As expected from a high officials powers of delegation of any troublesome thing that could cost them their power. A wry smile played at Serafimas lips, but as she turned around to listen to the Commanders interesting play, her face was without emotion.<br/><br/>Ignoring the pleading dragon, she turned to Corn-nuts sneaking away.  A slight chuckle escaped and her voice did not fit to the emotionless expression on her face.<br/><span style="color: #FF4040">"Commander"</span>, Serafima phrased slowly in a relaxed tone:<span style="color: #FF4040">"Why are you so gullible?" </span>Her voice trailed down the corridor, tickling each listening and non listenning ear with a stranglely melodic tune.<br/>Pausing she waited for the man to turn around and face her again.<br/>His expression seemed to be quite complicated and there were too many ears in the vicinity.<br/><span style="color: #FF4040"> "You were fooled by a creature <span style="font-style: italic">way</span> younger than you, you know...?" </span>She crossed her hands before her chest as she made her point.<span style="color: #FF4040">"Just because this sly creature said a few words to you, you believe it?"</span>she asked calmly.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF4040">"See, he lies even now..though everyone here saw him transforming earlier."</span>Commenting on the Dragons denying speech, she used it as leverage for her arguments! She felt quite secure - as she contacted her team, she got access to every footage they got. The electricity failure seemed to have occurred even before the incident occurred, so they did not even need to delete anything. The commander and none of the other officers had accusational info of her.<br/>As for the building, the deaths - she was not responsible, since nobody who saw her fighting was alive. Besides the dragon boy of course, but she did not even spare him a glance.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF4040">"You know that body that was secured by us? The mutilated vampiress? the only thing <span style="font-style: italic"> I </span> did to her was pin down a needle to mark her, before other hands got to her. Honestly, I dont know if she was alive or dead since <span style="font-style: italic">I </span>will always finish my work properly. The rest was done by him."</span>She shamelessly pointed at the dragon.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF4040">"What about the crushed building?" </span>she continued, her voice driven with more power now.<span style="color: #FF4040">"He effortlessly destroyed it and could have escaped in the air - and be caught by your forces!" </span>she quietened down for a dramatic pause.<br/><span style="color: #FF4040"> "However, while you were frantically searching for him outside in any nook and cranny, he brazenly stuffed himself with food in the very same building he came from."</span>A finishing touch to utter humilation for everyone who had been chasing after it, followed and made some of the listening officers, who could hear her from outside, gasp.<br/>With a shrug, she looked at the commander.<span style="color: #FF4040">"I would say he is using perfect tactics and disguise. I basically was just lucky to stumble upon him in the kitchen on my way to take care of the people who saw him transforming. Later there was a gas leak - the gasoline did not lead to the explosion. So I basically saved him from being cooked and charred inside."</span>she re-phrased the situation without even a tint bashfulness on her face.<span style="color: #FF4040">"You can test me if any of my words is a lie. And ask him whether he did those things or not if you'd like - but you might have seen a part of them already."</span>The matter of factly and dry tale-telling was facts everyone knew, and nobody could deny anything after all.<br/>More-over with her wordly half truths- any detector would have problems to discover the discrepancy!<br/><br/>She took some steps closer to the commander, and placed a gasoline drenched hand on his shoulder, making it look as natural as possible.<span style="color: #FF4040">"<span style="font-weight: bold">Congratulations, I would say, if even a warrior as experienced as you was fooled by him...</span>"</span><br/><div style="background-color:#8080bf; border:1px solid black; margin:10px 10px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><br/>But then she forcefully clamped her hand around the shoulder of the official, establishing a forceful mental link!<br/>Only a second or third generation Norva would be able to do that.. Her actions revealed to Cor-nutty, that even if <span style="font-style: italic">he</span> was an important but still disposable pawn for the Blood Queen Zarathustra, she was not! How rare was the second or third generation? Even fourth or fifth generation Norva were priceless, though not that rare! <br/>Serafimas <span style="font-style: italic">dead</span> head was probably worth more than his whole ship fleet! <br/>The man seemed to pale a little as the sounds in his head resounded, from the pain and maybe even the shock of the revelation. But since Serafima decided to raise the dragon, she had to reveal at least one of her cards to have some free hand reigning on the ship. Plus, he would even get the spoils of the trade.. for now.<br/><span style="color: #100000"> "My Blood Whore?"</span> Serafimas tone was a bit mocking in mind talk, <span style="color: #000000">"I dont have need for a blood whore you know?" </span><br/><span style="color: #100000">"My pyromanic streak?" </span> She continued ,<span style="color: #100000">" Am I going to be held responsible for the rampage of the dragon? The crumbling of the building? Some sparks and some leaking gasoline?  Since when did I do half finished things - I was cleaning and tracking most of the people who had a connection to him down and disposing of those who saw him transforming!"</span><br/>She let the mental words sink in, as it was painful for both the host and the activator to connect forcibly. Her face did not show any of the pain though.<br/><span style="color: #100000">"Commander, just think for a bit - IF you got a <span style="font-style: italic">real </span>dragon, and made it public, do you think you could <span style="font-style: italic">keep it</span> with your power? Maybe Blood Queens, but not yours. IF you revealed to the public that I am an earlier gen of Norva, would you even have the power to keep <span style="font-style: italic">me</span>? Even the Blood Queen would not. All Novas above fourth gen are top secret! <br/>In the end, whose fangs will roll?"</span> she continued. <br/><br/><span style="color: #000000">"I will give you face in front of your officers for now, but we will talk about my overtime today, my rewards for raising him, my rewards for capturing him, and my holidays, very very soon.. in private. Under four eyes."</span> she stressed.<br/><br/>-<span style="color: #000000"> - Ah and dont get any Ideas - I know what other powers there are besides The Queen Mother, The Empire, The Blood Queen ... i had been way too often enjoying their 'hospitality*' - and dont think the Blood Queen doesnt know that I'm a special Norva - you wont curry her favor with that, maybe even the opposite... So - keep calm and move on."</span>  She patted the commander, and gave him a serious nod, disconnecting their mental link. <br/><br/><div style="text-align: center;">***</div></div><br/><span style="color: #FF4040"><span style="font-weight: bold">...if a warrior as experienced as you was fooled by him, he has a very bright military future!</span> "</span>she finished her sentence for the listening ears, then waved two of the Dhampir soldiers standing guard, to bring the creature after her, as she parted with a slight bow from the scene.<br/><br/>Commander Cortez' pride would be nicked a little, but in the light of the success of capturing a top secret weapon, it would still give him enough boost to stand tall before the officers and with her little story spicing the play up, so she was not worried.<br/><br/>If others could stage a play - she could do it as well. Why be a pawn for her own mother, when you could be your own pawn...<br/><br/>Musing, but a little tired, the Norva wanted to get out of her battle soaked clothes and half molten half frozen skin- the dragon did have quite the bit of power - and she did not make a hobby out of being dirty and drenched. Plus the mental powers she used today had exhausted her tremendously - so she did not want to carry or fight with the dragon on her way back to her quarters.<br/><br/>The two soldiers behind her had this task: they dragged and pushed the dragon after her - to the quite luxurious living quarters.<br/><br/>The slide doors opened with her card and pass code, but suddenly a fast shadow pounced on the Norna from outside her quarters!