"What is it, Kirgesner?" she responded in Basic.
"Dr. O'Brien, you must not take chances. Safety must be the dominant feature for this...machine."
"It flies safely on my planet."
"From a human design. These young people are designing from the ground up."
"They won't risk me and I won't risk the Avatier. Don't worry. Did the envoy need me for something?"
"No, the envoy is studying old records at the moment." He looked past her, his eyes alight.
Sheleigh saw a dark head in her peripheral vision and then Pithe came forward to slide her hand into the Grimari's. Pithe looked up at him with dark hunger. The air became charged with electricity.
Kirgesner looked at Sheleigh with deeply black eyes. "Please excuse us, Dr. O'Brien." He pulled Pithe past Bateleur, whose mouth hung open. The couple moved out of sight.
Sheleigh stared mutely after them. Bateleur turned to her and his face showed the surprise she felt. She knew Grimari were promiscuous, but Averans weren't. "How long has that been going on?" she asked the room at large.
"Several weeks. They meet here almost every night," Tera said matter-of-factly from behind her.
"They don't even speak the same language," she murmured inanely.
"They're not talking," Ecau pointedly reminded her.
She turned around to face him and Tera. "Please forgive my question, but I thought Averans kept their virginity for the mating flight." She looked at Tera and tacked on, "Usually."
Ecau scoffed. "Who told you that?"
She felt her face flame. "Um, the Avatier."
Tera's eyes were full of laughter. "My lady, surely you didn't wait? But you're so old!"
Sheleigh knew her face was scarlet. She couldn't help it. "Kleet was the only man I ever wanted to be with."
Tera's eyes grew serious. Ecau cocked his head, staring intently at her, but it was Tera who spoke. "We give ourselves with love or with intense feeling. We don't give ourselves lightly, because of the potential for a mating bond. But many of us give ourselves several times before we take a mate."
"What about Pithe?"
"Pithe wanted the Grimari the first time she saw him. She likes him a lot," Tera answered.
"Grimari take permanent mates," Sheleigh mused, concerned about the outcome of Pithe and Kirgesner's affair. What if they claimed one another as mates? Then Pithe would have to leave Avera and go wherever the Grimari went. Did the girl understand the repercussions? Did Kirgesner? And who was she to ask those questions? Look what she'd done by having sex with Kleet!
The others stared open-mouthed at her. What had she said?
Ecau enlightened her. "Will he take Pithe as his mate? Without flying her in a mating flight?" His eyes were wide open.
"I don't know. I'm just telling you that Grimari mate for life, just like Averans do. It's possible for them to become mates."
"I don't think that's Pithe's intention," Tera remarked. There was a note of uncertainty in her voice before she turned back to the glider.
Within the hour a new design was sketched and an industrial body harness was secured. By the time they were done trying out ideas on her, Sheleigh felt as mussed as Pithe looked when the girl returned. Pithe looked well loved with red, bee-stung lips, a love bite on her neck and dreamy eyes. Sheleigh hoped the lovers had used some form of birth control.
Their affair bothered her from a diplomatic perspective. She'd never before thought to interfere between two adults enjoying mutual pleasure. But the situation on Avera was already explosive. Why would the envoy's bodyguard risk jeopardizing what the envoy was trying to accomplish?
When she finished with the engineers, with them promising to have everything ready the next day, she took the hydrolift down to the residence level. Bateleur raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. She pressed the com unit outside the envoy's door.
Kirgesner answered, as a Grimari bodyguard was trained to do. "Yes?"
"It's Dr. O'Brien Kryszan. May I speak with you please?"
The door opened immediately. Kirgesner wasn't mussed as Pithe had been, but his lips were still slightly red and swollen. The envoy came to stand beside him.
"Dr. O'Brien. What can we do for you?" He looked at his wrist chrono. "I'm not late for something, am I?"
"No, Messer Akelee. I need to speak privately with your partner, if I may."
He looked puzzled. "Certainly. There's no threat I need to be aware of?"
"No. The radicals want you here. This won't take long. We'll be in the corridor." She stepped back into the hall and Kirgesner followed her. He gave Bateleur a sweeping look.
Sheleigh turned to her guard. "Would you walk down the hall a ways, please?"
"I don't understand the language you speak with him, so I won't overhear."
"I know, but it gives the perception of privacy."
Bateleur looked up at Kirgesner, and then walked down the hall.
Kirgesner raised an eyebrow at her.
"This is awkward," Sheleigh began in Basic. He smiled. "I'm not judging you or Pithe, not me of all people. Please tell me you thought about the instability of this planet's people before you began your relationship with her?"
He'd sobered during her question. His bass voice rumbled. "I did. My partner's job here is of the utmost importance. I would never do anything to jeopardize him or his mission. Pithe approached me, Dr. O'Brien, not the other way around. She made it quite clear what she wanted and I thought it through carefully before I gave her what she wanted. What we both want. We've been very happy together these past few weeks."
"You're being careful?"
He cocked a black eyebrow and his lip tugged up on one side. "She has an implant, if that's what you're asking. She showed me."
Sheleigh let out her breath. That was one less worry. "Averans bond for life with their chosen mate," she informed him.
The smile melted from his face. "I sensed it in her, the ability to bond. I just didn't know what it was. Thanks for telling me."
Sheleigh swallowed. "Is it just an affair with her?"
He cocked his head. His eyes were unfathomable black pools. "I don't know yet. She likes me a lot and I feel the same way about her. She exerts a very strong pull on me."
Oh, God. "Please be very careful with her. She knows nothing of the world beyond Avera. She's never been un-caped to the world."
He nodded. "If the feeling between us deepens, I'll ask my partner to translate for us. Or you."
Sheleigh gulped. "All right." Now she would be a go between for lovers. What else? "Thanks for talking to me about this."
She started to turn away, but his voice stopped her. "I know how important USP's presence here is, Dr. O'Brien. Believe me, it's never far from my mind, or Mikesh's."
She looked all the way up his tall frame to his dark eyes. This man was bonded, like her. He was part of the fabric of someone else's life, in his case, that someone was his bonded partner Mikesh. He was entrusted by USP with Mikesh's life, safety and health. He'd spent years in the service of USP. She could trust this man.
"Thank you, Kirgesner."
She turned and walked back to Bateleur, who fell in beside her. As they waited for the hydrolift he asked her, "You spoke to him about the girl?"
"Yes. They're being careful."
The lift came and they stepped inside. "Bateleur, how do you feel about the Grimari having sex with her?"
"What do you mean? I'm not jealous. I'm not even attracted to her."
"I mean seeing an alien having an affair with an Averan."
"Oh." He was silent while they exited onto the rooftop. He called for the transport to pick them up. Then he looked at her. "It makes me uncomfortable. He's not Averan, he's alien." His eyes widened. "Your pardon, my lady. I didn't mean ..."
"It's all right. I know how Averans see me."
"I've grown used to you," he offered.
Resigned to me, more likely. The transport motor grew louder as it approached. "Good. Our transpor
t's here," she said aloud.
* * * *
"Push to the left, Sheleigh. To the left," Ecau ordered her.
"I'm trying," she gritted through her clenched teeth. "It's not as easy as it looks." She pushed the triangular control bar to the left.
"Too far," Ecau admonished.
She stopped pushing and lay suspended in her harness. Even the padding stuffed in the harness didn't prevent her from becoming uncomfortable after hanging in it for an hour. She was just too pregnant to practice in the glider for this long.
"I don't understand why you can't master this," Pithe complained.
"There's skill to it, obviously," Sheleigh sighed. "And just as obviously I lack that skill. Help me up. I can't hang here any longer. My side hurts."
Immediately Bateleur was beside her to help her up. Pithe took her other arm while she peeled off the body harness. Sheleigh was much relieved to be free of the glider and the harness. She leaned over, panting, and rubbed her stomach muscles. If she wasn't pregnant, the harness wouldn't put such a strain on her abdomen.
"Are you all right, my lady?" Tera asked.
"I will be. I just have a cramp."
Bateleur moved closer to her. "A cramp? Is it labor pain?"
"Stop fussing. It's not labor. You lie in that thing for an hour and tell me you don't feel even a twinge of discomfort." Wait, maybe that was the answer!
"Bateleur?"
"Yes, my lady?"
"Put on the harness and climb into the glider. Show me how well you can work it."
His face twisted. "Is this a punishment?"
She laughed. She couldn't help it. "No. I want to see if it's just me who has trouble with the controls." She straightened slowly as Bateleur donned the harness and climbed into the glider frame. He took the control bar in his hands. Pithe and Ecau gave him instructions.
"Are you ready?" Ecau asked.
"Yes."
"Pull to the right to rise on the right side," Pithe ordered.
Bateleur did as he was ordered.
"Too much," Ecau warned.
Bateleur made adjustments.
"Push to the left to descend on that side," Pithe continued.
Bateleur pushed the bar forward.
"A little more," Ecau said. He sounded pleased.
Within a few minutes it was clear that Bateleur had mastered what Sheleigh couldn't in the three days she'd been trying. Was it his avian senses that allowed him to be one with the glider?
"What am I doing wrong?" she lamented.
Bateleur turned his head towards her. "Your center of gravity goes downward and away from the control bar, my lady. I'm perfectly balanced right now. The controls are made for someone balanced, which you're not. I suggest tightening the control response while you're pregnant. Make it less responsive to touch."
"Of course," Tera exclaimed. "We should have tried it with me first. That makes perfect sense, Bateleur."
"But it's perfect right now," Ecau protested.
"It's not for you, crow," Pithe reminded him. "It's for Sheleigh."
"Can we try the adjustments now?" Tera suggested. "Can you try again, my lady?" Her face was radiant with excitement.
Sheleigh sighed. She didn't want to put the harness on again, but the others expected it of her. After Ecau and Tera made adjustments Sheleigh allowed them to help her back into the glider.
On her first try at turning she found it easier to achieve the desired result. "It works," she exclaimed.
Ecau puffed his chest and lifted his chin. "Of course it does."
"Try the other direction," Pithe ordered. She bounced on the balls of her feet.
The control bar worked just as well in the other direction. "I can fly." Sheleigh laughed. She felt joy bubble in her veins like effervescence. It was going to work. Kleet would fly again.
"Once more, Sheleigh," Tera directed. "This time push instead of pull."
Sheleigh quickly followed Tera's directions, eager to verify the glider's success. The new adjustment made the controls a dream to use.
She turned to the engineers. "When can we test it outside? How long until we can assemble it for a full test?" Now that the controls worked she felt urgency to complete the project.
Tera laughed. She, Ecau and Bateleur helped Sheleigh from the glider once again. Tera hugged her. "This is the first time it's worked for you. You need to practice more before we go outside."
Pithe's stylus tapped rapidly on her computer screen. Ecau's low tenor provided a counterpoint to the tapping as he addressed Sheleigh. "You'll have to practice every day for at least a week. Then we can find some low hills to jump from. That will take another week. I'll do feasibility computations for an unmanned flight. If it's possible, perhaps a week of those before a real flight takes place."
"That's almost a month away!" Sheleigh protested. "I'll be huge with pregnancy unless the twins decide to come early, which twins sometimes do. I can't risk the heirs that late in pregnancy. You'll have to move up your timetable, Ecau."
Pithe argued, "We have to proceed logically and carefully. We can't just throw this design into the air to see if it flies."
Bateleur threw in his protest. "My lady, you can't be put at risk."
Sheleigh turned to Tera, who she felt would understand her rush. "The time near the end of my pregnancy is completely uncertain. I could be confined to bed like I was in my second month. I can't risk losing this window of opportunity. Surely you see that, Tera."
"There's time to do things with safety in mind," Tera replied.
"We don't have to wait until I'm available to test it. One of you could do test flights in my stead." She swept them with her eyes.
Ecau responded, "We could do test flights. That's an excellent idea. But you're forgetting, my lady, that we're also training you to fly."
"Oh." Sheleigh rubbed the top of her belly. She tried to think of an argument that would sway them.
"We'll speed up the timetable as much as we safely can," Pithe promised. "But you're still looking at several weeks before you can fly solo."
"Think of the Avatier's safety if you won't think of your own," Tera said with poignant appeal. Sheleigh's heart clenched. This was for Kleet, after all. If the glider failed in flight, it might damage him beyond repair.
Sheleigh hung her head and her shoulders slumped. "I won't risk the Avatier."
Pithe placed her hand on Sheleigh's arm. "We'll work on the schedule today and show it to you tomorrow. Since this is all new, the schedule we work out will be just a guess. Everything might go much faster than we think."
Sheleigh looked at each of them. "I know you'll do your best. I haven't told you lately how much I appreciate what you're doing. I'm very grateful."
"It's been fun," Tera enthused.
"It's been a personal challenge, worthy of Datus involvement," Ecau proclaimed.
Pithe smiled like a cat with cream. "It's been most fulfilling," she purred the double entendre.
Sheleigh cleared her throat. "I'll see all of you tomorrow." As she headed for the hydrolift with Bateleur at her side, she thought it would be an agonizingly slow few weeks.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Ecau and Pithe made last minute adjustments to the hang glider. The triangular control bar was attached to the frame and hung below the wing. Sheleigh's harness would also attach to the frame. It was a little awkward holding the glider balanced for the first time, but Sheleigh's adrenalin gave her the strength to hold it off the ground.
It was only a few more minutes until the engineers gave her the go-ahead for her first jump with the glider. She was to take the few steps to the cliff edge and let herself fall to an inflatable surface at the bottom. It was a vertical drop of twenty feet, not far, but far enough for air to catch the canopy and create drag.
Her stomach was full of butterflies, her chest muscles were tight, her throat was dry. This was the little test, the one to see if the glider worked at all. The bigger test to see if it flew was still a week
or so away.
But they had the glider outside under the hot Averan sun. Pithe and Ecau had practiced running with it that morning and reported to Sheleigh that its propensity for lift seemed remarkable. Sheleigh was eager to test that propensity herself. Her mind understood the short delay as safety lines were checked one last time, but her spirit wanted to make that leap of faith, literally and figuratively.
It was hot in this dry little canyon, with very little breeze. It was too narrow for mating flights, which was why they had chosen it for the tests. A transport would have to hover directly above their location to see what they were doing, so they felt assured of privacy. Sheleigh had cleared a large block of time to practice jumping. Tera would make a video recording of the jump for later study of design flaws, if any. It seemed everything was in readiness except for the extreme caution of her engineers. Sheleigh shifted the glider. Sweat ran down the side of her neck where her hair clung in dampened ringlets.
"Well," she prodded them.
Ecau gave the wing one last tug. "Everything looks all right. Remember, Sheleigh, three steps to the edge, push out ..."
"And lean forward," Sheleigh finished for him. "I know. Can I go now?"
"Go ahead," Pithe encouraged.
Suddenly there were no more barriers, no holding back. Sheleigh planted her feet, then pushed off with her toes. One, two, three ... she pressed outward on the control bar, leaning her weight into it. The bottom dropped out of her stomach as empty air opened beneath her still dangling feet. The glider plummeted the first few feet. Then she was almost whiplashed as the wing caught air under it. Her descent slowed. She saw the inflatable air cushion below her, but heated air billowed in the canopy making the nylon taut.
The glider moved forward, not down, and a moment later the air cushion had passed behind her and out of sight. Sheleigh was filled with a thrill like she'd never experienced before. She was one with the air, light and free. She was a huge bird. She could fly.
"Wheeeeeee!" she squealed, unable to contain her joy.
"My lady! Put your feet down!" Bateleur's voice came from a slight distance below and behind her.
The glider dropped lower and lower as it lost the uplift of the thermal. Although she hated to give up the marvelous freedom of wings, she put her feet down. It was a sudden drop that spilled her to her knees, laughing madly. She let the control bar ease to the ground and the back of the glider settled to the earth, effectively enclosing her inside the triangular space. She felt so high she could have flown without wings at that moment.
Mating Flight Page 25