will brief you on the local conditions. Good luck, Doctor. I’m expecting you to hit the ground running.”
His eyes turned remote again. “And now, if you’ll excuse me-“ Barbara found herself back in the charge of the young lieutenant. He conducted her and Sha’uri to an-other tent, this one in the shadow of the glassy-golden pyramid-the starship, Barbara corrected herself.
“I’m still arranging accommodations for the rest of your team, Doctor,” Charlton said. “Would you prefer to be briefed-?”
“Actually, I think I’d rather prefer to get de-briefed,” Barbara said, tugging at her sticky jumpsuit. She glanced apologetically at the young man. “Look, Lieutenant. You’ve got things to do, and when the others arrive, we’ll both have people to see. What do you say you come and collect me about five minutes before the troops come through?”
“Yes, ma’am.” At least the young snot didn’t salute. Barbara stepped through the tent flap, beckoning Sha’uri inside. Her bags were parked neatly on the tent’s single cot. “The first thing I want to do is get out of this suit and into something more suitable for the weather. I’m sweating like a pig.”
She unzipped the front of her suit and shrugged it off before she noticed Sha’uri’s expression. “I’m not embarrassing you, am I, darlin’?” “N-no,” Sha’uri said, looking embarrassed. “It’s just that you’re so-“ “
‘Direct’ is the word I think you’re looking for,” Barbara said, rummaging in her luggage. “Would it break any local taboos if I wore these?” she asked, holding out a pair of shorts and a T-shirt.
“Just that?” Sha’uri said, looking very young.
“I can see that you tend to wear a bit more,” Barbara said, examining the homespun dress and shawl.
“But I’m damned if I’m going to roast if I don’t have to. Are you ashamed of your bodies around here?”
“Ashamed? No.” Sha’uri gestured upward with her hand. “It’s just that the suns-“ “Oh, right,” Barbara said. “Desert people don’t really go in for sunbathing.” “Bathing? In the sun?” Sha’uri’s face showed bafflement.
“I guess that’s a bit of English Daniel didn’t teach you,” Barbara said.
“An idiom,” Sha’uri enunciated carefully.
Barbara grinned. “Yeah, I’m just full of idioms. We don’t actually bathe in the sun. We lie out in the sun’s rays-to get a tan. But I guess under those two babies up there, you could get a hell of a burn-or heat stroke. That’s why you keep that pretty skin of yours wrapped up. Still having trouble following me?”
“Your words-they sound different-“
“That’s because I come from a different part of the country than Daniel. I’ve got a Texas accent, darlin’.”
“ ‘Darlin’, ‘ “ Sha’uri echoed. “Not ‘darling’?”
“Where I come from, they drop some of the final Gs” Barbara said. “And darlin’ probably doesn’t mean as much as when Daniel says it to you.” Sha’uri’s expression was unreadable, but she blushed. “So how did you manage to hook that old boy? He always seemed like such a shy one.”
“If you had tried to ‘hook’ him, you’d probably have scared him to death,” Sha’uri said with a smile.
Barbara laughed out loud. She was beginning to like Sha’uri. “How did you two get together?”
“I first saw him at the mines outside our city of Na-gada,” Sha’uri said. As she continued with her story of gods, wars, and rescues, Barbara’s eyebrows rose. “I see there’s a lot the good colonel didn’t bother to tell me,” she said. “So Ra kept your people illiterate?
Daniel wound up teaching you hieroglyphics as well as English?”
“That’s right,” Sha’uri answered.
“So why isn’t Daniel running the show on the translations?” Before Sha’uri could answer, Barbara went on. “No offense, Sha’uri, but even star pupils aren’t as good as the teacher. We’ll need an expert in ancient
His eyes turned remote again. “And now, if you’ll excuse me-“ Barbara found herself back in the charge of the young lieutenant. He conducted her and Sha’uri to an-other tent, this one in the shadow of the glassy-golden pyramid-the starship, Barbara corrected herself.
“I’m still arranging accommodations for the rest of your team, Doctor,” Charlton said. “Would you prefer to be briefed-?”
“Actually, I think I’d rather prefer to get de-briefed,” Barbara said, tugging at her sticky jumpsuit. She glanced apologetically at the young man. “Look, Lieutenant. You’ve got things to do, and when the others arrive, we’ll both have people to see. What do you say you come and collect me about five minutes before the troops come through?”
“Yes, ma’am.” At least the young snot didn’t salute. Barbara stepped through the tent flap, beckoning Sha’uri inside. Her bags were parked neatly on the tent’s single cot. “The first thing I want to do is get out of this suit and into something more suitable for the weather. I’m sweating like a pig.”
She unzipped the front of her suit and shrugged it off before she noticed Sha’uri’s expression. “I’m not embarrassing you, am I, darlin’?” “N-no,” Sha’uri said, looking embarrassed. “It’s just that you’re so-“ “
‘Direct’ is the word I think you’re looking for,” Barbara said, rummaging in her luggage. “Would it break any local taboos if I wore these?” she asked, holding out a pair of shorts and a T-shirt.
“Just that?” Sha’uri said, looking very young.
“I can see that you tend to wear a bit more,” Barbara said, examining the homespun dress and shawl.
“But I’m damned if I’m going to roast if I don’t have to. Are you ashamed of your bodies around here?”
“Ashamed? No.” Sha’uri gestured upward with her hand. “It’s just that the suns-“ “Oh, right,” Barbara said. “Desert people don’t really go in for sunbathing.” “Bathing? In the sun?” Sha’uri’s face showed bafflement.
“I guess that’s a bit of English Daniel didn’t teach you,” Barbara said.
“An idiom,” Sha’uri enunciated carefully.
Barbara grinned. “Yeah, I’m just full of idioms. We don’t actually bathe in the sun. We lie out in the sun’s rays-to get a tan. But I guess under those two babies up there, you could get a hell of a burn-or heat stroke. That’s why you keep that pretty skin of yours wrapped up. Still having trouble following me?”
“Your words-they sound different-“
“That’s because I come from a different part of the country than Daniel. I’ve got a Texas accent, darlin’.”
“ ‘Darlin’, ‘ “ Sha’uri echoed. “Not ‘darling’?”
“Where I come from, they drop some of the final Gs” Barbara said. “And darlin’ probably doesn’t mean as much as when Daniel says it to you.” Sha’uri’s expression was unreadable, but she blushed. “So how did you manage to hook that old boy? He always seemed like such a shy one.”
“If you had tried to ‘hook’ him, you’d probably have scared him to death,” Sha’uri said with a smile.
Barbara laughed out loud. She was beginning to like Sha’uri. “How did you two get together?”
“I first saw him at the mines outside our city of Na-gada,” Sha’uri said. As she continued with her story of gods, wars, and rescues, Barbara’s eyebrows rose. “I see there’s a lot the good colonel didn’t bother to tell me,” she said. “So Ra kept your people illiterate?
Daniel wound up teaching you hieroglyphics as well as English?”
“That’s right,” Sha’uri answered.
“So why isn’t Daniel running the show on the translations?” Before Sha’uri could answer, Barbara went on. “No offense, Sha’uri, but even star pupils aren’t as good as the teacher. We’ll need an expert in ancient
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