2173 CE – December 04th – Gagarin Station – Hospital Isolation wing 15:16 PM
Dmitri stood in shadow and waited for the visitor. After limping after the surgeon for near an hour he'd finally gotten the man to give him an update on Shepard's status, which was sadly unchanged. The consensus among the medical staff was to keep her in a medically induced coma due to her reaction to the implant until the inflammation was reduced further, and Dmitri knew there was a possibility, however small, that she would never wake again. His father had already pulled him out of classes, but Dmitri kept insisting he be allowed to stay at the hospital, citing his injury and any other malady he could invent to avoid being shipped out. It was when he was pretending to faint on the turian receptionist, and he'd been left alone while the poor turian ran for help he happened to glance on the visiting logs for Shepard. There were several names, some turian, some human, but only one name was written in every day she'd been in isolation, and he wanted to have a few words with that particular turian. After standing here for almost an hour, his leg was starting to ache, and he leaned back against the wall. The station felt different to him already, as if he didn't belong here anymore, and the one thing that kept him here was now defenseless and soon to be alone. If that Chellick character was getting ideas unfitting his station, Dmitri would have to make a point about that soon. Twenty minutes later he heard footsteps approaching. He said nothing as Chellick walked slowly up to the door of room 23 and peered through the glass. The turian remained silent, but reached his hand up and rested three talons on the glass as if he was waving to the girl inside. For some reason, this annoyed Dmitri to no end. He pushed off the wall and limped towards Chellick.
"So. Back again, I see," he said with a menacing tone.
Chellick's head jerked to the side, and when he saw Dmitri, he let his talons slide off the glass window.
"What of it? I'm not doing anything wrong," he said with small smile.
"Remains to be seen. Why are you here every day?" Dmitri demanded.
"Same reason as you, I guess," Chellick said.
Dmitri took one step closer and knew he was invading the turian's space. He didn't care.
"Careful, turian. Don't think you know me. Or what I will do to you should you do something I dislike."
"I'm making another guess and saying that list is somewhat long, Basanov."
They glared at each other.
"It is. And if anything on that list includes Shepard, it becomes problem I have to deal with."
A small chuffing sound escaped Chellick, and he gave Dmitri a look of pure disdain.
"Good luck with that, since you're leaving soon and all. I'll look after Shepard for you."
Dmitri stared at the forward turian, before he lost his temper and punched him in the mandible. To Dmitri's surprise, Chellick rolled with the punch to negate most of the power behind it. The turian retaliated by grabbing at his arm, and they grappled for a few seconds before Chellick suddenly had both his arms locked behind his back.
"I'm going easy on you, cripple," Chellick hissed in his ear.
It occurred to Dmitri that Shepard might have trained her recruits a little too well, and not sparred enough with him. Still, bad leg or no, he still had an ace up his sleeve.
"Aw, you should not have."
Dmitri's body glowed purple, and Chellick was thrown across the room, slamming into the waiting room couch. He jolted back up and charged at Dmitri as a turian doctor appeared in search of the source of the ruckus.
"STOP! IMMEDIATELY!"
They froze.
"This is a hospital with sick patients, not a sparring ring. Mr Basanov, if you're well enough to brawl, you're well enough to leave. Recruit Chellick, you're a guest in this hospital, I know you know the visiting rules for the human isolation wing, I made you read them three times.
"Yes sir," the two boys chorused.
Doctor Publius studied the two culprits, then shot a glance at the door they both were here to visit, then scratched his fringe as an afterthought.
"Look, I know this is difficult for you, but this is the only warning you'll get. One more incident, and you're both out permanently. Understand?"
"Yes sir!"
Doctor Publius left them standing there, one with cheeks burning and one with a deflated fringe. Chellick was the first to speak.
"Hey, sorry for calling you a cr-.."
"Shut it, turian," Dmitri cut him off. "I have a few more things to make clear for you. Shepard is family to me, so if you do anything to hurt her, I will kill you."
Chellick gave him a skeptical eye. "You're not related, and how will you do that when you're off the station?"
Dmitri gave a mirthless laugh. "You think I can leave important project because my father asked nicely? No, he paid important men to get me out of here. My family has credits. Enough credits to pay some former mercenaries to find and kill a named turian idiot, even inside Hierarchy space. You understand now? And Shepard is family by choice. No blood required."
Chellick seemed to mull the last part over for a while.
"So it's like bonding, but not for mates? I didn't know humans did that."
"What? No, it's not some weird turian thing, we have become like family, and I protect my family."
"Yes, kin-bonding or clan-bonding, like I said," Chellick said patiently.
"It's NOT like that, it's.. fuck it. Just as long as you know what I will do to you if you cross line."
"I...see. And where is that line?" Chellick asked carefully.
Dmitri's leg gave a painful twinge, and he sank into a chair. Chellick twitched his mandibles for a few seconds, and he sat down opposite Dmitri, awaiting his reply.
"My damn leg hurts. What did you say earlier?"
"Where is the line?" Chellick repeated.
"Are you serious?"
"As a broken leg."
Dmitri gave Chellick a suspicious glance, a sneaking realization appearing in his head. All those jokes on Shepard's expense on admiring turians, and now there was probably one sitting in front of him, almost asking for permission to.. what? Date Shepard? Sleep with Shepard? He shuddered at the thought. And if Shepard had any deviant ideas of her own regarding said turian, remote as that possibility was, she'd probably rip his arm off if he interfered. He decided to play it safe now, and play merry hell on her later when recounting this conversation.
"The line is a hurt Shepard, either physically or emotionally," he said aloud. "If that happens, I will hurt you."
Perhaps it was only his imagination, but Chellick's fringe seemed to perk up.
"Oh. That's okay then. I get it. Male human display of protectiveness for kin-bonded. Turians have similar concept for when a suitor is perceived to maybe be inapt for bonding or mating."
Dmitri visibly cringed. "Mating?"
Chellick gave him several slow uncertain blinks. "Yes. I know turians and humans have been at war for a long time, but you must know that it's possible to date outside your species? I have a cousin that used to date an asari, and a friend of mine's uncle had a quarian girlfriend. Humans are unusual, yes, but it will change."
"Not for long while," Dmitri whispered under his breath.
"Well, you're all right, Basanov," Chellick said as he got to his feet and sauntered off, "you have an open mind for interspecies-relationships."
Dmitri stared slack-jawed after him. When had he ever said that? Shepard would kill him if he gave Chellick implicit sanction to date her and she hated the turian's guts.
He got back on his feet and walked slowly over to the door, looking in and the sleeping figure inside. Dmitri leaned his forehead to the cold glass.
"Please get better, Shepard. I need you to laugh with me again before I go."
The only answer he got was the blinking of the machines within.
2173 CE – December 05th – Gagarin Station – Hospital Isolation wing 17:26 PM
The game of solitaire was going badly, and Dmitri decided to sort to a little shameless cheating. He flipped a few more cards, and deftly swapped them for a few of the turned down cards locked under a very stubborn queen of hearts. The new cards would unlock more of the down-turned cards, and he smiled to himself, when he suddenly became aware that a certain turian knave was looking over his shoulder.
"Is that allowed?" Chellick asked.
"Not really, but I don't mind," Dmitri said.
"Hmm.. I see."
The turian walked over to the door and looked inside. He did the same thing with his talons as yesterday, but today Dmitri didn't mind. For some reason, he felt sorry for the lovesick turian. Perhaps it was the fact that his hopes would be dashed when Shepard woke up, or that Dmitri himself had been in love with a girl he couldn't have back on earth. Perhaps it was that the holidays would soon be upon them, and he always liked this one. His parents was devout followers of the old orthodox church, and while he himself was a bit more ambivalent on the subject of a god, he enjoyed the celebrations with his family to the fullest. Traditional food, songs and customs that belonged to his homeland, and a few traditions that had traversed country borders and space beyond. He glanced at the turian again. Maybe there was some yuletide fun to be had here too.
"Hey, Chellick," he called out not to loud, "how about game of skyllian five?"
The turian turned around with a puzzled look on his face. "With me?"
Dmitri rolled his eyes. "I would prefer Shepard, but in pinch I will take her turian."
"I'm not.. I haven't.." Chellick stammered.
"Not at the rate you are going, no. Want some advice?" he said innocently.
The turian's eyes narrowed. "Yesterday you were going to hire someone to murder me. Today you want to help me? Forgive me for saying this, but that's highly suspicious."
"You're forgiven. Now sit scaly ass down."
Chellick slowly sat down, keeping his eyes on Dmitri the whole time.
"Now, it cannot have escaped your notice that human holiday is coming. There is not much done on station, but some posters are hanging around the place and two glowing figures are put in the mess hall. You have seen this, yes?"
"Yeees," Chellick drawled uncertainly. "Don't know what it's about, really."
"Neither do we humans,"Dmitri grinned. "For some, it's celebration of birth of savior, for others winter solstice on earth, or rebirth of heathen god, depends on your faith. The only thing that is truly universal among humans is tradition of the mating stick."
Chellick sat upright and stared at Dmitri with an almost hungry expression.
"Ah, yes, it is old tradition from human stone age. You see, when humans used only stone tools, the way of getting a mate was to sneak up behind them and whack them over the head with wooden club, then drag them back to cave. Both males and females did this, but now we are more civilized. We sneak up behind potential mate with small stick, smack them gently on the head with it to show that we have 'captured' them, and if they are not opposed to maybe share cave sometime in future, they bestow on the smacker a human gesture of affection. If they are not interested, they simply leave."
Chellick listened with rapt attention, and Dmitri had to bite his tongue to not laugh.
"Do you have such a stick?" Chellick asked in an offhand manner.
"No, but I think I could procure one. If I knew the receiver had honest intentions..."
Their conversation was interrupted by a small medical team lead by a woman Dmitri had never seen before. She had pale bangs with silver streaks, standard alliance medical uniform, and carried herself like a woman who would stab you with the syringe if you gave her any trouble. They stopped outside Shepard's room and exchanged a few hushed words. Dmitri tensed and rose from his chair, and Chellick followed suit. They made their way over to the door.
"Excuse me, who are you?" Dmitri asked brazenly from the woman.
She raised her eyebrow at his impertinent question, and her eyes flickered between him and the attending surgeon. The surgeon gave a slight sigh.
"Dr. Chakwas, this is Dmitri Basanov."
Chellick made a small cough.
"And Decian Chellick. They're friends of Shepard and keep pestering everyone that passes by."
Chakwas swiftly turned her head and nailed the turian with a withering stare. He shrunk under her gaze at first, then pushed his chest out and met her eyes. Her upper lip curled for half a second, but Dmitri was unable to recognize the emotion behind it.
"How quaint. Two white knights guarding a maiden," she said.
"Now you know us, who are you?" Dmitri persisted.
"I'm Karin Chakwas, doctor in the Alliance Navy, and I'm here as a favor for a friend. That's all you need to know."
Next it was Chellick that spoke: "Is Shepard so sick that her mother felt it necessary to call in the cavalry?"
"I never mentioned Shepard's mother," Chakwas said with a bemused expression.
"Didn't need to," he replied curtly.
Dmitri was glad Chellick had the wherewithal to ask questions, as he himself was now getting visibly worried.
Karin Chakwas watched the two boys intently, then finally said: "Things are taking a little longer than we would have wanted. I'm here to hurry things along a bit. Don't worry, your friend is in good hands."
She turned around to leave, then apparently remembered something and turned back.
"Is by any chance your father Yuri Basanov?"
"Yes. Do you know him?"
"No. Not at all, but I know someone that did," she smiled at him and left with the team.
"Decian? Really?" Dmitri said.
"Beats Dmitri in any case," the turian replied with a mandible flare. "Do you think that new doctor will help?"
"If Shepard's mother sent her, I doubt it will hurt," Dmitri said, "probably knows all about family medical history."
"Probably. Look, I need to get back to the barracks. Keep an eye on things for m-.. for Shepard."
Dmitri pretended he hadn't heard that little slip.
"No problem. See you tomorrow."
2173 CE – December 06th – Gagarin Station – Hospital Isolation wing 18:10 PM
The figure in the bed was jerking intermittently as if in pain, and Dmitri awaited every spasm with trepidation. Chakwas and her team had been inside earlier in the day, and Shepard's new doctor had decided to attempt to bring her gradually out of the coma to see if there had been any brain damage from the operation. The regular doctor had told Dmitri that Shepard's movements and twinges were completely natural, and to be expected when muscles started to reactivate and the brain attempting to assert control again, but to him it looked painful. Another twinge caused Shepard to knock her elbow in the side rail of the bed, and he had to look away.
"What's going on?" came Chellick's concerned voice.
"Hey Decian. That Chakwas woman has decided to wake Shepard up."
"She's awake?" Chellick pushed Dmitri aside, ignoring the jibe at his name and stared through the window.
"Hey! No pushing the cripple. And no, she is not awake yet."
"Why is she moving like that?"
"Because her body and her brain is not cooperating with one another," Dmitri said, starting to hobble towards the waiting room. He sat down and pulled out his deck again, leaving Chellick to gaze through the window for a while. With nothing to do but wait, he started laying down a castle. The soft 'flip' sounds of the cards being placed down was familiar and soothing. Halfway done with the game, he saw the shadow of a turian fall over the table. Dmitri said nothing, merely continued to flip cards. After a while, Chellick cleared his throat. "So, is she going to be okay?"
Dmitri shrugged and placed another card. "They think there is good chance."
"That's good then. That she'll get better." The turian hesitated, fidgeting with his talons, then asked; "So, about that mating stick..."
Dmitri stifled a laugh, then beamed at the turian. "Not to worry, my fringed friend. I will help a fellow recruit out. When my father's ship arrives, I will get you the goods."
"Yeah? That's fantastic! I will never forget this, Basanov," Chellick said with a grateful grin.
"Always glad to be of service, Decian."
Chellick was too happy to notice the all too polite demeanor from the human. Dmitri felt a fleeting happiness that he probably would be long gone when Chellick tried to solicit intimacy from Shepard by hitting her with a small piece of wood. When the turian was out of earshot, he broke into a very undignified fit of giggles.
2173 CE – December 07th – Gagarin Station – Hospital Isolation wing 14:10 PM
"That's beginning to look good on you, Shepard," Dmitri grinned at his friend.
She'd opened her eyes that morning, and they were as reddened and bloody as they were when she'd done the ball tornado. Chakwas had stopped him from rushing in with the medical team, and kept him outside all day. He'd not even been allowed to wait in the waiting room outside Shepard's room, but was shoved ungracefully into the reception area. Furious at this, he spent the morning showing his naked backside to the turian receptionist, encouraging some female human recruits to ask the same receptionist about loosened plates and singing woeful Russian ballads outside the emergency entrance area.
Finally the receptionist gave in and called for dr. Chakwas. She arrived shortly after the buzzer sounded.
"Mr. Basanov. You're quite the showman, I'm told. Stripping, singing and interesting conversation topics. Might we be looking at the new male escort of Gagarin Station?"
"No one can resist me, that is why you will let me see Shepard," he said and gave a sarcastic bow.
She beamed at him. "Am I now? And if I say I will have you thrown out on your little behind for bothering the staff?"
"But you have not seen my willy helicopter yet. It's said to be very.. hypnotic," Dmitri replied dead serious.
At this Chakwas broke into a laugh. "Oh, you're quite incorrigible, young man. All right, 10 minutes, that's all! And no amount of swinging genitals will prolong that time limit, are we clear?"
"But of course," he said politely.
And now he was at last face to face with Shepard. She looked tired and worn, but was glad to see him.
"Shove off, Dmitri, I look gorgeous, and you know it." Her chuckle turned into a cough.
"I would never say otherwise, my krogan-faced beauty."
Shepard started coughing even harder. When she got her breath back, she was grinning like an idiot.
"Charming, aren't you?" she said.
"You know it. But I'm not the only one dying to see you, you know."
"Really? Vyrnnus been by for a quick throttle?"
"Nope, you're still alive, yes? But you got the species right.
"A turian? Chellick?" she asked with a weary smile.
"Aha! I knew you were carrying on with that turian hotcake. Pervert!"
"Say what? Whose brain were inflamed again? Chellick is nice, but I haven't been tearing his clothes off or anything."
"Lies, filthy lies. Why else would he be here every day, scratching at door to get in, like trained house cat?"
"Been dipping into the medicinal spirits, Dmitri?" She paused. "Every day?"
"And now she has converted to talking about spirits," Dmitri railed on, "eew, imagine how kids would look. Soft pink scales, red eyes, short fringe and tiny tiny talons. Like deformed shrimp."
"Shut up, nitwit, or I'll fry your brain with my new power." Shepard made several slow dramatic gestures aimed at Dmitri's head. "Wooooh, I can't do it, there's nothing in there. That explains a lot."
He shrugged at her. "Pathetic attempt to hide from truth. But Chellick is not the worst, I suppose, if you had to stray from human path."
She met his gaze with a strange smile. "No, I guess he's not." Dmitri cocked his head with a quizzical look, and returned her smile. They sat there for a while, saying nothing, just enjoying the others company until dr. Chakwas appeared and ordered him out.
2173 CE – December 07th – Gagarin Station – Hospital Isolation wing 17:41 PM
"But Basanov got to see her!" Chellick growled at the receptionist.
"That was a special concession from her doctor. Her human doctor," the receptionist emphasized. Chellick slammed both hands on the counter and his growl went so low his second voice box broke a few times, causing a crack in his attempted threat.
"Spirits." The brown-plated turian decided he was not payed enough to listen to nutty teenagers all day and pressed for the doctor again. Chellick pushed off the counter and turned to face what he assumed was security. Instead he saw the pale haired doctor again approaching them with a small smile.
"Mr. Chellick, was it? Been flashing your knickers at poor Liscus here, have you?"
Liscus rolled his eyes and went back to his datapad.
"Flashing my knickers?" Chellick asked with a hint of uncertainty.
"Your friend Mr. Basanov has been pulling off his pants all midday, all but singing and dancing to get my attention. I'm somewhat disappointed you're on such good behavior."
Chellick's neck flushed blue. Surely this woman wasn't expecting him to behave in such a human fashion?
"Relax. Just funning with you. Let me guess, you want to see Shepard." She gave him a long inscrutable look. "But are you sure she wants to see you? You must know her family history, not a lot of love for turians there."
He looked away. "Shepard's not like that."
"I can see you believe that. Careful of putting people on a pedestal. You might be disappointed."
"I'm glad I'm not as cynical as you people." His voice was defiant.
"There really is no stopping puppy love, is there."
"Puppy?"
"Never mind. I will give you 5 minutes, as it's been a long day for her."
"Sure! I'll take it."
She signaled him to follow.
Chellick walked quietly into the room where Shepard was resting. At first it seemed like she was sleeping, and he felt like an interloper, but decided to take a seat next to the bed. She heard the creak of the chair, and turned her head to the sound. When she caught sight of him, she gave him a drowsy smile.
"Hey you. Keeping out of trouble?"
He was happy she didn't know what a foolish turian grin looked like. "Yeah, as much as you are. How are you feeling?"
"Like I've been hit by hundreds of small flying objects," she joked.
"Ouch. Know the feeling of that. Want me to give you a rub?" he offered with mandibles flaring.
"Don't make promises you won't keep, buddy."
"I would keep that one, if you would ever want to, ah, avail yourself of my talents."
This made her laugh and cough again, and the smile vanished from his face. "Shepard, are you okay? Should I call the doctor?"
She got it under control while subconsciously patting his hand. "Don't worry. Don't want to get yourself thrown out that fast, do you?"
"No, I don't want that," he replied quietly, watching her hand on top of his.
Shepard followed his eyes. "Sorry, is this some sort of taboo again?" She moved her hand slightly, but he gently grabbed it and pushed it down again. "No, this is.. nice. Really nice."
Their eyes met for a few seconds, and they both gave an embarrassed chuckle.
"Ah, how's the training going, with me out of the loop?"
"Fine! It's fine, uh, not as eventful, of course, but I think we're doing.. fine."
"That's fine, then."
They laughed again.
"I will need some time to recuperate, so you're stuck with the substitute until then."
"Spirits willing, that won't be long. You will come and watch us, right? To make sure we're not falling too far behind?" he said eagerly.
"If you want me to."
"I want you to."
His remark was followed by another silence, but this one seemed more comfortable than the last.
They were interrupted by three quick raps at the door, signaling the visit's end. Chellick slowly got up and only reluctantly released her hand. Shepard gave him a small wave as he walked out.
Karin Chakwas watched as the turian cavalier left. This was one thing that would be left out of her report to Hannah Shepard, that was certain. If Jane wanted to befriend turians while she was here, that was none of Karin's business, and hopefully there would not come any harm from it. She had to remind herself it wasn't like before, they weren't enemies anymore. She herself found dr. Publius to be both highly intelligent and polite to a fault, but she still felt a cold chill if he came upon her without warning. Hannah would never have let her guard down around these turians, and some of them did seem if not overtly hostile, then pointedly aloof. She suspected it had something to do with her uniform. It was a good idea of Conatix to make all the students and the staff were their brand of clothing. Her Alliance uniform stuck out like a sore thumb. Chakwas jotted down a few more notes, then prepared to break for evening meal. Hopefully there were no more troublesome teenagers eager to visit her patient.
2173 CE – December 10th – Gagarin Station – Docking area 09:10 AM
Dmitri's father had been rather puzzled when his son asked him for the mistletoe replica on the ship. Yuri Basanov was even more baffled when Dmitri tied the sprig to the end of a wooden stick and wrapped the contraption in a piece of cloth, but he was completely stumped when this was handed over to an anxious turian that kept scanning the surroundings for something or someone. His son whispered something in the turian's ear, and the alien clasped the stick to his chest as if it was some treasure he found, vanishing in the crowd. Dmitri wore an expression he knew only too well, the satisfied grin of a well fed cat, but he decided not to pry too deep.
"So, was that friend you keep talking about? A little less cute than I imagined," he said to his feline son.
"That was Decian Chellick, and I have either given him road to salvation or perdition."
"Will this cause problems later?" Basanov the elder asked his son.
"Yes."
"For yourself?"
"Heh, not for long time, but yes."
"I see. Will you be deserving of it?" Basanov raised an eyebrow at Dmitri.
"Oh yes," the boy smiled.
"тогда ладно, it will be your problem."
"Yes. Look, there she is!"
Yuri Basanov looked to where Dmitri was pointing, and saw a girl with short cropped hair and a pair of crutches hobbling towards them. She seemed unimposing at first sight, but as she got closer he saw the muscles in her arms that stood out from the strain of compensation for her limp. Basanov had a hunch he was not the first to make the mistake of prejudging the girl. After all, she was her mother's daughter.
"There you are, you Russian layabout. I'm for all intents and purposes disabled and infirm, and still I have to come to you."
Basanov the elder took a few steps back and listened with an amused expression on his face.
"I know I am irresistible to ladies." Dmitri winked at Shepard. "So why are you here?"
"Oh, haha, if I didn't know how easy it is to beat you, I would hit you myself. Heard a first-year got the drop on you, and you even had first strike." She smirked at the thought.
"Your little disciple exaggerates, he only wants to woo you into his nest."
"Sure. At least he's prettier than you."
"No one is prettier than me. But since you cannot have me, I don't place blame for throwing yourself at anything that is near. Even turians."
"Hah! As if you..-"
Yuri Basanov strolled over to the vending machine on the other side of the waiting lounge and bought something that resembled food while he waited. His son and the Shepard girl needed some time to swap insults as they would not see each other again for a long while. He heard Dmitri laugh out loud at something Shepard said, and couldn't resist smiling himself. His son spent the last entire summer going Shepard this and Shepard that, making both him and his mother thinking he was in love with the girl, but he saw no evidence of that today. Only two troublemakers enjoying the others company. He hoped for their sake they'd stay in touch. He let them have the better part of half an hour, before he broke up the pair.
"Miss Shepard, nice to meet you at last," he said as he walked up to them.
"Mr. Basanov, it's a pleasure to meet you at last."
"Indeed. Now I am sorry for interrupting my sons effort at forgetting all his manners in the company of women, but we must be off."
"Are you a woman," Dmitri whispered to Shepard and got a small punch in the arm for his efforts.
"Ow. Obviously not."
"Come here, Dmitri," she said emphatically, and pulled him into a big hug, holding on for a long while. Against his solid frame she felt rather small. "You won't make me cry again, you big lug," she said with a croaked voice. Dmitri cleared his throat twice before answering. "Never on purpose, Jane."
Yuri Basanov saw the pair hug one more time before parting, and his son slowly got out of her embrace and started walking towards him in a quick pace. Dmitri said nothing as he passed, but Basanov spotted that his eyes were glazed as he passed and let him be. Shepard waved to them, and both Basanovs raised their hand one last time before heading into the air sluices.
Shepard turned around to leave, and almost bumped into commander Vyrnnus.
"Careful Shepard," he said in an overly supercilious voice. "It's hard to lose the one person you could count on in here, I understand, but you still need to watch out."
She made no reply, and he seemed almost disappointed.
"Well, not to worry. I'm sure if you keep your head down and know your place, things will go better for you. Now run along, or, shuffle, rather. I do so look forward to having you back in class."
He left her there, glowering in the middle of the lounge, with no immediate comeback and no Dmitri as backup.