<div align="center"><strong>-=Vincent Kincaid - In deep - The Gamble=-</strong></div><br/>Vincent was making the most of his allotted time with Mae by being as intimate as possible given the circumstances.  Occasionally he would pull the bunch of grapes out of her reach as she went to pluck another one with her luscious lips and would refuse to continue feeding her until she paid the toll of a kiss.  The lighthearted game between the new couple was evidence enough that they would do their best to make even the most inconvenient circumstances work as best they could.  Then Vincent heard the all too familiar sound that could only have come from the Fist Officer's purposeful strides on the steel floor of the cargo bay.  The sound as about as ominous as it could get and was the ideal harbinger to for Sasha as she stood in the doorway, clearly seething with anger.<br/><br/>So much focused wrath blocking the sole exit of the room was enough to elicit a nervous "eep" from the young co-pilot as he took the brunt of its intensity.  Vincent's eyes wandered to the glass observation window and wondered if it would hurt less going through it on his own accord as opposed to being punched or thrown through it.  On one hand the rough handling of his attacker would surely help to distract from the initial impact, but on the other hand he could brace himself for it better if he dove through it first.  If nothing else, he would gain some brownie points for saving her the hassle of doing it herself, though she very well might just find another glass pane to toss him through at the lost opportunity.<br/><br/>The following moment of extremely tense silence lingered on for so long that Vincent pondered the possibility that so much rage concentrated in one spot might have actually caused a warp in the space-time continuum and being located at the nexus of it all he was now at the center of a pocket in time.  Perhaps his entire perception of time itself had frozen as his entire supply of adrenaline poured through his body and he was now perceiving things at an infinitely slow reference frame.  Or perhaps she possessed a latent super power that when her rage focused on a single target it would cause a chain reaction that would ultimately lead to a spontaneous brain implosion where time dilation was simply one of the side-effects the victim experienced before a rather unusual death.<br/><br/>Though there was a slim chance that he was simply overreacting and had let his imagination get away from him to distract from the uncomfortable situation.<br/><br/><em>“Vincent - what the hell happened? We’ve got a bushel of low-life types making our acquaintance recently, and I need to know if your little rumble is connected at all.”</em><br/><br/>"Huh, I would have swore low-lives came in pecks.  I believe that it is ne'er-do-wells that come in bushels."  Realizing that he had accidentally left his mouth on autopilot, Vincent's mind snapped into action and immediately clamped the mouth closed before he upgraded from backhoe to orbital mining laser when it came to digging his own grave.<br/><br/><em>“Dani, the Cap’n or I need to have a little chat with Vincent, get the story here. And given the circumstances...  I think it’s probably a slightly better idea for me to have that conversation than the Captain. I promise to bring him right back.”</em><br/><br/><em>Shit.  Too late.  Mining laser it is.</em>The intensity with which her gaze returned to him was almost a physical blow in of itself as he had to force himself to keep from reeling away from it.<em>You know the saying, hell hath no fury like a First Officer's scorn.  Or was it woman's scorn.  Commanding Officer's scorn?  Well shit, I guess that makes me royally fucked to the third power.  Fun times!</em><br/><br/><em>“Let’s go. Now.”</em>Now that his brain was thoroughly in control of the mouth's functions as well as the filters between, Vincent forgone witty remarks for a crisp "Yes sir."  Carefully, he slid down the medical table so as not to jostle Mae or his own tender body.  It went much smoother than he had expected, clearly his girlfriend's had worked wonders on his shoulders.  Before following Sasha, he moved towards the head of the table and placed a soft kiss on Mae's lips.  Hopefully it would be enough to get him through whatever peril he was about to face, though he had done it entirely because he wanted to do so before parting company with her.  "I'll be back as soon as I can, love."  It was difficult pulling himself away from her, but not wanting to test Sasha's patience, he did so before she could call a warning to him.<br/><br/>Vincent caught up to her before she finished climbing the stairs and instantly regretted taking them two at a time in order to do so.  While his shoulders were feeling good, his ribs clearly were making their point that he really shouldn't forget about their condition.  Following Sasha's guidance, Vincent made his way towards the chair located in her chambers he noted that he didn't find any electrodes located upon it at first glance and presumed it was only marginally safe to sit upon.  Still much safer than the alternative of not following his Commanding Officer's orders.<br/><br/><em>“Vincent. You need to tell me everything, from the beginning and not leaving anything out. I do not like surprises, and if we’ve got an ongoing problem I need to know about it.”</em><br/><br/>His first instinct was to joke.  Fortunately his rational side was at the helm and it decided that would be a very bad idea.  Then he considered lying, after which he considered who was interrogating him and decided that would have been a long shot at best.  Perhaps a bolt of lightning would strike him at that instant, in the confined quarters of the electrically grounded ship, and render him unable to tell her anything.  Chances of pulling off an adequate lie were about the same and both would have a similar adverse effect to his well being.  She can't fault him for strategic omission, right?  Vincent didn't attempt to contain the airy somber chuckle that more resembled a grunt than a laugh.  Of course she could and with extreme prejudice.<br/><br/>Time to be frank.  Surely he's in a better off situation than Vincent was at the moment, whomever he may be.<br/><br/>"Well, there's the short story that will give you the jist, the long story that will give you the details, and the personal story that will give you everything.  I recommend avoiding the latter unless you are feeling particularly patient and understanding with me.  We all have skeletons in our closest after all.  And if you do decide to choose that one I ask that it remains between us, save for the information that directly pertains to the safety of the others."