"Don't worry about it," Herc said, heading over to a bench to take a seat. "Do it right, then whatever mess happens, they can just blame me." His fingers closed over the neck of a water bottle, spout folding out so he could take a long drink. "I'll sign your checklist so they know."

He knew what it was like to be at the bottom of the ladder. Nobody started out with a decent rank. It was something that had to be worked up to. And nobody at the bottom of the ladder needed flak when somebody higher-ranked did something that could get them chewed out.