 Who was the mission intended to benefit?
S. A. LOMBINO 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. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] For example, he could have chosen a Second Looie for the job on Venus. But he liked me about as much as I liked him, and so he decided the job was just right for a Major. 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. 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. I tried to picture a Venusian understanding Mars and I didn't get very far. 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. Revolt. It was just like Walsh to ship me off to a strange place. And now, through the fouled-up machinery that exists in any military organization, he outranked me. "A native, you know. The trip to Venus came off without a hitch. Venus was hotter than I'd expected it to be. Big plants and small ones, some blooming with flowers I'd never seen before, and some as bare as cactus. His features, his muscles, everything seemed to have been stretched like a rubber band. "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. "Only thing I ever traded, though, was a pocketknife. My orders said I was to report to Captain Bransten immediately upon arrival. The Officer's Club was a plasteel hut with window shields that protected it from the heat of the sun. I reached into my tunic and slipped the native thirty solars.
 Captain Walsh, because he wanted to see Major Polk suffer.
 Captain Walsh, because they desperately needed to find the right Joe.  Major Polk, because he wanted to force Captain Walsh out of office.  Major Polk, because he wanted to prove himself better than Major Walsh.  Captain Walsh, because he wanted to see Major Polk suffer.