I stopped by my desk to grab the papers out of the requisition box. As quartermaster, all official requistions had to be approved by me. They had already begun to pile up. I thumbed through them on my way up to the bridge. Nearly all of them were repair related or to replenish the powder and shot we had used in last night’s maneuvers. I made a note to review the books to see what we had versus what was being ordered. Things like new tools could wait.

Firus didn’t quite smile when I walked in and saluted him. I was amazed. He didn’t look tired at all, his beard was trimmed, his uniform clean. A detailed map of the ship lay across the table. Bannon was busy marking the areas that had been hit the hardest.

“How are we holding up?” Firus asked.

I held up a handful of forms and grimaced.

“Better you than me. I got other things to worry about.”

I gave him a questioning look.

“Our orders stand. We’re to continue in to the warzone.”

“But Captain, that’s insane!”

He was quiet. “Not insane. Desperate.”