Eirik was annoyed. The ointment Knud had applied to his wounds stank to high heavens. It was a slightly moldy smell that seemed to linger. It wasn't so much offensive as it was just... there. on the threshold between smell and taste. This was going to suck big time, his brothers would never let him hear the end of it. But along with the painkiller, Knud had administered, Eirik was feeling alright, only a slight limp in his walk that would get progressively worse through the day as the medication wore off.

He stopped in front of Jensen's room and knocked on the door. A moment passed before the door opened and Jensen appeared, looking slightly miffed when he saw who had knocked.

"What can I do for you, Captain?" He asked cooly.

"May I enter for a moment?" Eirik asked in return

"Of course, be my guest." Jensen's response was courteous but lacked warmth. "Young indeed. But I'm here to make amends." Eirik thought to himself as he entered the room. Jensen offered him a seat, but Eirik refused.

"I won't be long, Jensen. I am merely here to apologize for my harsh words yesterday. I crossed a line that should not have been crossed, and you have my sincere apology." Eirik laid his apology on the table and waited for Jensen to either accept it or slap it away.

"I was partially to blame on account of my previous actions. My behavior in the sickbay was inexcusable and I have regretted it since it happened. I suppose it is only fair that you spoke your brutally honest opinion of me in return. What do you say we leave it as water under the bridge and try to start over?" Jensen said after a long period of silence. He held out his left hand at the end and Eirik took it with a smile. His left side was relatively unharmed.

"I would like that," Eirik replied. Once they finished shaking hands, he reached behind him and withdrew the small datapad containing his debriefing for his grandfather. It also contained his report on Jensen. "Then I have no issue sending this report to the Colonel" He added as he handed the datapad to Jensen.

After skimming it, Jensen looked up at Eirik with a strange look on his face. "Why would have written such a fine report on my behavior and abilities as a diplomat before this meeting?"

"Because it's true. Whatever problems you and I have or had, that should not be reflected in my report. I may not be a soldier of Terra anymore, but I like to think my moral compass is better attuned than a room full of old greedy men and women. Why do you think I waited for you to finish your diplomatic thing before I took care of the real business?

This kind of smoke and mirror thing is something you have to get used to in diplomatic circles. And research EVERYONE!" Eirik wanted to help the young man. His apology and taking part of the blame showed a side that was willing to compromise. A valuable trait in a diplomat.

"You said that before. But I still fail to see the reason to get so much information on everyone instead of only key targets." Jensen replied. Eirik's insight surprised him, but with a grandfather like the Bulldog, he shouldn't have been.

"Knowledge is power. Guard it well. Those are some of the wisest words of wisdom you will ever hear, Jensen. Say, do you have time for a cup of coffee in the cantina?? I'm curious if you know of the reason Napoleon was such a successful emperor during wartimes."

_______________________

2 hours later Jensen found himself waist-deep in a lesson on old Terran history. The subject had jumped from various famous generals and rulers to the geopolitical landscape during the different eras, to the various reasons early superpowers failed as nations, to philosophical gold nuggets, the list went on. His head was spinning as he was assaulted with a barrage of knowledge from a man only a few years his elder.

"How do you know so many things, Eirik?" He asked when the enthusiastic captain stopped to take a breath.

Eirik paused for a moment, the question catching him off guard. "Well, I suppose there is a couple of reasons. I like studying history, and to have an understanding of many of the things discussed in anything deeper than surface study, you need a broad horizon of basic knowledge on a multitude of subjects to understand to finer principles behind the reasoning that lead to whatever events are being studied.

I also live by the creed that it is a funnier experience in life to know a little about everything, instead of knowing all about a single thing. That way, I can communicate with, and relate to, more people.

And finally, my grandfather taught me, that if I am going to be commanding a soldier into battle, I better be able to do, whatever I am ordering him to do, better than he can. And because if I am going to be responsible for a ship and crew I can at least have the good decency and decorum to learn the basics of how everything functions so I can work in a solution-oriented way with my command staff and section leaders."

Jensen was looking at Eirik, slackjawed. "So you are saying, you possessing general knowledge of the field of work of those beneath you, is the reason your ship is running so efficiently, even though I see hundreds of regulation violations, compared to Terran Navy standards?" He managed to get out as he picked up his jaw from the table.

"Partly," Eirik answered with a weird look on his face.

"Partly? what else could be the reason?" Jensen asked, now eager to understand the reason the ship was running efficiently despite it looking like everyone was slacking off and relaxing.

Eirik fixed Jensen's eyes with a cold glare. "You have seen me angry."

"You wouldn't harm your crew!" Jensen said with surprising confidence.

"Jensen, this ship, is my ship. Anyone doing anything to harm this ship or the crew inside of it will find themselves under my swift and harsh punishment. This is not a democracy. I talk to my crew and I quite often follow their suggestions, but they all know the decision is ultimately mine, and mine alone. I am not a good person, Jensen. I know right from wrong better than most, but I also accept that sometimes, the line has to blur a little so shit can get done." Eirik meant every word and Jensen did not doubt it.

"Eirik, are you saying that you would be willing to break the law to follow your inner sense of right and wrong?"

Eirik stared into the ceiling for a moment. "Let me tell you a story Jensen. 2 years ago, we were hunting a bounty. Serial rapist, breaking bail, and running. The details are not important, but we found and cornered him. I was the one to take him down and as I was putting the handcuffs on him, he started laughing. I asked him why he was laughing since he was going back to jail. He confessed to me that he had already raped 2 more women, killed them, and disposed of their corpses before we caught him, and we could never prove it. So he would just get half a year in prison for breaking bail, another 9 months for the last sentence, and then he would be free to go do it again.

As he was laughing like a lunatic, I made a choice. I turned his head into chunky tomato soup with a point-blank shotgun blast to the back of the skull.

End of story. Now you tell me, Jensen. Did I do the right thing?" Eirik had been speaking calmly as he told the story as if recalling a rather dull memory. Jensen had gone white as Eirik spoke and he didn't speak a word. He just stared at Eirik in horror. With a mighty mental exertion, he managed to speak, "You executed a captured and defenseless prisoner?"

"I executed a murderer and rapist that had just promised me he would be back to his evil ways as soon as he was able because our legal system is a joke. I removed the potential threat from the face of the universe. And I left his body there to rot, only taking his ID with me as proof of a kill, along with a picture of the body with recognizable tattoos visible. Answer me, Jensen, did I do the right thing?"

"Well, technically, yes but no. It was a vigilante action, but it prevented future crime. Considering my profession, I would have to protest your actions. As a person, I applaud you for being able to do it though." Jensen rationalized his way through the scenario as he spoke, choosing the safe answer.

"That is my point, Jensen. Sometimes, the lines between black and white blur together when you want to make a positive change in the universe. The danger lies in letting it become the default state of living. It is a constant struggle to keep a hold of your morals when you have to break them to uphold them." Eirik got up as he spoke. "Thank you for the company, Jensen. I am happy we could remedy our earlier... difficulties. We will arrive at the smuggler station tomorrow where we shall make a short stop before I take you to Terra, and I need to prepare quite a few things. Perhaps we could do this again after we have stopped at the station?"

"Actually, there was one more thing." Jensen had lifted a hand for Eirik to wait for a moment to hear him out, "I have a request to make of you, Captain."