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get wet feet. All ashore!"
    Two bulky men named Sims and Okamura jumped ashore first. They carried beam rifles and trotted up the beach to the treeline, scanning alertly. While they stood guard, the others tossed gear onto the beach and jumped out onto the sand.
    Dierdre knew that jumping was the ultimate test of accomplishment in a full-grav environment. She managed hers creditably, only getting one foot slightly wet. She picked up her duffel bag and trudged up the beach to the spot where everything was being stacked. Then she helped the others unload and carry the other gear. The vehicles would not arrive for several days. By the end of the task, the sun was at zenith and she was sweating profusely, but the island seemed to be marginally cooler than the mainland.
    "Let's break," Forrest said. "We're going to be here a long time, so there's no sense anybody dropping from the heat and making more work for me."
    Gratefully, Dierdre sat on her duffel. She took out a set of high-resolution magnifiers and scanned the inland prospect. For about a half-kilometer, the land sloped gently upward from the beach, then, abruptly, a line of cliffs formed a barrier as far as she could see. Lush, primeval growth hung over the edge of the cliffs; intensely green plants draped like carpets and hanging down in streamers, waving slowly in a breeze she could not feel. Aside from the green of the vegetation and the tan of the cliffs, there was little color. She could see no flowers.
    She was about to turn the viewer off when she saw movement at the top of the cliff. Something long and serpentine poked out from the brush, swaying from side to side. She checked the distance reading at the bottom of her viewscreen. Then she checked it again. At this distance and magnification, the thing had to be really huge. She clicked in a higher magnification, but the thing was already withdrawing. She had an impression of a small head at the end of an absurdly long neck, then it was gone.
    "I see something!" she said, excitedly. "At the top of those cliffs, thirty-five degrees."
    Forrest and several others snatched up viewers and looked "I don't see anything," the team leader said.
    "It pulled buck just as I called out. Big, really big. It looked like some kind of reptile, like a giant snake or something
    Forrest snorted disgustedly and set his viewer down. "First time jitters The whales spooked you and now you're seeing land animals."
    "I saw it," she protested, her temper rising. "I don't just hallucinate." The others were staring at her, but she was too angry to feel embarrassed.
    Forrest sat back down and took a drink from his bladder. "You'll notice that you saw something familiar. A reptile. That's not the sort of thing you see here. It's always totally unexpected."
    "I didn't say it was a reptile! I said it was like a reptile. It's different!"
    He wasn't impressed. "We'll know soon enough. We check out those cliffs tomorrow."
    She felt as if her face were flaming. That made it even worse. It was always like this, when people treated her like some sort of aberrant child. Working hard, as always, she calmed herself. It's up there, I saw it , she told herself. I'll make him eat every word.
    For the rest of the day, they sorted out their gear and erected temporary shelters. Dierdre merely unrolled her sleeping bag with its integral tent. Already, she felt alienated from the others. Social interaction had never been her strongest talent, and any sign of condescension could drive her into a rage. Since condescension was the natural attitude of the higher-ranking in any hierarchy, she had been in some sort of trouble most of her life. She knew that her temper was her worst enemy here. She had to guard against it, even if that meant keeping apart from the rest.
    That night, she lay on her back, staring at the starscape overhead, her tent withdrawn for the moment. The two detailed for the first watch were down the beach somewhere, sitting near a tiny fire. She