DT10 - That... hurt. (Very open)

[Zeryn]

Zeryn had taken a little longer than usual separating out the chlorine from the pool. But it was at least worth it now, as he sank into the water, relaxing the control that he never even really realized he was expending in holding water around him as he sank into the pool, taking a long, deep breath of the water as he felt his body start to float in the comforting embrace of his natural surroundings. Or, well, something similar to his natural surroundings, at least.

[Natalya Romanov]

Natalya was walking through the area on her way somewhere else when she noticed who was in the pool. She sighed. Might as well get this over with. She walked over to the edge of the pool and waited, letting him notice her.

[Zeryn]

It too Zeryn (with his eyes closed, after all) a few moments to realize that he wasn't alone. The currents in the pool shifted and he floated up to the surface, his head slipping into the air while his gills remained below the surface. "Good evening," he said, opening his eyes.

[Natalya Romanov]

"Good evening," she said, squatting down next to the pool to minimize the distance she was talking down to him. "I'm supposed to chew you out you know."

[Zeryn]

"Yes," Zeryn said, "I had noticed that that appeared to be the common practice on the surface regardless of the outcome of the situation. Will it help if I point out that I am quite happy with my position and have no desire for your job?"

[Natalya Romanov]

"Not really, no. Although I'm glad you're happy." She sat down and took her shoes and socks off. "Do you mind if dangle my feet in the water? I promise not to freeze it."

[Zeryn]

He waved a hand. "By all means," he said. "Feel free to freeze it, I can keep the temperature localized."

[Natalya Romanov]

"I don't need to freeze it," she said, rolling up her pants legs and dangling her legs in the water with a sigh. "The truth of the matter is that you did a great job of protecting the dorm. I can't fault you for that."

[Zeryn]

"Is this about the three that went over me to get to the fights they had no business getting closer to? Because my student list did not display any students who were capable of flying for me to plan for."

[Natalya Romanov]

"No, I'm handling those myself. Intentionally circumventing you was their problem, not yours. But we have those bunkers for a reason. And I need to know that when I give you a directive, I can count on you to follow it. If this were later in the semester and they were all on the Freshman training teams, that would be one thing, but this was the first day and none of them had any business being outside of the bunker."

[Zeryn]

"That is a reasonable opinion," Zeryn agreed.

[Natalya Romanov]

"Glad to hear I'm at least reasonable," she said with a half-smile. "I've had some time to cool down and you did do a good job out there, which is why I'm not giving you the third degree right now."

[Zeryn]

"Does the fact that it worked bear into that at all?" he mused curiously.

[Natalya Romanov]

"Only very slightly and only for me. The ends aren't supposed to justify the means."

[Zeryn]

"Interesting. I will bear that in mind during future engagements."

[Natalya Romanov]

"I take it they view things very differently where you're from."

[Zeryn]

"We view orders as a fluid situation," he said, "Capable of shifting and flowing to fit the situation. Evaluating their interpretation is based on the results, in this case a dormatory full of students who were not hurt, and evaluated from there. Likewise, failure to adapt orders to the situation, for example had any of those creatures broken through and made their way to the children they were after and found them cornered inside a box, would also be judged based on the results of the engagement."

[Natalya Romanov]

"On the surface, perception can be everything. Whether or not the students were actually in direct danger, they were involved and people look at that as being in danger. They perceive that the bunker is the safe place for the students to be under the circumstances and so they assume we aren't doing our job because they weren't in the bunker."

[Zeryn]

"Well, then, so that we are clear, would you like me to keep the children safe, or would you like me to make the parents feel better?" he asked simply. "They are not going to always be the same thing, and I assure you that I am perfectly willing to have you blame me for any... parental outcry over how matters were handled. They wanted to storm the ship. I made sure that they were in a defensible position, and with perhaps seven exceptions, locked into one."

[Natalya Romanov]

"So that we are clear, the safety of the students always always always comes first. It'll be better when we get the gung-ho ones onto teams and get them properly trained. They'll know better how to function." She looked straight at his eyes, "But while we're being clear, I want to be clear that if we're in a situation and I give you a direct order to do something, whether you agree with me or not, I want it done. If I say get the hell out and take the students with you, you do it. Are we still clear?"