Thoughts

[Kreuzritter]

Neu Berlin, Weser Distrikt

820 A.S.

"Just these three left, then I am finished," he quietly said to himself while his eyes wandered across the screen of his terminal, jumping from left to right in perfect timing to the impact of his fingers on the worn-out keyboard. "I wonder how la-..." he muttered for an instant, just before his eyes trailed off to the clock standing on his desk, abruptly interrupting the utterance. "Five o'clock....damn it. I feel more like an overpaid secretary doing long hours than..." he shakes his head while heaving a quiet sigh. "It's of no use. Back to the matter at hand." Fueled by his desire to finally finish today's work, he unleashed a hail of impacts on his keyboard, hitting the keys with violent vigour while never taking his eyes off the screen. After a couple of minutes, filled with impacts echoing through the apartment, his onslaught on the keyboard finally seized, accompanied by a relieved sigh.

"Hochachtungsvoll, Vizeadmiral Theodor Wilhelm Falk von und zu Sittlingen," he read out aloud before he contently nodded while his index finger reached out to the touchscreen, tapping the 'SEND' button.

"You have - Five - new messages."

The synthetic voice of a woman ripped through the silence of the apartment like a piece of chalk screeching on a blackboard. His expression darkened while he lowered his head, slowly guiding his left hand up to his face to massage the bridge of his nose. "Gottverdammt...does this ever stop?" he muttered while heaving another - this time more resignation-filled - sigh.

He shook his head. "Nein. Enough for today. If I don't take a break I'll just end up exactly like before the vacation." He looked up again and out of one of the windows. "Vacation..." His thoughts trailed off and a faint smile formed on his face as he recalled past events. For a couple of minutes he remained in that pose - smiling out of the window and watching the snowflakes fall as the occasional fighter wing of Wraiths cut through the dawning sky, leaving behind a green vapour trail against the orange illuminated clouds. A seldom sight which he always enjoyed. Soon enough the two weeks of twilight would be over and his place will be plunged into nearly a whole year of night. He shook his head. "Alright, the paperwork can wait," he said to himself in a rather determined tone before standing up and leaving his desk, heading into the adjacent room. "Just some time to relax, then I'll head to bed. Ja Theo, head to bed. You will not go back to your desk after this. You will not process even a single additional report. You know what happens when you tell yourself that, right? 'Only one more report' - it is never only one more report," he thought while slowly heading over to the grand piano located in the far corner of the room. "Na klasse, I am even starting to talk to myself now. This'll certainly end well..." he said out aloud while taking a seat on the stool, folding his hands together to crack his knuckles. "Vacation..." The faint smile returned to his face as he placed his hands on the piano, remaining motionless for a moment.

He shook his head, the smile vanishing. "Need to call and see if the present was appreciated," he quietly muttered before relaxing his shoulders, tightening his grip on they keys. "Computer, number 17 for four hands, start playback of the higher octaves only." A series of beeps was heard and he got ready, heaving a sigh. "I also still need to hear back from Joachim....I wonder what he is up to and how things are proceeding..." Just as the name 'Joachim' went through his mind, he started hitting the first notes, falling into a crescendo as his hands wandered over the piano.

"Preparation. Preparation is key, but it also shouldn't take that long. What is taking him so long?" He concentrated on the music for a while, matching the movement of his head to the played notes. "Gott, one half of me hopes he is wrong, the other one hopes he is right," he thought while moving to the faster part of the piece. "Hmhm, I also need to make a decision about Braun. Her behaviour is not tolerable. If she'd only keep it to secured comms, I couldn't care less then, but nein....in front of everyone." He sighs another time, slowing down his playing a bit again and focusing on the last part of the piece. After the final chord had been played, he slightly rocked back his entire body, taking his hands off the keys and placing them on his thighs. "The gift, hmmja, I need to call and ask. Tomorrow when I have time....or is that intrusive if I do it so soon?" He stood up again, crossing his arms behind his back while he walked in circles. "Gottverdammt, I need to take my mind off of this," he muttered in a low voice, looking back his desk.

"I think working through one additional report can't hurt."

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RECRUITMENT | MESSAGE DUMP | BOUNTY BOARD | FACTION INFORMATION

[Kreuzritter]

Neu Berlin, Weser Distrikt

820 A.S.

"You have fought long and hard. You have endured countless hardships, made a lot of sacrifices. Yet in the end, you have prevailed. You have prevailed in the face of imminent defeat. You have not only turned the tables, but also made it possible for me to stand here today, on Manhattan, to finally announce the victory of our Vaterland in this conflict that was brought upon us by the Libertonian aggressors. Right now, in our finest hour, I can gladly admit that I am proud to have served with each of you. For Rheinland! For the Gottkanzler! For the Vat-......"

His eyes slowly slid open, blinking a couple of times to shake off the sleepy daze that had befallen him. "What in the...." he muttered while looking around his bedroom, bringing his hands up from under the crumpled sheets to rub his eyes. "Oh...right...." he called out while focusing on the clock, which was conveniently placed on a small bedside cabinet next to him. "Seven in the morning. Hm, longer than usual," he thought before creeping out of bed, carefully stretching himself afterwards. Without hesitation he made his way to the wardrobe to get dressed, not even wasting a single thought on making the bed. "Mhmhm...green uniform...white uniform...black uniform...grey uniform....ah...shirt.......shirt is gut," he uttered in a low voice, still more asleep than awake, before grabbing the black shirt from the wardrobe. He carefully slipped inside it, paying attention to not mess up the large, blood-stained bandage that adorned his side. "Gnah, I need coffee," he thought, leaving his bedroom to walk out into the corridor leading to the kitchen, his eyes slightly squinted against the orange light that penetrated the shutters.

"Guten Morgen, Vizeadmiral."

The synthetic voice in his ears felt like a hammer hitting his head, shaking him thoroughly to eliminate even the last trace of sleepiness that was still left. "Coffee. Black," he called out, looking nowhere particular as his order was confirmed with a series of beeps. He looked upon the coffee machine as it started working, the black gold slowly dripping into a green cup, decorated by a large, black cross spanning from it's lip down to it's bottom. "Oh well, until this is finished...." he muttered while turning around, heading back into the bedroom.


"Can we go home now, mommy? I am coooold..."

"Nein, we are not going home just yet. We wanted to visit aunt Hilda, remember?"

"But mommy! I don't like aunt Hilda. She smells funny."

"Hush! That's normal for old people. Now come on and quit the bickering! Or do I have to tell daddy?"

"Nein! Please don't tell daddy. I'm coming, I'm coming..."


After a couple of minutes he emerged back from the bedroom, dressed in his regular Rheinwehr field uniform. He walked back into the kitchen to idly grab his cup of coffee before moving into the room that served as his office. "Alright. Let's see with how many you are going to torture me today," he said towards the screen while switching the power to his terminal on, taking a sip from his coffee.

"You have - one - new message."

He quirked a surprised brow at the synthetic voice. "Huh, that's convenient," he muttered, heaving a sceptical, yet relieved, sigh. "Display unread messages," he called out while leaning back in his chair, his eyes wandering over the screen to read afterwards.

"What in the.....WHAT?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! ARE YOU SERIOUS?! IF THIS IS A JOKE YOU WILL BE CLEANING WRAITHS UNTIL YOU DIE OF OLD AGE!!!!!" he called out, tightening his grip around his cup of coffee. "What the....'incompatible with the macho culture in the military'? I have...no....words...." His head started to turn a deep shade of crimson as he slowly raised his cup for another sip, not minding the heat at all. "Oh I will show you what I think of this. I will show show you. GNAAAH!"


"Are we there yet? I am still cold..."

"Honey, you asked that a minute ago."

"But I am coooold!"

"I know...you said that a minute ago as well."

"What's that, mommy?"

"Listen, we will be th-....hm, what?"

"There, up in the sky."

The cup, thrown from the 52st floor of the large apartment building, shattered into a thousand pieces as it violently hit the ground, making the nearby civilians panically duck for cover.

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RECRUITMENT | MESSAGE DUMP | BOUNTY BOARD | FACTION INFORMATION