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.