"One from the mission and one from
Major Connel!"
He almost laughed out loud as he turned to the small desk teleceiver at
his elbow. He pressed a button immediately below the screen and it
glowed into life to reveal a young man in the uniform of the enlisted
guard.
"Yes, Captain Strong?" he asked.
"Call the cadets of the _Polaris_ unit," Strong ordered. "Have them
report to me here on the double!"
"Aye, aye, sir."
Strong started to turn the set off, but the enlisted man added, "By the
way, sir, Al Mason and Bill Loring are here to see you."
"Oh--well--" Strong hesitated.
"They're quite anxious to know if you've reached any decision regarding
their petition for reinstatement."
"Mmm--yes, of course. Very well, send them in."
"Aye, aye, sir."
The teleceiver screen blackened. In a moment the door opposite Strong's
desk slid back, and Loring and Mason stepped into the office. They
shambled forward and stopped in front of the huge desk, obviously ill at
ease.
Strong stood up, holding their petition in his hand, and glanced over it
briefly even though he knew its contents by heart.
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