"It looks like an unexplored jungle," Karen said.
"I wonder what's out there," Paul said. Far away to the left of the
ship, a series of raw mountains thrust up like hackles into the thick
clouds. "We may as well run some tests now. Maybe we can go outside
while it's still light," Carl suggested.
"Or maybe we won't go out at all," I remarked. The valley where the
ship had landed looked too peaceful.
* * * * *
We climbed down the wall ladder to the laboratory. Captive air filled
a pressure tank while I watched them set up the testing equipment. We
had picked a region near water in the temperate belt of the planet, and
the temperature recorded seventy degrees with the sun overhead as Carl
started to analyze the gas structure of the atmosphere.
"What are you doing?" Karen asked. She had found a skirt to wear. Her
blonde hair was long, tied back with a ribbon. I would have felt more
at ease if she hadn't groomed herself while we went ahead to the lab.
"Testing the air, Doctor," Carl grunted.
She thrust her hands into the pockets of the skirt, standing with her
feet wide spread, man fashion.
"Are we going outside?" she asked.
"We're not going to a picnic," I blurted sharply, thinking about the
equipment we would have to lower from the ship. I was sorry I had
spoken forgetting for an instant the rough time she was having. She
stepped back at the loudness of my voice, crimson spreading to her
cheeks. She bit her lip, blurting, "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. We're all getting jumpy I guess," I said.
Paul stepped to her and put his arm around her shoulders in assurance.
"We will know in a few minutes."
"I just wanted to walk in the sunshine," she said. "It was always so
hot at El Paso. The heat used to make the mountains shimmer."