Alone in the Crowd (The Chronicles of Anna Foster Book 3) (32 page)

“No, there was a blue energy fluctuation around where the missiles detonated.”

Behind her, Danica muttered something that barely reached Anna’s ears. “Oh, my god!”

The entire group watched in silence as a large, hexagonal ship faded into view before their eyes. The vessel hovered effortlessly in the air and loomed over the landscape as though watching and waiting. To Anna, it appeared identical to the one she had encountered a decade ago, and she wondered if it was the same. What would it do? Was it going to attack or attempt to make peaceful contact? Considering that it had just withstood two missile attacks while cloaked, she felt less than optimistic about a nonviolent result.

“Anna, is that the ship you’re expecting?” Danica’s shout snapped her out of her cloud of thought. Turning to face her, Anna nodded and returned her gaze to the Altiki ship.

While she watched, she could barely make out Danica’s words. “Haven Control, Armstrong. Anna confirmed that it is our expected guests… Understood. Armstrong out.”

“Danica?” Anna’s question barely reached her own ears. Stealing a glance at her friend, she found that the administrator still watched the sky and turned back in time to witness the two fighters rotate and launch two more missiles directly at the alien craft.

“No!” Anna screamed, pulling clenched fists to her chest as she witnessed the explosions resulting from the missile salvo against the Altiki vessel. The energy shield surrounding the alien ship flared blue around the point of impact and faded as the incendiary effects faded.

Three more streaks of white vapor penetrated the sky, originating from near the airfield, moving toward the large hexagon, while multiple smaller impacts created tiny blue ripples along the side of the craft facing the colony.

Anna wheeled about to face Danica, a look of utter horror on her face. Her friend had her hand to her earpiece as she spoke.

“William, get these colonists to safety. Now!”

“Why, Danica? Why are you attacking them?”

Danica looked down at Anna, appearing cool and collected. “You told us that they would come and take action against us. We decided to cut down on our losses and attack them first.”

Anna stared at the administrator, her face shifting from horror to contempt. She shook her head, willing herself to not believe what she heard. “You don’t understand, Danica. You believe you’re trying to save the colony. What you just did was to start humanity’s first interstellar war.”

“No, Anna.
You
don’t understand.” Danica’s eyes spewed flames into Anna’s very soul as the roar from the fighters’ engines faded, producing a welcome silence save for the myriad conversations from the finally moving colonists. “I am going to do everything in my power to protect this colony and its inhabitants.”

“The Altiki are a superior force. They will destroy every living being in this colony if this attack continues. There must be a better way.”

Danica shook her head, denying Anna’s conclusion. “We have a full military contingent here prepared to defend this colony. On top of that, we have a colony ship in orbit with a frigate providing escort. If this vessel of yours proves to be a threat, then the frigate will come into play.”

“One ship?” Anna scoffed at the Danica’s confession. “If my suspicions are correct, that one ship doesn’t stand a chance.”

“And, what do you suspect?”

“I believe this is the Altiki’s homeworld.”

Danica recoiled from the statement. A second later after the initial shock wore off, she chuckled. “This?” She raised her arms, indicating their surroundings. “This is their homeworld? What makes you think that?”

“Did you notice the creatures living here? You’ve seen the ones your hunters have brought back. You’ve seen the images from my reports and presentations. They all have six limbs configured in the same way as the Altiki. Where else have we found anything like that? And, what about the underground ruins discovered a few days ago?”

“Ruins. That’s all that’s here is ruins. Where is this mighty civilization of theirs?”

Anna stared darkly at Danica. “They’re a subterranean race. They don’t live on the surface like us. In fact, I believe that most of their population is on the dark side of this moon. If I am right and this is their homeworld, it would explain why you’ve never found any ion trails in the space leading here from anywhere else besides Earth. And if I’m right, they’re poised to launch an entire fleet of ships to take out any ships Earth sends out here.”

Danica glanced at the Altiki ship. “Well, it doesn’t seem to be much of a threat so far. Maybe you’re wrong.”

Several more missiles slammed against the alien craft’s energy shield, while small arms fire continued to pelt the ship from below. The soldiers positioned in the bunkers around the square withheld their fire, while the colonists rushed in an orderly fashion toward the tilled fields north of town.

* * * * *

An incoming message in Danica’s earpiece distracted her from the spectacle. “Armstrong, McClaskey. It seems that Foster’s friends aren’t much of a threat to us.”

A few seconds later, the two fighters circled around on a course toward the hexagonal vessel. As they approached, a green beam of energy shot at the fighters, instantly piercing through the first and causing it to explode on contact. The beam swept across the short span of sky to the other one and cut through it cleanly, causing it to also erupt in a fireball. The sudden silence after the fighters’ engines died brought relief to Danica’s ears. The remains of both aircraft careened downward into the lake.

“Now, we’ve got a fight!” the colonel proclaimed through Danica’s communicator. “Launch all fighters. Hit it with everything we’ve got!”

Danica ordered through her earpiece, “William, we need to get these colonists to the bunkers yesterday. What’s taking so long?”

“We’re bottlenecked at the end of the lane. I’m trying to route some of them around the houses, but it’s taking longer than I expected.”

“Damn it! We don’t have time for this.”

* * * * *

While the last of the colonists finally left the square, the Altiki ship fired another beam of light toward the airfield, moving it to target various locations. Distant screams and explosions from destroyed vehicles assaulted Anna’s ears. As if on cue, the soldiers bunkered around the square opened fire on the floating ship.

Torn between listening to Danica’s side of the conversation and trying to keep track of everything in the battle, Anna felt that she needed to do something – anything – to stop the needless bloodshed. She looked frantically around the square, determining the highest point in the immediate area. After a couple of seconds, she knew she had it. “Danica, how do you get on the roof of the town hall?”

“What?”

Anna slowed her urgent words. “How do you get on the roof of the town hall?”

Glancing behind her, Danica answered, “There’s a hatch at the top of the ladder inside the maintenance closet in the back.”

Without another word, Anna dashed through the front doors. She found the maintenance closet easily enough and scrambled up the ladder to the hatch. Bursting through the trap door, she climbed onto the roof and moved to its apex. She reached the top and, steadying herself, stood upright.

“What is their word for ‘stop’?” Anna asked herself, wracking her brain for the word. “I wish Bryce was here to tell me.”

Examining the landscape, Anna assessed the current situation from her vantage point. The airfield was ablaze. Most, if not all, of the vehicles there were either badly damaged or destroyed. Remnants of shelters and fortified bunkers littered the field’s perimeter, and almost no heavy weapons were being fired from the ground. A single missile escaped from a building near the west side, which exploded prematurely thanks to an intercepting energy beam from the Altiki vessel. Seconds later, another lethal beam shot from the alien ship, and the building from which the missile had been fired erupted in a massive fireball. Panning her gaze across the colony, she saw multiple bunkers along the water’s edge and scattered throughout the area, still pelting the ship’s shields with small arms fire.

Figuring it was only a matter of time before they would be targeted, she rummaged through her memories to find the word she needed. A few seconds later, it finally hit her. “That’s it!”

Activating her wristcomp’s communicator, she set the transmission to all available frequencies and opened the channel. “Tak! Tak!”

* * * * *

Danica, still standing in front of the double doors, flinched from the announcement broadcasting through her earpiece. “What is she doing?”

“Armstrong, McClaskey. Is that Foster?”

* * * * *

In the war room established in the main hall’s basement, McClaskey towered over the communications console behind the operator.

“I believe it is, colonel,”
Danica responded.

“Sir,” the young officer seated in front of him remarked. “It sounds to me like she’s telling them to attack.”

The colonel grimaced. “Find her and shut her down. We don’t need her helping them.”

Straightening his posture, he watched the activity through the few monitors that remained active. “I knew she was trouble from day one.”

* * * * *

On the roof, Anna continued her plea, when she noticed a sudden change in the attack. The Altiki ship ceased firing on the airfield and diverted its weapons to the waterfront, sweeping a beam across the shore. Dozens of blood-curdling screams filled the air as bunker after bunker fell to the lethal attack. Within seconds, screams of terror from the north pierced the air, as the colonists realized the proximity of the attacks.

“Oh, god.” Anna felt sick to her stomach. Believing they would turn to the colony itself very soon, she enhanced her appeal with renewed vigor. “Altiki ship, this is Anna Foster. Tak! Tak!”

* * * * *

Through Danica’s communicator, the administrator heard, “Armstrong, where in the hell is Foster?”

“She’s on the roof of the main hall.”

“God, damn it! Get her down!”

“Find someone else. I have colonists to take care of.”

She looked down at Jason, who remained rooted to his position. Confused, he did not know whether to join the colonists or run after Anna.

“Fuller!”

Snapping out of his daze, he looked up at Danica. “Get out of here! Go with the other colonists!”

Nodding rapidly, he turned and ran to the rest of the group. Seconds later, Danica followed.

* * * * *

The Altiki’s weapons shifted again, and their beams moved into the residences nearest the lake. Several of the houses erupted with flames when their power generators were hit, sending debris in all directions.

Anna yelled into her wristcomp, tears cascading down her cheeks. “Tak, damn it! Tak!” She stopped suddenly from an extremely sharp pain in her chest that nearly threw her backwards. Looking down, she found a dark, burned spot just above her heart. The unbearable pain penetrated all the way through to her left shoulder. As she realized she had been shot, the energy in her limbs faded. Her knees buckled, and she dropped to the roof, rolling down its silvery surface to land on the ground with a bone-crunching thud.

* * * * *

From a bunker on the far side of the square, one of the soldiers smirked to himself as he lowered his rifle and changed the channel on his communicator. “Objective complete. Anna Foster is dead.”

“Good work, Adams.” The voice of the man from Anna’s encounter a few days back congratulated him. “Our benefactors with NR Suppliers will be pleased. As soon as we get through this, we will make our way to the rendezvous point.”

* * * * *

Seconds after Anna hit the ground, the weapons from the Altiki craft ceased firing. The ship remained motionless for a couple of seconds more before maneuvering over the colony, which prompted more screams from the colonists.

Danica looked over her shoulder, spying the approaching ship. Out of the corner of her eye, she found that Anna was no longer on the roof, and she pivoted and sprinted back to the square. Rounding the corner, she spotted her friend lying motionless in the dirt in front of the building.

“
Anna!
”

Rushing to her side, Danica knelt next to her friend and noticed the telltale burn on her back near her left shoulder. “Oh, god. Who shot you?” She rolled her over and cradled her head in her lap. “Anna, say something!”

Jason rushed to Danica’s side. Dropping to his knees next to Anna, he asked, “What happened?”

“Some asshole shot her!”

His mind raced to determine what to do, whether to remain here and help his leader or find medical aid. “Let me find a first aid kit.” He leaped to his feet and hurried into the town hall.

Danica looked upward at the approaching craft, tears staining her cheeks. “Why? Why did you do this?” At that moment, a distant explosion in the upper atmosphere caught her eye just before the vessel obscured her view of it.

“Armstrong, McClaskey. Word from the cargo ship is that the frigate was attacked and destroyed by another of these Altiki ships. With most of our forces gone, we have no choice but to surrender and hope these beings are civilized enough to let us live.”

Dropping her head back down to look at Anna, she sniffed back her tears and touched her earpiece, defeat washing over her. “William, how are the colonists doing?”

“We’ve got most of them through the bottleneck now. They should be in the bunkers in moments.”

“Thank you. I’ll keep you informed.”

“Are you coming, Ms. Armstrong?”

“I’ll keep you informed. Armstrong out.” She pulled the earpiece from her ear and dropped it before breaking into fits of sobbing. “Why, Anna? Why did this have to happen?”

“I guess somebody didn’t like my outfit,” Anna mumbled weakly, her voice raspy as her eyelids fluttered open.

“Anna? You’re alive!”

* * * * *

Wincing from another surge of pain, Anna lightly shook her head. “Not for long. Did they stop?”

“Who?”

“The Altiki. Are they attacking anymore?”

Danica moved her head negatively. “No, they aren’t.”

Smiling feebly, Anna swallowed, and her voice cleared a bit. “Good.”

“Jason’s finding a first aid kit.”