How do these sailors travel around this place so fast without a map? Danielle couldn't but ask herself, for as soon as she was down the hallway coming out of the hot engine room, she could hear Lt. Phoenix from down another hallway, telling her to hurry up. You could be kind and wait for a girl, dammit, she cursed. She wasn't as annoyed at the lieutenant incorrectly addressing her by her nickname as the fact that he didn't took the time to wait for her. No fair, fucker, you have the home field advantage. How am I supposed to know where everything is? I'm just a fuckin' visitor. I wonder if any girl has been attracted to him, cuz I certainly am not.<br/><br/>She had been fortunate that the lieutenant kept letting her know where his presence was in relation to her location. The metal walls sure bounce the sound waves pretty well. I'm glad I found this dude, she said, finally setting her eyes on the lieutenant, who didn't look the least bit tired from all the traveling. Danielle on the other hand had unzipped the front of her jacket to let the cool air of the rest of the ship circulate closer to her heated body.<br/><br/><em>"So you photographers get hungry?"</em>Tristyn asked, to which Danielle responded as if in defeat, "I'm starving." She was surprised she made it this far on an empty stomach.<br/><br/>Fortunately, for her, Lt. Phoenix had escorted her to the mess hall, the cafeteria of the ship. Though cramped, the room could seat about a hundred sailors and officers at a time. Not knowing it was lunch time, Danielle assumed that the room was full at every hour of the day. No one but the lieutenant gave her any notice and Danielle mirrored the ignorance. Her eyes lingered not on the men gathered in the hall, but on the food they were eating. Comfort food! she thought as if in a trance, though she was well aware of her escort, who made his way past tables and into the kitchen. Along the way, Danielle snapped a good two dozen of candid photos of the people eating in the mess hall.<br/><br/>Upon entering the kitchen, she noted the room had a hotter temperature, though not close to the nuclear temperature levels in the engine room. The heat, as well as smells and aromas, in the room were aspects of an inviting atmosphere, reminiscent of her mother's kitchen. The cooks were busy preparing and making dishes for all the people on board and seeing another photo opportunity, Danielle took her camera and snapped a few more photos of the kitchen.<br/><br/>Her concentration into her work was interrupted by a deep voice, yelling out the lieutenant's name. She round a corner to find Lt. Phoenix giving and receiving greetings with a tall, black man with a soft face and a big smile. Tristyn then turned and smiled at her and for a second, she thought she had seen a genuine smile, but had to snap out of her train of thought in order to be introduced to the man.<strong>"Nice to meet you,"</strong>she said, approaching like the lieutenant to give the man a handshake. She noted the sheer contrast of the sizes of their hands. She assumed his nickname of Master Chef was because of those big hands, with enough strength to making macaroni and cheese for a legion of soldiers. Danielle couldn't help but blush at the black man's comment.<br/><br/><em>"Oh yeah, Marcus this is Dani ... Danielle Avena, photographer of sorts ... Captin' wants her here to make the ship look good, so my first thought was you my friend."</em>Tristyn said, making his introduction of Danielle as lousy one. You're such an asshole, Daniele said to herself, I'm a photojournalist. There's a difference.<br/><br/>It was the niceties from the chef that distracted her of Tristyn's further annoyance towards her. While Tristyn was an asshole, Marcus along with a few others, were pure gentlemen.<strong>"May I--"</strong>she started, wanting to have a mini interview of the cook and take a few pictures, but Tristyn's interest in the food interrupted her. Right when I try to make this article on this ship and its routine and crew the professional way, this dick comes in and ruins the vibe. How can anyone work with him? she thought, showing a ticked-off face towards the lieutenant.<br/><br/><em>"Dani come get something, you probably wont eat till your off this damn vessel so eat up, its on Captin's tab,"</em>Tristyn said as he went back into the mess hall to check out the selections of food.<br/><br/>The rumble in her stomach told Danielle that clearly, the lieutenant was right. At the pace they were going, it would be nightfall by the time the job was done. Plus, she was too hungry at the moment to protest and complain. She turned on her heel to go back into the mess hall, but stopped herself. Since her stomach won't let her do a good interview with the sight and smells of food around her, enticing her appetite, she thought she might as well get a posed photo of the chef.<strong>"May I?"</strong>she asked, gesturing her camera and Marcus turned and gave the same big, bright smile that he gave earlier.<strong>"Perfect. Thank you!"</strong><br/><br/>Didn't he say this was going to be on the Captain's tab? she asked herself, trying to remember what he just said. I wonder if it's gonna go onto<em>his</em>tab instead. I would pay to see that scene. She emerged back at the buffet line in the mess hall and found Lt. Phoenix perusing through the food, trying to figure out what to get. Though there wasn't a definite line he was holding up, Danielle thought it might a good time to get a little bit of payback. She stepped beside him, on the side where his sensitive area was, as if in wonder why he hadn't picked up a serving spoon and put any food on his tray. "What's taking you so long?" she asked, directing a deliberate poke to Lt. Phoenix's ribs. She wondered what reaction he would use in a room full of fellow sailors and officers. I dare you to get mad at a female civilian onboard this ship, douchebag, she thought.