Free Delta Pavonis by John Maddox Roberts, Eric Kotani Page B

"Well, knowing what's all around us should keep me awake."
    She finished the concentrate, choking it down with chemical-tasting water. She unrolled her sleeping bag and sprawled on top of it, not even bothering to take off her boots. She told herself that, in a few minutes, when she worked up the energy, she would take her boots off and crawl into the bag.
    The next thing she felt was someone shaking her shoulder. For a moment she thought she would need to use her hands to force her eyelids apart. They parted gummily and she saw Govinda leaning over her. "What's the matter?"
    "Nothing's the matter," Govinda yawned. "It's time for your watch. There's a bucket of water over by the fire. Go splash some on your face."
    "It can't be 0300 yet." She squinted at her watch. "On the other hand, maybe it is. What's it been like?" She sat, stretching the kinks out of her back. Her neck only seemed to turn in one direction.
    "Real quiet. I guess these reptiles are solar-powered. Once I heard some snorting and honking off in the distance, but that was all. Lotta bugs, though. Don't sit too close to the fire. They like it."
    Govinda stumbled off to her bed and Dierdre took a few lurching steps toward the fire. Immediately, she knew that she had made a major mistake by leaving her boots on. Her feet were almost numb, but what little she could feel was pain. In fact, she was sore all over. Standing by the water bucket, she checked her body out, one part at a time. Yes, it all hurt, every bit of it. She splashed water into her face and felt marginally less awful.
    Lefevre squatted by the fire, tossing a few more sticks onto it. In the intensified firelight she saw his teeth flash in a grin. "Hurting, huh?"
    "Do you people just like to see suffering, or what?"
    "Everybody has to learn. I have to admit this has been a hell of an initiation for a newby, though. Better sit down and get your boots off. Keep your feet raised so they won't swell too much."
    That seemed like a good idea. She checked the ground for bugs and sat. Then she found she couldn't get her boots off. Her feet were too swollen. She gritted her teeth, but she was determined not to cry. This was getting to be too much.
    Lefevre got up and walked over to her. He grabbed her by the calf of one leg, took her boot in his other hand and yanked it off in one violent motion, peeling her sock off and dropping it on top of the boot. He repeated the procedure with the other boot.
    The air felt cool and soothing on her feet. "Thanks,"
    He sat down by her. "Here, put your feet in my lap."
    She studied him suspiciously. He was tall and knobby, dark with an ugly-handsome face. Was he making some sort of pass at her?
    He seemed to read her thoughts. "Forget it. Govinda'd skin me. I have a secondary degree in physical therapy. You'd better let me work on these if you don't want to be walking around like a cripple tomorrow."
    "Okay." She held out her left foot and he started with her toes. At first she thought she would scream with the pain, but that faded quickly. After twenty minutes, she decided that this was something she could really get used to. Lucky Govinda.
    "I didn't know you two were attached."
    "She hasn't talked to me in a week. She gets that way sometimes. She's still assertive about her prior claim, though." He did something absolutely fabulous with her achilles tendon.
    "Don't worry. She'll make up next time she feels the need of a massage."
    "That's the way it usually works out. I figure another day or two. Hard climbing usually brings her around." He got up. "Well, I better get to the other side of the fire. It's not a good idea to stay bunched up."
    She was reluctant to reclaim her feet. "I really appreciate this." They felt almost normal. She had just added something new to the already lengthy list of qualities she wanted in a man. If he was this good with feet, what must the rest feel like?
    She rested her chin on her knees and listened to the night around her. As Govinda had