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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