Inspired by @janetm74's quest to get Troy Tempest punched by as many people as possible
Colonel White steepled his fingers before his face as he stared at his officer, standing at attention before his desk.
Scarlet was rumpled but healed after a small fracas groundside in a civilian-but-popular-with-WASP bar, which itself had been after a joint exercise between their two organisations. Blue and Grey had also been involved - both in the exercise and in the fracas - and they would have been present but Fawn hadn’t released them yet and as the alleged instigator, the responsibility rested on Scarlet’s head.
“Why did you backhand Tempest?” he finally asked.
“With the relative positions of myself, Captain Blue, Captain Grey, the other officer, his buddies, and the furniture, I judged a backhand was the best tactical option,” was the crisp report.
The cheek of it would have gotten a smile from him if it hadn’t been for his years of command experience. “That’s not what I asked, Captain.”
“No, sir,” was Scarlet’s ready agreement.
“So tell me, Captain Scarlet, why did you hit him?”
Somehow Scarlet drew himself into an even stiffer ‘attention’. “Sir. I did not hit him when he and his buddies were unknowingly mocking Captain Grey when they discussed the captain of the first Stingray prototype. I did not hit him when they insulted Spectrum as an organisation. I did not hit him when he turned to insulting you personally, sir, nor did I hit him when he started insulting myself and Captains Blue and Grey. At that point Captain Blue, Captain Grey, and I attempted to deescalate the situation by removing ourselves from the area but the other officer continued to escalate. I hit him,” his jaw clenched, “because he insulted the Angels.”
“I see.” Privately, White was almost certain that list would have been half as long if it hadn’t been for Grey and Blue’s presence. He had already watched the security tapes, he knew his officer’s temper and the pride he had in Spectrum, and he also knew how short Scarlet’s fuse could get when someone started in on his favourite people. “What was the nature of this insult?”
“Sir, I am uncomfortable repeating it word for word but I will relay exactly what he said in my report on the incident. Tempest stated that the Angels are on Cloudbase for decorative purposes and,” Scarlet’s mouth thinned, “and to provide… entertainment for the male senior officers.”
“I see. Any mitigating factors in this situation?”
“They were drinking, sir. We were not, which appeared to trigger some of their commentary.”
Choosing to ignore the admission that Scarlet had information on Grey’s life before Spectrum - because this meeting was not about that - White sat back in his chair to consider what to do next. With that damning accusation against him, it was almost a surprise that the WASP officer was alive to complain. ‘Shore is generally a reasonable man, but unfortunately the person in question is one of his favourites and this little incident has stung WASP’s pride as well - my three gave Shore’s five a sound drubbing.’ Decision made, White took some time to pick his words - again, he knew his officer. “While your actions are understandable, I cannot condone inciting violence against other organisations, no matter how unacceptable their actions are. We cannot claim the high ground by sinking to their level. I believe it was George Bernard Shaw who had a rather pithy saying about ‘don’t mud wrestle with pigs, you’ll both get dirty and the pig likes it’ - but while we do not start fights, Captain, we do finish them.”
That got the barest twitch at the corner of Scarlet’s mouth. “Yessir.”
“In any case,” White continued, “despite any personal opinions that may be held on the matter, the forms must be observed. Along with your report I want a formal apology letter on my desk by 1800 and after your duty shift tomorrow you will be spending three hours as fetch-and-carry for Medical, they have a restock arriving at 2100.”
“Yessir.” Scarlet accepted it without reservation: they both knew that his punishment should have been much worse.
whichever one of yous is sending is werid anons about troy tempest to random blogs, maybe er dont?
seriously.
youve upset two of my friends. stingray a much smaller fandom then thunderfam anyway if dont like the show dont engage with stingray stuff simple as. im very disappointed in whoever thinks anon hate messages are acceptable.
(and on that note remember role-playing blogs have a person on the end too. maybe don'tbe werid to them either)
I have to accept that I enjoy watching Troy Tempest a lot despite him sometimes being the worst. He is just so flawed it fun to watch and insult him.
everyone said this before, he is a sexist self-obsessed jerk but the show didn’t present those characteristic in a good light anyway so they are very conscious of their decision on this character
Sky & Shore Part 1 | AO3. Condign Part 1. For @the-original-sineater and with thanks to @mariashades
Warnings for Troy Tempest. Sexist language.
~
Samuel Shore cast a covert eye over the room and in particular his daughter.
Atlanta was manning the comms this morning and there was something…different…about her, something lighter. She was smiling wider, deeper, and Shore hid his own smile.
He was very sure he knew the reason.
Nothing happened in Marineville that the Commander wasn’t privy to. Most of it he kept to himself or acted on accordingly, and the on-again-off-again relationship between Atlanta and Troy was always on his mind.
Shore hated the way Troy treated his daughter but he had no power to deal with what was essentially a personal matter. And until it affected their work his hands were tied. He had hoped that pairing the submariner with the older – and maturer – Phones would temper his character but so far Tempest remained just the same.
He drummed his fingers on the desk as he thought the matter through.
And had an epiphany.
‘Atlanta?’
‘Yes, Father?’
‘You’re due some leave and I see that Gordon Tracy’s brother Scott is in town.’
He pretended he didn’t see his daughter blush.
‘You and Scott used to be quite friendly before we moved. How about I give you a couple of days off and the two of you can reconnect.’
‘Dad…’
‘Better yet, I’ll give Gordon the same. Yeah, finish your shift this morning, Atlanta, and have the rest of the day and the next two off. You can give Gordon the good news.’
‘Dad, I don’t need…’
‘Humour me, sweetheart. You’ve had a hard couple of months and I’ve not seen you smile nearly as much as you have this morning. Take the time and enjoy reconnecting to your old friends.’
Atlanta flushed but her smile turned into a grin and she launched herself at her Dad and hugged him tightly. Sam smiled and held her for a moment before giving a discreet cough and the two got back to work.
His shift that morning had Gordon up early, and he wasn’t surprised that Scott was already up and sweaty from his own floor workout and had already made two of Gordon’s favourite shakes for breakfast. They sat opposite each other and drank in companionable silence.
‘My shift ends at 1200 and the next one at 1400. You got stuff to entertain you? Then tomorrow onwards I’m all yours.’
‘Sure thing, I got plenty I can do.’
Gordon barked a short laugh – he knew that Scott’s idea of plenty to do was read the book he’d brought with him and chafe at the inactivity. But they had both known today would be the difficult day.
Sure enough, when Gordon collected Scott for lunch his brother had finished one book and was pacing the floor waiting. But before they could leave there was a knock at his door. He glanced at Scott, who shrugged, and went to answer the door.
‘Lieutenant Tracy.’
‘Lieutenant Shore, to what do I owe this pleasure?’
‘Compliments of Commander Shore, you and I have been given the rest of the day off.’
Gordon stared at her as if she’d grown an extra head but Scott’s grin got impossibly wider and he gently shouldered passed his brother to pull her into a hug that ended with a swing around and a “whoop”.
As soon as Scott had put her down Atlanta slapped his arm playfully and nudged him. Gordon rolled his eyes and idly wondered if this was going to become a “thing” between them.
Not that he minded if it did become more than friends – they were two of Gordon’s favourite people and he loved to see his people happy – but he didn’t really want to be a third wheel for the rest of the week.
They lunched together in the mess hall and Atlanta invited them back to her flat while they planned what to do for the rest of the day. A trip out to California, some surfing for the rest of the afternoon and then a nightclub followed by a night in the local Marriott was the agreed order.
It had been years since Scott had surfed anywhere outside of Tracy Island and he passed the afternoon with the minimal of embarrassment, but he still suffered the laughter of both WASPs. He grinned as he sat on the sand, leaning back against his board and watching Gordon and Atlanta go head-to-head for a swell.
The wave was a wipeout and his grin widened as the two wet-but-giggling-like-schoolkids adults collapsed on the sand beside him. Scott waited until they’d got their breath back before nonchalantly dropping a challenge and bolting across the sand.
‘Last one to the Boardwalk buys!’
He didn’t need to see the scramble to know what was going on. There was an outraged shout as Atlanta had obviously shoved Gordon aside and her laughter buoyed Scott’s heart.
Gordon lost. He grumbled as he bought tacos and Topo Chicos, and the three ambled down the boardwalk, chatting and eating and pausing to look through the various stands as they passed on their way back to the hotel.
They lingered over a dinner at Clarks Oyster Bar before heading to Westlake Village to see what nightlife was available. There were a couple of other WASPs in the area and even though they didn’t know each other there were nods of acknowledgement in passing.
Atlanta suggested a club that was popular with the men and women of Marineville and both Tracys readily agreed. The place was jumping already, music just a shade under too loud and lights flashing.
It was perfect.
It didn’t take long for them to join the throng, hips and bodies swaying to the music. They lost themselves for a while to the beat.
Eventually Gordon slipped away to grab them some drinks, smirking to himself as his brother and Atlanta didn’t even notice that he’d gone. He grabbed bottles of water for them all and a lurid cocktail for them each and waited for the tune to finish before motioning to the pair for a break.
They moved outside to the roof area. There were chairs and tables dotted around the large area and they sat down at one near the railings. The conversation was light, Gordon letting the reminiscing of his brother and Atlanta wash over him.
He hadn’t seen Scott this relaxed in such a long, long time, and he also couldn’t deny that it had also been a while since Atlanta had too. And then he stiffened. Scott didn’t fail to notice, falling quiet to stare at his brother.
Atlanta too stilled. And then she heard what Gordon had. She flushed. Scott placed a comforting hand on her arm and the voice stopped in front of them.
‘I see you’re slumming it, Shore.’
This time it was Gordon’s hand on Scott’s knee as his eldest brother made to get up. He gave a small shake of his head at Scott’s glare. He gave a small nod to Atlanta and Scott got the message, relaxing back and taking Atlanta’s hand as he saw the affect the confrontation was having on her.
But then Troy moved closer, leaning over Atlanta to whisper at Scott.
‘You wanna tap that, Tracy?’
Scott blinked in shock and leaned back, eyes wide, not trusting that he’d actually heard what he had definitely just heard. It was clear when he looked at Gordon and Atlanta they had not heard what had been said.
Then Tempest leered at him and Scott saw red.
There was no time for either Gordon or Atlanta to react as in one fluid movement Scott stood and decked Tempest.
The whole deck went silent and all eyes turned to them.
Tempest gradually stood, cracked his neck before slowly wiping his nose. He sniffed and carried on in the same conversational tone, as if they were discussing the weather, keeping it quiet so only the three of them could hear him.
‘So…yeah, you obviously do. I mean, I wouldn’t blame you. Look at those legs. They go all the way up, Tracy. I know, I’ve…’
But before he could finish Gordon had sprang forward and decked him again. As Scott held Atlanta in a one-armed hug he tried to restrain Gordon with the other but his brother was struggling against him.
No one was yelling, though, no one but Tempest. He was sitting on the floor, both hands cupping his nose and the blood was flowing over his fingers. His eyes were beginning to bruise and he angrily stared at Gordon.
‘You broke my nose! I’ll have you for that. You might as well pack your bags. You are done at WASP, Tracy. Done!’
Gordon stood straight and his lip curled, but he didn’t say anything. Rather, he turned to Scott and nodded. Scott nodded back and released him, turning his full attention to Atlanta. She was pale and shaken but as Scott folded her into a full hug she once again stood tall.
They left Tempest yelling after them as they left.
The silence continued as they walked back to the hotel. Scott hadn’t taken his arm from around Atlanta’s shoulders as they walked, with Gordon on her other side so they bracketed her.
Once in the safety of the room Gordon poured three large whiskies and they drank slowly. Scott comforted Atlanta and, as the tears finally fell, Gordon left the pair to report to Commander Shore.
It had sure felt good to finally slap that idiot. Returning from his call he leaned in the doorway and watched his brother and his friend. The two looked good together.
Damn good.
Gordon smiled. He had no idea how this would play out but the Commander deserved to know the truth. And both Scott and Atlanta deserved happiness.
2. Troy Tempest has a HUGE crush on Gordon and they are the only two who don't know about it. They also fucking hate each other. Rivalry or something. Not shipping them even. If Troy knew what he was feeling he'd want it gone. Yeah.
