With dinner finished and the discarded wrappings and bottles stowed back inside the supply crates, the away team relaxed in the tree house. The three officers sat around the dining table, while the two enlisted soldiers stood. The sun had set, and dusk crept over the land.
"We should get some sleep soon," said Henry, his face barely lit in the dying light. "I want to be well-rested for tomorrow. I believe we can trust our hosts, but we should put up a sentry just to be safe... We'll each take a 90-minute shift on guard duty, in order of increasing rank, then increasing seniority. That means you go first, Drake."
"Aye sir," replied Drake.
"And, um..." continued Henry, taking a sip from his water bottle. "We should set up some sort of sleeping arrangement. I only saw two beds in the other room, although they're quite large, big enough for two or three people."
"As your personal bodyguard, sir, you and I should take the same bed," said Shina in a serious tone.
"But Shina, you don't really serve me in that capacity anymore..." said Henry, as he watched Shina's smile turn into a pout. His mind quickly considered the alternatives. "However, um... us sharing a bed would be fine." Henry smiled awkwardly, trying to maintain his professionalism in front of his men.
"You could have the other bed, sir," said Mazda to Motoyama. Drake nodded.
Motoyama's gaze turned to Mazda and Drake's wings. "No. That will not be necessary," he said. "You two would not be comfortable sleeping on chairs. I, however, will manage with them just fine."
Mazda and Drake looked at each other, and peered at the large beds in the next room. The two Elysians then looked at each other's rank pins.
"You can have the bed, sir", said Drake to Mazda.
"Erm, thank you," replied Mazda with a polite smile.
"It's probably cooler on the floor anyway," observed Drake.
"Well, I'm glad that got sorted out," said Henry. "See you gentlemen in the morning." He turned to head to the bedroom.
Shina was already on one of the beds, poking at the mattress.
Meanwhile, at the shuttle site, the pilot activated the shuttle's perimeter alarm system, and crawled into her sleeping bag for a good night's sleep.
* * *
Morning, sounds of birds in the jungle. The sun had not yet risen, but the sky had already turned a shade of light bluish-gray in anticipation.
Henry sat by the dining table, his eyes watching the sky through a window. Motoyama dozed in a chair nearby. In the next room, Shina slept in one bed while Mazda slept in another. Drake made do with a pillow and the floor.
Due to the heat, no one was really in uniform. Henry and the two Elysians wore shorts and T-shirts. Shina had put on a T-shirt and a short skirt before turning off her holographic systems and going to sleep during the previous night. Motoyama was still in his wetsuit, although Henry surmised that the suit's environmental control system was keeping Motoyama quite comfortable.
It was already quite warm. Warm enough to be uncomfortable for Henry. ~It's the humidity~, Henry silently observed to himself.
