Joanie--none at all." Odeon smiled at her. "I have the
feeling he expected my call, though I don't know how he could've. At
any rate, I asked about both of us applying, and made what I think was
a rather eloquent argument on our behalves. He listened to me, even
though I have a sneaky feeling he knew everything I was going to
say--then he said we were in, and called me to the Palace for
ordination. Our new Commanding Officer is also Bishop of the St.
Thomas Strike Force, it seems." He grinned. "If you still want to go
to Mass tomorrow, I'd like you to come to my first one. Even if it
will have to be private."

"I'd be honored," Cortin said. "What about my application?"

Odeon laughed. "Looked at your ID lately, Inquisitor-Captain?" Then he
sobered, quickly. "No, I'm sorry--you're in, Joanie. Probably as a
team leader, if you get anything useful out of your first subjects--as
team-second, at worst. And we'll be on the same team, whoever's CO."
He frowned. "But--Joanie, His Holiness has decreed that all Strike
Force Inquisitors be priests, since it's conceivable even a Brother
might repent at the last minute and need the sacraments. But you never
said anything about having that call."

"Because you just told me about it," Cortin said. "It's pretty obvious
my primary call is to being a Strike Force Inquisitor; if part of that
is taking Holy Orders, I'll do it. And I'll do my best to be a good
priest." With a lot of prayers that she never be called on to
administer to a Brother that way . . . "Do I need to be ordained right
away, or can I take care of this afternoon's subject first?"

"I get the impression he wants us to be ready to go any time, so I'd
say you should get in touch with him sometime today. How long do you
think this subject'll take you?"

Cortin shrugged. "No real idea, though I don't think he'll be easy."

"I believe you should count on a minimum of several hours," Illyanov
said. "Probably no less than a day, perhaps a bit more. He was an
Enforcement trooper, after all, and was trained to resist
interrogation."

"You've got one of those?" Odeon smiled, wolfishly. "My urge is to
tell you to take care of him before you do anything else, but Strike
Force business has to come before even that. So I'd recommend you see
Colonel Bradford first."

"That's not necessary."

Cortin recognized the "Lieutenant's" voice and and started to rise, but
was stopped by his next words. "As y