Free Whyt’s Plea by Viola Grace Page B

walked, but she made it around a stone outcropping to engage in some indelicate stretching that included a lot of squatting.
    After her muscles were loose, she realized that a quick pit stop might not be unwarranted, and she returned to the skimmer considerably more relaxed than when she had left it. “Why are you looking under the hood?”
    The commander jerked his head up and banged it as if he was surprised to be caught so soon. “There is a fluctuation in the cooling apparatus. It isn’t working properly. We might overheat before we reach Nathrin.”
    She sighed. “May I?”
    “What do you know about it?”
    “Let’s find out. Now, hold that light while I get my bearings.” Whyt stared into the engine bay and noted the magnetic coils, the tubes of fluid and the small tanks that fed them.
    The heat problem became apparent immediately, but with Whyt, it always did. “Got it. Just a moment.”
    She shifted around to the seat and powered it up for a moment while removing the emergency brake. “Done. Everything will be fine for the rest of the trip.”
    He narrowed his ice-green gaze at her. “What was wrong with it?”
    She fiddled a little with the placement of the toggles and returned to the open hood. “Oh, just a problem with friction build up. Nothing major.”
    “Really? How did you know?”
    She smiled up at him and batted her lashes. “Women’s intuition?”
    “Why do I think that there is more than intuition behind those eyes?”
    “Because, you are not an idiot. You mentioned water?”
    He blinked, shook his head and walked to the back of the skimmer. “You had better get used to the taste of these. Rations are included in every survival pack.”
    He tossed her one object, waited until she had grasped it and then tossed a second.
    She wrinkled her nose at the bag of water; it was going to taste as fresh as it looked, she was sure. Whyt tore the other packet open with her teeth and nibbled at the stick of food-related substance.
    “Well, it is exactly as nutritious as it tastes.” He chuckled.
    “That is what Neewin says about most vegetables.”
    She used her teeth to open the water pouch and washed the taste out of her mouth before taking another bite. If food equaled sleep, this was the last of the rest that she was going to get for the evening.
    “Well, you are working through the rations like a champion. You might just survive at the base after all.” Arguat snickered and leaned against the skimmer.
    She sighed and stomped over, leaning next to him, using him as a windbreak. “This is not the worst thing I have been served in the last year. I think Neewin was trying to desensitize me, just in case.”
    They ate for a while until he asked, “Your father is a pilot?”
    “Was. He served his time with my mother going insane back home until he was safely in her clutches again, and he hasn’t been to Nathrin since.”
    “Wow.”
    “Yeah, my mom isn’t a fan of the Defense Corp.”
    She chuckled and wadded up the wrappers from her meal. He extended his hand, and she placed the wrappers in it.
    A small box was opened and the garbage was tucked inside it. “Okay, let’s get back on the trail.”
    Whyt straddled the seat and scooted back so that he could mount in front of her. Once he had slid into position, she shifted forward until she was plastered against him. She felt him inhale sharply when her arms slid around him, but he started the engine, and they lifted off smoothly before they slid forward under the propulsion of the skimmer.
    Three hours to Nathrin and she would be onto the next phase in her life.
     
    The quartermaster gave her a grin as he handed her the collection of uniforms and a duffel bag to put them in. Once she had signed for them and filled out the necessary paperwork for the flight academy, Arguat loaded her back on the skimmer and took off for the depths of the nearby mountain range.
    One moment, they were surrounded by stone, and the next, an open expanse of