The Honour of the Knights (First Edition) (The Battle for the Solar System)

IX - Poker, Rumours and Whiskey

The Officer's Club at Mandelah Naval Base was filled to capacity. Most days, the Club was not as packed as it was tonight, but the actions of the White Knights two days previous had set in motion a series of rumours that had resulted in as many service personnel squeezing themselves into the building as possible.

Word of mouth had spread that a pilot named Kelly (first name unknown) had engaged and taken down two enemy starfighters, making their way through Confederation space. The exact identity of the "enemy" did not seem to be known and neither was it important. By further word of mouth, it had become four enemy vessels, who were en route to torpedo Spirit Orbital. Kelly had been patrolling on his own when he had encountered the enemy, and had therefore been unable to fall back on any wingmates for assistance (at this point, Kelly had also been identified as a man, or "one hell of a guy"). In the end, he had become the sole responsibility for the defence and evacuation of a heavily packed naval transporter, that was acting as the enemy's secondary target.

Even with the records available showing the true nature of events, Kelly Taylor had not breathed a single word of correction to anyone; anything for a party.

The drink was flowing quite freely that night, with much singing and dancing. The pool tables were receiving a great deal more attention than they would normally, with various wagers being played out non-stop. A tall, skinny man by the name of O'Reilly was enjoying a lot of success with the cue, many challengers attempting to break his winning streak and soon parting with their cash.

With everything going on, Estelle wondered just who was watching how much everyone was drinking. Certainly not Captain Meyers, who had been absent from the base for the past two days, disappearing straight after the Knights had returned from their patrol. Earlier on, she had seen a couple of the more senior officers perched on stools by the bar, making sure that people didn't overdo it; but they were not exactly enforcing the usual rules of responsible alcohol consumption on others.

"... of all the places that we could have wound up in. Kelly?" Estelle said, raising her eyes from her glass and discovering Kelly to be preoccupied. "Kelly?"

The brown-haired girl turned back to Estelle. "Sorry, Estelle, what did you say?"

"Too busy in your own little world, as usual," Estelle muttered, wishing her friend would listen to her ranting, so she could get it off her chest. "Sometimes I think you really are just like your sisters."

Kelly recoiled on her stool. "Oh, thanks, Estelle. Thanks a lot," she said, sounding both hurt and angered by Estelle's words. "I thought if there was just one person in this world who wouldn't continue to bring that up, it would be you. Why people constantly feel the need to judge me on that, I'll never know."

* * *

A gathering of eight men and women, standing not too far from Estelle and Kelly's table, lowered their drinks to watch the scene unfolding.

"What's going on?" asked a man to the group, noting the scowl on Kelly's face.

"The neurotic one and the spoilt one are fighting," one of his drinking companions answered.

"That doesn't surprise me," said another. "I don't think there's a single person on the base that de Winter hasn't picked a fight with."

"What exactly is her problem?"

"Ego," a woman put bluntly.

"That Kelly Taylor?" one of the other men asked, with a nod of his beer bottle.

"No, that's de Winter. Taylor's the one having a go."

"Oh."

"Why, do you like that?"