"But why should they want to help us?" Quade demanded suspiciously.
"I think it's like Nagurski's dog. The dog came to him when it wanted somebody to own it, protect it, feed it, love it. These aliens want Earthmen to colonize the planet. We came here, you see, same as the dog came to Nagurski."
"Well, I've learned one thing from all of this," Quade said. "I've been a blind, arrogant, cocksure fool, following courses that were good on some worlds, most worlds, but not good on all worlds. I'm never going to be that foolhardy again."
"But you're losing confidence, Quade! You aren't sure of yourself any more. Isn't confidence a spaceman's most valuable asset?"
"The hell it is," Quade said grimly. "It's his deadliest liability."
"In that case, I must inform you that I am demoting you to Acting Executive Officer."
"Huh?" Quade gawked. "But dammit, Captain, you can't do that to me! I'll lose hazard pay and be that much further from retirement!"
"That's tough," I sympathized, "but in every service a chap gets broken in rank now and then."
"Maybe it's worth it," Quade said heavily. "Now maybe I've learned how to stay alive out here. I just hope I don't forget."
I thought about that. I was nearly through with my first mission and I could speak with experience, even if it was the least amount of experience aboard.