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"My enemy's enemy is a problem for later. In the meantime, they might be useful," Nate said matter-of-factly. Colonel Emmerson smiled at the young man, and nodded.
"I think," she said to the rest of the class, "that what Nate's trying to say is that 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend'. And that can be a useful tactic to increasing your forces against a superior foe." She turned her attention back to Nate and added, "If you treat the enemy of your enemy fairly and take the proper precautions, Nate, you will find that your perceived problem can be eliminated by turning them into an ally that you can rely on in future engagements, and not just for your common foe."
Nate beamed, and then shot his twin a mischievous look. Tim returned the sly grin and winked. Nate had successfully lulled Colonel Emmerson into a false-sense of security and made their instructor believe that the Sheppard twins were finally taking things seriously. The current in-class discussion was on tactics for first-contact missions, goodwill missions and how to handle them both when the one turned into the other.
"If you don't expect gratitude you'll seldom be disappointed," was the next student's helpful suggestion, and Nate kept tabs on his brother from out of the corner of his eye. Emmerson had learned long ago never to get the twins to answer back-to-back, or else she'd lose control of the discussion and then she'd lose control of the class very soon after. And if she could get through one Q&A period with only one of them answering, she knew she was entitled to a celebratory shot of whiskey at lunch time.
Nate's answer had begun the process of disarming Emmerson's sense of foreboding, and the process was nearly completely with each subsequent answer from the other students, as all the text-book answers were given in teenaged paraphrases and giftedly direct quotations.
And then it was Tim's turn to answer; Nate knew as well as his brother did that all the wrote advice and procedures had been given, and that Colonel Emmerson was now envisioning that beautiful amber liquid hitting the glass as she poured as the discussion was now done and the next topic was to be introduced. As Emmerson turned her back to the class, Nate gave Tim an imperceptible nod and Tim's hand shot up into the air as the younger twin delicately cleared his throat. Emmerson paused and turned to face the class slowly, her smile faltering ever so slightly as she realized just whom it was that had interrupted her.
"Yes, Tim?" she asked, suddenly suspicious.
"Ma'am. I'm sorry for interrupting, Ma'am," Tim replied. "But you skipped over an important first-contact-goodwill rule."
Emmerson regarded the teen for a moment, then shook her head as she went to consult her notes. "No, Tim. We covered them all. There were only..." she trailed off as Tim shook his head in defiance of her proof. She sighed and then gestured at him in an okay, let's hear it way, and braced herself against the desk.
Tim sat up straighter in his chair and smiled innocently. "It's never too late to panic," he said succinctly.
Nate watched Colonel Emmerson's eyes glaze over as the words percolated around her brain. After several moments, her eyes cleared and she came to a solid conclusion. "Yes. Yes, you're absolutely correct," she said listlessly, as she suddenly realized that where the Shappard Twins were concerned, panic seemed to be the only acceptable option. Nate watched as she swallowed thickly, cleared her throat softly and then struggled to get back on course with the lecture.
At that precise moment, Nate was insanely proud of his brother.
[ooc: quotes stolen from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
writers_muses latest batch of jumping off points. just fyi :) ]
"I think," she said to the rest of the class, "that what Nate's trying to say is that 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend'. And that can be a useful tactic to increasing your forces against a superior foe." She turned her attention back to Nate and added, "If you treat the enemy of your enemy fairly and take the proper precautions, Nate, you will find that your perceived problem can be eliminated by turning them into an ally that you can rely on in future engagements, and not just for your common foe."
Nate beamed, and then shot his twin a mischievous look. Tim returned the sly grin and winked. Nate had successfully lulled Colonel Emmerson into a false-sense of security and made their instructor believe that the Sheppard twins were finally taking things seriously. The current in-class discussion was on tactics for first-contact missions, goodwill missions and how to handle them both when the one turned into the other.
"If you don't expect gratitude you'll seldom be disappointed," was the next student's helpful suggestion, and Nate kept tabs on his brother from out of the corner of his eye. Emmerson had learned long ago never to get the twins to answer back-to-back, or else she'd lose control of the discussion and then she'd lose control of the class very soon after. And if she could get through one Q&A period with only one of them answering, she knew she was entitled to a celebratory shot of whiskey at lunch time.
Nate's answer had begun the process of disarming Emmerson's sense of foreboding, and the process was nearly completely with each subsequent answer from the other students, as all the text-book answers were given in teenaged paraphrases and giftedly direct quotations.
And then it was Tim's turn to answer; Nate knew as well as his brother did that all the wrote advice and procedures had been given, and that Colonel Emmerson was now envisioning that beautiful amber liquid hitting the glass as she poured as the discussion was now done and the next topic was to be introduced. As Emmerson turned her back to the class, Nate gave Tim an imperceptible nod and Tim's hand shot up into the air as the younger twin delicately cleared his throat. Emmerson paused and turned to face the class slowly, her smile faltering ever so slightly as she realized just whom it was that had interrupted her.
"Yes, Tim?" she asked, suddenly suspicious.
"Ma'am. I'm sorry for interrupting, Ma'am," Tim replied. "But you skipped over an important first-contact-goodwill rule."
Emmerson regarded the teen for a moment, then shook her head as she went to consult her notes. "No, Tim. We covered them all. There were only..." she trailed off as Tim shook his head in defiance of her proof. She sighed and then gestured at him in an okay, let's hear it way, and braced herself against the desk.
Tim sat up straighter in his chair and smiled innocently. "It's never too late to panic," he said succinctly.
Nate watched Colonel Emmerson's eyes glaze over as the words percolated around her brain. After several moments, her eyes cleared and she came to a solid conclusion. "Yes. Yes, you're absolutely correct," she said listlessly, as she suddenly realized that where the Shappard Twins were concerned, panic seemed to be the only acceptable option. Nate watched as she swallowed thickly, cleared her throat softly and then struggled to get back on course with the lecture.
At that precise moment, Nate was insanely proud of his brother.
[ooc: quotes stolen from
writers_muses latest batch of jumping off points. just fyi :) ]
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
ooc
Date: 2010-01-12 12:49 am (UTC)From:Mia can't blame them for stuff like this, really, cause she raised hell when she was in school and never even finished. This cracks me up. :D
no subject
Date: 2010-01-19 01:25 am (UTC)From:EvenEspecially Rodney.