"Hmm. Well, I suppose it's the least I can do. Plus, I am in a story-telling mood right now."
The ensign gestures to the bartender, to get his attention.
"Lagerbier, from the Spaten-Franziskaner-Brau. Just a sample, I haven't had anything to drink in a while. You do have that here, right?"
The bartender, realizing he was dealing with a person who knew beer well, raised his eyebrows in slight surprise and calmly replied.
"Of course we do, sir. One of the finest pale lagers in Sirius."
Aleski observed as the bartender took out the cold glass bottle with a distinctively vintage-looking label on it, which read "Spaten Brau - Franziskaner Weissbier". As the man smoothly poured the lager into the small pilsner glass, Aleski's anticipation grew. For him, it was the only beer, or alcoholic beverage, worthy of consumption. He takes a small sip and many memories, some good and others less enjoyable, come to mind.
"Ahh, where to begin. You see, certain families in Rheinland have this tradition going, to send off all their men for military service. Well, the Aleski family was one of them. There is a rather noticeable number of officers that bear the Aleski name, or is at least related to it. As a matter of fact, my father is a Colonel in the Rheinland Land Forces, responsible for day-to-day operations on Planet New Berlin and whatnot. Anyways, as per tradition and also because of my good grades, I was sent to the Military College of Rheinland... it's an officer school, of sorts."
The ensign took another sip, only slightly bigger than the last one and continues.
"I entered the place at the age of 16, which was kind of a big deal. I did the two years of flight and combat training, military education, leadership school... the works, really. Upon graduation, I was sworn into the Rheinwehr... sorry, Rheinland Military... with the rank of Offiziertanwerter...rheinlandish for Officer Cadet. Basically, imagine a rank right between Lieutenant and Lieutenant Commander, in the BAF. It's really like being a flag officer, but without the prestige, or your superiors taking you seriously."
Deneth grinned at his rather sarcastic remark and chuckled lightly.
"Normally, right after graduation, you get your first deployment orders. Mine was on the Battleship Karlsruhe, for a two-year tour. I was put second in command of that ship's fighter squadron, the 120th "Thor's Hammer". The ship was, for all intents and purposes, still brand new and was rather understaffed. At 18 years of age, the prospect of leading an entire squadron was dream-like. I was very excited."
Aleski hadn't noticed that the barkeeper refilled his pilsner glass. He promptly took another sip and carries on.
"But, like sunlight on New Berlin, all good things come to an end, somehow. When I got there, all I got to witness was general incompetence from virtually all the higher-ranking officers but more importantly, a general disregard for the pilots' lives. Even when the Kanzler increased the military budget, none of it had gotten to the fighters. More often than not, the pilots went out on suicide missions, even patrols were unnecessarily dangerous. Rheinland's unlawfuls don't really mess around, you see..."
"I tried bringing this up in reports, briefings, meetings, you name it. I would've done anything to come back to base with at least half of my men in their ships... alive. But nothing. Every time, someone, somewhere would suppress everything. I hand in a report to the Major detailing how poorly patrols went, that same Major would come back only a few hours later telling me I hadn't given him any report. I knew what was up."
The ensign picked up the glass of lager to take another sip, but midway through his movement, he paused, looking at Bridge straight in the eyes briefly. He snapped off and took another sip.
"Anyways, to make a long story short, this got me off my dream cloud rather quickly. Politely bringing up the topic to my superiors turned into showing signs of defiance, then outright insubordination. Obviously, they got fed up of my rebellious attitude and got me locked up in the Karlsruhe's detention bay. They released me rather quickly though, given my father's leverage in military affairs. But the message was clear enough for me. I deserted the next day, went to Dresden system and surrendered myself to the first Hessian patrol I spotted. Next thing I know, I'm wearing a Red Hessian Army uniform and I'm flying an Odin. Quite a spectacular fighter, by the way.
Aleski then looked up, with a light smile on his face. Then looked towards Tomoe.
"I didn't really think, when I did that, though. It was more of an impulse thing. And really, these people aren't what they claim to be. Simply diamond smugglers, pirates and just a handful of people who still believe in the Revolution, or whatever. Personally, I wasn't big on the whole 'corporate terrorism' thing either and escaped from that circus rather hastily. I may have spent a year with them, give or take. I left everything behind and made my way to Bretonia, to request asylum and perhaps recycle myself into something... good. The rest is history, my friends."
As if he had accomplished something he had worked on for weeks, Deneth let off a sigh of relief. He looked at both individuals, who were completely encapsulated by the Rheinlander's rather strange upbringing. He seemed entertained. He then put up a fake, stereotypically strict Rheinlander face.
"Now, if I don't hear either one of your life stories, I will be *quite* angry."
