"Well," Birdsel said, clapping his hands together. _My God_, Starbuck thought, _he's not going to do it again._ "Well," the captain continued, still on both feet, "I'd better show you to your quarters, my boy. Mind if I lean on your shoulder a bit like this?" "Not at all, Captain." "This way, Ben, this way." II Starbuck found the array of tridi pin-ups on the bulkheads of the crew's quarters refreshing, as was the supportive babble of conversation about them and other women. He had almost begun to think there was something unnatural about the men aboard the _Gorgon_. But Starbuck noticed, to his discomfort, the ebbing of the tide of conversation from the bunks as he stepped inside with his spacebag. For the moment, he wished Captain Birdsel had paced in with him and offered up an introduction. But a look of disgust had creased Birdsel's face as they got near the crew's compartment. He had sent Starbuck on alone, while he limped back towards the bridge. A forest of eyes shined out at him from the shadowed desks of the bunks. This is it, he thought. These were the crew, not officers. Sometimes the teachers were nice to you on the first day of school but you knew you were going to get it from the other kids. "Hi," a gruff voice echoed up at him from a lower bunk. "Hello," Starbuck said, hugging his spacebag like a teddy-bear, the simile crossed his mind. A lumbering giant with a blue jaw uncoiled from the lower bunk. "Why don't you stow your bag here, buddy? Till you get used to the centrifugal grav, you may have some trouble climbing top-side." "You've got the seniority," Starbuck said cautiously. "I wouldn't want to cause you any trouble." "No trouble," Blue Jaw said obligingly. He chinned himself with one hand on the rim of the upper bunk and swung his torso around a tidy 180° to settle onto the blankets. Starbuck threw his bag at the foot and sat down on the bed. He looked around at the arena of faces in neutral positions, waiting faces. He cleared his throat experimentally. "Could I ask you something?" he called upstairs. A set of big feet swung down into view. "Sure," Blue Jaw said enthusiastically. "Didn't know you wanted to talk. Thought you might want to rest." Starbuck looked at the hanging feet. They were expressionless. "Maybe it isn't so much of a question," he said, working one hand into the other palm. "It's just that I'd like to live through this mission. I know I'm not a regular spaceman and I'm intruding and all, but I don't mean to cause anybody any trouble or do anyone out of a job. I'd just like to do everything I can to see that I don't slip and fall into the reactor. Or anything like that...." "Don't worry," Blue Jaw said heartily. "We'll take care of you, Ben Starbuck." Somehow Starbuck could find little comfort in those words. He inhaled deeply. "Come on down here, will you?" "You want _me_ down there?" Blue Jaw gasped. "Why sure, sure."