Looking towards Erich, a smile appears back on Iain's face."Aye, but let's not try tae save the whole sector at once eh? Whether the problems are domestic or," gesturing towards Freya and Michael, "well... 'domestic'."
"Gi' me a shout whenever ye think it'd suit ye, we can talk then."
With that, he got up and, after placing his glass upon the bar, made for the exit to the rest of the base.
"I'm off tae my quarters, try not tae wreck the place while I'm gone..."
Michael waits until Freya has left the room then claps, stands up and says " Well. I guess I will see you guys around. I need a little rest now, has been an all too strange night anyway. It looks like everyone is leaving anyway.
Leaving his glass on the tray he leaves promptly. At least Michael got the earlier stumbling out of his system and he is back to a rather captain like behaviour.
Erich, also, leave his seat, though without informing anyone. As he rises and places his holo-phones onto his ears again, he mutters something about "The Coalition"; he then plods out.
Finishing his pint after coming in from his flight, Jamieson was headed back to his quarters. Just before heading through the door, he passed a man that had not been on Bruchsal for some time.
Walking up to Dutch, the man introduced himself as Frederich Gauss. Although the Embassy was only recently refurbished, he seemed to know his way around. Taking his drink, he sat down near the viewport facing Holstein.
*Ever Nervous, Ever High-Strung, always worried; Erich entered the Embassy whilst rubbing his temples, muttering incessantly. Dutch handed Erich a half-empty bottle as if such an occurance were routine. Erich shyly sat a table away from Gauss and clunked his head down.*
I didn't mean it, I didn't mean for that to happen, oh, nein nein nein... I didn't mean to kill her.
*He took a swig and glanced up at Gauss a moment before his forehead once again met the table.*
Although a troubled mind wasn't an uncommon sight on Bruchsal - especially in the bar - one murmur was loud enough for Gauss to hear, and disturbing enough to pique his interest.
Setting his glass on the table, he pulled up a seat next to the younger man. Leaning forward, he began:
"I'm sorry to intrude, but I couldn't help but hear you there. How about you calm down a little bit and tell me what is troubling you? I don't believe I saw you when I was last here, are you a member of the Bundschuh?"
*Erich looks up, rubbing his forehead*Ja, ja... I am a member of the Bundschuh. *he takes another pacifying swig of his alcohol*Specifically the Vereinigte Widerstandsarmee paramilitary. Hard to believe, isn't it.*he states, darkly, rubbing at both of his cheeks*
Fine, Herr... Herr... Nnngh. I was cornered by a patrol of Valkyres in the Aachenfeld. Attempted to talk my way out of it first, even though I knew that those old, ramshackle fossils couldn't match my Sabre. There were three of them... One of them, a young woman no older than twenty, maybe twenty-one...
She turned on the other two. That patrol leader was old... Probably a re-assigned draftee from the Libertonian front. I feel terrible that we turned on him, but he intended to kill me, he and his other loyal wingmate.
We put the two of them down easily; disabled their ships...
*Erich takes another long drink, emptying the bottle. He sobs a moment, before launching into a blistering tirade*
My errant Nuclear Mine drifted into her Valkyre and vaporized it. I... I killed her. I didn't mean to do it, but I killed her! I killed someone who only meant to help, I actually, for once in my life, swayed a young idealistic mind into seeing the truth and breaking free... A-And I squandered it entirely!
*By now, Erich's outburst would have of course drawn considerable attention from the more placid Embassygoers*
We... We had a moment. She asked me whether I was alright; obviously I was fine, I could merely sit there and have been fine. I had told her that she made the right decision and that everything would be alright, and... Sh-She... *he trails off, going quiet*
"Ja, that is definitely the sort of thing that can haunt a man. However, you should not be bottling it up, or..." Gauss paused for a moment, taking away the empty glass one from in front of Erich, "'bottling it up' either. A haunting guilt can drive a man quite mad, and we need all the clear minds on our side that we can muster. A confused mind is weak to... other influences." Gauss said with a shudder.
"It was these petty struggles caused by the Rheinhart that made me leave for the Omicrons in the first place." Taking a drink himself, he turned away for a moment. "But nein, even with the threat of Nomad assault we humans will fight each other. The Core, Corsairs and anyone else out there have shown me I may as well be fighting for my homeland.
"So I have returned to Rheinland, to retake my mantle of Kommandant amongst the Bundschuh. Who is the current Oeberst of our movement?" he finished, looking around the Embassy towards the few onlookers surrounding them.
I'm just so tired, Herr... Kommandant. I don't know if I have the spine for all of this.
*He returns to a slump befitting the fatigue he spoke of, rubbing his temples* You'd be looking for Michael Wolf. You may need to contact him through other means, he doesn't often like the limelight.