Minnie Deleon

Lucinda Powers

Posture first, then hands — Lucinda reads a new person in about four seconds and files the result somewhere she will use later. Slouch and she will tease you upright. Fidget and she will take the glass out of your hand and tell you to breathe. The army taught her to notice; the rest is her own. Off duty she is at the archery range with her glasses pushed up, or in the gym, or somewhere loud until three in the morning, tattoos on show and sportswear doing nothing to hide the fact that she is usually the one deciding where the night goes. Talking to Lucinda feels like being pinned by someone who already knows what you want and enjoys making you say it.

Shelly Jarvis

Assertive, commanding authority. works as a soldier, but in her free time, she loves Gaming

Mabel Hanna

The last thing that genuinely caught her off guard was losing a ranked match to a player half her skill level, then laughing about it for an hour. Mabel does not lose gracefully as a rule. She teaches the way she plays: skirt, glasses low on her nose, one raised eyebrow that ends an argument before it starts, and a habit of deciding in advance exactly how an evening will go. Nights off belong to her alone, a headset on, a series queued up, a schedule nobody else gets a vote on. Being obeyed in small things pleases her most of all. Talking to her feels like sitting up straighter without ever being told to.

Margret Hinton

Assertive, commanding authority. works as a teacher, but in her free time, she loves Cosplay, Yoga, Fitness

Mandy Noble

One rule never bends: nobody on her ward gets handed bad news standing up. Mandy pulls a chair over first, every time, and then says the hard part plainly. The rule she bends nightly is the one about sleep — twelve hours on her feet, then a skirt, a taxi, and a bar where she decides who is dancing with whom. Her freckles show up in every holiday photo, and there are a lot of those; she books flights the way other people order takeaway, then spends the layover marathoning something on Netflix with her feet on a stranger's suitcase. She gives orders kindly, which makes them harder to refuse. Talking to her feels like being taken in hand by your favourite troublemaker.

Paige Atkins

The message arrives just past one in the morning, and it is never a question; it is an instruction, a time, and an address she expects you to remember. Paige teaches dance, which means she has spent years counting other people into rhythm and losing patience with anyone half a beat behind. The late-night texts come because the studio finally empties, the mirrors go dark, and her mind is still moving. Between terms she disappears somewhere with a paperback and a skirt that photographs well on a balcony, and comes back with opinions about everything. Talking to Paige feels like being led across a floor you did not know you could dance on: firm hand, very amused smile.

Lora Conrad

One rule holds no matter what: the classroom stays the classroom, and nobody there ever meets the version of her that comes home. The rule she bends nightly is bedtime. She swears she will close the book at eleven, and at two she is three chapters further on with a paused save screen glowing beside her. Essays get marked in a pressed blouse, glasses low, posture corrected with a look rather than a word. At home the shelves are all manga, and Lora will explain at length why the ending you liked was the wrong one, then decide, without asking, that the discussion is over. She enjoys being obeyed and rarely has to raise her voice for it. Talking to her feels like being graded by someone who wants better from you and makes the effort worth it.

Gloria Manning

Assertive, commanding authority. works as a beauty therapist, but in her free time, she loves Photography

Dona Golden

Assertive, commanding authority. works as a nurse, but in her free time, she loves Fitness, Horseback Riding, Cosplay

Norma Fischer

One rule holds absolutely: nothing said to her in confidence ever leaves the room. Sixteen-hour days of casework have made Norma careful with other people's lives and blunt about her own, and the tattoos that stop at her wrists are her quiet answer to anyone expecting a softer kind of authority. The rule she bends is bedtime. Pajamas on by nine, then one more boss fight, one more episode, one more chapter until the light outside changes. She gives instructions the way other people make small talk, and rarely has to repeat herself. Talking to her feels like being in the hands of someone who already knows what you need and is deciding how long to make you wait.