Chameleon
Posted on Mon Oct 11th, 2021 @ 4:54pm by Caithlin t'Leiya & Tal t'Leiya
585 words; about a 3 minute read
Mission:
Frizzle
Timeline: MD 02 : 0800 Hrs
Tal, as the school principal, had reason to both continue to be at the rescue ops command post, and reason to continue to be allowed to be so.
Caithlin, on the other hand, technically did not: She had originally come along with all the rest, standing as a representative of her house and family in lieu of her sister. The rest of the parents had been dismissed from the immediate area with rather emphatic effort and statements to disperse, following the incident earlier with the mob; ferried back by the Marines in most cases. Had she obeyed,or been noted and compelled to do so, she should have followed them. Those few years in the post-nova Senate, however, had taught her not just how to command a room and it's attention, but how and when to fade from it's view while in plain sight: A quietly appraising wallflower in ivory silk robes, now, mostly certainly not appearing as if she were deliberately trying to avoid sight or notice, but managing those objectives quite well regardless.
The news of the location of the group in the caverns had brought a breath of energy and fresh activity and determination over the small camp of sorts; but Caithlin was far better schooled in the expressions of her own kind and it was easy to note the tight edges around her brother in law's mouth and jaw when he was called on to confirm the list of names that had been provided of those that had apparently been located, and those who as of yet had not against the school records of the trip participants; she had known the names of her kin would be on the latter list long before his stride took him back towards her to confirm that, in turn.
The pair's quiet conversation, eventually, attracted the notice of a passing lieutenant who through either skill or luck noted what all the rest had not.
"What are you doing here still?" The man's voice wasn't derisive or aggressive, like the mob; it was pure and incredulous efficiency in maintaining a secure work area, and viewing her (quite rightly, Caithlin had to admit to herself) as an unauthorized presence in it.
"Representation and oversight for the interests of the Bray Foundation." The statement was so immediate and assured that the delivery seemed to give the young officer pause; the sort of pause Caithlin had given other opponents throughout the years when need be. That the statement was not technically true in the fullest sense did not make it a lie, either, as humans saw things even; should that need arise for some unknown reason, Caithlin would no doubt fulfill that cause. That it was superfluous at the moment seemed to have been successfully countered by her confident and pointed delivery, and perhaps the young age and rank of their inquisitor; and after a moment or two he rushed off back to...whatever he had been doing before, no doubt.
That is was not her original purpose in coming, nor even her original purpose in remaining...Well. That mattered little to her. Perhaps "wallflower" was the wrong term after all for an outsider to describe the situation after all: Rather, a chameleon; shifting tactics and stories, presence and form, statements and affect as necessary to persist, succeed, and survive; as the low tones of conversation between the pair of Romulans were easily overpowered by the hive of activity in the greater area around them.
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