Conditions of Discharge

Posted on Thu 30th Aug, 2018 @ 1:25pm by Lieutenant Commander Lanis Dhuro MD & Brigadier General Franklin Sinclair

678 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: Oblivion
Location: Infirmary, Dr. Dhuro's Office
Timeline: MD11

Franklin Sinclair said his farewells to Lt. Col. Wellington and strode toward the first medic he saw on his way out of the infirmary. "Ensign, what is the name of that Bajoran surgeon you all have here? Older guy? Scars?"

The ensign braced to attention. It wasn't every day that brigadier generals addressed her. "That sounds like the Chief of Surgery, Dr. Dhuro, sir."

"Yeah, that's him. Where's his office?"

The ensign gave Sinclair a startled look and pointed down a corridor. "Third door on your left, General, next to Dr. Anjohl's office."

"Thank you." Sinclair set off down the corridor. At the third door on the left he gave a brisk knock.

To his surprise, the door slid open immediately. He recognized the physician peering at the computer screen as the surgeon he'd spoken to just after Wellington's surgery. The Bajoran didn't look up to acknowledge Sinclair, however. He frowned at something on the screen as he continued to study it. "Thank you. Just put it on the table, will you?"

"Dr. Dhuro?" Sinclair inquired in a dryly questioning voice.

Dhuro Lanis glanced toward the voice, and his eyes widened as he stood. "Well, that explains why I didn't smell pepperoni. Come in General; my apologies. I thought you were someone from 10-42. Please have a seat. What can I do for you?"

Ordinarily, Sinclair thought, he might have laughed at being mistaken for a pizza deliverer, but right now he wasn't in the mood. He made certain the door was closed behind him and then advanced on the Bajoran surgeon like a bulldog on the hunt. "Dr. Dhuro, what the hell is wrong with Col. Wellington's arm?"

The Bajoran leaned his head to one side and regarded Sinclair out of a narrowed gaze. "Do you have medical power of attorney for her?"

"What kind of a dumb-ass question is that?"

Dhuro nodded. "I'm afraid I cannot discuss her medical condition with you, General. If Col. Wellington wishes to discuss the state of her graft with me, I will be happy to talk with her, and she may disclose whatever she likes to you. All I can tell you is whether she's fit for duty."

Sinclair glared at Dhuro. "Stop hiding behind medical legalese! Can you not tell that she's in pain?"

"Yes, I can tell that," Dhuro replied, his voice growing clipped and just a bit frosty. "It's quite evident that she's in pain. I'm trying to ascertain the cause."

"So it's not normal," Sinclair said, pinning Dhuro with his gaze.

Lanis sighed. "No, General, it's not. She should have stopped feeling pain by about three days after the procedure, four at most. It's well past that time now. This s why I haven't discharged her yet. As long as she's here, I can control her environment, keep her from being exposed to things like benign types of radiation that might interact even worse with her arm--because I don't know what's causing this. I've looked in the literature. This side effect is quite rare."

"Were you planning to tell Wellington this before the next millennium?"

Dhuro snorted. "This afternoon, in fact. Her physical therapist just met with me not fifteen minutes ago, to discuss progress."

Sinclair let out a breath. "See that you do." He looked back at Dhuro. "Can she be released long enough to attend an awards ceremony three nights from now?"

"I heard about that. Yes, and I'm thinking of discharging her, anyway. She's well enough to walk around, and she's recovered from her injuries, except for her arm. She's at least fit for light duty. No flying outside of a simulator, though."

Sinclair gave Dhuro a half-smile. "Haven't you heard? She totaled her starfighter, and I'm not buying her a new one until I can scrape some pennies together--a lot of pennies. That'll take a while."

The chime to Lanis' door rang. "Finding loose change is such a pain," Lanis agreed. "Care to share some pizza with me? The least I can do is help you start saving by buying you lunch."

 

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