"As acting captain of the _Aphrodite_, I officially charge you, Stephen
Coran, with the wilful murder of Captain Joseph Shalm, late master of
this ship. Also, since the murder must have taken place at the exact
moment of take-off, with the deliberate intent to delay and endanger
the safety of the ship and all the lives on board."
"Good. Now I make formal demand that my wife be called as witness to
the fact that I could not have been in the captain's office at the time
of take-off."
"You heard me say that your wife is in quarantine. She will not be able
to testify. If you have anything else to say in your defense, speak up."
"I make no defense. Since the court is so obviously prejudiced, I
will stand on my civilian rights as a technicality. This court has no
jurisdiction over me. The most you can do is to confine me to the area
of this ship until a charge can be brought against me in the admiralty
court on Venus. Also, under Security Law No. F 1720, since the one
witness I asked to have called in my defense has not been brought to
court, I demand that the whole proceedings be dropped as illegal,
unjustified, and prejudicial to civilian rights. Since I obviously
cannot escape from the ship, you cannot even require the customary bond
for reappearance."