Title: Suspicion
Chapter: 2
Author: squeezynz@free.net.nz
Universe: Land of the Giants
Rating: PG, Adventure
Archive: sure, let me know where, Please
. Spoilers: small one's for Golden Cage
Feedback: craved and polished
Disclaimer : not mine, wish they were....yadda yadda, Irwin Allen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Windsifter sped through the night. Skimming above the roof of the forest, glinting in the light of the waning moon. Mark had been the first to unbuckle his belt and start to move around the cabin. He went forward to the cockpit to talk to Steve while the other passengers slowly undid their seat belts and took in their surroundings, some for the first time.

Betty took up her role as stewardess, passing out drinks to anyone who needed one. Valerie got up and decided to check on her luggage, just for something to do that would take her away from Marna's immediate vicinity. Fitzhugh had gotten out of his chair in record time, assisting Marna to undo her belt, his solicitous hovering enabling Marna to get her bearings before facing the rest of the travellers. Barry was soothing Chipper, stroking the dogs ears, Chipper responded by wagging his tail and bathing Barry's face.

Betty went forward with something for the men, Steve gave her a grateful smile and enquired after the passengers.

" Is everyone all right back there ?"

" They all seemed to be coping fine, despite our rather hurried departure. It was a shame we couldn't have a last glimpse of the Spindrift, I think Barry was rather upset for awhile, but he seems okay now." Betty replied.

" Try and see if there's anything you can get out of Marna about how she came to be in the state she was. Mark, maybe you could help Betty, you know Marna better than any of us ." Steve looked over at Mark, who was fiddling with the radar scope.

" Betty will be fine, she doesn't need me back there." Mark muttered.

" We don't need you up here either, I think Betty could use your help." Steve stated more firmly. He was anxious for Mark to get over this reticence concerning Marna. If it wasn't sorted out it could spell trouble for all of them. Steve was also anxious to find out all he could about Marna's motives.

Betty gave Mark an encouraging smile and started back towards the cabin, Mark reluctantly followed.

Valerie had delayed as long as possible before turning back to her seat, facing the scene of Fitzhugh fawning over the blonde. Marna looked up and caught her eye, giving her a wide-eye look that made Valerie raise her chin and return to her seat, swivelling it around so she was facing Marna.

" Hi, my names Valerie, we never met the first time." She held a slender hand out to Marna.

" Hello Valerie, I'm pleased to meet you ." Marna's well modulated soft voice flowed over Valerie making her want to grit her teeth. Marna's limp grasp quickly returned to it place in her lap after shaking hands with Valerie. Marna looked up into Fitzhugh's adoring face for approval. Valerie waited for her to speak. Marna fixed her with a slightly out of focus gaze.

" I feel very confused by all this, I don't remember anything about my previous flight's in a spaceship although Mark mentioned before that I must have arrived with my parents in a ship similar to this one." Marna turned liquid eye's to the doorway, Valerie turned her head to see Betty come through followed closely by Mark. Betty took the seat next to Valerie and reached over and patted Marna's knee.

" Well your among friends now, Marna, so you can relax and maybe tell us what happened to you and how you ended up near our camp ." Betty gave her a small smile of encouragement, but it was to Mark's face that Marna's eye's turned.

" I don't remember very much, I had gone out to my garden when I heard a loud thumping noise and a big bang, I ran back into my house and it was full of smoke. " Marna waved her delicate hands in agitation, holding one to her head as she remembered. " I was coughing from the smoke, calling to my friends when the screen at the console exploded and I was showered with glass. " Here Marna covered her face with trembling fingers, Betty made soothing noises, and Fitzhugh clucked in sympathy. Marna continued. "I ran out of the house, not knowing where to go. The gate in the fence was open so I ran out into the forest. When I looked back I could only see thick black smoke where my house used to be...I don't know what happened but everything I knew was gone." Marna's eye's welled up and tears rolled down her face. She folded into her seat and Fitzhugh patted her shoulder, looking around accusingly at the people around her.

" She's been through enough, can't we let her alone to rest ?" said Fitzhugh.

" Marna, how did you find our camp ?" asked Mark, he was standing next to Valerie's chair with his arms folded.

Marna raised her head and looked up at him. " I don't know Mark, I just remembered the direction you had come from and followed the path's. It took hour's to reach the tree where Dan found me. I was chased by a Giant bird and had to push myself into a thorn bush to get away from it, that's where most of the scratches come from. When the bird finally left I carried on and very nearly missed Dan, but Barry's little dog must have heard me and barked." Marna looked over and gave Barry a grateful look, acknowledging his part in her rescue. Barry smiled back, happy to be noticed.

Betty got up." You must be hungry, I'll see what I can do for you." Betty went into the galley to fix something from their small selection of provisions. Valerie sat with her legs crossed, trying to see Marna as nothing more than another Human trapped on this nightmare planet and now safe with them. She leaned over and gave Marna a friendly look.

"I'll see what I have that you can wear, you'll want to get out of those rags as soon as possible...come with me, Betty and I have a pile of extra stuff that is sure to fit your slender shape." Valerie held out a hand which Marna took trustingly. Together the two women headed for the galley, Mark watching Valerie's retreating back, thanking her silently for her caring nature. Mark turned back to Fitzhugh and Barry.

" I need to check some of the systems in the engine room, would you like to come Barry ?"

" Sure I would, can Chipper come too." Barry asked.

" It might be better if he stays here for now." said Mark.

Barry put Chipper back in his basket, then followed Mark to the rear doorway and the engine room. Fitzhugh sat and fidgeted before going up to the cockpit to see what was happening there.

Valerie and Betty had found a suitcase stuffed with their clothes and were busy holding up various outfits against Marna's body. Betty's clothes were a more suitable colour, but Valerie's were a closer fit, so Marna chose a simple skirt and blouse in pale green, quickly changing out of her ruined clothes with relief. Betty produced a brush, some pins from Valerie, and together they managed to brush Marna's tangles into submission, producing a reasonably tidy hairdo that Marna was delighted with. Marna sat like a doll while the two women fussed over her, taking all their attention in her stride. She was starting to relax under their kind ministrations and the terror of her earlier flight was fading under all the new impressions and people she was meeting. She had been disappointed that Mark was not as pleased to see her as she would have expected but that would change. Marna liked the attention from Fitzhugh because he reminded her of her father, but it was Mark she was drawn to, him and no other. Valerie saw her dreamy gaze and wondered what was being hatched in that pretty head. Marna thanked them both prettily when they had done with her appearance and walked back into the cabin to receive the compliments of Fitzhugh as he clasped his hands together in admiration of her new look. Marna did a little pirouette to show off the skirt's pleats like a girl with her first grown up outfit.

Valerie had quickly realised that Marna really was a child in regards to experience with people her own size, not having had any contact with her own kind after her parents deaths. Most probably she only had their books and the Giants available for information regarding relationships among adults. Valerie could only hope that Marna 'grew up' fast, otherwise she was in for some rude awakenings.

Betty had fixed something for breakfast and left some with Valerie, taking the rest through to the cockpit for Dan and Steve. The sun was just starting to rise on the Giant's planet and the view out of the front viewport was breathtaking.

" How far are we from out first landing site " she asked.

Steve had just taken a bit and was chewing so Dan answered.

" We should be arriving in about two hours, give or take a minute of or two. If we don't have to take any detour's we should be there before lunch."

Steve swallowed and took up the conversation.

" We only know roughly where we want to land, so we'll have to spend some time scouting the area for a suitable runway, if the weather stays calm and we avoid any birds we should make good time. So far the wind has remained on our tail and we're keeping our speed steady."

" Well it appears that the Giants that were looking after Marna either were discovered and destroyed by unknown enemies, or they simply decided to end the experiment and set her free." Betty conjectured.

" They must have been pretty callous to let a defenceless women go out into the forest with no protection." said Dan.

" Maybe they wanted her to find us....and we simply foiled their plans again." suggested Steve. " Now they've lost their lab rat and we've gained a passenger. Seems like a fair trade to me." Steve held up his hands like he was weighing up the options. At that moment the radar alarm went off, sounding a high pitched squawk. Dan quickly turned and checked the scope for any indication of the source of the alarm.

" Steve we have a flock of birds, big ones, on a heading parallel to our course, do we detour ?" Dan looked over to Steve, waiting for his decision.

" We'll make a banking manoeuvre and avoid any contact, a bird would destroy us with a direct collision. Betty go tell everyone to strap in and prepare for some sharp turns. We'll also drop our ceiling to pass under the flock . Dan check the angle of descent and prepare to turn on my mark." Betty quickly left the men to their work, calling to the other's to get back into their seats and strap in. Mark and Barry came out of the engine room in time to hear Betty's instructions. Barry headed back to his seat, but Mark went up to the doorway, intent on seeing for himself what was going on.

" What's going to happen ?" asked Marna in a hushed voice.

" We have to take evasive action to avoid a flock of birds, just hold on tight and Steve will have us out of its way in no time." reassured Betty.

Valerie was concerned that Mark would get thrown around if they made any sudden moves, but she wasn't going to make matter's worse by getting thrown around herself, Mark was a big boy, let him take care of himself.

Steve was preparing for the first banking turn, cutting back on the throttle and giving Dan the signal to turn the control stick to the left. Mark was gripping the back of Steve's seat, watching out the window as the planet rushed by below them, the sun had risen fully and was shining through the tinted viewport. Mark shielded his eye's and turned to watch the radar sweep, checking on their proximity to the birds.

" Let's drop our height to 3000 feet, hold her steady on our course Dan...prepare to turn.....now." instructed Steve.

Mark felt the ship lean steeply to the left as the horizon dipped and dropped as they steadily lost height. His stomach lurched and he gripped the back of the seat tightly. Steve swung the ship in a tight curve, coming full circle, now behind and below the flock of birds, which could be seen now as dark blots on the blue sky. Dan leveled off and they continued to cruise behind the birds until the flock dipped and veered off when a small lake was sighted below. In the distance Mark could see a mountain range, beyond that would be the coast and their first landing into the unknown. All the maps they had seen in their travels and captures had only covered the immediate area, they had never seen a globe showing the whole planet, so this trip was going to be to the limit of their known world. Beyond that would be uncharted territory and the real possibility of finding the space warp and home.

Mark made his way back to his seat, leaving Steve and Dan to pilot the ship. Valerie watched as he belted himself in, then held his gaze when his head came up and their eye's met. Mark gave a small smile and Valerie accepted his apology silently. She absently played with the ring on her left hand, drawing his attention there, seeing his smile widen in understanding. Then he looked up and reached out a hand towards her, asking her forgiveness. Valerie took his hand and their fingers laced, speaking words that the public nature of their situation wouldn't allow.

Marna saw this silent exchange and started to wonder if her dreams of a life with her 'hero' were maybe not as clear cut and decided as she envisioned. Clearly this Valerie had something going on with Mark, in fact, now Marna looked more closely, wasn't that Mark's ring on Valerie's finger ? it certainly looked like it to her. She would have to watch and see far the situation had gone before taking any drastic steps to get things back to her way of thinking. Yes indeed, thought Marna, I will have to make sure Mark understands there is only room for one woman in his life......Me.

The mountain range quickly passed under the speeding ship, the updraft's and eddies' keeping Steve and Dan on the alert. Finally they were clear and the coast lay below them, the ocean in front of them. Steve turned the ship to head due north, up the coast, further away from the city they had known for so long. Away from the SID and both hurtful and helpful Giants they had met along the way. Dan was checking the surface radar to try and determine a safe landing site.

" I think we have a possible location Steve, about 3 miles further on, behind that outcropping. It should be a clear area with low growth and a water source if I'm reading this right." said Dan.

" We'll check it out. Let's get in closer for a good look, I want to be able to pull out in a hurry if there's trouble."

The Windsifter barely skimmed the outcropping as she flew smoothly over the beach. Behind the ridge was a stretch of smooth sandy foreshore, dotted with Giant tree's and low scrubby bush. The bay arced in a clean semi-circle, creating a snug harbour, and for the Travellers a possible safe haven while they accessed their options.

" Let's go in for a close look....reduce speed, engage the brake thrusters and lower the flaps " instructed Steve.

They glided down in a smooth arc, getting close enough to see there was no sign of any Giant life, no buildings or roads, no boats or jetties, its seemed to suit their needs perfectly.

Steve took the Windsifter down for one more look before choosing a clearing to act as a runway. He spoke into the intercom to inform his passengers of their imminent touch down.

" Please make sure all loose gear is stowed securely, and strap yourselves in, this could be a bumpy landing." he clicked off the mike and grabbed the flight controls.

The beach was rushing up at them at what seemed an alarming speed but Dan had the braking thrusters a full power and the ship smoothly leveled off, touching down on the cropped coarse grass and bumping along until the engines were cut off and they coasted to an easy stop. There was a collective release of held breaths both in the cabin and the cockpit. Then Steve was unstrapping and flipping switches to power down the sub-systems and check for any red lights. So far all systems still showed all green . He could hear the sounds of the other's unbuckling themselves and preparing to see what was outside the ship. The babble of excited voices was music to Steve's ears. He was made aware, again, what a great bunch of people he was stranded with. They seemed to take anything that was thrown at them and come back fighting. He could only hope that having Marna added to the pot wouldn't cause crack's to show in their groups dynamics. He had noticed the strain between Mark and Valerie and hoped they would sort it out quickly, also he had seen Fitzhugh's awareness of Marna. He hoped the older man wouldn't take his inevitable disappointment too hard. He couldn't see Marna giving up Mark without a fight, which meant Valerie would have her hands full until they could make Marna realise that Mark was already spoken for.

Mark thumbed the door lock and the hatch opened, letting in the smell of brine and ozone, together with a soft, warm breeze and sunlight. After the darker interior everyone had to shield their eye's for a bit until they adjusted. Chipper happily bounded out of the ship, barking his pleasure at being outside again. Barry ran after him as he looked like disappearing into the brush.

" Betty, take Valerie and keep an eye on Barry, please, I want to check the onboard systems with Mark and Dan, plus we need to deploy the solar vanes and recharge our batteries." said Steve

" Don't go too far, keep in ear shot " admonished Mark," we don't know what's out there yet."

The girls, boy and his dog disappeared from sight down a rabbit path, heading towards the beach and the sound of the roar of the waves. Although the sea was glassy smooth by Giant standards the little wavelets seemed like pounding surf to the Little People. Steve and Mark, with Dan's help carried on with their checks and the recharging, while Fitzhugh fussed and buzzed around Marna when she made her way out of the Windsifter. The men carried on working around them as Fitzhugh and Marna made their way to a shady spot, and Fitzhugh laid a blanket on the sandy grass for Marna to rest on. Marna accepted his attention as her due, she hadn't wanted to traipse around after the boy, Barry, and his noisy dog, so Fitzhugh's offer to keep her company suited her fine. She would have preferred it to have been Mark, or even the good-looking Captain, but she would take whatever she could get, for now. The sun was getting hot and the shade was perfect for her pale complexion. The sound of insect's buzzing lulled her into a light doze, only to be rudely awakened when Barry shot into the clearing, yelling for the Captain, dragging a barking dog behind him. All the noise drew the men to Barry to see what was the matter.

" Steve.....*pant*....you have to come....*gasp*...Valerie....Betty.... ...surrounded..." Barry ran out of breath completely and bent over double.

Steve grabbed his shoulder to get his attention.

" Barry, you're not making any sense, where are the girls, what happened ?" he asked the panting boy.

Barry stood up and pointed an arm behind him, in the direction the men last saw him and the girls taking.

" We reached the edge of the beach, Valerie suggested we look for some shell fish, so we started to walk over the sand but it started to get too hot, so we turned and made our way towards the edge of the grass, suddenly....." here Barry paused to take another breath. " Suddenly the sand erupted with these Giant crabs, they split us up....I was in front of Valerie so I was able to make it to the grass before the crabs cut us off." his audience had become dumb struck with horror.

" Take us to where you left them, Mark grab whatever weapons we have, Dan come with me...Barry take us there NOW !"

Steve and Dan took off at a run with Barry trying to keep up. He had handed Chipper to Mr. Fitzhugh and Marna to take care of, then race off to lead the way. Mark jumped into the Windsifter, grabbing a couple of hatchets and machete's, newly sharpened, then leapt out, racing after Steve and Dan.

Steve reached the beach first, hearing the cries of Valerie and Betty, above the sound of clacking claws of half a dozen large mud crabs surrounding the terrified women. Valerie had a large twig that she poked at the crabs claws, while Betty was hurling anything she could lay her hands on to keep the crustaceans back. The Giant crabs kept sidling and circling the girls, trying to find a weak spot as they stood, back to back. Steve and Dan told Barry to stay back, quickly grabbing the weapons off Mark as he came up behind them, then together the three men attacked the rear legs of the closest crab, trying to create an avenue for the girls to escape the blockade. The crabs were hissing as Valerie swung her improvised club at the snapping claws, trying to dissuade them, the crabs claws reached out, snapping at the girls legs and skirts, Valerie got too close and a wicked claw snagged her dress, pulling her off balance and almost over, she dug her heels into the sand and managed to whack the claw, causing the crab to hiss and retreat. Dan had found a long, spear-like twig and was thrusting this in any gaps in the crabs armour plating. The crab didn't react at first to this new threat and Steve and Mark were able to hack off a hind leg before the crab decided to scuttle of and retreat, opening a corridor for Valerie and Betty. Dan shouted to get the girls attention, together they race through the gap as the crabs advanced on their former position. Valerie and Betty were covered in sweat and sand, exhausted from keeping the crabs at bay, Steve scooped up Betty and carried her into the low brush, with Mark doing the same for Valerie, the quicker they disappeared from the crabs view the more likely the crabs would give up. As it turned out the crabs, discovering one of their group injured, turned on their companion and were fully employed devouring their former hunting partner. Steve had only gone a short distance when he stopped and put Betty down, checking her over for injuries as she gasped, making sure she was all okay. Mark was doing the same for Valerie, who was holding onto him for dear life, shaking like a leaf. Mark held her and smoothed her hair away from her sweaty sandy face. Barry and Dan, carrying the weapons, collapsed in relief on the ground, lungs heaving from the mad race away from the beach.

" That was a close call" gasped Dan.

" We never saw them coming, they ambushed us " gasped Betty.

" Who knew crabs could be so smart " added Valerie. The party rested for awhile until the girls felt ready to go back to the ship. Mark walked next to Valerie with his arm around her waist to support her, Valerie's dress was ripped from the crab claw, but appeared to be the only casualty. Valerie was glad of Marks support as her legs still felt wobbly from the adrenalin rush. Steve and Dan helped Betty over a tree stump, Barry followed suit, but Mark decided to take the opportunity of a little privacy to talk to Valerie. Steve looked back, but one speaking look from Mark and he turned and carried on to the ship.

Valerie rested against the stump, leaning back and looking up into Marks face.

" So Mark, how long before we leave this 'paradise' ?" Valerie quipped.

" I didn't stop here to pass the time of day, Valerie, we need to talk"

" I'm ready and waiting, what did you want to talk about ?"

" You know what......Marna."

" aaaah.....Marna...so what about her ?" asked Valerie. Trying to fake a disinterest in the topic. Mark wasn't fooled.

" Don't pull that innocent pose on me, Val, it's been eating you up since Marna appeared. She means nothing to me...I'll admit I was smitten that first time, but that was over two year's ago. She's just the daughter of my old friend, nothing more." Mark paused.

Valerie looked at him, considering his words. She had realised that Mark no longer 'loved' Marna, but she still felt that Marna might have other ideas. She leaned into him, resting her cheek against his shoulder. Mark wrapped his arms around her, holding her close.

" I understand Mark, but does Marna realise this, I get the feeling she thinks what you had together is still there." said Valerie.

" I don't care what Marna thinks, I'm only concerned with you." Mark cupped her face and leaned down, embracing Valerie with a heart stopping kiss. They were still kissing when Marna walked in on the scene. At first they didn't realise she was there, then Marna stepped on a twig and the snap made them jump apart. Marna plastered a smile on her face but inside she was seething. How dare that upstart redhead try to seduce Mark away from her. She walked over to the stump, looking around at the vegetation for inspiration.

" It's all so different here, not at all like the forest round my old home. Don't you think so, Mark ?" Marna gave Mark her most innocent limpid look. Unfortunately it was wasted on her object of desire as he was looking at Valerie and pulling her upright, his arm back around her waist, in preparation for returning to the ship .

" I imagine alot of things are going to be different from what your used to, Marna. " Mark took a deep breath." You need to know that Valerie and I are together now. We have been for some time. If we ever get back to earth, we intend to live the rest of our lives together." Mark stated. Valerie fairly glowed, she turned a beaming smile on Mark, reaching up on tiptoe and kissing him on the cheek. " That would show you whose man he is" thought Valerie.

Marna merely wished them well, then turned and started back towards the ship, Mark and Valerie following along behind. By the time they got back to the Windsifter, the rest of the group had gathered for a lunch break. Betty had set up a fold out camp table, setting out plates and mugs with bottles of water. Marna drifted off back to her rug under the overhanging bush, while Mark joined Steve and Dan, discussing how soon they would be leaving for the next leg of their journey. The crabs were the hot topic of the day, with a mutual decision made that this was not a safe place to camp for the night. Being mud crabs meant there was most probably a colony nearby, and at night they would swarm all over this area making it suicidal for anyone to leave the ship. As they sat there, enjoying the warmth of the sun and the sound of the sea, a new sound intruded on their picnic. Barry heard it first, he cocked his head and looked out towards where the beach would be.

" Captain.....do you hear that ?" he said.

Steve looked at Barry, seeing him listening he did the same, there was a noise, muffled by the sound of the breakers and the overwhelming drone of the insects. But it was there, an engine noise, getting steadily louder as they stood there listening. Steve suddenly dropped his plate and rushed towards the nearest climbable tree, grabbing a rope and grapnel as he passed Dan. Mark followed suit and they were quickly shinning up the rope to get some height for a better look. Perched in the fork of the bush, with the other's gathered at the base, Steve looked out over the nearside growth, seeing the start of the sand, and finally the breakers. Further out he could see a huge, dark shape looming closer, moving at speed towards their position. The noise was getting very loud and it drowned any attempt by Steve to shout to the people below to get into the ship.

Mark slid down the rope first, followed closely by Steve, they grabbed whoever was closest and started to push and pull them towards the Windsifter, eventually everyone got the message and they all grabbed whatever was left outside and raced aboard the ship. Steve leapt into the ship's cockpit, followed closely by Dan and started activating the recall of the solar panels. As they folded and were secured inside the hull, Steve warmed up the jets and checked the radar scope. Something really, really big was nearly on them. They had no time to lose, Dan fired the manoeuvring jets and swung the ship around to face the way they had landed. Steve pulled the throttle full open and the ship fairly leapt forward, he hoped everyone was well strapped in by now or they would be thrown about very soon. He pushed the controls to their fullest, hearing the roar of the rockets as the ship gathered speed. He raised the nose and they cleared the bushes at the end of the runway with an inch to spare. As they rose they could begin to see what the large dark object had been. It was a flying boat, a twin engine aircraft with floats attached to the underside's of the wings. It was currently making it way up the beach, nearly on top of the landing site so recently vacated by the Little People. Steve pulled the nose up to climb swiftly away, narrowly missing the outstretched wing of the flying boat as it turned, settling into the sandy grass. The noise was deafening, but they soon gained enough height to be able to swing around and head back up the coast, away from their first disastrous attempt at finding their 'safe haven'. They had no idea why a flying boat would be landing there, other than it may have been a scenic flight maybe, or a smuggler or whatever. The choices and conjectures were endless.

In the cabin Marna, Fitzhugh and Barry had been able to get secured in time, but Betty had only just made her chair and Valerie had only had time to grab the cargo netting before Steve took off. Mark had been flattened against the rear bulkhead with the g-forces, collecting a new brace of bruises, this time to his back and shoulders. When the ship stopped accelerating he prised himself away from the wall and worked his way over to Valerie, still hanging grimly to the netting. He helped her climb to her seat and buckle in, then flopped into his own, grateful for the soft padding.

Steve and Dan were scanning the coastline in front of them, the sun had now worked it's way further down the sky, nearing mid afternoon, they needed to find somewhere soon to set up camp for the night. Dan spotted another cove further along, this one was considerably smaller than the previous stretch of beach, too small to interest any Giants, or their craft. It seemed a good bet they would remain undisturbed for the night. There was no evidence of any crabs either, which given the tide was now receding and leaving an expanse of beach for the crabs to inhabit, Steve would have expected to be swarming with the Giant menaces, there were none. He took this as a good omen and signalled to Dan to start their descent. This time they chose a clearing further inland, out of sight of the beach, and safety shielded from anyone who ventured into the cove, either on foot or by sea. They would take no chances this time of being surprised, a tree near the landing sight looked to make a great crows nest. They would all have to take turns keeping watch tonight.

The landing went off without a hitch. Everyone set about getting the sleeping arrangement's organised, and an evening meal prepared. They would be turning in early tonight, to get a jump on the fine weather tomorrow. After deploying the solar vanes, Steve helped Dan erect the outside shelter for those sleeping in bedrolls outside. The men had over-ridden the protest of the women by insisting they sleep inside, even Mark over-rode Valerie's protests and convinced her to take the cabin inside, together with Betty, Marna and Barry. Chipper would sleep outside, next to Fitzhugh to provide an early warning system on the ground. Steve would take the first watch up the nearby tree after making a platform from a crate, using a knotted rope as a ladder. Mark Dan and Fitzhugh would divide the rest of the night between them.

After a meal, and a short time spent sitting around discussing the days events, the girls and Barry went and got settled inside the Windsifter, leaving the men to make the best of the hard ground and slight breeze outside. The distant sound of the surf, and the constant buzz of the night insects sent Dan and Fitzhugh off to sleep in an instant. Mark stayed awake awhile longer, thinking over the events of the day, marvelling at their hairsbreadth escape from the crabs and the sweet interlude by the tree stump, before they had been interrupted by Marna. Mark was pleased that everything appeared to be straightened out between him and Valerie, and that Marna had been told the nature of the situation, appearing to be okay with it. There wouldn't be anymore trouble from that quarter.

With that pleasant, if deluded thought, Mark wrapped himself in the blankets and closed his eyes, falling asleep instantly.

Steve propped his leg up on the platform, looking out over the tops of the lower bushes, then he lowered his head and looked down on his sleeping shipmates on the ground below, all was quiet and serene. The moon, just rising, was only a sliver tonight, the star's overhead looked like a diamond encrusted cloth. With luck, tomorrow they would travel further than any other Little People who had crashed on the planet. It was an exciting and frightening prospect. One he relished.

Steve turned his head and looked out towards the soothing sound of the surf.