Snippet #2702544

Piper had just finished buttoning her blouse, tying back her strawberry curls, and tucking her wireless communication device into her ear in preparation to report to her morning duties (running fifteen minutes early, of course) when she heard the knock. She wheeled herself to the panel on beside the exit and touched the central pad so that the door slid open with a smooth whisper.

"Chancellor Avalon," said Piper. She blinked, her soft, small mouth fixing in a little o. She didn't know who she expected to be knocking at her quarters, but she definitely did not expect him. Piper rarely had trouble communicating respectfully and confidently with her superiors, but Derrick's arrival caught her terribly off-guard. Not being able to see his eyes past his dark shades left her feeling unusually intimidated. "Oh--hello. Congratulations on your promotion. What can I do for you, sir?"

Her flustered, slightly star-struck mind spun through reasons why he could possibly be making a house call. Some information for interrogation related to one of the missions she'd been on comm? She had seen him rubbing shoulders with Lulu Botrelle (though Piper had seen a glimpse of what he had to do to Lulu in the name of duty) and Kora Norrevinter. Maybe something to do with one of them, since Piper was Commander Botrelle's glorified secretary, and Piper had gotten a front-row seat to the catastrophe of Norrevinter's operation against the Wanderer cell...

Her perceptive glance caught the wax seal on the note in his hand. It didn't look like any kind of official order. That was what digital communication was for. Paper was personal, or for formality, or fun, not function. She doubted it had anything to do with her.