"I'm sorry about that," the captain smiled. "And if you think _I'm_ sorry, you should see the long faces on the field personnel." He basked in their appreciative laugh. "I'm sure you all understand the reason for this restriction. Interplanetary travel is a civilian enterprise, of course, but subject to the same code as the armed forces. We're constantly under close scrutiny by the public--whether we're sending a new geological expedition to the outer planets, or staging a strict publicity venture, such as the Miss Outer Space contest." He cleared his throat. "So you see," he said carefully, "we must keep the contest in a rather--respectable atmosphere. Harumph!" The girls tittered again. "Now," he continued with a relieved sigh, "I'll tell you something about your agenda. You've all received copies, but some of the items may seem more demanding than they really are. As you know, we are not going to select Miss Outer Space on--shall we say, merely obvious qualities. This is not a beauty contest in the strict sense of the term. We want good-looking girls, of course," he said with a slight twinkle, "and you all fill that bill quite nicely. But we are also searching for other qualities which we believe Miss Outer Space should have. Intelligence--no, I don't mean we're looking for lady Einsteins," he said as a groan rippled through his audience. "I mean good common sense," he explained. "The ability to meet situations. Domestic know-how, too. The rudiments of keeping a decent home. Physical fitness. And something else, that I really can't define in a word. Character, I suppose, is as good as any." * * * * * He looked around the suddenly quiet room. "All these things will be explained to you more fully. I just wanted to let you know how grateful we are to you all for sticking by us as well as you have, and we hope you'll bear with us a few days more until the final judging is made. There'll be rewards for every one of you, I promise you that. No one will leave the spaceport disappointed, and one of you will leave with very rich rewards indeed. Thank you," he ended abruptly, and left the room quickly. * * * * * The redhead flung herself on a cot and groaned. "What a day!" she said. "It wasn't so bad," said Cleveland, looking in the mirror and feeling better about the looks of her hair. "Wasn't that questionnaire a beauty?" said the blonde girl, this time wearing a purple sweater. "'Please check your birth certificate when giving age,'" she quoted. "You know, I don't think they trust us." "That domestic science test wasn't too hard," said the brunette. "At least I didn't burn everything," said the redhead. "But did you get a load of that cooking equipment? I swear, I haven't seen junk like that since I went to an antique auction in New Jersey." "Well, I guess they just don't have modern facilities--"