<div align="center"><strong>-= Griffin Kingston, Captain – In the Infirmary – Stewing over Mae’s injury =-</strong></div><br/>Fear was the first emotion to wash over Griff like a icey hot tsunami as he stood in the middle of the infirmary looking on helplessly. Mae’s seemingly lifeless body lay on the examination table as Dani checked for signs of life. Griff was no doctor, but he had seen enough death during the Unification War to know the quickest way for him to discern if death had already laid claim to the body. Everything and everyone else in the room faded to black as his eyes instantly fixed with intense focus on her chest, watching with bated breath to gauge if she was breathing. He subconsciously exhaled a long, slow sigh of relief when her bosom swelled against the fabric of her corset top, though the otherwise voluptuous image held no salacious allusion for him given the context. The moment the realization that she was still alive dawned on him, he became aware of the molten warmth of the adrenaline that surged through his blood and his fear gave way to another emotion.<br/><br/>As Lex helped guide Vince ease onto the other examination table, Vince began explaining the events that had transpired leading to their present situation. Despite his obvious attempt to protect Mae, the sight of Vince’s bruised and battered body and the grimacing sound of his voice through labored breaths of pain only served to incite Griff’s temper, feeding his outrage at the man for allowing harm to come to her. In a display of his ire, his dark brow creased deeply, thickening his brow as his lips pursed and his nostrils began to flare. Dani examined the back of Mae’s neck as Griff’s emotions warred with is mind. Griff opened his mouth, on the cusp of giving Vince a good verbal thrashing when Dani snapped his attention back to her and Mae.<br/><br/><strong>"Griff, Grab a blanket from the cupboard behind me and cover Mae up.  She's cold."</strong><br/><br/>His concern for Mae was still very prevalent, and he moved in earnest to retrieve the prescribed blanket. “Is she in shock, Dani,” he asked as he hurried to the cupboard, throwing open the door in a blur and yanking a blanket free as though his haste would determine her fate. Covering Mae with the warm blanket, he carefully took her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze, brushing her bangs from her face with his other hand as he regarded her thoughtfully. Dani carefully slipped an ice pack beneath Mae’s head in an attempt to curb the swelling.<br/><br/><strong>"She's gonna be fine, Griff.  She'll wake up in time, likely with the worst headache she's ever known, but I'm sure it's just a concussion. She'll be fine, I promise."</strong><br/><br/>Dani’s tender reassurance went a long way in easing his concern for her well being, but did little for his present contempt for Vince for allowing this to happen to his vibrant, young pilot. But it was more than that. Yes, she was his pilot and a member of his crew, but she was more than that too. He hadn’t been able to make sense of it at all, but he felt a certain fondness and protectiveness for Mae that he didn’t necessarily feel for the others, at least not in the same way. Perhaps it was because she was young and, while not innocent, perhaps a little naïve about certain things in her youth. Coupled with the fact that she had zero combat skills, Griff felt a stronger sense of responsibility to protect her than he did most of the others, with the exception of Dani. But it was Mae’s youthful exuberance and love of life that set her apart. She was so gung-ho and rebellious and was always skirting with danger, whereas Dani was on the extreme opposite of the spectrum. In regards to Sasha, his feelings were completely different, and he struggled to understand those feelings as well. Sasha could take of herself probably better than anyone else on the ship, so he wasn’t as worried about her as he was for Dani and Mae. But, there was something else developing with Sasha that wasn’t present with the other two, and he had recently begun to notice it having an affect on his judgments and planning.<br/><br/>Dani then moved to the other examination table to tend to Vince’s injuries. “You’re gonna be just fine, Mei Mei. Dani’s gonna take real good care of you,” he whispered softly while Dani was busy examining and questioning Vince, both of whom missed his soft promise to her. He kept his attentions focused on Mae as Dani continued her analysis of Vinnce. Giving her final diagnosis of their co-pilot, Dani moved back to Mae, taking Griff by the arm once more and leading him back into the cargo hold. Griff was bracing himself for bad news that she didn’t want the others to hear, but was a little surprised by Dani’s firm and authoritative words, which only served to stroke his already stirred temper. “What? Do I understa…” He cut himself off, clenching his teeth at her commanding tone. Realizing that his emotions were running dangerously high right now, he exercised every ounce of will power to turn and walk away without venting his frustrations on her. His fists clenched tightly as he stomped away towards the cargo bay doors, shoving the stack of pallets near the starboard side of the exit before he left the ship.<br/><br/>It was then that his radio crackled to life with the Sasha’s voice on the other end.<strong> “Cap’n? Got some info to share, face-to-face. What’s your twenty?”</strong>puling his radio from the belt clip, he brought to his mouth and sighed deeply to release some of the tension he that was beginning to tighten in his shoulders, he keyed the button. “Sasha, this is Griff. I’m back at the ship, getting ready to head to the pub. Just had a little incident here involving Mae and Vince, but everything’s under control. Give me some good news, Sasha.”<br/><br/>Just then, Anwar came walking down the pier on his way back to the ship, a large duffel slung over his shoulder. Dropping the radio from his mouth briefly, Griff glanced at Anwar and thumbed over his shoulder towards the ship. “All the way to the back, through the port side door. Pick one of the singles that ain’t already taken. Stow your gear and come with me if you want to talk over drinks and some grub. Some of the crew’s gonna be there too.” He was in a sour mood and being a little short due to the recent turn of events and the talking down to he’d received from Dani, something he thought better to address when a cooler head prevailed. “Get the lead out, Anwar. I ain’t got all day.”