Operator Nuriel
Meeting Room
March 8 - 3:35 PM
Blacksteel Worldwide Landship
Nuriel listens to the plan attentively, noting down all the instructions that Sarah Jordan is going through for the briefing... but... something subtle happens to her as they start discussing the assignment of tasks and squads. It wasn't notable at first, as if she hadn't registered the words properly, or perhaps... couldn't, but as she saw the images on screen and Sarah's words continued to filter in, the realization hit Nuriel that she had been given the task of leading a team.
It was then that she held her breath for a worrying amount of time, though perhaps it was hard to notice since she was a very quiet person in general. She didn't move, as if she was frozen in place, and a cursory glance would only give the impression that she was still looking at the projector screen very intently... but if one looked closely, they would realize that the sankta was lost somewhere inside her own world.
Can I lead them?
What if I make a mistake, like back then?
It was my mistake, and yet I am the only one left.
What would she think, if she was still here?
If only...
The image of someone very important flashes before her eyes. A female cautus dressed in blinding white, as cold... no, colder than the winter of Ursus itself. Nuriel reaches for that familiar figure, the freezing temperature around this ephemeral figure warmer than anything else. As she approaches, emerging from the snowstorm are more familiar figures, flanking the cautus. She only sees their silhouette, but that is all she needs to recognize them. Nuriel reaches out to it, to that distant dream, that distant memory... a place that she once called home.
...but it will forever remain a memory.
The image shatters, the world of ice that she once called home disappears and she returns to the meeting room... just in time to ask if there are any questions. Nuriel has nothing to ask nor say -- the questions she has, only she herself can answer them. She will need to go for a walk once this meeting is dismissed, and set herself straight for the upcoming trial at hand.
Expergiscimini, salutem agnus.
Yet, going silently away when she has been appointed a squad leader wouldn't fill her squad mates with confidence, that she understands... and she has some things to say about her squad's medical specialist's comments.
Originally Posted by
Vitro
"While I admit to having little knowledge of Rhine Labs' workings beyond the basics, the lack of direct aid may pose an issue for us. Because of this, I fear there may be a non-zero chance of the site's personnel being, huu…" Vitro paused, considering the proper wording. "Uncooperative with our specified extraction. If that were to happen, then…"
"Madam Muelsyse pointed out that we should have paperwork that would give us the full access to the facility... and the cooperation of the personnel present. As long as we do not, and there should be no need to uh... mention that none of Rhine Lab's higher ups have arranged for a proper rescue mission... all should be fine. We might even butter up the situation and add the prospect of an extraction team to ensure their honest cooperation, if required."
Yet that is not saving them, is it? Of course it isn't, it is blatantly lying and leaving people to die. Nuriel knows very well what that means, and some may spot the glimmer of light and determination in her eyes which betray that there is a lot left unsaid behind the words she uttered -- that if she can arrange for people to be out of harm's way, she will. 'Leave no one behind, and minimize casualties...' that is how she has done things ever since she left Laterano.