said. Doggone.

"Well," I murmured and cleared my throat. "Of course, captain."

* * * * *

Harding broke off his steady, hostile glare, and fumbled in his pocket
for a cigarette.

"Captain," he started, a little uncertainly, which was unusual for
Harding, "can I ask you a frank question?"

"Huh?" Frendon looked at the Astrogator blankly. "Why ... why, er,
certainly, lieutenant. Harding you say your name is? Certainly, Harding,
go right ahead."

Lieutenant Harding carefully lighted his cigarette. Then he said,
"Captain, will you tell us whether or not you are a sickman--I mean a
Psi Corps officer?"

"Why?" Frendon leaned forward tensely, then relaxed self-consciously.
"Why do you ask that, Harding? Aren't you familiar with the insignia of
your own branch of service?"

"Yes, sir," Harding replied blandly, "but there have been a number of
reports that they were going to assign a sick ... I mean a Psi Corps
officer to the command of all new Combat Devices, only they would be
wearing SCS insignia. Since we have been outfitted fresh and all, we
probably come under the heading of new Devices."

"What if I were a Psi Corps officer?" Frendon demanded truculently, his
long, skinny frame taut with excitement.

Harding considered that question, or rather statement, and puffed
thoughtfully on his cigarette. Finally he shrugged. He reached over and
meticulously crushed out the cigarette in an ash tray.

"For the benefit of you, lieutenant"--Frendon's bitter gaze swept the
entire room--"and the rest of you, I am not now nor have I ever been a
member of the Psi Corps. Does that satisfy you?"

"Yes, sir," I said quickly. Nobody else said anything.

Frendon stood up and stalked tensely to the door. There he spun around
and said, "But there is a branch of the military service designated as
the Psi Corps, and if you wish to discuss it in the future, kindly refer
to it by its official title or abbreviation, and not by that atrocious
nickname of 'sick.' I am sure the Central Command Authority knows what
it is doing, and if they did intend to assign such personnel they must
have very good reasons for it. Understand?"

There was a general nodding of heads and a scattered, sullen, "Yes,
sir."

"Now then, you may call out the ship's company, Mr. Maise," Frendon said
to me.

"Well, captain," I replied, "we're all here." Then sure enough, Frendon
made us all stand at attention while he read his