'Not likely to come up, Matt. Your father was right there.'
'That's not the point. If a Patrol officer is loyal to his oath only when, it's no skin off his own nose, then the whole system breaks down.'
Wong waited before replying. 'If the prospect of bombing your own town, your own family, didn't worry you, I'd have you out of this ship within the hour-you'd be an utterly dangerous man. The Patrol doesn't expect a man to have godlike perfection. Since men are imperfect, the Patrol works on the principle of calculated risk. The chance of a threat to the System coming from your hometown in your lifetime is slight; the chance that you might be called on to carry out the attack is equally slight-you might be away on Mars. Taking the two chances together you have something close to zero.
'But if you did hit the jackpot, your commanding officer would probably lock you up in your room rather than take a chance on you.'
Matt still looked troubled. 'Not satisfied?' Wong went on. 'Matt, you are suffering from a disease of youth-you expect moral problems to have nice, neat, black-and-white answers. Suppose you relax and let me worry about whether or not you have what it takes. Oh, some day you'll be caught in a squeeze and no one around to tell you the right answer. But I have to decide whether or not you can get the right answer when the problem comes along- and I don't, even know what your problem will be how would you like to be in my boots?'
Matt grinned sheepishly. 'I wouldn't like it.'
XI P.R.S. AES TRIPLEX
OSCAR, MATT, AND TEX were gathered in their common room just before lunch when Pete bounced in. Literally so-he caromed off the door frame and zipped into the room, shouting, 'Hey, fellows!'
Oscar grabbed his arms as he rebounded from the inner wall. 'Cut your jet and ground-what's the excitement?'
Peter turned in the air and faced them. 'The new 'Passed' list is posted!'
'Who's on it?'
'Don't know-just heard about it. Come on!'
They streamed after him. Tex came abreast of Matt and said, 'I don't know why I should be getting in a sweat-I won't be on it.'
'Pessimist!' They turned out of Hog Alley, went inboard three decks, and forward. There was a clot of cadets gathered around the bulletin board outside the watch office. They crowded in.
Pete spotted his own name at once. 'Look!' The paragraph read: 'Armand, Pierre-temporary duty P.R.S. Charles' Wain, rpt. Terr.St, dtch. Leda, Ganymed, d.&a.o.'
'Look!' he repeated. 'I'm going home-'delay and await orders.''
Oscar patted his shoulder. 'Congratulations, Pete-that's swell. Now if you will kindly get your carcass out of the way-'
Matt spoke up. 'I'm on it!'
'What ship?' asked Tex.
'The Aes Triplex.'
Oscar turned at this. 'What ship?'
'Aes Triplex.'
'Matt-that's my ship. We're shipmates, boy!'
Tex turned disconsolately away. 'Just as I said-no 'jai-man.' I'll be here five years, ten years, fifteen years old and grizzled. Promise to write on my birthday.'
'Gee, Tex, I'm sorry!' Matt tried to swallow his own elation.
'Tex, did you look on the other half of the list?' Pete wanted to know.
'What other half? Huh?'
Pete pointed. Tex dove back into the swarm; presently he reappeared. 'What do you know? They passed me!'
'Probably didn't want to expose another class of youngsters to you. What ship?'
'P.R.S. Oak Ridge. Say, you and Oscar got the same ship?'
'Yep-the Aes Triplex.'
'Rank discrimination, that's what it is. Well, come on, we'll be late to lunch.'
They ran into Girard Burke in the passageway. Tex stopped him. 'No use bothering to look, Stinky. Your name's not on the list.'
'What list? Oh, you mean the 'Passed' list. Don't bother me, children- you're talking to a free man.'
'So they’ finally bounced you?'
'Like fun! Resignation accepted, effective today. I'm going in business with my father.'
'Going to build sky junk, eh? I don't envy you.'
'No, we're starting an export line, with our own ships. The next time you see me, just remember to address me as 'Captain.' ' He moved away.
'I'll 'captain' him,' Tex muttered. 'I'll bet he resigned by request.'
'Maybe not,' conceded Matt. 'Girard is a smooth character. Well, we've seen the last of him.'
'And a good thing, too.'
Tex was missing after lunch. He showed up after nearly two hours. 'I worked it. Shake hands with your new shipmate.'
'Huh? No fooling!'
'Fact. First I located Dvorak and convinced him that he would rather have a ship in the circum-Terra patrol than the Aes Triplex-so he could see his girl oftener. Then I went to see the Commandant and pointed out to him that you guys were used to having the benefit of my advice and would be lost without it. That's all there was to it. The Commandant saw the wisdom of my words and approved the swap with Dvorak.'
'Not for that reason, I'll bet,' Matt answered. 'Probably he wanted me to continue to look out for you.'
Tex took on an odd look. 'Do you know, Matt, you aren't so far wrong.'
'Really? I was just kidding.'
'What he did say was that he thought Cadet Jensen would be a good influence on me. What do you think of that, Oscar?'
Oscar snorted. 'If I've reached the place where I'm a good influence on anybody, it's time I cultivated some new vices.'
'I'd be glad to help.'
'I don't want you, I want your Uncle Bodie-there's a man of the world.'
Three weeks later, at Moon Base, Oscar and Matt were settling into their stateroom in the Aes Triplex. Matt was not feeling his best; the previous evening at Tycho Colony had been late and noisy. They had taken the last possible shuttle to Moon Base.
The ship's phone in their room sounded; Matt answered it to get the squeal out of his ears. 'Yes? Cadet Dodson speaking-'
'Officer of the watch. Is Jensen there too?'
'Yes, sir.' ,
'Both of you report to the Captain.'
'Aye, aye, sir.' Matt turned a troubled face to Oscar. 'What'll I do, Oz? The rest of my uniforms are over at the base tailor shop-and this one I've got on looks as if I had slept in it.'
'You did. Wear one of mine.'
'Thanks, but it would fit me like socks on a rooster. Do you suppose I have time to run over and pick up my clean ones?'
'Hardly!'
Matt rubbed the stubble on his chin. 'I ought to shave, anyhow.'
'Look,' said Oscar, 'if I'm any judge of skippers, you'll do better to show up naked as an oyster and with a beard down to here, than to keep him waiting. Let's get going.'
The door opened and Tex stuck his head in. 'Say-did you guys get a call to report to the Old Man?'
'Yes-Tex, can you lend me a clean uniform?'
