:ON: Hailey sat in the mess hall, eating her food alone. It wasn't like she had to eat alone, she chose to. She just didn't feel like company at the moment. Sometimes, it was too much work to pretend to be interested in what others were saying when you had your own issues that you had to deal with. Vanik grabbed his meal from the replicator. He looked around the mess hall for a group to eat with. Anyone of the tables with two or three officers at it would welcome him. He saw Hailey sitting by herself. THAT would be interesting conversation. "Someone was a bad girl," Vanik said in a sing-song type voice. He sat down opposite her without asking, or waiting for an invitation. Hailey looked up from the PADD that she was carrying and automatically hit the auto-lock feature that had been built in. Within fractions of a second the screen was completely blank. She glared a little at Vanik, if only because she didn't need to be reminded of what had transpired earlier on the bridge. To her, she still felt she hadn't done anything wrong. "I'm not in the mood for company at the moment Lt." "Funny thing is," Vanik replied, while putting some butter on a piece of bread. "I didn't ask if you did or didn't want company." "You just stopped by to tease me, huh?" Hailey looked up into Vanik's eyes as she leaned back in the seat, her voice a little less hostile and possibly a tad bit playful? "Tease you? Me?" Vanik said, mock tone of surprise in his voice. He stirred up the food on his plate, mixing everything together. "Of course I am. Did everything go okay with the captain? It had nothing to do with....THE PADD, did it?" Hailey couldn't help but let a smile cross her face. "What? You mean this PADD?" She picked up the PADD that she had set down a minute ago and touched one of the keys. Automatically it brought up her "cheat sheet" view. "No, it had nothing to do with it." Her eyes clouded for a moment before clearing again. "Can I ask you something? I don't want it to get around the ship and especially not back to the Captain." "Yes, that PADD" Vanik said, humor in his voice. "Sure you can ask me anything, and if you want it confidential, it will stay that way." "Do you . . . trust the Captain?" "Implicitly," Vanik said without hesitation. "Why? I'm not asking to question you per say. It's just that from what I heard before coming here . . . I guess I pretty much got the impression that he was reckless and ill fit for command." "Stories you hear out there," Vanik pointed out the viewport for emphasis, "And what is truth aboard the ship are often miles apart, Hailey. The captain knows what he is doing, and ninety percent of the time is following rules. There are occasions, I am learning, where you may have to bend some rules because that is the only way for a good outcome." Hailey nodded and looked down at the PADD. It still showed the display of her cheat sheets. But she knew what lay underneath it, a report back to Stryker. Actually, two reports. Both different from each other. She wasn't sure which one she would delete and which she would send. Hailey knew which one the Commodore wanted to receive, which one would help advance her career. Still, there was something stopping her from actually sending that one. Even after the Captain went off on her. "I suppose you're right. Still, there are rules for a reason. What may bring a good outcome in the short term, may have disastrous results down the line." "Oh absolutely," Vanik said after shoveling some of the mixture from his plate to his mouth. "Rules are definitely there for a reason, but the rules and books were all written by a bunch of desk jockeys. You look back at the history of all the most famous and successful captains. You tell me they all followed rules explicitly." For a moment, she genuinely smiled and chuckled a little. "Very true. I believe Captain Kirk was well known for his propensity for rule breaking." "What do you think of Commodore Stryker?" "*HE* is a desk jockey," Vanik said. "You look up his service record. He can't stand Commodore Fyrstk because Lukas has to think on his feet, not on his derriere. Stryker's ..... a desk jockey, plain and simple." "True. But a very powerful desk jockey. It's not wise to get in his bad side." Vanik made a "you've go to be kidding" face. "Stryker's only as powerful as the admiral above him. You really think they'd take his word over Commodore Fyrstk's?" Muttering to herself, "Whoever said I was referring to the Captain?" "It doesn't take a astrophysicist to figure out who you might be referring to, Hailey." "Even astrophysicist can be wrong Lt." She looked down at her PADD again, and then to her finished meal. "Well, it's been nice chatting with you. Maybe when I'm in a better mood we can have some more fun." She stood up, "As for now, I have work that I must attend to." "They can be wrong, Hailey," Vanik said, watching her rise, "But, i don't think they are." He gave her one of his "award-winning" smiles. She picked up her tray and walked by Vanik, leaning down and whispering in his ear, "They are this time." With that she walked away to recycle what was left of her meal. :OFF: Lt. Vanik Helmsman NPC by Roman Haas Cadet Hailey Piper Wren Ops Officer NPC by Tru Lee Lost ________________________________________________________________________ Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more.