2 cm Away From a Free Face Piercing

Posted on Sun Feb 13th, 2022 @ 5:01pm by Lieutenant Didrea Zade

Mission: Character Development
Location: USS Colossal, en route to Starbase 32
Timeline: MD03 - 2015hrs
1409 words - 2.8 OF Standard Post Measure

Zade turned to face Karav. "Ok, let's check out astrometrics, then-" she was cut off when Karav suddenly kicked her in the chest, hard. The impact forced the air out of her lungs and swayed her balance backward a couple steps, knocking her to the floor. The phasor in her hand clattered out of reach. "Karav, what the hell!" she gasped, her hand over where she got kicked. Zade forced herself to suck in a breath of air, wincing as her chest protested.

"You said you want to be prepared for anything," Karav replied, calmly walking toward her. The slowly flashing red lights left intimidating shadows across his face while accentuating his dark eyes. "Are you prepared for a crewmate to betray you?"

Zade scooted back a little to give herself time to stand. Good god, that kick hurt. She was definitely going to have a bruise there if she didn't get it treated later. "I... yeah, of course!" To be honest, the idea of having to fight someone she once considered a comrade... it was a fight she hoped to never have.

Karav casually tilted his head to the side and chuckled, "you seem uncertain. Do you think someone intent on betraying you would show the restraint I'm showing now?" He walked over to an exposed spear of metal and with a grunt, ripped it out of the wall. You are definitely enjoying this too much, he thought to himself. But was he really to blame? Zade was the one who wanted to be prepared for anything, he was just complying. "I've made up my mind to betray my crewmate, why would I care about you?"

Zade's eyes narrowed. "You don't have to be so insulting..." she muttered to herself. It was just a training scenario though, and he was right, there could be a time when a crewmate makes the decision to betray their crew. That meant dealing with the insults too. "If you're set on becoming a traitor, then I have to take you out," she said, grabbing her own metal stick off the ground.

The Betazoid's expression changed from taunting to serious. Zade had mentioned once that the change in expression reminded her of something you'd see before being attacked in a nightmare. "Attack me with intent, otherwise you will die," he said, tapping the metal stick against his hand.

God, that change of expression thing he does is so creepy, Zade thought, a small shiver going down her spine. She knows he does it to throw her off guard, but she also knows that he knows it works. "You know we can't actually kill each other, right? Because of the holodeck saf-"

"Computer, safety protocols off."

Karav kept eye contact as he confirmed when prompted. =^=Safety protocols, deactivated,=^= the computer announced. "Now we can. As I was saying, attack me with intent," he repeated, positioning himself into an offensive stance. He wasn't actually going to kill her, of course, he'd lose a decent officer. But he needed her to believe it, and as long as sickbay can patch up the damage...

Zade's eyes widened. What the hell was he thinking??? She watched him confirm with the computer to turn off safeties, his expression unreadable. He hadn't done this in previous simulations, and it actually made her a little nervous. Get your head in the simulation, Zade thought to herself, shaking her head. She tightened her grip on the metal stick. "Fine. I won't hold back," she replied, lunging toward him.

"If you give me the slightest window of opportunity, I will take it," Karav warned, adjusting his hold on the rod to swing the it at her.

Zade paused in her step and grabbed her own rod with both hands to block his attack, then swept her foot to try and catch him off guard as she shifted her hands to counter. Is this his surprise? she thought, trying to read Karav's actions. He always included some type of surprise or twist, but this was on a whole new level.

Karav jumped, then quickly went defensive and intercepted the attack, the metal loudly clinking. He took a couple steps back, spinning the rod to keep his hands in their right position. It looks like she's taking it seriously, he mused, watching her next moves, but she's still holding back. Karav chuckled slightly. Understandable, she doesn't want to actually hurt a crewmate. But she will have to if she doesn't want to get hurt herself.

Keeping pace, Zade advanced, watching his moves and spinning her own rod in a similar way. She got three steps in when she heard him chuckle. What is he finding so funny?? she thought. Narrowing her eyes, she attacked again, swinging her rod from the side.

Heh, easy, the Betazoid thought to himself, blocking the attack effortlessly. Instead of just preventing the rod from moving closer to him, he used enough extra force to rebound it back in the direction it came from a little. He then stepped forward and thrust the jagged end of the rod at Zade.

He's trying to throw my balance, she thought, dodging the thrust by stepping back and leaning to a side. Recovering her control of the rod, she barely had time to block his next attack. He had struck downward, and she held the rod with both hands to block the strike. Karav's weapon was held about 10 cm from her face, but the pressure he was applying crept it closer and closer.

Karav suddenly smirked, shifting his feet.

Shoot! Zade barely had time to process as she found herself suddenly on the ground. The last attack was a diversion! She rolled as Karav stabbed down, missing her head by a a distance that was way too close for comfort. Zade swore as she continued her roll into a kneeling position. "What the hell?? What if you missed??"

"If you didn't move, I wouldn't have," Karav replied, eyes focused as he lunged forward. "I said to attack me with intent, otherwise you would die. I wasn't joking."

Zade blocked the next attack with her rod, which ended up pushing her against the corridor wall. Zade blocked with the rod directly in front of her, but Karav was pushing hard enough that she couldn't break out without letting go of the rod, which would spell further danger for her if she didn't do it right. Kicking him away was out of the question too, because she'd risk losing her balance. Plus, he was way too close for a kick to be effective. It was either overcome his strength or chance an escape.

=^=Karav, Zade, please report to my ready room.=^=

The two paused, the metal rods still locked together and their breathing heavy. After a moment, Karav nodded and the two slowly separated from each other, letting their weapons clatter to the ground. "Computer, arch," Karav said, wiping sweat off his brow. The holodeck's arch materialized and Karav walked up to it, pressing the button to respond. "We'll be right up, Captain."

I'm not sure if I should be disappointed by the disruption or relieved, Zade thought, taking the moment to catch her breath as she sat frozen in place. Karav seemed serious during their fight, and for a moment it was hard to believe it was just a simulation. The memory of the rod missing her head... she shivered in response. That was too close.

Standing, she walked to her bag next to the arch and grabbed her water bottle. She took a long drink from it, letting the cool liquid sit on her tongue for a moment before swallowing. "Guess I have to kick your ass another time," she joked with a shrug, attempting to lighten the mood after... whatever the hell that was.

"You watch it," Karav replied, pointing a finger at her while walking to his own bag. "I'm still your boss." Turning his attention to his own bag, his expression went pensive. She still just sees these as simulations, he mused, grabbing his own water bottle. But she is improving.

"Pfft, for now," the Trill shot back. She took one more sip of water before collecting her things.

Karav couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Computer, end program."