Dawnwind 1: Last Man Standing (43 page)

Sometimes, John decided, life really was stranger than fiction.

* * * * *

 
Temun Sezep, Second Officer of the
 
Dawnwind, stepped into his quarters and smiled.
 
The room was circular, dominated by a bed big enough for three.
 
The wallscreens were set to a rich, dark purple; the deck was covered by dark orange carpeting.
 
He noted, with pleasure, that his luggage had been placed by one of the storage bins.

The door slid open behind him and Temun turned to see a familiar face.
 
Vetew Siv had joined the Institute in the same year as Temun.
 
They had been classmates and had become good friends, working together on numerous academic projects.
 
Their friendship had survived through shared shore leaves and a flurry of comms.
 
Now, Vetew was the Fourth Officer of the
Dawnwind
and her First Engineer.
 
Laughing, they brushed palms and embraced.

 
“Temun, it’s good to see you!”
 
Vetew stepped back, smiling.
 
“You look splendid!”

“Thank you, Vetew.
 
So do you!”

They chatted for a few moments, catching up on family and mutual friends. Vetew ambled over to the bed, sat down with a sigh.
 

“So, you’re a Second Officer now.
 
I thought you said you never wanted the burden of command.”

“And I still don’t,” admitted Temun.
 
“But this opportunity was too good to let pass.”

“A three-year mission, outsystem?” Vetew’s grin grew wider.
 
“I know!
 
It should be exciting! Don’t you think?”

Temun laughed.
 
“Hopefully not too exciting!”
 
He plopped onto the bed, next to Vetew.
 
“Seeing the Colonies is one thing, but I’d rather stay clear of Sewkari pirates, pantheon willing.”

“Well, if we do run into the Sewkari I’ve heard our First knows how to deal with them.
 
Have you met him yet?”

Temun shook his head.
 
“No, not yet.
 
Have you?”

“No, but I’ve heard he’s impressive.
 
He’s made First faster than anyone in the Guard’s history!”

Temun nodded.
 
“You remember Pimuqi Ese?”

Vetew nodded.
 
“Sure.
 
We had Alien Societies together at the Institute.
 
We worked on a group assertion.”

“She was on the
Harmonious Maiden
with the First.
 
I asked her about him and Pim just raved.
 
She made him sound like he should be one of the pantheon.”

Vetew’s eyes widened.
 
“Really?”

“Really.”
 
Temun looked down at his fingers, the tips flushed bright red.
 
“Actually, Vetew, I’m a little nervous about serving with him.”

“You?
 
Nervous?
 
Temun, you’ve never been nervous about anything in your life!
 
You climbed the Fijem Rockface without a rope!”

“Well, I’m nervous about this.
 
I’ve never had prolonged contact with an alien before, and now I’m sharing a bedchamber with one.
 
What if we don’t get along?”

“As long as you don’t steal the covers, Second, I’m sure we’ll get along just fine.”

Startled, Temun and Vetew leaped to their feet.
 
The First stood in the doorway, smiling, a bag hanging from his right shoulder.

“F...first!” stammered Temun.
 
His fingers throbbed with embarrassment.

Vetew opened his mouth and managed to string a few words together.
 
“First Officer, we were just...that is....”

John chuckled, crossed the floor and greeted Temun.
 
The Second Officer’s pale fingertips were red with embarrassment.
 
He lightly brushed the First’s upraised palms, was surprised at how warm the other man’s skin felt.

“Second Officer Temun Sezep, First.
 
Welcome.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Temun.
 
I understand you’re also First Scientist on this mission?”

Temun’s fingers throbbed.
 
“Yes, sir.”

“What’s your field of expertise?”

“Communications, sir.”

“Did you have Instructor Ofip at the Institute?”

Temun smiled.
 
“Yes, First.
 
During my third year.
 
You trained with her as well?”

“I did.
 
She was very kind to me when I first arrived on Juni.”

He turned to Vetew, and greeted him.
 
“Third Officer, a pleasure to meet you.
 
First Engineer Tuv speaks very highly of you.”

Vetew’s face broke into an enormous grin.
 
“He does?”

“He said you were one of the finest cadets to come through his class in years.”

“I admire First Engineer Tuv very much, sir!” gushed Vetew.
 
“Did he say anything else?”

John’s smile became mischievous.
 
He tapped Vetew’s palms.
 
“He said you played the
povop
.”

Vetew’s fingers turned bright red.
 
“I play very badly.”

The First laughed. “We’ll have to have a competition to see which of us is truly the worst player.
 
But I should warn you, I’m pretty terrible.”
 
John glanced around the chamber.
 
“This is nice.
 
I think we’ll be very comfortable here, Second.
 
May I call you Temun?”

“Oh.
 
Please, sir.”

“Call me John.”

He walked to the chamber’s other storage bin, opened the door, peered inside.
 
“I don’t suppose you know where my luggage is, do you, Temun?”

“I haven’t seen it, First.”

“John,” reminded the human.

“It may still be in the transport bay, First,” suggested Vetew.

“Hmm.
 
I’ll have to wander down there and look around. And you can call me John as well, Third.”

“Thank you, sir.
 
You must call me Vetew.”

“Well done,” said John.
 
“Now, if you’ll both excuse me, I’m going to walk down to the transport bay and have a look around.”

With a nod and a smile, he turned and left.

“So what did you think of him?” asked Vetew, practically bouncing in place.

Temun smiled.
 
“I liked him.
 
I can see why Pimuqi would speak so highly of him.”

“Yes,” said Vetew, nodding.
 
He grinned at his old friend.
 
“But I wonder how he’ll feel when he discovers you do take all the blankets?”

* * * * *

 
Hesef Madivo walked through
Dawnwind
’s infirmary with a frown on his face.
 
By his side scurried a young man who had introduced himself as Dur Cij, Ninth Medic.
 
To Madivo, Cij looked impossibly young.

“When did you leave the Institute, Cij?”

“Two years ago, sir.”

Madivo glanced at the boy.
 
Cij was beaming, an eager look on his face.
 

Like an abandoned
gugu
looking for a new pack leader, thought the old man.
 
Great Jeso, give me patience.
 
“What was your last post?”

“Talip Dov Colony, sir.”

Madivo blinked, turned to look at the boy.
 
“I’m sorry?
 
Did you say Talip Dov?”

Cij nodded.
 
His smile had shrunken considerably.

“I didn’t think anyone got out of there alive,” said Madivo, quietly.

“I was one of the lucky ones.”

The smile was completely gone now, and the boy’s gaze was turned inward, staring into the past.
 

Isolate me, thought Madivo.
 

He touched Cij’s hand, detected the faintest tremble.
 
The boy looked at the First Medic, and offered a fragile smile.

“I’m sorry for causing you distress, guardsman.”

Cij took the older man’s hand, squeezed it. “That’s all right, sir.”

Maybe, thought Madivo.
 
Maybe not.
 

He squeezed Cij’s hand in return, nodded at the infirmary walls.
 
“We’re going to have to do something about those.”

The walls were a cheery red with diagonal blue stripes.
 

“What color scheme would you prefer, First Medic?”

“None.
 
Shut off the displays and lock them down.”

Cij frowned.
 
“Sir?”

“The only active nanotech I want in here is what we’re using on our patients.”

“Don’t you think gray bulkheads will be a bit grim, sir?”

“This is an infirmary, guardsman, not a night club.
 
People who aren’t sick shouldn’t want to spend time here.”

“And the people who are sick, sir?”

“Gray walls might encourage them to recover quicker,” said Madivo.

Cij grinned.
 
“What about your staff?”

“If you feel the walls starting to get to you, go for a walk.
 
Pantheon willing, we won’t have a lot of business to attend to on this voyage.”

* * * * *

 
Kami thought that her quarters aboard
Dawnwind
were lavish.
 
The bedchamber was large and comfortably appointed, the walls set to a shimmering pink.
 
The closets were huge, compared to the storage compartments the ordinary crew was assigned.
 
Her luggage had been brought to her quarters, and Kami had already unpacked.
 
She hadn’t had much: a few mementos from home and other postings, her eyepaints, a jewelry box.
 
Unless she was posted to a planetary facility, Kami never bothered bringing clothes, preferring to wear her uniform.

She was sitting on the bed, considering what to do next, when the door opened and a handsome young man walked inside.
 
He had short, dark blue hair and an impressive physique that his uniform only emphasized.
 

Smiling, the young man approached Kami and greeted her.
 
“Hello.
 
I’m Fel Ezep, Eighth Officer and Second Defender.”

Kami smiled, stroked his palms. “Kami Guso, Ninth Officer and First Allocator.”

Fel smiled.
 
“It looks like we’re going to be bedmates, Ninth.”

“Please, call me Kami.”

“And you must call me Fel.
 
Have you settled in?”

“I have.
 
The closets are enormous!”

Fel laughed.
 
“Which is yours?”

Kami nodded toward hers and Fel walked to the other one.
 
Pulling open the door, Kami saw his closet was filled almost to capacity with shiny, black cases.
 
She gaped.

Fel laughed.
 
“I wish I had a picture of everyone’s face when they see my stuff.”

Kami shut her mouth and felt her fingertips warming.
 
“You’ve got a lot.
 
What is it all?”