Although Captain Ed, First Officer Kelly, and the others aboard the Orville had spent several days arguing and debating with Second Officer Bortus's family over Topa's situation, they had even formally reported it to the Planetary Union Command's Mediation Center and applied for arbitration.
But in the end, even though their request was both reasonable and legal, it was still rejected.
The reason and explanation given by the Planetary Union Command's Mediation Center were simple. The lieutenant general in charge of coordinating affairs between the Union's various species told Captain Ed that Moclan society was known for being stubborn and conservative. The previous incident involving the Moclan all-female planet had already severely upset their fragile, sensitive nerves. If something like that happened again, it might genuinely affect the alliance between the Moclans and the Planetary Union?
So, no matter how unwilling Captain Ed and First Officer Kelly were, the Planetary Union's higher-ups ultimately issued an order rejecting the reasonable request to perform another "corrective" surgery on Topa. They also officially forbade any Planetary Union officer or medical officer aboard the Orville from performing the surgery?
Fortunately!
The saying "Where there's a policy from above, there are ways around it below" wasn't for nothing. Even though the official request had been mercilessly rejected, Ed, Kelly, and the others still had another way, and they decided to go against orders?
And so!
After some clever maneuvering, they eventually created an opportunity for the Moclan "boy," Topa, and Robot Engineer Isaac—who wasn't a serving Planetary Union officer—to secretly perform the corrective surgery. With Captain Ed and her mother, Second Officer Bortus, deliberately arranging things, Topa was able to reclaim her original female identity and neatly circumvent the order.
As for that fait accompli, Keldon from the Bortus family was naturally furious with embarrassment.