"Well, first things first!"she said to herself. "First we'd have to get a ship."she told her pets. "A ship, right."
That shouldn't be too difficult. She got it with no problem, and she knew how to navigate a ship and everything.
"Everyone will come, too."she said. "We'll just have to wear force field collars, that's all. Specially tuned. They'll just have to tuned to mine. That way you can't wander too far. And you won't be eating anything that might be dangerous. As for clothes, I don't need too many. We should be ready to leave in no time!"
They were ready in five days. The trip, she guessed, would take about two months, if she went fast enough.
"We'll be there in two months."she told her dogs and cats. "Is everybody ready? The ship will be our home for those two month. It's very nice. Everyone will like it. Let's go."
After they left Earth, Alondra stared back at the planet.
"Just look at it. Isn't it beautiful? And those miserable humans have destroyed it all completely. We just can't let them do that to other planets. Not until they leave this one exactly the way they found it! But there's no time for that right now. What do you think my sister will be like?"
Alondra looked at herself in the mirror. She looked at her red hair, her blue eyes, and her creamy, white skin. Her skin was something that she had always liked about herself. She had always prized it, and took care to guard it against the sun. Even thought the sun didn't emit so much ultra-violet, she always wore some kind of force field on her, so that it would touch her skin in any way. She had never suffered from acne, or anything. She wore her hair long, down to her knees. She fastened it with beautiful clips, and the rest of it went down in a cascade of reddish brown curls. She had always wished she had green eyes. That way, with her hair, they would look perfect. The time during the journey from Earth to Ra, she spend reading, working on her, listening to her music, and surfing the Internet.
"We're almost there."she told her pets. "See, there it is. See that right there?"she pointed. "There's Ra. Yes, that's it, all right. We just have to get to the fourth planet. Remember, the fourth planet."
She made the ship go into orbit around the fourth planet. She looked down at the wrinkled, red surface.
"Any oceans? Lakes? Anything? Surely, there is water there. If people live on it."
As if to answer her question, the color suddenly changed to blue. An ocean about half a planet wide.
"Wow. And what a difference. I suppose it would make a difference, now wouldn't it?"she said. "A planet with no pollution, if those settlers haven't already ruined it, the way they've ruined Earth."
She looked until she found the rift valley system, and landed neatly on the top of a mesa.
"First, of course, oxygen tablets for everybody."
She took one herself, and put it in all her pets' food. Then they climbed out of the ship.
"We'll have to go down there."she said.
She looked around her. To the north and west she saw only range after range of mountains. all red and purple. To the east a river. And to the south, a valley.
"The valley,"she said. "Now that's where I'll find Olwen. That's where I'll find my sister. Come one."
She put all her pets back into the flyer, and flew down into the valley. On her way, she saw children started screaming, pointing, and running. She landed, and climbed out again. She didn't pay much attention to the children. She wasn't there to see them, after all. They stared at her. She walked towards their village. Most of them were assembled in front of a hut that was bigger than all the others.
"Where is everyone else?"she asked one of the youngsters.
"They're eating."she said. "It is first dinner. We don't eat until second dinner."
"Were is the dining hall?"
The girl pointed to the double sized hut.
"Thank you."
They all stared at her. She had come out of the sky, and in the direction of the mesa. She carried strange creatures with her. They were like purple-furs and rock bunnies, except that they were not purple, nor were they bunnies. She was dressed in the color purple, much nicer than any of the dyes the women here made, and it looked like it had taken several lifetimes to make. And her head covering was different. She didn't speak like the people in the valley, either. She pronounced her words differently. She didn't bother to knock on the door, or anything, but rather went right in to the dining hall. When they saw a strange woman enter the dining hall, all the elders, First, Seconds, and Thirds looked up. Alondra looked at all the women, hoping to see someone who resembled her in size, shape, and coloring. Someone with her eyes, her hair, her hands.
"I'm here looking for someone who goes by the name Olwen Pendennis."she said, looking around.
The elders and the Council looked shocked. The President let his spoon fall with a clatter. Everyone was surprised. No one had ever seen the President look like that before.
"What do you mean?"he demanded.
"Just what I said. I was send here by STC. I am here to speak to Miss Olwen Pendennis."
"Who are you?"
"I already told you I was from STC. My name is Alondra Alcazar Moreno. I'm here to see the Keeper."
Everyone in the rom gasped. The Keeper? That Old Woman? The Ugly One?
"You shouldn't be here!"he growled.
"Well, I am here."she said. "And I want to see the Keeper of the Isis Light."
She looked around the room.
"You should know, stranger, that the Keeper of the Light lives in the north. Are you from that Old Woman?"asked one of the women fearfully.
"I am from STC. What do you mean, That Old Woman? I've met many old women in my life. I don't know if we are talking about the same one."
"You know, the one who takes people."
"No, I don't know."
"Silence!"exclaimed the President. "You need to come with me."
No one had ever seen the President like that. He looked…pale and a little scared. In the President's house, he asked Alondra why she was on Isis.
"I already said. I'm here to talk to Olwen Pendennis."
"You will not find her here."
"She is the Keeper of the Isis Light. From what we know, she hasn't left Isis."
"She died."
"Died? Well, I'd like to visit her grave, then, if you please."
"NO!"
"Why not? Is it possible that you are lying to me? Listen to me, I have orders to speak personally to Miss Pendennis. If you don't tell me where to find her, I shall simply have to report back to STC. They'll come here personally, and know what to do. Of course, I shall stay here in the valley for a few days, until you decide which is better. And I wouldn't intent anything against me if I was you. I must report back, you see, if anything happens to me, they will investigate. I have orders to give you exactly two weeks. If by then, I have not spoken with the Keeper, you know what will happen. I must also, of course, see how life on Isis has been going. They are thinking of returning with more settlers, you know."
President London looked shocked.
"I shall speak to the Council."he simply said.