"You might toss a coin; you'll not be needed at the same time."
Steve nodded. "You stoke the boiler," he said to Halligan. To Edwards, he said, "I don't know what this is all about, but Joe's ready to eat raw bear. I've eaten."
"That'll be fine," said Edwards cheerfully. "I hate to bust in on this love-feast, but there's plenty of time later. Grab your chow, Joe, and come in as soon as you can."
Halligan smiled. "Sure thing. And kid, don't let a lot of pompous pin-stripe-and-spats scare you. Treat 'em as you'd treat one of the Guardians; so long."
"What's up?" asked Steve.
"About once a year there's a stink over a blowup," said Edwards. "This is it."
"What kind of stink?"
"Charges of laxity, charges of wastefulness, and so forth."
"Laxity?" exclaimed Hagen.
"Interstellar often holds the quaint notion that a more alert outfit would be able to arrive at the scene of the blowup in time to stop it; after all, a spacecraft is worth a lot of moola, and they hate to lose it."