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“Privates, what is going ON in here?” Agent Washington barked. After reports of screaming and the sound of something breaking, he had come running, worried about what had happened.
The Privates in question - Everson, Malayk, and Novelle, Wash knew - whipped their heads around at the sound of a CO’s voice. Most of the soldiers had more than enough experience with Washington - or at least had heard enough rumors - to know that he was not to be taken lightly when he sounded angry. Or any other time, really, but especially then.
“Sir!” They responded, snapping to attention as they saw him standing in the doorway.
“Don’t make me repeat myself again, you three. What happened in here? One of your fellow soldiers told me there was shouting and crashing noises coming from this location.”
“Sir, sorry, sir,” Novelle spoke up. “There was… an argument…”
“Because ONE OF US apparently doesn’t know how to treat his fucking relationship partners properly!” Malayk said.
“Whoa, whoa, what?” Wash said. “Who’s not treating who properly?”
“THIS GUY! If he can’t keep his hands to his damn self, he deserves to get hit with whatever we can find, and that includes his own damn datapad!” Everson snapped, and that was when Wash noticed the fourth soldier, standing in the corner and being very, very quiet. He turned his attention to Private Cane, who suddenly looked extremely busy poking at a scratch on his helmet.
“I… I...” Cane sputtered, looking up and then immediately away as he felt the full weight of Wash’s glare on him. “I swear, I was just…”
“You hit him! We saw you do it, asshole!” Everson spoke again, raising her voice louder than it had already been. Wash would’ve been inclined to cover his ears - if he wasn’t already furious at just the mention of someone ‘not keeping his hands to himself’.
“You,” Wash rounded on Cane, puffing himself up subconsciously. “You hit your partner?”
Cane shook his head vigorously, but Wash saw the fear in his eyes. Not the kind of fear that comes from innocence - the kind that comes from guilt, from knowing you fucked up. Wash had seen that fear in plenty of people before.
And Wash didn’t let things like this slide.
“Everson,” Wash turned back to the other three Privates. “Who is Private Cane’s partner?”
“Keye, sir.”
“Is that a first or last name?”
“First, Keye Strings is his full name,” Novelle piped up. “He ran off when he realized we were watching, probably didn’t want to start anything.”
“I wouldn’t either, if I figured my boyfriend was gonna HIT ME!” Malayk’s only slightly raised voice pitched up at the end of the statement, turning almost into a yell.
“You three realize that hitting a partner constitutes abuse, yes?”
“Yeah, we know. Why do you think we’re so mad?” Everson replied, a glare on her face and a defiance in her voice that Wash would never have expected from someone so far below him in the ranks.
“Abuse of a partner is a very serious accusation. I just want you to understand that what you’re saying is not going to be taken lightly. There are surveillance cameras in the training rooms, right?” Wash asked, glancing between the three Privates who stood before him.
“Yeah, there are. I’m sure General Kimball can let you go through the tapes - REDD CANE GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!” Everson broke into a shout, taking off after the other soldier without another word. It took about five seconds before Wash shook himself out of his stupor and ran after them. The other Privates followed suit, chasing after the three who had already left the room.
Another thirty seconds passed, and Wash rounded a corner to see Everson pinning Cane up against a wall with an angrier look on her face than Wash could have placed on South during Freelancer.
“You piece of SHIT!” She shouted, drawing the attention of a couple of others down the hall. “You seriously thought we were just gonna let your guilty ass run off? You are a worthless, grit-less, SHITSTAIN, and I -”
“Everson, STOP.” Wash commanded, and she froze, her shoulders visibly tensing up. She didn’t let go of Cane, but he hadn’t asked her to - and he wasn’t going to, until he got answers.
“Cane. Did you hit your partner? If you tell me a lie now and I go through the tapes in an hour, I may actually let Everson pummel you through this wall later.”
“LET ME AT HIM NOW!” Everson shouted, but Wash held a hand up, signaling for her to let him continue.
“If you tell me the truth now and I go through the tapes in an hour, I will punish you accordingly, and I will not let your fellow soldier beat you to a pulp in front of half the people in your squad.”
“I- I-...”
“Cane. Give me an answer. One way or another, I’m gonna find out the truth. You might salvage a shred of respect if you admit it to me now.”
“I… yeah, I did, but I didn’t hit him hard or anything, come on, dude, you know how it is when you’re mad at someone -”
That was the final straw. Wash pushed Everson aside as gently as his anger would allow, and grabbed Cane by the fabric of his undersuit. “You really think I’m going to sympathize with you? You hit someone you committed to. You hit someone people clearly thought you had feelings for, and you think I’m going to side with you on it?”
“I… I’m sorry, sir, I…”
“That was the biggest mistake of your time in this squad, Cane. Do you want to know why?”
“... Sir…”
“Because your time in this squad is OVER. I’m assigning you somewhere else, and I’m assigning someone to keep an eye on you, and if I EVER find out that you laid a FINGER on this boy you were dating again, it won’t just be Everson beating your ass.”
“... Understood, sir,” Cane mumbled, eyes wide and hands shaking.
“Good. Glad we’re on the same page, Private. Now, Malayk, I’m gonna need you to walk him to your main CO and explain what happened. Tell him Agent Washington said that he’s getting moved to whatever squad can keep an eye on him best, and that he’s going to be on toilet-cleaning duty for the next month.”
Everson grinned, Malayk had a small smirk on his face, and even Novelle, who normally kept to herself, laughed at the misfortune placed upon Private Cane. Wash straightened himself up, patted Malayk on the shoulder, and the boy went on his way, Cane’s head hanging low as he followed immediately behind him. As Wash turned to the remaining two girls, they straightened as well, saluting before he dismissed their gestures with a wave of his own.
“You two. Can you take me to the soldier Private Cane hit?”
“Yes sir!” they said in unison, and began to lead him to one of the barracks.
When they arrived, Wash stood in front of the door and knocked gently.
“Who is it…?” A timid voice piped up from inside the room. Most of the soldiers were finishing training and heading to dinner at this point, so Wash could assume it was, in fact, the boy that had been mentioned earlier - probably taking refuge from the stress of the situation.
“Agent Washington, and Privates Everson and Novelle,” he said.
“A-Agent Washington?” The voice responded, and Wash affirmed audibly.
“Can we come in, please? I’d like to talk to you about what happened earlier today.” He paused before adding, “You’re not in any trouble, I promise.” The boy probably had enough stress on his mind without thinking that he was going to be blamed for something that was absolutely not his fault.
The door slid open a few moments after Wash had finished speaking, and a short, slender teen who couldn’t have been more than sixteen (and Wash knew the New Republic soldiers were younger and smaller than the Feds, but he was still taken aback by how tiny this soldier truly was) stood in front of him, looking like he was trying not to cry. Wash entered the room, sitting down on one of the bunks and motioning for the teen to do the same.
“Sir… whatever you heard, it’s really alright. I’m used to it…” Wash felt a new wave of anger surge over him, but controlled his voice for the young soldier’s sake.
“What’s your name, Private?”
“Keye, sir,” and Wash finally remembered the last name.
“Strings, right?”
“Yes, sir…”
Wash made it a habit not to call soldiers by their first names. It was too personal, and it was an easy way to get attached to a person who could die on the very next mission for all he knew. But this situation called for some sensitivity, some kindness, and so he set that habit aside for the moment.
“Keye, listen. Your boyfriend, or whatever he was before this - because let me tell you, he’s not gonna be your boyfriend anymore, I don’t think a person in this base would let him near you and I sure as hell won’t - your boyfriend isn’t gonna dare hit you after what Private Everson and I told him. He’s getting moved to a different squad, he’s getting put on toilet-cleaning duty-”
“FOR A MONTH!” Everson half-shouted, unable to contain her excitement, and Wash shook his head, but there was a smile on his face.
“Yes, for a month,” Wash reiterated, and he saw a small smile creep onto Keye’s face. “He’s getting moved, put on that job, and there’s going to be someone watching him at any time he has to be in proximity to you. We are not going to stand for him hitting anyone - partner, peer, or otherwise.”
Keye looked up, tears in his eyes still, and with a shaky voice responded. “Sir, you… didn’t have to go to those lengths… I know reassignment is hard, it’s… it’s okay…”
“No, Keye.” Wash gently put a hand on his shoulder - an uncharacteristic gesture, but he felt it appropriate in the moment. “You’re going to be safe on base. And if he learns his lesson, other people who might have had a similar experience, or who might have fallen victim, are also going to be safe on base.”
“Sir…” His voice was still shaking, but Keye wiped the tears from his face and, before Wash could even stand, wrapped his arms around him. Wash startled, but patted Keye’s shoulder again, uncertain if more would be acceptable. Everson and Novelle, who had been listening silently from the bunk across the room, got up and hugged Keye - pulling Wash further into the hug as well.
Wash had never had good COs. He’d damned sure never had a CO who’d have stuck their neck out for someone like this.
But he was also damned sure that it felt really, really good to do it.