will be in constant pain. Either way, when
the disc pops, she will be in agony to match anything a third-stage
Inquisitor can do."

"I gathered from the briefing that you plan to try surgery. What're
her odds?"

"Not good," Egan admitted. "I can't be sure until I examine her
myself, but we have had little success in correcting a floating disc.
There is an alternative procedure, spinal fusion--essentially welding
part of the spine together so the disc can't pop. She will still hurt,
and it will limit her mobility somewhat; the only advantage is that
she'll be spared the agony of the disc moving out of place."

"That sounds like grounds for a disability discharge." Odeon sipped
his coffee and made a face, trying to lighten his mood a bit. He
wasn't that fond of coffee to begin with, and this certainly wasn't the
best he'd had. "Do hospital coffee shops have to boil this stuff?"

"You get used to it," Egan said. "Yes, that is grounds for discharge,
and at full pay. I will have to examine her myself, as I said, but if
Dr. Franklin says it's a floating disc, that's exactly what it is.
I'll send her discharge recommendation in to Enforcement HQ first thing
tomorrow."

"No, Doctor, you'll give it to me for endorsement." Odeon saw her
beginning objection, and raised a hand to forestall it. "She doesn't
want a discharge; my endorsement will request a waiver. And she won't
want her mobility limited, since it would hamper her in her work. So
no spinal fusion, we'll just have to hope that other operation you
mentioned works."

Egan frowned, concern for her patient overcoming her apprehension.
"You're a harsh man, Captain Odeon, even harsher than I expected from
one of your profession. Do you know what you're condemning her to?"

"I know what you just told me, yes. But I also know the last thing she
asked me was to help her stay in. I am her advocate, Doctor; until
you release her, my word goes."

"Unfortunately, it does," Egan said with a sigh. "But then she can
countermand your orders."

Odeon half-bowed in his seat. "That's right, Doctor, and I hope to God
she does. I don't want to see her hurting, but she asked me not to let
her get kicked out while she couldn't defend herself. I'm doing for
her what she would do for me if our positions were reversed."

Egan looked at him for several moments, silent, then she nodded. She
was beginning to understand, she thought. His grim harshness was real,
b