Part 1: The Prank

(a)

"Come on, Holly, do it."

"No, Foaly."

"You know you want to."

"I know I don't! Commander Root will have my badge!"

"He'll never know. Come on, do it."

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"What's the matter, you don't have the guts?"

Pause.

"Okay, fine. But if I get fired..."

"You won't. Just trust me."

(b)

Root threw the door to his office wide open. "CAPTAIN SHORT, GET YOUR BUTT IN HERE RIGHT NOW!" he roared, face bright red.

Holly's first instinct was to hide under her desk. Then she realized that if Root already knew she had done it, he could fire her from a distance just as easily. She rose and went over to him, cringing internally. "Yessir?" she said meekly.

He didn't say anything, just jabbed one finger at his office. She slunk past him and stood in front of his desk. The sound of the door slamming made her jump.

Root stalked over to his desk. He pointed at the plasma screen and Holly instantly knew that her life was over. "Captain Short, do you care to tell me what THAT is?"

Holly looked at the screen. "It's, uh, a dating site, sir," she muttered, averting her eyes.

She could hear the crimson complexion in Root's voice. "A DATING site, Short. A DATING site! Now let me ask, what is my name doing on a dating site, hm, Short? What?"

Holly was torn between finding it funny and being scared right to the tips of her pointy ears. "Uh, I don't know, sir," she mumbled. "Seems improbable."

"Don't give me that, Short," Root snarled. "I know it was you. I had one of the techies trace it."

"What?" cried Holly. "Foaly said he wouldn't..."

Oops. Root's face turned purple. Holly couldn't help wondering if today was the day his heart would explode. "Foaly didn't trace it, Short. But I appreciate you ratting on him. Now you won't be alone in your harsh and demeaning punishment."

Suddenly there was a ping. Root glared at Holly, then turned to the screen. "What the...?" he muttered, clicking on a flashing icon on the dating site. "What's this?"

His face suddenly turned a horrible shade of greenish-purple. Holly was fascinated. She had never seen this particular mixture before. "Sir, what's wrong?" she asked, afraid to know but curious all the same.

Root whirled around, breathing hard. "IT MATCHED ME WITH VINYAYA!" he roared, eyes bulging. "HOW AM I GOING TO EXPLAIN THIS TO HER?"

Holly frowned. "Sir, I highly doubt Vinyaya is the kind of person to put her name on a dating site."

They stared at each other for a moment. Then they turned to the door.

"FOALY!"