by Merry Farmer
“Did you know anything about this?” Carrie asked, keeping her voice low enough so that no one would overhear.
“Stacey told me about the treasure chests last night. She said they had been buried under the standard emergency ship supplies. They’re not on the inventory.”
“Not on the inventory?” Carrie shifted, face pinched and anxious. “Did you see that stuff? Seeds? Axes and shovels? Not exactly the kind of thing you expect to need if your emergency ship is jettisoned into deep space.”
“Yes, but emergency ships have to land somewhere.” The back of Grace’s neck prickled.
“No, Grace, no they don’t. Emergency ships were designed to sustain people in space long enough to be picked up by rescue ships.”
“It’s pretty hard to be picked up by a rescue ship when you’ve escaped from the only ship capable of interstellar travel.”
“Yeah, but—”
“Look, Carrie.” Grace sighed, stopping to face her friend. “It’s a moot point. We’re here. So are the treasure chests. Before we worry about why, we need to build a home.” She pushed on up the hill. “We need to make contact with the other survivors. The sooner we get all three groups together into one permanent camp the better. Today is not too soon to start building our future.”
Carrie grudgingly kept silent. Grace could tell her friend needed to say more. She writhed as they walked, color on her cheeks, breathing shallow and tight. Her jaw flexed, but her mouth stayed shut.
“We explored most of the river upstream yesterday,” Grace said. “I think we should concentrate on the valley and forest downriver today. I have a good feeling about that area.”
“A good feeling.” Carrie crossed her arms.
“A feeling of promise. Did you see any guns in those crates?”
“I thought you hated weapons and violence.”
“We have to be careful with weapons,” Grace agreed. “But I’m willing to admit that we might need them. We can’t afford any more incidents like yesterday. I don’t want people relying on a gun for negotiations if we run into Kinn’s men again or anyone from the other wreck.”
“What about the bears and the wolves?” Carrie was unsympathetic.
“For now we need to avoid them if we can. Maybe we can get Kinn to teach us to hunt.”
Carrie snorted a laugh. “I don’t need that meathead to teach me how to hunt.”
“Oh, really?” She was running out of patience for her friend’s false bravado. They were all starting at square one in a place where the learning curve would be steep.
When they reached her bear skin Grace shrugged off Sean’s shirt and handed it to Carrie.
“Listen, we’ve got no choice now but to do what we need to do to survive and build a colony here. That includes getting along with everyone, whether you like them or not.”
“Sure.”
“‘Everyone’ includes Danny.”
Carrie balled the wet shirt in her fists. “There are things—”
“—that I don’t know about him,” Grace sighed. “So you keep telling me. It’s getting old.”
Carrie pressed her lips tight and turned away, cheeks flushed.
Grace ran her fingers through her damp hair and squeezed out the ends, too irritated to take it any further. Carrie was her closest friend besides Danny and she didn’t want to face whatever they had to face on the moon at odds with her.
“See if you can find something to eat. We’ll talk about it all with the whole group in an hour.”
Carrie wavered for a moment, fists tense around Sean’s shirt. She definitely had more she wanted to say. She practically dripped with scorn for Danny. Grace had heard it all before.
Carrie gave in and let out a breath, her shoulders relaxing. “All right. But we’re not done talking about this.” She met Grace’s eyes and held them before turning to start back down the hill.
Danny was marching up the hill with her pack. As they passed, Carrie bumped him with her shoulder. He stumbled to the side, staring incredulously after her. With a shake of his head he continued on.
“You found it.” Grace let go of her hair and reached for the rucksack.
“It was sitting out on one of the seats.”
He stopped dead and assessed her with the same brand of male appreciation that Sean had earlier and Kinn the day before. His assessment was just as carnal without any shame or attempt to hide it. Unlike Kinn or Sean, his stare sent swirls of heat through her.
“You always did look good in white,” he said.
“Stop.”
She snatched the pack from Danny with a grin she couldn’t disguise and rifled through it for the plain gray dress that had been part of ES5’s inventory. It had surprised her that whoever stocked the emergency ships would include dresses at all, seeing as they were so archaic. Women hadn’t worn dresses for decades, except on formal occasions and in her grandmother’s household.
The dress came out of the rucksack with an explosion of socks and underwear and a button-down shirt. She cursed as they spilled to the ground.
When she lifted a wayward sock a shiny silver object slid out and hit the ground. A key.
Her heart shot to her throat and she dropped the pack and clothes on her bear skin to reach for it.
“What’s that?” Danny’s impish grin vanished.
“A key.”
She picked it up and turned it over. Its design melded old fashioned and high tech in one sleek silver piece.
“A key to what?”
She shrugged. “I have no idea. It’s not mine.”
Guilt over the tiny lie pricked her. In fact she did have an idea what it belonged to. Nothing on ES5 required a key to get into or out of. As far as she knew, there was only one thing on the entire moon that needed a key at all.
“Grace?” Danny narrowed his eyes in concern and put a steadying hand on her arm.
He blinked and tugged her subtly closer.
“Grace, you’re freezing. You need to change into something dry.”
“You’re right.”
She shook off her guilt and took in a breath. She hesitated for half a second before tossing the key onto the pile of her clothes.
“Will you stand guard while I change?”
“Of course.” Another grin pulled Danny’s mouth askew. He let go of her arm and rested his weight on one hip, crossing his arms and watching her.
“Turn around.” She arched an eyebrow and pointed a finger past him.
He gave her a teasing look before reluctantly turning his back to her, a deep chuckle rumbling from his chest.
As fast as she could, Grace stripped out of her damp dress and changed into the dry clothes from her rucksack. It was such a relief to be dry again that she didn’t really care if anyone saw her naked. She didn’t give them enough time to get a good look anyhow. She donned the gray dress and the faded pink button-down shirt and new socks in less than two minutes.
While Danny helped to spread her things out to dry, she braided her long hair and wound it into a bun at the nape of her neck. The transformation left her feeling ready to explore and conquer. She slipped the silver key into the pocket of her dress. There would be time to solve that mystery later.
Before the hour was over the entire camp had assembled by the wreck. Stacey, Jonah, and Alvin had unpacked the crate with the axes and the square bundles of canvas which were indeed tents. People walked around the piles they had made of its contents, whispering and staring at the items that had been laid out for inventorying. A dozen tents, a dozen axes, two kinds of saws, poles for the tents, some kind of netting, and more. Jonah sat balancing a clipboard from the cockpit on his knees, writing as Stacey directed. Stacey paused in her narrative when she noticed Grace. She crossed the piles and stepped discreetly to her side.
“Not in the inventory,” she revealed in a low voice. “Not even close.” She nodded at the spread of stuff. “Someone knew what they were doing too. We can use all of this.”
Grace nodded and Stacey returned
to her work. She glanced to Danny as he lingered by the edge of the last crate. If she could just have five minutes alone with him to tell him what she thought was going on, five minutes to bounce some theories off of him, she was sure she would feel a thousand times better.
Sean had other plans.
“All right. Everybody gather ’round. Grace and I have a few things to say.”
Sean walked into the space between the wreck and the crates, motioning for any stragglers to join them. He stopped in front of Grace with a swaggering grin, blocking Danny from her line of sight.
“I think I liked your old outfit better.”
“Very funny.”
He turned to stand by her side as she faced the rest of their camp.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to handle this?” he murmured. “Say the word and I’ll take over.”
Grace’s back prickled. “I’ve got this.”
“If you’re sure.”
“I am.” She met Danny’s eyes where he stood apart from her and Sean. His expression had gone as dark as space. She swallowed and pushed the brewing problem out of her mind. Things needed to be done. People needed direction.
“I don’t want to waste time talking this morning,” she began. “Gil says that the days are longer here, but that doesn’t mean daylight will last forever. We need to explore the area, search for resources, and find a suitable area for a more permanent settlement.”
She was distinctly aware of Sean shifting to cross his arms and stand taller behind her, as if giving authority to her words with his physical presence. She didn’t have time to be annoyed. Neither did Danny, though he looked it.
“We know the river runs along the bottom of a series of hills like the one we’re standing on right now. The river looks like it widens in that direction.”
She pointed where the river ran downstream, suddenly hoping the treasure chests contained compasses and that the moon at least had a magnetic north so they could determine direction.
“We’ll need one team to explore that way, maybe two if we break into smaller groups. On the other side of this hill there’s a valley. The smoke from the other ship came from that direction so we can assume that those survivors are waiting for us there. Past that there are higher hills and eventually mountains, but I don’t expect we’ll reach them any time soon.” A few people chuckled. “It might be nice to have another team head further inland to see what kind of resources are available there.”
“I’ll need some people to stay here and help with this too,” Stacey spoke up.
“I need to set up my equipment in the valley to take more measurements,” Gil added, searching through the contents of the crate spread across the ground as he talked, not appearing to actually notice any of them.
“There are thirty-eight of us,” Grace nodded. “Let’s form three teams of ten to explore and leave eight here to see to the camp and help Gil.”
“I’ll take a group downriver into the forest.” Beth raised a hand to volunteer. A few of her friends offered to go with her.
“Thanks, Beth.” A surge of confidence built in Grace. They were getting somewhere. “Dave, can you take a group inland?”
“Yep.”
“And I’ll cross the valley on the river side to look for the other wreck,” she continued.
“Grace, you can’t go out there,” Sean immediately contradicted her, lowering his voice as he continued with, “Kutrosky is with that group.”
Grace blinked. “So? What does Kutrosky matter now?”
Sean sighed and crossed his arms. “Don’t play that game. You know it matters.”
“It doesn’t. I need to make sure the survivors over there are okay. We need to bring them back with us. I’m going across the valley, even if I have to go alone.”
“I’m not letting you wander off by yourself again.” Carrie stepped up almost before she had finished.
“Neither am I.” Sean was just as fast to announce his intentions.
“Good.” Grace turned and met Danny’s eyes. He nodded. “Perfect. Make sure you all take water and ration packs with you,” she instructed the swiftly forming groups. “Designate someone to record anything useful that you see, edible plants, wildlife, possible shelters. And take some of the guns with you but do not use them.” She raised her voice to emphasize the order over the din of eager explorers.
When her comment garnered more than a few frowns she said, “There are other people out there. We can’t afford any more accidents like yesterday. No one can get hurt, but more importantly, no one can die. We need every last one of us if we’re going to form a viable long-term civilization, okay? Be careful and try to be back here by sunset. Rhiannon, do you and Landon want to come with me?”
“Sure, Grace.” Rhiannon smiled in answer.
Instructions over, Grace turned to Danny as he closed the distance between them. “Think you’re going to keep me out of trouble?”
His expression softened. “Since when have I ever successfully kept you out of trouble?”
“Touché.” She winked.
Five minutes alone with Danny to sort things out? An hour would be better. Days. Maybe a lifetime.
“Grace.” Stacey pulled her attention before she could leave. Grace turned to the crates where Stacey was still fishing for items. “You might be able to use some of this.”
“What have you got?”
She and Danny walked to the side of the crate with Carrie and Sean following.
“It looks like there are backpacks in here, bigger and better than those tissue paper things on ES5.” She pulled one out and handed it to her. “And more canteens, but we already have those.”
“What on earth is that?” She nodded at a large curved metal disc like a bowl at the bottom of the crate.
“It’s a brazier,” Danny told her as he leaned over her shoulder to look in the crate. “And those look like pots.”
Eerie prickles raced down Grace’s back. “I guess we’ll be able to cook dinner tonight then.”
She stood, backing into Danny’s chest. His arms closed around her to steady her and she was grateful for the moment of reassurance.
“This isn’t right,” she murmured.
“Are you complaining?” he whispered.
She shook her head, aware of both Sean and Carrie watching them with different versions of the same hostile frown. She couldn’t hide her thoughts from them.
“I was holding out hope that the explosion on the Argo was an accident.” She slung the backpack Stacey hastily packed for her over one shoulder and started up the hillside. “This doesn’t look like an accident.”
Chapter Five – The War
Grace smiled up at the sun and Chronis as she measured her steps down the hill and into another spreading valley of tall grass and wildflowers. Her team of ten had been walking for several hours, skirting the forest as they headed toward the spot where smoke from the other wreck had been seen. If it wasn’t for the orange planet in the sky and the familiar yet unrecognizable flora and fauna all around them she would have thought she was near her childhood home.
“It reminds me so much of Pennsylvania,” she said as the tall grass swished past her skirt.
“Everything reminds you of Pennsylvania.”
Carrie nudged her arm as she walked by her side. They exchanged smiles.
“The rolling hills, the forests, those animals that could either be deer or cows. We have both in spades in Pennsylvania, by the way,” she went on.
“Is that what that smell is?” Carrie snorted.
Grace shot her a dramatic scowl. “You’re from New Mexico, you wouldn’t understand.”
“You got something against New Mexico?”
“I’ve got something against deserts. I need trees.”
“We’ve got trees in Albuquerque.”
“Not real trees.”
“And we have fewer bugs.” She smacked a winged insect that landed on her bare arm. “Are we sure these things aren’t going
to kill us?”
“They’re harmless.”
“Are you two finished?” Sean cut off their banter with a frown as he walked a step behind them.
“Aren’t we supposed to be spreading out to cover more territory?” Carrie shot back over her shoulder at him. She met Grace’s eyes with a grin.
Finally. Carrie was in a good mood. It was close to feeling like old times.
“She has a point,” Grace added.
Sean stopped and blew out an impatient breath. He shook his head and changed his path to cut further out into the field. Carrie winked at him as he marched off. His jaw hardened.
“What’s gotten into him?” she muttered as they continued across the field.
“Who knows?”
Grace’s shoulders tensed at her half lie. She looked away from Sean’s retreating back to find Danny walking alone far away along the line of trees that marked the edge of the forest. He wore the backpack Stacey had given him and had been filling it with samples of grasses and flowers and the leaves of the trees they passed. When she spotted him he had stopped to squat and investigate something growing at the base of a huge tree that reminded her of a maple.
She checked on Sean again as he kicked his way through the tall grass toward Rhiannon, rifle slung over his shoulder. His scowl was weapon enough.
“I think Sean is trying to play the alpha male,” she concluded, unsure whether she was making a joke or not.
Carrie snorted. “So what else is new?”
Grace raised an eyebrow and watched Sean’s broad back as he shifted the rifle to his other shoulder.
The gym had been crowded, as usual. She had taken a towel from the rack against the wall to wipe the sweat from her face. Her muscles had been warm and toned after the lesson. Carrie still bounced on her toes on the mat in the center of the room. Her ponytail swished down over her neck, stopping just short of the sunrise tattooed between her shoulder blades. Carrie’s knuckles had been wrapped and she held her fists ready, circling Dave. The sparkle of competition blazed in her eyes.
“Let’s see what you’ve got,” Carrie said.
Dave jumped into an attack with a jab to her right. Carrie deflected the blow with a sharp “Ha!” She danced back and snuck in a counter-punch to his chest. Dave took the blow with an unsuspecting grin. He was still convinced he was ‘fighting a girl.’
