once they are fit to return to duty, they will have positions waiting for them.

"Miss Reo, what was done to these brave and loyal women warriors was a crime, pure and simple. Women are often conditioned to accept the blame, especially if they get pregnant." I looked at Mack and Akama. "This was not their fault. They were the victims here. I've just been trying to make things right."

The reporter looked at me, then to Mack and Akama, then back to me before speaking quietly. "I know it's a bit of a hot subject. The many bodies that were found last year led to a lot of rumors about what was going on your war base. Despite many questions, we never received any clear answers, either officially or unofficially. I suspect there is a lot more to this story than you've let on, but I appreciate what you've said just now. Out of respect for your honesty, Commander, I do have some more questions for both of these women, if you don't mind?"

I nodded. "Anything of a personal nature they want to share is fine. I should get back to flying and give my co-pilot a chance to stretch her legs, too."

"So, Mack, you were pregnant and returned home. What kind of reception did you get?"

Returning to the cabin, I took my place in the pilot's seat and buckled in. "Doing okay?"

Janetta shrugged, glancing at me with her aviation glasses on. "This isn't that tough. I mean it's nice to be flying, even if it's a toothless bird like this one. And I admit, I like flying with you when our lives aren't in jeopardy. I did feel a little put upon yesterday when I received my orders to fly with you. I can't put this craft through its paces. You know, some barrel rolls, some side-slip and reverse turns -- the usual things a fighter pilot likes to do. Still, I'm glad I'm here."

I grinned. "Thank you, Captain. I'll take that and run with it. And I'm sure our passengers appreciate your restraint."

She grinned back. "I'm not that bad, am I?"

"You're a warrior, Janetta. Everyone who's really pissed you off is dead."

"Not everyone. There are five Atlantean pilots who are on my shit-list now."

Janetta would bide her time until the opportunity presented itself, and then she would pounce. She was eagle, but she was also jaguar.

"Fair enough. You want to get up and stretch your legs? We're almost to Tellumgu now."

"Naw. I'll wait until we're down."

I noticed that she had the rear cabin cameras on, but the sound was off. "How much of that were you listening to?"

"All of it. You sell yourself short. You were the one who told Orchid about what was happening. You went with her to the beach and fought beside her. Yeah, Orchid did good things. But without you, High Guard would still be a shit show. You made a huge difference."

"If the reporter wants to talk to you, are you willing?"

Since she was still flying and showed no signs of turning it back over to me, I poured myself a cup of cahault. When I offered her one, she shook her head.

Altering her voice a little, she said, "If you bad-mouth my officer again, I promise I won't break your face." Then she added, "But everything else is fair game."

Raising my eyebrows, I asked, "Something bothering you?"

"You aren't doing it deliberately, and I trust you. But you are pushing a lot of the right buttons for the women in your command. You praise them, you protect them, and for those with kids, you've gone out of your way to make sure they are doing okay. Just don't be surprised if they think you are sad or lonely and they offer you their pussy."

I hoped then that Janetta never heard about the unofficial hot officer and enlisted polls.

"Well, I guess I won't let myself get sad then. You do not have to worry, Janetta. You are the most beautiful woman in the world. Yes, I love the others, too. But you are first in my heart. But I am curious."

"About what?"

"You asked me not to go dipping my wick elsewhere, but then you told Daydo if Ramilla had approached you with honest interest, you would have considered sharing me. I'm not interested in her at all. But I guess I want to know that the deal is. You tell me no other women, but you tell Daydo maybe."

"Maybe no is the wrong attitude. We aren't married, Kandikan, and sometimes that bothers me. Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to push you away. Far from it. I find that even when you piss me off, I still love you, and I know that you love me. I also know that shit happens. Like when you hammered that old woman and you had a good reason for it, too." She snickered, giving me teasing smile. "That still has got to be the gods-damned funniest story I've ever heard, Kandikan. Teela telling you she was a virgin and you playing along!"

I sipped my hot drink, glancing at the roads and farms below us. "I thought for a while there you and Bilan were going to need an ambulance."

"It was a close call, I'll admit," she admitted, chuckling. Then she frowned. "I told that story to my crew, thinking they'd enjoy it as much as I did. They didn't react like I thought they would."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Zinja wanted to know how old Teela was, and said she didn't think being in her sixties was too old for a woman to fuck. Then she asked me when I thought a woman was too old! Gods of North and South! How am I supposed to know that? And the other two! Ixma and Cholan were horrified that someone hit you in the head with a cast-iron pan. 'He could have been killed!' Ixma yelled. Even though it turned out to be a close call, well, you weren't, and obviously I'm glad about that. But since you're still alive, I thought they'd see the humor in the situation."

I took another slow drink. I had a pretty good idea when Janetta must of told them about it. It had to have been after the girls were asleep. Janetta had been upstairs, working on her laptop. I was at the kitchen table catching up on emails. Mother and daughter had been sharing some hot tea and were talking quietly at the table. Ixma had asked her the same question.

"Don't rightly know for sure, girl," Zinja told Ixma. "When I was a little girl, about Sisi's age, I had finished watering the garden and went to the barn to make sure the animals had water. Saw my gram bent over a hay bale, and grandad going hard at her. And between all fuss she made, she told him to do it even harder. Not knowing for sure what they were doing, I left and went to the house. I saw my ma on her back on the kitchen table and my da was giving it to her. I knew enough to not interrupt them, no matter what kind of noises ma made. All day, ma and gram were affectionate to their men." She looked at her daughter. "Later that spring, I saw the ram mount the ewes and my da explained what he was doing. Now, of course, I know what the big deal is."

I remember Ixma saying, "Yeah, I like it, too, Mama. I can't imagine never wanting it."

She took a slow drink before saying, "I guess when you're too old to move easy would put a stop to it."

Ixma, seeing I was listening, had looked at me and winked. "Then I'd just lay there and let him have his way with me."

"Even if it hurt?"

"If I hurt, I know he wouldn't do it, Mama. He's not that way. And if I couldn't, it'd kill me. He's my man. I love him and I love it when he shows me I'm his woman."

Zinja had looked at me then. "Yeah. He is a good man, all right."

Janetta spoke up, breaking my reverie. "You're awful quiet over there, Kandikan. What are you thinking about?"

"I'm curious, Janetta? When do you think a woman is too old to have sex?"

"I don't know. Why do I gotta worry about something that's forty years down the road? I'm a combat pilot. With all the shit that's going on now, I might--"

"Do not finish that sentence, Janetta Tlacotli! You are the best fighter pilot in the Empire, bar none. You better not be having doubts about your skills! I'm no combat pilot, but I know if you step into a fight ring with doubts, you're already half beaten."

"Kandikan, I..." She sighed, then started again. "Skills and belief are important. But with shields, it doesn't make a bit of difference because if all I can do is take punishment with no way of dishing it back, I'm dead in the air and so is everyone else. Fucking gods-cursed and thrice-damned fucking aliens giving our enemies advanced tech! May they rot a thousand years in each of the seven hells in perpetuity."

I switched to Nahuatl. "Father's getting close with his research. They have a working personal shield now. They're just trying to figure out how to get it to work on something larger than a person."

"Really?"

"No secrets between us. You can't tell others, though."

"You think I just fell off the potato wagon? I'm not an idiot, Kandikan." She took a deep breath, then said in Queschuan, "Hope feels good. Thank you."

Pretty soon, we established contact with Tellumgu airport. After they spoke to Doonitz, we queued up for a landing.

The terminal we taxied up to was small, being set aside for private craft. Some of the civilians looked at the Albatross with its foreign markings with curiosity. Our uniforms also seemed to also generate interest. The airport security kept if from getting out of hand.

After being cleared by airport security, we took turns heading for the lavatories. The dogs also got to stretch their legs, and both of our front landing struts were baptized. I shrugged it off, but Janetta thought it was disrespectful.

"It's how they mark their territory," Corporal Hika explained. "It tells all the other animals that this is their turf and to stay away."

The answer satisfied her. "Here I thought they were just taking a piss on our aircraft."

"Oh, they're doing that, too," the corporal said with a smile.

Mack made sure someone armed stayed aboard at all times, watching the open hatch. This was a mercy mission, but that didn't mean I wanted to leave the aircraft open to being taken or sabotaged.

While we were refueling, lunches from the coolers were examined and selected. The two dogs had the meat from a sandwich as well as some dog treats.

Miss Reo and Mr. Doonitz ate food at the nearby cafeteria. Sergeant Guerca had one of his men keep them under observation for safety's sake. Airport security detailed four men to keep the trooper under observation.

Interestingly, Crazy Wolf was offered a lunch and drink from our stores and he accepted. "I'm not too fond of airport food," he explained.

It took almost an hour to get refueled, get our bill paid and the paperwork stamped, and back into the queue to take off.

Sugarland, officially known as Boganaway, was about two hours flight time out from Tellumgu. Besides having a large airport, it was also a railhead for commercial goods and passengers.

Since we would have plenty of fuel, my plan was to collect our passengers, do the paperwork, and fly out. We'd refuel at Tellemgu on our return flight.

Janetta and I did a ground check, looking for any signs of problems. We did a head count and with everyone present, we taxied to the runway, and were soon back in the air.

* * * * *

Part 19 -- Sugarland

* * * * *

"Air Sea Rescue 212, please go to eight thousand feet and hold. There are three aircraft ahead of you."

"Boganaway Tower Control, eight thousand and hold. Wilco."

Janetta got up and made sure everyone was seated and belted in.

We listened to the radio while the other aircraft came in and landed. Then we were directed to a side runway. A few bounces, and then we rolled along the tarmac, rapidly cutting speed.

Soon enough we were taxiing to the designated terminal. There was already another Albatross present, as well as several airport support vehicles. A couple of fire vehicles, security cruisers, a large fuel tanker, and some civilians stood by the other Albatross, watching us arrive.

I followed the directions of the Ground Controller with his lit batons, but at the end, I parked us with the rear loading door perpendicular to the Albatross with the Imperial markings. This would minimize the distance between us for transferring the passengers.

Once we were stopped, the Load Master opened the rear door and started the ramp descending to the ground.

Seven Nations Customs people met us as soon as the hatch opened. Mr. Doonitz went to work. Right behind them awaited Senior Captain Shokhano Makhelchel and four of his men. They looked like hardy and experienced veterans -- and a tad anxious. When he saw me, he relaxed some.

Miss Reo had her camera out and was everywhere, taking pictures.

Shokhano and I shook hands, and he gave me a firm grip. He hung on, and started to apply pressure, but I said, "Please, don't, Captain. I'm here for the kids."

Chastised, he nodded as he let go. "Sorry. Old habit. A few of those pricks at Defiant War Base treat us with a lot of nastiness. Sometimes the parts for our helicopters arrive worn and worthless. We depend on our Kite and Raptors to keep the settled areas free from the big carnivores. If we weren't keeping the boundaries maintained, the big cats and wolves and bears would be down in their streets stuffing their bellies with fat citizens."

"I'm sorry to hear about your troubles, Captain. No promises, but I will pass along your complaints. Better yet, send me an email with names of people you've dealt with. At the moment, I do have a few ears. In the meantime, let's go inside. I'll hit the latrine, and after we compare cocks, we can get down to business."

He blinked a moment as he followed along, then he burst out laughing. "You're all right."

I grinned back at him. "Once we're done, you can introduce your niece to me, and I can meet the other kids, too. Oh, Captain, this is my co-pilot, Captain Janetta Tlacotli. Normally she flies a Lightning, but she has graciously accompanied me on this trip out west. Janetta, this is Senior Captain Shokhano Makhelchel. He's CO for the 473rd Frontier Battalion. He provided transportation and escort for the injured young people."

Janetta gave him a brief nod and a smile, ready for the latrine herself.

At Mack's instruction, two of the Ground Security remained by our aircraft. After the others had stretched their legs and taken their own turn at the latrine, they were given a brief respite.

As I met and hugged Emilo, he introduced me to the other three parents. Before we settled into chatting, I suggested we get the young people transferred from the terminal. The four young people in critical were to be moved first and their gurneys secured. The Load Master quickly got them settled in our aircraft. Once that was done, we began to load in the other injured. Blankets and pillows were offered for their comfort and gratefully accepted.

I also insisted that our special dog teams get a sniff as everyone boarded. I didn't expect anything amiss nor were there any issues. Makhelchel, who'd watched the e-sniffers being used, asked about the dogs. I explained the dogs were especially trained, and sometimes picked up what the e-sniffers missed. He said nothing, but he did look thoughtful.

Being more cautious now might make a difference down the road. I couldn't depend on my sometimes wild luck. Besides, it made Mack nod in approval, which in turn made Akama smile.

In between, Miss Reo went around, introducing herself, and asking permission to talk to the kids with her video recorder on. I let the chaperones handle it.

A representative from the terminal approached, along with Mr. Doonitz. "Lord Kandikan?" he began. "There's a matter of the use of the facilities and refreshments that have been provided, assorted taxes and fees, as well as the fuel costs to settle."

"How much?" I replied. "Wait a minute. Fuel costs? We landed with our tanks two-thirds full."

He produced a clipboard. "It all there, I assure you."

I frowned. "Yeah, but no."

"There is a set minimum purchase required for all commercial flights--"

"Didn't Mr. Doonitz make it clear? This is not a commercial flight. It's a medical flight." I pulled out my copy of the paperwork and presented it.

The balding man in fancy dress stood a little straighter -- a difficult feat considering his round belly, but somehow he managed it. "I'm afraid it's the only protocol we have, Mr. Kandikan. Rules are rules, and until the bill is settled, you can't leave. Thirty-one thousand four hundred and ninety three tuvas, please."

Janetta, the captain, and most of those in uniform were appalled by the deliberate rudeness. He'd already addressed me as lord, but now he addressed me as a commoner. Mack actually growled, and Akama looked ready to back her up.

Steamed myself at his snubbing, I deliberately calmed myself. I was here for the kids. "Will you take Imperial Credits?"