DJM Troutrooper (#7656)
"More could I have done"

***

"You could have smiled more."

Troutrooper raised an eyebrow at his wife. "I smirked. Three times. That's more than the average week. I'm set for the rest of the month."

"Did you hear what your friends said about you? Oberst himself said that without you, Tarentum would have been decimated. The Grand Master himself beamed with pride when thanked you for your service and dedication. How many Brothers and Sisters are praised that thoroughly?"

"Silver isn't gold."

"Silver is still better than nothing," Omiti fumed. "Your efforts were recognized and honored. Why aren't you happier? I'd take 'meh' over this mopey, morose malaise."

"Can't blame a fish for wanting perfection."

"No, but I can blame a fish for giving everything he can give to his friends and clanmates and then being dour that he didn't give enough. What more could you have given? What else could you have done?"

"If I knew, I woul--"

"Nothing. You gave everything. Stop pitying yourself. There are dozens of dead Darkies littering the fields of combat. Would you take their place? Would you rather be the Second Hero or fertilizer?"

Troutrooper sighed. "I just...I just feel like I didn't do enough. Not First Hero, not First Clan. Feels like I didn't come through for Tarentum."

"'Didn't come through for Tarentum'? Are you delusional? If not for you, Tarentum would have sat in the last row behind every other Clan, including Plagueis. You did yourself and your Clan proud. Your Clan, however, did not. Your Clan--and don't tell me you're not thinking this yourself--failed you. Had they given half the effort you did, y'all might have emerged victorious."

"I guess I can't be too upset," a smirk growing across his face. "I get free drinks in the Castle until the next Great Jedi War."