An Unfortunate Cripple

The hall, already simmering with tension, erupted as Bernard's incredulity shattered the precarious calm, "Bullshit! Are you telling me that some nobody who is a third of my age is the new Combat Advisor? On whose authority?" he bellowed, disbelief etching deep furrows in his brow. 

The worth of his years at the WHA lent a particular venom to his words, trying to put down this brat who was challenging the very foundations of the established order.

Rachel, the eye of the storm, stood her ground, her spine straight as an arrow, her voice cutting through the tumult with firm resolve, "Mine. As the Legion Prefect, I can decide who to appoint as the Combat Advisor of the Starfire Cadre," she declared, her authority unassailable.