Reluctance
Companion piece to Aggression
"Gentlemen, if you'll look closely, you'll see that I am not amused."
Gaff glanced up from the study of his boots and, indeed, Marshal Commander O'sic was parsecs away from good cheer. Sitting behind his desk, with his hands clasped before him, Gaff's CO looked, in fact, like a man about to charge into battle with extreme prejudice.
Gaff swallowed and hastily turned his attention back to the floor, counting the rivets in the office's deck plates.
"Sir, I see no reason for this."
O'sic shot Whynge a look that could have frozen an entire battalion of SBDs.
"Then I suggest you have your eyes examined, Commander." O'sic tapped the stack of datacards on his desk. "Until then, allow me to brief you on the cause of my displeasure. Verbal arguments in the mess and on the bridge; Elix and Flash going one-on-one like it's a galactic sport. And my favorite," he held up a red-marked datacard, "five troopers openly brawling in the ship's corridor." The marshal commander slammed the datacard back down onto the stack, causing it to quiver. "Are you able to see now, Commander, or must I draw you a picture first?"
Never let it be said that Commander Whynge went down without a fight. Gaff almost didn't believe his ears as the other man continued to argue with the second-highest ranking officer in the entire battle group.
"Commander, that fight was a mere misunderstanding. You know how men get after a battle. A little high-spiritedness can easily get out of hand under those circumstances."
The muscle in O'sic's cheek leaped as he regarded Whynge. "You call two broken noses, a sprained wrist and more contusions than on a whole crate of ripe muja fruit a 'misunderstanding', Commander?"
"Yes, sir. I do." Whynge straightened his shoulders, meeting O'sic's stare evenly. "And might I remind the commander that it was not my men who threw the first punch?"
"I see." O'sic's dark eyes turned towards Gaff, who felt a chill creep down his spine at the intensity of the stare. All of his soldier's instincts were screaming at him to seek cover; to get out of this man's rangefinger as fast as possible. "And you, Commander Gaff? Do you agree with Commander Whynge's assessment of last night's incident?"
Gaff shot a look at Whynge, who was staring back expectantly, then cleared his throat, meeting his superior's gaze. "You have my report, sir."
"Indeed I do." If anything, O'sic's face turned even stonier. "And wouldn't you just know it, certain, ah, details in your report don't exactly align with Commander Whynge's."
Gaff could feel Whynge's angry glare burning a hole into the side of his head and wished he'd kept his mouth shut about the report. Then again, he wished even more he'd kept Knock and Fister confined to their barracks, so this whole sordid affair with Huddy and his cronies wouldn't have happened in the first place.
O'sic folded his hands before him once more, eyes still riveted on Gaff. "Would you like to try and explain this curious occurrence, Commander?" But for the increasing rapidity of the tick in his cheek, one might have thought the marshal commander was asking him about the state of his sheets.
What to say? Gaff didn't want to add to the tension between himself and Whynge, but he couldn't very well accuse the other commander of favoritism in front of their CO. So he tried for the diplomatic none-answer. "Neither Commander Whynge nor I saw how the fight got started." Gaff spoke carefully. "And we both arrived at the scene at different times, which gave us a different perspective."
"Nicely phrased, Commander." O'sic's words were clipped enough to hack through the Felucian jungle. "Should Commander Fox ever need a go-between for his Coruscant Guard, I'll be sure to recommend you."
Gaff flushed and looked back down.
O'sic drummed his fingers on his desk, eyes flicking between the two men who stood before his desk like errant cadets, instead of experienced soldiers. "So that's it? Nothing else to add?"
Neither commander responded.
O'sic snorted in disgust. "Well, isn't this a fine command team I've assembled? One commander who keeps picking fights, the other won't fight and both can't keep their men in line."
That, Gaff thought, was below the belt. "Sir..."
O'sic slammed his fist down, effectively cutting Gaff off before he could come up with an adequate defense.
"You will speak when you're ordered to do so," O'sic barked. "And not a second before, understood?"
Both men jerked straight. "Sir, yes, sir."
"Good. Now I have half a mind to bunk you both down to private and let you scrub 'freshers on Hoth for the rest of this war. However, seeing how we're distinctly lacking in rank these days, I'm forced to contend with you two jokers."
Whynge muttered something under his breath and O'sic's head swiveled towards him like a laser turret taking aim.
"Something you'd like to share, Commander?"
No, Gaff thought furiously at the other man. No, you don't. Just shut up, Whynge, and take your deserved dressing-down.
Naturally, no amount of silent urgings would ever have any impact on Whynge.
"There is indeed, sir." Whynge stared belligerently back at his CO. "It is my understand that for a hearing of this magnitude, General Arhen's presence is required."
Gaff closed his eyes in dismay, even as O'sic's eyebrows rose up to his hairline and the tick in his scarred cheek gave a final leap before growing silent. "Oh? Does this mean my disapproval alone isn't good enough for you, Commander? Well, in that case, let me reassure you that General Arhen isn't spending his 'fresher time singing your praises. But seeing as he has more important things to do - such as scraping the bug-juice from the bottom of his boots - General Arhen has kindly authorized me to act as I see fit in this matter. Does that allay your concerns, Commander?"
Whynge swallowed down an angry retort, but he finally seemed to have realized that O'sic wasn't in the mood to be pushed.
"No other questions?" O'sic looked from one to the other, daring them to speak. Neither man cared to accept the challenge. "Very good. So here's what we'll do. You," his blunt finger stabbed out at Gaff, who almost reared back in alarm, "and you," the finger swiveled to point at Whynge, "on the mat at 1500."
Surprised, Gaff and Whynge exchanged an incredulous look. "Sir?" They asked in unison.
"We're going to settle this once and for all. An old-fashioned one-on-one might help to put things back in perspective."
A slow smile began to edge its way onto Whynge's face. "Sir, yes, sir," he said and gave O'sic a smart salute.
O'sic waved him off. "Dismissed."
Gaff remained rooted in place, staring disbelievingly at his commanding officer, even as the office door swished closed behind Whynge.
"Something I can do for you, Commander Gaff?" O'sic asked casually. His fingers were toying with the stack of datacards on his desk, but it was clear his mind was not really on the work. "Such as requisition a hearing-aid for you?"
Gaff ignored the sarcasm. "Sir, I'm..." He hesitated.
O'sic cocked an eyebrow at his young officer. "Yes?"
"With all due respect, sir, you just gave Whynge exactly what he's wanted all along: the perfect excuse for a physical confrontation. And I fail to see how brawling with the commander will help the relationship between Elix and Flash."
"Very little," O'sic confirmed much to Gaff's shock.
"Then why...?"
"Because you and Whynge have a problem." O'sic leaned back in his chair, some of his earlier irritation fading. "Whynge doesn't respect you; not as an officer and certainly not as an equal. And you need to learn to grow a spine."
Gaff stiffened, his hands clenching into fists behind his back. His voice, when he spoke, was stiff and formal. "Has my performance on the battlefield not been satisfactory, Commander?"
"Quite the opposite." O'sic waved Gaff's offended dignity aside like a pesky gnatfly. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have kept Elix aboard the Stalwart, but transferred you and your company to one of Blazer Corps' other ships. What I'm talking about is your behavior off the battlefield."
Gaff wrinkled his brow in confusion. "Sir?"
O'sic sighed. "Force, give me strength. Whynge has been insulting you left and right since the day Elix joined Blazer. Are you going to tell me you haven't been aware of this?"
"They're just words, sir..."
"You helped set up a pattern. A pattern the rest of Flash is more than eager to follow. You should have asserted your authority from the beginning. Instead you've let Whynge walk all over you and your company."
The commander's words were like individual slaps to his face. Gaff felt like he was about to burst into flames from the heat in his cheeks. "My reluctance to engage in a physical confrontation with a fellow officer should not reflect on my leadership abilities."
"But it does." O'sic was relentless. "You had your chance to resolve matters, but I will not tolerate troopers brawling on my ship as proxy for their commanders. Now we do it my way."
There was nothing Gaff could say to that and O'sic knew it.
The marshal commander allowed for a few seconds of uncomfortable silence to pass, then nodded towards his office door. "Until 1500, Commander."
Gaff gave his superior a salute and stalked out of the office.