Oliver and Leroy
"Are you insane?" Oliver exploded.
Leroy looked at hie nephew with a bland expression on his face, but not without a tinge of amusement.
"No, I'm not," Leroy replied.
"You're sending Tate out on a diplomatic mission. Tate! After all the lectures you gave me -"
"Tate has spend her entire life figuring out what people want and what people expect. That's her specialty. No empath or telepath could figure it out to the extent that Tate does."
"Nonetheless. You're sending her with the delegation to negociate peace with the US Govt? That's just so -"
"Listen. This treaty is very important. The fact that they killed the funding to experimentation is certainly a step in the right direction, but we don't know how far they want to go. We certainly don't know if we're letting in a Trojen Horse. Tate is the best gauge we have."
"A gauge? Now she's a gauge? A tool? A thing? She's a person too you know!"
Leroy couldn't stop the smile from appearing on his face.
"Yes she is. And this will be a good experience for her as well. You see, pathic shifters were rather rare, and when they come, no one ever thinks about trying to teach them control. More they try to figure out how to control them."
Oliver gave him a blank look.
"In these negociations, it is important and Tate learns as much about their intensions, mentally and emotionally, but without revealing that she knows to them. For instance, it may be that one of the humans has a very... frightening perception of aliens. Well, it would hardly help matters if Tate turned into a big green monster, would it?"
"No..."
"In fact... it might even help if she were able to become the opposite of that idea, wouldn't you say?"
"I... I suppose."
"Tate is still young, if it is possible for her to develop her power in this way, then it should work."
Oliver sighed and sat down.
"Are... are you sure about this?
Leroy shrugged.
"Sure enough to try."
"I... I don't want anything to happen to her..."
"Me neither, Oli. Me neither."