Commander's Rounds Volume 1

Entry 65: Homesick

Albert Kesler was driven to distraction.

He had been given a job by the commander- an important one, no less, and as much as he wanted to work on it, and as much as his duty demanded that he do it, he found that his heart wasn't entirely in it. In earlier instances on the job, sure he was able to give the commander everything he needed on time and perfectly arranged, but something was tugging at him that kept him from throwing himself into his work the way he normally would.

He was becoming fed up with himself.

So, early on the very next morning, he went to the gym- a place where he knew he could be confident in his own skills without having to go through the messy process of thinking. Once he was there, his eyes immediately went over to one of the gymnastics bars and ran up to it, jumping and grabbing on. He was able to easily haul himself up, and soon found himself sitting on top of the bar...

And now what?

Albert shook his head. There were times like this, sure, but he could power through them, all he had to do was look forward to going...

...Home.

And that was the crux of the matter, really.

As he sat there, stewing in his predicament, he heard someone call up to him. "Hey there!"

He looked down, and saw that Baltimore and Bremerton were there, both dressed in workout clothes. Baltimore continued. "You know, I don't need Bremerton to tell me that something's up if someone uses those bars while in uniform. Mind if I join you up there?"

Kesler was a bit startled. "Huh? Go right ahead."

Baltimore grabbed onto the bar hand hauled herself up effortlessly, soon enough sitting next to him."So, something on your mind that's bothering you?"

He gave her a nod. "There is. However, it's embarrassing that I still lack the professionalism to keep it from interfering with my work."

Baltimore wasn't even going to assume what he meant. "You know, it'd probably be better if you just got it out there."

He gave her a nod. "It appears that I'm having a hard time coming to terms with some of the realities of my assignment."

Baltimore blinked. "What kind of realities?"

He sighed a bit, and looked forward. "Well... This is the first time I think, that I have been completely on my own, away from most familiar things."

Baltimore shrugged, and smiled. "While I can't say much for anything else, there is something I can tell you that might help you out."

"And that is?"

Baltimore gave her fullest, most confident smile. "As long as you're here, you're not on your own." She then hopped off of the bar to go back to Bremerton.

Bremerton herself spoke up. "And if that's the kind of thing you're thinking about, remember that there are a bunch of people here that are from your country. So, why not give that a try?"

After the two left, Albert realized he hadn't actually paid a visit to the Iron Blood dorms yet.

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Even at this early time, the bar was already open, and Prinz Eugen was behind the counter. She was humming softly as she was cleaning an abnormal number of glasses. Whatever had happened last night had certainly kept the place busy. She was the only one there at the moment, as most people preferred not to drink before lunch.

There were exceptions, certainly.

Albert quietly approached the bar counter and sat down. Prinz Eugen didn't notice him, or at least pretended not to notice him until she had finished with her glasses. Then she made a proper noise. "Hm?"