The deputy commander and the safety officer got untangled and hurried to
their posts with no more than black looks at Rip. He got to his feet, his
face crimson with embarrassment. A fine entrance for a Planeteer officer,
especially one on his first orders!
Around him, the spacemen were settling in their acceleration seats or
snapping belts to safety hooks. From the direction of the stern came a
rising roar as liquid methane dropped into the blast tubes, flaming into
pure carbon and hydrogen under the terrible heat of the atomic drive.
Rip had to lean against the acceleration. Fighting for balance, he picked
up his spack and made his way to the nine enlisted Planeteers. They had
braced against the ship’s drive by sitting with backs against bulkheads,
or by lying flat on the magnesium deck. Sergeant-major Koa was seated
against a vertical brace, his brown face wreathed in a grin as he waited
for his new officer.
Rip looked him over carefully. There was a saying among the Planeteers
that an officer was only as good as his senior sergeant. Koa’s looks were
reassuring. His face was good-humored, but he had a solid jaw and a mouth
that could get tough when necessary. Rip wondered a little at his size.
Big men usually didn’t go to space; they were too subject to space
sickness. Koa must be a special case.
Rip slid to the floor next to the sergeant-major and stuck out his hand.
He sensed the strength in Koa’s big fist as it closed over his.
Koa said, "Sir, that was the best _fleedle_ I’ve ever seen an earthling
make. You been on Venus?"
Rip eyed him suspiciously, wondering if the big Planeteer was laughing at
him. Koa was grinning, but it was a friendly grin. "What is a _fleedle_?"
Rip demanded. "I’ve never been on Venus."
"It’s the way the water-hole people fight," Koa explained. "They’re like a
bunch of rubber balls when they get to fighting. They ram each other with
their heads."
Rip searched his memory for data on Venus. He couldn’t recall any mention
of _fleedling_. Venusians, if his memory was right, had a sort of blowgun
as a main weapon. He told Koa so.
The sergeant-major nodded. "That’s when they mean business, Lieutenant.
_Fleedling_ is more like us fighting with our fists. Sort of a sport.
Great Cosmos! The way they dive at each other is something to see."
Rip grinned. "I didn’t know I was going to _fleedle_ those officers. It
isn’t the way I usually enter a cruiser." He hadn’t entered many. He
added, "I suppose I ought to report to someone."
Koa shook his head. "No use, sir. You can’t walk around very well until
the ship reaches brennschluss. Besides, you won’t find any space officers
who’ll talk to you."