Winged: A Novella (Of Two Girls) (8 page)

She touched her half-wing badge sadly. She
might end up losing it. She should not have lost her temper as well
or taunted Thomas. He was her
friend
. But, by Jove, that boy
was trouble! She shook her head and tried to rest, calm her
nerves.

The door clanked, opened and Captain Sagan
stood at the doorway, her face impassive.

“You will keep your half-wing,” the
Tutor-in-charge of House Sable said firmly. “Cadet Kanaka had told
me what had really transpired. It would seem that Cadet Von Dyke
made an illegal pass.”

“He did, madam,” Katherine said, feeling
angry once more, seeing the other blimp-fin nudge past hers in her
mind’s eye. The clear eyes of her teacher made her think twice and
she subsided, closing her eyes.

“Cadet Von Dyke is a fellow of a competitive
nature. This does not however excuse his behavior. He would have
killed not only himself but Cadet Hannigan, you and Cadet Kanaka.”
Captain Sagan continued, her voice grave. “However, you should not
be provoked as well, Katherine Riley.”

Katherine felt unwelcome hot tears in her
eyes and she blinked them away, annoyed at the unexpected rush of
emotion, as if she was still a little girl, standing in front of
Miss Sharpton. “I am sorry, madam. It is just that Thomas makes me
so… angry all the time.”

“Von Dyke, unfortunately, fights with anyone
for glory. A good trait, perhaps, to have in combat. I am not sure
if this trait has gotten him more friends or enemies. As a pilot,
you have to be careful. It is right to feel anger. But anger at the
wheel of the leo-fin is as dangerous as an uncontrolled cannon. You
put your own life at stake, Katherine Riley.”

Captain Sagan turned as if to go. “You can
leave Solitary now.”

“Madam!” Katherine stood up. “How about
Thomas? What will happen to him?”

Captain Karlida Sagan smiled a rueful smile.
“He will face the appropriate punishment, Katherine Riley. Now go,
before I change my mind.”

~*~

The first person Katherine saw when she
stepped into the bright sunshine was Richard Eddington walking down
the same path as she was. Her heart skipped a beat, lurched and
resumed its normal beating once more. He was still the same
Eddington she had met a few years back, older now with some white
strands in his hair – he was ageing prematurely. He was in full
uniform, helmet, goggles and all. It was a surprise to see him once
more. As a full-fledged pilot, he was always on duty, delivering
cargo and passengers. To see him around at the Academy was
astonishing. Perhaps, he had delivered something to one of the
lecturers.

“Good afternoon,” Eddington bowed. “Fancy
meeting you here.” He looked up. “
Solitary
? What happened?”
Katherine could see concern writ large on his handsome face.

“I got into a fight,” Katherine grimaced at the
memory and recalled Captain Sagan’s words, her heart sinking once
more.

“A fight?” Eddington’s eyes went wide. “With
who, pray tell?”

“Thomas Von Dyke.” She knew her tone sounded
sullen and Eddington picked up on that. His face was
sympathetic.

“That lad needs a good whipping, I reckon.
What
made you two fight?”

Not again
. She had to explain the
whole damned thing all over Eddington who listened attentively to
her sorry tale.

“It is not entirely your fault, Riley. He
made an illegal move and I have seen enough nitwits do the same
thing now as a pilot. Some of them end up injured. I think one has
his legs crushed.” Eddington concluded, nodding. “Stupid pride.
Makes one cocky and careless. And brainless. ”

“You sound just like Captain Sagan,”
Katherine had to smile.

“Pilots have to stick together. We have seen
too many acts of folly.” Eddington’s facial features softened as if
he was remembering something in his past. Suddenly, he chuckled and
grinned roguishly. “Fancy a walk in the park, my lady? You could
use some fresh air, after Solitary.”

He held his hand, like a gentleman asking a
lady for a dance in the ballroom. She laughed, her dark worries
gone for the moment.

~*~

They had a leisurely stroll in the Academy’s
park, talking about pilot things and other interesting topics. When
Eddington had to go, Katherine felt a pang of regret once more.

“Richard?” She dared use his given name. And
he turned to her, with a gentle smile on his good-looking face.

“May our paths cross once more,” Richard
Eddington said quietly and pressed a kiss on her hand. “You work
hard on being a Pilot-In-Training now.”

“And you? Off to save damsels in distress or
haul cargo?” Katherine knew her face was glowing and she did not
hide it.

“That is a pilot’s job,” Eddington grinned
once more. “Au revoir.”

~*~

Ghastly, ghastly, ghastly.

These words repeated in the inventor’s mind
as he made the finishing touches to the model in front of him.
Larger than the leo-fin and streamlined, it dominated the entire
workshop space. He had to acquire an unused warehouse for this
project.

Did Lady Calwell gasp out with horror and
remark that it was
ghastly
? She had flung up her lace
kerchief with some drama, shielding her eyes decorously at the
sight of the grey monstrosity before her.

Well
, the inventor thought grimly,
it has the desired effect on people. Is that not the main
purpose? To inspire fear and horror?

He personally named it The Beast and come
the Great Gathering, there would be many more Beasts to terrorize
the sky and probably other nations.

So much for the New Age
. Did Leonardo
Da Vinci ever go through such mental anguish, such spiritual
torment?

He added a few more strokes of glue and
stood back to examine his handiwork. The Beast was magnificent, no
doubt about it. Its function, however, was not of beauty or even of
graceful design. A Fleet of these Beasts would awe the rest of the
nations gathered. Not sure if they had something up their sleeves
as well. There was often an air of competition amongst the nations.
He had heard word that a group of inventors was busy building
something in the far-off Straits Settlement of Singapore. It would
take a month to ship their invention over. The Great Gathering
would soon arrive with all its glory.

By now, the preparations for the Great
Gathering were in full swing. Katherine found herself in the
background crew working to get the leo-fins as well as the
blimp-fins ready. She was given belated instructions to follow the
group on that special day itself.
How ironic
, she thought,
polishing the panels of a leo-fin in the sheltered hangar.

Thomas Von Dyke had been released from
Solitary after a week. He was now avoiding her and she liked it the
way it was. No more heckling from this noisome young man.

Katherine shivered. It was almost halfway
through Autumn. Tito was now fully-fledged, brightly yellow and
full of energy. The wings though were not working as expected. She
would have to coax Tito to fly or at least leave the confines of
the cage.

Her dreams were filled with wintry chill,
interspersed with the pleasant glow of spring, filled with Richard
Eddington’s heartening presence. She continued to excel in her
flight training and without Thomas impeding her, she found free
rein and expression. She soared.

~*~

Pilotmaster Lee pursed his lips thoughtfully
and put the letter down. It was passed to him by a trainee pilot,
courtesy from a group of collectors and inventors who had chosen to
remain anonymous. The letter voiced their anxiety regarding the
Great Gathering and that they feared it used for nefarious and
unwholesome purposes.

He closed his eyes briefly. They hinted
somewhat of a plot by anarchists to commit something dark and ugly
on that auspicious day. Why they sent the letter to
him
was
a surprise and a puzzle.

His Academy was no military encampment or
installation. It was to train students to fly and to navigate the
skies. Not to fight as soldiers. His Flight Academy was a
school
.
To enlighten young minds.

He picked up a small delicate wedge of
mooncake pastry, filled with sweet lotus paste and pine nuts, and
nibbled at it, enjoying its sweetness and the nutty crunch. The
mooncake was delivered, with three other in an ornate lacquered
box, by hand from a fellow Chinese baker who had made his home in
London. It would soon be full moon. Mid-Autumn. It was at this time
his thoughts flew back to home. Father must be ancient now. So
would be his mother. His sisters. Hopefully married with broods of
children to keep them occupied. There would be lanterns and amusing
riddles. It was a time for family.

Lee signed aloud. His family was here now,
in London. With Karlida. With his students. Yet he realized that it
was never easy to have a clean break from the past.

What would happen if he had a child? A son.
Mixed race, half-Chinese and half-English, with his father’s eyes
and his mother’s hair. Playing with a dragon kite or a helicopter
toy – a
bamboo dragonfly
– a little engineer at heart,
spinning the light whirligig apparatus in the air, in bright summer
days? Oh, these were such pleasant daydreams, fit for a middle-aged
man who was suddenly reminded of his own physical mortality.
What kind of legacy would I give my son or daughter?

Now if Karlida would just agree to
marriage…

He laughed softly to himself. She was not
one to settle down that easily.

Now the letter.
It had such ominous
import. That alone worried him and sent thoughts of home and family
flying back into the secret recesses of memory. He was not going to
send his students as a military contingent. However, the name
Aerial Fleet
had already made a solid impression in the
hearts and minds of Londoners. The might of Britannia.

~*~

By the end of the month, the contingents
started arriving, in large or small groups, depending on the size
of the nation invited to the Gathering. Steamships puffed up the
Thames or made their berths near the coasts, bringers of men and of
machines. Trains delivered hordes of visitors and released wooden
boxes filled with gifts and more artifacts.

Meiji Japan arrived first with some degree
of pomp and circumstance, quickly followed by Imperial Qing China
who overdid the pageantry with extravagant displays of drumbeats
and dragon dances. The Londoners lapped up the show – it was a fine
spectacle. They watched the delegations parade down the roads as
they made their ways to their accommodations allocated to them by
their host, the Queen herself.

Other nations were less overt in their
displays, preferring more staid and stately appearances. Their
moments of glory would come, in the Great Gathering itself. All
their ships were already in warehouses near the Thames, heavily
guarded by vigilant troops.

Of course London had her own arsenal of new
ships, hastily constructed for the Event. The new vessels sat,
silent in a secret location, like large predators waiting to
pounce. There were five of these predatory vessels, with the
prototype being the First. They would take wing, emissaries for the
Glory of Britannia and the New Age.

“Look at those airships!” Misato Kanaka’s
voice woke Katherine from a half-drowse. They were in a train
commissioned by the Academy and they were heading towards London.
In full formal regalia with braid and dark pants, the students
crowded at the window, amazed at the sight of the four huge
airships hovering in the sky like whales. They were merchant
airships, designed by the business and merchants guilds, decorated
with brightly colored pennants and streamers.

Their own leo-fins and blimp-fins had
already gone before them and were now in storage, ready to be
activated once the Great Gathering was in progress. Alethia sat in
her seat, in a contemplative trance. Katherine knew that she was
seeing her colors once more.

They steamed into stately Paddington Station
not long after noon and were guided to their steam-engined cars
where they were brought swiftly to a small hotel. Katherine watched
London life pass by before her as the car sped its way down the
roads. London always captivated her imagination. There were still
horse-drawn carriages making their staid way down the streets. A
festival atmosphere had galvanized the city who not so long ago was
struck by a horrendous fire. She had sprung back to life once more,
showing how innately resilient she was. Cities were built,
destroyed and re-built constantly. Katherine heard from Alethia
that when diggers excavated a piece of land holding abandoned
buildings, they revealed layers upon layers of civilization, dating
back to the Roman Empire. It was all very fascinating.