Captain McNaught has landed his ship named the Bustler in a spaceport after a long and difficult travel across space. His 400 crewmen are out in the port letting loose while he holds down the fort, waiting for his First Officer Gregory to take over so he can relax too. Burman, the radio operator who was also tasked with manning the ship, comes into McNaught's office and tells him they just received a communique. An inspector from the military is coming to go over every detail of the ship in a few day's time. The captain brings his men back to paint and repair the ship while he goes through their storage to see what they need to buy or illicitly get rid of. He is joined by another officer Pike and the ship's dog Peaslake. It didn't take long for the dog to lose interest in their tedious work.

The first and only item to be missing is something called an "Offog." It was supposed to be in the chef's galley, but no one had even heard of such an item. Not a single officer, when asked, can name what it could be or what it is a nickname for. McNaught pins it on Burman, who has a habit of giving made-up names to random items throughout the ship. When no one can find one, McNaught tells him to make one up and pretend when the inspector comes. Burman is not pleased.

The inspector arrives and is incredibly strict. Captain McNaught keeps everything moving smoothly until they get to Burman in the radio room. He pulls out a strange object covered in switches, dials, and buttons, and makes up a very technical explanation about gravity for its reason for to exist. The inspector buys it, and the inspection ends without a hiccup.

They get another radio call, this time telling them to return to Earth for an equipment overhaul. Burman and McNaught are worried, as technical experts will easily know the offog is fake. They make up the excuse that the item came apart due to gravitational stress. They immediately get a response telling them to land and stay put until they can be inspected again, because "offog" was a typo standing for "off. dog" or official dog. The Navy wants to know how the dog came apart due to gravitational stress.