Arcen eyed her coldly. "I am aware," he said quietly, "that you have no excuse." He regarded her as she stood so firmly at attention and tried to decide what to do. He could make a big deal out of punishing her, or he could just send her on her way. The first would probably make him look like a jerk; she hadn't been that late, and she was new to the Quad, and while that was really no excuse, it would be an even greater waste of time to have her on punishment detail when she needed to get her kit and uniform ready for parade review tomorrow.
On the other hand, if he just let her go without any punishment at all, his troops might respect him less. He hated to bring the factor into it, but she was attractive. They might think he was playing favorites, and that was not a quicksand he wanted to fall into.
He needed an intermediate solution, and didn't have one right now. It would have to wait.
"Clean your kit and get your uniform ready for parade review tomorrow morning. I'll decide what to do with you after that," he said, his voice tired and tinged with a hint of disgust for the situation. He should have worded his message more firmly...but no one else was late. Just her. She had such a good record. Maybe this was really an one-time occurence.
He seriously hoped so.
"That's all."
