Sirius Federation Officer's Club

[Firebird]

A strange figure stood in the shadows of the Cambridge Research Station bar, it was closing down for the evening and was empty apart from Joanne behind the bar washing some of the empty glasses...

"Something I can do for you?," she spoke out.

Moving out of the shadows, Joanne recognized him immediately.

"Admiral!?!," she exclaimed, "a rare sight to see, can I fix you a drink?"

"Yes, thank you," he replied.

He had spent a good portion of the day dealing with politicians and bureaucrats. Most unfamilar with his work but willing to give opinions and criticism nonetheless. Most condemned the SF for bringing the problems now facing Bretonia, some concerns were valid others not so, but all seemed too unkind. He was drained and tired.

"Where is everyone?" the admiral asked.

"They're mostly on the front lines at the moment, a lot have died and failed to return," she responded.

"Ah...", he said and made his way over to the window overlooking the planet.

As he stared out into the void with a blank but contemplating stare, Joanne brought him his drink.

"Everything alright, sir?," she asked.

"I'll be fine, just tired that's all," he responded as he drank a bit from his glass. "Its a great view from here. I can see why the pilots prefer this bar over those on the planet. Not to mention the beautiful company."

Joanne couldn't help but smile. They stared off into the void for a while, til Joanne spoke.

"I miss the pilots, I mean sure everytime they come in here they'd create a mess but they were good guys, seeing them go off and not certain if they will return, always seems to leave me with a certain sinking feeling."

"Such is war unfortunately, but I know the feeling, everytime I order people out into combat."

"How do you deal with it?"

"By reminding myself they're doing it for a cause and reason, that their sacrifice is not in vain. Somedays though I wonder if others appreciate what they go through."

Joanne gave a confused look.

"Never mind, an old Admiral dealing with politics. I'll need to be heading back to Cambridge soon, but I wouldn't mind one more round."

"Sure thing, sir."

She went to get him his drink, while the admiral sat down at a table and gazed out at the stars around Cambridge, contemplating...

---

Retired

**I AM CANADIAN!!!**


SF Recruitment Flyer SF Faction Status Page
SF Message Dump SF Officers Club
CRI - Nomad Transportation Ban
Admiral Firebird - Biographical Data

[Hyperwave22]

Jeff Kerrigan entered the CRI bar late at night to find the bar completely empty. He had just gotten off shift, and was quite tired. Due to his tardiness, there was not even a real bartender left there. He walked towards the electronic drink mixer and made an order for a drink in a foreign language. He hoped that it would taste good.

After removing his credit card, he heard Joanne's voice loud and clearly behind him. "You aren't going to be wanting that, doctor."

Kerrigan turned around. "I think I do, Joanne, unless you've got some thing better."

"Oh, I do. That stuff is so hot that it will burn your throat up, and I know that you don't like spicy things. I got the recipe from a Corsair that came through here. Didn't know it at the time, of course, but once twenty secs came in to arrest him, I figured it out." She looked away and started fixing a drink that Kerrigan had never seen before. He wanted to know, but first asked her why she was up so late.

"Ah, you just missed him," Joanne responded, "The admiral came in here for a late drink. We got to talking about the soldiers not coming back from the battlefield."

"Strange," Kerrigan said, "because I came in here because I'm contemplating returning to work for the war. The Sierra is nice, but it doesn't get the patients that I need. People in the major systems get pretty good treatment, but those on the front lines are the ones that need it most."

"I like that idea, Jeff. The Sierra has a competent crew, and doesn't deal with the stuff on the front lines. Which ship do you plan to transfer to?"

"Probably back to the Horizon. The Navy Surgeon General found some excess cash reserves, and has alloted enough money to buy a new platform. They're thinking a genuine Bretonian Battleship if possible, but we're also bidding on a destroyer."

"Well, good luck with that. Hopefully you get the battleship bid. I've heard that the destroyers actually end up seeing combat," Joanne said. "Oh, before you get into details I'll never understand, tell me, how do you deal with all of those not coming back from the battlefield."

"Well, they do come back, they just die in our hands. How I get through it? Dark humor. It's hard when you actually see our soldiers die, screaming for help. We save the majority of them, but it still doesn't seem like enough."

"Well, maybe you can feel a better when you get out there. Here's your drink. Careful though, it's really heavy. I'll see you later, I'm headed to bed now."

"'Night, Joanne." Kerrigan spent the rest of the night sitting there watching Planet Cambridge. At about four in the morning Cambridge time Mike showed up with a few pilots. Kerrigan took his drink down, bothering pausing only to say "hi" to Mike, and went to bed in the CRI guest quarters for the remainder of the day.

---

Retired
A very big thanks to Dark Oddity who put my signature pic together

[Hyperwave22]

Jeff Kerrigan walked into the fray that was the Cambridge Research Institute Bar. He looked around for someone he knew, and was surprisingly greeted by much of the crew from the Sierra.

"Hey, doc. Sad to see you go, hope we still see you around here still though," said a pilot from the Sierra. Kerrigan acknowledged him, and moved to the bar where Edmund Brackenbury was sitting.

"I see you found out that I was planning to transfer over to the Horizon, Edmund," Kerrigan said as he walked over to him.

"I did. Remember, all personnel transfers from the Sierra have to be reviewed by me. Of course I knew even though you seemed to have forgotten to tell me."

"When you said meet me here, I planned on telling you anyway. I didn't expect it to be so busy, though, what the heck is going on?"

Brackenbury looked surprised. "Are you serious?" he blurted out, "you haven't figured out that this is a party for you yet?"

"Apparently not, although I guess I shouldn't waste it." Joanne came up from behind the bar.

"All drinks on the house tonight, Jeff. Yes, I know we'll still be seeing you, it just won't be with this great crowd on the Sierra as much." A bottle of Sidewinder Fang flew past them and smashed into the wall.

---

Retired
A very big thanks to Dark Oddity who put my signature pic together