(Not so) Mortal Kombat

Posted on Wed Jul 14th, 2010 @ 8:04am by Commander Fala Awen & Lieutenant JG Malia Jacy

Mission: Episode 1.2 - "A House Divided"
Location: USS Pandora, Gym
Timeline: Day 15, 2200

ON:
[[USS Pandora, Gym, Day 15, 2200]]

Once the other woman got up, Awen led the way to a much larger mat intended for sparring. Normally she probably would have laid out some ground rules, but she got the impression that this woman had a respect for martial arts and would therefore stick to actual techniques rather than scrambling with hair pulling and biting. If she happened to be wrong about that though, the Bajoran would be ready. Awen gave a brief, yet respectful bow while never taking her eyes off her opponent.

Velia nodded in acknowledgment and returned the gesture. It would be interesting to see what kind of techniques her new partner would employ. The way she saw it she had two options. The obligatory small circling to try to get a feel for the other woman ... or she could just ... Velia moved in, throwing her leg out and around in an arcing motion, landing a solid hit on the other woman's lower leg before recoiling back on her center of balance.

Awen was slightly surprised at the other woman's direct approach, but welcomed it. It would make the sparring round more interesting. Moving forward quickly, the Bajoran performed a double kick, first a little lower - at the woman's side, and then higher. The first kick connected, though the second was repelled.

'Thank God it wasn't my leg' Velia thought, arching slightly at the sting. She felt safe in assuming this woman was not, in fact, Myrin's latest conquest. Good news for the woman, slightly less good for Velia's body's interest in remaining bruise free, however. "Let me guess," Velia inched both backward and to the side. "Communications officer?" Lips curled up at both sides; not in mockery, but in appreciation tinged humor.

Moving forward to match her opponents backward movement, Awen smirked, "Well, I suppose you could say I 'communicate' with people..." Quickly she moved forward and kicked at mid-height, but upon being repelled, she dropped down and performed a leg sweep, bring down the other woman.

In the moments between being upright and finding herself flat upon her back, Velia couldn't help but admire the woman's follow through. Opening and opportunity hadn't been lost; however, just before the back of her head met the mat Velia understood two things nearly at once. The sweep would have been the most probable move to make ... and in a practice session, it wouldn't have been done with such efficient force. Wherever this woman had learned her craft, it hadn't been for a hobby.

A grunt and a springing push later, Velia was back on two feet again looking for her center of balance and fluid movement path. Ducking her head low, she moved quickly and a bit off to the side, driving her opponent back against the wall with her shoulder thrust forward, elbows bent and her palms pushed into Awen's shoulders. Somewhere in the back of her mind she said a quick prayer that the woman wasn't a dirty fighter and moved her arms down to the back of Awen's knees, jerking up and over to offset Fala's balance.

When she felt herself losing her balance, Awen first moved to steady herself and prevent herself from falling. Once she had regained control, the Bajoran did a front somersault, forcing her opponent to move out of the way. Keeping the woman in her sight, she then did a roundoff, ending up with her back to her opponent. Before the other woman could attack though, Awen quickly grabbed her wrist and spun around, bringing it behind the woman and applying pressure - not enough to hurt her, but enough that she would feel it.

Refusing to focus on the tension created by her arm being bent and pressed upward behind her, Velia moved in the opposite direction, twisting her arm as she moved her body away from Fala and actually pulling against the weak point in her opponent's grip; where the thumb and forefinger came together. It worked well enough, though whether it had more to do with Velia's movements or the fact that both women had gotten a decent layer of perspiration throughout their match, the ensign wasn't sure. She rubbed her wrist and nodded again at Awen; this time her movement was only to extend her hand. "Ensign Moretti, Intel."

Awen stepped back slightly; she hadn't had time to bring her other hand up to support the one already holding the woman's hand. She took the offered hand and shook it, "Lieutenant Commander Fala, Security/Tactical."

"Well done, Commander. That forward movement was well executed and something I was definitely unprepared for. They don't teach that move in Jiu Jitsu." Though, Velia thought, they probably should.

The Bajoran smirked slightly, "It's from Hapkido. You did rather well yourself, Ensign. It's not every day that I get a workout such as this."

"I agree," Velia plodded over to retrieve her bottle of water. "It's been too long since I've worked with an opponent who doesn't have to have their movements programmed." Clasping the bottle by its cap in her teeth left her hands free to re-secure her hair and wipe some of the sweat from her hairline. "How long have you been practicing Hapkido?" And more interestingly, Velia wondered, who'd taught her?

"I started learning it during Academy," Awen replied. "Until then I hadn't had much in the way of formal training in any martial arts." It was one of those oddities - it seemed like forever ago, yet just yesterday...

Velia nodded. "I see."

"And when did you learn Jiu Jitsu?" The Bajoran asked as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. She wasn't entirely surprised at the simple response that Moretti had given - she was in Intel, after all.

"Same, actually." The ensign took a long drink from the bottle then replaced the cap. "I figured I needed to either find a hobby or resign myself to never seeing graduation."

Awen nodded slowly, "Hobbies aren't generally bad, but I don't see why you would've had to find one."

Velia simply shrugged. "Some people have a really hard time with 'no'. They tend to find their way out of invading your space with pointless offers of socialization when you look like you can back up your offer to aid their removal."

With a slight smile on her face, the Bajoran replied, "Ah yes, the power of either removing someone or showing that you're capable of doing so; quite effective, I've found. Even better when they aren't expecting it."

Velia smiled fully and even managed what would have passed for a chuckle. "It's in the way their eyes widen, I think."

Picturing it in her mind, Awen nodded, "I believe you're right. There's a certain...satisfaction when catching someone off guard." She was surprised that she was identifying with Moretti. Most people didn't seem to really understand her or were intimidated by her, but this young woman didn't fit either of those categories.

Again, the Intel officer nodded in agreement. Velia was pleased that the other woman understood what she was trying to say, instead of looking horrified or accusingly at her. "Do you often practice this late?"

"Most of the time yes," Awen replied. Being a Department Head didn't lend itself to much time during the day to practice martial arts, unless she was working with the officers in her department. "Generally there aren't as many people here then."

Unsure as to whether that was a statement or an explanation, Velia just shrugged. "There's supposed to be a greater benefit to exercise in the beginning of one's day." That explained Awen's comment about not getting this type of workout regularly.

The Bajoran nodded slowly, "True, and I do exercise at various times during the day - especially while training with those in my department, but martial arts I generally leave for evenings."

There was a small part of the Intel officer that was almost relieved to find that she wasn't the only officer aboard who seemed to abstain from the off duty socialization that the counselor seemed to support so heartily. She wondered if Fala had sat through one of Hannah's explanations of her view of the nature of people. "I'm surprised we've not encountered one another here before," Velia commented, surprising herself. As if for some reason it mattered in the least.

"Well, I don't always come here for my martial arts practice, and it's not always at the same time. Still, a bit odd perhaps," Awen admitted. "I don't know most of the officers very well though, other than those in my department. And some of them I've been with on previous assignments."

"How long have you been," Velia stopped herself. Obviously the woman had been on the Pandora the same length of time as Velia had, "with this crew?"

"Ever since the mission where Iluvar was temporarily replaced with his Mirror Universe counterpart, temporarily," Awen answered. "So, a little under a year." It was a bit hard to believe that it had been that long, really...and a bit strange, considering her recent bout of short assignments.

"Well that certainly sounds ... interesting." Velia shifted her weight between her feet. "Tell me," she asked the other woman in earnest, "how have you managed to be with them that long and avoid knowing them other than in passing?" The ensign wasn't trying to sound scornful. In fact, she was preparing to take mental notes. If Fala could manage it, maybe she could give Velia some ideas on how to actively avoid Myrin other than peering around every corridor junction she came to.

Awen paused at the Intel officer's question. She hadn't really thought about it much previously. "During that first mission, I at least introduced myself to most of the Senior Staff when we were trying to determine if it was the right Iluvar. After that...I suppose I just mostly kept busy with my own department and whatever duties I had for the mission we were on. Nobody really sought me out and I didn't seek them out either."

Velia realized she may have more in common with this woman, at least superficially, then she was currently comfortable with. There's something less alluring about striving to set yourself apart from the masses when one looks over and realizes they're standing next to another. No more had she finished that thought then she shook her head slightly in an attempt to clear it. Apparently she was more mentally exhausted then she'd thought. "It's nice to know there's still some measure of privacy that can be found aboard a ship."

"I suppose so," the Bajoran replied. Really, she wasn't entirely used to the privacy. Most other ships she'd been on, at least the Chief Medical Officer and Counselor had tracked her down, but that hadn't really happened here. And when she was part of the Resistance, there was little privacy. "Though I imagine in your line of work, not much remains private...at least for the people you look into."

"You'd be amazed," Velia snorted once again reminded of the day's events and the lack thereof. "The trick to discovery, Commander, is that there's a path one gets on to find it." And though Velia's experience was still in it's infancy, she felt secure enough to continue her statement. "Some subjects and peoples are frustratingly good at making sure information is well hidden. And we can be honest here, right?" Velia unscrewed the cap of her bottle while she talked, raising it to her lips. "If the majority of it wasn't private the purpose of Intelligence work would have petered out long ago."

Awen nodded, "Quite true. People are generally rather good at hiding things, especially when they want to or have reason to." She had a feeling that like herself, Moretti also had some things she kept private. Very few knew the details of her time with the Resistance and her capture.

Velia’s lips curled again. “Commander, if you’ve ever encountered someone who’s hidden something for any reason besides those two, that’s a story I’d love to hear another time.” There was a bit of an awkward pause as Velia encountered something rather foreign to her. Usually it was the introduction of conversation she had trouble with and the exit that she pulled off flawlessly. Tonight, it seemed to be the opposite.

After the Intel officer's comment, Awen considered her former statement. She could think of one or two cases when someone would want to hide something that wouldn't directly fall into the categories she'd mentioned, but depending on how they were interpreted, they could fall into one of the categories. "I suppose it depends on your interpretation of events as to whether other instances would be considered either the person wanting to or having reason to, but the vast majority would fit into those." The Bajoran paused, looking over at her sparring partner for the evening, "Perhaps we should do this again sometime...sparring, that is."

"Under one condition," Velia looked at Awen with a very serious expression upon her face.

Intrigued, Awen asked, "And what might that be?"

"I'd like you to teach me that somersault move. It's extremely impressive." And unless it required years of gymnastics training, Velia was fairly confident she could execute it properly.

"Consider it done," the Bajoran replied with a half smile. It was a challenging combination, but with practice Moretti could be taught.

Velia nodded both in confirmation and parting, and headed for the door.

Awen watched the Intel officer leave with a thoughtful expression on her face. It could be an interesting venture, having the woman as a sparring partner - at the least it would be something out of the ordinary. And if she was being completely honest, perhaps it was something she needed.

OFF:

A JP

by

Lt. Commander Fala Awen
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Pandora

and

Ensign Velia Moretti (PNPC)
Intelligence Officer
USS Pandora
played by: Lt JG Mali Jacy