Athena looked at the sergeant and the four corporals before making a decision.
"I am docking two weeks of your pay. Don't let this happen again."
This was well within Athena's rights as a captain to order, and as far as disciplinary actions went this was quite moderate. What the sergeant did could technically be painted as conspiring with others to willingly disobey the orders of a commanding officer. In extreme cases, conspiracy to disobey orders could qualify as treason.
Of course, Athena couldn't discharge or execute Sergeant Parker on the spot for such a small thing, but it was within her rights to file a report to the regimental command staff and advise punishments. In many cases, the command staff would simply take the captain's words. It was also within her right to dock a lot more of the sergeant's pay, temporarily imprison him, or exert a moderate level of physical punishment here and now.
Such was the authority of a captain. In many cases, to the men in the company, their captain was their lord.
For most people on Earth, losing two weeks of income was disastrous. It wasn't as bad for low-ranking members of the Imperial Army, but it still stung. The Army provided basic meals and housing for their men, but life in the fort was boring, and soldiers often enjoyed traveling to nearby cities to have some fun during their days off. In the case of the sergeant, this wouldn't be the worst outcome. He wouldn't be spending his time with strippers and prostitutes for a while, but that would be all. In most cases, someone in his position should be happy with accepting the punishment and moving on.
Unfortunately for Sergeant Parker, he didn't see this as a lenient action. While the four corporals behind him were fine with accepting this punishment, the sergeant felt more insulted than anything else.
Athena was right in her deduction. The sergeant missed this meeting on purpose for a simple reason. Originally, as one of the more senior sergeants, he was on track to be promoted to the rank of captain when an opportunity presented itself. When one did in the form of the old captain being arrested by military police and the Imperial Security Corps, the sergeant eagerly waited for his promotion, only to hear that a lucky girl, a former private, would take the place that rightfully belonged to him.
Yes. As far as Sergeant Parker saw, Athena was just a lucky girl. There had been plenty of rumors in the division about what happened to the 432nd Company that led to the investigations. Sergeant Parker heard that this Athena, one of the two survivors from the 432nd, had done something impressive during the same mission that doomed her entire company. Not knowing what exactly happened, he simply decided she was being lucky.
What right did she have to suddenly go from being a simple private to his commanding officer? The more the sergeant thought about it, the more pissed off he became. When Athena called on all the officers for a meeting, the sergeant decided to arrive late on purpose with four of his close corporals. For what purpose? He himself honestly had no idea. It wasn't like this was a logical, carefully thought-out decision on his part. If nothing else, he wanted to show his new captain his displeasure.
"You want to dock my pay, girl?" The sergeant snapped and took a step forward. "Who do you think you are? I have been fighting for the Imperium when you were still in your mother's womb! What right do you have to discipline me?"
The man was tall and large and he could almost certainly beat her in a hand-to-hand fight, but Athena didn't falter as the sergeant might have hoped. Instead, she simply turned to the four corporals behind the sergeant. Her gaze was cold and fierce.
"How about you four? Anything you want to say to me?"
"I…no sir. I mean…ma'am." Under Athena's gaze, one of the four corporals was the first to speak up. Unlike the sergeant, he had no intention of pissing off his new captain.
"It's a fair action, ma'am." Another corporal lowered his head. He knew Sergeant Parker might not be too happy about this, but he had already done more than he should have for the sergeant. He wasn't about to stand against his captain for such a stupid thing.
Without a word, Athena turned back and stared into the sergeant's eyes. She could see the anger in the man's eyes. She didn't know what she did that pissed him off so much, but this anger made her a lot more comfortable with the order she was about to give.
She might not stay in the Army for too long, but while she was in the Army, she had to be a good officer if she wanted to maximize her own chances of surviving and escaping. That meant doing what any good officer would do in situations like this.
"That is ma'am to you, sergeant," Athena said quietly. "You should know, sergeant, that disrespecting a commanding officer is a serious offense. An army is nothing without discipline."
The sergeant was certainly no stranger to combat. She would be no match for the sergeant in hand-to-hand combat. She might not even be able to best him in a firefight. It didn't matter. Athena had something so much stronger than her fist or her rifle. She had her authority.
Athena turned to the four corporals standing behind the sergeant. The four men who had bailed on the meeting alongside the leader of their platoon.
"Take him to the square. 20 lashes."
The four corporals looked at each other, and for a second no one moved.
Behind Athena, Adrianna took a step forward. She was well aware of her current situation. She had no connections in this new company, and for all intents and purposes, her fate was tied to that of Athena. But before she could act, Athena raised a hand and stopped her in her tracks.
"How dare you? I have bled for the Imperium alongside these men!" Sergeant Parker snapped. Once again, if he was in a more logical mood, he would gladly go along with it and take the punishment, but he had a lot to drink right before coming here and his brain wasn't working too well. "You are the outsider here, girl! No one in this company will lay a hand on me!"
Many of the corporals and sergeants observing the exchange frowned. Regardless of how she came to be, Athena was still their captain, and her orders had to be obeyed. A number of them stepped forward, but once again Athena stopped them.
The entire time, her eyes were trained on the four corporals. She didn't want Adrianna or the others to seize and punish the sergeant. She wanted the man's own subordinates to do it.
"You four wish to disobey the orders of a commanding officer?" Athena's voice was quiet, but there was no doubt in the weight it carried. "It is treason, then. Tell me, corporals. Are you traitors?"
Sergeant Parker froze as he heard Athena's words. He was just steps away from Athena, and if he wanted to there was no doubt he could hit Athena. But then what? All that would do was increase his transgressions even more. If disrespecting a commanding officer could get him 20 lashes, assaulting a commanding officer could easily get him the noose or the flamethrower.
As things progressed and the alcohol began to wear off, a part of the sergeant was beginning to realize what he did, and he was horrified by it. He wanted to give in. To apologize. But before he could say a word, the four corporals suddenly leaped onto him from behind and pressed him to the ground.
These men knew all too well what would happen to them if they continued to refuse Athena's order, and they had no intention of potentially being burned at the stake as a traitor, something their new captain was obviously capable of doing to those who hesitated when executing her orders.
As the four men dragged the sergeant away, Athena turned to face the rest of her men. All of them immediately stood up straight when her eyes landed on them. After the display Athena gave them, it sufficed to say that they would think twice before refusing any order from Athena.
Athena might just be a young woman, but there was little doubt that she was capable of as much strength and cruelty as her fellow officers. Wrong her, and there would be consequences.
As the meeting ended and Athena and Adrianna headed back to Athena's office, Athena honestly felt a little conflicted inside.
"The sergeant may harbor a grudge against you, sir." Adrianna reminded Athena. "Most in the company weren't involved in that incident, but Sergeant Parker likely will not just let this go. I don't think he will be stupid enough to do anything to you, but you can never be too sure."
"I know," Athena replied quietly. "That's why I'm going to file a disciplinary report to the regimental staff about this and try to get Parker out of my unit or out of the Army. I'm not going into combat with a threat like him by my side."
Athena knew most troops in the Imperial Army wouldn't be stupid enough to try to frag their commanders or shoot them in the back. The risk was just too much. If a soldier did something like that and was caught, the only doubt would be how they would be executed. There were many possibilities. Crucifixion. Flaying. Burning. Castration. Any combination of the above. The only thing for sure was it would be public, and it would be painful. Anyone conspiring with the soldier would face the same punishments while anyone who exposed them would be heavily rewarded. It was just too risky.
Then again, she didn't want to take the risk with someone as irrational as Sergeant Parker. He clearly wasn't someone good with self-control.
"It seems like you have considered everything. I have to say, sir, command suits you." Adrianna noted as the two of them returned to Athena's office. She was experienced enough to see the effects of Athena's actions. With Sergeant Parker as an example, Athena had easily established her power in the eyes of her men.
"There is no one else here. You can still call me Athena." Athena suddenly said.
"Very well, Athena."
Athena nodded. She paused for a second before bringing up something else. "If you're fine with it, from now on you can be my personal bodyguard."
Almost all individuals in the Imperium who meant anything had their own advisors and enforcers who were loyal to them individually and not just their ranks. As the leaders of hundreds of troops, captains were no different. Each captain in the Imperial Army was allowed to have a maximum of four bodyguards. These bodyguards would report directly to the captains and would often act as their messengers or overseers when needed. When a captain was promoted, they would bring their close guards with them. If the captain somehow, miraculously, ended up founding a Lesser House, the close guards all had a chance of becoming Imperial nobles with their own land and wealth.
"I am happy to oblige. As I said before, I owe you my life." Adrianna nodded. She knew this meant her fate would be tied to that of Athena. If Athena did well, she would promote and reward Adrianna. If Athena did poorly…the old captain of the 437th Company had his own bodyguards. Where were they now? Even if those guards claimed they didn't know about their captain's crimes, no one would believe them.
Then again, Adrianna knew this was her best option. Regardless of whether she accepted the offer, everyone in the company already believed she was one of Athena's close subordinates given how close the two of them were. Plus, as far as she could see, Athena was a good leader to work for.
"Good." Athena let out a smile. "I will send a message to the regimental command staff about this. Go and get settled in. If you have time, go through the personnel files and see if there are any good candidates to recruit to join you."
As Adrianna left the office and closed the door, Athena leaned back in the leather seat of her new office. The cold air blowing into the room via the air conditioners made the place quite comfortable, and after years as a trooper with little privacy or freedom, having a big office and a living room all to herself was quite satisfying.
As she had more time to herself, Athena couldn't help but go over what just happened out there once again. Neither the Athena from Earth nor the old Athena ever had such a level of authority before. The old Athena, as a trooper, had only been on the receiving side of punishments. Even with the Zerg units who would obey her every command, it just wasn't quite the same.
Now that she experienced what it felt like to be able to punish her disrespectful subordinates with a single order, she had to admit she saw the appeal of authority.
In a sense, she began to understand why so many people in the Imperium were willing to do whatever it took to climb to the top. In most levels of the Imperium, separation of power was nonexistent. Those with higher ranks could do whatever they wanted to those beneath them, often with impunity. Those tormented, with no other option, would in turn let off their steam on those below them.
The entire time, everyone was doing their best to climb the social pyramid so they could be above as many people as possible.
Athena sighed. Adrianna told her command suited her, but the truth was she only did what she did to Sergeant Parker because she had no choice if she wanted to maintain her authority in the company. She herself took no pleasure in intimidating her subordinates or punishing her men. It just wasn't something she, who was a student on Earth not long ago, was comfortable with. She was willing to do what had to be done, but that didn't mean she had to enjoy it.
Perhaps she could put up the act of a loyal Imperial for a brief while, but how long could she last? Even more concerningly, would she really want to spend several years in the Imperial Army, fighting for the Venya Imperium? Going one step beyond that, did she really want to start enjoying life as an Imperial officer? The answer was obvious.