 Why is Ben a potential asset to Maggie and her husband?
With never a moment to rest, the pursuit through space felt like a game of hounds and hares ... or was it follow the leader? At sixteen, he'd spent every weekend holiday hitchhiking from Boys Town No. 5 in the Catskills to Long Island Spaceport. And a month ago, he'd signed aboard the Odyssey —the first ship, it was rumored, equipped to venture as far as the asteroids and perhaps beyond. Under interplanetary law, that would mean ten years in prison and a dishonorable discharge. After all, was it right for a single second, a single insignificant second, to destroy a man's life and his dream? Each whiteness became brighter and closer, like shrinking spokes of a wheel with Ben as their focal point.
 He's an astrogator, and a very talented one at that. He can complete the job they need done.
 He's an astrogator, and one that's now off the radar. He's free to do the kind of job they need.  He's an astrogator, and a very talented one at that. He can complete the job they need done.  As a space officer, he can help get them out of any legal trouble they might encounter.  He's in a position where he can't say no. He has to do whatever they tell him.