UNSC Intermission

[maxii1]

Sergeant Richard Reilly
Emerald Hotel Bar
Feral Platoon

Sergeant Richard Reilly and the rest of Feral Platoon formed up at the bar. “Get me several shots of…” Reilly smiled to the barmaid, before turning to his comrades and altering his order “Sod it, a bottle of that marzipan like drink”

Corporal Glover smiled “It’s Dizzy Rhino Sarge” he joked.
The barmaid laughed a little as she produced the named substance and 10 shot glasses.

As Reilly handed over his ration card given to him by a 95th Rifles accountant many moons ago, Private Loveridge interjected “Get one for yourself too love!” he smirked.

A few of the other members of Feral playfully patted the private on the back. “Smoothly done there” smiled Watson as he downed his shot, eagerly pouring himself another one.

Matt Quindlen took a sip from the miniscule glass and shook his head “Pint of Ale when you have a minute” he called to another bartender. Quindlen remembered how his wife used to love going out for a drink before his daughter had come along, a quite tear developed in his eye as he paid for his pint.

Brigner the team’s sniper had headed off towards a dartboard, eager to show off his accuracy; a few of the others had followed him in order to offer their support at least their heckling skills.



“Remember Winona?” asked Quindlen to Reilly.

“Of course I do” he replied in a supportive way, his mouth continued moving, as if he was struggling to decide what next to say.

“Well, it wasn’t like it was your colony” Matt replied, taking another sip before continuing “Or your family” his grip on the pint glass tightened.

The sergeant moved closer to his friend and spoke gently.



An overlooking chosen man shook his head “That guy is always moping around, not like he spent two years in jail for pick pocketing like me” said the figure as he finished his drink.

“His family where killed right in front of him Lee, that’s bound to have an effect on him” replied Corporal Glover.

“Sorry, it must be the drink talking” he stated.

[Jakob]

Lieutenant Jakob Zaborowski

Jakob looked at the drunk soldier searching through his memory. He squinted at the face of the man until his vision became clear, he tried his best to make out the mans features and dug through his memory to find where he had seen that man... or woman before. His vision cleared a bit and he noticed it was a man who he had met on the ship. He suddenly remembered nearly having his stomach blown out by a crazed Private and then having Aborn blow the shit out of a small army of Jackals. Saving the outnumbered Marines lives, right after saving a Private's ass which almost got him demoted.
"Hell yeah I would like a drink. Bartender, four of the strongest things you have, put one of them on my friend here's tab."

When the drinks came Jakob passed one of the strange blueish drinks to the Private and another to the Corporal, he quickly downed one and chuckled, his vision once again becoming blurry. He stood up on his chair and raised his glass,
"For those who didn't make it back! DEATH TO THE ALIENS!" Jakob quickly downed the drink and burped. His vision went black and he fell backwards, wasted.

[Dutch]

Mackenzie had been standing around, trying to clearly organize his jumbled thoughts from the thick soupy haze of liquor. He was getting close when the Lieutenant accepted his offer of a drink. Events almost moved faster than Mackenzie could track as he payed for several very powerful shots of blue mono tequila.

Mackenzie raised his glass in a toast, not exactly sure what he was toasting, yelled out something only semi-comprehensible, then downed it all in one gulp. He dropped the glass and let out a half yell as the unexpected jolt of fiery liquid pouring down his throat alarmed him. A rasping cough shot forth out of his lungs on reflex, he gagged several times more before he staggered back as the alcohol took hold.

Seeing the Lieutenant fall back off his stool, Mackenzie stumbled forward and caught the man. The sudden weight brough him to the ground too, under the weight of the drunken officer.

[nex]

2nd Lieutenant Steve 'Crash' Colsten

As he reached for a second glass, he felt a sharp punch to the shoulder. Cursing, expecting it to be one of the drunken revelers who'd taken offense, he turned, his fists already clenched, only to to see the seven members of Red Wing, the special operations group. Paula, retracted her closed fist, giving Crash the opportunity to admire the black ballroom gown she was wearing.

“What’s the world coming to?” Her voice was tinged with mocking disapproval, “...when do good men get the commendations they deserve?”

“I’m sure it’s a simple mistake and the brass will have him back his correct rank by weeks end.” Crashed watched as Murph and the others stepped in to join him properly. “But truly, congratulations.” Crash shook off the offered salute from Murph, and reached in to accepted his friend's handshake. A series of imitation and mocking salutes followed, accompanied by far more serious handshakes and congratulations.

“Babe, I …There’s something on the lake that you’d like.” Yellow tried to address his girlfriend when the greetings where finished.

“I’m sure it’s not the fireworks, but okay.” Crash watches as Paula waved her finger at them, before telling them “Dunt go to far gentlemen.” With that she turned and work her way through the crowd to leave the ballroom.

Crash watched as Yellow quickly flashed them a small black felt box from his pocket, accompanied with a cheeky smile, before leaving through the glass doors.

“Whelp. That can’t end well.” Jester was the first to comment after the couple left the bar.

“So Crash how does it feel to be Second Lieutenant Colsten now?” Murp said, bringing the attention back to Crash.

"Feels a damn well better than 'that bastard Colsten', I can tell you." He muttered, taking another mouthful of his drink. He wasn't usually that much of a heavy drinker. He preferred his caffeine fix, and could already start to feel the alcohol slowing him down. He would probably switched to something with a bit more a energy-fueled kick.

"And, I hear you guys have new marching orders. Transferred elsewhere. Was I that bad to be with? He said the words in the same mocking disapproval tone that Paula had used earlier.

From somewhere to his left, he heard the sound of yet more glasses breaking.

"Christ, I wish people didn't have to abuse the fact that there's a bar"

1st Lieutenant Darian Fawkes, Romeo-25

"Alright guys. Try to stick together. I'm sure we'll make it through this one in one piece." 1st Lieutenant Darian Fawkes addressed the rest of the small flight crew that made up Romeo-two-fiver. "Carson, if you could carve a trail for us." The burly Sergeant nodded, and smiled.
"Only too happy to oblige."
"Right, that's it. We're going in." He turned, and together they headed through the large wooden doors to the ballroom. Carson, as gently as he could, made a path wide enough for the others to follow. In front of him, people too scared by the threatening eyes, and the scar lined face separated before him. Troy, who was just keeping behind the bulk of a man was far less impressive, a flimsy civilian leather jacket over his dress uniform. Behind him, Cassie followed in a surprising womanly white ball room gown, with her short trimmed hair on one side of her head gelled straight up. She was easily distinguishable from the crowd, Darian mused thoughtfully, as he brought up the rear of the small group, as they made their way to the bar.
"A pint of the strongest beer for the good Sergeant, a whiskey for my good self and something sweet for the good lady."
"Hem". Troy coughed gently, a tactful reminder that he was still there. as he hopped onto a bar stool next to them.
"Oh, and a lemonade for the good little boy"
"Oi, F*** off"
"Ok. Ok." Darian apologized, laughing the whole time. "Coke then."
The look young Nathan shot across from the bar, was enough to send the others into hysterics. With a brief gesture, the barman lined up a series of shots for them all. They each raised one to the air, clinked glasses and drank, each solemnly remembering those other flight crews that hadn't made it. The ground pounders were not the only ones to suffer losses.
"So what's the plan?" Troy piped up again?
"Drink till we're not sober." Cassie shot straight back.
"Sounds like a plan indeed," Darian commented before necking his own drink back.

[tellos]

Sergeant Marcus Vintear and Squad Avalon Alpha
Location: Outside Hotel to Inside Hotel

They had gotten dressed up eventually and went down to the hotel while the night hadn’t slipped away, Marcus lead inside their footfalls clicking with their dress uniforms shoes. As they entered the hall they each nodded and scattered heading to their favored areas of any party. Nikki to get some food alongside Beth, Victor along with Seth were off to get drinks the odd couple as always strange to see standing with each other. Private Tarleton was talking with any NCOs he could find as usual.

Marcus went to the bar and ordered a beer, he was big on drinking especially when he likely would have to act as the voice of reason if anybody got too drunk. Getting it he took a drink and looked around, the Sergeant relaxing some his eyes scanning the people here.

Marcus was not the best looking guy in uniform but he was good looking for your average marine by most standards. As he runs his hand through his only slightly longer than regulation hair cut he leans on the bar some.

[Bippwatt]

Nikolai gets up and heads to the door, feeling much better already.
Idina, however, stops him.

"Are you really trying to go back out there, as hammered as you are?"

"I'm fine! Really, I am!" His speech is, somehow, clear and crisp. "I just need to avoid the Bomb Blast Gargles. That's what got me."

"Well. Alright. But I'll be watching!"

"No, you won't. You'll be too busy with that officer boy." Niko smirked as she gaped at him. "Ta Ta!"

And with that, he walked out, took the elevator down and emerged into the chaos again. The elevator dinged again as Idina came down as well. They both went to the bar and ordered drinks. Idina ordered two, of course. Then she went off on her own. Niko ordered a soda.

"Taking it easy this time?" The bartender smiled.

"Yeah. No more epic drunk speeches for me, thanks. Or Bomb Blasts." He smiled back. The bartender laughed. She put Niko's soda on the bar with a napkin.

"Thanks." He took the drink and pulled slowly from it. As he drank, he watched the milling people. Maybe getting hammered is a bad idea tonight.

[masterchick]

(It's been a while, biatches!)

PFC Athena Cyren leaned against a wall, as far away from the numerous marines in the bar along with her as possible. Her fireteam was nearby, but half of them were already drunk, and the other half were working on it. All except her... She didn't drink. Or rather hadn't. Drinking was a social activity, something Athena wasn't good at. She tended to stay away from others as much as possible, merely because she wasn't sure what to say or do. She found fighting waves of covenant less scary than sitting with someone just talking. She had only come down to the bar to keep her fireteam safe. Though she didn't get along particularly well with any one of them, nor talked to them much, she trusted them. And that was enough.

The mass of bodies pulsed and shuffled in front of her. She found it strangely fascinating for some reason, and watched them carefully. A few drunk marines had even come up to her to say something incomprehensible, or if it did make sense, she ignored it. She had yet to see one completely sober person come over to her little corner of the room. And it was better that way.

A half drunk Corporal Cross, with surprising balance, considering how much he had just drank walked over and leanede a hand on the wall next to her.
"Having fun, sir?" She said, half amused seeing her CO like this.
"You're not." He replied, hardly slurring at all. Athena was almost surprised. The man could hold his own.
"I'm fine, sir .I'm happier guarding a grav-lift all day."
"Well if you're not 'busy,' would you mind getting Carson out of here? I've heard he gets violent when he's drunk, and he's had quite a few beers. You're really the only one he'd let drag him up to his room."
She raised her brow. It was borderline inappropriate to say something like that, but she did know what he meant. Carson was a pain in the ass and would only get himself fired if Cross ordered him to his room. "Alright, I'll do it"
"Thanks, when you get back here, you better have some fun."
"Is that an order?"
"Damn right it is."
She shook her head as the two parted ways. Now she just had to find Erik... Which meant she needed to look for a bar fight or--

Bar fight. She caught a glimpse or Erik swinging at some poor, probably unprovoking marine through the crowd. Sighing, she made her way over. It was going to be a long night.

[gravemind2]

This man's attacks were unpredictable. Even if they were poorly thrown, they still hurt on impact. First Alejandro and Luke had been looking for a fight to stop. They had found one, but instead of stopping it Alejandro had still been drunk so he joined in.He kept dodging not wanting to make the man more angry. He slipped backwards at some point and fell onto a stool. He grabbed a bottle of wine and started moving it in random directions.

"Hey, left, up, down, up, right, left. Where's it gonna go? You guessed it, forwards!" Alejandro teased as he threw the bottle at the man's foot. He then saw a female marine coming over. Not wanting to scare her away, he sprinted around the back of the fight and attempted to look like a bystander. He asked the girl "Hey, maybe you shouldn't go in the direction of that guy. How would you like a drink with me? My treat. And if you aren't thirsty, I've heard there are some beautiful fireworks outside."

[tellos]

Sergeant Marcus Vintear
Location: Hotel

He saw Alejandro and Luke he didn’t know either of them but sighed as his own rank demanded of him a bit more than just letting random foolishness happen, he set his beer down and started for the two marines the Sergeant looking less than thrilled at dealing with this.

As he approached he spoke up “ok what the hell is going on here, you put that damn bottom down and for god sake everybody this is a party not a pit fight!” he hated these random bar battles, they achieved nothing except getting MPs called and medical write ups for damaged heads.

He moved to try and stand between the two marines, he doubted they cared in their state much about rank but he could at least try to get them to stop beating each other senseless. Meanwhile Corporal Smith just watched with a look of wondering how badly this was going to go.

“Crap the Sergeants playing peace keeper, tell Victor and Seth to get ready for operation save the Sergeants ass.” Beth nodded and ran to get the two other marines. Nikki sighed and just hoped he didn’t get into a full fight this time, she was never sure when the next fight would get him in worse trouble than he usually got in when with diplomatic situations.

Figures she could not have a nice evening with this squad.

[hollowsaber]

Private Jake Furrow Fireteam Alpha; Nova Squad Emerald Hotel

Taking a hefty swing of his glass, Furrow's chest almost collapsed as the liquid poured into his body. He felt full, and the cold water was quickly doing more damage then a beer would by this point. It kept him alive though, so he had decided to finish his pitcher again. The Private's body needed the hydration, a little sacrifice had to be taken for that. A few cups of water wasn't to bad anyways. It was better then getting drunk and destroying his body even more.

Wincing hard, Jake felt his lungs chill and burn at the same time as the water moved into it's resting place where it would be sent through his entire body. It hurt, but the feeling was relieving. Rolling his head back, Jake diverted his attention to another fight that was starting to come together. It was between a few drunk marines, and by this time their NCO was already getting in the middle of it. There were to many beers going around and it was getting to everyone. It made Jake wonder when a high ranking officer would break it all up.

Grabbing his crutch and leaving his pitcher, Jake carefully moved back across the room, slipping around the crowd by using the fight as a distraction. The medicine he had taken was working perectly so the trip back to his corner of the room was easier the second time. Moving still hurt, but Jake's legs responded a lot more smoothly and he didn't look like a complete fool this time. Either way, the Private returned to his booth and took the seat against the wall. He rested his crutch on the wall before laying back on the seat. He pulled his dress-cap over his eyes and let his pain slip from his mind...

"To hell letting us all go..." Furrow whispered to himself, remembering the Bartender's words. Shakily, Jake raised his hand slightly as if to make an invisible toast, then drifted off into a light sleep.

[Jakob]

Sergeant Dmitri Dombrovski

Dmitri leaned against the bar, a cold glass of soda was in his hand. He had figured that if everyone else was going to drink until they had loss there higher brain power he mind as well be the one who didn't and just sat back and tried to break up the amount of fights that were rising. He finished off the black drink and swirled the ice cubes around with his finger watching the crowd of pissed off drunk soldiers grow angry and violent because of the alcohol. Before he new it one of them, who seemed surprisingly more drunk then most, which must have been terribly dangerous, swung at a younger Marine. The young man had barely noticed the pissed off man about to assault him before and seemed to had done nothing to provoke him at all.

Dmitri got up and put his glass down, leaving a tip for the bartender as he left. He pushed him self through a army of smelly drunken soldiers until he was right outside of the fight. The kid was being wailed on having been caught off guard, the drunk man seemed to be attacking him with a passion. Throwing his fist down on him like he was a Grunt. Some blood splattered onto Dmitri's coat and began to stain. He looked at it as it got darker and embedded itself into his coat.
"God fucking damn it" He thought, trying to wipe it off with his sleeve to no avail. He sighed and pushed through again, pulling the kid away from the man and stepping between them.
"Now both of you get the fuck off each other damn it! I need to go get a new fucking coat now!" Dmitri said in a heavy accent.

[maxii1]

Sergeant Richard Reilly
Feral Platoon
Emerald Hotel


Private Lee Mann and Corporal Glover consumed there brought drinks, Zaborowski joining them, it was nice to see the units merge and converse in a less heated environment compared to the battlefield.
A diverse mix of marines and fighters all enjoying their downtime.

Quindlen had perked up at the chance to help with some electronic issue with a visual display unit. The fact that the damsel in distress was a rather beautiful woman did not deter Matthew from his technical duties.

Leaving Reilly alone on the table. Lost in thought, with a beer for company, a beer and his over active brain.

Reilly reflected that his beloved 95th Rifles Company had a limited time left as an official and actual company. For too long elements like his own platoon had been designated to joint task forces, hell Reilly hadn’t seen his barracks for the best part of two years.
The Forlorn Hope had become his home, Captain McMillan his commanding officer.

Officers, that was another conversation to have with myself over a pint the sergeant mulled in his mind. He had long coveted promotion; his battle history and heroic actions had seen him gain accolade and praise, yet he lacked a lieutenancy. He could of course purchase the rank, but that was in his eyes at least cheating.
Hell, his unit needed a good C.O, especially after having suffered with Lt. Davis for so long.

He left his men to fraternize with other military personal; he would seek a view of those fireworks, and some gentile company.

He almost scoffed at the word gentile, he doubted that even the UNSC’s finest finishing school for officers could muster anything remotely like that.

He rose from the table.

[Bippwatt]

Nikolai sat at the bar, drinking nothing but soda and munching on chips. His thoughts wandered to the recent mission. The shine of light reflecting off of the polished blue armor of the Minor Elite that had almost killed him. Then turning his head to see the Major right behind him.

Both had wielded Plasma Rifles, but the Major had the cradle of an Energy Sword at his hip. Niko had tried to roll away and bring his pistol out of its holster and bead it on the Minor, but a swift kick to his hand had knocked the pistol out of his hands and over the edge of the crater, sending it spinning in the dirt. He was reaching for his knife when the sound of a shotgun blast sounded out.

He looked up and the split lipped alien Minor was on the ground, his head almost completely missing. The Major had spun around and stalked toward the source of the shot. Idina had slipped around a rock and sneaked up behind them and had giving the Minor a bit of a headache. But now she was in trouble. Nikolai bolted upright as the second Elite threw away his rifle and snagged his blade from his hip. Igniting it, he walked toward Idina, who had brought the shotgun to bear on the Elite. However, before she could sight on it's head, it smacked her hands, much in the way the blue armored one had smacked his. Her shotgun went flying and she was unarmed. She darted for her Assault Rifle, lying on the ground not a even a meter away. But the Elite would cut her to ribbons if she got it. Nikolai suddenly knew how to finish this. He sprung forward, leaping off the ground as high as he could. He had his Combat knife in hand and brought it down with as much strength as he could summon. The impact dazed him and he lost his grip on the knife. He fell the foot or so to the ground from the Elite's back and crumbled under the sudden weight on his feet. He staggered back up as the alien fell to the ground, dead. Just to make sure, he grabbed Idina's shotgun and pumped a shell into it's back.

Much to his disappointment, the energy blade had been tossed away from the body when it fell and the cradle had fallen into a narrow volcanic vent near by.

He came out of his reflection of the past. That was the second time tonight he had thought about that one fight. Mind you, it was the most terrifying moment of the whole fight. It was the one time he was sure he was going to die.

He looked around the room and saw Idina talking to the same navel officer she was talking to before. They were closer this time, so Niko could make out the shoulder markings on the man's dress uniform. An Lieutenant, eh. She was getting adventurous.

He scanned the room, looking for any familiar faces. He found nothing that stuck out at him. Maybe he would turn in early. Idina looked like she was going to have a long night. He found an unoccupied table in the corner. He slid into the booth and leaned against the back wall. Using a technique that most snipers learned from either experience, as it had been with him, or taught by their instructor, he tuned out almost everything going on and settled in for a long night. As he slipped into his focused state, he heard a small whisper from one booth down.

"To hell letting us all go..."

Niko snorted and shifted.

"Amen to that, brother.", he muttered. Then he focused on the movement of the people out there, instead of anything else.

[Soulstep]

Sergeant Andrew Deiran Indigo Squad Emerald Hotel

After finally arriving at the bar (after dodging several vomiting ODSTs hiding in shame from their colleagues), Andrew and Sarah quietly slipped in past a bar fight and sat down at one of the few vacant tables.

"What you after?" Andrew asked Sarah, glacing over at the bar, and trying to work a path through the fights and projectile vomiting.

"Hmm... Just a cheap red wine I think..." Sarah sighed, flicking through the thoughtfully placed drinks menu.

"You sure?" Andrew asked, pushing himself out of his chair.

"Yeah, I don't want to end up like that lot," Sarah indicated a particularly unruly group of Marines and locals who were a bit too caught up in the festivities.

"Point taken," Andrew grinned, working his way to the bar.

(OOC: Both Andrew and Sarah are available to be approached, if anyone wants to XD)

[masterchick]

Athena pushed her way through the crowd to Erik, cursing herself inwardly for agreeing to do this. From the crowd, she could hear snippets of conversations, arguments, and the like, but didn't particularly care much. The only thing she wanted to do at the moment was find a shooting range and unload a few clips of ammo. Crowds always made her nervous, but something she dealt with daily being a marine. At least many of them were in dress uniforms, making it easier to push through than if they were in armour. She was acutely aware of the number and distance of the people around her, and it didn't help her mood. She was just a few feet away from Erik when she stopped, seeing that the matter with Erik was being taken care of by someone who no doubt had a higher rank than Athena. She knew that Erik would likely hit someone else, and possibly get sent to jail for it. It didn't particularly worry her, though. She knew that his rich father could take care of him, he would be fine.

He was never much of a fighter, anyway, taking every excuse he got to get out of firing his weapon. It was beyond her why he would pity any of the aliens trying so hard to wipe every Human out of existence. Athena preferred a simpler outlook. If it was trying to kill you, kill first, no matter what the the 'it' happens to be.

Not even ten seconds later, she was approached by another marine. About to brush him off with a rude comment, she stopped herself and hesitated a moment. Sure she had been in the corps for somewhere around five years, and had dealt with plenty of drunk marines, but something stopped her. A group of young soldiers, barely eighteen. There were about four of them, and they just looked... Happy. It irritated her that that had been taken away from her as a child. She was never able to sneak away from her parents to do something that would no doubt get her in a world of trouble with her parents.

Time for that to change she thought, knowing that he would kill himself all over again if he knew that she had joined the marines and what she was about to do. Not giving it a second thought, she looked back at the marine.
"I'll buy my own drink, thanks." She then slid through the crowd over to the bar and next to a solemn looking marine, ordering herself 'whatever that was' after pointing to a bottle of amber liquid on the shelf. Hopefully the people around her would think she was too drunk to remember the name of the drink rather than she had no clue what it was.

[Jakob]

Sergeant Dmitri Dombrovski

Dmitri turned to the drunk Marine, clenching his fists as he thought of everything he would have to do to get the blood out. He had just got the damn thing! He turned to the drunk bastard who had started the fight and began to yell,
"You dumb ass! Do you realize what you just did damn it!"
Before he knew it the drunk threw a punch, Dmitri stepped back as he saw the drunk figure stagger forward. He quickly threw a fist into his gut then headbutted him. He staggered back and Dmitri stepped forward, grabbing his throat.
"WHO IS YOUR COMMANDER!" Shouted Dmitri as the soldier began coughing.
"Then who the hell is in your fire team?"
He pointed his hand at a Private at the bar weakly.

Dmitri dragged him by the wind pipe to the girl and threw him at the floor next to her.
"Does this mother fucker belong to you?"

[gravemind2]

A few seconds after being rejected, Luke had came over to Alejandro. At first he thought they were going to get a drink, it turned out that Luke started laughing at him.

"Hey since I didn't do well your sorry ass would have been sent crying to your room." Alejandro drunkly responded before emitting a small burp.

"That may be so, but I actually gathered more detail about her first. And it seems she was interested in that man you were fighting. So he was probably here squad-mate or a romantic interest. Either way you screwed yourself!" He explained as Alejandro grimaced. "Though this proves he's a good scout outside of the battlefield too," he thought.

"Hey guys, I rounded up Calvin and we're done for a drink. Al-" Stated the familiar voice of Lauren. And she was right, for once Calvin seemed to be doing something fun in a crowd.

"Cool. But guys, has anyone seen Bryant? Last I saw the dopey oaf he was drunk at the top of the stairs." Luke inturrupted, looking around.

They looked around for a bit before returning to the spot they had started out in. It seemed Bryant had went back to his room, outside, or was still by the stairs. Alejandro then looked back to see if the female marine was still there or not. It turned out she was so he started heading over before Calvin stopped him. Calvin then motioned to an angered man walking over with the marine Alejandro had been fighting.

"Hey guys, me and Calvin are going to head outside. We're going to see if the fireworks are still going." Lauren quickly said grabbing Calvin's arm and tugging him outside. Though this was very unusual, Luke and Alejandro we're too busy to notice. Alejandro walked behind the female marine and grabbed her shoulders before asking the man, "that's no way to treat a lady, is it?" Luke had sat as close as possible and ordered a drink, Alejandro had told him to keep an eye on things.

[Dutch]

After a change into some fresh clothes, Fisher had taken the elevator back downstairs to the event. Seeing that the barfights were begining, Fisher quietly skirted around them to the end of the counter to retrieve his food. To his dismay however, a burly, clearly drunken marine was shoveling his perogies down his throat without remorse.

Marching forward, Fisher identified the private and in a loud voice, reprimanded him.

"Private! You are eating a superior officers food! What do you have to say in your defense?" Instead of realizing his error however, the marine turned on him and washed him in booze-breath with the potency of mustard gas. Staggering back coughing at the stench, he was hit by the man's slurred words.

"You ain't no officer o' mine, and this here's my food so you can go and helljump your fat ass back into orbit!" Fisher bristled in annoyance at the drunken insult before reaching forward and snatching away the plate of half-finished perogies. There was a movement, then a solid fist swung and caught him dead in the side of his head.

Fisher spun around on his feet and dropped the plate, throwing perogies everywhere all over the place, and grease all over his fresh clothes. With a scow Fisher turned on the marine.

"You can breathe in my face, you can punch me in the head, you can eat my food. But these are my last good clothing, and you spelled grease all over them!" Without further warning, Fisher snapped a lightning fast fist to the mans solar plexus, then a quick, light punch to his head, stunning him.

Fisher grabbed the dazed man and roughly dragged him to an empty booth and plopped him down with a grunt. Then grabbing his plate and looking at his newly-soiled shirt is disgust, Fisher headed off for the buffet again.

Noticing a very drunken and mostly unconscious Lieutenant Zaborowski pinning a non-too sober marine to the floor, Fisher bent down and helped the boozed man to his feet and seating him on a bar stool which he managed to stay on, with help from his fireteam who thanked him. Turning back to the drunken Lieutenant on the floor, Fisher bent down over his face and said.

"Good example to set for the troops sir." Then, plate in hand, he headed off to conquer the buffet.

[hollowsaber]

Private Jake Furrow Fireteam Alpha; Nova Squad Emerald Hotel

Jake had decided to sit up in his seat and watch the fight this time around, as he had missed the others. He had also been keeping an eye on a female soldier, who moved the fastest he had seen anybody move the whole night, through the crowd to the fight. He was ready to move in case she got into any trouble, but held himself back from pouncing right away. All the fighting was starting to get old, though, he needed a reason to intervene. That woman would be his reason if something happened. From her motions, he quickly distinguished who she was going towards; a loud-mouthed, Russian sounding soldier, and a drunk-out-of-his-mind soldier.

Jake looked back and noticed the woman had now taken a seat at the bar, so he finally decided to move. Either she was going to the bar, or just decided to leave her colleague to his fate. Jake left his crutch, limping across the side of the room by holding onto the booths and the wall. He passed a few people sitting at them and excused himself, wincing as some of the pills began to wear off. Yet again, the pain quickly went away as Jake saw the Russian toss the drunkard at the feet of the Woman. In a flash, Jake pushed several soldiers out of the way and stood off next to the group. Jake reached down and grabbed the drunk soldier off the floor and up next to him.

“This soldier’s mine. Got a problem? To bad. Save this shit for the Covenant. We’re at war you fucking idiots. Straighten up. We lost a lot of good men and women in the past few days. It’s time to celebrate, not time to fight each other! Save it for where it really matters!” Jake gripped the collar of the drunkard and looked at every soldier around him.
“You're all brothers and sisters! Now sober up or take off your clothes. None of you deserve to bear the UNSC name right now… Go join the Rebels if you wanna act like this!” Jake pushed a few soldiers out the way, dragging the drunkard behind him and into his little corner.

Jake tossed the man into the booth and looked at him with a soft look. He normally didn’t do anything like that, but Jake felt bad for the man. He snatched his crutch and left it in the soldier’s reach for him to use if he needed it. Jake grabbed his coat, pulled it over his shoulders, and moved carefully to the door. Jake nudged it then almost tackled it to get it open as his arm was to weak to push it open by itself. Moving out of the way, letting it close, Jake sighed of relief. He felt drunk from just breathing the air in that room, but the fresh air felt good at least. Looking around, he decided to simply walk down the hall and sat against the wall, leaning back against it carefully so he would hurt himself as he relaxed.

[masterchick]

Athena looked down into the glass of amber liquid set in front of her. The bartender had said it was whiskey and she had pretended to know what that was. And now, after ordering it, she wasn't sure she wanted to drink it. The smell of it just reminded her of her father. Well, that explains a lot she mused. She finally picked up the glass and took a small sip, forcing the strong liquid down. She didn't understand why anyone would willingly drink this stuff. The bartender saw the look on her face and chuckled. She returned this with a glare, but turned around as she heard a thud at her feet. Standing over her was a very angry looking Russian man, who had just thrown a very drunk Erik onto the floor. She was prepared to not give Erik a second glance, when yet another marine helped him up. She watched as the marine dragged Erik through the crowd, reaching again for the vile drink on the counter.

Feeling something closing on her shoulder, Athena quickly and sharply dragged her elbow back, catching her 'assailant' in the gut. Turning to look at who she had just hit, she saw that it was the guy who had been trying to hit on her before. Stalker. At least she didn't have to worry about Erik now, but it seemed that she couldn't get a moment alone. Downing the rest of her drink and forcing herself not to cringe at the taste, she turned back to the bar, away from everyone, and then set down the glass.

[tellos]

Sergeant Marcus Vintear
Location: Hotel

After that was broken up Marcus walked back and grabbed his beer before he went to catch up to Nikki, just in time at that as the other had all come to him ready to pick him out of a fight. Smith sighed her eyes showing her irritation.

“Damn you sir you always get me worried that way.” She said growling as she then noticed the knocking out of the Marine by the ODST. “I hate men sometimes!”

Marcus laughed and motioned them all to follow him away from the fights and brawls. As they all sat down the squad of Avalon Alpha were able to relax some. For now the squad all got settled, most were just glad they avoided another night of reprimands by superior officers.

[Bippwatt]

Nikolai saw the Private get the beat down and snorted. God, why couldn't there be one social occasion where the Marines behaved like people, instead of trained apes. Without the training.

He got up and walked up to the table that a Corporal is sitting at.

"You look kinda lonely over here. Mind if I sit down?" He indicates one of the three empty chairs, wondering why she was sitting on here own. He had apparently missed Andrew sitting with her and then moving to the bar.

[Soulstep]

Sergeant Andrew Deiran Indigo Squad Emerald Hotel

As the fights began getting a bit too close for comfort, Andrew turned to the Marines, ready to seperate them, but they did it themselves. Handy.

Andrew collected the two drinks from the bartender, and was about to move back over to Sarah when he noticed the girl next to him taking a full glass of whiskey. "You even know what that is?" he asked, smirking at her expression as she took a gulp.

He glanced first at the Marine opposite him from her, and then over at the table Sarah was sitting at, noticing someone joining her.

Poor bugger doesn't know what he's in for... he grinned, before leaving the bar and walking over.

Corporal Sarah Linown Indigo Squad Emerald Hotel

Sarah looked up as the Marine who had seemingly come out of nowhere, at first surprised the guy didn't seem drunk, or to be planning a brief molestation. If most of the other males was any indication, most of the other girls were having such problems.

"Sit if you want," she said with a slight smile, leaning back into her chair a little. She noticed Andrew on his way back, and waved him over. Well, this wouldn't be awkward in any way, shape or form...

[maxii1]

Sergeant Richard Reilly
95th Rifles
Feral Platoon

"Officer Buffet Only" stated a waiter, noticing Reillys attention on the table of food.
Reilly opened up his wallet and produced an identification card displaying him as an honoury officer, this was due to him being the highest rank of rifleman commanding Feral Platoon.

"Sorry, eh, sir" the man replied and withdrew from the location.

Reilly smiled and moved over, grabbing a vegetarian samosa and moving towards a verranda, lavishily furnised for the pleasure of the more gentriefied soldiers.

[Bippwatt]

Nikolai sits down at the Corporal's table, setting his drink carefully on one of the coasters.

"Thank you, ma'am." He is about to pull his chair in, when a Sergeant walks up to the table. Nikolai stands again, honoring the NCO. "Sir." He offers his own chair, despite the fact that there are two other chairs that sit empty.

Once seated again, he calmly picks his drink up and draws from the straw a bit. Whatever he is drinking, it's dark and bubbly.

"So...ah.", he begins nervously. "So! How about that local sports team!?", he jokes, trying to relieve some of the awkwardness of the situation.

[Domoa]

Corporal Kelton Rivers
Emerald Hotel

After watching fireworks for about an hour Kelton decided to go and see what was going on in the bar. Most of it seemed to be a bunch of drunk soldiers beating the shit out of each other.

Then he turned to see a nervous looking marine trying to hit on a female soldier. He decided to wait and see what would happen before he got a drink, then he noticed a sergeant walking over to join them. After a moment of awkward silence the marine tried to start up some conversation by saying, "So! How about that local sports team!?"

Kelton then spotted his friend and teammate, private James, and walked over to him. He pointed over to the table he was looking over at earlier and said, "I bet you a drink that the private over there strikes out with that girl." James nodded and they continued watching.

[Soulstep]

Sergeant Andrew Deiran Indigo Squad Emerald Hotel

Andrew gave the Marine a friendly nod as he sat down beside Sarah. "You seem a bit nervous there," he grinned, noting how the man was well aware how awkward a situation he was in.

Sarah chuckled slightly, and asked, "So what's your name, Marine?" Andrew guessed she was either mocking the guy or just trying to defuse the situation. He had been in the same school as her since he was 5, and he still couldn't read her most of the time. She managed to somehow weave sarcasm into her speech without any indication it was there.

Andrew let his attention drift to the drink the Lance Corporal had. It looked like coke, probably imported from Earth, though which of the 50 billion varieties of it were, he was clueless about.

[Bippwatt]

"Nikolai Jovanovich, at your service, Ma'am." He sketched a bow while still sitting, so it looked odd. "Uh...Might I inquire the same of you, ma'am? And, sir?" With the last he looked towards the Sergeant sitting across of him.

He drained the last of his drink and ordered another. Which conveniently allowed Andrew to know what he was drinking. IBC Root Beer, which was in fact imported from Earth and really freaking old.

[Martial Virtue]

Lance Corporal Cassie Thompson let out a low whistle when she walked into the bar. The place was in full swing tonight, with people everywhere talking, drinking, laughing, and generally adding to the buzzed atmosphere. This was exactly the kind of environment she was looking for.

Before continuing on her way to bar, she turned to look at her fireteam leader, Sergeant Aiden Greene. He was looking sharp in his Class A dress uniform, and the grin that slowly spread across his face upon entering was a little contagious. Cassie was surprised the rest of the team hadn't decided to come out with them.

"So?" Greene asked when he saw Cassie glance at him. "This cheer you up a little, or were you happier laying low and moping?"

Cassie snorted. She certainly had not been moping when Sergeant Greene had sought out his team for some skylarking around town. She'd already promised herself that she wasn't going to think about the testy reply message her fiancé Mason had sent her on her datapad earlier in the evening. It would mark their second fight of the week and she was over it. She was here to have fun now. "I wasn't moping, Sarge. Just tired. It's been a long day."

"Uh-huh. Right." The sergeant grinned wider and flipped a thumb in the direction of the bar. "Well, I'm headed that way, Thompson. Don't get too drunk or I'll have to write you up for disorderly conduct. But otherwise, enjoy yourself."

Cassie glared at the NCO's back as he faded into the crowd, but then caught herself and took in a deep breath. Fun, she thought to herself. Remember you're here to have fun.

Without stalling any further, Cassie went to the end opposite her fireteam leader had gone in and fought for counter space so she could get the attention of the bartender. After helping several other patrons before her, the barkeeper gave her a quick nod.

"What would you like, Marine?"

"Beer, sir. Any kind. Just as long as it's cold."

The bartender nodded again. "You got it."

Cassie leaned on her side against the bar as her drink was served up and surveyed what she could see of the place. The view was a little different from the inside. She chuckled to herself when she saw a nervous Marine clearly attempting to hit on a servicewoman a few feet away.

"I bet you a drink that the private over there strikes out with that girl," she overheard to the side then. She looked over and saw two other Marines, a private and a corporal, watching the nervous Marine with amusement. Cassie turned, picked her drink up from the bar, and took a huge gulp before approaching the engrossed pair.

"I'll bet you both two drinks," Cassie asserted with a grin. "Let's see what happens."

[Domoa]

"Nikolai Jovanovich, at your service, Ma'am.", Kelton heard the nervous looking marine say while doing an awkward bow, he couldn't help laughing. James turned to look at a female marine walking towards them and said, "She's mine." Kelton looked at his squadmate, "Are you sure about that?", he said while stroking his longish hair, "You don't even have hair.", James patted his bald head and frowned.

The female marine walked up to them, "I'll bet you both two drinks," she said, "Let's see what happens." Kelton looked at her with smirk, "You're on!"

"Should we go get Javaris?" James said jokingly while looking at their drunken squadmate chugging a beer and doing a ridiculous looking dance.