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forty-eight hours?” he asked, watching me dress.
    “No, but your life expectancy would be seriously abbreviated.” I checked my reflection in the mirror of the wall vanity unit. I should have looked like death warmed over, but I practically glowed with health. Courtesy of my loathsome immune system. I went back to packing my sojourn case. “Besides, you know you’ll be happier to have me out of your gildrells. I’ll round up Vlaav and we’ll head back to the Perpetua .”
    “That is the other problem I wish to discuss with you before you leave.” Squilyp went over to close the door to my room, and leaned back against the panel. He was tall and rangy, and his pink derma looked great in the white-and-blue physician’s tunic. He’d earned that, working for me. “The Saksonan has expressed a wish to remain on board the Sunlace and serve as a surgical resident in Medical.”
    I whirled around. “He what !”
    “Dr. Irde wants me to take over his training.”
    “You’re pulling my leg, right?” The Omorr shook his head. “I don’t believe it. That ungrateful little snot.” I slammed the lid down on my case. “After all I’ve done for him.”
    “Judging by the fervency of his request, I suspect you have completely terrorized him.” Squilyp made an impatient gesture. “Don’t glower like that. You have never been successful at terrorizing me .”
    “That’s only because you’re as conceited and arrogant as I am.” I didn’t want to admit it, but I was hurt. What had I ever done to Vlaav, other than give him the finest training a surgeon could ask for? “Is it because of the simulator runs?”
    “He did not cite objections to a specific task.”
    “I only made him do two per shift, you know.” I started to pace the deck. “My resident trainer used to make me do four. And I didn’t yell at Vlaav when he messed up.” Squilyp’s expression of disbelief put me on the defensive. “Okay, so I yelled at him, but not very often.”
    Squilyp folded his membranes. “Cherijo, I’ve served beside you for more than a year. You are, without a doubt, the most gifted and competent surgeon I’ve ever worked with.”
    I arched a brow. “High praise.”
    “You are also short-tempered, demanding, and extremely hard to measure up to. That I can also attest to from personal exposure.”
    I scowled. “It isn’t a competition. As for you, you know exactly how good you are, so don’t hand me that ‘I-don’t-measure-up’ waste.”
    “I measure up. Vlaav doesn’t think he will,” Squilyp said. “As far as skill goes, it’s always a competition. You’ve simply never been in a position to worry about your own competency. You were the best surgeon in your training facility on Terra, correct?”
    “Yes.”
    “And you became the best surgeon on K-2 as well?”
    I glared. “Yes.”
    “I can tell you, you were the best surgeon on the Sunlace . You’ve always known you’d be the best, wherever you go. You’re the epitome of confidence.”
    I threw up my hands. “But that’s part of the job! How else are we going to have the nerve to cut people open and rearrange their insides on a daily basis?”
    “Perhaps you’re right. I don’t know how else one can be a surgeon. I’ll tell you what I do know: That young Saksonan will never be half the surgeon you are.”
    “Of course he won’t!” I yelled. “He won’t train with me!”
    “If there’s ever a chance of him coming close, he can’t train with you. Did you know he’s gone without adequate sleep intervals for weeks, studying your methods, trying to emulate your techniques?”
    I had noticed how tired Vlaav had been acting lately. Residency demanded a lot. Still, I would never have guessed he was losing sleep, trying to please me. Trying to imitate me. “Okay, maybe I’ve been a little too hard on him.”
    “A little?”
    “I’ve praised him, too. A few times.” I rubbed the back of my neck, feeling sheepish. “Not enough,