Daughters of the Night Sky

I took three more steadying breaths before looking up at her in the doorway. I couldn’t appear weak—not even to her. “I was trying to get him to stop,” I said, keeping my tone even.

As her blue eyes scanned my face, I saw comprehension wash over them. What had she endured? What did she know of men like him? Can any woman like us be completely sheltered from this?

“I believe you, Katya,” she said, stepping fully into the room and taking a seat next to me. “But it’s not me you’ll have to convince.”

“They’re going to send me home, aren’t they?”

“Not if they listen to me. Fyodorov won’t fare well if I have my way.” She did an admirable job of keeping the rancor from her voice, but the anger was there.

“Will they listen?”

“It’s not their strong suit, Katya. But you have me on your side. It will count for more than nothing.”

“The fact remains that she assaulted her superior officer,” the colonel, a gangly man by the name of Krupin, growled from his seat. “Do you think we can tolerate such behavior from a junior lieutenant?”

Sofia and I stood at attention. I could tell from the tone of her voice to this point that she was rankled that she had not yet been ordered to stand at ease, much less sit, in his presence. He was two ranks above her, but such formality was rarely exercised with the other commanders.

“I would usually agree with you, but this is an unusual case, Colonel Krupin.”

“Because Junior Lieutenant Soloneva is female, I suppose?” He blew a huge cloud of gray smoke from his wheezing lungs and extinguished the butt of his cigarette in an overflowing ashtray.

“Not precisely. Because Captain Fyodorov is male and was trying to make unwanted advances on one of his students.” The muscles in my neck ached to turn and see the expression on her face, but I didn’t dare.

The old man, who greatly resembled a goat in a drab-green uniform, grumbled but said nothing.

“Don’t you agree that’s the offense we need to be addressing here, Colonel?” Sofia pressed on. “With all the dangers our soldiers face, they should not expect to be on guard against their own commanders and instructors. I needn’t tell you what these pilots will be up against. What they are sacrificing. Will you allow one of your own junior commanders to make light of their dedication, Colonel?”

His watery gaze shifted to me. “Why were you not with the rest of your regiment, Soloneva?”

“We have a short break between lunch and the afternoon tactical sessions, Colonel. I was using the time to practice the violin. It soothes me.” I felt my hands shake behind my back and hoped the rest of my body appeared still.

“You find the classes that taxing, do you?”

Sofia stepped in. “Most soldiers find intense training on five hours of sleep to be taxing, Colonel.”

“Careful, Orlova. My patience has its limits, no matter how much I like you. Soloneva, do you think it was wise for you to be alone?”

“I hadn’t thought to consider my fellow commanders a threat to my safety, Colonel. I have never been given cause to think so in my three years in a military academy or at one moment before now since I enlisted.”

“Well said, Soloneva,” Sofia said.

“And you take her word as truth, without reservation, Major?” the colonel asked.

“Unreservedly,” she replied. “I chose these recruits carefully, and I assure you I had more talented applicants than we could find planes and uniforms for, Colonel. She has a spotless record and is one of the finest navigators who applied for service.”

“Very well,” Krupin said, sitting back in his chair. “Soloneva will have no formal consequences for these unfortunate events. Though I suggest you have a good talk with her about appropriate conduct, Orlova.”

“It will be a short conversation, Colonel, as Soloneva has never shown any tendency toward inappropriate conduct. What of Fyodorov, Colonel? What will be done about him?”

“That’s of no concern to you, Orlova,” he said, lighting a fresh cigarette.

“You’re much mistaken. He took advantage of his position with a junior officer. He compromised the safety of one of my navigators. You cannot think I can allow that to go unpunished.”

“That’s not for you to decide.”

“It’s for you to decide his punishment, Colonel, but I will know he has been dealt with satisfactorily, or I will take it above your head.” She relaxed her stance without invitation and took a step closer to his desk.

Krupin had the good sense to blush at Sofia’s words. He was not a fool, and he knew exactly how high her influence reached.

“I’ll give him a stern talking-to,” he said after a pause.

“That’s not sufficient. He must be disciplined proportionately with his offense. If you caught him assaulting a civilian woman, what would be done? Soloneva has every right to the same consideration.”

“Very well… I’ll have him transferred. They’ll have need of him at the front soon anyway.”