Alone on the Edge (The Chronicles of Anna Foster)

by Patrick Stutzman

  Within minutes, Ryan had set the mattress onto the frame, pressed the two beds together, and lied down next to her.

  “There! Better?” he inquired.

  Anna nodded happily, “Much better!”

  Ryan shuffled next to her, wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and gently pulled her close. Anna gently shook her head and turned away from him onto her side, allowing him to nestle behind her. Feeling him close to her, a feeling of warmth and security spread through her body, something she had not felt since she was back on Earth. She felt as if she had melted in him and smiled. Her eyelids grew heavy, and she drifted off to sleep.

  Chapter 22

  The sounds of cannon fire and loud orchestral music from the “1812 Overture” startled Anna and Ryan awake. Anna instantly sat up wide-eyed with her hand plastered to her chest. Ryan, on the other hand, rolled out of bed and sprang into a combat pose with a ready pistol in hand. As soon as the two of them realized what was going on, they instantly calmed, each with a sigh of relief. Anna glanced over her shoulder at her guest as he hastily holstered his sidearm and shot her a sheepish grin.

  Anna chuckled to herself briefly before gazing at the ceiling and screaming over the deafening music, “Computer, shut it off!”

  The instant silence was almost as deafening as the sound that assaulted their ears mere seconds before.

  “Does the computer always wake you up this way?” Ryan inquired curiously while crossing his arms.

  “Uh,” she paused for a brief second. “Not really. It’s something it started a couple of weeks ago. I guess I’ve been sleeping in a lot recently, and it wants to keep me on schedule.”

  Ryan shook his head in mild amusement.

  “I’d change that real quick if I were you,” he suggested. “That is, unless you’re trying to go deaf by the time you’re 30.”

  Anna smiled as she climbed out of bed, “With any luck, I’ll have a heart attack first.”

  After seeing his smile and nod, she took a couple of steps toward the head, turned around, and stated, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get ready. So . . . get out.”

  Disappointment and confusion flashed across Ryan’s face, “What? Why? Are you sure? I don’t mind waiting . . .”

  “Absolutely not!”

  Anna pointed to the door with her outstretched arm.

  “O . . . U . . . T! Out!”

  With a heavy sigh, Ryan jokingly slumped his shoulders and shuffled out. Before passing through the open door, he turned and asked, “Oy! How’s your back feeling?”

  She pressed her hand over the area of her spine in question and replied, “Much better actually. It’s a little stiff. Nothing a hot shower can’t fix.”

  “You know,” he suggested with a devilish smile. “I would be happy to help wash all the areas you can’t reach . . .”

  Anna firmly pointed toward the door and exclaimed with a broad smile and a slight laugh, “Get!”

  Flashing his winning smile again, he stepped into the hallway, and the door closed behind him. Anna stared at the door for a few seconds, shook her head in amused disbelief, and stepped into the head.

  A few seconds later, she looked around for her wristcomp but could not locate the personal device. She thought for a few seconds but could not recall where she placed it.

  At that moment, the computer announced, “Ryan has returned to his cabin.”

  “Yeah,” replied Anna just as she lifted her toothbrush from its niche. “You need to find another way of waking me up in the morning. Your music choice is going to give me a heart attack.”

  “I am sorry, Anna. But, it has been effective.”

  Anna frowned, “Maybe so, but it’s pretty loud. I’m afraid I might go deaf if it doesn’t change.”

  “Your request has been noted.”

  She nodded as she started to brush her teeth, “Okay.”

  “Today’s work agenda is quite full,” the computer continued. “The tasks currently listed are: complete visual inspection of Blue-4’s outer hull, replace three hull plates on Blue-3, change the lights in Green-1, locate and replace a faulty fuel line in the skiff, routine main . . .”

  Anna straightened her posture and exclaimed after pulling her toothbrush out of her mouth, “Faulty fuel line?! When did that happen?”

  “The diagnostic report run at 0300 hours this morning listed a 1% drop in fuel from the previous test performed the day before. Considering that the skiff had not been flown . . .”

  “Considering that the skiff wasn’t flown,” Anna stated simultaneously while brushing. “Then, there must be a fuel leak somewhere. Great. Go on.”

  “Routine maintenance on 4 drones, repair one of the visual receptors on the cleaning drone, and take your monthly physical examination in the infirmary.”

  “Not the monthly physical already?!” groaned Anna after she spat into the sink. “You know I hate those. I’ve been in perfect health for the last . . . I don’t know . . . several months. Can’t we just skip it and say I’m fine?”

  “You know as well as I that the physical examinations are required as a condition of your employment and must be included with each monthly shipment.”

  Anna asked playfully, “Does that mean I can go home if it’s not in there?”

  “No, Anna; an investigation would be initiated. You know that.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  As she slipped her shirt off and dropped it on the floor, she continued, “Doesn’t hurt to try, though. Does it?”

  “I would not recommend it.”

  * * * * *

  Ryan showered after returning to his quarters and rushed to join Anna in the mess hall for breakfast. But, he settled for eating alone as she had opted for a quick breakfast and rushed to get her first tasks of the day completed that required her to work outside the station. In her absence, he took advantage of the opportunity to give himself a tour of the station.

  “Computer,” he paged through his communicator.

  “Yes, Ryan,” the female voice of his ship responded.

  “Notify me the instant Anna is back aboard the station and within 10 meters of my current position.”

  “Acknowledged.”

  Starting at the top and working his way down, the self-guided exploration of the aging structure turned out to be more like a walk through a museum than a tour of a fully functional mining station. Walking past the work stations on the command deck that he had only seen in school holographs intrigued him slightly, but he dismissed them and moved on. The Red, Green, and Blue levels were also found to be wanting, save for the inability to access Blue-3. He decided to ignore it for now, wanting to finish his tour before Anna’s return.

  Returning to Gray level, he figured that his tour would be more of the same, especially since he presumed he had seen most of the level already. To his surprise, his stroll along the central corridor took him to the station’s repair bay. Curious to see just how much work she had to do on a regular basis, he opened the door and paused, his interest captured at last.

  Sitting on the workbench on the opposite side of the room was Anna’s robot. Still unpowered, the construct appeared to Ryan that it could sit up from its slumped position at any second. Glancing down each direction of the hallway, he confirmed that the coast was clear and stepped into the room.

  Walking over to the robot, Ryan looked it over from head to toe, shaking his head with a grim expression on his face while he did.

  “Dear, sweet Anna,” he muttered to himself. “You really are lonely out here, aren’t you?”

  He stared at it a few seconds more before scrutinizing every centimeter of it like a professor reviewing a student’s final project. He lifted its jaw and peered at the parts that composed its skull-like face. After a few seconds, he picked up one of its hands and examined the fingers and joints, marveling at the work put into it.

  Ryan stepped to its side and looked over its back, noticing the multiple power cables coiled together to compose its spinal cord
and the larger power cord plugged into the power supply located just past its tailbone. His gaze dropped to its legs, where he noticed its “bones” made from a metal colored a darker gray than the rest of its skeleton. He leaned in closer and picked out the company logo for NR Suppliers burned into one of the struts.

  Raising an eyebrow, he dryly commented, “Impressive.”

  He continued a few seconds later, “But, do you run?”

  He looked over what he believed to be the obvious locations for a power switch: on the back of the head and neck, at the base of the spine, and under each of its arms. Nothing. He paused and wracked his brain trying to figure out where she would have put it. Finally, a thought struck him.

  Opening its mouth, he snaked his finger back and up behind its palette, until he felt a button almost flush with the surrounding plate. With a slight flinch, he pressed it and quickly retracted his hand.

  A couple of seconds later, a soft blue light illuminated within its eyes, and the robot raised its head. Ryan took a few steps back and watched the creation’s initial actions with interest, as it tested all of its movable parts. A minute later, it stopped but remained operative.

  Ryan watched it for a few more seconds but grew impatient as the robot did nothing more. He waved his hand at it and asked, “Hello? Anyone home?”

  The robot did not respond.

  “Hmmm,” he observed. “Looks like she hasn’t installed your operating system yet.”

  Glancing about the repair bay, he searched for a data module that might have the programming it needed. He gave up after a minute, deducing that she had not yet prepared the software.

  “I wonder if . . .”

  “Ryan,” the female computer voice interrupted through his communicator in a low volume.

  “Yes,” he replied.

  “Anna is approaching your location.”

  “Copy,” he answered hastily before closing the channel.

  Ryan glanced at the robot, speculating that Anna would have shown him the repair bay if she did not mind her project being seen. Determined that he should not be caught, he shot a look over his shoulder at the doorway before rushing to the robot, opening its jaw, and shutting it down. In a split-second decision, he bolted for the storage closet and ducked into its dark shadows, narrowly avoiding the pile of parts spilled on the floor.

  After a few seconds, Anna cautiously walked into the repair bay, stopping just inside the doorway to look around curiously.

  “Ryan?” she called quizzically and listened for a short moment.

  Inside the storage room, he held his breath and prayed that she did not walk in and discover his hiding place in the back corner. His mind raced frantically as he attempted to concoct some story to explain his presence should he be discovered.

  “Ryan?” Anna called again, stepping further into the repair bay. A few seconds later, she shrugged, “I must be hearing things. I could swear that I heard him in here.”

  She walked to the workbench and retrieved a few parts from one of the cubbies on the workbench and looked at the robot. Her face contorted into a look of curiosity while she studied the automaton, and she set the parts on the workbench and stepped in front of the construct.

  “That’s odd,” she noted as she cradled the robot’s head. “I’m positive your jaw was closed when I last checked.”

  Ryan’s heart skipped a beat, and he closed his eyes while he mentally berated himself for being so careless. A split second later, his eyes snapped open, and his mind kicked into overdrive to create an alibi.

  Anna toyed with the metal jaw for a few seconds before commenting, “I’ll have to check your jaw servos to make sure they’re not failing. I’m sorry, but I don’t have time to play with you right now; I have a faulty fuel line to find and replace.”

  She closed its jaw, smiled as she patted it on the side of its head, and left the repair bay after grabbing the parts for the fuel line repair.

  Ryan waited several seconds before exhaling and crept to the door. He listened for a few seconds more, hearing only the movements of the cleaning drone approaching, and reentered the repair bay after the drone moved past.

  Looking at the robot once again, his calm demeanor remained as he visualized purposefully walking to the robot, opening the back panel, and ripping its spinal power cords out. But, he kept his urges in check, knowing that following through with the act of vandalism would betray his game of hide-and-seek.

  Ryan took a deep breath and exhaled quietly, relaxing his mind. Initially thinking he could continue his station tour, he walked toward the exit, when another idea struck him. He paused to consider it, smiled to himself, and set the plan into action.

  * * * * *

  Inside the skiff parked in the station’s hangar bay a short time later, Anna wiggled her feet while they rested on the deck. The rest of her lay on a support beam under the deck while she closed the fuel pump and removed the ruptured fuel line.

  “Gotcha!” she whispered as she detached the ruined tube from the fuel pump and tossed it through the opening and between her feet. Not waiting to hear it land, she pulled the replacement tube from her tool belt and completed part of the installation, when the skiff’s communicator signaled an incoming message. Expecting to see a text message from the computer, she climbed out of the hole and toggled the system to find Ryan calling her.

  “Anna?”

  “Um,” she hesitated. “Yeah?”

  “Are you busy right now?”

  Anna chuckled in spite of herself and asked, “When am I not busy around here?”

  “Yeah,” he said through the channel. “I suppose you’re right.

  “Anyway, lunch time. Why don’t you take a break and come eat with me?”

  Anna cocked her head slightly as she replied, “Lunch time already?”

  She looked at the display on the screen and confirmed that it was almost noon.

  “Sounds good,” she answered. “Give me a minute to squeeze out of here, and I’ll meet you in a bit.”

  “Great!”

  Anna quickly secured the rest of the new fuel line and reopened the fuel pump, confirming that the installation was secure. She climbed onto the deck, secured the deck plate over the hole, and exited the skiff.

  She walked through the door into the mess hall a few moments later after cleaning up a bit to find Ryan nowhere in sight.

  “That’s odd,” she stated aloud. “This is the second time today that he is not where I thought he would be.

  “Computer!” she cried. “Where is Ryan?”

  “Ryan is currently located on the command deck.”

  “The command deck? What in the hell is he doing up there?

  “And while we’re at it, why are you talking to me?” she inquired with a slightly irritated tone.

  “You do not have your wristcomp with you. This is the only way I could answer.”

  “What if he was within earshot?”

  “Then, I would not have answered.”

  Anna paused for a second and slightly laughed, “Oh . . . okay.”

  As she turned and retreated from the mess hall, she commented aloud, “I hope he’s not doing anything that will shut down the station.”

  After a short ride on the elevator, Anna stepped onto the brightly-lit command deck and, upon seeing what Ryan had done, smiled with amazement.

  Chapter 23

  Ryan reclined on the corner of a bed sheet spread out on the command deck floor with several plates of food scattered neatly about. Some of the foods she had not seen in years, like carrot sticks, and what appeared to be potato salad. Along with them were more familiar dishes, like hot dogs, deli-style sandwiches, potato chips, and pickle spears. The coup-de-grace was the pie placed in the middle of the display; Anna inhaled deeply what smelled like warm apples.

  Turning to face the elevator and the new arrival, Ryan smiled, “Hello there! I thought a picnic was in order.”

  Anna beamed with delight. Overcome with joy, she felt the tears
well up, unable to speak for fear of completely breaking down.

  Upon seeing the tears, Ryan sat up and apologized, “This is inappropriate. I should have asked you first.”

  “No!” she hastily responded. “No, Ryan. It’s perfect.”

  He looked back to her and asked quietly, “Really?”

  Anna sniffed again and smiled.

  “Well, then. Sit!” Ryan grinned. He rose to his feet and circled around the picnic to escort Anna to her place on the sheet.

  Carefully sitting down, she dabbed her eyes with a napkin and gazed at all the food around her, while Ryan returned to his spot.

  “This is amazing, Ryan,” she observed. “Where did you find everything?”

  As he lifted one of the hot dogs toward his mouth, he replied, “Most of it I got from my ship, which reminds me.”

  Activating his communicator, Ryan called, “Computer, execute Order 66.”

  “Yes, Ryan.”

  He closed the channel, and Anna inquired with a curious grin, “What are you up to?”

  Flashing his charming smile, he answered, “You’ll see.”

  Anna picked up a half-sandwich from the plate in front of her and took a bite, instantly relishing the flavor of real turkey and cheddar cheese. She closed her eyes, convinced that the taste of these simple foods were infinitely better than what she had eaten for the last several years.

  Without warning, the room seemed to get brighter. Anna opened her eyes and found Ryan’s ship floating outside the command deck’s large window, shining its ventral spotlight inside and bathing their picnic in what she believed to be artificial sunlight.

  “Oh, my god!” she gasped in awe.

  Holding up a finger, Ryan added, “And, the best part? No ants.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Anna facetiously. “That’s the best part.”

  Seeing Ryan’s smirk brought her to laughter, and he joined in her mirth shortly after. As their merriment died down a few seconds later, she leaned forward and complimented in a low voice, “You’re very sweet.”

  “And, you’re very beautiful.”