And then Dav arrived.

He'd run from the fight with Freddik as soon as Porkins had delivered his message. Not listening to any of the jeers of Freddik or the other One Flighters, Dav hadn't even bothered to pull on his trousers, shoes or tunic, but ran to the Cantina still in his black athletic shorts, taped hands and bare feet.

And when he entered the Cantina, he realized in less than a second that he'd reached the kind of fighting environment so many fighters dream of.

Fighter pilots dream of a target-rich environment, where they could destroy a ton of opposing ships with little need to aim carefully. Police investigators dream of having a roomful of people marveling at their intellectual prowess as they explain the nuances of the case they've just solved, and pull a belligerent, confessing culprit from the crowd. Teachers and clerics dream of having a crowd of people hanging upon their every word as they pontificate their wisdom and change the lives of every listener.

And for young men like Dav, having a huge brawl in front of them with few to none of your enemies being trained fighters was a dream come true. He ran to each member of his flight embroiled in a fight, pulling Two Flighters back and dispatching them with quick punches and spinning kicks that would normally be considered showoff moves.

But here, he could be a hero and a master. In fact only Bondo had dropped more than Dav when the sonogun boomed at the entrance to the Cantina.

And at the entrance were Lieutenants Hublin and Solo, 1st Lieutenant Jamm, commander of Two Flight, and even 1st Lieutenant Taddig, head of One Flight.

Everyone froze.

#

"Explanation!" Hublin yelled as he stalked across the front rank. Dav was in the front rank at the rightmost point, the 'right marker,' and taking the brunt of the abuse that Hublin was dishing out. Dav was also the worst dressed of anyone in the Flight, still in bare feet and his black athletic shorts, his feet and hands still wrapped in the tape he'd used to fight Freddik in. The other cadets were little better, their tunics undone, buttons missing, pantlegs torn, hair tousled, bruises, black eyes and swollen lips pockmarking the flight where there used to be pure, clean conformity.

"I was having a quiet moment, basking in victory over your tests at the sims. But not a quarter-hour, not a quarter-hour later, you people are acting like a bunch of Denubian Ruttlecrabs fighting over scraps of rotting fish flesh! What in blazes was the meaning and reason for th- wait, who are we missing?"

Solo brought up his datapad and scanned the group. "Cadet Mek isn't here, Lieutenant," he said, now tapping points on his pad. "His current location is…"

"That's irrelevant for now," Hublin grumbled. "What is relevant is that you people are a disgrace to this program, the Navy, your families, and worst of all, to me! Furthermore…"

Hublin found himself interrupted as the holo-monitor, just like one found in virtually every room in the Adeptus, flickered to life.

On the monitor, a montage of images and quotes appeared. Freddik, telling Dav that he'd taken the coward's way out, or that his father paid people like Dav's father to do business…with each quote by Freddik, a flashing bit of commentary scrolled across the bottom of the screen. "IS JOINING THE IMPERIAL NAVY A 'COWARD'S WAY,' FREDDIK?" said the first scroll. "ARE YOU SAYING YOUR FATHER IS GUILTY OF BRIBERY?" said another, as Freddik shouted that his father had to line the pockets of men like Dav's father to do business.

The scene shifted, and the next thirty seconds showed footage of Slak winning the Sabaac pot fair and square, being accused of cheating with his cybernetic eye, and then being held and punched when he wouldn't walk away from his winnings. "SINCE WHEN IS WINNING WORTHY OF A GREY-ROOM PUNISHMENT?" said the scroll beneath, as Wass and his toadies from Two Flight began punching Slak in the gut and the face.

The last montage showed Dav first fighting Freddik in the ring, then leaving at the news that Slak was in trouble, ignoring the jeers of the One Flighters as he ran to Slak's aid. More holofootage of Bondo, Slak, Porkins and Jada as they all fought in the Cantina, and Dav bursting into the place like an like a holovid action hero.

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

The footage froze on Dav in a pose of triumph, his fist in the air mid swing, his face a combination of fury and deadly-looking concentration.

Hublin stopped, watching the screen intensely. After a few seconds his jaw twitched twice, and as he turned back to yell at the flight some more he saw Norrin Mek had reappeared at his place in the flight.

"Well, that was…Mek, did you do that?"

"Sir?"

"Did you make that holovid?"

Norrin, well practiced at the art of dodging punishment from authority figures, stayed silent.

"Cadet, I asked you a question! And remember: it's the Grey Room if you lie!"

"Yes, sir!" Norrin said, beads of sweat sprouting on his head.

"I see," Hublin said, walking slowly around the cadets. "Cadet Mek, I'll continue this discussion with you later. Meantime I have to fill out a report with Captain Ozzel! Second Lieutenant Solo, carry on our discussion with the flight while I'm gone!"

"Yes, sir," Solo said as Norrin snapped to attention and marched, following Hublin.

"Flight Senior Eccles, can you explain to me why you are outside of the Athletic area without your full uniform?"

"Sir…I…"

Solo pretended not to notice as Norrin made a slight movement with his right hand while still at attention. The screen with the cadets flickered, and switched to a pure black background.

Glowing green letters began to fill the screen, line-by-line until several paragraphs in large letters were legible to Solo and everyone else in the flight that could see the text quite clearly:

#

DIRECTIVE # 432

CADETS OF THE IMPERIAL NAVY SHALL AT ALL TIMES OBSERVE THE HIGHEST STANDARD IN PERSONAL APPEARANCE AND DRESS, EXCEPT AS TO EXCEPTIONS MADE IN THE EVENT OF AN EMERGENCY, IE. WHEN THE INTERESTS OF THE EMPIRE OR ITS PERSONNEL OR PROPERTY ARE IN SIGNIFICANT DANGER AND LOCAL TIME IS INSUFFICIENT TO PROPERLY COMPORT ONESELF IN THE AREA OF PERSONAL DRESS. IN THE EVENT OF THE DEFINITION OF EMERGENCY BEING IN DISPUTE, THE NEAREST OFFICER OF AUTHORITY OVER THE CADETS IN QUESTION SHALL HAVE SOLE DISCRETION IN REGARDS TO WHAT SHALL CONSTITUTE AN 'EMERGENCY...'

"Well, well, well…" said Solo. "Looks like some of my cadets have been doing their homework after all. Haven't we, Cadet Mek?"

"Sir?" yelled Mek, in his best mock-innocent voice.

"Nice try, Mek. But you're not dealing with your schoolteachers anymore. I'm a very, very different breed. Well, well, well…looks like I get to decide if there was enough of an emergency for you, Eccles, and the rest of you svart-breath, no-account, gundar-schlepping stormtrooper-brained bunch of pathetic losers really had enough of an emergency to show up in my drill room out of uniform.

"So, we'll start with you, Porkins. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Porkins hesitated. "Sir, it was Wass and Two Flight. Slak, I mean Cadet Daggart, was beating them fair and square at Sabaac, and he had the Idiot showing, or maybe it was the…what's the one with the lady on it? Anyway, he had the-"

"Shut it, Porkins! You're already making me tired! Anyone else? What about you, Daggart? You seem to be center of every bit of trouble that swirls around this flight. Do you know that? Well, Daggart? What's your take on this?"

"I…I was…Sir, I was handling the situation. However, it was easy for my fellow flightmates to think that I was in need of aid, and they came to-"

"SHUT IT! Forget this, people. I'm scanning up every single one of you who were part of this in the Grey Room registry. What about you, Eccles? You're in all your glory here! What do you have to say for yourself," Solo was roaring now, his mouth inches from Dav's right ear, "Flight Senior Cityboy?”

"Sir, I say Two Flight sucks engine vapor, Sir."

Solo, surprised, paused for just a few seconds.

But those seconds were everything.

"Second Lieutenant Solo?" It was Jada.

"What…what do you want, Cadet Sandflea?"

"Two Flight sucks vapor, Sir!"

"Sir!" Bondo this time. And he didn't wait. "One Flight sucks vapor, too! Their Flight Senior fights like a drunk little girl with no hands and a blindfold!"

Everyone in the flight began to snicker. No one had heard Bondo insult anyone before, much less someone who thought as much of himself was Freddik did.

And then, something happened that no one thought would ever happen.

Second Lieutenant Solo smiled.

---

TO BE CONTINUED...