Dawnwind 1: Last Man Standing (13 page)

She hunched forward, felt her pulse quicken.
 
Old fears reared and ugly memories surfaced.
 
The smell of smoke.
 
Her mother’s screams.
 
Flames licking the walls of the house.
 
She clenched her hand, willing the memories, the swell of childhood panic to ebb.

“Are you all right?” Lewij was leaning forward again, concern etched into her face.

Uqqex took a breath and exhaled.
 
“I’m fine.
 
Why does the Diplomatic Authority care that I’m comming Epcott?
 
He’s not political.”

“You might be surprised,” said Lewij.
 
“But I’m not here as an operative.
 
I’m here as a concerned friend.
 
Your comms with Epcott . . .”

“What about them?”

“Keep them going,” said Lewij.
 
“Please.
 
Engage him.
 
Draw him out of himself.”

“That’s a very Junian request, Miss Lewij.”

The other woman smiled.
 
“Yes, I suppose it is.
 
But the request is sincere.
 
I am concerned about him.”

“I’ll comm him as long as I like and no longer.”
 
Uqqex crossed her arms and glowered at Lewij.
 
“I won’t be anyone’s tool.”

The small woman had nodded and stood.
 
She drew the folds of her long, shimmering robe around her.
 
“I know.
 
And, believe it or not, Miss Uqqex, this request isn’t political.
 
It’s personal.”

“Does that mean they’ll stop monitoring my comms?”

Lewij’s smile did not touch her eyes. “Would you care if they didn’t?”

“No.”

“I didn’t think so,” said Lewij.
 

She folded her hands together, inside the voluminous sleeves of her robe, and bowed to the Zerraxi woman.
 
It was a surprisingly formal gesture, one that Uqqex could not remember any other Junian performing.
 

“Thank you for listening.”

“Before you go,” said Uqqex.
 
“Tell me something.
 
Why is the Diplomatic Authority interested in Epcott?”

“He made them an offer a while ago,” said Lewij.
 
“They didn’t take him up on it, because of other circumstances, but the fact he made the offer. . . .”

“They think they might be able to use Epcott, sometime in the future.”

Lewij smiled again.
 
“You really are very quick,” she said, then bobbed her head and left.

* * * * *

 
The man from the private transport Uqqex had hired bore a startling resemblance to Imiro Lewij.
 
 
He was short and heavyset with shoulder-length yellow hair.
 
He wore a green warmsuit that covered him from his throat to his toes, and thick black gloves on his hands.
 
His name was Ked.

Ked glanced at her, his dark eyes moving up and down Uqqex’s cloaked body.
 
“So,” he finally said, “you’re the Lonely Heart’s woman.”

Uqqex’s nostrils flared.
 
“The Lonely Heart?
 
You mean John Epcott?”

Ked shrugged.
 
“Folks ‘round here call him the Lonely Heart.”
 
He waved her toward the transport, a silver teardrop-shaped vehicle parked beyond the landing tower. “Climb aboard.
 
We can leave as soon as the tower clears us.”

Uqqex nodded and marched across the field, toward the transport.
 
As she left the tower, she found herself walking through temperate air.
 
A glance up revealed snow, sizzling away into steam several feet above her head.

“Thermal emitters,” explained Ked.
 
“They keep the landing fields clear.”

“They must use a lot of power.”

He shrugged and they continued to the transport.
 
Climbing through the hatch, Uqqex saw another man seated at the vehicle’s controls.
 
He could have been Ked’s twin.
 
The man turned his chair and nodded at her.

“Welcome aboard.
 
I’m Teso, the pilot.”

“Oh?” Uqqex glanced behind her, where Ked was sealing the hatch.

“Ked’s my copilot,” explained Teso.

“And his engineer and technician and anything else he needs,” said Ked, scowling.

Teso laughed.
 
“Grump.”

Ked snorted and took the copilot’s position.
 

Teso gave Uqqex a lingering look.
 
“Well, I can’t fault the Lonely Heart’s taste.”
 
He grinned at her.
 
“You’re gorgeous.”

Uqqex raised an eyebrow, glanced from Ked to Teso.
 
“You two aren’t together?”

“Sure,” said Ked.
 
“Doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy other people though.”
 
He glanced sternly at Teso.
 
“From time to time.”

Teso grinned at him.
 
“Grump.”

“I’m not Epcott’s woman,” said Uqqex.
 
“Just a friend.”

“He could use one,” said Ked.
 
“Crazy alien.
 
Living all alone out there on Nikosu Island.”
 
He pursed his lips.
 
“You know about the pool?”

“Ked!” Teso spoke sharply, his smile vanishing.

“What pool?”

“There’s a betting pool,” said Ked.
 
“For when he’ll suicide.”

“Merciful pantheon, Ked!” Teso shot Uqqex a worried look.
 
“I’m sorry, ma’am! He. . . .”

Uqqex sat and began to adjust the straps of her flight harness.
 
“What are the odds?”

“Longer than they were when he got here.”

“And what happens if he doesn’t suicide?”

“Don’t know,” said Ked.
 
“Don’t think that’s occurred to anyone.”

Uqqex smiled.
 
“Whoever’s in charge of the pool had better give that some thought then.”

Teso blinked.
 
“You aren’t upset?”

“Why should I be?”
 
She finished with her straps and regarded the pilot with flat, black eyes.
 
“I am surprised that Junians would place bets on something like that, but I suppose I shouldn’t be.
 
There are deviants in every culture.”

Ked chuckled, but Teso looked uncomfortable.
 
“Just so you know, ma’am, we haven’t made any bets.”

“Then you’re smarter than the others,” said Uqqex.
 
She glanced out the window.
 
“The storm looks like it’s getting worse.
 
Do we have clearance to leave yet?”

Silently, Teso nodded.
 
A few moments later, the transport hub was far behind them, lost in a frenzy of snow.

* * * * *

 
Nikosu Island lay beyond the northernmost tip of the Levtavujo Peninsula, one of several hundred islands in the polar archipelago.
 
Teso flew the transport around the island three times before his controls indicated they had received clearance to land.

“He’s got privacy invoked?” asked Uqqex.

“Yes,” said Ked.
 
“Even though he doesn’t need it.”

“Nobody comes out here,” explained Teso.
 
“Too cold. Too barren.”

Uqqex peered at the storm-lashed island they were approaching.
 
She could see a small personal landing field, more of a clearing, in the midst of thick forest.
 
The field was brightly illuminated, making the rest of the island appear even darker.

“The nearest community is eighty minutes away by transport,” said Ked.
 
“Like I said, he’s got to be crazy to live out here by himself.”

Uqqex shrugged.
 
“He’s human.”

“What does that mean?” asked Ked.

She chuckled.
 
“When I figure it out, I’ll let you know.”

Ked snorted.

* * * * *

The transport touched down with a soft whump of displaced snow.
 
While Teso and Ked ran through their post-flight checklist, Uqqex peered out at the field.
 
The lights were dimming as she watched, but she could see a figure, bundled up in a bright pink warmsuit, slogging through thigh-high snow toward the transport.
 
An air-sled drifted behind him.

“Lonely Heart’s here,” grunted Ked, after glancing at his controls.
 
“Open the hatch, Teso.”

“You might want to bundle up, ma’am,” warned Teso.
 

Uqqex adjusted her travel cloak.
 
“I’m ready.”

“Is that all you have?” The pilot’s concern was evident.
 
“It’s freezing out there!”

“Zerrax is a cold world,” explained Uqqex.
 

Teso frowned, but opened the hatch.
 
Immediately, an icy breeze flowed into the transport.
 
Ked swore.
 

“Lonelies!”

“Turn your suit’s heaters on, stupid,” said Teso.
 

Shutting down his control panel, Ked moved to the rear of the transport.
 
He began to pull bundles from a storage bin.

“You’re resupplying him?”

Teso nodded.
 
“He doesn’t ask for much.”

Ked began to toss the packages out of the hatch.
 
Presumably, Epcott was outside, catching them and piling them on his air-sled.
 
After a few moments, the cargo was unloaded and Epcott climbed into the transport.
 
Ked immediately sealed the hatch.

Epcott’s pink warmsuit covered him from his neck down. A transparent bubble helmet was attached to the collar, affording Epcott a 360-degree view around himself.
 
His dark hair was cropped close to his skull and he was clean-shaven.
 
He had gained weight since Uqqex had last seen him, and his face had lost its haggard edge.
 
He smiled at her.

“Hello, Uqqex.
 
How was the trip?”

“Long,” she said, standing.
 
“You look better.
 
Living out here must agree with you.”

Epcott smiled.
 
“You could say that.”
 
He turned to Ked and Teso, nodded at them.
 
“Thanks for bringing her, boys.”

Teso grinned.
 
“We were coming anyway so it was no hardship.”

“All the same,” said Epcott.
 
“I appreciate you playing taxi.
 
Want to stay the night?
 
There’s a bad storm coming down from the pole.”

“No thanks,” said Teso.
 
“We’ll head back to Levtavujo.”

“As you wish,” said Epcott.
 
“Thanks again.”
 
He turned to Uqqex and gestured toward the hatch.
 
“Shall we?”

* * * * *

 
When Uqqex stepped out of the transport, it was colder than she had expected.
 
 
The wind slapped her in the face, ran chilly fingers through her hair.
 
She shivered and felt her pulse quicken, as she walked with Epcott away from the transport.
 
When they were beyond the range of the contragrav field, the craft rose into the air and vanished into the dark sky.