Swamped

The phrase basically means "get the enemy from behind while they're distracted", although there's a bit of nuance that more or less comes down to "strike when they least expect it" and is the main reason for its popularity as a curse.

You turn around quickly and find another grebling rushing towards you - and your first instinct is to whack him upside the head with his friend. He groans and falls over.

"Now," you say to the grebling in your hands, "you mind telling me what you're up to?"

"They've got bad experiences with humans in military uniforms," says a gruff voice behind you. "Mind, I told them not to go looking for trouble, but youngsters have so much trouble listening at that age."

You turn around. There's a grebling woman holding a cane.

"Sorry," you mutter, putting your captive down. "There's been a lot going on tonight."

"I know." She walks over towards the one on the ground. "Oscar, are you all right?"

There's a weak mumbling.

"He's going to need to lie down in one of these beds for a bit, but it looks like you didn't hit him too hard. Just dazed him."

There's an edge to her voice suggesting you're lucky it wasn't worse than that.

"Yeah, I panicked when I noticed him running towards me."

"Interesting, that. You seemed to react to the little order this one was spouting off." She's looking at the other one judgmentally. "Maybe you've had it used against you before?"

"Only by someone who used it like a curse word." Doesn't seem to be much need to hide that. "Where'd the young ones pick it up?"

"The battlefield."

You don't get the impression she'll be clarifying. You do note that she's holding the cane very deliberately - ready to swing it or deflect a blow at any moment. She might be willing to talk, but you doubt she trusts you all that much more than the younger ones do... and she can probably hurt you worse than they can.

Not that you can't understand her feelings. And given the way things are, it's probably best to settle for just convincing her and the kids to leave you alone.

But you think you want to show her a gesture of goodwill before you head off to your own business. If only for your own peace of mind.