Dawnwind 1: Last Man Standing (19 page)

“So we decided to leave.”
 
Kaz wrapped an arm around Sef’s waist. “But the family stopped us.
 
They didn’t want us leaving, didn’t want to risk us exposing our relationship to the public.”

Uqqex frowned.
 
“They were holding you prisoner?”

Kaz’s expression was grim.
 
“They might as well have been.
 
Sef and I were never left alone.
 
Anywhere we went, we had a sibling or a parent with us, watching.”

“How did you get away?” asked John.

Sef smiled.
 
“That was Kaz.”

“I infected the housebrain with a rogue agent,” said Kaz.
 
“It made the wastechamber storage tanks back up in the middle of dinner.”

Uqqex couldn’t help it.
 
She threw back her head and laughed.
 

“In all the confusion,” said Sef, “we grabbed Tijo and ran.”

“Then stole the transport and headed for Timis Dov?” said John.

Sef nodded.

“Again.
 
Why not take a public transport?”

“Our family is influential,” said Kaz.
 
“They would have had the transport hub watched.”

“We would have been caught and brought back,” said Sef.
 
“And then we would never have gotten away again.”

“Well,” said John, “you two are a couple of idiots.”

Uqqex stared.
 
John had an expression on his face that the Zerraxi woman couldn’t quite identify.
 
Kaz and Sef gaped at him.

“I mean, your relationship may be immoral, but it’s not illegal.
 
Right?”

“No,” said Kaz.
 
“But. . . .”

“But me not buts,” snapped John.
 
“Did the transport belong to your family?”

“Yes,” said Sef.
 
“Does that matter?”

“Of course it matters, you silly girl,” snapped John.
 
“Honestly! Until you stole the transport, your family had no legal way to force you back home.
 
Now the peacekeepers will do their dirty work for them.”

“I won’t go back,” said Sef.
 
She spoke quietly but there was a hard edge to her words.
 
She drew Tijo to her, cradling the child on her lap.
 
The toddler remained silent, watching everything with wide, dark eyes.

“You won’t have to,” said John.

Kaz frowned.
 
“But the peacekeepers. . . .”

John didn’t let him finish.
 
“Do you have a comm?”

Kaz hesitated.
 
Sef did not.
 

“Yes.”

“Good.
 
Here’s what you’re going to do.”

* * * * *

 
Peacekeeper Imzo Vyuno emerged from the wedge-shaped transport looking as if he had been awake all night.
 
Barefaced, the flesh under his eyes was gray and tight.
 
He walked down the transport’s ramp, wearing a peacekeeper warmsuit.
 
The helmet was cracked.
 

John greeted him, the two men brushed hands.
 
“I didn’t expect to see you out here this morning, Imzo. I thought you’d send one of your juniors.”

Imzo snorted.
 
“And miss a chance to nap for an hour?
 
Not on your life.”

Epcott grinned.
 
“Rough night?”

“It was like half the cursed province decided to ignore the safety warnings and go wandering about!
 
My people have been rescuing idiots from stranded groundcars all night!”

“Sounds bad.
 
How about a cup of
deggo
?”
 
John glanced past Imzo, where a group of peacekeeper cadets in warmsuits were moving about, purposefully, inside the massive transport.
 
“It looks like your cadets know what they’re doing.”

Imzo grunted.
 
“Looks can fool you.”
 
He turned and shouted into the transport.
 
“Jes! Mind the babies!
 
I’m going to talk to the crash victims!
 
Comm me if you need me!”

There was a muffled shout of acknowledgement from the transport.
 
Imzo grunted and fell into step beside John as they made their way from the airfield.

“Sweet pantheon,” muttered the peacekeeper.
 
“What a night!
 
There are times, John, when I can almost understand why you like living all alone out here in the middle of nowhere.”

“Sometimes, it has its advantages.”

“I’ll have to take your word on that.”

They were beneath the knotlimb canopy where it was dark and still.
 
The guide ropes and reflectors that had lined the path to the house had been stripped away by the storm.

“Personally, I don’t think I could live out here.
 
No offense meant, but this island of yours gives me the shivers.”

John smiled.
 
“I’ve stayed in places much scarier than this.”

“I don’t doubt it.
 
Musin says hello, by the way.”

“How’s she getting along?”

“Wonderfully,” said Imzo.
 
“Pregnancy seems to suit her.
 
She wants you to comm her when you get a chance.
 
I think she’s worried about you.”

“I’ll do it the first chance I get,” promised John.

“Do that.
 
Stress is bad for the baby, you know.”

They had reached the house and, as always, Imzo paused to regard the strange structure.
 
“How’s the Box holding up?”

“Fine,” said John.
 
“Hasn’t fallen down yet.”

The peacekeeper chuckled.
 
He had nicknamed John’s home the Box because of its rectangular shape.
 
Like most Junians, Imzo found the idea of living in such a structure eccentric if not downright weird.

John opened the door and they stepped into the daychamber.
 
The wallscreens were set to their default, and the furnishings had been pushed aside, to clear an area of floor.
 
A fuzzyheaded toddler sat there, laughing and clapping, as he pushed a musical ball back and forth with a young man and a young woman.
 
At the bar, sat a handsome Zerraxi woman, watching the play while nursing a glass of something white and frothy.

John made introductions.
 
The young family were the crash victims, but Imzo was visibly surprised when John introduced Uqqex.
 
He touched the alien woman’s hands and smiled, almost shyly.

“I’ve read all your puzzle-books, miss.”

Uqqex smiled.
 
“Really? Which was your favorite?”

“
The Fallacy of Qettijni Hax
,” said Imzo.
 
“If I could, I’d make it required reading at the academy.”

“Oh, but I’ve written much better things than that!”

“It’s still my favorite story.”

John pressed a glass of
deggo
into Imzo’s hand.
 
“Would you like Uqqex and me to leave, while you talk to Kaz and Sef?”

Imzo took a sip of the
deggo
and smacked his lips.
 
“I don’t think that’ll be necessary, John.
 
If they don’t mind?”

“Not at all,” said Kaz.

Twenty minutes later, Imzo was tapping at his PIN, making last minute corrections to his notes.

“Basically, what happened is that each of you thought that the other had filed a flight plan with the Transport Authority and gotten confirmation?”

Kaz looked down at his hands.
 
His fingertips were rosy, presumably with embarrassment.
 
“I’m afraid so.”
 

Sef smiled and took his hand.
 
“We were just so excited to get to Uncle Tez’s place...”

Imzo nodded.
 
“These things happen.”
 
He glanced at his PIN.
 
“There was some question about whether or not you were authorized to take the transport, but that’s been cleared up.
 
The only thing that we need to address is why you failed to respond to comms from the Transport Authority?”

Kaz and Sef glanced at one another.
 

“The Transport Authority tried to comm us?” said Kaz.

Imzo glanced at his PIN.
 
“Several times.”

“We didn’t receive any comms,” said Sef.

The peacekeeper frowned.
 
“Curious.
 
Perhaps it was the polar storms.
 
Half the comms in Levtavujo were out last night.”

“That was probably it,” said Kaz.

“Well,” said Imzo, rising to his feet.
 
“That’s all I need for the report.
 
Would you folks like a lift to the transport hub?”

“Oh!” Kaz glanced at Sef.
 
“We appreciate the offer, but we’ve already made other arrangements with Mr. Epcott’s friends.”

Imzo glanced at the human.
 
“Is that so?”

“Ked and Teso are coming out this afternoon,” explained Epcott.
 
“To ferry Uqqex back.”

The Zerraxi woman nodded, smiling.
 
“And after chatting with Kaz and Sef, I’ve decided to revisit Timis Dov.
 
So the four of us will be traveling together.”

“Timis Dov, eh?” Imzo smiled.
 
“It’s nice there.
 
The wife and I went there on a holiday a few years ago, to the Valley of a Thousand Pools.
 
What are you going to do there?”

“Our uncle owns a hostelry that he’s going to let us manage for him,” said Sef.

Kaz chuckled.
 
“At least, until he completes his term as one of the city administrators.”

“Well, good fortune to you both,” said Imzo. “I should get back to the airfield.
 
Jes probably thinks I’ve been skewered by a spearbeak or something.”

“I’ll walk you,” said John.

Despite his earlier comment, once they were outside the house, Imzo did not attempt to hurry.
 
He and John waded through the snow, moving at a leisurely pace.

“Are we even going to find the transport’s commchips, John?”

Epcott glanced at the peacekeeper.
 
Imzo’s expression was vacillating between irritation and amusement.

“I doubt it.
 
They were probably pulverized when the impeller core overloaded.”

“How convenient.”

John feigned shock.
 
“Why, Imzo, whatever do you mean?”

The peacekeeper snorted.
 
“Spare me the amateur dramatics, John.
 
You and I both know those kids were lying.
 
If that boy’s fingers got any redder they would have burst into flame.”

“Hmm. You think?”

“John. . . .”

“They weren’t lying about everything.
 
Just the bit with the transport.”

“Why?”

“I’m not sure I should tell you.”

The peacekeeper frowned.
 
“Do you think I’m giving you a choice?”

“You’re putting me in a very awkward position, asking me to betray a confidence.”

“I can keep a secret, Epcott.
 
Start talking.”

“Fine. Kaz and Sef are house-siblings. Tijo is their son.
 
They stole the transport to get away from their family who were practically keeping them prisoners.”