his feet. He banged his fist down on
the desk and leaned over, his face close to Strong's. "You can't do that
to us!"

Captain Strong didn't move. "I can," he said coldly. "And I have."

"But--but--" Mason began to whine. "But space flight is all we know! How
will we live?"

Strong sat down and leaned back in his chair to get away from the foul
odor of Loring's breath. He stared at the two men.

"You should have thought of that before you stole a rocket scout from
the expedition and made an unauthorized flight while on Tara," Strong
replied. "You're lucky you're not accused, tried, and convicted of theft
of a Solar Guard spaceship!"

"We had permission to take that flight," snarled Loring. "That Major
Connel is so blasted space happy he forgot he gave us permission. Then
when we came back, he slapped us in the brig!"

"Do you have any proof of that?" asked Strong.

"No! But it's our word against his!" He slammed his hat down on the desk
and shook his finger in Strong's face. "You haven't any right to take
away our papers just on the say-so of a lousy Solar Guard officer who
thinks he's king of the universe!"

"Take your filthy hat off my desk, Loring!" barked Strong. "And watch
your language!"

Loring realized he had made a mistake and tried to backtrack. "Well, I
apologize for that. But I _don't_ apologize for saying he thinks he's--"

"Major Connel has been in the Solar Guard for thirty years," said Strong
emphatically. "He's been awarded the Solar Medal three times. No other
living spaceman has achieved that! Not even Commander Walters! He rose
through the ranks of the enlisted Solar Guard and was commissioned as an
officer of the Solar Guard in space during an emergency. He qualifies
higher than any other spaceman, and he has never been found to be
unjust! He's one of the finest spacemen ever to hit the wide, deep, and
high!" Strong stopped, choked for breath, and turned away. It wasn't
often he lost his temper, but something had to be said in defense of his
fellow officer, and particularly since that officer was Connel. He
turned back to face the two spacemen, and his voice was hard and cold
again.

"You are hereby suspended from space flight for twelve Earth months. Any
further petition for appeal of this decision will be denied!"

"All right! All right, Mr. Big!" snapped Loring. "Does this mean we
can't even ride as passengers?"

"No rights under the Universal Bill of Rights of the Solar Alliance