"Here's your flight plan: ten seconds out, counted. Turn as quick as you can and blast fifteen seconds back. That means you'll click on with five foot- seconds. Even your crippled grandmother ought to be able to do that without bouncing off. Lathrop! Unhook-you're first."
As the cadet came up, Hanako anchored himself to the ship with two short lines and took from his belt a very long line. He snapped one end to a hook in the front of the cadet's belt and the other to his own suit. The student looked at it with distaste. "Is the sky hook necessary?"
Sergeant Hanako stared at him. "Sorry, Commodore-regulations. And shut up. Take the ready position."
Silently the cadet crouched, then he was moving away, a fiery brush growing out of his back. He moved fairly straight at first, then started to turn.
He pulled in a leg-and turned completely over.
"Lathrop-cut off your jet!" snapped Hanako. The flame died out, but the figure in the suit continued to turn and to recede. Hanako paid out his safety line. "Got a big fish here, boys," he said cheerfully. "What do you think he'll weigh?" He tugged on the line, which caused Lathrop to spin the other way, as the line had wound itself around him. When the line was free he hauled the cadet in.
Lathrop clicked on. "You were right, sergeant. I want to try it again-your way."
"Sorry. The book says a hundred per cent reserve fuel for this drill; you'd have to recharge." Hanako hesitated. "Sign up for tomorrow morning-I'll take you as an extra."
"Oh-thanks, Sarge!"
"Don't mention it. Number one!"