Colonel Xiao signalled for a strong drink, anything to numb the cold that he felt this time of year. Taking a swig, he chose a new song on the Jukebox, raising his glass to an invisible drinking partner.
His glance passed the Wall of Heroes briefly, a voice in the back of his mind pointing out, that the wall was short on a number of names.
"To good men and women lost" he sipped his drink, "And happy holidays..."
A rather drunk Junior Lieutenant across the room clambered up onto a table, kicking over empty glasses and vodka bottles, raising her glass and gathering the attention of most of the bar.
"TO PREMIER KATZ, TO CH-CHRISTMAS, TO VODKA!" she cheered, collapsing into a crowd of Hessian fighter jocks,
"Well, nobody's perfect..." Xiao smiled, finishing his first drink off.