Chapter 48: Front 24 – A Night Out In Bannerman – Part 1/2

Sabban walked down the usual bland, yellow-tinted corridors of the Fluchtig, at his side long time companion (atleast by a pilot's standards) Kolme Nilas - The two talked little, they had in general spoken alot less recently.
 It had been a few weeks since Station 9 and a few days on from their first botched interview with Moncha - Their second interrogation had gone much better, in that Kolme did all the talking while Sabban sat silently glaring for the whole thing.

To be fair they had atleast remained cordial with one another, no more stand up rows like the one about project A.M.I - This was in large part Scarlet's doing:
 To Sabban's surprise, after the battle at station 9, she had taken him and Una aside and rather than threaten them to keep quiet as Sabban had been expecting - She instead asked them to leave sleeping dogs lie as a favour to her personally, that everything was under control.
 That level of 'politeness' from Scarlet had caught the young man off guard and left him even more conflicted on how to act around the older pilots of the squad now.

With him and Kolme walking in silence, the young man quickly picked up on the sound of familiar voices up ahead;
 "You'll really bring me along to Miss.Scarlet?" Spoke the ever enthusiastic and yet cripplingly meek voice of Una O' Conchobar.
 "A 'Course girl, us pretty young women have to stick together ha-ha!" The far more raucous voice of the Scarlet Scourge said back.

A third, almost regal voice cut in next - "We should take it steady though, we are still technically on call..."

"Ah lighten-up Hoki, being my wing-woman means more then just watching each others backs on the field of battle - Got to watch my back out on the town too if ya' get my meaning, Ha!
 Oh hey, speaking of men, here come some poor examples."
 Scarlet finished with a glance in Sabban and Kolme's direction.

Sabban scoffed at catching Kolme redden ever so-slightly.
 He'd long since realised the man had a thing for Scarlet and in his opinion it was pathetic.
 Scarlet was clearly out of Kolme's league by country miles, moreover the old man was the sort Sabban was sure would never have the balls to actually ask the woman out for drinks - 'So Pathetic.'
 
"You all ready to hit the town lads? Not often we get two 'ole days of leave - Don't worry I know all the best drinking holes, right Sab-lad?"
 Sabban grunted with a sigh before Una edged in with a tone of curiosity;
"You two have been drinking in Bannerman before, err, Sirs?"

"'Sure Lass! Back when we first transferred off the Tradech, the Fluchtig was still in port here, so we had a few days with nothing better ta' do than scout out the locals."

"Pah, wouldn't listen to this old fart rookie, I'm Abhailen through and through, got radar for the best drinking clubs ya hear?! And sorry Nilas, but us ladies got better places to be hanging out, than with you."
 Scarlet said with crossed arms.

Sabban watched Kolme's face fall, it was painfully obvious the man had been looking forward to the opportunity for some squad bonding in a more casual setting than their warship home;
 "That so, shame that - Ah well, just you and me so Sabban."

"Sorry Lt.Sir, next time maybe." Hoki added sympathetically before glancing up in surprise and saluting to something behind Sabban.
 He and Kolme turned to see what it was. Sabban's response was to groan so loudly that Hoki shot him an apologetic glance.
 "Ho-ho, not just the two of you Nilas, you old dog - I'll be coming too!"
 Announced the booming voice of Commander Nate Novel, Captain of the good ship Am-Fluchtig - His short moppy blond hair and regular, stupid puppet's grin as 'vibrant' as usual.

"Eh, Commander-Nate Sir, always a pleasure but what about the bridge?" Kolme asked, walking up to the man with a light nudge to his ribs.
 
At first Sabban had presumed Kolme sucked up to Nate Novel simply for the leverage being friends with the Captain might bring - But as more time passed it seemed ever more apparent that Kolme actually did somewhat like the man, a fact Sabban struggled to wrap his head around as he looked up at the ridiculous face of the so-called 'Captain'.
 "Heh-heh-heh, it seems Commander Batty and Lt.Louise have 'volunteered' to be in charge of the Tristain flotilla for today and tomorrow - I'll take watch after that!"
 Nate decreed as though explaining the results of some master plan.

"That's if we're still in port in two days time, eh sir?" Nilas jerreed back.

"Now now Nilas, I can't believe you would suggest such foul play old-boy." Nate deviously laughed in return.
 Sabban sighed internally, it was going to be a long day.

"U-umm Captain sir, does that mean Miss.Cally is off duty too?" Una asked quietly.
 Nate tensed a little as though Una had hit an uncomfortable nerve; "Oh umm, yes but she and some of the other bridge crew already have plans, sort of..."

'If that's the case why don't you go with them instead of us?!'
 Sabban thought to himself bitterly.

"Oh I see, ummm thank you, Sir." Una said back awkwardly, Hoki laying a gentle hand on the shorter girl's shoulder.
 Before what Sabban considered to be a truly monotonous conversation, could go any painfully further - The loud sound of a massive roller door lifting caught everyone's attention.
 On the far side of the massive hanger bay the group was standing in, one of the doors tall enough for Vijaiks to launch from - Slowly shuffled up just enough to allow regular people to pass through.
 And with it a buzz began to spread throughout the expansive room and presumably the whole ship - They had arrived.

Sabban wasn't wholly sure how to feel about the sudden news of a few days break - Operation Deadlight, the mission to track and defeat the TSU-s submarine, Curadh - Was still ongoing and yet once the flotilla had come within range of the planet Abhaile, word had come from higher up that the force was to stop the pursuit and dock into the north's capital city of Bannerman.
 Clearly the higher ups knew more than the likes of Sabban were being let in on - As true to their predictions the Curadh itself had docked into TSU-s headquarters on Abhaile's asteroid colony, Ghealach, meaning that it too had simply stopped - Why exactly TSU hadn't tried to ambush the Tristan fleet before it could reach friendly soil or why IAFS command had chosen to put the mission temporarily on-hold - Was currently yet to be seen.
 Personally, as dozens of the Fluchtig's crew now filed out of the massive door and across an extended gang-walk on the other side - Groups of mechanics, grenadiers, operators and so on, all in plain clothes and their own social clicks, all excited to have some time off after months confined to the warship - Personally speaking Sabban would of much rathered they had continued their pursuit and not stopped.

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He caught sight of Hoki having a quick word with the Fluchtig's chief Mechanic, just as they exited through the large door;
 'Chief Pel, heh, now I bet there is a woman who can put a few back.'

As the first direct sunlight in months touched crossed his face for the first time in months, he glanced down to the drystone key the Fluchtig was adjacent to and over to the city in the distance.
 He didn't care much for politics or geography but knew the basic common knowledge that anyone would about the planet. All considered Abhaile had once been seen as uninhabitable - In the 400 years or so since its colonisation that opinion hadn't changed all that much.
 The populous being spread across the single slightly less dreadful main continent - The entire thing had once been one massive country or rather 'kingdom' ruled by the Abhailen monarchy and nobility.

After the First-War most of the nobles were dead or promptly hunted down with Abhaile's many regions turned into small (and by proxy weaker) countries ruled by TSU installed puppet governments under constant occupation by the army & navy.
 All but for one very important exception, 'The Ducal City', capital of Northern Abhaile and 'secret' home of the Independent-Alliance-of-Free-States - Bannerman.
 As the northern-most major city, it had been the furthest from the Southern homeland where the king had once resided, and (for reasons Sabban didn't much care to learn about) - The Duke, a direct blood relative of the former King, was bizarrely left alive and in charge of the now largest region of Abhaile.

The young man had heard rumours it was to do with Bayley Mechanics - IAFS's biggest financial supporter and the largest company conglomerate in the solar system, well known for the fact that they continued to clearly provide machine parts and even weapons to any factions who asked with enough cash - Including at present both IAFS and TSU-s.
 All this made Bannerman the ideal and possibly only populated area IAFS could operate out of - Ships like the Fluchtig could land under the official guise of being Bayley-Mechanic's vessels - And the Duke refused to have any TSU presence in 'his city'.
 Least that's how Sabban understood - Not that he cared much.

He trailed a little ways behind the other five of their ad-hoc group. Expectantly it soon became apparent Scarlet had as little respect for Nate as she did Kolme, teasing the man and using nicknames rather than his Captain's title, while Hoki desperately tried to rein in her wingman and Una stood in-between it all in her usual awkward manner.
 Sabban sighed before catching sight of some more familiar faces standing on the 'pier' below them - Pier being the word used for where space-craft landed, despite the lack of water considering Abhaile's complete absence of above ground water sources.
 The two made an odd couple, a woman as short as Una with stark white hair and more peculiarly, pointed ears - And a stocky, tall man with rather more mundane features;
 "I really don't know about this Erfu."
The man said.

"Come on now Tomo, we all drew straws, we get first dibs on leave while the Valliere's squad takes watch - Don't you trust commander Batty to watch over things? Or perhaps that's not it at all, do you maybe want to spend the day with just me?
 Oh Tomo you're always so sweet, but we are too old for nightclubs and I for one don't know my way around this city - They on the other hand--"
 The woman Erfu said while turning to make direct eye contact with Sabban.
'Could she tell I heard a bit of their conversation?'

Before he could dwell on it, the group of six had made it off the gang-walk and now stood before the two pilots from the Rinie.
 "Eh Lt.Tomo, Miss.Erfu, what brings you two out 'ere?" Kolme said taking the lead.

"Good-Afternoon Acting Field-Commander Nilas, and to you too of course Fleet Commander Novel."
 Tomo replied stiffly, though his slack shoulders indicated his disappointment.
Nate and Kolme exchanged perplexed glances;
 "Oh ya, I guess those are our proper titles, heh..."

"Yes, yes that's lovely dears - Now if we could get back on topic, myself and Tomo here were wondering if your group might show us around the town? We are all fellow pilots after all, excluding yourself Mr.Novel."
 Erfu added with her usual sly smile.

Sabban had only met the Rinie's pilots on a couple passing occasions, most recently the two before him had helped with securing the enemy pilot 'Moncha' after Scarlet had rammed the man back at station 9 - He had also passed them in a corridor during all the initial meetings for Operation Deadlight, around the time when Una had first joined the ship a few months ago.
 Tomo was simple to Sabban, just a straight-laced soldier's soldier - Erfu was a bit more unique:
Elves were uncommon in space, especially ones who looked to be in their twenties but used words like 'dear' on a regular basis.

Scarlet pushed forward to interrupt before Kolme could answer - For a moment it crossed Sabban's mind that he didn't actually know Scarlet's views on other races, she was after all the only hardcore Abhailen member of their squad - It wasn't uncommon for such types to be, distrustful of elves.
 She stood chest to, well, head considering the height difference, with Erfu as thought sizing the woman up - Sabban caught Tomo tense a little as though preparing to step in if things got ugly.

----
Then Scarlet laughed, clapped a hand around Erfu's shoulder and announced;
 "Ya no problem girly, but 'tis a ladies night for us, you'll have to leave your boyfriend here behind."
 Erfu turned to Tomo, squeezed his hand, reached up on tip-toe to pat his head and said - "Oh what a shame, well you be good with the other boys Tomo, have fun!"

Tomo stood dumbfounded at this easy betrayal.
 "Well, ah we don't mind, you ok with that Cap'in?" Kolme added to try comfort the depressed looking Tomo.

Nate nodded along helpfully and Sabban accepted the fact that he, Una and Hoki wouldn't get much say in the matter - Not that he really minded who came drinking with them, he wasn't looking for friends, rather liquid courage was all that Sabban's focus had in mind.
 And so after the copious amount of small talk and faffing about, it came as a relief for Sabban when finally the two groups of now 4, split up off into their own directions - To see what the nightlife of Bannerman might bring.

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