Whatever Rachel might have expected, a smile from Keller was definitely not it. She looked ready to attack again if he was going to mock her, but then his words reached her ears. They were so unexpected that Rachel seemed to deflate on the spot. The tension in her jaw and the draw of her shoulder muscles, preparing for physical attack, disappeared. She stared at the man like he'd grown another head for a moment, but recovered and straightened, reaching up and pulling her hair out of her eyes and back behind her head from where it had been dislodged.
Despite her emotional state, Rachel's logical side was never too far gone. She'd heard Mary's voice down the hall, approaching them, and had heard her address the man. She'd also heard the dramatic change in Dross's tone and behavior. "Keller." She said the name and her tongue moved over her lips, like she was trying out the flavor of something new rather than being introduced to someone of importance. "I don't know what rank Field Marshall is, but if you can get that crazy bitch in line...," Rachel paused, turned, and pointed toward Mary for emphasis, "...then clearly you have some pull around here."
She listened to the two of them talk as if she wasn't even present. Their back and forth went on for a few moments, and Rachel's anger flared again. She would not be ignored by either of these two, and she had a job to do. Or she would, once they assigned her to one. It was Keller's words about having projects and assignments for her that drew her attention. That's what she was here for, after all. "Finally, someone around here says something reasonable," Rachel lamented, taking a deep breath before making eye contact with both of them.
At the end of her rope, Rachel reached into the pocket of her jeans. She pulled out the Planetform data chip, the key gift she had to offer the Coalition other than her skills. Shifting slightly, she ended up standing almost directly in between Keller and Dross. She held it up between her fore and middle fingers, and a little smirk rose on her face. "Can one of you make a damn decision, please? Or should I just destroy this and go back to Cambridge right now?"