“Shut up before I make you shut up!” You fire back, disregarding the fact that Sarah could dismember you piece by piece with her bare hands with no trouble at all.

“What are you going to do?” Sarah smirks, her blue eyes alight with malevolent pleasure. Your anger pleases her, you can see that quite clearly.

“She’s not going to do anything,” Grisham says, her voice deep with authority. “Sarah, I don’t want to hear another word out of you today. Not. A. Single. Word. Understand?” As she speaks, she stalks closer to Sarah, her height and bulk casting a shadow over Sarah.

Sarah shrugs, the smirk still on her face. She doesn’t need to say anything now she’s annoyed you.

“Why doesn’t anything ever happen to her!” You exclaim loudly. “She’s nothing but trouble and everyone tip toes around her.”

“Nothing happens to me because I’m not a little weakling like you,” Sarah says, immediately disregarding Grisham’s order. “Consequences are for peons.”

“No. Consequences are for you,” Grisham says. Without further warning, she takes Sarah by the arm and marches her over to the basic couch which faces an old telescreen. Sarah doesn’t seem to see what’s coming, probably because it’s never come to her before. She looks totally stunned as Grisham sits and pulls her over her lap.

Before Sarah realizes the full implications of her prone position, Grisham’s palm connects with Sarah’s behind with the most satisfying slap you’ve ever heard. It’s a hard whack which echoes around the room like a gunshot. Super soldier or not, it has to sting. You let out a sigh of righteousness as Sarah squeals, then bucks hard, hard enough to pull out of Grisham’s grasp.

She runs the short distance across the room and backs up against the wall, her face flushed with embarrassment. Her eyes dart around, but focus mostly on Grisham, who has not moved an inch from where she was sitting.

“Come back here,” Grisham intones, her voice deep with command as she crooks her finger.

“No!” Sarah’s voice becomes uncharacteristically high and soft. For a second she looks almost… human? The thought is strange. Sarah is human, of course, but she has an almost perpetual facade of being bulletproof. It’s always strange to see the mask fall to reveal the young woman behind it.

“Sarah, you disobeyed an order. You’re going to be punished for it. Come over here this minute,” Grisham repeats. There’s no hint of anger or even frustration in her voice. Her tone is completely even, but determined. This is a battle of wills she clearly doesn’t intend to lose.

Terra has not said a word throughout the argument, and she doesn’t say anything now. As Sarah casts a look for help in her direction, Terra quirks her brow and nods toward Grisham.

You’ve never seen anyone look simultaneously pale and beet red before, it’s really quite a feat. Sarah shakes her head fervently.

“No,” she mumbles, her eyes finding the floor. “Not happening.”