“I'd like to examine the medical part of the base,” Boris requested.
“Yes, sure, but all in good time,” Trevor raised his hands reassuringly. “Let's have a meal first. Sheila will show you to the mess hall. Then we'll assign you stations at the base according to your professional skills.”
“And the locals? What are they?” I asked, unexpectedly for myself.
“The indigenous life forms – monsters, as we call them – are the dominant species of this planet. Their intelligence is not very developed, but they show animalistic ferocity and are quite cunning. You will have plenty of opportunities to see them. You'll see enough of them to make you sick, believe me,” Bush replied. “What else?”
We kept silent, so Finn expressed his willingness to have a meal.
“Before you leave,” Taney got up from his seat, “take these bracelets. They act as wireless passes that grant you access to the base compartments.”
“We can't go everywhere, can we?” Finn asked.
“Not until you get to know the base better. Actually, it is for your own good. There are quite many dangerous areas here.”
Sheila was our guide again, we followed her – but not until we took the bracelets from Vincent Taney's hands.
“What are they hiding from us?” the Russian doctor whispered in my ear.
“You do have a penchant for distrust, don't you, Boris?” I said, dismissing his suspicions.
“Mark my words!” he noted pointedly, his eyes flashing fire, but I was already ahead of him.
Boris hurried after me. I wanted to catch up with Cheng and have a word with her, but suddenly I ran into a charming blue-eyed brunette. Her graceful figure distracted me from the Chinese specialist and serious questions.
“Aren't you a power engineer from the Hope?” she asked in a deep, velvety voice.
“That would be me. How can I help such a beautiful lady?”
“How nice of you to say that!”
“It's a family trait,” I smiled my most enticing smile.
“I'm Anna Ericsson, an engineer at this base,” the girl held out her hand. “It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
Her handshake was warm and firm. And suddenly I felt like drowning in those big, sensual eyes of hers. The reverie was broken by a metallic sound of Cheng's bracelet falling on the immaculately polished floor. Anna and I looked at her at once. But she didn't notice dropping the bracelet or our stares. Ji was looking at her watch intently. She's calculating something again, I thought. But what? She clearly doesn't like something about this place. Is something wrong with time? If only I had known back then what I know now! On the other hand, maybe it wouldn't have changed anything.
“Hey, Ji,” I called out to the astrophysicist.
“Ah?” she shuddered. “Everything's fine.”
She picked up the bracelet and hurried after Sheila to the mess hall. But it made me think. The unbalanced and overly suspicious Russian is one thing, but the extremely preoccupied Chinese astrophysicist is something completely different – I have never seen such strong emotion on her face before. That's something to consider.
“If you're going to the mess hall, I can keep you company,” Anna distracted me from my confused thoughts again.
The mess hall was a fairly large room, which could easily accommodate at least a hundred people. Now it seemed empty. As we entered, I caught several curious looks from a few people sitting there. No wonder, I thought. We are probably the most interesting event in their lives. But, then again, maybe not, recalling what Trevor had said about the local species. It would be interesting to see them. Besides, what are we supposed to do now? Our mission has lost its purpose.
