Tabetha had shrugged dramatically at the mention of 'no big toys', feigning a look of disappointment.  She followed the man silently afterwards, and only gave him a casual salute as he walked off.  Perhaps too casual.  She had a record for getting the job done, but her casualty rates and disregard for regulations had kept her perpetually smalltime as far as military rankings went.  It was like constantly balancing a tightrope; so long as she made herself useful, her less than satisfactory traits could be overlooked.  In the end, the NEG wanted effective tools, not moral ones.  The moral ones got statues erected and pages in the history books, and probably deserved each and every last one of them for their heroics, but it was the monsters that did the dirty work necessary to keep the heroes squeaky clean.<br/><br/>It felt slightly better to be in a clean uniform, but she still felt naked without her armor.  It wasn't that she felt weak without its protection.  Her body had always come first, and combat was second nature even without a shield.  Perhaps it was her skin, which she liked to seal away from prying eyes.<br/><br/>Tabetha adjusted her cuffs and collar carefully, pulling them as far across her wrists and neck as she could manage.  Her hair was a ruffled mess of black, but she didn't bother with fixing it up.  Never did.<br/><br/>Meeting with Septerra by the car she would salute again, though this time a bit more stiffly.  Something about a pressed suit got one into that sort of mood.<br/><br/>"Well Captain, since you didn't answer my...previous questions before," she started with a wry smirk, "I can only assume you were waiting for the privacy of this car?  Unless you're not authorized to tell me what this is all about, and why I was chosen?"<br/><br/><br/>