Alone in the Crowd (The Chronicles of Anna Foster Book 3) (9 page)

“Hey! That gives me an idea! Why don’t you be our guide? You can help us with the local flora and fauna, tell us what plants are good to grow and what animals are best to hunt or domesticate. I’m sure we could find a way to compensate you, maybe give you a place to live here with us, more food, some better clothes to wear.” The inflection behind her last phrase told Anna that she did not exactly approve of her current choice of clothing. “What do you say, Anna?”

Anna frowned and sighed. “The best thing you should do is pack up and leave before anything bad happens to your people.”

“Not going to happen, Anna,” Danica stated as she walked toward the door. “We are here for the long haul. And, nothing you can say will convince me to order us to evacuate.”

Anna followed on her friend’s heels. “I haven’t even told you everything you need to know.”

“I don’t think it matters, to be perfectly honest. Every single one of us made a decision to come here to start a new life on this strange, new world. We all know the risks. So, I really don’t think that any warning is going to convince us to leave.”

“What about another intelligent species who does not like intruders and is willing to eradicate them on sight?”

Danica stopped in her tracks and turned around, causing Anna to halt abruptly before she ran into her.

“What do you mean ‘another intelligent species’? You mean there are aliens here?”

“Technically speaking, we are the aliens here. But, yes and no. I have seen them here several times, but it seems to me they visit this moon rather than actually live here. It’s rather strange that their anatomies are similar to a lot of the wildlife I’ve seen, but they don’t live on this world.”

Danica shrugged. Then she probed further. “Do you think they are the ones that built the pyramid on the other side of the lake?”

Anna’s eyes grew wide. “You know about the pyramid?”

“Why, yes. Our friend Jason found it on his first day out foraging for food east of the lake. That reminds me. I need to finish the requisition on my way to the landing field.”

She walked back to her desk and transferred the data she needed to her own wristcomp, which was strapped to her wrist.

“You really need to stay away from that pyramid.” Anna warned, panicked. “That is where the others visit each time they arrive.”

“That’s good! That will make it easier for us to spot them when they return.”

Anna did a double-take. Had she heard her friend her right?

“What? What are you talking about?”

“Don’t you see?” Danica explained after turning around to face the blonde. “Making first contact with another intelligent species would be the biggest event in human history to date, and we’ll be at the front line for it. It’s going to make this moon the most famous location in the galaxy for years to come! We will get so much support from back home that we will thrive and grow like wildfire.

“This is the time to make your mark in history, Anna! You can be the one to help forge our first relations with another spacefaring race. Hell! In some ways, you already have! You know they’re here. You are our biggest expert on them right now, and we haven’t even opened a dialogue with them yet! You have just made yourself the single most important person alive!”

“No!” Anna interrupted, her voice rising a notch. “I am just a messenger of doom! You need to listen to me and do what I say if you want to live past your first encounter with them!”

Danica paused. “You know, Anna. You’re right. We do need to listen to you.”

Anna smiled, relieved her friend was now listening to her. “I’m glad you came to your senses.”

“That’s why I want you to teach us what you know about this place!”

Anna blinked.

“You don’t get it. Do you?”

Danica sighed. “Look. I want you to be our guide and teach us how to survive here. I’m not going to take ‘No’ for an answer.”

It was Anna’s turn to sigh. “I’m not going to change your mind, am I?”

Danica shook her head. “Nope.”

Anna could not help but to crack a little smile. “I never could.” She paused in thought.

“Fine! I’ll be your guide, but promise me that you are not going to blindly rush into this first-contact situation. Please, promise me!”

“Sure.” Danica replied in an offhand manner as she worked on her wristcomp. “No problem.”

Judging from the way Danica responded, Anna knew she was not listening properly yet. She placed her hands on her hips as her friend moved toward the door. “Why do I get the feeling that you’re not sincere?”

“What?” Danica stopped and looked at her with a blank expression.

“Anna, don’t worry! I’m just a little distracted right now. I need to get this done before I get to the landing field.”

She glanced at the form for a second. “Why don’t you come with me? You can keep me from running into things on the way.”

“Okay.” Anna giggled in spite of herself.

The conversation between the two ladies subsided as they walked through the new town, but Anna did not pass up the opportunity to study their homes. The one-story buildings constructed from a gray metal appeared sturdy enough, but the lack of solid foundations made her wonder how well they would weather one of the infrequent heavy rainstorms. The thick cords tying the structures down gave an impression of temporary shelter more than anything else. She opened her mouth to ask her friend about the houses, but shelved the thought when she saw Danica engrossed in the form.

They arrived at the landing field several minutes later. It consisted of nothing more than a wide open field punctuated with landing lights placed several dozen meters south of the community to guide incoming vessels. A number of men sifted through the contents of several large metal containers stacked in the grass a short distance from the large, white shuttle parked within a circle of lights. Four yellow cargo walkers carried new crates from the shuttle to outside the landing area for inspection.

Danica stopped at the edge of the field and looked over the cargo. After panning her eyes across the field, she pointed to a tall man with sandy blonde hair wearing a white shirt and blue jeans. “See that man over there? That’s William, my second. He’s the one that called me back at the office.”

Anna nodded as her friend finished the last few keystrokes on the form and transmitted it.

“There, that’s done. Now to get you introduced.”

Leading the way toward the containers, Danica continued, “William is a good man. I worked with him back home for several years and know that he does a good job. I picked him personally to be my assistant.”

While Anna nodded again, her friend called out to the man. “William!”

The man turned around, smiled, and waved back without giving a response.

“Come on!” Danica beckoned with a flick of her wrist before jogging toward him. Following suit, Anna caught up with her friend and kept pace with her.

They stopped a few meters from William. Although Danica sounded a little winded from the exertion, Anna hardly broke a sweat.

“Are you okay?” Anna looked over her friend with some concern.

Danica nodded. “Yeah, I’m just not as young as I used to be.”

“Maybe you should start working out with me. I’d be happy to make you a matching suit.” Anna flashed a teasing smile as she presented her outfit with a flourish.

The administrator laughed. “I may take you up on the workout, but I’ll pass on the clothes.”

“I don’t know, Danica,” William interjected with a smirk while he closed the gap between them, looking Anna over from head to toe with a pleasant smile. “Leather does have its appeal at times.”

“Funny. William Friedman, this is Anna Foster. Anna, William. She is our new guide to Haven and will be teaching us about the native plants and animals.”

“Really?” he asked with raised eyebrows as he extended his hand. “I thought the moon was uninhabited.”

Anna took his hand in a brief but firm handshake. “It is for the most part. I’ve been marooned here for about ten years.”

“Wow! That’s a long time to be by yourself. How did you cope with the loneliness?”

Anna noted his interest with amusement. “Kate helped me out.”

“Kate? You didn’t tell me that you had somebody else here. Who is this mysterious woman?” Danica asked.

Having half expected the response, Anna rolled her eyes. “Kate is my ship’s hologram.”

“You are so disappointing,” Danica sighed.

Befuddled, William asked, “Am I missing something?”

“No!”

He reeled backwards a step from the quick, simultaneous response from both women. “Okay, then.”

Anna, unable to maintain a stern expression, cracked a smile and started giggling. Danica joined the mirth and laughed along with her, leaving poor William even more confused.

Turning to her lieutenant, Danica explained, “Anna is an old friend of mine from college. Through a strange twist of fate, we ended up here together with me as the leader of the colony and her marooned on this moon for the last decade.”

“Ah! That makes sense, I suppose.” He still sounded confused.

“Anyway, we need to coordinate times when we can get our groups together with her to learn what we can from her. Anything to help us survive is most welcome.”

“I agree.” He nodded as he transferred the cargo manifest to Danica’s wristcomp. “I’ll get right on it.”

“And I’ll finish inspecting the shipment.” Danica smiled as she walked away. “Anna, dinner tonight is here with the other colonists. Eighteen hundred hours. Be there.”

“Is that Eastern Time or Greenwich Time?”

“New York Time!”

She calculated the difference. “I’m going to be tired.”

“Is that going to be a problem?” William moved a few steps closer to the newcomer standing near him.

“If I had a little more warning, it probably wouldn’t be an issue. I’m just not used to eating a big meal just before going to bed.”

“So, you’ve been living on London time for the past ten years?”

“Sixteen, actually. I was on the mining station for six years before crashing here.”

“The mining station? You mean the one NR Suppliers owned?”

She nodded. “Yeah, that’s the one.”

“Wow! You know, if I recall the report correctly, I would swear that the company stated that the station had been dismantled, and the crew had been relocated to another facility. How many were aboard with you?”

Anna laughed. “Funny you should mention that! During my entire term aboard the station, I was the only one aboard.”

“What? Are you serious?”

She nodded.

“And, you’ve been by yourself for the most part for ten more years beyond that, too? Are you glad for the company we’re providing for you here?”

“Actually,” Anna
noted. “Your arrival completely took me by surprise. I didn’t expect to see another human soul again for the rest of my life.”

He smiled. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

Anna smiled back.

“Say, I’m going to be checking the shipment for a while. But, what do you say to getting together and discussing this matter of your upcoming seminars after that in about an hour or two?”

Anna brushed back a lock of hair as the wind picked up around them. “That would be great. Meet you here?”

“The town hall would be better.”

She nodded. “Okay, at the town hall, then.”

“Great! You’re welcome to hang out here in the meanwhile, if you like.”

“If you don’t mind,” she countered. “I’d like to check out your little village.”

William conceded, a little too quickly for Anna’s taste. “Okay. That’s fine. Have fun!”

Waving as she left, Anna walked back into the gathering of buildings and wandered through the grassy walkways. The stroll proved to be rather peaceful at first, giving her time to reflect back on William’s friendliness. She felt good about the conversation and assured that she could finally have a decent conversation with a man after the hardships she endured at the hands of other men about ten years ago. William seemed like the kind of man she could be good friends with.

As Anna walked, she enjoyed the gentle breeze blowing between the homes that cooled the sunlight shining on her bright blonde hair and tanned shoulders. She stopped a couple of times to study the colored-glass decorations a few of the residents had displayed in their windows.

Several minutes into her meandering, Anna spotted two rifle-carrying soldiers following her from a distance. Doing her best to appear oblivious to their presence, she continued her tour past a few more houses and then darted behind one of the buildings out of sight of the trailing men.

The guards picked up their pace and rushed to the corner where Anna had disappeared. They peered down the connecting alley and saw no trace of her.

“Where did she go?” one of them asked aloud.

The other, with a gruffer voice, answered. “To hell if I know! But, we’d better find her, or the colonel is gonna fuckin’ kill us.”

They jogged down the path between the homes, continuing their search. On the roof of the house at the corner, Anna fought to ignore the heat emanating from the dark shingles while holding her position prone on the hot surface. Satisfied that her pursuers had gone far enough away, she slid down the back side of the dwelling and landed on her feet in the grass. She quickly rubbed her bare arms and legs, hoping to dissipate the heat that had collected on her skin, and resumed her tour in a different direction.

A short time later, Anna signaled her ship.

“Kate, this is Anna.”

“Oh, thank God you’re all right! When are you coming back?”

Anna glanced around her, making sure the coast was clear. “Actually, I’m going to be at the colony for the rest of the evening. I have been asked to be their guide to help them learn to survive here.”

Kate paused for a second. “I thought you were trying to tell them to leave.”

“I was, but things changed unexpectedly.”

“How?”

“It turns out that the leader of the colonists is my best friend from college.”

“You’re kidding!”

“No, it’s true. But, I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, I’m really glad to see her and know that she is doing well. But on the other hand, I don’t want anything to happen to her while she’s here.”