To the casual observer, Olivia looks no different than the rest of the soldiers come to deal with the outsiders. Dressed in an military greatcoat several sizes too big for her and buckled around the waist, the fact that she is both female and more than five inches shorter than the rest of the Barrayarans in uniform sets her apart from them. She holds civil conversations with the guards in charge of watching the outsiders – inquiries about behavior and the like, done as if she's memorizing the answers to take back to someone else.

It's clear that the men in uniform, and even those civilians among the group, defer to her in a manner apart from the military chain of command. Olivia does not need to weasel her way into any area where the outsiders are being kept, and once she's there her conversation is brisk and concerning whatever they can tell about their world. Yet caught on the right occasion, and with the right question, Olivia is nothing but frank and up-front with anyone who manages to strike up a conversation.