 Why is David Corbin on the ship in the first place?
CAPTAIN CHAOS By D. ALLEN MORRISSEY Science equipped David Corbin with borrowed time; sent him winging out in a state of suspension to future centuries ... to a dark blue world whose only defense was to seal tight the prying minds of foolish interlopers. [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from Planet Stories November 1952. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] "Your name is David Corbin. Above my feet a bulkhead loomed. There were round dials set in a row above a speaker. Over the mesh-covered speaker, two knobs glowed red. The muscles in my throat tightened up in reflex as I tried to bring some unity into the jumble of thoughts and ideas that kept forming. The curve met another straight bulkhead on the left. "Your name is David Corbin. If you understand, press button A on your right." The mesh-covered hole and the two lights looked like a caricature of a face, set in a panel of dials. I reached down to the tightness that held my body, found the wide strap that held me and fumbled with the buckle. How do you describe being weightless when you are born into a world bound by gravity. There was no sensation of place, no feeling of up or down, no direction. "If you understand, press button A on your right." That I was floating in a room that had a curved wall ... that nothing was right in this hostile room? a door to my left that appeared to be air tight. I rubbed them across my face, feeling the solidity of flesh and bone, afraid to think too hard about myself. "My name ... my name is...." "Your name is David Corbin." The name meant nothing to me, but I thought about it, watching the relentless lights that shone below the dials. I was naked except for heavy shorts, and there was no clue to my name in the pockets.
 He has to direct his crew to an area with potentially habitable planets.
 He has to direct his crew to an area with potentially large amounts of natural resources.  He has to direct his crew to an area with potentially habitable planets.  He's a doctor who has to tend to the other crew members who were medically sedated.  He has to direct his crew home to Earth on the tail end of their intergalactic voyage.