[b][i]So...Last Night...[/i][/b]

It wasn't hard to see where this squad had its problems.  It had its share of people with personal problems, and even the two Gunners - who might've had some of the easier tasks, overall - were starting to feel like there was a darkness growing within them, but there was more to it than that.  How much?  Maybe alot.  For starters, everyone could see that Luke Godfrey was a problem.  His attitude sucked and he hated Darcsens for reasons that...probably didn't exist.  Isaac wasn't exactly a betting man, but he had a feeling that Darcsen hate was overrated and pointless.  There was no reason for it, and therefore no reason for him to hate on Ines and Jean.  Even still, the squad didn't fully mesh, and they knew it.  They were uhh...what was the term?  Ah yes, a ragtag bunch of misfit soldiers caught in the middle of a full-scale war.  They just slammed them all together and said 'Go fight'.  Seriously, Middleton's command really [i]was[/i] that bad!  In fact, it was worse, since Lucia was ordered to also kill anybody that came back.

So, the squad sort of came together under fire because it was necessary, but they needed something more.  First of all, they had to get Luke to come to terms with his surroundings and stop badmouthing anyone he felt like.  Otherwise, Isaac was gonna have to get creative with him.  Might have to get creative with ALOT of them.  And if he did that, they might be crying his name in fury for a while.  No, he wasn't gonna pull a Middleton, but like the way he surprised Lucia with her unwarranted letter-reading, they might find themselves in...surprising circumstances.  He must've been smiling as he thought of that, because Britta tossed a peanut shell at him.

[b][color=ed1c24]"Were you daydreaming?"[/color][/b]

[color=f7941d]"I think my dad would call it plotting."[/color]

[b][color=ed1c24]"You talk about your dad alot.  What about your mother?  Or the rest of your family?"[/color][/b]

[color=f7941d]"She'd call it [i]scheming[/i]."[/color]

[b][color=ed1c24]"Alright, what's on your mind, then?"[/color][/b]

[color=f7941d]"I'm just thinking of stuff I could do to make things interesting, but...for now, I had a different thought, something for tomorrow."[/color]

During the actions around the bar, Isaac headed on over to one of the barmaids and asked for something.  He palmed it, and headed back over to the table that he and Britta had been sitting at, revealing it to be a deck of playing cards.

[b][color=ed1c24]"Something to keep people amused as we go?"[/color][/b]

[color=f7941d]"Not gonna recommend it for when we're on the go, but it'll do for times like this.  I've had an idea..."[/color]

They decided to turn in for the night and talk it over before going to sleep.  Britta smiled at the notion and thought it might work on some of them.  [i]Some[/i] of them.  Either way, it might help, so they were gonna go for it...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

[i][b]The Next Day...[/b][/i]

It was a good thing they discussed it last night, because the hangover decided to have a word with him in the morning.  Actually, it was more-or-less [i]shouting[/i] at him, and he didn't want to get out of bed.  He heard Britta feeling just about the same way, next to him.

[color=f7941d]"Urgh...this is a first..."[/color]

[b][color=ed1c24]"Alot of those, last night..."[/color][/b]

[color=f7941d]"They were alot nicer...back then."[/color]

[b][color=ed1c24]"How's yours feeling...?"[/color][/b]

[color=f7941d]"Like I'm being kicked in the head.  You?"[/color]

[b][color=ed1c24]"Feels like my heartbeat, up there."[/color][/b]

[color=f7941d]"How badly...do we want to get out of this bed?"[/color]

[b][color=ed1c24]"I think 'slowly' is the word you're looking for."[/color][/b]

[color=f7941d]"Yeah...that makes sense."[/color]

They took their time, getting up and getting any sort of move-on in the making.  Their trek to the bar for breakfast was slow and steady, limiting the amount of blood rushed their their heads, and thus reducing the potential for pain.  Isaac imagined this was worse for the drinking contestants by a heavy degree.  Britta ordered some basic breakfast food, and coffee, and then said Isaac was having the same as her.  When  the barmaid asked if he wanted coffee, Isaac said no, but Britta said yes.

[color=f7941d]"What the hell?  I [i]hate[/i] coffee."[/color]

[b][color=ed1c24]"For the moment, you want coffee."[/color][/b]

[color=f7941d]"No, I don't."[/color]

[b][color=ed1c24]"Yes, you do, trust me.  It's no guarantee, but it just might make you feel better."[/color][/b]

So, Isaac relented and let them serve him some damn coffee.  The two of them ate at the bar and stayed quiet, for now.  Britta drank coffee with her meal.  Isaac ate his meal, and then decided to glug his cuppa down, so he didn't have to put up with the taste...which he [i]definitely[/i] did not like!  He made a noise, declaring it so, and then his eyes bulged out.

[color=f7941d]"Oh no..."[/color]

[b][color=ed1c24]"Too much, too quickly?"[/color][/b]

[color=f7941d]"Yeah..."[/color]

It was about this time that Isaac became aware of the argument between Diana and Luke, and then heard Jean giving the Darcsen-hating private a dressing-down, from immediate superior to iinsubbordinate soldier.  No better time was there to put his plan into action than now.  At least he could use this ridiculous amount of caffiene he just downed to his advantage.  Isaac stood up and headed on over towards the argument in question.

[color=f7941d]"Alright, alright...  That's enough out of that.  Jean's right, and you two should be more behaved.  You're squadmates, and you're stuck with each other, no matter the nationality or temperment.  We don't do summary executions.  We're not frigging [i]Middleton[/i], got it?"[/color]

He glared them all over...then smiled.

[color=f7941d]"Now...I've been thinking about all our problems, and it seems like we've got what they told me in basic was a morale problem.  Something my family would do to pass the time and certainly to get people comfortable talking is a game of cards.  Could be any number of games, but I'm thinking everyone here knows Poker fairly-well, right?  We should get a get a game going, and take all challengers, so long as they're willing to talk about themselves, open up a little.  I think we're all a little bottled up around here, and the only way it's been coming out is in drips and drabs, or explosions.  That needs to change."[/color]

He turned and shouted at the bar.

[color=f7941d]"SO!  WHO'S GAME FOR A GAME OF CARDS, THEN?!"[/color]

Goddammit, Isaac!  Indoor voice, next time!