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who doesn’t like to get his hands dirty?”
    “He seems solid enough,” said Lindholm, frowning.
    “And he can take all the time he likes about coming out, as far as I’m concerned,” said Corbie. “It’s nice and peaceful out here without him. Who needs some officer type yelling orders? That’s one of the few good things about being in a Hell Squad; no more dumb rules and regulations.”
    “The Captain’s in charge of the Squad,” said Williams. “He still gives the orders.”
    “Yeah, but that’s different,” said Corbie. “What I’m talking about is no more having to salute, no more surprise inspections; no standing guard in the rain because your boots aren’t shiny enough, or slaving all day over make-work designed to keep the lower orders busy. I’ve had a bellyful of that in my time. And besides … just suppose I did decide I wasn’t going to obey an order; what could Hunter do about it? There aren’t any Guards or Military Police here to back him up. There’s just him….”
    “Wrong,” said Investigator Krystel.
    They all looked round quickly, to discover Krystel and Captain Hunter standing just outside the open airlock. Corbie couldn’t help noticing they both had hands resting near their disrupters. He smiled uneasily, and stood very still.
    “The Captain is in command here,” said Krystel. “You do as he says, or I’ll hurt you, marine. We’re still citizens of the Empire, with all the responsibilities that entails.”
    “Oh sure,” said Corbie quickly. “Anything you say, Investigator.”
    “I gather some of you are interested in mineral rights,” said Hunter. “Jewels, precious metals, and the like. If I were you, I should bear in mind that very few colonists ever strike it rich. They’re too busy working every hour God sends just to keep their heads above water. No, people; it’s much more likely you’ll get yourself killed doing something stupid, because you were daydreaming about gold mines instead of keeping your mind on the job. For the time being, just concentrate on keeping yourself and the rest of the Squad alive. Now then, since you’ve all had a nice little rest, I think it’s time for a spot of healthy exercise. Some fifteen miles from here is a deserted alien city. We’re going to go and take a look at it. On foot, with full field kit and standard backpacks. We start in thirty minutes.”
    “On foot?” said Williams. “Why not fly there in the pinnace? There’s more than enough power in the batteries.”
    “That’s right, there is,” said Hunter. “And that’s where it’s staying, until we have an emergency that justifies using it. I’m certainly not wasting it on a joy ride. Besides, I think it’s better that we take our time approaching the city. This world is still new to us; if we’re going to make mistakes, let’s make them where it doesn’t matter. Oh, and people, keep your eyes open and your heads down. This is a reconnaissance mission, not an attack force.”
    “But what about the pinnace itself?” asked Williams. “Is it wise to just go off and leave it unguarded? Anything could happen to it while we were gone. And if anything were to happen to the equipment stored on board…”
    “Dr. Williams,” said Hunter pleasantly, “that’s enough. I’m the Captain; I don’t have to explain myself to you. And I don’t take kindly to having my orders questioned all the time. You must learn to trust me, Doctor, and obey my orders implicitly. Because if you don’t, I’ll let the Investigator have you. The pinnace will be perfectly safe in our absence. Isn’t that right, Investigator?”
    “Right,” said Krystel indistinctly, relighting her cigar. She puffed at it a few times to make sure she’d got it just the way she wanted, then fixed Williams with a cold stare. “We’ll activate the force screen before we go, and the computers will be on battle readiness until we return. All told, the ship will probably be safer than we