The Gallente smiled when I hit him. I had him up against a wall, hands pinned by the two provisional officers I’d brought with me, and I'd already cracked his ribs and beaten out a few teeth. He smiled. It wasn't that weird rictus, either — the one where they're in so much pain their faces tense all up.
"Enjoying this, eh?" one Prov said.
"Shut up," I said. I didn't like baiting, never had. What you gave the mark was clarity, a purpose to his pain. You made him understand that, yes, you enjoyed this and would gladly do it forever unless he made it stop, but that he could make it stop, too. Not right away, necessarily, but if he changed and found himself a new focus in life, there would be hope. The mark could never be made to feel like the entire thing was merely a heartless joke.
He was exhausted and his head lolled down. I put my hand under his chin, lifted it back up so he'd look me in the eyes.
"Why did you do it?" I said. "We're here to stay. You're not changing that. All you're doing is making trouble." I raised my other hand and hit him hard in the solar plexus. Air and blood gushed out of his mouth. I would have to clean my jacket before going on the day shift tomorrow.
This time he lifted his head of his own accord. And he smiled again. One eye swollen shut, mouth a bloody mess. There was no defiance in that smile, none of that stupid attitude you get from someone who's trying to hide the pain. No taunting, that weapon of the weak and the powerless. He was somewhere else already and I hadn't put him there.
"Let him go," I said.
The Provs were stunned. I sighed and, not for the first time, wondered where the hell the force had gotten these guys.
"Next person goes deaf gets twelve weeks on the tundra," I said.
They dropped him like a bag of rocks.
We left him there, coughing blood on the scuffled snow.
***
I was twelve when I was accepted into the Caldari Army. I was strong for my age and I had long since learned what the world did to people.