Aggression

"C'mon, shiny, take your best shot."

Fister snarled, straining against his brother's hold on him.

"Let go, Knock."

"No."

"You heard the chakaar. He's asking for it."

"All I heard is the excrement hit the exhaust fan."

Laughter greeted his words, but Knock didn't care. Fister was a bucking bundle of muscles in his arms, almost as mad to get out of Knock's grip as he was to get at Huddy.

The trooper from Flash Company was leaning casually against the bulkhead, a malicious smile on his face. So far, all Huddy had thrown at Fister were words and Knock knew, all provocation aside, if his vod went for Huddy now, it would be Fister who'd get blamed for 'starting' the fight. And Huddy had three witnesses who'd be more than glad to testify to that.

"Uhhhh. Did you hear that boys?" Huddy turned his head to cast a casual glance at the other three Flash Company troopers. "The shiny pulled a funny."

More snickers from Huddy's squadmates.

Fighting his own rising temper, Knock slung one arm around Fister's throat, determined to choke some sense into his brother if need be.

Gasping, Fister tried to kick Knock away. "Fek...you." Whether that was aimed at him or Huddy, Knock didn't care. But he sure wished Blastout were here to lend him a hand.

"Take it easy, vod," Knock hissed into Fister's ear. "This isn't the time or the place."

Huddy pushed off from the bulkhead and strolled casually closer, until he was almost nose-to-nose with the heaving Fister. Behind him, his squadmates had gone quiet, which didn't bode well for the two Elix troopers. Huddy looked Fister up and down, then met Knock's eyes.

"Typical Elix," he drawled. "Always delaying instead of charging like real men. No wonder a third of your company is coolings its heels in bacta."

Both men went as still and cold as a Hoth glacier.

For a moment - just a moment - Knock didn't see Huddy, his cronies or the Stalwart's corridor. For a brief second, he was back on Gaftikar, with former Sergeant Wren staring down at him in the training yard, a contemptuous sneer on his scarred face. Wren had liked to taunt the rookies of the then F Company as well. But that was where the resemblance ended, because in that moment of clarity, Knock realized that the former sergeant had been heavy-handed in his dealings with them, but he'd never been cruel without a purpose. Wren had been aggressive, but he hadn't cut them down without showing them how to get back up on their feet - and do things better.

Huddy was just...

The image of all those bacta tanks, mostly filled with men from Elix, pushed all conscious thought out of his mind.

With a cry, Knock pushed Fister aside and swung his fist at Huddy.

Huddy, who'd been expecting the attack to come from Fister, didn't have time to duck. The trooper gave a cry of pain, holding his jaw as he stumbled backward. Fister turned to stare at his brother, slack-jawed, but Knock didn't notice. Cursing in rapid Mando'a, Knock tackled Huddy to the ground.

"Shit!"

It was unclear who said it. In the ensuing chaos, the exclamation could have come from Knock himself. Knock didn't care. All he cared about was making Huddy eat his words, for paying him in full for daring to make fun of Scope and Blastout, Radar and Finch and the rest of his vode being pieced back together by the medics. How dare this worthless piece of chuff insinuate that his brothers were cowards? How dare Huddy stand in this corridor, with not a scratch on him and call them shinies? How dare he be breathing while Blastout hung limply in a bacta tank, with half his chest burned off?

Knock wasn't sure if he was screaming. Later, he'd notice that his throat felt raw, but for now, his focus narrowed down to Huddy and the other trooper's flying fists.

Boots rang on the deck plates and then a voice - one Knock could not ignore - shouted: "Check! Check!"

His body wanted to react to the order, but it also reacted to the rain of blows Huddy aimed at him.

A strong hand grabbed Knock by the collar of his fatigues, pulling him roughly off the ground. A last, glancing blow from Huddy caught Knock on his right temple and for a breath or two, all he could see was stars. He heard Huddy grunt and the weight of a body being slammed down on the deck plates.

"Everyone!" Commander Gaff's voice was loud and tight with anger. "Stand. Down!"

The silence that followed was broken only by the sound of heavy breathing.

Knock, still in his commander's grip, shook his head in an effort to clear it. Once the stars faded from his vision, he saw that the once deserted corridor was filled with troopers, most wearing their grey ship fatigues and forming a rough circle around the combatants. Fister had one hand propped against a bulkhead, his head leaned back to stop a heavy nose bleed. Just getting to his feet was one of Huddy's squadmates with a split lip and swelling eye. The other two were at the edge of the circle, trying to melt back into the crowd of onlookers now that officers were present. Huddy was still on the floor, Captain Kase's knee planted firmly in the small of his back. The Flash Company trooper wasn't smiling anymore.

Gaff swept the assembled troopers with eyes as hard as flint. Knock swallowed. His commander wasn't the type of man to get angry in a loud, obvious way, but that almost made it worse. Aside from fearing a good dressing-down, Knock always had the feeling he'd let Commander Gaff down somehow, whenever the other man had to get angry with him.

"Anyone care to explain why troopers are wasting their time brawling in the corridors?" His voice was almost reasonable, if it hadn't been for that tightly-wound thread of irritation in it. "Private Knock?" And he shook Knock gently to get his attention.

"Private Huddy was..."

"We were just talking..."

"That's a fekking lie..."

"Shove it!" Gaff's outburst surprised them all into speechlessness. "One at a time. Private Knock, I asked you a..."

"What's all this?" Commander Whynge shoved himself through the crowd, his eyes quickly taking in the scene. "Commander Gaff, why is your captain sitting on one of my troopers?"

Before Kase could respond, Gaff said, "The captain was helping me break up a fight, Commander Whynge."

"Oh?" Whynge's eyebrows rose in feigned surprise. "That so?" He glanced down at Huddy. "Is that true, trooper? Were you fighting?"

"No, sir," Huddy bit out. "We were just talking and then the sh-Private Knock attacked me."

"Is that what happened?" Whynge turned to the rest of his men. "Did Private Knock start the fight?"

Knock felt himself grow hot under the collar as Huddy's squadmates nodded and murmured their confirmation.

"That's not what happened!" Fister stepped forward, turning towards his own commander, his nose turned at a new angle and his voice nasal as a consequence. "Sir, we were provoked..."

"Are you saying, trooper," Whynge interrupted, "that Private Knock didn't throw the first punch?"

"I..." Fister faltered, wiping his hand over his bleeding nose and wincing as he looked from Whynge, to Knock and then to Gaff.

"Answer the question, trooper," Gaff said quietly. His eyes never left Whynge.

"He...he did, sir," Fister admitted. In the light of the corridor, the streaks of red in his black hair matched the blood dripping from his nose in fat, steady drops. "But it wasn't..."

"I think we've got a clear case here, Commander," Whynge said, ignoring Fister's attempts at an explanation. "Perhaps you should consider teaching your boys some discipline."

Gaff's fingers tightened in the fabric of Knock's fatigues. It was the only outward sign of his commander's rising temper, but it was enough to make Knock flinch inwardly. He craned his neck to look at his CO, pleading inwardly with the other man.

Don't do it, Commander, he thought fervently. Don't say what I know you're about to say. Don't give the di'kut the satisfaction.

The words obviously hurt Gaff, but he said them anyways. What other choice did he have? "I will take your suggestion under consideration, Commander Whynge."

"Good." Whynge gestured for his men to follow him. Kase shot a quick look at Gaff. The commander gave a minuscule nod and Captain Kase removed his knee from Huddy's back, hauling the trooper unceremoniously to his feet. "I can assure you, Commander, I am as shocked by this unprofessional behavior as you are," Whynge continued, "and can assure you that there will be consequences."

Fek there'll be, Knock thought bitterly.

Gaff might have been thinking the same thing, because Knock thought he detected the barest undertone of sarcasm in his commander's voice. "I'm sure."

A frown briefly crossed Whynge's face and...disappointment? Had Whynge thought Gaff would issue a challenge over this? The Force knew there was no love lost between the two.

Whatever Flash Company's commander had been hoping for, he turned his back on Gaff and addressed the curious crowd of troopers blocking the corridor. "What are you ladies waiting for? An engraved invitation? Dis-Missed!"

The troopers scattered like leaves on the wind and soon, Knock and Fister were alone with their COs.

"Sir, they were asking for it." Fister wasted no time in trying to set the record the straight. His sleeve was beginning to turn crimson as he pressed it against his nose in an effort to stem the bleeding. "That chakaar has been talking his shebs off for..."

"I'm well aware of Private Huddy's penchant for talk, Fister." Gaff had let got of Knock and was now rubbing his hand across his forehead like a man in the grips of a fierce headache. The thumb of his other hand was running along the edge of the helmet clipped to his belt.

A quick glance revealed that Captain Kase was dressed in full armor as well and Knock allowed himself a smile of satisfaction. Neither of the combatants had been wearing armor. Huddy was going to have some interesting bruises from his encounter with Kase; flesh gave so easily against plastoid.

Gaff, seeing the expression, frowned. "Wipe that smile off your face, trooper," he barked. "This isn't a laughing matter. Brawling in the corridors," he muttered to himself. "You'd think they'd have better things to do."

"Sir." This time, Knock tried to come to his own defense. "We didn't want to fight..."

Gaff cut him off with a sharp gesture of his hand. "But you did." He turned towards Kase. "What's the damage, Captain?"

"Possible broken nose," Kase rattled off. Throughout it all, the captain's stoic mask hadn't cracked once. "Several contusions and Trooper Knock might be suffering from a mild concussion. I recommend they be escorted to the medbay, before dealt an appropriate punishment for their misbehavior."

"Agreed." Gaff shot the two a weary look. "Captain, escort the troopers to the medbay. Have Wess take a good look at them and then punish them as you see fit."

Kase straightened and gave a respectful nod. "I will operate according to procedure, sir."

"Commander." Knock didn't really object to the order. He had started the fight - the physical one at least - by throwing the first punch and fighting was against the rules. But the humiliation just dealt them by Whynge's casual twisting of events burned deep in his gullet and a single glance at Fister's red face proved his brother felt the same way. "What else were we supposed to do? Just let Huddy insult us and our brothers?"

Gaff whirled on him and for a moment, Knock thought his commander was going to unleash all the fury he had to swallow back in Whynge's presence. "Yes," he hissed. "Yes, you should have taken it. You should have walked away. You should have lodged a complaint with me, or Kase, or even Commander O'sic and General Arhen. Anything, but start a fight."

"So that's it?" Fister stared incredulously at his CO, a man they'd known since the day they'd been vatted. "We're just supposed to lie down and be Flash Company's whipping boys?"

"Brawling isn't how Elix solves its problems." Gaff was pretty close to shouting now. Kase shifted, glancing about uncomfortably, but the corridor was, so far as he could see, empty of any casual observers. "We are a united corps. Like it or not, we have to work with Flash on the battlefield. They're going to watch our backs and we have to have their six and do you think that's going to be easier after busting each others heads over a few insults?"

"Sir..."

"I don't need more of my men in bacta!" Gaff ground the heels of his palms into his eyes and for the first time, Knock noticed the grey tinge to his commander's skin and the dark circles lining his eyes. Losing a battle could drive a trooper hard towards the edge and Knock hung his head in shame as he realized the additional burden he'd just placed on his commander's shoulders. Commander O'sic was going to hear about this incident - no doubt because Whynge would log it in his daily report - and it would be up to Gaff to explain himself and his troopers' actions before O'sic. And perhaps before General Arhen as well.

Gaff let out a long sigh. "Get to the medbay, the both of you," he told them in a quieter tone of voice. "You can tell me what happened after Wess is through with you."

Fister and Knock left without another word of protest, Kase following on their heels.

"I still wish the commander would have made Whynge eat his words," Fister muttered, low enough so that the captain couldn't hear.

Knock nodded in agreement. Aggression might not be Elix Company's way, but punching Huddy's face sure had felt good.