 What is the name of the Captain in charge of briefing the Major when he arrives on Venus?
There were more Joes on Venus than you could shake a ray-gun at. Perhaps there was method in Colonel Walsh's madness—murder-madness—when he ordered Major Polk to scan the planet for a guy named Joe. [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from Planet Stories November 1952. For example, he could have chosen a Second Looie for the job on Venus. We were somewhere in Area Two on Earth, takeoff point for any operations in Space II. The rest was gravy, and Colonel Walsh wasn't going to let me get by with gravy. "It will be a simple assignment, Major," he said to me, peering over his fingers. "It will involve finding one man, a Venusian native." "I always figured Venus was under the jurisdiction of Space III, sir. I thought our activities were confined to Mars." He folded his fingers like a deck of cards and dropped them on his desk as if he were waiting for me to cut. It so happens this Venusian is the one man who can help us understand just what's happening on Mars." If Walsh really wanted to know the reasons for the revolt, I could give them to him in one word: Walsh. It had been going on for six months now and we'd lost at least a thousand men from Space II. "And this man is on Venus now?" I'd never been to Venus, being in Space II ever since I'd left the Moon run. "This man is on Venus." He'd goofed off on a pile of uranium that could've, and almost did, blow the barracks sky-high that night. "Well, physically he's like any of the other Venusians, so I can't give you much help there. The trip to Venus came off without a hitch. Venus was hotter than I'd expected it to be. "The guys back in Space II are searching high and low for you," I told him. "You've got the wrong number," he said, and I was a little surprised at his use of Terran idiom. "You are Joe, aren't you? My orders said I was to report to Captain Bransten immediately upon arrival. "Where's the Officer's Club?" I asked the Venusian. The Officer's Club was a plasteel hut with window shields that protected it from the heat of the sun. I began to curse Walsh for taking me away from my nice soft job in Space II.
 Bransten
 Bransten  Trader Joe  Walsh  Bartender Joe