Jungle in the Sky by Stephen Marlowe

Steve Stedman is a young graduate in extraterrestrial zoology who talks his way into a place aboard the expedition ship Gordak, determined to prove himself to the legendary big-game hunter Brody Carmical. Instead, he finds himself under the hard command of T. J. "Teejay" Moore, a sharp, formidable captain whose first meeting with him is charged with distrust, especially when she recognizes him as the brother of Charlie Stedman, whose death still haunts him. On the ship's crowded levels and among its bubble-cages, Steve is quickly drawn into a brutal hierarchy of loyalty, pride, and violence, including a beating from Teejay's enforcer LeClarc that ends only when Steve fights back. The expedition carries him to Mercury's blistering Furnacetown, where asbestos suits, stone worms, and deadly heat turn the hunt into a test of survival. When Steve's suit is mysteriously punctured and he is badly burned, Teejay rescues him, revealing both her courage and the possibility of sabotage. The danger widens on Ganymede, where Teejay's crew clashes with Schuyler Barling over vital equipment and Steve is pulled deeper into a contest of wit, territorial rivalry, and hidden agendas. But the strangest threat is psychological: on the airless world, Steve is seized by a creeping terror and hears Charlie's voice calling to him, while Teejay admits she has heard it too. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.