Oath Bound - Book V of The Order of the Air

by Melissa Scott

  “Sorry, did I wake you?”

  She shook her head. This was the Lake Tana Hotel, where Iskinder had brought them after they’d landed, leaving behind the plane and the docks with the promise that everything would be well looked after. She had been tired enough by then to agree, worn out by the flight and the landing and the sheer relief that everything had gone well, and the rest of their arrival was a blur. She reached for her watch, and stared at it for an instant before she realized it had stopped

  “It’s half past ten,” Lewis said.

  “Thanks.” Alma set her watch and wound it, reality rushing back in. They’d need to unload the machine guns and ammunition, then refuel for the trip back up the Nile. If the weather hadn’t changed, they’d have a headwind, too. “Do you know what we’re supposed to do next?”

  “I just woke up myself.” Lewis gave her a quick grin. “Breakfast first?”

  Alma’s stomach rumbled at the mere idea. “Yes.”

  The bath was old-fashioned, but entirely serviceable. She bathed and dressed as quickly as she could, but it was still nearly eleven by the time they found their way down the central stairs and into the dining room. To Alma’s relief, Iskinder was there before them, his civilian clothes exchanged for a neat military uniform. A colonel, she thought, or the Ethiopian equivalent. Another man was with him, shorter and slighter but just as neatly dressed, and they both rose to their feet at her approach.

  “Good morning, Alma,” Iskinder said. “Lewis. This is Colonel Tedesse Zere, who’s come to collect our cargo. Tedesse, these are Alma and Lewis Segura.”

  “A pleasure, Colonel.” Alma offered her hand, and Tedesse took it, bowing slightly.

  “May I congratulate you on a remarkable piece of flying? It’s not easy to land here in the dark.”

  “Thank you.” Alma let herself be handed to a seat, and hoped food would arrive shortly. The dining room was empty except for their table, and she wondered how many European guests were staying at the hotel given the political situation. A white-jacketed waiter appeared with a coffee pot and she nodded for him to fill her cup.

  “It’s European service here,” Iskinder said, and accepted a refill, but Tedesse looked pained and shook his head.

  There was no menu, and the waiter hovered instead at her elbow. “Eggs and toast, miss? Pancakes? Oatmeal?”

  “Eggs,” she said. Lewis chose pancakes, and the waiter backed away. The coffee was very black, and smelled of cinnamon; there was no milk, so she added extra sugar. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lewis sniff it and give an appreciative smile.

  “I suppose we should consider waking Mitch,” Iskinder began, and then his eyes slid past her to the door. “Ah. There he is.”

  “Good morning,” Mitch said. Tiny, trailing behind him, managed to mumble something, his eyes wide, and took his place gingerly, as though something might explode. Iskinder made the introductions; the waiter brought more coffee and took their orders, and Tedesse rested his elbows on the table.

  “Good. Perhaps we can begin?”

  “Absolutely,” Alma said. The cinnamon coffee was growing on her, even without milk, and she took a deep swallow. “How can we help you off-load our cargo? And is it you we talk to about refueling?”

  “Yes to the latter,” Tedesse said. “And there is plenty to spare. As to the former — I have a proposition for you all. In our current situation, the weapons are needed most on our northern front, which means we need to get them to Gondar.” He seemed to see Alma’s blank look and smiled. “Gondar is north of the lake’s northern edge, perhaps thirty miles as the crow flies. There are no large settlements on the lake edge there, but not far inland there is a decent road north, and I can arrange for my men to erect a temporary dock on the shore.”

  “In other words, you want us to take the Cat on a short hop across the lake and offload our cargo there,” Alma said.

  “Just so.” Tedesse steepled his fingers. “It will cut off days of travel around the lake.”

  Alma glanced at Iskinder, who nodded. “And we need the guns now more than ever. The emperor has been on the offensive; we have had some small victories, but we need desperately to follow them up.”

  Alma considered the question. Lake Tana was perhaps fifty miles from north to south, less than an hour’s flight. Even if they didn’t leave until early afternoon, they’d have plenty of time to fly up in daylight, unload, and fly back to Bahir Dar before dark. At worst, they could spend the night on the Cat — not the most comfortable option, but certainly no hardship. She looked at Lewis and then Mitch, who shrugged.

  “Reckon Colonel Tedesse is right about not taking the guns around the lake.”

  “I’d say so.” Alma looked back at Tedesse. “All right. We can do that. And then we’ll return to Alexandria tomorrow.”

  “With full fuel tanks and the thanks of a grateful nation,” Tedesse said.

  “I suppose,” Lewis said, “we ought to offer von Rosen a ride, too.”

  Alma sighed, but nodded.

  “Send a note to his room,” Mitch suggested. “Tell him to be at the dock by — whenever — or he can find his own way north.”

  “The Count von Rosen has been very helpful to us,” Tedesse said, a little stiffly, and Alma resigned herself to the Swede’s presence.

  Iskinder took them back to the docks as soon as they’d eaten, to find the Cat riding easily alongside the longest of the piers. A fuel truck was waiting, and Alma was relieved to find that the crew leader spoke a little English. He knew his job, too, even if he kept glancing curiously at Mitch, and they got the tanks full in record time. A taxi drew up at the end of the pier, disgorging von Rosen and a tall man in a good suit who helped him carry a chest down the dock to the plane. There was a large red cross on the lid, and Alma gave it a wary glance.

  “What’s that weigh?”

  “About fifty pounds.” Von Rosen gave her what was probably intended to be an ingratiating smile. “I am hoping you can take that much more.”

  Fifty pounds wasn’t much, even carrying Tedesse and his aide. “Is your friend coming, too?”

  The stranger swept off his hat. “I hope so, Mrs. Segura. Dr. Dawit Biniam. I am also with the Red Cross.”

  A full fuel load, three more passengers, none of whom weighed more than a hundred fifty pounds soaking wet, plus a fifty-pound box of medical supplies. Even doubling that, they were well within the Cat’s capacity. “As long as Colonel Tedesse agrees, I’ve got no problem.”

  “And I am happy to have them,” Tedesse said. “I am grateful, Mrs. Segura.”

  “About this pier on the other side,” Alma said.

  “I have radioed my men, and they have begun putting it in place. It should be ready by the time we arrive.”

  “Then we’re ready when you are.” She looked over her shoulder, at the waterfront that looked like every other waterfront she’d ever seen. Even the metal roofs weren’t that different, and the old Ford truck idling outside the warehouse door was identical to one she’d owned herself. Only the people were different, dark-skinned, the men dressed in unfamiliar tunics of bright cotton over plain pants, the few women in long, loose dresses with heavy embroidery down the fronts or along the hem. It was weirdly disconcerting, and she shook herself back to the moment.

  “Then let’s begin, Mrs. Segura,” Tedesse said, and Alma climbed aboard.

  She fastened her seat belts as Mitch took his place in the co-pilot’s seat, and together they ran through the preflight checklists. Lewis started the big engines, and Alma cocked her head to listen as they settled into a steady roar. The long flight the previous day didn’t seem to have affected them, though she would like the chance to break them down before they left for Alexandria. Tiny poked his head into the cockpit, reporting the cargo secure, and Alma adjusted the intercom.

  “Gentlemen. We’re preparing for takeoff.”

  Tiny ducked out again, and a moment later she felt the hatch slam shut.

  “Mooring’s re
leased,” Mitch reported.

  “All set, ma’am,” Tiny reported, breathless, and Alma advanced the throttle.

  The lake was beautiful, as brilliantly blue as the sky above it, the low waves barely tilting the Cat’s floats. When they landed the night before, she hadn’t realized that Bahir Dar lay at the end of a long bay, a peninsula to the west and a headland to the east hemming in the taxiway. She was just as glad she hadn’t known that last night, and saw Mitch shake his head.

  “A little tighter than I thought.”

  “Me, too,” Alma answered, and couldn’t help wondering what surprises they’d find at the northern end of the lake. At least they would be making this flight entirely in daylight. “Tiny, get us clearance, please.”

  It didn’t take long for Bahir Dar to clear them for takeoff, and Alma pointed the Cat north into the light wind. It was going to be a short flight, barely forty minutes more or less due north across the lake’s long axis, and Alma leveled off a five hundred feet. That should give her plenty of opportunity to spot any obstacles — it would burn more fuel, certainly, but the extra safety was worth it. The water unreeled beneath her wings, pure turquoise; they passed a couple of small islands and then threaded the needle between two larger headlands to emerge into the wider part of the lake.

  They passed over a couple of fishing boats, and then a pair of small islands, followed by a larger one. The latter seemed to have buildings on it, though they looked old and run down and she couldn’t tell if they were still in use. It was a good thing she hadn’t had to try to land in the dark after all. There were a lot more obstacles than she had known to worry about. But it was done, and they were safe, making this crossing in broad daylight. She certainly wasn’t going to hit any islands. After a bit, she began to see the shadow of the far shore, and adjusted her mic.

  “Colonel Tedesse. We’re coming up on the northern shore. Do I need to adjust my heading?”

  “You should see the temporary pier,” Tedesse answered. “But if not, turn east and fly along the shore. You’ll find it.”

  “Roger,” Alma said, and glanced at Mitch.

  He covered his mic. “Well, it’s got the virtue of simplicity.”

  “Yeah.” Alma craned her neck as the land came closer, but there was no sign of a pier. Plenty of scrub and trees and cleared spaces that might be fields, but no sign of anything man-made. She banked the Cat, running east along a shore that seemed splotched with patches of bright green that stretched into the water. Whatever they were, they were better avoided, she thought. And then she saw it, a finger of wood stretching out into the lake, men still busy along its length. “Colonel Tedesse.”

  “I see it! Wag your wings and circle, and if it’s safe, they’ll send up two red flares.”

  If it’s safe? Alma lifted an eyebrows, but said only, “Roger.” She tipped the Cat from side to side, the big plane ponderous in her hands, and circled back toward the lake’s center. As she swung back, she saw two red lights rise and blossom.

  “Red flares, ma’am,” Tiny called. “Two of them.”

  “I see them,” Alma answered. She banked again, checking the lake’s surface for any sign of rocks or plants or anything other than deep water. There was nothing, and she took a deep breath. “All right, gentlemen. Prepare for landing.”

  She brought the Cat in gently, dumping speed as she skimmed the surface of the lake. The keel kissed the water, skipped, then bit, the hull wobbling as the floats touched. They were still a long way from the end of the pier, and she made a note to double-check the engines once they were docked.

  “Cowl flaps open,” Lewis announced. “Temperature’s steady for the moment.”

  “Let’s bring her in,” Alma said, and worked the rudder to turn the Cat toward the dock.

  Lewis lugged the last box out the Cat’s side hatch, tipping it onto the dock where it could be collected by a pair of sweating Ethiopian soldiers, the end of a human chain that was manhandling the rest of the boxes down the dock. He looked over his shoulder to see Tiny stripping off his gloves, the cargo space empty at last, and straightened himself, bracing his arms against the edges of the hatch. At least it wasn’t summer: the sun was warm enough anyway, and the air in the Cat was stale and smelled of sweat. The nearest soldier gave him an inquiring look, and Lewis spread his hands.

  “All done.”

  He wasn’t sure the man spoke English, but the soldier nodded. “Good. Good, that.”

  He said something else to the man next to him, and the chain began to fall apart, soldiers and civilians stretching and easing their backs, conversation rising as they started to move toward the shore. Lewis stepped gingerly onto the rough-hewn planks, and moved forward to check the mooring lines. Everything was secure, and he shaded his eyes, looking down the length of the dock. There had been a truck at the end of the makeshift pier, but it had pulled away, and now the Ethiopians were loading the last crates into a cart drawn by a pair of oxen. He could see Alma and Mitch, talking to Iskinder, Tedesse, and a young man in uniform, and trailed after the departing soldiers to join them. Alma turned with a smile of welcome, and as always Lewis found himself grinning helplessly back.

  “So what’s the plan?”

  “Maybe a slight change,” Alma admitted. “It turns out we’re not as far behind the front as we’d expected, and we’re only a few miles from the field where the Air Force is doing its training. They’re short on parts and mechanics, and their commander — Colonel Robinson? — asked if we’d be willing to help out.”

  Lewis hesitated, thinking of the Cat. “Just how close to the front are we?”

  “Not too close,” the young man said. He was a lieutenant by his uniform and Tedesse stirred.

  “Lieutenant Asha, this is Lewis Segura. The lieutenant is Colonel Robinson’s chief aide and translator.”

  “Translator?” Lewis felt as though the hard labor of moving the boxes had slowed his brain.

  “Colonel Robinson’s an American from Mississippi,” Mitch said.

  “Well, that’s a help.” Lewis shook himself. “Sorry, Colonel. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. It’s just easier with a common language.”

  “And I don’t speak aviation,” Tedesse said, politely. “But Colonel Robinson has done wonders for us.”

  “He has made the air force,” Asha said. “But — you know we are under embargo?”

  “I try not to think about it,” Alma said, and the young man grinned.

  “We’re short on planes as well as pilots, and most of all we’re short on parts. This is a training field, and as such — well, things are always breaking, no matter how careful the students are. And at some point, they must stop being careful. Colonel Robinson sent me to ask if he could buy any parts you were willing to spare.”

  Alma and Mitch exchanged quick glances. The Ethiopians clearly didn’t have flying boats, Lewis thought, but things like spare magnetos and belts and washers would transfer easily enough from one machine to another, especially if they had some decent mechanics.

  “We have to get back to Alexandria,” Alma said. “I can’t risk that. But — I’m certainly willing to talk things over with your colonel.”

  “You would be welcome to come back with us,” Asha said.

  Tedesse nodded. “It’s only seven, maybe eight miles — our train is going that way, to pick up a better road once we get away from the lake. I could certainly loan you horses to get you there and back.”

  Lewis knew he looked alarmed, and Mitch looked distinctly wary, but Alma was all smiles. “Great. That would be perfect.”

  “We should probably leave Tiny with the plane,” Lewis said. “Maybe I should stay, too, go over the engines.”

  “If you want,” Alma said.

  “I probably ought.” Lewis could see her making the same calculations that were running through his own mind: it would take them the rest of the day to get the arms and ammunition up to the field and unloaded, and pretty much any way you sliced it, they’d be getti
ng back here after dark. He didn’t really want to fly back to Bahir Dar in the dark, not even having done it once; better to sleep here and fly back first thing in the morning. Even going back to Bahir Dar to refuel, they’d be able to take off early enough to make it to within radio range of Alexandria before sunset. And maybe they could persuade Colonel Robinson to top them up, though if Robinson were like any other front line commander, he wasn’t going to want to spare the gas.

  “We’re not going to be out of here before dark,” Alma said. “You might as well come.”

  “I think Tiny can take care of the plane,” Mitch said. “You don’t want to miss this.”

  And he didn’t, Lewis admitted. When would he ever visit Ethiopia — visit Africa — again? “Yeah. All right, I’ll talk to Tiny — you want me to have him take a look at the engines, Al?”

  She considered. “Check them out, don’t break them down unless he sees something actually wrong. Unless you think he ought? Everything felt good to me.”

  “Everything was running perfectly,” Lewis answered. “I’ll just tell him.”

  Alma watched as they led the saddle horses around. One of them was a beauty, a dark chestnut stallion with the high crest that showed his fiery blood — Barb or Arabian. Oh and he knew it too, sidestepping a little, testing the groom’s hand, tossing his head. The other horses were behaving, ordinary working horses who didn’t have time for that nonsense. The beauty was obviously meant for Iskinder, and the groom led him up to where they waited.

  Lewis looked almost comically horrified. “You do know I don’t know how to ride,” he said.

  Mitch glanced at him sideways. “What?”

  “I grew up in San Diego!” Lewis said. “I’m as much a city boy as Jerry. I rode the streetcar to school. I’m not some vaquero.”

  “We could ride in the wagon,” Alma said. “There’s plenty of room.” She cast the Barb a yearning look. But he was for Iskinder.

  Mitch took the reins of one of the working horses, a neat little mare with a blaze, walking around her head to make her acquaintance. He was a farm boy and no great horseman, but he’d certainly spent the first eighteen years of his life dealing with horses every day. “This lady looks about my speed,” he said. He let her lip at his palm. “Pleased to meet you, ma’am.”