Delta Pavonis Read Online Free Page A

essence of organic decay. The air at the base had been rich with it. Here it was concentrated a hundredfold. She was sure that daylight would reveal a devastated landscape in the wake of some unthinkable catastrophe, because it smelled as if everything for a hundred kilometers around had been dead and rotting.
    "Where is everybody?" she asked the pilot. "Who do I report to?" He was controlling a robot stevedore that methodically unloaded and stacked plastic crates from the hold.
    "Somebody'll be along when it gets light. They know about this delivery, they're just too lazy to come out this early. That looks like all of it. Make sure to stand clear of our takeoff. See you."
    She saw no particular reason to say goodbye, so she walked away from the scoutcraft as its engines began to whine in an ascending pitch, kicking dust and debris all over her, blowing off her new hat. She turned to chase it, but it was lost in the dark. When she turned back, the scoutcraft was climbing, its lurid running lights blinking in varicolored patterns. For five minutes it dwindled into the northwest, then was gone.
    Dierdre walked back to the crates and sat on one. Between the fatigue of the trip and this virtual abandonment, she felt infinitely depressed. In her whole life, she had seldom been alone, rarely more than a few meters from others. Even in solo jaunts on small ships, there had always been remote communication. This was different. Now, there was no way she could summon another human being.
    A loud squall from somewhere near set her nerves jangling and reminded her that she wasn't quite alone. She decided that the arrival of the scoutcraft had silenced the local fauna, but now that it was gone they were resuming their chorus. She tried to remember if she had ever read or heard any report on the animal life of southern Atropos, but she could recall nothing. All around, things were croaking, chittering, whirring.
    She leapt to her feet and spun when something roared behind her. Suddenly, she was terrified. There was something out there that wanted to eat her. She had no way of telling it that she wasn't edible. With trembling fingers, she tumbled the torch off her belt and switched it on. The beam illuminated several meters of ground but washed all color from it. Then she saw movement Something leapt into the light. It was about the size of her palm, wedge-shaped, with no visible eyes. It had six legs, the four at the broad end of the wedge long and muscular, the front ones small and terminating in tiny pincers. It swelled until it looked like a pear, its small, toothless mouth opened and it emitted the ear-splitting roar that had so shocked her. It paused as if waiting for applause; then, disappointed, hopped out of the light in a single bound.
    Dierdre let out her breath and sat back down, trembling this time with relief. Not just because there was no danger, but because nobody had seen her panic. She was beginning to doubt that she would live through this.
    Fifteen minutes later, she realized that she could see for at least a hundred meters. Soon colors began to emerge, and the nocturnal noises abated. Things didn't look promising, but it was a welcome change. She was in a clearing, and all around her was dense jungle. The profusion of flora fascinated her, but she wasn't about to go in there alone. To the east was what appeared to be a path. She wasn't sure whether they were called roads when there was no hardened surface. This one looked like plain dirt.
    When it got bright enough, she found her hat and put it on. She needed it, because sweat was already running down her face. At least the scare had taken her mind off the heat. She waited some more, and was about to try out some of her emergency signaling equipment when she heard something mechanical. The noise was from the direction of the path and she watched to see what might be coming.
    A minute later a quaint-looking vehicle trundled into view. It rolled on six fat tires, its