10 Why Jim? (1)

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"Aunt Joanna, can you come outside for a minute?"

A beautiful woman in her late thirties emerged from a small, standard issued, colony farmhouse. She had beautiful long, brown hair, tanned skin, and lively green eyes. Jim always loved his aunt's eyes. The way she looked at him. They held mischief as well as a quiet intelligence and, most of all, love. Though his mother loved him, she was always off planet. He was lucky if she was home a few weeks out of the year, and when she was home, he was too busy with school, friends, or just staying away from the house to avoid his uncle. That soft warmth that she held in her eyes when she looked at him filled him with a pride and joy that he never knew he was capable of. The best thing about his aunt though was her personality. It was just as radiating as she was.

When he had first met her, Jim came up with a brilliant idea. At this point in his life, Sam had left and Jim had reacted by acting up, badly. His once top of the school grades plummeted, he stop being courteous, and essentially stop being the golden child Sam had accused him of. He thought it would bring Sam back home in the beginning. That he could prove to Sam that he still needed his big brother. And it got worse as time went on: fights every day, skipping school, and eventually stealing.

He was twelve, discovering girls, and hormones were coming into play and influencing his actions. His friends were low-lives and did not come up with the greatest of plans. He was aware of that even at his age. He even knew that hanging out with these kids would only hamper him later in life. After all, he was smart, a genius even, but he could not bring himself to care, not about the people he hurt or even for himself. Who would care if he smoked, or if he caused another kid to go to the hospital, or if he felt up a girl? His friends thought he was cool, and it made people stop thinking he was a chip off the old block. He hated hearing that the most, people comparing him to someone who he never met. It also gave him a chance to release all the pent up anger and hatred he stored up inside himself living in Frank's house, and it gave him an excuse for the bruises that he always had. So when he saw a beautiful woman walking down the sidewalk in the middle of Riverside at night, it was the perfect opportunity to get a few more laughs.

He strolled by in a too big, worn out, brown leather jacket acting cool, his friends watching a little ways away. When he was close enough, his hand shot out to lift up her skirt. It was a harmless prank. The woman would yelp and try to slap him or go off crying or whatever. Worst case scenario, she would call the cops, but he'd be long gone by then.

His fingertips barely brushed the fabric of the woman's miniskirt when he found himself staring up at the night sky a split second later. He hadn't even noticed he had been flipped onto his back until she leaned over him with a playful smile. "My, my, if it isn't my little nephew James Tiberius Kirk."

At the sound of laughing from his friends, Jim shot up, scrambling to get back onto his feet. "Who the fuck do you think you are?" He demanded. His chest puffed out and chin raised, glaring at this woman who had the nerve to actually make a fool out of him.

Her response was a smack to the back of his head. She did that often, he soon came to find out. Anytime he was disrespectful or did something stupid, she would smack the back of his head. Hard enough to sting just a bit, but never hard enough to do any damage. It was more annoying than anything.

He never did find out why she was in Riverside that night, nor did he care enough to put effort into finding out, but she did visit often afterwards. He didn't give her the time of day. She was his father's sister. He wanted nothing to do with his father. Not until Frank kicked him out of the house one night.

That was nothing new. He was used to getting kicked out of the house. Frank would have him locked out for a few days if he was really pissed. Normally, he'd just find some place to crash temporarily. The school basement or, if it was warm, a spot by the lake underneath the big oak tree in the park, were his usual stomping grounds. He never relied on his friends for a place to crash. He never wanted them to find out his life outside of school and their outings. He didn't trust them enough. This particular night however, he was sporting a high fever.

He wandered for a bit, trying to focus on finding a place to stay. His fever made his thinking lethargic, and he kept losing his train of thought. He collapsed in the park, vaguely wondering if he was going to die there, thinking it was fitting to die alone as he spent most of his life alone.

Somehow, and she never answered how no matter how many times he had asked, she found him. She picked him up and cared for him until he recovered even making excuses to Frank on where he was and what he was doing. Despite how rude he was to her in the past, she held no anger or annoyance toward him. She treated him as if he was her own, not taking any disrespect from him yet sitting through his fits of anger and hurtful words, letting it slide off her as if he had talked to her about the weather. That's when he discovered how kind and patient she really was. She knew that he needed to get it off his chest, and she sat and listened, and when he had tired himself out, feeling like crap and filled with self hatred and loneliness, she lent him a shoulder and gave him words of encouragement.

Not long after the incident, he received an invitation to come with her to the colony she lived on. Frank was eager to get rid of him, and he was eager to get away, so he accepted. That was how he came to live with her.

In the first year of his stay on Tarsus, he quickly figured out that the crap he pulled in Riverside would not fly here. Actions had consequences. If he failed a test, he would sit in remedial classes. If he picked up a cigarette, he would be forced to play janitor at the school. It was consequences he wasn't used to. He was used to hurtful words and fists. It was his surprise when he found that what he really took to heart was the look of hurt that was always present on his aunt's face when he really screwed up. He was used to looks of disappointment, but seeing his aunt apologize to others and get scrutinized for his mistakes and being told she was failing as a guardian, that was the worst. The longer he stayed under her care, the more he wanted her to be proud of him.

Six months after first moving in, she managed to pull out that hidden genius in him. She tricked him into taking a placement test by occasionally asking him questions, pretending it was work related. It took several months to get through the questions, but she managed to do what no one else had. In hindsight, he should have seen that coming, but he was happy she succeeded. She put him in more advanced classes, gave him engineering projects, and had him come to her work at the colony's laboratory. She was a famous biologist and highly respected. She constantly kept his mind from being idle.

She not only taught him of science but also of character. She taught him how to treat a woman, how to control his anger, and how to better choose his fights. Yeah he was far from being perfect even after two years on Tarsus IV. He still got into fights and had trouble controlling his anger, but he no longer flipped skirts, smoked, stole, or outright disrespected authority. He suspected that by the time he became an adult, he would actually be a decent human being.

Jim did not smile at her. Not this time. His brows were drawn together in worry as he showed her the dead birds that littered the ground by the crops.

She stood beside him, taking in the sight, cool and collected as always. "What type of birds are these Jim?"

Annoyance crossed the teen's face. Normally he didn't mind her little quizzes, but he wasn't in the mood at the moment. "Ravenburrow is what they have been dubbed. Native to the planet. They are scavengers eating both plants and remains of dead animals. They have unique immune systems that make them very resistant to disease. Studies on their immune systems are being conducted in hopes to find a way to improve humanoid ones."

"Very good, though I would have preferred the scientific name for an answer instead." Jim rolled his eyes. He answered it didn't he? He didn't even flinched when he felt the smack at the back of his head for the eye rolling. "What can you conclude from what you see?"

Jim hesitated but not because he did not know. It was the answer he was afraid of. "Judging by the fact that they are by the fields and are often annoying pests to the farmers, I'd say they were chowing down on the crops before they kicked the bucket. Since they rarely die from disease . . ." Jim stared at the premature crops. He approached, stopping just at the edge of the field. Small, barely visible white fuzzy particles on the leaves. "I'd say that the grain is highly toxic to humans if the Ravenburrow died so quickly."

Joanna nodded her agreement. Her features' darkening. "Yes, those are my thoughts exactly."

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