"That was so cool!" Drip squealed, " the way you pulled the ship around, a-and then how Valette managed to hit its engines!"
Drip had let the alcohol get to him; this was the third time I'd heard him recount the story to another passing Cadet. Valette winked and jerked her head at the girl, who looked suspiciously similar to Commander Kohli. I sighed, maybe the Kid just had a type. Still, I didn't want to drag this joke out longer than it needed to and I conceded the bet, leaving to find someone who could help me drown my tongue in a thousand types of liquor.
The barman was a fresh-faced Cadet, most of the staff were, not everyone was here on a scholarship and most like having extra money to spend on booze at the weekends. Just being here was enough bootlicking for me, I didn't fancy the idea of dragging this joke out any longer than it already had been. So, the boy had a thing for powerful women? It wasn't none of my business. I ordered two drinks, Solar Sunrise for myself and a Sake for Valette. I swear, I must be getting old because I can't tuck drinks away like that girl, and she's a third of my body mass. The bar, which overlooked one of the main parks on campus. Australia hung in the background, its lights gleaming in the night sky and I felt a familiar swelling in my heart. Earth really was impressive.
"It's a good view, no?" Brettman said, saddling up next to me.
"Impressive. Yeah." I replied, still looking at the vast expanse of the outback.
"What's on your mind, it's not just the view, that's for sure." He said, ordering himself a scotch.
The waiter slid him a bottle of something fancy and winked. I glanced at Brettman, who grinned like a puppy. Reaching for the bottle, I ran my finger over the label and read aloud. "Old Belter's?" I said, chuckling, "since 2095… Jesus that is old."
"They make it from ice out around Saturn." Brettman replied, "everything from earth is like that. It's got history."
"Don't we all." I replied, sipping my sunrise and grinning at the rush of sugar.
"That what you were thinking about?" He asked, writing his number on the back of a napkin.
"Naw, I was thinking about Valette."
Brettman frowned, "really? You and her? Not sure I see that."
"God no," I laughed, "I was wondering how she tucks away drinks this strong and stay upright."
Brettman chuckled and winked at the barman as he read the number on the napkin and blushed. "We have a good team." He said, sipping the drink and making a noise that sounded like he was sipping from the hand of zeus.
"Yeah, but for how long? Kohli hates me."
"She'll come around, I imagine she's got some chip on her should or something." Then, his face darkened. "Holy- is that?"
I turned and came face to face with Joseph Harper, who walked through the bar, dropping the place into silence. I thought he might come to the bar and gripped my drink in anticipation. Oddly, he barely looked my way. That, of course was somehow even worse. I looked at Brettman, who looked at me and shrugged.
"I'm not going anywhere near an Admiral in this state. Think I'll continue to enjoy the view" He raised his glass in the direction of the bartender and grinned.
I groaned, "I think I'll take my chances with the Admiral that hates me."
Leaving Brettman to objectify the staff, I stood, and made my way back to the table with Valette's drink in hand. When I arrived at the table, Admiral Harper did, too. He didn't even look my way when he began to address the crew.
"Well done, Cadets. That was some fine work." he said calmly.
"Thank you, Sir!" Valette beamed.
The Admiral eyed her, then me. I swallowed. "I hope to see you in my fleet someday, after a display like that." he smirked, his eyes flashed with a kind of veiled mischief. I thought then, that his granddaughter might not be as wayward as I first thought. Admiral Harper was playing games. The question was, how were they gonna screw me?
"Really?" Drip said, almost choking.
"We did that well?" Mei asked, her eyes glittering.
Britney glanced at me and rolled her eyes. I thought they'd snap off at the stalks but she was clearly well practiced. I found myself slightly nauseated by the bootlicking as well, as I waited for the catch.
"Yes, it's just a shame that you consort with known criminals." he said, finally acknowledging me with a murderous glance in my directions.
I opened my mouth to speak but Britney put her hand over mine and shook her head. Drip and Mei straightened, Mei's lips curled in a display of malice that I'd only ever seen from wild dogs and Drip refused to meet my eyes. Guess I was an idiot to think that would last. I looked to Valette, who was scowling. Britney removed her hand but shrugged indifferently, which at least gave me hope that she wasn't gonna be cowed by the Admiral.
"Oh, well, these are just the people we were assigned to, Sir" Mei replied, looking at the Admiral to avoid the look of horror shot at her from Valette's direction.
Drip stepped away from me and, forgetting his drink, awkwardly reached over for it. I pushed it in the other direction. Criminal or not, these two were beyond pissing me off. I'd just helped us pull off a hell of a win and we'd come out of that round looking pretty in the standings. He glanced at me, briefly meeting my eyes before abandoning the drink and stepping away.
Joseph Harper watched me with malice in his eyes. I leaned forward, blocking Drip from his drink as he replied to Mei, his gaze never leaving me. "Ah, yes, not your fault obviously. Still, you have careers to think about." He shrugged as an aide whispered in his ear. "Regardless, enjoy your evening, you have a lot more testing in the coming week so do not celebrate too hard."
He left and a piercing silence was left in the vacuum of his presence. Drip and Mei stood beside each other. Drip stared at his drink.
"If you want your drink, you tell me if we're going to have a problem." I said, glaring.
Drop fumbled, "uh-n-no, there's no problem, Ollie-"
"Of course, there's a problem." Mei said, bluntly, "I like you Ollie, you're talented and I respect that; I didn't, however, sign up for service on a second-rate convoy ship."
I looked at Drip, who finally summoned the courage to meet my eye. "If you feel the same, you tell me. I'm too old for games, kid. I don't care what you want but I deserve the right to know you're putting your career before me."
"You could have given the guy a chance, criminal or not, bootlicking isn't a good look on anyone." Britney shrugged.
"You'd think I'd earned a little good faith after them manoeuvres I just pulled."
Mei snorted, "we barely know you Ollie, we don't owe you anything. I can see why the Pixie is offended." She said, sourly referring to Valette, who seethed in her direction. "But you Brit? You're seriously going to throw in with him? You'd give up a good commission for a guy you'd met for a few weeks?"
"For a friend I might," she shrugged, "just wait for the Admiral to finish the conversation before you start stabbing the crew in the back, girl."
Mei chewed her lip, "I put in a lot of work for this, I don't want to screw it up."
"You will screw it up if you draw lines in the sand between members of the bridge crew, Darlin', take it from someone who's been on a bridge, trust is gospel to folks in our line of work and you're treading mighty thin ice if you start openly distancing yourself from members of the crew for conceited reasons."
Valette nodded animatedly, she probably knew what I meant, as well. It wasn't looking good at all, not as Brettman sat beside me with a smile on his face. His eyes moved between everyone, then he frowned.
"What did I miss?"
Decided to have a few weeks off, I'm starting Ghosts this weekend and this will run alongside it and finish prior to the end of the third story.
See you Sunday!