Dawnwind 1: Last Man Standing (2 page)

“There you have it,” said John.
 
“To you, it makes perfect sense to find a solution that benefits everyone.
 
A Junian would work toward the betterment of the entire group.
 
A human, unfortunately, would work toward the benefit of a specific sub-group or even just himself.”

Iseta frowned.
 
“I’m sorry, I just don’t understand.”
 
Self-consciously, she smoothed the fabric of her robe over her knees.
 
“I feel a bit dense, actually.”

“Don’t,” said Olu.
 
She took one of Iseta’s hands and squeezed it, offering reassurance.
 
“Alien mindsets can be difficult to comprehend.”

John nodded, chuckling.
 
“That’s true.
 
I can confirm that from personal experience.”

Olu laughed and took John’s hand.
 
“Were we a riddle to you, John?”

“More like a miracle.”

Olu squeezed his fingers and he returned the gesture.

Iseta smiled at him.
 
“What do you find most difficult to comprehend about us?”

“Honestly? The fact that Junians don’t like being alone.”

“Really?” said Iseta.
 
She looked as if she didn’t believe him.

“Really.”
 
He leaned forward, brow furrowed.
 
“Don’t you ever get tired of always being with someone?
 
Even on the comm?
 
Don’t you ever just want to go for a long walk by yourself?”

“No,” said the girl.
 
She grinned, nervously, and curled her fingers tight against her palm. “The only time I ever want to be alone is when I’m in the wastechamber.”

A startled laugh erupted from Olu and Iseta lowered her head and clenched her hands.
 

“You know,” said John, “when I was aboard the
Undaunted Spirit
, that was about the only place I could go to be alone.”

Iseta laughed.
 
“Really?”

“Yes,” said John.
 
“I spent so much time in there, the First Medic thought I had some kind of gastrointestinal condition.”

Olu laughed again, and even Iseta tittered at this revelation.
 

John chuckled.
 
“Then, when I told the First Medic why I was spending so much time in the wastechamber, he had the First Officer assign a guardsman to monitor me.
 
I think he thought I was going to commit suicide or something.”

“Oh!” Iseta looked startled.
 
“No!”

“It would be a likely diagnosis if you had been Junian,” said Olu.

“Thankfully, the specialists aboard were able to explain things,” said John.
 
“Although, after he was released from watching me, I did find myself missing Guardsman Iku’s presence.”

“Really?” asked Olu.

John nodded.
 
“He was very conscientious about not leaving me alone.” He grinned.
 
“Sometimes too conscientious.
 
Scared me nearly to death the first time he crawled into bed with me.”

Iseta laughed.
 
“Why?”

“In my culture, adults don’t usually sleep with each other unless we’re being intimate,” explained John.

“But, surely you had slept with other people on the ship,” said Iseta.

“No.
 
When First Officer Kitos brought me aboard, he assigned me the diplomatic quarters they had intended for Earth’s ambassador.”

“No one realized you were sleeping alone?” Iseta looked scandalized.

John was quick to explain.
 
“It wasn’t deliberate. I just kept odd hours. About the only people I had regular contact with were the specialists and they had other things on their minds than my sleeping arrangements.”

“I can imagine,” said Olu.
 

“It was still very rude of them not to invite you to share a bed,” said Iseta.
 
“That’s just bad manners.”

“After the First found out, he made the offer, but I declined.”
 
John chuckled.
 
“I was still trying to wrap my head around certain other Junian customs.
 
Coed showers. Public nudity.”

Iseta was fascinated by this latest tidbit.
 
“Your culture had a nudity taboo?”

“I don’t think I would have had quite the same issue with it, if so many of the female guardsmen hadn’t been so attractive,” admitted John.
 
His face flushed.

Iseta stared, a look of alarm in her black eyes.
 
“John, you’ve gone all red!”

“A blush response,” explained Olu.
 
“He’s fine.”

“Oh.
 
I thought you might have been choking or something.”

“I’m fine,” said John.

Olu nodded.
 
“He doesn’t do it very often.
 
The first time I saw him turn red, I thought the same thing and thought he needed a medic.”

“At least you didn’t comm the Emergency Authority,” said John.

Olu laughed.
 
“Poor Specialist Lih!”

“What happened?” asked Iseta.

“The specialist and I were having a perfectly nice conversation,” explained John.
 
“When out of nowhere she produces these pornographic videobits and starts quizzing me on human sexual customs.
 
I was caught completely off guard.”

“He turned the most startling shade of crimson,” clarified Olu.
 
“Lih thought he’d ruptured an artery and commed the Emergency Authority.”
 
She started to shake with laughter, tears spilling down her cheeks.
 
“When I walked into the daychamber, Lih and her assistant were running around like frightened scuttlebirds!”

Iseta was laughing along with her aunt now, her entire body shaking with shared mirth. “Oh, sweet pantheon!
 
What happened next?”

“The medics showed up,” said John.
 
“Dragging poor Medic Sufo with them!
 
The way everyone acted you’d think my head had exploded and I was spraying blood all over the walls!”

Olu wiped tears of laughter from her cheeks.
 
“Medic Sufo insisted John come back with them to the hospital for a complete scan, just to be safe.
 
It was unforgettable, Iseta!
 
You should have been there!”

* * * * *

Vesu Oza came home from work to find John and Olu seated at the kitchen table, sipping blue tea and munching on
avisav
cookies.
 
He joined them with a grateful sigh.

“Cookie?” offered John.

“Thank you.”

“You look exhausted,” said Olu, squeezing his hand.
 
“How was your day?”

“Exhausting,” admitted Vesu. “But productive.”

“You should take tomorrow off,” urged Olu.
 
“Lie around the house and listen to music.”

Vesu chuckled.
 
“I have far too much work to do to take off an entire day.”

“All right, but don’t blame me when your hair turns white early.”

Vesu snorted.
 
“Administrator Puso has invited us all to supper tomorrow evening.”

“That’s the second time this month,” said Olu.

“I know.
 
I believe she’s hoping we’ll bring our guest.”
 
He grinned at John.

John frowned.
 
“Have I met this administrator?”

“Unfortunately,” said Olu.
 
“At the reception at the university.
 
Remember?
 
The woman with the graying hair and the loud voice?”

“Ah! The one who tried to get me to sign an exclusivity agreement with the university!”

“That’s Laba Puso,” said Vesu.
 
He chuckled and helped himself to another cookie.
 
“I think she’s trying to impress the university council with the fact that she has access to you.”

Olu raised her eyebrows.
 
“Are there going to be councilors at this supper?”

“One or two.”

“Perhaps we should attend,” said Olu.
 
“What do you think, John?”

He frowned.
 
“Is this a formal dinner?”

“No, I don’t think so,” said Vesu.
 
“There’s only going to be about a dozen people there.”

“Only a dozen?” said John.
 

Olu laughed.
 
“I recognize that tone of voice.
 
You don’t want to go.”

“I’ve never really been one for dinner parties.
 
Small talk bores me to tears.”

Vesu frowned.
 
“Small talk?”

“Polite, trivial conversation,” clarified John.

“Ah. Chattering.”
 
Nodding, Vesu made a face, suggesting he was of a similar opinion.

“I think we should go,” said Olu.
 
“Even though I believe I understand your need for occasional solitude, John, lately you’ve been spending more and more time alone.
 
It seems as if you’re withdrawing from the world.
 
I’m starting to become concerned.”

“I’m fine, Olu.”

“And I believe you believe that,” said Olu.
 
“But, it would ease my mind if you would spend a little more time with other people.”

“You could take a class at the university,” suggested Vesu.
 
“Something of personal interest, maybe.
 
Art or music, perhaps?”

“Do you two realize that you sound almost exactly like my parents, back when I was a teenager?” said John.
 

Olu smiled and covered his hand with her own. “We did promise Kitos and Fex that we would look after you.”

“And I appreciate everything you’ve done for me,” said John. “But social situations here are . . . difficult for me.”

“How so?” asked Vesu.

“I’m always the center of attention.
 
Always.
 
Everywhere I go, people stare.
 
I’m a curiosity.
 
The Last Human.
 
Even in the Alien Sector, I stood out.”
 
He sighed and looked down at the table.
 
“After a while, it gets tiresome.”

Olu touched his hand.
 
“We didn’t realize it was so difficult for you.”

“Sometimes, I just feel like a circus act,” said John.
 
“A freak they put on display.
 
See the Last Human! Touch his black hair! Stare into his blue eyes!”

“I’m sorry,” said Olu.
 
“I don’t think anyone realized you felt this way.”

John smiled.
 
“How are you supposed to know if I don’t tell you?”

“That’s true.
 
But I still think it would be a good idea for you to meet more people.
 
You mustn’t spend all your time with boring old specialists and instructors.”

John rolled his eyes.
 
“I’d hardly describe my time with Specialist Lih as boring.”

* * * * *

Laba Puso’s home reminded John of pictures he had seen of ancient Roman villas.
 
Several interconnected structures had been grown around a large central area.
 
In ancient Rome, that area would have been a courtyard.
 
Here, on Juni, it was a swimming pool.

The pool was lit by a series of submerged lights that made the water appear luminescent.
 
Swimmers were dark shapes, eclipsing the light, as they darted gracefully through the bright water.