Part – 1
"Sir! That's totally wrong"
Wing Commander Veer moved his gaze from the file he was reading and looked at the three people who were sitting across his desk.
The other two, Commander Abhimanyu Adhikari and Lt. Samrat sat stone faced not showing any emotion with better control of their emotions while the new officer among them Sameera predictably so couldn't follow their lead.
"Wrong or not, what you three have done is totally not acceptable. Fighting with other officers outside of the base is not permitted or encouraged" He paused to make sure the levity of the situation sunk into the three of them.
"I am not sure whether you all see the gravity of the situation"
It was not threat but a reminder to them.
They perfectly knew what was going on. They were part of a Special Forces unit called the Hawks who no one knew about. There was no trace to them. There was no military record or a file about the Hawks.
Hell, he had handpicked this group. They were smart, which made his job difficult in one sense. He grimaced. Unfortunately guilt was the only way he was going to get these hard headed officers to rethink their actions.
Lt. Samrat interrupted his musings. "Permission to speak openly, sir!"
"Granted"
"Sir, one of the officers was trying to harass Sameera" his voice reflecting a little bit of the irritation he felt.
Veer looked at his commander the senior in the team. Abhimanyu sat quietly just looking at the whole proceedings with bored disinterest. Finally, feeling Veer's eyes on him he said, "He needed to be taught a lesson Sir on how to treat his equal" Abhimanyu said leaning down in his seat.
All true, Veer knew but still he had to uphold the stricture of the air force "If the officer needed to be taught a lesson, it was not up to you all to give it to him." Looking at Sameera he said "Sameera, if you had a problem with the guy, you should have reported him to your commanding officer"
"But Sir…"
"No. Buts…This is the last warning to the three of you, if I hear anything in the future about anyone of you, it's going on your records. Got that" he said starring at the three of them to make sure that the message sank in.
Veer knew that the Indian Military was a boy's club, its very nature a breeding ground for lasting friendships. There had been extreme resistance to having women in the air force it was still the old boy's club. But, he knew that with time women would be accepted into the force.
With women entering the force, there were some unique challenges like the one he was facing now. Should he treat her as he would treat the other two or should he give her special consideration because she was a woman?
Finally, he had decided to do what was right. The three of them had broken the code of conduct and they had to be reprimanded even if their actions were warranted.
"Dismissed" he said getting back to the file in his hand.
"Yes, Sir!" Standing erect and giving him their salute they turned and left the room.
Once outside, samrat looked at sameera. "Sam, I am hungry. I am going to the Cafeteria want to join me." he asked watching sam's raised eyebrows he said "I am hungry yaar! After that inquisition anyone would be" he said giving her a smile.
"No! Samrat. You go ahead. I will join you later" she said looking at his back as samrat walked passed her.
Turning back and looking at her he said," o.k. See you in 15 minutes then"
"O.k"
As she watched samrat walking towards the canteen, she saw from the corner of her eye Commander Abhi walking in the opposite direction.
"Sir" she called out as she rushed towards him.
Abhi stopped and turned as he saw Sameera running towards him. Abhi liked Sam. In a force where there were very few women, he admired this girl who had made into the elite Hawks team. But, he did not let any of that show as he watched her approach him.
"Thanks for standing up for me, Sir!" she said blushing slightly.
"No, Thanks are necessary. I would have done that for any of my officers" he said turning back and walking towards his office.
Edited by panache - 17 years ago