Hand to Hand
Posted on Wednesday April 22nd, 2020 @ 10:54 hours by Mayterial Droz & Maja Angelova
Mission:
Safe Passage
Location: Cargo bay 2, Deck 3, S.S. Fawkes
1961 words - 3.9 OF Standard Post Measure
With a lack of better facilities aboard the Fawkes one of the cargobays had a small gym area set aside. Mayterial knew the merits of staying in shape physically. Especially now that she was trying to cut back on other ways to ease her mind it helped her take her mind off things. That and the recent encounter with the Syndicate had made it abundantly clear that she needed to hone her fighting skills. She was trained in the traditional mixed martial arts in Starfleet but now that she wasn't wearing a uniform she hadn't kept up, plus out here there weren't many rules when it came to fighting. As such she always went for a quick, surprise, jab at the genitals and make a run for it.
She had tracked down Maja, her new Master-at-Arms, to the cargo bay gym and wondered if she could learn a thing or two in regards to fighting. She had recruited her in a fighting pit after all, "Good morning, miss Angelova, hope I'm not interrupting."
When the captain found her, the woman was hanging upside-down from a simple metal bar suspended parallel to the wall. She was doing crunches, bending herself in half up toward the bar and then lowering. She was upright when the woman spoke, although she'd heard her enter. Maja lowered herself, but she didn't get off the bar yet. "Not interrupting at all. And just Maja." She folded herself up again, feeling the strain in her abdominal muscles but enjoying the pain. "What can I do for ya, Cap'n?"
May took off her boots and stepped onto the matt that covered the metal plating on the floor for comfort of exercising, "I'm looking to learn some hand-to-hand combat skills. I've been really neglecting them lately." She resisted adding that recent affairs really reinforced the idea that working on the Fawkes really required her to have them, "I had some lessons in the Fleet, but that was bootcamp. Something like fifteen years ago."
Maja lowered herself again so she could look at the captain. Her scarred expression was borderline incredulous, but upside-down, it was hard to tell. "Well, that's no good," she said bluntly. She reached up, grabbed the bar, then dismounted the bar. She landed easily on her feet and dusted her hands off. "I can help with that," she said, walking up to the mat as the captain stood there.
"I was hoping you'd say that," Mayterial looked nervous, it was odd since she was usually so in control of situations. She made sure that she was, she manipulated situations, people, and outcomes so that she was always in full control. Right now she had no idea what was coming, and how she'd do. "My go to strategy is to kick the balls and run. I'm guessing that won't always work out so well, so I'd like to add some tools to my arsenal."
"It's not a bad strategy, really," the master-at-arms said with a smirk. She was already walking in a slow, almost-languid yet still somehow predatory-feeling circle around the mat. Her eyes remained on the captain. "But only if you know the species you're up against, and it's less effective against standard females. Still hurts, but not like a man who has their balls where you think they are. Not everyone does, after all."
Mayterial nodded, "Oh, that's true. Sure." She stood in the centre of the mat uncomfortably as Maja started to circle her, "Still, would be nice to add some moves to my arsenal." She rolled her head a bit to stretch her neck, then loosened her arms by swinging them around. She didn't really seem like she knew what she was doing. Normally she'd just run on a treadmill and call it a day. This was going to be a totally different kind of workout.
The circling woman made a quiet sound of agreement. "The first thing to learn is situational awareness," she said. Maja moved in an instant, behind the captain with one arm loosely around the other woman's neck and the other holding the 'outside' arm. "So people don't get the drop on you. What do you do now?"
Startled by the sudden movement immediately followed by a grip around her neck May was at a loss for a second, she felt that Maja was holding back but in real life she was going to be choking now, "Stomp on toes? Headbutt?" She thought a moment more and realised she would probably force her thoughts into someone's skull and fill them with dread, "if you're not Ferengi, overwhelm you telepathically?"
Maja immediately released her and stepped back. "Not bad," she said. "Although given there are more than the Ferengi that are not affected by such abilities, it's good to keep the physical and the mental on hand. Toes can work, but not if they're in good boots. Or don't have toes. Headbutt works, though have you ever done it to someone before?"
May shook her head, "I haven't. Never had to." She bit her lower lip a bit turning to face the experienced fighters, "I'm used to talking my way out of fights." Those skills were also out of practice. Something she'd have to address with another member of the crew. Though she wasn't entirely sure who'd be good practice partner for that.
"Every weapon is a good one," Maja said, crossing bare, scarred arms across her tightly-bound but still prominent chest. "If you can talk your way out of a fight, do it. It's just good to have a backup plan. A headbutt can be very effective, but it can also hurt like a motherfucker. It can incapacitate you as much as the guy you're trying to hit if you're not ready for it."
"That doesn't really sound pleasant," Mayterial never really wanted to use her head as a weapon, she needed it for other things too much, "Do you have some suggestions as to what type of martial arts I should train? Something I can learn in the confines of this cargo bay?"
"Most any can be learned in a room with a mat," Maja said. She shrugged casually. "I'm not classically trained in many. I learned to pretty much straight-up brawl, but even that has a lot to do with being aware of your surroundings. Know what you can use against an opponent. Watch your opponent while you fight. Look for weaknesses." She tilted her head. "Would you consider yourself an observant person, Cap'n?"
"Observant?" Mayterial nodded, that she could give a wholehearted; "Yes. I'd say that, yes."
Maja nodded once. "Good. That will go a long way." She settled into her stance as a loose ready-to-move pose. "Come at me. Act like I made a threat you can't let go and you need to go on the offense. Want to see what we're starting with."
Mayterial balled her fists, immediately uncomfortable in her battle pose. It had really been way too long since she'd had to invoke her hand-to-hand combat training from bootcamp. She side stepped a couple of times to try and get a good angle at Maja and stepped forward to throw a punch. She held back, not wanting to punch her new Master-at-Arms in the face.
She really shouldn't have worried.
As the captain stepped forward with her fist coming, Maja brought up her off-hand and caught Mayterial's punching wrist, spinning slightly to use the other woman's own momentum to keep her flowing forward and past the master-at-arms. There was more she could have done but chose not to, instead hopping back a couple steps and returning to her defensive-ready pose. Waiting to see what the captain would respond with.
It took a moment for May to catch her balance again after that, and with the newfound distance between them, she threw her foot up and thrust it forward, hoping to land a kick in the abdomen.
The distance hadn't been closed enough and Maja just jumped back a step to avoid the foot. "I could have batted at your foot just then," she pointed out. "Thrown you even more off balance and gotten to your head or throat. You only get a moment for situational awareness."
"I can barely even throw a straight punch of kick," Mayterial her shoulders slumped, perhaps this had been a bad idea. She wasn't a fighter, never had been, "I'm really not cut out for this." She dropped her guard and sighed, shoulders slumped.
Maja released her posture and folded her arms over her chest, though that didn't mean she ever lost that look of constant vigilance. That was because she never did, even when she could...even when she should. Curse as much as blessing, as with so many things in life. "Do you always give up so easily, Captain?" she asked bluntly. She wasn't exactly the picture of tact.
"I know my limitations," with a twirl May slid over the floor in an effort to kick the legs out from under Maja. She had figured that surprise was her most effective strategy. When you let your guard down, so did others. It had been a swift and elegant legsweep, courtesy of her dexterity, another thing she had firmly placed in her 'strengths' column.
With a short jump-step back, the master-at-arms managed to avoid getting her legs yanked out from under her but it was closer than she was proud of. She did laugh as she struggled for just a moment to stabilize herself and bring her hands up. "Good fake."
May didn't hesitate when her leg sweep was sidestepped, and lunged forward, grabbing the Master at Arms around her lower body and tackling her in a Zero-G Football fashion. Making use of the short moment of instability. She'd trained in it during her Academy days, never made it to a team obviously, but the tackling techniques were widely applicable.
Maja could've laughed, impressed that the captain was sticking with it. She didn't laugh...she was pretty sure. She may have. It was hard to tell sometimes. The pair fell backward, and the master-at-arms didn't bother trying to stop it. She used the momentum and let them drop, wrapping her legs around the other woman's hips and throwing her weight before they'd been touched down more than a moment--putting her atop the captain and moving to pin her down.
"Shouldn't you buy me dinner first?" Mayterial panted under the physically stronger woman. This was truly a no-win scenario. She tried to pop her hips up in the hopes she might throw Maja over her head, but there was little movement in the physically imposing girl. A thought crossed her mind, wondering what it would be like to see her fight Mercy. She shook that off, she wasn't going to organise a battle royale in her cargo bay. She lay limply under the Master-at-Arms' bodyweight and sighed, it was clear that she wasn't made for fighting.
"You can learn to get better," Maja said with a smirk as she sensed the resignation. "You pulled a good surprise before, and that uses your brain as well as your body." She moved off the woman, but did so quickly and still cautious--in case this was another trick. "I didn't do this to make a point. I just wanted to learn where you were at now. Need a base point."
"A rock-solid Zero, I'd say." Mayterial wipes off dust and sweat as she made a small bow in the direction of the Master-at-Arms, "but I'm looking forward to raising that to a solid three or so." She gave the woman a wink.
Maja snorted a laugh. "Aim high, Cap'n. Aim high."
[OFF]
Mayterial Droz
Captain
&
Maja Angelova
Master-at-Arms
S.S. Fawkes