"I'm sorry, Sir." He stood there to full attention, looking his Captain straight in the eye, even though he would have preferred to cast his eyes down, not wanting to see the disappointment in the Captain's face. "Thank you for not punishing Mr Brown. It was all my fault and I will take full responsibility." The Captain's deep voice was very calm as he replied: "Yes, you will, Ensign."
In a way his calmness was reassuring, as he never lost his temper like other Captains often did. But then his calmness let the young Ensign feel even more how lucky he was to be under the command of such a kind and just leader and how much he had let him down – once again. Yes, he only got into the fight because he wanted to defend young and shy Mr Brown, but the Captain and he had been having this talk about thinking first instead of acting blindly over and over again.
"I don't think I have to say anything more," the Captain stated, his eyes firmly fixed on the young man before him. The Ensign sensed a sound of slight resignation in the Captain's voice. He bit his lip. For a moment he didn't know how to reply. There was indeed no need to explain to him how stupid it had been to get into that fight. So, after a short moment of hesitation, he shortly said: "Yes, Sir."
"Well, then" the Captain paused for a brief moment, "fetch the cane, please." At these words the young man straightened up even more and swiftly replied: "Aye, Sir." He sharply turned around and marched to the rack in the back of the room that displayed several canes. He didn't need any explanation which one to take. Without hesitation, he selected the longest and thickest specimen, turned around, walked back to the Captain and offered him the cane with both hands.
The Captain took it and looked the young man straight in the eye. "You remember what I told you last time about what would happen if we needed to have this talk again, don't you?" For a moment there was silence. The young man swallowed hard. Yes, he remembered, but for some reason he had still hoped that it wouldn't happen. He felt his hands starting to sweat and his knees trembling slightly.
He forced himself to withstand the Captain's gaze and answer his question. Still the words came out in a lower and shakier voice than he wanted them to. "Yes, Sir." He paused for a second and his voice was even lower when he continued: "You told me the next time I would be caned without my pants on to protect me." He felt his face becoming hot and red and finally cast his eyes down, not able to look the Captain into the eye any more.
Again the Captain's voice was very calm as he said: "Yes indeed." And then he issued the already well-known command: "Bend over the desk, Ensign." The young man walked over to the huge oak desk that was the centre of the Captain's cabin, almost in a daze. It took him a moment to force himself to unbutton the trousers of his uniform and pull them down, and another deep breath before he pulled down his briefs, too. Finally he bent over and grabbed the far end of the desk with his hands.
At the end of his last punishment two weeks ago the Captain had already administered six of the best on his bare backside to give the Ensign a foretaste of what would happen if he messed up again any time soon. It had been a shock, both the completely unexpected order to take down his pants and the sharp strokes themselves! The Ensign was known as being rather tough, but those six strokes had almost broken him already. He had no idea how to take a cold caning on the bare with the Captain's heaviest cane, consisting of many more strokes than just six.
But he knew he didn't have a choice. He heard the Captain swishing the cane through the air and felt a cool breeze on his bare buttocks. The Ensign started to shiver. Still he tried to obediently push out his bottom when he felt the tap of the cane, knowing that the Captain was measuring it across his bare backside. He closed his eyes, his hands clinging onto the far end of the desk as if he was holding on for dear life. Somehow he would make it through the next minutes, somehow he would obediently take the corporal punishment the Captain had decided he deserved, but how, he had no idea...
In a way his calmness was reassuring, as he never lost his temper like other Captains often did. But then his calmness let the young Ensign feel even more how lucky he was to be under the command of such a kind and just leader and how much he had let him down – once again. Yes, he only got into the fight because he wanted to defend young and shy Mr Brown, but the Captain and he had been having this talk about thinking first instead of acting blindly over and over again.
"I don't think I have to say anything more," the Captain stated, his eyes firmly fixed on the young man before him. The Ensign sensed a sound of slight resignation in the Captain's voice. He bit his lip. For a moment he didn't know how to reply. There was indeed no need to explain to him how stupid it had been to get into that fight. So, after a short moment of hesitation, he shortly said: "Yes, Sir."
"Well, then" the Captain paused for a brief moment, "fetch the cane, please." At these words the young man straightened up even more and swiftly replied: "Aye, Sir." He sharply turned around and marched to the rack in the back of the room that displayed several canes. He didn't need any explanation which one to take. Without hesitation, he selected the longest and thickest specimen, turned around, walked back to the Captain and offered him the cane with both hands.
The Captain took it and looked the young man straight in the eye. "You remember what I told you last time about what would happen if we needed to have this talk again, don't you?" For a moment there was silence. The young man swallowed hard. Yes, he remembered, but for some reason he had still hoped that it wouldn't happen. He felt his hands starting to sweat and his knees trembling slightly.
He forced himself to withstand the Captain's gaze and answer his question. Still the words came out in a lower and shakier voice than he wanted them to. "Yes, Sir." He paused for a second and his voice was even lower when he continued: "You told me the next time I would be caned without my pants on to protect me." He felt his face becoming hot and red and finally cast his eyes down, not able to look the Captain into the eye any more.
Again the Captain's voice was very calm as he said: "Yes indeed." And then he issued the already well-known command: "Bend over the desk, Ensign." The young man walked over to the huge oak desk that was the centre of the Captain's cabin, almost in a daze. It took him a moment to force himself to unbutton the trousers of his uniform and pull them down, and another deep breath before he pulled down his briefs, too. Finally he bent over and grabbed the far end of the desk with his hands.
At the end of his last punishment two weeks ago the Captain had already administered six of the best on his bare backside to give the Ensign a foretaste of what would happen if he messed up again any time soon. It had been a shock, both the completely unexpected order to take down his pants and the sharp strokes themselves! The Ensign was known as being rather tough, but those six strokes had almost broken him already. He had no idea how to take a cold caning on the bare with the Captain's heaviest cane, consisting of many more strokes than just six.
But he knew he didn't have a choice. He heard the Captain swishing the cane through the air and felt a cool breeze on his bare buttocks. The Ensign started to shiver. Still he tried to obediently push out his bottom when he felt the tap of the cane, knowing that the Captain was measuring it across his bare backside. He closed his eyes, his hands clinging onto the far end of the desk as if he was holding on for dear life. Somehow he would make it through the next minutes, somehow he would obediently take the corporal punishment the Captain had decided he deserved, but how, he had no idea...
